At the Bank Holiday Sunday car boot sale, just as it started to rain and everyone covered their stuff I found the first book of the year, with a very apt cover.
Another book about weather sayings and folklore to add to my collection for £1............
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| The author has also put together collections of sayings in books on Gardening, Cooking and House and Home. |
I thought the book would have many of the weather lore sayings that are in my other books, and it has but also some lore and stories that I'd not come across before.
This is one...........
Who shears his sheep before St Servatius' day
Love more his wool than his sheep.
St Servatius?? No mention in my book of Saints but this book above says he was a fourth century bishop of Tongeren in Belgium, with his Feast day being today the 13th. He is one of the so called Ice Saints, whose feast days fell between 11-14th May, traditionally a spell of cold weather - but not here this year!
I'd not heard of the Ice Saints either but apparently the others are .......
11th May - St Mamertus, a fifth century archbishop of Vienne in France
12th May - St Pancras - the patron saint of children who was martyred, aged just 14, in Rome in AD304. Relics of this saint were sent to England and an early Anglo-Saxon church was dedicated to him in Canterbury (and the area of London and then the station too).
14th May - St Boniface, an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk, baptised as Winfrid at Crediton in Devon who was martyred in Germany after becoming archbishop of Mainz in AD 754.
According to wiki and my Saints book his special day is June 5th , and even accounting for changes in calendar it doesn't explain the May 14th day.
So no idea where the author found her dates for the book, but I suppose any tales from 1400 years ago are bound to change with time!
Thanks for comments yesterday, I'm glad it made a smile for a Monday morning.
Back Soon
Sue
A fascinating post, thank you. Boniface (original name Wynfrithe) trained as a monk in England before going off to do great things in Europe, including introducing the idea of the evergreen Christmas tree, in place of pagan worship of other trees. There was a campaign to make him patron saint of Devon, hus birth county, a few years back. I'm not sure what happened to that. I have visited St Pancras Church in Kent once, and his station mang times! No sign of ice here this week
ReplyDeleteCornwall have a Patron Saint and we have St Edmund in Suffolk so Devon should definitely have a saint of their own.
DeleteWhat an interesting find. I have visions of poor shivering sheep now.
ReplyDeleteIn another book I've seen "shear your sheep in May and you shear them right away" but not heard about St Servatius.
DeleteWe used to try to get someone to shear ours in the last week of May after that fly strike could be a problem
What a great book find. I liked your photo - what kind of shrub is that please? Jean in Winnipeg.
ReplyDeleteA Ceanothus or California Lilac I think it's known as in the US
DeleteThe Lesser Known Saints ... your specialist subject for when you apply to be on Mastermind. :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the new header photo, what a glorious colour.
Ha! Mastermind is one place you wont find me!
DeleteI think the Ceanothus gets it's photo on here every year. I get worried every winter as they can sometimes just die without warning and it blocks out neighbour at the back so don't want to lose it.
As Ceanothos is a drought-tolerant plant, it doesn't like a lot of water once established, hard pruning or hard frosts.
DeletePerhaps their 'sudden demise' can be from these conditions. ~ skye
Finding a new book on weather lore is what makes going to Car Boot Sales so enjoyable. You never know what to expect. I love it.
ReplyDeleteYour new book has some new and interest facts as well.
Another nice find Sue!
Your lilac is beautiful and full of blue blooms.
Gorgeous blue and covered with bees today
DeleteWhat can I say except... Poor sheep!
ReplyDeleteThey would be OK this year - rather warm and probably glad to get rid of their winter wool
DeleteI have heard of a couple of those Saints, but not the first one. I bet you had some very interesting reading happening.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Now here is a coincidence. My surgery is tomorrow...the 14th of May. My surgeon's name is Dr. Boniface! That's a hoot!
ReplyDelete