Winter Mythologies and Abbots : Yale University Press : 9780300179064 : 0300179065 : 25 Apr 2014 : Michon's exquisite short narratives transport us to the heart of the Middle Ages as witnesses to the double-edged power of belief This welcome volume brings to English-language readers two beautifully crafted works by the internationally acclaimed French author Pierre Michon. Populated by distant and little-known figures?Irish and French monks, saints, and scientists in Winter Mythologies; Benedictine monks in the Vendée region of France in Abbots?the tales frequently draw on obscure histories and other literary sources. Michon brings his characters to life in spare, evocative prose. Each, in his or her own way, exemplifies a power of belief that brings about an achievement?or catastrophe?in the real world: monasteries are built upon impossibly muddy wastes, monks acquire the power of speech, lives are taken, books are written, saints are created on the flimsiest of evidence. Michon's e