The Women

When it comes to the roles of female characters in a saga, troupes have total freedom to decide for themselves how closely they want to abide by the conventions of medieval society. Historically, options for women in the Church in 1220 are restricted, of course; troupes playing in the canon version of Mythic Europe, or wanting even closer similarities with real history, are limited to the characters described in this chapter. However, Ars Magica Fifth Edition, pages 220–222, sets out a range of saga types with different degrees of historical research. If you want nuns with an active social life outside the nunnery, or women priests, then go ahead.

The troupe must also decide how strictly the characters enforce the detailed rules governing the lives of women religious. The rules outlined here are a digest of typical regulations which, if held to strictly on all counts, could make life more difficult and restricted for characters than many players would find entertaining. So again, modification by the troupe is encouraged.

Remember that player characters are unusual, often exceptional, people; strong and influential female religious characters are entirely appropriate in this context. See the details on Hildegard of Bingen later in this chapter for an example of such a character.

A player character may live in a covenant as a female religious if she is a beguine or penitent. She may also do so as an anchoress if there is a church at the covenant suitable for her cell. In most dioceses, permission from the bishop is necessary in both these cases; a Petition Ease Factor of 9 is appropriate. If a player character nun wants to live at a covenant, or indeed, anywhere outside a nunnery, the Petition Ease Factor is 12 and senior clergy from other dioceses are likely to question the situation if it comes to their notice. The Monastic Vows Story Flaw is probably suitable for all female religious characters trying to live correctly in a covenant. The exception is if the covenant itself is in a nunnery, beguinage, or cell; this concept is exemplified by the covenant of Cunfin, which hides in a regio at a Cistercian monastery in the Champagne region of France (see The Lion and the Lily, page 106).

The bishop or his appointed deputy will want to visit the character periodically, usually once a year. If the covenant is not on good terms with the local senior clergy, this is an opportunity for some anxious days for the characters. If the covenant is hidden or otherwise hard to reach, the bishop will certainly cause trouble. What the bishop believes the nun's home to be depends on the details of the particular saga setting, of course. The nature of the covenant may well be secret, so that as far as the diocese is concerned, the religious character is living with a group of scholars or perhaps in an unusual village.

A player character in a covenant, whether grog, companion, Mythic Companion, or maga, may adopt the lifestyle of a religious without taking formal vows, but the Social Status reflecting the character's situation cannot then be Religious. The character is likely to experience considerable difficulties in adhering to her chosen way of life, and should take Flaws to reflect this. The reaction of the other inhabitants to the behavior and ideas of this character should generate stories. The Living Covenant character Isabelle the Beautiful could be modified, with very few changes, to be such a character (see the Atlas Games website).

Characters who previously lived the life of a religious might join a covenant as a place of refuge. An example is the Curious Nun from Realms of Power: The Divine, page 95, who brings several useful Abilities to the covenant. An educated nun could prove a valuable teacher of Artes Liberales and Latin for children in a covenant, particularly young apprentices, and her knowledge of Church Lore could help the covenant in its relations with the Church. Harboring a runaway nun is risky, however, as the Church authorities will seek her out in order to return her to a nunnery.

The enclosed lives of most female religious characters, and some of the men, does not mean that characters like them cannot be used in stories. Such a character would be suitable for a player who wants to be part of a saga but lives too far away to participate in game sessions in person. The character could interact with the others by correspondence, if some way can be found for letters to pass to and fro with sufficient speed and reliability. This might be by means of a servant at the nunnery who has reason to meet someone from the covenant regularly, perhaps at the local market, to exchange letters. The enclosed character might let down letters in a basket from a window to a young person from the covenant, who is sent every other afternoon to wait an hour in case the basket appears. If the character's communications are important enough, and the covenant can afford it, a box could be enchanted with a suitable Rego Animal spell to transport a parchment put inside it; although discovery of such a device would undoubtedly cause difficult questions to be asked, both by the Church and by the Quaesitores.

The enclosed character, if an anchoress, is less restricted, since she can legitimately talk with visitors and pass things through the window of her sealed cell. A letter tucked under some vegetables or slipped inside a book could be passed unobserved, although the servants of an anchoress would notice eventually. Visitors to the anchoress could carry verbal messages, though, with predictable possibilities for error in repeating them.

Story Seed: The Visitation

The covenant is home to a beguine or anchoress character. The local bishop must be kept unaware of the magi and the nature of the community where the beguine dwells; or, if the bishop knows of and is accepting of the covenant, a substitute is sent because the bishop is unwell. He expects to talk with the beguine character about her work and spiritual well-being, which includes asking about where she attends Mass and who her confessor is. If the character visited is an anchoress, the visitor must be satisfied about the cell she occupies. Meanwhile, the rest of the community must conceal any hint of magic and the Order of Hermes from the inquisitive visitor and his retinue for the three days of his visit.

The life of a nun is in many ways very similar to that of a monk, following the Rule of Saint Benedict or one of the more recent derivations (see Chapter 4: The Rule and Religious Life), although the rules concerning enclosure are usually more strictly enforced for women. Many nuns are forbidden to step outside the nunnery and may not receive visitors without permission. This suits many of them well, especially the most pious, who are eager to put worldly things behind them and devote themselves to a life of prayer and service to God. Others may welcome seclusion because there is something outside the walls that they fear, such as an unwelcome arranged marriage or a violent husband. Life in a nunnery is just about the only honorable alternative to marriage for women, unless they find an opportunity to join a covenant.

Nuns are almost exclusively women from the higher social classes, and it has been this way for several hundred years. Her family gives a sizable donation to the nunnery when a nun takes up residence there, so only the richer families can afford this. A few nuns are from wealthy merchant families, but most come from the nobility, even royalty. If the woman or girl has entered the nunnery while on good terms with her family and other people from the same social sphere, her social contacts can continue to be of use to her and those she lives with. They can also be a source of disturbance. A woman from a mercantile family may find life difficult, for example, when the other nuns look down on her family background and treat her more like a servant than a peer.

Within the nunnery, a holy sister has greater freedom than most women in certain restricted ways. She is very likely to be taught to read and write in Latin and the local language, if she cannot do this already. She is probably encouraged to develop craft skills including needlework, cookery, and horticulture, and may learn to deal with accounts or to tend the sick. Nuns elevated to positions of responsibility may have more power and freedom to run their own lives than most single women could ever hope for, and the abbess of the greatest nunneries can expect to be in frequent correspondence with bishops and even the pope.

Some of this freedom is under pressure from the Church. In earlier times, nunneries were all founded by royalty or the nobility for their relations and friends, and these founding families had control over who could enter the nunnery and who would run it, often appointing family members to the senior posts. Such patronage directly influenced the social, political, and economic standing of the nunnery. In recent years, the Church has been trying to get control by ensuring that the local bishop chooses the abbess on the grounds of piety and leadership ability, rather than because of her temporal influence or social contacts, but the funds for the nunneries still largely come from royal and noble sponsors. At times, this can create a conflict of loyalties in the nunnery, or a religious house can find itself a pawn in a struggle for supremacy between officials of Church and state. The nuns often select and propose a candidate for abbess or prioress, but the bishop has to give his approval for the appointment and may pick someone else of his own choosing, which can upset the inhabitants of the nunnery and its patrons.

A small nunnery might have only three or four professed nuns, while a mediumsized one typically houses twenty. Nunneries are almost invariably poor compared to monasteries. The annual income per head may be as low as 10% to 15% of that for a monastery of comparable status, and is hardly ever over 50%. Benefactors prefer to donate to a monastery where there are priests who will celebrate Mass for their souls when they die. Financial difficulties also arise from the limitations for nuns regarding hard manual labor, so they are much less able than monks to generate income for themselves. A nunnery is also far less likely than a monastery to own a relic, and its library is usually considerably smaller and less likely to own rare books unless there have been authors living there. One source of income adopted in some nunneries is taking in boarders, but this can be a severe threat to decorum and cause all sorts of problems. In extreme cases — through bad luck, incompetence, or sin — nuns are reduced to begging by appeal to royalty, nobility, highly placed Ecclesiastics and, if they know of any, covenants. If such appeals fail, nuns may be forced to beg in the marketplaces and churches.

In addition to requiring men as laborers, and perhaps a steward, nunneries need priests to say Mass and hear confessions, acting as chaplains (the situation in the Castillian dioceses of Burgos and Palencia is an exception; see the insert on Fontrevrault and Las Huelgas). They also need clerics educated in Church Lore and Theology to act as spiritual advisors. A small nunnery typically calls on the services of the local parish priest, but many have their own resident, secular priest (i.e. one not belonging to a religious order) as chaplain, living close to, but not inside, the nunnery. Men who enter a monastery for the communal religious life are generally reluctant to give this up for the sake of ministering to a nunnery; this is particularly marked in the Cistercian and Premonstratensian orders. Most of the old double foundations — a monastery and nunnery built close together — are closed now, because the bishops felt them unsuitable or God brought about their end. For example, that at Coldingham was burned down on account of vanity among the nuns, and excessive familiarity between the monks and nuns.

Reading the word of God, recitation of the psalms, and praying are the prime duties of nuns, so all have some familiarity with Latin and most can read and write. Coming from noble families, many were educated to some degree before leaving home; tuition in Latin, reading, and writing is provided to any novices who require it. Rarely, a nunnery provides some education to girls who are not intending to take up the veil.

In addition to the traditional nunneries, where prayer and contemplation are meant to be the center of the inhabitants' lives, there are also religious foundations for women where care of the sick in a general hospital or in a leper community is their purpose in life. In these places, much of the work is likely to be undertaken by laywomen attached to the nunnery, who often come from the poorer groups in society. A place in this type of establishment may be the closest a pious woman from a family outside the nobility can get to becoming a nun.

Fontrevrault and Las Huelgas

These are examples of the richest, most influential nunneries.

Robert of Arbrissel, a charismatic ascetic hermit and preacher, founded the Abbey of Fontrevrault in the Forest of Bart, Anjou, in 1100. He gathered about him both men and women in such numbers that before long the scattered hermitages had developed into separate houses for monks and nuns, and for groups of lay men and women who did most of the work, as well as a home for repentant prostitutes and a leper colony. The community follows the Rule of Saint Benedict. Robert insisted that the foundation should continue to house both sexes and be headed by a widow as abbess. During the 12th century, the foundation attracted a great many people, and before long the royal family of Aquitaine and Anjou was involved. Henry II and Richard I, kings of England, were interred here, and Eleanor of Aquitaine spent the last ten years of her life here and was buried here in 1204. In 1220, the abbess, Berthe, has been in charge for two years.

