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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
MBS. CLEMENT'S ART HANDBOOKS.
A HANDBOOK OF LEGENDARY AND MYTHOLOGICAL ART.
By CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT. A new edition, revised and
enlarged. Fully illustrated, and with complete index. Crown
8vo, $3.25 ; half calf, or morocco, $5.00; full morocco, or
tree calf, $7.00.
A perfect storehouse of facts relative to symbolism in art, and the leg-
ends, stories, and myths associated with them. The wonderful and touch-
ing histories of the Christian saints and martyrs are told with a freshness
and fullness which give to the book an intrinsic value quite distinct from
its ulterior design. Christian Union.
PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, ARCHITECTS, ENGRAVERS, AND THEIR
WOKKS. By CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT. With illustra-
tions and monograms. Fifth edition, revised. Crown 8vo,
$3.25; half calf, or morocco, $5.00; tree calf, or full morocco,
$7.00.
Indispensable to every person interested in pictures and artists. It gives
not only the biography of artists, but lists of engravings from their works,
and by means of cross-references and copious indexes is a complete hand-
book. It is liberally illustrated by representations of standard works of
art, and the curious monograms of painters are given with the biographies.
ARTISTS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY AND THEIR WORKS.
A Handbook containing 2,050 Biographical Sketches. By
CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT and LAURENCE HUTTON. With
indexes. 2 vols. crown 8vo, $5.00.
These two volumes include biographical sketches of 2,050 artists, of all
nations in which there exists sufficient intellectual and aesthetic develop-
ment to foster productive art. Of these artists the best attainable infor-
mation is given, with an account of their works, the departments to which
they belong, their characteristic styles, and the opinions entertained of
them by competent critics.
The Introduction comprises a concise but comprehensive account of the
academies and schools of art of all countries, describing their various
systems of study and instruction.
HOUGHTON, MIFFLTN & CO., PUBLISHERS, BOSTON.
A HANDBOOK
LEGENDARY AND MYTHOLOGICAL ART.
CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT,
AUTHOR OP " A SIMPLE STORY OP THE ORIENT."
SDc^crigtifce
THIRTEENTH EDITION.
BOSTON:
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY.
Htoersfte Press,
1881.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington
RIVERSIDE, CAMBR1DGB.
STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED B*
H. 0. HOUOHTON AND COMPAHT.
PEEFAOE.
Art
Library
N
S315
VV31
188!
THIS book, originating in my own experience of the want of
gome hand-book of reference, both in reading and in visiting
art galleries when travelling, has been written with a threefold
motive. I have endeavored to produce something that would
interest and instruct my children, to whom this as well as all
the labors of my life are dedicated ; to acquire, for myself, a
more exact knowledge of the subjects herein treated ; and to
make this effort to supply my own necessity the means of use-
fulness to others who feel the same need.
The study and research thus occasioned have accomplished
the most selfish of my desires ; if the others shall be realized,
even imperfectly, my ambition will be satisfied.
Were I to make my acknowledgments to all the authorities
which I have consulted, the book would be enlarged by some
pages, but I would mention Alban Butler's " Lives of the
r o '
Saints ; " Didron's " Christian Iconography ; " Mrs. Jameson's
Works ; " La Legende Doree ; " Perkins' " Tuscan and Italian
Sculptors;" Miller's "Ancient Art and its Remains;" Ml
Perfetto Legendario ; " " History of Painting in Italy," by
Crowe and Cnvalcaselle ; Winckelmann's " History of Ancient
Art among the Greeks," and Westropp's " Handbook of Archae-
ology, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan," in connec-
tion with the first portion of the book.
The legends of place have been principally drawn from Ger-
man literature. Must of the English translations of these le-
gends that come within the reach of travellers, are the work of
958718
iv PREFACE.
Germans, and so imperfectly rendered, that a knowledge of their
own language is almost necessary in order to comprehend their
English.
The mythological portion embraces all subjects of that char-
acter which are illustrated in painting or sculpture in tlie gal-
leries of Rome, Florence, the Louvre, Munich, Vienna, Dresden,
and Berlin.
The illustrations are intended as a key or guide in the con-
sideration of their subjects. I would call attention to the frontis-
piece as being the first example, so far as I am able to learn,
of an American picture in any work connected with art.
The elegance of the book has been subordinated to the desire
to make it compact and convenient as a hand-book in travelling ;
this being a purpose for which it was especially written.
c. E. a
CLEMENT FARM, August 28, 1870.
PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.
IN the revision of this book I have used notes made during eight
years, both here and in Europe. The Index has been entirely re-
made and much enlarged. Three Appendices have been added.
In that relating to " Myths Illustrated in Art," I have included a
concise account of the principal events connected with the Trojan
War, and another of the Gods of Egypt. A few important " Le-
gends of Place " are added which had before been overlooked, and
I believe the whole book to be much improved and better suited to
the needs of travellers and students.
CLARA ERSKLNE CLEMENT. '
"CLEMENT FARM," October, 1878.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PAGE
SYMBOLISM IN ART . .... .1
LEGENDS AND STORIES ILLUSTRATED IN ART . . 31
LEGENDS OF PLACE .318
ANCIENT MYTHS WHICH HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN ART 418
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
SPALATRO. By Washington Allston. Frontispiece.
PAftl
ACHILLES SEIZING ARMS AT SCYROS 419
ACT.EON 420
ADONIS, DKATH OF 420
ADORATION OF THE MAGI. Taddeo Gaddi 191
AGNES, ST. 37
AJAX. /Egina Marbles 423
AMAZONS. Sarcophagus at Rome 424
AMPHION AND ZETHUS 424
ANDREW, ST. Peter Vischer 42
ANGEL 3
ANNA, ST., WITH VIRGIN AND CHILD 43
ANNUNCIATION, THE. J. Van Eyck 187
ANTONY OF PADUA, ST., MIRACLE OF. Pesillino 46
ARIADNE. Painting at Pompeii 427
ARTEMIS. (Diana.) Mus. Florence 428
ATLAS. Farnese Collection, Naples 431
AUGUSTINE, ST., VISION OF. Murillo 49
BADGE OF THE ORDER OF MERCY 30
BEI.LEKOPHON SLAYING THE CHIM.ERA 433
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, ST. Fra Angelico 57
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, ST., WRITING THE "Missus EST " ... 58
BERNARDINO OF SIENA, ST. 59
BONAVENTURA, ST. Raphael 61
BOREAS. Bas-relief. Athens 434
BRUNO, ST. La Sueur .63
CASSANDRA AND APOLLO 435
CATHERINE, ST., BORNE TO MT. SINAI. Miicke 65
CATHERINE, ST., MARRIAGE OF. Titian 66
CATHERINE OF SIENA, ST., RECEIVING THK STIGMATA. Razzi . 68
CKCILIA, ST. Raphael '. 69
CENTAUR. Bas-relief at Athens 436
CERBERUS. Bronze Statue 437
CHRISTINA, ST. Johan Schoreel 73
CHRISTOPHER, ST. Albert Durer 76
CLARA, ST. Portrait at Assisi 78
CONSTANTINE, EMPEROR 80
CROSSES . 3
viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
CROWNS 5, 6
CUNEGUNDA, ST., TESTED BY ORDEAL 134
D^DALUS MAKING WlNGS FOB ICARUS 46C
DANAIDS. Mus. Piso Clem 440
DIONYSUS. (Bacchus.) Painting found at Pompeii 432
DIRCE. Naples 425
DOMINICK, ST .88
DOROTHEA, ST. German 90
DUNSTAN, ST., AT THE FEET OF CHRIST. Drawn by himself ... 91
EAGLE 10, 20
EI,OY, ST., OF NOYON. Or-San-Michele. Florence .... 98
EROS (Cupid) 445
ETHELREDA'S, ST., DREAM. Ancient Sculpture .... 100
EUPHEMIA, ST. Andrea Mantegna 101
EUROPA. Stosch Collection 445
EUSTACE, ST. Domenichino . 102
FELIX DE CANTALICIO, ST. 105
FERDINAND, ST. Murillo 106
FLIGHT INTO EGYPT (N. Poussin) 195
FORTUNA. British Museum 446
FRANCESCA ROMANA, ST. Domenichino 109
FRANCIS, ST., ESPOUSALS OF. School of Giotto Ill
FRANCIS DE PAULA, ST 114
GABRIEL, ARCHANGEL 117
GENEVIEVE OF PARIS, ST. Gue"rin 119
GEORGE OF CAPPADOCIA, ST. Raphael 121
GILES, ST. Lucas von Leyden 124
HADES. Vatican, Rome 448
HEAD OF VIRGIN. Early Florentine Sculpture 185
HECTOR. Mgina. Marbles 450
HELENA, ST. Boisser^e Gallery 130
HENRY, ST. I. v. Melem 133
HERCULES AND HOUSES OF DIOMEDES 454
HERCULES AND CERBERUS 455
HEHCULES AND OMPHALE. Farnese Group, Naples 456
HERMES. Museo Borbonico 457
HUBERT, ST. Wilhelm von Koln 137
HUGH, ST., PRESENTING A VOTARY 138
IAGO ST. Carreno de Miranda 144
IGNATIUS, ST., MARTYRDOM OF. Greek MS. 140
IGNATIUS LOYOLA, ST. Rubens 141
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, THE. Guido 204
[RIS. Ancient Vase 461
JEROME, ST., PENANCE OF. Titian 14f
JEROME SAVONAROLA AS ST. PETER MARTYR. Fra Bartolomeo . . 255
JOACHIM, ST., MEETING ANNA. Albert Durer 151
JOHN, ST. Raphael 153
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, ST., PENANCE OF. A. Durer .... 158
JOHN GUALBERTO, ST. Fra Augelico 159
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ix
PAfll
JUPITER, OLYMPIAN, HEAD OF 462
JUSTA, ST., AND ST. RUFINA. Murillo 172
JU8TINA, ST., AND ALPHONSO I. OF FfiRRARA. II. MorettO . . 84
LAOCOON. Vatican 463
LAURKNCE, ST. Pinturicchio 174
LEONARD, ST. Old Fresco 177
LIMES 5
LION 18, 19, 20
LIPS. Bas-relief. Athens 465
LOHENZO GIUSTINIANA, ST. Gentil Bellini 179
Louis, ST. Ancient Glass 180
LUCIA, ST. Crivelli 182
MADONNA, ENTHRONED. Garofalo 207
MADONNA, ST. DOMINICK, AND ST. BARBARA. Francesco Francia . 209
MAROARET, ST. Lucas von Leyden 211
MARGARET, ST. Henry VII.'s Chapel 212
MARIA, ST. Cimabue. Florence 202
MARTIN, ST. Martin Schoen 217
MARY OF EGYPT, ST., DEATH OF. Pietro da Cortona .... 220
MARY MAGDALENE, ST. Donatello. Statue 221
MATER AMABILIS. Fra Bartolomeo 208
MATTHEW, ST. 225
MAURICF,, ST. Hemshirk 226
MEDEA AND HER CHILDREN. Museo Borbonico 461
MEDUSA. Marble. Munich 448
MKLEAGER. Painting of Pompeii 466
MICHAEL, ST. About Seventh Century 228
MICHAEL, ST. Martin Schoea 230
MINERVA. Athens 467
NATIVITY, THE 189
NICHOLAS OF MYRA, ST., CHARITY OF. Angelico da Fiesole . . 235
NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO, ST 239
NILUS, ST., MIRACLE OF. Fresco at Grotta Ferrata .... 240
NIOBE AND HER CHILDREN. Florence 470
NOTRE DAME DES SEPT DOULEURS 274
NOTUS. Bas-relief. Athens . 470
ORPHKUS. Mosaic 473
OTTILIA, ST. Old German Missal ." 245
Ox 18,19
PALMS 5
PAN. Bronze Relief. Pompeii 473
PATKOCLUS. ^Egina Marbles 475
PAUL, ST. Greek, Eleventh Century 247
PENELOPE. British Museum 477
PETER OF ALCANTARA, ST 252
PETER, ST., REPENTANCE OF. Third Century 249
PETER NOLASCO, ST. Claude de Mellan 254
PREDESTINATION. Miniature 205
PROPHECY OF THE SIBYL. Baldassare Peruzzi 277
x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGl
RAPHAEL, ST. Murillo . 263
REOINA VIRGINUM 203
RHKA OR CYBELE . 483
ROBBER, THE. Zuccaro . 194
ROCH, ST. Carotto .265
ROMUALDO, ST. National Gallery . 268
SEBALD, ST. Peter Vischer. Nuremberg 272
SIGISMOND, ST . 279
SILENUS. Bronze of Pompeii 486
SISYPHUS, IXION, AND TANTALUS 487
STEPHEN, ST. V. Carpaccio 282
SYMBOLS OF THE EVANGELISTS 18, 19, 20
TKTKAMORPH. Union of the ' Beasts" which symbolize the Evangelists 17
THECLA, ST. Lorenzo Costa 286
THERESA, ST 288
THOMAS, ST 290
THOMAS A BECKET, ST 293
TRITON 490
ULYSSES AND TIRESIAS 491
ULYSSES AND THE SIRENS 492
URSULA, ST. Hans Hemling, Bruges 305
VENTI. Vatican Virgil 493
VENUS (Aphrodite), AND EROS (Cupid) 494
VERONICA, ST. Andrea Sacchi 309
VIRGIN OF SAN VENANZIO. Greek Mosaic, A. D. 642 .... 206
VIRGIN, THE BLESSED. Moretto of Brescia 207
VIRGIN AND CHILD. Martin Schoen 207
VIRGO SAPIENTISSIMA. Van Eyck 203
WINE GKNIUS. Mosaic, Pompeii 447
ZENOBIO, ST., REVIVES A DEAD CHILD. Masaccio .... 316
ZKPHYHUS. Athens, Bas-relief 496
ZEUS. Medal in British Museum 498
SYMBOLISM IN AET
ST. AUGUSTINE calls the repre-
sentations of art, " libri idiotarum "
(the books of the simple), and there
is no doubt that the first object of
Christian art was to teach ; and the
aim of the artist was to render the
truth he desired to present without
regard to the beauty of the rep-
resentation ; he adhered to the
actual, and gave no play to imagi-
nation or aesthetics. But later in
its history, this art has been in-
fluenced by legends and doctrines
in the choice of subjects, and
these have been variously ren-
dered, in accordance with the char-
acter, the aesthetic cultivation, and
the refinement of the artist. But
from its infancy to the present time,
there have been certain character-
istic figures, attributes or symbols,
which have made a part of the language of what may be called
Christian Art. These are meaningless, or worse, perhaps a deformity
to the eye of one who understands them not ; but they add much to
the power of a representation, to the depth of sentiment and expres-
sion when rightly apprehended. These symbols are used in two
ways : to express a general fact or sentiment, or as the especial
attribute or characteristic of the person represented. My present
limits allow but an imperfect and superficial consideration of this
subject.
I. GENERAL SYMBOLS.
THE GLORY, AUREOLE, AND NIMBUS, all represent light or bright-
ness, and are the symbols of sanctity. The nimbus surrounds the
head ; the aureole encircles the whole body, and the glory is the
1
2 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
union of the nimbus and aureole. The nimbus belongs to all holy
persons and saints as well as to the representations of divinity. The
aureole, strictly speaking, belongs only to the persons of the God
head, but the Virgin Mary is invested with it, (1) when sh
holds the Saviour in her arms ; (2) in pictures of the Assumption
(3) when she is represented as the intercessor for humanity at
the last judgment ; (4) when represented as the Woman of the
Apocalypse. The aureole has also been used as a symbol of the
apotheosis of holy persons ; but this is a degeneration from its orig-
inal design and the use assigned it in ancient traditions. The
Glory also belongs especially to God and the Virgin. The oblong
aureole is called in Latin, vesica piscis ; in Italian, the mandorla :
(almond). The cruciform or triangular nimbus, or the figure of a
2ross in the nimbus, belong properly to the persons of the Trinity ;
the nimbus of saints and lesser beings should be circular. A square
nimbus is used for persons still living when the representation was
made ; the hexagonal nimbus for allegorical personages. These
symbols did not appear in Christian art until the fifth century, and
during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries they disappeared. They
are, however, employed in the present day, although not with the
careful distinction in the employment of the various forms which
characterized their earliest use. The color of these symbols in
painting is golden, or that which represents light ; in some in-
stances, in miniatures, or on glass, they are of various colors.
Didron believes these to be symbolical, but is not sure of the sig-
nification of the colors.
THE FISH. A fish, most frequently a dolphin, was the earliest
and most universal of the Christian symbols. It has several signifi-
cations. The Greek word for fish, IX0Y2, is composed of the ini-
tial letters of the Greek 'I^trotjs XpioTos, eou Yio?, ^orrr/p, the Latin
translation of which is, Jesus Christ us Dei filius Salvator thus form-
ing the initial anagram of this title of Jesus ; and these characters
are found in many ancient inscriptions, and upon works of art. The
fish is an emblem of water and the rite of baptism ; of the vocation
of the Christian apostle, or " fisher of men," especially in the hands
of St. Peter and others who were eminently successful in making con-
verts ; it is emblematic of Christians generally, they being likened to
fish in the call of the Apostles (Matt. iv. 19), and also typified by the
miraculous draught of fishes (John xxi). But it is not true that the
fish is always a Christian emblem ; according to Didron it is never
met as such in Greek art, and he believes that this emblem on the
tombs in the catacombs at Rome, signified the occupation of the
person buried in them.
THE CROSS has a deeper meaning than that of other symbols ;
it is in a certain sense not merely the instrument of the sufferings
of Christ, but himself suffering " ubi crux est martyr ibi" In Chris-
tian iconography, the cross holds a most important place. Accord-
SYMBOLISM IN ART.
r
(2.)
ing to the tradition or legend of the True Cross, it was coexistent
with the world, and will appear at the last judgment. Chosroes
believed that in possessing the cross of Christ he possessed the Sa-
viour, and so it was enthroned at his right hand. Thus in early
representations of the three persons of the godhead the cross without
the figure was considered not only to recall Christ to the mind but
actually to show him. There are four differently formed crosses :
The Latin or Roman cross (1)
is believed to be like that on
which Christ suffered, and is
the one placed in the hand of
a saint. This cross is in the
form of a man with the arms
extended ; the distance from
the head to the shoulders
being less than from the
shoulders to the feet, and the
length of the arms less than
that of the whole figure. The
Greek cross (2) has four {/ (3.) X s ) (4.)
equal branches. The cross of
Saint Andrew (3) is a cross saltier or an X ; and the Egyptian or
" Tau " cross (4), has but three branches, like the letter T. This
last is also called St. Anthony's Cross, because this saint is repre-
sented with a crutch in the shape of the " Tau," and it is embroid-
ered on his vestments. It is also assigned as the cross of the Old Tes-
tament, and the brazen serpent is represented on a pole with this
form. The Patriarchal Cross is of the same shape as the Latin
Cross, but has two horizontal bars. There are numerous varieties
of the Greek and Latin crosses, such as the Maltese Cross, the Cross
of Dorat and various others which pertain in some cases to certain
localities. The cross is often interlaced or combined with the first
two letters of the name of Christ in Greek. This monogram itself is
called the Labarum, or the Cross of Constantino, this being the form
of the legendary cross which he saw in the sky, and which was in-
scribed, according to Eusebius, EN TOYTO NIKA, " Conquer by
this." Frequently when the cross was made of gold or silver, the five
wounds of Christ were represented by inserting in it as many car-
buncles or rubies, there being one in the centre and one at each
extremity.
THE LAMB has been an emblem of the Saviour from the earliest
period of Christian art. It was the type of Him in the Old Testa-
ment and the name given Him by St. John the Baptist (John i. 28).
When standing, bearing the cross or a banner, with a nimbus about
<he head, it is the Lamb of God, and is frequently inscribed, Ecce
4.gnus Dei. The Twelve Apostles are represented by as many lambs,
4 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
while the thirteenth, the symbol of Christ, bears the cross or has a
nimbus about the head, and is frequently larger than the others.
The lamb, called the Apocalyptic Lamb, has seven horns and seven
eyes (Rev. v. 6). The lamb is also a general symbol of modesty,
purity, and innocence, as when made the attribute of St. Agnes.
THE LION is another symbol of Christ, the "Lion of Judah,"
and is sometimes represented with a cruciform nimbus. Accord-
ing to an Eastern tradition, the cub of the lion is born dead,
and is licked by its sire until it comes to life on the third day.
Hence it is symbolical of the resurrection. It is given to St. Jer-
ome and other hermits as the emblem of solitude ; to those who
perished in the amphitheatre as the symbol of their death ; and is
placed at the feet of some to denote their courage and fortitude
under the sufferings of martyrdom.
THE PELICAN, who tears open her breast to feed her young with
her blood, is the emblem of our redemption, through the sufferings
of Christ. It often surmounts the cross.
THE DRAGON is the symbol of sin and paganism. It is repre-
sented as conquered by Christianity, as in the legends of St. Mar-
garet, St. Michael, St. George, and St. Sylvester. In the legend of
St. Maitha, it represents a flood and pestilence. The "jaws of
hell " are represented by the open mouth of a dragon emitting flames.
THE SERPENT, another emblem of sin, is sometimes placed be-
neath the feet of the Virgin ; sometimes twined around a globe, to
indicate the power of sin over the entire world. In some symbolic
pictures of the crucifixion the serpent lies dead at the foot of the
cross, " or, if alive, looking impotently up at the second Adam upon
the tree of our salvation, as before, according to art, he looked
triumphantly down upon our first parents, from the tree of our fall."
THE HIND OR HART, is the especial attribute of St. Eustace, St.
Procopius, St. Giles, and St. Hubert. It was made the symbol of
religious aspiration by the "sweet singer of Israel ' (Psalm 42), and
is also an emblem of solitude and hermit life.
THE UNICORN. This fabulous creature was said to be able to
evade all pursuers except a virgin of perfect purity in heart, mind,
and life. It is only given as an attribute to the Virgin and St. Jus-
tina, and is the emblem of female chastity.
THE PEACOCK is seen on tombs, sarcophagi, and among funereal
emblems. It symbolizes the change from life to immortality. It
was borrowed from pagan art, where it represented the apotheosis
of an empress. It was the bird of Juno, but was not the symbol of
pride until modern times.
THE DOVE is the emblem of the soul when represented as is-
buing from the mouth of the dying ; an emblem of purity, when
given to the Virgin and certain female saints; also the symbol of the
Holy Ghost and of spiritual inspiration. It symbolizes the divine
SYMBOLISM IN ART.
spirit when it hovers over holy men, as the emblem of their heaven-
sent inspiration ; and is seen in pictures of the baptism of Christ,
the Pentecost and the Annunciation.
THE OLIVE as the emblem of peace, is given to the Archangel
Gabriel, and to some saints. It is seen upon the tombs of martyrs,
and is sometimes borne by the an-
gels who announce the nativity.
THE PALM. The use of the palm
as the symbol of martyrdom is au-
thorized by Scripture (Rev. vii. 9).
It belongs to all the " noble army
of martyrs." It is placed in their
hands and carved on their tombs.
It is sometimes brought to them by
angels as if from heaven itself. It
is very much varied in form and
size.
THE LILY wherever seen, has but
one signification, which is chastity
and purity. It belongs especially to
pictures of the Annunciation and to
St. Joseph, whose rod was said to
put forth lilies.
FRUIT ou FLOWEUS, although
frequently employed merely as orna-
ments, have under certain circum-
stances different significations. As the apple is an emblem of the
fall in Paradise, in many pictures, so when presented to the infant
Saviour, or in his hand, it signifies redemption. Roses are illustra-
tive of the legends of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Cecilia, and St.
Dorothea, and a type of the Virgin as the " Rose of Sharon." A
bursting pomegranate, is the symbol of a hopeful future. Any fruit
in the hand of St. Catherine is a symbol of " the fruit of the spirit."
THE LAMP, LANTERN T , OR TAPER is most frequently the sym-
bol of piety. But the lamp as the attribute of St. Lucia, signifies
heavenly wisdom, or spiritual light.
FIRE AND FLAMES are emblems of zeal and fervor of soul, or
of the sufferings of martyrdom.
THE FLAMING HEART, is symbolical of fervent piety and spirit-
ual love.
THE CROWN, when on the head of the Madonna, makes her the
queen of Heaven and Regina Angelorum.
When the attribute of a martyr, it signifies
the victory over sin and death, or denotes
that the saint was of royal blood ; in the
latter case it is usually placed at the feet.
6 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
Among the Jews the crown was the ornament of a bride, and to
the present time it is placed on the head of a
nun when consecrated as the Bride of Christ.
For this reason it is more frequently seen on the
heads of female saints, while those of the other
sex hold it in the hand. It is sometimes a mere
circlet ; often a chaplet of flowers, and again it
is magnificent with gold and precious jewels.
THE SWORD, AXE, LANCE, AND CLUB are all symbols of
martyrdom, and are the attributes of certain saints, and signify the
manner of death they suffered. The sword is also an attribute
of the warrior saints, and sometimes is an emblem of a violent
death, without being the instrument employed.
THE SKULL AND SCOURGE symbolize penance.
THE SHELL, pilgrimage.
THE BELL was believed to exorcise evil spirits.
THE ANVIL is the attribute of St. Adrian, and is the symbol of
his death.
THE ARROW is the attribute of St. Sebastian, St. Ursula, and St.
Christina.
THE PONIARD, of St. Lucia.
THE CAULDRON, of St. Cecilia and St. John the Evangelist.
THE SHEARS AND PINCERS, of St. Agatha and St. Apollonia.
THE WHEELS, of St. Catherine.
THE STANDARD, OR BANNER, is the symbol of victory. It belongs
to the military saints, and to those who carried the gospel to hea-
then lands. It is borne by Christ after the resurrection. St. Rep-
arata and St. Ursula are the only female saints to whom it is given.
THE CHALICE is the emblem of faith and is an attribute of St.
Barbara. With a serpent, it is tliat of St. John the Evangelist.
THE BOOK, in the hand of St. Stephen, is the Old Testament ;
in the hands of the evangelists it represents their own writings. In
other cases it is the Scriptures, or the symbol of the learning and
writings of the saint who bears it.
THE CHURCH, in the hand of St. Jerome, is the symbol of his love
and care for the whole Christian Church. In other cases it is gen-
erally the model of some particular church, and the saint who bears
it was its founder or first bishop.
THE SHIP. In early times the ark was the symbol of the Chris-,
tian Church, but later any ship has had this significance. The boat
of St. Peter, tempest- tossed and guided by Christ, is symbolical of
his watchful care of his church.
THE ANCHOR is one of the earliest Christian symbols. It is seen
in the catacombs and on very ancient gems. It is the emblem of
immovable hope and untiring patience. It is an attribute of some
saints in illustration of their legends, as in the case of St. Clement
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 7
THE SYMBOLS OF THE PASSION AND CRUCIFIXION are numer-
ous, and although rarely seen in the catacombs and in early sculp-
ture, they are constantly found in churches. They are, the two
swords of the apostles, the ear of Malchus, St. Peter's sword, the
pillar and cord, the scourge, the crown of thorns, the three dice,
the spear, the sponge, the nails, the cross, the thirty pieces of sil-
ver, the hammer and pincers, the ladder, the lantern, the boxes of
spice for embalming, the seamless garment, the purse and the cock :
the five wounds are represented by the hands and feet with a heart
in the centre, each pierced with one wound, or by a heart alone
with five wounds.
EARS OF CORN AND BUNCHES OF GRAPES were symbols of the
bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist ; while the representations
of the labors of the vintage were typical of those of Christians in
the vineyard of the Lord ; the vine and vine leaf was an emblem
of the Saviour, the true vine.
THE CANDELABRUM was an emblem of Christ and his Church,
the light of the world. With seven branches it refers to the seven
gifts of the Spirit, or to the seven churches (Rev. i. 20)
LITTLE NAKED BODIES are the symbols of the souls of men,
and are seen in pictures of St. Michael when he is represented an
the Lord of souls. They are also placed in the hand which sym-
bolizes God the Father.
II. SYMBOLISM OF COLORS.
In ancient art each color had a mystic sense or symbolism, and
its proper use was an important consideration, and carefully
studied.
WHITE is worn by the Saviour after his resurrection ; by the
Virgin in representations of the Assumption ; by women as the em-
blem of chastity ; by rich men to indicate humility, and by the
judge as the symbol of integrity. It is represented sometimes by
silver or the diamond, and its sentiment is purity, virginity, inno-
cence, faith, joy, and light.
RED, the color of the ruby, speaks of royalty, fire, divine love,
the holy spirit, creative power, and heat. In an opposite sense it
nymbolized blood, Avar, and hatred. Red and black combined were
th. colors of Satan, purgatory, and evil spirits. Red and white roses
are emblems of love and innocence, or love and wisdom, as in the
garland of St. Cecilia.
BLUE, that of the sapphire, signified heaven, heavenly love and
iruth, constancy and fidelity. Christ and the Virgin Mary wear
the blue mantle, St. John a blue tunic.
GREEN, the emerald, the color of spring, expressed hope and
victory.
8 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
YELLOW OR GOLD was the emblem of the sun, the goodness of
God, marriage and fruitfulness. St. Joseph and St. Peter wear
yellow, Yellow has also a bad signification when it has a dirty,
dingy hue, such as the usual dress of Judas, and then signifies jeal-
ousy, inconstancy, and deceit.
VIOLET OR AMETHYST signified passion and suffering, or love
and truth. Penitents, as the Magdalene, wear it. The Madonna
wears it after the crucifixion, and Christ after the resurrection.
GRAY is the color of penance, mourning, humility, or accused
innocence.
BLACK with white signified humility, mourning and purity of life.
Alone, it spoke of darkness, wickedness, and death, and belonged to
Satan. In pictures of the Temptation, Jesus sometimes wears
black.
III. SYMBOLS OF GOD THE FATHER.
Before the twelfth century there were no portraits of God the
Father, and the symbol used to indicate his presence was a hand
issuing from the clouds. This hand when entirely open is in the
act of bestowing and has rays from each finger. It was generally
represented in the act of benediction, and the position showed
whether it belonged to eastern or western, or to Greek or Latin
art, for the benedictory gesture differs in the two churches. " In the
Greek Church it is performed with the forefinger entirely open, the
middle finger slightly bent, the thumb crossed upon the third fin-
ger, and the little finger bent. This movement and position of the
five fingers, form more or less perfectly the monogram of the Son
of God." The Latin benediction is given with the third and little
fingers closed, the thumb and the other two fingers remaining open
and straight. This is said to symbolize the three persons of the
Trinity by the open fingers, and the two natures of Christ by the
closed. The hand is frequently surrounded by the cruciform
nimbus, which in the early centuries was given to God alone. The
hand is most frequently seen in pictures of the Baptism of Christ;
the Agony in the Garden ; in the Crucifixion, where it is placed on the
summit of the cross in the act of benediction ; and when Jesus is
represented as reascending to heaven after his death, bearing the
cross in his hand, the right hand of the Father is extended to him
as if " in a manner to assist him to rise." In another representa-
tion of the hand of God it is filled with little naked figures whose
hands are joined as if in prayer. These are the souls of the right-
eous who have returned to God.
