Chapter 1
ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἡ φύσις δίχα ἐτμήθη, ποθοῦν ἕκαστον τὸ ἥμισυ τὸ αὑτοῦ συνῄει, καὶ περιβάλλοντες τὰς χεῖρας καὶ συμπλεκόμενοι ἀλλήλοις, ἐπιθυμοῦντες συμφῦναι, ἀπέθνῃσκον ὑπὸ λιμοῦ καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἀργίας διὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἐθέλειν χωρὶς ἀλλήλων ποιεῖν. (Aristophanes)
Now, when their nature was divided in two, each half in longing rushed to the other half of itself and they threw their arms around each other and intertwined them, desiring to grow together into one, dying of hunger and inactivity too, because they were unwilling to do anything apart from one another.
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The 2nd of June 1407, Noyon (France).
The sun rises in a pink haze, bearing the promise of a beautiful spring morning. And the long wait is finally over. Robert Bonefis was practicing his sword fighting on the small training ground of the village with some other knights. The neighbor informed him of the birth of his fourth child. The pregnancy had gone very well and his daughter was born after a quick delivery. She was baptized as Marie Bonefis on June 4th by the Count-Bishop of Noyon.
16 years later
“I won’t marry that pompous fathead, dad, even if you drag me kicking and screaming to the altar, my answer is and remains NO”... and the door flew shut with a bang. Robert sat back sighing, this was already the fourth candidate his daughter had rejected. Perhaps he should start thinking about an alternative like a monastery or a beguinage. He had an aunt who was mistress of the church in the beguinage in Brussels, he should write her a letter.
Marie was furious and her brother, who accompanied her on the way to Brussels, was the object of her ire. “How dare he send me to the monastery, just because I don’t want to marry an arrogant thug. And he even orders you to come as my prison guard!” “Marie, I am not your jailer and it isn’t a monastery but a beguinage. And it’s already the fourth man whose hand you refused in marriage. It’s only logical that father is looking for alternatives.”
“Even better, a monastery full of old dry plums... and great-aunt Eugenia.....I have no words for it. If dad were to find a kind and good man for me, at least I wouldn’t have reasons to doubt his good intentions.”
The 2nd of June 1407, Amsterdam (Holy Roman Empire).
Merchant Kaarter had gotten up early this morning to check the latest delivery to the IJ. The other shareholders of his group would count on him to check the goods anyway, even if his wife could give birth to their first child any moment now. Setúbal’s wine had to be checked before it could be shipped to Danswijk. When he returned home in the afternoon, his first son was born. However, the pain of losing his wife was unbearable for Frederick, who would be killed himself several months later during a street fight. His son was baptized on June 4th as Johannes Kaarter in the Sint-Nicolaaskerk.
16 years later
“Thank you, Uncle. I will not disappoint you.” Johannes left his uncle’s room in a good mood. His uncle had been his assigned guardian since birth, and he and his aunt had always cared for him as if he were their own son. As a man of age, he would now take over his father’s share of the company. The group had grown even more in recent years and all shareholders were very well of. His first assignment was to go to Brussels to talk to some Brabant merchants who might want to trade with their company.
When he left, along with his escort of mercenaries, he was ready for his assignment, he had the power of attorney to negotiate for the whole group and was very happy with this great responsibility. They all knew him from when he was a toddler and as soon as he could walk he had followed his uncle everywhere. He knew the business inside out and knew more about the company than most of the shareholders. And when he returned to Amsterdam, his uncle, in consultation with him, would start the search for a suitable wife; he didn’t really know what to think about that yet.
