Eadric the Grasper: Sons of Mercia: 1

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In the case of Eadric the Chronicler shows foreknowledge of events by writing in the entry for 1009 “ But the plan was then frustrated through Earl Eadric, as it ever is still”.

In the debut of her Sons of Mercia series, Woods tells a ripped-from-the-chronicles story—most of the characters and major events are factual—with an entertaining blend of period realism and Zorro-ish dazzle. I understand that you don’t like him and agree he was a brute, but I think your argument belongs on a different forum. Eadric must pit his wits and sword against the crafty masked figure, but doing so traps him in a dark web of lies and deception.Thegns bearing these names occur among the witnesses to the charters issued in the name of King Æthelred II in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries.

This artful dissembler, capable of feigning anything, was accustomed, by pretended fidelity, to scent out the king’s designs, that he might treacherously divulge them. it was told the king, that [the Danes] would beshrew him of his life, and afterwards all his council, and then have his kingdom without any resistance.A surprisingly easy and quick read considering the epic nature of the novel, "Eadric the Grasper" takes the reader through the twisted journey of an intelligent peasant (a swineherd) .

He was generally successful in both finding men willing to fight for him, and giving Canute a run for his money.Why Edmund kept forgiving him and trusting him remains a mystery—unless it’s because Eadric was married to his sister. This Englishman, at the start of the 12th century, might have thought that if only Edmund Ironside, as he came to be known, had beaten Cnut at the Battle of Assandun the world would have been a more English place. Sweyn known as Tiugeskaeg, or Forkbeard due to his long, cleft beard, landed in England in 1013, intending to make himself King. Prince Edmund joins Earl Uhtred in Northumbria and instead of attacking Eadric and Cnut in the east of England they travel into Eadric’s lands of West Mercia and plunder and kill while Cnut does the same in the east.

However, the situation changed abruptly when Sweyn died suddenly of apoplexy, on 3rd February 1014, while threatening the Abbey of Bury St. But on the third or fourth day of the feast, when an ambush had been prepared, he took him into the wood to hunt. Eadgyth was likely Eadric's second wife, for according to Henry of Huntingdon, the son of Eadric Streona was responsible for murdering King Edmund "Ironsides". It has a fantasy novel feel and pace to it and while that may not be a detriment to me, as I read fantasy novels and enjoy the genre, it may be bothersome to some readers expecting a higher level of writing. The Anglo-Saxon Home: A History of the Domestic Institutions and Customs of England (from the Fifth to Eleventh Century).His constant political maneuvering and personal relationship turmoil make the book an interesting read. A good man, forced by situations far beyond his control, makes the the best decisions possible, but they lead him down the dark rabbit hole .