Brother of the Sack
When a travelling monk seeks refuge in a monastery, he doesn’t expect to be accused of the theft of a precious holy relic.
Luckily, Brother Benjamin is blessed with a sharp mind and cleverly uncovers the real thief.
This #30days30shorts story was inspired by an information board overlooking a local field. It describes how an ancient priory once stood on the site, which housed the Friars of the Sack. Sadly, nothing much is known about the vanished priory, nor the monks who lived there.
I was really struck by the name – ‘of the Sack’ – and couldn’t get it out of my mind, and so I invented Brother Benjamin, my Brother of the Sack.
This story came in at 2,907 words. But… I think there is far more to say about Brother Benjamin, a wandering monk and travelling detective, who is set out on some sort of mysterious pilgrimage.
Yet again, I can feel a novella coming on. Although, I think I’ll need to do more research first, as I don’t know much about the medieval period, nor much about monastic life!
Ruth Livingstone 