In 1348 a Franciscan friar from Kilkenny, a chronicler obsessed with the meaning of time, witnesses the coming of the Black Death to Ireland. This novel is his story-a man of faith, in a darkened universe, challenged to believe in the flesh. F. X. Mathews conjures up historical events-the freezing of the River Liffey, the Kyteler witchcraft trial, the beaching of the great whales, the plague-in haunting images that reverberate with the intensity of myth. His friar, the native Irish girl from the mountains, Medbh, and Colm, the dream-bewildered, island-dwelling tinker boy, figure in an uncommon love story played out, in a time of miracles and madness, against the end of time. F. X. MATHEWS is a professor emeritus of English at the University of Rhode Island and the author of two other novels, The Concrete Judasbird and The Frog in the Bottom of the Well. Of The Frog the critics wrote: "F. X. Mathews, whose talent sings like an angelic choir . . . draws character and scene with a dark, impressionistic incisiveness . . ." -The Boston Globe "A strong and compassionate definition of personalities within the press of circumstances illuminates this obsessive mythic tale . . . brilliantly conceived . . ." -Kirkus Reviews ." . . a grim but moving study of both the innocence and the mindless cruelties of childhood . . ." -Publishers'Weekly "Mathews can work up some stunning scenes . . ." -Newsweek ." . . a religious psychodrama that fulfills its ominous portents . . .chill tour de force . . ." -N. Y. Times Book Review