The Hall of Tyr Trivia Quiz

Answer: Deafness

He is an excellent hunter, a compassionate man, and very tuned to nature, but because of his deafness, few women want to marry him, though his mother Rannveig the brewster believes he would be a wonderful husband. He invented his own sign language and can easily communicate with anyone he or his mother teach it to. He has a special sign for each person he knows: his mother's alludes to her ring of keys, Sidroc's to his scar, Ceridwen's to her fiery hair, and so on. I found myself inadvertently making the signs as I read.

According to the book's glossary, a brewster is a female brewer and a baxter is a female baker.

Answer: Hamingja

Everyone is born with one; if it deserts you, he says, it is gone forever. In Norse mythology, a hamingja is a female guardian spirit who endeavors to bring happiness and luck. Upon the person's death, it can pass from person to person in the same family. Yggdrasil is the world tree, and Ratatoskr is the squirrel that dwells at the tree to carry messages.

A scop is a bard, a person who not only entertains with song but also carries cultural heritage.

Answer: She plans to send a letter to Ælfwyn.

Sidroc tells her that if she sends a letter, everything they have done may be for naught, as their location could be traced. In "The Claiming", he tells her exactly what would happen should they return to Angle-land, or be discovered, in a section I think of as Sidroc's fan-fiction: Godwin will assume he has been intimate with Ceridwen and fight him over her honor, and the death of either man will have deep consequences. Fortunately, they make up afterwards, which apparently includes sex.

Let us not forget that the Saxon knows their names and where they come from...

Answer: Fathering Sigvor's babe

Ceridwen quickly points out that due to the timing of each of their arrivals at Tyrsborg and that Sigvor is four months pregnant, Tindr could not be the father. He is offered the chance to wed her, and he is willing, but she is not, and instead marries a relative of the babe's father.

In "Tindr", we see the event from Tindr's point-of-view, and the plotline continues, as the father is not dead. This is better for Tindr--he deserves a woman who truly loves him, not one who makes false accusations.

Answer: Sparrow

He gives her a sign referring to a bird. Her real name is Bova (in this book they cannot tell if it is Bova or Bona, but it is clarified in "Silver Hammer, Golden Cross") but she accepts his name for her. Ceridwen first sees her as a slave to Eskil; filled with compassion for her and anger for Eskil, she buys Sparrow and frees her. Sparrow is likely the only Christian on the island and has no one to connect with.

In spite of not being Christian anymore, Ceridwen tells Sparrow the stories she remembers from the priory to give the girl a connection to her homeland.

Answer: No

The Saxon (real name Aldhelm) tells Godwin lies about how Sidroc has mistreated Ceridwen, and Godwin believes him. Ælfwyn sees right through the lies and knows that Sidroc could never hurt Ceridwen. Interestingly, she comes to exactly the same conclusions as Sidroc does about what would happen should the pair be found.

She wishes them to stay away from Angle-land and live their lives together.

Answer: A fire

The warehouse of goods catches fire at night. No one is killed, though some are burned, but most of what is stored inside is destroyed. Our couple loses their millstones but retain the amber and silk. Thankfully, what is preserved is sent out on ships, and the men return successfully.

Gotland was a center of trade in the medieval period. In 1999, a huge Viking hoard, including silver and pottery, was found there.

Answer: Twins

I guessed she was carrying twins several pages before the reveal, as she is larger than she thinks she should be yet is not near her time. No one knows about the twins until the labor does not quit after the girl comes out. She is followed by a brother. Ceridwen does not know her mother's name, so names her daughter Eirian to have a connection to the Welsh. Sidroc names the son Yrling for his uncle. Personally, I thought they would name the daughter Sidwen, using the parental name combination method that was used to name Ceric and Edwin. I suppose that would make Ceridroc the son's name.

Answer: Sidroc and Godwin fight and Godwin dies.

As Ceridwen has no wish to leave, Godwin wants to take her back to Kilton by force. Besides seeing Godwin attempting to abduct his wife, Sidroc has ill-will towards Godwin for killing his uncle back in the first book of the series, and they fight. Godwin must not be thinking clearly, because you should never throw your only weapon during a fight to the death, and this action guarantees his death. Considering what Godwin forced Ceridwen and Gyric to do to get himself an heir, I think he has no right to call Ceridwen a whore.

Answer: She releases Sidroc from marriage.

In two more years, her marriage will be officially dissolved (desertion for five years sunders a marriage), leaving her free to finally have a love match if she chooses, or join a convent, or remain unwed. She is happy that her best friend and husband have found happiness together, and she continues to vow friendship with Ceridwen. Ælfwyn should be the poster child for integrity, understanding, compassion, and steadfast friendship.

She has understood for ten years that her husband always loved her best friend and puts no blame on either of them for their feelings or how all of their lives turned out.

In Jutland, Sidroc's homeland, men can have multiple wives, so being essentially married to two women at once (even if one of them is hundreds of miles away) is not unusual to him.