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Holy
Fools marks a return to the Gothic theme of Joanne Harris' best novels,
'Chocolat' and 'Sleep Pale Sister'. It is also a triumphant return to form.
Holy Fools is so richly Gothic that it must have Matthew 'Monk' Lewis cooing
with pleasure in his grave.
Juliette is a former travelling player who has sought refuge at the Abbey of
St. Marie-de-la-mer with her daughter Fleur (and this novel makes you
understand why theatre troupes were sometimes feared as well as clapped, as
they could be bearers of disease, or just common thieves). Under Mere
Marie, the regime at the Abbey is rather relaxed, helped by her skill in
the nurturing of potatoes. However, after several years, the ageing Mere
Marie suddenly passes away, and a new abbess arrives. Everyone is rather
taken aback by the youth of the new mother superior, but more so by her prudish
nature (she has led a very sheltered life, and thinks that the birds and the
bees are mere fauna). Juliette is even more shocked to see the Abbess
accompanied by an old adversary, LeMerle, the 'blackbird' that had been her
first love, and who had betrayed her and left her for dead. LeMerle is
obviously up to no good by posing as a cleric, for Juliette knows him to be a
charlatan, and it's not long before he has kidnapped Fleur.
Joanne Harris skillfully portrays Juliette's life prior to meeting LeMerle, and
her adventures on the road with his theatrical troupe. As well as
performing, LeMerle writes and directs. Unfortunately, his plays and
ballets have more than a little satirical edge to them, as LeMerle delights in
parodying the rich and famous (which is probably why the performances are so popular
with the mob). Unfortunately, he goes too far, and he and his troupe are
effectively thrown out of Paris at the height of their fame. But LeMerle
does not seem to be downcast by his change in fortunes, as he takes to the road
with something approaching glee. Juliette, for her part, reaches the apex
of her skills by performing the rope walk, and it amuses LeMerle to see the men
in the audience lusting after her. But trouble always seems to be
LeMerle's constant companion: some of their caravans are burnt, and one of
their troupe is murdered... They fetch up in Epinal and the plague breaks out,
and LeMerle is arrested. Fortunately, Judge Remy, the infamous witch
persecutor, is away on business, and LeMerle wins the crowd over by selling
them an elixir against the plague. But such practices could be seen as
diabolical, especially when the infamous pyromaniac judge returns
home. LeMerle flees in the ensuing chaos, murdering one of the troupe in
the process, and leaves Juliette his lover to capture and almost certain death.
Joanne Harris has chosen her setting well: the Renaissance is full of
tales of famous people who risked charges of heresy for their beliefs and
actions from the thumbscrews of the Inquisition. One such person was
Bruno Giordano, who was burnt at the stake, and whose surname Harris
utlises for one of her characters. Although she does twist some of the
historic facts to suit her own purposes, such as having a French character
quote from the King James Bible in 1610, when the English only published it in
1611. Jean Bodin seems to have a very lively afterlife, and Toussaint
Dubreuil's portrait of Isabelle must have been painted when she was very young,
as he died in 1602. LeMerle's description of Juliette as 'Hell's
catamite' seems perverse even for his standards. Apart from this, the
portrait of the time following Henry IV's assassination smacks of authenticity,
as does the theme of commedia dell'arte, that really forms the backbone of the
novel, leading to the fantastic resolution. By making her Machiavellian
villain an actor, Joanne Harris has come out trumps, and LeMerle produces a
gloriously over the top performance that does not disappoint. If we're
talking Hollywood here ("and why not?", as Barry Norman might say), then
I would see LeMerle played by Kevin Spacey (possibly too short) or by John
Malkovich, who does that Valmont thing so well (although he would have to get a
wig). Juliette, a 'maypole' with red hair, could no doubt be played by
Juliet Roberts or 'Juliette' Binoche perhaps? The visuals and gloriously
bawdy drama of this fantastic novel are well suited to film, especially
when so much of the novel is concerned with the dramatic arts. I enjoyed
this novel so much that I read it in almost one sitting, and I could not wait
to find out what happened in the end. When I heard that the American
publishers had wanted to change the ending, I had thought that they would have
gone the other way, but maybe I am confusing their sensibilities with those of
Hollywood's love of sequels... This is a very rich and exciting novel,
and is just the kind of book that I have longed for Joanne Harris to
produce (was a bit concerned to think that she might be forced along the Mary
Wesley/Catherine Cookson path). Anyone trying to follow any of Juliette's
recipes in this book would indeed be a fool, as most of this food has
unpleasant side effects. Hopefully Joanne Harris can make the break away
from France in her next novel, as it must be worrying that the covers
of Peter Mayle's books are beginning to echo the splendid jacket designs by
Stuart Haygarth. Although, having written that, I would love for
Joanne Harris to do a French 'Western', as I am pretty sure that this has
not been done before. After all, 'New France' covered all of the Americas
between Quebec and New Orleans. But Holy Fools is more than enough
to sustain me for now.
