Pilgrim Reindeer in Pisa, 1348 a free multimedia novel by Thomas A. DuBois, University of Wisconsin-Madison

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 Part III. Italy. 38. Passage to Italy. [December 14, 1347] This chapter begins the third part of the novel, the part I actually wrote first, while living with my family in Florence. In the first part, I aimed at giving a picture of traditional Sámi culture and worldview as well as an overview of what medieval life was like in the Nordic-Baltic region. In the second part, I took Bávlos through the heart of Central Europe, visiting major cities, observing the great basilicas and cathedrals of fourteenth-century Christianity, and getting to know Christianity as an institution through meeting a Jew, a peasant singer, and several clerics. The third part seeks to merge the disparate viewpoints of the the first two sections, bringing a Sámi shamanic view together with Christianity in a syncretic manner.

The figure of St. Nicholas was tremendously important to medieval merchants and sailors. I think it reflects much on our era that we today associate the holy bishop more with merchandise than with merchants.