It’s my turn today on the Ocelot
Blog to introduce you to some more Ocelot Press fiction! Since I can’t directly
reblog to this page from a Wordpress site, this is the core of it with a more
of the historical detail added on below.
To answer my own question above I
need to separate the Fiction…some Historical Facts of A.D. 69-71…and give an Outline
of the Events that come before Bran
is reborn!
After Whorl: Bran Reborn is the second book of my historical
fiction Celtic Fervour Saga Series. Zoom
back to A.D. 71, to the territorial area of the Brigantes Federation of tribes.
Fiction:
The After Whorl part of the title refers to the Battle
Fact: (with a good dose of
interpretation!)
A lot was happening in A.D. 68/
69. Across the Roman Empire there were dire rumblings and a very nasty civil
war raged amongst different commanders of legions in different area of the Roman Empire . This time was later referred to as the Year
of the Four Emperors (I’ve written about this elsewhere in this blog) when one
after another took charge of the throne but didn’t last. After Nero’s death,
Galba grasped power, followed by Otho, then Vitellius, and finally Vespasian
took firm control after which Vespasian reigned as emperor for around ten
years.
The possibility of less firm
control across Britannia in A.D. 68, probably spurred King Venutius to finally act
more forcefully against his former wife Cartimandua in Brigantia, discord also having
rumbled there for some years prior to A.D. 68. But, as well as fighting against
Cartimandua’s loyal followers, at least some of Venutius’ confrontations also included
soldiers of the Roman Empire .
Ancient Roman writers like
Cornelius Tacitus wrote that Roman soldiers of General Cerialis engaged in
pitched battles against the followers of Venutius, King of the Brigantes in
Brigantia. The exact dates of these full-on battles are not known but it’s
likely they occurred between the years of A.D. 69 and 71 for the following
reasons.
Till c. A.D. 68, Queen
Cartimandua had had ‘Client Queen’ status with the Roman
Empire , a situation which had probably lasted for more than a
decade. It’s thought that in exchange for bribes from the Roman Empire,
Cartimandua restrained her warriors from attacking encroaching Roman forts and
installations in the south of Brigantia during her ‘Client Kingdom
It seems that this unstable
political turmoil in Brigantia gave the Roman army a good excuse to intervene
on her behalf. However, in approximately A.D. 69, the records for Cartimandua
cease, perhaps meaning she died during one of the civil war skirmishes against
Venutius, or she was secreted away by the Roman Army for a subsequent time.
I’ve read references that she perhaps then spent the remainder of her life in
the safety of obscurity; possibly even in Rome
itself as it wasn’t unknown for Rome
By c. A.D. 71, King Venutius also
fades into obscurity possibly because he was no longer in a position to gather
sufficient men to have further pitched battles with Rome Rome had stabilised under the new Emperor
Vespasian who assumed the throne in A.D. 69 after the Roman
Empire ’s own tumultuous civil war and Venutius cut his losses and
disappeared. However, another likely scenario is that Venutius was killed
during one of the battles which raged in Brigantia.
There is sufficient
archaeological evidence to show that around the A.D. 69-71 period there was a
significant expansion in Roman fort building throughout southern and central Brigantia,
which was a considerable geographical area. More evidence is being uncovered
giving credence to the fact that under General Cerialis that expansion of Roman
domination also covered parts of north Brigantia and maybe even into what is
now Southern Scotland .
Fiction:
After Whorl: Bran Reborn locations cover rugged Cumbrian hill country; flatter landscapes near Eboracum
(York); coastal north-west England
(Deva/ Chester ); and Shropshire where the fourth
largest Roman city in Britain
Fiction:
- My clan warriors are entirely fictional characters.
Fact:
- Garrigill, a village in
- An Ancient Roman temporary camp was sited at the
nearby town of
- Gnaeus Iulius Agricola, as Commander of the Legio XX (a genuine historical figure who plays a large role later in the series), campaigned in the area c. A.D. 71
Fiction:
- In Book 1, my Garrigill warriors fight against the legions of General Cerialis and Commander Agricola at a place called Whorl.
Fact:
- The
- General Q. Petilius Cerialis, the Governor of
Britannia and commander of all of the Roman Legions stationed in
Fiction:
- Brennus, younger brother of main character Lorcan
of Garrigill of Book 1 doesn’t come home after the
- After Whorl:
Bran Reborn (Book 2) begins with Meaghan, an elderly healer, ensuring
that Brennus survives the battlegrounds of Whorl but it’s a hard-won task.
When thrashing around a raging temperature, Brennus imagines himself being
cooled down by the cascading waters of the waterfall near the hillfort of
Garrigill.
Fact: This image is the authentic
waterfall named Ashgill Force near the village of Garrigill
Fiction:
- Visibly maimed, Brennus can’t resume duties as tribal champion and instructor of the younger warriors at Garrigill. How could he with part of one hand lopped off, a dragging leg, and having lost the sight of one eye?
- He lets Meaghan believe his name is Bran, and as Bran he forges out a new life for himself. Brennus’ original sunny personality becomes deeply buried. Bran is dour, bitter and hard to live with! In modern terminology, the man is suffering from something akin to PTSD.
- Bran dons the mantle of a spy aided by Ineda, Meaghan’s granddaughter. Their spying careers develop with ease but their romantic entanglement is sluggish! And… in the nature of a family saga, there are many pitfalls and highly dangerous encounters with the Roman invaders before a happy ending is eventually reached for both of them…but that doesn’t happen till Book 3 After Whorl: Donning Double Cloaks!
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed creating
all of my Celtic Fervour Saga
characters but I have a real soft spot for my lovely Brennus of Garrigill aka Bran of Witton. I’m hoping that (if you’ve
not already read my series) you’ll join the list of other readers who enjoy
Brennus’ transformations!
Here are a few useful sites,
references used when choosing sites and information to use in my series.
Slainthe!
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