Arab Sicilian Medieval Music

Norman Palace, scene of Ysabella's capture

Picture is a mosaic from the Palatine Chapel

Ysabella was captured and taken to the royal palace by the cook in Malice Stalks the Leopard. This is an ancient edifice, built on Phoenician foundations from around 700 BC. The Carthaginians had taken over by about 400 BC, and Palermo was a main battleground in the Punic Wars, but by the time of Byzantine domination, Syracuse became more prominent. The Arabs assumed power about 800 AD and rebuilt Palermo around the Al-Kasr citadel, but it became a Norman palace once Guiscard arrived in 1071. It now serves as the site of the Regional Assembly (parliament) of Sicily. The palace includes the Palatine Chapel, a main tourist site in the city. It is Romanesque in its floor plan and features a painted Arabic ceiling (murqarnas)in which you can find lions, eagles, the game of chess, and dancing. Expert craftsmen installed the large central mosaic of Christ Pantocrator and the icons of St. Peter and St. James. Inlaid stone covers the floor and lower walls. The throne sits in the chapel, and behind it you can find the Aragon coat of arms added after 1282. Of course, this is right at the time of our trilogy, so it is another actual event of the times. Can you see the masons working in the dim light from a nearby window?

Medieval gnocchi - before potatoes came to the Old World

Gnocchi has always been one of my favorite Italian meals - but most gnocchi is made with potato flour and there were no potatoes in the Mediterranean in the 13th century - potatoes like tomatoes didn't make it to the Old World until the 17th century.


So how did they make gnocchi?  With mashed cheese, eggs and a little flour.


I can see Ysabella making gnocchi to go with her rabbit stew or perhaps a medieval potage.

See this picture at merryfarmer.net

Eel Pie - a medieval recipe from France and Italy - a Christmas Treat!

The Medieval Kitchen by Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban and Silvano Serventi discuss French and Italian medieval recipes, ingredients and food in wonderful detail. My husband was curious and wanted to try to make an eel pie and the following is a quote from p. 151: "In the Middle Ages, the eel was the most sought-after of fishes ..." and I just found out from a friend who loves sushi that eel is one of the common offerings in modern sushi. So there you have it! Modern and medieval - who wants to tell us about eating eel? As an aside, some ingredients in a medieval eel pie? They would use butter, dates, saffron, walnuts, cloves, olive oil, nutmug, pepper and salt, almonds - you know, the usual!! Happy eating!

Summer reading Special!

Hello to all our readers and lovers of historical novels. After an arduous Memorial Day Weekend of drinking, eating and possibly reading, among other things, we thought we'd offer a summer reading special for those of us who need to put our feet up and relax - naturally, with a good book! Murder at the Leopard and Malice Stalks the Leopard, Books 1 and 2 of The Vespers Trilogy, will be offered in their Kindle versions at a discounted price for a limited time. Check it out - each one will be priced at $2.99 for your reading pleasure. Don't forget to go on Amazon and write a review - we'd appreciate it!

Corleone - Leo's estate in the Sicilian countryside

At the endAt th e end of book 2, Malice Stalks the Leopard, our heroes and heroines flee Palermo to the countryside to Leo's estate, La Serenita, as the Angevins and the Aragonese desperately fight for the island capital. Ysabella finds that her return to the country gives her peace of mind and for the first time, really enjoys the rhythm of the seasons. Her fear of the violence she experienced in Palermo makes her want to remain in the countryside, while Amodeus feels differently. He wants to return to Palermo and rebuild The Leopard. What will happen to their marriage?

San Giovanni della Eremeti

In Malice Stalks the Leopard, the archbishop goes to a monastery in Palermo to hear the confession of the abbott who is dying. There he learns a dreadful secret that results in his death and that of his trusted secretary. The monastery was San Giovanni della Eremeti, or St. John the Hermit. So who was this guy? Actually he was a Spaniard, Juan de Ortega(1050-1143). As he was returning by sea from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, his ship encountered a dangerous storm. He survived and returned to Spain, seeking a place of solitude where he could devote himself to contemplation. Hermits of the era believed that solitude and deprivation brought them closer to God. Juan erected a hermitage for himself at a forested site known as Urteca or Ortega (Spanish for "nettle"),on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. Juan also established at Urteca a hospice for lodging pilgrims and travelers. He devoted his manual labors to construction and repair of bridges and roads to Compostela. He also built a church in honor of Saint Nicholas, whose intercession he believed delivered him from the storm. He may have founded the monastery of San Juan de Ortega in his hometown of Burgos, Spain. The original church now known as San Giovanni della Eremeti was probably from the 6th Century, but it became a mosque when the Arabs took over Sicily. Under Norman reign in 1130, King Roger II of Sicily rebuilt the monastery for the Benedictine order called the Williamites. It is a fine example of 12th century Norman-Arab construction, distinguished by five reddish cupolas.(Incidentally, we do not know for certain whether these cupolas were originally red.) The bell tower is distinctively Norman in appearance, with Gothic lines and mullioned windows. St. John's is nestled amidst trees and gardens. An elegant cloister, probably a 13th century addition constructed in the Romanesque style, combines harmoniously with the Church and its surrounding gardens.