Ceridwen of Kilton Trivia Quiz

Answer: A combination of their names

I picked up on that detail before it I saw it explained late in the book. Ceric's name is pronounced "CARE-itch." Ceridwen is pregnant with him at the end of "The Circle of Ceridwen".

Answer: True

Ælfred spent much time with Gyric and Godwin in his youth and considers them his brothers. He also visits at the end of the first book. In "Kilton", two visits from him bookend the novel. The second visit comes in 878 after he and his men drive the Danes from Wessex.

Historically, immediately prior to this victory, the King and his men were driven into the swamps in western Wessex and lived there while preparing a counterattack against the Danes.

Answer: To protect her

With both her father and husband dead, Ælfwyn has no protection from other Danes. Marriage to Sidroc will make her Lady of Four Stones again, so she accepts his proposal. While Sidroc loves Ceridwen still, he is very kind to Ælfwyn and raises her daughter with Yrling as his own.

She shows her great nobility and integrity in holding no animosity towards Ceridwen for her marriage to Gyric, her former beloved.

Answer: Sidroc killed him in a duel.

After seeing his uncle killed, cowardly Toki fled instead of continuing to fight to avenge him. Arriving at Four Stones ahead of Sidroc, Toki declared the place and everything in it (including Ælfwyn) his. Luckily, she barricaded herself in her room before he could assault her. Sidroc returned shortly thereafter, challenged his cousin, and killed him.

While Toki is a horrible person, I enjoyed reading about him and was a little disappointed to read of his death. We see more of his antics in "Sidroc the Dane".

Answer: She cannot successfully give birth.

Though she has become pregnant eight times, Edgyth has not given birth to a child who lived. This difficulty drives a wedge between her and her husband, leading her to want to dissolve the marriage so that he can marry another woman who will provide Kilton with an heir. If Godwin has no children, Ceridwen's son will inherit the estate.

Answer: "Fate looked away."

Sidroc believes that Freyja, the warrior/love goddess, has fated him and Ceridwen to be together. She would have wedded him had she remained at Four Stones, but "Fate looked away" and she fell in love with Gyric after rescuing him. In a way, Sidroc does frighten her with the depth of his passion for her, but that is not the reason she gives him by the stables.

Answer: She is not Christian.

Her namesake goddess is one of abundance, fertility, and sexual pleasure. Heathen gods are of nature and do not condemn humanity. She finds more truth and power in the meanings behind the heathen ways than the Christian ones, so while she continues to observe Christian rituals, and still believes that other gods exist, in her heart she is no longer Christian.

Answer: Godwin

Godwin desires both an heir and Ceridwen, and Ceridwen has some attraction to him as well. As Lord of Kilton, neither Ceridwen nor Gyric can truly refuse him, and she sleeps with him for the purposes of conceiving a child. While bizarre, I ultimately found this section touching. Ceridwen loves Gyric as much as ever, Gyric understands how his depression over his blindness may have pushed her away and still loves her regardless of the affair, and Edgyth has a child of her own, freely given by Ceridwen, to be Kilton's heir. The babe is named in the same manner that Ceridwen named her first son: combining the names of his new parents, Edgyth and Godwin, into Edwin. Essentially, Ceridwen is a surrogate mother to Edgyth, who cannot have children, and gives her babe up for adoption. Still, I was crushed to read that Ceridwen is not even permitted to breastfeed her child. Ceridwen gives up the chance for Ceric to inherit because she feels it her duty to give the Kilton estate a proper heir through Godwin, the eldest son.

This analysis refers only to the child himself and Ceridwen's motivation. In terms of how Godwin treats her, which is less like a partner and more like an object to fulfill his desire, I find his behavior reprehensible. I enjoy books that present textured scenarios like these, which inspire different emotions and make me think about my reactions to them. There is not enough room here for me to give my full analysis of this section, so I will leave off here.

Answer: Gyric

With Ceridwen's guidance, he finds a spear and stabs the Dane. Gwyneth says in "The Circle of Ceridwen" that because of his blindness, Gyric will never kill again. He proves her wrong here and feels a sense of self-worth he has not had in years, as his blindness keeps him from nearly any task he could do for the estate. Godwin's arm is never the same again, but he lives.

Answer: She will send Ceric to learn from him.

She believes that Sidroc has much to teach her son. They part on a kiss, their first. Ceric does begin to learn from Sidroc later, but in very different circumstances than Ceridwen could have imagined. Sidroc knows some runes, but otherwise cannot read or write, using a single rune signifying "victory" to write his name, sometimes combining it with the rune representing Tyr, the god he has pledged himself to.