Norbert the noble saint
QUESTION Further to the question about Norbert Dentressangle lorries, what is the origin of the name Norbert? Are there any other famous Norberts? The name Norbert is derived from the Germanic elements nord (north) and
beraht (bright). It was the name of one of the great Catholic saints, St Norbert of Xanten (1080-1184), once considered, with St Francis and St Dominic, one of the great triad of early church reformers.
St Norbert was a nobleman of Xanten in Germany. After almost dying from a fall from his horse in 1115, the once-dissolute prelate became an itinerant preacher and founded the Premonstratensian order in Premontre near Laon, France. They were distinguished by piety, strict adherence to canonical law and white habits. In Great Britain they are called the Norbertines.
In 1126, Pope honorius II appointed Norbert to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. he survived several assassination attempts as he began to reform the lax discipline of his see. he was especially vigilant in protecting the Church’s rights against secular power. St Norbert was canonised by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
John Buckland, Craven Arms, Shrops. MANCheSTeR United defender Norbert Peter ‘Nobby’ Stiles played more than 300 games for the club, including the victorious 1968 european Cup campaign.
he was a member of the england team that won the 1966 World Cup — who can forget the footage of him dancing around Wembley with his two front teeth in his hand? Nobby is now struggling badly with dementia, and we wish him all the best.
George Storer, Manchester. MoST people consider dark, wet caves best avoided. Not so Norbert Casteret (1897-1987). Inspired by Jules Verne’s Journey To The Centre of The earth and the exploits of edouard Martel, he made their exploration his life’s work.
The young Norbert secured his place in caving history by undertaking a bold, solitary dive into a pool at Montespan Cavern near the French/Spanish border, naked but for a bathing cap containing a candle and matches in a waterproof bag. Sustained only by a lungful of air, he entered a tunnel, felt his way along an enclosed river, and emerged in a chamber holding some of the best prehistoric drawings and statues ever discovered.
he traced underground waterways and passages around the Pyrenees, combining the sport of caving with the science of speleology. he was an engaging writer, and through books such as Ten Years Under The earth (1933) inspired many people to make their first descents into the world beneath their feet.
Dennis Holman, Saughall, Cheshire. NoRBeRT PUTNAM is a producer and musician who played bass on many of elvis’s recordings and sessions with Roy orbison, henry Mancini, Linda Ronstadt and Bobby Goldsboro.
I had the privilege of having dinner with him a few years ago. he told me that Kris Kristofferson used to be his janitor at the studio, and as payment he would give Kris some recording time.
one of the demos he did was help Me Make It Through The Night, which went on to be a massive hit. Norbert still tours with elvis’s band, The TCB Band, and lives in Florence, Alabama.
Golly Goulding, Morecambe, Lancs. QUESTION We had a 41-gun salute by the Royal Horse Artillery, then a 64-gun salute at the Tower. What was the difference and significance of these numbers? IT WAS customary for a ship entering a friendly port to discharge its cannon to demonstrate they were unloaded, and, over time, this became a ceremonial action. In 1730, the Royal Navy began using a seven-gun ship salute as vessels entered a friendly port. The significance of seven is uncertain, though some point to its frequency in the Bible and to sailors’ superstition. In reply to each shot of the incoming ship’s guns, port officials would fire back three, totalling 21.
In 1808, the 21-gun salute became the official salute to honour British royalty. The basic salute is 21 rounds fired at ten second intervals, but it is customary to fire an extra 20 when the ceremony takes place in a Royal Park.
The salute to mark the Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee on February 6 took place in Green Park and was performed by the King’s Troop Royal horse Artillery with six World War I era 13-pounder field guns.
At the Tower an extra 20 are also fired, as the Tower is a Royal palace, and there are a further 21 volleys for the citizens of the City of London to show their loyalty to the Crown, meaning a total of 62 rounds are fired.
The salute at the Tower of London is fired from four 25pounder guns on Tower Wharf and carried out by the honourable Artillery Company.
Gordon Hendrie, Jedburgh, Borders. QUESTION Why was Neanderthal man named after the 17th-century German theologian Joachim Neander? FURTheR to the earlier answer, Joachim Neander (1650-1680) not only gave his name indirectly to the early human known as Neanderthal Man, but was also the author of one the finest hymns in existence, known to english-speaking congregations in translation by Caroline Winkworth (1863) as Praise To The Lord, The Almighty, The King of Creation.
Based on Psalms 103 and 150, the melody is probably an old folk tune. John Julian’s Dictionary of hymnology describes it as ‘magnificent, perhaps the finest creation of its author, and of the first rank in its class’.
J. S. Bach’s cantata BWV 137 is based entirely on the five stanzas of Neander’s hymn of 1680 and its melody.
Movement 2 (the second stanza of the chorale) was later transcribed for organ as Schubler Chorale no6 BWV650 under the title Come Thou, Jesu, From heaven To earth. E. Felix Schoendorfer, Stoke Poges, Bucks.