Your loving sister, Sophia Agneta, Countess Rödermark.
Zara put her arms around her beloved husband and knew the burden of guilt he’d carried for too long had lifted from his shoulders. “Yes, I believe you’ve fathered twins,” she whispered.
“Gut,” he replied.
He carried her to the bed and they clung together until the shadows lengthened.
HISTORICAL NOTES
MEDIEVAL RELIGION
As you’ve read, the question of faith dominates Kon’s life. It’s not the intention of the story to promote one religion over another, or indeed to promote religion at all. The Church played a major role in every facet of medieval life and my goal was to probe into the mind of a medieval man who has lost his previously unquestioned faith in his God and in himself.
IMBECILE
Political correctness precludes the use of this word nowadays, but even in the early twentieth century it was used by census takers in England to describe children in a household who were mentally challenged. My great grandparents had a son who was severely injured in an accident that resulted in brain damage. On the 1891 census he is described as “Delicate”, but on the 1901 census he is referred to as an “Imbecile.”
COG
The workhorse of early medieval shipping. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cog_(ship). With their flat-bottomed hulls, cogs were ideal for navigating among shallow, tidal areas. Cogs were often brought in at high tide and left high and dry to be unloaded.
STEORBORD AND LARBORD
Today, Starboard and Port. These terms come from old boating practices. Before ships had rudders, they were steered by use of a specialized oar. This oar was held by a sailor located towards the back of the ship. However, like most of the rest of society, there were many more right-handed sailors than left-handed ones. This meant that the right-handed sailors holding the steering oar used to stand on the right side of the ship. The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered. The old English term steorbord descends from the Old Norse words stýri meaning “rudder” and borð meaning “side of a ship”. Similarly, the term for the left side of the boat, port, is derived from the practice of sailors mooring on the left side (i.e., the larboard or loading side) so as to prevent the steering boards from being crushed. Because the words larboard and starboard sounded too similar to be easily distinguished, larboard was changed to port.
MAKURIA (NUBIA)
There is good information on the Internet about the African kingdoms of the Nile south of Egypt. Egypt and Makuria developed close and peaceful relations when Egypt was ruled by the Fatimids. The Shi'ite Fatimids had few allies in the Muslim world, and they turned to the southern Christians of Nubia as allies. Fatimid power also depended upon the slaves provided by Makuria, who were used to man the Fatimid army. Trade between the two states flourished until circa 1171AD.
RAGUSA
Ragusa was the medieval name of the walled city of Dubrovnik.
FELOZ
This was the name of an actual slave ship from another, perhaps even darker time in history. Take a deep breath before you read http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/slaveship.htm.
KERKYRA
Better known as the island of Corfu.
EARTHQUAKES
The Ionian Islands are situated on one of Europe's most notorious faults, capable of producing earthquakes causing widespread damage and considerable loss of life.
The island of Zakynthos (Zante) suffered a series of four severe earthquakes in August 1953, resulting in the total destruction of its infrastructure. The third and most destructive of these quakes, registering 7.3 on the Richter Scale, had its epicentre directly on the southern tip of the nearby island of Kefalonia, also causing widespread destruction there.
Starting in the early morning hours of 4 April 2006, a series of moderate to strong earthquakes occurring on an almost daily basis began shaking the entire island. On 11 April, however, the phenomenon intensified in both magnitude and rate of events. At 03:02 local time of that day, a powerful, magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit the area, only to be followed by an even stronger tremor, registering 5.9 on the Richter Scale, at 8:30 p.m.
That same evening, two more earthquakes shook the region, sending scores of terrified people into the streets. The earthquakes had a preliminary moment magnitude of 5.8 and 5.4 respectively.
BLUE CAVE
Numerous natural "Blue Caves" are cut into cliffs around Cape Skinari on the northern tip of Zante. They are accessible only by small boat and weren’t actually discovered until 1897. I changed the location of Kon’s blue cave to the south-western tip of the island in order to bring it closer to the tarpits of Keriou. There are caves in this location but they are not the famous Blue Caves.
TAR
Naturally occurring in this case and more likely what we know today as bitumen or asphalt from the Greek ἄσφαλτος ásphaltos.
NARENTINES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narentines will lead to good information on these medieval pirates.
DOGE OF VENICE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge
BASILICA DI SAN MARCO
This popular tourist attraction was originally built as the Doge’s private chapel, though of course the building that stands today is larger and more elaborate.
ISTRIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istria
ROSPO
You guessed it—Italian for “toad”.
ABOUT ANNA
Thank you for reading Faithful Heart. If you’d like to leave a review where you purchased the book, and/or on Goodreads, I would appreciate it. Reviews contribute greatly to an author’s success.
Passion conquers whatever obstacles a hostile medieval world can throw in its path. My page-turning adventures have earned me a place on Amazon’s All-Star list.
Besides writing, I have two addictions-crosswords and genealogy, probably the reason I love research. I am a fool for cats. My husband is an entrepreneur who is fond of boasting he’s never had a job. I live on Canada’s scenic west coast now, but I was born and raised in the UK and I love breathing life into European history.
