 |
Julian of Norwich,
Patron of Cats and
Those in Prayer
No.: S-070
Dimensions: 5x5x1.5 (inches)
Price: $25.00
Comes boxed and with a card giving
the following history
Julian, born in England in 1342, was
an anchoress in the medieval city of Norwich. A medieval anchoress like
Julian lived in a cell built into the wall of a church. Julian's
function was to pray, to be still, and to give counsel to any who sought
her advice. Many medieval anchoresses kept cats as mousers, and a
longstanding legend has it that Julian too had a cat in her cell: a
stained-glass church window in Norwich, for instance, shows Julian with
her cat. Cats, being great masters of stillness and contemplatives in
their own right, would have been fitting companions for those who, like
Julian, prayed for long hours. We can imagine the two
contemplatives--Julian and her cat--still and at peace together. Julian
died in 1416, and the site of her and her cat's cell is a place of
pilgrimage to this day.
|
