#patron saint: james

[themetaphorgirl]

hiii! for psolc can you do a drabble where the group is all still at school and spencer starts getting other friends and getting a job outside of school that’s takes up a lot of time and he rarely sees the gang and he basically just starts getting more independent and doesn’t need to rely on the older kids as much and they’re all kinda sad about it.

I decided to put this pretty far into the future when he's in college, but it still made me so emo.

---------

Alex tried to keep from sighing as she got up and started clearing the table. “Oh, lovey, don’t make that sad face,” James said. 

“I’m not making a face,” she said as she picked up Spencer’s untouched plate. 

“Yes, you are, you look crushed,” he said. “It’s okay to be sad about it.”

Alex looked down. “He hasn’t been home for dinner once this week,” she said. 

“He’s fifteen and he’s finally making friends close to his own age,” James said gently. “And he’s taking so many classes, and he’s got that TA position.”

“I know,” she said. 

“And we know he’s safe, he’s always good about letting us know where he is,” James said. He got up from the table and took the plate from her, then kissed her temple. “I’ll put this in the fridge and clean up, you go take a break. I know you just got a stack of books from the library you’ve been dying to read.”

“I should work on my thesis-“ 

He grinned and kissed her again. “Take a break, doctor’s orders,” he said. 

She laughed despite herself. “You’re not a doctor yet,” she said, but she squeezed his hand and left the kitchen. 

Spencer had joined them out in California when he was thirteen, after he graduated from St. Thaddeus. It had taken no time to settle into life as a little family, but now Spencer was a junior in college and nearly sixteen. She knew he was going to grow up at some point, but she still hated it. Why couldn’t he just stay little?

She lounged on her bed with one of her novels, leaving the door open to listen for Spencer coming home. It was only around seven and he usually didn’t stay out past ten. 

But around eight thirty she heard the front door open and the tension in her chest relaxed. She knew he was safe on campus, he was the least reckless teenager she knew, but she couldn’t help but worry. 

“Spencer?” she called. “Your dinner’s in the fridge if you’re still hungry.”

She didn’t hear him reply and guessed he’d gone straight to the kitchen- finally hitting his long delayed growth spurts meant he was starving all the time- but to her surprise she looked up and saw him huddled in the doorway. 

“Hi,” she said, surprised. “How was school today?”

He rubbed his eyes. “I have a headache,” he said in a small voice. “I feel so sick.”

Alex set her book aside and held out her arms. “Poor baby,” she said. “Come here, it’s okay.”

He climbed onto the bed and cuddled up against her. He couldn’t fit easily on her lap like he did when he was nine, but he curled himself small with his head on her shoulder. Alex ran her fingers through his hair. “Rough day at school?” she guessed. 

“Yeah,” he said, his voice muffled into her shoulder. “Can…can you just hold me for a little while, please?”

“Of course I can,” she said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “I always can.”

#patron saint future #au: patron saint of lost causes #patron saint: alex #patron saint: james #patron saint: spencer #caitlin writes things

[raisedbythetv89]

Listen James didn’t just understand the assignment, he went ABOVE AND BEYOND the assignment and invented his own extra credit work to do. He was showing up to red carpet events in his slutty little tanks with his arms and his messy hair (MESSY HAIR SUPREMACY 😫) and his lil sliver of belly + rings, smirking with his cheek bones and his stupid eyes and jawline having this anti-establishment attitude - absolutely GLEEFUL about the fact that they couldn’t get rid of him because of how much he was loved by fans. Like I know a lot of you hate me and there is NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT ☺️😝🤘🏻🖕🏻🤙🏻

After being kicked out of Juilliard and really have to carve his own path in the Seattle theater community rather than finding success in NYC or LA - which is much more traditional, receiving so much projected anger and hatred from j*ss and all the other misogynists on the show and his character becoming the black sheep of both his human society circle and his vampire family first, followed by the demon community at large with the chip and the soul he really become the patron saint of outcasts and he knows it and LOVES it and embraces it and because he understands us so well he is amazing at giving us everything we could ever dream of and more and between him and sarah who deeply related to their characters we are so lucky as a spuffy fandom and it just makes me so happy and I feel so grateful 🥰☺️💜

#I just love him so much ok??? #james marsters #spike btvs #spuffy #patron saint of outcasts #william the bloody

[nikolai-alexi]

YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS IS COMPLETE AND I GENUINELY DONT KNOW EHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE SNTMORE THAT FIC IS MY LIFELINE

#james potter #regulus black #evan rosier #barty crouch jr #marauders era #jegulus #barty crouch junior #sirius black #dorcas meadowes #marlene mckinnon #pandalily #you signed up for this #solmussa #what am i supposed to do now #my life is meaningless without this fic #im in genuine tears that i won’t have the update notifications anymore #the amount of pure seratonin Sol have provided me over the last few months with this fic is absolutely insane #all hail solmussa #maybe i can tell my parents I’ve finally found religion #it’s just Sol who’s my patron Saint

[aprillikesthings]

ofmd spoilers ahoy but

AHHHH

so glad they let Ed say that one line back at Stede, I literally had to pause it and roll around yelling

lol their awkwardness as they move so so so so torturously slowly back towards each other is so painfully familiar

oh my god the tension is so painfully well done that I am about to dive into their ao3 tag (and I've had about 0 interest in m/m fic for multiple years at this point) because I have, like, some equivalent to blue balls, fucking CHRIST

really enjoyed the mlm/wlw solidarity of Mary and Ed chatting and smoking weed

BAHAHAHA Anne and Mary's kinky relationship is so great, plus the degree to which they made fun of Ed and Stede

