The Holy Fools

My Friends,
I'm afraid all is not well in this land, or at home.  A great shadow hangs over us all, and it seems the world as we know it may fall into chaos.  It seems only yesterday that the Golden Hordes of the Mongols swept through, leaving blood and fire in their wake.  Many of the friends I have made since my arrival are simply gone, lost forever out on the fields of battle.  May God avenge their souls upon these heathens.  I have heard and told tales of valour, and of great men in battle, but never have I been so close to the event itself.

A depiction of the Mongol Invaders

Even more troubling, I have received news that my own home in Byzantium has been invaded.  The Ottomans have destroyed my home.  Nothing remains to which I can return.  A grand piece of the world has been lost.   It is strange to think that everything I know back home is gone.  I have seen my city for the last time.  I have made my peace with these troubling times, but it was not long past that I questioned how God would let this happen.
Almost in answer to my questions, I came across a holy fool along my path.  He was naked and dirty, but as close to God as any man I have ever met.  Holy fools were not uncommon in my home (Poulakou-Rebelakou, et al., 2014), and his presence reminded me of the home I had lost. The comfort this has brought me has given me the strength to live on in this strange new world, and provides some hope for the future.
For those of you who have never met one of these great men, I should take a moment of your time to discuss what makes someone a holy fool.  The lives of the holy fools are marked by odd, seemingly insane behavior.  They adopt these behaviors ostensibly to draw attention to themselves and to show their love of Christ (Poulakou-Rebelakou, et al., 2014).  Their strange behavior can range from marrying an adulterer to wandering naked through the woods, as was the stranger I met along the way.

A Holy Fool

This man, one of many such fools, was called Procopius.  I met him outside the small town of Utsyug, and he begged some food from me.  He then told me that God would protect me as long as I remained with the Russian people, and that the love of God would once again fill my heart if I endured this suffering with the patience of Christ, after which he rubbed mud on my forehead and ran off back into the woods.
When I later spoke with some of the locals, they recounted to me a story in which Procopius prayed and altered the course of stars falling towards the town (Poulakou-Rebelakou, et al., 2014).  I have rarely heard of a man so close to God so as to be able to change the heavens themselves.  However, not many of the towns-folk seem to appreciate his madness, as many of them treat him with disdain.
I, for one, am glad that I took the time to share my meal with this unusual guest.  I hope his blessing holds though this turbulent time.  Who knows but that we will meet again.

Poulakou-Rebelakou, E., et al. "Holy Fools: A Religious Phenomenon of Extreme Behaviour." Journal of Religion & Health, vol. 53, no. 1, Feb. 2014, pp. 95-104. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s10943-012-9600-2.

Far Distant Novgorod

My Friends!  My home of Constantinople now seems so distant as I write from the beautiful city of Novgorod.  By the standards of my people, this city hardly earns the name, but compared to the villages I traveled through on my way here, it is a variable metropolis.  I traveled with a large group of  men on sleighs pulled by ponies.  Most of the men in the group are merchants or peasants, hoping to sell some of their goods or purchase oddities from this far-flung place.

Jeweled Crosses from Novgorod

However, as I was sitting around the fire sharing some odd stew with the other men, I made the acquaintance of a young man who luckily spoke a little of my native language, which was especially encouraging, as my attempts at mastering the curious language spoken here has mostly been met with laughter. The young man, named Vladimir after the prince of Kiev, has studied some icon painting in my Byzantium and is on his way north.  It would seem there is a rather sizable collection of Grecians located in the city, including the workshop of an icon painter of some talent (Musin, 2010).  I wish the best for this young man.  He seems a hard worker, full of young faith.  I do believe he will do well here.
My time here has been enlightening, if a little confusing.  Many people here are Christian, though they carry strange traditions I am unfamiliar with.  I spoke with a man after a service who claimed to have traveled to the Holy Land.  He even offered a small cross pendant with what he claimed was a piece of the cross of Christ worked into it (Musin, 2010).  What's more, he is not the only person to have made this type of claim! Many claim to have pieces of the cross, while others claim to have stones from the road Christ walked during his triumphal entrance into Jerusalem for the final supper.  One would think that with all these pieces of Jerusalem lying around, there would hardly be a cross or holy land left to make pilgrimage to.  Truly an odd people, these Russians.
What amazes me most about this trade hub is the construction of their homes.  Throughout the whole city, one could hardly find a stone to throw, much less use in a building.  This town is so far north, the pines of Russia are plentiful and readily available (Brisbane and Gaimster, 2001).  You might be tempted to think that this makes the city fragile or cold, but you would be mistaken.  The buildings are resilient and beautiful, if different from the stone of my own home.  It is an amazing feat that they have managed to combine the facilities of great city with the cozy feeling of a provincial village.  If the rest of my journey through this land is half as interesting as this city, I have no doubt I will return with many stories to tell my king.


Brisbane, M., and D. Gaimster (Eds.). 2001. Novgorod: The archaeology of a Russian medieval city and its hinterland. The British Museum Occasional Paper Number 411. London, UK

Musin, Alexander. "Russian Medieval Culture as an “Area of Preservation” of the Byzantine Civilization." Towards Rewriting?: New Approaches to Byzantine Archaeology and Art: Proceedings of the Symposium on Byzantine Art and Archaeology, Cracow, September 8-10, 2008. Vol. 8. Prus24. pl, 2010.

My Name is Aviatius

Greetings, Fellow Traveler!

It will be nice to have a companion on this road, though it appears you will take this journey through my words rather than travel the rough roads yourself.  I shall do my best to illustrate our journey through my words, and through the occasional picture as we go along.

This garb is common for my people,
though I imagine it will hardly due for my journey

Before we get too far, I shall introduce myself.  My name is Aviatius of Constantinople.  I was previously a storyteller honored by the king himself.  My favorite tales focus around great battles, feasts, and beautiful churches. Sadly, I made the mistake of telling the king the same story twice.  As punishment, he has exiled me to this new land of the Rus to learn some new tales.  Luckily, I have no family to leave behind, making this a rather exciting adventure for me.
I have heard tales of this place during my time at the palace of his majesty.  The land is rugged, with its harsh winters, deep forests, and many rivers.  The people, they tell me, are odd, with many strange traditions.  They have only recently aligned themselves with our people, and have not figured out what it means to be Christian yet.
However, I look forward to meeting them and exploring their way of life.  My first stop will be in far off Novgorod.  I hear they are building churches, and have a few holy men.  I will see what there is to tell of them.  I hope they do not disappoint!