Change in Comment Settings

Due of a stream of "anonymous" comments to my last post having nothing whatsoever to do with this blog, I have (hopefully temporarily) reset my comment settings to "registered users". I know from experience that this setting makes it harder for many people to leave comments on blog postings, but I don't know any other way, short of screening every comment, to put a stop to Mr. Anonymous. I'm hoping that he/she will grow tired and take his/her annoying behavior elsewhere and that I will be able to reinstate the "general" comment setting soon. In the meantime, thank you for your patience!

Winner of "A Medieval Herbal"

Congratulations to Jaimey Grant! Jaimey has won my duplicate copy of A Medieval Herbal. Merry Christmas and Happy Writing, Jaimey!

And a very Merry Christmas to everyone who entered my drawing!

One More Gift Book Title

It's amazing what one stumbles across while cleaning house for the holidays. No, alas, it's not another duplicate book, so no contest involved here. (Though my contest for a copy of A Medieval Herbal is still on going through Christmas Eve!) It is, however, a copy of Through the Glass Window Shines the Sun: An Anthology of Medieval Poetry and Prose, edited by Pamela Norris. This is a little larger than the gift books I referred to previously. Okay, so maybe it's quite a bit bigger at 7.5" X 7.5". But it's still very much in the style of the gift books I described in my previous post on that subject, designed with the text on one page and a beautiful period painting reproduction on the facing page.

Through the Glass Window... begins with an introduction by Pamela Norris. In her own words, this book: "...brings together writing and painting from across the spectrum of medieval life, spanning a period of around 350 years, from the late twelfth century to the reign of Henry VIII."

Ms Norris divides her book into four sections:

• "The Queen of Heaven", focusing on medieval religious prose and poetry
• "My True Love and Lady", focusing on secular love between men and women
• "In Peace and War", focusing on "the diversity of medieval life"
• "Marvelous Tales", with excerpts from the sort of fantastical stories that men and women of that age enjoyed wiling the hours away listening to on a cold winter's night. (Many of which might equally well wile away many a winter's evening of our own...or spring's, or summer's, or fall's, for that matter!)

As I warned you to be the case with most of these beautiful gift books, this one, too, is currently out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon, and it never hurts to Google the title for additional options.

Christmas Contest for Yet Another Duplicate Book!

I just finished holding a contest over on my sister blog, JDP NEWS, and it hardly seems fair that I should neglect you, my faithful Medieval Research with Joyce followers, from a Christmas contest of your own. Fortunately for you, I have rounded up...yes!...another duplicate book from my medieval  library!

This one is called A Medieval Herbal. It is a small gift book size (5" X 6.5"), hard bound, and to quote from the back cover blurb: "With lavish period illustrations and engaging lore from authentic botanical texts, A Medieval Herbal offers a fascinating glimpse into the traditional art of herbal healing." (See my prior post on Gift Books for more information.)

From what I can tell on Amazon, this book is out of print, so this isn't something you'd have the good fortune of stumbling across in a bookstore, like I did several years ago!

How can you enter to win a copy of this book? It's Christmas time, we're all busy, so I'm going to keep this one simple! Simply leave a comment on this blog telling me why you'd like to win this book. AND either include your email address with your comment so I can contact you if you win, or if you'd rather keep that personal, email me your email address (mailing address are good, too!) to jdipastena@yahoo.com, with "Medieval Research with Joyce Contest" in the subject line. Deadline for entering will be midnight PST, December 24th, with the winner announced on December 25--Christmas Day!

Don't Overlook the Value of Gift Books

I'm talking small (5" X 6.5"-ish), hardbound, beautifully illustrated little books you'll find, not in the history section of your bookstores, but in the "gift section"-- if you're lucky enough to stumble across such a book and if your favorite bookstore has such a section. These are mostly books I've discovered "accidentally", for you never know when they will appear and often it does feel like pure "luck" to be in the right place at the right time just as one of these little jewels is available. For that is how I view these books, as "jewels" in my research collection.

