Tags
Charlemagne, Franks, Historical Fiction, Middle Ages, Saxons, The Ashes of Heaven's Pillar, Widukind
Widukind memorial in Herford, Germany, rebuilt from an 1899 sculpture by Heinrich Wefing. (By M. Kunz via Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.)
There is an intriguing story about Widukind, a real-life eighth-century Westphalian Saxon war leader and enemy of Charlemagne, and I am debating whether to use it in my next novel, with the working title The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar.
Most of what we know of the historic Widukind comes from the Franks, particularly the writers of the Royal Frankish Annals. Nowhere do they say what he looked like. But a story gives him an unusual physical feature: heterochromia, eyes of different colors.
In this story, which cannot be verified, Widukind has one blue eye and one black eye. Problem is, I don’t know where this tale comes from. I’ve seen a reference to it only in passing, the most recent one in a book about Nazis. If only for the author’s note, I would love to know the story’s origin.
Today, we would explain heterochromia as a quirk of genetics, but in the Middle Ages, the folk would have seen it as a sign of the supernatural. On top of that, Widukind and his followers worship the pagan Germanic gods. There are no tales of Wodan having only one eye, but his Norse counterpart, Odin, does.
Widukind must have been a charismatic figure, and a sign of the supernatural could be a factor for why Saxons would follow him, even as the two sides inflicted punishing losses on each other.
Widukind is a secondary character in Ashes, which focuses on the fate of a peasant Saxony family sold into slavery (see kimrendfeld.com for my latest draft of the blurb), yet he mentioned throughout the novel.
Should I use this physical feature for Widukind, even if it likely is fictional and even if I can’t track down its origins?
It’s an intriguing characteristic. I guess whether you use it depends on how Widukind’s supposedly supernatural characteristic plays into your plot. I would be tempted to take advantage of such an interesting feature in a more central character — one of the peasants, perhaps, or a protagonist in another story.
BTW, I love your choice of historical time and place — so different from the usual.
Thanks, Barbara. Like almost all medieval folk, my characters very much believe in the supernatural and act accordingly. That belief makes it ever more tempting for me to use this characteristic with Widukind.
Years ago in university, I took a course about some aspect of medieval history. I don’t remember the specifics, except that the primary sources were full of accounts of miracles and other supernatural happenings. Fascinating stuff, and illuminating when trying to understand the medieval mind.
If something like that has survived through all this time,there must be some truth in it. Whether or not you make use of it, is at your discretion and the needs of your story.
Thanks, Michele. I don’t know where the story originated. It could be centuries after Widukind is long gone. He has made his way into legends. This attribute could affect how my main character perceive him.
I think you should use it – but black and blue sounds very unrealistic. Tends to be brown rather than black – or hazel. I had a teacher once with different coloured eyes. When he gave you a stare out of his blue eye you knew it was time to shut up. When he turned his brown eye your way, you knew he was interested in hearing more – maybe an idea for W?
Thanks, Anna. If Widukind has heterochromia, I will likely use brown instead of black. I like the story about your teacher. Unfortunately, Widukind does not interact much with my characters, but as their leader, he is frequently on their minds.