For Valentine's Day. Love & Magic in the Middle Ages

 

Love & Magic in the Middle Ages

(Picture below is The Beguiling of Merlin by Sir Edward Burne-Jones from Wikipedia commons)

Love and magic in the Middle Ages

Imagine you're a young medieval lady and a young man creeps up, whacks you three times over the head with a hazel stick inscribed with the magical incantation pax+pix+abyra+syth+samasic and tries to kiss you. It sounds a touch desperate these days, but in the Middle Ages this was seriously suggested as a way for a man to get a woman to fall in love with him.

Medieval lovers tried subtler ways, too - spells, charms, amulets and potions - to win the affections of those they desired, all in defiance of the church, which objected to magical interference with a man's or woman's free will.

Love magic was practised and feared by all sections of medieval society, including royal courts. This is reflected in the stories of the time. In the romance of Tristram and Iseult, the couple fall in love because they accidentally drink a love potion intended for Iseult and her betrothed, King Mark. In the story The Two Lovers, composed in the late 12th century by Marie of France, a suitor must carry his beloved up a high mountain before he can marry her. Too proud to drink the magic potion that will give him strength, he completes his quest by the power of love - even though he dies of exhaustion afterwards!

A possibly Viking love spell that has passed into folklore in northern England is a custom where on certain nights unmarried girls chant: 'Hoping this night my true love to see,/I place my shoes in the form of a T'. T surely stands for Thor, the Norse god for storms and also for marriage, the idea being that the girl would then dream of her future husband.

Men and women in the Middle Ages also believed in a multitude of herbs and spices to bring them luck in love. Caraway was used in love potions, as were cloves, coriander and mallows. Garlic and ginger were believed to inspire lust and so good sex. Valerian mixed with wine was claimed to make even the most pure woman lustful. And in Italy, women would wash their eyes with the diluted juice of the deadly nightshade to increase the size of their eye pupils and appear more beautiful (which is why nightshade is known as belladonna.)

In medieval England guests to a wedding would bring small cakes and pile them into the middle of the table. The bride and groom would try to kiss over the cakes for good luck.

In northern Europe, it was the custom to supply a newly married couple with enough mead for a month, to ensure their happiness and fertility - hence our term 'honeymoon'. If a man had problems with virility in bed, it was often assumed he was bewitched and the couple was advised to remove any evil charms that might be placed under or near the bed, such as the testicles of a rooster. Once these were removed, the man should be free of the curse. To drive a woman wild with desire, it was believed that mixing ants' eggs into her bath would do the trick. Hmm.

You can see and read about more medieval magic and beliefs in my novels, TheSnow Bride and A Summer Bewitchment, where the heroine Elfrida is a witch and hero Magnus a warrior. You can see more Viking magic in my novel The Viking and the Pictish Princess and read romances inspired by medieval ideas of midsummer magic in the anthology One Midsummer's Knight.

The Snow Bride 

A Summer Bewitchment

The Viking and the Pictish Princess 

One Midsummer's Knight 

Lindsay's Christmas Viking - or how I was inspired for one of my romances

 In the days before covid, when I would go to speak at Women's Institute meetings, I would often be asked, "Where do you get your ideas from?"

This blog explores where and how I develop my story ideas.

Where do I get ideas from?  Everywhere. But the main triggers are:

1. What if so-and-so happened? 

2. What happened next?

3. I tend to think in pictures and scenes, as if watching a frozen film. Sometimes a scene comes into my mind and won’t go away, and then I play with it and start from there.

4. I like to be interested in everything and everyone. As I write, I try to keep in mind that everyone has a story, that everyone can be a hero or ant-hero, even if they themselves don’t know it.

How I develop ideas.

1. Start with a scene, a frozen incident.

2. Develop characters I’ll enjoy writing about, often with interesting jobs.

3. Place the characters in a setting I can relate to.

4. Give them a plot that stretches my people.

5. Mix all these together in a chapter by chapter outline.

6. Write!

An example of this process is how I came to write my Christmas Romance, "Carrie's Christmas Viking." In this case, my inspiration came from an object, the figure of a Viking that had once belonged to my father-in-law. It was known in my husband's family as Eric, so I called him Eric, too.

As you can see from the photograph, Eric is wound about by a "chain", a silver-gilt necklance that was my mother's and that I playfully draped over Eric as a means of keeping the strands from tangling. Eric stood in my window for a long time and I knew I wanted to write about him, but had not found the driver of any story.

The chains of the necklace gave me an idea. A Viking bound, a Viking trapped, that was a powerful image, a heroic, romantic image. So my next thought was "Why is he bound? How is he trapped?"

The answer suggested to me was "Magic", and after magic, the craft of a witch. A witch whom Eric had angered for some reason. Since the witch in question was a good witch, my Elfrida from "The Snow Bride" "A Summer Bewitchment" and "One Winter Knight" I knew that Eric had tried to work against her and Magnus, her warrior companion. 

Those thoughts gave me the seed that became "Carrie's Christmas Viking," a story of romance and redemption.

