Rebellion

by Paul Bernardi 3 books in this series

The Rebellion trilogy follows Oslac, a Northumbrian thegn whose private feud with Gundulf is repeatedly overtaken by the struggle against Norman rule. Blood Feud begins in 1067 with the conflict between William the Conqueror’s appointed earl Copsi and the local ruler Osulf; Uprising carries Oslac deeper into the unrest spreading across the north; The Reckoning reaches 1069 and Robert de Comines’s disastrous attempt to impose royal authority at Durham.

Bernardi uses Oslac’s fictional household and feud to connect the local politics of Bamburgh and Northumbria with the larger Norman conquest. Across the three books, revenge, kinship and inherited loyalty become inseparable from the sequence of rebellions that eventually drove William towards much harsher measures in northern England.

Reading order

Books in this series (3 books)

1. Blood Feud

Paul Bernardi

First published 2024

2.5(5)

Northumbria, 1067. Oslac of Acum is consumed by a feud with Gundulf’s Danes after the killing of his younger brother, but private revenge is interrupted by the arrival of a new political threat. William the Conqueror has appointed Copsi as earl in the north, and Oslac’s…

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2. Uprising

Paul Bernardi

First published 2025

4.0(50)

Summer 1067. Oslac’s private feud with Gundulf remains unresolved after the Danish lord escapes custody at Bebbanburh, and an attempted assassination convinces Oslac that the conflict will end only with one of them dead. He pursues Gundulf into the northern hills while the political settlement imposed…

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3. The Reckoning

Paul Bernardi

First published 2026

3.9(37)

January 1069. After the failure of earlier resistance, Oslac remains determined to drive the Normans from Northumbria. William the Conqueror has lost patience with the region and appoints Robert de Comines as earl, sending him north with a force intended to impose royal authority. Oslac joins…

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