#oxford martyr

[vox-anglosphere]

1489-1556

[vox-anglosphere]

The fire was so hot that it singed the college doors 200 yards away.

Speaks for itself! 😊🌟🙏🏻

[ladythornofrivia]

🍒 The Devil’s Tongue 🍒

Michael Gavey x Reader (PART ONE)

summary: you transferred into Oxford after moving out from your country for a better change, and unexpectedly meeting Michael Gavey in a quiet library, leads to something more.

warnings: creepy vibes from michael gavey, reader being oblivious, stalking, michael being horny, p in v sex, loss of virginity, jealousy, misunderstandings, obsession, belt kink, panty kink, scent kink, voice kink, breeding kink, michael gavey being a smartass, michael gavey is horny for math, michael gavey is a smartass, clueless reader, nerdy yet hot michael, lust at first sight, sex in the library, sex on the table, kitchen sex, oral sex, cam girl, fingering, sex during tutoring session, reader teasing, reader being a dominatrix in bed, food porn.

a/n: i forgot to review the movie saltburn last year, so I’ll give it a short review. Saltburn is a weird movie, but i watched it because of Ewan Mitchell. While ewan mitchell is 10/10, saltburn is 7/10, because of the bathtub scene and the grave scene. the only thing that’s good is the cinematography, music and ewan mitchell. i wish there’s more scenes from him. yes, i keep saying his name! he’s so fucking hot as a nerd. this one shot will be long.

You like cherries.

There’s something mysterious and tempting about the roundish and reddish fruits. Cherries are sweet, and it’s dark-reddish color brought an appeal to your appetite and. Appeal that also changes your view in fashion.

And as hot as the Devil’s tongue.

Red symbolized lust.

Sinful, they proclaimed.

So does your pussy, when you splayed across the bed, watched as Michael entered and his face bewildered when you splayed naked in bed with thick whip cream smothered on your tits, waist, and your pussy decorated in whip cream swirled with cherry on top.

"Hi, baby. I've been waiting for you," you said as your legs spread, thick of whip cream and candied cherry cascaded slowly.

***

A Year Ago…

Your parents and your attention seeking relatives are no good. Red is as sin as lust—the devil’s skin, the devil’s horn.

Other than black and pink, you like the dark-cherry color. All your aesthetics are cherry red—well, the undertones to match your little room at your small house belongs to your parents.

Them and their sinless views of the world has sickened to your stomach. You don’t want to be like your hypocritical, martyr parents for the rest of your life, so you applied for the university at Oxford and Northamptonshire. You got accepted to the university. Despite being a young woman, you managed to prove them wrong.

And sever ties with them to go at the University of Oxford, where you encounter numerous people. You’ve done research to get things right—not to be frigid or superficially pretentious; you didn’t want to embarrass yourself on the spot if you chose to be ignorant.

One thing that no one else knows of you, is that you moonlight as a dominatrix on a live stream. Every night, you broadcast online to pleasure yourself—that’s how you got money to bail from a strict and hypocritical religious household.

Few of the students looked at your direction, giving a side-eye. You overheard them calling you a prostitute, but you couldn’t care less. Dress to impress for yourself. You mostly wore bike leather jacket, a tank top, mini skirt and a chunky dark-cherry red boots with light make up, but the lipstick is glossy dark red—and not the irritable, sticky kind.

Your long locks tossed at the side, already at your assigned room, but you shut the windows completely. You don’t want to reveal the private side of your internet sensation. After closing the curtains, you’re off to the hall, where people gathered and talk, mainly about drama and parties.

You hadn’t known one. But you had party to yourself of gaining source of income from self-pleasure.

There you sat down, and overheard someone at your left. Afar, you saw a young man named Oliver Quick and another guy with nerdy glasses.

Michael Gavey.

“Fuckin’ ask me a sum then!” The chatter dimmed when a young man shouted about math.

No one really likes as the guy with the nerdy glasses does. But he does look cute when he’s fuming.

Maybe he’s sexually frustrated. All it needs is I need to work on a poor guy. Poor guy is so frustrated—a no man island himself, like Oliver Quick.

You could tell. So you chimed in.

“What’s the square root of 69”

Both boys turned to look at you.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Oliver inquired, perplexed.

“Oh, just a curious person asking him a question,” you said, jerking your head towards the blond and cutely frustrated boy.

“8.30662386292,” is all the blond uttered.

Your lips tugged into a smirk, and left.

Interesting, now I have a new kink to look forward to for my next kinky session.

***

It’s quite luxurious for a library—grand yet old like wines in the cellar. You studied Political Science and Art, and while you studied and sometimes drawing, but a certain snack bar caught your eye; it was placed above your drawing.

“I got you a crunchie,” a voice said. You turned and saw Michael Gavey.

“Oh, um, thanks?”

“I have never seen you before,” he noted.

“Really? So do I.”

“As a matter of fact, you have disrupted us during our friendly conversation.”

Oliver Quick was anything but friendly and comfortable.

“Okay and?”

He quirked a brow. “Your attitude is unusual.”

“Well, where I came from, it’s not really an issue. I’m a straight forward kind of gal,” you explained.

Michael hummed, staring at you.

“Pardon my rudeness. I’m Michael Gavey.” His hand stretched out. “I never get your name.

“I’m (Y/N) (L/N).” You offered a handshake in return.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from America.”

“Ah, yes. The land of freedom,” he commented, trying to make you laugh.

You laughed awkwardly. You have never smiled or laughed before—in a non-superficial way. You laughed and smiled during as a cam girl, but other than that, you never smile genuinely.

Somehow it caught his eye. His glasses beamed that you could see the color of his hues.

