Walter Map was a medieval cleric and writer who was born somewhere on the Welsh Marches. At one point in his career he was considered for the position of Bishop of Hereford, but was unsuccessful. Hereford Cathedral still commemorate his death every April 1st.
The only complete work by Walter Map which still exists is called De Nugis Curialium, or The Trifles of Courtiers, and is a collection of stories and anecdotes, Court gossip and history.
I thought one of the stories in the book was appropriate for Hallowe'en.
It concerns a holy hermit who lived in a cave, and his demonic pet snake.
One day a small snake came into the cave while the hermit was eating his meal, and it begged for a few crumbs. Each day the hermit fed the snake, and each day it grew a little bigger.
Eventually, the snake was so huge that it filled the cave, and the hermit was forced to leave.
The moral of the story seems to be - don't give charity foolishly. Or maybe, hermits shouldn't have pets that turn out to be demons....
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