Triumph of the Skies
Book Two of the Trilogy: Ghost Words and Puppet Plays
By: Thomas Hoffma

Each volume in the trilogy is a series of interlocking sketches or stories intended to give a view of a period in human history. It is a trilogy about human nature and thought. Triumph of the Skies has eighteen scenes set in those complex centuries known as the Middle Ages when much of humanity lived under the revealed authority of the skies. It begins with the state closing of the Platonic Academy in Athens (529) and ends with the final version of Chartres Cathedral (1235). Among the many historical figures are: the Byzantine princess Anna Comnena; Caliph Harun al Rashid; Du Fu, China’s greatest poet; and the adversaries Peter Abelard and St. Bernard of Clairvaux.