Queen Emma and the Vikings: A History of Power, Love and Greed in Eleventh-Century England

300 Pages·2006·14.798 MB·English

by  Harriet O'Brien

QUEEN EMMA
AND THE VIKINGS

QUEEN EMMA
AND THE VIKINGS
A History of Power, Love and Greed
in Eleventh'Century England
HARRIET O’BRIEN
B LO O M SBU R Y
To my sister, Sally
Copyright © 2005 by Harriet O’Brien
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission horn the publisher except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address
Bloomsbury Publishing, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Jacket cover images: (clockwise from top left) Duke William and his fleet, detail from the
Bayeux Tapestry, Musée de la Tapisserie, Bayeux, France; Author offering his book to Queen Emma,
British Library, London, UK; Ploughing, from a Calendar, British Library, London, UK; Cotton
Vitellius C.III from an Old English Herbal originally by Apuleius, British Library, London, UK.
All images © Bridgeman Art Library
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, New York and London
Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers
All papers used by Bloomsbury Publishing are natural, recyclable
products made from wood grown in well-managed forests.
The manufacturing processes conform to the environmental
regulations of the country of origin.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition of this book as follows:
O’Brien, Harriet.
Queen Emma and the vikings : a history of power, love, and greed in 11th-century England / by
Harriet O’Brien.— 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58234-596-3
ISBN-10: 1-58234-596-1
1. Emma, Queen, consort of Canute I, King of England, d. 1052. 2. Great Britain—History—
Ethelred II, 979-1016—Biography. 3. Great Britain—History—Canute, 1017-1035—Biography. 4.
Normans—Great Britain—Biography. 5. Queens—Great Britain—Biography.
6. Vikings—England. I. Title.
DA160.O27 2005
942.01’8r092—dc22
2005010845
First published in the United States by Bloomsbury Publishing in 2005
This paperback edition published in 2006
Paperback ISBN-10: 1-59691-119-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59691-119-2
13579 10 8642
Typeset by Palimpsest Book Production, Polmont, Stirlinghsire, Scotland
Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives pic
CONTENTS
Family Trees vi-viii
Dramatis Personae ix
Prologue 1
Part I Peaceweaver 9
Chapter One Normandy 11
Chapter Two England 23
Chapter Three Murder and Massacre 42
Chapter Four Revenge 58
Chapter Five Defeat 78
Part II Viking Queen 95
Chapter Six Captive Bride 97
Chapter Seven Partner 112
Chapter Eight Saints and Sinners 128
Chapter Nine Image and Empire 145
Part III Schemers 161
Chapter Ten Letters 163
Chapter Eleven Fall and Rise 175
Part IV Q ueen Mother 189
Chapter Twelve The Book 191
Chapter Thirteen Disgrace 205
Epilogue 221
Chronology 231
Notes 235
Select Bibliography 247
Index 257
Family Trees