(as a 43-year-old woman thank you, THANK YOU, that they're not in their 20's)

unrelated to all the previous notes but I just want to be pleased that rather than the < .speaking Spanish. > bullshit they CAPTIONED THE GOD DAMNED SPANISH

if Ed and Stede don't bang soon I WILL PERSONALLY LOSE MY SHIT

#I don't even speak much Spanish that's not the point #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #i've had some wine loolllll #(good lord my tolerance for weed has gotten higher but my tolerance for alcohol has nosedived #what can I say other than I definitely use one substance more than the other pfft) #anyway I met some lovely Spanish priests in Spain but considering the uhhhh time period and area of the world #oof #anyway true story st. james the greater was ALSO the patron saint of conquistadors #there was thankfully little of that on the camino #but it's weird to know that that priest would've ABSOLUTELY had some St James stuff on that ship 😬 #poor st. james he didn't ask for any of this

[katabay]

my knight-monk agenda strikes again, but this was less of a 'I read something that made me experience several emotions and a strike of inspiration at once,' and more of a 'wouldn't it be fucked up if the bejeweled skeleton saints came to life and and started. eating people. or something. in revenge. medieval catholic horror, or an older horror of not being buried right. zombies, even. a complete bastardization of holy visuals. zombies.'

it's a far away idea, but I still wanted to play around with font layouts. like, if I DID make it into a full comic: these would be visual vibes, perhaps.

it's also a little bit about the kind of intimacy that these kinds of spaces provide, or in the case of this monk: the heavy trauma of war and the death of your brother, the escape to a secluded monastery, spiritual brotherhood to make up for your dead brother, but your role as a physician keeps pulling you back to this violence you want to escape. physician, heal thyself, only you have a holy calling to serve those in need, so instead: physician, open up your wounds again. saint jude, patron saint of lost causes, give us a fucking hand here, man. amen.

Homosexuality in the Renaissance: Behavior, Identity, and Artistic Expression, James M. Saslow

and this one is about earlier history than the medieval period that this comic is set in, but the monk character is sort of an exploration of earlier themes. a little bit. I like overlapping eras with each other, I've done it before and I'll do it again. this character is an exploration of some other stuff too, but mostly this book was interesting to read

From Monastery to Hospital: Christian Monasticism and the Transformation of Health Care in Late Antiquity, Andrew T Crislip

bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost

#i almost made him a benedictine monk but then we would've been reaching territory i do not feel like suffering through #generic medieval tag #i had more tags but i started talking politics and honestly if im going to talk politics i think its better to just make a post about it #i dont actually talk politics on tumblr even tho a lot of my work is extremely political in its subtext/text #because i think that tumblr is very annoying for that. its so anglo-american-western centric in its political theory #and i am WELL beyond that. i use twitter for politics because i love suffering lmao but also its like. still better for getting stuff done #komiks tag

[darkesttiimelines]

Throughout history, women have left an undeniable impact on society with their hard work, creativity, and dedication to progress. Unfortunately, their accomplishments have often gone unnoticed, been undervalued, or even stolen. Despite these challenges, brave women of today continue to push boundaries, break barriers, and pave the way for a more fair and equal world. It's our duty to keep going, so that future generations of women can inherit a kinder, more just, and supportive world. By following in the footsteps of the incredible women who came before us, we can create a world where every woman can flourish and succeed, and where their contributions are recognized and celebrated.

Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France. She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men's clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen.

Rani Lakshmibai was the Maharani consort of the princely state of Jhansi from 1843 to 1853. She was one of the leading figures in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 became a symbol of resistance to the British rule in India for Indian nationalists. When the Maharaja died in 1853, the British East India Company under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie refused to recognize the claim of his adpoted heir and annexed Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse. She rode into battle with her infant son strapped to her back, and died in June 1858 after being mortally wounded during the British counterattack at Gwalior.

Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was instrumental in the discovery of the structure of DNA. Her contributions were largely overlooked by her male colleagues, James Watson and Francis Crick, who used her data without her permission or acknowledgement. This theft of her intellectual property and erasure of her contributions is a prime example of the systemic sexism that has historically plagued the scientific community.

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who co-invented a frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology during World War II that was used to guide torpedoes. However, her contributions were largely ignored and dismissed by male engineers and the military at the time. It was only later in life that she received recognition for her scientific achievements.

Emma Weyant is an American competitive swimmer. She was the US national champion at the individual medley. She qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in the 400m individual medley and won the silver medal in this event. Weyant finished second in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. She was beaten by William (Lia) Thomas, a fetishist, who when competing as a member of the Penn men's team, which was 2018-19, ranked 554th in the 200 freestyle, 65th in the 500 freestyle and 32nd in the 1650 freestyle. Weyant is the fastest swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle and had her position stolen by a man.

Maryna Viazovska is a Ukrainian mathematician who made a breakthrough in sphere packing, solving the centuries-old mathematical problem known as the densest packing of spheres in dimensions 8 and 24. She was awarded the Fields Medal in July 2022, making her the second woman (after Maryam Mirzakhani), the second person born in the Ukrainian SSR and the first with a degree from a Ukrainian university to ever receive it.

Hannie Schaft was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II who played a crucial role in the resistance movement against Nazi occupation. Schaft was a former university student who dropped out because she refused to sign a pledge of loyalty to Germany. Nazis arrested and killed her in 1945, just three weeks before the war ended in Europe. According to lore, Schaft’s last words were, “I’m a better shot,” after initially only being wounded by her executioner.

Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mathematician and mental calculator who was known as the "Human Computer" for her exceptional ability to perform complex mathematical calculations in her head. Her extraordinary abilities earned her a place in the 1982 Guinness Book of Records. Her lesser known achievement is that in 1977 she wrote what is considered to be the first book in India on homosexuality titled “The World of Homosexuals.”  

J. K. Rowling is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote Harry Potter, a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. Known for her philanthropy, she was doxxed and harassed after coming out with support for women's and gay rights in 2020. Rowling secretly donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to save 100 female lawyers and their families facing murder in Afghanistan. In 2022, she funded a women's only rape shelter in Edinburgh.

#this post was inspired by me being absolutely sick of trans activists claiming that joan of arc/rani lakshmibai/insert literally any other #strong woman #is actually a trans man #they were no man at all #women have been brave and strong and amazing throughout history #and they still are #if only you'd get your head out of your ass to take a look #radical feminism #radblr #terf #trans #misogny #i am no man

[diioss-art]

James, the patron saint of garbage ♡

#my art #eroica yori ai wo komete #from eroica with love #mr james

[scotianostra]

March 8th is the feast day of Saint Duthac, patron saint of the royal burgh Tain in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands, the Gaelic name for Tain is Baile Dubhthaich, means ‘Duthac’s town’.

Tain was an important place of pilgrimage in the middle ages. St Duthac was born here about 1000 AD, although some sources say Ireland, he was educated there and became a Celtic missionary. Now I know most of you will not have heard of him, but perhaps the whisky connoisseurs will know a little, as the local distillery, Glenmorangie produce a whisky “fit for a King” which honours St Duthac, who King James IV used to make an annual pilgrimage to Tain to honour.

Duthac died in 1065 and in 1253, his relics were returned to Tain and buried in the small chapel on the north east side of the town. Tales of miracles soon grew up round him and St Duthac’s chapel. It rapidly became one of the most important places of pilgrimage and sanctuary in Scotland. In 1427 the chapel was burnt down and his remains were transferred to the Collegiate Church in the centre of town. The peak of the shrine’s popularity as a place of pilgrimage came around 1500 with the repeated visits of King James IV.

Duthac’s remains disappeared during the turbulent times of the reformation when so many of the ancient churches and relics were lost. The Collegiate church was abandoned in 1815 when a larger church was built to replace it.

After the Reformation the saying of masses ceased, the trappings of pilgrimage were removed as well as the altar and it became the parish church, what would be described as a bog standard place, the reformers did not believe any place of worship should be embellished at all, not even the crosses, which from those days lost the image of Christ and any Celtic designs.

I’ll go back to the pilgrimages to Tain before the reformation, and one particular one when King James IV visited the relics of St Duthac on pilgrimage at least once a year between 1493 and his death at Flodden in 1513. However, the August 1513 visit was different. Firstly this was an unusual time of year for the king to travel to the shrine. Only one of the 19 recorded pilgrimages made by the king took place in August. He normally visited around the time of the feast day of St Duthac on 8 March, or after the harvest in October. The trip in 1513 was also unusually low key. Most of the flamboyant monarch’s visits to the north were accompanied by his minstrels and a large retinue. James IV visit Tain in 1513 may have been in order to seek a prophecy of military victory from Duthac.

There are plenty of precedents for this sort of behaviour by in the middle ages.

Without surviving diaries or letters we will never be sure of the exact motivations behind the doomed monarch’s last trip to the north. He may well have gone merely to seek the blessing of one of his favourite saints, or because he knew he would be on campaign at his normal pilgrimage time of October. Whatever the exact purpose, the visit by James to Tain in August 1513, his last act before invading England, underlines just how close a relationship the monarch had built up with a small northern town and its patron saint.

As well as the church named after him, there is a walk, called St Duthac's Way, one of the 8 pilgrim routes that make up The Way of St Andrews, you can read more about the routes here https://www.thewayofstandrews.com/

#scotland #scottish #history #religion #religious figure #saint

[themetaphorgirl]

Omg hiiiiii I’m so glad you’re back! I hope you had a fabulous wedding and honeymoon!! Your latest psolc chapter was *chefs kiss*. I reread the whole thing again for the millionth time and I kept getting this scene in my head of the kids in the future. Like they all meet for thanksgiving or they’re all back for the summer and no one’s seen anyone for a few months and like 18/19 year old Spencer just casually strolls in like he isn’t suddenly 6’1 and is the tallest instead of the shortest. Everyone’s just like where did this beanpole come from? Kinda the same vibe as when he cuts his hair in season 5 in the show and just walks in and everyone is like are we gonna talk about this😂 anywaysss I’m excited to read more❤️❤️

this is SO cute and I'm emotional about Spencer being all grown up.

----------

Emily opened the front door with her hip. “What’s up, bitches?” she hollered. “I’m here, and I brought presents!”

The townhouse was warm and noisy, filled with chattering conversation and Christmas music playing on the speaker. Penelope jumped up from the couch, nearly bonking JJ in the nose, and ran over to her. “Emily, oh my god!” she said, flinging her arms around her. “Oh my god, I didn’t think you were getting in until tomorrow!”

“Yeah, me neither, but it turns out when you work for the Czech ambassador and the French ambassador owes you a favor, they can pull a few strings,” Emily laughed. “Oh my god, look at you. Somehow you look exactly the same and yet you’re completely different.”

“That’s what happens when you get older but retain your youthful aesthetic,” Penelope said. “Ooh, you brought wine? I can take care of that.”

“It’s weird to think we’re old enough to drink wine now,” JJ said. She had changed more than Penelope had, her face slimmer and her blonde hair cut in a chic long bob.

“Speak for yourself,” Dave snorted.

Emily snickered. “Nice mustache, Rossi,” she said. He scowled, stroking it self-consciously.

“We’re just waiting for Aaron and Haley now,” JJ said. 

“Derek can’t make it, he’s got a football game tomorrow, but we’re going to set up a zoom call,” Penelope said.

Emily looked around the cozy living room. The Christmas tree glimmered with warm white lights, making the ornaments sparkle, and three stockings were hung up on a bookshelf in lieu of a mantel. “Where’s Alex?” she asked.

“Kitchen with James, they’re finishing up dinner and they’re refusing to let us help,” Dave said.

Emily hurried down the hall. “Where’s the bride?” she hollered.

Alex started, nearly dropping the spoon she was holding. “Emily, what the fuck?” she said, but her eyes lit up. “Oh my god, you’re here early!”

“Show me the ring, show me the ring!” Emily said, beckoning. Alex held out her left hand, her cheeks turning pink. “Good goddamn, Blake, you did good.”

“I’ve had that ring in the back of my mind for years,” James said, beaming proudly. “I thought she would like it.”

