​We had lived in Brillac on and off for over twenty years and returned to France in 2016. I stumbled across a map that show the Vikings attacked the village where I live with my wife. It showed the attack took place in 852. I was curious because I had never heard any Brillac locals talking about  a Viking attack. In 2019, when we were locked down, I  decided to check it out.
​The map consists of different coloured arrows sweeping across France, representing invasions at different times. If you look for the green highlight, you’ll see that the site dedicated to the history of Aquitaine and the South-West shows a Viking incursion of Brillac,  not far from Limoges. In another example, perhaps based on the above, a Wikipedia map shows the same story which I’m pretty sure is incorrect, showing a Viking attack on Brillac, a long way from the coast. So the maps had the raids placed at the blue dot (bottom right). After hunting around I found a reference to a battle with the Normans in a different Brillac in the coastal département of the Vendée. It describes a battle at Brillac in the commune of Chaix where the Normans (Vikings) defeated the troops of Ramnulf Count of Poitiers and Raymond Count of d’Herbauges. In my opinion this is where the raid of 852 took place. See the red dot (top left). Apart from anything else its much closer to the coast and the sites of Viking action at the time. The last important reference I found in Wikipedia was for an 852 battle. It named a Viking called Oscar who was defeated by the Counts of Poitiers and d’Herbauges at Brissac. (This reference has the battle go against Oskar)


This discovery led me to want to find more about Oskar. My principal source for Oskar’s history was an invaluable document by Stephen M. Lewis. “Vikings in Aquitaine and their connections, ninth to early eleventh centuries.” It is a lengthy and rich source of information and analysis. I focussed on the account of Oskar and his journey down the west coast of France. Oskar’s history inspired me to write my novel, The Driftwood Vikingar.  One spectacularly bloodthirsty event was the sacking of Nantes which I re-tell with a touch of magic. This was influenced by an academic work about Viking sorcery in the late Iron Age, but that is for another blog post.

The Driftwood Vikingar is fantasy historical fiction with an element of time travel.  You can find out more about the book, the author and his inspiration at Driftwoodvikingar.com
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If you would like to order The Driftwood Vikingar from Amazon you will find it here in the USA or by searching for B0DSCNF41K in other countries.

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