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CLOVENSTONE NEWS

I have seen what the book will look like. The publisher sent me a picture of the cover by email. I was pleased to see that they used the cover design I created for the book. It is the crest of One Kildonan. The crest, as described by Fiona, is an oval surrounded by a knot border, with a lorynx rampant in the center, surrounded by five crowned doves which are symbols of the five original kingdoms of Kildonan: Elwick, Crieff, Ardgowen, Moretaine, and Glencoe. There is a sun above, the moon beneath. The lorynx has a heart on its breast signifying Iódha, the island city of the Mêrthyr, the heart of Kildonan.

From a technical aspect, the crest was drawn and cover layout was created in Adobe Illustrator.

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Medieval foods :

HARE, RABBIT, VEAL OR CHICKEN STEW WITH HERBS AND BARLEY

This is a translation of an Anglo-Saxon recipe, with modern measurements to approximate those in the original. In 7th century England, herbs were one of the few flavourings available to cooks and were used heavily.

In Clovenstone, Arrochar happens on Jerrmit at a village market where Jerrmit is haggling for a mutton bone to take back to the Nonesuch Players' campsite so they can make a stew with barley.


Hare, Rabbit, Veal or Chicken Stew with Herbs & Barley


50g (2oz) butter
1 -1.5kg (2-3 lb) (depending on the amount of bone) of hare or rabbit
joints, stewing veal or chicken joints
450g (1lb) washed and trimmed leeks, thickly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
175 g (6 oz) pot barley
900 mL (30 fl oz, 3 3/4 cups) water
3 generous tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves, salt, pepper
15 fresh, roughly chopped sage leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried sage

Melt the butter in a heavy pan and fry the meat with the leeks and
garlic till the vegetables are slightly softened and the meat lightly
browned. Add the barley, water, vinegar, bay leaves and seasoning. bring
the pot to the boil, cover it and simmer gently for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or
till the meat is really tender and ready to fall from the bone. Add the
sage and continue to cook for several minutes. Adjust the seasoning to
taste and serve in bowls.

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GLOSSARY

I have had requests for definitions of some of the words I use in the text. The identification behind each word in parentheses indicates either the word is derived from a similar word in an older language, or that the word is used today in that language. Also, there are some words in the book that I just plain made up out of my head- (identified as "mine.") If you want to know about a certain word, please email me at clovenstone@aol.com, or look it up in your dictionary.

elixir: (Medieval Latin) a powder sought by alchemists that would lengthen life, cure all disease, change base metals to gold

ell: (Old English) a measurement, usually of fabric, varying from 27 to 45 inches

eveningside: (mine) west

faggot (fagot): (French) bundle of twigs tied together

fairy: (Old French) goddess of fate (fate=fairy), supernatural being ; also faerie or faery

familiar: (Old French) enchanted creature that is attached to a mage, usually acting as servant, protector, or go-between with mage and spirit worlds.

farseer: (Medieval) one who sees things at a great distance. In the world of magic, one who can see things that are out of sight, such as the witch seeing Dorothy in the poppy field in her magic globe.

feill: (Celtic) evening

fell: (Old Norse) mountain height, hill, or moor

fell: (Scottish) adj smooth, clean, snug

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Literary Notes

THANES, TALS, AND WOODWOSE

THANE: I borrowed thane, like mead-hall, from Beowulf. The thanes in this tale were something like professional soldiers. They made their living making war. Thane later referred to a holder of a grant of land from a king (usually won by valor in battle), or the leader of a clan. It is a word with a long history of heroism and leadership. In Clovenstone, a thane is a battlefield commander.

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TAL: Tal is a nice word. I like it. It isn't in the dictionary, but I didn't make it up. I have seen it before in sci fi, used a number of ways by different authors, most notably by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his John Carter of Mars series. For John Carter, a tal was a unit of time on Mars. In Clovenstone, it is a unit of 27 armed warriors.

