Edgar

Edgar is the youngest son of a master shipbuilder in Combe. As the novel opens, he is planning to run away with Sunni, the woman he loves. However, his plan is thwarted when Vikings attack. Sunni is killed, and Edgar's family loses everything, including their shipbuilding tools and timber. Edgar is devastated by the idea of being a farmer, but he works hard at every task necessary to help his family survive. He is entirely uninterested when a girl named Cwenburg flirts with him, and believes he will never love again. Several years later, Edgar realizes he has been in love with Ragna since he first got to know her in the years after Sunni's death.

Edgar is highly intelligent at a time when few people have any education. He continues to learn about building by observing and from building things himself. He befriends a monk named Aldred...