Many of these "jewels" come in the form of A Book of Days. Two such examples in my collection are:

Medieval Lovers: A Book of Days and Medieval Gardens: A Book of Days. Both of these books are filled with reproductions of contemporary medieval paintings, tapestries, etc. These reproductions "show", rather than "tell", what life was like during this period. But there is "telling", too! "Telling" in the form of contemporary quotes, whether medieval verses about love (in Medieval Lovers) or medieval advice about gardening (in Medieval Gardens). The lovely thing in both cases is that the text accompanying the pictures is "contemporary". We hear the medieval voice itself on these subjects!

A Medieval Herbal also contains contemporary medieval pictures and text, but this one is not a Book of Days. This gift book contains a modern introduction, followed by short medieval treatises on a variety of herbs, such as betony, fennel, marigold, wormwood, and many, many more. There are also sections on "In the Wood", "The Seven Herbes That Have Great Vertue", "In the Monastery Garden", "Gathering Herbs", "Drying and Storing", and "In a Pleasure Garden".

Last, but very much not least in my gift book collection, is Love and Longing in the Age of Chivalry. This is my smallest jewel of all, at only 4.5" X 5.5". It varies from the books mentioned above in that the artwork is a combination of contemporary medieval art and Pre-Raphaelite paintings. (If you're unfamiliar with the Pre-Raphaelite painters, then you are in for a treat. Click here to read about the Pre-Raphaelite painters and here to see examples of their paintings.) The text is also a mixture of medieval poets (Chrétien de Troyes, Bernard de Ventadour, Chaucer, etc), and more modern poets, such as Sir Thomas Mallory and John Donne. The former far outnumber the latter, however, once again giving you plenty of opportunities to sample the medieval "voice" in  matters of love!

Now for the bad news. Many of these "jewels" in my collection now seem to be out of print. Most have used copies available on Amazon, however, so there is hope for some of you to track down copies of your own. (And Google searches can usually help you find other buying options, too.) The lesson? If you are fortunate enough to happen across one of these little gift books, run, don't walk, with it to the cash register! If you delay, thinking you can come back and buy it just any old time, it not only might be gone when you come back, it might be out of print!

And the good news? Once again, I just happen to have a duplicate copy of one of these books in my research library. To find out how you can win a copy of A Medieval Herbal, click here.

Excerpt from "An Epiphany Gift for Robin" in Stolen Christmas and Other Stories of the Season

Here's just a short excerpt from my medieval short story, "An Epiphany Gift for Robin", included in the new Christmas anthology, Stolen Christmas and Other Stories of the Season. I have to keep it short, since it's from a short story. Too many words and I'd give the whole story away! :-)

Excerpt:

    The food was long gone now, along with the merry games played by the villagers to keep warm in the winter snows. The ivy and holly so gleefully gathered and hung by the children to brighten their tiny thatched cottage had grown dry and crisp, crackling off their garlands and crushed by shoes to form a fine, fragrant dust on the earth-beaten floor. Today, Epiphany, the day the Magi had presented their gifts to the Christ child, was the last day of respite her family would have from the backbreaking work in the baron’s fields.

     “What foolish thing have you done?” Marriot demanded of her husband. Gifts were only given to small children on Epiphany, especially among the poor. 

     Her husband’s dark eyes danced with that mischievous gleam that had won her heart ten years ago. “Sometimes a bit of foolishness is just what a man needs to bestow on the woman he loves.”

     She heard a trio of high-pitched giggles from the children.

     “Open it, Ma, open it!” little four-year-old Lottie trilled.

     “Aye, Ma. Da’s been ready to bust for days, waiting for you to see it,” said Robin.

     Marriot cast a suspicious gaze at her middle child. He bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet, the exact image of his father at the same age with his black hair and bright dark eyes.

     “Do you know what this is, Robin?”

     Robin smiled slyly, but neither shook nor nodded his head.

