Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Aachen, Francia When I was a hermit at Tours new to the lands of Gaul, before the Merovingian kings were steeped in their own fratricides, Clovis was the head of that clan. He ruled from Aachen. And now these centuries hence, the lands of Burgundy, Aquitaine, Nuestra, and Austrasia areContinue reading “#70.14, Wednesday, July 30, 2025”
Category Archives: Christian History
#70.13, Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Francia This horse and I are strangers to one another yet, so my traveling chatter is set loose on Creation itself. Dear God, thank you for the eternal flow of goodness – the river running down, always – the winds coming new across the grain fields – the stars andContinue reading “#70.13, Tuesday, July 29, 2025”
#70.12, Thursday, July 24, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Francia With the good fortune of finding a ship and fair winds I am a passenger on a trade vessel. It is less arduous than was the clandestine journey to Lindisfarne on the Longship — catching only storm winds, and rowing much of the way. Now, fully into the summerContinue reading “#70.12, Thursday, July 24, 2025”
#70.11, Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne Monastery Bishop Higbald prepares to bless a new abbot chosen from among these monks. A stranger here would assume I am a monk, but of course, all here know I only wear a borrowed robe so, I simply observe. I see that the bishop has the full administrativeContinue reading “#70.11, Wednesday, July 23, 2025”
#70.10, Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne Monastery Brother Ealdwin tolled the bell and when he comes down from the tower I ask his help to lay out a meal to serve these brothers and visitors. Brother Ealdwin is guiding me as I look for the supplies and the utensils left here so we can serve food. Continue reading “#70.10, Tuesday, July 22, 2025”
#70.9, Thursday, July 17, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne Monastery Brother Ealdwin speaks his gratitude to God for each of the monks who escaped the slaughter and here they have come back today. But things can never be as they were before the raid. The monks are grieving. We are seeing the devastation and the grief. We areContinue reading “#70.9, Thursday, July 17, 2025”
#70.8, Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne Monastery I came looking for the Gospel of John to read again John Chapter 15 because I wanted to remember Jesus dancing the vine dance or sitting at the table with us, all of us, the world of us, and saying, once again what he says so often, “We areContinue reading “#70.8, Wednesday, July 16, 2025”
#70.7, Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne Monastery I opened the beautiful pages of this gospel to a place where I know I will find Jesus’s love for all the people interconnected as the vine. [John 15] Usually, I can look past these intrusions of fear and judgment and just picture Jesus as I remember himContinue reading “#70.7, Tuesday, July 15, 2025”
#70.6, Thursday, July 10, 2025
Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne Monastery Ealdwin still chips away at the stone. I say, “Seeing everything from a Christian point of view may have skewed my understanding of the Vikings.” “How is that possible that truth can only be known from a Christian point of view?” “I’ve heard that said.” From this place byContinue reading “#70.6, Thursday, July 10, 2025”
#70.5, Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Art Note: This is a rough rendition of the military procession on the verso of the so called “Domesday stone,” now in the Lindisfarne museum. This blogger chose to draw it, rather than print out a copy, in order to gain a better personal understanding of the artwork . Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne MonasteryContinue reading “#70.5, Wednesday, July 9, 2025”
Lazarus Ink 