Author: Duncan MacDonald
Category: Cook books
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The boats kept fairly close to land and planned to stop at an appropriate sheltered cove each night and camp. The journey was expected to take three days.
By mid-morning the captain of the second boat pointed to a small one man curach following them some distance back. The occupant was paddling enthusiastically but was gradually being left behind as it could not match the speed of the larger boats.
A few fishing boats were sighted as they made their way south on that first day but otherwise it was uneventful. As they pulled into a rocky cove for the night, the little curach was nowhere to be seen.
They made camp at the edge of a small stony beach. The boats turned upside down made a good shelter when light rain started during the night. Culann was uncomfortable with the large fire the monks made and was glad when the light drizzle came. He subtly scrubbed the fire out with a stick leaving only faint embers glowing in the darkness. He didn't want to advertise their presence with a fiery beacon. For most of the night he sat up on a ridge above the cove, sleeping fitfully, feeling the comfort of his sword strapped securely under his cloak.
* * * *
The second day brought higher winds, this time from the north west. The ocean had more of a swell but the wind was driving them toward their destination. The captains stood the boats out a little more from shore so they could not be driven onto any rocks if a sudden squall sprung up.
"There he is again by damn." pointed the captain. The small curach came out of cove behind them some distance away. The occupier still paddling enthusiastically.
"Are you sure it's the same one?" asked Bryan. "Aye sir. It's the same one all right. He must have paddled half the night to catch up with us."
"Do you think he is dangerous?" asked one of the monks. "No sir, I think it's only a lad. Anyway he's not a sailor. With this wind, we'll soon lose him."
Culann peered at the small craft hidden from time to time by rain showers. He then rolled himself in his cloak and tried to sleep.
That afternoon they passed the mouth of a river which would be latter called the Tyne. There was a substantial village on both banks of the river, but Abbot Colmán had decided they would not stay in any village as they did not know if the locals were friendly or not.
A sandy inlet surrounded by high cliffs was sighted in late afternoon and that is where they landed. After a simple supper, Culann decided to walk around the north headland to the next cove. The night was overcast and he couldn't see much beyond the white water of the breakers washing onto the rocks. In a short time, he gathered some dry kindling from the beyond the tree line and with his flint, start a fire. This he built up with a number of branches until he had a real bon-fire.
Satisfied Culann retreated higher up the side of the headland so he had a clear view of the cove now clearly lit with his fire. The glow was hidden from the main camp by the headland.
He once again wrapped his cloak around himself, but this time drew his sword and laid it across his lap. "Now my fine feathered friend, let's see who has been following us."
He waited.
Abbot Colmán was quietly confident as he led the monks in the main camp in prayer. Soon the despised Romans would be put in their place once and for all. They turned in early once again under the upturned curachs. If the weather stayed fine they expected to reach Whitby by the morrow.
* * * *
"Your fire's nearly out Culann" Culann woke with a start at the voice behind him. He automatically reached for his sword but it wasn't there. A dim figure sat two body lengths from him, grinning. "Thank you for lighting the beacon for me. Without it I might have paddled right past."
"Fergus - what the devil are you doing here? I might have killed you."
"Not without your trusty sword Brother Culann. You should take better care of it." laughing as he handed the weapon back.
Culann took his sword and sheathed it carefully. He looked again at the beach. "Very good my young friend. Where is your boat?"
"The previous cove. When I saw your fire I paddled back so I could land and come overland. Someone once told me to keep my enemy between me and the fire."
Culann snorted, then asked "Why are you following us?"
"I've always wanted to see Whitby."
"Rubbish. Why didn't you just ask to come with us?"
"Oh I did. And I was told, no! It was only for selected monks."
"Who told you that, Abbot Colmán?"
"Oh no, my mentor Brother Werbuh. But I am sure he consulted our grand and glorious Abbot first."
"Hmmm, well you will just have to keep on following us in that case. Are you armed?"
"Of course" patting his sword.
