Book
Heaven in a Wild Flower
Northumbria, seventh century. Aella is a gifted leatherworker whose service in war brings him into the orbit of King Ecgfrith and Bishop Cuthbert. When the monks of Lindisfarne commission him to create a fine cover for the Gospel of John, his craft becomes a path from the workshop into the religious and political life of the kingdom.
King Aldfrith sends Aella to Ireland to learn reading, writing and manuscript illumination. Among scholars and monks he discovers new ambitions, friendship and love, but returning home requires him to reconcile learning with obligation and decide whether a craftsman can shape his own future in a society governed by kings, warfare and the Church.
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