The next symbol of the Father was a face in the clouds, then a
bust ; and gradually by the end of the fourteenth century a figure
and distinct characteristics represented the first person of the God-
head. In the beginning there was little or no distinction between
SYMBOLISM IN ART. g
the representations of the Father and Son ; but gradually the
Father was made older, while the place of honor, the royal crown
on his head and the globe in his hand, indicated a superior dignity
and consideration. From this time to that of the Renaissance,
however, the representations of God were but little more than those
of a pope or king ; the triple tiara was indeed increased by the ad-
dition of two more crowns, and when in the garments of a king a
nimbus encircled the crown. With the aesthetic genius and prog-
ress of the Renaissance, with Michael Angelo, Perugino, and Ra-
phael, came representations of God that more satisfactorily embody
that mental conception which can never be embodied, the < oncep-
tion of God, of Jehovah, the Creator and Ancient of days. But at
length it came to be remembered that no personal representation of
the Father should ever be made. No man hath seen or can see
Him ; and Jesus being the Word, was the speech of God and was the
fitting representation of the Father whenever he had spoken. Since
the sixteenth century the Father has been symbolized by the tri
angle, which is his linear emblem, or some other geometrical figure
inscribed with his name, and surrounded with rays of light. This
radiating circle is itself an emblem of eternity. Sometimes a flood
or blaze of light alone is the symbol of the " appearance of bright-
ness " which the prophet describes (Ezek. viii. 2), but the triangle
became extremely popular on account of the ideas or teaching
which it embodied. Here the Father, represented by his name, in
Hebrew, occupied the centre of the triangle which symbolized the
Trinity, and all was contained in the circle of Eternity.
This abstruse symbol is often seen in the decorations of the
churches of the present day and upon the vestments of bishops.
IV. SYMBOLS OF GOD THE SON.
The usual symbols of Christ have been mentioned under the
head of general symbols, for they are capable of various significa-
tions and are employed as attributes of saints or to denote their
characteristics. They are the glory, aureole, or nimbus, the fish,
cross, lamb, and lion. The traditions of the earliest portraits of
Christ will be found by referring to the legends of King Abgarus
and St. Veronica. From the beginning of Christian art Christ has
been represented by portraits rather than symbols, and in such a
manner as to render them quite unmistakable. In the earliest rep-
resentations of the crucifixion, it was surrounded with various sym-
bols, and the aim of the artists who painted them was to portray
the mysterious death which convulsed nature, raised the dead, and
wrought mighty miracles, rather than the mere physical sufferings
and human death which later art presents.
Among the symbols thus used were the sun and moon, represented
10 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
by the classic figures of Sol and Luna, with the rays and crescent,
or seated in their orbs surrounded with clouds, with their right
hands raised to the cheek, an ancient sign of sorrow. Again, they
bore torches reversed. Figures are seen rising from tombs and
from the water, showing that the dead shall rise from sea and land.
Earth and Ocean are also symbolized. In one ancient ivory, Earth
is half nude and sits beside a tree ; in one hand she holds a cornu-
copia, the symbol of abundance, while a serpent nurses at her
breast, the emblem of life nourished by the earth. The ocean is as a
river-god, riding on a dolphin, or holding a subverted urn, from
which the water pours forth. The church and the synagogue are
typified by females ; the one on the right or place of honor, the
church, holds a banner and gazes up at the Saviour, while on the
left the synagogue turns her back as if rebellious. The Virgin and
St. John are ever present at the crucifixion from earliest to latest
time. Their hands are often raised to the cheek in token of afflic-
tion, and the disciple bears the Gospel in his hand. Angels some-
times hold a crown above the head of Christ, or hang from the
cross in attitudes of anguish. The presence of the Father is shown
by the hand before described, which holds the crown, or is in the
act of blessing. Other symbols are the serpent twined about the
foot of the cross ; the pelican tearing her breast to feed her young,
an emblem of redemption ; a female figure crowned with towers
supposed to represent Jerusalem ; a skull symbolizes Adam ; the
sacrifice of a heifer typifies the Jewish rites ; and sometimes the
Evangelists are represented writing their Gospels while their winged
symbols whisper in their ears. These are the most important ac-
cessories of the symbolical representations of the Crucifixion ; the
historical easily explain themselves. In many ancient crucifixions
the figure of Christ is clothed in a robe. Some had a drapery from
the hips to the knees. The draped figures are mostly if not all of
Byzantine origin, and there is a legend which is given as a reason
for this mode of representation : " A priest, who had exhibited to
the people a figure of Christ only cinctured with a cloth, was visited
by an apparition which said, ' All ye go covered with various rai-
ment, and me ye show naked. Go forthwith and cover me with
clothing.' The priest not understanding what was meant, took no
notice, and on the third day the vision appeared again, and having
scourged him severely with rods, said, ' Have I not told you to
cover me with garments ? Go now and cover with clothing the
oicture in which I appear crucified.' "
V. SYMBOLS OF THE HOLY GHOST.
From the sixth century to the present time, the dove has been
the constant and uiiiv-rs:il symbol of the Holy Ghost. It appears
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 11
in illustrations of the Scripture scenes, in which ihe Holy Spirit is
mentioned from the " moving upon the face of the waters " to the
Day of Pentecost. There are also many representations of his ap-
pearance in historical scenes, and in others which are partly or
wholly legendary. The dove is often present at the Nativity and
the Annunciation ; it issues from the rod of Joseph, thus designat-
ing him to be the spouse of the Virgin ; it hovers above the heads
of holy men and saints, showing that their inspiration is heaven
sent, among which are David, St. John the Evangelist, St. Jerome.
St. Theresa, and others. Another representation, intensely symbol-
ical, is that of the Saviour surrounded by seven doves ; they are of
snowy whiteness, and have the cruciform nimbus ; they are emblems
of the seven gifts of the Spirit with which Christ was endowed :
wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, piety, and fear
(Isaiah xi.). These doves are frequently placed with three on each
side and one at the top, thus forming a kind of aureole. It may
not be out of place to observe that during the Middle Ages, seven
was esteemed a sacred number. There were seven gifts of the Holy
Ghost ; seven sacraments ; seven planets ; seven days in the week ;
seven branches on the candlestick of Moses ; seven liberal arts ;
seven churches of Asia ; seven mysterious seals ; seven stars and
seven symbolic trumpets ; seven heads of the Dragon ; seven joys
and seven sorrows of the Virgin ; seven penitential psalms ; seven
deadly sins ; seven canonical hours ; and Mohammed says in the
Koran, that " God visited the skies, and formed there seven heav-
ens " (Koran ii. 27). Some cathedrals have seven chapels, aa
those at Rheims and Chartres. During the tenth century, the Holy
Ghost was sometimes represented as a man ; but this representation
was never received with as much favor as the other. He was made
of every age, from the earliest to the latest years of life. As a
little child, he floated on the waters ; as a young child he was in the
arms of the Father ; his age is according to the fancy of the artist,
or the supposed requirements of the representation. Among the
legendary pictures in which he was thus represented, is that of the
reception of Christ in heaven, after his earthly mission was ended ;
the Holy Ghost is seated by the Father, and has a book, expressive
of intelligence. He blesses Jesus, as does the Father ; he also
assists at the coronation of the Virgin. In some instances, the two
representations of the Holy Ghost were combined, by the figure of
a man with a dove on his head or hand. Still another symbol is
that of a dove from which emanate rays of light, spreading out in
every direction, forming a radiating aureole about it. The dove is
also one of the general symbols of art, and as such is emblematical
of purity and innocence, which signification was made most em-
phatic, by its use as the sacrifice for purification, under the Jewish
law. As before mentioned, it is the attribute of certain female saints,
denoting chastity and purity.
12 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
VI. SYMBOLS OF THE TRINITY.
Representations of the mystical Three in One were employed in
art from its earliest ages. It was symbolized by the combination of
three triangles, three circles, three fishes, and many other represen-
tations more obscure in their meanings. In later art, the three per-
sons of the Trinity have been represented by three human figures,
each with its special attribute, that of the Holy Ghost being the
dove. Another mode represents the Father and Son with the
dove between them ; in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the
dove was often seen hovering between the first and second persons
of the Trinity, with the tips of the wings touching the lips of each.
This representation is called the double procession of the Spirit ; illus-
trative of the sentence of the Nicene Creed, " proceeding from the
Father and the Son." This representation belongs to the Latin
Church. In these representations, when the locality is heaven, the
figures are always seated. There is a device called the Italian Trin-
ity, which was popular from the twelfth to the seventeenth century.
In this the Father holds a crucifix by the ends of the transverse
beam, the figure of Christ hanging between his knees ; the dove
proceeds downwards from the lips of the Father, and touches the
head of the Son, or is merely sitting on the cross. Some attempts
have been made to embody this mystery, by the representation of a
body with three heads, or a head with three faces, but they are only
frightful and monstrous.
VII. SYMBOLS OF ANGELS.
According to Dionysius. the Areopagite, there are three divisions
of angels, and these each divided into three classes or choirs, mak-
ing nine in all.
I. COUNCILLORS OF GOD, consisting of
1. THE SERAPHIM, represented as covered with eyes.
2. THE CHERUBIM, represented with six wings, and usually
standing on wheels, according to the description of Ezekiel. Some-
times they have an open book. These two orders stand always be-
fore God, praising and adoring Him.
3. THRONES are represented carrying a throne or tower, and
their duty is to support the throne of Qod.
II. GOVERNORS. These rule the stars, and regulate the uni-
verse.
4. DOMINATIONS, represented with a sword, a triple crown and
sceptre, or an orb and cross.
5. VIRTUES. These carry a battle-axe and pennon or a crown
a,nd censer, and are in complete armor.
6. POWERS. These hold a baton, or are in the act of scourging
or chaining evil spirits.
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 13
III MESSENGERS OF GOD.
7. PRINCEDOMS OR PRINCIPALITIES. These are in armor, with
pennons, or holding a lily.
8. ARCHANGELS. These are seven in number, but the first three
are those represented in art, and rarely the fourth. They are
I MICHAEL (like unto God), captain-general of the host of
Heaven, protector of the Hebrew nation, conqueror of the hosts
of Hell ; lord and guardian of souls, patron saint and prince of
the Church Militant.
II. GABRIEL (God is my strength), guardian of the celestial
treasury, the bearer of important messages, the angel of the annun
ciation, the preceptor of the patriarch Joseph.
III. RAPHAEL (the medicine of God), the chief of guardian
angels, the conductor of the young Tobias.
IV. URIEL (the Light of God), the regent of the sun, the teacher
of Esdras.
V. CHAMUEL (one who sees God) is believed by some to be the
one who wrestled with Jacob, and appeared to Christ during his
agony in the garden ; but others believe that this was Gabriel.
VI. JOPHIEL (the beauty of God), the guardian of the tree of knowl-
edge, and the one who drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of
Eden, the protector of those who seek truth, the preceptor of the
sons of Noah, the enemy of all who pursue vain knowledge.
VII. ZADKIEL (the righteousness of God), according to some
authorities he stayed the hand of Abraham from sacrificing Isaac,
but others believe that this was done by Michael.
The attributes of Michael are the sword and scales ; of Gabriel,
the lily; of Raphael, the staff and gourd of the pilgrim; of Uriel,
a roll and book ; of Chamuel, a cup and staff ; of Jophiel, a flaming
sword, and of Zadkiel, the sacrificial knife. When represented
merely as archangels and not in their distinctive characters, they are
in complete armor, holding their swords with points upwards, and
sometimes with trumpets.
9. AXGELS. Variously represented acccording to the purpose
for which they are sent forth. The first great division of angels re-
main about the throne of God, and reflect the light and glory derived
from Him upon the second division, who again reflect it upon the
third division, who are the messengers of God and the guardians of
mankind.
The Greek word for angel signifies literally " a bringer of tid-
ings," therefore this term, though applied to all heavenly beings
below the Godhead, belongs most properly to archangels and angels
who are brought into communication with mankind. When Christ
is represented with wings in Greek art, it is as "the great angel of
the will of God." John the Baptist and the Evangelists, are angels,
also, inasmuch as they were God's messengers, and they are sometimes
14 SYMBOLISM. IN ART.
represented with wings. A glory of angels is a representation in
which the Trinity, Christ, or the Virgin, are surrounded by circles
of angels, representing the different choirs. The interior circles, the
Seraphim and Cherubim, are symbolized by heads with two, four,
or six wings, and .are usually of a bright red or blue color. Properly
the Seraph, whose name signifies to love, should be red, and the
Cherub, whose name signifies to know, should be blue. Angels
should always be young, beautiful, perfect, but so represented as to
seem immortal rather than eternal, since they are created beings.
In early art, they were always draped, and although all colors are
employed in the drapery, white should be the prevailing one. Wings
are seldom wanting, and the representation of them as the attribute
of celestial beings, did not originate in Christian art. This symbol
of might, majesty, and divine beauty, is found in the remains of
Egypt, Babylon, and Nineveh, as well as in Etruscan art.
VIII. SYMBOLS OF THE VIRGIN.
Among the symbols of the Blessed Virgin, the titles by which
she is known, and from which certain pictures and effigies are
named, are by no means the least interesting, showing as they do
the estimation in which she is held, and the tenderness, as well as
sacredness of the love she engenders in the hearts of her faithful
worshippers. As the protector of the afflicted she is represented
with her robe so spread out as to cover the votaries who pray for her
gracious aid. In this character she has several titles, such as,
Santa Maria di Misericorclia, Our Lady of Mercy ; and by this
title, " Nuestra Senora de la Merced,'' she is known as the patron-
ess of the Spanish Order of Mercy. When painted for their insti-
tutions, she frequently holds a badge of the Order on a tablet.
Santa Maria del buon Consilio, Our Lady of Good Counsel.
S. M. della Grazia, Our Lady of Grace.
S. M. Auxilium Afflictorum, Help of the Afflicted.
S. M. del Pianto, del Dolore, Our Lady of Lamentation or Sorrow.
S. M. del Soccorro, Our Lady of Succour, or of the Forsaken.
S. M. de buon Core, Our Lady of Good Heart.
S. M. Consolatrice, della Consolazione, or del Conforto, Our Ladj
of Consolation.
S. M. Refugium Peccatorum, Refuge of Sinners.
S. M. della Speranza, Our Lady of Hope.
She is invoked by women in travail as,
S. M. del Parto, Our Lady of Good Delivery.
Again, by the people as,
S. M. della Pace, Our Lady of Peace.
S. M. del Popolo, Our Lady of the People.
S. M. della Vittoria, Our Lady of Victory.
SYMbULLSM IN ARF IS
By students she is invoked as,
S. M. della Sapienza, Our Lady of Wisdom.
S. M. della Perseveranza, Our Lady of Perseverance.
When painted for colleges and institutions of learning, she fre-
quently holds a book.
By prisoners she is called,
S. M. della Liberia, or Liberalrice, Our Lady of Liberty.
S. M. della Catena, Our Lady of Fetters.
There are also many titles derived from the circumstances of her
life, or from certain accessories of the representation, as,
S. M. della Cintola, Our Lady of the Girdle, when she gives her
girdle to St. Thomas.
S. M. dell Libro, when she holds the book of Wisdom.
S. M. del Presepio, Our Lady of the Cradle, when in a Nativity.
S. M. della Lettera, the Madonna of the Letter, which illustrates
the legend that she wrole a leller, A. D. 42, from Jerusalem to the
people of Messina. This is her title as protectress of that city.
S. M. della Scodella, when with a cup she dips water from a foun-
tain.
S. M. della Rosa, Our Lady of the Rose, when she holds a rose.
S. M. della Spina ; this is her title as protectress of Pisa, when
she holds the crown of thorns.
S. M. de Belem, Our Lady of Bethlehem. With this title she is
the patroness of the Jeronymites.
S. M. di Loretto, Our Lady of Loretto. See legend of the
Santa Casa.
S. M. del Pillar ; this is her title as protectress of Saragossa.
According to the tradition, she descended from heaven, standing on
a marble pillar, and appeared to St. James when he Avas preaching
in Spain. This legend is often seen in Spanish pictures, and the
pillar is preserved in the cathedral of Saragossa.
S. M. del Carmine, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, under which
title she is the protectress of the Carmelites.
S. M. della Neve, Our Lady of the Snow. See legend of Sar!a
Maria Maggiore.
S. M. del Rosario. Our Lady of the Rosary. See the Rosary,
S. M. della Stella. Our Lady of the Star, when the star is t,m-
broidered on her mantle as an attribute.
S. M. del Fioiv, Our Lady of the Flower. This is her title as
protectress of Florence.
Certain prophets are sometimes represented as attending on
Mary and the Infant Jesus. They are those who are supposed to
aave referred especially to the Incarnation. They are :
Moses, because he beheld the burning bush.
Aaron, whose rod blossomed miraculously.
Gideon, whose fleece was wet with dew, when it was drv all
iround.
16 SYMBOLISM IN ART
Daniel (Dan. ii. 45).
David, both prophet and ancestor.
Isaiah, who prophesied that a virgin should conceive and bear a
son.
Ezekiel (Ezek. xliv. 2). Frequently the figures of these proph-
ets are omitted, and symbols of them introduced, as the burning
bush for Moses ; the dewy fleece for Gideon ; the rod for Aaron,
etc., etc.
Certain women, too, are regarded as types of Mary, and are often
seated at her i'eet, or otherwise represented near her, as,
Judith and Esther, who were emblems of the Virgin, in having
brought deliverance to Israel.
Ruth, because she was the ancestress of David.
Bathsheba, because she sat on the right hand of her son.
Abishag, who was " the virgin who was brought to the king."
There are certain general symbols which are also given to Mary,
with peculiar significations.
THE APPLE, when in the hand of the infant Saviour, signifies the
sin of Paradise, which made his coming necessary ; but in the hand
of the Virgin, it designates her as the second Eve.
THE SERPENT, the general emblem of Satan and sin, has a pe-
culiar meaning when placed beneath the feet of the Virgin, and is
illustrative of the sentence, ' Ipsa conteret caput tuum," " She shall
bruise thy head."
THE GLOBE, beneath the Virgin and intwined by a serpent, is
the symbol of her triumph over a world fallen through sin.
THE POMEGRANATE, the emblem of hope, is frequently given to
the Virgin by the child Jesus.
BIRDS, in ancient pictures, figured the soul or the spiritual, as the
opposite of the material. Thus the dove is the Holy Spirit hover-
ing above her ; while the seven doves, which typify the gifts of the
Spirit, when surrounding the Virgin, make her the Mater Sapientiae,
or the Mother of Wisdom. When doves are near her while she
reads or works, they express her gentleness and tenderness.
THE BOOK, in the hand of Mary, if open, represents the book of
Wisdom ; if closed or sealed, it is a mystical symbol of the Virgin,
which will be further explained.
FLOWERS were consecrated to the Virgin, and FRUITS signify
" the fruits of the Spirit, joy, peace, and love."
Lastly, there are many symbols of the Virgin, derived from tht
Canticles and the Litanies of the Virgin, and which belong especially
to her.
THE LILY. (Cant. ii. 12.) "I am the rose of Sharon, and lily of
the valleys."
THE ROSE is one emblem of love and beauty, and especially ded-
icated to Mary. A plantation or garden of roses is often repre-
ented.
SYMBOLISM IN ART.
17
THK ENCLOSED GARDEN (Cant. iv. 12).
THE STAH is often embroidered on her veil or mantle. When
sue h;is a crown of twelve stars it is illustrative of the description
in the Revelation. She is also called " Stella Maris," star of the
sea ; " Stella Jacobi," the star of Jacob ; " Stella non Erratica,"
the fixed star ; and " Stella Matutina," the morning star.
THE SUN AND Moox refer to her as the woman of the Apoca-
lypse ; " A woman clothed with the sun, having the moon under her
feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars."
THE STEM OF JESSE, is represented as a green branch twined
with flowers (Isa. xi. 1).
THE PORTA CLAUSA, or closed gate (Ezek. xliv. 4).
THE WELL, FOUNTAIN, CITY OK DAVID, TEMPLE OF SOLOMON,
AND To \VEK OF DAVID, are all symbols borrowed from the Canticles.
THE OLIVE, THE CYPRESS, AND PALM, are all emblems of the
Virgin. The first signifies peace, hope, and abundance ; the second
points to heaven, and the third speaks of victory.
THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, by its
height, its perfume, its healing qual-
ities, and its incorruptible substance,
symbolizes the greatness, goodness
and beauty of the Virgin.
THE SEALED BOOK, in the hands
of the Virgin, alludes to the text, " In
that book were all my members writ-
ten," and also to the sealed book de-
scribed by Isaiah (xxix. 11, 12).
THE MIRROR is borrowed as an
emblem from the book of Wisdom
(vii. 25). " Specula sine macula."
The explanation of the seven joys jiv
and the seven sorrows of the Virgin,
as well as that of the mysteries of the
Rosary, will be found, by reference to
them in their alphabetical order, in
the next division of this book.
IX.
SYMBOLS OF THE
EVANGELISTS.
WHEN the Evangelists are repre-
sented together, it is in their character
of witnesses, upon whose testimony
the whole truth of Christianity rests ;
when they are single they are usually
presented as teachers or patrons. The
2
Tetramorph
18
SYMBOLISM IN ART.
earliest symbol of the Evangelists was a Greek cross, with a scroll
or book in each angle, emblems of the writers of the four Gospels.
The second symbol was that of the four rivers, which rise in Para-
dise. Sometimes the Saviour with a lamb, or the symbolic Agnus
Dei, was represented on an eminence, with the four streams, sym-
bolizing the Evangelists, flowing from beneath him. Their next
symbol was the four fiery creatures of Ezekiel's vision (Ezek. i. 5).
These were interpreted by the Jews, as representing th-3 archangels ;
also the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel ; but tho
early Christians explained them more satisfactorily to themselves,
as emblems of the Evangelists.
The four " beasts " of the Apocalypse received the same explan-
ation, and in the sev-
enth century they had
become the distinctive
.symbols of these in-
spired witnesses.
Jerome explains the
individual application
of these symbols thus :
1 . The cherub,
which most resembles
(Mosaic) St. Mark. a human being, was
given to St. Matthew, because he speaks more of the human than
of the divine nature of our Saviour.
2. The Lion symbolizes St.
Mark, for three reasons :
(i.) He commences his epistle with
the mission of St. John the Bap-
tist, " The voice of one crying in
the wilderness."
(ii.) The king of beasts is a type
of the royal dignity of Christ,
which St. Mark makes so apparent.
(iii.) According to an oriental
tradition the young lions are born dead, and after three days are
made alive, by the breath or the
V-7 ^~1 Sft\} ^)'A roar f tuc s ' re ! th us they are an
St. Mark.
(Mosaic, 6th Century.) St. Luke.
roar f tuc s ' re !
emblem of the Resurrection, of
which St. Mark is called the his-
torian.
3. The Ox was given St. Luke
because he especially sets forth
the Priesthood of Christ, and the
ox is symbolical of sacrifice.
4. The Eaghe was given to St.
SYMBOLISM IN ART.
19
John as an emblem of
the lofty flights of his
inspiration.
Others regarded these
" Beasts " as shadowing
forth the Incarnation,
Passion, Resurrection,
and Ascension of Je-
sus ; and they are also
believed to represent
the fourfold character (Mosaic, 11th Century.) St. John.
of Christ as man. king, high-priest, and God.
These symbolic creatures were always represented as winged. The
union of all four " Beasts," forms that
mysterious emblem called the Tetra-
morph. In another symbol a woman
represents the new Law, or the Church.
She is crowned and seated on a crea-
ture who has the four heads of these
symbolic beasts, the body of a horse,
and four feet, embracing one of each
of the four creatures. Again, the
Church is in a triumphal chariot, driven
by a cherub or angel, and drawn by the '
lion, ox, and eagle. The next advance
was the combination of the human form (Mosaic, A. D. 750.) St. Luke,
with the heads of these mystic beasts. Figures formed in this way
were sometimes represented
alternately, with the figures
of the prophets, all forming
a circle. These ideas seem
to have been borrowed from
the winged bulls, with human
heads, found at Nineveh.
At length the only symbol
retained in the representa-
tions of the Evangelists was
the wings. These were at-
tached to the human form ;
they bear their books, and
the symbolic creatures were
represented near them or at
their feet.
The Evangelists were
often represented together,
with four prophets, thus sym-
bolizing the old and new
(Fra Angelico.)
(Fra Angelico.)
20
SYMBOLISM IN ART.
law ; or with four doctors of the Church,
as witnesses to, and interpreters of the
truth.
In later art the Evangelists appear with-
out emblems or attributes ; sometimes with
their names inscribed above or beneath
their representations. In speaking of the
different stages of this symbolism, Mrs.
Jameson says : " It will be interesting to
pause for a mo-
ment and take a
rapid, retrospective
view of the progress,
from first to last,
in the expression of
an idea through
form. First, we
have the mere fact ;
the four scrolls, or
the four books.
Next, the idea ;
the four rivers of sal-
vation, flowing from
on high, to fertilize
St. John. the whole earth. (Hans Beham.)
Thirdly, the prophetic symbol ; the winged cherub of fourfold aspect.
" Next, the Christian symbol ; the four beasta
in the Apocalypse, with or without the angel-
wings. Then the combination of the emblemat-
ical animal with the human form. Then the
human personages, each of venerable, or inspired
aspect, as becomes the teacher and witness ; and
each attended by the Scriptural emblem no
longer an emblem but an attribute marking his
individual vocation and character.
" And, lastly, the emblem and attribute both
discarded, we have the human being only, hold-
ing his gospel, i. e. his version of the doctrine
of Christ." l
X. SYMBOLS OF THE APOSTLES.
The earliest purely symbolic representation of
the Twelve Apostles was that of twelve sheep
^^ Bllfi6aKaiS __ surrounding Christ, the good Shepherd, while He
(Fra Angelieo.) 1 Sacred and Legendary Art.
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 21
bore a lamb in his arms ; or again, Jesus as the Lamb cf God, is on
an eminence, from which flow the four rivers of Paradise, while on
one side six sheep leave Jerusalem, and on the other side the same
number leave Bethlehem. They were very rarely represented by
doves. The next advance was to represent them as men, and all
bearing sheep ; or in place of sheep, scrolls, and distinguished from
each other by the inscription of their names above them.
According to tradition, the Apostles, before separating, composed
the Apostles' Creed, of which each one furnished a sentence, or
proposition. These are inscribed on their scrolls as follows : St.
Peter, Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, creatorem coeli et
terra?; St. Andrew, Et in Jesum Christum Filiuin ejus unicum,
Dominuiu nostrum ; St. James Major, Qui conceptus est de Spiritu
Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine ; St. John, Passus sub Pontio Pi-
lato, crucifixus, mortuus et sepultus ; St. Philip, Descendit ad
inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis ; St. James Minor, Ascendit
ad ccelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotent is ; St. Thomas,
Inde venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos ; St. Bartholomew,
Credo in Spiritum Sanctum ; St. Matthew. Sanctam Ecclesiam
Catholicam, sanctorum communionum ; St. Simon, Remissionem
peccatorum ; St. Matthias, Carnis resurrectionem ; St. Thaddeus,
Et vitam aeternam. From the sixth century, each one of the
Apostles had his especial attribute, which was taken from some cir-
cumstance of his life or death, and which will be found in the
legends of each. These attributes are as follows :
St. Peter, the keys or a fish.
St. Andrew, the transverse cross which bears his name.
St. James Major, the pilgrim's staff.
St. John, the chalice with the serpent is the proper attribute of
the Apostle : but the eagle, which is his attribute as an Evangelist,
is sometimes seen when he is with the Apostles.
St. Thomas, generally, a builder's rule ; rarely, a spear.
St. James Minor, a club.
St. Philip, a small cross on a staff or crosier, surmounted by a
crass.
St. Bartholomew, a knife.
St. Matthew, a purse.
St. Simon, a saw.
St. Thaddeus, a halberd or lance.
St. Matthias, a lance.
Sometimes St. Paul, St. Mark, and St. Luke are represented with
the Apostles, and some others are left out, as the number is always
twelve. In such cases, St. Paul bears either one or two swords.
The Apostles have also been represented seated on clouds, sur-
rounding the Saviour, as they are supposed to be in heaven. Later
art has not only distinguished each of the Apostles by his own
22 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
attribute, it has also attempted to represent the character of each
in the face and bearing ; and the illustration of the legends which
develop the characteristics drawn from the Scripture history, enables
the artist to accomplish this object, sometimes with wonderful effect.
XI. SYMBOLS OF THE MONASTIC ORDERS.
To a student or lover of art, there is a world of interest connected
with the monastic orders, with their founders, their artists, their
pictures. While they instituted schools, built cathedrals, and
founded hospitals, they were the most munificent patrons of art the
world has ever seen. To them we are indebted for many of the
rarest gems of painting. Intended for the seclusion of church and
cloister, they now belong, to all the world ; for who that has gazed on
the Madonna di San Sisto; on the spirit-moving pictures of Angelico
the Blessed, and many, many others, does not feel that he has a pos-
session in them ; that they have imparted something to him that
was his ; something intended for him, and held in trust until he came
to claim his own ? There are certain peculiarities in what may be
called monastic pictures, which were most fitting when in their
proper places, but which seem incongruous when in the galleries of
art, or on the walls of palaces. I refer especially to the representa-
tion of the personages, and the peculiar habits and symbols of the
different Orders for which the pictures were painted. For instance,
in pictures of the Annunciation, and other scenes from the life of
the Virgin, or the Saviour, we see the founders of Orders and In-
stitutions in their distinctive dress; and until we consider that they
were painted for these Orders, and in honor of these very founders
and saints, we wonder at and are disturbed by the seeming inappro-
priateness of the representations.
That these things are so, make it a necessity that some attention
should be given to these symbols and habits. A knowledge of them
enables one to decide for what Order a picture was intended, and
explains much of its import and purpose.
There are certain general symbols which have a peculiar signifi-
cance in monastic pictures :
THE NIMBUS is given only to a canonized saint, never to a beato
sometimes the picture is painted before canonization, and the nim-
bus added afterwards.
THE INFANT CHRIST is often placed in the arms of a saint, or, in
some pictures of the Virgin, she bends down and places the child in
the arms of holy men and women. These are generally representa-
tions of visions which these saints have had, or have arisen from
egends like that of St. Anthony of Padua, which relates that the
Saviour came in this form, and stood on his book while he preached
the Gospel.
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 23
THE STAND AHD, surmounted by the cross, belongs especially to
such as were missionaries and Apostles, and carried the Gospel to
heathen nations. It is also an attribute of the warrior saints con-
nected with the monastic orders.