“An awkward foreign girl.”

“Yeah, so? I’m not really a people-person.”

“Why did you come here, then? For a good fuck?”

Ghastly, you turned around to see if anyone catches his words, but nobody pays attention.

“Are you going to the party?”

“What party?”

“The party Felix and his friends are heading tonight.”

“Who the hell is Felix?”

Michael darted his eyes behind you, and followed the sign; Felix and Farleigh sat at the back between the shelves.

“Apparently, he’s hosting a party tonight. NFI, me and you. Not Fucking Invited.”

“Well, I don’t a fuck about parties that much.”

Michael tsked. “That’s a very strong language.”

“Says the guy who says NFI. Besides, I don’t like parties,” you said, and it wasn’t a half lie. You have an upcoming camgirl session tonight.

“A shame,” Michael said, then reaching for the crunchie.

You have never tried snacks from another culture.

“Is it good?” you asked him.

He ripped the snack bar open, and gave you a piece. “Try it and see for yourself.”

And you did.

It was worth it.

Nevermind how Michael watched you in fascination.

***

The roofs and walls of University has been but a sham; it was real quiet.

Too quiet.

You hated quiet rooms.

In your next session, your fingers swirled your swollen clit, thinking of Michael Gavey’s rosy lips and tongue licking and nibbling your wet cunt and a tight hole.

You never fucked anybody, but you wanted your first time to be special. You rode on a dildo, trying not to moan so loud, but you come down high. The faster you moved, the more erotic images of a nerdy Michael seeping into you.

This is my kind of party.

***

Somewhere, in a darkened room, Michael Gavey’s hand filled with cum, and his other hand pressed the send button on his computer screen.

It was sensational to see.

You.

Who would’ve thought he met you—a famous camgirl.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how your eyes twinkled when you ate crunchie for the first time—far from the horniness and snobbish act you put up in public. It was a delight to see . With your outstanding getup and attitude, he knew that he’s in a right place.

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[dollypopup]

fuck it, gonna do it myself since the showrunners refuse to

Colin Bridgerton Background and Headcanons

+Colin was a chubby child, but became super lanky around his pre-teens, just before he went to Eton

+He would play piano with Francesca for Mum. He always wanted to play and sing for Papa, too, but Edmund was usually with Anthony and Benedict. Still, he and Fran would sit on the shorter velvet cushion so they could reach the pedals, and they would take turns singing silly made up songs, or church hymns

+Because of his age, he was always excluded from the 'Boys' club of the family. At ten years younger than his older brothers, and not an Heir OR the Spare, this is when he started getting particularly close with his sisters, El, Daph, and Fran. He and Daphne were almost inseparable growing up.

+Colin got SEVERAL makeovers from his sisters. They always said he was just as pretty as they were, and powdered him with too much blush, bribing him with extra snacks if he wore one of their dresses. He did, of course. Those Tea Parties were fancy affairs, after all. Once, Eloise tried to braid his hair for it, too, but it was just too short

+Of all his siblings, Colin is the only one Papa ever punished physically. After Colin hit Eloise and Papa saw, he horsewhipped him in the stable. Colin is a boy, soon to be a man, Papa said, he should never lay a hand on a lady, *any* lady. Colin wonders why he cannot hit a lady, but anyone can hit him. It's the start of his hero complex and his martyr streak, too. He does not matter in the scenario, others do. He can get hurt, but others cannot.

+It's not three months after Edmund dies that Colin is sent to Eton. He's the only boy in their entire family to ever go there, and the prestige of Oxford was just unnecessarily for a third son. The funds were already put aside, Colin's traveling trunk packed, and the first year paid out. He had no choice. As a lanky, scrawny, barely 5 feet tall 12 year old boy, Colin leaves everything he has ever known behind to mourn in private, on his own, far from anything familiar

+Eton has. . .to say problems would be an understatement. Colin is under the tutelage of the harshest superintendent of the century for only one year toward the end, but it is far more than enough. The treatment is horrible. (look it up, this is historically accurate!). 'Flogging Fridays' were so harrowing, the uprisings by the students ended in stalemates and fury. In that last year, Colin had long hit his growth spurt, and resented a bully deep, *deep* in his bones. In his last year at Eton, Colin broke so many windows in the uprising that for days after, he was picking glass shards out from his clothes

+His first year at Eton was hard. Colin was small and alone and had no one in his corner. He made friends with some others, but for the most part, he was an easy target for the older boys to pick on. His name couldn't shield him from that. Being so small, even when he tried to fight back, he wasn't very successful, and most times, they would report him for violence anyway, so his choices were two fold- sit down and take it, or square up

+Colin learns to box at Eton. It isn't encouraged, surely, but one of his classmates noticed how Colin was very much not having a good time and put two and two together. He was older, a bit fatherly, almost, even though he wasn't even 18, yet. It was his last year so he was less concerned with doing things as the world expected it. Colin followed him around like a little duckling. Everywhere James went, Colin went. They sat with each other to eat dinner, then would sneak off to spar and train. He was Colin's first crush. He never told anyone, but he *is* grateful

+When Colin comes home for the first time, he *knows* everything is different. There's already a rift forming. Colin becomes a haunt in the hallway, only there in the summers and for holiday breaks. Colin becomes a ghost, half seen, wandering Aubrey Hall. Mama is over the moon, of course, as over the moon she can be still deep in grief, as is Daphne, but Fran is quieter, now, and Eloise turns away from him, frustrated at his freedoms when she gets none. Anthony has no time for him, save to ask if his studies are well, and Benedict is busy taking care of the babs

