Following on ... I believe that our 'Good Friday' is known in France as 'St
Vendredi' (having once fallen foul of the fact that it wasn't a public
holiday). It's not too difficult to extrapolate from that to Easter Sunday
which is *the* day of the year in the church calendar. So I would suggest
that it is not the Sabbath but Easter Day which is 'St Sunday'. Certainly if
I was in extremis and contemplating my career options the painting of the
Resurrection in the local church would spring to mind and that's where I'd
put my money. I don't know where such paintings would typically be in a
medieval church but I don't suppose they were tucked away at the back! It
could tie in with Easter well-blessings (if such there be).
I don't know the book at all.
regards
john a w lock
>Briefly - Athene Reiss's book is about the medieval wall paintings of
>Christ showing his wounds and surrounded by craft implements which are
>found in several English and Welsh churches (and European examples as
>well). She argues convincingly that these are not Christ blessing the
>implements of the local crafts but a warning against Sabbath-breaking - the
>implements used on a Sunday re-crucify Christ. But she goes on to offer
>evidence for the subsequent veneration of these paintings and quotes wills
>leaving money for lights before paintings of 'St Sunday' - as John said,
>this is St in the sense of sanctus, holy - so what we have is a cult of
>keeping the sabbath holy, personalised in this image of Christ's wounded
>body.
>
>Maddy
>
>Dr Madeleine Gray, in the foothills of God's golden county of Gwent
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