Medieval Word of the Day

Prime: the second canonical hour of the Catholic Church, after which nuns might listen to readings from the scriptures or lives of the Saints; in 12th Century England, it could fall between 3:40-6:00 AM.

None: the fifth canonical hour of the Catholic Church, after which nuns might eat dinner while one of their number read to them from the scriptures or lives of the Saints; in 12th Century England, it could fall between 1:40-3:00 PM.

See canonical hour.

Medieval Word of the Day

Canonical hour: One of seven prayer times observed by the Catholic church during the Middle Ages. During the Equinox, the hours fell as follows:

Matins: 5:00 AM
Prime: 6:00 AM
Terce: 8:30 AM
Sext: 12:30 PM
None: 2:30 PM
Vespers: 5:00 PM
Compline: 7:00-8:00 PM

These times naturally varied throughout the year as the days accordingly grew longer or shorter. To read more about the canonical hours during various times of the year, visit Court Will Begin at Half-way Terce: Keeping Time in High Middle Ages.

InD'Tale Review of "A Candlelight Courting": 4.5 stars and a Crowned Heart!

I was so excited to see this review of my new medieval e-novella, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance in InD'Tale Magazine that I just had to share! Here's a portion of what the reviewer, Beth Chamberlain, had to say:

"What  an enlightening and enjoyably tender read! Though short in length (the only downside of this story), it is long in understanding. The morals and morays of the middle ages are brought out in this story regarding the place of women and their choice of the roles they were to live. In the telling of this tale the dialogue is written with a sensitivity and a knowledge of the history of that time period. As one reads, one comes to understand that some of the things that we have taken for granted, were once very precious to those who came before us, and their sacrifices, hopefully, were not in vain.
Beautifully done, Ms. DiPastena!"

Read the entire review at http://indtale.com/reviews/candlelight-courting

A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance is available for only $1.99 on Kindle and Smashwords.

Medieval Word of the Day

Relics: objects venerated as sacred from their association with a saint or martyr.

Reliquary: a container where relics are stored.

Many reliquaries were elaborately decorated. Here's one example of an early medieval reliquary dated from the 7th Century:

You can see another example that I shared with my readers on my JDP NEWS blog: What Am I Writing Now?

Medieval Word of the Day

Rosary: a Roman Catholic devotion consisting of a series of prayers spoken in a specific order; includes the Ave Maria and the Paternoster. Also a string of beads that helps the person praying keep track of the prayers.

(From the painting Medieval Pomanders with Rosary, 15th Century)

Medieval Word of the Day

Paternoster or Pater Noster: Latin words meaning “Our Father,” the first two words in the Lord’s Prayer, often prayed with the Catholic rosary. 

Medieval Word of the Day

Ave or Ave Maria: Latin words meaning "Hail Mary," from a prayer that begins, "Hail Mary, full of grace," often prayed with the Catholic rosary.

(Virgin Mary and Christ Child, ivory statuette, c. 1260-1280)

Medieval Word of the Day

It's time for a new Medieval Word of the Day series! These are all "new" words that I used in my medieval story, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance.

Let's begin alphabetically with the Apostles' Creed: a statement of early Christian belief adopted by the Catholic Church, believed to have been dictated by the Twelve Apostles of the New Testament. The date of its origins are unknown, but it was referred to by the Catholic Saint Ambrose as early as 390 AD.

Click here to read the Apostles' Creed.

(The Twelve Apostles with the Virgin Mary receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost. Artwork dated c. 1460-1480)

Christina of Markyate and "A Candlelight Courting"

I first met Christina of Markyate (born approx 1097) in Who’s Who in the Middle Ages, by Dr. John Fines. Those of you who follow this blog know that this is one of my favorite browsing books about the Middle Ages. (The above link will take you to a book description, but please note that the giveaway is closed.) I read and reread this short biography of Christina for years before it occurred to me to see if I could find a copy of the longer biography cited by Dr. Fines, The Life of Christina of Markyate, a medieval bio by a contemporary of hers translated by C. H. Talbot. Christina, who’s given name was Theodora, became the founder of Markyate Priory in Bedfordshire, England. Her parents were very much set against her becoming a nun and betrothed her to a man named Burthred when she was young. When Christina stubbornly refused to marry Burthred, her parents let the young man into her room one night, hoping he would compromise her virtue and thus force her hand. Instead the next morning, her parents found the couple sitting together chastely having discoursed on religious subjects all night. Burthred and her parents tried several more times to convince Christina to agree to the marriage, but ultimately, Christina escaped and after suffering through many more challenges, became first a holy recluse, and ultimately the first prioress of Markyate.

Dr. Fines and Christina’s anonymous biographer both tell her story in lively, enjoyable styles. Copies of The Life of Christina of Markyate are available on Amazon and other online retailers.

Why am I discussing Christina on Medieval Research with Joyce? Because for years the story of her interlude with Burthred in her chamber intrigued me. In my imagination, I invented many variations of how that evening might have gone and dreamed of someday writing a story of some sort “inspired” by this incident. This summer I finally had an opportunity to do so when I was invited to write a short medieval Christmas story for a romance anthology. When I finished my “inspired by” version, I decided it wasn’t quite what the anthology was looking for and wrote a second story, called “Caroles on the Green”. (Available in A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Edition) But I had grown quite fond of my version of Christina and Burthred’s story, so after I finished my anthology contribution, I returned to Christina and Burthred, polished their story up, and published it as a short e-book called A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Story. A Candlelight Courting is not the story of Christina of Markyate, but of a fictional young woman called Christina of Norgate, also betrothed to a man named Burthred. They, too, have a candlelight courting, but with a very different ending than the original Christina’s. Here is the back cover copy:

When Burthred comes courting on Christmas Eve, Meg rejects his advances. She has her heart set on becoming a nun and insists that he call her Christina, the spiritual name she has chosen for herself. She tries to make him swear on her box of holy relics that he will not pursue her, but he carefully words his oath to allow him to stay in her candlelit chamber and try to change her mind.

What Meg does not confess is that her reliquary box holds a secret.

Burthred needs a wife, and no one will satisfy him except Meg. He swore on his father’s deathbed that he would marry her. But Burthred has a secret, too. When they come together before the Yule fire, their shared revelations will either join their hearts together or tear them apart.

A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Story is available on Kindle, Smashwords, iBooks, and Sony, coming soon to Nook.

Norman Conquest Day 2012

I didn't have time to buy a cake for Norman Conquest Day this year, but I wanted to share something with you, so I found this fun website about the Norman Conquest! The Essential Norman Conquest is an interactive website where you can view a 360 degree panorama of the battlefield of Hastings as it stands today, explore 3-D battle maps, compare the clothing of Norman and Saxon knights, and more! You have to install Quicktime to make most of the features work, but this is a fun website if you have it.

Enjoy. And Happy Norman Conquest Day!

Essential Norman Conquest website

(Extract from the Bayeux Tapestry)

More Medieval Names: Common vs Uncommon

Here they are, as promised. A sampling of common vs uncommon female names from my retyped medieval name list. (Again, all these are taken from The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, by E.G. Withycombe.)

Common/Popular:

Amabel, Amble, Mabel (12-13 C)

Amice, Amicia (12-15 C)

Ascelina

Basilia, Basilie, Basilla (12-13 C)

Dowsabel, Dowse, Duce, Douse

Edith, Eadgyth, Editha, Eda, Edan

Ella, Ela, Ala, Elia, Hele (common 'til mid-14 C)

Emma, Emme, Emmote, Emmete (11 C)

Gillian, Gill, Jill, Gillot, Gillet

Uncommon/Rare:

Ann, Anne, Nan, Nanny

Arabella, Orabell

Beata

Christine, Christina

Elfleda, Aelfled, Alfled(a), Alflet, Elflet

Elfreda, Elfrid

Violette (S French, rare in England)

Medieval Names: Common vs Uncommon

I recently made an unhappy discovery on my old desktop computer: the file that contains my carefully compiled list of medieval names has become "corrupted!" Fortunately for me, I have a physical printout of the names. Unfortunately, this means laboriously typing the lists into my MacBook so I have a backup copy. (Yes, I could simply scan them in, but I want the flexibility of being able to add new names as I find them.)

