I am Brangien [Brangaine] of Weisefort, Ireland, lady-in-waiting to my cousin Isolde, who became promised to King Marc of Cornwall. His nephew Tristan escorted us to England by ship. But Tristan and Isolde fell in love at sea. As ye may know, or will find out, they cite the philter they drank as the cause, over which I was supposed to keep vigil. I would like to share my perspective of how I have created good in the world through my herbs and observations. There is much to tell, including how I have adopted this odd language. In good time. My life is in God’s hands. –Inspired by the modern French translations of the Tristan and Isolde texts
A suspicious tickle of the nose woke me up, an inkling of humours awry. I rarely felt imbalanced except when it rained. I poked my head out the window. No rain yet.
“My lady, I will let some onions boil. Do ye want any hot onion water?”
Isolde raised her eyebrows at me.
“Where did ye hear of such a cure for when you’re ailing?”
“I found it myself,” I said.
The air still dry, I gathered a few onions, sliced them, and placed them in a pot to boil. Tears welled in my eyes as they rolled and turned. I kept the cottage door open and watched the rain begin to fall from the gray firmament and murky clouds drift in straight lines.
After boiling the bulbs several minutes, I poured a cup of onion broth as hot as I could stand it. My tears spilled onto the floor.
The clouds, at close gaze, looked like petals, the blooms an “abri” (shelter) in the sky without foundation. But here below, the rain weighed the rose blossoms, torn feathers floating down. A breeze kicked up, some kind of promise, carrying in a clean waft of earthworms who plodded up through the soil to the air and rivulets of rain.
Hello, welcome to my blog! I hold an MA in French Literature, and my master's thesis reflected on the realistic aspect of female servants in French literature, one of whom was Brangien, lady-in-waiting to Isolde. The Tristan and Isolde "story" first intrigued me in my undergraduate medieval French literature class and stayed with me. As I developed my graduate thesis, studying the modern French translations of the Tristan and Isolde texts, the latter mostly from the 12th century, I extrapolated what I could from the scant information about Brangien. This felt meaningful yet also dissatisfying. I hunger to know more about Brangien, and since I enjoy creative pursuits, I am currently writing a novella in order to try to answer my own questions. This blog is one way to explore who she could be. I will try to remain true to what I learn(ed) from the Tristan and Isolde texts and to my vision of Brangien (i.e. embellishments will not be found in the original texts), as well as medieval history, as an art, not a science. I am also a knitter so you may see the crafting bug manifest. Please feel free to leave a comment if you like. Thanks!
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3 thoughts on “Rain”
Your posts are delightful and interesting reading. Thank you for following BrewNSpew.
Your posts are delightful and interesting reading. Thank you for following BrewNSpew.
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Thanks, Eugenia. I enjoy reading your blog, too. And there are so many interesting things to look at!
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My pleasure!
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