Leif Eriksson And The Bishop: Viking Novel

By Alfred Bekker, Pete Hackett and Hendrik M. Bekker

Leif Eriksson And The Bishop: Viking Novel

by Pete Hackett, Alfred Bekker, Hendrik M. Bekker

 

About this volume:

 

 

Leif Eriksson has spent a winter with his men in Vinland, a hitherto unknown land far to the west. Now he comes with 5 dragon ships and 300 men to Bremen at the mouth of the Weser. He wants to be inscribed in the church chronicles by Bishop Adam as the discoverer of this new land, so that the fame of the discoverer will always be associated with his name.

But when the longships sail up the Weser, people are not very enthusiastic about the arrival of the Northmen. The memories of past Viking raids are still too vivid...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alfred Bekker
• Release date: Mar 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215383551

Alfred Bekker

Alfred Bekker wurde am 27.9.1964 in Borghorst (heute Steinfurt) geboren und wuchs in den münsterländischen Gemeinden Ladbergen und Lengerich auf. 1984 machte er Abitur, leistete danach Zivildienst auf der Pflegestation eines Altenheims und studierte an der Universität Osnabrück für das Lehramt an Grund- und Hauptschulen. Insgesamt 13 Jahre war er danach im Schuldienst tätig, bevor er sich ausschließlich der Schriftstellerei widmete. Schon als Student veröffentlichte Bekker zahlreiche Romane und Kurzgeschichten. Er war Mitautor zugkräftiger Romanserien wie Kommissar X, Jerry Cotton, Rhen Dhark, Bad Earth und Sternenfaust und schrieb eine Reihe von Kriminalromanen. Angeregt durch seine Tätigkeit als Lehrer wandte er sich schließlich auch dem Kinder- und Jugendbuch zu, wo er Buchserien wie 'Tatort Mittelalter', 'Da Vincis Fälle', 'Elbenkinder' und 'Die wilden Orks' entwickelte. Seine Fantasy-Romane um 'Das Reich der Elben', die 'DrachenErde-Saga' und die 'Gorian'-Trilogie machten ihn einem großen Publikum bekannt. Darüber hinaus schreibt er weiterhin Krimis und gemeinsam mit seiner Frau unter dem Pseudonym Conny Walden historische Romane. Einige Gruselromane für Teenager verfasste er unter dem Namen John Devlin. Für Krimis verwendete er auch das Pseudonym Neal Chadwick. Seine Romane erschienen u.a. bei Blanvalet, BVK, Goldmann, Lyx, Schneiderbuch, Arena, dtv, Ueberreuter und Bastei Lübbe und wurden in zahlreiche Sprachen übersetzt.

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Leif Eriksson And The Bishop: Viking Novel

by Pete Hackett, Alfred Bekker, Hendrik M. Bekker

About this volume:

––––––––

Leif Eriksson has spent a winter with his men in Vinland, a hitherto unknown land far to the west. Now he comes with 5 dragon ships and 300 men to Bremen at the mouth of the Weser. He wants to be inscribed in the church chronicles by Bishop Adam as the discoverer of this new land, so that the fame of the discoverer will always be associated with his name.

But when the longships sail up the Weser, people are not very enthusiastic about the arrival of the Northmen. The memories of past Viking raids are still too vivid...

Copyright

A CassiopeiaPress book: CASSIOPEIAPRESS, UKSAK E-Books, Alfred Bekker, Alfred Bekker presents, Casssiopeia-XXX-press, Alfredbooks, Uksak Special Edition, Cassiopeiapress Extra Edition, Cassiopeiapress/AlfredBooks and BEKKERpublishing are imprints of

Alfred Bekker (https://www.lovelybooks.de/autor/Alfred-Bekker/)

© Roman by Author /

COVER A.PANADERO

© of this issue 2023 by AlfredBekker/CassiopeiaPress, Lengerich/Westphalia

The invented persons have nothing to do with actual living persons. Similarities in names are coincidental and not intended.

All rights reserved.

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War of the Vikings 1: The Bishop and the Northmen

War of the Vikings 1: The Bishop and the Northmen

Novel by Pete Hackett, Alfred Bekker and Hendrik M. Bekker

Leif Eriksson has spent a winter with his men in Vinland, a hitherto unknown land far to the west. Now he comes with 5 dragon ships and 300 men to Bremen at the mouth of the Weser. He wants to be inscribed in the church chronicles by Bishop Adam as the discoverer of this new land, so that the fame of the discoverer will always be associated with his name.

