April 1152
Queen Mélisende of Jerusalem was leaving Tripoli, knowing that her sister’s temporary respite would be over once she left. Even Baudouin agreed that nothing would change Raymond of Tripoli. So Mélisende took measures to ensure that the respite would be permanent. On her sister’s behalf, she spoke the name and a password that Hodierne had whispered to her in Jerusalem. Mélisende made sure the words reached the right people, and she was a day’s ride out of Tripoli when its Comte was murdered by the Hashashin.
The Queen of Jerusalem then made extremely generous donations to her other sister’s abbey, and was promised that the prayers for her soul would be made daily, by those whose virtue must surely count with the Lord. Having sought absolution for what she had done, and for what she was about to do, Mélisende penned a missive to Raymond of Toulouse, announcing the unfortunate death of his relative, and the happy reign of the new Comte de Tripoli, Hodierne’s son, under the governance of his mother. She also mentioned that the murder of Toulouse’s father could now be traced to the hand of the dead man, Raymond of Tripoli, so all might rest assured that justice had been done.
Having neatly blamed the murder of one of her victims, on another of them, Mélisende prepared for a night with Manassés and for war with her son.
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Historical Characters appearing in the series so far:-
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to:-
my editor, Lesley Geekie Dawe;
my critical friends, Babs, Fan, Jane, Karen C, Karen M, Kris, Moon, Steve, and the Impeccable Editor, for your invaluable input and support;
and to everyone in the Dieulefit Writers’ Group for the fun we’ve had with our writing.
Historical sources that were particularly useful were:-
The second crusade 1148 - David Nicolle
Ermengard of Narbonne, the World of the Troubadours - Frederic L. Cheyette
Eleanor of Aquitaine - Alison Weir
Blondel’s Song - David Boyle
Holy Warriors - Jonathan Phillips
The Crusades - Thomas Asbridge
Mélisende de Jérusalem - Elyane Gorsira
Les Croisades vues par des arabes - Amin Maalouf
L’Orient des Croisades - Georges Tate
Troubadours et cours d’amour - J Lafitte-Houssat
Ecrivains anticonformistes du moyen-âge occitan - René Nelli
La Fleur Inverse - Jacques Roubaud
Voix de femmes au Moyen Age - Danielle Régnier-Bohler
Les Troubadours - Henri Davenson
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This was Book 2 of The Troubadours Quartet.
Sample Book 3 Plaint for Provence
'By far the best historical fiction I have read this year! - Rabia Tanveer, December 2015, for Readers' Favorite
For news of Book 4 and a FREE ebook of One Sixth of a Gill, please visit www.jeangill.com and sign up for my newsletter. This collection of shorts was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf and SpASpa Awards
A book with ‘Wow’ factor - Geoff Nelder, Aria
A fantastic array of wonderful prose, from bee-keeping to Top Tips on Dogs! A FINALIST and highly recommended - The Wishing Shelf Awards
A rare treat - J.G. Harlond, The Empress Emerald'
An eclectic mix - quite unputdownable - B.A. Morton, 'Mrs Jones'
Five-minute reads. Meet people you will never forget: the night photographer, the gynaecologist's wife, the rescue dog. Dip into whatever suits your mood, from comedy to murders; from fantastic stories to blog posts, by way of love poetry.
Fully illustrated by the author; Jean Gill's original photographs are as thought-provoking as her writing. An out of body experience for adventurous readers. Or, of course, you can 'Live Safe'.
Not for you
the blind alley on a dark night,
wolf-lope pacing you step for step
as shadows flare on the walls.