Herky J Productions

This is my pièce de résistance. My dedication to this thirteen-part series that has brought me hours and hours of joy. My final act. In the book series Uhtred is told three major prophecies by three women in the series. The first prophecy comes by way of Iseult the Shadow Queen from Cornwallum, the second from Gisela, his Danish wife and the mother of his children, the final is Aefadell, some old hag seer he meets in a cave.

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We meet Iseult in book 2, The Pale Horseman, after Uhtred and Leofric take a crew raiding along the coast of Cornwallum. As a Shadow Queen, Iseult, has the power to see the future. She says that “Alfred will give you power, and you will take back your northern home and your woman will a creature of gold.” (91 TPH). Then later in the book she says “Uhtred will lead men, …hundreds of men. A bright horde. I want to see that.” (140 TPH)

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Did those three things come true? Well technically yes, they all did happen.

Alfred did give Uhtred power- In book 2, Uhtred is appointed as the protector of the royal family. Then later in the same book Uhtred is given command of the best troops during the battle of Edington. In book 4, Uhtred is given military command of the London garrison after he captures the city from Sigfried and Erik. The final two times Alfred gives Uhtred power is in book 5 when is called upon to defeat Bloodhair at the battle of Fearnhame and then again when he is given men to defeat Haesten’s men at Beamfleot. So, yes, Isuelt was correct Alfred did give Uhtred power, he also took it away.

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Uhtred did take back his northern home- this one is simple Uhterd takes back Bebbanburg, but it wasn’t during his first attempt. He leaves Wessex and attempts in book 3 but does not get any further north than Cair Ligualiid and ends up as a slave for his troubles. In book 7, he goes for another attempt to retake his northern home. This time he makes it into the front gate of the fortress, but a few dogs foil his plans. This attempt he has a better reward and gets to slit his treacherous uncle throat, but ultimately does not capture the fortress. Third times the charm, Uhtred and Finan attack and capture the fortress against all odds. So, yes, once again Iseult was correct, Uhtred did take back his northern home after his third attempt.

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Uhtred’s woman was a creature of gold- From book 5 to book 10 Aethelflead was his creature of gold. Before Aethelflead there was Gisela who was had dark hair and before Gisela there was Hild who had blonde/gold hair. Once, again Iseult was correct Aethelflead was Uhtred creature of gold.

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You can be the judge of how accurate Iseult’s prophecy was, all three things she predicted came true, but how they occurred is up for some debate.

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Next Gisela, the mother of Uhtred children and the woman who Uhtred had the greatest connection with. She says, “I am to have two sons and a daughter.” “They will be your sons… and your daughter.” (102 LOTN) Later she tells Uhtred “Mine won’t die. My sons will be warriors, and my daughter will be the mother of warriors.” (251 LOTN) Gisela told Uhtred that the runesticks said “that we will have two sons and a daughter, and that one son will break your heart, the other will make you proud, and that your daughter will be the mother of kings.” (298 LOTN)

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Gisela’s prophecy is a bit mixed, yes, she and Uhtred have two sons and daughter. One son, Uhtred the Younger, does make his dad proud. Uhtred the Younger becomes a good man and a good warrior and Uhtred is proud of his son. Father Oswald doesn’t break Uhtred’s heart, but he does make him very angry that he chooses to become a priest instead of a warrior. Uhtred was so upset with his son that he takes away his name and gives it to his other son. In book 13 Uhtred and Father Oswald reconcile, and he tells his son that he was proud of him. Stiorra, Uhtred and Gisela’s daughter, does become the mother of a prince and princess, but they do not grow to become a king or a queen because they die of a sickness in book 12.

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Gisela was 3.5/5 on her prophecy: she predicted the correct total number of children, the correct balance of children 2 sons and 1 daughter, and she predicted that one son, Uhtred the Younger, did make his dad proud. She was incorrect about their daughter, Stiorra, who did not become the mother of kings. Then the other son doesn’t exactly break Uhtred’s heart, but he does make him very angry.

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The final prophecy and the most complex one occurs in book 6. First, we have to take this prophecy with a grain of salt. We know that Aelfadell is just telling people who visit her cave what Cnut wants her to say. We also know that Uhtred’s pretense of using a fake name (Kjartan) is washed away once he’s drugged by the sorceress. She knows who he is when she tells him the future and she knows he’s an enemy of the man who protects her and her granddaughter. The final prophecy is maybe the biggest one of them all. This one comes when Uhtred makes a dangerous journey into enemy territory to hear his future from this infamous sorceress named Aelfadell in book 6. After a drugged Uhtred wakes up from his dream and learns his fate. The witch says “Seven kings will die, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, seven kings and the women you love. That is your fate. And Alfred’s son will not rule, and Wessex will die and the Saxon will kill what he loves and the Danes will gain everything, and all will change and all will be the same as ever it was and ever will be. There, you see, you are wiser.” (74/75 DOK)

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“Seven kings will die”:

In book 6: Alfred, Eohric, Aethelwold all die- 3 kings

In book 9: Ragnall dies- 4 kings

In book 11: Skoll dies- 5 kings

In book 12: Edward, Sigtryggr, and Aelfweard all die- 8 kings

In book 13: Guthfrith dies- 9 kings

Then there’s a portion in book 9 when Ragnall attacks Merica, Uhtred is speaking with his son or Edith and mentions there have been a bunch of weak kings to sit on the Northumbrian throne. For the purpose of keeping me sane, these kings don’t count towards our king counter.

              In book 13 there’s the final battle, an epic ending to this epic tale. A battle that makes the battle at Edington seem like a mere cattle raid. Who were the “kings”…

              Saxons- Aethelstan and his younger brother Edmund who was a prince, but he did not fight during the battle (2)

              Not Saxons- King Anlaf, King Constantine, King Gibhleachan, King Anlaf Cenncairech, King Owain, Jarl Ingilmundr, Jarl Thorfinn, Prince Cellach, and Lord Domnall. (9)

The seven dead kings/jarls were King Gibhleachan, King Anlaf Cenncairech, King Owain, Jarl Ingilmundr, Jarl Thorfinn, Prince Cellach, and Lord Domnall. The Saxon who betrayed what he loves could Aethelstan or Sigebrith and his father, they both chose to fight for the Danes in the final battle of book 6. She was wrong, Alfred’s son did rule, well one of his sons did, Osferth does not rule, but no one expected him to rule.

So, that’s it the three major prophecies in the series and how they pan out. These books are fantastic, and I enjoy reading them. I hope you all enjoy this post.