Everyone in England knows the date 1066, for in that year England changed forever. Most will connect 1066 with the Battle of Hastings but Hastings was the culmination of a series of major events that had taken place that year. When the saintly and childless King Edward died the king's council, the Witan, gathered to elect a new king. Finding no suitable member of the Royal Family, they decided to make Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, the new king. Of Danish Royal blood through his mother, he had in fact been effectively running the kingdom for several years. Harold faced a challenge to his new throne from the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada, who claimed to be Christendom's best warrior. Harald invaded the north of England with a fleet of 360 longships manned by men from all over the Viking world. Harold Godwinson marched 200 miles in six days and caught the Viking army off guard and killed Hardrada and most of his men. The English victory was such that only 24 longships were needed to get the Viking survivors home. Whilst celebrating the victory feast news was given to Harold that another challenger had landed, William the Bastard of Normandy. Harold gathered the remnants of his army and rapidly marched south to meet the new threat. Outside Hastings, with reinforcements still arriving, the English army was defeated, King Harold died and with him fell his household troops and the flower of the English nobility. What happened to England next?In Woden's Wolf you see through the eyes of a dispossessed English small holder struggling to come to grips with the new complex world he finds himself in. For England at that time was very complex as the many peoples, languages, and customs that now lived in the land met, clashed, and mingled in the bubbling cauldron of history that was to produce the English nation and language we recognise today. G'day,At the age of seven I asked my mother about King Richard the Lion Heart. Her response was to give me an historical text book she was reading on the subject and tell him to find out for myself! From then on I have been addicted to English history. After leaving school, where the history topics I studied were dictated by my need to pass exams, I concentrated my efforts on the 17th century, with especial interest in the Civil War and Cromwell's Protectorate. However, in the mid '90's I changed direction and began studying Anglo-Saxon history. Since then the Hundred Years War, in particular the events in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II have caught my interest. As a result of this I am now involved with the SCA Canton of Cluain, Barony of Ildhafn, Kingdom of Lochac. I have more than one persona, but my usual one is that of a yeoman archer in the retinue of Sir Allan de Buxhall, KG, Constable of the Tower of London. I run my own Household within the Barony - The Wulfings.Until Government cut backs I regularly acted as a guest lecturer for the Waikato University covering English history topics from the coming of the English to the Restoration.Whilst I spent most of my early career in telecommunications, I later joined the University of Waikato running an experimental 'virtual' unit providing education in technology management and innovation. After leaving the University I worked on various technology related contracts but am now retired.I am active Christian and attend the Te Awamutu Bible Chapel. For many years I have been involved in youth work for the church.Born in England, my wife and I moved to New Zealand in 1969. We have three sons and five grandchildren. We live on a large section with lots of trees and flowers and spend a lot of our time working in the garden. Naturally, as an archer, I have an archery butt at the bottom of the grounds.