+Colin's favorite place to be when he was home was with Hyacinth. He'd sneak into the nursery and gently hold her. Though there were nurses, Colin was there so often, they swore she never cried. The truth was, Hy cried often, but Colin would notice the signs and comfort her. It made him feel better, to know there was something in this world that might need him. No one else needed him. Not Mama, not his sisters, certainly not his brothers. So, he rocks the baby sister he barely knows, and he sings her lullabies, and he cries with her, sometimes, and he's just a little less alone

+He's 14 by the time he finally starts gaining height. A late bloomer, a professor or two teases. They thought it would never come, really. He'd been a been pole for as long as anyone could remember, ever since he turned 6, but all of a sudden, he looked almost skeletal. Shooting up near an entire foot was awful. For a lot of people in his life, this was the first they'd seen him be openly miserable and snappish. Sore and frustrated, Colin had the shortest fuse he'd ever had. Oh, he had a temper. Always did. But he typically knew how to reign it in. During his growing pains, it was impossible. This is the manifest of him not sharing his food- he was constantly ravenous, and lord help anyone trying to get between him and his plate

+Colin first meets Penelope when he's 16, filled out and coming into his own, an insta-crush for Penelope, but for Colin? First thing he thought after her bonnet knocked him off his horse is that she looked like a peach. All round and pink and in her yellow dress. Colin likes peaches. So Colin likes her. It was simple as that for him

+He never got into Eloise's rivalry about Penelope. Honestly, he didn't think about her very often. Penelope seemed sweet, but she was near silent. Eloise would tell him that she wasn't that way with her, as though bragging, and Colin just shrugged. He didn't have any real interest or investment in their friendship, but he did try to be polite. The one time, Penelope stood in front of him and tried to say something for an entire minute, only to squeak and thrust out a book at him, turning tail and making off. He found it surprisingly funny. She opened up to him slowly, got more comfortable in increments, but he thinks back to that moment and remembers that she's come a long way. Would be nice to see where they end up (forshadowinggggg)

+Colin doesn't like to drink. Never carried a torch for the taste, really, but other men did it, and only in drinking did they seem to have any semblance of closeness. Colin tries it for himself. It never really works out

+Charm becomes a second skin to hide himself in. Deflecting questions to other people, remembering details about them and bringing them up, asking questions and using humor. Funny how humor lands so much easier, now. At Eton, he had no protection. (No wonder he despises a bully) But now, he was grown. Now, he was a 'man'. A conventionally attractive man (he can't really deny it). He's tall and he's finally started filling out broad and big, and he uses it to his advantage. When he talks, in his mind, somewhere, he's still that 5 foot tall boy, crying in the carriage to an unfamiliar place or grinning and bearing it his first year at school. But this time, he has a cloak to wrap around himself. This time, yes, he's softhearted and tender, but he is also beautiful and knows how to focus on someone else, and he uses it to his advantage.

+Colin understands this privilege, because for a time, he knew what it was like without it. Colin sees what happens to those who do not have it, also. For Colin, charm is the sprinkle of honey over his bitter fears and concerns. For Colin, charm is the fun party hat everyone gets to see- not that he's sad, not that he's conflicted, not that he's unsure. He's pretty. That's enough for them

+But it isn't enough for HIM. Colin grapples with his purpose because the idea that he should be content to be attractive and well off and nothing else sits unpleasantly with him. Colin wants to be a self-made man, but he is denied the opportunity. So he tries to navigate the world as it is around him, having been pre-molded and determined to a certain outcome.

+So, Colin's arc is about becoming a Man, but he is not a conventional one, so he works from example. What do Men do? Colin certainly didn't have his father to inform him, so he relies on the other men around him. Well. . .Men visit brothels and have mistresses and drink whiskey and go to clubs, but Colin doesn't want to go to a brothel, and he doesn't desire a mistress, and whiskey burns when it goes down, acrid as the smoke thick and smoggy in the clubs. So. . .what else? Well, Men get married. Men take care of a family. Men are educated.

he can do THAT

+Colin attempts to marry in Season 1 not because he is fully infatuated (he likes Marina, sure, but his eagerness is not just rooted in such) but because he is attempting to find purpose. To find meaning. To be a Man, a GOOD man. And Good Men are married, so Colin will be married. Good Men take care of their family, so Colin takes care of his family, so Colin offers to BE her family. But because these are rooted in aimless endeavors (Colin wants to be A man, but not THE man he envisions for himself), they fall apart. Now, Penelope certainly has a hand in it falling to pieces, but Colin didn't really have the right motivations to start off with, so in season 2. . .

+He's depressed. It's odd to me that others would describe season 2 as an arc in which Colin is successful. The entire time, he is in a deep depression. Colin partakes in drugs, specifically to not think about the world, or to find peace and comfort. Colin claims that no one wants to hear his stories, even if he thinks he did everything right by traveling. (Remarkable. . .yes, in the sense that I have many remarks of it). Colin drinks even though he clearly hates it, gets migraines, hangovers, grimaces at the taste, because he is looking for ESCAPE

+But Colin cannot escape. Even on a different continent, even having run, there is no where to go. His escape is not from the ton, and not even necessarily from reality, but from his own insecurities. From what he feels are his inadequacies. Good Men are married, but in Colin's mind, he abandoned Marina. Good Men take care of their family, and Colin left his. Good Men are educated, and Colin is tripping on shrooms in the middle of Cyprus, looking at the stars, wondering what he's meant to do with himself. Colin's desires to escape are deeply rooted, but Colin doesn't want to escape a PLACE. He's done that for a long time. No, Colin wants to escape a PERSON. Himself. The himself he knows himself as

+So, instead, it's easier to be someone else. Himself is messy and sensitive and needs to rehearse what he says. Himself doesn't ever say the right thing (doesn't know how) and is boring to everyone else, besides. Himself is too painful, so it's easier to be Charming Colin. Helpful Colin. Colin taking down a scheme. Colin providing for others. Because he does not matter in it. They do.

