Ermentrude's Knot

Candi J.D. Holme

Description

When Ermentrude, a young Gothic woman, leaves home to gain her independence, she enters a world of perilous events, romance, and adventure.

Caught between her love of exploring Middle Earth and the love for her family, Ermentrude struggles with the dangers of life around 175 C.E. Ermentrude is faced with difficult decisions that will determine her future.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Eastern
• History
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456607289
• Langue: English

Extrait

Ermentrude’s
Knot
Tale of a Gothic Woman
 
by
Candi Holme
 


Ermentrude’s Knot
 
Copyright © 2012 by Candi Holme
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0728-9
 
 
All rights rese rved, including the right to reproduce this book or
portions thereof in any form whatsoever, without the written
permission of Candi Holme.
 
 
Tags: Goths, Gothic history, Gepids, Germanic tribes, adventure, romance, Dnieper River, Black Sea, Byzantium, European history, Late Classical Period, slavery, historical fiction, sailing, inventions, Sarmatian, tribes
 


To . . .
 
My creative family, especially my husband, Peter, who read and edited this book, giving it his full attention. You always appreciate a good read. Thank you for your encouragement.
 
Also, thanks to Barbara Holme, who patiently read my first draft which included text I later deleted. You gave me very good feedback, being an astute reader of historical fiction.
 
Finally, thank you to my readers. Look for more books in this series of the ancient tribes. May you always find a great book!
 


Map of Eastern Europe around 175 CE
 
Preface
 
Since I was a young child, I always had it in my heart to be an author. My inspirations for achieving this goal were my love of history, ancestry, languages, and ancient maps. While recently researching my family’s ancestry, I discovered how Europe’s boundaries changed. I grew particularly interested in the history of Germany and Poland, since my family’s ancestry, on my mother’s side, centered around this region. When I researched the modern history of these countries, I felt as though I had only scratched the surface. Later on, I researched the earlier histories of Germany and Poland, learning more about the eastern Germanic Tribes around the fall of Rome. I studied ancient and modern maps, learning how tribes of people migrated and how languages and cultures changed throughout Europe and Asia.
My research expanded during the writing of this book about the Gothic People, or, as they called themselves, the Gutthiuda. Gleaning what little information I could find about the people who lived before and during the fall of Rome, I set to work developing a story based on my imaginings of living during those times. I didn’t want my book to be based on Roman history or on numerous wars and military details. I wanted it to be of interest to readers who wouldn’t normally select a history book. I wished my book to be based on historical facts and theories, and be entertaining, as well. I hoped that this book would give the reader a sense of the Gothic people, who were fierce in battle, yet loving to their families. I wanted to contrast the way Gothic families behaved within their society and outside their familial structure during times of conflict. The name, Goth, in the ancient language, means ‘honorable’. Yet, in many stories about the Goths, one is left with a distasteful impression of them. Ermentrude’s Knot focuses on the positive sides of Gothic life, the home life versus the fierce battles that they participated in with great success.
During this period of history there were influences from the East, with the Sarmatians, as well as from the Slavic/Sporoi people dwelling further north. The Gothic or Gutthiuda, as they referred to themselves, were just one of the Germanic tribes living in the Baltic region. They dominated the period of time when the Roman Empire was expanding. Yet, the Germanic tribes were expanding, too, causing more conflict near the Roman borders.
While writing this book, I realized that so much of what occurred during centuries of early human history was relevant to our current times. Modern issues are often based on a long history of human behaviors, whether it concerns the economy, philosophy, or moral issues. In Ermentrude’s Knot the main characters face decisions on how to support their family, personal values, as well as, the moral issues of premarital sex and the acceptance of slavery.
I believe, as many women do, that there’s nothing more pleasing than a story with a strong female character, romance, and adventure. So, naturally, my story centers on the appealing characters of Ermentrude and Saskia, who have good relationships with the men in their lives, but questions arise. How did Gothic men deal with strong women in their lifetime? How much influence did Gothic women have in their tribe and families?
I took great pleasure in researching, writing, and reading this book. I hope readers will be inspired to read more historical fiction and non-fiction. I thank you, the reader, for reading my book, Ermentrude’s Knot .
 
