Hild’s Tale is a historical fiction novel based on (though not tied to) real events that took place in the kingdom of the Northumbrians during the late seventh and early eighth centuries. Abbess Hild, or Saint Hild as she later became known, was a woman who defied social and political expectations to become one of the most powerful people - yes, people, not women - in seventh-century England. Despite this, she was sidelined in the major contemporary histories; this story aims to give back the spotlight she so rightly deserves.
Chapters Currently Published
Hild’s Tale is a work of serialised fiction, with new instalments released and sent to subscribers twice-monthly.
Chapter 2: “The Angels Took Her By The Hand”: No Ordinary Abbess
Chapter 3: “I am Hild and this is my account, in my own words.”
Chapter 4: Strange Visitors Threaten the Old Gods
Chapter 5: Resistance Bordering On Rebellion
Chapter 6: Ripped From Her Home Into Royal Exile
Chapter 7: Visitors Bearing Troubling News
Chapter 8: Coming 26th March 2025
Additional Reading
Want to find out more about Hild and the time she lived in? Check out my recommendations below!
Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English Church and Nation (the primary written source for the early medieval period)
Barbara Yorke, Nunneries and the Anglo-Saxon Royal House (a more academic text that dives deep into the relationship between early medieval royalty and their monastic foundations)
John Blair, The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society (a very helpful introduction to the early medieval church, which differed in the earliest phase quite substantially from what was to come later)
Marc Morris, The Anglo-Saxons (a really accessible, popular-level book covering the period c. 410-1066. Not perfect, especially on the early period, but a helpful starting point)
James Campbell, The Anglo-Saxons (looks a bit like a coffee table book but is underpinned by solid research. James Campbell was an icon of his time and includes archaeology in his work, unlike many of his forebears).
Frank Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England (an example of early medieval women not being given the place they deserve!)
Janina Ramirez, Femina (an excellent feminist history of the medieval world)
Janina Ramirez, The Private Lives of the Saints (covers individual saints in early medieval England)
Chris Wickham, Framing the Early Middle Ages: Europe and the Mediterranean, 400-800
N. Higham, The Kingdom of Northumbria A.D. 350-1100