Marin's Fire

Afterword

I want to offer a huge thanks to everyone who has read this story. Your support means so much to me! This first draft was written as my first ever attempt to complete NaNoWriMo. Although this story had been kicking around in my head for awhile, I only had a very loose outline before I wrote it over a span of thirty days. I'm sure I'll spend much longer than thirty days revising it!

Although the vast majority of this story is fabrication, it was  inspired by research that I completed when earning my graduate degree in Medieval History. Please note that this is a blasphemous recounting of a religious tale. The romantic and sexual elements are 100% fictional. I'd also like to note that much less historical research went into this story than into my other historical fiction. In part this is due to the quick pace at which it was written. The places and religious orders in this story are made up and it is not set in a fixed time period.

So, what about this story is historical? Well, my spark of inspiration was the 5th century life of Saint Mary/Marinos. Many details of their life are in question. You can look up "Marina the Monk" in Wikipedia for more in-depth analysis. But here is the version of events as I learned them in my studies:

Marinos's mother died when they were a child and their father decided to enter into the service of the church. Marinos insisted that they follow their father by also joining the same male order. The two then entered the monastery as father and son. 

Marinos was respected by their peers as a devout ascetic who was known for having the ability to heal those troubled by demons, and they remained in the monastery even after their father passed away. 

Because of their healing capabilities, Marinos was occasionally sent to help people outside of the community, and on those trips the monks would stay at an inn.  The daughter of the local innkeeper was having an affair with a soldier, and when she found herself pregnant, she accused Marinos of being the father of her child.  The innkeeper believed his daughter and informed the superior of the scandal. 

When Marinos heard the accusations they replied, "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned as a man." They were thrown out of the monastery and ordered to raise the child.  For three years, Marinos sat outside the walls of the order, all the while caring for the child as if they were his father. 

Eventually the monks entreated the superior to forgive Marinos and to let them and their son return to the monastery. While they were allowed to return, they were required to perform all the lowliest of tasks; the child was raised in the teachings of the Lord.  Marinos lived in this manner until the day they died and their female sex was only discovered when their body was being prepared for burial.  Everyone was shocked to discover the injustice that Marinos had endured.  The fact that Marinos had suffered in silence was a tribute to their strong will; their asceticism had allowed them to truly transcend their "female inferiority."

You can read about more female-to-male historical figures in the nonfiction text that I have posted here on Wattpad. It's titled, Not a Fad: A Trans History Lesson. I've also included a bibliography at the end of that book, in case you are so inclined. :)