Huh...wow...

Learn something new every day, right?

I was reading my Art History homework and ran across a martyrdom story I'd never heard before.

Saint Lawrence was burnt alive. Granted, there's nothing spectacular or unique about that as far as martyrdoms go (think Joan of Arc, etc.), but here's the kicker: because of his type of martyrdom, Saint Lawrence has become the patron saint of bakers.

I find that a bit gruesome.

Here's a detail of the lunette mosaic from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy featuring The Martrydom of Saint Lawrence. My textbook's author, Marilyn Stokstad, has this to say:

The saint holds a cross and gestures toward the fire and metal grill, on which he was literally roasted (so becoming the patron saint of bakers).

Makes you think about bakers a bit differently, doesn't it?