Monday 3 November 2014

The Medieval Month of November


The month of November, a wall painting from a 12th century series of months of the year decorating an arch in the church of  Lignières en Touraine. November is characterised by going out to hunt wild boar with bow and arrow.

November, especially the first half, is often wet, and always grey. Normally it is wet and grey in the first half, cold and grey in the second half. Statistically it is the wettest month of the year, with heavy rain falling. Sunrise 8:00, sunset 17.00. Average maximum temperature is about 15°, but we can expect under 100 hours of sunlight.
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Tours Station Ceramic Panels: The crowd-funding campaign has hit its target and gone over. Hurrah! The excess over the target will go towards the second panel. You can still donate if you wish, as the link will remain open until mid-November. If you understand French have a look at the video on the crowd-funding site too. It's a nice overview of the panels and their history, with a tantalising glimpse of some conservators doing some rescue repairs on one.

6 comments:

Tim said...

"by going out to hunt wild boar with bow and arrow."

I wish...
it'd be a damned sight quieter here on Wednesdays and at weekends!!!

Tim said...

I wouldn't like to try to kill a wild boar first shot (or else he'd kill me) with a bow and arrow wearing no more than a skimpy frock in November!
Great news about the Tours Station panel crowdfund. At least one may be restored. Go for it! Pauline

Susan said...

Pauline: I thought it was interesting he is bare legged and bare armed in November too.

Aussie in France said...

We nearly had an accident once when a wild boar ran across the road in a forest.
I think the dress code might be a little artistic licence though he might have become quite over-heated running after all those wild boars.
End of the été de la Saint Martin (see Friday's French this week!).

the fly in the web said...

Delighted that the panels in Tours station are to be restored....needless to say it has to be public money that does it and not the railways...

Susan said...

Fraussie: I've looked at this picture quite carefully because I was interested in what he was wearing. I think it is possible he is wearing a tight sleeved beige shirt and hose under the tunic -- both items would be possible for this period -- but I actually think his arms and legs are bare. This is probably because he's a tough outdoors working man, hunting is dirty and bloody and he wants maximum freedom of movement.

Fly: I know what you mean. I'm ambivalent about the fact that it isn't more directly the railways' responsibility.

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