A canticle is a song of praise. This novel is set in medieval Bruges in the last years of the thirteenth century. The world of the Church is unsettled: concerns about the endless selling of indulgences are rising, and, more importantly, some in Europe are translating the Word of God into the languages of the people. The Church must maintain its role as the interpreter of holy matters for an uneducated populace.
Young Aleys is a holy child, enthralled by the beauty of her mother’s psalter and by her daily experience of God’s love. After her mother dies, her father requires her help in managing his woolens business and teaches her to read and write. Having spent so much time poring over the Latin in her mother’s book, she becomes uniquely skilled in both Latin and the local tongue. When her father pledges her to the man in charge of the drapers’ guild, she runs to the Franciscans, who readily accept her.
Friar Lukas settles her with the holy women in the begijnhof, as she is the Franciscans’ first convert in the Low Countries. The begijnhof has attracted the attention of the bishop, who believes the Dutch translations of the Bible may have originated with the reclusive women known as beguines. He believes he must stage a dramatic suppression of heresy to please the pope. When Aleys prays over the sick in the hospital, some are reported cured. The bishop does not want the people focused on miracles when he needs heretics. He convinces Aleys to surrender to a life of holy seclusion in an anchorhold attached to the cathedral. Her only exposure to the outside world is through her maid, Marte, who tends to her needs, and Lukas, her confessor. When a crazed Lukas unlocks her door and attempts to attack her, she flees. Breaking her vow of seclusion should lead to excommunication.
The papal legate clearly has no desire to condemn her at trial, and the matter is set aside. However, the bishop then presents Marte as a heretic responsible for the widespread translations circulating in the city. Knowing that Marte and the entire begijnhof will be burned, Aleys steps forward and proclaims that the translations are hers. She pays the ultimate price at the stake.
