Life, (mythic and
otherwise) in 6th century Ireland
By Juli D. Revezzo
My
latest historical fantasy romance is about a young woman living in Medieval
Ireland and the mythic warriors who come to defend her from evil. The book,
DRUID WARRIOR PRINCE, is the third instalment of my Celtic Stewards Chronicles
series which is a family saga wherein the daughters host wizard-like warriors
of the mythic Tuatha de Dannan. Warriors who protect the daughters from the
clutches of the dreaded, evil God Balor and his desire to destroy everything we
know and love. Those battles, however, cover a huge swath of history. Why did I
pick Ireland? I’ve long been enamoured with Irish mythology so thought it would
be nice to combine that love with my fantasy writing.
However,
though I had pictures in my head based on my reading and research, I assumed
that Medieval Ireland looked as we usually expect...castles everywhere, big
stone churches, etc.
I
assumed that the historical landscape would’ve been covered thoroughly. And it
was, to a point. What I found was sparse and not at all like we would expect.
Do you think the castles were there? Yes, after 800AD. But I was writing a
story set in the year 513AD. Guess what there was there?
Stone
monuments, yes, Tara (in the centre of Ireland), Newgrange, yes. But the
structures looked nothing like this:
In the 6th century, when DRUID WARRIOR PRINCE is set, the homes of the common man looked like this:
The
houses are one-story, one room, round, with thatched roofs. Most of the
recreations of these historical “roundhouses” and research surrounding them are
actually from the first century BC and the historians have extrapolated that
these domestic structures were still in use up to around 800 AD, after the
Viking invasions.
(*If
you’ve seen the movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi, you’ve seen something somewhat
similar, in the bee huts in their use of Skellig Michael as Luke’s home.)
Meaning,
the kitchen was over there in that corner, the loom was over there in that other
corner, and the beds? Well, the beds were along the opposite wall, or even
around the central fire. And the weird part is, that even though I’ve read (and
re-read) the books of the likes of Ellis and Chadwick and other scholars over
the years, they focus so much on the culture and arts, that I don’t remember
one ever mentioning the roundhouses were only one room. * head desk *
Now,
it’s true that the Celtic Steward Chronicles relies heavily on fantasy elements,
with magical and not-quite true to real-life things roaming about (druids who
truly perform magic, beasts and weapons that can shapeshift, for instance) but there’s a good dose of historical look
and culture to the books within the series. So I do try to get as close as
possible to the historical setting in which the successive generations of
Stewards happen to find themselves. And, ironically, unlike the previous books
(Passion’s Sacred Dance set in 2013, and Druid Warrior’s Heart, set in 1513,
respectively) the simplicity of 6th century Ireland made the building of the
world in which the third, and newest novel, DRUID WARRIOR PRINCE takes place a
little harder. In fact, the insertion of druids and warriors into the story
(which may or may not actually be period, depending on your source!) was the
easiest bit of the writing of this book.
Think that’s not so bad? Trying attempting to house 100 or so warriors
in these structures, vs. the stereotypical Medieval castle! Privacy,
apparently, wasn’t a thing they worried about, back in Medieval Ireland.
Oh
well, I do hope you will like the result of my attempt at the puzzle.
Juli D. Revezzo
Juli D. Revezzo is a Florida girl with a love of speculative and romantic fiction and legend, and loves writing stories with all kinds of fantastical elements. She is the author of The Antique Magic series and the pnr/historical fantasy Celtic Stewards Chronicles series, the Gothic fantasy romance LADY OF THE TAROT, as well as the historical fantasy FRIGGAíS LOST ARMY, and short stories published in ETERNAL HAUNTED SUMMER, LUNA STATION QUARTERLY, among others. She is also a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour. To learn more about this and future releases, visit: Website Facebook Twitter Mailing List
Druid Warrior Prince
Gwenevieve
Mackenís well-ordered world falls into chaos as encroaching interlopers scheme
to possess both her and her land. Although sheís been trained to spot the signs
of inhuman evil in men, the amassing armies take on guises she never expected.
When
a foreign guardian presents himself as her only option for salvation,
Gwenevieve must make a choice between her desires, and fulfilling the mythic
fate to which she was born. A forced marriage to a Tuatha dÈ Danann warrior
isn't part of her plan.
Such an interesting post! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting me, Mary Anne! I hope your readers will enjoy Druid Warrior Prince! :)
ReplyDeleteI read Irish medieval history at Queen's University Belfast. The castles were towers only to keep Vikings out. To protect gold. There were no castles as we understand castles until after the Normans. During the Viking period you had Palace houses if you like, enormous long houses or interconnected ones. I am thinking here of Dublinia etc along the coast. Dublin has a reconstructed Viking town, Dublin as it was in the eleventh century. The lovely thing about using fantasy is you can let your imagination free. I shall try to find time to read the book.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting post!
ReplyDelete