Stolen Christmas and Other Stories of the Season is available at the following sites in the following formats:

Hard copies from CreateSpace and Amazon.com

E-copy formats from Smashwords

They'll make great Christmas gifts!

My First Week at Costco

I blogged about my first week of Costco book signings on my JDP NEWS blog today, if any of you would like to read about it.

Also, my future dates and locations are a bit up in the air, so I'm revising a number of previously posted dates to TBA's in my post below. I'll update my schedule as I receive it. Just click on the hand with the pen in my right hand sidebar to check out my dates as I receive and post them.

Winner of "Medieval Women"

Congratulations to Rachelle Christensen, winner of my book giveaway for Medieval Women, by Eileen Power. I hope you enjoy the book, Rachelle!

Thanks to everyone who entered. And for those of you who didn't win...I've stumbled across a couple more "duplicate" research books in my house, so there will be at least two more giveaways coming up...I just can't promise you when!

Illuminations of the Heart at Costco!

Remember that "new venture" I mentioned yesterday that will leave me limited time for blogging in the immediate future? Well, that's due to the fact that Illuminations of the Heart is hitting the big time...sort of! For the next two and a half months, I will be signing copies of my sweet medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart, at various Costco's in Arizona. I'll be signing three days of the week, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons for four hours a day, rotating between four Costco stores in the Phoenix metropolitan area. However, though my book signings are only four hours each, my driving time back and forth to each of these signings will add another four hours to each of my days. So I'll be forced to cut back on some things such as email and...yes...daily blogging! If I have the energy, I'll try to share some of my Costco adventures with you along the way when I can. (If I have any adventures, that is.)

I'm posting my signing schedule below. If you live in southern Arizona, I would love to have you drop by and say "hi!", whether you buy a book or not. If you have friends or relatives who live in southern Arizona, I'd love to have them drop by and say "hi!" too! And if you drop by on Oct 22, 23, or 24, you'll also be able to meet my editor, who is flying all the way down from Utah to give me moral support my first week!

And remember, even if you already have a copy of Illuminations of the Heart...they make great Christmas gifts! :-)

Click on the city for each date for a link to the address and a map:

Thursday, Oct 22^nd

1-5 PM             MESA 

Friday, Oct  23rd

^{1-5 PM             GILBERT} 

Saturday, Oct 24^th

1-5 PM             CHANDLER 

Thursday, Oct 29^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Friday, Oct 30^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Saturday, Oct 31^st

1-5 PM             GILBERT

Thursday, Nov 5^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Friday, Nov 6^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Saturday, Nov 7^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Thursday, Nov 12^th

1-5 PM             GILBERT

Friday, Nov 13^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Saturday, Nov 14^th

1-5 PM             TBA

Thursday, Nov 19^th

1-5 PM             TBA 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26^TH – THANKSGIVING DAY

Friday, Nov 27^th

1-5 PM             GILBERT

Saturday, Nov 28^th –

1-5 PM             TBA 

Medieval Word of the Day

Mural chamber: chambers built inside the thickness of a castle's wall

Though I didn't use this term directly in my story, my character Acelet got thrown into a mural chamber in Illuminations of the Heart. But you'll have to read the book to find out who threw him in there and why!

And now Medieval Word of the Day is going on hiatus, because I've used up all the words from my glossary in Illuminations of the Heart, and I will soon be starting a new venture that will leave me with limited time for blogging. More about that tomorrow!

Thank you to all those who have faithfully followed along with my Medieval Word of the Day. I've enjoyed sharing these words with you! Medieval Word of the Day will return when I bring out a new book with a new glossary full of terms.

Happy Norman Conquest Day!

Happy Norman Conquest Day! This year, Duke Wiliam (the standing knight, soon to be King William) is holding a council of war atop my cake, planning his invasion of England. (And yes, I know the armor and hair styles are all wrong for 1066. These knights are "representative", okay? Someday I'll track down some more authentic looking Norman and Saxon knights to put on my yearly cake!)

