Season content notes: combat PTSD and associated trauma response, ableism, violence

Introduction:

Ulfhednar is the plural of ulfhedinn, properly ulfheðnar and ulfheðinn, named for the wolf skins they wore into battle. Like the better known ‘berserker’, the ulfhednar were elite warriors who fought in a frenzy or battle fury. Some years ago I came across an article speculating that the ‘battle frenzy’ of these elite warriors was in fact a way of describing some symptoms of PTSD, which we now know impacted the vast majority of medieval fighters, and soldiers and warriors across history.

Many have long speculated that the ulfhednar of myth were werewolves, because of course they did.

That was the beginning of this story.

I grew up reading Norse myths, and later learned the Eddas and some of the Sagas, which led me to history. I have drawn heavily on all of those in planning his story, and now that we are working together, Raidon has also spent time reading and learning. We do not promise to have gotten every detail right, but we have done our best to approach the material respectfully. This is our first historical fiction, and we hope we have done the source justice.

We did include one deliberate inaccuracy for the sake of the story — while Harald Fairhair of saga and legend did have an army of ulfhednar and berserkr, they were elite warriors and presumably treated as such — not abused as the ulfhedinn in our story is.

Thank you for joining us in this journey

Jess

Prologue

The hall at Ulfrfjord was built by Randulfr the Bloody. There had been a hall standing there for as long as memory, but the old hall had burnt down, and the fire took all the family with it. Randulfr the Bloody was a distant relative of that family who made his wealth and earned his name as a mercenary in the south lands. He came home to learn of his unexpected inheritance and used the gold he earned fighting to rebuild the hall grander than ever.

Randulfr married Dagny, the daughter of Hallbjorn, who was known as the most beautiful woman for a day’s sail. They had seven children: all were trained to the sword and to ride the whale road. Four of those children went a-Viking, and only two returned. Of the other three, Helga Randulfrdaughter stayed to take up homely tasks, and their sons Guðleifr and Stigr followed in their father’s footsteps on the southern road.

Bjorn Randulfrson won great acclaim on the whale-road, known as much for trading as raiding, though he did both well. He rose to captain his own ship but lost a foot in a raid on the Anglish and came home to stand as his father’s right-hand man. When Randulfr died, the hall and all with it went to Bjorn.

Stigr, who had expected his success in the south to earn him their father’s regard, was not happy with this, but Helga sided with Bjorn and helped negotiate his marriage to the daughter of a powerful neighbor. Bjorn gave Stigr an inheritance of gold and with this, Stigr had to be content.

So the hall followed the line of Randulfr, from one generation to the next, until the time of Harald Shockhair, now known as King Harald Fairhair.

Shortly before the rise of Harald Shockhair, Edvard the Lame came to hold the hall at the death of his mother Oddrun Svendaughter. Edvard had been born with a twisted foot and could never stand straight. As a child, many had raised concerns about his strength. They doubted if a man with only one good leg could hold the hall. But Edvard was his mother’s only living son, and though he could not go to war or raiding, still she had him trained to fight as best he could. And though his skill with sword and ax were small, he soon became known as the greatest archer in all the surrounding lands. Edvard also proved himself on the whale-road, leading trading ships as far as Iberia and bringing back wealth to adorn his mother’s hall.

So when Oddrun passed during a late winter storm, most were content to see Edvard step into her place as lard of the hall and leader of the land.

Matters might have continued unchanged, passing quietly from generation to generation, had not Harald Shockhair sworn his great oath: to not comb or clean his hair until he had brought all Norway under his control as king.

Never before had a king held all the northland and many had no desire to bend knee to Harald. But he gathered a strong force around him, and he and his son, Eirik the Bloodaxe, started marching north, laying waste to all who opposed him.

Edvard met with several of his neighbors and other leaders from the region. They argued, with some saying it was best to submit and others declaring they would fight back to their last breath.

Edvard went home greatly disturbed and informed his people that an army was forming to stand against Harald Shockhair. Though he could not join it, he said any of his people who wished to were welcome to go.

A dozen strong took arms and armor and went with the neighboring lords. They would stand against Shockhair and the army of ulfhednar and berserkr — wolf and bear warriors known for losing themselves in a blood frenzy on the battlefield — he had gathered.

Then Edvard could only wait.