Busy...

Expect little to no blogging from me over the next couple of days due to other commitments. Life has the nasty habit of getting in the way...

Funerals
I'll probably post about funeral and mourning customs at a later date, but for now I'll post a few images...

Firstly, from the 14th Century Catalan Atlas we have 'Funeral customs of the peoples of Asia: a corpse is immolated to the sound of music'. Charming. (The atlas itself is also well worth a look...)
From the church of the Santa Trinità in Florence we have Ghirlandaio's Obsequies of St Francis. Note the spectacles perched at the tip of the bishop's nose and the artist himself depicted examining St Francis's wounds (like St Thomas).
Similar in composition is the Funeral of St Augustine by Gozzolli. (Any one care to comment on the surplices worn in both those frescoes? I've seen that style worn by secular clergy in some parts of Italy.)

Good News
Lauren at the Cnytr blog shares some good news... firstly she was at an ordination mass, but secondly and most importantly there's been a birth in the family! Welcome to her new nephew, baby Zachary! (Why not baby Zadok? If you're going to give your child an unusual initial...)

In the news
It's a boat race, but not as we know it... The Telegraph reports that Oxford and Cambridge crews are going to race each other across the English Channel.
The Times speculates on the possibility of the first ever black (Anglican) Archbishop of York.