> Vita Prima Bernardi I.3; PL 185:227 - 228. What about Dominic and his
> followers as canes Domini? Let's give dogs a good press--fidelity (see
> medieval, particularly northern renaissance stone and wood carvings at
> the stately homes of the hunter class), loyalty, security!
Thanks very much for the reference -- but I was precisely interested
in the bad half of the press they got. e.g. There's a Jewish rite of
introducing a child to Torah study, documented in a number of Hebrew
sources from France and Germany. On the day of Pentecost, the boy is
covered up in a mantle and taken to the synagogue. One of the sources
claims that the covering (reminding of Elijah's mantle) is done "lest
the child see a Gentile [i.e. Christian] or a dog on the day of his
initiation" (For this initiation rite, see Ivan Marcus' wonderful new
book, *Rituals of Childhood*). Some Jewish sources (or so claim Latin
excerpts made from them) called Christian preaching "barking". And so
on. Again, the instances of Christian writers calling Jews "dogs" are
legion. So again, where does the bad press originate from? Sure it's
not only Psalm 21? I have an impression that domesticated canines
weren't quite as domesticated perhaps as they are now.
Cheers,
Christoph
[log in to unmask]
TAN: This week, I've had a neighbour's dog to mind. And this to me!
I'm actually a dog-hater. The sh... they produce! However,
whenever I have to deal with a real one, I make an exception ;-)
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