fic: 'venia'
May. 4th, 2008 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hathycolFor ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lgbtfest.
Title: Venia
Author: Hathor (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hathy_col)
Fandom: Robin Hood (new BBC version)
Pairing/characters: Much, Robin
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all the good things in this world. Robin Hood is one of them. I’m making no money off this. It is, however, my intellectual property. Please ask before distributing.
Prompt: Much. Much loves women, they're nice, kind and they cook, but none of them, not even Eve, as much as he loves Robin. What does that make him in late 12th Century England?
Summary: Much talks religion. It’s all a bit complicated for a Locksley village lad.
Author's Notes: Some historical gumph at the end. Spoilers for the end of season 2.
Much was taught that the Holy Land was… well, holy. His father’s tithes had gone towards the upkeep of the Christians there, and Much had been proud when he heard of the works done by the pilgrims who could see where Christ had died. When his father had died (and unlike Christ, never came back), Much had gone into the Locksley household permanently. He had watched the household’s chapel glitter with the gold of the crucifixes, gave the travelling friars bread out of the kitchen when he could, and tried to live a relatively blameless life.
Not that he was one of those, you know, religious types. Much was never going to become a monk, or a priest, or even one of those people that wrote all the books in Paris. You had to be able to read properly for that, and Much had heard that you couldn’t even eat properly in the monasteries, and he’d seen by the discreet itching how itchy those holy robes were. No, Much was happy enough living the life of the good family man. The only slight problem with that was that he was required to actually have a family for that. It wasn’t that he was against the idea, as such – it was a nice idea, being able to have your own home and work on the lands. He wasn’t even against the idea of children, like a lot of a local lads were. Having some of his own might even make his mother proud, up there in heaven.
It was just that, for the meantime, he was perfectly happy working in the Locksley household, and being the manservant to Robin. Wherever Robin went, he was happy to follow. And when the priest had come and preached about the pilgrimage to the holy land – about how the heathens were ripping it up, and how the new king needed their help – there was never any question of him not going. Robin, the new Robin with eyes filled with zeal and the will to fight for Christ, would lead him there, and that would be the end of that.
Or so Much had thought.
--
During the journey to the holy land – across Europe and across the sea - Much had got talking to the other men on their pilgrimage. The priests had preached about forgiveness for the taking of this trip, but Much was pretty sure he didn’t need it. Scrumping in the village hardly counted if you’d been twelve at the time, after all, and he thought that God would probably let him off. No, Much was using this war to store up some forgiveness with God, to give him the blessing to meet a beautiful woman and to have a brood of children. There weren’t any women in the village, not really; he’d kissed the daughter of the brewer once, but she didn’t feel quite right. Her beer was wonderful, though.
He heard some horror stories with the men who had come on the pilgrimage, though. Some were men who felt desperate shame and sorrow at an act they’d perpetrated in their youth; some, Much felt, didn’t feel quite bad enough about their acts. It wasn’t Much’s job to judge – well, it wasn’t Much’s job to judge after he’d been the victim of a few well-aimed punches and a talking to by Robin – but he had been sure that the reason for this journey had been holy. The idea of these men walking where Christ and the apostles had done made him uneasy. However, Robin treated them like brothers, and this brotherly feeling spread to Much. So he didn’t argue.
On the ship, Robin and him shared a bunk through lack of space. Much had complained to everyone he could at the horror of a noble being forced to share space on the cramped and creaking vessel, but Robin had touched him gently on the shoulder and explained that on a journey like this, all men were brothers.
So they shared a bunk. One night, during a fierce storm, Robin rolled over and held onto Much, who didn’t think about it until Robin called him Marian. Robin was asleep at the time, but Much felt the way Robin was holding him, and felt his heart constrict with the feeling that yes, this is the family I wanted and this stomach churn with the knowledge that Robin didn’t, not like this, not with Much, and suddenly realised this was how you were meant to feel about women if you wanted the family.
--
After five years in the Holy Land, Much didn’t know any more about forgiveness than he had previously. A priest he’d tried to confess to – in desperation – had reacted in horror, until Much told him that he’d never even tried to act on it. He wouldn’t even know how to, although he’d heard some terrible stories about what the Saracens got up to in their camps. That didn’t sound like the type of thing he wanted to do, not really.
The priest told him that it was all a trial sent by God, and he had to work through it. Much said his Pater Nosters, and didn’t feel any better. He tried to go with one of the camp followers, to see if that would cure him, but it just made Much feel sad. Robin and he still slept close, and Robin would sometimes roll to him in the night as the two slept. Much never moved to Robin, but he never moved away, either.
In the end, Much gave up and went back to England.
--
When Much came back from the Holy Land for the second time, he knew finally what he needed forgiveness for. A trial for God he could understand, but the brief flash of happiness he’d felt at Marian’s funeral… that was something he needed forgiveness for. He knew enough now that he just wanted to see Robin happy and somehow join in his new family, and he knew that he could never take the place of Marian. Much even liked Marian, or he tried to.