+But he DOES. Season 3 sees Colin masquerading. Successfully, of course, but nonetheless. He's half settled into himself and half settled into the persona. When Penelope gives him the cold shoulder with no explanation? Persona. When Eloise avoids him? Persona. When Fran is getting trussed up like a calf for auction on the marriage mart? Persona. Colin spends so much of his life trying to be someone else

+And then he finds out Penelope is Whistledown, and the betrayal of it rips all his talent from him. He can no longer be Happy Colin, Smiling Colin, Here, I'll Help Colin- no, now he is just angry. Sad. Upset. Hurt. Conflicted. He can only be COLIN, and he does not want her to see. Does not want her to reveal it to everyone else, that the man they saw was a sham, that deep down, he is still that boy, that boy Marina said he was, that boy chasing dreams and fantasies, that boy curled up in the cupboard, sobbing about losing his dad, that empty, hollow boy, able to offer up nothing but charm

+But they will see. She will see. And he will see, too. Just who Colin really is. Just who he can be. And just how full and rich and wonderful the reality really is, mess and all

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Thomas Becket

1118 - 1170

Feast day: December 29

Patronage: secular clergy; Portsmouth, England; Exeter College, Oxford, England

Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, was Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king who split his skull with their swords as he knelt before the altar at Canterbury Cathedral.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[llithiaskyla]

guys do yk what i keep hearing that I don't think a lot of people truly understand?

that being 'neutral' in a conflict is siding with the oppressor.

if you are neutral on a subject, then you are saying that neither side is good or bad. you are choosing to be neutral to try and ignore whatever conflict is going on. you don't want to be involved

arguably, this is okay in situations where it is a two-sided war. either both sides are incorrect, or they are two masses fighting for something that isn't humanitarian, like a resource. also arguably, war doesn't need to happen in the first place, and either way, innocent lives are being killed in the name of their country.

this changes when there are human lives involved.

for example, Palestine and Israel. Israel is a state. Palestine is the original country, and Israel is made up of Jewish people who have immigrated into Palestine because of WWII (or other reasons).

Palestine was colonized before this previously by a colony, and when WWII happened, Palestine was given up as a place for Jewish people to go and be safe from Nazi Germany and Hitler.

After WWII, Israel started pushing the Palestinian people out of their own land, and over the span of decades of colonization and genocidal behavior, Israel decided to start a war with Hamas, a Palestinian group who is against Israel and the things that they are doing.

Israel has repeatedly and intentionally caused harm to the Palestinian people in bombings that have had absolutely nothing to do with Hamas or anything of the sort. They have decided to stop humanitarian aid vehicles, kill civilians, kill children, kill infants, kill animals, and completely destroy historical landmarks of Palestine under the guise of this false war.

nearly 15,000 Palestinian CHILDREN alone have been killed. this is an example of a genocide, trademark, textbook example.

genocide is defined as, "the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group." according to the Oxford languages dictionary.

they are not only targeting Hamas, they want the Palestinian people off of the land they claim as theirs. this has back as far as when Israel was first established. It was never about Hamas, Hamas is merely their excuse.

if you decide to be neutral in the Palestinian and Israeli 'war,' then you are choosing the side of the oppressor. you are choosing the side of Israel, because you are dismissing the horrors that Israel has done. you are either with Palestine, or you are with Israel.

there is no 'well I don't want to be involved' because innocent people are dying. innocent people are dying. this isn't some celebrity fight online, thousands and thousands of people have been bombed and killed.

Free Palestine. 🇵🇸

Some GoFundMe's below ⬇️⬇️

[english-history-trip]

The 16th of October marks the commemoration by the Church of England of the Oxford Martyrs, Anglican bishops Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, and Thomas Cranmer, who were burned at the stake in Oxford for heresy under the reign of Mary I. Ridley and Latimer were burned together on that day in 1555; Cranmer's execution would be five months later.

They were some of the most high-profile figures executed during Mary's reign, having been respectively Bishop of London, Worcester, and Archbishop of Canterbury under the previous reign. They had also been singled out for their efforts to delegitimize Mary's claim to the throne; Cranmer had made the official pronouncement that annulled Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, thereby removing their daughter Mary from the line of succession, and Ridley had been instrumental in declaring Lady Jane Grey the successor to Edward VI, once again claiming Mary's illegitimacy.

The bishops made the most of the public spectacles of their executions, ensuring their legacy as religious martyrs. Latimer is quoted as having said "Be of good comfort, and play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out." Cranmer meanwhile had been pressured into signing a recantation of his Protestantism with a promise of leniency, but this was overruled by Mary herself, possibly because of her long-standing resentment of the role Cranmer has played in dissolving her parents' marriage. Once at the stake, Cranmer renounced his recantation, declared the Pope the Antichrist, and put his "unworthy hand" that had signed his presentation first into the fire.

Commemorations of the Martyrs can be found throughout Oxford; memorials are present in St. Mary's Church where the men were tried and convicted, the spot where the executions were held, and an ornate monument with statues of the three. The door to Cranmer's prison cell is preserved in the neighboring St. Michael's Church, and the Ashmolean Museum houses the key to the cell alongside the metal band said to have fastened Cranmer to the stake.