To read it for free, see it on KindleUnlimited.

Or buy for just 99cents or 77p.

Happy Holidays!

Lindsay Townsend

Published today! ONE PERFECT KNIGHT. 6 FULL-LENGTH MEDIEVAL ROMANCES

#NEW! #BOXSET 2000 PAGES! 6 #novels 6 #medievalromanceauthors ONE PERFECT KNIGHT https://amazon.com/One-Perfect-Knight-Full-Length-Medieval-ebook/dp/B08QG12MQT/… UK https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B08QG12MQT/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=prairie+rose+publications&qid=1607855607&s=books&sr=1-1… #christmasgiftideas #bargain #publishedtoday #medievalhistoricalromance #free with #KindleUnlimited

One Perfect Knight Boxed Set. Six full-length Medieval Historical Romances. Romance Bargain!

 ONE PERFECT KNIGHT BOXED SET

Blurb

Your knight in shining armor is waiting to tell his exciting story in this new boxed-set release from Prairie Rose Publications! ONE PERFECT KNIGHT is a fantastic collection of SIX full book-length tales of beautiful medieval ladies and their dangerous men as they discover the magic of love! These exciting stories are sure to capture your imagination as you travel back in time to those romantic days of knights and ladies in medieval times! Handsome warriors, valiant knights, or valorous common men of the day—all will meet their matches with the daring and unusual women they happen to fall in love with, and you won’t want to put this boxed set down until you’ve read the very last story!

Authors Deborah Macgillivray, Lindsay Townsend, Cynthia Breeding, Linda Swift, Keena Kincaid, and Livia J. Washburn spin six incredible novel-length love stories filled with danger, excitement, and romance that will keep you turning page after incredible page until the very end. What could be better than ONE PERFECT KNIGHT? How about six fabulous stories of knights, warriors, and noblemen who want nothing more than to live happily ever after—in love—with the women in their lives?

A RESTLESS KNIGHT—DEBORAH MACGILLIVRAY

Had the music stopped, or had she just ceased to hear it? All she could do was stare into the dragon green eyes. Drown in them. This man was her destiny. Nothing else mattered. Lost in the power, Tamlyn was not aware of the hundreds of other people around them or their celebrating. To her, the world stood still, narrowed, until there was nothing but the star-filled night. And Challon.

THE SNOW BRIDE—LINDSAY TOWNSEND

She is Beauty but is he the Beast?

Beautiful Elfrida is the witch of the woods, and no man dares to ask for her hand in marriage until a beast comes stalking brides and steals away her sister. Desperate, Elfrida offers herself as a sacrifice, and is seized by a man with fearful scars. Is he the beast—or will he save her, as well as the other young women who have disappeared? Sir Magnus, battle-hardened knight of the Crusades, has finished with love, until he rescues a fourth 'bride', the red-haired Elfrida, whose touch ignites a fierce passion that satisfies his deepest yearnings and darkest desires.

CAMELOT’S DESTINY—CYNTHIA BREEDING

The legend of Camelot is born and, with it, bold passions and forbidden desire. Fiery-tempered Gwenhwyfar is chosen by Arthur to be his wife and queen… Seared by the forbidden kiss of Arthur’s most-trusted warrior, Lancelot, Gwenhwyfar is swept into a world of passion, torn by loyalty and love to a husband who betrays her and a man she cannot have. But in a time where good and evil clash, where magic and chivalry reign, love will prove a weapon as powerful as any sword.

MISTRESS OF HUNTLEIGH HALL—LINDA SWIFT

Wait for me… Malcolm Gray asks only one thing of Alice Wykeham when he goes to sea. But ten long years go by, and Alice is forced to marry an elderly lord who is eager to claim her dowry. Malcolm has been shipwrecked and severely injured, but when he heals, he remains nearby in disguise, too late to claim his true love. When Alice discovers the lord is involved in a treasonous plan to overthrow the king, she must do something—it could be the death of her, along with Malcolm, the only man she will ever love…

ART OF LOVE—KEENA KINCAID

Abigail d'Alene has been in love with learning all her life, and she now has the means to indulge in her passion. Disguised as a boy, she heads to Paris and the abbey schools that will one day change the world. Shocked by the ineptitude of her masquerade, Alain of Huntly Woods takes Abigail under his protection until she recovers her senses. But her audacity and intelligence spark unexpected passion. When Alain discovers Abigail's uncle plots against the English king, Alain must choose between protecting his king or the woman he loves.