THE CROWN at the feet of saints, indicates that they were of
royal birth, or resigned their kingdoms for the monastery. If they
retained thair rank until death, they wear the crown ; and female
saints of royal blood frequently wear the diadem outside the veil.
A SERAPH distinguishes the saints of the Seraphic Order.
THE STIGMATA, or wounds of Christ, belong properly to St.
Catherine of Siena and St. Francis alone, but are sometimes given
to St. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi.
THE BOOK in the hand has the general signification of the Gos-
pel, but accompanied by the pen or ink-horn it indicates that the
saint was an author, and the book is sometimes lettered with the
proper titles of his works. The open book in the hand of a founder,
is the symbol of the Rule of his Order, and is often inscribed with
the first sentence of the rule.
THE CRUCIFIX in the hand, signifies a preacher; it is also an
emblem of penance and faith.
THE FLAMING HEART is an emblem of divine love. The heart
crowned with thorns belongs to St. Francis de Sales. The heart
inscribed with I. H. S., is given to Jesuit saints, to St. Theresa, St.
Bridget of Sweden, and St. Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi.
THE CROWN OF THORNS on the head, or in the hands, is the
symbol of suffering for Christ's sake.
THE PALM is not a general symbol for the monastic saints, but is
given to St. Piacidus, St. Boniface, and St. Thomas a Becket, of the
Benedictines ; to St. Angelas and St. Albert, of the Carmelites, and
to St. Peter Martyr, of the Dominicans, and but few others.
THE SCOURGE is the symbol of self-inflicted penance.
WALKING ON THE SEA represents a miracle attributed to the
saint who is so painted.
THE CARDINAL'S HAT is proper to St. Bonaventura. He is dis-
tinguished from St. Jerome by the Franciscan girdle.
THE MITRE AND PASTORAL STAFF belong to abbots and bishops.
The staff without the mitre is proper only to abbesses.
SLAVES AVITH BROKEN CHAINS, as well as beggars, children, and
lepers at the feet of a saint, signify beneficence.
ROSES are significant of the name of the saint, or are connected
with some circumstance in their lives, as with St. Elizabeth of
Hungary, and St. Dorothea.
THE LILY is an emblem of purity and chastity, and of very
general use, but it belongs especially to St. Clara, St. Anthony of
Padua, St. Catherine of Siena, as well as to those who made vows
of celibacy, like St. Casimir and others. The crucifix twined with
24 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
lilies belongs to St. Nicholas of Tolentino. The lily also belongs to
such as devoted themselves especially to the Virgin.
THE STAR over the head or breast expresses the divine attesta-
tion to the sanctity of the saint.
THE SUN on the breast is the symbol of the light of wisdom.
THE DOVE is the emblem of the direct inspiration of the Holy
Ghost.
THE FISH, as the emblem of baptism, belongs to some early mis-
sionaries and such as converted the heathen.
THE LAMB is proper to St. Francis as the symbol of meekness.
WILD BEASTS at the feet of a saint, signify that he cleared a
wilderness or founded a convent in a solitude.
THE HIND OR STAG is the emblem of solitude.
THE DRAGON at the feet is sin conquered, but chained to a
rock or led by a chain it is heresy vanquished.
The habits and special symbols of different orders are impor-
tant. First, the Benedictines with St. Benedict as their general
patriarch, embrace
THE CAMALDOLESI, founded by St. Romualdo ;
THE VALLOMBROSIANS, founded by St. John Gualberto ;
THE CARTHUSIANS, founded by St. Bruno ;
THE CISTERCIANS, founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux ;
THE OLIVETANI, founded by St. Bernardo Prolomei ;
THE ORATORIANS, founded by St. Philip Neri ;
THE CLUNIACS, founded by St. Peter of Clugny ;
And some other less important branches which are governed by
the rule of St. Benedict.
The color of the habit is not especially determined in the Bene-
dictine rule. In the early pictures of St. Benedict he wears black,
but in gome pictures painted for the reformed Benedictines, he is in
a white habit. The black habit is given to St. Scholastica and the
pupils of St. Benedict, St. Maurus, and St. Placid us, and to St.
Flavia ; also to St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany ; St. Ben-
nett, Bishop of Durham ; St. Benedict of Anian ; St. Dunstan of
Canterbury ; St. Walpurgis of Eichstadt ; St. Giles of Languedoc,
St. Ildefonso of Toledo ; St. Bavon of Ghent ; and to nearly all
Benedictines who lived before the year 1020.
THE CAMALDOLESI and their founder wear white.
THE VALLOMBROSIANS, gray or ash color.
THE CLUNIACS, black.
THE CISTERCIANS, white. Their habit is long and loose, with
very wide sleeves.
THE CARTHUSIANS, white.
THE OLIVETANI, white.
These orders furnished the earliest artists and architects of Eu-
rope. The monastery of Monte Cassino was founded by St. Ben-
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 25
edict. Its church and cloisters contain many works of art, and
among them the statues in marble of the most noted members and
benefactors of the community. The cave at Subiaco, the Sacro
Speco, is of great interest, and painted with very ancient frescoes.
They were done in 1219, and are important in the history of art.
Among the finest edifices of the Benedictines may be mentioned the
Basilica of San Paolo fuori-le-mura at Rome, San Severino at Na-
ples, San Giustina at Padua, the monastery of Bamberg in Ger-
many, St. Maur, Marmoutier, and Fontevrauld in France. For
their convent at Piacenza, the Madonna di San Sisto was painted;
for that at Grotta Ferrata, the life of St. Nilus by Domcnichino ; at
San Severino, the life of St. Benedict by Antonio lo Zingaro. For
the Vallombrosians, Perugino painted the Assumption. Taddeo
Gaddi painted many pictures for the Camaldolesi ; and for different
Benedictine Orders, Ghirlandajo and Andrea del Sarto painted some
of their finest pictures. The Certosa di Pavia is unequaled in many
points, and has works of Luini, Borgognone, and many other fa-
mous masters. This is a Carthusian monastery, as is also the Cer-
tosa at Rome, built by Michael Angelo. Zurbaran and Carducho
painted for the Spanish Carthusians, and Le Sueur the life of St.
Bruno for those at Paris.
The Cistercians have many pictures of the Virgin, as they es-
pecially worship her and dedicate their churches in her name.
The beautiful church of San Lorenzo in Cremona, and that of
Santa Maria in Orgrano at Verona, belong to the Olivetani, whose
artists excelled in Tarsia or Intarsiatura, a beautiful style of inlaid
work. In England many of the finest cathedrals were Benedictine
foundations, and the word Abbey belonged especially to this order.
THE AUGUSTINES.
These orders reverence St. Augustine of Hippo as their general
patriarch and founder. They embrace
THE SKRVI, founded by St. Philip Benozzi ;
THE ORDER OF MERCY, founded by St. Peter Nolasco ;
THE BRIGITTINES, founded by St. Bridget of Sweden.
The Augustines reverence St. Joseph, the husband of the Virgin
Mary, as their patriarch and patron saint. The habit of the Angus-
tines is black. St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, are the
principal personages in the pictures of the Order. St. Joseph and
all the events of his life are also favorite subjects, and the earliest
martyrs and bishops, though common to all orders, are especially
honored by the Augustines Their primitive hermits, St. Anthony
and St. Paul, also receive much veneration ; but their chief saint is
Nicholas of Tolentino. The most important churches of the
Agostini in Italy are the Sant' Agostino at Pavia, which contains
the magnificent shrine of their founder, which has in all 'wo :iun-
26 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
dred and ninety figures worked in marble. The principal events of
the life of St. Augustine are represented, and there are also statues
of the Evangelists, Apostles, and many saints. The Sant' Agos-
tino at Rome is the church for which the Isaiah of Raphael was
painted. The Eremitani at Padua and the 'San Lorenzo of Flor-
ence, are rich in works of art. The cathedrals at Cologne, Stras-
bourg, and Mayence belong to the Augustines, and churches every-
where which are dedicated to St. Laurence, St. Sebastian, St.
Mary Magdalene, and St. Antonio Abbate usually are of this
Order.
THE FRANCISCANS.
With St. Francis at their head, this order embraces the
CAPUCHINS ;
OBSERVANTS ;
CONVENTUALS , and
MINIMES.
These monks, as well as the Dominicans, are called frati, or broth-
ers, instead of padri, or fathers, and the humility of St. Francis
caused him to add the word minori, or lesser, to his community.
The habit of the Franciscans was first gray, and remained so for
two centuries, when it was changed to dark brown. It is a plain
tunic with long full sleeves, but not as ample, as those of the Bene-
dictines. This tunic is bound about the waist with a knotted cord,
which is the emblem of a beast subdued ; and this was the light in
which St. Francis considered the body when subjected to the spirit.
A scanty cape hangs about the shoulders, to which is attached a
hood to be drawn over the head in cold weather. The nuns wear
the same dress, with a veil in place of the hood. The third order
of St. Francis are distinguished by the cord worn as a girdle. The
Franciscans are barefooted or with a sandal known in Italy as the
zoccolo, hence the name Zoccolanti by which these friars are some-
times called. The Minimes are distinguished by a scapulary which
hangs a little below the girdle in front and is rounded at the ends ;
to this is attached a small round hood, while that of the Capuchins
is pointed. The Franciscans aspired to extreme sanctity, and were
greatly beloved by the people. They have several royal saints, but
first are their eight principal saints, called, " I Cardini dell Ordine
Serafico," the chiefs of the Seraphic Order.
1. St. Francis, Padre Serafico, patriarch and founder.
2 St. Clara, Mad re Serafica, first Franciscan nun and foundress
of the Povere Donne or Poor Clares.
3. St. Bonaventura, il Dottore Serafico, the great prelate of the
Order.
4. St. Antony of Padua, who is, next to St. Francis, the miracle-
worker of the order.
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 27
5. St. Bernardino of Siena, their great preacher and reformer.
6. St. Louis, King of France.
7. St. Louis, Bishop of Toulouse.
8. St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
Then follow St. Margaret of Cortona, St. Rosa di Viterbo, St.
Felix de Cantalicio, and a host of others.
The churches of the Franciscans have been magnificently
adorned. The parent convent and church at Assisi was three hun-
dred years in the hands of the greatest artists of Italy. Raphael,
Pinturicchio, Giotto, Taddeo and Angelo Gaddi, Giottino, Luca
dolla Robbia, and Benedetto da Maiano, all contributed to the deco-
ration of Franciscan edifices. The St. Antonio-di-Padova is filled
with art treasures. It has bronzes of Donatello and Andrea Riccio ;
pictures by many of the great painters of Upper Italy, and marbles
of Lombard!, Sansovino, and Sammichele. Murillo painted many
of his wonderful pictures for this Order in Spain.
THE DOMINICANS.
These are called the Preaching Friars, and have St. Dominick at
their head. They wear a white woolen gown, fastened with a white
girdle ; over this a white scapular, which hangs to the feet from
the neck, both before and behind, like a long apron ; over all a black
cloak with a hood. The scapular of the lay brothers is black.
The Dominicans always wear shoes. Their traditions teach that
this habit was adopted in accordance with the directions of the
Blessed Virgin. The white symbolizes purity ; the black, mortifica-
tion and penance. Their four principal saints are St. Dominick, St.
Peter Martyr; St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor; and
St. Calherine of Siena. The Dominicans have embraced some
of the most splendid artists and patrons of art. The shrine of St.
Dominick is in the church of his Order at Bologna. It is called, in
Italy, the " Area di San Domenico." Niccolo Pisano built the
church and executed the shrine, but the church has been rebuilt in
modern style. At Rome, the Santa Maria-Sopra-Minerva is their
most important church ; and here sleeps Angelico da Fiesole, " II
Beato," and Leo X., with Cardinal Howard, Cardinal Bembo, and
Durandus. This church is filled with beautiful pictures, and here is
Michael Angelo's statue of Christ. At Florence, the Dominicans
have the Santa Maria Novella. In this church is the Chapel Dei
Spagnuoli, painted by Taddeo Gaddi and Simone Memmi. The
Strozzi Chapel, by Andrea Orcagna ; and here is the Madonna and
Child, by Cimabue.
In Florence is the convent of St. Mark, where lived and painted
Fra Angelico, and Fra Bartolomeo. The first of these entered this
convent when twenty years old, and passed the remainder of his
28 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
long life in painting the spiritual conceptions of his devout and gen-
tle mind. He believed that God granted him his benediction on his
labors, and so impressed was he with the religious importance of
them, that he is said to have painted much upon his bended knees,
as if performing an act of devotion. His principal works are in his
own convent, in the Church of Santa Maria Novella, and in the
Chapel of Nicholas V., in the Vatican. Fra Bartolomeo is also
called Baccio della Porta and II Frate.
At Siena the Dominicans have the Madonna by Guido da Siena,
and the frescoes of Razzi. For this Order, Leonardo da Vinci
painted his Last Supper, and Titian his San Pietro Martire.
Their churches were built without aisles, having a nave only, in
order that the preaching, which was their especial duty, might be
heard in every part ; this form of edifice was very advantageous
also for showing off their pictures.
THE CARMELITES.
This Order claim the prophet Elijah as their founder, and also
that Mt. Carmel has been inhabited by a direct succession of hermits
ever since the time of that prophet. They wear a brown tunic with
a white mantle, and are also called White Friars. Their most in-
teresting church is the Carmini at Florence, in which is the Bran-
cacci Chapel, which was painted by Masaccio, Filippino Lippi, and
Masolino. The Carmeliles are not important as an Order in art.
THE JEKONYMITEB.
These monks claim St. Jerome as their founder, and adorn their
edifices largely with pictures of that saint, and scenes from his life.
The Escurial and the monastery of St. Just, in Spain ; the Monastery
of Belem in Portugal ; and that of St. Sigismond near Cremona,
in Italy, all belong to this Order, which is remarkable for the mag-
nificence of its edifices.
THE JESUITS.
The members of this Order are not easily distinguished in art.
They wear the black frock buttoned to the chin, which is so unfa-
vorable for a picture, that they are often represented in the dress of
a priest. If the head is covered, it is by a square black cap. The
Jesuits did not appear to value art as highly as many of the other
monastic orders. They lavished large sums of money on their
churches ; but it was spent in brilliant decorations of gold and silver,
rare marbles, and even jewels, rather than in pictures and statues :
and yet they were (after some royal personages) the chief patrons
of Rubens and Van Dyck, who decorated the splendid church of
their Order at Antwerp.
SYMBOLISM IN ART. 29
XII. VOTIVE PICTURES, ANACHRONISMS, ETC.
There are large numbers of what are known as votive pictures,
which are painted in fulfillment of a vow, in gratitude for some
signal blessing, or to avert some anticipated danger. Many com-
memorate a recovery, or escape from sickness or accident. The
donor, and sometimes his entire family, are seen in the picture, and
are frequently represented as grouped about the Madonna and
Child. In early art, the donor or votary was represented as very
diminutive, to express humility, but in later times they appear a
natural size. The figure of a bishop kneeling, while all others
stand, signifies that he is the person who presents the picture ; when
he stands it is difficult to determine who he may be ; for there are
hundreds of bishop-martyrs and patrons, who are thus represented.
In many works of art, there is an apparent anachronism in the
choice of the persons represented ; as. for instance, when the Virgin
is surrounded by those who lived either centuries before or after her-
self. It must be borne in mind that such pictures were not intended
to represent physical facts, but are devotional in their character and
meaning. And if the persons represented are not living, they know no
more of time ; for them it no longer exists, and that which, at a care-
less glance, appears to be the result of ignorance or bad taste, is in fact
a spiritual conception of the " communion of saints," who belong no
more to earth. When thus considered, there appears no incongru-
ity in these representations, of which the Correggio at Parma is a
good illustration. In it, St. Jerome presents his translation of the
Scriptures to the infant Christ, while an angel turns the leaves, and
Mary Magdalene kisses the feet of Jesus. Neither is the grouping
in many pictures strictly in accordance with what might be termed
propriety. The Sibyls dancing around the cradle of Jesus, and the
representations of Greek poets and philosophers in ecclesiastical art,
is explained by the fact that everything was regarded in but a sin-
gle aspect, that is, in its relation to Christ and his religion. And
all those who had preceded Him were believed to have foreshadowed
Him, and prophesied of his coming; in fact, these Greeks sometimes
bear scrolb inscribed with sentences from their writings, which are
interpreted as relating to the Saviour. In the examination of large
numbers of religious pictures, chronology should be entirely forgot-
ten, for time was not thought of in their arrangement, and many
other considerations determined the artist in his association of per-
sons. Certain saints are brought together, because they are joint
patrons of the place for which they were painted, as in the Vene-
tian pictures of St, Mark, St. George, and St. Catherine. Again,
they are connected by the same attributes, or similar events, in theii
lives, as is the case with St. Roch and St. Sebastian, the first hav-
ing tended the sick who suffered from the plague, and the last bein
a patron against it. Or they were friends on earth, as St. Cyprian
30 SYMBOLISM IN ART.
and St. Cornelius ; or they rest together in death, as St. Stephen
and St. Laurence. Some of these, or other like reasons, which
were good and sufficient to the minds of artists and their patrons,
always explained the apparent inconsistencies of these pictures, and
were perfectly understood in the age to which they belonged.
Again, some saints are so much more frequently represented than
others, as to occasion surprise and remark. This may be explained
in part, by the fact that some saints were universal patrons, wor-
shipped everywhere, and belonged to Christendom, while the vener-
ation for others was confined to localities or Orders. St. George,
St. Sebastian, St. Christopher, St. Cosmo, St. Damian, St. Roch,
St. Nicholas, St. Catherine, St. Barbara, St. Margaret, and St.
Ursula, are all thus considered.
In particular schools of art this frequent representation of cer-
tain personages is governed by the locality in which they were
painted, or that for which they were intended. Florentine artists
would introduce St. Donate and St. Romulo ; a Neapolitan, St. Janu-
arius ; a Frenchman, St. Denis, etc., etc., or as in an existing pic-
ture, St. Peter, St. Leonard, St. Martha, and St. Mary Magdalene,
are united to indicate that the society for which it was painted,
redeemed prisoners, ransomed slaves, labored for the poor, and
converted the fallen and sinful.
Thus, it is apparent that it is for the advantage of the careful
observer to consider, that however bizarre a picture may appear,
there is some reason for its arrangement, which, if understood and
appeciated, adds meaning to it ; helps to discern its intention and
sentiment, and- shows that what seems at first to be the result of
chance, or an ignorance of the fitness of things, is in truth that of
deep and earnest thought, of delicate and poetic conceptions, and
a lofty desire to teach grand and holy truths, as well as to give
pleasure and delight the eye.
Badge of the Order of Mercy
LEGENDS AND STORIES
WHICH HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
St. Abbondio was born at Thessalonica. He was the foui-th
Bishop of Como, in the time of Leo I. He is represented in the
Cathedral of Como, and is the apostle and patron saint of that
portion of Italy.
Abgarus, King. The apocryphal gospel spoken of 4)y Euse-
bius, and called " Christ and Abgarus," commences with " A Copy
of a Letter written by King Abgarus to Jesus, and sent to Him by
Ananias, his Footman, to Jerusalem, inviting Him to Edessa." This
letter commences with greetings to the Saviour, and goes on to urge
Him to go to Edessa, to cure the king of a serious di-ease. It adds,
" My city is indeed small, but neat, and large enough for us both."
Jesus returned an answer, that He could not go, as He must fulfill his
mission at Jerusalem, but promised that after his ascension He would
send a disciple, who would cure the king and give life to him and
to all who were with him. This account ends here ; but up to the
tenth century, there were a variety of additions made to it, until
then it had assumed the following form : " Abgarus, King of Edessa,
suffering from the twofold infliction of gout and leprosy, withdrew
from the sight of men. Ananias, one of his servants, returning from
a journey to Egypt, tells him of the wonderful cures by Christ, of
which he has heard in Palestine. In the hope of obtaining relief,
Abgarus writes to Christ, and charges Ananias, who was not only a
good traveller but a skillful painter, that if Christ should not be able
to come, he should at all events send him his portrait. Ananias
finds Christ as lie is in the act of performing miracles, and teaching
the multitude in the open air. As he is not able to approach Him
for the crowd, he mounts a rock not far off". Thence he fixes his
eyes upon Christ, and begins to take his likeness. Jesus, who sees
him, and also knows in spirit the contents of the letter, sends
Thomas to bring him to Him, writes his answer to Abgarus, and gives
it to him. But seeing that Ananias still lingers, Jesus calls for
water, and having washed his face, He wipes it on a cloth, on which,
by his divine power, there remains a perfect portrait of his features ;
32 LEGENDS AND STORIES
this He gives to Ananias, charging him to take it to Abgarus, so that
his longing may be satisfied, and his disease cured. On the way
Ananias passes by the city of Hierapolis, but remains outside the
gates, and hides the holy cloth in a heap of freshly made bricks.
At midnight the inhabitants of Hierapolis perceive that this heap
of bricks is surrounded with fire. They discover Ananias, and be
owns the supernatural character of the object hidden among the
\ ricks. They find, not only the miraculous cloth, but more still;
for, by a mysterious virtue, a brick that lay near the cloth has re-
ceived a second impress of the Divine image. And, as no fire was
discoverable, except the light that proceeded from the picture, the
inhabitants kept the brick as a sacred treasure, and let Ananias go
on his way. He gives King Abgarus the letter and the cloth, who
is immediately healed." This last legend was edited by the Em-
peror Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and in his time the original nap-
kin was at Constantinople ; two others at Rome and Genoa, while a
false copy had been sent to the King of Persia. The brick, too, had
remained in its first city, but had furnished images to other cities.
In fact, the Roman one still exists in the Church of San Silvestro.
But, Constantine has given a third version, which is that Christ, on
the way to Calvary, wiped his face on a piece of linen on which his
impress was left, and gave it to Thomas, commanding that after his
ascension Thaddeus should take it to Abgarus in order to fulfill the
promise which Jesus had made. This was done, but Thaddeus first
goes to the house of a Jew in Edessa, determined to do some mir-
acles which shall attract the attention of the king. And he heals
the sick, until Abgarus hears of him and sends for him, hoping that
lie is the disciple whom Christ had promised him should come. As
Thaddeus enters the room, he lifts up the picture, and so great a
light proceeds from it, that Abgarus springs from his bed, forgetting
all his lameness, and goes to receive the picture. He touches it to
his head and limbs, and receives strength. The leprosy disappears
except from his forehead. He is converted, and when he is bap-
tized, even the last marks of the leprosy disappear. This legend has
been often represented in painting.
St. Achilleus and St. Nereus. These are Roman saints, and
the church dedicated to them is near the Baths of Caracalla. They
were chamberlains of Flavia Domitilla. They persuaded her not
to marry Aurelian, the son of the consul, to whom she was betrothed,
because he was an idolater. For this they were beheaded. Flavia
Domitilla was the grand-niece of the Emperor Domitian. Her par-
ents had been martyred because they were Christians. She also
suffered death for the same cause, at Terracina. Nereus and Achil-
leus are represented in secular habits, standing on each side of Do-
mitilla. She is dressed as a princess. They all bear palms. May
12.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 33
St. Adelaide or Alice of Germany was the daughter of
Ralph II. of Burgundy. Her father died when she was six years
old, and at sixteen she married Lothaire, King of Italy. Her hus-
band did not live long, and after his death Adelaide was imprisoned
at Pavia, by Berengarius III. She at length escaped, and fled to-
wards Germany. She was met by the Emperor Otho I., who was
marching with his army to release her. Otho made a treaty with
Berengarius, and married Alice. But the treaty was soon broken,
when Otho sent Berengarius a prisoner to Germany, and he himself
was crowned emperor at Rome. Adelaide made use of her rank
and power to do good, and educated her son Otho II. with care-
fulness. The emperor died after a reign of thirty-six years ; and
his son suffered himself to be influenced by evil advisers, and
especially by his second wife, Theophania, so that he banished
liis good mother from the court. But being overtaken by mis-
fortune, he recalled her and attempted to atone for his wicked
cruelty. He died after a reign of nine years, and his wife, so long as
she lived, insulted St. Adelaide by the most disrespectful treatment ;
but she, too, soon died, and Adelaide became regent. From this
time she devoted herself to good works, and built many religious
edifices. The people, who loved her, were guided by her into vir-
tue and piety. She died at Salcis, when on a journey. A part of
her relics are preserved in a shrine in Hanover. December 16,
A. D. 999.
St. Adelaide was the wife of St. Lupo, and the mother of St.
Grata, who together with St. Alexander, the martyr, arc saints
belonging especially to Bergamo, the last two being the patron
saints of that city. St. Grata, after the death of her husband, be-
came a Christian, and converted her fa'her, who was Duke of Ber-
gamo, and her mother, St. Adelaide, to the same faith. Through
the influence of St. Grata, St. Lupo founded the Cathedral at Ber-
gamo. After the death of her parents, Gra'a governed Bergamo,
and founded three churches and a hospital, where she herself min-
istered to the sick. St. Alexander was a soldier of the Theban Le-
gion, and was beheaded outside Bergamo. Grata wrapped the head
in a napkin, and gave honorable burial to the remains. St. Ade-
laide is represented with a crown and a long veil, St. Lupo with a
royal crown, St. Alexander as a Roman warrior with a palin, and
St. Grata as carrying the head of Alexander.
St. Adrian (Gr."\y. 'AS/ncu/o's ; Lat. Sanctus Adrianus ; Fr. St.
Adrien ; Ital. Sant' Adriano) was a military saint, and for ages was
considered next to St. George in Northern Europe. In the North
of France, Flanders, and Germany, he was the patron saint of sol-
diers, and protector against the plague. He is also the patron of
Flemish brewers. He was a noble Roman, son of Probus. At the
time of the tenth persecution of the Christians at Nicomedia, a city
3
34 LEGENDS AND STORIES
of Bithynia (A. D. 290), he served in the guards of the Emperor
Galerius Maximian. He was less than thirty years old, and was
married to Natalia, who was a Christian secretly. She was exceed-
ingly virtuous and beautiful. The imperial edict was torn down
by St. George, which so infuriated the emperor that thhty-four
Christians were sentenced to the torture at one time. It fell by lot
to Adrian to superintend the execution of the sentence. When he
saw \ he manner in which the Christians suffered for their faiih, he
was suddenly converted, and seating himself in their midst, ex-
claimed, " Consider me also as one of ye, for I, too, will be a Chris-
tian." He was immediately imprisoned. Natalia, hearing this, was
full of joy, and, going to him, encouraged him to suffer for Christ.
Adrian was soon condemned to die, and the night before his exe-
cution, he bribed liis jailor to permit him to visit Natalia. She,
hearing that her husband had left his prison, was in great sorrow,
and tearing her garments, threw herself down, saying, " Alas ! mis-
erable that I am ! I have not deserved to be the wife of a martyr !
Now will men point at me and say, Behold the wife of the coward
and apostate, who, for fear of death, hath denied his God.' But
Adrian, who had now come, hearing these words, said, " O thou
noble and strong hearted woman ! O, bless God that I am not un-
worthy of thee ! Open the door that I may bid thee farewell before
I die." Joyfully she opened the door and embraced him, and re-
turned to prison with him. The next day Adrian was scourged and
tortured, and sent back to prison. The tyrants, hearing of the de-
votion of Natalia, ordered that no woman should be admitted to the
prison. She then cut off her beautiful hair, avid dressed as a man,
and so gained admission to Adrian. She found him torn and bleed-
ing. She took him in her arms, and said, " O light of mine eyes
an i husband of mine heart ! Blessed art thou, who art called to suf-
fer for Christ's sake ! " Thus she so strengthened his heart that he
was able to endure to the end. The next day his limbs were struck
off on an anvil, and he was beheaded. Natalia supported him in
his sufferings, and he expired in her arms before the last blow.
Iv.ssing him, she took one of his hands, which she wrapped in linen
with spices and perfumes, and placed it at the head of her bed.
His body was taken by Christians to Byzantium, since Constanti-
nople. There is a tradition that in the ninth century it was re-
moved to the convent which bears his name, at Grarnmont, in Flan-
ders. After this the emperor threatened to marry Natalia to a
tribune of the army. She fled to Argyropolis, near Byzantium,
and passed her life near the tomb of Adrian. He often appeared
to her in visions, and asked her to follow him, which she soon did ;
and when she died, Adrian with rejoicing angels met her, and
together they entered the presence of God. An anvil is the at-
tribute of Adrian, and is represented at his feet, or in his hand.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 35
His sword was long kept as a relic, at Walbeck, in Saxony, but the
Emperor Henry II. (St. Henry) girded it on himself, when pre-
paring to go against the Turks and Hungarian''. A. D. 290.
St. Afra was the daughter of St. Hilaria, and is the patroness of
Augsburg. She was for a long time a courtesan in that city, and
had three maidens as dissolute as herself, Digna, Eunomia, and
Eutropia. At length Narcissus, a holy man fleeing from perse-
cution, came to her house, not knowing her character. When she
found he was a priest, she was overcome with fear, and for the first
time was ashamed of her life of sin. He told her of Christ, and at
length she besought him to allow her to be baptized. He, know-
ing that Christ did not reject even the greatest sinners, baptized her
and assured her of forgiveness. By her aid Narcissus escaped to
his native Spain. Through her influence, her mother and the three
maidens were also converted. Afra was seized, and accused of
having assisted Narcissus to escape, and of being herself a Chris-
tian. The judge, Gaius, Avho had known of her former life, was
amazed at her modesty, and the firmness with which she acknowl-
edged her new faith, and asked her how one so vile could expect
tc be received by Jesus. To which she replied, " It is true I am
unworthy to bear the name of Christian : nevertheless, He who did
not reject Mary Magdalene, when she washed his feet with her
tears, will not reject me." She was burned alive, and as she
prayed in the midst of the fire, angels bore her spirit to heaven.
Shortly after, her mother and the three maidens were executed for
their faith, and suffered with constancy. August 5, A. D. 304.
St. Afra, Patroness of Brescia, is supposed to have been of
noble family. She was converted by the works of San Faustino and
San Giovita (Faustinas and Jovita), and suffered martyrdom with
Caloceruj. The church dedicated to her is one of the finest orna-
ments of Brescia.
St. Agatha. (Lat. Sancta Agatha ; Fr. Sainte Agathe ; Ital
Santa Agata ; Ger, Die Heilige Agatha.) Virgin and martyr ;
patroness of Malta and Catamia, also patroness against fire and
all diseases of the breast. The Emperor Decius strangled his pre-
decessor, Philip, and desiring to make it appear that he did this be-
cause Philip was a Christian, and not for his own advancement, he
instituted great persecutions of the Christians throughout his empire.
