WARRIORS OF THE DRAGON BANNER

A warrior with courage fights on…

“We are sworn to serve the last king - the flame in the shadows, the man who wanted peace and must live with war.

The realms of England now lie under Viking control, their kings dead or in thrall. Only Wessex and King Alfred remain. We fight for him, life or death. We are blood brothers pledged to the dragon banner - for good or ill. We will risk all.”

Each noble warrior here is true to the other, each generous heart death-loyal.
- words from the Saxon poem, Beowulf.

The Oath

The tales begin on a cold spring day just after Easter 871. Alfred, at age 23, takes up the kingship of Wessex. The king is at Wimborne Abbey surrounded by his warriors, with the body of his brother dead from battle wounds just buried, and the Viking Earl Guthrum’s Great Raiding Army waiting across the border. A Fragile Trust begins as a group of warriors swear a binding oath under the Dragon Banner to defend the king and Wessex at all costs.

The battle for Wessex will be epic in scale, spanning many years.

Swearing an oath was a vital pledge in Saxon England. Breaking it brought great dishonour. A man could swear an oath from the age of twelve.

King Alfred - Figure of Legend, Real King

King Alfred of Wessex, later known as Alfred the Great, is the stuff of romantic legend. He was crowned at Wimborne Abbey, over the body of a brother slain in battle and with a Viking army at striking distance. The 23 year old king led the only realm in England still to resist the Viking invasion. The first battle was fought one month later.

Alfred’s main opponent was the Viking Earl Guthrum, clever, resourceful and, if necessary, treacherous. The epic struggle to possess Wessex, and so complete the Viking conquest of England, spun out over many years before the invasion was turned back. The shadowy figures of those loyal warriors who risked all for their king inspire the heroes of my stories.