NB! · Faith · Art · Observations

A woman, whatever we choose to call her, cares for her beauty: in one hand a comb, in the other, presumably, a mirror

A woman, whatever we choose to call her, cares for her beauty: in one hand a comb, in the other, presumably, a mirror. The most interesting thing is that this pair comes from the church where Shakespeare lies with his wife

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Art

Carving of Sea Creatures in a Twelfth-Century English Church

Roman marble relief of Mithras slaying the bull, with a snake, a dog and a scorpion, small scenes along the edges and an inscription below.

NB! · Archaeology · Faith · The East · Art

A Theory of the Zoroastrian Origin of the Mithraic Tauroctony

There is a theory that the Mithraic tauroctony was borrowed from the eschatological slaying of the bull in Zoroastrianism. In the bas-relief, a scorpion bites off the slain bull's penis

Marble statue of a nude youth in a Phrygian cap, holding a sword in one hand and a torch in the other, against a brick wall, with a Latin inscription below.

NB! · Faith · Museums · Rome

Statue of Mithras with a torch, sword and Phrygian cap in the Baths of Diocletian

A depiction of Mithras in the Baths of Diocletian, with a torch in one hand, a sword in the other and a Phrygian cap on his head. Among the Hellenes this cap was a symbol of freedom, as it was, incidentally, during the French Revolution.

Archaeology · Faith · The East

Mithra among Iranians, Indo-Aryans and Romans and parallels with the cult of Christ

A god named Mithra belonged to the Iranians, the Indo-Aryans and the Hellenes. Historians have reached no consensus on whether this is one deity or several. The Roman Mithras was seen at the beginning of our era as a serious rival to Jesus, with the worship of whom Mithraism

Medieval miniature of a reaper with a sickle standing beside a sheaf against a blue sky, in a frame with foliate ornament.

NB! · Faith · Observations · Ethnography · Humour

Omen linking a sunny St Raoul's Day to the start of the harvest

I read somewhere that if St Raoul's Day is sunny, the harvest will soon be ready for gathering. St Raoul's Day (the feast of the English martyr Ralph Milner) was yesterday, and it seems we are still a very long way from any harvest

The Pope in white vestments touches an ornate glass-sided reliquary standing on a red carpet.

NB! · Faith · People

John Paul II at the shrine of Saint Maria Goretti in Nettuno soon after his papal election

Pope John Paul II venerated the body of Saint Maria Goretti in one of the first days after his election. Her shrine stands in its own chapel in the town of Nettuno, in the sanctuary of Our Lady

Faith · Observations · People

The story of Maria Goretti, killed in 1902 and canonised 48 years later

One of the favourite saints of my school syllabus was Maria Goretti. Children always regard her with great reverence and love, which is understandable: she is one of the few who belong specifically to a children's pantheon. A saintly girl who, we may be certain, really existed, and

NB! · Faith · Art · Mores · Humour

Did the Bishop of Cologne Overcome Weakness, or Is This Immortalisation with Autofellatio Motifs, the Revenge of the Haters?

Did the Bishop of Cologne overcome weakness, or is this immortalisation with autofellatio motifs, the revenge of the haters? The author's motivation is a mystery. But it is known that Conrad was indeed disliked for his beer bans

A groom in white traditional Georgian dress with a dagger and a bride in a white gown with a long veil walk side by side before a hilltop church.

NB! · Aristocracy · Faith · The East · Monarchies · Observations

Wedding of the Georgian heirs at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi in 2008

One cannot, truth be told, say that the couple of Georgian heirs look particularly regal. Photograph from the wedding in 2008 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi

NB! · Faith · Pop Culture · Humour

A Humble Septon from the Riverlands Makes a Career in the Order of Malta

NB! · Faith · People · Society Pages · Humour

In dark glasses, as is only proper, and with a Bond watch: the superagent of the Grand Hospitaller, His Excellency the Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience