Pagan's Vows
T
HE
P
AGAN
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HRONICLES
‘Full of the richly-textured, high-smelling, highly individualistic atmosphere of the Middle Ages, Catherine Jinks’s Pagan series offers unforgettable characters in an extraordinary setting and time, presented in crisp, pungent prose.’
SOPHIE MASSON
‘Humour, romance, adventure, violence – who would have thought Medieval Jerusalem could be so much fun?’
LILI WILKINSON
‘The Pagan Chronicles are a kind of medieval version of Tin Tin, meticulously researched and told with a delightfully slapstick, cinematographic vigour.’
URSULA DUBOSARSKY
‘What a romp! Not since Don Quixote took up with Sancho Panza has a knight had a squire like Pagan Kidrouk.’
Voice of Youth Advocates
‘There have been few characters in recent historical fiction more vibrant than the street-smart, fast-talking protagonist of this series.’
School Library Journal
‘Rich, vivid storytelling, with a sturdy base in historical events, and undercurrents both comic and serious. ’
Kirkus Reviews
(STARRED REVIEW)
‘Jinks dramatically evokes a historical time that was particularly dark and dirty ... Along with the drama and darkness, readers will find intensity and, yes, humor. Series fans may find other books set in the Middle Ages pallid after this one.’
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
‘Pagan is a real, live boy who leaps off the page and compels you to listen to his story.’
KIRSTY MURRAY
‘Humour? Rage? Agony? Spiritual journeys? Murder? Moral turpitude? Twists both welcome and dismaying? This decidedly unique historical saga has it all.’
Kirkus Reviews
(STARRED REVIEW)
‘Brimming with wit and fascinating details of medieval history, with its vividly drawn characters ... this emotionally satisfying epic brings the Middle Ages to life.’
The Horn Book
C
ATHERINE
J
INKS
is a scholar of medieval history and a prolific author for teenagers, children and adults. Her books have been published to wide acclaim in Australia and overseas and have won numerous awards. She loves reading, history, films, TV and gossip, and says she could write for eight hours straight every day if she had the chance. Catherine lives in the Blue Mountains of NSW with her husband and daughter.
T
HE
P
AGAN
C
HRONICLES
Pagan’s Crusade
(shortlisted CBCA and Victorian Premier’s Literary awards)
Pagan in Exile
Pagan’s Vows
(winner CBCA Book of the Year Award for older readers)
Pagan’s Scribe
(winner Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for children’s literature)
Pagan’s Daughter
(notable book CBCA Book of the Year Award for older readers)
Catherine
JINKS
The author would like to thank John O. Ward for his assistance.
In writing this book, the author was assisted by a Category B Fellowship from the Literature Board of the Australia Council, the Federal Government’s arts funding and advisory body.
First published in 1995
This edition published in 2007
Copyright © Catherine Jinks, 1995
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The
Australian Copyright Act 1968
(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
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Phone (61 2) 8425 0100
Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218
Email: [email protected]
Web:
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National Library of Australia
Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Jinks, Catherine, 1963–.
Pagan’s vows.
For ages 12 and over.
ISBN 978 1 74175 233 5 (pbk.).
1. Benedictines – France – History – 12th century – Juvenile fiction. 2. Monks – France – Juvenile fiction. 3. Monastic and religious life – History – Middle Ages, 600–1500 – Juvenile fiction. I. Title. (Series: Jinks, Catherine, 1963– Pagan chronicles; 3).
A823.3
Cover & Text Design by Zoë Sadokierski
Set in Celestia Antiqua 11.5/15pt by Midland Typesetters
Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my dear grandmother, Beryl Dickings
The Abbey of Saint Martin
Contents
M
onks, monks, monks. Monks everywhere, as far as the eye can see. Rows and rows of them, crammed together on their chapter-house seats like bats in a cave. Like crows around a corpse. The rustle of their black woollen sleeves, as they point and nudge and whisper. The coughing and gurgling of old men with clogged lungs.
God preserve us, just look at them, will you? Talk about the blind, the halt and the withered. This abbey must be the local dumping-ground for unwanted relatives. But perhaps it’s just as well. Perhaps with all these cripples around, I’ll have a better chance of being accepted. They’d be mad to turn away four sound limbs and a functioning set of teeth, even if they do belong to a seventeen-year-old illegitimate Arab with a highly dubious background.
‘And who is this?’ Prior Guilabert peers at me with his pale, bulging eyes. I don’t like the look of Guilabert. Only fools’ eyes bulge like that: it’s the pressure of all the air in their heads. ‘Is this your servant, Lord Roland?’
‘This is my squire,’ Roland rejoins. ‘His name is Pagan Kidrouk.’
‘And he is seeking a place in this most holy foundation, as you are?’
‘He is.’