Watermark (26 page)

Watermark
was a
story in my head long before it ever saw life on the page. I have many people to thank for their support over the years, starting with my family and friends. First and foremost, I thank my sister, Sujatha, who started this journey with me. I also want to thank Laurence, whose patience with a tortuous, and often obscure, path cannot be measured. I thank my parents, Shankar and Bhanu, and Aunt Betty for their faith in me; Ejner Fulsang and Annette for their thoughtful comments and discussion; and John, for turning whimsy into reality. I must also thank Tom and Alandra, as well as the cast and crew of Project Watermark, for bringing my characters literally to life, and Audra and Kelly for their precise, polished work.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the many readers, primarily at Antioch University, on Greytalk and on NovelPro, with a special shoutout to J. R. Lankford, who have given me their valuable feedback at different stages of the writing proces. Your kind words and honest criticism are much appreciated.

My sincere thanks to Lucia Macro and Esi Sogah at Avon Books and, lastly, to my agent Marly Rusoff, without whose dedicated efforts Auda’s story would have stayed silent forever.

The medieval era
is one that has garnered much interest, as is evidenced by the plethora of books, both fictive and not, that concern this time period. For me, the Middle Ages have always seemed a delicious bundle of contradictions—a time of mystery, deep convictions, and yet also expansive social change. Whether through open or private (often heretical) discussions, such weighty topics as women’s equality, the role of the Church with respect to daily life and one’s soul, even the possibility of sex bringing one closer to God, were discussed. Right alongside derogatory comments about the Church’s excesses were heretical sects studying God’s word and inquisitors actively seeking to stamp out their efforts.

My personal interest in the era is best exemplified by the development and spread of papermaking from Moorish to Christian Spain and through the rest of Europe, as well as the subsequent growth and rebellion of an educated middle class. Most of this novel is based on nuggets of historical fact, although I have manipulated people, time, and place in the interest of spinning what I hope is a gripping tale.

The details of papermaking are accurate. Although there is no direct evidence that papermaking flourished in Narbonne, there are some who believe papermaking was significantly advanced by heretical sects who needed cheap writing materials
for their secret studies. I chose Narbonne as the setting for this story for several reasons:

It bore great commercial promise in medieval times;

It was a remarkable haven from heresy, even while surrounded by the Inquisition;

It was also a great patron of troubadour poetry and discussions of courtly love;

It was a cosmopolitan society, with various Christian influences (Hospitallers, Benedictines, Cistercians, Franciscans, and Dominicans), the largest Jewish population in southern France, and the regular presence of Gypsies and Moorish influences.

Additionally, the flooding of the Aude did occur in 1320, which added considerable drama to my tale. The flood eventually changed the course of the river Aude, and rendered the once-lofty Narbonne a literal backwater.

Catharism, or the religion of the Good Men, is a poorly documented heretical religion that permeated much of south France during the eleventh through fourteenth centuries. The Archbishop Bernard de Farges, the
Vicomte
Amaury, and
Vicomtesse
Jeanne were historical personages; however, all aspects of their lives and personalities are fictional. The remaining characters, and the story in general, are works of fiction.

Finally, any errors, whether in history or ideology, are my fault alone.

armarius
: director of a scriptorium

A la vòstra
: To your health. (Occ.)

amé notz
: with nuts (
Occ.
)

Au va!
: Are you kidding? Come on! (
Cat.
)

Baiser la veuve
: Fuck the widow. (
Fr.
)

banderii
: local guards (
Fr.
)

Bonhommes
: the Good Men;

les Innocents
(
Fr.
)

canonical hours: the liturgical hours, loosely given as

cappa
: robe

cers
: northwesterly wind

consolamentum
: baptismal sacrament of the Good Men

denier: medieval penny

domna/dominus
: formal title—lady/lord

donjon: prison/vault (dungeon)

du cabre
: of a goat (
Occ.
)

fin d’amour
: fine love (
Fr.
)

garigue: brush and shrubs (
Fr.
)

houri: fair woman of paradise (
Ar.
)

jongleur: medieval entertainer (
Fr.
)

kirtle: woman’s gown or outer coat

la fadata
: fey girl (
Occ.
)

la Vierge
: the Virgin

ma filla
: my daughter (
Cat.
)

Mare
: Mother (
Cat.
)

marin
: warm marine wind

masco
: witch (
Occ.
)

Michaelmas: a feast signaling that start of autumn; a holy day of obligation

midons
: my lord—code name for my lady (
Occ.
)

monsen
: sir (
Occ.
)

Na: Madame, honorific (
Occ.
)

oc
: yes (
Occ
.)

oyez
: hear; listen (
Occ.
)

pariage
: sum paid to the king for protection (
Fr.
)

pelardon
: sheep’s cheese (
Occ.
)

perfectus/perfecta/perfecti
: perfected Good Man/Woman (priest)

rioja: red table wine (
Sp.
)

roumèque
: a fantastic creature that frightens children (
Occ.)

scriptorium: room where manuscripts are read, stored, and copied

simple: a medicine, often taken as a draught or tonic

sou: medieval silver coin

toft: plot of land attached to back of house

trobairitz
: female troubadours (
Occ.)