My bad luck is your good fortune, since I'm feeling in a sharing kind of mood. Here is a list of "common" vs "uncommon" names in medieval England. These particular names were extracted from The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, by E.G. Withycombe. (Oh, these are all male names. I haven't retyped my list of female names yet.)

Common names:

Acelin, Acelet (common 13 C)

Ancel, Ancelin, Ancelot


Aylmer

Berengar, Bereniger, Benger (12-13 C)


Bernard, Barnard, Barnet (12 C)

Bevis, Beves, Bovo, Bobo (12-13 C)


Brice, Bryce, Bricot (13-14 C)
David (12 C)

Edmund, Edmond

Edward

Fulk, Fauke, Fowke, Fawke, Fulcher


Geoffrey, Geffrey, Geoffroi, Geffrei, Geffrai, Jaufre (12-15 C)


Gerard, Gairhard, Gyrerd, Garrett, Garrat, Garit, Girard


Gilbert, Gylbart, Gylbard, Gilbred

Gregory, Gregour

Robert (Rob, Hob, Dob, Nob), Robin, Robard, Robyn

Walter, Wauter, Gualter, Gwalter

William, Guillielm, Guillaume, Willelm, Wylymot, Gillet, Gillot, Gilliame, Guillot, Gilmyn

Uncommon or rare names:

Adrian (12 C on, rare)

Amyas, Amiot (12-13 C, rare)

Charles, Carle, Charlet (Norman, rare)


Dominic, Dominick (13 C, uncommon in England)


Edgar, Etgar (Old English, rare after Norman Conquest)

Edwin, Eaduin (Old English, rare after 13 C)


Egbert (Old English, rare after Norman Conquest)


Emery, Emeric, Emerick (intro by Normans, never common)


Gabriel, Gabrell, Gabryell (uncommon)

Joseph (infrequent)

Samuel (rare)


Tancred (uncommon in England)

Victor (1200s, but rare)


Vivian, Phythian, Fithian (12 C, uncommon)


Warren, Warin, Guarin (rare after 14 C)

Wilfred, Wilfrid (rare after Norman Conquest)

Enjoy! When I retype the women's names, I'll share some with you, too.

Cover Reveal: A Candlelight Courting

I just received the cover art for my short medieval Christmas story, A Candlelight Courting, from the always amazing Jaimey Grant at An Author's Art! I think it's beautiful. I hope you do, too!

When Burthred comes courting on Christmas Eve, Meg rejects his advances. She has her heart set on becoming a nun and insists that he call her Christina, the spiritual name she has chosen for herself. She tries to make him swear on her box of holy relics that he will not pursue her, but he carefully words his oath to allow him to stay in her candlelit chamber and try to change her mind.

What Meg does not confess is that her reliquary box holds a secret.

Burthred needs a wife, and no one will satisfy him except Meg. He swore on his father’s deathbed that he would marry her. But Burthred has a secret, too. When they come together before the Yule fire, their shared revelations will either join their hearts together or tear them apart.

A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance

Coming October 2012

Illuminated manuscripts and medieval bookmarks!

As many of you know, my sweet medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart, explores the world of medieval illumination. So imagine my excitement when I stumbled across this little interview on C-Span's Book TV! Eric Duncan, associate curator for rare books at the Ohio State University Library, shares with viewers a beautiful illuminated Bible (you'll see why these books were called "illuminated" when you see all that gold leaf!) and an original medieval bookmark that helped the reader keep track of more than just what page they were on. Watch and enjoy! It's only about 13 minutes long.

Calling All Katies: Winner!

Congratulations to Katie Leigh, winner of my Calling All Katies giveaway. Katie has won a pre-autographed copy of my medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart.


Thank you to all you wonderful Katies or Katie-lovers who entered. We didn't quite hit 110, but 21 Katies isn't too bad!