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The Flame Bearer is the tenth historical novel in The Saxon Stories series aka The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in October 2016. It is set in 10th-century England and continues to follow the fortunes of the fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg. In this novel Uhtred sets out to finally regain his childhood home, Bebbanburg, which is now held by his cousin.[1]
Uhtred fails again to capture Bebbanburg. His son-in-law, the pagan warlord Sigtryggr, king of Northumbria, asks for help against invading West Saxons who seem intent on breaking the recent truce with Aethelflaed, the ruler of Mercia and King Edward of Wessex’s sister. Uhtred’s men are outnumbered by invading Scots led by Constantin intent on making Bebbanburg their own. However, Uhtred's cousin is willing to wait out the siege behind the nearly impregnable walls of his fortress.
Uhtred figures out that Aethelhelm – a wealthy and powerful Saxon warlord and King Edward’s father in-law – is planning to attack Edward’s men and make it look like Sigtryggr did it and so start the war that has been at least delayed a few years by the truce. It seems inevitable that Edward will want to drive all Danes from the north of the country and bring about the Christian Saxon kingdom his father Alfred dreamed of.
Aethelhelm wants to ensure that his grandson Aelfweard – Edward's second son – eventually becomes ruler of a united England. So he planned for Aethelstan (Edward's first son by his first wife) to be killed leading Edward's men in an ambush. However, Edward sends his trusted warrior Brunulf to lead his men instead. Uhtred sees through Aethelhelm's machinations and rescues Brunulf and his men from the fake Danish attack. He interrupts a meeting between Edward, Aethelflaed and Sigtryggr, where Aethelhelm’s clergy are war-mongering and reveals the truth of Aethelhelm's plot.
Edward has the prisoners Uhtred brought to show him executed. Queen Aethelflaed reveals that she is dying and can no longer protect Aethelstan. So Uhtred claims Aethelstan as his hostage in order to protect him and reconfirms the details of the treaty. Sigtryggr, his commitment to the truce proven, returns to Jorvik.
Uhtred then turns his attention back to Bebbanburg, which is besieged by the Scots. He pretends he has given up and moves all his men, women, children, goods, horses and cattle out of Dunholm and spreads rumours that he is sailing across the sea to Frisia. Instead he intends to use a ruse to get into Bebbanburg. While he is making preparations in Grimesbi, he realises that the ships coming in to the port and stocking up with goods are a supply fleet commanded by Aethelhelm. He despairs of ever winning back Bebbanburg because Aethelhelm's ships and men will get to the fortress before he does and provide both food and hundreds of Saxon reinforcements. His prayer for a miracle is answered: Northmen allied with the Scots burn most of Aethelhelm's ships and in the chaos, Uhtred escapes Grimesbi undetected.
He disguises his ships as Aethelhelm's supply ships and, chased by Aethelhelm's remaining warships, fools the guards in Bebbanburg into opening one of the fortress gates. Unbeknown to Uhtred, his son has helped Aethelstan stow away, and the prince quickly kills Aethelhelm's champion. After much fighting, Uhtred finally defeats both Aethelhelm and his cousin, killing the latter when he refuses to fight him one-on-one, and takes back his beloved Bebbanburg.
Aethelstan persuades Uhtred not to kill Aethelhelm, but to ransom him so he can replenish his coffers and weaken Aethelhelm. Aethelstan also suggests Uhtred keep Aethelhelm's daughter – who was supposed to be wed to Uhtred’s cousin as part of the resupply deal – as a hostage and this is much to Uhtred's son's liking, as he has taken a shine to her. Uhtred then tells the Scots to leave his land, which they do.