Authortrek
Rating: 10/10
Kevin
Patrick Mahoney takes a closer look at Joanne Harris's novel from the
original hardcover edition ISBN 0385603649
Arlequin
- Part One Juliette 1 p. 9 - the French verrsion of 'Harlequin'. He was a
'zanni', a comic servant who was often down on his luck and amorous.
Unlike other characters in the commedia
dell'arte,
he did not seek revenge against those that had wronged him. The patches
on his original costume later became highly stylized.
Scaramouche
- Part One Juliette 1 p. 9 - another servannt from the commedia
dell'arte,
who was much more tricksy than Arlequin, always getting others embroiled in his
plots. Later noted for his musical abilities in Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
"Light
from the window above us filters dimly into the confessional, painting her
face with a harlequin pattern of rose and black squares" - Part Two
LeMerle 7 p. 168 - here Juliette is presented as Harlequin, elsewhere in the
novel, LeMerle is Scaramouche, and these repective roles seem quite apt
The Plague Doctor - Part One Juliette 1 p. 9 - when plague hit town,
the doctors wore masks (presumably so that they would not be shunned by members
of the public that might recognise them otherwise). With the large nose
of the mask, the doctors looked like caricatures of birds (this site refers to
them as "mournful vultures"). For Joanne Harris, this is an
interesting contrast with the other birdlike character, LeMerle. The
Plague Doctor's odd appearance meant that it was almost inevitable that he
appeared in commedia dell'arte productions. This
figure also reminds me of some of Tim Burton's work, such as Beetlejuice
Geronte
- Part One Juliette 1 p. 9 - another stock character of the commedia, typically
a hypochondriac old man. Joanne Harris describes him as 'lecherous',
so she is possibly thinking of the Geronte of Puccini's 'Manon Lescaut', which
features a nunnery in the plot. There's also the 18th century play 'A
Will of his Own' by Jean-Francois Regnard, that features Geronte lusting after
Isabelle. Conversely, in 'The Forfeiture' by Riviere Dufresny, Isabelle
is the daughter of Geronte. The commedia 'Scapin' by Moliere also
features a character called Geronte
Oliphant
- Part One Juliette 1 p. 10 - is how 'elephhant' was spelt in Old French.
Joanne Harris glosses over an opportunity to use one of Eddie Izzard's old
jokes, "le sange est dans l'arbre"
Theatre
des Cieux - Part One Juliette 1 p. 11 - my appalling French
translates this as 'Theatre of the Skies' or 'Theatre of the Heavens'
The Abbey
of Sainte Marie-de-la-mer and Noirs Moustiers - Part One Juliette 1 p. 11 - Joanne
Harris herself gives the rationale for the setting of Holy Fools, and explains
its links to 'Coastliners'. Find out more about the island of Noirmoutier
here. The name of the Abbey at
first is 'Saint Mary of the Sea'
cantrip
- Part One Juliette 1 p. 12 - literally meaaning 'spell', or more important for
Holy Fools, a 'witch's trick'
Misere
Nobis - Part One Juliette 1 p. 16 - from the Roman Latin mass, means "have
mercy on us"
Quichenotte - Part One Juliette 2 p. 18 - the photograph of this
bonnet could almost be a scene from Holy Fools. As the following webpage relates, this hat does
indeed come from the Noirmoutier region, and the name is said to be
derived from the English "kiss not, kiss not".
