Of Bondlings and Blesh Epilogue
Epilogue
In the archives of the University of Pain are twelve notebooks inscribed in small by perfectly legible letters. There is reason to believe that they are more than eight hundred years old. Each is marked:
From the Blood Victoria
Of Bondlings and Blesh
Being the memoirs of Tuerqui
Transcribed by P F Jeffery
In spite of diligent efforts, my staff and I have been unable to discover the identity of P F Jeffery. But without the work of this unknown scribe, it is fair to say that the present text could not have been compiled. It would be unjust not to retain her name on the title page.
For the present text, we have, as far as possible, returned to the original manuscripts – unfortunately, not only they are incomplete, but extremely confusing. Tuerqui’s handwriting is so poor that many words would have entirely defeated us but for the P F Jeffery transcripts. In only seventeen places have we seen any reason to change the early transcriber’s readings. Three of these involve adding a paragraph omitted from the transcripts, five involve changing words or phrases, the remainder are corrections to the punctuation. Almost a tenth of Tuerqui’s manuscript seems to be missing, and we have relied entirely on the P F Jeffery notebooks to supply the lost portions. What is more, the manuscripts are not preserved in the correct sequence of pages, and are mixed with several other texts.
The papers believed to be in Tuerqui’s hand were amongst the manuscripts to be bound in royal blue leather about two hundred and fifty years after they were written. There are 127 such volumes, with Tuerqui’s handwriting scattered almost throughout. The neat exterior of the books belies the chaos inside. The confusion is compounded by the fact that each volume is made up of sheets of the same size paper. Tuerqui wrote on sheets of several different sizes, possibly with an eye to economy – this leads to adjacent pages being widely scattered. At one point, four consecutive pages are in volumes 114, 23, 119 and 6.
Only about a fifth of the pages in Tuerqui’s handwriting belong to her memoirs. Other works include some folk tales, travel sketches and what appears to be a novel, as well as many sheets of paper that stand alone.
At several points, the manuscripts include variant texts, but we considered only one of these sufficiently significant to be mentioned in the footnotes.
I wish to express my sincere thanks to the senate and staff of the University of Pain, without whose cooperation and help this text would never have been assembled. In particular, I would like to thank Susanna Birch, the present Vice Chancellor, and Millicent Price, the chief librarian. The archive assistants who worked with me on the project – Alison Kent, Louise Grey, Catherine Spencer and Melanie Griffin – deserve much of the credit. Such errors as have crept in are entirely my responsibility.
Also my responsibility are the idiosyncrasies of the notes. The empire has changed a great deal since Tuerqui’s time, and some points do need clarification for the modern reader. It is often difficult to judge what notes may be useful or necessary, and I am aware of having been inconsistent as to what requires comment and what may be passed in silence. Two chapters seemed to me too beautiful to be marred by my explanations.
Little is known of Tuerqui’s immediate family beyond what is recorded in her memoirs. After the fourth battle of Lundin, Jenna Javelin made an effort to destroy all records of the former ruler – and was largely successful. Tuerqui’s father is known to history as Usurper II, his name unknown. His father (now known as Usurper I) was the bastard son of Leofrith and Madame Villiers, a courtesan. Both Usurpers claimed the title of Chieftain of the Blood Victoria, and were de facto rulers of Lundin. The only reason we know that Usurper II had a son is that Tuerqui sometimes refers to my brother. It is likely, although not certain, that both Usurper II and his son were enslaved after the fourth battle of Lundin. The same fate is likely to have befallen Phoebe and Mary, whose names are known only from Tuerqui’s memoirs.
Tuerqui’s mother was evidently a daughter of one of the Earls of the East Wood. Nothing is known of her, not even her name, apart from what is stated or implied by her daughter.
Until the 7th regnal year of Berenice I, the empire recognised Jenna Javelin as the legitimate Chieftain of the Blood Victoria. After the fourth battle of Lundin, she was appointed as Lady Protectress of Lundin. In her seventh year, Berenice I determined to break the power of traditional hereditary titles. Accordingly, the title of Chieftain passed to the empress herself. Jenna was moved to the post of Lady Protectress of Brister, a city with no traditional links with the Blood Victoria. She held the post of Lady Protectress of Brister for eighteen years, until her death – the result of a fall from a horse.
