The first Nowell the angel did say
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields where they lay akeeping their sheep
on a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell,
born is the King of Israel.
The First Nowell is one of those venerable carols to which my response every year is "this is waayyy too long." Honestly, we could sing the first verse, get the gist, and move on to another favourite.
Much has been made of the poor shepherds who were the original minimum wage workers, doing necessary and even dangerous work yet living literally and figuratively on the margins of society.
I read an article on research into a number of paintings and nativity scenes which depict shepherds with goiters, abnormal growths and condition which occurs because of iodine deficiency. Apparently the condition was common in medieval and renaissance times and so the goiters were given to the shepherds who attended Jesus' birth.
According to the article "Goiter is more often seen in poor people," says retired surgeon Renzo Dionigi of the University of Insubria in Varese, Italy, who notes that the working classes in this region would historically not have a varied diet that might supply this vital nutrient. Diogini and his son have been looking for these depictions because they accurately portray the condition in the era of the artworks.
I do appreciate that the first people to pay homage to the infant Jesus were not the educated and affluent Magi but society's nobodies. As an adult, Jesus treated the working poor, the sick, and outcasts with dignity and love. One of the best way we can honour Christmas is to do the same today.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/24/788915889/why-certain-poor-shepherds-in-nativity-scenes-have-huge-misshapen-throats
2 comments:
Well, I learned something new today, David - I have never seen shepherds depicted with goiters and I had no idea this condition was prevalent then. That they were the first visitors to know about Jesus is, indeed, a gift to us. God does not chose the elite to reveal the divine (which makes me wonder - again- about mega churches and powerful people in the pews.I have n=been watching the Netflix series "Greenleaf" recently, and am appalled by the politics, and wealth displayed.... I want to thuk it is not like this in all of those establishments, but....
I was an art history major for my undergrad degree and I never saw a goiter, so this is new to me as well. My the New Year be goiter-free for all of us, and may the appalling gap between rich and poor shrink rather than grow.
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