Emily held Alex’s hand in hers, turning this way and that to get a good look at her sparkling engagement ring. “You like it, right, Alex?” she said. “Because if you don’t, I will march James to the nearest jewelry store to piuck out something you do.”

“No, no, I love it,” Alex said. James kissed her lightly as he walked past her. “How was your flight?”

“Long, but bearable in first class,” Emily said. 

“Well, you got here just in time for dinner,” Alex said. “Perfect timing.”

A tall young man with tousled light brown hair stuck his head in the kitchen, sliding in his socks. “James, where’s the stereo remote?” he asked.

“Should be on the end table,” James said.

“Oh, perfect, thanks,” the stranger said, darting back out.

Emily frowned. “I thought it was just going to be us this Christmas,” she said. “A good ol’ St. Thaddeus reunion.”

“It is,” Alex said, wiping her hand on a dishtowel.

Emily glanced back over her shoulder. “Then who the hell was that?” she said. 

Alex and James both looked up. “Do you not…oh my god,” Alex said.

“Well, he has changed quite a bit,” James said.

“Guys, who is that?” Emily asked.

James grinned. “Hey Spencer?” he called. “Can you come in here, please?”

Emily’s jaw dropped. “No,” she said. “Oh hell no. You two are shitting me.”

The tall boy, probably in his mid to late teens, ran back in. “What’s wrong?” he asked. He noticed Emily and his hazel eyes lit up. “Emily! When did you get here?”

Emily covered her mouth and doubled over. “I am hallucinating,” she said. “You cannot…that’s not…” She straightened up and peeked through her fingers. “Spencer?”

He smiled, and now she could recognize the little nine-year-old in this grown up boy’s face. “Hi!” he said. “My growth spurts finally hit.”

Alex patted his cheek. “My baby isn’t a baby anymore,” she sighed.

“Holy shit,” Emily said. “Your voice changed. And you’re a giant.”

“I’m almost as tall as Aaron and James now,” Spencer said proudly.

“Don’t let him fool you, he still sleeps with his blanket,” James said. 

#au: patron saint of lost causes #patron saint future #patron saint: alex #patron saint: james #patron saint: emily #patron saint: penelope #patron saint: spencer #patron saint: jj #caitlin writes things

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint James the Greater

Died 44 AD

Feast day: July 25 

Patron of veterinarians,

 equestrians, furriers, tanners, pharmacists

James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of John the Apostle. He is also called James the Greater to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Less.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

#St James #catholic art #artist on tumblr #catholic saint #Apostles

[realcatalina]

Random saints by Sittow or Catherine of Aragon's parents?

Read further if you wish to know what my theory is.

I first found this photo with mention it is by Sittow and at first I thought it is another portrait of Catherine. But quickly I realised this woman looks older and the features are not exactly the same.

The nose is much narrower. And I started to wonder...we know that Sittow painted at least one portrait of Queen Isabella I of Castile.

And she had such nose. I could exclude possibility some of Catherine's sisters looked like this too, but women in that family tended to be very young-looking for really long.

So the age of sitter already is suggesting that it could be based upon Isabella towards end of her life. And it is also odd for depiction of Virgin Mary to depict woman who is not young...it is point in Isabella's favour.

While many claim Sittow painted Isabella in 1485, he was only born in 1468/1469 and didn't even become indipended master until at least 1488. He is first recorded working in Toledo in 1492. So he'd always be only able to depict Isabella over age of 40. And tbh, if this is her..then she looks great for somebody over 40!

But where is this image? It took me while to track down.

It's detail from wings of theThe Passion Altarpiece (Tallinn), its middle part is from c.1515-1520(with some 17th century additions) by different artist.

But I am not so sure how accurate is the dating of the outer wings by Sittow(1518-1525) which are in very different style, and might have originally belong to different altar middle.

If it is indeed 1518-1525 dating, then imo they are posthumous depictions based upon earlier sketches done from life. Sittow reusing those old sketches, using them as inspiration for his later work.

Link to photos only. Left pannel: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-passion-altarpiece-outer-wing-with-the-virgin-mary-and-apostle-james-the-greater-paintings-of-the-outer-side-of-the-wings-by-michel-sittow-and-his-workshop/BwFnRG1v6gRqmQ

Right pannel: https://arthive.com/artists/75951~Michel_Sittow/works/526786~Saint_Adrian_and_Saint_Anthony

As to where they are located?

-Niguliste Museum(housed in former St. Nicholas' Church), which is part of Art Museum of Estonia(which combines collections from 3 other buildings+ this church). Hence in Tallin, Estonia but be aware there is over 3 km distance in between the church and other buildings.

But if anybody could go there and get us some pictures it'd be great (if it is allowed). Currently Niguliste Museum has exhibition about Sittow:

But back to the pannels. The left one depicts Madonna(Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus) and St. James the Great(apostle and patron saint of Spain:

And please note that Tudor rose is combination of red and white rose and not always it was depicted as inner rose white, outer red. Sometimes they were halfed, with inner rose sometiems also switched.

Of course it could be some foreign coat of arms or later alteration.

Right pannel:

Here the coat of arms looks much newer and is probably altered(and if pomegranate turned out to be beneath it, I'd just die...)

The right pannel is depicting two male saints. On right is St Anthony the Great...was father of monasticism(of monastic life)...thus very important saint in christianity...

and on left St. Adrian of Nicomedia(2nd most popular military saint after St. George), and imo that's probably King Ferdinand II of Aragon:

It's not great likeness(brows not arched enough, looks bit slimmer, alla of nose not as defined), but overall it's enough of resemblence to not be able to exclude the possibility.

But if this is indeed done years after Sittow was in Spain...and he is reusing his old sketches of catholic monarchs to create this new religious scene(perhaps initially intended for them too, but never made into finished work before), then it is also possible that sketch done in pencil has partially rubbed off...and thus the differences in face of this male.

I think that if this was done while in Spain, such big differences are not very likely to occur. Not that pencil could not rub off, but I think Sittow would have noticed and cared about getting absolutely righ(to please his patrons) and thus would have corrected it.

