GRIM GRUESOME FACTS AND FUN
ARE THE GRIM GRUESOME STORIES TRUE?
The character of Grim Gruesome and all the stories about him are imaginary. HOWEVER, all the descriptions of people, places and things in the books have been very carefully researched and are as historically ‘true’ as possible. So reading the Grim Gruesome books will teach you a lot about daily life in the Viking Age. Read on to find out more.
VIKING SWORDS
A fine sword like the one Bjarni has in The Cursed Sword took a Viking smith nearly a month to make.
First the swordsmith melted thin bars of iron in red-hot charcoal. Then he cooled it, cut it up, twisted it together and melted it again several times. This process gave the surface of the blade a beautiful dark-and-light pattern like waves or snakes. Next he filed the sword into shape. Finally, to harden it, the swordsmith heated it again, plunged it into a cold brew of oil, honey, wet clay or sometimes blood and polished it in acid. He might decorate the sword hilt with precious metals, ivory or horn. The finished sword was usually about 90 cm (35½ inches) long with a double-edged blade.
MEET KING EIRIK AND QUEEN GUNNHILD FROM
THE QUEEN’S POISON
King Eirik Haraldsson Blood-Axe and Queen Gunnhild Ozurardottir lived in the 10th Century. Eirik was originally the King of Norway. He was as fierce as his name, for he killed at least two of his brothers. Another brother eventually fought a war against him and kicked him off the throne. Eirik and Gunnhild fled to England, where they became rulers of the Viking kingdom around Jorvik. Eirik was killed in the year 954.
Many, possibly true, stories were told about Eirik Blood-Axe and Queen Gunnhild. Some of these can be read in the Sagas - ancient books written in the North Lands about 900 years ago. This is what The Saga of Harald Finehair says about them:
“Eirik was a big, good-looking man, strong and powerful, a great and victorious warrior, hot-tempered, cruel, unfriendly and of few words. Gunnhild, his wife, was the fairest of women, wise and skilful in magic, glad of speech, crafty and very cruel."
Queen Gunnhild really did have a reputation for trying to poison her enemies!
WHAT WAS LIFE REALLY LIKE ON BOARD A VIKING SHIP?
Cold, wet, uncomfortable and dangerous! There was no shelter of any kind to protect passengers from wind, rain, snow or rough seas. There were no engines, but ships got up a good speed from the wind blowing their sails, or by the crew rowing. A large ship had up to 100 men working the oars.
DISCOVER VOLCANIC ICELAND
– THE SETTING FOR THE RINGS OF DOOM
Iceland is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean, just below the Arctic Circle between Norway and Greenland. It was virtually uninhabited until Viking people began settling there in the late 9th Century. Most modern Icelanders are descended from these Viking settlers and the modern Icelandic language is closely related to the Vikings’ language, Old Norse.
Iceland has many green valleys ideal for sheep and cattle farming. However, most of the country is wilderness, with volcanoes lurking amongst huge ice-caps, barren mountain ranges and and empty lava deserts. Natural hot springs give off a strong smell of sulphur, like bad eggs. Some consist of clear, hot water bubbling out of the ground – great for bathing. Others take the form of steam jets and pools full of boiling mud – just like the Fiery Holes in The Rings of Doom.
During the Viking Age there were no towns or even villages in Iceland: everyone lived on isolated family farms. Dark winter evenings were spent telling stories about the adventures of their ancestors. These were written down in the early Middle Ages, in a set of books known as The Sagas, which are presumed to be more or less true. They are an important source of historical information about the way of life, traditions and beliefs in all the Viking lands.
HOW DID THE VIKINGS WRITE IN RUNES?
The Vikings didn’t use paper. Runes were scratched into wood, stone, metal or ivory with a knife or similar tool. Some rune-stones were huge, and decorated with beautiful patterns and brightly coloured paint.
This is the runic alphabet the Vikings used. (Actually there were several different versions, so you might see it looking slightly different in some books or websites.)
It only had 16 letters. So some letters were used for several different sounds.
The symbol : appears between each word.
VIKING TREASURE
Treasure was an important part of life in the Viking Age. It consisted of gold and silver coins, jewellery and tableware (but not usually precious stones). Silver was especially important as the Vikings often used lumps of silver instead of money. They often buried their treasure to keep it safe from pirates and raiders, who terrorised people living along coasts and rivers all over Europe. Archaeologists have dug up over a thousand buried treasure hoards from the Viking Age.
As well as precious metals, the Vikings also regarded other things as very valuable. These included fine animal furs, ivory obtained from walrus tusks, live falcons (birds of prey used for hunting) and live polar bears.
VISIT JORVIK FROM THE QUEEN’S POISON –
A REAL VIKING TOWN!
A REAL VIKING TOWN!
The remains of the real Viking town of Jorvik lie underneath the streets of the English city of York. Archaeologists have made many exciting discoveries about how Viking Age people lived there. All the locations in The Queen’s Poison are based on authentic archaeological evidence. You can find out all about it by visiting the Jorvik Centre in York. For more information go to www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk
Many of modern York’s street were originally named by the Vikings. The street where the three children in The Queen’s Poison lived really does exist! It’s still called Coppergate – which means Cupmakers Street in the Vikings’ Old Norse language.
All the Grim Gruesome books so far have been excitingly launched at the world famous Jorvik Viking Festival in York, which takes place each year during February half-term week.
