How chaste thou art.

 

I’ve always had a thing for Leonardo’s Lady with the Ermine painting. I don’t know if it’s her expression, the way her hand is positioned as she strokes the Ermine, the way the Ermine is nestled in her arms, or the mysteries and deception behind nobility since back then.

So the ermine used to be a traditional symbol of purity, and Dukes, Kings, nobility all of ’em wore stuff made of ermine and kept them as pets. The Pope still wears an Ermine-trimmed coat.

One thing for sure is, I found ermines to be fascinating animals. Not because they are territorial, or strong despite their tiny size, or that when they kill- they do so and take their food home.

Now legend says, that they die if their white coats get dirty.

It’s this legend that got me all intrigued.

The ermine would rather let itself be captured by hunters than take refuge in some dirty burrow, in fear of getting its fur ruined.

Is it vanity or chastity?

Do these things even matter to us anymore? Jus a thought..