Matthew Harffy

Matthew Harffy writes early medieval adventure fiction centred on Northumbria, warrior loyalty, religious change and the violence of emerging kingdoms.

Matthew Harffy grew up in Northumberland, where the castles, coast and surviving traces of early medieval history gave him a strong connection to the landscape of northern England. After later settling in Wiltshire, he began writing fiction inspired by the seventh-century kingdom of Northumbria and by the limited, often contested evidence for the period. He has also co-hosted the Rock, Paper, Swords! podcast, discussing historical fiction, warfare and research with fellow writer Steven A. McKay.

Harffy is best known for the Bernicia Chronicles, beginning with The Serpent Sword. The series follows Beobrand through feuds, royal service, conversion and war as Anglo-Saxon kingdoms compete for supremacy. Wolf of Wessex offers a standalone story of pursuit and justice, while the A Time for Swords books move into the late eighth and early ninth centuries, when Scandinavian raiding begins to reshape Britain. His novels combine close combat with questions of faith, lordship and belonging. They are particularly suited to readers interested in Northumbria, Anglo-Saxon warfare and the transition into the Viking Age.

Periods and events

Anglo-Saxon England Kingdom of Bernicia Mercian Expansion under Penda Merovingian Francia Early Medieval Pilgrimage to Rome Rome in the Early Middle Ages Viking Age Byzantine Empire Early Medieval Early Medieval Rheged and Northumbria Viking Age Scandinavia Kingdom of Northumbria in the Seventh Century Al-Andalus Wessex in the Ninth Century

Series

Series by Matthew Harffy (2 series)

The Bernicia Chronicles in Order

by Matthew Harffy 11 books 4.4

The Bernicia Chronicles follow Beobrand, an outsider who rises from inexperienced warrior to powerful Northumbrian warlord during the seventh century. Set amid the rival kingdoms of Bernicia, Deira, Mercia, Wessex and the British north, the series places personal vengeance, loyalty and family conflict within the formation of Northumbria…

The Serpent Sword

4.2

The Cross and the Curse

4.4

Blood and Blade

4.4

Killer of Kings

4.5

Warrior of Woden

4.5

Storm of Steel

4.5

Fortress of Fury

4.6

For Lord and Land

4.5

Forest of Foes (the Bernicia Chronicles)

4.6

Shadows of the Slain (the Bernicia Chronicles)

4.6

Bane of Bernicia

4.7

A Time for Swords in Order

by Matthew Harffy 4 books 4.4

A Time for Swords follows Hunlaf, a Northumbrian novice monk whose life is transformed by the Viking raid on Lindisfarne in 793. Becoming a warrior without abandoning the questions raised by his faith, he travels with a mixed band of Northumbrians and Norsemen through Scandinavia, al-Andalus, Byzantine territory…