“It is the time however for me to endorse my fellow monk, Culann, by saying he is one of the bravest and steadfast friends I have had the pleasure of meeting. I can only wish him and the lovely Sister Fea all the very best for their future together. And I speak also for all the monks on Iona.” More applause greeted this oration as Bryan took his seat.
Abbot Jowan raised both hands to quieten the crowd, before asking Fea and Culann to stand before him. There was silence.
“Brothers and Sisters, we are gathered here to-day to witness my solemn duty to join these two people in holy matrimony.” Jowan asked Fea’s and Culann to clasp each other’s hands. He then took a long piece of embroidered cloth from around his neck, which was made for this purpose, and wound it around the couple’s clasped hands.
“This symbolises the binding together in marriage of Fea and Culann. Do you both accept this symbol as a contract before God, to honour and obey your partner, forever and ever, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”
“I do”, responded Fea quietly and Culann rather more loudly.
“Then I declare you man and wife,” stated Abbot Jowan with a large smile. The happy couple, possibly embarrassed at being the centre of attention in front of such a large audience, simply smiled at each other, and continued holding hands.
Abbot Jowan’s final decree was “I have taken this opportunity to ask our monks to prepare a meal in the refectory. You are all welcome to join.”
And that is how Fea and Culann were married.
FINIS
Ω Ω Ω Ω
Back to top
Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave me a review at your favourite e-retailer.
With kind regards
Duncan MacDonald
About the Author ~ ~
Photo by Melbourne The Photographer
Duncan is an Australian currently living in Jakarta, Indonesia. He is married to Shinta Dewi Sanawiya, muse, mate, motivator and President Director of the business he founded in 1993, dMAC Group in Asia.
Duncan has had a passion for history since childhood. He travelled to Turkey in 1975 to visit ANZAC Cove, scene of Australia and New Zealand’s entry to World War I. He then worked for 5 years in London, enabling him to research the Roman Empire’s occupation of Britain and question the Arthurian legends.
Duncan has written this 7th century historical novel with the hope that particularly younger people, if they find it interesting enough to finish, as a bonus will have acquired valuable knowledge about a fascinating era.
Umrah - (mini hajj) Duncan and Shinta performed Umrah in 2013. Photos of this special event when they visited Jeddah, Mecca and Madinah are shown on Duncan’s Photo Digest >>>
* * * * *
Discover other titles by Duncan MacDonald
Culann, Celtic Warrior Monk - Saga of the 7th Century
The Culann Chronicles, Book 2, Picts’ Plight
Anzac & Lone Pine Revisited – 1975
dMAC Digest Vol 4, No 1
▫ Tennis Elbow ▫ Cure Anxiety without drugs ▫ Lose weight naturally
dMAC Digest Vol 4, No 2
▫ 1918 Spanish Flu ▫ Leprosy or Hansen’s Disease ▫ Anaemia & Iron Deficiency
dMAC Digest Vol 4, No 3
▫ First Fleet 1788 ▫ A B C’s of Hepatitis ▫ Late life exercise
dMAC Digest Vol 4, No 4
▫ Diponegoro War ▫ Dengue Fever ▫ Asthma
dMAC Digest Vol 4, No 5
▫ MERS ▫ Kidney Stones ▫ Medical Milestones of 20th century
dMAC Digest Vol 4, No 6
▫ Waterloo
dMAC Digest Vol 5 No 1
▫ Breast is Best ▫ Tourette’s Syndrome ▫ Stress Management
dMAC Digest Vol 5 No 2
▫ Meningitis ▫ Alzheimer’s Disease ▫ Dementia
More information on Duncan MacDonald is available on:
www.dmacDigest.com
* * * * *
Back to top
Bibliography
The Anglo-Saxon Age, A Very Short Introduction, John Blair, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000
Bede The Venerable, Translated by Dom David Hurst, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, USA, 1985
Britain AD, A Quest for Arthur, England, & the Anglo Saxons, Francis Pryor, Harper Perennial, London, 2004
Iron Age Communities in Britain, Barry Cuncliffe, Book Club Associates, London, 1975
Celtic Myth & Legend, Charles Squire, New Page Books, Franklin Lakes NJ, 2001
The Celts, Aedeen Cremin, original published by Landsdown Publishing, Sydney, 1997
The Celts, Nora Chadwick, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth UK, 1978
The Celts Conquerors of Ancient Europe, Christiane Eluere, Translated from the French by Daphne Briggs, Harry M. Abrams, New York, 1993
The Celts The People Who Came Out of the Darkness, Gerhard Herm, Book Club Associates, London, 1976
The Epics of Celtic Ireland, Jean Markale, Inner Traditions International, Rochester Vermont, 2000
Celtic Fashions, Tom Tierney, Dover Publications, New York, 2002
The Rise of the Celts, Henri Hubert, Dover edition 2002, translated from the French by M.R. Dobie, originally published in London, 1934
The World of the Celts, Simon James, Thames & Hudson, London, 1993
The Book of Creation, An Introduction to Celtic Spirituality, J. Philip Newell, The Canterbury Press, Norwich UK, 1999
They Built on Rock, Celtic Church in the Dark Ages, Diana Leatham, The Celtic Art Society, Glasgow, 1948
Listening for the Heartbeat of God, A Celtic Spirituality, Philip Newell, SPCK, London, 1997
Sea Road of the Saints, Celtic Holy Men in the Hebrides, John Marsden, Floris Books, Edinburgh, 1995
Columba, Nigel Tranter, Hodder & Stoughton, Sevenoaks UK, 1987
Columba’s Island, E. Mairi MacArthur, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2007
The Stones of Iona, John MacKenzie Semple, The Iona Community, Glasgow, 1963
Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, International Bible Society, Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, London, 2008
Ancient Ireland, Nick Constable, Chartwell Books, Edison NJ, 1996
A History of Ireland, Edmund Curtis, Methuen & Co, Oxon UK, 2002, imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, 1936
Hero Tales of Ireland, Jeremiah Curtain, Dover edition 1999, unabridged version of original publication by Macmillan & Co, London, 1894
How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1995
Historic Costume from Ancient Times to the Renaissance, Tom Tierney, Dover Publications, New York, 2003
The Monks of Melrose, Rev. W.G. Allan, James Thin, Edinburgh, 1892
From Caledonia to Pictland Scotland to 795, James E. Fraser, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2009
Picts, Edited by Christopher Tabraham, HMSO Publications, Edinburgh, 1989
The Pictish Warrior AD 297 - 841, Paul Wagner, Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2002
Rome’s Northern Frontier AD 70-235 Beyond Hadrian’s Wall, Nic Fields, Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK,2005
Scotland BC, Anna Ritchie, Her Majesty Stationery Office, Edinburgh, 1988
Scotland A Concise History, Fitzroy MacLean, Thames & Hudson, London, 1970
The Past All Around Us, The Readers Digest Association, London, 1979
Ω Ω Ω Ω
Back to top
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends