Post by Doris McCraw/Angela Raines-author
When the call went out for a Christmas Medieval Anthology, "One Christmas Knight" I thought, why not? Then reality set in. What did I know about Medieval History? It turns out more than I realized.
For years I've been fascinated by Hildegard of Bingen, the 12th century nun who, in my belief, if she had been a man, would have been right up there with DaVinci. I first became aware of her through her music. For a sample of her work, here is a link on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Dehwp_dRlYQ. The whole beautiful video is over an hour long, but it will give you a sample of what drew me to her.
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| Cloister Rupertsberg, on the Rhine River near Bingen Germany: Hildegard Von, Bingen Day |
From that first taste of her talent, I wanted to know more. The tenth child of a free lower nobility family in Germany. She was tithed to the church at around the age of eight and spent her life with the church. There are many stories and books about her now, but when I first started researching her about twenty years ago, information was just making its way out of Germany.
Hildegard also had visions, wrote about healing, and was an artist. In addition she started the first stand alone convent. Prior to that, nuns were attached to a monastery. Hildegard also went out and preached, something no woman did in that time. For more information on Hildegard here are a two links" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildegard_of_Bingen and http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/247.html
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| Hildegard's preaching tours |
As you can see, I had a bit to work with. With some additional research into life in Germany in 1151 and I soon had my story idea. The hardest thing was getting my hero to cooperate. Once he was in line the story wrote itself.
I hope you enjoy Lost Knight, Out of Time in the "One Christmas Knight" anthology. I'm thrilled to be in the company of such wonderful authors as Deborah Macgillivray, Keena Kincaid, Livia J. Washburn, C. Marie Bowen, Tanya Hanson and Lindsay Townsend.
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Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris also writes haiku posted five days a week at :http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com and has just passed one thousand haiku. Check out her other work or like her Amazon author page: http://amzn.to/1I0YoeL
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I too find research when writing historical novels is more than half the job. Was that a surprise or did you know this in advance?
ReplyDeleteJudy, I knew, but wasn't prepared for all I did know about the time period. I will say, for me, research is the most fun part. (Smile). Thanks for stopping by. Doris McCraw/Angela Raines-author
DeleteI look forward to reading both of these. They are on my TBR, but I'm trying to get through all my Christmas stories first -- you know, before Christmas?
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for success on your writing.
Robyn Echols w/a Zina Abbott
Thanks Zina. Fitting Christmas into a Medieval was not as difficult as I thought it might be, once my hero decided to cooperate. Thank you for the support, it is appreciated. Doris
DeleteDoris,
ReplyDeleteSometimes our fascination with a historical figure is there for a reason. Glad it helped to write a medieval story. I look forward to reading the entire collection. Hugs.
Thank you Kristy. When I first heard of Hildegard I found I couldn't find enough. I am so thankful that her story and the research has continued.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy the anthology, it was a fun story to write. Doris
Just got a whole lesson on Hildagard. I love medieval stories. I wish you all the best, Doris.
ReplyDeleteSarah, she is a very fascinating woman. I keep going back to her and her story time and time again.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know I had it in me, and I may give it a try again. Thank you for your support and encouragement. It really means a lot. Doris