Month: April 2023

Celestial Bodies and Plato’s Symposium

Posted on April 24, 2023September 12, 2024 By Roo

“My moon and my sun thou hast quenched for ever.” —James Joyce, Ulysses Jokha Alharthi’s 2010 book, Celestial Bodies, tells the story of three sisters and a host of other characters as they make their way through a cosmic sea of possibility, visualized by the titular “celestial bodies.” The sisters…

The Weakness of Love in Marie de France’s Deus Amanz

Posted on April 17, 2023September 12, 2024 By Roo

Deus Amanz lives in the same genre as Pyramus and Thisbe, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as well as William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It is also similar to Chevrefoil in the same collection. It is a story of lovers whose parents interfere with their love, and who end up dying together…

Time

Posted on April 9, 2023September 12, 2024 By Roo

Note: Written for a flash fiction assignment – the maximum word count was 500. In its time, the town of Mudgate, now lost to the ages, squatted unassumingly in a remote section of river-bottom country between two yet unnamed peaks covered with forests and meadows and frequented by butterflies and…

Iberia, 844: Every Historian Except Me Is Wrong

Posted on April 8, 2023September 12, 2024 By Roo

In September of 844, 229 or 230 in the Islamic calendar, the horizon from Lisbon was filled with dark red sails that blackened the horizon, and “filled the hearts of men with fear.” These were the Vikings, who had just made their first major assault on Iberia in Asturias. These…

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As I stepped out of the car I couldn’t hear or see anything in the dark night except the faint rustling of leaves high above and the light of my parents’ house up on the ridge. Behind the house to the west, I knew, was a steep dropoff, ending in...
Celestial Bodies and Plato’s SymposiumApril 24, 2023
“My moon and my sun thou hast quenched for ever.” —James Joyce, Ulysses Jokha Alharthi’s 2010 book, Celestial Bodies, tells the story of three sisters and a host of other characters as they make their way through a cosmic sea of possibility, visualized by the titular “celestial bodies.” The sisters...
The Weakness of Love in Marie de France’s Deus AmanzApril 17, 2023
Deus Amanz lives in the same genre as Pyramus and Thisbe, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as well as William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It is also similar to Chevrefoil in the same collection. It is a story of lovers whose parents interfere with their love, and who end up dying together...
TimeApril 9, 2023
Note: Written for a flash fiction assignment – the maximum word count was 500. In its time, the town of Mudgate, now lost to the ages, squatted unassumingly in a remote section of river-bottom country between two yet unnamed peaks covered with forests and meadows and frequented by butterflies and...
Iberia, 844: Every Historian Except Me Is WrongApril 8, 2023
In September of 844, 229 or 230 in the Islamic calendar, the horizon from Lisbon was filled with dark red sails that blackened the horizon, and “filled the hearts of men with fear.” These were the Vikings, who had just made their first major assault on Iberia in Asturias. These...
Revenge: Part 3 (Gainesburg, Mercia: Early February, 1014 A.D.)September 7, 2022
The law speaker cleared his throat. “We now convene this Thing-Court to discuss the taxation of the city of Beodricsworth, the resting place of Saint Edmund the Martyr. By the laws of the realm, the kingdom may tax any town it wishes, within reason. We will now hear the grievances...
Revenge: Part 2 (Walingeford, Berkshire: 1013 A.D.)August 30, 2022
By the time the sun rose, Svein Forkbeard, King of Norway and Denmark, soon to be King of England, could see the thatch roofs peeking over the fenced earthworks of Walingeford in the distance. They docked on the shore a mile south of the city and set up camp in...
Revenge: Part 1 (Several miles outside Thetford, East Anglia: 869 A.D.)August 12, 2022
“King Edmund of East Anglia!” Ivar bellowed, his brow creasing in mock consternation. “I am humbled to be in your presence.” As he spoke, a gust of wind tugged at his beard and ruffled the fur of his coat. He placed his foot gently on Edmund’s chest as his contingents...