Stigmata

Name: Stigmata
Rating: 4.2 (8117 reviews)

by Colin Falconer Book 13 in the Epic Historical Adventure series.

First published 2004

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4.2(8,117)

France, 1205. Philip of Vercy returns from crusading to find his lands damaged and his son dying. Reports of Fabricia, a young woman believed to bear the wounds of Christ and possess healing power, offer a final hope, but she is hiding among communities condemned as heretical by the Church.

Philip's search carries him into Languedoc as pressure against the Cathars moves toward the Albigensian Crusade. To reach Fabricia he must defy religious authorities, local rivals and his own habits of violence, while the apparent miracle around her can provide either salvation or a reason for execution.

Fabricia’s apparent holiness gives her influence precisely because medieval communities recognise miraculous healing as a possible sign of divine favour. That belief also makes her vulnerable to clerics and nobles who want either to authenticate, control or suppress her reputation. Philip’s family crisis becomes inseparable from a struggle over who has the authority to define a miracle and who profits when others believe in it.