A daughter establishment was set up in Amesbury, England by Henry II, and richly endowed. It soon grew to house dozens of nuns, more than one chaplain, and numerous lay workers, and to control extensive lands with many livestock.

The daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, also named Eleanor, married Alfonso VIII of Castile and they founded a nunnery at Las Huelgas near Burgos in 1187, putting their daughter in charge. In 1220, their daughter Constance is abbess; she is a very powerful woman, ruling the richest nunnery under the Cistercian Rule. The abbess and prioress are permitted to preach, hear confessions, and administer sacraments; Pope Innocent III tried to stop them by writing to the local bishop in December 1210, to little avail. Many royal family members have become nuns here, and it has become the burial place for the royal family.

Life in a nunnery generally follows the same pattern as that in a monastery; see Chapter 4: The Rule and Religious Life for details of the offices that structure the day, and the general style of life lived according to the rule. This section covers regulations and practices that govern the daily life of a nun that are particular to women.

The first regulations drawn up specifically for nuns were by Caesarius of Arles in the early sixth century, using the earlier writings of Saint Augustine and John Cassian as inspiration. These were based closely on the rules for monastic life, and were adopted and adapted for many nunneries across Europe in the centuries to follow. They are so restrictive and prescriptive that there is plenty of scope for stories based on real or apparent transgression. The major difference from the rules for men is the emphasis on enclosure and "stability;" that is, remaining in the nunnery where a nun took her vows. In the stricter cases, the nun is forbidden from ever leaving the nunnery and is warned against entering any building, even a church, where a door to the world outside is visible. The bishop may give permission for a nun to transfer from one nunnery to another in rare circumstances, for example when appointing a new abbess from another location.

Nuns may not choose their work, but must do the tasks given by their superiors; only the abbess and prioress are excused the daily chores. If possible, work with wool and cloth in the nunnery should be sufficient to supply all the needs for clothing. Permission from the abbess must be obtained before starting any private work, and no one may take in washing, sewing, mending, or dyeing from outsiders. Clothing and bedding should be un-bleached and un-dyed. Nothing, even in the oratory, should be embroidered. Ornamentation other than simple crosses should be avoided; plaques and paintings are forbidden, also.

To keep sleep at bay during vigils, light work is encouraged, of a sort that will not distract the mind from the readings. Anyone who does get sleepy must stand. Nuns must not talk at table, but must listen attentively to readings then meditate upon them. In need, signs may be used to communicate. The nun is urged to avoid oaths and curses, nor should she speak loudly. Conversation should not take place during work unless unavoidable and, while working, the nuns should listen to suitable readings, meditate on God's word, or pray silently. All nuns should spend the first two hours of the day reading.

There must be no desire to look attractive. If any men are seen, the nuns must not look on them immodestly and all must guard each other's modesty. Men must not be admitted to the enclosed area, apart from the bishop, the sponsor of the nunnery, priest, deacon, subdeacon, and one or two readers. If the sponsor is admitted, the abbess or an alternative respectable witness must accompany him. If men must be employed for building or repair works, the abbess must approve them. Women who are not nuns or do not belong to the nunnery community may not enter. The abbess may meet callers in the parlor with two or three nuns in attendance. Banquets must not be provided for anyone except, very rarely, for a benefactress or visiting holy woman. A nun may speak with a female relative in the presence of a superior. A nun may not be godmother to anyone.

Story Seeds

Appealing to the Bishop

A nun is unhappy in her nunnery and contacts someone at the covenant for help in persuading the bishop to authorize her transfer.

Or, a nun is selected by the bishop for a senior role in a nunnery on the far side of the diocese, and she asks for help to avoid the transfer without bringing any disgrace or disapproval upon her.

Personnel Matters

The abbess or prioress or porteress, who is sympathetic to the covenant, or to at least one person important to the covenant, is moved elsewhere, promoted, retired, or dies. Can the player characters influence the choice of successor? How do they win over or otherwise cope with the new appointee?

Vocation

One of the young female servants at the covenant decides she has a religious vocation and announces she is going to ask to be taken on as a novice. Do player characters try to dissuade her, or prevent her? She might appeal to a priest for help if they do. If the covenant helps her in her endeavor, providing the required donation may be a challenge. What if she takes and donates something that is valuable covenant property, perhaps by mistake? This may be a minor enchanted item, something she is so used to that she does not think of it as appearing strange to outsiders.

Cheap Education

A nunnery near the covenant is hard up and decides to offer elementary schooling in Artes Liberales and Latin to girls for a very moderate fee. Does the covenant take advantage of the offer? If they do, how do they handle the situation when a pupil talks about unusual things she has seen or heard about at home? What about when senior visiting clergy investigate, and try to close the school?

Communal Life

A nun with links to the covenant or to a player character is punished for a moderate transgression, either deservedly or in error. She is put under the vigilant eye of a strict nun who notices, forbids, and reports anything unusual. This includes the sending or receiving of messages and the possession of anything personal. What if the unfortunate nun talks in her sleep?

Works of Charity

The prioress at a nunnery friendly to the covenant asks a player character from the covenant to distribute alms on its behalf. Will the character accept, or seek a suitable substitute? Can the character find somewhere other than the covenant itself as the focal point for distribution, rather than encourage a stream of poor people visiting the magi?

All nuns have taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Characters will normally only take the Monastic Vows Story Flaw if some highly unusual circumstance means they are living away from the religious community, in an environment where keeping those vows is a struggle and stories develop from this. The other women living in a nunnery —lay sisters, novices, and, in some, ladies who have retired from the world outside — do not take these vows. The Minor Flaw Regular is often appropriate for nuns.

Most nuns come from a noble family, so Privileged Upbringing is a common Virtue. Artes Liberales, Latin, and Church Lore are the Abilities expected of all nun characters, even if only at a low level; some suitable background detail is needed to explain why a character lacks any one of these. Noble women usually learn needlecrafts as they grow up, so most nuns have Craft skills in one or more of embroidery, seamstress, and perhaps even lace making. The Ability to spin wool is also very common. There are other practical skills that are important to the nunnery, as well. In large, richer foundations the cooking, brewing, and horticulture necessary to provide food and drink are probably all in the hands of lay helpers, but a smaller nunnery may require the sisters to carry out these tasks themselves.

It is not unusual for a widowed woman to take up residence in a nunnery rather than marry again. She might pick one she has family links with, one she has supported over the years, or she may choose to found a new one. In some instances this is under pressure from her offspring or other members of the family, who want her out of the way. Some, but not all, take vows eventually. They share in the life of the nunnery and bring valuable, but sometimes unsettling, experience of the world outside, as well as money to support the sisters.

Story Seeds

Too Late

A lady who has failed to find a husband because she was too proud to accept the advances of any of those who showed interest, or one who was too cold, coy, or teasing and put off men by her behavior, has been in the nunnery long enough to recognize her error. All through her time as a novice, she thought she would manage very well despite her poor vocation but, some time after taking her vows, she realized that she was mistaken. She takes every opportunity she can contrive to speak with visitors to the nunnery, begging for their help to appeal to the bishop for release from the way of life she now detests. She refuses any plan that involves escape without all the necessary permissions.

The Frustrated Lover

A man comes to the covenant because he has heard that there are some very clever scholars there, or perhaps he knows one of the grogs. He seeks help to get inside a nunnery to be with his beloved, who has been shut up there against her will. Her family does not approve of her relationship with him, because he is the younger son in a relatively poor noble family and unlikely to come into any significant inheritance. Are any of the covenant inhabitants soft hearted, or willing to help him for other reasons? If the grogs agree to help, how much disturbance will they cause, stirring up trouble between the covenant and the nunnery? If a maga agrees to help, can she avoid upsetting the Quaesitores? And what happens when a demon takes the opportunity to help bring about a serious sin?

The Gifted Nun

A traveling Redcap is obliged, by foul weather or accident, to seek hospitality at a small nunnery; or perhaps a member of the covenant visits the nunnery to talk to a contact there, or to consult a book. While there, they observe a young nun sitting on a stone step eating a crust of bread and a bowl of pottage, while her sisters are eating together in the refectory. It soon becomes obvious to the visitor that the girl has The Gift and could be a valuable apprentice. Getting into conversation with her is not easy, owing to both the rule and the attitude of the prioress toward the unfortunate girl. Can the visitor persuade the prioress to allow a conversation? If the girl has a real vocation, it is hard to convince her of any advantage in leaving the nunnery. In contrast, the prioress would be glad to be rid of her, but a wealthy family put her there and the prioress cannot risk offending them. Can a compromise be reached? And how will the nunnery and the covenant deal with the bishop when he finds out, and tries to return the nun to the cloistered life?

The Scholar

As a nun, a woman has more opportunities for education than in any other common calling. Many come from a Privileged Background, and enter the nunnery with Artes Liberales and maybe one or two other Academic Abilities. A scholarly nun may have Virtues that enhance her learning, particularly Apt Student and Book Learner. She is encouraged to spend time in reading the Bible and other holy books, and to contemplate their contents. She may find the nunnery's own collection of books very quickly exhausted, and be keen to borrow from other collections — even from a covenant library, if she finds out that one exists. She may also compose books, either writing them herself or, at least as often, dictating to a scribe.

There are, across Mythic Europe, a number of scholarly nuns with prolific correspondence. In designing such a character, first decide what the primary nature of her correspondence is to be. She may meddle in Church or lay politics through letters to family members, or she may have a good reputation such that senior clergy or nobility seek out her advice. Assign suitable Reputations and make sure she has appropriate scores in the relevant Abilities, whether it is Canon Law, Dominion Lore, or Church Lore. She is very likely to have a good score in Intrigue.

Also see the section headed Mystics for details on Hildegard of Bingen, for an example of a female character famed as a scholar.

The Refugee

There are quite a few unhappy lovers in nunneries. A girl who sees the man she loves marrying another or becoming a monk or priest, or who is prevented by her family from accepting her preferred suitor, can see life in the nunnery as her only option. Stories abound concerning women taking the veil to avoid an unpleasant arranged marriage. A married woman who finds her husband violent or his immediate family unbearable can enter a nunnery as the only honorable escape. A girl who sees her mother's marriage as unhappy may choose the nunnery rather than risk similar treatment at the hands of a husband.

If a nobleman is defeated in battle, the noble women of his household often choose to take refuge in a nunnery to avoid harsh treatment by the victor. Sometimes a woman enters a nunnery because her husband decides to become a monk. Once there, she may decide to take vows after a suitable period in the novitiate. Such a woman may struggle since she arrives with an unsound vocation, and she probably suffers from a reluctance to be there compounded by anger and resentment. She brings knowledge of the world outside, which is of interest to those enclosed before they had a chance to learn about men and running a household. Such a woman could be a very unsettling influence in a nunnery, and an interesting character to play.

