heart 14 February 2011
Apparently the first ever mention in writing in English of Valentine being used in a romantic way (as opposed to merely a name, I’m assuming) was in 1477 and was written, all the more unusually for a surviving letter from that time, by a woman. Her name was Marjorie and in the missive she declares her love for the man she is betrothed to and pleads with him to overlook the fact that her dowry is small and unlikely to be increased – she is clearly in love and it is not to be totally a marriage of convenience. Happily, the couple did marry, after her mother intervened in the matter, so a happy ending. AHHHH. Lurv, eh? what a mess it is!
In other news, on this Valentine’s Day, witches in Romania are to issue receipts for their predictions and pay tax, and can be sued if they give false information.
And fleas jump so high because they start on their little heels and not heels and knees as was once purported. They freak me out and I will be having a talk with the Hairy Ladies before they get outside (which they SO want now – quite bored of the house and wanting Big Adventure!) in the hope that they won’t start hanging around with other creatures who may have such types living in their fur…
One unexpected plus to the cats being here is that they are dealing with the enormous spiders appearing now (in hunt of mates in general, not just for Vally’s Day) – I have a bit of a freak out on about large spiders too…
