Wildswept Trivia Quiz

Answer: A ring

It symbolizes the marriage he hopes to make with her. After so many years of thinking she would join a convent after her children marry, she has hope she will marry a man she holds affection for and who loves her in return.

Answer: There has been past violence between the families.

Godwin killed Yrling before Ashild's birth. As well, her step-father/cousin Sidroc killed Godwin. She considers all the death that Kilton and Four Stones have dealt each other an insurmountable block to marriage between her and Ceric. This besides, she would greatly miss Four Stones. They sleep together once, but she says she will not be his wife, which puts Ceric in an odd position, as he considers her his wife and feels he cannot consider another. The families of the two welcome such an alliance--even King Ælfred desires a match between Kilton and Four Stones--but none will force Ashild to wed.

Ashild's name comes from words meaning "god" and "fight".

Answer: Yrling's old ship

He finds his uncle's old ship, Death-day, in use as a fishing vessel. It had been stolen decades earlier as depicted in "Sidroc the Dane". Had the ship not been stolen, Yrling and his men may never have settled at Four Stones. Sidroc successfully gambles to get it back.

Answer: To have her daughter named.

Her daughter cannot be named or blessed until the Sami women perform their ritual. Her people welcome her; as she left in partial disgrace years earlier, she has redeemed herself with a respected husband and two children. In the book's notes, Randolph states that she invented the ceremony in which the babe is washed in a river and carried inside to receive her name: Jaske.

However, the goddess Mattarahkka (also called Maderakka) is revered in Sami culture as the guardian of childbirth and menstruation.

Her children Juksakka, Uksakka, and Sarakka also bring aid during pregnancy, birth, and after delivery.

Answer: Haesten's wife

Ceric receives arms and a plot of land as a reward for his part in capturing Haesten's wife and children. He plans to give the land and its rents to Ashild as a morning gift, treasure given to a woman by her husband the day after their marriage. He still hopes to marry her.

This incident happened, and King Ælfred returned Haesten's wife without asking ransom, as depicted in this novel.

Answer: Edwin

Edwin feels unworthy to be Kilton's heir, so Worr tells him that Godwin is his natural father to encourage the young man. He did not previously obtain Ceridwen's permission to tell him this. Edwin vows to never reveal this truth but wonders why Worr does not tell him why Ceridwen bedded Godwin.

Answer: Ælfwyn tried to abort Ashild.

Angry and confused, Ashild yells at her; though she deserves to know why Ælfwyn tried to abort her, she does not deserve the slap Burginde gives her, no matter what Burginde might think later. One thing I love about this series is the tendency for characters to listen to each other, understand others' motives, and change their minds about a person or situation if they learn more information.

Although infuriated, Ashild does not run from the room or refuse to listen: she hears her mother's motives for seeking an abortifacient and apologizes for her outburst, now knowing the horrible circumstances that led Ælfwyn to see no future for her unborn child.

Answer: Guthrum

Guthrum, the previous ruler of Danelaw, died without leaving his daughters wealth. Thus, they have little to bring to a marriage as dowry. As a Jarl, Hrald would normally seek a wealthy daughter of a powerful Lord or Jarl. However, his mother wants him to have a choice in his marriage, as she had no choice in her two husbands, so she supports his courting when he says he will take her without a large dowry.

In a sense, he already has it, since Dagmar and Inkera would have been settled by Thorfast, whose estate became Hrald's when Hrald defeated him at the end of "Silver Hammer, Golden Cross".

The name Dagmar means "glory of the day".

Answer: Have her child and not marry.

Having become pregnant after just one night with Ceric, she first thinks her only choices are abortion (to retain her value in the marriage market) or marriage to Ceric (which she still will not accept). At the end, she takes a third, more radical option, and decides to remain at Four Stones and bear Yrling's grandchild.

This choice would be more acceptable today than in 9th-century Angle-land, so Ashild is choosing the most difficult option in order to be true to herself. I am never keen on the "inconveniently pregnant after one night of sex" trope but will judge this iteration when I see the outcome.

Answer: Rodiaud

Ceridwen desires a Norse name for this daughter. Before the birth, Rannveig suggests her mother's name, an old Gotlandic name that Ceridwen has never heard of but likes the sound of.

The incorrect answers are all names of characters from Icelandic sagas: Gudrun from "The Laxdale Saga", Bergthora from "Njal's Saga", and Steingerd from "Cormac the Skald".