The Outcast Dove: A Catherine LeVendeur Mystery (40 page)
Read The Outcast Dove: A Catherine LeVendeur Mystery Online
Authors: Sharan Newman
“Edgar,” he said. “I would like you to meet my daughter, Anna.”
Those of you who have followed this series from the beginning may be missing Catherine in this one. There are two reasons why she isn’t in this book. The first is that I’ve been wanting for some time to give Solomon a turn of his own. The second is that Catherine, being an ardent wife, keeps getting pregnant and she really wanted some maternity leave. So I gave it to her. And, for those who can’t wait to find out, the new baby, born on St. John’s Eve, as she predicted, is a boy. They name him Peter, after their mentor Peter Abelard. Heloise is delighted to be the godmother.
Now, unlike earlier books,
The Outcast Dove
does not concern particular historical people or events. The germ of the story came from research in early Cistercian records made by my friend, Fr. Chrysogonus Waddell. I am grateful to him for not trying to cover up his discovery of a brothel for the Moslem workers that the monks in Spain permitted. I have slandered the monastery of Fitero. As far as I know, they did not have a brothel there. There was one at a Cistercian abbey in Aragon, though a bit later, so there is a precedent. Mayah’s story is also my own invention, but it’s not impossible that a Jewish woman might have been taken with Moslem ones. There would have been little difference between them in the minds of the Christian conquerors. The ruling concerning a Cohen’s wife is in the Mishnah and various commentaries. The character of Babylonia is from a Responsum in which complaints were made about a Christian servant.
As always, I have about ten times more material than I could put in the book. I’m sure you’re grateful that I exercised some restraint. I became fascinated by the life in Toulouse at this time. Although I don’t believe they ever formed a commune like the cities in the North, for about seventy years Toulouse was governed by an elected body of “Good Men” drawn from both the nobility and the burghers. This republican government was ended by the invasion of the French during the Albigensian Crusade. For a very readable and fascinating history of this, I recommend the books of John Hine Mundy.
One last piece of trivia that I couldn’t find room for but am determined to share: at this time rice was considered Jewish food. Since it wasn’t one of the grains forbidden at Passover, Jews in Spain, Italy, Sicily, and Provence ate it during that time. I haven’t been able to find out how they cooked it for sure, but Rashi says it was boiled and therefore he was sure it wouldn’t sprout.
Finally, thanks to all of you for your continuing interest in this series. You can find bibliographies, photos, and further information on my Web site
http://www.hevanet.com/sharan/
.
Catherine LeVendeur Mysteries
Death Comes as Epiphany
The Devil’s Door
The Wandering Arm
Strong as Death
Cursed in the Blood
The Difficult Saint
To Wear the White Cloak
Heresy
Guinevere
Guinevere
The Chessboard Queen
Guinevere Evermore
This book would not have started and could not have been finished without the help of the following people. I can’t thank them enough for their generosity in sharing their expertise. As always, any errors in this book are due to my own perversity or lack of comprehension, not their advice.
Fr. Chrysogonus Waddell, O.C.S.O., Gethsemani Abbey, Kentucky, for finding the evidence for the fate of Mayah and Zaida. I never would have believed it of the Cistercians if he hadn’t found the proof.
Prof. Fredric Cheyette, Amherst College, for giving me an introduction to the wonderful people at FRAMESPA in Toulouse. Anyone wanting to know more about the south of France in the twelfth century should get his recent book,
Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours
(Cornell University Press). You don’t need a degree to enjoy it.
Prof. Bernard Cursente, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, FRAMESPA (France Méridionale et Espagne), for welcoming me to Toulouse and allowing me to use the library at the Institute.
Dr. Laurent Macé, University of Toulouse-le-Mirail, for advising me on my research. His book on the entourage of the counts of Toulouse,
Les comtes de Toulouse et leur entourage
(Editions Privat), was invaluable to me, as was his help.
Mme. Claire Vernon,
Ingénieur
FRAMESPA, Toulouse, for her patience, friendship, and especially for trusting me with the keys to the library during the lunch hour.
Prof. John Hine Mundy, Columbia University, emeritus, who has done the most comprehensive work on medieval Toulouse in English (and possibly any language) for instant answers to my rather bizarre questions.
Prof. Lynn Nelson, University of Kansas, emeritus, for giving me the background on Fitero and the monastery there.
Prof. Olivia Remy Constable, University of Notre Dame, for telling me who would have bought Moslem slave women and sold them to the monks.
The hardest part of this book was finding Provençal Jewish customs in the twelfth century. There is little documentation remaining and so opinions varied. The following scholars very kindly gave me the benefit of their work:
Prof. Judith Baskin, University of Oregon, who not only helped with information on women, but also copied and sent articles that I needed.
Prof. Elka Klein, University of Cincinnati, for advice on women and ritual.
Prof. Susan Einbinder, Hebrew Union University, Cincinnati, for always being available to answer questions and for finding me a Hebrew translator. Her new book
Beautiful Death
(Princeton University Press) sounds like a mystery but is a fascinating study of Jewish poetry and martyrdom in medieval France.
Oran Hayden, Hebrew Union University, Cincinnati, for searching through difficult articles and medieval commentaries to find information and quotes and sending them to me in Hebrew with translations.
Prof. Sholmo Pick, Bar Ilan University, Israel, who answered an Internet query on the Jews of Provence, not knowing what he was getting into. I hope that his dissertation on the subject will soon be available in more than photocopies.
Dr. Gillian Pollack, independent scholar and author, Australia. Since all our correspondence was by e-mail, I never did find out exactly where she is. But her advice on burial practices was invaluable.
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this novel are either fictitious or are used fictitiously.
THE OUTCAST DOVE
Copyright © 2003 by Sharan Newman
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form.
The quotation
from Judah Halevi
is from
The Gazelle
by Raymond P.
Scheindlin, Jewish Publication Society, 1991, used by permission.
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Forge
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Newman, Sharan.
The outcast dove / Sharan Newman.—1st. ed.
p. cm.
“A Forge book”—T.p. verso.
ISBN: 978-0-765-30377-6
1. LeVendeur, Catherine (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Christian converts from Judaism—Fiction. 3. Women detectives—France—Fiction. 4. Jewish families—Fiction. 5. Jews—Spain—Fiction. 6. Middle Ages—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3564.E92O95 2003
813'.54—dc21
2003047023