Jehane Spicer

A time of chaos, and the making and unmaking of worlds.  Jehane’s watercolor from the James Webb photograph of the spiral galaxies feels curiously fitting both for medieval times and for today

Members of the household at the Valentine’s Day feast in the great Banqueting Hall.  Notice the splendid hammer beams in the great ceiling…

On the evening of St Valentine’s Day, the Seigneur arranges an entertainment for Helaine and the rest of the household–a welcome break from worry about  the growing threat of Ivo de Grandfief and his mercenary band, the Swiss Confederacy, at the borders.  And he gives Helaine the keys… Read More »3/25/25

Maiden taming a unicorn for two hunters, miniature painting in a manuscript bestiary, about 1170, New York, Pierpoint Morgan Library.  The early date illustrates how profoundly the legend of the maiden and the unicorn persisted in European belief systems. 

Abigail Aldrich Rockefeller (1874-1948) Abby married John Jr, in 1901 after a five year courtship. She helped finance the Red Cross when the US entered the first World War, founded the YMCA, and later the Museum of Modern Art. She helped her notoriously introverted husband to tolerate social… Read More »3/01/25  

Antoine Le grand batard (1421–1504) Antoine was brought up with his younger half-brother, later Charles the Bold, the last Duke of Burgundy; he was a favorite among the many natural children of Philip the Good. Antoine fought on several campaigns for his father, and also led a crusade… Read More »2/17/25

This 14th century tapestry shows a Wild Man and a Wild Woman frolicking in the forest with some friendly but possibly demonic beasts, demonstrating the enduring nature of belief in the existence of Wild Men during Medieval times. The local rabbits are not alarmed at all… A real Masque… Read More »2/07/25 

Here’s a picture of the tapestries hanging in the Cloisters Museum, just as Jehane first saw them…

Medieval thought processes and paradoxes  On virginity On unicorns On Wild Men

Over the years, a series of tiered gardens grew up inside the curtain walls of the castle. Today they seem very formal, but JS imagines Helaine’s father making an exuberant garden there for his bride Genevre. The beds are spilling over with herbs and vegetables; seating is made… Read More »1/22/25