Turning to some specifics of Tuerqui’s memoirs, the Laughing Phallus never re-opened. All brothels in Surrey proper were banned in the first regnal year of Berenice I – although they were not closed throughout the empire until Year 2 of the reign of Berenice III. The restrictions Berenice I placed on brothels seem to have been prompted by three considerations. In the first place, she certainly saw such action as an easy way to please the more radical ladies of Surrey. Also, she viewed whorehouses as places where men might meet to complain at their increasingly debased legal, social and economic position – and possibly to plot treason. Perhaps most importantly, she was concerned that the houses might serve as focuses for slave discontent. Whores from three brothels (at East Born, Redding and Ail’s Bury) had revolted during the civil war, and become savage freebooters. In Berenice’s first regnal year, Feral Fuquibelle, the leader of the East Born whores, was given command of an independent company called The Whoredom Volunteers, often known as the Arbies, because of their RBS marks. This unit included whores from all three revolts, and elsewhere – some from the Laughing Phallus. The Arbies were deployed only against Surrey’s more disliked enemies. The former whores had a grim reputation as the empire’s most savage and ruthless troops.
Madame Scurf was probably the same person as Molly Scoff who ran a bar and eatery in Leatherhead during the early years of the empire.
Lord Higate, whose plotting was instrumental in Tuerqui’s enslavement, achieved the title of Duke of Warrick, but received little benefit from doing so. In the sixth regnal year of Berenice I, King Trevor of the Meadowlands succumbed to pressure from Surrey and conferred the title upon Lord Higate. Unsurprisingly, the previous duke refused to surrender either his lands or his armies – and Berenice declined to place any real pressure upon him to do so. It seems that Berenice was deliberately fomenting civil war in the Meadowlands, so that the kingdom would be easier to conquer. If so, her plan was successful. The old Duke of Warrick supported Albert, a pretender to the throne, while the Duke of Lester (with Lord Higate as his lieutenant) supported King Trevor. When she judged the kingdom sufficiently weakened, Berenice invaded, along with her East Anglar allies. At that point, Lord Higate vanishes from history – it is unclear whether he was killed, enslaved or retired into obscurity.
At least two other significant figures from Tuerqui’s memoirs were involved in the Meadowlands war – Modesty Clay and Bob Bosset. Having distinguished herself (with the rank of major) during the fourth battle of Lundin, Modesty Clay was promoted to colonel and given command of the Lundin Imperial Light Cavalry Regiment. In the final battle of the Meadowlands war, Modesty’s troops fought Bob Bosset’s at Burbingham. General Bosset was probably killed, although it is possible that he escaped and lived quietly thereafter. The future General Misty West was a young captain serving in Modesty’s regiment. This passage from her memoirs may be of interest:
Sergeant Crosby brought me the captured wife and children of an enemy general. Thinking that they might have important information, I took the prisoners to Colonel Clay. It much surprised me when the Colonel addressed the general’s lady as Fluff, clearly delighted to see her. I asked whether Colonel Clay knew the lady. She replied: I designed her wedding dress. On the Colonel’s orders, the lady and her children were allowed their liberty and given as luxurious accommodation as we could provide.
That was during Litnight of the twelfth regnal year of Berenice I. We are fortunate to have a mention of Fluff dated to a little more than three years later. My illustrious predecessor, Naomi Trenchcliff, acquired for the University of Pain archives some frontier guards’ logbooks containing mentions of Isobel Ironhand. One of these has an entry dated to Glarehaze 24th in the 15th regnal year of Berenice I. It records a large party entering Wales:
Departing the Empire
Party of 16 – 8 persons and 8 slaves
20 ponies, including pack animals
Lady Isobel (Ironhand) together with 2 young daughters & 8 slaves
Lady Fluff together with 4 children
Declared to be carrying no prohibited items, declaration accepted without search.