troubadour: singer and composer of love songs, especially in medieval Languedoc

trencher: stale or dry bread used as a plate

una mica
: a little (
Cat.)

verjuice: acidic (fruit) juice used as a condiment

Cat.
Catalan

Fr.
French

Ar.
Arabic

Occ.
Occitan

Sp.
Spanish

Date
: 1085

Event
: Papermaking in Xativa, Spain

Date
: 1209

Event
: Pope Innocent III launches Albigensian crusade in southern France; Narbonne fortifies defenses

Date
: 1215

Event
: Fourth Lateran Council pronounces sweeping Church reforms; has little effect

Date
: 1221

Event
: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II declares all official documents written on paper invalid

Date
: 1231

Event
: Dominican convent in Narbonne established

Date
: 1234–1237

Event
: Inquisition in Narbonne

Date
: 1235

Event
: Heretics arrested in Narbonne

Date
: 1238

Event
: James I of Aragon gains control of Muslim paper mills in Xativa; paper mill starts in Capellades, Catalonia

Date
: 1248–1250

Event
: Inquisitors probe Narbonne

Date
: 1249

Event
: Cistercian/Benedictine abbey of Fontfroide acquires milling rights in Narbonne

Date
: 1250

Event
: Italy becomes major paper producer

Date
: 1261

Event
: Fontfroide starts keeping house in bourg of Narbonne

Date
: 1272

Event
: First stone of Cathedrale de St. Juste is blessed and laid

Date
: 1276

Event
: Watermark invented in Fabriano mills in Tuscany; first paper mill in Italy

Date
: 1278

Event
: Mirror invented

Date
: 1280

Event
: Spectacles invented

Date
: 1285–1314

Event
: Philip IV (the Fair) rules with absolute arrogance; controls papacy

Date
: 1288

Event
: Fontfroide has land dispute with consuls in bourg of Narbonne; woman associated with Beguines sees visions and is accused of heresy

Date
: 1289

Event
: Fontfroide charges Narbonne citizens to cut wood; block printing begins in Ravenna

Date
: 1290

Event
: Franciscan Church in St. Felix starts construction

Date
: 1294–1303

Event
: Boniface VIII becomes pope; defies Philip IV

Date
: 1295–1306

Event
: Donjon (part of Cathedrale de St. Juste) built in Narbonne

Date
: 1296

Event
: Fontfroide takes over one-fourth of Narbonne’s grain-measuring rights

Date
: 1298–1315

Event
: Spirituals dominate Narbonne’s Franciscan Church
Vicomte
Amauri II (who is at odds with Narbonne’s archbishop) rules; loses power to the king from 1309–1322

Date
: 1305

Event
: Clement V becomes pope

Date
: 1306

Event
: Expulsion of Jews from France (they go mostly to Barcelona and Toledo)

Date
: 1307–1323

Event
: Bernard Gui is inquisitor in Toulouse, writes
The Conduct of Inquiry Concerning Heretical Depravity

Date
: 1309–1378

Event
: Avignon papacy (moved to Avignon by Clement V)

Date
: 1311

Event
: Pierre Authiè—the “Last Cathar”—is burned at the stake

Date
: 1312

Event
: Thirteen guilds in Narbonne appeal to the king claiming consuls are unfairly held by rich families; reforms never take effect

Date
: 1314

Event
: Philip IV dies; succeeded by three sons

Date
: 1314–1315

Event
: Dante’s
Inferno
is complete; he writes
Purgatorio
and begins
Paradiso

Date
: 1315–

Date
: mid-1800s The “little ice age”

Date
: 1315

Event
: Bad weather; crop failure in northwest Europe

Date
: 1315–1317

Event
: Beguines burn for heresy in Narbonne

Date
: 1317–1343

Event
: Friars of Narbonne summoned to Avignon to defend themselves for being Spirituals; two burn at stake; Franciscan Church is excommunicated but is appealed by consuls

Date
: 1320

Event
: Flooding of Aude in Narbonne; port silts up

Date
: 1322

Event
: Poor of Narbonne crushed at Fontfroide’s gates by Church’s negligence; twenty-one Beguines burn

Date
: 1328

Event
: Forty-nine people (mostly artisans) accused of heresy in Narbonne

Date
: 1332

Event
: First service in Cathedrale de St. Juste

Date
: 1337–1453

Event
: One Hundred Years’ War

Date
: 1338

Event
: Oldest known paper mill begins in France

Date
: 1348

Event
: Black Plague; Great Schism for control of papacy between Rome and Avignon

Date
: 1387–1400

Event
: Geoffrey Chaucer writes
The Canterbury Tales

Date
: 1388–1470

Event
: French monks produce paper for holy texts

Date
: 1400

Event
: Paper for low-grade textbooks, volumes of sermon, popular tracts, and papal indulgences

Date
: 1450

Event
: Gutenberg invents printing press; paper becomes popular

Date
: 1517

Event
: Martin Luther’s
Ninety-five Theses;
Galileo’s incarceration

Date
: 1648

Event
: Peace of Westphalia