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Brigid of Kildare

door Heather Terrell

LedenBesprekingenPopulariteitGemiddelde beoordelingAanhalingen
1575172,767 (3.31)1
Rich in historical detail, Heather Terrell's mesmerizing novel Brigid of Kildare is the story of the revolutionary Saint Brigid and the discovery of the oldest illuminated manuscript in the annals of the Church, a manuscript that contains an astonishing secret history. nbsp; Fifth-century Ireland: Brigid is Ireland's first and only female priest and bishop. Followers flock to her Kildare abbey and scriptorium. Hearing accounts of Brigid's power, the Church deems her a threat and sends Decius, a Roman priest and scribe, on a secret mission to collect proof of Brigid's heresy. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; As Decius records the unorthodox practices of Brigid and her abbey, he becomes intrigued by her. When Brigid assigns Decius a holy task--to create the most important and sacred manuscript ever made--he finds himself at odds with his original mission and faces the most difficult decision of his life. Modern day: Alexandra Patterson, an appraiser of medieval relics, has been summoned to Kildare to examine a reliquary box believed to belong to Saint Brigid. Hidden within the sacred box is the most beautiful illuminated manuscript Alex has ever seen. But even more extraordinary is the contents of the manuscript's vellum pages, which may have dire repercussions for the Catholic Church and could very well rewrite the origins of Christianity.… (meer)
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Toon 5 van 5
The publisher's summary:

In Fifth Century Ireland: Brigid is Ireland's first and only female priest and bishop. Followers flock to her Kildare abbey and scriptorium. Hearing accounts of Brigid's power, the Church deems her a threat and sends Decius, a Roman priest and scribe, on a secret mission to collect proof of Brigid's heresy. As Delcius records the unorthodox practices of Brigid and her abbey, he becomes intrigued by her. When Brigid assigns Delcius a holy task - to create the most important and sacred manuscript ever made - he finds himself at odds with his original mission and faces theist difficult decision of his life.

In the modern day: Alexandra Patterson, an appraiser of medieval relics, has been summoned to Kildare to examine a reliquary box believed to belong to St. Brigid. Hidden within the sacred box is the most beautiful illuminated manuscript Alex has ever seen. Even more extraordinary is the contents of the manuscript's vellum pages, which may have dire repercussions for the Catholic Church and could very well rewrite the origins of Christianity.

I loved this book but had many questions about fact versus fiction as I was reading. This novel has alot of information on how illuminated manuscripts are created. Since I have been studying ancient manuscripts for 2 years I wanted to find out more about Brigid's manuscript, which is referred to in the book as the first illuminated manuscript in history. Her manuscript was used as a guide for the sixth century Book of Kells. I have never heard who or where the first illuminated manuscript came from before reading the book and later research showed me that they began being produced in the 500s AD. That matches with Brigid's life time as she lived until 525. Note that there are earlier illuminated manuscripts, some literature and some Muslim, but they were not Christian manuscripts. The general definition of illuminated manuscripts these days is a manuscript with Christian themes. After finishing the novel I headed over the Wikipedia for more information about Brigid. There I read that most scholars do not believe that St. Brigid existed. The reason is that the stories about her are fantastical, such as she healed people of physical ailments. Since I am not a Catholic I had never heard of Brigid before but if she did not exist how did she come to be a Roman Catholic Saint? Wikipedia cites her birth and death dates and places. If she never existed where did this information come from? The book states that she was born in the 450s which is when this story begins.

Another fact versus fiction item that I had to research was that allegation that the veneration of Mary, mother of Jesus, began with Brigid. The only authentic information I found was that the first image of Mary as "The Virgin Mary" was created in the 5th century in Gaelic lands. The author gives us a portrait of how the veneration of Mary began, with a Brigid who wonders why the people around Jesus were all men. Why were there no woman of influence? Why were the women around Jesus portrayed as whores and serving girls? While Brigid was growing up, she read a heretical book that her mother owned titled The Gospel of Mary the Mother. Brigid is captivated by the strong and wise Mary in this gospel and long after she joined an abbey, she hired the Roman scribe Decius to create an illuminated manuscript that glorified Mary. Further along in the book we read that the Roman Church attempted to crush this idea about Mary but as the belief in Mary began spreading throughout Europe, Rome gave in and began to teach the veneration of Mary. Rome was nearing its end and did not want to upset the faithful.

The Gospel of Mary the Mother is an actual text written around 150 AD. It was basically rewritten later in the 2nd century in the Protevangelium of James. (another actual 2nd century manuscript). James enhances the role of Mary by describing her birth as miraculous, her childhood as one of incredible knowledge and wisdom and that she was taught faith in the Temple for 9 years. Her childhood as portrayed in the Protevangelium has no parallel in the New Testament and contradicts Jewish customs at the time but the fact that the author wove these details into her story is incredible. I was entranced by all these details and couldn't wait to finish the book to do some research. However, I knew that the process of creating an illuminated manuscript in the novel was spot on.