Clearly, Fluff joined Lady Isobel on at least one of her journeys. Some persons have speculated that General Bosset survived the battle of Burbingham, escaped into Wales and that Fluff was on her way to join him. Whilst this is possible, there is no evidence that it was so. We are on much firmer ground if we speculate that Tuerqui and Tuerquelle were amongst the eight slaves. In Year 12, a more thorough frontier guard had recorded the names of eight slaves travelling with Lady Isobel:
Gusibelle, Hartlisse, Honeyminge, Passibelle, Spanqumi, Switi, Tuerquelle, Tuerqui
We may note that they were arranged in alphabetic order by the tidy-minded guard. Of course, the eight who accompanied Lady Isobel and Fluff three years later may not have been exactly the same group.
Fluff, seemingly, had no slaves at that time. Her former slaves Queuti and Norti were probably restored to personage. Shortly after the fourth battle of Lundin, Cunaughtie’s walking stick and umbrella emporium opened on High Whole Bun. Early mentions of the shop agree that it was run by twin girls. It is not too far fetched to see, in the title of the business, the names of Queuti and Norti, especially as their father was in the same trade. The shop, amongst the oldest established businesses in Lundin, still flourishes.
Tipsi remained with the Imperial Spa until it was time to enter an honourable retirement towards the end of the reign of Berenice I. The frontier guards’ logbooks contain four mentions of her as travelling with Lady Isobel during the reign of Berenice II and two under Berenice III.
Modesty Clay, having retired from the army in the twenty-third regnal year of Bernice I, also joined several of these expeditions.
Adopting alliterating names in imitation of Surrey electors, Diqui Drainsetter and Barguin Bathlayer, went on to a distinguished career in drainage and water supply. After the fourth battle of Lundin, they designed a new water and sewage system for the city. Although their pipes have long since been replaced, their work remains the basis for today’s water mains and sewers. Invariably, Diqui Drainsetter took the lead, and deserves most of the credit for their achievements. Tuerqui’s memoirs seem to show Barguin as the more relaxed of the pair.
Lisa-Louise went on to become a prominent pioneer photographer, specialising in portraits. Many of her pictures survive, including some of Lady Isobel and her concubines. These images must include Tuerqui, but her face has not been identified with certainty. Some years ago, Kimberly Price advanced convincing arguments to identify all of the slaves in the pictures. These identifications were generally accepted until, two years ago, Louise Grey magnified one of the images to discover the letters Pa on what was supposed to be Tuerqui’s right thigh – making this, fairly certainly, a photograph of Passibelle.
Jane Armstrong, who never dropped her father’s surname, went on to become a distinguished gynozoa scientist, famous for having pioneered numerous improvements in technique. Her fertilisation methodology proved vital in making gynozoic reproduction widely available from the 11th regnal year of Berenice I.
The gynozoa daughters, whom Tuerqui and Lady Isobel were carrying at the end of the memoirs, were destined to become two of the more notable ladies of their age. The older sister, Amelia of Pain, must have been the child carried by Tuerqui. Her works are, of course, treasured amongst the classics of our literature. Amelia quotes extensively from Tuerqui’s memoirs in Both of My Mothers (the title of which must have had more impact in the early days of gynozoa).
Felicity of Pain, the younger sister and foremost philosopher of her age, also quoted from Tuerqui’s memoirs – in Freedom, Personage and Slavery. Catherine Spencer has drawn to my attention some notes Felicity made during the preparation of this book. They include page references, making it clear that she worked from the P F Jeffery transcript rather than her mother’s handwriting.
On the death of Lady Isobel, ownership of Tuerquelle passed to Amelia. Like her mothers, Amelia travelled widely, and Tuerquelle died in Wales. After more than eight centuries, Tuerquelle’s memorial stone is no longer legible. Fortunately, the inscription was included amongst those collected by Nicola White, an archivist of the University of Pain during the reign of Berenice V. The epitaph read:
Tuerquelle, ever faithful. Returned to the land of her fathers. Laid in peace Year 4 Berenice IV by her adoring mistress, Amelia of Pain – proud half sister.
