It
was here that she learned printing and
bookmaking. The journeyman there nick-named her
"Hell Louise" and often berated her
for clumsiness. Letters
indicate
Melencolia grew to become a woman of great
height. She stood a full head and shoulders
above the other craftsmen in the shop. Perhaps her
adolescent growth spurts contributed
to her awkwardness and gave her a name she would carry
through her adult life. As
and adult, she is mentioned with
pride in the letters from Wynkyn's shop. She
took on personal projects when time allowed and made
several harrowing journeys to the Isle of Lude to
examine the texts kept by the Abbey
of Lost Wages. These
texts provided the basis for her collection of stories
published under the title Gesta Mochthos
or the
Deeds of the MacThoi.
 Three
English printings were made. Two in 1496 and the
final one five years later. The only two copies
are still
in existence. One is thought to be at the Vatican in the Forbidden Books
Collection, (This
was where the library from the Abbey also went when Henry
VIII ordered its destruction in 1586 A. D. --ed)
and the other with the Hell Louise Circle. Many
of the stories collected in the Gesta live on in the
oral traditions of the Clan. A couple
popular ones are the Tale of the
Barley Stein and
Rufus,
Terror of the Undead. The latter would
be turned into a stage play by
Alabaster Van Gelt at
the turn of the century. Melencolia
traveled Europe from 1497-1503 and returning again
from 1510-1515. She often worked for print shops
learning new skills and techniques as she went. Her
first voyage brought her into the company of Albrecht
Dürer. They
proved to be fast and life long friends as
demonstrated in surviving letters from the
time.
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.
. .have run into D--- again. It is
always a delight to see him and his
wife.
Mrs. D---
promises a trip to the country later this
week. I do hope so. I love my work
so but a break from the printing to spend time
with them is always worth while!. . . .
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Section
of a self-portrait by Dürer |
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An
excerpt from one of the letters of Melencolia
kept by the Hell Louise Circle.--ed
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Melencolia
is believed by MacThoi historians to have even
influenced his work. The Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse (1498) bear a striking resemblance to
MacThoy men. Secondly, she is believed to have
modeled for Dürer's piece Melancholia (1513). Upon
her return to London in 1503, Melencolia began work on
her largest project, collecting the medicinal
and culinary traditions of her Clan. She
recognized the vast amount of natural cures and resolved to put the
knowledge into type. The
Clan's folklore remedies may be studied in at Hellouise's
Guide.
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