Today in 1482 - The first Saturday occurs, as England introduces the seven day week. Prior to this, weeks were Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sun, with five six-day-weeks per month, and sixty weeks per year. It was at the behest of King Richard III, who felt that introducing a second day of rest would help to settle some of the disquiet among the peasantry. Before Saturday was invented, the drunken revelry that was Friday night would often result in hangovers at church on Sunday. Saturday acted as a buffer between the excesses of Friday Night and the religious lambasting of Sunday. This did not work well for The Church, as people who would normally just sit there quietly trying to stop the tops of their heads coming off started to actually *listen* to the sermons, and ask awkward questions like Excuse me... How many loaves and fishes? and Hang on.... let me get this straight... a *talking* snake? and Does it *all* have to be in Latin? Really? Many religious organisations today consider Saturday to be the thin end of the wedge that separated Church and State, and eventually led the Church of England - largely politically powerless by this point - to formally declare that the short-form for Richard was now to officially be Dick, and grumpily mutter Odi populum pauperem into their big grey bushy beards.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 09:09:16 +0000
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