This is the tenth book in Matthew Harffy's Bernicia Chronicles, which follows our hero Beobrand and his warband around 7th-century Britain and then Europe. Whilst fiction, it uses the limited sources we have on the period as the basis for a plot.
In the last book, our hero was escorting a group of priests, including the actual Wilfred (later St Wilfred), on a pilgrimage to Rome when they got involved in Frankish politics. In this book, they arrive in Rome, not without a few adventures en route. In the 7th century, Rome was not the imperial capital it once was, as the once great buildings fell into ruin, and local warlords fought for power. Multiple sacks and sieges, floods, earthquakes and plagues had seen an incredible decline in the city’s population. Rome went from over a million inhabitants in AD 300 to fewer than 50,000 in the seventh century. The Pope attempted to run the church during this period, but this pre-dated the Vatican and the temporal power the church gained in medieval Italy.
In the author's retelling, St Wilfred turns out to be less than saintly, a point backed up by our sources. The religious conflicts of the period were as confusing as Italian politics, but Beobrand fought through it all with his customary vigour.
Ten books about Northumbria during this period might have been a push. So, this European excursion has been an excellent storyline. The Franks and the Lombards make an interesting backdrop to the journey. Our hero is now returning to Northumbria for the next book. I am looking forward to that.
There are no big battles in this book, but plenty of skirmish action. This made an ideal quick post-dinner game on Christmas Day. The priests were tasked with bringing relics back to England, which formed the basis for a skirmish with local warbands. Open Combat is a nice, simple system players can pick up quickly.
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