'Girl With a Pearl Earring' meets 'How the Irish Saved Civilization' in this dazzling historical novel that reimagines Saint Brigid and the early Church in Ireland.

But, intrigued by Brigid' s unorthodox Christianity, her gentle ministrations to her followers, and her warrior-like commitment, Decius finds himself at odds with his mission, and faces the most difficult choice of his life. His target: the patron saint Brigid of Kildare, a powerful leader charged with teaching outlawed texts and challenging the patriarchy. This is the jumping-off point for Heather Terrell' s new novel, in which Decius, a Roman priest-turned-spy, is dispatched to Ireland. But some have contested that Gerald and 'The Book of Kells' could not have been in Kildare at the same time, and that there may be a second book-lost to history. 'Girl With a Pearl Earring 'meets 'How the Irish Saved Civilization' in this dazzling historical novel that reimagines Saint Brigid and the early church in Ireland The twelfth-century writer Gerald of Wales famously described an illuminated manuscript of great beauty that scholars have long assumed to be 'The Book of Kells, ' one of Ireland' s great treasures. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.īook Description Paperback. But even more extraordinary is the contents of the manuscript's vellum pages, which may have dire repercussions for the Catholic Church and could very well rewrite the origins of Christianity.

Hidden within the sacred box is the most beautiful illuminated manuscript Alex has ever seen. Modern day: Alexandra Patterson, an appraiser of medieval relics, has been summoned to Kildare to examine a reliquary box believed to belong to Saint Brigid.

When Brigid assigns Decius a holy task-to create the most important and sacred manuscript ever made-he finds himself at odds with his original mission and faces the most difficult decision of his life. Hearing accounts of Brigid's power, the Church deems her a threat and sends Decius, a Roman priest and scribe, on a secret mission to collect proof of Brigid's heresy.Īs Decius records the unorthodox practices of Brigid and her abbey, he becomes intrigued by her. Followers flock to her Kildare abbey and scriptorium. Rich in historical detail, Heather Terrell's mesmerizing novel Brigid of Kildare is the story of the revolutionary Saint Brigid and the discovery of the oldest illuminated manuscript in the annals of the Church, a manuscript that contains an astonishing secret history.įifth-century Ireland: Brigid is Ireland's first and only female priest and bishop.

Brigid of Kildare by Heather Terrell