A few weekends ago, Tits'n'Gritts, Girl Friday, and British Booty came over for EstFest 2009 while le testosterone de la maison were out of town... and we somehow got onto the topic of relics and human remains. I think it began when I described how we came up with the name for our little daughter, whom we named after one of my favourite Tuscan hilltowns where some wonderfully significant things happened for my siblings and I. The town in question boasts the mummified head (and finger!) of its patron saint, both reverently presiding over the front sanctuary in Basilica San Domenico. (We were sleeping in her adjoining convent, which came complete with pillows embroidered with her initials.)
Needless to say, Santa Caterina's head proved a morbid source of giddy fascination.
After my tale, British Booty presented her jaw-dropping trump card extraordinaire. Her alma mater, University College of London, was founded in 1826, and a driving force behind the establishment of her university was the luminary English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham. Known for his "arguments in favour of individual and economic freedom, the separation of church and state, freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the end of slavery, the abolition of physical punishment (including that of children), the right to divorce, free trade, usury, and the decriminalization of homosexual acts," he also "made two distinct attempts during his life to critique the death penalty." (Wikipedia)
Best of all, however, Jeremy Bentham is out on flagrant display at the end of the South Cloisters in the main building of the College... in full view of milling students! Having been embalmed and showcased at his own request, Bentham and his head are additionally wheeled out during key College Council meetings ~ where he is counted as "present, but not voting."
and his mummified head between his legs.
As for what Old Man Bentham and British Booty did to EstFest 2009, dare I conclude that tawny port burns like freaking hell when it comes shooting out of your nose.
Just sayin'.
photo credit for Saint Catherine's portrait came from Numlock's flickr page, and Bentham's shot came from Journey to Perplexity.
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