GENESIS AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF A NOVEL

How did the idea come up? A time ago, while browsing the internet, an article caught my eye. It stated, "The famous Viking swords... are not Viking, but should instead be called Carolingian."

Interesting, I thought: something that scholars took for granted as a historical truth result overturned by new and recent discoveries.

The wrong idea of historians came due to the concentration of archaeological findings of medieval swords marked with the '+Ulfberht+' brand in Scandinavian countries, but new evidence denies this idea.

As a premise, we can say that swords were produced from the 9th century AD until around the 11th century. About 170 specimens were scattered in different concentrations in countries across continental and insular Europe, but more than half of the swords were found in Scandinavia.

Due to this distribution, scholars always thought the swords with the 'Ulfbernt' brand were a product of Norse blacksmiths. However, thanks to modern techniques of chemical analysis of the lead used in the hilt decorations, scholars have been able to establish that the origin of these swords led us to an area that was part of the Carolingian Empire, more precisely in the region that included the abbeys of Fulda and Lorsch in present-day Germany.

So, they were Carolingian swords and not Viking ones. The explanation for why so many had found in Scandinavia lies in the practice of burying the sword with their owners. This tradition persisted in Norse countries longer than in already Christianized Europe, which frowned upon this pagan-origin custom.

Obviously, in the tombs where the scholars found the sword, the preservation conditions were significantly better than in other sites, which explains the distribution of the findings.

But what made these swords special?

These Ulfberht blades had a carbon content three times higher than swords commonly forged in the Middle Ages. Consequently, they had high elasticity and strength, with a steel quality widely achieved only a thousand years later.

From this particularity, we can add that the Ulfberht swords were of inestimable value, considering that a regular blade had a cost equivalent to that of sixteen dairy cows, which was already a considerable capital in the Middle Ages.

Ulfberht swords, therefore, appeared to people of that era as magical ones from legends, having the ability to pierce chain mail and armor much more easily, with a much higher probability of breaking opponents' blades in combat.

A splendid element to exploit in a historical novel, with a touch of presumed magic, it was a magnificent ingredient.

From these archaeological and historical elements, I set the groundwork to create the architecture for the novel. What is uncertain allows for narrative exploration and the creation of a compelling plot, and what is historically proven provides a solid foundation for the story.

Based on this premise, I asked myself some questions that gave momentum and substance to the narrative. Who was Ulfberht? Where were these legendary swords manufactured? How did Viking leaders acquire them, given that the Frankish kings' edicts prohibited trading weapons with the Norse under penalty of death?

How did the name of Ulfbhert become such an important 'brand' in the Middle Ages, such that these swords had been produced for over two hundred years?

How was the knowledge to produce this steel passed down since it had only reproduced a thousand years later?

Many questions that, while historically unanswered, can still inspire a fascinating narrative, as I did in composing the novel The Arcane Secret of Ulfberht's Legacyword.

From all this, we can derive a simple working method to organize the preparation phases for writing a novel, to develop a more complex framework from a classic 'striking' idea, and at the same time, to verify if it could be the right one to embark on an 'arduous endeavor' and employ our time and energy in the editorial project we wish to undertake.

INITIAL IDEA (in my case, the Ulfberht swords were not Viking but Carolingian)

→ RESEARCH (in my example, historical research, but for other literary genres or needs, it can be different: geographical, scientific, of customs, or any element related to our inspiration)

→ ESTABLISH what is certain and provides a solid basis for structuring our plot, and understand what is uncertain and thus allows for fictionalization, and let our creativity and imagination take flight

→ MAKE A LIST of the questions that may arise about what is uncertain and to which we can provide answers through the dynamics and plot of our novel

→ TAKE ALL THESE POINTS and organize them in such a way that the answers we provide serve as a source of inspiration from which we can start with the writing of the novel when the time comes... (in my example of "The Arcane Secret of Ulfberht's Legacy": Who was Ulfberht? Where were these legendary swords manufactured? ...etc.)