He made Quintianus king of Sicily. Here, at Catania, dwelt
Agatha, a maiden of great beauty, whom Quintianus tempted with
presents, flattery, and promises, without success. He then gave her to
Frondisia, who was a courtesan with nine daughters, all as wicked
as possible, and promised her great riches if she would subdue
Agatha to his wishes. Frondisia attempted to influence Agatha by
every means in her power, for thirty-three days ; but she remained
fixed in her purity, and her faith in Jesus. At the end of that tira"
36 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Frondisia said to Quintianus, " Sooner shall that swoid at thy side
become like liquid lead, arid the rocks dissolve and flow like water,
than the heart of this damsel be subdued to thy will." Then Quin-
tianus in fury commanded her to be brought, and attempted to
move her by threats ; but she said : " If thou shouldst throw me to the
wild beasts, the power of Christ would render them weak as lambs ;
if thou shouldst kindle a fire to consume me, the angels would quench
it with their dews from heaven ; if thou shouldst tear me with
scourges, the Holy Spirit within me would render thy tortures harra-
l<>ss." Then the tyrant ordered her to be beaten, and her bosom to
be torn with shears. After that she was thrown into a dark dun-
geon. At midnight there came an aged man bearing a vase of oint-
ment, and a youth with a torch. It was St. Peter and an angel, but
Agatha did not know them : and the light, which filled the dungeon,
so frightened the guards that they fled, leaving the door open. Then
une said to the maiden, " Arise and fly." But she replied : " God
forbid that I should fly from my crown of martyrdom, and be the
occasion that my keepers should suffer, for my flight, tortures and
death ; I will not fly." Then St. Peter healed all her wounds with
celestial ointment, and vanished from her sight. The rage of Quin-
tianus not being satisfied, he sent for her again, and was aston-
ished at the wonderful cure of her wounds. " Who hath healed
thee ? " asked he ; she replied, " He, whom I confess and adore with
my heart and with my lips, hath sent his apostle and healed me, and
delivered me." Then Quintianus ordered her to be burned ; and as
she was thrown in the fire, a great earthquake shook the city, and the
people ran to the palace, crying, " This has fallen upon us because of
the sufferings of this Christian damsel ; " and they threatened to burn
Quintianus, if he did not desist. So he ordered her to be taken from
the flames, and she was borne again to prison, scorched, and in great
agony. Here she entreated God to release her, and take her to
heaven, which pra) er was heard, for immediately she died. The
Christians embalmed her body, and placed it in a tomb of porphyry.
Near to Catania is a volcano which the people call Mongibello (Mt.
.^Etna), and about a year after the death of Agatha this mountain
opened and sent forth streams of fire. When the fire had almost
reached the city, the people took the veil of Agatha from her tomb,
and, placing it on a lance, bore it in procession towards the fire,
and when they came to it the fire was stayed and the city saved.
When the heathen saw this miracle, they were all converted and
baptized. There is in Malta a subterranean chapel dedicated to St.
Agatha. It is cut out of the rock, and the walls are frescoed. Tra-
dition teaches that the ground once belonged to the family of the
saint. St. Agatha is usually represented with a palm in one hand
and a salver in the other, on which is the female breast. Sometimes
the shears are beside her. She wears a long veil. February 5, A. D
251.
ILLUSTRATED fN ART.
37
St. Aglae (6rr. "Ay. 'AyXais) was a Greek by birlh, and lived
with her lover, Boniface, in sin and luxury for many years. In the
time of the last persecution of the Christians, they were both con-
victed of their sins, and became followers of Christ. Aglae .sent Boni-
face with great treasures, to assist the martyrs and to bury their re-
mains. In his zeal, he exposed himself ami suffered martyrdom.
His body was brought to Aglae. She built on the western side of
the Aventine an oratory, where she placed the remains of Boniface,
and she spent the re-
mainder of her life in
prayers and penitence.
May 14, Boniface died,
about 307 ; Aglae, fifteen
years later.
St. Agnes. (Lot.
Sancta Agnus. Ilnl. Sant*
Agnese, Sp. Santa Inez ;
Fr. Ste. Agnes.) St.
Agnes was a Roman
maiden of great beauty,
and a Christian from her
infancy. She was not
more than thirteen years
old, when the son of the
prefect Sempronius saw
her, and so loved her that
he sought her for his wife.
But she refused his re-
quest, saying that she was
already affianced to a
husband whom she loved,
meaning Jesus. The
young man knew not to
whom she referred, and
his jealousy and disap-
(M. Schoon.) Pt. Agnes.
Then the physicians said, " This youth is sick of unrequited love, acd
our art can avail nothing." When the prefect questioned his son,
he told his father of his love for Agnes, and that, unless she would
be his wife, he must die. Then Sempronius begged of Agnes and
her parents that she should marry his son ; but she replied, as before,
that she preferred her betrothed to the son of the prefect. When
he had inquired her meaning, and found that she was a Christian.
he was glad, for there was an edict against them, and he felt she was
in his power. He then told her that since she would have no earthly
pointed love made him
sick, almost unto death.
38 LEGENDS AND STORIES
husband, she must become a Vestal Virgin. But she refused with
scorn the worship of vain images, and declared that she would serve
none but Jesus. Sempronius then threatened her with the most
horrid death, and put her in chains, and dragged her to the altars of
the gods. But she remained firm. Then he ordered her to be
taken to a house of infamy, to suffer the most fearful outrages. , The
soldiers stripped off" her garments ; but when she prayed, her hair
was lengthened till it was as a cloak about her, covering her
^hole person, and those who saw her were seized with fear. So
they shut her in a room, and when she prayed to Christ that she
might not be dishonored, she saw before her a shining white garment,
which she put on with joy and the room was filled with great
light. The son of the prefect, thinking she must be subdued, now
came to her. But he was struck blind, and fell in convulsions. Ag-
nes, moved by his sufferings and the tears of his friends, prayed for
his recovery, and he was healed. When Sempronius saw this, he
wished to save her ; but the people said, " She is a sorcer-ss : let her
die." So she was condemned to be burned, but the flames harmed
her not, while her executioners were consumed by them. Then they
cried out the more, ' She is a sorceress : she must die." Then an
executioner was commanded to ascend the pile, and kill her with
the sword. This he did, and gazing steadfastly towards heaven, she
fell dead upon the pile. She was buried on the Via Nomentana, and
the Christians were accustomed to visit her tomb to weep. But she
appeared to them, and forbade that they should sorrow for one, who
was happy in heaven. St. Agnes is a favorite saint with Roman
women. There is one church dedicated to her, on the Piazza Na-
vona, on the spot where stood the house of infamy to which she was
carried ; and another of great interest beyond the Porta Pi a, said
to have been built by Constantine, at the request of his daughter,
Constantina, to commemorate the burial place of St. Agnes. Next
to the Evangelists and Apostles, there is no saint whose images are
elder than those of St. Agnes. She is most frequently represented
with a lamb. January 21, A. D. 304. She wa< one of the four great
virgin martyrs of the Latin Church.
St. Agnes of Monte Pulciano. This saint was remarkable for
hur piety from her very infancy. At nine years of age she was
placed in a nunnery, and at fifteen was made abbess of a new con-
vent at Procino, of the Dominican Order. She slept on the
ground with a stone pillow, and lived on bread and water for fifteen
years, until she was obliged to diminish her austerities on account
of her health. At length the people of Monte Pulciano, being
desirous that she should return to her native town, built a convent
on a spot where they had destroyed a lewd house, of which St.
Agnes became the superior. She had the gifts of miracles and
prophecy, and was greatly beloved. St. Catherine of Siena made a
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 39
pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Agnes with two of her nieces, who
took the veil on that occasion. She is greatly venerated in Tuscany.
April 20. A. D. 1317.
St. Alban was the first saint and martyr in England, on which
account the Abbot of St. Alban's had precedence over all others.
This saint was a native of Verularn. He lived in the time of
Aurelian, and went to Rome. While an idolater he was noted for
his hospitality, charity, and many virtues, as well as great learning.
When the persecution of Diocletian invaded Britain, a priest found
shelter with Sr,. Alban, who was the means of his conversion, and
baptized him. When the priest was pursued to his house, St.
Alban put on his long robe and gave himself to the soldiers to ave
his guest. He was condemned to death, as he would not worship
idols nor surrender the priest. He was first tortured, and then led
out for execution. It was necessary to cross the river Coin to reach
the place where he was to suffer. The crowd was large, and the
bridge so narrow that they could not pass ; but when the saint said
a short prayer, the waters were divided, and all went over dry-shod.
When on the hill of execution, he prayed for water to quench his
thirst and a spring gushed out at his feet. He was beheaded. His
burial place was forgotten, and disclosed in 793 by a miracle. An
angel commanded King OfTa in a vision that he should find the
remains of this saint, and secure to them the veneration of the
people. He found them at Verulam, and built a church for them,
near which arose a great Benedictine monastery and the town of
St. Alban's in Hertfordshire. His attributes are the sword and a
fountain springing at his feet. June 22, A D. 305.
St. Albert (Lat. Sanctus Albertus ; Ital. Sant' Alberto) was
Bishop of Vercelli and Patriarch of Jerusalem. He is reverenced
as the founder of the Order of the Carmelites. He was murdered
at Acre, when embarking to attend a council at Rome. On the
cathedral at Cremona, is a vessel in which, tradition says, St. Albert
kneaded bread for the poor. He is represented in his episcopal
robes, and carries the palm.
Albertus Magnus, sometimes called Sant' Alberto Magno, was
a teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas, and is represented in art in
company with that saint.
St. Alexander (Ital. S;\nt' Alessandro ; Fr. St Alexandre).
See St. Adelaide. March 18, A. D. 251.
St. Alexis (Lat. S. Aletius ; Ital. Sant' Alessio ; Fr. St. Alexis ;
Ger. Der Heilige Alexius). In the time of Pope Innocent I. and
the Emperor Honorius, there lived on the Ccelian Hill a man of
great rank and wealth named Euphemian. His wife was called
Aglae. For many years they had no child, and on this account
prayed earnestly to God, until at length they had a son, whom they
called Alexis. From his childhood he devoted himself to the ser-
40 LEGENDS AND STORIES
vice of God, and wore beneath his rich clothing a shirt of hair, and
when in his own chamber bewailed his sins, and (hose of the whole
world, and made a vow to serve God alone. At length Euphemian
selected a beautiful maiden of noble rank to be the wife of Alexis.
When he saw the loveliness of his bride and remembered his vow,
he trembled. He did not dare to disobey his father, and the wed-
ding was celebrated with great pomp. Then Alexis went to the
chamber of his bride, and gave her a gold ring, a girdle of precious
stones, and a purple veil, and bade her farewell, and was seen no
more. His mother and his wife passed their time in the deepest
grief, while his father sent through all the world to find him.
Alexis, disguised as a pilgrim, reached the mouth of the Tiber in a
small boat, and sailed from Ostia for Laodicea. From there he
went to Edessa in Mesopotamia, where lie dwelt, ministering to the
poor and sick, until the people called him a saint. Fearing this flat-
tery, he sailed for Tarsus to pay his devotions to St. Paul. But the
vessel in a storm was driven to Ostia. So then Alexis went to his
father's house, and begged that he might live upon his charity. Eu-
phemian, not recognizing him, thought upon his son, that he too might
be poor and in need, and gave orders that he should be provided for.
But the servants ill-treated him, and gave him no lodging but a
hole under the marble steps of the house. But the hardest thing
he had to endure was to hear his wife and mother constantly
lamenting for him and upbraiding his absence. By this was he
sorely tempted, but he yielded not. Thus passed many years, till
at length he knew that he must die. Then he asked for pen and
ink, and wrote an account of all his life, and put it in his bosom.
Now on a feast day, as Innocent was reading high mass before
Honorius, and Euphemian was standing by the emperor, a voice
cried out, " Seek the servant of God, who is about to depart, from
this life, and who shall pray for Rome," And the people fell on
their faces, and another voice said, " Where shall we seek him ? "
And the answer was, " In the house of Euphemian the patrician."
So they all went instantly, and Euphemian led the way ; and as he
came near home, they told him that the beggar had died, and they
had laid him on the steps before the door. When he uncovered
the face, it was as the face of an angel, and a great glory of light
shone from it. Then he said, " This is the servant of God, of
whom the voice spoke just now." And the pope took the letter
from the dead hand of Alexis, and read it aloud. The father was
overwhelmed with grief. The wife and mother rushed out and
threw themselves on the dead body. Seven days they watched
beside it, and many sick and infirm were healed by touching the
sacred remains of Alexis. He is the patron of pilgrims and beggars,
and on the spot where stood his father's house is now the Church cf
St. Alexis. The marble steps beneath which he lived and died,
ILLUSTRATED LN ART. 41
are preserved in tlie church ; and a statue of the saint, in the dress
of a pilgrim with a staff beside him, and a letter in his hand, is
extended beneath them. July 1 7, A. D. 400.
St. Alphege was an English nobleman. He was a most holy
man, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 100G. Six years
later the Danes took the city and Cathedral of Canterbury. They
put the people to death and burned the city. St. Alphege was kept
seven months in prison, and then stoned to death because he refused
to pay a large ransom for his life. The place where he met his
death was at Greenwich, and the same as that on which the parish
church now stands. It is said that ten years after death his body
was found entire and incorrupt. It was removed from St. Paul's
to the Canterbury Cathedral and enslirined near the high altar. He
is represented with his chasuble full of stones. April 19, A. D.
1012.
St. Ambrose (Lat. S. Ambrosius; Ital. Sant' Ambrogio ; Fr.
St. Ambrose ; Ger. Der Heilige Ambrosius). St. Ambrose Avas one
of the Latin fathers of the church. He was born at Treves, A.
D. 840, and was a son of a prefect of Gaul of the same name.
He studied at Rome, and being at length appointed prefect of
^Emilia and Liguria (Piedmont and Genoa), he resided at Milan.
He was very eloquent, and the same story that is told of Plato and
Archilochus is told of him, namely, that when an infant in his cra-
dle a swarm of bees alighted on his mouth without injuring him.
This was thought to indicate his future eloquence. Shortly after
his going to Milan, the bishop died, and a great dispute arose
between the Catholics and Arians concerning the succession,
when Ambrose by his eloquence quieted them. In the midst
of it a voice like that of a child cried out, " Ambrose shall be
bishop." To this he greatly objected, especially as he had never
been baptized. But the people would not listen to this refusal, and
being baptized, in eight days he was consecrated Bishop of Milan.
He first gave all his property to the poor, and then devoted himself
to such studies as would fit him for his office. The two favorite
doctrines of St. Ambrose were celibacy for both sexes, and the
supremacy of the church above all other powers. He had no /ear
of man, forbidding even the Emperor Theodosius to enter the
church until he had atoned for his sins by public penance. He
founded the Basilica of Sant' Ambrogio Maggiore at Milan in 387,
and dedicated it to all the saints. He is the patron saint of Milan.
There are many wonderful and miraculous circumstances related in
his life, and at his death it was said that Christ visited him, and
that he ascended to heaven in the arms of angels. He is repre-
sented as a mitred bishop with the crosier; sometimes a beehive
at his feet ; but his usual attribute is a knotted scourge with three
thongs. April 4, A. D. 397.
42
LEGENDS AND STORIES.
St. Anastasia (Fr. Ste. Anastasie ; (?r. "Ay. 'AvaerTao-i?;). Just
under die Palatine Hill is the church dedicated to this saint, who,
while she has great fame in the Greek Church, was a Roman lady.
She was condemned to the flames in the persecution of Diocletian.
She suffered greatly at the hands of her husband and family be-
cause she openly professed Christianity. St. Chrysogonus (Griso-
gono) is chiefly celebrated for his influence over Anastasia and the
courage with which he inspired her. He was slain by the sword
and thrown into the sea. They are said to have suffered at Illyria,
but Anastasia was buried by Apollina, in her garden, near the Cir-
cus Maximus, where her church now stands. It is said that St.
Jerome once celebrated mass in this church. There is also a beau-
tiful church at Verona dedicated to St. Anastasia. The Church of
Chrysogonus in the Trastevere, built in 599, was rebuilt in 1623 by
Scipio Borghese, Cardinal of San Grisogono. December 25, A. o. 304.
St. Andrea of Corsini was born in 1302. He was of the Corsini
family of Florence. He was extremely wild until he was sixteen
years old, when his mother, in despair, told him of a dream which
she had before his birth, in which she dreamed of giving birth to a
wolf; but this wolf on entering a church was changed to a lamb.
This greatly affected Andrea, and he went to a Carmelite church to
pray, where such a change was begun in him, that at seventeen he
became a friar. He was Bishop of Fiesole.
The Florentines attributed to the protection of
this saint their victory of the battle of Anghi-
ari. February 4, A. D. 1373.
St. Andrew (Lot. S. Andreas ; Ital. Sant.
Andrea; Fr. St. Andre; Gr.'Ay. 'Ai/S^eW).
St. Andrew was the first to be called to be
an apostle. He was the brother of Simon Peter.
Very little is said of him in Scripture. The
legends teach that he travelled into Scythia,
Cappadocia, and Bithynia, and converted multi-
tudes by his preaching. The Russians believe
that he preached to the Muscovites in Sarmatia.
He returned to Jerusalem, and after visiting
Greece came to Patras, a city of Achaia. Here,
among many others he converted Maximilla,
wife of .ZEgeus, the proconsul. He also per-
suaded her to make a public confession, which
so enraged her husband, that he condemned
St. Andrew to be scourged and crucified. There
is a variety of opinions as to the form of tie
(Peter vbcher.) cross on which he suffered, but the one called
by his name is generally believed to be like
that on which he died. It is said that he was fastened with cords
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
43
rather than nails. When he approached his cross, he adored n aa
having been sanctified by Jesus. He was gloriously triumphant in
his death. In the fourth century, a part of the relics of St. Andrew
were taken to Scotland, since when he has been the patron saint of
that country and of its first order of knighthood. He is the patron
of the Order of the Golden Fleece of Burgundy, as well as of Russia,
and its great order of the Cross of St. Andrew. He is represented
leaning on his cross, the Gospel in his hand ; his hair and beard an;
silvery white and his beard divided. November 30, A. D. 70.
St. Angelas, the Carmelite, came from the East, and preached
iij Palermo and Messina. There was a certain Count .Berenger who
led an openly shameful life with his own sister. Being rebuked by
Angelo, he commanded him to be hung upon a tree and shot with
arrows. The legend, and in fact the very existence of this saint,
has been disputed, but pictures said to represent him are seen a*
Bologna. May 5, A. r>. 1225.
St. Anianus, or Annianus. In the Acts of St. Mark we are
told that this saint was a shoemaker whom St. Mark healed when
he first entered the city of Alexandria. He became so zealous a
convert, and learned so
rapidly that St. Mark
made him bishop dur-
ing his absence. He
governed the church at
Alexandria four years
with St. Mark, and
eighteen years after his
death. There was a
church in that city ded-
icated to him. April 25,
A. r>. 86.
St. Anna, the mother
of the Blessed Virgin,
whose name signifies
gracious, is much hon-
ored in the Church, and
numerous miracles have
been attributed to her.
About 550, Justinian I.
built a church at Con-
stantinople, and dedi-
cated it to St. Anna.
Her body was removed
irom Palestine to Con- St. Anna seated with the Virgin and Child.
stantinople in 710. July 26. See St. Joachim.
St. Ansano of Siena. This saint was a Roman, Ansanus Tran-
44 LEGENDS AND STORIES
(juillinus. His nurse, a Christian woman, named Maxin.a, had him
secretly baptized. His faith was not disclosed until he was nine-
teen years old, when he began to preach with great success. He
suffered much during the persecution of Diocletian, and was at last
beheaded on the banks of the river Arbia. St. Ansano was, until the
end of the thirteenth century, the great patron of Siena, and there
is in the Duomo of that city a fine statue representing him as bap-
tizing the Sienese converts.
St. Anthony (Ital. Sant' Antonio Abbate, or 1'Eremita ; FT.
St. Antoine 1'Abbe; Ger. Der Heilige Anton or Antonius). St.
Anthony, an Egyptian, was born at Alexandria. At eighteen
years of age he was left an orphan, with one sister. He had great
rank and wealth. Thoughtful from childhood, he feared the tempta-
tions of the world. Entering a church one day, he heard these
words : " Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's
sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasting
life ; " and at another time, " If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all
thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven." He was so impressed by these things that he took them
as a warning from God. He divided his wealth with his sister, and
gave all his share to the poor, and joined a company of hermits in
the desert. Here he lived so pure a life as to arouse the hatred of
Satan, who sent demons to tempt and torment him. They whispered
to him of all he had left behind, and pictured before his mind the
attractions of the world. Hut he prayed until great drops stood on
his brow, and the demons despaired. They then placed delicious
food before him, and, assuming the forms of lovely women, tempted
him to sin. Again he resisted all their arts with prayer ; but he
suffered so much that he determined to go yet farther into the des-
ert, and he found a cave where he thought Satan could not discover
him. But here the demons came and tortured him with all kinds of
horrible pains, and tore him with their claws, till a hermit who car-
ried him food, found him lying as if dead. He bore him to his cell,
but as soon as Anthony revived, he insisted upon returning to his cave,
and when there, he cried out, " Ha ! thou arch tempter ! didst thou
think I had fled ? Lo, here I am again ; I, Anthony ! I have strength
to combat still ! " Then was Satan furious, and he set his demons
to try all their powers to overcome him. They surrounded him
with lions, tigers, serpents, scorpions, and all the horrible shapes
they could conceive, and they were roaring and hissing all around
him. But in the midst of all this came a great light from heaven,
and the beasts vanished ; while Anthony, looking up, cried out, "
Lord Jesus Christ 1 where wert Thou in those moments of anguish ? "
And Christ said gently, " Anthony, I was here beside thee, and
rejoiced to see thee contend and overcome. Be of good heart ; for
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 45
I will make thy name famous through all the world." Then lie re-
solved to go even farther into the desert. As he travelled he saw
heaps of gold and silver, but he knew they were the temptations of
Satan ; and when he looked away, they disappeared in the air. He
was now thirty-five years old, Avhen he shut himself in a cavern for
tAvcnty years, and saw no one, neither was he seen of any ; but
when he came forth, all could see that he had been miraculously
sustained, for he was not wasted or changed, except that his hair
was white and his beard long. And now he preached the love of
God to all men ; comforted the sick and afflicted, and expelled de-
mons, over whom he had gained great power. Multitudes were
converted and came to the desert, until there were five thousand
hermits in the caves and ancient tombs, and St. Anthony did many
miracles. At length, when he had lived in the desert seventy-five
years, he began to be proud of his life of self-denial, and a voice
said to him in a vision, " There is one holier than thou art, for Paul
the hermit has served God in solitude and penance for ninety
years." So he resolved to seek Paul ; and as he journeyed he met
a centaur, who pointed the way to him ; and again a satyr, who
besought him to pray for him and his people. The third day he
came to the cave of Paul. At first Paul would not receive him, but
at length, moved by his prayers and tears, he admitted him. Then
they held communion together ; and as they sat, a raven brought
them a loaf of bread, when Paul blessed God and said, " For sixty
years, every day, hath this raven brought me half a loaf; but be-
cause thou art come, my brother, lo I the portion is doubled, and we
are fed as Elijah was fed in the wilderness." And they ate and
returned thanks. Then Paul said, " My brother ! God hath sent
thee here that thou mightest receive my last breath, and bury me.
Go, return to thy dwelling ; bring here the cloak which was given
to thee by that holy Bishop Athanasius, wrap me in it, and lay me
in the earth." Then Anthony wondered, for the gift of the cloak
was unknown to all. But he kissed Paul, and hastened to bring the
cloak, for he feared he should not reach him again before his death.
Returning, when he was about three hours from his cave, he heard
heavenly music, and, looking up, saw the spirit of Paul, as a star,
borne by prophets, apostles, and angels, to heaven. Then Anthony
lamented, and went with haste to the cave where Paul was dead, in
the attitude of prayer. Then he wept over him and recited the
offices for the dead, and he thought how he could bury him, for he
had not strength to dig a grave. Then came two lions across the
desert, roaring, as if in sympathy, and with their paws they dug a
grave, in which Anthony laid Paul, wrapped in the cloak of Atha-
nasius. When he had returned to the convent, he told all thesp
things, which were believed by the whole church, and Paul waa
made a saint. Fourteen years after, Anthony, being one hundred
46 LEGENDS AND STORIES
and four years old, felt that he must soon die ; and after going to a
lonely place with a few brethren, he charged them that they should
keep secret the place of his burial. Gently his spirit passed away,
and angels conveyed it to heaven. St. Anthony is represented
with various attributes. He wears a monk's habit, as the founder
of Monachism. In Greek pictures the letter Th. is on the cope on
the left shoulder, and always in blue. It is the first letter of Theos,
God. The crutch is a symbol of his age and feebleness. The bell
signifies his power to exorcise evil spirits, as the sound of a bell ia
believed to overcome demons. The asperges, or rod for sprinkling
holy water, is a symbol of the same idea. The hog represents the
sensuality and appetites which he conquered. Flames of fire un-
der his feet, or a city or house burning, signify that he is a patron
against fire, in this world and the next also. Paul is represented
as old, meagre, half clothed in palm-leaves, his hair long and white,
seated on a rock in meditation, and a palm-tree near him. St. An-
thony, January 17, A. D. 357.
{ Pesillino. ) Florence Academy.
3t. Antony of Padua (Lot. Sanctus Antonius Thaumatut^
giis ; Ital. Sant' Antonio di Padova, II Santo ; Sp. San Antonio
de Padua, Sol brillante de la Iglesia, Gloria de Portugal, etc., etc.).
This saint was a Portuguese by birth. He became a Franciscan,
and stands in that Order next to its found-er. After the martyrdom
of the first missionaries in Morocco, Antony determined to be him-
self a missionary and martyr, and went to convert the Moors. But
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 47
he was seized with an illness that compelled him to return to Eu-
rope. He was driven by the winds to Italy, and came to Assisi,
where St. Francis was holding the first chapter of his Order. St.
Francis found him a valuable assistant, and he preached at the
universities of Padua, Bologna, Paris, and Toulouse, but at length
he preached to the people. He did much good in Italy as a
preacher. His imagination was vivid and his language effective.
His similes were very beautiful. He died at thirty-six, after a
ministry of ten years. Great honors have been paid his memory,
and the Church of Sant' Antonio at Padua is wonderfully rich in
adornments of both ancient and modern art. He performed many
miracles, which are represented in pictures in various churches and
convents, especially in Italy and Spain. One of these, which is rep-
resented in the accompanying picture, is thus related. When
preaching the funeral sermon of a very rich m?n, he denounced his
love of money and exclaimed, " His heart is buried in his treas-
ure-chest; go seek it there, and you will find it." The friends
of the man broke open the chest, and to their surprise found the
heart ; they then examined his body and found that his heart was
indeed wanting. His attributes are the lily and crucifix. He is
young, and wears the habit and cord of St. Francis. June 13,
A. D. 1231.
St. Antonio, Archbishop of Florence, was a native of Florence.
He was born about 1384. His thoughtfulness and studiousness
caused his friends to regard him as fitted for a religious life.
He went to Fiesole and asked admission to the Dominican Convent
at fifteen. The prior, after talking with him, told him that when he
had learned perfectly the Book of Decrees, he would receive him.
This he did in one year, and then was sent to Cortona to pass his
novitiate in study. He took his vows at Fiesole, and there formed
a tender attachment to the wonderful painter-monk, Fra Giovanni,
called II Beato and Angelico. It is believed that the great learning
of Antonio was of advantage to the heavenly mind of Angelico,
and that their communion was not without its effects upon his pic-
turos. The Archbishop of Florence dying, the pope wished to give
the office to Angelico; but he begged that Antonio should have it
instead, which the pope granted. This greatly pleased the Floren-
tines, as he was not only much beloved, but a native of their city.
He died at the age of seventy, thirteen years after he was made
archbishop, during which time he was distinguished for his wis-
dom and holiness. He is always represented as an archbishop, and
wears the pallium over the habit of the Dominicans. May 10, A. D.
1461.
St. Apollinaris of Ravenna (Ital. Sant' Apollinare ; Fr. Saint
Apollinaire). This saint came with the Apostle Peter from Antioch
to ilome, and Peter, having laid hands on him, sent him to preach
48 LEGENDS AND STORIES
in the east of Italy. He became the first Bishop of Ravenna, and
performed such miracles, and so preached, as to convert multitudes.
At length he was seized and imprisoned. His jailer allowed him
to escape, but his enemies pursued him, beat him, and wounded him
so that he died. The Basilica of Apollinaris-in-CIasse, is on the spot
where he was martyred. July 23, A. D. 79.
St. Apollonia of Alexandria (Fr. Sainte Apolline). The par-
ents of Apollonia were heathens, and had no children, though they
constantly prayed the gods to grant them a child. Her father was
a magistrate. At length there came three pilgrims to Alexandria,
begging in the name of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin. The wife of
the magistrate, hearing them, asked if the Virgin could grant her
prayer for a child ? Being told of her great power, she gave the
pilgrims food and money, and full of faith, prayed to Mary, who
answered the prayer by the birth of Apollonia. She was very
beautiful; and as her mother constantly told her the story of her
birth, she grew up a Christian, and sought St. Leontine that he
might baptize her. As soon as he did so, an angel appeared with
a garment dazzlingly white, which he threw over her, saying,
" Tliis is Apollonia, the servant of God ! Go now to Alexandria
and preach the faith of Christ." She obeyed and converted many,
but others accused her to her father, who gave her to the hea-
then governor. He commanded her to worship the idol of the
city. But she made the sign of the cross before the idol, and
commanded its demon to depart. The demon broke the statue and
fled, crying, " The holy virgin Apollonia drives me forth." Then
they bound her to a column, and drew her teeth out one by one
with pincers, and then, kindling a fire, they burned her. She is
the patroness against toothache and all diseases of the teeth. Her
attributes are a pair of pincers with a tooth, and the palm ; some-
times a golden tooth suspended on her neck chain. February. 9,
A. D. 250.
St. Athanasius (Gr. "Ay.'Afarcunos; Lai. St. Athanasius, Pater
Orthodoxise ; Ital. Sant' Atanasio ; Fr. St. Atlmnase). This saint, the
founder of the creed which bears his name, was an Alexandrian,
and a pupil of St. Anthony. He first studied science and literature,
but being converted, he was ordained deacon. His opposition to
Arius at the Council of Nice gained for him the title of the " Fa-
ther of Orthodoxy." lie became Bishop of Alexandria, and dur-
ing the great schism of his age, gained by his perseverance the
\ ictory of the Catholic Church. He was bishop forty-six years,
but he was in exile during twenty years of that time. May 2,
A. D. 373.
St. Augustine, or St. Austin (Lat. Sanctus Augustinus ; Ital
Sant' Agostino ; Fr. St. Augustin). The father of St. Augustine
was a heathen ; his mother Monica, was a Christian. He was
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
49
born in Tagaste, Numidia. In his youth, he was so devoted to pleas-
ure, that his mother feared the destruction of his character, and in
her sorrow, sought advice of the Bishop of Carthage. He comforted
her with the assurance that her prayers would be answered at last.
At length Augustine went to Rome, and was famous as a lawyer.
