A Saxon Escape

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface, Outline of The Book, Character Background Historical Context regarding The Saxons in Germany in the Middle Ages, the origin Vehmic or Vigilante courts in Dortmund Germany

Chapter Forma (1)

Chapter Oðer Later at Supper

Chapter ðridda (3) Early Spring 880 AD Saxon Hamlet outside Dortmund

Chapter feorða (4) Later in the hut of Advocar

Chapter fifta (5) The next day

Chapter siexta (6) Dortmund, Football, and Isadore

Chapter seofoða (7) The evening before Travel

Chapter eahtoða (8) Exodus from Dortmund

Chapter nigoða (9) The Dusseldorf Inquisition, Aachen beckons

Chapter teoða (10) Siggy and Wondde continue to Ghent

Chapter endlefta (11)

Gravensteed Castle, dusk, outside Ghent, Belgium, King Godfrid’s Command Post

Chapter Twelfta (12) Isadore becomes Elisabetta of Pisa, Meerseen Inn, Ghent Belgium Æfterra Gēola or Second Yule

Chapter ðreoteoða (13) Wondde’s Whereabouts, Saxduc and Maria arrive in Aachen

Chapter Feowerteoða (14)

Wondde returns, Isadore, Siggy and Ramstaff plot

Hrēþ-mōnaþ Month of the Goddess Hrēþ or "Month of Wildness

February 800 AD Western Trading District of Dortmund, 11 miles from Westphalia

Chapter Fifteoða (15) Ramstaff, Isadore, and Siggy re-group, Saxduc with Maria reunite with Tife, Henry returns to Aachen, Wondde continues to search for Saxduc

Chapter 16 May

Chapter 17 Siggy, Isadore and Ramstaff set sail to parts unknown

Chapter 18 Near Aachen, Night of the Long Seax

Chapter 19 Two years later, May 882 AD

Siggy, Issy and Ramstaff continue to chase Godfrid, Saxduc, Wondde, Rudolf, and Tife return to Dortmund. Maria and Henry reunite.

Postscript, Historical Background on The Saxons and plans for Volume II

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Synopsis or Outline of the Book

It is 880 AD in a Saxon village outside Throtmanni. A young Saxon Lady Sigurd and her younger brother Saxduc struggle to keep their pagan ways alive near Dor. Yet even their own tribe ostracizes them. Their Father Ramstaff and Mother Wondde share different dreams for their two children. The village Witican Advocar dares not share their secrets to each of them. After being accused of murder by the Vehmic (Secret Frankish judges and jury), the family is forced to flee. Both Siggy (Sigurd) and Sax desire to fight against the Franks. But with the secret Free Boten (Court Enforcers) on their trails, all are forced with difficult choices. Meanwhile, the warring Danish King Godfrid and Charles The Fat of Francia fight for power in the upper Rhineland amid tribes making new alliances and disregarding old ones.

Yet Ramstaff’s past serves as a double edged sword both to him and his son Saxduc. He attempts to lead a divided geard. Sigurd or Siggy and her mother share secrets which may tear the family further apart. Father and Son chose to go separate ways. Siggy and Wondde find themselves at odds with revealed truths. Father, son, Mother, and daughter must choose between family and security. Their choices will bear consequences even Ramstaff’s magic and Siggy’s bow may not survive their wayrd (Fate).

Preface

Outline of The Book, Character Background Historical Context regarding The Saxons in Germany in the Middle Ages, the origin Vehmic or Vigilante courts in Dortmund Germany

Background

The year of 876....

The death of Louis the German results in his territory being divided between his three sons. This is something which he had already foreseen, and portions of territory had been appointed to each of them in 865. Now in a peaceful succession, Carloman inherits Bavaria and the Ostmark, Louis the Younger gains Franconia, Saxony, and Thuringia, while Charles 'the Fat' succeeds to Rhaetia and Alemannia (Swabia). As the oldest son, Carloman also retains de facto dominance over the Eastern Franks as a whole.

