Comments (Meaning / History Only)

Interesting historical info in case you are interested :-)Saint Nicholas of Myra Saves Three Innocents from Death (oil painting by Ilya Repin, 1888, State Russian Museum).
I tried to attach the picture but this site would not allow it.Myra is an ancient town in Lycia where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today in present day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.A century later Myra still enjoyed low taxation which the people attributed to St. Nicholas. After Galerius, and later Constantine, declared tolerance for Christianity, Christians imprisoned under Diocletian returned home. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, was one of them.
St. Nicholas Center ::: BISHOP OF MYRA
www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/bishop-of-Myra/Father Christmas: Saint Nicholas' face revealed (picture not able to be shown here)
6 December 2014
From the section LiverpoolSaint NicholasThe portrait includes the saint's severely broken nose, which healed asymmetrically. The "most realistic" portrait of the saint who became Santa Claus has been produced at a Liverpool university.Saint Nicholas was a 4th Century bishop who liked to give gifts secretly. His relics lie in Bari Cathedral in Italy.The image of him has been created using a facial reconstruction system and 3D interactive technology by Liverpool John Moores University's Face Lab.Professor Caroline Wilkinson said it was based on "all the skeletal and historical material" available.The saint, who died in 343, was the Greek bishop of Myra. The town, now known as Demre, lies on the southern coast of Turkey.He was said to have left secret gifts, such as putting coins in shoes that were left out for him, leading him to be the model for Father Christmas.A spokeswoman for the university said the new depiction uses "the most up-to-date anatomical standards, Turkish tissue depth data and CGI techniques".It also includes Saint Nicholas' severely broken nose, which she said had "healed asymmetrically, giving him a characteristic nose and rugged facial appearance".Revealing the portrait on the saint's feast day, 6 December, Prof Wilkinson said it was "thrilling to be able to show the face of this famous bishop".Saint Nicholas:Saint Nicholas◾Born in 270 in the then-Greek town of Patara, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt, before returning to become bishop of Myra
◾Imprisoned during the reign of Roman emperor Diocletian, but later released by his successor Constantine
◾After his death in 343AD, his burial site by his church in Myra became a shrine
◾Sailors stole his remains in 1087 and took them back to Bari, where they remain enshrinedSource: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
From the Greek "miora" meaning fate, this has evolved into the English form that we see today.
My understanding was that he created it as a nickname for Miranda (also a poetic creation, Shakespeare's in this case), although Mira, with a long e sound, seems like a more natural nickname for it.
According to a book I have Myra is a French name that means "quiet song."
I believe that the poet was influenced by hearing Scottish and Irish people pronounce the name "Moira". If you ever have heard this, it sounds almost identical to Myra. Every Scottish person I have ever asked about the name Myra without seeing its spelling, says "Oh, that's a Scottish name". In fact, the name is most common in Scotland and Ireland. I think Fulke-Greville was just anglicizing the spelling of the name Moira based on the pronunciation he most likely had heard around him or in his travels.

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