But ho was restless and unhappy. He went to Milan, and was
(Murillo)
there converted by the preaching of St. Ambrose, who baptized
him in the presence of his mother. The " Te Deum" which is now
used was composed for this occasion. St. Augustine and St. Am-
brose recited it as they approached the altar. He was Bishop of
Hippo, and after thirty-five years Hippo was besieged by the Van-
dals, and St. Augustine perished at the age of seventy-five. It is
4
50 LEGENDS AND STORIES
said that his remains were removed to Pavia. He was the third
doctor of the church, and his writings are celebrated. One of the
scenes in his life most frequently illustrated in art, is that of a vision
related by himself, and which he saw while writing his Discourse, on
the Trinity. He walked on the sea-shore, lost in meditation upon the
great theme of his writing, when he saw a little child bringing water
and endeavoring to till a hole which he had dug in the sand. Au-
gustine asked him the motive of iiis labors. The child said he in-
tended to empty all the water of the sea into this cavity. " Impossi-
ble," exclaimed St. Augustine. " Not more impossible," answered
tha child, " than for tliee, Augustine, to explain the m/stery on
which thou art now meditating." He is the patron of theologians
and learned men. August 28, A. D. 430.
St. Augustine of Canterbury is believed to have introduced the
Benedictine Order into England. He was sent from Rome as mis-
sionary to Britain, by St. Gregory. Fearing the dangers thought to
exist in England at that time, he and his companions were seized
with dread, and Augustine went to beg the pope to recall his com-
mand. This Gregory refused to do. He made Augustine bishop
over those who should be converted. They landed in Kent, where
there was great hatred of Christianity, but Queen Bertha was a Chris-
tian, and for her sake King Ethelbert permitted them to enter Can-
terbury, which they did, singing praises, and carrying the image of
Christ. Ethelbert and his people became Christians, and were bap-
tized in a little chapel which Bertha had built near Canterbury, and,
being a French princess, had dedicated to Martin of Tours. Au-
gustine desired the conversion of the Britons as well as the Saxons,
and this gave rise to great controversy. He deprived the bishops
of their sees, and resorted to severe measures, being in fact accused
of having excited King Ethelfred to destroy the monastery and the
twelve hundred monks of Bangor. He should be represented in the
Benedictine habit, with the staff and the Gospel, or as bishop,
with pallium, cope, and mitre. A. D. 604.
St. Balbina was the daughter of the prefect Quirinus, and
discovered the lost chains of St. Peter. The church dedicated to
her at Rome is very ancient. She is represented veiled, with
chains in her hand or near her.
St. Barbara (l:al. Santa Barbara ; Fr. Sainte Barbe). This
saint was of the East, and daughter of Dioscorus, who dwelt in
Heliopolis. He was rich and noble, and loved his only daughter so
fondly that he shut her up in a high tower lest she should attract
suitors by her beauty. Here she passed her time in study, and
while watching the wonders and beauties of the heavens, felt that
the idols could not be gods, or the creators of the world. But she
had heard of no other God. At length the fame of Origen reached
her from Alexandria, and she sent him a letter by a trustv servant,
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 51
asking that lie should teach her. He sent a disciple disguised as a
physician, who instructed her, and, after her conversion, baptized her.
Her father had set workmen to make a bath-room in her tower ; and
when they had made two windows, she desired them to add another.
They were afraid to do this, but she insisted, and when her father
asked the cause, she said, " Know, my father, that through three
windows doth the soul receive light the Father, the Son, and thp
Holy Ghost ; and the three are one." Then her father would have
killed her with his sword, but she fled to the top of the tower, and
angels concealed her and bore her away to a place of safety. A
shepherd betrayed where she was hidden, and her father dragged
her by the hair and put her in a dungeon. He then delivered her
to the proconsul Marcian, who scourged and tortured her, but she
did not yield ; and at last her father carried her to a mountain near
the city, and himself beheaded her. Immediately a great tempest
arose, and the lightning entirely consumed the father. St. Bar-
bara is the patroness of Ferrara, Mantua, and Guastala ; also of
fortifications and fire-arms, as well as of armorers and gunsmiths.
She is also invoked as a protector against lightning and the explo-
sions of gunpowder. A tower with three windows is her peculiar
attribute. She also has the book, palm, and sword. December 4,
A. D. 303.
St. Barnabas {Ital. San Barnaba ; Fr. Saint Barnabe). The
name of apostle is also given this saint ; and if not fully entitled to
it, he is at least next in holiness to the apostles with whom he
labored. He was a native of Cyprus a Levite and a cousin of
St. Mark. He labored with Paul at Antioch and Lystra, and the
legends teach that he was of so noble a presence that he was called
Jupiter, while Paul was styled Mercurius. At length, on account of
a difference concerning Mark, they separated, and Barnabas preached
in Italy as well as in Asia Minor and Greece, and it is said he was
the first Bishop of Milan. Tradition says he preached from the
Gospel of St. Matthew, written by the evangelist himself, which he
carried always with him, and that it had power to heal the sick,
when laid upon their bosoms. He was at last seized by the Jews
and cruelly martyred while preaching in Juda?a. Mark and other
Christians buried him, and in the time of the Emperor Zeno his
rrsting-place was revealed in a vision to Antemius. He was found
with the Gospel in his bosom. This was taken to Constantinople,
and a church was built for the saint. June 11.
St. Bartholomew (Lot. S. Bartholomew ; Ital. San Bartolo-
meo ; Fr. St. Barthelemi). The origin of this saint is doubtful, it
being disputed whether he were the son of a prince, Ptolomeus, or
of a husbandman. After the ascension of our Lord, he wandered
through India, carrying the Gospel of St. Matthew. He preached
in Armenia and Cilicia. He suffered a horrible death at Albanop-
52 LEGENDS AND STORIES
olis, being first flayed, and then crucified. His attribute is a large
knife. Sometimes he has his own skin hanging over his arm.
August 24.
St. Basil the Great (Gr. "Ay. /3ao-tAeios ; Lat. S. Basilius Mag-
nus ; Ital. San Basilic Magno ; Fr. St. Basile). This saint is the
second in rank in the Greek Church, as well as the founder of the
Basilicans, the only monastic order known in that church. He was
born at Csesarea, in Cappadocia, in 328, and was of a family of great
sanctity his grandmother, father, mother, two brothers, and a
sister all being saints. He wrote many theological works. He
attributes his early education to his grandmother, St. Macrina. He
studied at Constantinople and at Athens, where he was associated
with both St. Gregory of Nazianzen and with Julian, afterwards
the Apostate. His great talents at one time so aroused his pride,
that but for the influence of St. Macrina, his sister, he would have
periled his salvation. He was then about twenty-eight, and after
this gave himself entirely to the Christian service passing some
years in the desert, as a hermit, where he lost his health, from the
austerity of his living. He was made a priest in 362, and eight
years after Bishop of Cassarea. The fourteenth of June, the day
of his ordination, is a great feast in the Greek Church. He lived
with the same abstinence on the throne as in the desert. He
contended with the Arians for the doctrine of the Trinity ; and
when the Emperor Valens required him to use the rites of the
Arians, he refused. The Emperor threatened him, even with death,
without effect. At length he thought to awe Basil by coming to
church in great state, with all his court and soldiers. It was on
the day of the Epiphany. But Basil did not notice him, even when
he advanced to the altar with his oblation. Valens swooned and
fell into the arms of an attendant. The Emperor afterwards con-
ferred with Basil, and, though he remained unconverted, he made
some concessions to the Catholics. It is related of him, as of two
other saints, that while he preached, the Holy Ghost, in the form
of a white dove, rested on his shoulder, to inspire his words. June
14, A. D. 380.
St. Bavon (Flem. St. Bavo or St. Baf ; Ital. San Bavone). He
was born a nobleman ; some authorities claim, Duke of Brabant. He
was converted from idolatry by St. Amand of Belgium, first Bishop
of Maestricht. Bavon was nearly fifty years old, a widower, and had
led a dissipated life. He gave all his riches in charity, and was
placed by St. Amand in a monastery in Ghent ; but he left tbat,
and lived a hermit in the forest of Maltnedun. His shelter was a
hollow tree, and he subsisted on herbs. It is related of him, that
after becoming a Christian, he met one who had been his slave, and
cruelly treated. Bavon besought him to bind and beat him, and
cast him in prison, as he had formerly done to him. This was of
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 53
course refused ; but the saint so insisted, that finally it was dune, and
while in prison, he passed his time in penitence for his former sins.
He is the patron of Ghent and Haerlem. His attribute is a falcon ; he
is sometimes represented as a hermit, and sometimes in his ducal
robes. October 1, A. D. 657.
St. Bede, the Venerable, was born at Jarrow, in Northumberland,
in 673. He was eminent for his learning and piety, and some even
thought him superior in eloquence to St. Gregory. He died dictat-
ing the last words of a translation of the Gospel of St. John. He
was called the " Venerable," and was known by this name at a
Council at Aix-la-Chapelle. There is a legendary account of the
way in which he received this title. It says that his scholars wish-
ing to put an inscription on his tombstone, one of them wrote :
" Hac sunt in fossa
Bedce ossa,"
leaving the blank as above, because no suitable word occurred to
him. He fell asleep thinking of it ; and when he awoke, " venerabilis "
had been inserted by an angelic writer. Other accounts of it are
given, but this is the favorite one. His works are extant, and his
" Ecclesiastical History " is the only authentic record we have of the
early English Church. May 27, A. D. 735.
Bel and the Dragon. When Cyrus was King of Babylon, and
Daniel was his friend, and greatly honored by him, the Babylonians
had an idol called Bel, to whom was given every day " twelve great
measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and six vessels of wine." And
the number of the priests who attended him were three score and
ten. and they had wives and children. Now Cyrus worshipped Bel,
but Daniel worshipped his own God ; and when Cyrus demanded the
reason of this, Daniel replied that he could not " worship idols made
with hands, but the living God," who had created all men and the
world in which they lived. Then Cyrus asked Daniel if Bel were
not living, and reminded him of how much he ate and drank each
day. Then said Daniel, ?' O king, be not deceived ; for this is but
clay within and brass without, and did never eat or drink anything."
So the king was wroth, and said to the priests, " If ye tell me not
who this is that devoureth these expenses, ye shall die. But if ye
can certify me that Bel devoureth them, then Daniel shall die :
for he hath spoken blasphemy against Bel." And Daniel replied,
" Let it be according to thy word." Then the priests said to the
king, " Lo we go out, but thou, O king, set on the meat, and make
ready the wine, and shut the door fast, and seal it with thine own
signet ; and to-morrow when thou comest in, if thou findest not that
Bel hath eaten up all, we will suffer death ; or else Daniel, that
speaketh falsely against us." Now they did this because they bad
an entrance which was hidden under the table, ar i by that thev
54 LEGENDS AND STORIES
sould go out and in as they liked. Then the king set the food be-
fore Bel, as the priests had said ; and Daniel commanded the servants
to bring ashes, and he strewed them upon the floor ; and when all
was ready they closed the temple, and the king sealed it with his
own seal. Then in the night, the priests came with their wives and
children, as they were accustomed to do, and consumed all that had
been provided. Now in the morning the king came with Daniel,
and they found the seals whole, and they broke them and went in.
And when the king saw that the food was gone, he cried out,
" Great art thou, O Bei, and with thee is no deceit at all ! '' Then
Daniel laughed, and said to the king, " Behold now the pavement,
and mark well whose footsteps are these." So when the king saw
the footsteps of men, women, and children, he was angry, and took the
priests with their wives and children, and these showed him the door
where they had gone in and out. Then the king slew them, and gave
the idol Bel to Daniel, and he destroyed both the god and his temple.
Now in the same place was a great dragon, which was also wor-
shipped by the Babylonians ; and the king said to Daniel, " Wilt
thou also say that this is of brass ? Lo, he liveth, he eateth and
drinketh ; thou canst not say that he is no living God, therefore
worship him." But Daniel declared that he would not worship him,
and that he could slay him without sword or stave. And the king
gave him leave. Then Daniel took pitch and fat and hair, and
made lumps of it, and put them in the Dragon's mouth, until he
burst in sunder. Then the people were filled with indignation, and
they came to the king, and demanded that he should deliver Daniel
to them, or they would destroy him and his house. Then the king,
being sore pressed, gave up Daniel, and they threw him into the lions'
den, where he remained six days. Now there were seven lions in the
den, and each day they had given them two carcasses and two sheep,
but now they gave them nothing, so that they might devour Daniel.
There was in Jewry a prophet whose name was Habakkuk ; and he
had made him a mess of pottage, and had put bread in a bowl, and
was about to give it to the reapers in the field ; but the angel of the
Lord came to him, and commanded that he should carry it to Baby-
lon, and give it to Daniel, who was in the lions' den. Then Habak-
kuk said, " Lord, I never saw Babylon ; neither do I know where
the den is." Then the angel of the Lord took Habakkuk by tl-e
hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the lions' dea ; and
Habakkuk cried, saying, " O Daniel, Daniel, take the dinner which
God hath sent thee." Then Daniel thanked God that he had not
left him to perish, and arose, and ate the food which the prophet had
brought, and the angel set. Habakkuk again in his own place. Now,
upon the seventh day, the king came to the den, to bewail Daniel,
and he found him alive. Then cried the king, " Great art thou,
O Lord God of Daniel, and there is none other beside thee." Then
ILLUSTRATED IN ART, 55
Le took Daniel out of the den, and cast in those who had accused
him, and they were devoured in a moment, before his face.
St. Benedict (Ital. San Benedetto; Fr. Saint Benoit; Sp. San
Beni*-). This saint was the founder, the patriarch and the first
abbot of the great Order of the Benedictines. He was of noble
birth, and a native of Norcia, in the duchy of Spoleto. He studied
at Rome, but soon wearied of the profligacy of those about him ; and
imbibing the ideas of St. Jerome and St. Augustine in favor of soli-
tude, at fifteen he became a hermit. His nurse, who loved him ex-
tremely, followed him in his retirement, and ministered as much as
possible to his comfort. But he, regarding this as a drawback to
perfect holiness, fled from her to Subiaco, a wilderness, forty miles
from Rome. Here he lived for three years, entirely unknown, except
to Romano, another hermit, who shared with him his bread and
water. Here he was greatly tempted by the recollections of the
world he had left, and especially at one time, by the remembrance
of a beautiful woman he had seen at Rome, when, to overcome his
great desire to return to her, he flung himself into a thicket of briers
and thorns, and rolled himself until he was torn and bleeding. At
the monastery of Subiaco they show roses, said to have been prop-
agated from these briers. The fame of his sanctity at last brought
great crowds to him, who begged his prayers, and that lie would
heal their diseases, and a company of hermits near by requested
that he would be their head. But when they saw the severity of
his life, they attempted to poison him. When he made the sign of
the cross before the poisoned cup, it fell to the ground in fragments.
He then returned to his cave and again dwelt alone. But so many
hermits came to Subiaco and lived in huts and caves, that at length,
for the sake of order, Benedict commanded them to build twelve
monasteries, and he placed twelve monks in each. Two senators of
Rome brought to him their sons, Maurus and Placidus, to be edu-
cated as Christians. They were but twelve and five years of age,
a-'l they became the special charge of Benedict. But Satan, much
troubled at all this, put it into the heart of a priest, Florentius, to
traduce the character of St. Benedict, and to poison him with a loaf"
of bread. These plans failing, he at last brought seven young
women into one of the monasteries to try the chastity of the monks.
Then Benedict left Subiaco, and immediately Florentius was crushed
to death beneath a falling gallery in his own house. Benedict even
wept for his fate, and imposed a penance on Maurus when he rejoiced
at it. There still remained at this time, on Monte Cassino, a temple
of Apollo. Here Benedict went, and by his miracles and preach-
ing converted the idolaters, so that they broke the statue and altar,
and burnt the grove. Here he built up two chapels, and dedicated
them to St. John the Baptist and St. Martin of Tours On the sum-
mit of this mountain he founded the monastery which has always
56 LEGENDS AND STORIES
been regarded as the parent of all others of the Benedictine Order,
From here he promulgated the rules of his Order. His sister
Scholastica followed him to Monte Cassino, and he visited her ouce
a year during the last years of his life. In 540 Totila, King of the
Goths, visited Benedict, and entreated his blessing. The saint re-
proved him for his past life, and it was thought that after this the
Goth was less ferocious. Before his death monasteries of his order
were instituted in all parts of Europe. He was at last seized with
fever, and on the sixth day he ordered his grave to be dug. and
after standing upon the edge of it, supported by his disciples, and
ill silent contemplation, he was borne to the altar of the church, and
receiving the last sacrament there died. March 21, A. D. 543.
St. Benedict of Anian (Fr. Saint Benoit d' Anume). This
saint was page and cup-bearer at the court of Pepin-lu-Bref, and a
distinguished commander in the army of Charlemagne. He was
born at Maguelonne, in Languedoc, and his original name is unknown.
He had an extremely narrow escape from drowning, after which he
commenced a religious life. He went first to the Abbey of St. Seine ;
but disapproving of the habits of the monks, he dwelt a hermit on
the banks of the Auian. At length, a number of hermits having
joined him, he founded a Benedictine monastery, with great severity
of rule. He was called to Aix-la-Chapelle by Louis-le-Debonnaire.
Here he founded another monastery. He presided at a council for
the reformation of the monastic orders. William, Duke of Aqui-
taine, was a great warrior, and had vanquished the Saracens in the
south of France. He was converted by St. Benedict, and built a
monastery in which he lived and died, a monk. St. Benedict con-
ferred upon him the monk's habit. February 12, A. D. 821.
Benedict, Bennet Biscop, or St. Bennet of Wearmouth,
did much for art as well as piety in England. He was of a noble
Northumbrian family. He founded the monasteries of St. Peter's
at Wearmouth and St. Paul's at Jarrow. He had a cultivated taste,
and went five times to France and Italy. He brought to England
stone-workers and glaziers to introduce a new style of buUding.
He brought, too, many books and pictures, and also a certain John,
Abbot of San Martino, who was a teacher of music, and who intro-
duced chanting into English cathedrals. St. Bennet wrote many
books of instruction for monks, and died at an advanced age, cele-
brated for piety and munificence. January 12, A. D. 703.
St. Benno is noted especially for his connection with the Empe-
ror Henry IV. He was a German Benedictine, and Bishop of
Meissen ; and when Henry, after being excommunicated, attempted
to enter the cathedral, Benno locked the doors and threw the key
in the river Elbe. He then went to Rome. On his return to
Meissen, he ordered a fishermen to cast his net into the river, and a
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
57
His proper attribute
fish was taken, in which was found the key.
is a fish with a key in its mouth.
St Bernard of Clairvaux (Lai. Sanctus Bernardus. Doc-
tor mellifhms ; Itul. San Ber-
nardo di Chiaravalle, Abbate ;
Ger. Der Heilige Bcrnhard ;
Fr. Saint Bernard) was a
man of great power and
importance. He was born in
1190 at Fontaine near Dijon.
He was the son of a noble,
and his mother, Alice, was a
remarkable woman. She had
a large number of children,
all of whom she nursed at
her own breast, as she be-
lieved that infants imbibe
with the milk the tempera-
ment of the nurse. According
to all authorities she gave
her son his early education.
From the age of fifteen he
practiced great self-denial,
and from it his health suf-
ered. He had great personal
beauty. After studying at
the University of Paris, he
entered at twenty the Bene-
dictine Monastery of Citeaux. He resisted all temptations, and it is
related of him, that finding himself gazing on a beautiful woman
with a feeling of pleasure, he rushed into a half-frozen pool and
remained there until nearly frozen himself. The Abbey of Citeaux
became so crowded, that Bernard was sent at twenty-five to found
another monastery. He went with twelve companions to what was
then called the " Valley of Wormwood," and there founded the Ab-
bey of Clairvaux. In a few years Bernard became famous, and his
abbey very much crowded. He was considered authority in matters
of law as well as religion. He wrote the laws of the Templars. He
was judge between Anacletus and Innocent H., and the whole church
was satisfied with his decision. He also reconciled the disputes be
tween the clergy of Milan and Rome. He preached a second Cru-
sade, and succeeded in rousing the people to great enthusiasm, and
was invited to assume the command. He was also the adversary
of Abelard and Arnold de Brescia. St. Bernard is one of the Fathers
of the Church. In his writings he sets forth Avith great power the
perfections of the Blessed Virgin, especially in the "Missus Est," and
(Fra Angelico.)
St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
58
LEGENDS AND STORIES
it was believed that she appeared to him twice : once, when ill and
unable to write, she restored
him by her presence; and
again she moistened his lips
with the milk of her bosom,
so that his eloquence was ir-
resistible. His health suf-
fered greatly from his labors
and fasts, and he died at
sixty-three. His attributes
are the demon fettered behind
him ; three mitres on his book
or at his feet, emblems of
three bishoprics which he
refused ; the bee hive, a sym-
bol of eloquence. The mi-
tre and crosier as Abbot of
Clairvaux are given him but
rarely. Aug. 20, A. D. 1153.
St. Bernard Ptolomei
(/'a/. San Bernardo del Tol-
omei). He was of an illus-
trious family of Siena ; born
in 1272. He distinguished
himself as a lawyer, but at
length, seized with the relig-
ious passion of the age, he
went into a mountain, called
the Mount of Olives, about
ten milts from Siena. Here he formed the order called " Olivet-
ani." They were Benedictines in rule, and wore a white habit.
August 21, A. D. 1348.
St. Bernard of Menthon was by birth a noble Savoyard.
In his youth he was serious and studious, showing such traits of
character as fitted him for a religious life. His father wished him
to marry; but he preferred to study, and put himself under the
teaching of Peter, Archdeacon of Aoust. In 966 Bernard was made
archdeacon, which was at that time a responsible and laborious office,
as its duties comprised the whole government of the diocese. By
great devotion and constant preaching for forty-two years, he did
much good in the dioceses of Aoust, Sion, Geneva, Tarantaise,
Milan, and Novara. He destroyed an idol on a mountain in the
Walais, and exposed the deception of the heathen priests. He
founded two roads and two monastic hospitals, the Great and Little
St. Bernard, the former of which was near the site of the heathen
idol before spoken of. At these hospitals the monks, assisted by
St. Bernard writing the " Missus Est."
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
59
their dogs, search out and care for travellers who are lost in the
passes of the mountains, where the storms are severe and the cold
intense. St. Bernard died at Novara, at eighty-five years of age.
His body is in the monastery at Novara, and his head is shown in a
rich case at the monastery of Monte- Jove, in the diocese of Aoust.
May 28, A. r>. 1008.
St. Bernardino of Siena. This saint was of the family of
Albizeschi. He was born at Mussa, a Sienese town, in 1380. His
mother dying, he was edu-
cated by an aunt, whose
influence developed not
only his talents, but great
purity of character also.
At seventeen he joined a
brotherhood whose mem-
bers were devoted to the
service of the hospitals.
A pestilence soon broke
out, which destroyed great
numbers, and among them
physicians and priests.
For four months, Bernar-
dino with twelve others
cared for the inmates of
the plague hospital. His
health suffered greatly from
his labor. He became a
Franciscan at twenty-
three. He was a celebra-
ted preacher, and went all
over Italy. He endeavored
to reconcile the Guelphs
and Ghibellines. He was
offered three bishoprics,
which he refused. The duke of Milan, offended at his preaching,
threatened him in vain ; he then sent him money, with which he
went to the prisons and liberated poor debtors. He founded the
order called in Italy " Osservanti," and in France " Freres dc
1'Observance," because they observe strictly the rule of St. Francis,
going barefoot and keeping absolute the vow of poverty. When
preaching, he held in his hand a tablet on which was the name of
Jesus in a circle of golden rays. A man who had lived by making
eards and dice complained to the saint that on account of the re-
forms in religion, his occupation was gone. Bernardino advised him
to carve tablets like his, to sell to the people. He did so ; and a
peculiar sanctity being attached to them, he sold large numbers, and
St. Bernardino of Siena.
60 LEGENDS AND STORIES
made a fortune in this way. St. Bernardino is said to have founded
those institutions called still in France " Monts-de-Piete," where
money is loaned on pledges. In the commencement they were en-
tirely charitable and for the benefit of the poor. He died at Aquila,
in the Abruzzi, where his remains are preserved in a silver shrine
in the church of San Francisco. May 20, A. D. 1444.
St. Bernardino da Feltri shares the honor of having founded
the "Monts-dc-Piete. He was a celebrated preacher, and preached
at the Church of Santa Croce in Florence, against Jews and usurers,
and the necessity that the poor should be protected from them. It
is certain that the two Bernardinos labored in this matter, but not
easy to decide to which belongs the greatest honor.
St. Bibiana was a Roman lady, who, together with her father,
mother, and sister, suffered martyrdom in the reign of Julian the
Apostate. She was scourged, and then pierced with a dagger. The
church dedicated to her is between the Santa Croce and the Porte
Maggiore. The column to which she was bound, is shown within
the church. December 2, A. D. 06 2.
St. Blaise of Sebaste (Gr. "Ay. BXaio-os ; ltd. San Biagio;
Fr. Saint Blaise; Ger. Der Heilige Blasius ; signification, crooked.)
This holy man was bishop over the Christians at Sebaste in Cappa-
docia, and, in the time when Agricolaus was governor, was obliged
to flee to the mountains to escape persecution. There were great
numbers of wild beasts there, but instead of harming the saint, they
came to him in numbers each morning to receive his blessing ; and
when Agricolaus sent to obtain beasts for the amphitheatres, the hunt-
ers found St. Blaise surrounded with them. He nursed the sick
ones, reproved the ferocious, and gave his benediction to all. The
hunters, amazed at this, seized him and took him to the governor.
As they went they met a woman, whose child was choking from a
bone stuck in its throat. The mother cried out, " O servant of Christ,
ha.ve mercy on me." He laid his hand on the throat of the child
and prayed, and it was healed. Again, they met a woman whose
pig had been carried off by a wolf, and as it was all she had of
worldly goods, she was in much distress. St. Blaise commanded
the Avolf to bring back the pig unharmed ; which was done. The
governor sentenced him to be scourged and imprisoned without food ;
but the poor woman had killed her pig, and brought a part, with
bread and fruit, to the holy man. A second time the governor tor-
tured him by tearing his flesh with iron combs, such as are used to
card wool ; when, as he still remained firm in his faith, he was be-
headed. He is the patron of Ragusa, also the patron of wool
combers, of those who suffer from throat diseases, and of wild ani-
mals. He is a popular saint in France and England, and especially
in Yorkshire, where once in seven years a festival is held in his
honor. The iron wool comb is his proper attribute. February 3
A. D. 316.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
61
(Raphael.) St. Bonaventura.
St. Bonaventura was the great prelate of the Seraphic Order,
and was styled " il Dot-
tore Serafico." His fume
is not confined to his
Order, as he is consid-
ered one of the bright-
est lights of the whole
Roman Catholic Church.
His name was Giovanni
Fidanga, and he was
born at Bagnarea in Tus-
cany, in 1221. In his
infancy he was so ill that
his life was despaired of,
and his mother took him
to St. Francis to be
healed. When the saint
saw him, he exclaimed,
'' O, buona ventura,"
whereupon his mother
dedicated him to God
by the name of Bona-
ventura. His progress
in study was amazing, and at twenty-two he became a Franciscan,
and went to Paris to study theology. He soon became celebrated,
but his humility was so great that he felt unworthy to receive the
sacrament, and it is taught in the legends that the Host was pre-
sented to him by angels. Louis IX. (St. Louis) greatly honored
him while at Paris, and he was chosen General of his Order at
thirty-fr'e. He was appointed Archbishop of York, but declined the
honor. At length he was made Cardinal and Bishop of Albano
When the pope's nuncios carried him the cardinal's hat, they found
him in the garden of a convent, near Florence, washing the plate
from which he had just eaten, and he requested them to hang the
hat on a tree until he could take it. In 1274, when a council was
held at Lyons to reconcile the Greek and Latin churches, he, being
one of the most distinguished of preachers, first addressed the as-
sembly. The fatigues of his labors here brought on a fever, of which
he died, being fifty-three years old. He was buried in the church
of the Franciscans at Lyons, but the Huguenots broke open his
shrine and threw his ashes into the Saone. July 14, A. D. 1274.
St. Boniface, martyr (Lett, and Ger. Sanctus Bonifacius ; Jtal.
Sui Bonifaccio). The history of St. Boniface is one of the most au-
thentic, as well as beautiful, of the legends of his age. Justice can
by no means be done to his character in the space allotted him here.
Hi? name was Winfred, and he was born of a noble family at Credi-
62 LEGENDS AND STORIES
ton, in Devonshire. He taught literature and the Holy Scriptures at
the Benedictine abbey of Nutsall, or Nuscella, near Winchester, until
he was thirty-six years old. For some years he had not been happy
in his quiet vocation, but was constantly haunted by a desire to
preach the Gospel in Germany. He went first to Friesland, but it
was in the days of Charles Martel, and a time when he could hope
for no results from his labors ; so he returned to Nutsall, but soon
left England for the last time, and went to Rome to estreat the aid
of the pope in his German labors. It is said to have been at this
time that he changed his name. Receiving a commission from the
pope, he now travelled through Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony, and
Friesland, preaching with great success. In 732, he was made
Archbishop and Primate of all Germany, and soon after, King Pe-
pin-le-Bref, whom Boniface had consecrated, made him the first
Bishop of Mayence. But when seventy-four years old, he gave up
all his honors, and girding on the plain habit of a Benedictine
monk, devoted himself again to missionary labors. At length, while
in his tent, on the banks of a small river in Friesland, where he
awaited a company of proselytes, to whom he was about to adminis-
ter the rite of confirmation, he was attacked by a band of pagans
who had sworn to murder him. He always carried in his bosom a
copy of the " De Bono Mortis " of St. Ambrose. This was stained
with his blood, and was preserved as a sacred relic at Fulda. In
1835 King Louis of Bavaria, in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary
of his marriage, founded a magnificent basilica, and consecrated it
to St. Boniface, in which are fine frescoes, representing the various
scenes in the life of this wonderful man. June 5, A. D. 755.
St. Boniface. See St. Aglse.
St. Brice (La<. Sanctus Britius) was Bishop of Tours and suc-
cessor to St. Martin. He is represented with coals in his hands,
which he carries unhurt, to prove himself innocent of false accusa-
tions made against him; and again he carries a child in his arms.
November 13, A. D. 444.
St, Bridget of Ireland. Although nearly every vestige of thia
saint, is gone, she still lives as their patroness in the hearts of the
Irish people. Her mother was very lovely, and the captive, taken
in war, of a powerful chieftain. His wife, being jealous of her, turned
her away before the birth of Bridget. But two disciples of St. Pat-
rick took pity on them, and baptized the mother and child. Bridget
grew up witli such beauty of mind and person, that she became
famous, and her father desired to have her, and to marry her to a
chief. But Bridget devoted herself to God's service, especially to the
instruction of women. She went to Kildare, " the cell or place of
the oak," and not only taught and preached, but performed mir-
acles. Her fame drew about her many women who lived in huts,
and from 1his arose the first reJigious community of women in Ire-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
63
land. The convent and city of Kildare, were afterwards both flour-
ishing and famous. Here was preserved unextinguished, lor many
centuries, the sacred lamp which burned before her altar.
