Abbess Marie Illegitimate half-sister to King Henry II, Author - Marie de France, First Keeper of the Veil Abbess of Shaftesbury
Marie de France (see The Real Marie) was born in 1135, the year of a long-remembered lunar eclipse. She was the daughter of Geoffrey of Anjou and a
lady-in-waiting to Empress Mathilda, daughter of Henry I. In 1147, she was sent to Shaftesbury Abbey to be educated by the sisters. At the age of 12,
Marie is pledged in marriage to a German prince by Empress Mathilda. Marie’s mother, who also possesses the gift of sight, secretly visits her at the Abbey.
She tells Marie that she must not marry, and further, must wait for a wise man's visit. The Empress is convinced by Marie’s mother that she would be
better served by allowing Marie to stay at the convent to pray for the successful succession of Henry to the throne. At the proper time, Marie shall be
made Abbess so that Henry’s welfare may always shine in Divine eyes. Marie, who has inherited her paternal grandfather’s love of learning, is very
happy at the Abbey. She becomes the Prioress’ ward, and as such, she is allowed to carry on her secret life of writing after her study and copying in the
Scriptorium. On the trips outside the Abbey, Marie is able to secretly deliver her manuscripts for the entertainment of King Henry and Eleanor. Some
of her stories involve the accounts of nuns now in the Abbey, others are inspired by her visions of those she will meet. In her trips to other abbeys, she
increases her learning in their libraries and has contact with other learned women and visionaries. However, it is not until she reaches forty years of age
that she finally meets the wise man of which her mother spoke. One day while walking in the Abbey's woods, she meets the kindly old man. He tells that
he has traveled from a distant, ancient land to give her something very important. It is only a tiny scrap of cloth, yet one that will shape her whole life,
as well
as many others. She becomes First Keeper of the Veil. In 1181, at the age of 56, Marie becomes Abbess. As such, she leads both a secular and spiritual life. Her
travels on behalf of the Abbey allow her freedom that other women, even those in secular life, do not have.
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Sister Azenora Illuminator, Confidant of Abbess Marie, Second Keeper of the Veil, Loosely Based Upon "Le Fresne"
Azenora’s mother was extremely jealous of a neighbor’s wife. When the woman gives birth to twins, Azenora’s mother spreads rumors that the twins
were produced because the woman was unfaithful. One child was her husbands, the other a lovers. Thus, when Azenora’s mother finds herself
giving birth to twins, she is in a dilemma. One child must disappear. In 1147, the year of her birth, Azenora is abandoned in the branches of an ash
tree near the Abbey. An old priest takes her in and names her. One day, a rich lord, and benefactor of the abbey, visits and falls in love with her.
He convinces Azenora to leave with him and to become his lover. She leaves the Abbey in 1164. In the meantime, solely for financial and political
gain, the benefactor becomes engaged to another, Azenora's twin sister. Azenora not knowing that the girl is her twin, is forced to become the twin's
servant. She accepts this position willingly, and questions why she is so willing to accept this. When it is discovered that she is of equal birth to the
betrothed, the benefactor decides he will marry Azenora, whom he declares is his true love. Azenora declines the offer for she has realized that her
true calling is to live a quiet life with her illuminations. She returns to the convent in 1165.
She is readily forgiven and takes holy orders in 1167.
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Sister Dympha Seer, Healer, Mentally Unstable, Third Keeper of the Veil, Loosely based upon "Laustic"
At the age of 15 (1151), Dympha is married to a man far older than she. After several years of miscarriages and severe depression, Dympha secretly
falls in love with her neighbor. Each evening, the two talk across the courtyard from their respective windows. Although very unhappy in her arranged
marriage, Dympha respects her wedding vows. She believes that if she can only talk to her neighbor each night, she will be able to remain faithful to her
husband and maintain her sanity. When Dympha’s husband became suspicious, Dympha tells him that her love for the nightingale's song keeps her at the
window each night. Wishing to hurt his young wife for her perceived infidelity, the husband presents her with the dead nightingale. Dympha wraps the
dead bird in velvet and sends it with a note describing its demise to her beloved neighbor. With no hope for a happy life, Dympha creates her own reality.
Her husband leaves her to the care of the Abbey in 1160. Here, her healing and herbal gifts are prized by all except Regina. When Deborah arrives, Dympha
adopts her as the child she was not allowed. Dympha protects Deborah from Regina by keeping the focus on herself. Although she constantly babbles,
Dympha often says things that are very true. Those around her often wonder whether she is pretending, or really disturbed.
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Sister Margarette Nursing Sister, Fourth Keeper of the Veil, Loosely Based Upon “Yonec”
Margarette’s father, a minor English lord, marries her Cathar mother on his return from the Second Crusade. Margarette is born in 1147. In 1163,
Margarette’s mother dies and her Christian father forces Margarette to marry a rich, old man. She is locked in a tower and guarded by the husband's aged sister.