Charactersedit
Fictional
Uhtred - narrator, dispossessed Ealdorman of Bebbanburg
Uhtred - Uhtred's son
Uhtred - Uhtred's cousin occupying Bebbanburg
Finan the Agile - Former Irish slave, and Uhtred's second-in-command
Stiorra - Uhtred's daughter and wife to Sigtryggr
Eadith - Æthelred's former lover, now Uhtred's lover
Historical
Æthelflæd - King Alfred's eldest daughter, Lady of the Mercians
King Edward - King Alfred's son and King of Wessex
Æthelstan - son of King Edward from his first wife, Ecgwynn
Æthelhelm - King Edward’s father-in-law, and the most powerful Ealdorman in Wessex
Constantin - Scottish king
Referencesedit
^Zobeck, Terry (10 January 2017). "The Flame Bearer: A Novel". Washington Independent Review of Books. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
2.couchmagpie.com: Bernard Cornwell - The Flame Bearer
April 15, 2024
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources The Flame Bearer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2018 The Flame Bearer is the tenth historical novel in The Saxon Stories series aka The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell first published in October 2016 It is set in 10th century England and continues to follow the fortunes of the fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg In this novel Uhtred sets out to finally regain his childhood home Bebbanburg which is now held by his cousin 1 The Flame BearerFirst edition coverAuthorBernard CornwellCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishSeriesThe Saxon StoriesGenreHistorical novelPublisherHarperCollinsPublication date2016Media typePrint hardback Pages284 hardback edition ISBN978 0062250780 first hardback edition Preceded byWarriors of the Storm Followed byWar of the Wolf Plot summary editUhtred fails again to capture Bebbanburg His son in law the pagan warlord Sigtryggr king of Northumbria asks for help against invading West Saxons who seem intent on breaking the recent truce with Aethelflaed the ruler of Mercia and King Edward of Wessex s sister Uhtred s men are outnumbered by invading Scots led by Constantin intent on making Bebbanburg their own However Uhtred s cousin is willing to wait out the siege behind the nearly impregnable walls of his fortress Uhtred figures out that Aethelhelm a wealthy and powerful Saxon warlord and King Edward s father in law is planning to attack Edward s men and make it look like Sigtryggr did it and so start the war that has been at least delayed a few years by the truce It seems inevitable that Edward will want to drive all Danes from the north of the country and bring about the Christian Saxon kingdom his father Alfred dreamed of Aethelhelm wants to ensure that his grandson Aelfweard Edward s second son eventually becomes ruler of a united England So he planned for Aethelstan Edward s first son by his first wife to be killed leading Edward s men in an ambush However Edward sends his trusted warrior Brunulf to lead his men instead Uhtred sees through Aethelhelm s machinations and rescues Brunulf and his men from the fake Danish attack He interrupts a meeting between Edward Aethelflaed and Sigtryggr where Aethelhelm s clergy are war mongering and reveals the truth of Aethelhelm s plot Edward has the prisoners Uhtred brought to show him executed Queen Aethelflaed reveals that she is dying and can no longer protect Aethelstan So Uhtred claims Aethelstan as his hostage in order to protect him and reconfirms the details of the treaty Sigtryggr his commitment to the truce proven returns to Jorvik Uhtred then turns his attention back to Bebbanburg which is besieged by the Scots He pretends he has given up and moves all his men women children goods horses and cattle out of Dunholm and spreads rumours that he is sailing across the sea to Frisia Instead he intends to use a ruse to get into Bebbanburg While he is making preparations in Grimesbi he realises that the ships coming in to the port and stocking up with goods are a supply fleet commanded by Aethelhelm He despairs of ever winning back Bebbanburg because Aethelhelm s ships and men will get to the fortress before he does and provide both food and hundreds of Saxon reinforcements His prayer for a miracle is answered Northmen allied with the Scots burn most of Aethelhelm s ships and in the chaos Uhtred escapes Grimesbi undetected He disguises his ships as Aethelhelm s supply ships and chased by Aethelhelm s remaining warships fools the guards in Bebbanburg into opening one of the fortress gates Unbeknown to Uhtred his son has helped Aethelstan stow away and the prince quickly kills Aethelhelm s champion After much fighting Uhtred finally defeats both Aethelhelm and his cousin killing the latter when he refuses to fight him one on one and takes back his beloved Bebbanburg Aethelstan persuades Uhtred not to kill Aethelhelm but to ransom him so he can replenish his coffers and weaken Aethelhelm Aethelstan also suggests Uhtred keep Aethelhelm s daughter who was supposed to be wed to Uhtred s cousin as part of the resupply deal as a hostage and this is much to Uhtred s son s liking as he has taken a shine to her Uhtred then tells the Scots to leave his land which they do Characters editFictional Uhtred narrator dispossessed Ealdorman of Bebbanburg Uhtred Uhtred s son Uhtred Uhtred s cousin occupying Bebbanburg Finan the Agile Former Irish slave and Uhtred s second in command Stiorra Uhtred s daughter and wife to Sigtryggr Eadith AEthelred s former lover now Uhtred s loverHistorical AEthelflaed King Alfred s eldest daughter Lady of the Mercians King Edward King Alfred s son and King of Wessex AEthelstan son of King Edward from his first wife Ecgwynn Sigtryggr Danish jarl of Jorvik and Northumbria AEthelhelm King Edward s father in law and the most powerful Ealdorman in Wessex Constantin Scottish kingReferences edit Zobeck Terry 10 January 2017 The Flame Bearer A Novel Washington Independent Review of Books Retrieved 20 October 2018 2 couchmagpie com Bernard Cornwell The Flame Bearer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Flame Bearer amp oldid 1176354291, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