(And yes, someday I'm going to learn to take better pictures, too!)

Medieval Word of the Day

Mural tower: towers built into the castle walls

See all those towers along the wall? Each of those is a mural tower

Medieval Word of the Day

Gatehouse: the heavily fortified entrance to the castle complex

See those two towers with the "opening" at the end of the bridge? You'd have to fight your way through that gatehouse to gain access to the castle bailey and keep

(This is a picture of Bodiam Castle in Sussex, England)

Medieval Word of the Day

Mead: a medieval garden designed to imitate a small meadow

The low-lying flowers this woman is sitting in is an example of a medieval "flowery mead"

Medieval Word of the Day

Parchment: material made from animal skin used for the pages of books or other writing

Vellum: a very thin, fine form of parchment made from calf-skin ("veal-parchment", i.e., vellum)

Parchment was made from the skin of various animals, but vellum only came from calf-skin

Medieval Word of the Day

Crespin: a decorative hair net worn by women

And while we're talking about medieval women, don't forget that my drawing for a copy of Medieval Women, by Eileen Power is still underway! Click here to see how you can enter to win a copy of this book.

Medieval Word of the Day

Tunic: a sleeved, loose fitting outer garment worn by both men and women; could be worn alone or under a surcote; for the man, could be knee or ankle length

Surcote: also known as the surcoat or super-tunic; a secondary tunic worn over an under tunic, usually more elaborately decorated.

Here is a woman wearing a green tunic, with a sleeveless reddish surcote layered over it.

Here is a man wearing a long tunic, with a shorter, decorated surcote over it. 

Norman Conquest Day is Coming!

October 14 is Norman Conquest Day! So I'm re-reading The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer to begin my celebration.

Medieval Word of the Day

Smock: A loose, blouselike undergarment  

The woman in this picture is wearing a smock

Medieval Bestiaries

On September 10, 2009, my Medieval Word of the Day was Bestiary: a collection of drawings or paintings of animals, real or imagined, accompanied by their physical and allegorical descriptions.

Medieval bestiaries play a small role in my medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart. My heroine’s brother “illuminates” a bestiary to prove to his illuminator father that he’s ready to be advanced from apprenticeship in their shop. My heroine, Siri, practices her own drawing skills in the gardens of her new guardian, Triston de Brielle, while sitting with Triston’s young son Perrin and cousin Acelet. While conversing with them both about her new home, she draws a bee with a crown hovering above it in the air, and explains to Perrin that swarms of bees are led by a king bee. Yes, it’s the very opposite of what we know about bees today, and a friend who read my book challenged my writing of this scene. But because I had read Medieval Beasts, by Ann Payne, I was able to explain to my friend that in the Middle Ages, people not only believed that bees were lead by a king rather than a queen, but that bees, like most of the animal kingdom, represented some kind of allegory, or moral story, to the people of the Middle Ages. The allegory of the bee, as my heroine explained to her companions, went like this:

“Bees are led by a king, as are we," she said, ignoring the resentful glance Acelet sent at the boy. "He is a most benevolent ruler, leading by example and never turning his sting upon malefactors. He has only to demonstrate to them the error of their ways, and in shame they will turn their own sting upon themselves.” (Illuminations of the Heart, p 76)

In the medieval world, each animal, like the bee, represented some sort of moral example or symbolism that humans were encouraged to follow if the symbolism was good (like the bee), or avoid if the symbolism was bad (like the crocodile, which represented hypocrisy with the “false tears” it shed after eating any unfortunate human who stumbled across its path).

In her book, Medieval Beasts, Ann Payne recreates a medieval bestiary complete with over seventy full-color illustrations borrowed from actual medieval bestiaries found in The British Library. She covers animals (lion, tiger, elephant, camel, hedgehog, ants, the mythical leucrota—bred from a hyena and a lioness!—and more); birds (eagle, vulture, ostrich, phoenix, siren, bats and bees—yes, the latter two were considered to fall into the “bird family”—and more); reptiles (viper, asp, boa, salamander, dragon, basilisk, and more); and fish (fish, sera, dolphin, and whale).