" The bright lamp that shone in Kildare's holy fane,
And burned ihruugh long ages ot darkness and storm."
February 1.
St. Bridget of Sweden was the founder of the Order of the
Brigittines, or Birgitta, and is one of the patron saints of Sweden.
She was of royal blood, and married to the Prince of Norica, named
Ulpho. She was very devout, and influenced her husband and their
eight children to live religiously. After the death of Ulpho, she
built the Monastery of Wastein and endowed it largely. Here she
placed both nuns and brothers. Their rule was principally that of
St. Augustine, though modified by directions Bridget received in vis-
ions, of which she had many. Her order was approved by the pope,
under the title of the " Rule of the Order of our Saviour." She
made many pilgrimages to Rome and Compostella.
St. Bruno was the founder and first abbot of the Carthusian
Order. He was of a noble family of Cologne, and on account of
his great talents was sent to Paris to study theology under Raymond.
He afterwards taught in the school at
Rheims ; but, after long reflection, determined
on a monastic life. With six companions,
he went to Grenoble, when Hugo, the bishop,
having been warned in a dream of their com-
ing, gave them some barren land at Chart-
reux. Here Bruno founded his first ironastery,
and his order was confirmed by the pope.
The robes and hoods of the Carthusians are
white, and their whole heads shaven. Ur-
ban II. had been a pupil of Bruno at
Rheims, and when he became pope, sent
for him to aid him in his great cares, and
desired to make him Archbishop of Reg-
gio. But this Bruno refused, and not liking
the life at court, retired to Calabria, where
he founded another monastery. He died in
1200. The order which he established is
of great interest. It is the most severe in
its rule of all the monastic orders, and adds
almost perpetual silence to the usual vows.
Only once a week can these monks talk to-
gether. They never taste flesh, and make
but one meal a day, of pulse, bread, and
water, and this is eaten separately. They
labor, too, with great diligence, and their
(Le Sueur.) Louyre. St. Bruno
reading the Pope's Letter
G4 LEGENDS AXD STORIES
discipline has been described as most fearful in its severity. In
spite of all this, they have an extreme love of the beautiful, and
have done much for art. Their churches and gardens were won-
drous in their perfection, and their pictures at La Grande Chartreuse
(now in the Louvre) ; in the Chartreuse of Santa Maria de las
Cuevas, near Seville ; at Paular, and other places, possess a world
of interest. July 18.
Csedmon the Poet lived in the monastery of the Abbess Hilda,
as a servant, until past middle life. He knew nothing of literature
or poetry ; and when it came his turn to sing at table, he went away.
Once as he did this, and went to the stable to care for the horses,
he fell asleep, and an angel came in a dream and told him to sing.
He answered that he could not sing, and for that reason had left
the table. But the angel said, '' You shall sing, notwithstanding ; "
and when he asked what he should sing, the reply was, " Sing the
beginning of created beings." Then Caedmon began to sing praises
to God ; and when he awoke he remembered all he had sung, and
was able to add more also. When he told this to Hilda, she
believed him to be inspired, and received him into her community.
He was instructed in Scripture ; and as he read, he converted it into
verse. His paraphrase of Scripture is still preserved in the Bod-
leian Library, at Oxford. He died peacefully, while making the sign
of the cross.
St. Casimir, patron saint of Poland, was the son of Casimir IV.
of Poland and Elizabeth of Austria. From his childhood he
participated in none of the pursuits of his father's court ; and as he
grew up, he composed many religious hymns. He refused the crown
of Hungary, and lived more and more secluded, devoting himself
to religious pursuits, until his death in 1483. March 4.
St. Cassian (Ital. San CascianoJ was a school-master of Imola,
and being denounced as a Christian, the judge who condemned him
to death allowed his scholars to be his executioners. They hated
him on account of his severe discipline, and they tortured him most
cruelly, by piercing him with the iron styles used in writing. He is
the patron saint of Imola. August 13.
St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr (LaL Sancta
Catharina ; Ital. Santa Catarina dei Studienti, or Santa Catarina
delle Ruote ; Fr. Madame Saincte Catherine ; Sp. Santa Catalina ;
Ger. Die Heilige Katharina von Alexandrien). This saint was the
daughter of Costis (half brother to Constantino the Great) and
Sabinella, Queen of Egypt. Before the birth of Catherine, her
mother was prepared by a dream to find her a remarkable child ;
and at the moment of her birth, a halo of light played about her
head. Her acquirements and her wisdom were most wonderful,
and the philosophy of Plato was her favorite study while a child.
She had seven learned masters, and chambers fitted with everything
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
65
to aid her in her studies. Her father died when she was fourteen,
leaving her he.ress to the kingdom. She gave herself up to study
and retirement, which displeased her subjects, and they begged her
to marry. They said she was possessed of four notable gifts. That
she. was of the most noble blood in the world ; that she surpassed
all others in wealth, knowledge, and beauty; and they desired that
she. should give them an heir. She replied that as she had four
gifts so he whom she would marry must likewise be of such noble
blood that all would worship him; and so great as not to be in-
'(jbted to her for being made a king, richer than any other ; so
(Mucke.) St. Catherine borne to Mt. Sinai.
beautiful that angels should desire to see him ; and so benign as to
forgive all offenses. Such a one only could she marry. Then
Sabinella and the people were sorrowful, for they knew of no such
man. But Catherine would marry no other. Now a hermit who
dwelt in a desert not far from Alexandria, was sent by the Virgin
Mary, who appeared to him, to tell Catherine that her Son was the
husband she desired to have, for he posses ed all the requirements,
and more. And the hermit gave Catherine a picture of Mary and
Jesus. When she gazed on his face, she loved Him, and could
think of nothing else, and her studies became dull to her. That
night she had a dream, in which she went with the old hermit to a
sanctuary on a high mountain ; and when she approached it, angels
5
66
LEGENDS AND STORIES
came to meet her, and she fell on her face. But an Angel said,
' Stand up, our dear sister Catherine, for thee hath the King of
glory delighted to honor." Then she stood up and followed them,
and they led her to a chamber, where the queen was, surrounded by
angels, saints, and martyrs, and her beauty none could describe.
The angels presented Catherine to her, and besought her to receive
her as her daughter. The queen bade her welcome, and led her to
our Lord. But the Lord turned away, saying, " She is not fair
and beautiful enough for me." At these words Catherine awoke,
and wept till morning. She called the hermit and demanded
what would make her worthy of her celestial Bridegroom. He,
(Titian.) Marriage of St. Catherine.
perceiving the darkness of her mind, instructed her in the tree
faith, and she, and also Sabinella, were baptized. That night, as
Catherine slept, the Virgin and her Son, attended by many angels,
appeared to her, and Mary again presented her to Jesus, saying,
"Lo, she hath been baptized, and I myself have been her god-
mother." Then Christ smiled on her, and plighted his troth to her ;
and put a ring on her finger. And when she awoke, the ring was
still there ; and from that time she despised all earthly things, and
thought only of the time when she should go to her heavenly Bride-
groom. At length the good Sabinella died. At this time Maxiinin
frame to Alexandria and declared a great persecution against those
w'ui did not worship idols. Then Catherine came forth to the tern-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 67
pie and held an argument with the tyrant and confounded him.
He then ordered fifty learned men to come from all parts of the
empire to dispute with her; but she, praying to God, overcame them
all, so that they, too, declared themselves Christians. Then Maxi-
uiin, enraged, commanded them to be burned; and Catherine com-
forted them when they could not be baptized, saying that their blood
should be their baptism, and the flames glorious crowns for them.
Then the emperor, admiring her beauty, tried to overcome her vir-
tue; and when he could not do this, and was about to go to war, he
commanded Porphyry, his servant, to cast her in a dungeon and
starve her. But angels came to feed her ; and when, after twelve
clays, they opened the dungeon, a bright light and a fragrance filled
all the place. Then the empress and Porphyry, with two hundred
others, fell at the feet of Catherine, and declared themselves Chris-
tians. When Maximin returned, he put the empress and all to death,
and, admiring Catherine's beauty still more than at first, offered her
to be mistress of the world if she would listen to him. When she
still rejected his offers, he ordered the most dreadful tortures for her
wheels revolving in different directions, that should tear her in
many pieces. When they had bound her to these, an angel came
and consumed the wheels in fire, and the fragments flew around, and
killed the executioners and three thousand people. But again
Maximin ordered her to be scourged and beheaded. Then angels
came and bore her body to the top of Mount Sinai, and there it rested
in a marble sarcophagus. In the eighth century a monastery was
built over her burial-place, and her remains are still greatly vener-
ated. It is said by some that Maximin was consumed by an inward
fire ; by others, that wild beasts devoured him. Catherine is patron-
ess of education, science, and philosophy, of all students and of
colleges. As patroness of eloquence, she was invoked for all diseases
of the tongue. She is also patroness of Venice, and a favorite saint
of ladies of royal birth. She is represented as richly dressed,
and her peculiar attribute is the wheel, either whole or broken.
She has also the martyr's palm, the crown of royalty, the book
which expresses her learning, and frequently tramples on the head
of Maximin, which is a symbol of the triumph of her Christian faith
over paganism and cruelty. The marriage of St. Catherine to the
Saviour is a favorite and extremely beautiful subject of art. No-
vember 25, A. D. 307.
St. Catherine of Bologna, or Santa Caterina de' Vigri, has been
greatly venerated in her own city for about two centuries. She
was of noble family, and for a time a maid of honor at the court of
Ferrara. She entered a convent of Poor Clares, and became dis-
tinguished as a painter. There are said to be several pictures of
hers in Bologna. Her remains, dressed in brocade and jewels, are tc
be seen in her convent at Bologna. March 9, A. D. 1463.
68 LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Catherine of Siena (Lat. Sancta Catharina Senese, Virgo
admirabilis, et gloriosa Sponsa Christ! ; Ital. Santa Caterina di
Siena, la Santissiina Vergine). She was the daughter of a dyer who
dwelt near the Fonte-Branda, at Siena ; his dwelling is now the Or-
atory of St. Catherine. She dedicated herself to a religious life as
early as in her eighth year, and prayed Christ to be her Bridegroom,
as He was that of Catherine of Alexandria. Her father and mother
(Razzl.) San Domenico, Siena. St. Catherine of Siena receiving the Stigmata.
were angry at her refusal to marry, and greatly persecuted her, put-
ting the most menial labors upon her, and treating her with great
harshness. But at length, her father saw her at prayer with a white
dove resting upon her head, of whose presence she seemed unconscious.
From this time, she was allowed to choose her own course in life.
She never entered a convent as a professed nun, but she made a vow
of silence for three years, and led a life of the greatest self-denial. She
went each day to the Convent of St. Dominick to pray, and there she
had many wonderful visions. She was greatly tempted of Satan
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
69
she inflicted upon herself the most severe penances, and Christ came
to her in visible presence to console her. She nursed the sick, even
those who had the most loathsome diseases. Her fame spread through
all Tuscany and to Milan and Naples. At length the Florentines,
having rebelled against the Holy See, were excommunicated by the
pope, and they sent Catherine to him as their mediator. The pope,
then at Avignon, was so much pleased with Catherine that he left
her to decide the terms of peace between himself and the Florentines
Catherine felt it to be a great cause of misrule in the church, that
the popes were absent from Rome, and she used all her powers to per-
juade Gregory XI. to return to the Lateran, which he did, Cather-
ine accompanying him. In the great schism which followed the death
of Gregory, Catherine took the part of Urban VI., who appointed her
ambassadress to the court of Joanna II. of Naples. But the dan-
ger of the journey prevented her from fulfilling the mission. Cather-
ine died at thirty -three, after great physical sullering still full of
zeal and faith. She was one of the most noted of female saints, and
is known at Siena as La
Santa. The facts of her
history render her life in-
teresting in many ways.
She is represented in pic-
tures in the habit of the
Dominican Order, with
the stigmata, which she is
said to have received.
April 30, A. D. 1380.
St. Cecilia (Fr. Saint
Cecile). She is supposed
to have lived in the third
century, and the honor paid
to her can be traced to
that time. She was the
daughter of a noble Ro-
man, who, with his wife,
had secretly become Chris-
tians. Cecilia was in child-
hood remarkably serious
and pious. She early made
& vow of chastity, and de-
voted herself to a religious
life. She always carried a
copy of the Gospels in her
robe. She especially ex-
celled in music, and com-
posed and sung hymns so
(Raphael.) St. Cecilia-
70 LEGENDS AND STORIES
sweet that angels came to listen to her. But the instruments em-
ployed in secular music were insufficient to express the music of
her soul, and she invented the organ, and consecrated it to God's
service. Her parents desired her, when sixteen years old, to marry
Valerian, a rich young noble. She did so, but beneath her bridal
robes she wore a garment of penance, and, remembering her vow,
prayed God to help her to preserve her chastity. He so answered
her prayer, that when she told Valerian of her faith, he became
converted, and was baptized, and respected her vow. Cecilia
had told Valerian that she had a guardian angel, and when he
returned frcm his baptism, he heard sweet music, and saw the
angel standing near her with two crowns, made of the immortal
roses which bloom in Paradise. Cecilia and Valerian knelt, and
the angel crowned them with the flowers, and told Valerian, that be-
cause he had listened to Cecilia, and respected her vow, whatever he
most desired should be granted him. Then Valerian said, " I have
a brother, named Tiburtius, whom I love as my own soul ; grant that
his eyes also maybe opened to the truth." This request was pleasing
to God, and when Tiburtius entered soon after and perceived the
fragance of the roses, he was surprised, for it was not the time of
flowers. Then Cecilia told him of their faith, and he too was con-
verted and baptized. They then gave themselves up to a religious life,
and did much good to the poor and persecuted Christians. But the
prefect, Almachius, commanded them to worship Jupiter, and when
they would not, he cast the brothers into prison, and gave them a
keeper, called Maximus, and lie also became a Christian. This so
enraged the prefect, that he commanded the three to be beheaded.
Cecilia cared for, and buried their remains in the cemetery of Calix-
tus. Desiring to have her great wealth, the prefect then commanded
Cecilia to worship Jupiter, and threatened her with fearful tortures.
She only smiled her scorn. He then commanded her to be thrown
into her bath, filled with boiling water. This did not hurt her at
all ; so he then sent an executioner to slay her with the sword.
His hand trembled, so that he inflicted three wounds on her neck
and breast, and yet did not kill her. She lingered three days.
She gave her money to the poor, and desired that her house should
be made a church. She died sweetly singing, and was buried
beside her husband. In the ninth century, when Paschal repaired
her church, he had a vision of St. Cecilia, in which she told him her
burial place. Her bod)- was found, and also those of Valerian, Tibur-
tius, and Maximus. They were placed in her church, now called
St. Cecilia-in-Trastevere. Her bath-room is a chapel, and the stones
and pipes for heating the bath still remain. In the sixteenth cen-
tury the church was again repaired, and her coffin opened, when the
celebrated statue of " St. Cecilia lying dead," was made, and repre-
sents her as she appeared in the coffin. She is the patroness of mu
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 71
sic and musicians. Her proper attribute is the organ and a roll of
music. She also has the crown of roses and an attendant angel.
She is richly dressed, and often has jewels. November 22, A. n. 280.
St. Celsus (Ital. San Celso). This was a young disciple of St.
Nazarius, who was a converted Jew. Together they travelled
through Gaul as missionary preachers. At Genoa the people threw
them into the sea, but they were miraculously saved, and came at
last to Milan, where Protasius and Gervasius had become Chris-
tians, whom they strengthened. Both Celsus and Nazarius were
beheaded at Milan, where there is a beautiful church, San Nazaro
Maggiore. There is also at Ravenna the remarkable Byzantine
church of SS. Nazaro-e-Celso. They are always represented to-
gether, and bear the swords and palms of martyrs. Nazarius is old
and Celsus quite young. July 28.
St. Cesareo, or Caesarius- The veneration of this saint seems
to be confined to Rome. He perished at Terracina because he op-
posed the worship of Apollo. He was famous both in the East
and West in the sixth century. The Church of San Cesareo in
Rome is also called " in Palatio," from its situation near the ancient
palace and baths of Caracalla on the Via Appia, not far from the
Porta St. Sebastiauo. He was put into a sack, and cast into the
sea, together with a priest named Lucian. November 1, A. i>. 300.
St. Chad of Lichfleld became, in G59, abbot of the Priory of
Lastingham, which had been founded by his eldest brother, Cedd.
He was famous for his religious life, and being made bishop of the
Mercians and Northumbrians, he preached as a missionary through
all the country. He had his episcopal see in Lichfiekl, " the field
of the dead," and there he built a habitation where he lived with a
few brethren, and a church where he baptized his converts. After
living in this way more than two years, he had a vision in which
he was warned of his death. He saw his brother with a troop of
angels. They sang and called him to follow them to God, and still
sweetly singing ascended to heaven. He advised the brethren how
they should live, and soon died. His church may be considered
tl e origin of the Cathedral of Lichfield, where the shrine of St. Chad
was deposited in 1148, and is greatly venerated. March 2, A. D. G73.
Chantal, la Mere. Ste. Jeanne-Francoise de Chantal was the
grandmother of Madame de Sevigne. She was a religious enthusi-
ast even in childhood, and would not receive a gift from a Calvinkt.
In obedience to her parents, she married Baron Chantal, but made
u vow to dedicate herself to a religious life, if she should ever be a
widow. Her husband died when she was twenty-nine, and for ten
years she devoted herself to her children and to the preparation
for the fulfillment of her vow. She assisted St. Francis de Sales to
establish the Order of the Visitation, and assumed the direction of
it, as la Mere Chantal. Her children loved her passionately, and
72 LEGENDS AND STORIES
sought to keep her with them, but ."he remained firm in her deter-
ruination. At the time of her death in 1641, there were seventy-
five houses of her Order in France and Savoy. She was canonized
in 1769. August 21, A. D. 1641.
St. Charles Borromeo (Ital. San Carlo). This saint was of
one of the noblest families of Lombardy. Being the second son he
was early dedicated to the Church. At twelve years of age he re-
ceived the revenues of a rich Benedictine monastery, but would only
reserve a mere pittance for himself, devoting the remainder to char-
ity. At twenty-three he was made cardinal and Archbishop of Mi-
lan, by his uncle Pius IV. His elder brother died when Charles
was twenty-six. He went at once to take possession of his diocese
and estate. His incomes he dedicated to public uses, only spending
for himself enough to buy his bread and water, and straw on which
to sleep. He sent missionaries to preach in every part of his dio-
cese, and went also himself to see that his people were cared for.
In public hr lived as became his rank, and gave feasts of which he
never partot k. His charities were most munificent. At the time
of the plague at Milan, he went into the city, when all others fled,
and tended the sick and performed all the duties pertaining to his
office. His example inspired twenty-eight priests to join him, all
of whom with St. Charles escaped unhurt. He lived in a time
when the Church had fallen into great laxity of discipline, and he
may be regarded as a powerful instrument in rescuing it from de-
struction. He was hated by the priests who had been in the habit
of using the revenues of the Church for their own indulgence, and
one, Fra Farina, attempted to kill him by firing upon him, while he
was celebrating the evening service. He finished the prayer, al-
though he believed himself mortally wounded, and the people con-
sidered him to be miraculously healed. He died November 4,
1584, and with his last breath exclaimed, " Ecce venio." His re-
mains repose in a rich shrine at Milan. He is represented in cardi-
nal's robes and barefooted, a rope about his neck and one hand raised
in benediction, with a book in the other. November 4, A. D. 1584.
St. Charlemagne, whose history as Charlemagne the Great,
Emperor of France, Italy, and Germany, is so familiar to all, stands
at the head of royal saints in the countries over which he ruled,
although if a strict chronology were observed, St. Clotilda and St.
Sigismond would precede him. He is frequently represented with
a book, in remembrance of his having caused the Scriptures to be
correctly translated and widely promulgated. January 28, A. D. 814.
St. Cheron was a disciple of St. Denis, and was Bishop of Char-
tres. He was attacked by robbers and his head struck oft', when
on his way from Chartres to Paris to visit St. Denis. Taking his
head in his hand he continued his journey. One of the windows
in the Cathedral of Chartreb represents the history of St. Cheron.
ILLUSTRATED AV ART. 7S
St. Christina (Ital. Santa Cristina; Fr. Ste. Christine). Sht
is supposed to have been born at Tiro, a town on the borders of
Lake Bolsena which has since been swallowed up in the lake. The
legend of this saint has been rejected by the Church, but she is cel-
ebrated in Central and Northern Italy. She was thy child of a
(Johan Schoreel Munich Gal.) St. Christina.
Roman patrician who governed the city. She called herself Chris
tina because she had been converted to the doctrines of Christ. As
she stood, one day, watching those who begged alms, and had noth-
ing to give, she thought of the golden idols of her father, and she
broke them in pieces and gave them to the poor. Her father was
furious, and ordered his servants to beat her and throw her in a
dungeon. Here angels came and healed her wounds. Her father
then commanded her to be thrown into the lake with a mill-stone
tied to her neck. But angels bore her up, and God clothed her with
74 LEGENDS AND STORIES
a white robe, and led her safely to land. She was then thrown into
a fiery furnace, where she remained unharmed five days and sung
God's praises. Her father then ordered her head to be shaved,
and that she should then be taken to the temple of Apollo to sacri-
fice, but when she came there the idol fell down before her, which
so frightened her father that he died. But Julian, hearing thai
she sung in her prison, sent orders that her tongue should be cut
out, when she still continued to sing, to the amazement of all. She
was next shut up with poisonous reptiles, but she was not harmed.
At last, in despair, he commanded her to be bound to a post and
shot with arrows till she died. Thus was she martyred, and angels
bore her soul to heaven. On an island in the lake of Bolsena,
which few travellers visit, is a church dedicated to St. Christine,
said to have been painted by the Caracci. The Cathedral of Bolsena
is consecrated to her Patroness of Bolsena and the Venetian States.
Her proper attribute is the mill-stone, but she sometimes has arrows
alone, when she might be mistaken for St. Ursula. She has also
the martyr's palm and crown. July 24, A. D. 295.
St. Christopher (Lat. St. Christophorus ; I al. San Cristofero,
or Cristofano ; Fr St. Christophe, or Cristofle ; Ger. Der Heilige
Christoph). St. Christopher might well be called the giant saint.
He was of the land of Canaan, and before performing the deeds
which entitled him to his saintship was called Offero, which signi-
fies the bearer. He was proud of his vast sze and strength, but
in spite of this, his poverty compelled him to become a servant. So
he resolved that the most powerful monarch of the earth alone
should be his master, and he went to seek him. At length after
many days of wandering, he came to the court of a king said to
excel all others in power and wealth, and to him he offered his ser-
vices. The king accepted him gladly, for no other monarch of all
the earth could boast of such a servant. Now Offero knew nothing
of the power of Christ or Satan, and supposed his master to be
afraid of no one, since he was the greatest monarch of the earth ;
but one day as he stood beside him, a minstrel who was singing,
mentioned frequently the name of Satan, and each time he did so
the king trembled and crossed himself. Offero asked the meaning
of this, and when the king did not answer, he said, " If thou dost
not answer me this, I leave thee." Then the king said, " I make
this sign that Satan may have no power over me ; for he is very
mighty, and as wicked as strong, and I fear lest he shall overcome
me." Then Offero felt himself deceived, and said, " Since there ia
one whom thou fearest, him will 1 seek and serve, for my master
must fear no one." So he wandered again, seeking Satan ; and
crossing a great desert, he saw a terrible being with the appearance
of great power, marching at the head of an armed legion. He did
not seem to notice the great size of Offero, and with an air of
ILLUSTRATED IN ART 75
authority said, " Whither goest them, and for what dost thou seek ? "
Then said Offero, " I wish to find Satan, for I have heard he is the most
powerful of all the earth, and I would have him for my master."
Satan, well pleased, replied, " I am he, and your service shall be an
easy and pleasant one." Offero then bowed before him, and joined
his followers. After a time as they journeyed on, they came to a
cross, erected by the wayside, where four roads met. When the
Devil saw this he turned with great haste and fear, and went a long
distance out of his way to avoid the cross. Then said Offero,
" Why is this ? What is this cross, and wherefore dost thou avoid
it?" But Satan spoke not. Then said Offero, "Except thou tell-
est me I must leave thee." Being compelled, the wicked one re-
plied, " I fear the cross, because upon it Jesus died, and when I be-
hold it, I fly, lest he should overcome me." Then said Offero,
" Tell me, who is this Jesus, for since thou fearest him, he is more
powerful than thou, and him will I seek and serve." So he left
Satan, and wandered many days in search of Christ. At length
he came to a hermit, whom he entreated to tell him where Christ
could be found. Then the hermit, seeing that he knew nothing of
Jesus, began to teach him, and said, " Thou art right in believing
that Christ is the greatest king, for his power extends over both
heaven and earth, and will endure throughout eternity. But thou
canst not serve him lightly, and if he accepts thee, he will impose
great duties upon thee, and will require that thou fast often." Then
said Offero, " I will not fast, for it is my strength that makes me a
good servant : why should I waste it by fasting ? " " And besides,
thou must pray," said the hermit. " I know not how to pray,
neither will I learn. Such a service is for weak ones, but not for me,"
said the proud giant. Then said the hermit, " If thou wilt use thy
strength, knowest thou a deep, wide river, that is often swollen
with rains, and sweeps away in its swift current many of those who
would cross it ? " Offero said, " I know such a stream." " Then
go there," said the hermit, " and aid those who struggle with its
waves ; and the weak and the little ones, bear thou from shore to
shore, on thy broad shoulders. This is a good work, and if Christ
will have thee for this service, he will assure thee of his accept-
ance." Then was Offero glad, for this was a task which suited
him well. So he went to the river and built upon its bank a hut
of the boughs of trees. And he aided all who came, and many he
bore upon his shoulders, and was never weary by day or night in
assisting those who crossed the river. And after he began his
work, not one perished, where before so many had been swept away.
For a staff he used a palm-tree which he pulled up in the forest,
and it was not too large for his great height and strength. As
Jesus beheld this he was well pleased with Offero and his labor, for
though he would neither fast nor pray, yet had he found a way <o
76
LEGENDS AND STORIES
serve him. At length, after Offero had spent a long time, and did
not weary of his toil, as he rested one night in his hut, he heard a
voice like that of a weak child, and it said, " Offero, wilt thou carry
me over ? " And he went out quickly, but he could find no one.
But when he had again laid down, the same voice called as before,
and at the third call he arose and sought with a lantern. At last
he found a little child who besought him, " Offero, Offero, carry mo
over to-night." He lifted him up, and carrying his staff, began to
cross the stream. Im-
mediately the winds
blew, the waves were
tossed, and the roar
of the waters was as
many thunders, and
the little child grew
heavy and more heavy,
until Offero feared he
should himself sink, and
both be lost. But with
the aid of his palm
staff, at length he
crossed and put his
burden safely down
upon the other side.
Then he cried out,
" Whom have I borne '
Had it been the whole
world, it could not
have been more hea-
vy ! " Then the child
replied, " Me, thou hast
desired to serve, and I
have accepted thee.
Thou hast borne not
only the whole world,
(Albert Durer, 1521.) St. Christopher. b ut he W ] 1Q ma ,l e it, O !>
thy shoulders. As a sign of my power and of my approbation of
thee, fix thou thy staff in the earth, and it shall grow and bear
fruit." Offero did so, and the staff was soon covered with leaves,
and the dates hung in huge clusters upon it. But the wonderful
cnild was gone. Then Offero knew that it was Christ whom he
had borne, and he fell down and worshipped Him. After that,
Offero went to Samoa, where there was a great persecution of Chris-
tians, and in spite of his great strength a heathen struck him, when
ne said, " Were I not a Christian, I would take vengeance on thee."
He permitted himself to be bound and taken to Dagnus, the King
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 77
of Lycia, in which country was Sainos. At the. /ight of the giant
the kin'j; tainted. When he was himself again he said, " Who art
thou?" and the giant answered, " My first name was Offero, the
Bearer, but now I serve Christ, and have borne him on my shoul-
ders; for this I am now called Christ Otfero, the bearer of
Christ." Dagnus sent him to prison, and tried to seduce liiir. to
idolatry by sending beautiful women to him, who urged him to sin.
But Christopher was faithful, and by his influence the women be-
came Christians, and suffered death because they too, worshipped
Jesus. Then Dagnus tortured him greatly, and commanded him to
be beheaded. AVhen they led him to execution, he kneeled down
and prayed, that all who beheld him and believed in Christ should
be delivered from earthquake, fire, and tempest. It was believed
that his prayer was effectual, and that all who look upon the figure
of St. Christopher are safe for that day from all dangers of earth-
quake, flood, or fire. The sight of him is believed also to impart
strength to the weak and weary, which idea is expressed in many
inscriptions more or less similar to the following one, which accom-
pany his pictures :
' Christopher! Sancti speciein quicumque tuetur,
Illo namque die nullo languore tenetur."
" Whoever shall belvld the image of St. Christopher shall not
faint or fail on that day." July 25 A. D. 364.
St. Chrysanthus (//a/. San Grisante). This saint came to
Rome from Alexandria, and St. Daria came from Athens. They
were betrothed, but Chrysanthus persuaded Daria that a state of vir-
ginity was more favorable to a religious life than that of marriage.
They were remarkable lor their devotion to their faith. They were
at length accused and martyred, in the reign of Numerian, according
to some, but Baillet believes in the persecution of Valerian. It is
said that soon after their burial a large i. umber of Christians who
were praying at their tomb were walled up in the cave and thus bur-
ied alive. The part of the catacombs where they were interred was
long called the cemetery of SS. Chrysanthus and Daria. The Greek
Church honor them on March 19 and October 17. The Latins
October 25. A. n. 237.
St. Chrys3gonus. (L'al. San Grisogono.) See St. Anastasia,
St. Glair (La/. S. Clarus) is one of the headless saints. lie
was an Englishman of noble extraction, and lived and labored in
the county of Vexin in France. He preached with great faithf .1-
neas, and was murdered at a village which bears his name by rufHans
hired by a lewd woman who could not overcome his chastity. This
village is between Rouen and Pontoise. His shrine is greatly ven-
erated and visited by pilgrims. He is represented on a window at
St. Maelou in Rouen. November 4.
78
LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Clara (Lat. Sancta Clara ; Ital. Santa Chiara ; Fr. Sainte
Claire). Clara d' Assisi was the daugh-
ter of a nobleman, Favorino Sciffo ; her
mother was named Ortolan a. Her
beauty and the great wealth of her fam-
ily caused her to receive many offers of
marriage. She had early dedicated her-
self to a religious life, and went to Si
Francis to ask his advice. He encour-
aged her to renounce the world, and ap-
pointed Palm Sunday as the day for her
to make her profession. She went to
church with all her family richly attired,
as was the custom on that day. When
the others approached the altar she re-
mained afar off, and St. Francis, ad-
miring her humility, came down from
the altar to give her the palm-branch.
