A Golden Web by Barbara Quick

Author:Barbara Quick
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical - Europe, Europe, Medieval, Anatomy, Historical Fiction (Young Adult), Middle Ages, Social Issues, Girls & Women, Health & Daily Living, Juvenile Fiction, Historical - Medieval, Health & Daily Living - General, Historical, Bologna (Italy), School & Education, History, Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9), General, 600-1500, Sex role, Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 9780061448874
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2010-09-15T23:22:34.001000+00:00

Ten

Alessandra—now “Sandro” to her fellow students—found out a good deal during her first days in Bologna. The principal lectures were all given in the morning at locations decided on the spur of the moment by the students, who were completely in charge of the hiring and firing of masters. Lectures were held wherever a space could be found, depending on the weather and the master’s willingness to let the students gather at his home, if he had one. A few of the most highly revered masters were able to afford to rent a second house especially for this purpose—among them, Alessandra learned, was the renowned and well-respected professor of medicine, Mondino de’ Liuzzi, who was the very reason she’d wanted so much to study in Bologna.

She was waiting for one such lecture to start—this one out in the square, as the magister had earned his degree in philosophy only the year before and was teaching to support the continuation of his studies. Alessandra’s ears pricked up at the mention of a woman doctor at the University of Paris.

“Oh, she’s history!” said a fat youth with pockmarked skin. “Haven’t you heard? She’s been restrained from ever practicing again.”

“Did they burn her?” someone else asked.

“No,” sighed the fat youth, sounding bored. “Only banished her.”

Alessandra felt more conscious than ever of her disguise. She seated herself in the middle of the throng of students attending the lecture, avoiding people’s eyes and taking notes furiously. Before the end of the lecture, she’d used up her little bottle of ink, but she didn’t dare ask to borrow ink from someone else. She had to simply try—in among the whispered gossip, occasional snores, and bawdy jokes of the other students—to memorize every word.

She was both exhausted and elated when she found her way back to Signora Isabella’s, hoping she was on time for the midday meal. She had taken wrong turns twice, had to push her way through a throng of people gathered to watch a group of mummers, and just nearly missed being bitten by a savage dog. She was two steps up the staircase when someone grabbed her cloak, jerking her backward and pulling her into the alcove under the stairs, one hand—a filthy-tasting hand—held over her mouth. She knew even before her eyes had adjusted to the dark: It was the serving boy, Tonio.

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