If you are interested in sampling a modern reproduction of a medieval bestiary, Medieval Beasts by Ann Payne is a delightful place to start!

Medieval Word of the Day

When we think of a romance today, this is what we usually think of:

But in the Middle Ages, a Romance was: a long, narrative tale recounting marvelous adventures and deeds of chivalry. While some romances had heroes and heroines falling in love, not all of them did. "Love" was not what made a romance a romance in the Middle Ages!

Win a copy of Medieval Women, by Eileen Power! Click here!

Medieval Word of the Day

Now that you can picture in your mind the high table on the dais in the castle hall, what are you going to put on that high table? What else but a...

Trencher: large slices of stale bread, cut either round or square, and used for "plates" for medieval dining

Click here to see a trencher.

Medieval Word of the Day

High table: the table on the dais in the castle hall where the most important people sit

Win a copy of Medieval Women, by Eileen Power! Click here!

Book Drawing for "Medieval Women" by Eileen Power

I've just been cleaning out my closet, where I found a box loaded with medieval research books I apparently didn't have bookshelf space for and had "temporarily" stuffed into my closet....a "temporary" stuffing that lasted long enough for me to completely forget I owned this lovely stack of books.

The good news is, I am now (at this very moment, except for the time that it's taking me to type this post) making room to finally display these books on a well-earned shelf where they might actually be able to help me with my research now!

The bad news is, once again, I discovered that I bought a duplicate copy of a research book I already own. This one is called Medieval Women, written by Eileen Power, edited by M.M. Postan. But once again, my bad luck is your good luck because rather than give my extra copy away to the library, I've decided to hold a contest and give my extra copy away to one of the followers of Medieval Research with Joyce instead!

Here is a description of Medieval Women:

"Throughout her career as a medieval historian, Eileen Power was engaged on a book about women in the Middle Ages. She did not live to write the book but some of the material she collected found its way into her popular lectures on medieval women. These lectures are now brought together, edited by M.M. Postan, and reveal the world in which women lived, were educated, worked, and worshipped. Power gives a vivid account of the worlds of the lady, the peasant, the townswoman, and the nun. The result is a historical yet intimate picture of a period gone by yet with resonances for today. It offers an intimate portrait of the writer and social historian."

How can you win a copy of this lovely research book? By doing one of the following. If you do all three, you'll receive three entries in the drawing!

(1) Leave a comment on this blog telling me why you would like to win this book.

(2) Become a follower of Medieval Research with Joyce, then email me at jdipastena@yahoo.com to let me know you've become a follower. (If you're already a follower, email me to let me know that and you'll be automatically entered in the drawing.)

(3) Subscribe to Medieval Research with Joyce (this is different than becoming a "follower") via the Subscribe/posts feature just beneath the "About Me" box in the right hand sidebar of this blog. Then email me at jdipastena@yahoo.com to let me know you've subscribed, otherwise I won't know that you have! (Again, if you're already a subscriber, email me to let me know that, too, and you'll be automatically entered in the drawing.)

And remember, if you do all three, you'll have three chances to win, instead of just one!

The deadline to enter this drawing is midnight PST, October 18th. I will draw the winner's name on October 19, and once I announce the winner he/she will have one week to send me their email address so I can arrange to send them their prize. If you do not contact me within one week (7 days!), I will choose a new winner. So if you enter this contest, be sure to check back here on October 19 to see if I post your name as the winner!

Medieval Word of the Day

Dais: a raised platform in the castle hall

"Illuminations of the Heart" Book Blog Tour Winners!

Sorry to be posting this so late. Although the names were drawn, it took a little longer than expected to track down some of the winners to let them know about their prizes. My publisher is actually still trying to track down the winner of the BarnesandNoble.com gift certificate, but in the meantime, I'll list the winners names so far.