But when the longships sail up the Weser, people are not very enthusiastic about the arrival of the Northmen. The memories of past Viking raids are still too vivid...

*

By Njörd, god of the sea and storms! a rough male voice called out.

The five Viking merchant ships glided as if pushed by a ghostly hand across the sea, which was gently moved by the west wind. The huge sails of the Knorren were blown, the oars pulled in. The creaking of the ropes, now and then a half-loudly shouted command, as well as isolated coughing, laughter or murmuring voices mixed into a confused soundscape, which the wind took with it and let sink into the silence over the ocean.

Ease up on the sails!

But we'll lose momentum!

Better than having the wind capsize us and we all end up with Hel, the goddess of the dead.

I thought you became a Christian!

I am!

But...

I believe in anything that is of some use and is not excluded from existing!

Male laughter followed.

There were a total of three hundred warriors distributed among the five boats. They had been traveling for many weeks. They had come from the west, had first been guests of Orm the Red, King of Orkney, had supplied themselves on the islands, and had then sailed on towards the North Sea coast of the Holy Roman Empire.

Leif Eriksson led the small fleet. His destination was the town called Bremun, which the locals sometimes called Bremen. He was on a very special mission to Bishop Adam.

The boats of the Grænlendingar, as the Scandinavian settlers on Greenland were called, glided into the bay where the Weser River flowed into the North Sea. The Greenlanders wanted to sail up the stream and dock in the port of Bremun.

There, where the Weser flows into the sea, the Frankish king Charles had a fortress built to prevent incursions by the Northmen from Norway or Denmark, who had put the country in fear by pillaging, plundering and murdering.

This did not help much.

Nevertheless, the Northmen had come again and again.

The fortress was still occupied two centuries later, because the danger posed by the Scandinavian raiders had not yet been eliminated.

The fortress came into view. A wall built of huge stone blocks with narrow embrasures and man-high battlements. In front of it was a small harbor with a few wooden jetties, where two small rowboats bobbed.

Haul in the sails! sounded the order on the foremost knorr. Rowers to the oars!

Life now came into the teams.

That's going back into arms!

What you can count on!

The current is pretty strong. We should have waited for the tide and let it carry us upstream.

Oh, come on!

It's true!

The point is simple: get stronger!

The sails were also hauled in and the oars deployed on the other four knots. The rowers were attuned to each other. The boats were now moved exclusively by muscle power. With the precision of clockwork, the oar blades dipped into the water, gave the longship thrust, lifted, only to pierce the surface of the water again immediately afterwards ...

The watchman on the tower of the fortress saw the five longships entering the mouth of the river and blew his horn. The piercing warning signal could be heard from afar and alerted the crew of the fortress. It was not long before half a hundred soldiers with bows and arrows posted themselves on the wall that bordered the fortress towards the river.

Half a dozen soldiers ran out of a gate, untied one of the waiting boats, jumped in; two of them sat down at the oars and then they cast off.

Another horn signal sounded. The oarsmen on the knots stopped their work and held the oar blades in the water so that the speed was slowed down. Finally, the gnarls lay gently rocking on the river. The rowboat with the soldiers of the fortress guard moored at the foremost knorr. A rope ladder was thrown overboard and two soldiers of the local boat crew climbed aboard the Knorr.

Leif Eriksson, a hunky man whose red hair hung wildly in his forehead and whose beard reached to the middle of his chest, stepped in front of the two soldiers. We come with peaceful intentions, he said.

His men, as far as they were not sitting on the rowing benches, eyed the soldiers of the fortress with expressionless looks.

I am Captain Hinrich, one of the soldiers introduced himself. We are in the service of the city of Bremun. He apparently spoke the language of the Norsemen; the language spoken throughout Scandinavia and Iceland as well as Greenland.

Are you from the north, Captain? therefore Leif Eriksson inquired.

No. But I lived in Denmark for three years - as a prisoner of King Sven the First. The captain waved it off. A spiteful glint showed in the back of his eyes. He had had the worst possible experience with the Northmen. What have you to do in our realm?

I am Leif Eriksson from Grænland. We wish to pay our respects to Bishop Adam of Bremun, assure him of our loyalty, and give him gifts.

What?

I am a Christian! Leif Eriksson pointed to a cross that hung around his neck - among a whole array of other lucky charms and talismans. And I need to speak to Bishop Adam on an important matter - and give him a gift.

