Mr. Cornwell: Just finished your 5th volume, in the ‘Saxon Series.’ As usual, I LOVED IT! Also have bought and enjoyed your ‘Grail Quest’ series long ago. You’re a fine writer. I teach ‘Ancient & Medieval History’ on the college level, and have always been drawn to the ‘Volkerwanderung,’Dark Age period of the Germanic tribal peoples and up to the Norman Conquest, in England, etc. I’ve traced my family line back to the 15th cetnury in England. They came to Mass., from Wiltshire in the 1640’s and I have done considerable research on the family in England, where it usually appears as ROLFE in spelling. Interestingly, as you know, the name ROLF or HROLF, etc., is an old ‘Viking Chieftain’ name, that appears to have been brought into England with the Danish invasions. All the Rolfe families in England have the ‘RAVEN’ as their family coat of arms as well, which I believe is too much for coincidence. The name first appears in the ‘Doomsday Book’ at Horsey in Norfolk, a Free Dane bearing the name. As you know, there was HROLF KRAKI in Denmark and a host of other individuals who have born the name in the Scandinavian & Germanic countries, into the far distant past. There’s even a ‘ROLF’ name-day in modern Sweden. I’m just curious, knowing that you are very familiar with the time period, as to why you chose to name Ragnar’s chief warrior, ROLLO, rather than ROLF or HROLF in your recent book, ‘The Burning Land.’ There was HROLF GANGER or ‘HROLF the Walker,’ William the Conqueror’s 4th great-grandfather who founded Normandy, but the Latin rendition of his name was ROLLO. No Dane would have called a fellow Viking ROLLO, but would have used the Danish name of ROLF or HROLF. Once again, why did you chose ROLLO over ROLF in your recent book? Like you, I like my heritage and surname, and am ‘touchy’ over the subject. Ha! Once again though, I truly enjoy your work and wish you well in all your future endeavors. The ‘Saxon Novels’ are truly great story-telling and accurate historical research, from place-names to armor, etc. You have accomplished what I feel all academicians SHOULD do as well. You can both educate and entertain people, so that they love rather than hate history. Far to many academicians are lousy story-tellers (and even worst historians at times!) I think such anonymous poets as the author of ‘Beowulf’ (my all time favorite poem) and J.R.R. Tolkien, the famed writer and Anglo-Saxon linguist would both be proud of you as well, for your accomplishments of ‘telling the story and the times’ in a way, that you’d love to set in a ‘mead-hall’ and listen to some scop or bard tell YOUR VERSION of a tale, since it would be both accurate as well as ‘heroic’ in nature. Thanks so much again for your books and insights into a fascinating period. Sincerely, Dr. Dan Rolph