In researching for “Dragons In the Sky” in regards to the
possibility of logical travel by Sholto and Olwen on horseback from the west of
France to the border of Illyria/Macedonia during the period of my novel, Iron Age Britain, 4th
century BC, I found some really fascinating facts. Not only was it quite possible (and probable)
but people have been traversing Europe since the Bronze Age. Way back then people from Chaldea and Troy
came as far west as what is now Ireland.
The Druids, early Britain’s astronomer-priests, were closely related to
the Chaldean Magis and were thought to have first come from the Near East. There’s
evidence of the Phoenicians found in Britain with some supposition that
early Britons were sea-going Aryan-Phoenicians who later became known as Celts
or Kelts. The Mycenaeans also traveled far from home by ship and reputedly
there were Mycenaean markings on the great stones of Stonehenge. I read once that one of the first kings of
Wales was the 50th son of Priam of Troy but who knows if that is
true or not! (some of this information
might have come from a book I have in my collection “Tracing Our Ancestors” by
Frederick Haberman, a fascinating book
which traces British roots to the Near East. I believe he may be a “British
Israelite” but he has lots of interesting information in his research.
Pytheas route from Massalia to "Thule"
I’ve also run across Greeks who ended up in Britain and
beyond. (The Greeks had a colony at
Massalia (Marseilles) in the south of what is now France. Pythagoras had founded
a school there and some time between 335-300 BC a Greek scholar/explorer
named Pytheas set off from Massalia on a voyage that would take him right up the coast of
Britain almost as far as Norway. He visited a
considerable part of Britain and is the
first person on record to describe the Midnight Sun. He is the first known
scientific visitor and reporter of the arctic, polar ice and is one who
introduced the idea of distant “Thule”. His account of the tides is the
earliest to state that they are caused by the moon.
Pytheas
So, taking into consideration that there were people
traveling far distances even hundreds of years before Sholto and Olwen set off,
their travels were quite logical. As a
matter of fact, looking at life in North American during the 1800’s, people were
travelling by canoe, wagon and horse even farther distances than my characters
would have travelled across Europe.
Belgae tribesmen
Besides their travels and the terrains they would be
crossing (for this I looked at google maps and could see the lay of the land
along their route), I also did some research on what people they might meet
along the way. First there were the
Belgae tribes who lived in northern France (Gaul) between the English channel
and the west bank of the Rhine. Then
there were the Alpine Celts, known as the “Salt People” because they traded in
salt, a commodity as valuable as gold in those days. There were also the Italic
tribes and the tribes of people living in the area the Danube River. These were
fierce warriors who fought against Philip of Macedon and Alexander when he was
young. Their languages were apparantly similar so logically Sholto and Olwen
wouldn’t have had too much trouble conversing with anyone they met. Once they
reached the lands of Illyria, these were different tribal people and from there
Olwen meets the Macedonians.
Now that I have their route of travel sorted out I will need
to do further research on potions, herbs, witchcraft and spells because Olwen
is an acolyte of the Druids and has learned the spells and medicines since she
was a child. She would also know how to read the stars to find directions as
well as studying other aspects of nature and the seasons.
Remember, she’s a captive of this renegade warrior and she has to figure
out how to escape!
