With Guthred, the audience sees the more extreme side of 9th century Christianity with Christian relics and saints that the young king believes will make him a great king like Alfred.įate is inevitable and has a path that Uhtred cannot escape, filled with betrayal and heartache. Uhtred is made Guthred’s right-hand man, and Uhtred falls in love with the king’s sister Gisela. Fate throws Uhted another curveball as when he is on an escort mission he encounters a young, enslaved man named Guthred, the man who holy men believed would be king of Northumbria because of a message from Saint Cuthbert.

We are reunited with Uhtred in 878, a few months after the great battle from “The Pale Horseman.” Alfred has given Uhtred freedom from his oath, and he travels north to his home with the former nun Hild. Bernard Cornwell takes his readers on another whirlwind adventure into 9th century England with Uhtred of Bebbanburg in the third novel of the Saxon Stories series, “Lords of the North.” This chance meeting sends Uhtred on a journey across the seas against his will and to finally face off against Kjartan the Cruel, who captured his stepsister Thyra. He encounters an enslaved person who claims to be the King of Northumbria named Guthred. Now, Uhtred travels north to his home, yet fate throws this hero another curveball. King Alfred and Uhtred have achieved a massive victory over the Danes, and as a reward, Alfred has allowed Uhtred to be free of his allegiance.

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