Jan and Brus are thirteen-year-old twins who live with their father Harald Redbeard and their mother Ragnhild who is a Dane. Their farm is located above a fiord in Norway on the southern coast. The twins have been trained by their father in many skills including the art of poetry, carving letters on rune sticks, learning the laws of their people so they can participate in decisions, how to handle weapons and care for animals. They also know how to sail, repair boats and shoot with a long bow. Their father, Harald Redbeard decides he must travel to a new land to make his living. He is the foster son, having been adopted at the age of ten, after his parents were lost at sea. As a foster son, he cannot inherit land unless agreed to by the sons of his foster father. However his elder foster brothers have inherited all their father's land, leaving none for Harald. He has already sent his two older sons, Hardi and Bran with Gudmond the Bold to search out a new place but having never returned, they are believed lost.
Now Harald decides he will journey to England because his wife's countryman, Heming the Dane has settled there and will welcome them. At dinner that night, Harald tells them they will sail to England in three ships.Harald's own ship, Raven of the Wind will carry Harald, Jan, Brus and their warriors. The Hawk will carry Ragnhild, their nurse Catriona and the women and children. The third ship, Sea Wolf will carry the horses, cows, geese, hounds as well as hay and fodder for the animals.
In exchange for giving his foster brother Agnar his cattle, land and houses, Harald was given money for the boats and an ancient brooch, booty from the Franks two hundred years earlier. This brooch is believed to protect from evil and head wounds. Harald also warns the twins that their trick of switching places, pretending to be the other can be used to their advantage. Although the two boys are identical, they are very different; Brus loves hunting, hawking and caring for animals while Jan is the poet.
When summer begins, the three ships set sail. Their second day at sea is stormy and Harald decides to sail for the Orkneys. While they are able to find safe harbour, they have lost sight of the two other ships. The next day they sail out in the hopes of finding the lost ships however another storm blows. For three days the Raven struggles to stay afloat but the storm subsides on the fourth day. Although the Raven has some damage, they are safe and Harald believes they are near the Western Isles. Once more the sea becomes rough but this time the Raven is tossed onto the rocks and sunk. Harald Redbeard, his sons Jan and Brus and fourteen men are all who survive, swept onto the shore.
When Jan goes to get water, he is set upon and captured by a group of thirty clansmen and ordered to take them to his father's camp.Harald and the warriors hear the Scots coming, and he orders Brus to hide. A tall Scotsman, introduces himself to Harald as Began Mor, Thane of Skye, the Winged Isle. He asks Harald why he has come to Began's land and invites him to celebrate the betrothal of his daughter Nineag to Gavin Dhu, the Laird of Lorne.
In Began Mor's keep, Harald is set beside Began, while each one of Harald's men is set between two of Began's men. Brus has followed them and now watches over the hill into the courtyard. The soothsayer tells of the history of the land and how Gavin Dhu known as Gavin the Black will wed Nineag the White at the Christ Mass. The monk tells the gathering the story of Christ, his birth, death and resurrection. Afterwards they all make the sign of the cross. The story causes Brus to wonder since his father Harald had not been one to accept the Christian religion.
However the feast quickly turns into a battle after one of Harald's warriors attacks Began Mor's men. The entire party of Norse warriors is slain and thrown over the walls onto the rocks. Jan is spared and taken prisoner. However, Brus who witnesses everything discovers that his father is still alive and carries him to a cave to care for him. While out to get water, Brus returns to the cave and discovers his father has been murdered and the brooch stolen. He is determined to avenge his father's murder and recover the family's talisman.
When a column of horses led by Gavin of Lorne and his men leave the castle, Brus follows knowing that Jan is a prisoner. The two boys eventually find a way to meet and Brus tells Jan the fate of their father. Over the next few days, because they are identical twins, Brus and Jan find ways to switch places. As the boys travel through Scotland, they meet many Christians who teach them about their faith and urge them to not be so quick to avenge their father's murder. As they build allies among the simple workers who have seen their lives destroyed by Gavin, Black Fox of Lorne and the cruel Began Mor, the twins also uncover a treacherous plot that threatens the very king of Scotland!
Discussion
De Angeli has crafted a story that offers young readers a fascinating picture of tenth century Scotland. This is a story with the themes of vengeance and betrayal countered by forgiveness and faith.
As the twins travel through Scotland to Gavin's keep, they meet several Scots who teach them about Christianity. The twins know about Christianity because in their country, the father Harald refused to convert as ordered by the Norse king. However, once in Scotland they begin to learn about the Christian faith through the various people they meet on their journey. It is a journey that will test their intelligence and resourcefulness, but also their very beliefs.
