Sts. Valerius and Rufinus

Saints of the Day: Valerius and Rufinus were missionaries to France in the 3rd century. They were martyred in Soissons. Since my husband and I were missionaries to France, I feel a special affinity for these two, although I am grateful we did not suffer the same fate!

Today is laundry day. I will start posting outfits again once I have some clean clothes.

Reading:

Old English: Aelfric's metrical Life of St. Lucy. St. Lucy is one of my favorite saints. Medieval accounts say that as part of her torture, her eyes were gouged out, but then God healed them overnight. In her iconography, she is often depicted holding a plate with her original eyes on them. She is also the patron saint for blind people or people with eye trouble. Strangely, Aelfric's account does not include the eye-gouging as part of her torture. In his version, she is disemboweled, but remains miraculously alive until a priest can come and give her Last Rites. Here is a picture from a medieval manuscript of St. Lucy holding the plate of eyes:

And here is one of the strangest depictions I've ever seen of her. It's from 1473 and it's currently in the National Gallery in Washington, DC. First of all, Lucy does not look like a virtuous young woman in this painting. She looks like a worn-out middle-aged woman. Secondly, her eyes are on that strange contraption that looks like a pair of opera glasses. So weird!

Middle English: CT - Friar's Tale, Summoner's Tale, and Clerk's Tale. The Friar's Tale is about an evil summoner who tries to blackmail an poor old lady and gets dragged off to hell. The Summoner's Tale is about an evil friar who is visiting a sick man who makes him swear that the friar will share with all of his colleagues the gift that the sick man gives him. The friar swears, and the sick man lets out a huge fart. The rest of the tale is spent discussing how a fart can be shared equally among 12 people. Hilarious. The Clerk's Tale is about a nobleman who tests his wife's patience by pretending to have their children killed and then pretending to cast her off so he can marry someone else. Through all of it, she just says, "If that's what you want, then it's what I want, too." And she endures patiently and without complaint. At the end, he brings the children back and says, "Ha! Just kidding! I see you are faithful now and I will keep you as my wife after all." Yikes.

Contemporary American: Maus, by Art Spiegelman, Part 1. I have never read this before. I really enjoyed the first part, and I'm excited about finishing it!

Workout: Yes! 45 mins!

Food:

Breakfast: Toast, peach, coffee

Lunch: open-faced turkey sandwich, grapes

Dinner: baked fish packets with broccoli and squash, rice

Snacks: pudding, fruit