SYNOPSIS: Knight
of the Hospice at Soutra, by Thomas H. Leonard,
assisted by J.L.S.Carter
Summary and four key features: The Scottish knight Sir Richard
de Liddell visits the medieval hospitals on Soutra Hill on a regular
basis to deliver herbal remedies from his garden on Calton Hill in
Edinburgh. But he is forced to seek sanctuary on the Soutra during
the year 1436 when his wife and squire are murdered in Edinburgh by
his incestuous brother-in-law Father Baldr Sigurdsen. Richard helps
to treat a shepherd Duncan Cotter who is suffering from the
Cumberland fever (anthrax). When Duncan dies, Richard assumes his
identity, before escaping to York. He returns to Edinburgh in1462, as
Le Chevalier Duncan Le Cottier, after a quarter century of
intrigue in York, France, and Nouveau Gaulle (North America), during
England's 100 years war with France and the subsequent dynastic
struggles between the Yorkists and Lancastrians in England.
**The knight's Jewish friends reflect the role played by the
Children of Israel during the Middle Ages when emphasising the
importance of developing a prosperous, peaceful, all-accepting
society.
** The medical developments on the Soutra, in Edinburgh, York,
Marseilles, and at the University of Montpellier in Provence play a
predominant role throughout Sir Richard's life.
** The diverse nature of human feelings and emotional
relationships is reflected by Sir Richard's experiences with his
wives and lovers.
** Freya, the All-Seeing Eye perceives the spirits, thoughts
and aspirations of all mortals as they reflect on each other.
1: Triangle of
Love. During September 1436,
Sir Richard
leaves his loving
wife Ingibiorg in his
mansion in Edinburgh and rides with his loveable
squire Cedric
de Porthos to
the House of the Holy Trinity on Soutra Hill. They
are threatened by a couple
of retainers
who emerge from Dalhousie Castle and
try to involve them in a plot against the
king.
2: The House of
the Holy Trinity. The
obnoxious Brother
Stephanus Le Fleming (later
Stephen Fleming , the Master of the Soutra Abbey Hospital) argues
with Cedric in the Soutra friary about their
blasphemies..
Richard delivers his herbal remedies and treats the shepherd Duncan
Cotter for the sheeps'
sweat. After
eating mushrooms, Cedric hallucinates about the Grim Reaper.
3: Journey into
Jeopardy. The Troubadour
of Arbroath warns Cedric in
Fala about his impending
doom. In Pathhead, the
retainers
from Dalhousie Castle again
try to bully Richard and Cedric.
4:Home Sweet
Home. Richard and Cedric
discover Ingibiorg having
fun
with the
fledgeling witch Adaira
McTaggart. After
supper, Richard visits the
sheriff-depute in the
Pretorium. When Richard
returns home, he discovers Cedric and Ingibiorg dying together after
drinking claret poisoned by
Ingibiorg's brother Father Baldr Sigurdsen.
Richard is
accused by neighbour of
murder
5: Back to the
Pretorium. While trying
to seek refuge in Bruchton, Richard
is arrested and dragged in a
large net
to the Pretorium, where he is tortured at the whim of the
sheriff-depute. But he is
released by an
erstwhile comrade-in-arms,
and fights his way out with another prisoner...
6: Sanctuary of
Sorts. Richard returns
to the Soutra,
and is
granted sanctuary in an isolated barn beyond the Saint Mungus Chapel.
He
courts the
homely lass of the woods
Pigfoot McEigg.
7: Intrigue from
Embro. The Soutra is raided by
sheriff's officers from Edinburgh searching for fugitives. Duncan
dies. Sir Richard marries Pigfoot, assumes Duncan Cotter's identity,
and escapes to York. Unknown
to the new Duncan, Pigfoot
later gives
birth to his children Seth
and Sansa.
8: Reception in
York. Duncan Cotter (previously
Sir Richard) is robbed and
left for dead near the Shambles upon his arrival in York. He spends
the next few months as a brain-damaged
vagrant, and then is brought
back to health by Jewish
Hart brothers
in their apothecary
shop.
9: Peace among
the English. Duncan helps
the brash knight Sir Percival de Burgogne to train his troops for
France. However, in 1442,
Duncan
is forced to leave York
when Percival's mother Lady
Rosamund gives birth to Duncan's son Harry
de Burgogne.
