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Author Insight
The Vigil
From the moment of birth, people in the Middle Ages were never alone, because there could be no life outside of community. Abbess Hildeburg lies on her deathbed. She's been failing for some time. Surrounded by her nuns, Hildeburg gives her final blessings and advice. Her niece Elfleda suffers from the enormity of change, first because of her love for Hildeburg who raised her. But also because she is now abbess. She's been doing the job on behalf of the abbess, but now the job is hers. Monks, nuns, and laypeople will look to her for sustenance and guidance. The king will expect her counsel. Vigils are not just for the dying. They are also the time when an individual takes on the mantle of a new beginning.
Book Excerpt
Saxon Heroines
Hildeburg closes her eyes again. Mesmerized, we watch her chest slowly rise and fall until she slips away. Loud weeping fills the chamber. I throw myself over Hildeburg’s body, as if I can warm her back to life. When we have no more tears, the sisters and I wash her body and prepare it for burial.
We keep vigil throughout the night. The next day, we move Hildeburg’s coffin to the church. Word spreads quickly. Everyone at the abbey—lay and cleric, monk and nun—comes to the church. My mother and I accompany Mother Abbess’s coffin into the crypt and place it by her uncle King Edwin’s remains, as she requested. When we leave the crypt, I feel the full weight of my responsibilities and understand why Mother Abbess withdrew to her hermitage at Hackness.
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