I've really been looking forward to this one - who is Saint Gingolph?
The city, as you see, has a Sweese side and a Frahnch side. Both were a big deal to the WWII Resistance. As for the name, Wikipedia says it comes from a sainted hermit who lived around here (which is around Lake Geneva) in the 700s. But his name wasn't so much Gingolph as Gangulphus. Sounds like the difference between gingivitis and gangrene.
Items to share as I read about Gangulphus:
- The only historical proof of the man is from a deed from the court of Pepin the Short.
- Whenever I hear "Pepin the Short," I think of a scene from that made-for-movie-channel movie Black Magic with Judge Reinhold and Rachel Ward, where two coots sell Judge a witch-busting hammer with a bogus history. It's really a bit of an underrated film. Crap, but guiltily watchable.
- Pepin the Short is my great(x40)-grandfather. Mom's side.
- Gangulphus, despite becoming a hermit, was killed by his wife's lover.
- His wife's lover was a priest.
- Gangulphus tested his wife's denial of adultery by having her put her hand in a magic fountain. It burned.
- Basically, he just said, "stay out of our marriage bed, woman, and you, priest, just go away."
- But, the two couldn't stay away, not even with Gangulphus having gone off to another castle, and the lusty priest went to decapitate him.
- (He missed and only stabbed G's thigh, but it ended up being fatal anyway.)
This card is postmarked 21 June 1989, and it is addressed to Mrs. M. Trevau, 39 Torland, Hartley, Plymouth, Devon.
Torland is near a street called "St. Pancras," which amused me until I googled a little and discovered it's a pretty common placename for an apparently well-known saint. Now some Saint Pancras items:
- Roman
- orphaned
- lived with his uncle
- converted
- refused to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods
- beheaded
- or thrown to the circus animals
- only 14
"At St. Gaugolf with mlle: I shall sleep home the night before you go to Scotland to make sure you are awake. I leave here 26 - home 27th about 4-5 pm.
"Love, M."
So, M is writing to Mrs. also-M while off with m(lle).
FINAL EXAM QUESTION
"I shall sleep home the night before you go to Scotland to make sure you are awake" is best translated as
a. I shall be home before you go to Scotland, just because I want to be certain you don't oversleep.
b. I shall be home the night before you go to Scotland, just to make sure you don't get any sleep. (Said with a wink.)
c. I shall be home the night before you go to Scotland, just to make sure you don't get any sleep. (Said with a note of threat.)
d. I shall sleep at home, meaning my parents' place, the night before, because if I come to our home then I'll keep you up with my snoring and you'll not be very wakeful the next day.
e. none of the above
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