Medieval Saints

Gaston has had his fill of war and the Latin Kingdoms when he learns that he has inherited his father's estate in France. He accepts one last quest for the Templars, the order he has served for 15 years, and agrees to deliver a package to Paris on his way home. A practical man, Gaston knows he now has need of a wife and an heir, so when a lovely widowed noblewoman on pilgrimage catches his eye, he believes he can see matters solved to their mutual convenience.

1421. A França parece prestes a perder a guerra contra a Inglaterra. Enquanto o país se afunda na lama de batalhas sangrentas, o povo passa fome... e o rei permanece escondido. Desse caos surge uma jovem capaz de mudar o rumo da guerra e liderar os franceses à vitória. E o nome dessa garota imprudente, obstinada e brilhante–uma heroína improvável–ecoará através dos séculos: a guerreira, a herética, a santa Joana D'Arc.

The idea of a powerful woman in the Middle Ages seems like an oxymoron. Females in this time are imagined to be damsels in distress, trapped in a high tower, and waiting for knights to rescue them, all while wearing traffic-cones for a hat. After rescue, their lives improved little. Their career choices were to be either docile queens, housewives, or be burned at the stake for witchcraft. But what if this image of medieval women is a complete fiction? It turns out that it is. Powerful female rulers fill the Middle Ages.

Each day, it seems another Christian institution or leader breaks our trust, raising questions about whether faith is an asset or a liability for living today. After almost three decades as a pastor, Gregg Koskela watched the disillusionment and pain grow as their church community splintered and broke apart.

The Eve of St. Agnes was first published in 1820 in a collection containing many of Keat's best-known poems. Several of these were retellings of stories that were popular in the Middle Ages and earlier times.