The captain mockingly twisted his mouth. Since when do the barbarians from the north give gifts? What you have brought to our realm in the past two hundred years has been death and destruction at best. If you so much as touch a hair on my head or that of any of my companions, our archers will shoot down your ships without batting an eye.

As long as you're on board, they won't shoot a single arrow, Leif expressed his conviction. Anyway, I'm amazed that you would venture out on a boat full of - ahem, barbarians.

Merchants also pass through the fortress with their boats, the captain replied. Not all Northmen are arsonists, thieves and murderers. You come with five knorren. Those are usually merchant ships.

With the gnarls, we also explore the seas and seek foreign lands, Leif Eriksson offset.

Captain Hinrich merely stared at him from under narrowed brows, as if waiting for the Greenlander to elaborate further.

I have already stated the reason for which we have come, Leif took the floor again. Rest assured, Captain, that we do not intend to bring death and destruction, as you have expressed it, upon you. We come in peace.

You are barbarians, the captain groaned contemptuously. For over two hundred years no empire on the coasts and rivers has been safe from you. You have raided, pillaged and plundered the Baltic kingdoms, the Frankish Empire and Britain, and slaughtered the people. Why should I believe you that you want to go to Bishop Adam to give him gifts?

The atmosphere was abruptly tense, the air suddenly seemed to be stretched to breaking point, like a rope before it threatened to snap.

We cannot be held responsible for deeds committed by our ancestors, Captain, Leif replied, forcing himself to calm down. He was dressed in brown trousers and a shirt of coarse linen, his feet were in boots of fur. Around his shoulders was a shaggy gray wolf pelt. For seconds he and Captain Hinrichs stared at each other; suddenly Leif half turned and called out, Halvar, show him the gifts.

In the middle of the boat there were four locked wooden chests with iron bands. On them lay wolf and sheep skins.

The warrior named Halvar pulled down the skins and opened the chests. Captain Hinrich let out a surprised sound. Then, stunned, he groaned, These are chalices, monstrances, chasubles, gold and silver candelabra, and crucifixes ... Treasures that have been stolen from churches and cathedrals.

Yeah, you're amazed, huh? laughed Leif.

Indeed!

They were indeed originally stolen from the places of worship of Britain and the Frankish Empire, and much Christian blood was shed in the process, Leif Eriksson told the captain. I took all that you see in the chests away from the pagan barbarians, who considered these treasures their own, in order to return them to their rightful owner.

Oh!

And this is the Church, represented by Bishop Adam!

I don't believe a word you say! blubbered Captain Hinrich, who had overcome his surprise. His right hand rested on the pommel of the sword hanging from his belt at his left hip. In the face of the archers on the wall of the fortress, he seemed to feel decidedly secure. I will have all these church treasures confiscated and brought to the fortress. To you, Leif Eriksson, I advise not to try to prevent this. You don't want your ships to burn and your men to drown.

The gold, silver, and gems in these chests are for the Bishop of Bremun, Leif Eriksson declared in a clanging voice. If you lay a hand on them, Captain Hinrichs, you are doomed. Both you and the garrison of the fortress. At my command listen three times a hundred battle-hardened warriors, they will raze the fortress to the ground.

Leif let his words take effect. His grimly determined look lent them emphasis. The deadly threat that had been in them had been impossible to miss. xxx

Captain Hinrich's face was working. He and Leif stared at each other. Who had the stronger nerves? It was Leif Eriksson. Captain Hinrich's gaze wandered. Giving in now, however, would have been a sign of weakness.

Leif Eriksson took the decision from him by growling, Leave my boat, captain, and go with the assurance on my part that I am baptized and have noble intentions to seek out the Bishop of Bremun. We believe in the same God, and all the treasures you see in the chests we want to return to the rightful owner. This is the Holy Church, and one of God's confidants here on earth, namely Bishop Adam of Bremun, shall administer the treasures.

I will send a messenger to Bremun to inform the bishop, said the captain, whose life would probably have been forfeit had he ordered the archers to shoot their incendiary arrows. You will anchor here until the bishop's reply arrives. Understood?

We are almost out of food, Leif Eriksson said. We're also running out of drinking water.

That's your problem, Captain Hinrichs replied without a trace of emotion. You stay on your boats. Any of you we find ashore, we'll arrest and throw in the dungeon.

