come again, sweet love

You will know, dear reader, how it was, with no visible twinges of regret, I fled the noxious purlieus of the 4th century and, sweeping through a thousand years with scarce a hint of dust on the  skirts of my cloak, I alighted onto the languorous embrace of the beguiling youth and moyen age of the 14th century.

Alas and alack, dear reader. Plus de la même chose. The squabble continues but now the canvas is both larger and more intimate. Then it was the headstrong Bishop of Mediolanum in the red corner and the Imperator, the Supreme Commander, of the lands stretching from the rising of the sun until the going down of the same, in the blue. And the Bishop - we know him now under the cultae of Saint Ambrose of Milan - stretched forth his hand, called on the overwhelming force of his supernatural powers. And the Imperator, the Supreme Commander, Theodosius, the last to rule the whole shooting match from the Bosphoros to Land´s End, lay prostrate and grovelling at the holy man´s feet. Game. Set. And match. The progenitor of many more to come. With additional subtly complications.

So I sit in the best seat in the house, waiting for the curtain to go up and the play to begin. The scene is set. A stately room in the papal palace. Waiting in the wings is His Holiness himself. John, the 22nd of that name. Still in his dressing room - a closet in München - is the Holy Roman Emperor. He comes on after the interval. And, eagerly awaiting his grand entrance, is the King of France. (Is there going to be a threesome? Tut! Hush! Behave yourself!)

Sound the trumpets! Let battle commence! Bring on the glittering cast of thousands. The conclaves of cardinals splendiferous with opulence. Intellects of Franciscans with their Rule of Holy Poverty. And then, the last brilliant, Goeterdämerung of the Templars. Don´t forget the Templars. Never forget the Templars .. ..

You know, this really could make compulsive, primetime, Sunday evening viewing. On one of the better channels. Of course.

francis cameron, oxford, 24 august 2014