Lady Isobel continued to hold the title of Chancellor of The University of Pain until her death. (Thereafter, it passed to Empress Berenice III, whose successors have held it ever since.) The administration of the University had been transferred to the vice chancellor and administrative secretary several years before the accession of Berenice I. The chancellor was, and remains, a figurehead with little responsibility for running the University.
After Year 8 in the reign of Berenice I, Lady Isobel’s governesship of the Slavery Protection Board became increasingly inactive. Thereafter, she travelled widely, accompanied by her daughters, occasionally by other persons, and always with a retinue of slaves. For this, we have three forms of evidence. The frontier guards’ logbooks, preserved in the University of Pain archives, record her repeatedly leaving and re-entering the empire. We have, too, Tuerqui’s travel sketches, describing many of the places they visited. In addition, Isobel being a prominent lady, numerous memoirs record meetings with her, in widely scattered locations.
The weathered stone on the hilltop above the University of Pain, now known as Founder’s Rock, is the pyramidal tomb of Lady Isobel and sixteen slaves. It is no longer easy to see that the rock was once inscribed, but Nicola White preserved the words that were cut into its surface. All of those buried under Founder’s Rock lived into old age – these are amongst the death dates recorded:
Hartlisse: Thunderhead 12th Year 19 Berenice II.
Gusibelle: Chillflurry 9th Year 22 Berenice II.
Passibelle: Swellbelly 17th Year 1 Berenice III
Honeyminge: Thunderhead 23rd Year 6 Berenice III.
Lady Isobel survived longest – her epitaph read:
Here lies Lady Isobel, formerly named Ironhand, honoured founder of the University of Pain. Taken to the goddess 14th Iceflake of Year 9 under the majesty of Berenice III, Empress of Surrey.
Tuerqui’s epitaph was:
Here also Tuerqui, most faithful slave who ever breathed. Beloved concubine, adored mother of Amelia and Felicity of Pain. Taken to the goddess 8th Mistream of Year 6 under the majesty of Berenice III, Empress of Surrey.
In the archives of the University of Pain are twelve notebooks inscribed in small by perfectly legible letters. There is reason to believe that they are more than eight hundred years old. Each is marked:
From the Blood Victoria
Of Bondlings and Blesh
Being the memoirs of Tuerqui
Transcribed by P F Jeffery
In spite of diligent efforts, my staff and I have been unable to discover the identity of P F Jeffery. But without the work of this unknown scribe, it is fair to say that the present text could not have been compiled. It would be unjust not to retain her name on the title page.
For the present text, we have, as far as possible, returned to the original manuscripts – unfortunately, not only they are incomplete, but extremely confusing. Tuerqui’s handwriting is so poor that many words would have entirely defeated us but for the P F Jeffery transcripts. In only seventeen places have we seen any reason to change the early transcriber’s readings. Three of these involve adding a paragraph omitted from the transcripts, five involve changing words or phrases, the remainder are corrections to the punctuation. Almost a tenth of Tuerqui’s manuscript seems to be missing, and we have relied entirely on the P F Jeffery notebooks to supply the lost portions. What is more, the manuscripts are not preserved in the correct sequence of pages, and are mixed with several other texts.
The papers believed to be in Tuerqui’s hand were amongst the manuscripts to be bound in royal blue leather about two hundred and fifty years after they were written. There are 127 such volumes, with Tuerqui’s handwriting scattered almost throughout. The neat exterior of the books belies the chaos inside. The confusion is compounded by the fact that each volume is made up of sheets of the same size paper. Tuerqui wrote on sheets of several different sizes, possibly with an eye to economy – this leads to adjacent pages being widely scattered. At one point, four consecutive pages are in volumes 114, 23, 119 and 6.
Only about a fifth of the pages in Tuerqui’s handwriting belong to her memoirs. Other works include some folk tales, travel sketches and what appears to be a novel, as well as many sheets of paper that stand alone.
At several points, the manuscripts include variant texts, but we considered only one of these sufficiently significant to be mentioned in the footnotes.