When I first began to write this review I intended to point out that the extensive playing with the facts outweighed any enjoyment I had from reading the novel. However, the author had me researching various parts of her novel for 2 hours. That alone makes this a 5 out of 5 star book. ( )
  Violette62 | Mar 5, 2022 |
Alternating between Brigid's life as an abbess and supporter of illuminated manuscripts, and the contemporary story of Alex, a researcher who discovers a hidden illuminated manuscript called the Book of Kildare, this story celebrates Marian culture, with the apocryphal Book of Mary serving as inspiration to Brigid and her mother, Broicsech, baptized by St. Patrick himself. Brigid takes on some of the traits of the pagan goddess Brigid to more easily convert the Irish to Christianity. Soon after her abbey is established, she is joined by Br. Decius, sent from Rome to catch her in heresy, but he becomes entranced by her, and they have an unconsummated romance. Meanwhile, Br. Decius, a supremely talented illuminator, illuminates the Gospels, writes letters of his activities and feelings to his brother, and produces the first illustration of the pieta. All this, by various duplicitous means, young Alex discovers in her research. There's also a romantic attachment for Alex. In the end, a book worth reading for its depiction of life in a medieval abbey, and celebration of the power of women in the Celtic church, but not exceptional. ( )
  deckla | Nov 18, 2019 |
I enjoyed this book, although I was hoping for a little more in depth on Brigid's life (this is a novel, not a biography). The author uses a dual time format switching back and forth between the present day and late 5C Ireland. The story in the past is divided between a very personal set of letters from a Roman monk (secretly sent to Cill Dare to look for possible heresies) to his brother and excerpts from a dry fictional life of Saint Brigid (the weakest of the three narratives). The letters are rich in pathos and passion. "Brigid: A Life" not so much. The choice to write that section in a distant third person--almost like a biographer--deprived that narrative of emotion and depth. The "author" told the reader what was happening rather than showing. Toward the end of the book, some incidents were covered in both narratives, but felt redundant rather than illuminating. The present-day story offered the opportunity to inject a little romance into the narrative, as well as some interesting historical context which I quite enjoyed (I almost always find the modern story the weaker part of dual time books).

I most enjoyed the history, the mystery, and the author's attempt to posit some answers to real historical questions dealing with the evolution of the Catholic Church (particularly the cult of Mariology) and its relation to the development of the Church in Ireland. I've dealt with the misogyny of the 5C Church and powerful women's attempts to break through the bonds and strictures using the Virgin Mary in my own novels, so was familiar with much of the religious turmoil in this book. A solid read that made me want to look up more that might be known about the historical Saint Brigid. ( )
  MarysGirl | Mar 22, 2017 |
In comparison with Cindy Thomson`s book of similar name: The structure of the novel and the writing generally is more sophisticated, although at no point does it become a compelling or memorable novel. The fact that it is more sophisticated could be deemed a mark against it, though, as it gives a greater sense of truthfulness to a book as flawed in its portrayal of history and hagiography, in some ways, as Thomson`s novel. In many ways I appreciated what Terrell was trying to do -- her concern for women's role in society, her interest in Mary Magdalene and in old manuscripts. I wanted to like this book but the distressing misrepresentations of historical fact mixed with writing and character development that never came alive, I could not. ( )
  MaelBrigdeTWO | Sep 12, 2010 |
Brigid of Kildare is a split-time novel. The story goes back and forth between Bridgid, a 5th-century woman chosen by Saint Patrick himself to convert the Irish into Christianity; and a modern-day appraiser of medieval objects named Alex, who is invited to Kildare to appraise a book that the nuns there own. The story is told as both a straight narrative and a series of letters written by a Roman spy named Decius, sent to Ireland to uncover possibly heresy.

The idea of the story is appealing, but the execution of the book is rather lackluster, I’m afraid. It’s rare that I complain that a book I don’t like is too short; but I thought that the story could have been fleshed out a lot more, especially the characters of Alexandra, who never comes across as more than a cold appraiser. Where’s her personality? Even Brigid herself wasn’t that appealing of a character, suffering from a lack of character development over the span of about 15 years. The author’s grasp of early medieval Christianity is sound, but I thought she resorted to clichés in many places, especially when it came to the Irish people. Another reader here says that there’s not a lot of historical detail here, and I agree with their assessment. In fact, had the headings of the chapters not given the dates, I wouldn’t have known that parts of the book took place in the 5th century. The book might appeal to fans of religious fiction, but those looking for a good historical tale will be disappointed. ( )
  Kasthu | Apr 14, 2010 |
Toon 5 van 5
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Rich in historical detail, Heather Terrell's mesmerizing novel Brigid of Kildare is the story of the revolutionary Saint Brigid and the discovery of the oldest illuminated manuscript in the annals of the Church, a manuscript that contains an astonishing secret history. nbsp; Fifth-century Ireland: Brigid is Ireland's first and only female priest and bishop. Followers flock to her Kildare abbey and scriptorium. Hearing accounts of Brigid's power, the Church deems her a threat and sends Decius, a Roman priest and scribe, on a secret mission to collect proof of Brigid's heresy. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; As Decius records the unorthodox practices of Brigid and her abbey, he becomes intrigued by her. When Brigid assigns Decius a holy task--to create the most important and sacred manuscript ever made--he finds himself at odds with his original mission and faces the most difficult decision of his life. Modern day: Alexandra Patterson, an appraiser of medieval relics, has been summoned to Kildare to examine a reliquary box believed to belong to Saint Brigid. Hidden within the sacred box is the most beautiful illuminated manuscript Alex has ever seen. But even more extraordinary is the contents of the manuscript's vellum pages, which may have dire repercussions for the Catholic Church and could very well rewrite the origins of Christianity.

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