Faith · London · Monarchies · Heritage

Legend of Alfred the Great's Ghost and the Transfer of His Remains to Winchester's New Minster

According to the legend of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, when he died (in the early tenth century), he was buried in Winchester's old cathedral, the Old Minster, but the monks all but lost their wits and began to complain of being troubled by the royal ghost.

NB! · Faith · Art

Eve, the Apples and the Serpent Tempter

Eve, the Apples and the Serpent Tempter. Odoardo Fantacchiotti, 1864

Blue faience figurine of the Egyptian god Bes, a stocky bearded dwarf with his tongue out, wearing a tall headdress.

NB! · Faith · The East · Ethnography · Humour

The Egyptian god Bes, protector of the home and hearth, and theories of the origin of his cult

This hideous dwarf with his tongue lolling out and his legs bowed is the Egyptian deity Bes, patron of house, home and hearth. The cult is believed to derive from the cat, though possibly from a shrewish mother-in-law

A golden reliquary set with gems and a glass section lies on a red velvet cushion.

NB! · Faith · Heritage · Humour

At least 18 foreskins of Christ are known to the Church as relics of the Catholic world

The foreskin of Jesus is one of the mysterious relics of the Catholic world. The product of Christ's circumcision is otherwise known as the Holy Prepuce. One subtlety: the modern Church knows of no fewer than 18 prepuces

NB! · Faith · Art

Saint George and the Dignity of His Horse

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations · Humour

Quite a splendid helmet on Saint Maurice, I have been looking for one like it for ages

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations

A relief of 1500-1504 by Tullio Lombardo from the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua

A relief of 1500-1504 by Tullio Lombardo from the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua. An interesting detail on the figure of the repentant son: hairy armpits. Note how the curls have been worked.

In the cathedral, rows of children’s shoes stand on a stone tomb, beside candle stands, below a golden statue of a saint and memorial plaques.

NB! · Faith · Mores · Ethnography

Children’s shoes left on Bishop Erkembodo’s tomb in Saint-Omer Cathedral

Parents of crippled children leave children's shoes on the tomb of the medieval bishop Erkembode in the cathedral of Saint-Omer, hoping for the saint's intercession for their little ones' recovery. Erkembode's feast day is 12 April

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations

An altarpiece group in a small church on the border of Saxony and Bohemia strongly recalled Grant Wood's American Gothic, only with a crucifix in place of the pitchfork

Faith · Observations · Rome · Humour

The right forearm of Saint Francis Xavier will travel from Rome on a tour of Canada in 2019

It is interesting that in 2019 a particularly venerated relic, the right forearm of Saint Francis Xavier, will set out from Rome on a grand tour of Canada. Servants of the Church explain that the arm, of course, will not fly in the hold or the hand luggage, but will

NB! · Faith · The East · People · Rome

With this hand Francis Xavier baptised between 100,000 and 700,000 people in Asia in the 16th century; at times he was too exhausted to lift a finger

With this hand Francis Xavier baptised between 100,000 and 700,000 people in Asia in the 16th century; at times he was too exhausted to lift a finger. The hand that brought so many souls to Rome has itself found rest here

Archive · Faith · Mores · Society

The Council Code of 1649 prescribed burning for blasphemers

In Rus', blasphemers were burnt locked inside a wooden log cabin. In the Law Code (Sobornoye Ulozheniye) of 1649, burning for blasphemy was set down in the following form: “Should any man of another faith, of whatever creed, or even a Russian, utter blasphemy against the Lord God and