At evening she concealed herself in a
veil, and escaped to the Porzioncula
where St. Francis dwelt. She was con-
ducted to the altar, where St. Francis cut
off her hair with his own hands, and she,
putting off her rich garments, was cov-
ered with the personal penitential robes
of Francis, which he threAv over her.
Thus she became his disciple, and the
" Madre Serafica," or the foundress of
the Order of Franciscan nuns, or, as they
are better known, the " Poor Clares."
The rules of her order were severe in the
extreme. Clara went, by the wish of St. Francis, to the Convent of
Si , P:iolo. Her family and friends tried every means to induce her
to return to them without effect, and in a short time she was fol-
lowed by her sister Agnes, only fourteen years old, by many ladies
of rank, among whom were three of the house of Ubaldini, and at
length by her mother. Clara so strictly adhered to the rules of her
order as to injure her health, and for a long time she was bedrid-
den. On one occasion, when the Saracens, to whom Frederick had
given the fortress of Nocera, came to ravage her convent of San Da-
miano, she arose from her bed where she had so long been confined,
and placing the Pyx which contained the Host upon the threshold
she kneeled down and began to sing, when the infidels threw down
their arms and fled. Innocent IV. visited her and confirmed her
Order ; and before her death it had spread throughout Christendom
and embraced many noble ladies. She died at sixty in a rapturous
( Portrait at Assisi). St. Clara.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 79
trance, believing herself called to heaven by angelic voices. Her
sister Agnes succeeded her as abbess. When the nuns removed from
San Dnmiano to San Giorgio they bore her remains with them. This
is now the Church of Santa Chiara d' Assisi, and is the most famous
one of her order. St. Clara is a favorite saint all over Europe, but
especially so in Spain. Her proper attribute is the Pyx containing
the Host. She wears a gray tunic, and the cord of St. Francis with
a black veil. She also bears the lily, the cross, and the palm. Au-
gust 12, A. D. 1253.
St. Clara of Monte-Falco. This saint was of the Augustine
order. In her own country she is called Saint Clara, but she was
never canonized. She is properly the "Beata Clara delta Cruce di
Monte-Falco." Her birth took place in 12G8, and she' lived quietly
in her own city, which from its height overlooks the Umbrian valleys.
The fame of her miracles and the sweetness of her life was well
known through all the country.
St. Clement (7/o/. San Clemente) is supposed to be spoken
of by the Apostle Paul (Philippians iv. 3). He was the third
bishop of Rome. During the many years of his bishopric he made
large numbers of converts, among whom was Domitilla, the niece of
the Emperor Domitian, and by her influence he was protected
during the reign of her uncle. In the persecution under Trajan, thi
prefect who governed Rome in the absence of the emperor, com-
manded Clement to worship the idols, and when he would not, he
banished him to an island where there were large stone quarries
worked by convicts. Many Christians had been sent there before
him, and others went with him to share his exile. Clement found
'hose on the island suffering for want of water; he knelt and prayed,
'.nd looking up saw a lamb on the summit of a hill, which was
nvisible to all others. He knew it to be the lamb of God. He
went to the spot where he had seen it, and upon digging found a
large, clear spring of water. After this miracle he was condemned
to be cast into the sea bound to an anchor. But when the Christ-
ians prayed, the waters were driven back for three miles, and they
saw a ruined temple which the sea had covered, and in it was found
the body of the saint with the anchor round his neck. For many
years, at the anniversary of his death, the sea retreated for seven
days, and pilgrimages were made to this submarine tomb. At one
time a woman was praying there, and her child had fallen asleep,
when the waters arose, and she fled, forgetting the child in her fear.
The next year the boy was found quietly sleeping as she had left him.
The church of San Clemente in Rome is of remarkable interest, and
the scenes of his life are represented in paintings of the twelfth cen-
tury. According to tradition, the relics of the saint are now here,
and also those of St. Ignatius of Antioch. His proper attrii ute is
the anchor. November 23, A. D. 100. (See page 498.)
U- GENUS AND STORIES
St. Clotilda (/>. Sainte Clotilde). St. Clotilda was a Burgun-
dian princess, and the wife of Clovis. She is i'ained as havin
i o
Christianized France. Her husband, after long resisting her attempts
for his conversion, called upon the God of Clotilda in the midst of
an unfortunate battle. Immediately the fortunes of his arms were
changed, and by this he was converted, and was baptized by St.
Renii. At his baptism it is said that the oil was brought by a dove,
or the Holy Ghost, and tradition says that an angel descended from
heaven, bearing three lilies, which he gave to St. liemi, and he in
turn gave them to Clotilda, and at this time the arms of France
were changed from the three toads (crapauds) of earlier days, to
^lie fleurs-de-lys, the emblems of purity and regeneration. June 3,
A. I). 545.
St. Cloud, was a grandson of St. Clotilda, who, when his broth-
ers were murdered, escaped to a convent, and became a monk of
the Benedictine order. September 7, A. n. 5GO.
Constantine, Emperor.
Constantine, while still an idol-
ater and a persecutor of the
Christians, was afllicted with a
leprosy. The priests of the idols
prescribed that he should bathe
in children's blood. Three
thousand children were col-
lected to be slain, but as the
emperor rode to the place
where they were, the mothers ot
the children so entreated him,
that he stopped his chariot ai.d
said, " Far better is it that 1
should die, than cause the death
of these innocents." He then
commanded the children to be
restored to the mothers, and
gave them large gifts to com-
pensate for their suU'erings.
That night in his sleep, St. 1'c-
ter and St. Paul appeared to
him, and told him that because
he had spared the innocents,
Christ had sent them to him.
They told him to send for Syl-
vester, who would show him a
pool in which he could wash
and be clean, and that from
that time, he should cease to
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 81
persecute the Christians, and himself worship their God. Now
Sylvester was the bishop of Rome, who had hid away from the
cruelties of Constantine and was in a cave near Monte Calvo.
The emperor sent for him, and when the soldiers found him and
led him away, he thought it was to his execution. They took
him to the emperor, who asked him who the two gods were
who had appeared to him the previous night. Sylvester replied,
that they were not gods, but the apostles of Jesus. Constantine then
desired to see the effigies of these apostles. Sylvester showed him
some pictures of Peter and Paul, and Constantine saw that they
were like those whom he had seen in the vision. Sylvester then
iiaptized him, and he came out from his baptism cured of his dis-
ease. The next day Constantine commanded that Christ should be
worshipped in all Rome as the only God ; the next day, that those
who blasphemed against him should lose their lives ; the third day,
that any one who insulted a Christian should forfeit half his goods ;
the fourth day, that the Bishop of Rome should be the first bishop
of the world ; the next day, he gave the privilege of sanctuary to
the Christian churches ; the sixth he ordered that no churches
should be built without the consent of the bishop ; the seventh, that
the tithes of the domains of Rome should belong to the church ; and
the eighth day, he founded the Lateran, by digging himself, and
carrying on his shoulders twelve hodfuls of earth, and laying the
first stone. Another account of the manner of his conversion to
Christianity, and one frequently illustrated in art, is, that during the
campaign of 312, while on his march to Rome, he saw a luminous
cross in the sky, with the inscription, " By this Conquer," and that
on the night before his last battle with Maxentius, he was com-
manded in a vision to inscribe the sacred monogram of the name
of Christ upon the shields of his soldiers. Three different localities
claim the honor of having been the place where Constantine beheld
the cross ; these are, Autun, Andernach, and Verona. But to
these miraculous directions and the success which followed his obedi-
ence to them, is attributed his belief in Christianity. The Empress
Helena told him, that it would have been better to become a Jew
than a Christian. So he wrote her to bring to dispute with Sylves-
ter the most learned of the Jews. She came to Rome with one
hundred and forty doctors of the law. A day was appointed for
the discussion, and Zeno and Crato, Greek philosophers, were ap-
pointed arbitrators. Then Sylvester, praying for wisdom, utterly
defeated these learned Rabbis. Then one of them, Zambri, who
was a magician, desired that a fierce bull should be brought, and
said that when he should speak in his ear the name of his God, he
should fall dead. The bull was brought, and as the magician had
said, he fell dead at his feet as soon as he had whispered to him.
Then Sylvester was attacked with fury ; the arbitrators were as
6
82 LEGENDS AND STOBIES
tonished, and Constantine was shaken in his faith, but Sylvester said
that the name he had spoken was that of Satan, for Christ did not
destroy but gave life. He desired that Zambri should restore the
bull to life. This he could not do, but Sylvester made the sign of
the cross, and commanded him to rise, when the bull obeyed and
rose up as gentle as he had been fierce. Then all who saw this
believed and were baptized. A while after this it was told the
emperor, that the dragon which dwelt in the moat had since liis
conversion killed three hundred persons each day by his poisonous
breath. Then Sylvester went down to the dragon and exorcised
him in the name of Christ, and bound up his mouth with a thread
and sealed it with the sign of the cross. Sylvester also gave aid in
his house to a Christian, who was afterward slain for his faith. The
governor believed that Sylvester had riches which belonged to the
martyr, and threatened him with tortures if he did not give them
up. Sylvester told him that his soul should be in torments that
ni^ht, and as he ate his dinner he was choked to death. There is
O *
no need to remind one that history and the legends greatly differ
regarding Constantine. As for Sylvester, he was at the great
Nicene Council, and after governing the Church for nearly twenty-
four years, he died and was buried in the cemetery of Priscilla at
Rome. The proper attribute of St. Sylvester is the bull. Some-
times the portraits of St. Peter and St. Paul. His festival is De-
cember 31, and he died in 335.
St. Cosmo and St. Damian (Latin SS. Cosmus et Damianus ;
Ital. SS. Cosimo e Damiano gli santi medici Arabi; Fr. SS. Como
et Damien). These brother saints are seldom separated in thought
or representation. They were Arabians, but dwelt at -5Sgae, in Ci-
licia. Their father died early, and their mother, Theodora, trained
them in Christian virtue. Their charities were extensive, and they
studied medicine for the purpose of relieving suffering, and refused
all compensation for their labors. They did not refuse to relieve
even animals, when in their power. They became most skillful physi-
cians. In the time of Diocletian they were seized by the proconsul
Lycias, and thrown into the sea, but were saved by an angel. They
were also put in the fire, which would not burn them, and bound to
crosses and stoned, but none of the stones reached them, so that at
last they were beheaded. They were patrons of medicine, and suc-
ceeded to the honors of ^Esculapius among the Greeks. They have
also the title of Anargyres (without fees). They were patrons of
the Medici family, as is seen on the coins of Florence. September 27,
A.. r>. 301.
St. Costanzo Bishop of Perugia. Nothing is known of this saint
but that he suffered martyrdom in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
The country between Perugia and Foligno is called the " Strada di
Costanza," and he is much venerated in that portion of Italy.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 83
St Crispin and St. Crispianus (Ital. San Crispino e San Cri-
piano ; Fr. SS. Crespin et Crespinian). These saints were brothers,
who went with St. Denis from Rome to preach in France. They
supported themselves by making shoes, and were supplied with leather
by angels to make shoes for the poor. Being denounced as Chris-
tians, they were cruelly tortured, and then beheaded at Soissons.
The Roman tradition fixes their death in A. r>. 300, but other au-
thorities give the date thirteen years earlier. Their proper attri-
butes are the awl and shoemaker's knife. October 25.
St. Cunegunda. March 3, A. D. 1040. See St. Henry of Ba-
varia.
St. Cunibert to whom one of the most ancient churches of Co-
logne is dedicated, was bishop of that city. He was the adviser of
Kin- Daox>bert and some of his successors, and an intimate friend of
O O '
Pepin d'Heristal. He held his diocese thirty-seven years. Accord-
ing to the legend. St. Cunibert was directed by a dove to the spot
where St. Ursula and her companions were buried. He is repre-
sented in the episcopal dress, holding in his hand the model of a
church. The dove is his attribute. November 12, A. D. 660.
St. Cuthbert of Durham, was a shepherd in his youth, in the
valley of the Tweed. In ' his childhood an angel appeared to him
and urged him to a pious life. He was instructed at a monastery
near his home, where St. Aidan was the prior. One night as Cuth-
bert tended his flocks, he saw a dazzling light, and looking up be-
held angels bearing St. Aidan to heaven. He then entered the
monastery and soon became a noted preacher. He not only made
converts, but he preached much to such Christians as lived unworthy
lives. It was said that when he appealed to them an angelic bright-
ness shone in his face, and none could deceive him or conceal the sin
of their hearts. He wandered among the mountainous regions, and
preached in villages considered almost inaccessible. He dwelt on
an island on the coast of Northumberland, called afterwards Holy
Island, in memory of his sanctity. Here he supported himself upon
what he raised by his own labor, and it is said that angels brought
him bread from Paradise. He was afterwards Bishop of Landisfarne.
Miraculous things are told of him during his life, and of his relics
after his death. His shrine became a place of pilgrimage. His
relics are now in the Cathedral of Durham. His attribute is the head
of St. OsAvald which was buried in the tomb of St. Cuthbert, when
he was slain in battle. He also has the otter, which was said to
have licked him into life when almost perished from cold and expo-
sure. March 20, A. D. 687.
St. Cyprian, and St. Justina of Antioch (Ital. San Cipriano-
il Mago e Santa Giustina ; Fr. St. Cyprien le Magicien et Sainte
Justine.) The histories of these saints cannot be separated. Saint
84
LEGENDS AND STORIES
Jirtiua was an exceedingly lovely and virtuous Christian maiden of
Antioch. Her father was a priest of the idols, but she converted
both him and her mother to her own faith. A nobleman, named
Aglaides, sought her love in vain, and at length he applied to the fa-
r
(Belvedere, Vienna.) St. Justina and Alphonso I. of Ferrara. (II. Moretto.)
inous magician, Cyprian, for his aid in winning her heart. Now Cy
prian was very learned in astrology and necromancy, and doubted
not his power to overcome all obstacles. But when he saw Justina,
De also loved her and determined to win her for himself. He sent
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 85
demons to her to fill her mind with unchaste and voluptuous images,
but she remained unaffected. At length he sent the prince of evil
spirits to tempt her, but all without success. Then Cyprian was so
astonished at the power of her virtue, that he resolved to serve the
God of this pure maiden. So he went to her filled with repentance,
and confessed himself a Christian. Justina, in her joy at so great a
victory for Christ, cut off her beautiful hair, and made of it an offering
to the Virgin. Cyprian was soon baptized, and became as famous
for his piety as he had before been for his wickedness. When the
last persecution of the Christians broke out, the governor of Antioch
commanded these saints to be thrown into boiling pitch, which, by
a miracle, had no power to harm them. He then sent them to Dio-
cletian at Nicomedia, who ordered them to be instantly beheaded.
September 26, A. D. 304.
!5t. Cyprian of Carthage, and archbishop of that place, perished
in the persecution of Valerian. His martyrdom is one of the most
authentic in history. He is very rarely represented in works of art,
and perhaps the picture by Paul Veronese, in the Brera at Milan, is
the only one likely to come within the observation of the traveller.
September 1C, A. D. 258.
St. Cyril (Lot. S. Cyrillus ; Ital. San Cirillo ; Fr. S. Cyrille).
This saint was patriarch of Alexandria from the year 412 to 444.
He wrote much upon theology, and was earnestly engaged in the
contests of the early Church. His fame as patriarch is sullied by the
terribly cruel murder of Hypatia, the female mathematician and
philosopher. She was put to death in his church by his followers,
and many believed it to have been done with his connivance. He is
more highly venerated in the Greek than in the Latin Church, and
is the only bishop whom they represent with his head covered.
January '28, A. r> 444.
St. Cyril and St. Methodius. St. Cyril was a philosopher, and
Methodius an artist. They were of the Order of St. Basil, and were
sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople as missionaries to the peo-
ple who lived on the borders of the Danube. Bogaris, the king of
Bulgaria, desired Methodius to paint a picture in the hall of his
palace that should impress his subjects with awe. Methodius
painted the " Last Judgment," Avith Christ enthroned and surrounded
with angels ; also the happiness of the blessed and the miseries of
the lost. When finished, the king desired an explanation of this
terrible picture, and Cyril gave it with such power that the monarch,
and al". who listened, were converted. So they labored among the
neighboring nations with success. Methodius painted, and Cyril so
explained his pictures as to convince large numbers of the truth of
the Christian faith. St. Cyril also learned their languages, made
an alphabet for them, and translated a part of the gospels. He ob-
86
taincd, too, the privilege of celebrating the mass in the Sclavonic
tongue. They are generally represented together ; St. Cyril with
a book and St. Methodius with a tablet on which is a picture. The
Greeks honor St. Cyril March 9, and St. Methodius May 11. The
Latins both March 9.
Dale Abbey, Legend of. This legend is represented in five
pictures. In the first, the abbot shoots the deer with a cross-
bow, because it had eaten his wheat. In the second, the foresters
complain of him, and the king commands him to be brought before
him. In the third and fourth, he is in the presence of the king,
who grants him as much land as he can encircle by a furrow from
sun to sun ; the plough to be drawn by two wild stags from tho
forest. In the fifth he ploughs with the stags.
St. Damian. See St. Cosmo.
St. Daria. See St. Chrysanthus.
Dead Nuns, the legend of. There were two noble ladies who
joined the sisterhood of St. Scholastica who were fond of scandal
and vain talk. St. Benedict hearing of this, reproved them, and
sent them word that unless they reformed he would excommunicate
them. For a while they remembered it, but fell again into the habit,
and so died. They were buried in the church near the altar. One
day as Benedict celebrated mass, when the deacon said, " Let
those who are excommunicated, and forbidden to partake, depart
and leave us," these rums arose from their graves, and with sad
appearance left the church. This occurred each time the mass was
celebrated there, until St. Benedict, pitying them, absolved them
from their sins and they rested peacefully.
St. Delphine. See St. Eleazar de Sabran.
St. Denis of France (Lai. Sanctus Dionysius ; Ital. San Dio-
nisio or Dionigi ; Fr. Saint Denis). The truth of the legend
which makes St. Denis the same with Dionysius the Areopagite,
will not be confirmed upon a critical examination of facts, but as
they are thus represented in works of art, it is necessary to be given
in order to understand the representations of them. Dionysius was
an Athenian philosopher. He was a judge of the Areopagus, and
for his wisdom in heavenly things was called 0eoo-o<i s, Theosophus.
He went to Egypt to study astrology, and was at Heliopolis at the
time of the crucifixion of Our Lord. He was greatly troubled at the
darkness which endured for three hours, because he could not un-
derstand it. He was converted at Athens by Paul, and became
first bishop of that city. In his letters he tells of going to Jeru-
salem to visit the Virgin ; of his astonishment at the dazzling light
which surrounded her, and of being present at her death and burial.
He went to Rome and attended Paul at his martyrdom. He was
then sent by Pope Clement to preach in France with two deacons,
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 87
Rusticus and Eleutherius. After his arrival in France he was called
Denis. He found Paris a beautiful city, seeming to him like another
Athens. He dwelt here, and by his preaching converted many. He
sent missionaries to all parts of France and to Germany. At length
he was accused of his faith to the Roman Emperor, who sent Fes-
ceinius tc Paris to seize him, with his companions. They were
condemned to death. At the place of execution St. Denis knelt
dow and prayed, and the deacons responded in a loud Amen.
Their bodies were left as usual, to be devoured by wild beasts.
But St. Denis arose, and taking his head in his hands, walked two
miles, to the place now called Mont Martre, the angels singing as
he went. This miracle converted many, and among them Lactia,
wife of Lubrius, who was afterwards beheaded also. The bodies of
St. Denis and his deacons were buried, and a church erected over
them by St. Genevieve, but in the reign of Dagobert they were
removed to the Abbey of St. Denis. He is the patron saint of
France, and his name the war-cry of its armies. The oriflamme, the
standard of France, was consecrated on his tomb. When Stephen
II. became pope, the name of this saint began to be venerated in
all Europe. Stephen had been educated at the monastery of St.
Denis. There is a beautiful life of the saint in the royal library of
Paris, with a large number of exquisite miniatures. His attribute
is the severed head. October 9.
St. Digna. See St. Afra of Augsburg, whose handmaiden she
was.
St. Diego d'Alcala was an humble Capuchin brother in a
convent of Alcala, who never dreamed of being a saint. It was
said that the infant Don Carlos was healed through his intercession,
when severely wounded. Philip II. obtained his canonization on
this account. About 1600, a wealthy Spaniard residing at Homo
dedicated a chapel to this saint in the Church of San Giacomo degu
Spagnuoli, which was painted by Annibal Caracci, and Albano who
was then his pupil. These frescoes were transferred to canvas.
There are also pictures of him by Murillo.
St. Dominick (Lot. Sanctus Dominicus, Pater Ordinis Pra?-
dicatorum ; Ital. San Domenico, San Domenico Calaroga ; Fr. Saint
Dominique, Fondateur des Freres Precheurs; S/>. San Domingo).
This saint was a Castilian of noble descent. His mother dreamed
liefore his birth, that she had brought forth a dog with a torch in
lus ruoutl:. At his baptism a star descended from heaven to crown
his brow. He studied at Valencia, and joined the Order of St. Au-
gustine at an early age ; indeed, he performed penance from the age
of six years. When thirty years old he went to France, and being
shocked at the heresies of the Albigenses, he preached with
such effect as to convert many. He went the second time to France
with his bishop to conduct to Castile the young princess who was In
88
LEGENDS AND STORIES
espouse Prince Ferdinand. Her death, just as he arrived, was a
great shock to him, and from that time his zeal and religious devo-
tion were very great. He obtained permission of the Pope in 1207
to preach to the Albigenses
in the Vaudois. He wrote
out articles of faith, and it
is said, that when this book
was thrown in the fire it
would not remain, but
leaped out, uninjured. As
the heretical books were
burned, this miracle had
the effect to convince and
convert many. It cannot be
known what part he took in
the persecution of the Albi-
genses, but it is certain that
he was extremely earnest in
his prayers and endeavors
to secure the triumph of
the Church. He united
with several priests, who
went about to preach bare-
footed. From this arose his
Order, which was confirmed
in 1216. St. Dominick.
St. Dominick. though not the inventor of
the Rosary, instituted its use, made an arrangement of the chaplet,
and dedicated it to the Virgin. A rosary should have fifteen large,
and one hundred and fifty small beads. The large represent the Pater-
nosters, and the small the Ave-Marias. This use of the rosary was a
great assistance to St. Dominick in his labors. In 1218 St. Dominick
was commissioned by the Pope to reform the nunneries at Rome. From
this originated the Order of the Dominican Nuns, for he made a new
Rule which they adopted. He founded many convents in the principal
cities of Europe, none of which are more famous than the splendid one
of his Order in the Rue St. Jacques at Paris. It is from the situation
of this convent that the Dominicans were called Jacobins in France.
At length he returned to his convent at Bologna, where he died of
a fever, brought on by his arduous labors. Two years after his
death he was canonized, and his remains placed in the magnificent
" Area di San Domenico" at Bologna. It is said his true portrait
was brought from heaven by St. Catherine and Mary Magdalen to
a convent of Dominican nuns. His attributes are, the dog by his
side ; the star, on or above his head ; a lily in one hand and a book
in the other. There are many interesting legends of his wonderful
ILLUSTRATED L\ ART. 89
miracles. At one time, it is said, lie restored to life the young Lord
Napoleon, nephew of Cardinal Stephano di Fossa-Nova, when he
had been killed by a fall from his horse. When, at the convent of
St. Sabina, they had not suflicient food, St. Dominick pronounced
the blessing upon the little they had, and immediately two angels
appeared with bread and wine which was celestial food, and sweeter
than any of earth. St. Dominick had a vision, in which he saw the
Saviour with the arrows of divine wrath in his hand. The Virgin
asked him what he would do, and when he replied that he would
destroy the earth on account of its wickedness, she besought him to
wait, and presented to him St. Francis and St. Dominick, saying,
that they would traverse the whole earth and subdue it to Christ.
August 4, A. D. 1221.
St. Donate of Arezzo (Lot. St. Donatus ; Fr. Saint Donat).
This saint was of noble birth, and in childhood a companion of the
Emperor Julian. After the apostasy of Julian, he put many Chris-
tians to death, and among them the father of Donatus. Donatus then
fled from Rome to Arezzo, and had for his companion the holy monk,
Hilarion. They preached, and performed many miracles. At one
time a tax-gatherer of the province went on a journey and left the
money which he had with his wife Euphrosina. She died suddenly
and told no one where she had hidden the treasure. When her
husband returned he was in great distress, and fearing to be pun-
ished as a defaulter, he appealed to Donatus, who went to the tomb
and called upon Euphrosina to tell him where the money was. She
answered him, and this was heard by many. He was made bishop
of Arezzo, and as he celebrated the Holy Mass, the cup which held
the wine, and was of glass, was broken by some idolaters. When
Donatus prayed, it was made whole, and not a drop of wine spilled.
This miracle was the cause of the conversion of so many, that the
pagans, in their rage, tortured and beheaded him. Hilarion was
scourged to death, and both are interred beneath the high altar of
the Cathedral of Arezzo. August 7.
St. Dorothea of Cappadocia, Virgin and Martyr (Ilal. Santa
Dorotea ; Fr. Sainte Dorothee). She was a noble virgin, and the
most, beautiful ot the city of Ctesarea. She was a Christian, and
devoted to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Sapritius or Fabricius,
the governor, hearing of her beauty, sent for her, and threatened
her with death if she would not worship the idols. She depicted
to him the joys of heaven, and declared that she preferred the
death which would give her these to a life of idolatry. She was
taken to prison, and two sisters, Calista and Christeta, who had
renounced Christianity through fear of torture, were sent to induce
Dorothea to follow their example. But she so influenced them that
they left her, declaring themselves again Christians. Then Fabri-
;ius commanded the sisters to be burned, and Dorothea to witness
90
LEGENDS AND STORIES
their sufferings. She encouraged them through all, and was then
condemned to be tortured and
beheaded. She endured the
tortures with great bravery. As
she was led to execution, a
young lawyer, called Theophilus,
jeered her and asked her to send
him fruits from the gardens to
which she was going. She told
him that his request should be
granted. When at the place of
execution, she knelt and prayed,
and suddenly there was beside
her a beautiful angel with a
basket, in which were three
roses and three apples. She
commanded him to take them
to Theophilus and tell him she
had sent them, and should await
him in the gardens from which
they came. Then she was be-
headed. When Theophilus re-
ceived the fruit and tasted of
it, he too became a Christian,
and at last suffered martyrdom.
Her attributes are roses in
the hand or on the head, or a
basket with three apples and
three roses held by an attend-
ant angel. February 6, A. D.
(German.) St. Dorothea. 303.
St. Dunstan was born in 925. He became a monk at Glaston-
bury. He was a fine scholar, a remarkable musician, a painter, and
a worker of metals. He went to court when quite young, and was a
great favorite of King Edmund, who admired his musical talents.
He had such an influence over the king that he was accused of sor-
cery and driven from the court. One day as the king was hunting
the stag, his dogs leaped down a fearful precipice. The king
feared that he could not rein his horse and must follow to death.
He prayed, and thought of his cruelty to Dunstan. The horse
stopped on the bank. The king soon sent for Dunstan to return to
him. It is related that as he labored one night at his forge, the
Devil came to tempt him in the form of a beautiful woman. Dun-
stan seized the Devil by the nose with his red-hot tongs. One day
bis harp hanging on the wall played to him the hymn, " Gaudete
animi." Dunstan was made the king's treasurer and Abbot of Glas-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
91
tonbury, but when Edwin came to the throne and lived a shameless
life with Elgiva, he drove Dunstan again from court. When Edgar
was king, he was again honored. He was made Bishop of Worces-
ter, and then Archbishop of Canterbury. In 960 he went to Rome,
and received <rreat honors as Primate of the Anglo-Saxon nation.
I Bod. Lib. Oxford.) A pen-drawing of St. Dunstan at the feet of Christ. Drawn by
himself.
On his return he founded numerous schools and monasteries. He
relates in his writings a vision, in which he beheld his mother es-
poused to Christ while angels sung around them. One of the an-
gels asked Dunstan why he did not sing, and when he replied that
he was ignorant and could not sing, the angel taught him the hymn,
and the next day he could sing the same to his monks. May 19,
A.. D. 988.
92 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Duns Scotus was a Franciscan, and a rival in theological coutro
versy of St. Thomas Aquinas. Their opinions gave rise to the
parties called Thomists and Scotists. He was one of the most stub-
born defenders of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. He
was an Englishman, and went to Paris about 1304, where he wrote
his commentaries. He was sent to Cologne in 1308, where he was
received with great honor ; and there he died in the same year.
There was a fable of his having been buried alive, which is dis-
puted by good authorities.
St. Ebba of Coldingham. This saint was abbess of the lar-
gest monastery which existed in her time, and had monks as well
O >
as nuns under her rule. About the year 870, there was an incur-
sion of Danish pirates, and St. Ebba was alarmed for her chastity
and that of her nuns ; she assembled them in the chapter-house and
made an appeal to them ; she then took a razor and cut off her nose
and upper lip. Her example was followed by the whole community,
and when the pirates came, the frightful spectacle they presented
protected 'heir virginity. The pirates in their disappointment set
fire to the monastery and the nuns perished in the flames. April 2.
St. Edith of Wilton, daughter of King Edgar. Her mother
was a beautiful nun, Wilfrida, whom the king took from her convent
by force. As soon as she could escape from him she returned, and
Edith was born in the nunnery. She refused to go to court, and
was celebrated for her sanctity, learning, and beauty. She spent
the fortune her father gave her in founding a nunnery at Wilton,
which has since been the seat of the earls of Pembroke. Edith was
remarkable for the costliness and elegance of her attire, and when
she was rebuked for it by St. Ethelwold she insisted that this was
of no importance, for God regarded the heart alone, and that He
could read beneath any garment. " For," answered she, " pride
may exist under the garb of wretchedness ; and a mind may be as
pure under these vestments, as under your tattered furs." She died
at the age of twenty-three. She lived to see the consecration of
the church she had built in honor of St. Denis, but died forty-three
daj s after. St. Dunstan was warned of her approaching end,
while celebrating mass on the occasion of the consecration. Septem-
ber 16, A. D. 984.
Edith of Polesworth. See St. Modwena.
St. Edmund. King and Martyr. The ecclesiastical legend of
King Edmund is this : Ragnar Lodbrog was a Dane of royal blood.
He went out fowling in a small skiff, and a storm coming on he was
driven upon the English coast in Norfolk. He was taken to King
Edmund, who much admired the strength of the Dane, and his skill
as a huntsman, while Lodbrog was dazzled by the accomplishments
of the young king, and the splendor of his court. The huntsman of
Edmund became jealous of the Dane, and killed him. A dog which
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 93
Lodbrog had reared watched over his body until it was discovered
The huntsman confessed his crime, and as a punishment was put
adrift in the same boat which had brought Lodbrog to England.
