Abbey at Chelsea Member Profiles Page 01

The Church, a small humble but ornate building just off the main street close to the docks, is the main point of contact between the Abbey and the populace of the Isle. There is always at least one brother on duty, and they leave a light burning all night should anyone require any assistance, such as a ship's captain wanting a blessing before heading out to an unknown fate upon the seas.
It is through this building that they distribute their lavender honey and perfume; the Abbey's wine and the little bread they have left over for sale. A small room in the back of the church is the office of the Scribe.

Though no formal service is held here, the brothers are more than happy to provide spiritual assistance whenever needed, and the doors are always open for those wishing to pray. And from time to time they will perform a wedding ceremony in most any denomination, even a Norse Handfasting is not beyond their talents.

The Abbey at Chelsea, a Franciscan Monastery, run by the Lord Abbot Thërn du Claravouix, is a most interesting edifice. There is nothing humble about this place. The Monastery itself is a huge magnificent building high up in the mountains at the southern end of the Island. On the road leading up to the Abbey you will pass the Abbots cottage, who preferred to live outside the Monastery, which was fairly common at the time.

The Order provides the spiritual guidance and the conscience of the Isle, performing such functions as weddings. Though the Order is Catholic historically, they have been known to be a bit unorthodox, accommodating the other Religions on the Isle as well. Performing a Norse wedding ceremony is not beyond their calling.

To provide for themselves as well as earn the necessary moneys to cover day to day living, the order keeps bees for making honey, a honey well loved by the denizens of the Isle. Lavender grows profusely on the island, and the blossoms impart a most unique flavour to the honey. Another product made by the monks is a unique perfume, bottled and labelled in the Monastery, called Island Rose. They grow a little wheat here as well, though usually only enough for their own use, due to the short growing season. The Abbot bakes most excellent bread, which has graced the tables of many of our feasts. Though they have a small vineyard in their valley for wine making, they trade with the City of Mediterraneus for grapes to be able to meet the demands on the excellent wine produced at the Abbey, as well as grain when short. The glass bottles for the perfume comes from Italy as well, and the Duke's ships have carried many a dispatch between the Abbey and the Vatican.

The Monastery is the seat of what passes for the University on the Isle. Who better to maintain the book learning on the Isle? An extensive Library is housed in those hallowed halls and many a rare book has been given to the Abbot by the various Captains that dock on the Isle, books procured from around the world and brought back because all know the Abbot's love for new books.

The Franciscan brothers, being of the few on the Isle versed in writing skills, most especially Latin, naturally leads to another task the order performs, that of Scribes. In addition to the regular letters asked of them, for a small fee, they produce beautiful Calligraphy and Illuminated documents. The Abbey maintains a small office in the Church in town for this purpose as well.

There is a small orphanage at the Monastery caring for, or so its said, those poor unfortunates that the Pirates leave behind, and the brothers have been known to help with the education of the other children {and discipline} on the Isle.

Amongst his other talents, our versatile Abbot is also an accomplished Milliner, creating hats of distinction for discriminating Lords and Ladies, which he offers for sale through one of the shoppes in the Port of Shalott. Many a citizen of the Isle sports a chapeaux created by Lord Thërn du Claravouix.