The basic premise of this particular project is a medieval quote a day for the 24 days leading up to christmas. A medieval quote advent calendar. I’m not going to be providing background to the quotes. These will just be snippets of medieval works. Hope you enjoy

I am a day late on this post so two quotes will go up today.

1st of December

From Gerald of Wales a description of the land around St David’s

“St David’s is in a remote corner of the country, looking out towards the Irish Sea. The soil is rocky and barren. It has no woods, no rivers and no pasture lands. It is exposed to winds and extremely inclement weather. It lies between two hostile peoples who are constantly fighting over it, the Flemmings and the Welsh. However, these saintly men deliberately chose to establish the arch-bishopric there, for they wanted to live as far removed as possible from worldly upsets, preferring an eremitical existence to a pastoral one, so that they might enjoy a spiritual life which no one could take away from the.”

The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales. pg 161. ISBN: 9780140443394

2nd of December

From History of William Marshal a description of Marshal himself.

“His body was so well fashioned that, even if he had been created by the sculptor’s chisel, his limbs would not have been so handsome. I can tell you this because I saw them and remember them well. At the same time his had fine hands and feet, but all this was as nothing compared to his overall appearance. Anyone who looked upon it would have found it so upright, so well formed, that if his judgement were sound, he would have concluded that nowhere in the whole world was there to be found such a perfect body. His hair was brown, his face swarthy, but his features were so much like those of a true noble that he could have been an Emperor of Rome. Also, he had wide hips and was so handsomely formed as any noble could be; it was a master sculptor who fashioned him.”

History of William Marshal Volume I. pg 39. ISBN: 0905474422