[lawrenceop]

Homily for the feast of St Frideswide

A few years ago there was a wonderful exhibition in the British Library called ‘Anglo Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War’. However this somewhat bland title masked the fact that the exhibition was really about the light that the Christian Faith and Christian culture brought to these lands during a time that is still referred to as ‘the Dark Ages’. For the Art that was featured came from illuminated Gospel books and psalters and were depictions of Christ, the angels, and Saints; the Word that was preserved was written by Christian monks and scribes, whose fine uncial script copied the words of Scripture, and the Rule of St Benedict, and the thought of Beothius, and the lives of the Saints, including of course, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People written by St Bede in the 8th-century. All this was written in Latin, the language of the Western Church and of Roman civilisation, and the ancient rite of Mass we celebrate today connects us to our common heritage. 

And the War referred to in the title of this exhibition involved Christian kings and their realms struggling against pagan ideas and the pushback of pagan powers – the war for Christian civilisation in other words, which we in our generation are called to take up, for the Gospel has to be heard anew in every generation, and the light must shine through our lives and our example in order to keep the darkness at bay. Here in Oxford, which has St Frideswide for its patron saint, and in its venerable University, whose motto declares the Lord to be our light, we must strive to live up to that motto and to the example of St Frideswide.

For the saint we celebrate in today’s Mass comes from that ancient pre-Norman Christian world, and she is numbered among those Anglo-Saxon saints whom we do well to recall because they remind us that the Catholic Faith, founded on the faith of St Peter and linked to Rome, is truly the “faith of our fathers”. It is for this ancient and true Faith that the Oxford Martyrs shed their blood, after all. Our procession this afternoon to the site of Blessed George Napier’s martyrdom serves to bear witness to this, and to honour their sacrifice. Indeed, the Oxford Martyrs died defending the Catholic Faith which had been brought to this island by missionaries sent by Pope St Gregory the Great himself. In 597, St Augustine had come to England and the succeeding centuries had witnessed the establishment and flourishing of Christian civilisation in these lands. So from the beginning this Christian culture in Britain had, as the exhibition catalogue observed, “an umbilical link between England and Rome that persisted until the Reformation.”   

St Frideswide is very much a part of that first flourishing of the Faith in Anglo-Saxon England. She was a princess of Wessex in the kingdom of Mercia, and her name is probably pronounced Frithuswith (rather than Frideswide), and she was born c.650. Like quite few other royal women of her age, she became abbess of a monastery she had founded with her parents’ help in Oxford, on the site that is now called Christ Church Cathedral. This suggests to me the close links between the Church and the political rulers of the time. But after the death of her parents, King Aethelbald of Mercia sought to marry her, disregarding her vow of celbacy. When she refused, he tried to abduct her so she fled to Bampton and then to Binsey. Aethelbald is thwarted when he is struck blind by God so he gives up. But a well springs up in Binsey, and people go to Frithuswith for prayers and healing, and she later returns to Oxford to her monastery where she was buried after her death on this day in 727. Later on, in the 1440s, some 200 years after the Dominicans first arrived in Oxford, St Frideswide is declared patron saint of Oxford, and the friars in Oxford back then would have celebrated the first solemn feast days of St Frideswide in the rite that is being used here today. 

St Frideswide’s relics are still somewhere in Christ Church Cathedral but they had been scattered after the Reformation and so they’re not possible to locate, but we do well to visit the location of her medieval shrine, and to seek her intercession as countless other Catholics have done before us.

For we have much need of the help and example of the saints to inspire us and to fortify us as we seek to build the kingdom of God in our times and in these lands. And so we too need now to take up the weapons of our spiritual War and contend with the powers who seek to pursue us and silence us. Thus we need to pray and to fast and to struggle against the political powers who want to ban us from even praying silently. We need also to proclaim the Word faithfully and confidently, to seek Truth in places like the University, and in this Dominican House of Studies, Blackfriars, and to joyfully preach the Word and prudently refute error. And finally we also need in our time to pay attention to Art, that is to say, to Beauty which draws souls to Christ – beauty in the Liturgy, beauty in the sacred arts, and above all, beauty in lives of holiness and Christian friendship. 

It seems to me that one beautiful gift from Our Lady sums up war, word, and art and this is the Holy Rosary. Pray it daily, as Our Lady begs us to do, and know that it is the most powerful weapon for banishing the darkness. These are dark ages, indeed, but the light of our one true Faith shines brightly whenever the Rosary is prayed. So, in the words of  one of Oxford’s most well-known residents, J.R.R. Tolkien, “May [this] be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out”.

[ginandoldlace]

Tourist time in front of Martyrs Memorial and Balliol College Oxford

[the-other-art-blog]

Finally someone who understands Richard was an asshole who was not even doing the bare minimun to help Sophies and the Bridgerton fandom acting as if Anthony was changing diapers

I know right! It's crazy that I have had discussions with Benophie stans where they keep making excuses for Richard. Like, what?!?! They claimed he could do nothing to protect Sophie's dowry!!! Do they really love Sophie? I'm sick of reading fics where they make him a good man.

It was not even the bare minimum. The bare minimum would have been if she was just a ward, but Sophie was his daughter. He threw money at her, that's it. Even Sophie says it, clothing her, feeding her, and giving her a roof to sleep under is not love. What about all the years of neglect? How could he not have noticed that Sophie had bruises on her hands? How did he not lose it when he saw his daughter was being abused?

I think deep in his mind, he knew he had to take care of her. I don't think he would have been cruel and sold her to a horrible man. But he didn't love her. He was the first person to make her feel like a bastard. He rejected her.

And yes, honestly, let's stop babying Anthony. I'm not saying we shouldn't feel bad for him, he certainly went through trauma. But he's not a martyr. The world was not conspiring against him. His siblings loved him, but sometimes he was a jerk and he deserved to be told so. Hopefully, the later seasons will tell us how the rest of the siblings dealt with Edmund's loss, as well as their own problems.

