Historical Setting: 789 C.E. Jutland
Dear God, All day I did the rote collecting of wood, walking, mindless work, releasing the bonds of earth in repetitious devotion. Thank you.
I’ve been stacking logs at the hearth in this little house of the wood carver intensely devoted to his work.
Now my task is to bring many more fallen trees from the forest for a village bon fire to celebrate Solstice.
Marian, a child, and the smiðr’s slave from Gaul, prepares the bread as this house’s contribution to the feast. It’s braided as was the tradition in my own home many centuries past. I was thinking that the only things that could be saved throughout the generations were made of iron and stone, but this child knows a tradition for braiding a loaf of bread that comes from a well of history, maybe never written, but always known. She, herself, probably doesn’t know the long root. But she still makes the bread. Like tangible heirlooms, traditions pass through generations uncounted by time.
I continue laying firewood at the fire pit on the shore near another cluster of houses to the north. These logs are burdened with the dampness of the winter. It will be a smokey fire but long burning.
After every heap of logs I drop, I take a stretch to remind my shoulders and back there is more joy in being human than simple work. It feels good to stretch these new muscles and to stretch my imagination to encompass the whole view of this sea coast from this point of land – all so beautiful in its winter glaze and brilliant azure sky.
Resting a moment, I take a stroll further to the north and here I see a whole shipyard. One ship, complete with mast and oars, is moored in this bay and others are in various stages of construction. These look very much like ships the Wends were using to ferry our horses over the river those years ago when I traveled with my son and his partner. The boats had a solid keel that could support a mast but were made to navigate rivers then portage over land. This ship is longer with a slightly deeper keel, maybe suited for sea travel. It has more elegant lines as so much attention is given the detail of the art. Could art be tradition?
(Continues Tuesday, January 7, 2025)
Lazarus Ink 