This could be the point at which Saxon Hessengau passes to Franconia (which itself could also explain why Henry of Franconia (882-886) is sometimes known as margrave or count of Saxony). It is also the point at which a clear nobility begins to emerge in the future Hesse.

881 - 882

Charles 'the Fat' succeeds as titular head of the Frankish empire in German lands, holding the position as Emperor Charles III. He is crowned by Pope John VIII. In the following year, 882, Louis the Younger dies and Charles, as the last remaining of the three brothers, inherits his territories of Bavaria, Franconia, Saxony, and Thuringia, thereby reuniting East Francia following its division in 876.

888 - 918

Under Otto, Saxony emerges as one of the more powerful stem duchies in East Francia (under the kings of Germany), once the formal split is made between East and West Franks.

About the Book

This book is about Saxons in Modern Day Germany. It is not a Viking saga, though there are Vikings or Danes in the book. After viewing the History Channel’s Vikings series, I felt a Saxon book was needed. Unlike the series, I chose to follow a stricter reality to historical accuracy regarding time, place, and characters. For years, my late mother and I thought the Anglo-Saxons were the same tribe. They are not, Anglo is for the English and the Saxons are well according to (https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsEurope/GermanySaxons.htm)

The Saxons formed a loose state after the collapse of the Roman empire, and were relatively important in northern Germany during the subsequent period. They seem to have been centered on the area between the North Sea coastline and Hannover, and then stretching southwards to an undetermined degree.

Their tribal collective (and territory) was probably swelled by the absorption of other tribes, such as the Germanic Chauci, the Cherusci who were so important in AD 9, and lesser tribes such as the Angrivarii, Dulgubnii, and Warini. Together they formed a large coalition in the territory between modern Berlin and the northern Frisian coast, and were bordered to the north by the Angles. The Saxons, Angles and Jutes formed the bulk of the emigrants to Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, although sizable numbers of Saxons remained behind (such as the otherwise completely unknown Euthiones - see AD 536, below). This broad sweep of what is now northern Germany became known by the migrants in post-Roman Britain as Old Saxony.

The name 'Saxon' itself was formed by combining a word for a type of knife - a seaxe, or sax - plus the common Germanic plural suffix which was often used after the name of a tribe, this being '-on' (whereas today English speakers would use an 's'). A 'sax' is a single-edged, drop-point knife, something which in North America is called a Bowie knife. Add the plural suffix '-on' and you have 'Saxon'. Its origins lay in an Indo-European word root which is pretty widespread in the form of 'skei-', meaning 'to cut, separate'. It can be seen in the Latin 'scio' and 'scire', and in the Cymric 'ysgïen', meaning 'knife, sword'. It's also available in Old Indian as 'chidira', meaning 'sword, ax' (see feature link, right, for further examination of the word source).

This series of stories includes Ramstaff, Saxduc, Wondde and Sigurd (Father, Son, Mother and Daughter) are all fictional characters with Saxon roots. Maria (Saxduc’s companion), Tife (friend of Saxduc’s and Ramstaff) are also fictional as well. There are many what some gamers would call NPC (Non-Player Characters) such as Millner’s, Masons, Monks, Scribes.

In regard to the fantasy realm, Ramstaff is a Seyar, Witican or a Magician. The Dwarfs featured in the tale, set in outside modern day Dortmund, are conjectured. The languages used are from Old Saxon English, Some Danish, French, Latin, and English. The amount of time required to use Old Saxon for the main characters would be taxing to the author and reader. I do not attempt to rewrite history. My aim is to focus on Saxon ways, culture, identity, and place in History, but with fiction.