This is the second time you've threatened me, Captain, Leif Eriksson's bass rumbled. I don't have to put up with this. Have you still not understood? We come in peace, bringing treasures that were stolen from the Church at some point. Besides, I want to voice a concern to Bishop Adam.

And I doubt that you come in peace and that these treasures are destined for the bishop, nor do I believe that you are a Christian! groaned the captain. Probably these treasures come from places of worship that you have plundered, and you come to our country to raid places of worship and monasteries here as well, to murder priests and monks, and to make rich booty. With your lies you try to sneak past us. You barbarians are not to be trusted.

Some of the warriors who had heard these words expressed their displeasure, grumbling and rumbling. Hands rested on the axes that were in their belts. Anger sparkled in their eyes.

What a pack!

We should show them sometime!

That's right!

Halvar, who had opened the treasure chests, shouted angrily, You insult Leif Eriksson, the son of Erik the Red and his wife Thjodhild. For this you shall end up in Niflheim, where you will be thrown to the dragon Nidhöggr.

Captain Hinrichs grinned ironically. Yes, that sounds decidedly Christian. Are your men baptized, Leif Eriksson? Or are none of you baptized and you're actually trying to cheat your way into our realm with stupid lies?

Leif turned his eyes to Halvar, the warrior who had accompanied him on all his journeys and stood by him faithfully. Come here, Halvar, he commanded.

The warrior obeyed.

What did you mean when you spoke of Niflheim, Halvar? asked Leif.

Hell, Halvar replied, his eyes downcast with guilt. He might have been around forty years old. The back of Halvar's head was shaved and there was no place that was not tattooed. Blond hair sprawled on the top of his skull, falling over his ears and into his forehead.

And who was meant when you spoke of Nidhöggr? came Leif's next question.

The devil, Halvar muttered.

What prayer did Jesus Christ teach his disciples? asked Leif next.

The Lord's Prayer.

Do you now believe that we are Christians? asked Leif Eriksson, addressing the captain. Or should I have Halvar recite the Lord's Prayer?

That wouldn't be evidence to me, the soldier muttered.

All right, growled Leif, then you leave me no choice. - Grab them, men! We'll take them as hostages. And if your men on the wall light their arrows and fire them at us, you will go down with us, Captain. You have been too sure of your cause.

Captain Hinrich wanted to throw himself around and run to the ship's side to escape over it into his boat, but by then he and his companion had already been brought down and held.

Leif Eriksson stepped up to the side of the boat and looked at the four soldiers in the boat. Return to your fortress and order your commander that we are not here to plunder. We are on our way to Bishop Adam because I want to ask him a favor. In return, I will give him back a lot of church property that was looted by pagan Northmen in the past. Captain Hinrich and the other soldier we will take with us until we pass the fortress. These two will die should you attack us. Now get out of here!

The boat was turned around, and the two rowers put their backs into the oars.

We're picking up speed again! ordered Leif, brushing the two pale prisoners with a contemptuous look. They are free to move about aboard, he instructed his warriors. When we are out of bow range, we will take them ashore.

A little later, the five boats glided past the fortress on the Weser River in a southerly direction. The soldiers on the fortress wall did not try to stop them.

*

When they were out of bow range, they brought the captain and his companion ashore in a small rowboat. As a farewell, Leif Eriksson said to Captain Hinrich: This shows you that we are Christians. If we were barbarians, we would have cut your throats long ago. If you send a messenger to Bremun, let him report this to the bishop.

Leif Eriksson and the three men who had accompanied him returned to their longship and the journey continued. Soon they were overtaken by a rider who was chasing his horse south along the path that ran parallel to the river, and who was wearing the uniform in the bishop's colors. He led a second horse to change at the lunge.

It was the messenger who was to warn the people of Bremun of the possible attack of a force from the north. The rider drove his horse relentlessly and almost lay on the neck of the animal, whose hooves seemed to barely touch the ground. Plumes of dust swirled.

Leif Eriksson registered it with composure. He was on his way to the bishop to take advantage of his hospitality, to give him plenty of gifts in return, and to ask a favor of him. The Dane did not see himself as a conqueror, and certainly not as a plunderer. He was an explorer, a pioneer, and he wanted to tell the bishop about a land he had named Vinland, which he had discovered to the west of Grænland, a few days' journey away. In Vinland there was an immense amount of wood for shipbuilding. The natives had a reddish-brown complexion, were black-haired and dark-eyed, and had watched the landing of the boats from their hiding places in the forests with awe, but had finally met the strangers in a friendly and,