One day a hawk flies into her room and is transformed into a valiant knight. The couple become lovers, but only after the young man can prove his good intentions.
The knight shape shifts into an image of Margarette and receives Holy Communion from the visiting priest, proving his goodness of spirit and intentions to her.
Margarette’s husband becomes suspicious and has the old woman spy on Margarette. After the lovers are caught, the husband seeks revenge by setting sharpened
spikes into the window-well to impale the hawk as it lands. The hawk is fatally wounded. As the knight lies dying, he comforts Margarette telling her she will soon give
birth to their son, Yonec. Yonec will avenge his father’s death. The knight gives Margarette a magical ring which will erase the memory of what has transpired from the
husband's mind. The child reaches maturity and becomes the ruler of his father’s land. Margarette retires to the Abbey to live out her days in 1187. She takes the veil in 1190.
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Sister Brigid Copyist/Scribe, Fifth Keeper of the Veil, Based Loosely Upon "Chaitivel"
Brigid, a noblewoman, is pursued by four different knights. Because of her vanity, she can not decide which one would best suit her. In 1182, a tournament is staged with many
hundreds entering. Three of the four suitors are killed, as well as several other hundreds, in a mêlée which breaks out at the tournament. The fourth knight is severely wounded
but lives. In penance, Brigid finances and personally nurses the fourth knight, whose wounds will not heal. She tries to comfort the knight, but to no avail. After five years, Brigid
realizes that she cannot commit to only him. She still grieves for all of the knights who perished. Having seen that she can do the remaining knight no good, she enters the Abbey in
1187 to perpetually pray for the deceased. She immediately takes holy orders.
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Deborah Jew given asylum after the Massacre of York, Cook, Sixth Keeper of the Veil
In 1176, Deborah, a daughter of a great banking family marries the son of another, uniting their resources. Over a period of several years, she gives birth to five children. Her last
child is one year old when the York Massacre occurs. In March 1190, a mix of Crusaders and barons indebted to the Jewish money lenders and those envious of their wealth, as
well as clergymen, conspired to kill all the Jews of York. Several houses were burned to the ground and approximately 150 Jews fled to the royal castle in York. The castle was
besieged and many killed themselves rather than face death at the hands of the mob. The citadel was captured and those Jews left alive were murdered. In the massacre, Deborah
escaped, but her whole family perished. Abbess Marie, out on convent business, finds her battered body along the road. Deborah is taken to the Abbey where she is nursed by
Margarette and Dympha, and has remained ever since. Marie openly allows Deborah to maintain her own beliefs, much to Regina’s ire.
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Joan, Countess Toulouse Daughter of King Henry and Eleanor, Niece of Marie, Wife of Raymond VI of Toulouse, Seventh Keeper of the Veil
The historical figure, Joan Plantagenet (1165-1199), was the daughter of Henry II and Queen Eleanor, and sister to Richard the Lionhearted. In 1177 she becomes Queen of Sicily
and bears one son who dies. In 1189, her husband William dies and she is imprisoned. Richard I manages to get his sister released and for reasons of state, she is married to
Raymond VI of Toulouse in 1196. Two years before this marriage, Raymond VI openly supported the Cathars against the Church. Joan gives birth to his successor in 1197.
Toulouse is extremely abusive and Joan comes to fear both him and his knights. In 1199, while pregnant with a second child, Joan is left to face a rebellion alone. Joan flees to her
mother's court at Rouen, where she is offered refuge and care in her illness. The real Joan asked to be admitted to Fontevrault Abbey. This was obviously an unusual request for a
married, pregnant woman. The request was, however, granted. She died in childbirth and was veiled a nun on her deathbed. In this story, she is taken to Shaftesbury Abbey where
she takes the veil, but it is the Veil of Forgetfulness.
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Sister Regina Former Mistress of King Henry II, Head of Novices, Inspired by "Equitan"
Regina is universally disliked by all. To her novices, she lets it be known that her own story parallels that of Saint Regina, for whom she is named. (Saint Regina was in love with a
king, but would not forsake her Catholic faith to marry. As a result, she was cast aside, imprisoned and tortured.) In truth, Regina is the cast aside mistress of King Henry II once
betrothed to his most trusted knight. The affair began in 1165 when Regina was 20 years of age. Within the next two years, Henry has two children by Queen Eleanor, one of
whom is Joan, and in addition, begins the affair with Rosamund Clifford. The latter is what Regina cannot tolerate and becomes quite demanding. Regina is given the choice of
marrying a lord far away from the court, or going to Shaftesbury Abbey. If she goes to the Abbey, she is promised that she will become Abbess upon the current Abbess’s death. In
1178, she becomes Head of Novices which she feels sure will put her in line for becoming Abbess. After waiting fourteen long years, she is passed over in favor of Marie. Regina
lives for the day that she can see Marie and her followers exposed as heretics. If she can find the proof of what she suspects, there is no question that her long time friend Hubert
Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, will support her.
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