Salicorne
- Part One Juliette 2 p. 19 - is seaweeed
Le
Devin - Part One Juliette 2 p. 19 - means "The
Soothsayer", and would therefore seem to be an appropriate locale for a
tarot reader. Rousseau wrote a short story called 'Le Devin du Village'
De
Sully - Part One Juliette 3 p. 23 - advisor to King Henry IV, his
full name was 'Sully, Maximilien de Béthune, Duke de', so would seem to be
LeMerle's sponsor in Paris (confirmed on p. 37), his power only marred by the
fact that he was a Huguenot (i.e. a protestant). The 'Medicis woman' was
Marie de Médicis, who did retain De Sully before he was forced to resign due to
the grumblings of his catholic colleagues. Louis Dieudonne was Henry's
son, and became, of course, Louis XIII
Giordano
- Part One Juliette 5 p. 34 - Joaanne Harris looks to have
appropriated the name of Bruno Giordano, the Italian cosmologist, philosopher,
and occultist, who expounded Copernican theories. No doubt Bruno
Giordano's wanderings across Europe, and the sheer number of scrapes he
got into inspired Joanne Harris. Probably not a coincidence that the
Carmelites are mentioned on p. 35, as Giordano resided at a Carmelite
monastery at one point in his life. He can't be the same Giordano as
that in Holy Fools, as he was not a Jew, and besides, he was burnt alive at the
stake in 1600, a victim of the Inquisition
Carmelites
- Part One Juliette 5 p. 34 - an order of nuns reformed by St Teresa
of Ávila in the 16th century. They went barefoot, embraced poverty, and
didn't eat meat, a regime that is even more austere than the one Isabelle later
imposes in the novel. The order produced a disproportionate number of
Roman Catholic mystics, probably aided by their poor diet (this from a former
vegetarian!)
LeMerle
- Part One Juliette 5 p. 36 - is French for 'Blackbird',
appropriately enough, also not too dissimilar to 'Merlin', but the roots are
quite different
Theatre
du Flambeau - Part One Juliette 5 p. 37 - literally 'Theatre of
Torch', or 'Theatre of Flames'
Ballet
Travesti - Part One Juliette 5 p. 37 - a 'fancy dress ballet',
"the treatment of a noble and dignified subject in an inappropriately
trivial manner". We get the English 'Travesty' directly from this
French form of burlesque
fleur-de-lys
- Part One Juliette 5 p. 43 - 'liily flower', the symbol of the French
monarchy, also adopted by the Catholic Church as a sign of purity, featuring in
portraits of the Virgin Mary. I believe that it is also associated with
death
Theatre
de la Poule au Pot - Part One Juliette 6 p. 52 - a
reference to Henry IV's desire that every labourer should be able to eat a
chicken on Sundays, so I translate this to mean 'The Theatre of the Workers'
Belladonna
- Part One Juliette 6 p. 53 ; - aka 'Deadly
Nightshade'. As well as being highly toxic, it is psychotropic, as
Juliette writes, "I have had enough of visions for the
present". 'Belladonna' is the Italian for 'beautiful woman', a
reference to the plant's ability to dilate the eye, used for cosmetic as well
as practical reasons by opticians
"the
elixir of the nine worlds" - Part One Juliette 6
p. 54 - possibly a reference to the sefirot from the Kabbala,
and looks to be related to Liz Williams' use of the Kabbala in "The Poison
Master". The first articulation between alchemy and the Kabbala
looks to have been made by Nicolas Flamel in fourteenth century France.
Flamel also claimed to have found a way of making gold, and was indeed rich
thereafter. J K Rowling looks to have discovered The Philosopher's Stone
too. The
Nine Worlds is actually from Norse mythology, which would no doubt still
resonate in seventeenth century Northern France
Kyrie
eleison - Part One Juliette 7 p. 55 - from the Greek
meaning "Lord, have mercy", a sung or spoken litany during mass
Saint
Christina Mirabilis - Part One Juliette 9 p. 70 -
was never formally beatified, so she is not a proper saint, but she would have
been a godsend at barbecues and bonfires, if she could ever be bothered to
levitate towards them. Apparently, she is the patron saint of madmen, so she must really have
been nuts
hautbois
- Part One Juliette 9 p. 72 ; - the oboe, 'high' or 'loud
wood', a musical instrument invented by the French
misericorde!
