The Norse God of the Moon is named Mani, brother of Sol, Goddess of the Sun. Each of them dash across the sky in a chariot, attempting to evade the Wolves which are nipping at their heels.
The ravenous wolf for Mani is named Hati (meaning ‘hatred’). On the Final Day (Ragnarok), Hati will catch and devour Muni.
Monday is named to honor Mani.
Saturday is named after the Roman god, Saturn. It is the only day of the week not named for a Norse diety.
Saturn himself had a twisty history, starting out as Cronus, a Titan for the ancient Greeks. Having castrated his father, Cronus ate his own children, though Zeus escaped. Finally Chronus went off to be king, and ruled over a Golden Age. He is best known today as Father Time. Very busy.
Then the Romans adopted Cronus, giving him a new name. Saturn is also a gloomy guy, understandably. How much confusion can one character take?
Today is Thursday, named for the ancient Norse god, Thor. Thor attended to a number of areas, with Thunder and Lightening topping the list, oh, and Giant-Bashing. He was short-tempered.
Apparently everything Thor touched had a large name. Thor drove a chariot drawn by 2 goats named Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr. He wore magic bracelets, called Jarngreipr, needed to wield his hammer, Mojnir. (This hammer worked like a Norse boomerang.) He also wore a special belt called Megingjore. Thor had Red Hair, but if it had a particular name, We don’t know what it was, though it was probably hard to spell.
The ‘Your Inner Rhino’ research team is pooped. So much spelling, even without the diacritical markings!
Mr. George Bryan Brummel, born June 7, 1778, was an exceptional figure in Regency England. He somehow became a pal to George, the Prince of Wales, and leap-frogged into high society. He fit right in, and then began to re-imagine men’s fashion, ship-shaping it with better tailoring and more subdued use of color. Most shocking for his contemporaries, he insisted on hygiene, both of the body and the clothing.
He became known as ‘Beau’ (handsomely presented) Brummel, reflecting his fastidious taste and wit. Possibly the most dynamic fashion arbitar in History.
Rhinos find the whole business of getting dressed pretty Remarkable. We don’t dress. And Rhinos don’t make Remarks.
Well, nobody’s sorrier than We Rhinos that Saturday’s post got postponed. Good intentions, but the Deadline Arrived and We came up short.
The ‘Your Inner Rhino’ Staff can be located somewhere between Sorry and Dang.
Today has been Tuesday, named for the Anglo-Saxon god of War and Peace, Tiu (or Tiw, Tig,Ti, Tii, Tir and Tuu). Yes, really.
Tiu is best remembered for ramming his fist into the mouth of Famrir, a gigantic wolf, thus assisting his father, Wotan. Tiu was ambidextrous, which was a good thing as it turned out. His main task was making sure folk honored their treaties, easier said than done.
Rhinos only call our days Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
On August 24, 1847, Charlotte Bronte set down the pen, having finished her great novel JANE EYRE. By October, it was published, and has enjoyed success happily ever after.
Ms. C. Bronte came from an unusual family; her sisters, Anne and Emily, were also famous writers. Just how they managed to be so insightful and accomplished is a mystery to this day.
Maybe it was something in the air or the water? Some mysteries don’t yield to random conjecture. Who would know that better than We Rhinos?
M. Georges Cuvier, born 1769, is called the Founding Father of Paleontology. Vive la France! Paleontology is the study of very Old things, like flora and fauna and earth sciences and Rhinoceroses. Obviously time well spent.
Early Paleontoligical Studies came up with bizarre reconstructions of the Past, but those pioneers had nothing to refer to. They just made it up as they went along. Given their limitations, they did a remarkable job. Exciting times all over the place.
We Rhinos are curious, but tend to focus on dometic issues. That fact does not preclude our appreciation of M. Cuvier and his merry colleagues. (Well, some of them were merry.)
Rhinos don’t like feeling resentful, and We seldom do. But there are still a few family members who feel a bit sour when the Bronze Age comes up in conversation. The era began about 8 thousand years ago, which is a While of some large sort. It took over when the Stone Age ran out of gas.
The Stone Age was when humans just threw rocks. The Bronze Age was when metals entered the discussion. More than Rhino’s feelings got hurt.
Well, what’s done, is done. We will all have to do what We can to tidy up. Sooner better than Later.
Some quotations are wonderfully satisfying. And so extraordinarily useful. Comforting, even.
(BTW, there is argument about the legitimacy of this quote, but We will credit Benjamin Franklin, unless somebody knows better.)
YIR likes to play fair.
Your Inner Rhino 