Héloïse

Héloïse is the most famous example of the disappointed lover as a nun. Canon Fulbert of Notre Dame set in motion a tragic love affair when he engaged a tutor for his niece Héloïse. The tutor, Peter Abelard, was a highly regarded scholar in the young University of Paris, while Héloïse was an intelligent young woman who loved learning. When a child was born and their secret marriage was discovered, Abelard was sent away, disgraced and mutilated, to live in a monastery. He, in turn, persuaded Héloïse that she must become a nun.

Initially she agreed, not for love of God but for love of her husband. However, as time passed her relationship with God deepened. While continuing her intellectual interests, she worked hard to be the best nun she could, first as prioress at Argenteuil then as abbess of the Paraclete. Through letters, she argued skillfully with Abelard about how the Benedictine Rule should be adjusted to suit women.

Abelard died more than twenty years before Héloïse. Her last wish to her nuns was that she be finally laid to rest in the same tomb as her husband, and on her burial his corpse was seen to reach out to embrace hers.

The Prisoner

Some women live in a nunnery because they were put there by their families, without regard to lack of vocation or piety. This can happen because the girl is too expensive to marry off, or is a social embarrassment in some way — perhaps on account of deformity, mental deficiency, or a supernatural gift or The Gift itself. If the family can afford a sufficiently generous endowment, a poor nunnery is likely to take in a girl with even The Blatant Gift. The life of any Gifted girl in a nunnery is difficult, unless she has the Gentle Gift Virtue, as she will be distrusted and shunned, picked on for unpleasant duties, and often blamed and punished through no fault of her own.

In some ancient noble families, it has become traditional for some of its women to enter a nunnery; one of the daughters, for example, might be obliged to take up an inherited senior position in a nunnery where the family is a sponsor. In some circumstances, it is also possible to prevent a woman from inheriting wealth by making her take the veil as a nun, which explains a few reluctant nuns. Some noblewomen are sent to a nunnery because the men responsible for them have been defeated in battle, so that support for their defeated lord cannot rally around them. Defeat in law, bankruptcy, or a falling-out with a king can also put a noblewoman behind nunnery walls. Illegitimate daughters of nobles and senior clergy are likely to be put in the nuns' care at a very early age, and often have no option but to take the veil before they understand the implications. And her family might put a woman into a nunnery against her will because she has fallen for an unsuitable suitor.

Characters should have some significant reason for their situation, if unwillingly placed in a nunnery; this includes a substantial number of the Virtues and Flaws. A character with Plagued by Supernatural Entity, Supernatural Nuisance, Faerie Friend, or Ghostly Warder can be too much trouble for their families. Strong Faerie Blood and Giant Blood can result in an unnatural appearance just as off-putting to a potential husband as Crippled, Disfigured, and Hunchback. A nunnery might take some persuading to accept a young girl who is Tainted with Evil, though. Simple-Minded characters or those with certain Social Handicaps might be marriageable if they are attractive and/or wealthy; but once wed, a husband may send his unpleasant wife to live in a nunnery, just to get her out of his way.

Christina of Markyate

Christina's story provides ideas for use in the background of a character who takes refuge in a nunnery, or for a story about such a character.

Towards the end of the 11th century, a daughter was born to a noble family of Anglo-Saxon lineage in Huntingdon, England. The girl accompanied her parents on a visit to the shrine of the martyr Saint Alban, where the holy monks made a great impression on her; she vowed to follow the life of a religious herself and remain a virgin.

Her family had other ideas, though, and arranged a betrothal to Burthred. Christina refused to have anything to do with the young man, claiming her vow of virginity. Her parents tried nagging, bribes of rich gifts, and threats. They enlisted Christina's best friend to try flattery, and convince her of the joys of being mistress of her own affluent household. Eventually Christina gave in and accepted the betrothal.

The pair were married, but Christina refused to have any physical contact with Burthred. All attempts at persuasion failed, despite isolating the girl from contact with any clergy and filling her life with worldly pleasures, until eventually her parents arranged for Burthred to hide in Christina's bedroom. She greeted him as a brother and kept him talking all night. Burthred was mocked for this and, goaded by her parents and others, agreed to try again. This time he was determined to play his role as husband, but Christina concealed herself behind the bed hangings and, with God's grace, remained hidden.

Christina's father sought support from the prior at the local abbey to persuade his daughter, but the bishop ruled that her vow of chastity prevented him or anyone else from forcing her to accept the marriage.

The Revolutionary

There are new spiritual movements growing across Europe, some tending towards the heretical and others seeking to revive the ways of the earliest days of the Church. A woman or girl with new ideas can be a very unsettling influence in a nunnery, whether her ideas are orthodox or not. The strongest such development is the followers of Francis, as described in detail in Chapter 8: The Franciscans.

Entertaining story opportunities are easy to find in breaking the rules and flouting authority, and the following should provide a storyguide with some ideas. Since the percentage of nuns without a true vocation to the religious life is higher than found among monks, it is hardly surprising that there is more bad behavior among the inhabitants of nunneries. Demons take every opportunity they can, but it is the Tempters (Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 43–44) who are busiest in a nunnery, using people with no real commitment to the religious life as willing and unwilling tools to spread sin. They assail the devout by playing on any wavering of confidence in their faith or in their calling to religious life. They tempt those with any sort of power to abuse it. See Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 20–24, for the background and game treatment of sin and temptation.

Minor infringements like being late to chapel, speaking when silence is in force, and eating something forbidden during a period of fasting or abstinence from meat are common. Being absent without leave is more serious, as is being absent with permission but for invalid reasons. Valid reasons for being outside the nunnery walls, after permission has been obtained, include collecting rent from tenants who failed to bring payment, buying essentials when delivery could not be arranged, visiting sick relatives, and attending a family wedding or funeral. Some nuns have an amazing variety of close relatives with unusually poor health, requiring their cloistered relation to step outside the nunnery and visit them frequently. A nun outside on a justifiable errand should not been seen in idle conversation, or talking to a peddler about ribbons, or quaffing ale in the marketplace, nor should she enter anyone's home to be sociable. Ideally, a nun should only go outside with a trusted companion nun. A nun who uses devious means to circumvent these restrictions has to deal with her own conscience whether she is caught or not.

If the rules are followed, the only opportunity that a nun has for private conversation with a man is when she makes confession of her sins to a priest. It is not very unusual for a priest to be tempted by one of the nuns, either because she unwittingly engages his attention or because the nun makes overtures. In a more lax nunnery, a nun can find occasions to flirt with other clerics — perhaps the deacons or scribes who accompany the bishop on his visitation. Sex with male religious is called incest since, spiritually, a monk and priest are, respectively, brother and father to the nun. Where the regime is lax, a nun can quite easily contrive to get to know men who enter the nunnery to deliver messages or goods, those who carry out work in the garden or on the buildings, and so on. It is almost always much harder to create an opportunity to be alone together, but it happens and pregnancy is hard to conceal.

It is Church policy to avoid scandal by keeping such things secret as far as possible, so lapses are often known of only within the nunnery. If the mother survives childbirth, she must confess and is punished, but not usually severely. She is welcomed back into the community once her penance is complete. The punishment may simply be to always take the last place when the nuns are seated, or to lead a procession to the chapel one Sunday wearing a white gown and no veil, or to fast three days a week, or to be confined to the inner part of the nunnery for a year. She is typically prohibited from holding any position of responsibility within the nunnery. If the news does get out, punishments for the nun's lover can be harsh, particularly if he is unrepentant; both Church and state treat the violation of a bride of Christ very seriously. He might well be made an example of, perhaps being made to wear a simple tunic only and, with bare head and feet, stand at the church door every Sunday for a season carrying a heavy lighted candle. Or he might be clad in the same way, then be beaten with sticks around the church and through the marketplace on several holy days. The fate of the child is usually to be sent out for adoption, but sometimes one might be raised within the nunnery.

Nuns with power over others can be tempted to abuse it. The distance between exerting discipline for the good of the souls of those for whom she has responsibility, and wielding power for the thrill of controlling others or for sadistic pleasure is small and easily exploited by Tempters. Nuns who have control of resources can choose to give so much away as alms that her sisters are left in dire need, to keep the best for herself, to show favoritism, or to spend communal funds on fine clothes and jewels for herself and entertainments for her guests.

It is usually easy for a nun to get permission from her superiors for a visit to the nunnery by female members of her family. It is harder to get permission for a visit by male relations; but all the nuns come from the same high strata in society, and most have contacts among the nobility and clergy through whom pressure can be applied, so such visits are by no means impossible. Noble visitors also come with attendants, who may be male or female. Sometimes they bring horses and dogs, too, all requiring accommodation, sustenance, and entertainment. Only the larger abbeys can easily deal with visitors on this scale, having extensive guest quarters separate from the enclosed part of the foundation. In addition to being a drain on the resources of the nunnery, secular visitors can be a major disruption to routine and a dangerous distraction from work and prayer, luring the nuns into spending time on worldly concerns and reminding them of what they have cut themselves off from.

Note that sins involving vanity, greed, and lust are less serious than pride, while apostasy is the worst sin of all. A nun who tries to give up her place in the nunnery and return to the world outside is guilty of a grave offense, and every means will be used to return her to the cloister. A covenant may well be asked to use its specialized resources to track down the escapee, find her, bring her back, and make her stay. This probably poses ethical difficulties for some of the magi, but turning down the request from a powerful or particularly useful abbess or bishop could have unpleasant consequences. A recaptured fugitive who is unrepentant is usually put in solitary confinement in a nunnery.

When the bishop discovers a nunnery where many of the nuns are living sinful lives, and the misdemeanors have caused public scandal, the nunnery is closed. The inhabitants are usually sent separately to live in other, trusted nunneries where they can repent and return to a correct way of living.

Story Seeds

Forbidden Love

A young nun entered the nunnery with enthusiasm at the age of 11 but now, nearing 16 years of age, she feels attracted by news of fine clothes, good food, dancing, and so on that she hears from the women who entered the nunnery after enjoying several decades of life outside. The abbess is strict, so the young nun has had very little contact with men since she was a child.

Up until now, the nun's confessor was an elderly priest with failing eyesight. This has meant that her Curse of Venus has so far been hidden owing to lack of opportunity. But the priest's replacement is a much younger man, who struggles with the temptation offered by the attractive nun. How this story plays out depends on the details of each of the protagonists. If one of the two admits to the attraction, the other may accept or reject the approach. If they do something about it, can they find opportunities to spend time alone together, and can they contrive to keep the liaison secret? The abbess will arrange for the priest to be replaced by a more suitable elderly man if she finds out, and will require the nun to repent, confess, and take her punishment.

