*Ø* Martha, virgin and dragon charmer
Feast day of St Martha
(Red chironia, Chironia centaureum, is today’s plant, dedicated to this saint.)
Many cultures have dragonslaying heroes and heroines, and Martha is a European one with a good lineage, as she first appears in the Bible.
Martha was sister to St Lazarus and St Mary Magdalen and is matron saint of good housewives. According to one legend, she left Palestine after Jesus's death, around 48, and went to Provence with her sister Mary (possibly Mary Magdalen) and her brother Lazarus. Martha first settled in Avignon (now in France), then went to Tarascon, France. In art she is depicted in homely costume, often with a bunch of keys on a girdle, and holding a ladle of water. She is accompanied by a bound dragon, as she destroyed Tarasque (pictured), a female dragon, which she did by praising the monster for its goodness.
Tarasque inhabited the area of Tarascon (near Marseilles) in Provence, and devastated the landscape far and wide. The tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion sting. She had a lion's head, horse's ears, and the face of a bitter old man.
Martha is Matron of Tarascon which was named after the dragon, as was the herb tarragon. After the townsfolk killed Tarasque, Martha wept for the dragon but forgave the people for they had suffered so long. Or, so it is said.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Feast day of St Martha
(Red chironia, Chironia centaureum, is today’s plant, dedicated to this saint.)
Many cultures have dragonslaying heroes and heroines, and Martha is a European one with a good lineage, as she first appears in the Bible.
Martha was sister to St Lazarus and St Mary Magdalen and is matron saint of good housewives. According to one legend, she left Palestine after Jesus's death, around 48, and went to Provence with her sister Mary (possibly Mary Magdalen) and her brother Lazarus. Martha first settled in Avignon (now in France), then went to Tarascon, France. In art she is depicted in homely costume, often with a bunch of keys on a girdle, and holding a ladle of water. She is accompanied by a bound dragon, as she destroyed Tarasque (pictured), a female dragon, which she did by praising the monster for its goodness.
Tarasque inhabited the area of Tarascon (near Marseilles) in Provence, and devastated the landscape far and wide. The tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion sting. She had a lion's head, horse's ears, and the face of a bitter old man.
Martha is Matron of Tarascon which was named after the dragon, as was the herb tarragon. After the townsfolk killed Tarasque, Martha wept for the dragon but forgave the people for they had suffered so long. Or, so it is said.
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 10:00 PM | Permalink
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