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.