If love takes its course, the nun becomes desperate about her unborn child and somehow a message reaches the covenant, asking for help. It is unlikely that the nun will agree to terminate the pregnancy, either by magical or mundane means, but she might be persuadable. More likely, she wants assurance that her child will be taken in by the covenant and cared for there. She asks for regular news of the child, but the abbess will forbid this if she finds out. The nun then asks the covenant to help her leave the nunnery and join her child.

Guests

The abbess, who is the youngest daughter of a noble family, has had no option but to allow her aunt to take up lodgings in the small guest quarters close to the entrance gate of the nunnery. The aunt pays more than enough to cover the cost of food for herself and her two female servants, but she receives many visitors who come accompanied by their own attendants. How can the nunnery accommodate and feed so many?

Some of the extra guests and their followers are male. A few of the nuns are attracted by the sounds and smells of high living and jollity coming from the guest quarters, and find a way to observe. Soon they are in contact with the men. Can their more-strict sisters stop them before more harm is done?

And what do the nuns do when the bishop's visitation is due, and the guest quarters are required for him and his entourage?

Reports of Wayward Nuns

Contrasting sets of written records provide examples of misdemeanors on the part of nuns. Bishops are required to make visitations every few years to check on each nunnery. Their reports from such visits include details of faults found in administration and behavior, with the measures taken to correct them also documented.

In the secular sphere, the exploits of misbehaving nuns are equally noted. Educated people write instructive verses and stories about them, with a moral attached. Jongleurs and goliards report the same things, but in the form of poems, songs, or stories for entertainment. Sometimes they emphasize the plight of the nun enclosed against her will, drawing out the sympathy of the audience, while at other times they give a bawdy account of sexual activity. Verses like this are so common that the reprobate nun is a character type known to everyone.

Story Seeds

New Foundations

Someone plans to found a new nunnery not far from the covenant, or too close to an important vis source. Whether it is a wealthy religious foundation sponsoring a sister-house, or a member of the nobility endowing a new one for personal reasons, the covenant has a problem.

Power Play

In the nunnery most closely associated with the player characters, a conflict builds up gradually between the abbess (or prioress, if it is a small or subsidiary establishment) and an older noble widow who has come to live there. The newcomer is pious enough, but she is used to having servants at her command and to running her own household. Infernal intervention fans the flames and soon it looks as if the conflict will either come to the attention of the Church authorities, or else the widow's influential family will step in. Any intervention risks exposing links between the nunnery and the covenant that will bring the covenant unwelcome attention from Church, state, and the Quaesitores.

Bad Prayer

A priest hears a woman's confession, and is horrified to find that she has been fervently praying that her husband and his mother take ill and die so she would be left free to enter a nunnery. A demon hears of the desire and steps in to offer a bargain.

Gone Missing

One morning a nun goes missing from her place in the chapel. Unhappy with her lot, she has been cursing everyone and everything that had to do with her enforced way of life. Finally, a demon appeared and agreed to take her away. The demon, a Tempter (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 43; Nitibus on page 56 in the same book could be used) is waiting for her to commit a mortal sin. Help from the covenant is needed to find out what happened, and then to rescue her.

Suspicious Mixtures

During the bishop's visitation, he is accompanied by a learned monk who takes a great interest in the nunnery's herbalist. While discussing with her the best treatments for this and that ailment, he comes across some ingredients and concoctions in her collection that he thinks are very suspicious. He finds a paste of camphor and cumin, a sticky mix of ginger, lemon peel, and honey, some dried rose petals mixed with cinnamon, a compound of saffron and orchid pulp, and some cloves mixed with marigold petals. He recognizes the first three as treatments for impotence and the other two as stimulants designed to induce lust. If he says anything, though, he is going to have to explain how he knows so much about such things. If he challenges the herbalist, can she convince him that she knows of these only as innocent remedies, perhaps for the sort of female problems she must not discuss with a man? Perhaps the herbalist is totally clear of blame and her apprentice or assistant made the mixtures.

Brides of Christ

Having given up any thought of a human husband, nuns see themselves as brides of Christ. A Twilight-addled magus arranges for a nun to be kidnapped and brought to his laboratory, where he intends to exploit the holy connection that marriage creates between husband and wife to use the nun as an Arcane Connection to God. The nun could be a player character, or someone from a nunnery where the player characters have a contact, such that they are called upon to carry out a rescue.

Like a nun, a canoness takes vows of chastity and obedience and lives according to a religious rule, usually the Augustinian Rule. Most live in community, but some live independently; either way, they are usually urban. In general, they are less severe and strict in their poverty than Benedictines, and are allowed to own some personal property. Their chief interest is the recitation of the Divine Office each day, but they are more likely than nuns to interact with the surrounding populace, and may serve them by nursing the sick and educating the young who are not destined to join their ranks.

For canonesses, use the guidance on nuns as characters and the ways to use such characters in stories.

A Note on History

In 1220, the beguine movement is very much in its infancy; there are few adherents and these are only in a small region of Flanders. Because they have so much more freedom than women living in an enclosed order, they are likely to be a much more attractive option for player characters in troupes not intent on historical accuracy, and so information presented here covers the movement in its slightly later, more developed state.

During the early 13th century, a new way of life for pious women grew up in the area of northern France, Flanders, and parts of Germany, where there were far more daughters of the nobility than could find suitable husbands. These women who could not marry, were forbidden to work in any trade, and did not want to cut themselves off from society — found a new way to live, dedicating themselves to prayer and good works. This approach has since attracted many who cannot afford to enter a nunnery or cannot find a place in one, yet still wish to follow the religious life, and the movement is spreading fast.

Some call these women beguines, although that name was pejorative at first so others prefer to call them simply "holy women." In contrast to nuns, they do not take formal vows so may leave the community at any time. To be accepted as a beguine, a woman must promise to be chaste for as long as she is part of the community, but she does not have to relinquish her right to own property. It is not unusual for a woman to live as a beguine for a few years and then to leave to marry. As a respectable way for a single woman to leave the parental home, without committing herself to a life as a nun, it attracts some independent spirits. Some married women, interested in the beguine way of life, convince their husband to adopt celibacy so that the pair live chastely, following the beguine lifestyle; the name used for a man living this way is beghard. Sometimes affluent families send their daughters to live with the beguines for a while to learn manners and domestic skills.

Some beguines remain living in their families, others live alone, and yet others live together with like-minded women; the home of such a group is known as a beguinage. At first, when the movement began in the previous century, the Church took no official notice, but that soon changed. As with nuns, the Church keeps a close eye on the beguines and the local bishop must give his approval before a beguinage is established. The beguinage is an urban establishment, usually housing just a few women. The women work to support themselves, and to have enough left over to give alms. Often they work at spinning and weaving; this can put them into conflict with the trade guilds, since the beguines avoid guild control over buying and selling and do not require new recruits to serve a formal trade apprenticeship. To counter this, the women emphasize their spirituality and try to only do sufficient work to meet their basic needs and support their charitable activities.

Each individual community, to suit local circumstances, agrees to the rules governing the life of a beguine. As many grow up around holy individuals who settled close to hospitals and leper colonies, service to these is often an important part of the beguine's life. Many beguines support themselves by manual labor, for example taking in washing; in the larger communities, the mistress of work supervises this activity. As they are not confined within the beguinage, they often go out to visit the sick, although they need to be careful since tending men risks accusations of improper behavior.

They start and end the day by gathering together in the church for prayer, and hear Mass every morning before they go to work. While they work, they maintain silence as far as possible, unless one or two of them recite psalms or prayers aloud. Their diet is simple, as is their clothing; there is no fixed habit but, within the larger groups, all tend to wear the same in order to avoid distinctions.

Beguines rely on the local parish priests to say Mass and hear their confessions; although in some instances, in towns and cities where there are numerous churches, the link between beguines and any specific priest is less fixed than the Church likes, because it makes it harder to monitor their activities. Most beguines are looked on favorably by the Church authorities on account of their chastity, good works, and prayer. However some of them are teaching, writing, and even preaching, which brings them into conflict with Church authority. They use the language of those around them in preference to Latin, which upsets Church leaders. Many of them have an intense devotion to the holy eucharist and desire holy communion as often as every week, which is viewed as very disturbing since the custom among most religious is to partake just a few times annually. Such devotion leads some beguines along the path to mysticism (see later), and some of them slide into heresy through lack of close spiritual guidance.

A very substantial beguinage — such as that of Saint Elizabeth in Ghent grows, if your saga follows history, to occupy a plot of land encircled by ditches and a wall within which are a church, a cemetery, a small hospital for the inhabitants, and homes. There are numerous houses in the enclosure, where the women live in small groups and each has a small garden. The women have little personal property, just their clothing, a bed, and a chest. There are two chaplains resident. One woman, called the principal mistress, is selected to be in charge of the beguinage; her position is reviewed annually. She appoints the women who are responsible for each of the houses in the community. Any woman wishing to absent herself from the beguinage for more than an hour or so needs her permission, and must go with companions, so each can watch the other. The principal mistress must give her permission for anyone joining the community and for any building or demolition work. She also has the duty to correct any member who breaks the rules. Punishment in extreme cases may involve transfer to a different beguinage or expulsion. With care, it might just be possible for a covenant to hide inside one of the larger beguinages.

Not long ago, swept up by a similar sentiment, women in northern Italy began living as penitents, and the movement is spreading fast. It began among the ruling classes as an urban interpretation of the eremitic life. In contrast to the beguines, the emphasis is on penitence, and they take up the religious life with the intention of permanency. At first, the movement accepted only married and widowed women, but now it is beginning to allow others. The essential feature of their life is following traditional personal penitential practices, including lengthy fasts and dressing in sackcloth and ashes. They hold property in common in small groups, but lack any organization, unlike beguines. Also unlike beguines, they remain at a distance from society and do not engage in work or trade.

These women are known as bizzoca (plural bizzoche) in north Italy and Provence, but as pinzocheri in central Italy (and continentes in Latin). Typically, they live in small groups or in their own homes, closely linked to a specific church. They need permission from that church and the local bishop to set up their community, but there is no formal hierarchy within the group and no need for anyone other than the members of the community to decide who may be admitted. Recently, penitent communities are settling on lands donated by urban nobles and burgesses where, by not having an oratory, they remain outside Church control. Their supporters seek forgiveness for their sins by providing for the holy women who pray for them, but may also be using them for social or political advantage.

In years to come, if your saga follows history, women alone or in small groups live as beguines or penitents in most countries of mainland Western and Southern Europe.