What makes me so angry about his attitude is that he complained endlessly about his duty, but he was milking that title. He discarded the debutantes for not speaking Greek?! He hates the responsibilities of being a viscount, but he feels superior to everyone thanks to that title. He has duties according to his status. Besides, he still went to Oxford, so someone else helped him manage the estate in the meantime.

[women-throughout-history]

Emily Davison

Emily Davison, a well-known British suffragette, was born in 1872 in South East London. She was a high achiever who received a scholarship to study literature at Royal Holloway College after graduating from high school. This was cut short when her father died and her mother was unable to pay the tuition expenses. Emily worked as a teacher until she had saved enough money to complete her studies at London University, where she earned a BA. She later spent one term at St Hugh's College, Oxford.  At the time, academia was dominated by men, and Emily developed strong opinions on the limited opportunities available to women in society. Emmeline Pankhurst's Women's Social and Political Unit (WSPU) piqued Emily's interest, and she soon became a radical member. Emily quickly rose to the position of WSPU head steward, and she quit her job to devote more time and effort to "the Cause." Emily was a suffragette who was discovered lurking in air ducts within the House of Commons, allegedly only listening in on Parliament (she did this three times); she tossed metal balls labelled "bomb" through windows and was taken to prison 6-7 times in four years. The 1913 Epsom Derby drew tens of thousands of spectators, including King George V and Queen Mary. Anmer, the King's horse, competed in that year's Derby. Anmer was third from last when the horses thundered around Tattenham Corner. Emily had pushed her way through the crowds and slid beneath the guardrail. As Anmer rounded the final corner, he couldn't help but collide with Emily, who was standing in front of him, holding the suffragette flag close to her. Jones was flung from his seat, and the horse fell, only to climb back up and finish the race alone. Jones was injured with broken ribs, bruises, and a concussion. Emily was transported to the hospital, but she died four days later from catastrophic internal injuries. Thousands of people filled the streets of London for her funeral, which was organised by the WSPU. Her body was then transported to King's Cross Station before being transported to her family's home in Northumberland for burial. Emily was buried in Morpeth, a little distance from her mother's home in Longhorsley, on June 15th, with her mother's inscription "Welcome home the Northumbrian hunger striker" and the WSPU motto "Deeds not words" on her gravestone. It is still unknown if Emily genuinely planned to commit suicide in the name of the suffragette cause on that fateful day. A return train ticket and an invitation to a suffragette meeting that night were discovered in her handbag, indicating that the act was not planned. However, Emily's prior actions may indicate that she was willing to murder herself for the cause.  Emily was persuaded that a selfless deed would boost the profile of the suffragette movement. This, however, was not the case. The public saw her acts as those of a "mentally ill zealot," and some former supporters of the suffragette movement were so outraged by the episode that they no longer wanted to be linked with "the cause." The media focused on the horse's and jockey's well-being (who never seemed to recover from the shame he felt) rather than the reason Emily died. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20170629103230/http://www.historyextra.com/article/premium/suffragette-martyr-emily-davison

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

It Happened Today in Christian History

October 16th, 1555: Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake in Oxford. Their crime? Refusing to renounce their Protestant faith. It is recorded in Foxe's Book of Martyrs that while the flames rushed upon them, Latimer encouraged Ridley with the words, "Be of good cheer, Mr. Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

[heartofstanding]

May I ask for your top 5 lancasterling cringefail moments?

Humphrey's entire political career. I started thinking about various Humphrey incidents and honestly the whole list could just be his antics so I just grouped them together. The best thing he did for his political career was dying and being presented as a martyr.

The Battle of Bauge. I'm always crying about this but it's very cringefail of Thomas to ignore everyone going "um don't start a battle dude, bad choice" and going "I'm going to do it anyway" and then fucking snuffing it and becoming the exemplar of "don't fucking do that" 😭😭😭

John staging re-enactments of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy's assassination... for Burgundy's own son. All in the name of keeping the Anglo-Burgundian alliance going but just lol. LOL.

The Siege of Aberystwyth. Hal's big fancy symbolic treaty - gets his buddy Richard Courtenay to come all the way from Oxford to Aberystwyth with relics that everyone swears on for a non-violent transfer, buggers off with all the glory and then Owain Glyndwr just fucking re-takes it.

The March to Calais. No one actually thinks of this is cringefail because it resulted in the victory at Agincourt but it is very cringefail to set off on a march you think it is going to take a week, probably not intending to face battle, end up going through some Heart of Darkness shit, run out of food, suspect the French to be regrouping for another attack so you can't even relax after your great victory and have to hot-foot it out of the country.

Honourable mentions:Thomas missing the Battle of Agincourt because he either had dysentery or was set home in disgrace for disagreeing with Hal, Humphrey's marriage to Jacqueline of Hainault with the intention of becoming Count of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, Hal turning up in London with a massive crowd of people and gaining absolutely nothing but a "I guess I won't kill you but everyone else can keep slandering you" from his father, John marrying Jacquetta of Luxembourg to shore up his alliance with Philip the Good and pissing him off instead, Humphrey announcing his intentions to do a very big, very, very expensive campaign in France and being shouted down, Humphrey claiming all the credit for relieving the siege of Calais when it was already relieved, Thomas arriving in France to lead a campaign in support of the Armagnacs against the Burgundians on his father's behalf only to find out upon the arrival the Armagnacs have made peace and want him to bugger off home without getting paid...

