humour
9th
century Vikings
England
This is a sharply satirical romp through the ninth century, a time when
the heathen Danes were plundering, pillaging and raping their way through the
various kingdoms of a nascent Christian England. The Angles, the Saxons, the
Mercians, and various other kingdoms all fell to the battle-hardened invaders
in their long boats. The book tells the unlikely, but hilarious, tale of a
duplicitous monk called Conrad and his innocent companion, Brother Odo, as they
struggle to remain alive and free while all around them are losing their heads
or are being sold into slavery.
From the very first page, we are presented with a medieval version of
Blackadder and Baldrick with a series of (cunning) plans; there’s simply no
other way of describing these two characters and the colourful language used to
tell their story. The tale is woven around a maguffin in the shape of a holy
book, bound in gold and encrusted with jewels, which the Christians must save
from the Danes, while Conrad schemes to keep it for himself. I
found the book amusing throughout, if a little over-scatological at times. This
quote illustrates the satire running through the book. Coming from Ireland, it
rang a note of veracity with me:
“He was touched with the same
lunacy that drove the monks from Ireland to cast themselves on to the sea in a
boat with no oars, that the Lord might take them where he would, be that a new
land at waters’ end or the long prayer with the fishes of the deep.”
For me, the irredeemable nature of Conrad, the not-so-lovable rogue, was
a little disappointing – consistent, but disappointing. The story would have
been more satisfying if Conrad had exhibited the smallest vestige of empathy at
the end. The language is cleverly medieval while eminently readable. However, I
learned quite a few new words, like seax,
scop and aetheling. As to the
story’s historical content, the author notes at the end make a case for a solid
historical framework. I am not qualified to comment, although he sounded
convincing.
I look forward to more of Conrad
and Odo’s adventures.
©JJ Toner
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