The Social Status Virtue Religious is correct for characters of this type; however, most are illiterate. Players may take the Flaw Ability Block: Academic to cover this situation.

Using an Anchoress in the Saga

An anchoress can live in a village closely linked to a covenant, or, with care, can be located actually in a covenant. And unlike cloistered religious, she can interact with a wide range of people through her window and act through intermediaries, particularly her own servants. Two different players might enjoy taking the roles of anchoress and servant to develop stories through their relationship. It may well be more fun if they do not adhere too strictly to the ideal rule, but find entertaining ways to bend and break it — and then have to make their confession and excuses.

A covenant may have contacts with an anchoress in town who is something of a busybody or gossip, or the covenant may support an anchoress to teach the younger children, and to pray for covenant members.

This can be a good choice of character type for someone who wants to be involved as a player character in a saga but is living away and will participate by email.

Becoming an Anchoress in England

Before being allowed to take up the enclosed life of an anchoress, a woman in England requires permission form the local bishop, who has a duty to test her vocation. When he is convinced, a special ceremony is performed. The candidate enters the church and prostrates herself at the western end, opposite the altar. Two clerks stand over her and recite a litany. She is blessed by the sprinkling of holy water and the smoke of burning incense. She stands and is presented with two lighted candles, one representing love of God and the other love of one's neighbor. Readings from scripture and a psalm follow, then the two candles are placed on the altar and Mass is celebrated. After Mass, the clergy recite the psalms for the dead while the candidate is led to her cell. There she is sprinkled with dust before entering, and the door is closed behind her.

Holy hermits are not rare, although they are not often female. Women living alone in remote places may be suspected of being hedge magicians, cunning women, or witches, and may have to try to prove themselves otherwise. There is a growing tendency among Church authorities to disapprove of women living in this way, so a hermit character may come under pressure from nobility or clergy to enter a nunnery. It is not at all unusual for a woman ostensibly living in solitude to be accompanied by a female servant or two, especially if the woman concerned is from a noble family; these still count as hermits. A holy hermit probably gets gifts of food from the people living in the vicinity, who hope she will pray for them. Their isolation and chosen lifestyle make such characters hard to incorporate into a saga. They are probably most useful as occasional nonplayer characters.

A pious woman with The Gift may find the life of a holy hermit to be a good option, and a maga with no inclination to piety but with The Blatant Gift may find the hermit life suitable. A character of this sort can be a useful choice for a storyguide who wants to run a player character just once in a while. Another possibility is for the isolated maga to be a shared character who is a specialist in something the player characters are weak in, and who might step in from time to time to help out in stories of a particular sort, when she can be played by a member of the troupe whose own magus is not involved in the story.

The Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (or Carmelite Order) is a religious order, which originated from groups of hermits living in the Holy Land, on the slopes of Mount Carmel. There are numerous caves there, around the site of the well that was used by the prophet Elijah. In 1220, the group is well established there and lives under a rule approved by the papal legate in Jerusalem. Its members devote themselves to solitude, penance, prayer, and contemplation. Originally all men, a few women find themselves drawn to the same style of life. The women are likely to be found in the most remote caves, living in total poverty and seclusion. If your saga follows history, the rule followed by the Carmelite hermits receives papal approval in 1226. The hermits move from the Holy Land in 1238 to settle in Cyprus and Sicily, reach England in 1240, and establish a settlement in southern France in 1244.

The life of an anchoress is more closely linked to society than that of a nun, while still being enclosed to a significant degree, and is a highly respected mode of life. It is governed by rules, but many of them are optional. It is suitable for the woman who has a vocation to the religious life but who does not want to be entirely cut off from the world. It is typically only open to the more wealthy, but an anchoress has female servants who also follow the rules and routines of religious life, so the role of servant to an anchoress is a choice available to poorer women. Prior to taking up residence in her cell, an anchoress may have lived as a nun, but this is not usual. Once installed as an anchoress, the woman's former life is irrelevant, and she is equally respected whether a widow or a virgin.

Many anchoresses' cells are attached to a church, built onto the side or end of the building in such a way that the anchoress has a window that gives her a view of the altar. Less often, a cell may be attached to a nunnery or stand alone. There is usually a window giving onto the street, and a door through which her servants come and go.

The Ancrene Riwle was written in England during the early 13th century for a group of three anchoresses. It is based heavily on the rules that govern monks and nuns, but differs to suit the circumstances of an anchoress in general and allows for individual variations under the guidance of the woman's confessor. The primary requirements of obedience, chastity, and permanence of abode remain. The rule warns against making other vows, for example with regard to fasting, dress, or times of prayer, because of the danger of breaking such a vow. Instead, it recommends only acting as if such vows have been made. By adopting some of the rules in play, a character becomes distinctively religious.

The window through which the anchoress interacts with the world outside should be small and covered with a black cloth, on which there is a white cross on both sides. If anyone comes to the window, the servant should first find out who it is, so the anchoress can avoid contact with unsuitable callers. If it is a priest, she should sit still and silent and listen to him. She should not speak long with anyone without a suitable witness; her servant often takes this role. She should never speak to anyone through the window that gives onto the church. The servant may go outside to entertain a visitor who is dear to the anchoress, in her stead.

The anchoress should refrain from speech on a Friday, and more often in Advent and Lent, but may say a little to her servant, and speak briefly to anyone who has traveled far to speak with her. She should not preach to, give counsel to, or take advice from any man, but she may converse with women. These rules are frequently ignored.

The Riwle suggests that the anchoress limit herself to receiving holy communion 15 times a year, on certain feast days, so it does not become a habit or less than special, and make a full confession before each occasion.

The anchoress may eat twice a day on Sundays and every day from Easter until the feast of the Holy Cross (the 14th of September), except on Fridays, Ember days, and during vigils. On those days and throughout Advent she should avoid white food. She ought to fast on all other days apart from Sundays. When fasting, she should avoid meat and fat unless ill, but fasting should not be taken to excess and she must only limit herself to bread and water if instructed by the priest.

The anchoress must live on alms, and take only what she needs. She should provide for her servant and may eat with women or children who work for her, but not with a man. She should only ask for something when her need is very great. She should not keep an animal other than a cat, so she is not distracted from prayer by concern for the animal. She must not buy and sell things, nor look after anything for anyone.

The anchoress should dress simply in plain, warm clothing. She should not do penance in coarse cloth or by flagellation of any sort unless advised so by her confessor. She may work with a needle to mend church vestments and the clothing of the poor, and to clothe herself and her servants. She may not send or receive letters without permission.

The anchoress should gently correct faults in the behavior of her servants, imposing penances if need be, and should work to maintain harmony between them. She should sometimes read to her servants, to instruct them. She should be more generous with food, drink, and clothing to her servants than to herself.

There are rules to govern the anchoress' servants, too. The servants must be always attentive to their mistress and be obedient, unless that would lead to sin. They must take care not to disturb their mistress' prayer and contemplation. They must behave demurely and dress modestly and plainly. They should pray at the same hours as their mistress and, if they cannot read, should recite the Lord's Prayer and the Hail Mary.

They must have the anchoress' leave to give or receive anything. They are forbidden from admitting a man into the anchoress' cell and should be careful in their own interactions with men, not gazing on a man nor embracing one, even a relative.

If someone has to go out to obtain food, the anchoress should have two servants so she always has a companion. The one who goes out should not be young and pretty, should stay away as short a time as possible, and minimize her interaction with other people. Servants should not carry news or gossip to or from the anchorhold, but many are inclined to.

An anchoress may have unusual means of leaving her cell, and might be able to get away with it, if she is careful, although she will have to deal with her conscience. She may, for example, have an enchanted item that allows her to leave her cell through a wall, or the means to use Leap of Homecoming to reach another location, and later return to the cell. Perhaps one unique cell contains access to a regio where the anchoress can work and explore without technically leaving her cell; this could suit a pious maga.

Story Seeds

Defying the Bishop

Three young women live together as penitents in a house near the city wall, provided for them by a merchant grown rich on trade in fine fabrics. When their sponsor finds himself in dispute with the bishop, the women come under pressure from the Church to abandon their present home and move in with another penitent community on the other side of the city. Under normal circumstances, they may be able to agree to go along with the proposal, even though they know there will be personality conflicts if the groups are forced together in this way. However, these penitents are actually a Jerbiton maga with her two servants.

Unexpected Visitation

An anchoress player character, or one closely associated with the covenant, uses disguise (mundane or magically assisted) to change places with her servant and go out. She does not usually stray more than 15 minutes' walk from her cell, but the unexpected may lure her further. One day she is further from home than usual when an archdeacon, or maybe even a papal legate, passes by her cell with a small retinue and, on a whim, stops to speak with her. Can the servant maintain an adequate deception for the duration of the visit and allay any suspicions? How does she explain the long absence of her "servant," who ought to be outside providing refreshment to the retinue while the "anchoress" talks at the window with the important visitor?

Menagerie

Tired of walking to the farm every day to collect milk, the anchoress' servant persuades the farmer to give a cow, which is put to graze on the common land close to the church where the cell is. Before long, the anchoress has acquired two more cows, four goats, three pigs, and a small dog that lives in the cell with her. The servant spends much of her time tending the livestock. The local populace increase their donations to feed the animals as well as the anchoress and her servant. Then someone, perhaps the priest himself, passes a complaint to the bishop.

Among religious women, gifts of prophecy and visions are sometimes a blessing and sometimes an affliction. Such people can be found in nunneries or living in seclusion. They are not easy to live with, but their intimate link with God earns them the care and respect of those around them. The mystical state is generally understood to be a form of prayer. It is commonly believed that God gives such gifts to those who live most closely according to his commandments, and are seen to show humility, penitence, and great love. However, it is hard to prove whether this way of life is the cause or the result of profound mystical religious experiences, which impart direct personal knowledge of God. See Chapter 2: Congregation, Christian Mysticism for more information on mystics and their lives, and for rules governing mysticism in play.

In most case, the experiences of a religious mystic are covered by the Visions Flaw. Religious and pious characters in this category almost always interpret their vision as coming from God, whatever its origin. For a few characters, their visions derive from True Faith with the Major Virtue and Supernatural Power of Understanding and its associated Supernatural Ability Understanding, which requires that the character also have the Major Virtue and Supernatural Method of Meditation (Realms of Power: The Divine, pages 34, 36, 37, and 54).