- Part One Juliette 9 p. 73 ; - "Mercy!",
literally "more at heart"
Judge Remy -
Part One Juliette 10 p. 81 - a reference to Nicholas Remy,
who claimed that he had burnt close to a thousand people for witchcraft in 10
years. He was the attorney general of Lorraine. You basically
didn't want to do anything remotely witchlike in front of him
"Witchcraft
was what they believed in: witchcraft and poisoning. Why look any
further?" - Part One Juliette 10
p. 82 - Joanne Harris is correct in saying that the Bible was
inaccurately translated in various editions of this time, to reflect the then
current craze for burning witches. Saint Augustine of Hippo taught that pagan
traditions were evil, so he was the first to point fingers at witches (maybe
another reason why Juliette is called Soeur Auguste). Augustine's
probably the reason why we view Morris dancers with suspicion nowadays
"Ananias,
the false witness" - Part One Juliette 10 p. 86 - is
what LeMerle calls the imp. In the Acts of the Apostles, Ananias and his
wife Sapphira, sold their land and donated the money to the apostles, but they
kept some money back for themselves. When they were challenged with the
truth, they both "gave up the ghost", which seems more than a little
harsh
Frater
Colombin - Part One Juliette 10 p. 87 - is what the imp
calls LeMerle. There was a character called Colombine in the commedia
dell'Arte,
but this seems to have been a female role
philtre
- Part One Juliette 10 p. 90 p; - a "magic
potion". One of the aims of alchemy was to find the elixir of life
"There
must be some dybbuk inside that red head of
yours" - Part One Juliette 10 p. 99 - a disembodied human
spirit that finds a home in a living person, after being forced into the ether
by former sins, from Jewish folklore
"Auguste,
a man's name and an old man, at that" - Part One Juliette 12
p. 106&nbbsp; - presumably a reference to the first Roman Emperor
Augustus, a name derived from the practice of augury, divining the future by
reading the entrails of animals (Octavian probably adopted it as a means
of saying "Things can only get better"!). Juliette uses Tarot
cards to divine the future. 'Auguste' is a word also used to describe clowns
Part Two LeMerle 1
p. 123 - here is the full context of the quote from the Book of
Deuteronomy:
37.
And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all
nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.
38. Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather
but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
39. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither
drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.
40. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou
shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit.
41. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy
them; for they shall go into captivity.
42. All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.
43. The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very
high; and thou shalt come down very low.
44. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall
be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.
45. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall
pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou
hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments
and his statutes which he commanded thee:
46. And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and
upon thy seed for ever.
47. Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and
with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;
48. Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall
send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of
all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have
destroyed thee.
"Of
course, the wonderful thing about the Bible is that there's a quote to justify
anything, even lechery, incest and the slaying of infants" -
Part Two LeMerle 1 p. 123 - great stuff!