That flash of joy, though? That was wrong, and Much knew it. So when he went to confess to the priest back in England, he knew what he could work towards forgiveness for.
Notes:
1. ‘Pilgrim’ was the phrase a Crusader would have called themselves. The Crusades is not a contemporary term. I appreciate my love of historical accuracy is not, exactly, what the BBC is looking for in their core audience of Robin Hood.
2. Pater Noster – Our Father, in Latin. Standard knowledge for anyone in twelfth-century England.
lgbtfest.Title: Venia
Author: Hathor (
hathy_col)Fandom: Robin Hood (new BBC version)
Pairing/characters: Much, Robin
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all the good things in this world. Robin Hood is one of them. I’m making no money off this. It is, however, my intellectual property. Please ask before distributing.
Prompt: Much. Much loves women, they're nice, kind and they cook, but none of them, not even Eve, as much as he loves Robin. What does that make him in late 12th Century England?
Summary: Much talks religion. It’s all a bit complicated for a Locksley village lad.
Author's Notes: Some historical gumph at the end. Spoilers for the end of season 2.
Much was taught that the Holy Land was… well, holy. His father’s tithes had gone towards the upkeep of the Christians there, and Much had been proud when he heard of the works done by the pilgrims who could see where Christ had died. When his father had died (and unlike Christ, never came back), Much had gone into the Locksley household permanently. He had watched the household’s chapel glitter with the gold of the crucifixes, gave the travelling friars bread out of the kitchen when he could, and tried to live a relatively blameless life.
Not that he was one of those, you know, religious types. Much was never going to become a monk, or a priest, or even one of those people that wrote all the books in Paris. You had to be able to read properly for that, and Much had heard that you couldn’t even eat properly in the monasteries, and he’d seen by the discreet itching how itchy those holy robes were. No, Much was happy enough living the life of the good family man. The only slight problem with that was that he was required to actually have a family for that. It wasn’t that he was against the idea, as such – it was a nice idea, being able to have your own home and work on the lands. He wasn’t even against the idea of children, like a lot of a local lads were. Having some of his own might even make his mother proud, up there in heaven.
It was just that, for the meantime, he was perfectly happy working in the Locksley household, and being the manservant to Robin. Wherever Robin went, he was happy to follow. And when the priest had come and preached about the pilgrimage to the holy land – about how the heathens were ripping it up, and how the new king needed their help – there was never any question of him not going. Robin, the new Robin with eyes filled with zeal and the will to fight for Christ, would lead him there, and that would be the end of that.
Or so Much had thought.
--
During the journey to the holy land – across Europe and across the sea - Much had got talking to the other men on their pilgrimage. The priests had preached about forgiveness for the taking of this trip, but Much was pretty sure he didn’t need it. Scrumping in the village hardly counted if you’d been twelve at the time, after all, and he thought that God would probably let him off. No, Much was using this war to store up some forgiveness with God, to give him the blessing to meet a beautiful woman and to have a brood of children. There weren’t any women in the village, not really; he’d kissed the daughter of the brewer once, but she didn’t feel quite right. Her beer was wonderful, though.
He heard some horror stories with the men who had come on the pilgrimage, though. Some were men who felt desperate shame and sorrow at an act they’d perpetrated in their youth; some, Much felt, didn’t feel quite bad enough about their acts. It wasn’t Much’s job to judge – well, it wasn’t Much’s job to judge after he’d been the victim of a few well-aimed punches and a talking to by Robin – but he had been sure that the reason for this journey had been holy. The idea of these men walking where Christ and the apostles had done made him uneasy. However, Robin treated them like brothers, and this brotherly feeling spread to Much. So he didn’t argue.
On the ship, Robin and him shared a bunk through lack of space. Much had complained to everyone he could at the horror of a noble being forced to share space on the cramped and creaking vessel, but Robin had touched him gently on the shoulder and explained that on a journey like this, all men were brothers.
So they shared a bunk. One night, during a fierce storm, Robin rolled over and held onto Much, who didn’t think about it until Robin called him Marian. Robin was asleep at the time, but Much felt the way Robin was holding him, and felt his heart constrict with the feeling that yes, this is the family I wanted and this stomach churn with the knowledge that Robin didn’t, not like this, not with Much, and suddenly realised this was how you were meant to feel about women if you wanted the family.
--
After five years in the Holy Land, Much didn’t know any more about forgiveness than he had previously. A priest he’d tried to confess to – in desperation – had reacted in horror, until Much told him that he’d never even tried to act on it. He wouldn’t even know how to, although he’d heard some terrible stories about what the Saracens got up to in their camps. That didn’t sound like the type of thing he wanted to do, not really.
The priest told him that it was all a trial sent by God, and he had to work through it. Much said his Pater Nosters, and didn’t feel any better. He tried to go with one of the camp followers, to see if that would cure him, but it just made Much feel sad. Robin and he still slept close, and Robin would sometimes roll to him in the night as the two slept. Much never moved to Robin, but he never moved away, either.