I wish to express my sincere thanks to the senate and staff of the University of Pain, without whose cooperation and help this text would never have been assembled. In particular, I would like to thank Susanna Birch, the present Vice Chancellor, and Millicent Price, the chief librarian. The archive assistants who worked with me on the project – Alison Kent, Louise Grey, Catherine Spencer and Melanie Griffin – deserve much of the credit. Such errors as have crept in are entirely my responsibility.
Also my responsibility are the idiosyncrasies of the notes. The empire has changed a great deal since Tuerqui’s time, and some points do need clarification for the modern reader. It is often difficult to judge what notes may be useful or necessary, and I am aware of having been inconsistent as to what requires comment and what may be passed in silence. Two chapters seemed to me too beautiful to be marred by my explanations.
Little is known of Tuerqui’s immediate family beyond what is recorded in her memoirs. After the fourth battle of Lundin, Jenna Javelin made an effort to destroy all records of the former ruler – and was largely successful. Tuerqui’s father is known to history as Usurper II, his name unknown. His father (now known as Usurper I) was the bastard son of Leofrith and Madame Villiers, a courtesan. Both Usurpers claimed the title of Chieftain of the Blood Victoria, and were de facto rulers of Lundin. The only reason we know that Usurper II had a son is that Tuerqui sometimes refers to my brother. It is likely, although not certain, that both Usurper II and his son were enslaved after the fourth battle of Lundin. The same fate is likely to have befallen Phoebe and Mary, whose names are known only from Tuerqui’s memoirs.
Tuerqui’s mother was evidently a daughter of one of the Earls of the East Wood. Nothing is known of her, not even her name, apart from what is stated or implied by her daughter.
Until the 7th regnal year of Berenice I, the empire recognised Jenna Javelin as the legitimate Chieftain of the Blood Victoria. After the fourth battle of Lundin, she was appointed as Lady Protectress of Lundin. In her seventh year, Berenice I determined to break the power of traditional hereditary titles. Accordingly, the title of Chieftain passed to the empress herself. Jenna was moved to the post of Lady Protectress of Brister, a city with no traditional links with the Blood Victoria. She held the post of Lady Protectress of Brister for eighteen years, until her death – the result of a fall from a horse.
Turning to some specifics of Tuerqui’s memoirs, the Laughing Phallus never re-opened. All brothels in Surrey proper were banned in the first regnal year of Berenice I – although they were not closed throughout the empire until Year 2 of the reign of Berenice III. The restrictions Berenice I placed on brothels seem to have been prompted by three considerations. In the first place, she certainly saw such action as an easy way to please the more radical ladies of Surrey. Also, she viewed whorehouses as places where men might meet to complain at their increasingly debased legal, social and economic position – and possibly to plot treason. Perhaps most importantly, she was concerned that the houses might serve as focuses for slave discontent. Whores from three brothels (at East Born, Redding and Ail’s Bury) had revolted during the civil war, and become savage freebooters. In Berenice’s first regnal year, Feral Fuquibelle, the leader of the East Born whores, was given command of an independent company called The Whoredom Volunteers, often known as the Arbies, because of their RBS marks. This unit included whores from all three revolts, and elsewhere – some from the Laughing Phallus. The Arbies were deployed only against Surrey’s more disliked enemies. The former whores had a grim reputation as the empire’s most savage and ruthless troops.
Madame Scurf was probably the same person as Molly Scoff who ran a bar and eatery in Leatherhead during the early years of the empire.
Lord Higate, whose plotting was instrumental in Tuerqui’s enslavement, achieved the title of Duke of Warrick, but received little benefit from doing so. In the sixth regnal year of Berenice I, King Trevor of the Meadowlands succumbed to pressure from Surrey and conferred the title upon Lord Higate. Unsurprisingly, the previous duke refused to surrender either his lands or his armies – and Berenice declined to place any real pressure upon him to do so. It seems that Berenice was deliberately fomenting civil war in the Meadowlands, so that the kingdom would be easier to conquer. If so, her plan was successful. The old Duke of Warrick supported Albert, a pretender to the throne, while the Duke of Lester (with Lord Higate as his lieutenant) supported King Trevor. When she judged the kingdom sufficiently weakened, Berenice invaded, along with her East Anglar allies. At that point, Lord Higate vanishes from history – it is unclear whether he was killed, enslaved or retired into obscurity.