Culann looked at the sky which had a pink tinge on the horizon. "It will be daybreak soon. I must be getting to the camp. You had better get some sleep."
"No, I'll be getting back to my curach. I will need a head start."
"Don't you need any sleep?"
"Not as much as you old men." Fergus ducked as Culann aimed a backhander at him.
* * * *
The third day dawned cloudy but fine with a slight north wind and little swell. A good day for sailing. The boats made for a prominent headland just visible in the distance, Whitby. Mid-morning the captain mumbled to no one in particular. "I'll be damned. There's that little curach again, on our lea. How did it get ahead of us?"
As they passed it the sole occupant waved in their direction. Culann waved back. "Do you know that person Culann?" asked Bryan.
"Long story." said Culann with a half-smile, and wiped spray from his face.
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* * * * *
7.2 Lios mòr
Sister Fea discovers Dandelion on Lios mòr. (in Gaelic means ‘great garden’) a fertile low-lying island in the Inner Hebrides. It is now known as Lismore. It was a major centre of Celtic Christianity. The original monastery was founded by Saint Moluag in AD 562. Born in Ireland he was an Irish noble and was educated in Bangor, Ireland.
A week after departing for Lios mòr, Fea and young Sister Tamara, arrived back in Jura. The milk maids were gathered as usual in the cow shed before herding the cows to pasture, when Fea called them together. She asked Brother Hesus to join them, as she described her journey.
"Our passage to Lios mòr took less than a day. The island is lovely, not mountainous like Jura. We sailed up one side and could clearly see the mainland on our right. The monastery is located near the top end. There are no nuns, but we did see some women who were wives and daughters of the local farmers.
"There are many trees and the grass is lush and green."
"Almost as green as Éire." broke in Sister Tamara excitedly.
"But here is the important part." said Fea. "We were welcomed by the Abbott, Father Jowan."
"Lovely man." said Sister Tamara.
Fea frowned at this latest interruption and one of the nuns nudged Tamara, who lowered her head, sheepishly.
"Abbott Jowan was very interested when we told him we were looking for special herbs and spices to help in healing the sick. Originally I asked if he would allow us to visit every so often, to collect some specimens. He said we would be wasting our time doing that, because nothing would grow on Jura.
"However, someone must have told him about St Brigid's because he knew all about the plague, and seemed very impressed when he discovered we had helped there.
"But guess what! He said we should all come and live in Lios mòr. He wants us to open an infirmary there. Isn't that wonderful?"
The nuns all started talking excitedly at once. Fea beamed with happiness, until she noticed Hesus slumped dejectedly on a hay bale.
She walked over and sat beside him. "Brother Hesus, why are you sad. Isn't this wonderful news?"
Hesus nodded "Yes indeed. It is very good news for you and your sisters. But just when I found my best friends, you will all leave me." His head sunk lower.
"Oh I'm so sorry. I should have explained
. Dear Brother Hesus, you have to come with us. Without your translation of the Greek texts we don't know what to do with the special herbs and medicines.
“I asked Abbott Jowan, and he wants you to come as well, and work in their scriptorium. It's only small now, but they can enlarge it"
"But I explained before - I won't be allowed to work in the scriptorium." cried Hesus.
"Ah, but we have a plan." said Fea. "You won't write anything. You will be just like Galan of Pergamon. You will read the Greek texts and dictate in Latin to the scribes. They will write it down."
"Really? "said Hesus in a hopeful tone. "But I don't know how to, what do you call it, 'dictate'."
"Yes you do." laughed Fea. "You read that Greek text and spoke to me in Latin, as you translated."
"That's 'dictating'?"
"Yes."
"Well bless my soul." said Hesus as he sat there with the biggest grin anyone had ever seen.
* * * *
The preparations to leave for Lios mòr took only two days. Abbott Ecne feigned sorrow, but everyone knew he was pleased to see them go. He initially questioned why Brother Hesus should go and leave them without a herder, but after a quiet word from the blind Brother Slane, he gave his blessing.