In the 12th century and early 13th century, more mystics live in Germany and Flanders than elsewhere, and they usually live in nunneries. In other places, there are a few mystics among the beguines and anchoresses as well. If the local bishop is convinced that a nun's mystical experiences are genuinely of divine origin, the nun gains a Reputation as a mystic, which is likely to spread rapidly throughout the local diocese. If the content of the visions touches on points of theology, it is usual that the pope must also be convinced that the revelations come from God. Mystics with the most profound visions may be commanded by God in their visions to write them down, or they may choose to do so for themselves, or be told by a superior to record their experiences or dictate them to another. Once recorded, they may be disseminated and the mystic's reputation be carried further afield.

Hildegard, who died in 1179 in the Rhineland, was a renowned mystic during her lifetime and in 1220 is known and honored throughout Mythic Europe for her visions and also for her scholarship. Characters may want to study her writings and could meet people who knew her personally. Many describe her as having had an "overpowering, electrifying presence," although this may derive as much from her reputation as her personal Presence.

She was the tenth of her parents' children, so they promised her to the Church. It became apparent very early on that she had a special relationship with God, but she kept her earliest visions secret. At the age of eight she was sent to live with an anchoress named Jutta, who taught her the rudiments of reading and writing. For many years, Jutta was the only person with whom she shared what she learned in her visions. Hildegard and Jutta joined the community of nuns at the Benedictine abbey at Disibodenberg, in the Rhineland, when Hildegard was fifteen. When Jutta died in 1136, Hildegard was elected in her place as the teacher of the nuns. She then talked about her mystical experiences only with Volmar, a monk who was her tutor until, in 1141, she was instructed to write it all down. This command came to her in an intense mystical experience in which she gained a sudden and clear understanding of the Bible. At first the burden of this knowledge, and the command to write, overwhelmed her and she became ill. But after a while, with the help of Volmar and a nun called Richildis acting as secretary, she began to record her visions. By the end of her life, she had produced three books recording her visions and explaining them with reference to the Bible. The books are beautifully illustrated by artists who worked under her close supervision, to ensure the representations of her visions were as accurate as possible.

Hildegard was always adamant that her insights into the mind of God and the wonders of his world derived entirely from divine inspiration; she was only the weak, fearful channel through which God chose to communicate. She claimed that the airy humor was particularly strong within her, and that this made her unusually receptive to the Holy Spirit. The truth of the visions recorded in her book Scivias was accepted by the archbishop of Mainz and then, when Bernard of Clairvaux gave his support, by Pope Eugenius III. Her reputation was very widely known in the following years, when she was abbess at Rupertsberg, near Bingen on the Rhine, where she moved in 1150, and then at Eibingen on the other side of the river, where she founded a nunnery in 1165.

She was so highly regarded that she was able to speak with authority as a preacher, despite being female, and she was allowed to travel. She made four tours to preach through the area drained by the middle and upper Rhine and its tributaries — the Main, Neckar and Mosel. Characters may well meet some of those who heard her and were inspired by her. She was known to a few magi, in particular some members of House Jerbiton, and it is rumored that she was adopted into their ranks despite being unGifted, although there is no known formal record of that within the Order.

As well as being a pre-eminent mystic, Hildegard was also a scholar and artist. She wrote commentaries upon the gospels and on the Rule of Saint Benedict, and she wrote the lives of two saints. She also wrote poetry and plays, including Play of the Virtues (Ordo Virtutum), a morality play with music designed for the nuns to perform. Music was a source of joy to her, and she composed at least 70 pieces of music, including hymns with innovative vocal lines (some collected in the book Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations). She was skilled in herbalism and medicine: her book on the subject includes her understanding of the flow of the blood, reproduction, headaches, faints, frenzy, and obsession. Her writings on natural history include studies of the elements, minerals, plants, birds, and animals, with reference to healing properties, and all in the context of the microcosm and the macrocosm (see Art & Academe for more on these subjects). In addition, she had a profuse correspondence with popes, members of the nobility including the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I and King Henry II of England, and senior clergy including Bernard of Clairvaux and the pope, mainly to give advice.

A few writings in Hildegard's own hand — her Unknown Letters and Unknown Language — are in a script of her own devising and use complex constructions, novel words, and abbreviations, which makes them hard to read. Characters will be better off with copies made using conventional script and vocabulary, if they can find any. Some members of House Criamon have been working to decipher these, in expectation of finding there a link between the Divine and the Enigma.

Some Books by Hildegard of Bingen

Know The Ways Of The Lord (Scivias) Tractatus, Theology (Quality 13)

The Book Of Life's Merits (Liber Vitae Meritorum) Tractatus, Philosophiae (moral philosophy) and Theology (Quality 13)

Book Of Divine Works (Liber Divinorum Operum) Summa, Philosophiae (metaphysics) 2 and Theology 5 (Quality 13)

Physica or Book of Simple Medicine (Liber simplicis medicinae) Tractatus, Philosophiae (natural philosophy) and Medicine (Quality 13)

Causes And Cures (Causae Et Curae) or Book of Compound Medicine (Liber compositae medicinae) Summa, Philosophiae (natural philosophy) 2 and Medicine 3 (Quality 13)

Symphony Of The Harmony Of Celestial Revelations (Symphonia Armoniae Celestium Revelationum) Tractatus, Artes Liberales (astronomy, music) (Quality 13)

Unknown Letters (Litterae Ignotae) And Unknown Language (Lingua Ignota) Two tractatus, Dominion Lore (Quality 2), possibly also Enigmatic Wisdom

Note that the high quality of most of her writings applies to the original books only, and that copies may well have lower Quality.

Marie was one of the founders of the beguine movement, and her story may provide inspiration for a beguine character's background, or her visions might feature in a story.

Marie was born in Nivelles, Brabant in 1176. Her wealthy parents arranged a marriage for her to a very eligible young man when she was 14 years old, even though she had expressed a desire to enter a nunnery. She persuaded her husband that they would remain celibate and live a life of poverty and service. At first they worked together, looking after the lepers in the hospital at Willambrouk in Brabant. In 1207, with her husband's agreement, Marie retreated from the world to live in complete poverty in a cell close to an Augustinian priory at Oignes. There she did manual work and spent the rest of her time in prayer.

The Holy Spirit inspired her to cry, enraptured, whenever she gazed upon a crucifix. She conversed frequently with her guardian angel and Saint John the Evangelist. Her mystical visions are well known in the area around the nunnery where she lived, and characters may meet people able to tell them about her. Study of her mystical visions could benefit characters seeking insight into the Divine, but hers are not written down so can only be studied by talking with those who knew her. However, one of her special gifts was Divinely inspired insight into the heart and soul of those who consulted her, such that she discovered their major temptations and secrets; this may make those with the most valuable information the least willing to discuss Marie's visions.

A community of lay religious women grew up around her at Oignes, and Marie died there in 1213.

Elizabeth was born in 1129 near Bonn to a family with strong connections with the Church, went to live in a Benedictine nunnery in Schönau at the age of 12, and took her vows a few years later. Her mystical experiences, which began in 1152, were usually inspired by participation in a religious service or listening to readings from the Bible or the life of a saint. In her visions, Christ, his mother Mary, an angel, or the saint of the day appeared to instruct her about the readings and liturgy, or she saw scenes from the life of Christ or the saints that she had heard about.

She corresponded with Abbess Hildegard in Bingen and, like her, wrote of her visions, producing her Books of Visions in three volumes. Elizabeth had help from her brother Egbert with the later reports. Separating the insights gained by the nun in her visions from the ideas added by her brother is not easy in the first volume. It is even harder in the other two books, which contain reports of what Elizabeth saw and heard when she put questions posed by her brother and his abbot to her mystical teachers.

The Church has not tested the validity of these visions as yet, because, unlike Hildegard's, they do not deal with theology; the Church authorities might call on religious player characters to help if such examination was called for. Elizabeth wrote other books, including The Book of God's Way; this writing includes warnings and instruction to laity and clergy at all levels, and at all stages of life, against sins of hypocrisy, heresy, avarice, and so on. Copies of her Revelations of the Sacred Company of Virgins at Cologne are available in many monastic libraries. It concerns Saint Ursula, a fourth century English princess, and her companions who were martyred in Cologne and whose bones were discovered there in 1155. There were a great number of bones and every establishment that obtained a relic wanted a copy of the book containing conversations between the martyrs and Elizabeth, to support the authenticity of the remains. Investigation can probably prove these visions false

Books by Elizabeth of Schöna

Books Of Visions (Libri Visionem) Tractatus, Theology, Quality 6 The Book Of God's Way (Liber Viarum Dei) Summa, Church Lore 4 (Quality 7)

Revelations Of The Sacred Company Of Virgins At Cologne (Revelatio De Sacro Exercitu Virginum Coloniensium) Tractatus, Dominion Lore, Quality 6

Saint Severus of Ravenna

Severus was a married archbishop who lived in the fourth century. He is a saint that a married priest or priest's wife might well call on for support (see Realms of Power: The Divine, page 87). Severus was married to Vincentia and they had a daughter, Innocentia, before his election to the post of archbishop of Ravenna. At that time, clerical wives were common and had the title of presbyteria or sacerdotissa. The marriage was clearly entirely acceptable to God because the archbishop was chosen directly by him, signaled by the sending of a dove to settle on his head not just once, which was all that was necessary to indicate who should have the post, but three times. The family stayed together until death and all three share the same grave, which could be a place of pilgrimage for a married priest or his wife.

If your saga follows history, mystics soon become more common. There are some who, in 1220, are young children. Hildegard's mystical visions started when she was only three years of age, so it would not be surprising if some these little ones were also having mystical religious experiences. Characters may encounter the likes of Zita and Malfalla of Portugal, who are infants in 1220; Hadewijch of Antwerp, who is a child still in 1220 but so overcome by her intense love of God that she feels she will die of love without his strength to support her; or Mechthild of Magdeburg, who was born in 1210 and starts having her visions in 1222, with direct experience of the Holy Spirit.

Given the slightest chance, a Spirit of Deceit delights in giving people false visions (see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 38). It can be very difficult to prove whether or not a particular mystical experience is genuinely divine. The task usually falls to the local bishop; if there is a degree of understanding between a bishop and a covenant or an individual member of the Order of Hermes, he may well request discreet assistance. If the person under investigation is a nun confined within an enclosed community with a Dominion aura, Hermetic investigation by a maga can prove quite a challenge, and a magus would find it considerably harder.

Someone might pretend to have religious visions in order to gain attention, perhaps to get out of a difficult situation by making themselves seem a danger best sent away, or to appear more important. Also, people can delude themselves. In such cases, members of a covenant may be called upon to find out what is really going on. Does the strange novice really have mystical visions, is she just trying to avoid getting up to pray at night and dawn, or does she have The Gift? What about characters who have visions that are nothing at all to do with the Divine? A nun who starts to have visions probably finds her community determined to consider the experience a religious one, and she will have a hard job convincing them otherwise. She may well opt not to make the attempt if she can endure the consequences, but what can she honestly say if examined by the bishop?