At least two other significant figures from Tuerqui’s memoirs were involved in the Meadowlands war – Modesty Clay and Bob Bosset. Having distinguished herself (with the rank of major) during the fourth battle of Lundin, Modesty Clay was promoted to colonel and given command of the Lundin Imperial Light Cavalry Regiment. In the final battle of the Meadowlands war, Modesty’s troops fought Bob Bosset’s at Burbingham. General Bosset was probably killed, although it is possible that he escaped and lived quietly thereafter. The future General Misty West was a young captain serving in Modesty’s regiment. This passage from her memoirs may be of interest:
Sergeant Crosby brought me the captured wife and children of an enemy general. Thinking that they might have important information, I took the prisoners to Colonel Clay. It much surprised me when the Colonel addressed the general’s lady as Fluff, clearly delighted to see her. I asked whether Colonel Clay knew the lady. She replied: I designed her wedding dress. On the Colonel’s orders, the lady and her children were allowed their liberty and given as luxurious accommodation as we could provide.
That was during Litnight of the twelfth regnal year of Berenice I. We are fortunate to have a mention of Fluff dated to a little more than three years later. My illustrious predecessor, Naomi Trenchcliff, acquired for the University of Pain archives some frontier guards’ logbooks containing mentions of Isobel Ironhand. One of these has an entry dated to Glarehaze 24th in the 15th regnal year of Berenice I. It records a large party entering Wales:
Departing the Empire
Party of 16 – 8 persons and 8 slaves
20 ponies, including pack animals
Lady Isobel (Ironhand) together with 2 young daughters & 8 slaves
Lady Fluff together with 4 children
Declared to be carrying no prohibited items, declaration accepted without search.
Clearly, Fluff joined Lady Isobel on at least one of her journeys. Some persons have speculated that General Bosset survived the battle of Burbingham, escaped into Wales and that Fluff was on her way to join him. Whilst this is possible, there is no evidence that it was so. We are on much firmer ground if we speculate that Tuerqui and Tuerquelle were amongst the eight slaves. In Year 12, a more thorough frontier guard had recorded the names of eight slaves travelling with Lady Isobel:
Gusibelle, Hartlisse, Honeyminge, Passibelle, Spanqumi, Switi, Tuerquelle, Tuerqui
We may note that they were arranged in alphabetic order by the tidy-minded guard. Of course, the eight who accompanied Lady Isobel and Fluff three years later may not have been exactly the same group.
Fluff, seemingly, had no slaves at that time. Her former slaves Queuti and Norti were probably restored to personage. Shortly after the fourth battle of Lundin, Cunaughtie’s walking stick and umbrella emporium opened on High Whole Bun. Early mentions of the shop agree that it was run by twin girls. It is not too far fetched to see, in the title of the business, the names of Queuti and Norti, especially as their father was in the same trade. The shop, amongst the oldest established businesses in Lundin, still flourishes.
Tipsi remained with the Imperial Spa until it was time to enter an honourable retirement towards the end of the reign of Berenice I. The frontier guards’ logbooks contain four mentions of her as travelling with Lady Isobel during the reign of Berenice II and two under Berenice III.
Modesty Clay, having retired from the army in the twenty-third regnal year of Bernice I, also joined several of these expeditions.
Adopting alliterating names in imitation of Surrey electors, Diqui Drainsetter and Barguin Bathlayer, went on to a distinguished career in drainage and water supply. After the fourth battle of Lundin, they designed a new water and sewage system for the city. Although their pipes have long since been replaced, their work remains the basis for today’s water mains and sewers. Invariably, Diqui Drainsetter took the lead, and deserves most of the credit for their achievements. Tuerqui’s memoirs seem to show Barguin as the more relaxed of the pair.