Meanwhile Abbott Jowan, ever keen to ensure his new nuns would arrive as promised, sent two curachs the next day with instructions to the sailors they were to wait at Jura until the nuns, together with Brother Hesus, embarked, and bring them all safely back to Lios mòr.
And so Lios mòr became a joint monastery, literally overnight, just 102 years after it was first founded by Saint Moluag from Ireland.
Accommodation was the first order of the day and the monks of Lios mòr worked feverishly to build first a temporary shelter, then a permanent building for the nuns.
Fea, as soon as everyone was settled in, began a daily ritual of surveying the island to locate any interesting plants. Within a week she discovered Dandelion and one of the farmer’s wives showed her where Liquorice plants grew.
Brother Hesus was installed in the small scriptorium where two monks were allocated to him, to transcribe all the Greek texts he dictated, into Latin.
Within a month a building was set aside to act as the infirmary. It was divided into male and female wards, but Sister Fea was firmly in control of both sections along with her former 'milk maids'.
* * * *
Brother Hesus had soon translated all the Greek texts they had brought from St Brigit's. Fea sat with him every night trying to understand the complexities of the writings of the Greek physician Galen, as well as other Greeks Galen referred to; Hippocrates of Kos, [Hippocrates is considered the 'father of modern medicine. He invented the Hippocratic Oath for Physicians, which is still in use today] who died approximately 370 BC; and Herophilus of Chalcedon, who worked at the Alexandria medical school in Egypt.
Fea noted that Herophilus distinguished between arteries and veins - arteries pulse, while veins do not.
Galen also noted the difference: venous blood is dark while arterial blood is bright.
Fea was also pleasantly surprised, when one of the scribes working in the scriptorium, noting Fea's interest in medicine, pointed out several health related items in the Hebrew text called the Torah, [the Five Books of Moses, later incorporated into the Christian Old Testament].
These included;
(i) hand washing after handling a dead body [Numbers 19:11-19]
(ii) isolating infected people; [Leviticus 13:45-46] and
(iii) burying excrement away from the camp. [Deuteronomy 23:12-13]
Hearing of this good work, other monasteries, including Iona, began sending copies of medical treatise they had translated from Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew.
One gem sent by Iona, was the Babylonian medical text, Diagnostic Handbook, which was written by physician Esagil-kin-apli, around 1,050 BC. As the name implied, it was based on the assumption that examination of the patient, and inspection of the symptoms, could allow determination, or diagnosis, of the patient’s disease or injury, its future development and the chances of recovery.
Treatment was by application of bandages, creams and pills. It was devoid of supernatural announcements, magical thinking and incarnations to turn away disease-causing demons.
Fea loved it.
Galen's work with injuries to gladiators fascinated Fea. Because vivisection [from Latin vivis meaning 'live' and dissection. Doing surgical experiments on live animals/humans] of human bodies was outlawed in Rome at the time, Galen practiced on monkeys and pigs. He determined, correctly, that their body structure was similar to humans.
The monks and farming families on Lios mòr seemed a healthy lot and needed little in the way of medical treatment. However, the Scots that inhabited the mainland were forever fighting the Picts further inland, or in many cases, amongst themselves. The wounded and maimed would be brought over by boat almost every other day for treatment. Some died, but the majority were treated and returned to fight another day.
As the months passed, word of the wonderful medical treatment performed by Fea and her nuns quickly spread.
* * * *
Fea was sitting in the scriptorium with Brother Hesus as he described the results of his latest translation. As he finished Fea looked around and mused "Brother Hesus, we should do something special to celebrate our good fortune at finding our new home here in Lios mòr. Not right away, but plan something in the months to come."
"Well" said Hesus "what did you celebrate as special as a child?"
After some moments of consideration Fea ventured "As a child I thought Christmas was always special."
"Why?" asked Hesus softly.
"Oh I guess because everyone was happy and smiling and all the families were reunited."
