Tag Archives: Low Countries

Book Review: “Canticle” by Janet Rich Edwards ~ A guest review by Eric Boss

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Set in the 13th century and in the city of Brugge (Bruges) this complex novel of faith, fairness, hypocrisy and the plight of women in a world of men fills in many voids in the contemporary understanding of the role of female mystics and the place of women in the church. Although much is known about the beguines, a sect of female monks prevalent in Europe during the years before Protestantism took hold, the intimate personal view revealed here touches close to the emotional life of these remarkable people.

Aleys is a young girl born to a family of wool merchants who is visited by visions of a divine source urging her to find her way to God. The images she sees are bright, compelling, frightening and profound. When she voices a wish to become part of the Franciscan order her family is taken aback, since she has agreed to marry into a house of wealth that will assure her father a place in the guild he desperately seeks. Lukas, a Franciscan friar becomes her mentor although he is perplexed that she, a mere girl, should be privy to such holy calling when his own dedication and fervor have left him without such divine inspiration. Through a series of miracles Aleys performs and the devious machinations of the local bishop, a jealous and avaricious man who is more concerned with his own promotion within the church than real religious matters she is made an anchorite, sequestered from life in a cell attached to the local church.

How Aleys deals with not only the passionate response of the people of Brugge but the plots devised by the bishop is the meat of the story. It is an intimate look at the joy and sorrow of the true prophet, blessed and cursed with vivid images and an emotional bonding with Jesus, Mary and God. A thread dealing with the clandestine translation of the gospel into Dutch for the benefit of common folk who have only had access to the words of the Bible through priests who often did not understand the Latin or the meaning of the verses complicates the lives of Aleys, the beguines, and Lukas, her tortured mentor.

An understanding of the genesis of saints and martyrs who dominated much of the religious thought of the time is available to the reader who wishes to understand more about Christianity, women and the Church. A potent narrative illuminating the rapture and the pain of the zealots who often found themselves at odds with the established keepers of the faith is limned with skill and clear evidence of extensive research and soul-searching on the part of this author who is an academic as well as a novelist.

Shelf Talker: An intimate look into the lives of religious visionaries who became martyrs and saints as well as the intriguing sect of the beguines, a female sect of monks could easily be the basis of a course on women’s issues and/or comparative religion. Well written, compelling narrative and a gripping personal story of a young girl’s transformation from common to divine.

Book Review: “Warfare in Medieval Brabant 1356-1406” by Sergio Boffa

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After reading Richard Vaughan’s four part series on the Valois Dukes of Burgundy, my interest in the history of the Low Countries was piqued. The medieval duchy of Brabant, along with Flanders, Holland, Hainault and Artois were all coveted by Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy in the mid-to late fourteenth century. Brabant was one of the most powerful of these principalities in the Low Countries and was subject to internal and external turmoil.

Boffa begins this book with a chapter on all the many conflicts experienced by Brabant during this time. John III, Duke of Brabant had no male heir and died leaving three daughters. He named the eldest, Joan as his successor and she married Wenceslas of Luxembourg. Joan would rule Brabant as duchess for almost fifty years, even after the death of her husband. A war of succession broke out after the death of John III. Louis of Male, Count of Flanders was married to Joan’s sister Margaret and thought he had a claim to the duchy. In addition, Brabant was engaged in some attacks on the Duchy of Guelders and other surrounding principalities attacked Brabant. It was a series of long drawn out conflicts. In the end, through alliances, Brabant was drawn into the Hundred Years War and finally succumbed to being annexed into the Burgundian Empire.

After these chapters of overview, Boffa tells us more details about medieval warfare in this era. He covers the place of warfare in the history of Brabant, the causes of war, the different phases of the war and the strategy and tactics. Next he recounts the powers that were engaged in the warfare such as the Duke and the Duchess and their entourage, the household and the Ducal Council. The combatants during the war included the nobility and chivalry of Brabant, the urban militias, mercenaries, the artillery and the specialists.

The most interesting chapters explain the organization of the armies, the revenues of the Duke, the declaration of war and mobilization, the movements of the troops, the means of transport, encampment and lodgings, provisioning, how orders were transmitted and the structure of the army. This is the most interesting part of the book. I found a notable anecdote here. Boffa explains that in the Low Countries, oats were fed to the horses. In the armies of England, the soldiers ate oats! The end of the book has an explanation of the size of the Brabançon army and military obligations and contracts in the Middle Ages. This is most definitely an academic and specialized book but anyone interested in the subject of medieval warfare will find it has substantial details about how armies worked.