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 9.11

Holidays

Battle of Tendra Day (Russia)

Benghazi Remembrance Day

Bitter Orange Day (French Republic)

Cerrado Day (Brazil)

Day of Remembrance

Day of Sobriety (Russia)

Eleven Days of Global Unity, Day 1: Unity

Emergency Number Day

Evening of Destiny (Tunisia)

Fiesta Nacional de Cataluña (Catalonia, Spain)

Gun Cleaning Day

Harley Quinn Day

Hoover Dam Day

I Want to Start My Own Business Day

Jinnah Day (Founder’s Day; Pakistan)

Kababens Day

Liberation Day (Dijon, France)

Liberatrix Asteroid Day

Libraries Remember Day

Make Your Bed Day

Marcos Day (Ilocos Norte, Philippines)

National Day (Belize)

National Day of Catalonia (Spain)

National Day of Service and Remembrance

National Emergency Responders Day

National Forest Martyrs Day (India)

National Hug Your Boss Day [also 4th Friday]

National 911 Emergency Day

National Radio Day (Indonesia)

National Tricky Handshake Day

9/11 Remembrance Day

No News Is Good News Day

Odd Day

Paryushana Parva (Jainism)

Patriot Day

Pohnpei Liberation Day (Micronesia)

Porsche 911 Day

Queen Paola’s Birthday (Belgium)

Remember Freedom Day

Sustainable House Day

Teachers’ Day (Argentina, Latin America)

Texas First Responders Day (Texas)

Whiskey Rebellion Day

Women’s Baseball Day

World Wildlife Fund Day

Wrench in the Works Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Dairy Day (UK)

Hot Cross Buns Day

Kababens Day (Sweden)

Independence & Related Days

Tajikistan (from USSR, 1991) [observed]

New Year’s Days

Coptic New Year

Enkutatash (Ethiopia, Rastafari) [Day of Mäskäräm]

Geez New Year (Keddus Johannes)

New Year’s Day and Anniversary of the Reunion of Eritrea with Ethiopia (Ethiopia)

New Year's Day (a.k.a. Nayrouz; Coptic Ethiopia)

Pohnpei Liberation Day (Micronesia)

2nd Wednesday in September

Hump Day [Every Wednesday]

International Quiet Day [2nd Wednesday]

National Quiet Day (UK) [2nd Wednesday]

Wacky Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Watermelon Wednesday [2nd Wednesday of Each Month]

Website Wednesday [Every Wednesday]

Workout Wednesday [2nd Wednesday of Each Month]

Weekly Holidays beginning September 11 (2nd Full Week of September)

Eleven Days of Global Unity begins [thru 21st]

Festivals Beginning September 11, 2024

Bienal de Flamenco (Seville, Spain) [thru 10.5]

CityFolk Festival (Ottawa, Canada) [thru 9.15]

Hancock County Fair (Kiln, Mississippi) [thru 9.14]

Morton Pumpkin Festival (Morton, Illinois) [thru 9.14]

MTV Video Music Awards

Murphysboro Apple Festival (Murphysboro, Illinois) [thru 9.14]

Ocean City Bikefest (Ocean City, Maryland) [thru 9.15]

Oldenburg International Film Festival (Oldenburg, Germany) [thru 9.15]

Oxford County Fair (Oxford, Maine) [thru 9.14]

Feast Days

Andre Dubus III (Writerism)

Casey (Muppetism)

Daphne Odjig (Artology)

Day of Queens (Ancient Egypt Festival celebrating Hatshepsut, Nefertiti & Cleopatra; Everyday Wicca)

Day of Thoth (Ancient Egypt)

Deiniol (Christian; Saint)

D.H. Lawrence (Writerism)

Discontinued Thoughts Exhibition (Shamanism)

Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius (Christian; Saint)

Francesco Bonifacio (Christian; Blessed)

Halegmonath (Anglo Saxon Holy Month; Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Harry Burleigh (Episcopal Church)

Jean-Claude Forest (Artology)

John Gabriel Perboyre (Christian; One of Martyr Saints of China)

Leudinus (Bobo; Christian; Saint)

Meditrinalia (Pagan)

Monkey King Festival (Hong Kong) [16th Day of 8th Lunar Month]

Moreto (Positivist; Saint)

O. Henry (Writerism)

Our Lady of Coromoto (Christian; Saint)

Paphnutius of Thebes (Roman Catholic Church)

Patiens of Lyons (Christian; Saint)

Peter of Chavanon (Christian; Saint)

Protus and Hyacinth (Christian; Martyrs)

Sacrifice to Zeus Epoptes (Ancient Greece)

Sperandia (Christian; Saint)

Stephen Etnier (Artology)

Theodora of Alexandria (Christian; Saint)

Thomas Hill (Artology)

Tinfoil Hat Day (Pastafarian)

Vincent of Leon (Christian; Saint)

Virgin of Coromoto Day (Colombia)

Werewolf Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Historically Bad Day (Massacre of Drogheda, Twin Towers & Pentagon terrorist attack & 10 other tragedies) [9 of 11]

Uncyclopedia Bad to Be Born Today (because of something to do with crazy people and planes.)

