From: m.driussi@genie.com
Subject: Re: (urth) Fechin
Date: Mon,  7 Dec 98 18:28:00 GMT

Hello Sligo (and hello Kieran Cleary)!

Well we do have some info on Fechin via THE OXFORD DICTIONARY OF
SAINTS (which mentions the Co. Sligo), but the stingy Lexicon only
says "Saint Fechin died 665" (date from Oxford book, at odds with
your date) because I couldn't find any hint leading to "artist,"
"portraits," or even "painting" or "art" (i.e., threads leading to
Fechin of Urth) connected with this saint.

According to the Old Man in Casdoe's house, Fechin of Urth had red
hair on his head and arms (III, ch. 15).  So that's an easy
association with "Irish" right there (it also links back to
journeyman Roche's red hair, which prompted the autarch-as-procurer
to speak about how "Far to the south, in the narrow lands, the
savages paint a fire spirit much like you" [I, ch. 9] . . . ), but it
isn't much to go on.

According to the Oxford, Fechin is also known as Vigean, which
"corrupted to Virgin" (I like that!).  Fechin had a cult in Scotland.

Trying to deduce the name of the Old Man in Casdoe's house by
triangulating "Rudesind" with "Fechin," in the hope that these two
saints might have a saintly friend in common (ooh, clever!), makes
the "crash and burn at the starting gate" as Rudesind is a 10th
century fellow!

Maybe somebody can find the root meaning (onomastic) of Fechin (it
ain't in any of my books), and maybe this has some connection to
Fechin of Urth.

=mantis=

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/