> The Pelican is a bird that lives in Egypt by itself on the river Nile, from where it takes its name; for it is called “Canopos” in Egyptian. It is said (if that may be true) that she kills her own offspring, and mourns them for three days; then she wounds herself and revives her children by the sprinkling of her blood. Osseia looked out at the window of her sixth story apartment and frowned at the haze of violet magic creeping into Srineport. She hadn't publicly claimed the city; Prince Monstrance must think his assassins had succeeded. The poor, greedy fool. She almost laughed as she pushed her aura into the courtyard, rejecting his advance. --- ## Afterword Prince Monstrance was named accidentally. I had typed in a placeholder name, Constance, and started tweaking letters until I got something that sounded right, which autocorrect tried to change to `Monstrance`. I was surprised; I'd never heard of the word. It sounded cool, though, so I did a little digging. A monstrance is a Catholic holy item, used on religious ceremonial occasions; mostly feast days. I was raised Protestant, so I had no idea. Turns out they started appearing around 1450 CE as a vessel for Corpus Christi (the body of Christ) that appeared around 1450. Monstrance comes from the Latin word “monstrare”, which means “to demonstrate” or “to show.” Monstrances (also known as ostensoriums, which is a _great_ word that my spellchecker ironically _does_ flag as being incorrect) were at the center of 13th and 14th-century religious debates. The question of whether [the bread and wine](https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-the-eucharist-542848) are the literal body and blood of Christ is a key divide between different religious groups. That said, medieval monstrances were generally more diverse than modern monstrances. Those in use for relics and, on rare occasions, for the host usually had a crystal cylinder in a golden stand, while those used for hosts usually had a crystal window in a flat-faced golden construction that could stand on its bottom. Mostly, the monstrance was made of silver-gilt or other costly metal, and richly ornamented. Monstrances usually feature a tiny round glass the size of a host in the center of the sunburst, through which the people can see the Blessed Sacrament. Behind this glass is the lunette, a spherical glass and a gilded metal container that firmly keeps the host in the center. Apparently, monstrances usually have specific elements that make each one special. One of the designs has seven gemstones around it; the world’s creation was completed in seven days. So, it symbolizes entirety and completeness. Some designs have angels at the front of the cross, but my favorites have a pelican feeding her children. Researching these, I discovered a legend about [mother pelicans that they feed their chicks with their own blood](http://www.thewestologist.com/symbols/the-symbol-of-self-sacrifice). It comes from Egypt by way of Spain via the [Etymologies of Isidore of Seville](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/etymologies-of-isidore-of-seville/F2336BA779D4ED95E6D25AAE2CCBAD25): > The Pelican is a bird that lives in Egypt by itself on the river Nile, from where it takes its name; for it is called “Canopos” in Egyptian. It is said (if that may be true) that she kills her own offspring, and mourns them for three days; then she wounds herself and revives her children by the sprinkling of her blood. Medieval Christians started using the pelican motif as a symbol of Christ's sacrifice. There are a bunch of [beautifully illustrated manuscripts](https://foundinantiquity.com/2013/07/05/bird-feeds-chicks-her-own-blood/) that look sweet and innocent — birds, fruits, leaves, trees — until you notice the birds stabbing themselves in the chest to let their heart's blood drip into their babies' mouths. [Sacrifice](https://eleanorkonik.com/sacrifice) %% ( [[2021-09-27 Sacrifice]] ) %% is a [particular interest of mine](https://eleanorkonik.com/wither) %% ( [[2022-01-26 Wither]] ) %%; is it any wonder I found this fascinating? Besides — the Srin Empire (Srineport is its most critical harbor), is modelled loosely on Spain... right down to the religious structure; note the presence of the abbot in [Eavesdrop](https://eleanorkonik.com/eavesdrop/) %% ( [[2021-10-20 Eavesdrop (MF) (DRAFT)]] ) %%, which touches on an earlier conquest by Srinese imperialists. All in all, my misspelling of Constance was remarkably serendipitous.