The winner of a copy of Illuminations of the Heart is: Jennifer B for leaving a comment on Heather Justesen's blog.

The winner of a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate towards the purchase of a copy of Illuminations of the Heart is: Park Avenue Princess for leaving a comment on Cami's Books.

The winner of a $10 DeseretBook.com gift certificate towards the purchase of a copy ofIlluminations of the Heart is: Elizabeth Morgan for leaving a comment on Taffy's Candy.

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to all of you who took time to read the reviews and interviews and leave comments on my blog tour!

Medieval Word of the Day

The hall or great hall: the central living space of the castle inside the keep; the ceremonial and legal center

Review of "Illuminations of the Heart" at Bella Online!

I just found this wonderful new review of Illuminations of the Heart by C.S. Bezas on Bella Online! (And this one had nothing to do with my recently ended blog tour.) My favorite line: "I...was surprised how much this one pulled me into a medieval world and remained with me long after!"

Read the entire review at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art63578.asp

Medieval Word of the Day

Drawbridge: a bridge that can be raised or lowered to permit access across a ditch or moat into the castle's bailey.

(Can you find the little drawbridge? You've all seen this in the movies, right?)

Medieval Word of the Day

Girdle: a belt worn around the waist

See the belt with its dangling tassels around this woman's waist? This was called a "girdle". Men also wore them with long robes like this.

(This picture is courtesy of:

http://www.claytonemery.com/CalthropCostume.html

Medieval Word of the Day

Keep: the central tower and main residence area of the castle

Medieval Word of the Day

Bailey: the courtyard of a castle

Medieval Word of the Day

Yes, Medieval Word of the Day continues...at least until I run out of words from my glossary to Illuminations of the Heart. Speaking of which, check back later today to find out who the winners of my book blog tour are!

Medieval Word of the Day

Liege lord: the king or lord to whom a man of lower rank owed fealty.

Medieval Word of the Day

Fealty: the loyalty sworn by oath by a knight to his lord

This is the last day of Illuminations of the Heart's blog tour. Read the final round-up, and once last interview with me, on my publisher's blog, Walnut Springs Press. And it's not too late to leave comments on any or all of the stops on my tour to be entered to win a gift certificate or autographed copy of Illuminations of the Heart!

Medieval Word of the Day

Solar: a small, well-lit room, usually the domain of the lady of the castle

Check out today's blog review of Illuminations of the Heart at Blog the Day Away. Leave a comment to win one of four prizes, including an autographed copy of Illuminations

Medieval Word of the Day

Okay, now that you know what mail is, take a look at this knight. See the armor that covers the upper part of his body? That's called the hauberk: a long tunic made of chain mail.

Underneath that hauberk he would wear a gambeson: a quilted jacket worn beneath a knight's armor to cushion the blows of battle. I couldn't find a free clip art picture of a gambeson to show you, but you can see what one looks like by clicking here. (Scroll down to the picture beneath the "jack".)

That chain mail covering the knight's legs is called chausses: that portion of the chain mail that covered the feet, legs, and body below the waist.

Now toss on a helmet, strap on a sword, grab your shield, and you're all ready for battle!

Check out today's blog review of Illuminations of the Heart at Romance, Old School. Leave a comment to win one of four prizes, including an autographed copy of Illuminations

Medieval Word of the Day

Okay, so it's not so easy to truly show you what mail looks like via an illustration, but let's give it a try. See the knight to our left? See the armor covering his arms and legs, neck and head? Now picture those little lines and squiggles and boxes as "a flexible armor made of small, overlapping metal rings". He's got mail! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

The knight on the right is wearing plate armor.

See the difference?

(Plate armor began evolving towards the end of the 13th Century. Mail armor was used in the 12th Century, the time setting of my novels.)

Check out today's blog review of Illuminations of the Heart at Karlene Reviews Everything! Leave a comment to win one of four prizes, including an autographed copy of Illuminations