Rather than go into the various Saxon tribes and how they dispersed through Europe, I attempt to show their struggles in Modern Day Germany, Belgium, and England. Ideally, I wanted to focus on one tribe. The choices of these characters reflect much of what Saxons in greater Francia or modern day Germany faced; religious and cultural isolation, language and tradition barriers. These all culminated in making life hard enough, at times impossible for Saxons to remain in a Latin, French speaking and Catholic worshiping population.

I mused over putting dragons into the book, but felt it would fail to do a Game of Thrones work. However there is a dragon named Lubi in the story as well. For those who enjoy the Viking Series on Netflix, Vikings Vahala or The Last Kingdom, you will be pleased with the research used to create this Saxon journey.

One more detail

I chose to include the Freeboten or secret courts in this story. Yet it appears in reality, these vigilante trials held between two Linden trees began about four to five hundred years later. Yet I hold these courts were used by Charles the Fat to maintain control in Dortmund or East Francia.

From Wikipedia

The Vehmic courts, Vehmgericht, holy vehme, or simply Vehm, also spelt Feme, Vehmegericht, Fehmgericht,[1] are names given to a proto-vigilante tribunal system of Westphalia in Germany active during the later Middle Ages, based on a fraternal organization of lay judges called free judges'' (German: Freischöffen or French: francs-juges). The original seat of the courts was in Dortmund. Proceedings were sometimes secret, leading to the alternative titles of secret courts'' (German: heimliches Gericht), silent courts'' (German: Stillgericht), or forbidden courts" (German: verbotene Gerichte). After the execution of a death sentence, the corpse could be hanged on a tree to advertise the fact and deter others.

The peak of activity of these courts was during the 14th to 15th centuries, with lesser activity attested for the 13th and 16th centuries, and scattered evidence establishing their continued existence during the 17th and 18th centuries.[citation needed] They were finally abolished by order of Jérôme Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, in 1811.[2]

The Vehmic courts were the regional courts of Westphalia which, in turn, were based on the county courts of Franconia. They received their jurisdiction from the Holy Roman Emperor, from whom they also received the capacity to pronounce capital punishment (German: Blutgericht) which they exercised in his name. Everywhere else the power of life and death, originally reserved to the Emperor alone, had been usurped by the territorial nobles; only in Westphalia, called the Red Earth because here the imperial Blutbann (jurisdic

Origin

The Westphalian Vehmic courts developed from the High Medieval ''free courts' ' (Freigerichte), which had jurisdiction within a "free county' ' (German: Freigrafschaft). As a result of the 14th century imperial reform of the Holy Roman Empire (Golden Bull of 1356), the Landgraviates lost much of their power, and the Freigerichte disappeared, with the exception of Westphalia, where they retained their authority and transformed into the Vehmic court.

The seat of the Vehmic court (German: Freistuhl) was at first Dortmund, in a square between two linden trees, one of which was known as the Femelinde. With the growing influence of Cologne during the 15th century, the seat was moved to Arnsberg in 1437.

Godspeed,

Donovan Blalock

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Chapter Forma (1)

Circa 880 Throtmanni...outside Modern Day Dortmund

Sigurd makes a fire. Her hut is near Honeysburg Castle. Her mother Wondde skins rabbits and mixes a stew. Their tribe fought with Widukind years ago. Outside their small hovel is laden with snow and moss.  Since the Franks run the nearby town, they hunt, fish and trade among other families they know. Sig’s long blonde hair is braided. Her mother Wondde still looks young for her years. Sig’s Grandmother and Grandfather have gone to the halls of Woden. Unlike their Northern neighbors, Woden does not have feasts or battles nor a hall to feast in.

Outside down the hilly slope below Saxduc, Sig’s younger brother and father Ramstaff fish. Saxduc at 15 is a better hunter than his father. Ramstaff prefers buying food from the traders in town. Yet he knows the burgers are pressuring all to register their sales with names for taxation. Rumor is Dortmund may be free and Imperial City soon. Both grow potatoes and mine for gems in a cave

‘Father you always leave the fishing to me because you’d rather read your scrolls and books. I need to be able