Saints of the Day

This summer I was planning my outfits for the semester (I do it in advance so I don't have to think about it at all while I'm in school) and also doing some potential dissertation research on medieval saints' lives when inspiration hit - why not combine the two? So, this semester's outfits - with only a handful of exceptions - are inspired by the life/death/miracles of medieval saints.

Today is St. Ebba of Coldingham. If she actually existed, then she was probably a nun at Coldingham Priory in Scotland in the late 9th century. The story goes that the Vikings were raiding the area and St. Ebba was afraid they would show up at the monastery and rape the nuns. In order to preserve their chastity, she and some of her fellow nuns cut off their noses and upper lips so that when the Vikings showed up, they would be disgusted. Their plan worked! But the disgruntled Vikings burned down the monastery anyway, and St. Ebba and her companions died in the flames. "They" say this is where the expression to "cut off your nose to spite your face" comes from.

So, here's today's outfit. Flame-inspired yellow and red.