Indulgences

I hope you've had a happy Christmas, if you celebrate it, and that this week leading up to New Year's is restful and a break from your normal routine...

Last night's conversation over a multi-course, cooperative Christmas dinner at a friend's house included (not surprisingly) a brief mention of the word "indulgence," but in its plural, historical, Catholic context. "I think it is a French word originally**," said one of the French guests, raising an expressive eyebrow. "Borrowed by the English."

"Well, indulgence is a rather French concept, wouldn't you say?"

Eyebrow up again, slight smile, no comment.

A bit later, as we pushed our chairs away from the table after the main course of roast goose, groaning a little, this same guest -- who had come to the party straight from the airport -- pulled out a bottle of Calvados (apple brandy) he had brought back from France as a gift for the host. "You are feeling perhaps too full?" he said. "In Normandy we like to have a small cup of apple sorbet with a shot of Calvados on it between courses. It calms the digestion and then you can eat again." There was mango rather than apple sorbet in the house, but we tried it anyway, and then went on to dispatch three more courses -- a large beautiful salad; a platter of clementines, grapes, and Quebec cheeses; and dessert (a Gâteau Reine Elisabeth) -- before tumbling out into the cold at 1:00 am.

Tomorrow: reform!

 

** the etymology and gradual change in meaning of indulgence are, in fact, fascinating:

mid-14c., "freeing from temporal punishment for sin," from O.Fr. indulgence or directly from L. indulgentia "complaisance, fondness, remission," from indulgentem (nom. indulgens) "indulgent, kind, tender, fond," prp. of indulgere "be kind, yield," of unknown origin; perhaps from in- "in" + derivative of PIE root *dlegh- "to engage oneself."

Sense of "gratification of another's desire or humor" is attested from late 14c. That of "yielding to one's inclinations" (technically self-indulgence) is from 1640s. In British history, Indulgence also refers to grants of certain liberties to Nonconformists under Charles II and James II, as special favors rather than legal rights; specifically the Declarations of Indulgence of 1672, 1687, and 1688 in England and 1669, 1672, and 1687 in Scotland.

Comments

[Loretta]

Oh my, what lovely indulgences. Just remember, in the Catholic theology, indulgences must be "earned". So what did you all do to earn such tasty ones! Merry Christmas on glad tidings of goose with wings of Calvados.

[Roderick Robinson]

Back in 1966, when I was only a few weeks into my six-year stay in the USA, I was still gobbling up the linguistic goodies that hadn't appeared in the US fiction I'd read at the other side of the pond. I needed some memo sheets in the office and someone said "Try Pat," a catholic ex-marine who'd had a hard time in Korea, the war that tended to be mostly forgotten even in those days.

"Got any memo sheets?" I asked.

"Does the Pope have indulgences?" he said and there was yet another cast-iron reason why I'd spent a year of my life organising and finagling a Green Card for work in the US.

Stories about Calva almost always end in tears; never was there a liquor that so effortlessly bridged the gustatory gap between innocent enthusiasm and profound penitence. With a working knowledge of chemistry you can always mount a useful defence based on the end-effects of esters. Far more plausible than anything that attempts to invoke the liberal arts.

[Beth]

Loretta, that's a most excellent Christmas wish! Thanks. As for what we did to earn our indulgences: just be friends, over a long period of time, I think. Love makes you want to treat those you love, as you know so well!

Roderick, you're delighting me on this cold morning! What a great anecdote, and, frankly, so American! Do tell us a Calvados story sometime. Merry Christmas!

[Hattie]

I over-ate at Christmas, too. Ah well.
I find that sugar, especially drives up my appetite. It's addictive.