Sea Sagas of the North

Sea Sagas of the North interweaves prose chapters and alliterative sagas. Each chapter tells of travels across shores, seas and islands. These are heroic crossings in warming waters. Each saga tells of tales and times from across the ages. Icelanders ask, "How do we say goodbye to a glacier?" This is the territory of sagas, the Norse and Anglo-Saxon gods of old, and the mythic era of Viking expansion by clinkered longships. It was when dragons protected people from themselves by hiding gold and silver hoards.

These crossing tales and sagas begin at elemental wilds of north-west Iceland. They take in the Lofoten Isles of Norway, Sjæland and the Øresund in Denmark, cross the sea to the eastern shore of England, and travel to the north lands of deepwater ports, inland abbeys and the holy shore of Lindisfarne, and then to the Atlantic isles of Shetland and St Kilda, and wind-torn fragments of the Faroes, completing the circle back at Iceland's fire and ice.

The book reaches its conclusion with the saga of the Drowning of Doggerland and how the once-dry steppe was flooded by the warming seas, making the people of the plains refugees. The book finishes as Ragnarök looms. What can be done to avoid more fire and flame? These are times when new stories will be needed.

Heroes are a central feature of the Sagas; heroes face enemies and evil, the fierce sea and storm, the changing climate, cruel kings concerned with only their own survival, invaders seeking only money, planners plotting destruction of the fishing villages, ship and fleet owners exploiting labor and preventing safety investments, and financiers lending on the paper fish.

The heroes stride: women and men confront indifference and evil. We hear of people who consider themselves to be heroes--Vortigern the King; Æthelred the Ill-advised; Olaf the Norse King; Kör the Wicked; Hrolleif the Horrible and his son Slídr; Wulfstan the Archbishop; and numerous ship owners.

So, we hear of shaman Sky-Ryder at the flooding Doggerland; Queen Erce of the coast; Hildr the Drover and abbess of Whitby monastery; and Herne the Hunter King. In sagas of sail, we hear of Skai, the girl with magic and healing powers; Grim the longship leader; Sigi the slave singer; Ingimund the generous; and Byrthno the bold Earl. In the Sagas of fish, we hear tell of Ólíni the nurse; Alf the apprentice boy and later Mate; fisher Ned and cobbler Waxy Jack; Magnus the goi farmer; the slave boy An; and Freddie the deckie learner. There is also Unni the island girl and rescuer; Skipper Jack the last bargeman; ordur the Life-Saver; and Gibbie the whaler. We hear, too, of Lily and Rita and other women activists of Hull, as well as Mary the first female mayor.

Also included are a glossary of Norse Gods, a timeline, brief notes on walks connected with each chapter, stories, chapter notes, and a bibliography. The book is illustrated with monochrome images by the author, and maps by Chris Pretty to depict the territories of tales and stories, as well as a map of the whole region and regional maps for each chapter.