Premieres

The Adventures of Paddy the Pelican (Animated TV Series; 1950)

Air-Sea Battle (Atari Video Game; 1977)

The American Way of Death, by Jessica Mitford (Science Book; 1963)

Better Bait Than Never (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

Big Bomb at Frostbite Falls or the Exploding Metropolis (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 54; 1960)

Big Sur, by Jack Kerouac (Novel; 1962)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (Film; 1992)

Brave New World Revisited, by Aldous Huxley (Novel; 1958)

Busy Prepositions (Grammar Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1993)

The Carol Burnett Show (TV Series; 1967)

Combat (Atari Video Game; 1977)

Contagion (Film; 2011)

Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments, by Theodor W. Adorno (Philosophy Book; 1944)

The Farthest Shore, by Ursula Le Guin (Novel; 1972) [Earthsea #3]

Gogo Bordello Non-Stop (Music Documentary Film; 2009)

Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchet (Novel; 1989) [Discworld #8]

Huey’s Ducky Daddy (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

Indy 500 (Atari Video Game; 1977)

Is This It?, by The Strokes (Album; 2001)

The Jackson 5ive (Animated TV Series; 1971)

Just Desserts or Operator, We’ve Been Cut Off (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 160; 1962)

Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence (Novel; 1928)

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (Novel; 2001)

Little House on the Prairie (TV Series; 1974)

Love Me Do, recorded by The Beatles (Song; 1962)

Minima Moralia: Reflections on a Damaged Life, by Theodor W. Adorno (Critical Theory; 1951)

Oh! Susanna, by Stephen Foster (Song; 1848)

Porky’s Garden (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

Queens Messenger (TV Series; 1928) [1st TV Drama]

The Rake’s Progress, by Igor Stravinsky (Opera; 1951)

The Saint and the Fiction Makers, by Fleming Lee (Novel; 1968) [Saint #41]

Saint Louis Blues, by W.C. Handy (Song; 1914)

Scooby-Doo! And the Gourmet Ghost (WB Animated Film; 2018)

The Seapreme Court (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashares (Novel; 2001)

Slums of Beverly Hills (Film; 1998)

Sneakers (Film; 1992)

Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison (Novel; 1977)

Squeeze Play or Glad We Could Get Together (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S4, Ep. 159; 1962)

Stagger Lee, recorded by Lloyd Price (Original Uncensored Song; 1958)

Star Ship (Atari Video Game; 1977)

Street Racer (Atari Video Game; 1977)

Surf Bored (Noveltoons Cartoon; 1959)

Surround (Atari Video Game; 1977)

Swiss Tease (Color Rhapsody Cartoon; 1947)

Swooning in the Swooners, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1945)

The Tale or Mr. Morton (Grammar Rock Cartoon; Schoolhouse Rock; 1993)

Upsidaisium, Part 1 (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S2, Ep. 53; 1960)

Video Olympics (Atari Video Game; 1977)

A Wanted Man, 17th Jack Reacher book, by Lee Child (Novel; 2012)

Wendell & Wild (Animated Film; 2022)

The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, by Bruce Springsteen (Album; 1973)

Today’s Name Days

Felix, Helga, Maternus, Regula (Austria)

Bonaventura, Feliks, Hijacint (Croatia)

Denisa (Czech Republic)

Hillebert (Denmark)

Aalo, Aleks, Aleksander, Sander, Sanno, Sass (Estonia)

Ale, Aleksandra, Aleksanteri, Ali, Sandra, Santeri, Santtu (Finland)

Adelphe, Glenn, Vinciane (France)

Felix, Helga, Louis (Germany)

Efrosynos, Evanthia, Evanthis, Theodora, Theodora (Greece)

Teodóra (Hungary)

Diomede, Fausto, Felice (Italy)

Ģirts, Nansija, Signe, Signija (Latvia)

Augantas, Gytautė, Gytė, Helga (Lithuania)

Dag, Dagny (Norway)

Feliks, Jacek, Jan, Naczesław, Prot (Poland)

Bystrik (Slovakia)

Teodora (Spain)

Dagny, Helny (Sweden)

Fialka, Theodora, Violet (Ukraine)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 255 of 2024; 111 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of Week 37 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Muin (Vine) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Guy-You), Day 9 (Wu-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 8 Elul 5784

Islamic: 7 Rabi I 1446

J Cal: 15 Gold; Oneday [15 of 30]

Julian: 29 August 2024

Moon: 54%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 3 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Guevara]

Runic Half Month: Ken (Illumination) [Day 5 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 84 of 94)

Week: 2nd Full Week of September

Zodiac: Virgo (Day 21 of 32)

[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Thomas Becket 1118 - 1170 Feast day: December 29 Patronage: secular clergy; Portsmouth, England; Exeter College, Oxford, England

Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, was Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king who split his skull with their swords as he knelt before the altar at Canterbury Cathedral. {website}

[cruger2984]

THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT NICHOLAS OWEN The Priest Hole Builder Feast Day: March 22

Nicholas, familiarly known as 'Little John,' was small in stature but big in the esteem of his fellow Jesuits.

Born at Oxford, this humble artisan saved the lives of many priests and laypersons in England during the penal times (1559-1829), when a series of statutes punished Catholics for the practice of their faith. Over a period of about 20 years, Nicholas used his skills to build secret hiding places for priests throughout the country.

His work, which he did completely by himself as both architect and builder, was so good that time and time again priests in hiding were undetected by raiding parties. Nicholas was a genius at finding and creating places of safety: subterranean passages, small spaces between walls, impenetrable recesses.

At one point he was even able to mastermind the escape of two Jesuits from the Tower of London. Whenever Nicholas set out to design such hiding places, he began by receiving the holy Eucharist, and he would turn to God in prayer throughout the long, dangerous construction process.

After many years at his unusual task, Nicholas entered the Society of Jesus and served as a lay brother, although—for very good reasons—his connection with the Jesuits was kept secret.

After a number of narrow escapes, he himself was finally caught in 1594. Despite protracted torture, Nicholas refused to disclose the names of other Catholics. After being released following the payment of a ransom, 'Little John' went back to his work. He was arrested again in 1606. This time he was subjected to horrible tortures, suffering an agonizing death. The jailers tried suggesting that he had confessed and committed suicide, but his heroism and sufferings soon were widely known.

Nicholas Owen was canonized in 1970 as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales.

Source: Franciscan Media