Hild

Hild is a 2013 historical novel and the sixth novel by British author Nicola Griffith. Hild is a fictionalized telling of the life of Hilda of Whitby, also known as Hild of Streoneshalh, a significant figure in Anglo-Saxon Britain. The book includes a map, a glossary of terms, and a pronunciation guide. The novel was first published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on November 12, 2013 and in the United Kingdom on October 4, 2014 through Blackfriars Books. Griffith has stated that the book will be the first in a trilogy and that the second book will be titled Menewood. Novel summary In seventh-century Britain, small kingdoms are merging. Edwin of Northumbria plots to become the king of all the Angles through force, bribery, and religious coercion. The king's niece Hild grows up bright, curious, and willful in this world of violence and mysticism. She learns to fight with staff and sword and to speak several languages. Although her father has been assassinated, Hild survives to become an advisor to the king and ultimately to other major figures determining England's course in the Early Middle Ages. Development Prior to writing Hild, Griffith began researching Hild and seventh-century Britain, upon which she realized that not much was known about Hild as a historical person. Griffith documented her research on her blog Gemæcce and during this process she began wondering about aspects of Hild's life not recorded historically, such as her likes, dislikes, and reasons for choosing specific actions. While writing the character Griffith posited that she had two types of close personal relationship with women outside of her immediate family: her sexual partner and her gemæcce. Griffith created the grammatically feminine term gemæcce from the Old English masculine word gemæcca meaning "mate, equal, one of a pair, comrade, companion" and "husband or wife", which she repurposed to refer to a female friend and work partner.