Hello everyone!
Only two more days until my launch! *Eek!* I’m so excited! I’m planning a little giveaway on Friday, so be sure to check-in to win! I’ve finally finished the historical background page and thought I’d post it here to give my readers a chance to check out some of these interesting links before they read my book.
Historical Background
I’ve included some direct links that will help the reader appreciate and understand my novel better. Some elements seem unbelievable and most readers would be surprised that many of the events and details have historical basis. Since I didn’t want to interrupt the fictional reader with footnotes, I’ve included actual ancient prayers, quotes, and poems that I featured in my novel below. If the reader would like to peruse the sources I used for fictional inspiration please scroll down to the bibliography. I highly recommend each one and thank them for all of their teachings.
Infinite Sacrifice
Ancient Egyptian Life
Circumcision & priestly initiations (page 16).
Egyptian dream interpreters and also dream incubation (page 17).
Ancient prayer to ward away nightmares: “Hail to thee, Isis my mother, thou good dream which art seen by night or by day. Driven forth are all evil filthy things which Seth, the son of Nut, has made. Even as Ra is vindicated against his enemies, so I am vindicated against my enemies.” (pg 29). Naphtali Lewis, The Interpretation of Dreams & Portents in Antiquity. (Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1996.) 15.
Ancient book titles: “The Book of Driving Away Lions, Repulsing Crocodiles, and Repelling Reptiles; The Protection of the Hour, Protection of the Body, Spells for Repelling the Evil Eye; The Book of Capture; Knowing all the Secrets of the Laboratory; The Book of Smiting Demons; Book of Medicinal Cures for Fertility and Contraceptive Purpose.” (pg 33). Serge Sauneron (Author). David Lorton (Translator). The Priests of Ancient Egypt. (Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 2000) 135.
Priests rotated their shifts . (pg 34).
Serapis. The composite god, Serapis, was created later on in the Ptolemaic period, but for fictional purposes I included him in my pre-Ptolemaic novel.
Ancient Egyptian pregnancy test (pg 37).
Court System (pg 39).
Ancient Spartan Life
Spartan women (pg 56)
Spartan earthquake (pg 56)
Helots (pg 57)
Spartan Infanticide (pg 64)
Agoge (pg 67)
Spartan marriage (pg 69)
Proclamation for Spartan women to breed with helots (pg 87) – “During the archaic period, when the army was in the field for many years and it was uncertain whether the men would ever return safely, the Ephors (“Overseers,” elected magistrates) directed that the women have intercourse with helots in order to produce a new crop of children who could replace the men in case they never got home. When the army did return to Sparta, the children born of miscegenation were sent off to found the colony that became known as Tarentum.” Sarah B. Pomeroy, Spartan Women. (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) 48.
Wife sharing (pg 108)
Siege of Sparta (pg 112)
Spartan women stayed to fight during the siege. (pg 113) – “A century later, anticipating an attack by Pyrrhus, Archidamia, grandmother of Agis IV, rallied the other women to oppose the men’s scheme to send them to safety in Crete. They declared they had no wish to continue living if Sparta were destroyed. They performed heavy manual labor in behalf of Sparta, assisting men in digging a trench in a single night as a defense against the elephants of Pyrrhus. Finally, they told the few soldiers who were present to go to sleep and finished the trench themselves. The next day they cheered the army on. Chilonis, wife of king Cleonymus, held a rope around her neck so she would not be taken alive.” Sarah B. Pomeroy, Spartan Women. (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) 16.
Viking Life
Viking’s attacked many settlements on the Irish coast.
Christianity came to Ireland (pg 124).
Viking thralls (slaves) (pg 125).
Ansgar “Apostle to the North” pg159.
Viking dowries (pg 132).
Viking hoards (pg 133).
Hereby (pg 139).
Shield-girl (pg 143).
Town Bath (pg 144).
Angel of Death (pg 147).
Viking duels (pg 161).
Part of a Viking poem: “The halt can manage a horse, the handless a flock, the deaf be a doughty fighter, to be blind is better than to burn on a pyre: there is nothing the dead can do.” (pg 164) Else Roesdahl, The Vikings, revised edition. England: Penguin Books, 1998) 63.
Viking quote by King Magnus Barefoot: “Kings are made for honour, not for long life.” (pg 176) Else Roesdahl, The Vikings, revised edition. (England: Penguin Books, 1998) 72.
Viking Thrall Sacrifice (pg 181)
Viking thrall sacrifice prayer although I have shortened it and changed the gender: “I see my mistress sitting in paradise, and it is beautiful and green. She calls to me. Lead me to her.” (pg 185) Else Roesdahl, The Vikings, revised edition. (England: Penguin Books, 1998) 157.
Medieval London Life
The black plague arrived in London in 1348.
Surgeons at this time studied astrology and its effects on health (pg 190).
The major conjunction of Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter in Aquarius. (pg 192).
Europe was hit with a great famine due to unusual weather from 1315-1322. (pg 191).
“…making smelling apples with black pepper, red and white sandal, roses, camphor, and four parts of bol armeniac.” (pg 195). John Kelly, The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005) 172.
“One mixture of fig, filbert, and rue—all said to be beneficial. A bottle of little white pills of aloe, myrrh and saffron. I also have a few little pots of theriac, mithridate, bol armeniac, and terra sigillata.” (pg 197). John Kelly, The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005) 173.
Surgeons would read stools, urine, blood, and spittle to check health (pg 198).
“Ring-a-ring o’rosies, A pocket full of posies, A-tishoo! A-tishoo! We all fall down!” (pg 231).
Massacre at Strasburg Friday, the 13th of February (pg 236).
“…the hearts of good Christians and Holy Communion wafers” (pg 241). John Kelly, The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. (New York: Harper Perennial, 2005) 139.
Pneumonic plague (pg 249)
Bibliography
Clark, R.T. Rundle. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1960. Print.
Gottfried, Robert S. The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe. New York: The Free Press, 1985. Print.
Kelly, John. The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time. New York: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print.
Lewis, Naphtali. The Interpretation of Dreams & Portents in Antiquity. Illinois: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1996. Print.
Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Print.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Spartan Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print.
Posener, Georges. A Dictionary of Egyptian Civilization. London: Methuen and Co.. Ltd., 1962. Print.
Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings, revised edition. England: Penguin Books, 1998. Print.
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