09-29-2009, 03:53 AM
Hailog, Ron
Historical fiction? How wickedly odd. Several years ago I wrote a Gothic/Alanic novel set in Rumania in the mid 4th century. The heroine (a Taifala named Thulia) was in love with Fritigern, and her mentor was a philosopher-priest named Merjands (pronounced Meryand).
I finished the novel, tucked it away for a year, and then reread it after I had Googled info on John Conyard's Equites Taifali. In the tale I had Thulia pulling the sword Tyrfing from a circle of stones, with the help of Merjands. As I read the tale again, I realized that the novel was incredibly "Arthurian," only taking place in Rumania instead of Britain.
I then began researching the Welsh matter and reading Arthurian books. And you can imagine my shock to find a historical British king named Thiudebalth. Furthermore, either he or his son Theodoric were known as "the bear." And even more incredulous, one of the pedigrees lists his father as "Trythearn," extremely close to "Fritigern" with a Welsh twist.
hock:
At that point, I was blown away. Was I writing a pre-Arthurian novel and not even aware of it? Since then, I have rewritten the story to make it even more Arthurian, hopefully the first of a series of novels. But the strangest gist is the idea that this fictional tale might have elements of historicity. The real Thiudebalth could only have been a Tyrfingi Goth. He came from a family known as the Balths, and Fritigern came from the same gens. "Merjands" is a historical Gothic office, capitalized, but it's not a religious one. It means "proclaimer" or "professor." The entire concept seems fascinating, since it presents a Arthurian tale that isn't Celtic. It's actually Romano-Gothic-Alanic, and the subject matter appears directly connected to a sub-Roman British military.
It's an interesting novel with a "novel" idea. You know what they say. "Stranger than fiction." :wink:
Historical fiction? How wickedly odd. Several years ago I wrote a Gothic/Alanic novel set in Rumania in the mid 4th century. The heroine (a Taifala named Thulia) was in love with Fritigern, and her mentor was a philosopher-priest named Merjands (pronounced Meryand).
I finished the novel, tucked it away for a year, and then reread it after I had Googled info on John Conyard's Equites Taifali. In the tale I had Thulia pulling the sword Tyrfing from a circle of stones, with the help of Merjands. As I read the tale again, I realized that the novel was incredibly "Arthurian," only taking place in Rumania instead of Britain.
I then began researching the Welsh matter and reading Arthurian books. And you can imagine my shock to find a historical British king named Thiudebalth. Furthermore, either he or his son Theodoric were known as "the bear." And even more incredulous, one of the pedigrees lists his father as "Trythearn," extremely close to "Fritigern" with a Welsh twist.
hock: At that point, I was blown away. Was I writing a pre-Arthurian novel and not even aware of it? Since then, I have rewritten the story to make it even more Arthurian, hopefully the first of a series of novels. But the strangest gist is the idea that this fictional tale might have elements of historicity. The real Thiudebalth could only have been a Tyrfingi Goth. He came from a family known as the Balths, and Fritigern came from the same gens. "Merjands" is a historical Gothic office, capitalized, but it's not a religious one. It means "proclaimer" or "professor." The entire concept seems fascinating, since it presents a Arthurian tale that isn't Celtic. It's actually Romano-Gothic-Alanic, and the subject matter appears directly connected to a sub-Roman British military.
It's an interesting novel with a "novel" idea. You know what they say. "Stranger than fiction." :wink:
Alan J. Campbell
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
