A rosary is a string of beads used in religion to count prayers. Generally the beads are of different sizes, in the Roman rosary the smaller beads represent the Ave Marias, the larger the Paternosters. There are normally fifty-five beads in the Roman rosary, each ten Ave Marias being separated by a Paternoster. Rosary beads are also employed by Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists. Research Rosary
Richard Whittington (popularly known as Dick Whittington) was an English coalmerchant and lord mayor of London. He was born in 1358 and died in 1423. The son of a Gloucestershireknight, in 1380 he was a substantial city mercer, and records exist of him having lent large sums of money to Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. He was lord mayor in 1397 and again in 1406. His benefactions aided St Bartholomew's Hospital, Greyfriars library and the Guildhall. He rebuilt Newgate, and founded a small hospital and college (which was suppressed in 1548) near his parishchurch of St Michael de Paternoster. Details of his life were recorded in the book 'The Model Merchant of the Middle Ages' by Samuel Lysons, published in 1860. In the popular legend, Dick whittington was accompanied by a cat. It is very likely that the term cat refers not to a feline animal, but rather to a type of ship used for transporting coal, the coaltrade being how Dick Whittington made his fortune. Research Richard Whittington
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