"All the families were reunited because it was mid-winter and no one could do any farming or raiding?" suggested Hesus.
"Not just that. We were also celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ."
"Ah yes. And what day did you celebrate that on?" enquired Hesus.
Fea paused; she knew from past experience Hesus was leading up to something important and this intrigued her. "Why the 25th of December of course. You know that."
"Do you know why Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 25th?"
"The Bible tells us so, doesn’t it?" suggested Fea.
"Well my dear I'm afraid the actual birth date of Jesus is not mentioned in the Bible at all. It was first celebrated on 25th December in the year 336 AD during the reign of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine. It was officially proclaimed some years later by Pope Julius I, that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on 25th December."
"Really?" said Fea in wonder. "Why did they pick the twenty-fifth?"
"Ah yes, a good question. It appears the early Church had a problem because the majority of its converts celebrated the pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and
'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' (birthday of the unconquered sun) around this date. Seeing they could not stop this, the church leaders decided to select this day as the birthday of Jesus and thus 'Christianize' the pagan practice.
Fea smiled, remembering how Sister Mish explained how the early Church took over some of the Druid sacred sites and practices in Ireland.
"Oh I know all about the Mid-Winter Solstice." enthused Fea "It's when we have the shortest day and the longest night. It means that winter is over and spring begins. We used to call it 'Yule'. But how did they actually pick the exact date. I can't tell exactly when winter ends."
"Neither can anyone else my dear. The Romans used to celebrate the festival of Saturnalia between 17th and 23rd of December. However, in 46 BC the Roman dictator Julius Caesar in his newly created Julian calendar, decreed December 25th to be the winter solstice in the Roman Empire."
[Since then, the difference between the calendar year (365.25 days) and the tropical year (365.2421897 days) moved
the day associated with the astronomical solstice forward approximately 3 days every 4 centuries, arriving at December 12 during 16th century.
In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII decided to restore the exact date to correspond with the seasons. So the Pope annulled the 10-day error accumulated between the 4th century AD (based on the Council of Nicea of 325 AD) but not the 3 day one between 4th AD and 1st BC. This change (in the now named Gregorian calendar) brings the northern winter solstice to around December 22]
Is it just my imagination, or does this ancient image of King Winter Solstice look similar to our modern rendering of Father Christmas? ~ dMAC
"Thank you Brother Hesus." beamed Fea "You are a remarkable fountain of information for me. We will have our special celebration for our new beginning on December 25th, combining the Mid-Winter Solstice and Christmas Day."
Brother Hesus glowed inwardly as Fea skipped out of the room. It was wonderful to have met someone who really appreciated him and allowed him to work at what he craved most - the accumulation of knowledge.
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Chapter 8 - Synod of Whitby
Abbot Colmán, his Celtic monks, Abbess Hilda and King Oswy listen to Wilfred of Rippon deliver his argument on behalf of the Church of Rome
Whitby Monastery was situated on the headland above the harbor. It was simply a collection of timber and wattle and daub buildings. There was no walled enclosure. In fact, as the Iona monks discovered to their surprise it was a joint monastery, one for nuns and one for monks, both run by the steely Abbess Hilda. Worshiping and eating were communal but living quarters were separate.
"The Romans would love this set-up." said Abbot Colmán sarcastically. "This is pure Celtic."
All the visiting monks from Lindisfarne and Iona were introduced to the royal family at a gala dinner held in the refectory. There they met the monks of Whitby and the Church of Rome contingent led by Bishop Agilberht [a Gaul, was Bishop of Wessex (648 - 660)] and Abbot Wilfred of Rippon, plus many other clergymen and lay notables. Security was maintained by many organized armed warriors who, Culann found out, were the private army of King Oswy's son Alhfrith. They were Angles, tough, stocky, mean looking men. They were deferential to the monks of the Roman order, easily identifiable by their tonsure, less so to the Celtic monks and outright hostile to the local British farmers.