With Georgina Protheroe Beynon

Wessex has produced its fair share of powerful saints. Last year we looked at the life of Walpurgis. In July this year we celebrate her older brother. Nobody expected Willibald to survive infancy. He was a weak spindly child who coughed and wheezed his way into boyhood before making a miraculous recovery, becoming as strong and fit as any parent would care to see.

After this late start, his monastic education was completed at the age of 20. He and his Father and brothers set off on Pilgrimage. This was a serious and often life-threatening venture. There would have been months of preparation, both spiritual and practical culminating in the pilgrim’s Vigil, alone in the family chapel overnight. At dawn the pilgrims would be joined by all their friends, family and their household for a special Mass.

Willibald’s father died In Lucca. In Rome his brother Wynbald became seriously ill and had to be left to recover. Willibald set off alone for the Holy Land. Despite the resident Saracens he was remarkably free to visit all the holy sites. Despite being arrested on suspicion of being a spy, Willibald visited many monasteries, paying particular attention to the Eastern monastic traditions before returning to Italy after a long stay in Constantinople. He was now 30 years old, mature and tough. He spent ten years in Monte Cassino, where his Eastern monastic experience proved helpful in the restoration of the Benedictine rule. This rather academic phase concluded as he turned 40 when Pope Gregory III sent him to Germany to help his uncle, the future St. Boniface, in his apostolate to the Germanic tribes. Willibald was ordained and set out on his travels again.

Settling in the Upper Rhine area, he worked for two years with the people of Franconia before being made Bishop of Eichstätt. Brother Wynbald joined him, now fully recovered, and he sent home to Wimbourne for his efficient sister Walpurgis. These two became abbot and Abbess of the great double monastery at Heidenheim. Willibald dictated his memoirs of the great pilgrimage, and this “Hodoeporicon” is probably the first Anglo-Saxon piece of travel writing. Willibald is buried at Eichstätt. He died aged 86 having been a fearless traveller a scholar and a devoted pastor to his people.

Summertime should be with us by now so why not try a sorbet to finish your meal? It is softer and more granular than ice-cream as it doesn't contain fat or egg yolk. The basic ingredients are a fruit or vegetable juice or purée, wine, spirit or liqueur, or an infusion of tea, mint or other fragrant herb like lavender. Willibald may have enjoyed them in Constantinople if not in the Holy Land.

Historically, they did not appear until the 18th. Century.at least in Europe. Earlier they had travelled from China via Moghul India to Persia (Iran) and the Arab Countries. This far they were usually honey, snow and aromatics. From here the Arabs introduced them to all the countries of Islamic conquest. From Arab charab or "Shrub" as the English called it, literally a frozen drink, not too far from today's "slush puppy”. Try it with raspberries or apricots, remembering to strain the syrup and the purée before freezing. Add a teaspoon or so of raspberry vinegar to the first and some lemon juice to the second to sharpen the flavour..

THE RECIPE:
For soft fruit, prepare a syrup using 200gr/7oz/1 cup of granulated white cane sugar to 150 ml/¼ pint water, per 500gr/18 oz puréed fruit. Mix well, pour into ice cream maker and allow to freeze. If you don’t have a machine, just freeze to a slush, beat well and freeze again.