10: Accursed
Rouen. Duncan sails to
Rouen with Sir Percival's
troops, under the command of Richard, Duke of York. Duncan
befriends a Jewish
soldier Bagoas Ash and
deserts with him to the French
to save the life of a
Scottish mercenary.
11: Sweet
Marseilles. Duncan and Bagoas
join La Compagnie de
Marseilles,
which is commanded by René,
Count of Provence, father of Margaret
of Anjou. Duncan
becomes René's
informal political advisor.
Duncan also
works several hours a week
in the Hospital of St. John in Marseilles.
12:
The Treaty of Tours.
Duncan
and Bagoas de
Frêne
travel to Tours to
help the
Count negotiate the marriage of
Margaret
of Anjou to King
Henry
of England. At Duncan's suggestion, René
falsely asserts
that the English negotiator William de la Pole agreed
to cede Maine and Anjou to France.
13:
St. Jakob
an der Birs. The
power hungry
French attack Switzerland during the lull
in fighting with the
English. Duncan saves Count
René's
life during
the highly dramatic
Battle of St. Jakob
outside the City of Basel, and is knighted as a Chevalier
of France
by the Dauphin himself.
14:
In the Court of Good King René.
Duncan and Bagoas move
into an apartment in Count René's
palace
in Marseilles, and become lovers. Duncan is offered a large dowry to
marry Countess Ruth de Camando, and he moves into her château
in nearby Sephora. Fathers her sixth child Didier.
15: Back to
Rouen. In 1449, Duncan organizes a successful attack on Le
Grosse Tour when the French recapture Rouen from the English.
However, Duncan is drenched in a shower of pitchblende, and his face
is mutilated beyond recognition.
16: Sons and
Lovers. Bagoas marries Meg Tuppen who worked in a tavern in
Rouen, but Duncan fathers her only child Simeon. Duncan's thirteen
year old son Harry gives the evil Earl of Warwick helpful advice at
the Battle of St. Albans which leads to a crushing victory for the
Yorkists.
17: Voyage to
Nouveau Gaulle. At the suggestion of his friend Aeneas
Piccolomini (later Pope Pius the Second), Duncan leads an expedition
to Patowmeck in Nouveau Gaulle where the Patata and Hen clans of the
Sac are remarkably peace-loving in nature. However, the explorers are
asked to leave when the Sac discover that they are not a particularly
peaceable lot themselves.
18: Life
in Provence and Elsewhere. In 1458, Duncan's son Seth is working
as a physician on the Soutra when he becomes involved in the scandals
surrounding Stephen Fleming, the Master of the House of the Holy
Trinity, which lead to the transfer of most of its funding to Trinity
College Hospital in Edinburgh, and to the swift decline of the
facilities on the Soutra. The eminent Jewish physician Henri Lustiger
moves from the Soutra back to the University of Montpellier. He
befriends Duncan, and advises him that he has a Scottish son and
daughter, Seth and Sansa Liddell.
19: Bloodshed
Around Sandal Castle. In 1460,
Harry deserts the Yorkists just before the Battle of
Wakefield, where Richard, Duke of York and Sir Percival de Burgogne
are slain by the Lancastrians. Harry's friend Edmund, Earl of Rutland
is also slain, after marrying Teresa of Osleset. Teresa's baby Alfred
is arguably the rightful heir to the throne of England. Harry marries
Teresa.
20:
Preparations for the Future. Bagoas dies. Meg plans to
purchase an inn on Dartmoor. Seth and Sansa provide medical
assistance during the storming of Roxburghe Castle on the Tweed.
21: Eidyn's Fair
City, Revisited In
1462, Duncan/Sir
Richard returns to Edinburgh incognito where his irascible
nephew Sir Lulach de Liddell is the master physician at Trinity
College Hospital. Duncan's son Seth is now a physician at an asylum
in Leith. The white witch Adaira McTaggart is a woman of learning
with interests in medicine. Sir Richard's illegitimate son Harry
helps his father to prove that his (Richard's) wife and squire were
murdered by the incestuous Father Baldr Sigurdsen 26 years
previously. Sir Richard establishes contact with Seth and Sansa, and
sets the wheels in motion for retrieving his property in Scotland
from the greedy Lulach.
A sequel 'Children of Soutra' is in preparation
