The Vikings Created The Modern World
Whoa! You say. How’s that possible? Let me explain the reasoning behind that bald, sweeping statement.
Can we all agree that if there hadn’t been a William the Conqueror there wouldn’t be a Great Britain?
I’m imagining consensus on that point. I swear I can see everyone shaking their heads.
How did William come about?
First, there was King Alfred the Great (the only English monarch to claim that moniker).
In 886, Alfred the Great united the country against the decades of Viking raids that threatened to tear the island of England apart. That’s not to say that the Vikings vanish. They don’t. In fact, they continue to raid England and capture regions and towns. But relative peace allowed Alfred to build a network of towns and cities ruled by a common set of laws derived from Danelaw.
Dane law or the law of the Danes, and thus the Vikings, became the basis for English law.
For a period of nearly two centuries, English monarchs defended their country from wave after wave of Viking invasions. But, they manage to do little but keep the enemy at bay.
In 1016 King Cnut, king of Denmark and Norway, invaded England and claimed the land. Cnut is the first and only man to rule simultaneously the four countries of England, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (parts of the last one anyway).
Cnut died in 1035 and infighting between his heirs keeps the disparate kingdoms in disarray. Instead of four countries ruled by one king, we have multiple kings, divided kingdoms, and short reigns.
In 1066, William of Normandy, declared England was promised to him by Cnut’s last legitimate heir, Edward the Confessor. And we all know what happened next. William invaded England and became king on December 25, 1066.
Okay, so can we now agree that if there hadn’t been a William the Conqueror, there wouldn’t have been a United States of America? No Great Britain, no World Wars, no cold war, no space race, no microwave, no cell phones…ad infinitum.
So, there I’ve proved my theory, The Vikings Created The Modern World.
Comment on my blog at www.jiannecarlo.com before July 8, 2011, and you’re automatically entered in a contest to win the first two books in the Viking Warriors series.
And now for an excerpt from Viking Warriors Book#3, The Peacemaker.
Here's the blurb:
Can the Peacemaker tame a warrior bride?
When Njal the Peacemaker meets his bride-to-be, she’s dressed in breeches, flaunting a crossbow, and covered in boar’s blood. What he needs is a woman skilled with words, a woman with exquisite manners, a cunning woman capable of maneuvering the political intrigue of a king’s court. Not this rough country lass whose skill with a crossbow rivals his.
Bettina has no desire to wed a peacemaker. She needs a Viking warrior who’ll strike fear into the hearts of her enemies, a man of strength who can thwart her step-uncle’s theft of her castle’s treasures. But Nyal the Peacemaker wields words, not weapons—until their wedding night proves he’s also a man of passion. Neither can resist the heat of their coupling, but can a man who values peace be enough for a warrior bride?
The following excerpt takes place just before Njal and Bettina take their vows.
The Peacemaker – Excerpt #1
“From whence came this cyrtel?” Bettina tugged at the low neckline of her dress to no avail. “You should have let me bind my breasts. They are overly large.”
No matter how she arranged and rearranged her bosom, it refused to flatten. Indeed, the twin mounds seemed to have grown threefold since she last wore female garb.
“Trust me, dearest. There is no such thing as overly large or too plump breasts.” Mama fluffed the black lace lining the neckline and Bettina couldn’t hold back a giggle.
“That tickled.”
“’Tis a pity you were covered in boar’s blood the first time Lord Njal met you.”
Bettina shot a crooked half-smirk at Mama’s reflection in the looking glass. For some reason the memory of her future husband’s horrified scowl when he discovered her identity pleased her.
“Boar’s blood, wearing the smith’s ratty breeches and stained tunic. Not to mention the muck from the pigsty on my boots.
”
“Lord Njal will not recognize you this eve. You will have him and every man in the great hall salivating.”
“I do not recognize me.” Bettina wished she had Mama’s blue eyes and corn-silk hair, but she took after Papa and had his blue-black locks and dark eyes. “’Tis all for naught. Lord Njal cares only for his beloved treaty. I promise you he will not cast his eyes my way twice.”
* * * *
See you your bride?” Jarvik’s wide grin sent Njal’s belly into a coil.
“Nay.” He faced his brother, not the crowded hall. But he’d heard the collective gasp, then a moment’s eerie quiet followed by a slew of heated murmurs and whispers, and guessed his bride had made her appearance. “She has finally deigned to grace us with her presence?”
“She is at the foot of the stairs.” Magnus sipped from his goblet. “Should you not greet her?”
“’Tis a hard enough task to steel myself to consummate this marriage to a lass who resembles a lad save for her long locks.” Njal rolled his eyes. “I only pray she has the manners of a lady at the high table. Loki the trickster must have muddled King Cnut’s mind to bind me to a female as coarse as Bettina. Never could I take a country lass as simple and unlearned as she to the courts. ’Tis not the alliance I had hoped for.”
“If you will not greet her, I will.” Jarvik straightened his tunic and finger-combed the golden hair brushing his broad shoulders. No one appreciated female beauty the way Jarvik did.
Njal turned around, his grasp on the goblet he held slackened, and all the blood in his body sank to his groin. He could not disguise his shock or the lightning bolt of lust that struck him motionless at the transformation of Bettina the flat-chested, lanky lass into Bettina the voluptuous goddess.
“Even covered in blood her beauty shone, but in that dress…” Magnus whistled softly.
“And those tits are magnificent. Where did she hide them yester eve?” Jarvik adjusted the brooch at the neck of his tunic and took a step forward.
“Stand down.” Njal elbowed Jarvik aside and devoured the entire length of the great hall in six strides. When he stood in front of his bride-to-be, he near swallowed his tongue and could not take his gaze off her breasts.
Njal the eloquent, the man who charmed snakes and serpents alike, was so consumed by lust, so slack jawed and half-witted, he had not a rational thought or word in his head. He did not want any other man gawking at her titties. “Have you no shawl?”
Bettina’s forehead creased. “I have no need of one. ’Tis overwarm as it is. Is aught amiss with my dress?” She glanced down and smoothed the black lace trimming the scooped neckline. “Mayhap ’tis not what the ladies of King Cnut’s courts wear. I fear Mama traded dearly for this cyrtel and she has had the women of the keep sewing nonstop to fit the bodice.”
Njal could not master control of an arousal that threatened eruption if her tits jiggled once more. ’Twas as if his prick controlled his watering mouth and scrambled his thoughts.
He stared at the scarlet silk covering her breasts, hoping for a peek at her nipples.
Pink?
Nay, cocoa, like the sweet drink he’d had in Jutland. And up-tipped, pearled, and pointing; he could almost taste the dulcet buds.
Buy Links: Amazon ARe B&N Etopia
Price: $3.99
Length: Novella
Genre: Erotic Historical, m/f
Buy at: Amazon ARe B&N Etopia
Price: $3.99
Length: Novella
Genre: Erotic Historical
Have a good one.
Cheers,
Jianne
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