The cover of Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley is arresting for someone like me — a romantic who is entranced by the mystery and ideals of early monastic life. It shows a clochan, a beehive-shaped rock hut set beside a small stream and barren, rocky hills in the distance. Built of dry …
January 5, 2010 – 9:49 pm
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By David Morton
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Posted in Books, History, The monks, Writing
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Tagged clochans, Confessions of a Pagan Nun, early Christianity, Ireland, Irish History, Kate Horsley, monasticism, Shambhala Publications, Skellig Michael, St. Augustine, St. Patrick, tuaths
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It’s satisfying, isn’t it, when a book you read leads the way to others — where one opens your eyes to another topic, another author or another passion and off you go. I’m happy to report that the joy of discovery is still alive and well in the mind of this 50-plus reader.
A few months …
October 8, 2009 – 7:30 am
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By David Morton
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Posted in Books, Films, History, Inspiration, Medievalism, Poetry, The Novel, Writing
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Tagged Andrew Davidson, Dante, Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy, Inferno, Italian Literature, The Gargoyle, Virgil
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It was a real honour to be asked by Anna Richenda, recently, if I would review her new self-published novel, The Saint and the Fasting Girl. As a fan of HistoryFish.net her expansive website devoted to medieval religious topics, I had been reading progress reports in her blog about the book’s publication for some time. …
August 7, 2009 – 2:04 pm
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By David Morton
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Posted in Books, History, Medievalism, The Novel, The Writer's Struggle, Writing
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Tagged Anna Richenda, book review, fiction, Henry VIII, historyfish.net, medieval, novels, Saint and the Fasting Girl
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I’ve been reading a terrific book about the Middle Ages, recently, by an American scholar with a great sweeping view of history about the powerful influence of medievalism on the contemporary world. I’ve always found the imaginative influence of the Middle Ages captivating: Chaucer’s pilgrims, the wild behaviours of feudal lords, the gritty view of …
June 25, 2009 – 6:30 am
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By David Morton
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Posted in Books, History, Inspiration, Medievalism
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Tagged Camille Paglia, Dante, David Attenborough, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Giotto, Harold Bloom, Hildegard of Bingen, Hinges of History, History, Medievalism, Mysteries of the Middle Ages, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Cahill
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I wish I could say my recent hiatus from blog posting had resulted in a prodigious output in pages for my novel. Alas, nothing of the sort. I had taken time off work a few months ago that was a great boon to the novel, but my return to teaching has overwhelmed me. Not only …
Finally, a respite from the rain and the cold. The sun shines today in Vancouver, and it looks like spring, though the cherry blossoms are nowhere to be seen. The blossoms in my front yard are trying, but they are reluctant to invest themselves in this uneven weather. They look like little popcorn kernels ready …
March 21, 2009 – 10:35 am
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By David Morton
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Posted in Books, Inspiration, The Novel, Uncategorized, Writing
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Tagged Barry Unsworth, inspiration, medieval, Medievalism, middle ages, monks, Morality Play, novel, novels, Paul Bettany, The Reckoning, Willem Dafoe, Writing
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