Medieval Political Silliness and Helpful Cures for Our Modern Times
A Saturday Short from guest artists Arthur Pendragon and St. Hildegard of Bingen.
Dear Readers, I hope you enjoy this late little entry in the often merry Saturday Short series! Despite all of that, please remember to give that little heart a push to help Amercia Eat! receive some love~ Your tarry write.
It is no surprise that an antidote for troubled times is to look for comfort in the past. The distant past is best when the particular horrors of a regime have been overshadowed by the courageously rebellious deeds that erased.
I share this little idea as an excuse for sharing with you my favorite scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It is a movie that bears watching on a regular basis, let’s say no less than twice a year at the minimum. Maybe more in these troubled times when we need all the absurd silliness and subversive social commentary we can obtain. And so it was a happy night when I came upon The Holy Grail, wedged between CNN and the latest Wimbledon match.
My favorite scene that may be considered relevant for our country’s current situation:
St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) is known by the Latin phrase, mulier fortis, meaning a strong woman. She was a master of everything at once—a visionary mystic, artist, musician, poet, medical advisor, and very often a thorn in the side of the church’s male hierarchy. Every so often I take down the one book of hers that survived–Physica. It reads as if she is there beside me, offering a befuddled person considerable wisdom and very good, though sometimes strange, recipes for tending to the body’s spiritual and physical health. A few of her potions may hold the secret for strengthening our resolve to counter whatever storms may be brewing in our time.
Here are three of her recipes, all tested to be safe and effective:
When overcome with melancholy:
Heat a small glass of wine just to simmer. Mix with a small measure of cold water. Sip slowly.
When angry:
Grind a few rose petals with a little sage to a powder. Sniff when overcome with anger until calm is achieved.
When in need of composure and a return to clear thinking:
Turn a few fresh leaves of sage into a fine powder. Sprinkle across a slice of spelt bread.. St. Hidlegard left behind her thesis on how to heal and cure the human body.
Here are three, all tested to be safe and effective:
When over come with melancholy:
Heat a small glass of wine just to simmer. Mix with a small measure of cold water. Sip slowly.
When angry:
Grind a few rose petals to a powder with a little sage. Sniff when overcome with anger.
When in need of composure and a return to clear thinking:
Turn a few fresh leaves of sage into a fine powder. Sprinkle across a slice of spelt bread.
I love it when you double down!
I’ve got enough sage in my herb garden to make this recipe 2,000 times…