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| AMAZON | GOODREADS |
"Mesmerizing medieval romance! A vivid portrayal of love
flourishing amidst the turbulence of the years after the Norman Conquest."
—Kathryn Le Veque, USA Today Bestselling
Author
THE BOOK
York, England 1069… three
years after the Norman Conquest
The North of England seethes with discontent under the heavy
hand of William the Conqueror, who unleashes his fury on the rebels who dare to
defy him. Amid the ensuing devastation, love blooms in the heart of a gallant
Norman knight for a Yorkshire widow.
A LOVE NEITHER CAN
DENY, A PASSION NEITHER CAN RESIST
Angry at the cruelty she has witnessed at the Normans’ hands,
Emma of York is torn between her loyalty to her noble Danish father, a leader
of the rebels, and her growing passion for an honorable French knight.
Loyal to King William, Sir Geoffroi de Tournai has no idea
Emma hides a secret that could mean death for him and his fellow knights.
WAR DREW THEM
TOGETHER, WAR WOULD TEAR THEM APART
War erupts, tearing asunder the tentative love growing
between them, leaving each the enemy of the other. Will Sir Geoffroi, convinced
Emma has betrayed him, defy his king to save her?
___________________________________________________________
Irish Wolfhounds in Medieval England
Guest Post By Regan Walker
When I first began my latest medieval novel, Rogue Knight, I saw the heroine in my mind with a great hound trotting beside her. And so Magnus, the Irish hound, became a much-loved character.
The name “Irish wolfhound” is a recent one but
the hound itself goes back far in time. Ancient woodcuts
and writings have placed them in existence as a breed by 273 BC. They
were bred as hunting dogs by the ancients, who called them Cú Faoil (variously translated as hound, Irish hound, war
dog and wolf dog). They are mentioned in Irish laws and in Irish literature
which dates from the 5th century or, in the case of the Sagas, from the old
Irish period, 600-900 AD.
The Romans had them. Quintus Aurelius Symmachus,
in a letter to his brother Flavianus, thanked him for the gift of seven Irish
hounds that had excited the Roman people. A hound named Ailbe was famed
throughout Ireland to the extent that his owner received an offer from
Connaught for the hound of “three score hundred milch cows at once and a
chariot with two horses and as much again at the end of the year.”
Apparently Patrick MacAlpern, or St.
Patrick as you may know him, had a way with them and because of that gained
passage to England on a ship full of panicked, stolen hounds.
In the Bayeux Tapestry that documents
William the Conqueror’s victory, there are hounds pictured that some believe to
include Irish wolfhounds.
During the
Norman conquest of Ireland, only kings and the nobility were allowed to own
them. They are sighthounds bred for long solitary hunts based solely on
the dog's ability to visualize its landscape and perceive, unlike scent hounds.
They were used as
war dogs and as guards of property and herds. They were also used to hunt deer,
boar, and wolves and were held in such high esteem that battles were fought
over them. Wolfhounds primarily defeated their
game by breaking its spine with their jaws. The hound is otherwise gentle and
trusting, but when the occasion arises it can be intimidating and swift,
qualities echoed in an ancient Irish king's motto, "gentle when stroked,
fierce when provoked."
The 13th century monument at
Beddglert Priory in Wales shows how highly regarded and valued a good wolfhound
was. It is believed to have been erected by Welsh prince, Llewellen Fawr, in
tribute to his beloved and favorite wolfhound, Faithful Gelert, a gift given to
him by his father-in-law, King John.
During the 14th through 16th
centuries, English monarchs requested these dogs, referred to as "large
greyhounds, rough greyhounds or wolfdogs" and "like powerful shaggy
greyhounds, but a good deal larger" to be sent from Ireland to England. In
1658, Oliver Cromwell ordered a ban on the export of the hounds from Britain,
as their numbers were on the decline and they were needed in England to keep
the wolf population under control.
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| The Viking's Daughter etching by Dicksee |
As for their temperament, I particularly like this story of Olaf,
son of an Irish princess, who offered his friend Gunnar a hound that was given
to him in Ireland:
“He is big and no
worse than a stout man. Besides, it
is part of his nature that he has man’s wit, and he will bay at every man whom
he knows to be thy foe, but never at thy friends. He can see, too, in any man’s
face whether he means thee well or ill, and he will lay down his life to be
true to thee.”
Yep, it
describes Magnus perfectly.
Lest I
forget, I must acknowledge the considerable expertise of Hilary and her
wonderful website (http://www.irishwolfhounds.org/history.htm). She was one of my beta
readers, assuring I portrayed Magnus as he should be.
THE AUTHOR
Regan Walker is an award-winning, #1 bestselling, multi-published
author of Regency, Georgian and Medieval romance. She has three times
been featured on USA TODAY's HEA blog and twice nominated for the
prestigious RONE award (her novel, The Red Wolf's Prize won Best
Historical Novel for 2015 in the medieval category). Regan writes
historically authentic novels with real history and real historic
figures where her readers can experience history, adventure and love.
You can see the trailers for her novels on her website. Regan loves to hear from her readers--you can also email her via her website.
You can see the trailers for her novels on her website. Regan loves to hear from her readers--you can also email her via her website.
