Pilgrimage

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The last thing Gebirga of Flanders remembers seeing is the argument between her parents that ended in her mother s death In the years since, she has learned to negotiate her family s castle of Gistel as a blind woman but everyone assumes that one day her home will be the convent founded in her mother s honor An accidental encounter offers another path, and Gebirga flees her callous family with a pack of pilgrims that includes a count s daughter bound for marriage, two clerics writing a guidebook, and a mysterious messenger with an unknown agenda, all headed along the pilgrimage road to Compostela The journey takes Gebirga from her home on the edge of the North Sea across the kingdoms of France and into the Iberian Peninsula, where her mission to escort a young noblewoman becomes a dangerous adventure involving power hungry kings and queens and even the Roman Pope But can a blind woman navigate the shoals of international politics To find a place where she can belong, Gebirga must learn there are other ways of seeing the truth than with her eyes.To most of twelfth century Europe, Spain was a far off and exotic place, home to the holy site of Compostela, shrine of Saint James The saint s tomb drew a perpetual wave of pilgrims, coming for adventure, or seeking a miracle from the saint Pilgrimage is the story of one of those pilgrims. New Read Pilgrimage Author Lucy K. Pick For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Well, I wrote it so of course I love it.For centuries, Christian pilgrims have plied the roads of Europe towards the magnificent cathedral of Saint James the Greater in Compostela, Spain Streams of nameless pilgrims walked the Way of St James to plead their intentions, exonerate their guilt, and render homage to the saint at his Spanish resting place Lucy Pick, a professor of medieval religious thought and practice, has imagined the plight of one such pilgrim, Gebirga of Flanders, in her historical novel PILGRIMAGE Cuidono Press, For centuries, Christian pilgrims have plied the roads of Europe towards the magnifi...I hate to give less than glowing reviews for works by new authors, or by those who either self publish or have their novels published by independent publishing houses, as Lucy Pick has done with her first venture into fiction writing, but integrity demands straightforwardness Authors put a serious amount of work into their novels, so we owe it to them to be equally serious in our appraisals of them Pilgrimage has an intriguing story to tell, and a fascinating historical setting, rendered all t I hate to give less than glowing reviews for works by new authors, or by those who either self publish or have their novels ...Set in 12th Century Flanders, France and Spain, this is one of those historical novels in which historical fact and fictional narrative are so successfully woven together that readers may have to research the topics for themselves if they wish to know where the history ends and the fiction begins The author is an academic historian herself, and she has drawn extensively on a genuine 12th Century manuscript, the Codex Calixtinus a collection of sermons, hymns, liturgical texts and reports of mi Set in 12th Century Flanders, France and Spain, this is one of those historical novels in which historical fact and fictional narrative are so successfully woven together that readers may have to research the topics for themselves if they wish to know where the history ends and the fiction begins The author is an academic historian herself, and she has drawn extensively on a genuine 12th Century manuscript, the Codex Calixtinus a collection of sermons, hymns, liturgical texts and reports of miracles, all associated with the cult of St James, together with a travellers guide to the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella The protagonist, Gebirga of Flanders, a young blind noblewoman, makes the pilgrimage itself, with assistance from the codex s author, Aimeric Picaut, but, in the process, is drawn into a vividly portrayed world of intrigue between bishops, kings and princes, for which nothing has prepared her Th...Totally biased since I knew Lucy when I was a grad student babysitting for her Tommy and I went on some of the pilgrimage sites this summer, so I thought it was really fun to read a novel by someone I know who is a noted medieval scholar about Spain Very fun read.As a historian, I loved that this novel had good history The world was rich, true to history and life.Lucy Pick crafted the plot into a true pilgrimage We never quite get closure for the pressing points of the first few pages The main character, Gebirge, has moved on emotionally and physically from a previously difficult life The plot itself as a pilgrimage was intriguing and enlightening.However, this is a first novel, and the pacing was hard to follow emotionally The dialogue narrative As a historian, I loved that this novel had good history The world was rich, true to history and life.Lucy Pick crafted the plot into a true pilgrimage We never quite get closure for the pressing points of the ...4.5 stars Pilgrimage is the story of Gebirga of Flanders who has lost both of her parents She feels a little bit adrift and isn t really sure what her life holds for her The time is 12th century and therefore there not very many options open for women She ends up joining a flighty young woman on a pilgrimage to Spain to follow the Way of St James This is a fascinating historical fiction that took me to a time and a place that I have seldom visited in my reading.Characters are so importan 4.5 stars Pilgrimage is the story of Gebirga of Flanders who has lost both of her parents She feels a little bit adrift and isn t really sure what her life holds for her The time is 12th century and therefore there not very many options open for women She ends up joining a flighty young woman on a pilgrimage to Spain to follow the Way of St James This is a fascinating historical fiction that took me to a time and a place that I have seldom visited in my reading.Characters are so important to me in my books This book has a great main character Not only is Gebirga a woman in a man s world, she is also blind which makes her life incred...A compelling journey into the heart of medieval Europe ideal for course adoption I assigned it as the first text of a course on medieval Spain the fictional travelers journey across the Pyrenees worked really well as a means of allowing stud...Wonderful 4 1 2 stars read I really enjoyed the story because of the rich historical detail and the depth of the female protagonists who commanded the story s direction I loved it was not a typical medieval novel about Norman, French or English kings or wars, but focused on the intrigues the papacy and other European monarchs perpetuated to gain or retain power usually making their children especially daughters their pawns The only down side, I felt it had an element at the end that was tied u Wonderful 4 1 2 stars read I really enjoyed the story because of the rich historical detail and the depth of the female protagonists who commanded the story s direction I loved it was not a typical medieval novel about Norman, French or English kings or wars, but focused on the intrigues the papacy and other European monarchs perpetuated to gain or retain power usually making their children especially daughters their pawns The only down side, I felt it had an element at the...Historians and other people in academia do not always successfully make the transition to writing fiction, but Lucy Pick has made that leap with grace and elegance She has written a first rate historical novel, one that is enriched but not overwhelmed by her expertise In her heroine, Gebirga, Pick has created a complex and three dimensional woman who is authentically of her own time, yet because she feels so real on so many levels, she is ...

Pilgrimage
  • English
  • 14 August 2017
  • Paperback
  • 309 pages
  • Lucy K. Pick
  • Pilgrimage