Launch: Kim Rendfeld’s Duchess of the New Dawn

INTERVIEWED BY J. K. KNAUSS

A lifelong fascination with fairy tales and legends set Kim Rendfeld on her quest to write historical fiction. She grew up in New Jersey and earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, then embarked on a thirty-six-year career in journalism and public relations. In retirement, Kim is spending more time with her family, garden, community, and writing.

How would you describe Duchess of the New Dawn in a couple of sentences?

Eighth-century Frankish princess Chiltrude defies her powerful family and risks everything to seize her heart’s desire, safeguard her child, and secure her new homeland’s future. Set in the days of Charles Martel, it is the story of one woman’s audacity to forge her own path.

What was your first inspiration to write about this “unusual” time period?

I was inspired by a legend about the origin of an arch at Rolandsbogen on the Rhine. The wife of the legendary hero Roland heard the false news that her husband had died in battle. So, she took a vow of celibacy and fled to a convent on Nonnenwerth, an island in the Rhine. When Roland returned from the battlefield, he built a castle just to catch a glimpse of his beloved going to and from prayers. The arch that stands today is what’s left of the castle.

It is only a story, but that sad tale would not leave me alone. It left me with a lot of questions. Why would someone lie to the wife? Why couldn’t Roland just get her out of the convent?

That curiosity sent me on a quest to find out more about the characters and their times—the days of Charlemagne. At the time, I had only heard of Charlemagne in passing in middle school.

Your urge to answer those questions led directly to your first novel, The Cross and the Dragon. What prompted you to continue digging into the era of Charlemagne?

Early medieval history is so much richer than what I had been taught. Religion, power, and (often dysfunctional) family dynamics were intertwined—a fantastic mix for writing fiction.

In my research, I keep finding something or someone that raises questions I cannot resist investigating. How does a Saxon peasant contend with losing her faith as a sacred pillar burns? Did Queen Fastrada’s cruelty really cause Charlemagne’s eldest son to rebel? Those evocative situations led to The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar and Queen of the Darkest Hour.

What was the burning question that inspired Duchess of the New Dawn?

According to the Continuation of Fredegar, after Charles Martel, Francia’s de facto ruler, died in 741, his daughter, Chiltrude, “did what her wicked stepmother told her: with friends’ help, she went secretly over the Rhine to Duke Odilo of the Bavarians, who married her against the wishes and without permission of her brothers.”

Wait, what? The daughter of Francia’s reigning family eloped? In an age when marriages among aristocrats were all about alliances, this almost never happened. I had to explore why.

Please elaborate about what makes Chiltrude’s story so compelling. How does she compare to your previous protagonists?

We don’t know much about the historic Chiltrude, but if the Continuation is accurate, one truth stands out: Chiltrude was courageous.

In the 740s, it was tough for a woman to go against her family’s wishes, especially if the father was Charles Martel, a mayor of the palace so powerful he ruled in the name of a dead king for several years. People who got in Charles’s way, including a nephew and a king, had a convenient habit of dying or disappearing.

As a child of a ruling family, Chiltrude grew up in politics. She is cleared-eyed about her kin—she understands why some people hate her father. As the story opens, she fears the rivalry among three of her brothers will escalate into civil war. She has good reason: it happened when her grandfather had died.

Your novels focus on women’s experiences during this masculine time. What are its most interesting aspects for your readers?

Throughout history, scribes have emphasized men’s deeds while giving little attention to women. That causes a perception that women were passive or they were mere chattel whose only contributions to society was to bear children. The reality is more complex.

Although early medieval times were not a feminist’s paradise, women sought to shape the world around them. An abbess controlled land and its resources. A family arranging a girl’s marriage saw her as a partner in creating or solidifying alliances. A noblewoman could serve as her husband’s chief of staff, treasurer, and diplomat while she saw to her children’s moral upbringing. If a noblewoman was widowed while her son was a minor, she could serve as regent. Many medieval moms defended their sons’ rights when threatened.

Fiction is a good way to set the record straight.

Do any aspects of writing about this time period get easier as you write more novels?

I am more familiar with eighth-century European society, religious practices, foods, and rhythms of the year, and I have refined my writing process. However, each book is a new adventure. The protagonists and supporting characters are different as are the places and historical events.

Would you say it’s as if you’ve visited this foreign country of the eighth century, but you still have to go back to get more details and meet more people?

That is a good way to put it. Early medieval historical sources often don’t describe what a person, building, or city looked like—all of which an author needs to re-create a world. So, I’m still making multiple dives in the research rabbit hole to figure out what a particular locale looked like in the 700s, for example, or what I can use as a close enough approximation.

The other challenge: whom do I believe? Annals, hagiographies, and other writings are not objective accounts, and they can contradict each other. Scholars whose work is essential to my novels sometimes come to different conclusions.

How do these contradictions play out in Duchess of the New Dawn?

One scholar makes the plausible argument that the historic Chiltrude married Odilo while he visited her father’s court, and their son was born in Francia. Other scholars say the two became lovers during Odilo’s visit, she fled Francia after her father’s death that October, and their son was born that year. I’m going with the second possibility. I have a soft spot for scandal.

What is the best writing advice you have to share?

Find good critique partners—fellow writers who will give you honest feedback and respect whatever you are trying to accomplish in the story. It also helps to set ground rules early so that everyone knows what to expect.

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