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WOODWOSE: I did not make up the word woodwose. I saw my first and only woodwose in St. Michael's in Framlingham, Suffolk, England. He was carved onto a font. Back in the dim cultural history of Britain, woodwose were man-like creatures who lived in the woods and were savages, wild men, animal-like men. They have been represented as men, satyrs, dwarves and any other creature the creativity of man can come up with. They are sometimes described as being dressed in green, and sometimes called the "ivy-men." Men dressed up as woodwose were attractions at pagents, plays, and fairs. They sometimes figure in the design for heraldic crests, also. The woodwose in Clovenstone are smelly, filthy, ugly woods creatures who lay in wait for unwary travelers. They attack, steal, and kill, then disappear back into the forest.



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On the website (webmaster talk)

LINKS PAGES

Many websites have on them a link page. This is indicated on the opening pages or site map of a web site by a hot link that is labeled "link" or "link page."

Like webrings, links lead you from the site you're viewing to another site. When you go to a site's links page, you will see listed the URLs to other sites, usually with a short description of the topic of the site. Unlike webrings, which are all on one topic, a links page can list anything the website owner thinks is interesting or pertinent. So here is another chance to explore websites you have never heard of, and perhaps find a treasure.

There are sites on the web that consist only of lists of links to other sites, usually on a single topic. These make marvelous reference sites when you are searching for a particular type of information or product.

On Clovenstone's web site, the links list is eclectic. There are Celtic and literarty sites listed, but other sites that I have worked on, or with whom I have traded advertising, are also listed. An excellent way to publicize a web site is to have a link exchange with another site. The site owner lists Clovenstone on their link list; I list their website on mine. Someone who is surfing the links list might find my site and take a look at it. Maybe they'll stay. Maybe they'll buy the book.

It pays to explore a website carefully when you land on it. You could otherwise miss a wealth of resources that could facilitate your time on the web.

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HERBS

In my discussions of herbs in all the issues of Kildonan Times, I present only general information. It is not intended to be a guide for the use of the herbs. If you wish to use any of the herbs described in Kildonan Times, consult an herbalist or a definitive guide book to using herbs.

meadowsweet: Meadowsweet is a common meadow plant with creamy-yellow flowers. It was also called meadsweet, as the almond-flavored flowers were/are used to flavor mead. The flowers are also used in jams, wines, and stewed fruit as flavoring. Medicinally, meadowsweet is used even now by herbalists for mild painkilling and as an anti-inflammatory, as the plant contains salicylic acid (aspirin source). Fiona would have given meadsweet tea for headaches, colds, aches, and stomach pains. It is also an excellent strewing herb, as the stems have a wintergreen scent to add to the almond scent of the flowers.

fennel: Fiona gave the sailor that was sick to her stomach fennel seeds to chew. This herb is seldom found wild, but is easily cultivated. Both the seeds and the roots are very good for any stomach or digestive problems. The whole plant has a licorice/anise flavor, and is a favorite seasoning in many dishes, from pies to fish sauces.

elderberry: There is probably no one who has not had elderberry jam, elderberry pie or elderberry wine, all made from the berries. This common shrub also has many medicinal uses. Tea from the dried flowers treat colds, sore throats, hay fever, and are a mild laxative. The leaves can be applied to heal bruises and sprains, and to relieve muscle spasms.


My basic herb reference books for the herbs I use either for food or medicine in Clovenstone and Stones Seven are: The Herb Book by John Lust (Bantam Books), Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden by Robin Whitman (Bullfinch Press) and Herbs by Lesley Bremness (DK Publishing).

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A FEW THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR (me, Ruth)

I'm back at Acadia National Park in Maine where I worked ten summers as a park ranger, an experience I truly enjoyed. I'm working as a volunteer here now to see old friends and relive the past for a few days. The craggy mountains, the beating seas, the quiet paths under fragrant spruce haven't changed. The people haven't changed either. A new house, a new car, other small things, but they are essentially the friends I left two summers ago. Once in a great while you can "go home again." This "home" is Maine.

