28 May

Born in 1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter and author.

Above: Detail of Larsson’s painting Midvinterblot, which depicts a scene from an Old Norse Prose Edda written in the 13th century, the sacrifice of the mystical King Domald. The king holds his head high standing on a gilded sleigh drawn by four men. A one-eyed priest raises the hammer of Thor above his head. The executioner, wearing a red cloak, conceals the knife from the victim. According to the legend, Domald was sacrificed to appease the gods and to bring to an end several years of failed harvests.

Also, born in 1916, American novelist and essayist Walker Percy, who said

You live in a deranged age, more deranged than usual, because in spite of great scientific and technological advances, man has not the faintest idea of who he is or what he is doing.