Ehm, this kitty is supposed to be a lion:

But you must be wondering, if Isabella indeed had this most vivid golden hair colour I always go on and on about, why does she have red hair here?

Several options to pick from: Pigments going wrong, Isabella's hair possibly turning to more reddish hues towards end of her life, or simply discoloured pinkish varnish which was very oddly applied...and on baby's skin you can see where somebody applied only one layer and where they went with brush for 2nd time.

If entire pannel has this varnish on, then it'd affect the hair, turning it more red. Why would such varnish not be removed? Sometimes money is tight and museums have multiple paintings to care for and those paintings in fairly good condition have to wait longer.

And sometimes it is not possible to remove discoloured varnish without harming the painting beneath.

Also worth of nothing is that Virgin Mary's dress is typically not teal, but vividly blue, the very best most expensive most vivid blue pigments were very often reserved for depicting the Virgin Mary:

Sometimes due to budget cost cheaper substitues were used, and those tend to fade.

Hence imo the colours originally might have been intended to be more like this(yes, I photoshopped it):

(I didn't change damn thing about male figure, just brightened it. But tbh I played with the woman's dress, skin and hair for while.)

I mean if it looked like this now, fans of catholic monarchs would probably be all over it already.

But people overlook these dark slightly pinkish images located all the way in Estonia, even though it is atributed to Sittow himself!

(I don't mean people in Estonia, I mean people who search for Isabella's lost portrait by Sittow and stubbornly stuck to their favourite which is not even by Sittow!)

I honestly thought that people searching for lost portrait of Isabella by Sittow would have by now checked all his work, to see if perhaps she is there somewhere! Just doesn't look teen or young adult.

So I want you to be aware, if you're on quest of finding Isabella by Sittow's in that portrait with emerald necklace that this is imo the face you're looking for :

Possibly with hair bit more golden and skin more fair:

And it doesn't matter she doesn't look 20! She is still very beautiful.

Hence imo, these are Catherine of Aragon's parents, depicted in disguise of saints:

But I think they were likely painted years after Sittow left Spain, and his old sketches of them have been reused to create these pannels. I hope the experts will one day look more into this possibility.

I hope you've enjoyed this, and tell me what you think. Am I onto something or am I chasing shadows?

#historical portraits #isabella of castile #ferdinand of aragon #Isabella I of Castile #Ferdinand II of Aragon #sittow

[frangipanilove]

Pilgrims Under The Field Of Stars

St. James, St. Christopher and Santiago de Compostela (part 1) (part 2)

This is piggybacking off of @bookqueenrules' excellent post about Daryl's pilgrimage. I mentioned Santiago de Compostela briefly in this post from the other day, where I promised that I would dig up my old notes and compile it into a post.

The symbolism around the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela was among the first things I started researching back when I became part of TD. I was trying to make heads or tails of the Sirius symbolism and all the astronomical references on the show, such as the Sirius and the Venus symbolism, the North Star symbolism and other things. The “Way of St. James”, or Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela, the world famous pilgrimage under "the field of stars" seemed to fit the symbolism perfectly.

It all really started with Morgan. Who can forget the coda after 5x8 Coda? The thing was, he gave me major pilgrim vibes. His whole demeanor, his chlothes, his backpack, his apparent “peace of mind”. His bow staff always reminded me of a pilgrim’s walking stick…

We watched him reach Father Gabriel’s church, and it was almost as though it had been the goal of his "pilgrimage" all along. He placed a series of mementos/trinkets on the alter (relics?), and as we all remember, he “resurrected” the cross that many of us interpreted as a representation of the "resurrection" of Beth. He had a moment of silent contemplation, before he smiled in contentment.

The rabbit’s foot was one of the items he “presented” on the alter. It was originally gifted to him by Eastman in 6x4 Here’s Not Here. I’ve talked about how Beth’s connected to the symbolism around rabbits here.

In those early days of analyzing the symbolism, Morgan always struck me as something of a St. Christopher figure. Back in those days, TD was very concerned about what role Morgan would play in Beth’s “resurrection”. He was the first thing we saw after Beth’s “death”. There was also the fact he had "resurrected" the cross. It seemed plausible that he would somehow be involved in “resurrecting” Beth as well. Back then, we all assumed this would happen within a few episodes. Obviously it didn’t happen that way, but regardless, many of our theories around that time involved Morgan in some way.

St. Cristopher was the patron saint of travelers, especially those driving motor vehicles, which again seemed particularly fitting because of all the car symbolism around Beth. There’s an enormous amount of car weirdness around Beth, I’ve written about it here, here and here, but also in a bunch of other posts.

After I had started to see Morgan as St. Christopher, I couldn’t unsee it:

St. Christopher’s claim to fame was that he had carried a helpless child across a river, not knowing the child in reality was Christ. Beth, much like Rick, was always surrounded by resurrection symbolism on TWD, making them both Christ figures. If Morgan, a possible St. Christopher figure, had found her after 5x8 Coda, helpless in a car, and carried her to safety, it would have been a great parallel to the story of St. Christopher and Christ.

Another thing that lined up extremely well with TD's theories around cars and Beth's resurrection was this:

Yes, St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers, “including motorists”…

Being kidnapped and thrown into the trunk of a car qualifies as being a “motorist” in my world… Good thing there’s a saint that protects against that stuff...

St. Christopher medallions are normally kept hanging from the rear view mirror of cars:

Which is interesting, because in 5x16 we saw this:

Morgan, making sure to grab his rabbit’s foot that was hanging from the rear view mirror of his car. I was always inclined to interpret him as a St. Christopher figure, and with imagery like this, it seemed like it couldn’t be entirely coincidental.

There were also other things about St.Christopher that seemed to fit perfectly into the symbolism around Beth, such as the fact that St. Christopher is sometimes shown as a dog in iconography:

Obviously, any type of dog symbolism would immediately be in my radar. It was the Sirius symbolism that put me on the path to Santiago de Compostela, to the pilgrimage under the field of stars in the first place, as Sirius refers to Sirius the Dog Star:

There were other things as well. Pilgrims along the Camino de Santiago like to place their worn out pilgrim boots on trail markers along the way. I thought that this type of imagery was quite similar to all the boot/foot/shoe symbolism we see in TWD:

My theory on the foot/shoe/boot/dismembered limb symbolism we’ve seen on the show, is that it’s a reference to the British English word “boot’ which translates to “trunk” in American English. Basically, it’s trunk symbolism. But I wondered if the themes around “pilgrimage” could be a part of it as well. Symbolism in TWDU is always multi-layered, so it was definitely a possibility.

Also, keep in mind that Morgan's rabbit's foot is also part of the foot/shoe/boot/dismembered limb symbolism. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if all the other dismembered limbs were foreshadows and callbacks to Morgan's rabbit's foot.

We saw Beth get her foot trapped in an animal trap, and through the years, we’ve seen countless examples of this type of imagery:

We saw Jadis steal Rick’s boots in season 6, we saw Father Gabriel step on a nail and get a minor crucifixion and a stigmata wound in 5x8 Coda, we saw Daryl examine and bandage Beth’s ankle in 4x13 Alone…

Further, it’s interesting that the symbol of Camino de Santiago to Santiago de Compostela is a scallop shell. It’s the same kind of shell we see around the Venus symbolism and the "Birth of Venus" painting:

We saw Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” (or a replica, I would assume, seeing as the original is at the Uffizi in Florence, Italy) in season 3, when Merle tortured Glenn at Woodbury:

But even though there were many interesting coincidences, they existed mostly in my own head, and there wasn’t really anything tangible or groundbreaking in terms of the symbolism pertaining to pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela and St. Christopher anywhere in TWDU….

…until season 6 of FTWD rolled around:

Daniel Salazar, seen here perfectly healthy after having been shot in the head, pulling out a St. Christopher medallion in FTWD 6x2 Welcome To The Club. I had been theorizing about St. Christopher since right after Coda, and suddenly a St. Christopher medallion appears in FTWD...

Let me say that again: TPTB placed a St. Christopher medallion on a character who survived getting shot in the head:

Now why would TPTB ever do such a thing?

Well perhaps because…

…it protects people who wear it! Yup, that’s why. The symbolism is about protecting travelers, remember? Motorists in particular, including kidnapped girls in trunks of cars...

We saw the St. Christopher medallion regularly from season 6 and onwards, It changed owner quite a few times, before it finally was gifted to Alicia by Victor Strand, and became inextricably linked to her.

At one point, Alicia and Strand had a falling out. Her boyfriend Will brought the medallion to Victor Strand, and told him he had taken it from one of the dead, knowing that Strand would recognize it as the same medallion he had gifted to Alicia, tricking him into believing she was dead.

The medallion eventually gets returned to Alicia, and she’s wearing it through her months long fever after her bite, which I’ve discussed here.

Later, Troy (I miss him so much...) showed up as a one-eyed, newly “resurrected” Sirius figure, wearing Alicia’s St. Christopher medallion. This was meant to be "evidence" that he had actually killed her (spoiler alert; he hadn’t, because Alicia was still under protection of the medallion. He tried, but did not succeed at killing her. He did however manage to snatch her medallion, and used it to torment her mother, claiming to have killed her).

Going into the series finale of FTWD I knew the medallion would be part of a “resurrection” of sorts, and I was right. At one point, Tracy, Troy’s daughter gave the medallion back to Madison, who placed it in the empty magazine of a gun and put it in her pocket. Some time later, Tracy shot Madison in retaliation for killing her father Troy:

... but Madison survived, because...

The medallion in the empty magazine stopped the bullet...

Say what you will about resurrection symbolism, but that medallion literally stopped a bullet. And remember, it was introduced to TWDU by a man who survived a gunshot to the head. I'd say its protective powers are pretty substantial, maybe in particular against gunshots.

And, remember how I made a point out of St. Christopher being a protector of motorists and people in cars? Wait till you hear where Madison was when she survived getting shot...

You guessed it, she was in a car indeed, and not just any old car, she was in a Ford Mustang, which I've talked about a few times already. Remember that we saw the blue Ford Mustang in the teaser for TWDDD season 2. Mustangs are absolutely resurrection symbolism, and we can clearly see why here (we can thank eagle-eyed @wdway for discovering that this was another Ford Mustang).

Later, Madison sacrificed herself by burning down the fort with a walker horde inside, something which made Tracy forgive her for killing her father. Madison's lungs were already in rough shape after her first death fake-out a few seasons earlier, when she burned down the Dell Diamond Stadium in a similar fashion. Tracy believed she was now dying, and was actually sad about it. She placed the medallion next to Madison, who then subsequently "woke up” from the "dead":

So, yet another resurrection there.

The next thing that happens, is the "resurrrection" of Alicia, last seen in seasson 6 after miraculously recovering from a walker bite. She is the first person in TWDU to get bitten, develop the fever and then subsequently recover from the fever, and that in itself demonstrates the immense powers of the medallion:

And if that's not enough resurrection symbolism for one day, Alicia brought Skidmark, Daniel's cat. Remember the cat symbolism from TOWL 1x6, when Michonne found Jadis' dossier in a cat sculpture...cats are said to have nine lives, and are known to survive the strangest things…

So Alicia "resurrects", there's a reunion between mother and daughter, and there's even a reunion between Daniel and his cat.

That's one powerful medallion if you ask me, reunions and resurrections for miles...

Now, how does this tie into the rumors about Daryl possibly going to Spain for season 3 of TWDDD, and what does it have to do with Beth? Well, remember this all started with Morgan bearing a striking resemblance with a pilgrim, and it was Morgan, who through subtle hints introduced the symbolism around St. Christopher to TWDU. It was formalized in FTWD 6x2, but it started literally right after Beth had been shot in Coda. The St. Christopher symbolism was brought on to FTWD by a character who had survived getting shot in the head, so idk, those types of injuries aren’t necessarily fatal I guess??? Especially not when you're protected by the patron saint of travellers and motorists...? I wonder who else this possibly could apply to…?

The symbolism around St. Christopher deals specifically with protection of motorists and people who travel by car…or who have been kidnapped and thrown into the trunk of a car, and potentially also been put in the trunk of a car to be protected from an incoming walker horde or something to that effect…

And the symbolism comes from a man who once assisted a helpless child in crossing a river, not knowing the child in reality was Christ. It would be interesting if Morgan, our St. Christopher figure assisted Beth, our helpless Christ figure in getting to safety somehow after Coda, like our early theories suggested.

In TWDDD 1x6 Coming Home, we hear Losang, leader of The Nest, explain how he first ran into Laurent and the nuns while returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. It was the references to the stars of the Milky Way under which the pilgrims traveled that put me on the track of Santiago de Compostela all those years ago, we’re talking after season 5 here. And now we finally have the first explicit reference to the Camino de Santiago and Santiago de Compostela in TWDDD 1x6.

Likewise, it was Morgan’s appearance, right after Beth had been “killed” in 5x8 Coda that put me on the track of St. Christopher, and while the clues seen around Morgan were subtle at first, we finally got the first explicit St. Christopher reference in FTWD 6x2 Welcome To The Club. And the medallion symbolizes reunion, resurrection and rebirth, that much is abundantly clear.

Then there’s the fact that St. Christopher in eastern iconography is depicted with a dog’s head, something which ties him even closer to the Sirius symbolism and the astronomical themes around Santiago de Compostela, the “field of stars”.

To me, it’s very reassuring when symbolism stays consistent over time, and this has been a symbolism slow burn unlike any other. It’s been subtle at times, but it’s definitely been there, and now it’s getting more and more explicit.

So, will we possibly discover that Beth is explicitly implemented in the symbolism around St. Christopher and Santiago in TWDDD season 3? Considering that the working title of TWDDD was “Pilgrim”, and pilgrims are most definitely travelers, therefore protected by St. Christopher, I think we can say that at the very least, there’s thematic entanglement. Add to that, the Camino de Santiago, or the “Way of St. James” as it translates into in English, is all about pilgrims. St. James, or simply “Jacob” (Santiago), is the patron saint of pilgrims. I know that others, such as @galadrieljones have studied the symbolism around “Jacob” extensively, and would probably have a lot of additional insight on that.

So, as @bookqueenrules suggested in her post, is Daryl on a pilgrimage in Europe, and will he find Beth?

The symbolism seems to suggest "yes", so sure, why not?

#team delusional #bethyl #daryl dixon #beth greene #the walking dead #twd #ftwd #ftwd alicia #ftwd troy #twd daryl dixon #twd tboc #towl #twddd

[nocturna7]

𝟮𝟭 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄:

1. Scotland has over 790 islands, but only about 130 are inhabited. The largest inhabited island is Lewis and Harris.

2. Edinburgh was the first city in the world to have its own fire brigade, established in 1824.

3. Scotland's national animal is the unicorn, symbolizing purity, innocence, and power in Celtic mythology.

4. The shortest scheduled flight in the world is in Scotland. The flight between Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands lasts just around one minute.

5. Scotland is home to the oldest tree in Europe: A twisted yew tree in Fortingall that is estimated to be between 3,000 and 9,000 years old.

6. Shetland has the highest density of otters in Europe, with around 1,000 otters living in the wild.

7. The raincoat was invented by Charles Macintosh, a Glaswegian, in 1824, revolutionizing outdoor wear with his waterproof fabric.

8. Scotland has its own legal system, separate from England and Wales, with its roots in Roman law and influenced by other legal traditions, including French law.

9. The Encyclopedia Britannica was first produced in Scotland in 1768, in Edinburgh, to be precise.

10. The world’s first color photograph was taken in Scotland: In 1861, James Clerk Maxwell presented a color photograph of a tartan ribbon.

11. Golf originated in Scotland, with the game being played on Musselburgh Links in 1672, which is recognized as the world’s oldest golf course.

12. Scotland’s national dish is haggis, a savory pudding containing sheep's heart, liver, and lungs, mixed with onions, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, encased in the animal's stomach.

13. The first official international football (soccer) match was played in Scotland between Scotland and England in 1872.

14. Scotland has its own currency: Scottish banks issue their own banknotes, which are legal currency throughout the UK, though they might be met with confusion outside Scotland.

15. Edinburgh was named the first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004, recognizing its strong literary heritage.

16. St. Andrew’s Day on November 30th is a national holiday in Scotland, celebrating Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland.

17. The Old Course at St. Andrews is considered the "home of golf" and has been played on since the 15th century.

18. Skara Brae on Orkney is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids, making it one of the oldest agricultural villages in the UK.

19. The largest secondhand bookshop in Scotland, Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness, is housed in an old church and features a wood-burning stove in the center.

20. The Scots Pine is Scotland’s national tree, symbolic of its ancient Caledonian forests.

21. Scotland is famed for its "right to roam", where people can access most land and inland water for recreation, as long as they do so responsibly under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

#scotland #🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[solipseismic]

2023 poetry rec list

technically a day late but who cares! i don't. it's gonna be a long one this year too despite not having read or written as much poetry as of late; i'm putting my overall fifteen favorite + poetry book recs up here and the rest below a cut to spare your dashboards :)