Jan first encounters the story of Christ from Donald a shepherd who feeds him. Jan tells Donald what has befallen his family and that he intends to avenge his father's murder. But Donald tells him, "Vengeance is the Lord's. Beware lest ye find that for which ye seek! It can be an evil thing! The Lord says, 'Forgive them as I forgive you.' " He then tells Jan the story of Christ's birth, death and resurrection as well the miracles of St. Andrew in converting the Scots. Jan who is perhaps the gentler of the twins is open to the message. "Jan listened with all his heart. This was a wondrous tale indeed. The shepherd's tale had eased the burden of grief in him. He must tell Brus."
Brus first encounters the Christ story from Morag, a crofter's wife who gives him shelter. When he tells her of his plan to avenge his father's murder, she says, "The Lord will take care of our enemies...if we trust Him and bide His time." But Brus is not open to this advice, stating, "No son leaves his father's death unavenged. And who is this God? We have many gods." Even though Morag explains Christmas to Brus, he is not ready for it insisting, "It is for his sons to avenge him."
Jan who is renamed Ian by the Scots struggles with his anger whenever he sees Gavin wearing his father's brooch. However, Murdoch Gow, a smithy who is also a prisoner and whose wife and children were murdered by Gavin teaches Ian that "God's ways are not our ways. We must have faith, for even when all seems against us, we later find that all was for the best." Ian questions Murdoch as to why Gavin makes the sign of the cross when he is cruel and a traitor. Ian knows his father Harald would never give a sign of peace and then kill innocent people as Black Gavin has done. Murdoch explains that some "...make the sign of the cross, those who speak the name of the Christ, the Holy One, in lip service only..." Ian gradually comes to a better understanding of the Catholic faith through the people he meets in Black Gavin's castle.
A young boy his own age, Alan MacDugal, is the son of Dugal who was also murdered by Black Gavin. His mother has been imprisoned elsewhere and their lands have been stolen by Gavin who has set himself up as Thane of Lorne. This means Ian and Alan have a common enemy in Gavin. Seeing Alan praying in the castle for his imprisoned mother's safety further intrigues Ian, "Could he, Ian, make a prayer to Alan's God, for the safety of his own mother?" He wonders, "Who is this God? What is the spell made by crossing the breast and touch the forehead, whispering words?"
Brus again encounters Christianity in the cottage of the shepherd, Gregory, his wife Una and their little son Tomas. He learns more about the saints and disciples who came after Christ. It is Gregory who suggests to Brus that maybe he was sent to Scotland for a reason not yet known. Brus's aversion to the new faith is seen when he finally meets up with Ian in the castle and hears his twin brother calling on God's help. Brus questions him, "With God's help? What mean you with this talk?" said Brus angrily. "What of the gods of our fathers? Are you gone soft, or simple?"
Both boys have the chance to exact revenge on Black Gavin for their father's murder. Ian has the chance to kill Gavin when they stop to drink from a stream but he hesitates because he has been taught that to kill an enemy from the back is the way of a coward. Brus too has the chance when he is accompanying Gavin on horseback. Gavin is pitched from his horse and hits his head on a stone, falling headfirst into a stream. With Gavin's head underwater, Brus has the chance to do nothing and simply leave him to drown but he does not. Instead, like his twin brother, Brus remembers his father's teaching to "...be just to all men.' But was it 'just' to save the life of an enemy? ' Yes,' Murdoch Gow said. 'Love thine enemy, hate him not, but hate the thing he does.' Was he, then becoming soft like Ian? He must watch lest he forget his purpose."
But when Brus travels to the priory with Gavin he is impressed by the crucifix in the chapel. "The broken figure hanging from the rood above the altar held Brus's gaze. This, then, was that Christ of whom he heard so much, who had given His life for His friends. He had been a noble warrior."
De Angeli populates her story with both good and bad characters in Christian Scotland, making the story realistic. It is the simple folk who live out their Christian faith, who have the most impact on Brus and Ian. Their imparting of some of the basic beliefs of Christianity to the twins, add to the code of honour they have learned from their father Harald. While their desire for revenge remains strong, they remain true to their warrior code of honour, resisting revenge in a way that is dishonourable. Eventually, justice is meted out to those guilty, in circumstances that protect the boys. Impressed by the sacrificial Christian God, Christ resonates with the two boys, and it is their mother's acceptance of Christianity that finally pushes them to accept the Christian faith.
Black Fox of Lorne is an exciting tale of betrayal, murder and political intrigue, but also one of justice, faith and forgiveness. Readers will be interested in the details the author incorporates into her story about life in tenth century Scotland. De Angeli's exquisite pencil sketches portray some of the events in the story.
Book Details:
Black Fox of Lorne by Marguerite De Angeli
Garden City, New York: Doubleday 1956
91 pp.
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