Shroud for the Archbishop Read Online Free PDF Page B

three hundred years. It has such history in every brick and piece of mosaic.’
    ‘A marvellous set of buildings, I will accept that.’
    Eadulf shook his head at her lack of reverence.
    ‘Even when the emperor Constantine gave the palace and its lands to Melchiades, three hundred and fifty years ago, so that he, as Bishop of Rome, could erect a cathedral for the city, it already had a history.’
    Fidelma silently resigned herself to the monk’s animation.
    ‘It was the palace of a great patrician family of ancient Rome, the Laterani. At the time when the evil emperor Nero was persecuting the Christians there was a conspiracy to assassinate him. Gaius Calpurnius Piso, who was a consul, a great orator as well as a rich and popular figure, led the plot. But it was discovered and the conspirators were arrested and condemned to death, others were forced to commit suicide rather than face execution as respect and deference to their patrician rank.
    ‘Among them were Petronius Arbiter who wrote the Satyricon ; the poet Lucan and the philosopher Seneca, as well as Piso. In addition to those intellectuals was Plautius Lateranus who owned this palace. He was deprived of his property and put to death.’
    Fidelma eyed the rich façade of the Lateran Palace, still disapproving of its opulence.
    ‘It is a beautiful building,’ she said softly, ‘but not as beautiful as a pleasant valley or great mountain or windswept cliff.
That is true beauty, the beauty of nature untrammelled by man’s temporary constructions.’
    Eadulf looked at her in sorrow.
    ‘I would not have marked you for a Philistine, sister.’
    Fidelma raised a contradictory eyebrow and gave a shake of her head.
    ‘Not so. You have put those two years of your life here in Rome to good use by attaining knowledge. But in your praise of these buildings you neglected to mention that the original Lateran palace was destroyed and that Melchiades constructed his buildings on their ruin. You forgot to say that those buildings have been rebuilt twice during the last two hundred years, especially after their destruction by Vandals two centuries ago. So where is the continuity with history of which you speak? These are but temporary monuments.’
    Eadulf gazed at her in chagrined surprise.
    ‘So you knew its history all the time?’ he demanded accusingly, ignoring the point she had made.
    Fidelma shrugged eloquently.
    ‘I asked one of the keepers at the basilica. But as you were so eager to impart your knowledge …’ She grimaced and then smiled apologetically at his petulant expression, reaching forward and laying a hand on his arm. A sudden urchin grin of mischief spread over her features.
    ‘Come, Brother Eadulf. I merely make the point that buildings are temporary cathedrals to the greater cathedral of nature, which man often destroys with his own miserable constructions. I have recently wondered what the seven hills of this remarkable city looked like before they were submerged by buildings.’
    The Saxon monk’s face remained a study of petulance.

    ‘Don’t be angry, Eadulf,’ Fidelma cajoled contritely, regretting that she had pricked his ego. ‘I must be true to myself, but I am interested in all that you have to tell me about Rome. I am sure there is much more in this city that you can usefully instruct me about. Come, walk with me a while and show me what you may.’
    She turned down the broad steps and made her way through the beggars clustered at the bottom, held back by grim-faced custodes . Dark haunted eyes in skeletal faces followed them, thin, bony hands were held out in mute supplication. It had taken Fidelma several days to get used to the sight as she passed from her lodging to the ornate palace of the Bishop of Rome.
    ‘That is a scene that you would not see in Ireland,’ she remarked, nodding to the beggars. ‘Our laws provide for the relief of the poor without their recourse to such straits to provide for themselves and their