Mouche
- Part Two LeMerle 2 p. p;132 - at first I thought
that the name of Fleur's doll was a diminutive of 'Scaramouche', but it can
also mean 'Patch', an appropriate name for a doll made out of scraps by Perette
reredorter -
Part Two LeMerle 2 p. 132 - here is a definition
Malleus
Malleficarum - Part Two LeMerle 4 p. 138 - the
main handbook used by the Christian church, both Protestant and Catholic, to
deal with witches. It first appeared in the late Fifteenth century,
instigated by Pope Innocent VIII
Dominus
vobiscum - Part Two LeMerle 5 p. 149 - 'The Lord
be with you'
Agnus
Dei - Part Two LeMerle 5 p. 149 - 'Lamb of God'
qui
tollis peccata mundi - Part Two LeMerle 5
p. 149 - 'that takest away the sins of the world'
O
felix culpa: quae talem ac tantum meruit habere redemptorem -
Part Two LeMerle 5 p. 149 - 'O truly necessary
sin of Adam, which was blotted out by the death of Christ. / O happy guilt,
which was meet to have such and so great a redeemer'
Ganymede
- Part Two LeMerle 7 p. p;170 - handsome Trojan
prince who was kidnapped to become cupbearer to the gods
Hyacinthus
- Part Two LeMerle 7 p. p;170 - another beautiful young
man, accidentally killed by Apollo whilst teaching him to throw discus,
although the wind Zephyrus was believed to have deflected the discus out of
jealousy for Apollo's love for the boy. Both the tales have homosexual
aspects to them
"Do what thou
wilt" - Part Two LeMerle 7 p. 170 - is
indeed a quote from Francois Rabelais, the unsuccessful monk and preeminent
physician, who wrote the famous satirical books concerning Garantua and
Pantragruel. He broke his vows to have 2 children with a widow, and
courted controversy for his whole writing career, saved only by the protection
of some very important patrons
cresset
- Part Two LeMerle 8 p. p;176 - i.e. a torch
Dragon's
Blood - Part Two LeMerle 8 p. 177 - or
Daemonorops, this used to be employed as a medicine, but is now used as a
red varnish for wood
Quam
oblationem tu, Deus, in omnibus, quaesumus, benedictam -
Part Two LeMerle 11 p. 202 - 'Vouchsafe, O God,
we beseech thee, in all things, to make this
oblation blessed'
Hoc
est enim corpus meum - Part Two LeMerle
11 p. 203 - 'For this is my body'
Hic
est enim calyx sanguinis mei - Part Two LeMerle
11 p. 203 - 'For this is the Chalice of my blood'
Pandaemonium -
Part Two LeMerle 11 p. 206 - see the Hieronymus
Bosch painting mentioned in Holy Fools 
Saint
Perpetua - Part Two LeMerle 12 p. 217 - early
Christian martyr who was put to death in the arena, after being set upon by
beasts. Celebrated by Saint Augustine, Perpetua's diary of her ordeal is
one of the few surviving texts written by a woman from antiquity
Saint
Catherine of Alexandria - Part Two LeMerle
12 p. 217 - is probably the Saint Catherine referred to
here (there have been many). She was sentenced to be killed by a spiked
wheel, which broke, although the association with fireworks happened
later. Her authenticity has much been doubted, and her saint's day was removed
from the calendar
Abbaye
de Sainte-Marie la Mere - Part Two LeMerle 13 p. 220 -
the abbey reverts to its original name of 'Saint Mary the Mother'
Belle
Yolande - Part Two LeMerle 13 p. 220 -
possibly Yolande d'Aragón, duchesse d'Anjou, mother-in-law to the dauphin
Charles (later Charles VII), and sponsor of Jeanne d'Arc
Tristan
and Iseult - Part Two LeMerle 13 p. 220 - famous
love story that was tacked onto Arthurian myth. Tristan, on his way to
the stake, has an incredible escape by leaping from a coastal chapel
Abelard
and Heloise - Part Two LeMerle 13 p. 220 - the
12th Century lovers had a son and secretly married, but Heloise was the niece
of Canon Fulbert of Paris, who forced Abelard to be castrated. Abelard,
in turn, persuaded Heloise to join a nunnery whilst he became a monk.
Life as a monk did not rest easy with him, and some of his writings were later
considered to be heretical, but he and Heloise did keep in contact by letters
that later became famous
prie-dieu
- Part Two LeMerle 15 p.&nbssp;230 - from the French,
possibly translated as 'pray to God', a kneeling bench for prayer
cameras
de sangre - Part Three Isabelle 1 p. 252 – is the old name for dysentery “bloody
flux” (thanks to Authortrek reader Julia Chantrell for this information)
The
Tower - Part Three Isabelle 1 p. 253 - this image reveals just how
this tarot ccard, and Juliette's powers of divination, are integral to the plot
Toussaint
Dubreuil - Part Three Isabelle 2 p. 257 - died in 1602, so one
can only presume that his portrait of Isabelle was done when she was an infant
St.