In the end, Much gave up and went back to England.
--
When Much came back from the Holy Land for the second time, he knew finally what he needed forgiveness for. A trial for God he could understand, but the brief flash of happiness he’d felt at Marian’s funeral… that was something he needed forgiveness for. He knew enough now that he just wanted to see Robin happy and somehow join in his new family, and he knew that he could never take the place of Marian. Much even liked Marian, or he tried to.
That flash of joy, though? That was wrong, and Much knew it. So when he went to confess to the priest back in England, he knew what he could work towards forgiveness for.
Notes:
1. ‘Pilgrim’ was the phrase a Crusader would have called themselves. The Crusades is not a contemporary term. I appreciate my love of historical accuracy is not, exactly, what the BBC is looking for in their core audience of Robin Hood.
2. Pater Noster – Our Father, in Latin. Standard knowledge for anyone in twelfth-century England.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 01:15 pm (UTC)I liked this a lot - a love of historical accuracy is a good thing - though I'm not hard working enough to achieve it, I enjoy it in others!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 01:18 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it! :-)
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 01:22 pm (UTC)Good luck with that.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 01:40 pm (UTC)Have you written any other Hood fic? I'd love to read it.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 01:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 02:49 pm (UTC)But talking about great minds thinking alike. I've been doing my research into gay history. What I've been reading suggest that in general the church turned a blind idea to bisexual love amongst laypeople, but not for much longer after when the series is set. My reaction - oh yeah, all that slashy love really is canon!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 03:08 pm (UTC)There were injunctions against it though throughout ecclestiastical history, although a lot more of that pertains to monks. (I don't have these notes with me, but a c900 document on monastic life has some pretty stern warnings about getting too close to fellow brothers. Something to do with Aethelred, I think? I forget the precise details.) However, as long as it was kept quiet and whatnot then the church - and indeed society - I imagine would neither know nor care. Which is what I ws trying to drive at with this. Because whatever the changes in reaction to homosexuality, people stay intrinsically the same and the percentage of gay people back then is probably about the same as now; difference is, it wasn't so open. The Bible was well-known enough for all those Old Testament stories to get out, though. Church court cases against sodomy exist throughout history. They do increase a lot later on, but that's more around the time of the Reformation, when basically everyone freaked out and went a bit odd about religious laws. (See: witchcraft.)
(Sorry, that got a bit long!)
Slashy love, however, in clearly canon in Robin Hood! Glad you enjoyed.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 03:31 pm (UTC)My reading (biased as the author obviously is from his writings) seem to suggest that same sex love and relations was most ignored for the highest and the lowest. I guess what I'm getting at is that the way I'm reading what I've read is that a Much/Robin relationship would be accepted as long as they weren't obvious about it.
Sorry as I said, most of my knowledge of this time period is economy based. As in, I can tell you what kind of animals were likely to be around Nottingham, bits about how they were butchered, and what the animals looked like, and what the houses were like and how people moved about them. This is kind of like finding the "kiddie" pool is actually several metres deep (there's a tendency in archaeology to dismiss historical information in favour of archaeological because whilst the archaeological record is incomplete the bias isn't constructed in the same way as written records).
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 03:40 pm (UTC)Archeology is a completely baffling subject to me, so kudos to you for that. It all comes together in a picture about past life, and that's what counts!
no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 03:47 pm (UTC)And I shall watch them all thinking about dragons now.
By and large a lot of history work and archaeology work about the medieval period doesn't seem to overlap. Both sides only seem to turn to the other when they need something. It's a shame but true. I think it's because our work tends to baffle each other. I can see things in the dirt you possibly couldn't and you can understand stuff written down that makes my brain bleed more than philosophy of science.
Maybe you should put together an essay for people to read. I know the BBC aren't fans of research for this show, but then they do use bits of accuracy when it suits the story, no reason for fanfic to be any different.
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Date: 2008-05-04 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 11:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 11:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-04 11:09 pm (UTC)The exterminate for the reply-comment link has totally made me forget what I was going to type. Daleks FTW. ;)
This was absolutely fantastic - I LOVED the historical accuracy (and it was fascinating to read about, thank you!) and the bittersweetness of the fic in general. Our poor, dear, Much. *hugs him tight*
[I did think the ending was a little bit anticlimactic, though. It didn't quite... finish it off, for me.
No, this is not just because I want the fic to continue and find out what happens.]no subject
Date: 2008-05-05 11:30 am (UTC)It was going to be a bit longer, but, well, I can never work out how to finish things. I would have liked it to go on longer, but due to crappy timing on my part, I ran out of time. Ahem.
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Date: 2008-05-05 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-07 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-07 12:54 pm (UTC)I love his love for Robin.
And oh, the guilt over Marian. Wonderfully done.
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Date: 2008-05-07 03:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 10:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-19 01:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-30 03:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 05:47 pm (UTC)This is lovely.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 07:21 pm (UTC)