References - Agnes
Agnes
[Head nun in Nisan Cathedral.]
(Agnes is the head sister of the Nisan cathedral.) "Agnes" was the name of a Catholic martyr. There was a ritual associated with that Saint that supposedly would show a virgin her future love (well, there WAS that bit with her trying to help get Margie and Bart together in Nisan)......
"Agnes, Saint, 4th-century Christian virgin and martyr, venerated in
both the Eastern and Western churches. Her story was mentioned by Saint
Jerome, Prudentius, Saint Ambrose, and Pope Damasus I (the latter two
wrote that their knowledge of her depended on a reliable oral
tradition). Early writers gave conflicting versions of her martyrdom,
agreeing only that she had just reached puberty at the time of her
execution.
According to a 6th-century legend, Agnes was a beautiful Roman girl who refused marriage because of her dedication to Christ. After rejecting many suitors, she was denounced as a Christian and sent to a house of prostitution as her punishment. When a young man ventured to touch her, he lost his sight, but he then regained it in answer to her prayers.
Shortly thereafter she was executed and buried on the Via Nomentana in a catacomb eventually named for her. A church was built over her tomb
about 350. In art she is often portrayed with a lamb, a symbol of
innocence. On January 21, her traditional feast day, two lambs are
blessed at her church in Rome. Their wool is then woven into palliums
(bands of white wool), which the pope confers on archbishops as a token
of their jurisdiction."
In addition, there is a poem by John Keats (1795-1821) entitled "The Eve of St. Agnes" (written in 1820). This mentions that by performing
certain rituals, a virgin might see her true love:
46 "They told her how, upon St. Agnes' Eve,
47 Young virgins might have visions of delight,
48 And soft adorings from their loves receive
49 Upon the honey'd middle of the night,
50 If ceremonies due they did aright;
51 As, supperless to bed they must retire,
52 And couch supine their beauties, lily white;
53 Nor look behind, nor sideways, but require
54 Of Heaven with upward eyes for all that they desire."
This sort of applies in the game, as Sister Agnes is the one primarily
trying to get Bart and Margie together.
(Thanks to Dan Tanaree for this information!)