Vitus' Dance - Part Three Isabelle 3 p. 264 - or Sydenham's chorea, a
disease involving involuntary muscular spasms, most likely to affect girls
before the age of 15. In the Middle Ages, sufferers attended the chapels
of St. Vitus, who seemed to be able to ameliorate the symptoms. It is
associated with rheumatic fever, and can last several weeks. 'Chorea' is
taken from the Latin to 'dance'
"But
my dark star led me at last to the cradle of your ambition" - Part Three
Isabelle 5 p. 273 - a sly reference to the epiphany, where Christ was
manifested to the three kings, the Magi (from whom the word 'magic' is derived)
"Of
course it is regrettable that tableaux should now be so out of fashion; more so
that there should be so few present able to appreciate it" - Part Three
Isabelle 7 p. 288 - LeMerle would seem to be referring to 'Tableau Vivant'
(literally 'living picture'), motionless and silent actors representing
scenes from mostly religious sources in the Middle Ages, later becoming
more allegorical during the Renaissance. Typically occurred on floats
during religious processions
"Vade
retro, Satanas" - Part Three Isabelle 7 p. 291 - literally,
"Go away, Satan!"
Morning
Glory Seeds - Part Three Isabelle 10 p. 306 - do have
psychedelic properties, but including the seed husks makes you sick. No
links on the internet for this one (we promote clean living on this site, apart
from the necessary quaffing of ale), but I'm sure Oasis knew what they
were singing about
"I
am the rose of sharon, and the lily of the valleys" - Part Three
Isabelle 11 p. 314 - from the second Song of Solomon
"A
garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain
sealed" - Part Three Isabelle 11 p. 314 - is the actual quote
from the fourth Song of Solomon in the King James Bible ("inclosed"
rather than "enclosed")
"Thy
two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the
lilies" - Part Three Isabelle 11 p. 315 - from the fourth
Song of Solomon
"My
reluctant sweetheart dreamed of Abelard, not Pan" - Part Three
Isabelle 11 p. 315 - Abelard and Heloise did marry in secret though,
and had a child, so their love was not mere spiritual romance. LeMerle
gets off lightly in his tale compared to what happened to Abelard
Aristotle's
use of Rhetoric - Part Four Perette 1 p. 338
- LeMerle would appear to be prepping for hhis public speaking, although the
maxim 'No love is true save that which loves for ever' is quite similar to one
that Juliette uses throughout the novel, 'Love not often, but for ever'
"Antoine,
too, has been removed from the infirmary, though Virginie remains to care for
the possessed woman... Antoine's eyes are small and mean as she speaks of it.
She has volunteered to help in the infirmary... preparing broths for the
afflicted woman, into which, no doubt, she slips a regular dose of morning
glories" - Part Four Perette 3 p. 345 - this
doesn't make a great deal of sense to me - is Antoine working in the infirmary
or not? - but her close friendship with Virginie becomes important later on
"Again
he has opened a gulf inside me, has opened the dark budget of possibility
within my entrails" - Part Four Perette 3 p. 345
- an oblique reference to Juliette's trade as a diviner, a craft that employed
the entrails of animals in antiquity
"Thou
shalt not suffer a witch to live" -
Part Four Perette 3 p. 345 - Juliette, a French woman
writing in 1610, quotes from the big English literary sensation of... 1611. Yes, that was the year that the King James Bible was published. But I think that we
can allow a lot of dramatic licence to Joanne Harris here, as this webpage does suggest that the
King James Bible was not the first to translate the Hebrew Chasaph as 'Witch'
Jean
Bodin - Part Four Perette 4 pp. 346-347 - French
political philosopher who placed great emphasis on divine right, the power of
the sovereign, and sovereignty. The Conservative Party and Charles I seem
to owe a lot to him. He died in 1596
Mme
de Sevigne - Part Four Perette 4 p. 347 - if
Joanne Harris is referring to Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné,
then she was only born in 1626, 30 years after Jean Bodin's death, so Bodin
cannot have attended one of her parties, unless she was an early spiritualist.
