“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair.” ~ Isaiah 61:1b-3a
Zellandine and her daughter find a man in a deep sleep with a letter upon his chest. Upon opening it, she finds pictures telling “the whole story of how Troylus had been borne to the window of the tower where he’d lain with the sleeping beauty Zellandine before being carried away by the bird, and how Zellandine had finally been woken by her child sucking the shard from her finger before the bird carried the child away, too; and the lady saw that the last picture of all seemed to be of her and her daughter at that very moment, sitting there beside the young man. It was, she fully realized, the story of her and her husband, who’d died fighting the Romans when the kingdom of England was destroyed, and she was convinced now that the sleeping youth was their son.”[1]
Last week we left Zellandine bereft, but choosing to be a survivor. A part of her heart was missing, though, for how could she forget her lost babe?
No mother can forget her child, yet God tells us it is more likely for a mother to forget than for Him to forget (Isaiah 49:15). God did not forget Zellandine’s distress – and He has not forgotten yours. Christ’s coming is evidence of this. He came to heal, to free, to comfort, to restore. We don’t understand why evil things happen, but we know God does not condone sin. We know one day all will be restored. If not in this life, then in the next.
While we wait for restoration, life goes on, as Zellandine’s did. Troylus seems to have loved Zellandine, and treated her well. She is as clever and spunky as ever, and if she is a bit more demure it is because she has two daughters and a son to take care of. She is a survivor, through and through.
And then Julius Caesar invades (an actual historical event). Troylus dies in the defense of Britain, as do most of the knights of the realm. All of Britain must now pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. This is something our Zellandine has done before. She knows how to be a courageous survivor…So when she sees an eagle carrying a sleeping man to the spring near her home, she and her daughter excitedly hurry to discover who he is.
The Reunion
I hope you’re as proud of our Zellandine as I am! This is the ultimate act of a survivor. A victim hides; a survivor runs out with confidence. They’ve learned to choose fearlessness.
After seeing the pictures, Zellandine wakes him – the son who once woke her. When they discover who they are to each other, he is “overjoyed” as she “[sweeps] him into her arms.”[2]
This is incredibly poignant. Zellandine’s son – who was conceived while she slept – is restored to her as he sleeps. The tale has come full circle. Sleep once brought Death; now, it brings Life.
The last we hear of Zellandine, she is ruling the city her son (Benuic) founded, and he goes on knightly adventures. She has a high place in society, wealth, and honor. More than that, she has her valiant sons and lovely daughters.
Zellandine truly has been given “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair.” No, her story is not what any of us wanted for her…Yet, all that was taken is restored to her seven-fold.
It is the sweetest of happy endings. Our Sleeping Beloved suffered. Yet she heeded the call of Love and allowed her heart to awaken…the question is, will you?
Sources
[1] Bryant, Perceforest, p. 489-490
[2] Bryant, Perceforest, p. 490
