Medieval Cats, an ADHD side quest

Saturday, August 31st marked 16 days since my hysterectomy. *

Maybe I’d have been in less pain right now if I’d stayed in bed, but a nearby thrift shop is moving and everything was 75% and, also, I just needed to get out of the house for bit. I was surprised by how slowly my body was comfortable moving about, but it was nice to putter around a favorite thrift shop for a while.

I found myself this lusciously soft genuine leather hobo bag for all of $2.25! It snugs under my arm like it was made for me. I’m not in love with the off white color the leather was dyed, but a quick bit of research tells me some gentle rubbing with, ahem, rubbing alcohol might remove most of that and then I’m hoping a few hours-to-days in the sun will give me the more natural I’d prefer. I am stoked about this find.

Some other small treasures were found: a vintage beaded necklace, a wildly colorful polyester caftan dress (that I’m planning to cut down the front center, reseam/rehem so I can wear it as outer wear), a novel about called Brooklyn (I’ll read it and, if I enjoy the story, will then send on to our daughter who lives in Brooklyn), a coffee table book full of stunning pictures of Minnesota, among other items.

That was my sole outing for the day and oh-my-goodness how utterly spent I was after. This whole surgery recovery while living with ME/CFS is most certainly not for the faint of heart! I got myself showered and tucked into bed for the rest of the day.

The YouTube antilogarithm had my back though, suggesting the following: Cats During Medieval Times… and oh-my-goodness that was something else – if for no other reason than the artwork shown! Paintings such as the one at the beginning of this piece, and this one here:

And this one:

And this one:

Also, Pope Georgory III, in the summer of 1233, seemed to have a lot of time on his hands and far, far too much imagination. It was a dangerous combination as he put out a writ detailing these supposedly lurid, grotesque satanic rituals going on in this one particular part of what would later become Germany. Here’s one of the images from that section:

Then I learned that the Prophet Muhammad is thought to have traveled with a man he named Abu Hurayrah, which translates as ‘Father of Cats’ – to go down in history as the father of cats is pretty hardcore.

In my further Google wandering I came across what is, by some, touted to be the most famous ode’ or tribute to a scholar’s cat. Written in the 9th-century, and named after the author’s cat, Pangur Bán it to this writer who also loves cats utterly delightful! It Was written in Old Irish and has been translated by Robyn Flower. Please enjoy Pangur Bán:

I and Pangur Bán my cat,
‘Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
‘Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill-will,
He too plies his simple skill.

‘Tis a merry task to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur’s way;
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

‘Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
‘Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den,
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our task we ply,
Pangur Bán, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

…

I mean, dude, how cool is that?!?

All of this reminded me I have a book in my Kindle app writtern by Juilana of Norwich. Juliana was a 14th century anchoress in (surprise!) Norwich. I still haven’t read that book yet :/ But the reason I bought it was reading the following small quote of her and wanting to know more about this woman who had herself shut off from the world, literally declared dead while alive. That is a powerful, and somewhat perfexing choice to make to me, though I do wonder if women choose this life to avoid the only other option of being a wife and giving birth to child-upon-child in a time when 50% of children died before their first birthday and too many mothers died in childbirth.

According to Wikipedia, an anchorite was:

“Anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit,^[2] but unlike hermits, they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world and a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority apart from bishops.“

Anyway, I was grateful to be reminded this quote:

All manner of things shall be well.

Juliana, often referred to as Julian, is said to be the patron saint of:

• Solitude
• Solitary Women
• Writers
• Cats

I’m sure I’ll have more to share about her writings when I dive into that once forgotten eBook.

All-in-all, Saturday was a good day for side quests. Have you had any recent side quests you loved? I’d love to hear about yours too please!

Love,

Kat

*(this was originally published on my Substack)