As punishment, her uncle sends Hild far away to the heir of the enemy king, Beowulf, to try to weave peace between the two kingdoms. She must leave her home and everyone she loves. On the long and perilous journey, Hild soon discovers that fatigue and rough terrain are the least of her worries. Something is following her and her small band of guards—some kind of foul creature that tales say lurks in the fens. Will Hild have to face the monster? Or does it offer her the perfect chance to escape the destiny she never chose? --from the Random House website
Peaceweaver is in bookstores NOW, and here is our conversation with its fascinating author:
Tell us a little about
the novel and its origins and about building Hild's wonderfully believable
world. What is a "peaceweaver?"
I’m so glad you found it believable. Even though they’re
both set in early medieval Scandinavia, and
they’re both inspired by Beowulf, I
wanted to give Hild’s world a different feel than Rune’s in The Coming of the Dragon. The society of
the Danish nobility depicted in the first part of Beowulf—the hall of King Hrothgar and Queen Wealhtheow—was the
impetus for the society in which Hild grows up. In Hild’s world, noble women
wield power indirectly by influencing the high-status men when they serve them
mead in the hall. That’s what Hild hopes to do, although things don’t work out
the way she anticipates.
One role women in this society play is that of the
peaceweaver (freoðuwebbe in Old
English, if anybody wants to know!) who marries into an enemy tribe to help
bring about an end to hostilities. Yet as Beowulf himself notes, the blade
seldom rests no matter how worthy the bride. In many Anglo-Saxon stories, both
the peaceweaver and the family she has tried to create come to grief when the
peace she has been sent to weave is ripped apart. Hild knows these stories when
she is chosen to be a peaceweaver.
This is your second novel inspired by the epic of Beowulf. Can you explain your process of adapting that material into a novel for modern young readers?
This is your second novel inspired by the epic of Beowulf. Can you explain your process of adapting that material into a novel for modern young readers?
In The Coming of the Dragon, I retold the end of Beowulf,
cleaving closely to the poem’s plot for much of my novel. Beowulf plays a much looser role in Peaceweaver. Instead of modeling my plot on it, I borrowed elements
from the first section of the poem, as well as from other Anglo-Saxon and Old
Norse literature. Although they gave me fun ideas to work with as I wrote, the
story is Hild’s. The more familiar you are with Beowulf, the more you will recognize characters or lines or
situations from the poem, such as the baby in the boat, which comes from the
story of the Danish leader, Scyld Scefing, in the beginning of Beowulf. But an appreciation of the novel requires no
familiarity with the poem, or any other medieval literature, for that matter.
When I first read Peaceweaver, I wanted to know how old Hild was, and you had a very interesting answer to that question--but I see now that the book does include Hild's age! I'd love to know more about the challenges of depicting historical young people for twenty-first century readers, and how you strike that balance of authenticity and approachability.
People in medieval Europe
(not to mention in many modern cultures) would not have paid close attention to
their ages. They might not have known how old they were; in fact, it would be
more surprising if they did. But it’s a convention of middle grade and YA
literature that readers get told exactly how old characters are. For several
years, I struggled to balance scholarship with storytelling. It wasn’t until I
finally loosened my death grip on my scholarly habits and allowed the needs of
the story to win that I actually got published. Even then I feared that
academics would come after me with pitchforks for things like having my
characters know their ages. They didn’t, of course. On some matters of
authenticity, however, I stand firm, especially in terms of not giving medieval
characters modern attitudes. But I’ve finally realized that if readers won’t
read the book in the first place, the historical accuracy doesn’t matter a
whit.
Your first novel, the marvelous Book of the Maidservant, is straightforward historical fiction, but you've since written several books of historical fantasy. Do you find that there is a blurring of the fantastical and the natural in the eras you write about that is different from the way modern peoples view things?
The Book of the Maidservant is set in England
and Europe at the very end of the medieval
period, the 15th century. Johanna, the maidservant, lives in a world
patterned by Roman Catholicism; it’s woven into every aspect of her life.
Miracles and visions are an accepted part of that world and things that might
seem fantastic to us would not to her. Johanna’s world is much more urban than
Rune and Hild’s, the 6th-century Scandinavian characters in The Coming of the Dragon and Peaceweaver. They tend to find magical
and/or religious explanations for natural events in their rural landscape (such
as misty days or thunder or the success of crops). Although all three of them
live in the Middle Ages, Rune and Hild are separated from Johanna by almost a
millennium, and their animistic view of nature would be as foreign to her as it
is to us.
Can you recommend any resources for young readers inspired by your books to learn more about this period in history?
Judson Roberts has a wonderful website about his research for the Strongbow Saga, which I highly recommend. Readers who want to know
about the culture of the hall can find online material about archeological finds in Lejre, Sweden, where a hall that must have resembled King
Hrothgar’s—the one Grendel attacks in Beowulf—has
been found. One of my favorite sources is Benjamin Bagby’s performance of Beowulf in Old English, as he imagines
an Anglo-Saxon scop, or bard, might
have performed it. Excerpts are available on YouTube. And I’m a big fan of Kevin Crossley-Holland’s book
of The Norse Myths, which I first
read when I was in high school.
You have what I consider a fascinating day job in academia. How do you find the interplay between your academic life and the writing life?
I’m lucky because I get paid to think about literature and
language and writing. I teach Beowulf and
The Book of Margery Kempe (the
inspiration for my first novel), so I frequently revisit these works and other
medieval literature, which inevitably leads to story ideas. Although it can be
difficult to find writing time during the semester, and my creative energy is
devoted to teaching, there are definitely payoffs, such as long winter and
summer breaks that I can devote to writing. Usually by the time summer rolls
around, the ideas are bursting to get out.
Thanks for these great questions, and for having me on the
Enchanted Inkpot!
* * *
Elizabeth C. Bunce is the author of A Curse Dark as Gold and the THIEF ERRANT novels, StarCrossed and Liar's Moon. She occasionally misses the chance to put her archaeology degree to work. Visit Elizabeth at www.elizabethcbunce.com
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