tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post574724957710454763..comments2023-11-29T07:39:34.401+00:00Comments on Carla Nayland Historical Fiction: Liebster Blog AwardCarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-48703784438754412182013-05-11T10:47:58.813+01:002013-05-11T10:47:58.813+01:00Quite so. Bede does name some queens, even when t...Quite so. Bede does name some queens, even when they appear only fleetingly (e.g. Coenburh daughter of Cearl), so it's curious that he describes at some length two quite significant incidents involving the queen of East Anglia without giving her name in either of them. One could argue that he doesn't name people he disapproves of, but he clearly did approve of her actions when she talked Raedwald out of accepting Aethelferth's bribe. It's possible that her name happened not to be recorded in any of his sources - East Anglia was some distance away - but on the other hand he clearly did have access to East Anglian sources, like the king who testified to having seen Raedwald's double altar, so one might think that Bede could have asked him for the queen's name if he wanted to know. Maybe it was too much trouble to find out a minor detail, or some similar prosaic reason, or maybe there is something behind the omission...Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-24440037050426736902013-05-03T11:42:22.051+01:002013-05-03T11:42:22.051+01:00I shall be interested to read it. :)
That's ...I shall be interested to read it. :) <br /><br />That's true - even many men remain nothing more than names, as evidenced by Cynfarch in your most recent post. But for such an important figure as the queen of East Anglia not even to be accorded that...well. I hadn't thought about the possibility that some of them might have met each other - a very interesting idea!Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05976355211484202185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-23405592167442688602013-05-02T21:08:52.960+01:002013-05-02T21:08:52.960+01:00There's a story behind the title :-)
I suppos...There's a story behind the title :-)<br /><br />I suppose in this period we really know very little about anyone, but that seems to apply redoubled in spades to the women. I wonder what they would all think of each other? Apart from Aethelflaed they were all contempories or near-contempories and some may have met each other.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-35386429798340164532013-05-02T12:07:54.881+01:002013-05-02T12:07:54.881+01:00Looking forward to reading more about Eadwine and ...Looking forward to reading more about Eadwine and his companions - and I've been intrigued by the title ever since I first saw it on the Trifolium site! <br /><br />I like your choice of dinner party guests - a poignant reminder of how little we know, which when you consider how important these women were is disappointing to say the least. It would be great to know what they were really like; although, as you say, we might well be rather surprised.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05976355211484202185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-3001275037126462582013-04-25T19:10:49.820+01:002013-04-25T19:10:49.820+01:00Deena - hello and welcome. I will give it some th...Deena - hello and welcome. I will give it some thought :-)Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-38714990533315406962013-04-14T18:40:26.969+01:002013-04-14T18:40:26.969+01:00Great responses Carla.
I really would be interest...Great responses Carla.<br /><br />I really would be interested who your least favorite person in history would be. Just off the top of your head, who would come first? :) It's quite easy to think about something that we really like than something hat we don't like as much.Deenahttp://www.ebooksforlessph.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-48958766582995670342013-04-13T18:57:39.521+01:002013-04-13T18:57:39.521+01:00Thanks, everybody!
Nicola - I'll look forward...Thanks, everybody!<br /><br />Nicola - I'll look forward to your response. And even more so to <i>Hild</i>, for the same reasons you mention :-)<br /><br />Rick - that comes of trying to explain that an abbess in seventh-century England - perhaps especially an abbess like Hild - had to do an awful lot more than prayer and contemplation. For all that an abbey was supposed to be a refuge from the world, someone still had to organise food and supplies all year round - you needed Martha at least as much as Mary :-) And Hild is specifically noted as an advisor to secular rulers and her abbey as a centre of learning, probably the nearest equivalent now is a serious university.<br /><br />Yes, that's part of what I meant when I said the reality would almost certainly be more complex and surprising than fiction. One of the frustrations of a period with very little documentation is that there isn't the scope for the 'stranger than fiction' moments that you see in things like court rolls in better-recorded eras.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-10580127403037964212013-04-08T03:57:53.727+01:002013-04-08T03:57:53.727+01:00Congratulations, and thanks for the link! I'm ...Congratulations, and thanks for the link! I'm enjoying visits to the others on the list - love some of those blog names, too.<br /><br />I also like your characterization of Hild's multiple public roles. <br /><br />With all of the attendees at your hypothetical dinner party, including the unnamed East Anglian queen, real life allows, among other things, a level of sheer contradiction in behavior that would be problematic to portray in fiction.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932015378213238346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-59069459085401347962013-04-07T18:16:16.322+01:002013-04-07T18:16:16.322+01:00Great to read your answers, Carla!Great to read your answers, Carla!Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-77375759930703748902013-04-07T18:02:57.545+01:002013-04-07T18:02:57.545+01:00Thank you for the award. Thank you for the award. Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-8129521929646227872013-04-06T18:21:29.598+01:002013-04-06T18:21:29.598+01:00I'm delighted to be part of this meme. I'l...I'm delighted to be part of this meme. I'll post my response some time in the next few days.<br /><br />But I'm even more excited about <i>Ring of Scorpions</i>! It'll be fascinating to see how our visions of this time and place coincide...or clash :)Nicola Griffithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00401940329164370169noreply@blogger.com