By the 7th century, the ‘grandeur that was Rome’ had faded, thanks to wars, sackings and plagues. Power had shifted eastwards. Yet the lure of the Eternal City drew pilgrims and tourists along an ancient route, says Matthew Harffy, author of Shadows of the Slain. He describes early medieval Rome for Historia. Shadows of the […]
Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy
1890. Lieutenant Gabriel Stokes of the British Army has left behind the horrors of war in Afghanistan for a role in the Metropolitan Police. Though he’s risen quickly through the ranks, the squalid violence of London’s East End proves just as dark and oppressive as the battlefield. With his life falling apart, and longing for […]
Why I’ve written a Western
From the ‘Dark Ages’ to a Dark Frontier: Matthew Harffy, author of the Bernicia Chronicles, explains why he’s written a Western — and how it’s not such a big leap after all. I have wanted to write a Western for as long as I can remember. I always enjoyed Western movies and fell in love […]
A Day of Reckoning by Matthew Harffy
AD 796. Sailing in search of an object of great power, Hunlaf and his comrades are far from home when they are caught up in a violent skirmish against pirates. After the bloody onslaught, an encounter with ships from Islamic Spain soon sees them escorted under guard to the city of Qadis, one of the […]
Greek Fire, the early medieval weapon of mass destruction
Matthew Harffy looks at Greek Fire (also called Roman Fire), ‘the early medieval weapon of mass destruction’, and its connection with the Vikings and al-Andalus, as featured in his novel A Day of Reckoning. Humankind has an incredible capacity for creativity. But it is a terrible reality that this talent for creation and innovation has […]
Al-Andalus: Islamic Spain in the 8th century
Matthew Harffy looks at 8th-century Al-Andalus, the setting for his latest book, A Day of Reckoning. Several decades after the conquest of most of Spain by Islamic armies, Al-Andalus already had a rich culture in which the arts and sciences flourished. But it was also a place of conflict and cruelty, as he discovered. The […]
A Day of Reckoning by Matthew Harffy
In AD796, sailing in search of an object of great power, Hunlaf and his comrades are far from home when they are caught up in a violent skirmish against pirates. After the bloody onslaught, an encounter with ships from Islamic Spain soon sees them escorted under guard to the city of Qadis, one of the […]
Forest of Foes by Matthew Harffy
It’s AD652, and Beobrand has been ordered to lead a group of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome. Chief among them is Wilfrid, a novice of the church with some surprisingly important connections. Taking only Cynan and some of his best men, Beobrand hopes to make the journey through Frankia quickly and return to […]