2022

2021

books:

calling a wolf a wolf (kaveh akbar)

cinema of the present (lisa robertson)

dictee (theresa hak kyung cha)

pilgrim bell (kaveh akbar)

prelude to bruise (saeed jones)

the crown ain't worth much (hanif abdurraqib)

top 15:

abecedarian requiring further examination of anglikan seraphym subjugation of a wild indian reservation (natalie diaz)

about eight minutes of light (robert king)

at luca signorelli's resurrection of the body (jorie graham)

ginen the micronesian kingfisher [i sihek] (craig santos perez)

gods, gods, powers, lord, universe-- (chen chen)

kupu rere kē (alice te punga somerville)

look (solmaz sharif)

ode to the 9,000 year old woman (@/goodbyevitamin)

one art (elizabeth bishop)

petitioning the patron saint of childbirth (danielle boodoo-fortuné)

so mexicans are taking jobs from americans (jimmy santiago baca)

the death loop (jon lovett)

the difficult miracle of black poetry in america: something like a sonnet for phillis wheatley (june jordan)

the madwoman as rasta medusa (shara mccallum)

vocabulary (safia elhillo)

& the gun echoed for centuries; interlude with drug of course; & the light devours us all (yasmin belkhyr)

a brother named gethsemane (natalie diaz)

a map to the next world (joy harjo)

between autumn equinox and winter solstice, today (emily jungmin yoon)

cherish this ecstasy (david james duncan)

coffins (derick thomson)

conflict resolution for holy beings (joy harjo)

failing and flying (jack gilbert)

ginen tidelands [latte stone park] [hagåtña, guåhan] (craig santos perez)

how to be a dog (andrew kane)

i love you to the moon & (chen chen)

i'm sorry birds (@/quezify)

insomnia and the seven steps to grace (joy harjo)

i was sleeping where the black oaks move (louise erdrich)

i watch her eat the apple (natalie diaz)

moth wings and other things (@/grendel-menz)

my father (ollie schminkey)

my soldier, my stranger (scherezade siobhan)

new year's day (joan tierney)

october (louise glück)

praise song for oceania (craig santos perez)

praise the rain (joy harjo)

real estate (richard siken)

sharing a cigarette with joan of arc (dante emile)

song of the anti-sisyphus (chen chen)

table (edip cansever, transl. richard tillinghast)

tear it down (jack gilbert)

temporary job (minnie bruce pratt)

the blue dress (saeed jones)

the lesson of the moth (don marquis)

the universe, as in one last song for the lonely hearts (michelle hulan)

throwing children (ross gay)

untitled (joan tierney)

voices (naomi shihab nye)

when i die i want your hands on my eyes (pablo neruda)

why i am not coming in to work today (jess zimmerman)

wolf moon (nina maclaughlin)

yes, it was the mountain echo (william wordsworth)

#2023 #last post of the 2023 tag :) #here's to another year of gay poetry #to be is to be backlit #poems #poetry #croidhe #poetry recs #poetry rec list #writing

[behindthesefangirleyes]

Me any time James Potter absolutely loses his temper and isn’t the patron saint people often depict him as

#james potter #just lovers (like we were supposed to be) #crimson rivers #choices messermoon #bonus points if he’s always cheery toward reg until reg breaks the camel’s back at the worst moment #and then reg is always like 👁️👄👁️ #regulus black

[actualmermaid]

Newest sticker design for the sticker shop (!!!) that I am trying to open next month, and newest Faithful Heretic Icon: Doctor-Saint James Barry, Holy Unmercenary Physician and Patron of Queer and Trans Healthcare

Iconography:

"Holy Unmercenary": this is a special title used (mostly in Orthodox Christianity) for healthcare practitioners who treat the poor for free. As part of his work as an army surgeon, Dr. Barry was in charge of public health and sanitation near imperial outposts. He consistently advocated for the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population, even when it brought him into conflict with his peers.

Halo: Dr. Barry's halo is painted in Trans Pride colors. He was assigned female at birth, but began living a man's life in his late teens with the support of his family and open-minded family friends. He was known as a man for the rest of his life, until his body was examined (against his express wishes) after his death. His headstone commemorates him with his chosen name and military rank.

Medical kit: Something like this would have been Dr. Barry's toolkit and his constant companion on his travels. In a very real way, he was "married to the job." It is marked with his name and a simple cross. Little is known about his personal religious devotion (if he even had one), but he would have been familiar with Anglican rites and ethics. Many modern Anglicans still keep their faith private, and prefer to let their actions speak for themselves.

Dueling pistol: I wasn't sure whether to include this, since firearms are not common in iconography. I decided to include it for a couple of reasons. 1) Dr. Barry was a known duelist. Dueling with flintlock pistols was the height of masculine performance for gentlemen in his culture. Dueling pistols weren't very accurate and deaths weren't very common, but using them in a highly ritualized duel was a demonstration of manly discipline, skill, and honor. 2) Dr. Barry was willing to fight for what he thought was right, and he was constantly fighting. By laying his pistol between the viewer and his medical kit, he demonstrates that comprehensive queer and trans healthcare must be defended with force, if necessary. 3) It's worth reminding ourselves that Anglicanism, as the imperial religion of Britain, originally spread around the world at the end of a musket.

"Respect trans folk or I shall identify as a f--king problem": this is a "poshed up" version of a slogan on a banner carried by pro-trans-healthcare protestors in my city recently. I think it started as an internet post, but I can't remember where I first saw it.

Hagiography:

By most accounts, Dr. Barry was a brash, aggressive, and unpleasant person, especially when someone had challenged him. He kept his personal life very private. Nevertheless, he was highly respected as a professional and was said by his female patients to have a reassuring and respectful bedside manner. He even performed something that arguably counts as a miracle: the first verified C-section, by a Western doctor, in which the mother and child both survived.

A "saint" is a holy person, not necessarily a "nice" or "polished" person. In his role as a British army surgeon and public health officer, Dr. Barry would have seen and worked in some of the most miserable and depraved conditions you can imagine. Medical treatments were risky, painful, and often experimental. His environment shaped his character, but did not erase the gentle, compassionate spirit he demonstrated with his patients.

After Dr. Barry's death, the British government was embarrassed by the fact that he was a trans man, and they sealed his service record for the next 100 years. It was rediscovered by scholars in the 1950s, and more recently by the general public of people interested in queer history.

#christianity #saints #anglican #episcopalian #lgbtq history #trans #james barry