Maine is a unique corner of the world. It's a culture that encourages individuality and creativity. Wiccan is alive and well here in Maine, thank you. I suspect there may be a Druid or two practicing in the depths of Maine's verdant forests. I was in a little shop just a few days ago in Machias, Maine. It had a stack of books on Christianity, and small Christian decorative oddments for sale. It also had books on Wiccan, Green Witchery, Druidism, and Buddhism, plus a book or two on other eastern faiths and some American Indian beliefs. There were decorative oddments from these religions, too, for sale. It covered the gamut, so to speak. So do the beliefs and politics of Maine.

One of Maine's biggest country fairs is put on by the organic farmers organization. The Pagan Network, homosexual groups, conservationists, Christian organizations, animal trapping clubs, vegetarian, and herbalist booths vie for your attention. Small farm businesses try to sell you their honey, mustard, maple pepper seasoning, home-dyed wool, artful dried plant wreaths, herbal ointments and soaps. Individual initiative and creativity run rampant here. Demonstrations include house building from hay bales, yurt assembly, splint baskets from the log on up, willow furniture making, and canoe building. Mainers live close to the earth and the sea. They value self-reliance. To follow one's own path is held in higher esteem by many individuals than the accumulation of goods and wealth.

Individuality begets creativity. To be a potter, a good potter, and explore your own techniques and design ideas is a goal. You build the pottery for yourself, do your own thing, rather than debase your work to fit what you hope the general public will buy. I use potters purposely, because in every hamlet and country corner there is a potter turning out personalized and highly individual pottery. At the end of a two-track near a small stream, a woman turns out exquisite stained glass hangings in tiny gray-shingled cabin. Another woman hangs posters to advertise her vocal concert. Fourteen people attend. The concert is excellent. The audience has a special experience, the vocalist has the satisfaction of having done the best she could do and of knowing what she did was enjoyed by others. For her, the occasion is a success. People make galleries of their paintings on their front porches, and a fellow plays his classic mandolin in a corner at a local farmer's market for his and others' pleasure. The farmer at the market sells his lovingly grown yellow and green organic squash, product of his own particular farming methods.

Poets read their works on the village green, and writers write in tiny cabins and drafty farmhouses. When I worked as a ranger, I shared an office with a successful writer of novels. Down the hall, the administrative secretary was really an herbalist who grew all kinds of interesting things and could make you a wound ointment or a tincture of echinacea for your immune system. A plant biologist in our office was writing a brief history and cataloguing all the cemeteries on the island, which he was going to self-publish. Another biologist collected local folk music and sang it at intimate gatherings of friends. Creativity and individuality surrounded me.

I had never written fiction, but I began toying with the idea. I took a walk on Little Cranberry Island, picked up a roughly oval blueblack stone, and a story idea was born. Why not try writing, not a short story, but a full novel? Further, why not write a novel just the way I wanted to write it, not as an attempt to design the book for the mass market. So I did. Clovenstone. I was right about the mass market business. The book was summarily rejected by ten agents and three publishers. Well, that was a waste of time; and I decided not to pursue that avenue any further. I wanted people to read my book. I wanted them to have as much fun on the adventure of reading as I had with the adventure of writing. So I published it in full on the internet. People read it! I started getting fan mail from all over the world. Not tons of mail, but enough so that I knew the book was a success. People were enjoying Clovenstone, and asking for a sequel.

Now Clovenstone will be published as a book, as a CD and as a PDF download. More people will get a chance to read it. I may even make some money. I'm not adverse to making money, you understand. I wouldn't mind having lots of it. But I, as I have been taught by the Mainers, don't want making money to be the compelling reason for writing and lose sight of my own concept of creative excellence.

R

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WEBSITES TO EXPLORE

If you like jewelry, you'll want to visit this site. It sells very nice silver jewelry in Celtic designs.

http://www.celticlady.com/jewelry.html

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This site is a bookshop of everything Celtic, called the Celtic Pearl. It's fascinating just to roam through the titles. The site also has Celtic electronic postcards, a message board, and a chat room where you can meet with others and talk Celtic topics.

http://members.xoom.com/baisdenc1/index.htm

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And, as always, tell your aunts, uncles, cousins and friends about Clovenstone. Give them an adventure!

Good Fate Be Yours —
Ruth

All art work and text © copyright by Ruth McIntyre-Williams.