MEET FAITHFUL, A BRAVE VIKING HORSE
Viking horses were quite small, but very strong and hardy enough to withstand the harsh winter weather of the North Lands. Riding was the main form of overland transport in Viking times. Horses were also sometimes used to pull wagons and sledges, and to plough fields
The direct descendants of the Vikings’ horses live today on many farms in Iceland. They have never been mixed with any other kind of horse, so they are a completely pure breed. They have a unique way of moving: as well as walking, trotting, cantering and galloping like all horses, they also do a smooth ‘running-walk’ called tölt.
EXPLORE THE VIKING ISLANDS
IN TROLLS' TREASURE
The islands of Orkney and Shetland lie to the north of Scotland. They were once the centre of a powerful Viking realm.
Orkney consists of 67 islands, of which about 20 are inhabited. They are mostly fairly flat and very fertile - ideal for Viking farmers. There are rich archaeological remains all over Orkney, including numerous mysterious mounds. These are actually prehistoric tombs, but the Vikings had no knowledge of archaeology, and they believed that the mounds were haunted by ‘trowes’ and spirits of the dead. One of the most famous mounds is Maeshowe on the largest island of Mainland. Its inside walls are still covered in graffiti carved out in Viking runes, and some of the inscriptions actually mention treasure! You can read lots of interesting facts about the islands’ history and folklore at www.orkneyjar.com.
Shetland lies further to the north. Its 100 islands - of which just 15 are inhabited - are much wilder and hillier than most of Orkney. There are many prehistoric mounds there too, though they are somewhat smaller and less well preserved than the ones on Orkney.
All the place names in Orkney and Shetland come from the Old Norse language which the Vikings spoke. The names in the book are direct translations of this. Fortress Island is the modern Brough of Birsay, Tide Point is the modern village of Stromness, High Island is Hoy and Ebb Bay is Orphir. In Shetland, Muddy Bay is the modern town of Lerwick. Bird Island, where the children are shipwrecked, is Foula. The troll-mound described in the story is based on a real one: the ruins still stand on the uninhabited island of Vementry.
The sea around both groups of islands has always been home to thousands of seals. These beautiful creatures have inspired many fantastical folktales and beliefs - as hinted at in Trolls’ Treasure. MEET THE REAL JARL THORFINN SKULL-SPLITTER
FROM TROLLS’ TREASURE
Jarl Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson the Skull-Splitter was a real Jarl of Orkney. He is mentioned in an ancient book called Orkneyinga Saga, which was written about 800 years ago. This tells Orkney’s Viking history in the form of a long story. It doesn’t say much about Jarl Thorfinn except that he had five sons, and that he was “a strong ruler and warrior who died in his bed [i.e. instead of dying in battle]...People thought him a very great man”. We don’t know what Jarl Thorfinn looked like, but his father, Jarl Turf-Einar, is described in the Saga as being “tall and ugly.”
Orkneyinga Saga also tells that he lived at around the same time as King Eirik Blood-Axe and Queen Gunnhild who appear in The Queen’s Poison.
WARRIORS, PIRATES AND BERSERKS
Fighting - usually with swords, spears and axes - was an important part of daily life for men during the Viking Age.
Kings and chieftains kept armies to fight battles and wars, but even ordinary farmers and traders often got caught up in fights. These could be caused by:
- an argument between neighbours
- being attacked on the road by robbers
- being attacked at home or at sea by pirates.
Brutal pirates travelled over the sea or up rivers to attack and terrorise villages and monasteries all around Britain, Ireland and parts of Europe, and steal their treasures. Many of the men who took part in these attacks were only ‘part-time’ pirates, and spent most of the year working quietly as farmers. Even kings went pirate raiding. The ancient Orkneyinga Saga says that when King Eirik Blood-Axe “...ran short of money... he spent the summers plundering”.
A berserk (from Old Norse berserkur, ‘bear-shirt’) was an extraordinary type of warrior who could work himself up into a mad rage which made him supernaturally strong. It was said that no weapon could harm a berserk in this state. Berserks were associated with the mysterious god Odin and some people believed that they could actually shape-shift into the form of a bear or wolf. Some Viking kings kept special troops of berserks in their armies; but they could be very dangerous and sometimes attacked their own friends. Because of this they were often despised as bullies and trouble-makers.
THE VIKING LANDS
The Vikings originally came from three countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Norway is a long, thin, very mountainous country. Its coastline on the North Sea is heavily indented with fjords (sea inlets which stretch a long way inland). Sweden lies immediately next to Norway, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Both countries are very beautiful with large, thick forests. The area above the Arctic Circle at the top of Norway and Sweden is not a separate country, but it has long been known as ‘Lapland’ and in the Viking Age the people who lived there had a separate culture. Denmark is a much smaller country, with a gentler landscape and is closer to the rest of Europe.
The Vikings were mostly farmers and, as time went by, they ran out of land. So many of them travelled ‘west-over-sea’ to other countries where they seized new farmlands. Many of them settled in Britain, particularly in northern England based around Jorvik; and in the Scottish islands where their power centre was in Orkney. Some moved even further west to Iceland and southern Greenland, wild places which were almost uninhabited before the Vikings arrived.
Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Viking part of England were all kingdoms. The Scottish islands were ruled by a ‘Jarl’ (earl) under the king of Norway. But the Vikings who settled in Iceland and Greenland didn’t believe in kings. Their laws were made by groups of ordinary men at the Althing – a bit like a modern parliament, except that women weren’t included, and their meetings were held in the open air!