Lisa-Louise went on to become a prominent pioneer photographer, specialising in portraits. Many of her pictures survive, including some of Lady Isobel and her concubines. These images must include Tuerqui, but her face has not been identified with certainty. Some years ago, Kimberly Price advanced convincing arguments to identify all of the slaves in the pictures. These identifications were generally accepted until, two years ago, Louise Grey magnified one of the images to discover the letters Pa on what was supposed to be Tuerqui’s right thigh – making this, fairly certainly, a photograph of Passibelle.
Jane Armstrong, who never dropped her father’s surname, went on to become a distinguished gynozoa scientist, famous for having pioneered numerous improvements in technique. Her fertilisation methodology proved vital in making gynozoic reproduction widely available from the 11th regnal year of Berenice I.
The gynozoa daughters, whom Tuerqui and Lady Isobel were carrying at the end of the memoirs, were destined to become two of the more notable ladies of their age. The older sister, Amelia of Pain, must have been the child carried by Tuerqui. Her works are, of course, treasured amongst the classics of our literature. Amelia quotes extensively from Tuerqui’s memoirs in Both of My Mothers (the title of which must have had more impact in the early days of gynozoa).
Felicity of Pain, the younger sister and foremost philosopher of her age, also quoted from Tuerqui’s memoirs – in Freedom, Personage and Slavery. Catherine Spencer has drawn to my attention some notes Felicity made during the preparation of this book. They include page references, making it clear that she worked from the P F Jeffery transcript rather than her mother’s handwriting.
On the death of Lady Isobel, ownership of Tuerquelle passed to Amelia. Like her mothers, Amelia travelled widely, and Tuerquelle died in Wales. After more than eight centuries, Tuerquelle’s memorial stone is no longer legible. Fortunately, the inscription was included amongst those collected by Nicola White, an archivist of the University of Pain during the reign of Berenice V. The epitaph read:
Tuerquelle, ever faithful. Returned to the land of her fathers. Laid in peace Year 4 Berenice IV by her adoring mistress, Amelia of Pain – proud half sister.
Lady Isobel continued to hold the title of Chancellor of The University of Pain until her death. (Thereafter, it passed to Empress Berenice III, whose successors have held it ever since.) The administration of the University had been transferred to the vice chancellor and administrative secretary several years before the accession of Berenice I. The chancellor was, and remains, a figurehead with little responsibility for running the University.
After Year 8 in the reign of Berenice I, Lady Isobel’s governesship of the Slavery Protection Board became increasingly inactive. Thereafter, she travelled widely, accompanied by her daughters, occasionally by other persons, and always with a retinue of slaves. For this, we have three forms of evidence. The frontier guards’ logbooks, preserved in the University of Pain archives, record her repeatedly leaving and re-entering the empire. We have, too, Tuerqui’s travel sketches, describing many of the places they visited. In addition, Isobel being a prominent lady, numerous memoirs record meetings with her, in widely scattered locations.
The weathered stone on the hilltop above the University of Pain, now known as Founder’s Rock, is the pyramidal tomb of Lady Isobel and sixteen slaves. It is no longer easy to see that the rock was once inscribed, but Nicola White preserved the words that were cut into its surface. All of those buried under Founder’s Rock lived into old age – these are amongst the death dates recorded:
Hartlisse: Thunderhead 12th Year 19 Berenice II.
Gusibelle: Chillflurry 9th Year 22 Berenice II.
Passibelle: Swellbelly 17th Year 1 Berenice III
Honeyminge: Thunderhead 23rd Year 6 Berenice III.
Lady Isobel survived longest – her epitaph read:
Here lies Lady Isobel, formerly named Ironhand, honoured founder of the University of Pain. Taken to the goddess 14th Iceflake of Year 9 under the majesty of Berenice III, Empress of Surrey.
Tuerqui’s epitaph was:
Here also Tuerqui, most faithful slave who ever breathed. Beloved concubine, adored mother of Amelia and Felicity of Pain. Taken to the goddess 8th Mistream of Year 6 under the majesty of Berenice III, Empress of Surrey.
posted by Pet at 6:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home