Take as example the case of a young woman out gathering firewood in an ancient forest, who stumbles into a Magic aura aligned with Intellego manifesting as understanding or insight. Feeling a little alarmed, she prays and the aura influences her understanding of the words she utters. She believes she has had a divine mystical experience and makes haste to tell a priest all about it. Does he believe her, and if he does, what does he do? Eventually any reputation she gained as a mystic fades if she never has another insight. Does she fake it to retain attention? Can she return to the same Magic aura? This may be particularly hard if her "vision" has led her to enter a nunnery. What do the magi do when they find out about the aura?

The fae may also be inclined to give illusory substance to characters and incidents they find out about, for instance when they overhear someone praying aloud or reciting a psalm or parable. The person who witnesses an illusion will very likely claim to have seen a vision. What does the Church do when the apparently mystical experience is reported? How do the fae respond, if a group of clergy turn up in one of their favorite spots determined to pray for a vision themselves?

Story Seed: Novices

A well-dressed, mature woman approaches the nunnery to ask if they are willing to take in three girls as novices. Her story is that she is a widowed noblewoman fallen on hard times since her husband died, and these three are her charges, daughters of herself and her deceased sister. The girls say all the right things to support this, and profess a strong desire to devote their lives to God. In fact, the three girls are nothing of the sort, but are boys disguised with help from the demon that is masquerading as the older woman (a Spirit of Deceit, see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 38). The "novices" aim to maintain the disguise as long as possible, only dropping it when they have contrived to be alone with a nun and persuaded her to commit a serious sin. However, lacking patience and restraint, they reveal themselves in the dormitory after a few nights have passed without a successful seduction. Demonic help should enable them to keep this up for quite a while if the nuns do not let on, and if the "novices" can cope with the long periods of prayer in chapel, but their time will be up when a pregnancy is detected. Unless something is done to remove them before then, the young men leave once all the nuns have betrayed their vows, at which point the demon stops helping them, its job done.

Note that, if the nunnery closest to the covenant is rich and has relics, and has a Dominion aura strong enough to keep the demon outside, it will attempt to enlist the help of player characters to introduce the three potential novices.

In 1123, at the First Lateran Council, Pope Calistus II decreed that clerical marriages were invalid. The ruling was widely ignored, so in 1139, under Pope Innocent II, the Second Lateran Council confirmed the previous council's decree. In 1215, Pope Innocent III's Fourth Lateran Council reinforced it. Nevertheless, in a great many places, and not all of those remote from the bishops' power centers, there are priests with wives or "hearth-mates." Acknowledging this fact, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II made a ruling that the offspring of clerical marriages be provided for from their parents' estates. This is because one of the greatest fears is that Church property should fall into the hands of a priest's family, that their support should become a burden to the Church, and that money donated to the Church should be used for support of a priest's family. Saint Paul's recommendation that a priest without a wife is better able to give his attention to God is, for many, of secondary importance here.

If your saga follows history, disapproval of priests' wives and mistresses grows much stronger soon. Troupes with a female player character who lives with a priest should decide whether the priest and his wife consider themselves to be living under valid vows of marriage, or whether they believe themselves to be in a sinful relationship. Either way, they also should decide whether or not the union is a Dark Secret, to be used to fuel stories. It is perfectly reasonable to say that the local populace knows about the relationship and see nothing wrong or odd in it, treating the couple just like any other married couple. But in all but the more remote areas, it is probable that the bishop opposes the union and may well attempt to separate the couple, and he will probably punish both. Lesser senior clergy and religious may disapprove, but many accept it as normal for a priest to have a female companion. In Wales and many parts of England, for example, it is not uncommon for a priest to have a wife and to pass the care of the parish to a son.

A large parish probably has clerics in minor orders to assist the priest, and also laymen with special responsibilities. A deacon or sub-deacon should be unmarried, but a married man who promises complete sexual abstinence can be admitted to these orders, and his wife has a position within the local church. Other Church assistants provide opportunities for female characters, as well; for example, a sacristan can be a married layman, and the wife of such a person could be a suitable choice for a female character intended to be closely involved with the day-to-day running of the parish while married, in an area where married priests are inappropriate. See Realms of Power: The Divine, pages 81–82 for examples of clerics in minor orders who can have wives.

A woman may pretend to be a man in order to get access to positions in the Church that are denied to women. She may want to enter a monastery for pious or impious reasons, for example. Without supernatural aid of some sort, it is highly unlikely that a woman could masquerade as a male for long enough to obtain the education necessary to become a priest, or to keep her disguise well enough to survive the close communal life of a monastery. However, in very unusual circumstances, or with supernatural assistance, anything along these lines is possible.

The life of Saint Hildegund may provide inspiration. When Hildegund was 12 years old, her father decided to take her with him on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He decided she would be safer in disguise, so dressed her as a boy and called her Joseph. Her father died during the early stages of the return journey and entrusted the care of "Joseph" to a fellow traveler, who robbed her and abandoned her on the coast of Palestine. She maintained the disguise and worked her way back to Germany. A few years later, after several adventures, an elderly female recluse advised her to enter the Cistercian monastery of Schönau as a lay brother. The deception was not discovered until she died a few months afterwards, in 1188.

Characters may know something of the legend of "Saint Joan," said to have held the papacy as Pope John VIII for two and a half years in the mid-ninth century. The story tells how a girl was disguised as a man by her lover, and traveled to Athens with him. There she maintained the deception and began to study. Her scholarship took her to Rome, where her learning was so admired that she was appointed to the curia and before long nominated as pope. Then she became pregnant. The child was born unexpectedly while Joan was taking part in a religious procession, so the secret was out. Some say the child was a girl and survived, while all versions say that Joan was killed. No written reports of a female pope are known to exist, though, and the Church considers it a recently-made-up folk tale. The story was initiated about 100 years ago by a demon who is eager to aid characters ready to stir up trouble on the basis of the story.

A female character desiring to take up the religious life as a man might pray for aid to Saint Eugenia, an early Roman martyr who, legend has it, took on men's clothing to escape persecution and went on to became an abbot. If Divine help is not offered, Infernal help might well be; demons will make it easier for women to pretend to be men, and vice versa. Men pretending to be women in order to get inside a nunnery are a popular topic for bawdy songs. A character able to Gender Shift (an Infernal Minor Supernatural Tainted Virtue, see Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 85) can play it both ways, of course.

These stats are provided to help integrate female religious into your saga.

Characteristics: Int +3, Per +2, Pre –1, Com 0, Str 0, Sta +2, Dex –2, Qik –1

Size: 0

Age: 31 (30)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 3 (3)

Confidence: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Maga; Holy Magic, Meditation, Purity, Transcendence, Quiet Magic (×2); Blatant Gift, Necessary Condition (Sign of the Cross), Weak Magic Resistance (when unaware of the caster), Flawed Parma Magica (Vim), Pious, Weak Magic, Weak Parens

Personality Traits: Pious +3, Patient +2, Reclusive +1

Reputations: Fearsome (local children) 3, Holy hermit (local peasants) 2, Hedge Wizard (Rhine Tribunal) 3

Combat:

Dodge: Init –1, Atk n/a, Def –1, Dam n/a

Soak: +2

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–16), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: Home Woodlands Area Lore 4 (places of refuge), Artes Liberales 3 (logic), Awareness 3 (animals), Church Lore 1 (prayer), Code of Hermes 1 (mundane relations), Concentration 2 (when meditating), Dominion Lore 1 (angels), Finesse 1 (Mentem), Folk Ken 3 (peasants), German 5 (persuasion), Guile 1 (excuses), Holy Magic 4 (meditation), Latin 4 (composition), Meditation 4 (in silence), Parma Magica 1 (Intellego), Philosophiae 1 (Ceremonial magic), Purity 5 (cold), Theology 2 (biblical knowledge), Transcendence 4 (3) (resist aging)

Arts: Cr 2, In 2, Mu 0, Pe 0, Re 2, An 2, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 3, He 0, Ig 0, Im 0, Me 3, Te 0, Vi 0

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Spells Known:

Bind Wound (CrCo 10) +7 Touch of the Pearls (InAq 5) +4

Sight of the Transparent Motive (InMe 10) +7

Circle of Beast Warding (ReAn 5) +6

The Holy Maga was taken as an apprentice at the age of 12 by an elderly holy hermit of House Ex Miscellanea, who initiated her into Holy Magic (Realms of Power: The Divine, page 34). Her training was dedicated to the Holy Powers and Methods (Realms of Power: The Divine, page 34–37). It is only since the death of her parens that she has learned anything about the normal Hermetic Arts; she is very dubious about the rightness of using them and has learned very few spells. She has little to do with the Order but is not antagonistic towards other magi. She would like eventually to turn more of them towards Holy Magic, but has not yet decided on the best approach. The maga may develop further in Holy Magic and help the covenant in dealings with the Divine and Infernal. She may become active as an advocate for Holy Magic, or develop a keener interest in traditional Hermetic magic. The troupe could also tell the story of her loss of Holy Magic, gradual development as a normal maga, and integration into the wider Order of Hermes.

As a player character, this character is suitable for a player who is not always available, or for an alpha storyguide.

The character can be customized with 60 points of spells.

The following female companions are suitable for Ars Magica sagas.

Mystic Nun

Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Pre –2, Com +3, Str –1, Sta +2, Dex –1, Qik –1

Size: –1

Age: 23 (23)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Religious; Privileged Upbringing, Puissant Concentration, Social Contacts (diocesan clergy), Social Contacts (local nobility), True Faith (Faith Score: 1, Faith Points: 3); Pious (Major); Ability Block (Athletic), Ability Block (Martial), Disfigured (birthmark on face), Small Frame, Visions

Personality Traits: Pious +6, Scholarly +2, Spontaneous +2

Reputations: Mystic (home diocese) 2

Combat:

Dodge: Init –1, Atk n/a, Def –1, Dam n/a

Soak: +2

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16), Dead (17+)

Abilities: [Area 1] Lore 3 (people), [Area 2] Lore 2 (people), Artes Liberales 3 (composition), Awareness 2 (birds), Church Lore 2 (people), Concentration 4 (meditation), Etiquette 3 (nobility), Folk Ken 2 (women), German 5 (poetry), Latin 5 (lives of the saints), Meditation 3 (adoration of the Blessed Sacrament), Music 2 (church music), Profession: Scribe 2 (legibility), Understanding 3 (visions of Heaven)

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

The nun entered the nunnery at the age of 11, and, as a novice, was taught Latin and Artes Liberales. When she reached puberty, she was frightened and spent a night praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. In the early hours of that morning, she had her first mystical experience. She described it as a perfect white dove surrounded by a golden glow, which flew down to hover over her head. She has no idea how long it stayed, or whether anyone else could have seen it. She fainted, but when she came around she was immediately inspired to write a verse about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This verse was proclaimed by the abbess as a true insight into the nature of God; when she showed it to the bishop, he agreed. Since then, this nun has had half a dozen more significant mystical experiences that inspired her to write verses that theologians have studied, plus numerous other minor experiences and visions.

