Gwenaella
Forced to bargain with a sorceress to save the life of her brother, she sets out on a pilgrimage as perilous as any crusade. She has sworn on the sanctity of her soul to find Eden and return with fruit from the Tree of Life. Her innocence and faith may gain her admittance to Eden, but provides little protection from the dangers she must face as she seeks the hidden garden.
BEFORE THE STORY BEGINS Gwenaella starts the story as a student in a convent in the city of Vannes in Bretonny. She is not cut out for the cloth. Her father intends that she should become well educated so that she might marry a wealthy merchant, and she is a good student. She's become well versed in Latin, French and Greek, and knows how to balance her sums. Like many of the young women studying in the convent, she frequently climbs down an old vine which has grown along the walls to enter the city and enjoy the music, food and dance to be found in the festivals and daily life of Vannes. It is at one of the city's many festivals that Gwenaella meets a young poet from Paris, Guillaume. He is handsome and witty, she is beautiful and wise and they fall in love in the spring of the year. Guillaume composes a poem for her which he gives her when he declares his love for her. |