Escape with me to where romance began.
I hope you come to know and love my cast of characters as much as I do.
I’d like to acknowledge the assistance of my critique partners, Reggi Allder, Jacquie Biggar, Sylvie Grayson and LizAnn Carson.
MORE ANNA MARKLAND
If you prefer to read sagas in chronological order, here’s a handy list for the Montbryce family books.
Conquering Passion—Ram and Mabelle, Rhodri and Rhonwen
If Love Dares Enough—Hugh and Devona, Antoine and Sybilla
Defiant Passion-Rhodri and Rhonwen
A Man of Value—Caedmon and Agneta
Dark Irish Knight—Ronan and Rhoni
Haunted Knights—Adam and Rosamunda, Denis and Paulina
Passion in the Blood—Robert and Dorianne, Baudoin and Carys
Dark and Bright—Rhys and Annalise
The Winds of the Heavens—Rhun and Glain, Rhydderch and Isolda
Dance of Love—Izzy and Farah
Carried Away—Blythe and Dieter
Sweet Taste of Love—Aidan and Nolana
Wild Viking Princess—Ragna and Reider
Hearts and Crowns—Gallien and Peridotte
Fatal Truths—Alex and Elayne
Sinful Passions—Bronson and Grace; Rodrick and Swan
Series featuring the stories of the Viking ancestors of my Norman families
The Rover Bold—Bryk and Cathryn
The Rover Defiant—Torstein and Sonja
The Rover Betrayed—Magnus and Judith
Novellas
Maknab’s Revenge—Ingram and Ruby
Passion’s Fire—Matthew a
nd Brigandine (2016) in Hearts Aflame
Banished—Sigmar and Audra
Hungry Like De Wolfe—Blaise and Anne (A Kindle Worlds novella)
Caledonia Chronicles (Scotland-The Stewart Kings)
Book I Pride of the Clan—Rheade and Margaret
Book II Highland Tides—Braden and Charlotte
Book 2.5 Highland Dawn—Keith and Aurora (a Kindle Worlds book)
Book III Roses Among the Heather—Blair &Susanna, Craig & Timothea
The Von Wolfenberg Dynasty (medieval Europe)
Book 1 Loyal Heart—Sophia and Brandt
Book 2 Courageous Heart—Lute and Francesca
If you like stories with medieval breeds of dogs, you’ll enjoy If Love Dares Enough, Carried Away, Fatal Truths, and Wild Viking Princess. If you have a soft spot for cats, read Passion in the Blood and Haunted Knights.
Looking for historical fiction centered on a certain region?
English History—all books
Norman French History—all books
Crusades—A Man of Value
Welsh History—Conquering Passion, Defiant Passion, Dark and Bright, The Winds of the Heavens
Scottish History—Conquering Passion, A Man of Value, Sweet Taste of Love, Caledonia Chronicles
European History (Holy Roman Empire)—Carried Away, Loyal Heart
Danish History—Wild Viking Princess
Spanish History—Dance of Love
Ireland—Dark Irish Knight
If you like to read about historical characters:
William the Conqueror—Conquering Passion, If Love Dares Enough, Defiant Passion
William Rufus—A Man of Value
Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy—Passion in the Blood
Henry I of England—Passion in the Blood, Sweet Taste of Love, Haunted Knights, Hearts and Crowns
Holy Roman Emperors—Carried Away, Loyal Heart
Vikings—Wild Viking Princess, The Rover Bold, The Rover Defiant, The Rover Betrayed
Kings of Aragon (Spain)—Dance of Love
The Anarchy (England) (Stephen vs. Maud)—Hearts and Crowns, Fatal Truths, Sinful Passions
Scotland’s Stewart Kings—Caledonia Chronicles
Jacobites & Mary, Queen of Scots—Highland Tides
Link to Amazon page
Table of Contents
Contents
FAITHFUL HEART
COPYRIGHT
Dedication
THE VON WOLFENBERG DYNASTY
SKIMMING STONES
MISTRESS OF THE FLEET
THE DOCKS
HATCHING A PLAN
NIGHT
FIGUREHEAD
BODYGUARD
IMPERFECTIONS
FLOODGATE
CONFESSIONS
FOG
INTO THE DEPTHS
NEVER TRUST A PIRATE
A SIGN
NIGHT AT SEA
LUST
GIANLUCA
GREEN HAT
DEBTS
RESURRECTION
THE BEST LAID PLANS
A HIGH PRICE
DESPAIR
DREAD
THE NEW ZARA
TOO LATE
MENAS
NAVIGATING ROUGH WATERS
PURSUIT
HEAVEN AND HELL
NO REAL PLAN
TERREMOTO
THE SEA'S FURY
TURNING BLUE
CHAINED FOREVER
A SORRY TALE
OLIVES
WELCOME TO VENEZIA
BRUNO
A VENETIAN WEDDING
MISCHIEF AFOOT
A BEDDING
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
THE VENETIAN WAY
BRUNO'S FLEET
EPILOGUE
HISTORICAL NOTES
ABOUT ANNA
MORE ANNA MARKLAND