One of the things that I adore about my Dodo Pad (other than the fact that it keeps me from suffocating under a pile of post-it notes or sobbing over missed deadlines and appointments) are the quirky facts, sayings and amusing tidbits that await me on each new week. Obviously I need to skip ahead to future weeks to add reminders or relevant pieces of information however I am very careful to advert my eyes. I imagine that if I read through them all at once it would be like eating all of the chocolate in your advent calendar only to realise the next day that your treats were finished and you had nothing to look forward to until next year.
The reason for this post is to share one of these fabulous entries. After having a browse through some of Lord Dodo’s archives I came across an entry that showed that last week, back in 1976 (yes, Lord Dodo has been around for a while now!), the Dodo Pad informed its users that not only did the exceptionally well known Sir Christopher Wren die in 1723, but on Monday 23rd February, the event of note was the Feast Day of St. Milburga.
Having never heard of her or him (it is a ‘her’), I hit the mighty Wiki for more information. It turns out that St. Milburga, the daughter of the King of Mercia was a Benedictine abbess. She did quite well for herself actually, no doubt aided by her noble lineage and became the abbess of the Wenlock Abbey in Shropshire.
This is fairly impressive; after all, there were only so many abbeys to go around so you had to be considered pretty special to be given the keys to one of them. It turns out however, that according to legend not only was the good lady a devout abbess who ruled Wenlock with a hand that was both firm and fair; it seems that St. Milburga had superpowers! While she didn’t wear a lycra suit and rescue peasants from terrible enemies she did, it has been told, have the power of levitation. There is also the suggestion that she had an almost unearthly power over birds however Lord Dodo has made it quite clear that this is total and utter tosh (yet has no issue with the idea that she could float above the ground?!).
So there you have it, just one entry and a quick Google and I know about a saint that I hadn’t heard of previously, and one, no less, with super powers! The inclusion of something supernatural is quite apt actually as I have been known to liken the organisational benefits of my trusted Dodo Pad to something other-worldly.
While I ponder on how St. Milburga escaped being branded a witch, having these magical powers (unless they were attributed to her after she died?) I have to ask you: Who is your favourite saint? You needn’t be religious to enjoy the tales of historical figures that were later given the title, and I am hoping to hear about some other saint that perhaps I haven’t come across before.
