Historical setting: 590 C.E. Cottage between Annegray and Luxeuil Maybe they are neighbors. A family of hunters found our doorstep on their way home from somewhere they say is a church named after St. Martin said to be hidden in the woods behind the monastery. It seems legends of Christian saints left a sourContinue reading “#40.1, Tues., Jan. 3, 2023”
Category Archives: Early Medieval
#39.13, Thurs., Dec. 29, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. cottage between Annegray and Luxeuil I can understand our visiting neighbors are not favorable to Christian Saints and foreign missionaries murdering sacred trees of Pagan worship. And it doesn’t take very much chatter to discover our guests are not the variety of Christians who would make a pilgrimage to aContinue reading “#39.13, Thurs., Dec. 29, 2022”
#39.12, Weds., Dec. 28, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. a cottage Between Annegray and Luxeuil No sooner were the monks on their way down the hill than a group of people, several children, some women, an old man and a younger man, trudged up the hill through the snow and stopped at our door. “Good morning Friends, haveContinue reading “#39.12, Weds., Dec. 28, 2022”
#39.11, Tues., Dec. 27, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. a cottage between Annegray and Luxeuil We’ve been contemplating the Christmas story with our guests. Colleen seems miffed by the ignorance of her own countrymen with their thought that a virgin who could give birth would not then be able to produce milk for the baby. “How isContinue reading “#39.11, Tues., Dec. 27, 2022”
#39.10, Thurs., Dec. 22, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. a cottage between Annegray and Luxeuil The stories that seem to go array in the worst ways are those that are most often told. So here we are, three Irish monks, Colleen and Ana and I, gathered around the hearth in Ana’s little room. Colleen savors the brogue ofContinue reading “#39.10, Thurs., Dec. 22, 2022”
#39.9, Weds., Dec. 21, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. a cottage between Annegray and Luxeuil Maybe Pagan magic was left in the fragrant wood I’ve gathered for our fire here, or maybe it is the warm spirit that is a Christian thing about this season. But today, celebration seems overwhelmed with the Creative Spirit of love. The only wordsContinue reading “#39.9, Weds., Dec. 21, 2022”
#39.8, Tues., Dec. 20, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. a cottage between Annegray and Luxeuil I prefer the scent of Ana’s room and the comfortable smell of wool with all her spinning on-and-on. The bags of combed and washed wools, donated to the monastery were delivered to Ana for spinning and now, she has wound all the yarns intoContinue reading “#39.8, Tues., Dec. 20, 2022”
#39.7, Thurs., Dec. 15, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Luxeuil The workers at the new monastery are hanging the bell in the belfry even as the support is being constructed. I have one of the guidelines in hand ready to help steer what the mules will heft. The tower craftsmen are up top, ready to harness the weight ofContinue reading “#39.7, Thurs., Dec. 15, 2022”
#39.6 Weds., Dec. 14, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Luxeuil The old Roman baths at Luxeuil, like the well I found behind our cottage, had been nearly hidden in overgrown vines and scrubby trees sprouting on tiny stems between the immovable Roman stones. Stems of saplings, fed by the sun above and the waters of earth became an untendedContinue reading “#39.6 Weds., Dec. 14, 2022”
#39.5, Tues., Dec. 13, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. the path to Luxeuil Wearing winter fleeces now, I make my way down the hill coaxing the mules through the drifts of snow on the zig-zag path, down, down to the hard-frozen creek bed. The wind is nearly at my back, sending snow dancing in swirls and twirls of outContinue reading “#39.5, Tues., Dec. 13, 2022”
Lazarus Ink 