ALURA’S WISH—LIVIA J. WASHBURN

In the fire opals of an ancient treasure live two djinn. Once freed from the stones, these immortal spirits will serve this master's commands. But these djinn also have another purpose—to bring the wearer a true and lasting love… Can a reluctant bride find unexpected happiness with the dark knight, Sir Connor Warrick, she agrees to marry for the sake of honor and duty? The brilliant opals of the exquisite slave bracelet unlock a magic unlike any Lady Alura has ever imagined…and a love more rare than any jewel…

Free to read with KindleUnlimited

Amazon Com 

Amazon Co UK

Two Christmas Romances - perfect holiday reading

 There is a link between past and present, between a medieval witch and a modern Viking. Read THE SNOW BRIDE and CARRIE’S CHRISTMAS VIKING to find out more.

https://amzn.to/2MZZan0 UK https://amzn.to/2H1tYzY https://amzn.to/33Vahpd UK https://amzn.to/2Vs3PkO #viking #magic

CARRIE'S CHRISTMAS VIKING is published today! Read for only 99cents or 77p!

Both stories work as stand-alones.

Both are free to read with KindleUnlimited 

Vikings for Christmas? Right here!

I have two new romances for the holiday season, one serious, the other more light-hearted.

The first is my "Viking and the Pictish Princess".

THE VIKING AND THE PICTISH PRINCESS 

Can a Viking and Pict save Black Broch before winter?

Eithne’s cruel father sold her mother into slavery and gave her away. Despised by her siblings as a bastard, beautiful Eithne has lost everything, including her name.

Now called Bindweed, the illegitimate daughter of King Giric has made a life for herself on Maiden Isle as a respected wise-woman. She is determined to hold fast to that position and her little home, no matter what—or who—may come to try to steal it.

But when a fleeing Norseman appears dripping from the loch to seek shelter on Maiden Isle, Bindweed traps him – is he friend or foe? What is his purpose here on her isle? When ruthless raiding Gaels invade, Bindweed and Olaf must unite and fight together, if they plan to survive.

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The lone figure rose silently from the loch. Emerging from

the grey shimmer of a winter morning with water sheeting off

his body, he glided over the submerged boulders onto the

shore of her island. Bindweed scrambled into a holly tree and

dropped to the parched ground. She gritted her teeth against

the shout surging up her dry throat, old fears from the past

made real.

Viking!

He was big, this invader, big as a king stag of the forest,

tanned, barrel chested and with arms thicker than her legs. His

black hair, dark as December pinecones, matted itself to his

skull in long streamers of shadow and eyes, the colour of

storm clouds, were quick and piercing.

“Black Norse,” Bindweed muttered, not daring to stir as

that fierce grey gaze swept over her hiding place. His thick

gold collar and armlets flashed when he strode by, arrogant

as a lord. He moved with the swift, quiet grace of a warrior,

the low winter sun illuminating his leather tunic and trews,

the long dagger strapped to one thigh, his sword on the other.

Spy or assassin, Bindweed wondered, watching his retreating

back. He made for her cave-house as if he had walked the

path a hundred times, though she doubted he sought her skill

in herb-lore. Still, she did not stir.

Free to read with KindleUnlimited.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LTGYTHV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i20

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LTGYTHV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i13

My second Viking romance is much lighter. It's a holiday read, a time-slip, coming out from Prairie Rose Publications on Dec 3rd and priced at only 99cents or 77p.

CARRIE'S CHRISTMAS VIKING

He was trapped and she freed him.

Bound by golden chains, the old statue of Eric the Viking protector had belonged to Carrie’s grandfather, and his father before him. Eric had always been a part of Carrie’s life, though she’d wished through the years that he was real—not just a statue.

But Eric had been imprisoned by magic spell dealt him by one of Carrie’s ancestors—a punishment for his own greed—until he truly understood what he’d done.

When Carrie’s ex-husband shows an unnatural interest in her modest little home left to her by her grandfather, Eric finally gets his chance at freedom. Who else can save Carrie from the ancient, wicked forces at work against her?

But will his protection be enough against the powerful evil they face in this present time? It’s his only chance to prove himself worthy of release from his centuries of imprisonment. He vows to love and cherish Carrie in his heart forever—if he can save them both. Though the dangerous dark powers threaten them, Carrie has faith. For at Christmas, anything is possible—even magic!

Excerpt

Bound, shackled, he waited. Unable to stir or speak, he

had, over the countless seasons since his capture, learned to

listen. He was a long way now from self-pity. The Norns had

judged and found him wanting. He had betrayed a kinsman.

Big brute of a fellow, mangled by battle scars. A Viking in all but

name, who went crusading, instead. What was he called?

“Magnus.” The captive mouthed, though he made no

sound. Magnus his ugly cousin, with his pretty son, the little

lad who he had tried to steal.

Chained, he could not twitch, though now, eons later, the

Viking acknowledged his stupidity. Magnus had a wife, a

witch-wife, and she had stopped his foolish scheme stone

dead, as if he had been struck by a crossbow bolt.

What magic did she fashion? He did not know. Worse, he

had never forgotten the dreams she had sent him, ever since

he had been trapped by her enchantments.

“Release me!” he had bellowed in his nightmare, trying

and failing to struggle in his chains. He could speak then, but

the red-haired witch shook her head and laid two fingers on

his rigid jaw. His lips tingled, then froze.

99cents https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P3X8QH6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

0.77p https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08P3X8QH6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

Free to read with KindleUnlimited.

Enjoy!