The Lady Apollonia West Country Mysteries

NOTE: The blog which follows was posted yesterday, May 23, 2017.  Today I was notified that the a typographical error was discovered in an ISBN number inside the book.  This has stopped the distribution of the paperback version of Memento Mori through either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  It is still available through Lulu Press.

When the paperback version of Memento Mori is again available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble, I will re-post the information given below.

Meanwhile, the ebook distribution is not affected.

For the last two months, I have been posting articles on this blog related to Memento Mori, the third novel written in my Lady Apollonia West Country Mystery Series.  This story is set in Gloucester, England, in 1392.  If you have enjoyed reading the posts about medieval Gloucester and have not yet read my story, this might be a good time to order it.

The paperback can be ordered online
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https://www.amazon.com/Memento-Mori-Ellen-Foster/dp/1300241594/

or from Barnes and Noble by clicking
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or from Lulu Press on sale by clicking
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The ebook can be ordered online
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Happy reading!

Memento Mori, the third of my Lady Apollonia West Country Mysteries, begins with a journey by Laston, the squire of Lady Apollonia’s fourth son, Sir Alban.  Laston has returned to England bringing with him the heart of Alban who died of the plague while fighting with the Teutonic Knights against the Slavs.  Laston must continue his search for the Lady Apollonia because in Aust he learns that she is not there but is currently living in Gloucester.  The young squire wants to tell her what has happened to her son and to bring her the only part of Alban’s remains that he could return from the continent.

The most common form of the plague is the bubonic plague.  This disease apparently came out of Asia and swept across Europe in several waves in the 14^th century beginning in 1347 as shown in the map.  It killed an estimated 50 million people in Asia, Europe, and Africa.  Death often resulted in just a matter of days or even hours.  Although Alban died on the continent, England was not exempt from the pandemic which wiped out a third to a half of its population.  It is also possible that bubonic plague in the 14^th century was supplemented by some other form of infection which caused death even more quickly than bubonic plague.

It took most of Europe until the 18th century just to return to former levels of population and caused great economic consequences.  Common labourers became more valuable because of the shortage created by the pandemic.  The plague pandemic was so important to life in 14^th century England that I could not ignore a description of it in my series of mystery stories.

The plague was not well understood in medieval times.  The pandemic later came to be called the Black Death.  Sometimes victims developed gangrene, leading to skin dying and becoming black.  The disease seemed to hit towns and cities a little harder than rural areas, especially those furthest from trade routes.  Many victims exhibited buboes which were swollen lymph nodes in the armpits or groin.  There were varied theories, mostly wrong, about how the disease was transmitted and how it should be treated.

We now know that the disease is caused by Versinus Pestis, a bacterium carried by fleas often found on small animals such as rats.  There are medications today which can reduce the death rate to 10% of the population.

For more information on the plague, click on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubonic_plague or on
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

My husband and I travelled to Gloucester in 2012 with the goal of getting better insight into what the city was like in medieval times.  I wanted to use it as the setting for Memento Mori, the third of my Lady Apollonia West Country Mysteries.  Our preparations for that visit included study of British Online History as recommended by an English historian, Ian Mortimer.  I had previously purchased the book, Historic Gloucester, by local historian, Philip Moss whom we were privileged to meet in person in 2012.  Our preparation was helpful but being in Gloucester itself was invaluable.  Walking the streets allowed us to begin to picture Gloucester in 1392 when my book, Memento Mori, was set.

The present street pattern in the city centre, except for some of the street names, is much the same as it was in 1392 and goes back to Saxon times.  The Saxons were influenced by the Roman layout of the city but did modify their street pattern somewhat.  Many medieval buildings still exist in Gloucester, some in use and some in ruins.  I have written in the last two months about monastic buildings and medieval churches, some of which we were able to see and visit on our walks.

At the same time, we tried to be aware of medieval buildings that no longer remain: churches, castles, and hospitals.  One by one, these were torn down through the centuries.  For example, Westgate Street is very impressive, but in medieval times, the upper part of that wide street was lined by buildings that no longer exist.  This included several of the medieval churches that would have been active in the time of my novel.  Note the width of modern Westgate Street in the picture above.  It would have been much more crowded in 1392.  The medieval Cross at the centre of the city where Westgate, Northgate, Eastgate, and Southgate Streets met was modified over the years and taken down in 1751 to provide more room for carriages.  The East Gate was demolished in 1778 for the same reason.  The North and South Gates soon followed.

Other ancient buildings which no longer survive are the Norman motte and bailey and the medieval castle, both of which were in the southwest part of the city.  The Norman motte or hill was in the southwest corner of what had been the Roman city.  Archaeology at that site has discovered a game of tables, the forerunner of backgammon, and is the oldest known surviving example of the game in the world.  This Norman motte fortification was torn down when the medieval castle was constructed between the Norman site and the River Severn.

Gloucester’s medieval castle was a stone fortification with a keep in its centre.  Interestingly, King Henry III, who had been crowned in Gloucester in 1216 was imprisoned in Gloucester Castle during the Baron’s War in 1263.  By the time of my novel, the castle was in decline but was still used by the Sheriff of Gloucestershire as a gaol. I have referred to it in my story.  It continued being used as a gaol until the 18^th century when it was torn down.