This picture is a panoramic representation of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The paintings by Michelangelo, completed between 1508 and 1512, represent a series of historical events through the center (chronologically from right to left), surrounded by depictions of saints from many places. Even today this artwork is considered some of the best in human history. Does God see his people as masterpieces, walking through their daily lives, interwoven in the tapestry of HIStory?
The following portraits are historical fiction grounded in first hand reports.
‘Percipient Witness’ is a legal term for someone who saw, heard or experienced something related to a case before the bench, even though the witness is not an expert witness, and may not even understand the context or meaning of what they saw.
We often read history from an informed, even biased viewpoint. Does the backstory matter? How would one’s understanding of a story change if one lived in the moment, rather than reading through the historical event after one also knows the outcome – knows what was, for that character, the future? It is the author’s hope that you will grasp the fluid nature of the moment for these characters, which may provide a greater depth of understanding than one might get just by rereading an old, old, familiar story.
These portraits represent possible stream of consciousness of characters that are being introduced to a situation that they do not comprehend, but most seek to understand. Is it possible that the few words captured in a historical narrative could be sufficient to explain a situation? Is the full message encapsulated in, as Sargent Friday (played by Jack Webb, on both radio and TV of yesteryear as well as current cable reruns, on the series Dragnet) used to say, “Just the facts, Ma’am”, or is it useful to understand the context, the emotion, the confusion, and the result of such a situation?
The facts must be the foundation of any true wisdom. Yet in many cases the story is not as simple as it may first appear.
It is the author’s hope that these portraits will provide fodder for deeper rumination, lasting long after you finish reading these brief vignettes. Perhaps this will even introduce a new tool for understanding current and future events and persons.
Perhaps you yourself have been, and maybe even currently are, a percipient witness.
To choose a story, see The Witness List tab.
Percipient Witnesses 