The nun is also starting to earn a reputation as a correspondent, and exchanges letters with clergymen and with people she knows from her early days as the younger daughter of a noble family.

This character can be developed with up to 2 more points of both Flaws and Virtues.

Anne, a Holy Hermit

Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Pre +1, Com +1, Str –1, Sta +2, Dex –1, Qik 0

Size: –1

Age: 28 (28)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Religious; Guardian Angel (Soak: +5, Magic Resistance: 15), Strong-Willed; Missing Eye, Poor Eyesight, Small Frame, Visions, Vow (Poverty)

Personality Traits: Compassionate +1, Disciplined +2, Reclusive +3

Reputations: Dedicated (Christians) 1

Combat:

Dodge: Init +0, Atk n/a, Def –3, Dam n/a

Soak: +2

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–4), –3 (5–8), –5 (9–12), Incapacitated (13–16), Dead (17+)

Abilities: Awareness 4 (people), Breton 5 (peasant chatter), Brittany Lore 4 (home village), Charm 2 (fisherfolk), Concentration 5 (prayer), Craft: Seaweed Preparation 2 (for food), Church Lore 1, Etiquette 1 (fisherfolk), Folk Ken 4 (fisherfolk), Leadership 3 (children), Survival 4 (woodlands), Swim 2 (seawater), Stealth 3 (in woodlands)

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Nolwenn grew up on the far western coast of Finistere, a village where most made their livelihood from fishing and harvesting the copious seaweed, which was dried for use as fuel, fertilizer, and food for animals and people. Her Guardian Angel began to talk with her one day while she was out alone gathering seaweed from the rock pools; she was only nine years old at the time. Her piety developed strongly under the angel's care. When she was 12 years of age, Nolwenn announced to her family that she wanted to be known as Anne, in honor of the mother of the mother of God, a saint much revered in that part of the country. She knew that she lacked the wealth and status needed to enter a nunnery so, under her angel's guidance, she left her parents' home at the age of 19 to take up the contemplative life in a woodland cave not far from her home village. The villagers still bring food for her regularly, and she prays for them.

Anne has taken no formal religious vows, and only one personal vow to God that she will live in poverty, owning nothing she does not truly need. The angel reminds her if she is ever tempted to take or keep something superfluous. In keeping with her inclinations, she lives chastely and spends most of her time in prayer or contemplation of the lives of Jesus and the saints.

Although she lives as a recluse, she is not Reclusive according to the Flaw. She is pleased to receive the occasional visitor, unless they appear to be wasting her time. Her help usually takes the form of a sympathetic ear and the promise to pray for anyone she feels needs it. Sometimes she finds that she has discovered something of help to one of her callers in a recent dream.

This character can be developed with up to 5 more points of Flaws and Virtues.

Imposter

Characteristics: Int +2, Per 0, Pre +3, Com +2, Str –1, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik –1

Size: 0

Age: 22 (22)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Religious; Affinity with Charm, Gender Shift, Improved Characteristics, Privileged Upbringing; Ability Block (Martial), Impious Friend, Incomprehensible, Motion Sickness, Reckless

Personality Traits: Reckless +3, Selfish +2, Lecherous +1

Combat:

Dodge: Init –1, Atk n/a, Def +2, Dam n/a Fist: Init –1, Atk +3, Def +2, Dam –1 Kick: Init –1, Atk +3, Def +1, Dam +2

Soak: 0

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (20+)

Abilities: Artes Liberales 3 (reading), Athletics 3 (climbing), Awareness 3 (women), Benedictines Lore 1 (nuns), Bargain 2 (for favors), Carouse 2 (jokes), Charm 5 (seduction), Brawl 2 (wrestling), Etiquette 2 (nobility), Folk Ken 2 (girls), Guile 3 (lies), Intrigue 2 (plotting), Latin 2 (impudence), Music 1 (chant), Nunnery Lore 3 (weaknesses), Original Home Area Lore 2 (women), Provençal 5 (lies), Ride 1 (staying on), Stealth 2 (move silently)

Born into a minor noble family, the Imposter was never much interested in study as a boy, but picked up a bit of reading and writing. He was far more interested in exploring alone and became very familiar with the surrounding area. Once in his teens, he became interested in girls to the exclusion of almost everything else. A demon noticed this and sent a minor demon to become a special friend who always encouraged any sinful thoughts. Through this demon, the lad was given the ability to change gender. The demon friend has persuaded the young man to spend most of his time as a female, and has helped him obtain a place as a novice in a sizable nunnery. There he bides his time, ready to spread corruption. The Imposter has so far done well enough as a novice to avoid detection. He is often in trouble for breaking the rules in minor ways, but so far charm and lies have gotten him out of trouble. With the help of his demon friend, he is accumulating quite a bit of knowledge about the novices and nuns most likely to succumb to temptation. He also knows the times and places to hide in the nunnery, and the less-obvious ways in and out.

See Realms of Power: The Infernal, pages 85 and 89 for details on the tainted Virtues and Flaws. This character can be developed with up to 5 more points of Flaws and Virtues.

Female grogs such as these may also fit well into your saga.

Anchoress

Characteristics: Int +1, Per +1, Pre –1, Com +3, Str –1, Sta +2, Dex –1, Qik –1

Size: 0

Age: 32 (32)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Religious; Gossip, Premonitions; Busybody, Lame, Palsied Hands

Personality Traits: Meddlesome +2, Sociable +2, Pious +1

Reputations: Dedicated (Christians) 2, Meddler (young people) 1, Gossip (local townswomen) 3

Devotions: Blessed Virgin Mary (Mother of Mercy) 0 (1 dp)

Soak: +2

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: [Area 1] Lore 3 (people), [Area 2] Lore 4 (family histories), Awareness 4 (secrets), Charm 2 (women), Church Lore 2 (calendar), Concentration 1 (conversation), Craft: Spinning 3 (working while talking), Etiquette 2 (townsfolk), Folk Ken 5 (women), Francien 5 (conversation), Guile 3 (lies), Intrigue 4 (gossip), Premonitions 2 (visitors)

The anchoress spends far more time at her window that she ought, and chatters with anyone who is passing by. She has one female servant, who she sends out for gossip and information more often than for food or firewood. She tries to play matchmaker among the young people, which they generally resent. She is very knowledgeable about the Church's year and always knows when she should fast and abstain from meat, which saint is being celebrated on which day, and which prayers and Bible readings are appropriate. She tries to pray accordingly, but is easily distracted if someone passes close by. She sometimes uses lies to persuade people to tell her gossip, especially secrets, and then is filled with remorse and does penance.

This character could be used in occasional stories, and could be run by a player who is not always available.

Beguine

Characteristics: Int 0, Per +1, Pre +1, Com +1, Str –1, Sta 0, Dex +1, Qik +1

Size: 0

Age: 23 (23)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Religious; Social Contacts (noble women in town), Social Contacts (merchants' wives in town); Continence, Fragile Constitution, Weak Characteristics

Personality Traits: Careful +1, Dependable +1, Generous +2

Soak: 0

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: [Area] Lore 3 (home town), Artes Liberales 2 (reading aloud), Awareness 2 (textiles), Bargain 1 (for food), Beguines Lore 2 (in home town), Carouse 1 (anecdotes), Craft: Seamstress 2 (linen), Craft: Lacemaking 3 (borders), Charm 2 (clergy), Church Lore 2 (saints), Concentration 3 (prayer), Etiquette 1 (nobility), Folk Ken 2 (merchants), Flemish 5 (conversation), Latin 3 (prayer)

The beguine lives in one of the Flemish towns that thrives on trade in textiles. She was befriended by the head of the local beguines when, at the age of 15, she sought refuge with the pious ladies to avoid an unwelcome arranged marriage. While she is pious, she is also sociable and spends rather more time than she ought to in conversation with the younger well-to-do women of the town; she has many contacts among the merchants' wives and the minor nobility. She works within her beguine household on lace-making and sewing.

She does not have any particular longterm plans, but is unlikely to spend the rest of her life in the beguine community. If the right opportunity, perhaps a suitable husband, comes along, she will leave as long as her mentor approves.

While with the beguines, she is a player character with useful contacts in town, who can go places and obtain information that could be helpful to a covenant. If she leaves, her relationship with her mentor might change sufficiently to make it sensible to substitute an alternate Flaw. If circumstances are right, she will abandon her temporary vow of chastity, and so that too should be replaced. Her Social Status will change as well.

Priest's Wife

Characteristics: Int 0, Per +2, Pre +2, Com +1, Str 0, Sta 0, Dex +1, Qik –1

Size: 0

Age: 28 (28)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Virtues and Flaws: Craftswoman; Strong-Willed, Clear Thinker; Offensive to Animals, Soft-Hearted

Personality Traits: Careful +2, Cheerful +1, Practical +1

Combat:

Dodge: Init –1, Atk n/a, Def +2, Dam n/a Fist: Init –1, Atk +3, Def +1, Dam +0 Kick: Init –2, Atk +3, Def +0, Dam +3 Soak: 0

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –3, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: [Home area] Lore 4 (people), Athletics 3 (long walks), Awareness 3 (people with worries), Bargain 2 (food), Brawl 2 (dodge), Carouse 1 (singing), Charm 2 (authority figures), Church Lore 2 (festivals), Craft: Alewife 2 (taste), Craft: Baking 2 (bread), Craft: Cookery 3 (potage), Etiquette 2 (clergy), Folk Ken 3 (women), Guile 2 (fast-talk), Housewife 5 (comfort),

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

This character is suitable for use in an area where the rules preventing a priest from having any family and marrying have not yet been applied. She is designed to be a practical housewife and useful to her husband in tending his parishioners, which should allow her to be drawn into most stories concerning him and the people living round about. Many local women see her as the ideal confidante, and she is their first port of call if in any trouble.

This character can have another Minor Flaw and with it, another Minor Virtue.

If this character lives in an area where her status as the wife of a priest is scandalous, then she needs to take the Dark Secret Flaw (and consequently be Companion level and play a significant part in stories). Her role in the parish, under these circumstances, may be similar but must remain clandestine.