Candi Holme February 9, 2012
 
Characters in Ermentrude’s Knot
 
Ermentrude (Gothic warrior and main character)
 
Ansgar /Atta and Ermien (parents of Ermentrude)
 
Ava (Ermentrude’s sister; friend of Adafuns, and Leovigild, who is Amalia’s brother)
 
Adalwulf (Ermentrude’s brother, married to Amalia; daughter of Tius and Ermenberga)
 
Vaclav (Ermentrude’s uncle, married to her Aunt Gunda, sister to Ermien)
 
Gerulf (Ermentrude’s first love; Gepid husband of Vilocia, whose mother is
Tota: Elduara’s friend)
 
Gernot and Alfons (Gerulf’s brothers)
 
Eiriks (Ermentrude’s Gepid husband)
 
Saskia (Ermentrude’s best friend)
 
Beowulf and Elduara (parents of Saskia)
 
Anselm (Saskia’s Gepid husband)
 
Bruno and Erwin (Anselm’s brothers)
 
Badwila (A Gepid friend of the family and Bruno; husband of Eihidia)
 
Eihidia (wife to Badwila and daughter of Fenius and Istia)
 
Fenius and Istia (friends of the family; parents of Eihidia,etc.; Sarmatian brother is Zygru)
 
Ateus, Arpoxais, Gnurus, Skunkha, Saulius (sons of Fenius and Istia)
 
Hairuwulf and Andagis (Gepid guards and friends)
 
Roderic, Rochus, and Evoric (Gepid guards)
 
Arnold and Bertram (comrades of Adalwulf; Ermentrude’s suitors)
 
Hathus (Gepid friend of Saskia’s family)
 
Uncle Reiner and Uncle Wolfram (Ermentrude’s uncles)
 
Bernhard (carpenter friend of Eiriks)
 
Priestess Aurana (Gothic)
 
Faroesia (daughter of Mairathi and Greshe, who are a Greek /Daci couple)
 
Ianthe and Abascantus (sister of Mairathi and her Greek husband, Greshe)
 
Abreas (brother of Faroesia)
 
Feoras (Greek servant to Ianthe and Abascantus, friend of Lady Odessia)
 
Draga (Sporoi woman whose men captured slaves)
 
Bukuroshe and Bujar (Carpi farmers)
 
Gerardi and Romana (porter and his wife)
 
Old Greek Porter and his wife (they take in the Heruli woman and her child)
 
Ivo and Bernard (boat and ferry porters)
 
Hermanduri female slave and her infant
 
Maraga (Ansgar’s slave)
 
Roman soldierSporoi horse groomer pirate slavers/ Cadmus
 
Sarmatians and Alans (enemies of the Goths and Gepids)
 
Gothic villagersthieves, slavers Gepids (a tribe associated as Gothic)
 
farm overseer Saskia’s cousin (Thorismund)
 
King Gadaric and King Filimer of the Gutthiuda tribe
 
Children: Fidwōr (Ermentrude and Eirik’s son)
Meino (Saskia and Anselm’s son)
Kasimira and Nika (daughters of Eihidia and Badwila)
Tius and Froili (Adalwulf and Amalia’s son and daughter)
Chapter I Return to the Summer Festival
175 CE (Gothiscanza near the Wisla [Vistula] River in current Poland, home of the Gutthiuda tribe)
 
I felt pain. It was in my heart. I stood at the fence waiting for him—my father, whom I called Att-a. It had been too long. I only remember snow falling—covering his horse’s tracks when he left with my brother. They had gone off to battle without us. I stayed with Mama. She was ill and needed me, as did my little sister.
Every morning, I stood by the fence, waiting for my father, hoping he’d return. It had been a long winter. Now, the first signs of green appeared on the branches. Tufts of green grass pushed through the snow mounds. Trickles of melting snow dripped from our home’s rooftop. I breathed heavily in the cold of the foggy morning. My breath puffed out of my mouth as I sighed—he’s not coming, I thought.
Hearing shouts, I craned my neck to see past the trees that stood near the river’s edge. Father usually followed the river home. I knew to look there. I was sure I heard shouts. Were they shouts of an enemy approaching? I ran inside to get my weapons. I stood guard. I listened again. I heard horses—more than two. I readied my spear and sword. I waited, tense, but hopeful that it was my father’s horse among others.
“Att-a!” I yelled excitedly, when I saw my father returning on horseback, with my older brother, Adalwulf. Two young men, whom I did not recognize, rode with them.
“You were gone so long! I was afraid you would not return to us. I thought you both were killed, or captured by skōh-sl (ghosts) in the forest.” I said.
I ran to them, as they rode up to our house, almost colliding with my father’s horse. Father looked at me, not having seen me for many months. He lifted me up, and put me on his horse, sitting before him. His arms felt strong as he hugged me.
“Ermentrude, you are prettier than ever,” he said.
I thought my father, Ansgar, was the bravest man in the village. My parents had lived in our village for many years. Father, was a handsome warrior with many scars, from battles in the past. I knew how much my mother missed riding off into battle with him. In the past, my mother, Ermien, always followed Father, to tend the wounded and rally the warriors in battle. She had witnessed the bloodshed that resulted from raids on other tribes.
Our fearless warriors would advance toward our enemy’s army and cavalry, holding their round, wooden shields and spears, or their short swords and their axes. Some of our warriors rode horses into the hoard of enemy soldiers; our artillery hurled heavy rocks onto the enemy’s advancing ranks. I imagined Father in battle when I was young, but shuddered at the thought of him wounded, or worse.
Our warriors fought to defend our land, or