Old Merry English Weather December 2, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Humor, Word Play, Writing & Writers.comments closed
I’m reading T.H. White’s, A Sword in the Stone, an enjoyable romp on a medieval estate with prominent focus on Merlin the Magician as tutor to Arthur of round table fame . . . long before Arthur met Sir Lancelot, wore the crown, or assumed the throne of England from Uther Pendragon.
In his fantastical and magical tale, White shares ample humor and satire with his readers, as evidenced by his description of medieval weather in old Merry England:
The weather behaved itself.
In the spring all the little flowers came out obediently in the meads, and the dew sparkled, and the birds sang; in the summer it was beautifully hot for no less than four months, and, if it did rain just enough for agricultural purposes, they managed to arrange it so that it rained while you were in bed; in the autumn the leaves flamed and rattled before the west winds, tempering their sad adieu with glory; and in the winter, which was confined by statute to two months, the snow lay evenly, three feet thick, but never turned into slush.
Jolly good, eh? Four glorious summer months and winter’s frost and frozen air governed by statutory limitation to two months.
And not even a whisper of fog to cloud the sight or blanket the stars in the night sky.
Oh, to have lived in the days of yore!
Related post: Once and Future (Kate Shrewsday)
Spirit Lights The Way 