To be finished for the time being. It is the Tuesday in the Octave of the Most Sacred Heart (Introibo), and the feast of the Martyrs Saints Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia is commemorated (Introibo, CE, Wiki). Saint Vitus-- the legendae are... complicated-- is Saint Guy in French, e.g. la danse de Saint Guy. Am interested how Saint Vitus' dance became Saint Guy's dance, hmm, how Vitus was turned in French to Guy. There is a follower of Saint Francis named Saint Guy, Guido of Cortona, but I think that fellow can't be part of this, although the moderns have 'replaced' Saint Guy, whose life was so full of miracles, with Saint Guy de Cortone, whose sanctity of life was of a more acceptable sort. There may be a detour to Germany and Bohemia before the name reaches France; I don't know.
Having read that Wikipedia page, the question may be, how in the Italian countries is Guido Vitus? I can see that Guy may easily be derived from Guido but not how Vitus is Guido. Is it simply the similarity in pronunciation, I wonder. A gentleman on Facebook explained that the bilabial V, the consonantal U (as I ought to have recalled from Allen) evolved into both Wi- and Gwi-, giving both Vito and Guido, and another pointed me to this Wiktionary page. I'm still not quite sure of the temporal sequence involved in this but, eh, my curiosity is sated for the moment.
Vitus was a child who was baptized without his father's knowledge. When his father had found it out, he used his best endeavours to dissuade his son from the Christian religion, but as he found him persistent in it, he handed him over to Valerian the judge to be whipped. But as he still remained as unshaken as before, he was given back to his father. But while his father was turning over in his mind to what severe discipline to subject him, Vitus, being warned by an Angel, fled out of the country, in company with his foster-parents Modestus and Crescentia. In his new home he gained great praise for holiness, so that the fame of it came to Diocletian, which Emperor sent for him to deliver his own child which was vexed with a devil. Him Vitus delivered, but when the Emperor found that with all his great gifts he could not bring him to worship the gods, he had the ingratitude to cast him and Modestus and Crescentia into prison, binding them in fetters. But when they were found in their prison more faithful than ever to their confession, the Emperor commanded them to be thrown into a great vessel full of melted lead, resin, and pitch. Therein these three, like the three Holy Children in the burning fiery furnace, sang praise to God and upon that they were haled forth and cast to a lion, but he lay down before them, and licked their feet. Then the Emperor, being filled with fury, more especially because he saw that the multitude that looked on were stirred up at the miracle, commanded Vitus, Modestus, and Crescentia to be stretched upon a block and their limbs crushed, and their bones rent one from the other. While as they were dying there came great thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, so that temples of the gods fell down, and many men were killed. As for that which remained of the Martyrs, the noble lady Florence took it, and embalmed it with spices, and honourably buried it.
I wonder if Dom Prosper or Blessed Cardinal Ildefonso explain the Vitus-to-Guy transformation, hmm. After Paschaltide I must confess that I've not paid their Beatitudes much attention.
Post Nonam. It is pouring down rain or was; I suppose what's now ongoing is more properly 'drizzle'. Of more interest to me is that the 'highs in the 90s' yesterday predicted for two or three days early next week has been revised by the weather mages to a couple of days in the high 80s. It is more than acceptable here that the 'highs in the 90s' (and worse) days restrict themselves to a week or so in July and another in August: no need for such extremes in June.
It is the feast of Saint Vitus (4th century), of Saint Isfridus (12th century), and of Saint Barbara (20th century).
V. Et álibi aliórum plurimórum sanctórum Mártyrum et Confessórum, atque sanctárum Vírginum. R. Deo grátias.
LDVM
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