Historical setting: 589 C.E. near Poitiers The moon set, leaving us in a long darkness, but not at all for sleeping and already we are gathering for morning prayers. Ana and Colleen are draped in huge woolen robes hidden completely in hoods and sleeves. There are no secrets in this hall though nothing isContinue reading “#36.13, Thurs., Sept. 29, 2022”
Category Archives: Early Medieval
#36.12, Weds., Sept. 28, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. near Poitiers Ana is telling me of her fears of the earl’s guardsmen. “I rode as fast as I could ride in the dim moonlight by the river, but I knew that right behind me were the earl’s guardsmen. They had seen me in the earl’s stable readying myContinue reading “#36.12, Weds., Sept. 28, 2022”
#36.11, Tues., Sept. 27, 2022
Historical setting: 589 near Poitiers Ana is telling me of finding Lady Elise. “She was neither blue nor gray. Her skin was pale but not dead. I thought she may actually only be unconscious but seemed not dead at all. Immediately I had to allow this dangerous man a story to save himself.Continue reading “#36.11, Tues., Sept. 27, 2022”
#36.10, Thurs., Sept. 22, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Poitiers Dear God let us feel your presence. And stay close to Ana. Amen. This afternoon I return to the work of helping Brother August and his apprentice. With three of us working, we have revealed the shoulders of the mother and the head of the infant is nowContinue reading “#36.10, Thurs., Sept. 22, 2022”
#36.9, Weds., Sept. 21, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Poitiers Ana is telling me that she and Colleen turned the previous midwife’s journal over to Lady Elise’s mother. “It affirmed the family’s worst fears. These childbirth deaths may not have been the natural consequences of difficult births, but something more sinister. The earl is one who seems theContinue reading “#36.9, Weds., Sept. 21, 2022”
#36.8, Tues., Sept. 20, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. The road to Ligugé Today I meet Ana for our ride and ask her if she and Colleen have a plan if they find the same circumstance as described in the midwife’s journal. Ana tells me, “It’s very helpful to know what happened in that instance, though it doesn’tContinue reading “#36.8, Tues., Sept. 20, 2022”
#36.7, Thurs., Sept. 15, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Poitiers While I stay as a guest at Ligugè I appreciate the hours for prayer and psalms with these few elder brothers. I help some with the work on the statue that Brother August and his young apprentice are doing. And as close as we are, with Ana at theContinue reading “#36.7, Thurs., Sept. 15, 2022”
#36.6, Weds., Sept. 14, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Poitiers Ana and I have found a cozy quietude in the haymow of this villa stable. I asked her if Colleen, the midwife/servant-slave here is a good teacher. “Teacher, no. She’s more like me as an eight-year-old than she is like my teacher. Lady Elise is due any dayContinue reading “#36.6, Weds., Sept. 14, 2022”
#36.5, Tues., Sept. 13, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Poitiers at a noble villa I asked for Ana at the gate of the convent and I was given the name of a noble household where she was sent. Finding that place was easy. It’s a villa on the riverbank overlooking the city. It is the residence of an earl.Continue reading “#36.5, Tues., Sept. 13, 2022”
#36.4, Thurs., Sept. 8, 2022
Historical setting: 589 C.E. Poitiers Brother August has already dealt with my obstinate little heresies, nitpicking substance of Trinity and plundering creed, calling it a human appeasement and not the true nature of God. And now I’ve added a wife to my list of sins. From this monk’s point of view it’s onlyContinue reading “#36.4, Thurs., Sept. 8, 2022”
Lazarus Ink 