Newsletter for Cat Lovers March 2007 vol. 2 no. 3
Cat news from
Cat Lover Gifts World
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In Japan the cat is known and the "Tiger who eats from the hand". Adored by Mohammad and Prelate alike the cat has a special and revered role in its relationship with humankind. This book is a highly regarded soon to be released edition you will want to have.
St Paddy Kitty's.
Or are they St Gertrude Kittens... whatever, they make a great children's poster
Every home with a cat and a coffee table should have a book of great cat poetry
"Excuse me... are you going to read that??"
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Corned Beef and Cats... ??
How can that be? The combination is somewhat... unwieldy. When I was discussing the possible topics for this month's newsletter with a friend, the unlikely pairing of St Patrick's Day and cats was proposed. As mysterious as a cat's stare, I was drawn to doing a little investigating. To my surprise there is an unlikely connection. Sainte Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is said to have ridded the Irish of their pesky snakes. The main problem with that legend is there were never any snakes in Ireland in the first place. March 17th is his day of celebration to all Irish, and those of us who love corned beef and cabbage. But, March 17th is also a day of celebration for Sainte Gertrude of Nivelles, the Patron Sainte of Cats. Yes... cats! Gertrude was the abbess of a monastery at Nivelles, which is near Brussels in modern day Belgium. At the death of her father, Pepin of Landen, her mother Itta built the Benedictine monastery and Gertrude ran it until her death at the age of 33. She evidently ridded the monastery of mice and rats with the help of the cats she kept. She was well known for kindness to pilgrims and is the Patron Sainte of Travelers, as well as the Patron Sainte of Gardeners, in addition to being recognized as the Patron Sainte of Those Terrified of Mice and Rats, the Patron Sainte of The Diseased and the Patron Sainte of The Insane. Whew!!
All of these patronages seem to have a common string running through them. Mice in Christianity are thought to be depictions of the souls of people in purgatory. If mice embodied the souls of people, it wouldn't be a good idea to go around trapping and killing them. So, she is the Patron Sainte of Those Terrified of Mice and Rats. As the Patron Sainte of Travelers, Gertrude would have compassion on mice and aid them on their journey through purgatory. But, sailors would also invoke her name during perilous times on the sea. And since she opened her doors to all travelers, the diseased and insane were welcome at the monastery, also. March 17, the day of her death, was considered to be a good time for spring planting, hence she is the Patron Sainte of Gardeners.
I've only found one reference
to her using cats to rid the monastery at Nivelles of mice and rats. Which
seems incongruous and conflicts with her patronage of mice as souls lost in
purgatory, at least in my eyes. Further, I could find no art works depicting
cats with her, though I did read that there are paintings of her with
cats as companions. Certainly there're lots of works with mice as this piece
by by James C. Christensen shows:
There might be one reason that cats are missing from so much of the art dedicated to St Gertrude, at least those works coming from the historical period. Gertrude lived from 626 to 659. This was early in the Medieval Period and was a time when the Catholic Church was in the initial stages of opposition to and dedicated to the eradication of "pagan ideas" that had been the spiritual belief foundation of most of the peasants of the European world. Even though Sainte Patrick didn't throw any snakes out of Ireland, some historians believe that the snakes were only metaphors for the ouster of 'pagan rites' and beliefs in favor of Catholicism. After all, the snake, as well as the cat, and maybe even the mouse, were sacred images to pagans.
It would be another 600 years before Pope Gregory IV would issue his edict proclaiming cats to be satanic and Europe would go on a spree of burning the animals alive, before realizing that it was cats who kept the rat populations under control. Without cats the rats proliferated and quickly spread the disease they carried known as the Black Plague. Cats would spend a long period in their own "dark ages" cast as the servants of witches and tagged as 'familiars' of the devil. Putting cats in a picture with a Sainte would not be in good taste and most surely would cause the painting to be ridiculed or worse... burned. Not to mention that the artist might not secure another commission.
Sainte Gertrude seems to have been a very sensitive person. She found that mice were worthy of compassion, and she found that people who were terrified of mice should also receive compassion. I wonder if when she was faced with an unreasonable bias against cats, that she found them to be worthy of compassion, too. Unfortunately, it would be a long time before cats would regain the trust and companionship of people again, in spite of her efforts.
It's been a long, rocky road for cats and their relationship with humankind. From the deserts they came in and helped the first farmers protect their grains and harvests from rodents. From there they rose to the position of godhead and became idols of adoration. Then they fell, or rather were thrown, into their own purgatory, labeled as evil, hunted down and killed. Now, we design our homes around their presence. Go figure... as rough as it's been for cats, they still find a way to call us their own.
So, on March 17...
Bring on the Cheer... it's a Saintly day to celebrate. Not only Sainte Patrick, but Sainte Gertrude, too. The Patron Sainte of Cats.
And we'll do so with some poetic musing in honor of our feline friend:
THE PRAYER OF THE CAT
Oh my master, do not take me for a slave, for I have in me a taste for
liberty:
Do not seek to divine my secrets, for I have in me a taste for mystery;
Do not constrain me with caresses, for I have in me a taste for modesty,
Do not humiliate me, for I have in me a taste for pride,
Do not abandon me, for I have in me a taste for fidelity,
Love me and I will love thee, for I have in me a taste for friendship.
"Beware of people who dislike cats." - Irish proverb
THE GENESIS CAT
(W Girt)
The Lord looked down upon His world, created fresh and new,
With soaring, shining mountain tops and gleaming seas of blue.
The lordly lions roaming free with tigers golden bright,
All very grand, magnificent, but somehow, not quite right.
He stroked His beard and mused awhile and thought of this and that,
'All these are far too big,' he said, 'I'll make a smaller cat;
To edge towards the fire at night, out of the chilly wind,
An independent animal, but needing human kind;
With fur so soft and warm to touch, but brimming full of guile,
With pansy-faced wee kittens to make the children smile.'
All that was very long ago, but still the cat's with us,
Aloof and condescending, but loving all the fuss.
You'll never, ever own a cat, as all cat lovers know,
He'll curl himself around your heart and never let you go.
See you next time.
Robert J Gallegos
St Gertrude of Nivelles
In the artistic depictions of Gertrude there are no cats... but there are
mice (it's on the lower half of her staff)
St Patrick the Patron Sainte of Ireland
It's said he ran the snakes out of Ireland.
Trouble is, there weren't any snakes in Ireland in the first place
Black
cats are beautiful
They are thought to be either lucky or unlucky, depending on where you live.
So, if a black cat is wearin' 'o the green... is she lucky?
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