LeMerle is also writing 16 years prior to her birth, so his powers of
divination seem quite mighty in this respect. She is famous for her
letters to her daughter describing incidents from her daily life in vibrant
prose, a treasure to social historians
"Clemente
herself is quite unaware that the demoniac names she utters in her frenzies are
for the most part merely the secret, forgotten names of God, reborn as
blasphemies in her tortured brain" -
Part Four Perette 4 p. 347 - this is quite delicious,
although, if the names that Clemente calls out on p. 331 are anything to go by,
this is not quite true. For instance, 'Tetragrammaton', although it is a
noun, it's a noun for the 4 letters that represent the name of God in Hebrew: YHWH or JHVH, Yahweh or Jehovah, rather than an actual name
of god. 'Behemoth' is a monstrous beast mentioned in Job, thought to be a
hippopotamus. 'Beelzebub' was the prince of devils, 'lord of flies', a fallen
angel next in rank to Satan in Paradise Lost. 'Ashtaroth' goddess of love and
fertility, whose worship was despised by the Hebrews, and is linked to many
other gods like Isis, Ishtar, and Aphrodite. 'Belial' another name for the
devil, and one of the fallen angels in Paradise Lost. 'Jehovah-Sabaoth' means
'Lord of Hosts', 'Ashtaroth' is a Canaanite fertility goddess, 'Hades' was the
Greek God of the dead, 'Belphegor' is the devil in female form, 'Mammon' is the
evil of materialism (apart from the purchasing of books, of course), and
'Asmodeus' was the demon that appeared in the Book of Tobit beloved of Salley Vickers, who is also associated
with Solomon's lusty appetite
'Hell's catamite' -
Part Four Perette 7 p. 364 - a catamite is a boy kept
by a pederast for sexual purposes, so does not seem an apt description for
Juliette, although the word is derived from the Latin for Ganymede, previously
associated with Juliette by LeMerle
Psalm
30 - Part Four Perette 14 p. 390 - an apt quote
from this psalm for this scene is: "Thou hast turned for me my
mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with
gladness"
Psalm
10 - Part Four Perette 14 p. 391 - would look to
be a good introduction to the Bishop:
1.
Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of
trouble?
2. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be
taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3. For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the
covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
4. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek
after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of
his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall
never be in adversity.
7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and Fraud: under his
tongue is mischief and vanity.
8. He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret
places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait
to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by
his strong ones.
11. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his
face; he will never see it.
12. Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the
humble.
13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his
heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14. Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to
requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the
helper of the fatherless.
15. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his
wickedness till thou find none.
16. The Lord is king for ever and ever: the heathen are perished
out of his land.
17. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt
prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18. To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the
earth may no more oppress.
'Holy
Fools', or yurodivi ("fools for
Christ's sake), is a term that would appear to derive from the Russian
Church. Saint Basil the Blessed was a prominent example of a Holy Fool,
and unusually, he was canonized. Saint Basil dressed like Jesus on the
cross (i.e. only in a loin cloth) in the worst of Russian winters and like
Jesus, destroyed the stalls of dishonest tradesmen. (Maybe this kind of
thing still happens at car boot sales - still, we have Trading Standards
nowadays). Saint Francis of Assisi was a Catholic Holy Fool - he didn't
have to contend with Russian winters though.
Holy
Fools: Ushers of the Next Generation of the Church - Richard Rohr
believes that the Holy Fool still has an important role to play
Diveyevo's Holy Fools -
Diveyevo seemed to have Holy Fools crawling out of the floorboards. If
this was the culture in Russia, then it's little wonder that Rasputin was taken so seriously
Holy Fools -
the Reverend Linda Hoddy write of Holy Fools from all kinds of faiths
The Wisdom of Holy Fools in
Postmodernity - introduces the concept of 'morosophia' ('love of
foolishness'?) - by Peter C Phan
Symeon the Holy Fool -
read Derek Krueger's book
Understanding Russia: The
Holy Fool in Russian Culture - Ewa Majewska Thompson presents a
contrary view that Russia's holy fools derived from a long tradition of
shamanism, rather than Christianity
Holy Madness - by
George Feuerstein - points that St Paul was the first proponent of Holy
madness. Holy Fools today now seem to reside in Soho or are often seen at
sporting events, as doing the Full Monty seems to be a necessary part of
declaring one's madness
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