He was carried to the home of the Dane, where his two sons, seeing
the boat of their father, and supposing him to be murdered, were
about to kill the huntsman. But he told them that Edmund had
done the deed. Then they swore vengeance, and collecting a great
fleet, went to invade England. They landed in Northumbria, and
destroyed everything within their reach as they advanced to the ter-
ritory of Edmund. They demanded of him one half his kingdom.
He took counsel with Bishop Humbert and determined never to sub-
mit to a heathen power. He then prepared for battle and met the
Danes near Thetford, where they fought. King Edmund was sur-
rounded by his enemies, and with Humbert, took refuge in the
church. They were dragged out, and the king was bound to a tree
and scourged ; his body was then filled with arrows from the Da-
nish bows, and finally he was beheaded. Humbert also was mar-
tyred. At length when the Christians who had hidden came forth,
they found a large, gray wolf watching the head of the king. This
they buried in a spot where was afterwards built a church and
monastery, and then a town, which was called in memory of the
king, Bury St. Edmunds, which name it still retains. November 20,
A. D. 870.
St. Edward the Martyr was the son oJ" King Edgar. One
iay when he was hunting he went to Corfe Castle, where his step-
mother, Elfrida, was living with his brother Ethelred. His mother
received him kindly, but commanded one of the servants to stab
him in the back as he was drinking. He, finding himself wounded,
rode away, and died in the ibrest. Elfrida and her son gave him a
shameful burial, and instituted rejoicings at his death. But God
shed a celestial light on his grave, and those who came to it were
healed of all infirmities. Multitudes made pilgrimages to his grave,
and when St. Dunstan reproved Elfrida as a murderess, she wius
struck with remorse, and desired herself to go there. But when
she mounted her hoi se for the journey, he would not move, and no
power could make him, so Elfrida, perceiving the will of God in
this, walked barefooted to the place. His remains were removed,
with great honors, to the nunnery at Shaftesbury, which Alfred the
Great had endowed. March 18, A. D. 978.
St. Edward, King and Confessor. This saint was son of
King Ethelred, who had before his birth two other sons. But when
it was near the time for this third one to be born, Ethelred called
upon his council to decide who should succeed to the throne. St.
Dnstan was present, and he prophesied the early death of those
already born, so the council decided in favor of the expected prince,
who was afterwards the saint of whom we speak. All the nobles
94 LEGENDS AND STORIES
took the oath of fealty to him, dans le sein de sa mere. The
coronation of Edward was on Easter day, 1043. He freed his sub-
jects from the tax called Danegelt, because when a large sum of
this tribute was brought to the palace, and the king was called to
look at it, he beheld a rejoicing demon dancing upon the money.
This saint had many visions during his life, and also possessed
miraculous powers of healing. His history is told in bas-reliefs, in
his chapel in Westminster Abbey. January 5, A. D. 1066.
St, Eleazar de Sabran was a Franciscan. His mother was a
woman of remarkable character and great piety. He was early
married to Delphine, heiress of Glendenes. She was as pious as
her husband, and they were both enrolled in the Third Order of
St. Francis. As Count of Sabran, he administered his affairs with
great ability and justice. He died at twenty-eight. St. Delphine
then resided for some time with Sancha, queen of Naples, but at last
withdrew to perfect seclusion. St. Eleazar is represented in art
holding a package of papers to commemorate a noble act of his
life. After the death of his father, he found papers which had been
written to induce his father to disinherit him, and which attributed
to him all manner of evil. Instead of taking revenge on the writer
of these calumnies, he sent for him, and burned the letters in his
presence. He thus converted his bitter enemy to a devoted friend.
St. Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist. (Lat. Sancta Elisa-
betha ; Ital. Santa Elisabeta ; Sp. Santa Isabel ; Ger. Die Heilige
Elizabeth.) The Hebrew signification of this name is Worshipper of
God, or Consecrated to God. The Gospel describes Elisabeth as
walking in all the commandments of the Lord blameless. A woman
" well stricken in years," when she was " exalted to a miraculous
motherhood," and chosen for high honors by God. She should not,
however, be represented as decrepit and wrinkled, but as elderly,
dignified, and gracious. She appears as an important personage in
art, and yet in most cases as the accompaniment to those of still
greater importance. She is first seen in pictures of the Visitation
or Salutation, when with prophetic utterance she exclaims, " Whence
is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
Then the representations of the birth of John the Baptist, and in
various scenes from his life ; one of which illustrates the legend that
as Elisabeth fled from the massacre at Bethlehem, a huge rock
opened, and received her and St. John, whom she bore in her arms,
into its bosom, where they were concealed until the danger was
past. Again, St. John is taking leave of his parents to go away to
his wilderness life. But the Holy Families in which St. Elisabeth
appears are far more numerous than any other representations of
her. And none could be more pleasing than these. Elisabeth is
frequently presenting her child to the Saviour, and teaching him to
kneel and fold his hands as if in worship. The matronly age, the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 03
dark complexion, and coifed head of Elisabeth are in beautiful con-
trast with the virgin bloom, the abundant hair, and youthful grace
of the Madonna.
St. Elizabeth of Hungary (Lat. Sancta Elizabetha, Mater
Pauperum j Ital. Santa Elisabeta di Ungheria ; Fr. Madame Saincte
Elisabeth ; Sp. Santa Isabel ; Ger. Die Heilige Elizabeth von
Ungarn, or, von Hessen ; Die liebe Frau Elizabeth). This legend
is almost entirely historical, with just enough of the marvelous to
entitle it to a place in " legendary lore." She was the daughter of
tl)3 King of Hungary, and was born in 1207. The year of her birth
was full of blessings to her country, and from her earliest days she
was regarded as an especial favorite of God and one who should
bring good to her people. The first words she uttered were those
of prayer, and at three years old she showed her charity by giving
her toys and garments to those less fortunate than herself. When
Herman of Thuringia heard of these things he desired this princess
as a wife for his son, Prince Louis, and sent an embassy to solicit
her of her father. His ambassadors were of great rank, and with
them went the noble Bertha of Beindeleben, with a train of knights
and ladies, and many rich presents. Their request was granted,
and the little Elizabeth, only four years old, was given to them.
Her father gave her a silver cradle and bath ; a rich wardrobe and
a train of twelve maidens. He also sent to Herman, and his wife
Sophia, many splendid and precious things which he had obtained
from Constantinople. The princess was received at the Castle of
Wart burg, at Eisenach, with great and imposing ceremony. The
next day she was betrothed to Louis, and being laid in the same
cradle, they smiled and played in such a manner, as that it was
considered an omen of a happy marriage. From this time they
were never separated, and grew together in perfect love. Elizabeth
was soon seen to be very different from all other children ; her mind
was devoted to heavenly things, and charity was her chief charac-
teristic. As long as Herman lived, Elizabeth was happy, and he
was her true friend and father; but after his death, which happened
when she was nine years old, the mother and sister of Prince Louis
did all they could to prevent the marriage, because they did not like
her devotion and piety. But although she suffered many insults,
she never resented them, and Louis remained true to her in spite of
all. Sometimes he feared she was too pure and holy to be any
other than the bride of Heaven, but at length when he was 'twenty
the marriage took place. They lived a life of most perfect love, but
she continued all her religious penances. Louis sometimes remon-
strated, but he secretly felt that he and his. people should receive, in
some way, great blessings from the sanctity of his wife. Her con-
fessor had told her that the imposts for the support of the royal
table were unjust, and from that time, while others feasted she ate
96 LEGENDS AND STORIES
bread and drank only water ; but one day Louis took the cup from
her hand and tasted, and he thought he drank wine more delicious
than he had ever had before. He questioned the cup-bearer, who
declared he had given Elizabeth only water. Louis said nothing, for
he believed that angels attended her. At another time when Louis
entertained a company of princes, he desired Elizabeth to dress
magnificently. When she was attired and about to enter the apart-
ment of Louis, a wretched beggar sought her charity. She told him
she could not attend to him then, but he entreated her in the name
of John the Baptist. Now this was her patron saint, and she could
not refuse what was asked in his name, so she tore off her costly
mantle and gave the beggar, and sought her chamber fearing what
her husband might say. Just then Louis came to seek her, and as
he hesitated whether to blame or praise her, a servant brought the
mantle, saying she had found it hanging in its place. Then Louis
led her forth to his guests with his heart full of love and wonder.
And a bright light was about her and the jewels on her mantle
glowed with celestial brilliancy. Tradition teaches that the beggar
was none other than our blessed Lord. Another time when visiting
the poor of Eisenach, she found a leprous child whom none would
care for. She carried him in her arms and laid him in her own bed.
This enraged the mother of Louis, and when he returned she told
him what sort of person was in his bed in his absence. Almost out
of patience, he went to see, and behold ! when he looked he found
a sweet infant, and as they gazed it vanished away from their sight.
This too, was believed to have been Jesus. When Louis was absent
she spent all her time in visiting the poor, and as she one day de-
scended to Eisenach carrying food in her robe, she met her husband.
The path was icy, and she bent with the weight of her burden. When
Louis demanded what she did, she did not like to show him, and
pressed her robe more firmly together. He insisted and opened her
mantle, when he saw only red and white roses, more lovely than the
earthly roses of summer ; and this was in winter. Then he was
about to embrace her, but such a glory seemed to surround her, that
lie dared not touch her, but put one of the roses in his bosom and
went on, thinking of all these wonders. In 1226, Louis went to
Italy with the Emperor Frederick IE. A great famine afflicted all
Germany, but especially Thuringia. Elizabeth was untiring in her
charities and labors. The famine was followed as usual by a plague,
and again she labored, with her own hands tending the sick. She
lounded several hospitals, and went constantly from one to the other.
She exhausted the public treasury, and gave away her own robes
and jewels. When Louis returned, his counselors made great com-
plaints of Elizabeth, but he, only thankful that she was still spared
to him, said, " Let her do as she will." But she kissing him many
times, said, " See ! I have given to the Lord what is his, and he has
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 97
preserved to us what is thine and mine ! " The next year Louis
went to the Crusades. The grief of the hearts of this husband and
wife at parting was such that Elizabeth was carried home more dead
than alivp, for he had gone two days on his journey with him,
before she could find strength to leave him. It was their final part-
ing, for Louis died in Calabria in the arms of the Patriarch of
Jerusalem. He commanded his retainers to carry his body to his
wife, and to defend her and his children, even with their lives, from
all wrong. Her grief was so great that God alone could sustain
her by miraculous comfort. The brother of Louis, Henry, now
drove her forth with her children, and took possession of the Wart-
burg. It was winter time ; she carried her newly born baby in her
arms, and was followed by her three other children and her women.
It is said that she fell, and that one whom she had cared for in the
hospital mocked at her. She found a shelter for her children, and
supported herself by spinning wool. But when the knights returned
with the body of Louis, they obliged Henry to accept the office of
regent until her son, Herman, could reign ; and Elizabeth received
as her dower the city of Marbourg. And now she gave herself up
to the direction of her rigid and bigoted confessor, Conrad. She
lived a life of penitential humiliation, and even separated herself
from her children lest she should love them too well. She drank
the very dregs of the cup of penance, and clothed in rags and
mocked by the children in the streets as a mad woman, she spun
wool until she had no strength remaining. It is said that she was
comforted by celestial beings, and that even the Blessed Virgin
talked with her. When dying she sang sweet hymns, and at last
she said, " Silence," and died. Tradition says that angels bore her
spirit to heaven, and as they ascended were heard to chant, " Reg-
num mundi contempsi." She was twenty-four years old, and Louis
had been dead three years and a half. She was canonized four
years after her death. Her shrine in the church at Marbourg, which
bears her name, was visited by pilgrims, and its stone steps worn
away by their knees. In the Reformation this shrine was desecrated,
and her remains scattered, no one knows where. The shrine is still
preserved as a' curiosity in the sacristy of the church. The castle
of Wartburg is in ruins. But here since the days of Elizabeth.
Luther found a refuge, and labored on his translation of the Bible,
and he himself relates that here he contended bodily with demons,
and the stain is shown on the wall which was made by his inkstand
when he threw it at the head of Satan. There are many pictures
of this lovely saint, but the most celebrated was painted by Murillo
for the church of the Caritad, at Seville. November 19, A. D.
1231.
St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Sp. Sant' Isabel de Paz).
This Elizabeth was the daughter of the King of Aragon, and
7
98
LEGENDS AND STORIES
grand-niece of Elizabeth of Hungary. She was married to Diony-
sius, King of Portugal. He was most faithless and cruel as a hus-
band, but a good king to his subjects. After forty years of great do-
mestic trials she was left a widow. She died at sixty-five, and cau
be distinguish! from the other Saint Elizabeth, of whom we have
spoken, by her age, as the former is always represented as young,
while this one is old and venerable. She was so patient, and so
often reconciled the troubles of her family, as to acquire in Spain
the title Sant' Isabel de Paz. She is the heroine of Schiller's " Fri-
ilolin," though the scene is in Germany, and her name "Die Griifin
von Savern." July 8, A. L>. 13.3G.
St. Eloy of Noyon (Lai. Sanctns Eligius ; Eny. St. Loo; Itw.
Sant' A16 or L6 ; Sant' Eligio). This
saint was born at the village of Cha-
telas. He was of humble origin. He
was at school at Limoges, and there
learned the trade of a goldsmith, in
which he so excelled, that when he
went to Paris he attracted the atten-
tion of the treasurer of the king. Clo-
taire II. The king desired to have
a tlirone of gold set with jewels, and
it was important to find a skillful and
an honest man. Eloy was selected,
and of the material furnished him for
one throne he made two. The kin^
O
was so pleased with the beauty of
the work, and the probity of the
workman, that he from that time em-
ployed him in state affairs. His
successor, Dagobert, made Eloy Mas-
ter of the Mint. He cut the dies
for the money, and there are known
to be thirteen pieces bearing his
name. He was at length, after the
death of Dagobert, made Bishop of
Noyon. He was remarkable for his
eloquence, and was sent to preach in
Belgium, and by some he is believed
to have been the first to carry the
Gospel to Sweden and Denmark. In
spite of all the duties of his high
position, he still labored as a gold-
smith, and made many beautiful
shrines for saints, and holy vessels
for churches. The Devil tempted St.
(Or-San-MieheU.)
ffiorencc. Statue. St. Kloy.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 99
Eloy, as he did so many of the saints, and it is said of him as of
St. Dimstan, that he seized the Devil's nose with his hot tongs.
One of the miracles attributed to this saint, and represented on
I lie exterior of Or-San-Michele at Florence, is that a horse being
I .rough t to him to be shod, which was possessed by the devil, he
cut off the leg and quietly put on the shoe ; this being done, he
made the sign of the cross, and replaced the leg, to the great aston-
ishint.nt of all. He is patron of Bologna 'and Noyon, of goldsmiths
and all other metal workers, and of farriers and horses. Decem-
ber 1, A. D. 659.
St. Elphege. See St. Alphege.
St. Enurchus, or Evurtius, was sent into France by the Church
at Rome, to attend to the redeeming of captives. The people were
electing a Bishop of Orleans. A dove alighted twice upon the head
of Enurchus, and this was considered as showing such a remarkable
sanctity in him that he was made bishop, which office he held more
than twenty years. One of the miracles which he did, was this :
when laying the foundations of his Church of the Holy Cross, he
directed the men to dig in a certain place, and they there found a
pot of gold which was enough to pay for the church. September 7,
A. i>. 340, or about that time.
St. Ephesus and St. Potitus are represented on the walls of the
Campo Santo at Pisa, and seem to belong especially to that city.
St. Ephesus was an officer under Diocletian, and was sent to de-
stroy all the Christians in Sardinia. But he was so warned by a
dream that he became himself a Christian, and turned his arms
against the Pagans. He suffered martyrdom with his friend Potitus.
St. Ephrem of Edessa, who on account of his writings is one
of the Fathers of the Greek Church, was a hermit of Syria. He is
represented in a very curious Greek picture, called the " Obsequies
of St. Ephrem," which is one of the best representations of hermit
life. Greek festival, January 28 ; Latin, February 1, about 378.
St. Erasmus of Formia (Ital. Sant' Elmo or Erasmo ; Sp.
St. Ermo or Eramo ; Fr. St. Elme). This saint suffered a most hor-
rible martyrdom under Diocletian at Formia, now Mola di Gaeta.
He so withstood all common tortures that he was cut open and his
entrails wound off like a skein of silk on wheels. He was a bishop,
and is represented as such with the implement of his torture in his
hand. There is an altar dedicated to him in St. Peter's, over
which a mosaic represents his death. It is a copy of a picture by
Poussin. St. Erasmus is invoked under the name of Elmo by the
mariners on the shores of the Mediterranean, in Spain, Sicily, and
Calabria, and is believed to have power over the tempests. At
Naples a monastery and fortress bear his name. June 3, A. D. 296.
St. Ercolano (Herculanus) was Bishop of Perugia, at the time
of the invasion of the Goths under Totila. He labored hard and
100 LEGENDS ANL STORIES
encouraged the people through the siege of Perugia, and when the
city was taken, by order of Totila, he was beheaded on the ram-
parts. He was thrown into the ditch, and was found lying beside a
dead child who was buried in the same grave with the saint.
St. Ethelberga. Of this saint there is little known but the one
fact that she was the abbess of the first Benedictine nunnery it
England, which was at Barking in Essex. October 1 1.
(Ancient Sculpture, Ely Cathedral.) St. Ethelreda's Dream.
St. Ethelreda. Tins saint is also called St. Audrey. She was
the foundress of the magnificent Cathedral of Ely. Her father was
Ina, king of the East Angles, and when she married Toubert, or
Touberch, prince of the Gervii, the isle of Ely was her dowry. She
had a second husband, Egfrid, king of Northumbria, but after living
with him in a state of continency for twelve years, she took the veil
at Coldingham, with his consent. King Egfrid then repented, and
attempted to drag her from the convent. She fled to a rocky point
called St. Ebb's Head. Egfrid pursued her, but the tide suddenly
rose, and made the rock inaccessible. He married another wife.
She crossed the Humber with two virgins, who watched beside her
while she slept, and had a miraculous dream, in which she thought
that her staff, being stuck in the ground, had put forth branches and
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
101
leaves, and become a large tree. She is related to have performed
a miracle about four hundred years after her death. A wicked man
Britstan, being very sick, repented, and desired to dedicate himself
to God in the monastery at Ely ; but on his way there he was ar-
rested and imprisoned. He implored the aid of St. Ethelreda, and
at night she, with St. Benedict, came to him, and when she touched
hiR fetters they fell from his feet. After being buried sixteen years
in the common cemetery, she was placed in a beautiful sarcophagus
of marble, which was probably a- relic of the Romans, but the people
believed it to have been wrought for the saint by angels. June 23,
A. D. 679.
St. Eugenia was the daughter of Philip, proconsul of Egypt
in the reign of Commodus. She was very learned. She was con-
verted to Christianity, and put on the attire of a man and became
the monk Eugenius. She went to Rome, and was put to death in
the time of the Emperor Severus. December 25.
St. Eulalia, of Merida, The
story of this saint is told by Pru-
dentius. Eulalia was but twelve
years old, at the time of the
publication of the edict of Dio-
cletian. She went to the pre-
fect who judged the Christians,
and reproached him for his
cruelty and impiety. The gov-
ernor immediately seized her,
and placed on one side of her
the instruments of torture, and
on the other the offerings for
the idol. She trampled the
offerings under her feet, threw
down the idol, and spat at the
judge. She was then tortured
to death, and as she died, a
white dove issued from her
mouth and flew to heaven.
She is much venerated in
Spain, and is buried at Merida.
Another St. Eulalia is buried
at Barcelona. December 10.
St. Eunomia. See St. Afra,
of Augsburg.
St. Euphemia, of Chalce-
v.onia (Gr. *Ay. Ev0l?/ua ; (Andrea Mantegna.) St. Euphemia.
signification, praise ; Ital.
Sant' Eufemia ; Fr. Sainte Euphe'mie). She was a Greek saint.
102
LEGENDS AND STORIES
and in the Eastern Church is styled Great, for such was the
fame of her beauty and her courageous endurance. There is a
homily upon St. Euphemia among the writings of Asterius, who
wrote about A. . 400. She suffered death not far from Byzan-
tium, about 307. She was very beautiful in person. After suf-
fering many tortures she was thrown to the lions, who licked
her feet, and refused to do violence to her. Priscus, her judge,
was so enraged at this, that one of the soldiers, who desired to
please him, killed the maiden with his sword. Within a cen-
tury from the time of her death there were many churches dedi-
cated to her, both East and West. In Constantinople alone, there
were four. Leo, the Iconoclast, ordered her relics to be cast into
the sea, but they appeared again in the Island of Lenmos. From
here different portions of her remains were carried to many places.
September 1C, A. r>. 307.
St. Eustace (Lat. Sanctus Eusta-
tius ; Ital. Sant' Eustachio ; Fr. Saint
Eustaohe). Before his conversion this
saint was called Placidus. He was
captain of the guards of the Emperor
Trajan. He was a lover of hunting,
and one day when in the forest, he
pursued a white stag, which fled and
ascended a high rock. As he looked,
he saw between the horns of the stag a
radiant cross, and on it an image of Je-
sus. He fell on his knees, and a voice
seemed to come from the figure on the
cross, announcing itself as the Redeemer,
and demanding of Placidus that he
should believe. He answered, " Lord,
I believe." He was then told that he
should suffer much for Christ, but he
declared himself ready to do so. He
returned to his home, and was baptized,
together with his wife and two sons, and
was called Eustace. Misfortune soon
came. His property was taken by rob-
bers, and his wife earned away by
pirates, and he wandered in poverty
with his sons. One day he wished to
cross a stream, and swam over with one
child, whom he left on the bank, while he
returned for the other. But when he
was in the midst of the river, there
(Domenichino.) St. Eustace. came on one side a lion, and on the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 103
other a wolf, and carried off the two boys. He went to a village
where lie labored for his support for fifteen years. At that time
the Emperor Adrian required the services of Placidus, anJ
searched for and found him. He was put again at the head of
his '.roops, and his honors restored to him with new power and riches.
But his heart was lonely, and he mourned for his wife and sons.
Naw they had been rescued from their dangers, and at last they were
al" again united. Then Eustace believed that his troubles were
ended ; but ?oon Adrian ordered a great sacrifice to the gods, anil
when Eustaca refused to join in it with his household, they were
shut up in a brazen bull, and a lire was kindled beneath it. Septem-
ber 20, A. D. 118.
St. Eutropia. See St. Afra, of Augsburg.
St. Ewald the Black and St. Ewald the Fair- These saints
were twins, and Saxons. They left England in the days of St.
Boniface, and went to Ireland to study. They then went through
Friesland to Westphalia, where they were to preach. Here they
sought out the prince of the country, and asked permission to preach,
but they were murdered by the barbarians and their bodies thrown
into the river. A light was seen above the spot where they were,
and their remains were recovered and carried to Cologne, and bur-
ied in the church of St. Cuthbert. They are patron saints of West-
phalia. October 3, A. D. 695 or 700.
St. Fabian was made Bishop of Rome in A. D. 2:56. Eusebius
says he was chosen because a dove alighted on him while the peo-
ple and clergy were choosing a Pope. At the time, he was a strar.-
ger to all present. He died a martyr in the persecution of Decius.
January 20, A. D. 250.
St. Faith (Lai. Sancta Fides) was born at Agen in Aquitaine.
She had great beauty, but from her youth was insensible to the
pleasures of the world. Because she refused to sacrifice to Diana,
while still very young, Dacian, the Prefect of the Guards, subjected
her to the most fearful tortures. She was beaten with rods, then
half roasted on a brazen bed, and at length beheaded. The crypt
of old St. Paul's in London was dedicated in the name of this saint.
October 8, A. D. 290.
St. Faustinas and St. Jovita (ltd. San Faustino and San Gio-
vita). These were brothers who were converted by the preaching
of St. Apollonius, at Brescia. They preached, ministered to the
poor, and zealously devoted themselves to a Christian life. By the
command of Adrian they were seized and thrown into the amphi-
theatre. The beasts did not attack them, and they were afterwards
beheaded outside the walls of Brescia, of which city they are the
natron saints. February 15, A. D. 121.
St. Felicitas and her seven sons (ltd. Santa Felicitk , Fr.
Sainte Felicitc?.) This saint was of an illustrious Roman family. A
104 LEGENDS AND STORIES
widow, she devoted herself to the care of her children, and to pious
works of charity. She had great riches, which made her enemies
anxious to accuse her as a Christian, so that they might share the
spoils ; and her influence having converted many to her religion, gave
them a powerful plea against her. It was in the time of the great
persecution of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antonius. She was
called before Publius, a prefect of Rome, who commanded her
to sacrifice to the gods she had rejected. This she refused, and
when reminded of the dangers which threatened her children no
less than herself, she replied, that they knew how to choose ever-
lasting life in preference to eternal death. She witnessed the tor-
tures and death of her sons, never ceasing to exhort them to remain
true to their faith. Januarius, the eldest, was scourged with thongs
loaded with lead. Felix and Philip were beaten with clubs. Syl-
vanus was thrown from a rock. Alexander, Vitalis, and Martial
were beheaded. After they had all thus suffered martyrdom, Felic-
itas praised God that she had been the mother of seven sons whom
He had deemed worthy of being saints in Paradise. Her only de-
sire was that she might quickly follow them. But she was kept four
months in prison, with the hope that this prolonged agony would
destroy her faith and strength. But at length she was tortured and
killed. Some say she was beheaded, and others that she was thrown
imo a cauldron of boiling oil. In art she is represented as hooded
or veiled like a widow, with the martyr's palm, and surrounded by
her sons. The representations of this Roman family are sometimes
confounded with those of the Seven Maccabees and their heroic
mother. The only guide by which to distinguish them is, that St.
Felicitas was not recognized in the East. In Byzantine art, sev.n
young martyrs with their mother probably represent the Jewish
rather than the Roman saints. St. Felicitas is the patroness of male
heirs. November 23, A. D. 173. Festival of the sons, July 10.
St. Felix de Valois. November 20, A. D. 1212. See St. John
de Mat ha.
St. Felix de Cantalicio. This saint was a native of Citta
Dncale in Umbria. He was born in 1513. His parents were very
poor. He entered a Capuchin monastery as a lay brother, but
afterwards took the habit, and was sent to the Capuccini at Rome.
Here, for forty-five years he daily begged the bread and wine for
his convent, and such an abundance of these articles was never
known there, as during his time. On this account he is represented
in the habit of his order, with a beggar's wallet, which has two ends
like a purse thrown over his shoulder, to contain the alms begged
for his convent. The extreme devotion of his life won the admira-
tion not only of the brotherhood to which he belonged, but of all
vho saw him. It is told of him, that as he went out on a stormy
uigbt to beg, he met an angelic child, who gave him a loaf of bread
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
105
and a benediction, and then vanished from his sight. He was the
first saint of the Order of the Capuchins. May 21, A. i>. 1587.
St. Felix de Cantalicio.
St. Felix or Felice. July 1 2. See St. Nabor.
St. Ferdinand of Castile (Sp. El Santo Key, Don Fernando,
III). This great king, warrior and saint, was the eldest son of
Alphonso, king of Leon, and Berengaria of Castile. His parents
were separated by the Pope, because being within the prohibited
degrees of consanguinity they had married without a dispensation.
Their children were, however, declared legitimate. Berengaria re-
turned to her father's court and lived in retirement. The influence
she had over Ferdinand was extraordinary, and endured throughout
'tis life. Bcrengaria, when she came into possession of Castile, gave
106
LEGENDS AND STORIES
up her rights to her son, and when at his father's death he suc-
ceeded to the throne of Leon, the two kingdoms were united. Fer-
dinand was married to Joan, countess of Ponthieu, who was as obe-
dient and loving to Berengaria as was her husband. Ferdinand
fought bravely against the Moors, and expelled them from Toledo,
Cordova, and Seville. Tt is related that at the battle of Xeres, St.
lago appeared at the head of the troops, conducting the light.
St. Ferdinand. (Murillo.)
Thousands of Moors were slain, but there was only a single Chris-
tian killed, and he was one who had gone into battle refusing to
forgive an injury. At the time of his death, Ferdinand was plan-
ning an expedition to Africa. In the " Annals of the Artists of
Spain," we are told that he founded the Cathedral of Burgos,
" which points to heaven with spires more rich and delicate than
any that crown the cities of the Imperial Rhine. He also began to
rebuild the Cathedral of Toledo, where during four hundred years
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 107
artists swarmed and labored like bees, and splendid prelates lavished
their princely revenues to make fair and glorious the temple of God
intrusted to their care." When urged to tax his people, in order to
recruit his army and fill his empty coffers, he made a reply which
reflects more glory upon his character than his victories or his ca-
thedral foundations can give. " God," he replied, '' in whose cause
I fight, will supply my need. I fear more the curse of one poor old
woman, than a whole army of Moors ! " He died as a penitent,
with a cord about his neck and a crucifix in his hand. His daugh-
ter, Elenora, was married to Edward J. of England. She possessed
the piety and courage of her father. It was she who sucked the poi-
son from her husband's wound. When the bull which canonized
Ferdinand reached Seville, the greatest religious festival ever held
there took place. He was buried in the Cathedral of Seville.
There is a portrait of St. Ferdinand, thought to be authentic, in the
convent of San Clemente at Seville. May 30, A. r>. 1152.
St. Filomena (Lot. Saneta Philumena; Fr. Sainte Philo-
niene). Recently, within a quarter of a century, this saint has
come to be very popular. Her story is vague and fanciful in the ex-
treme. In the beginning of the present century a sepulchre was
discovered in the Catacomb of Priscilla at Rome, in which was the
skeleton of a young girl. It was adorned with various rudely
painted symbols, and a portion of an inscription, the beginning and
end of which were gone. It was,
lumeua pax te cum fi
These remains, supposed to be those of a martyr, were placed in the
treasury of relics in the Lateran. When Pius VII. returned from
France, a Neapolitan prelate was sent to congratulate him. One of
the priests in his train begged for some relics, and the remains de-
scribed above were given him. The inscription was translated,
" Saint Philomena, rest in peace. Amen." Another priest had a
vision, in which St. Filomena appeared, with great glory, and re-
vealed that she had suffered death for preferring the Christian faith
and her vows of chastity to marriage with the emperor, who wished
to make her his wife. Afterwards a young artist was told in a vis-
ion that this emperor was Diocletian, but it is also thought to have
been Ma'ximian. These two visions so established the claims of the
saint, that the priest, Francesco da Lucia, carried the relics to Na-
ples. They were inclosed in a case made in the form of a human
body. It was dressed in a crimson tunic and a white satin petti-
coat. The face was painted, a garland of flowers put upon the
head, and a lily and a javelin, with its point reversed, emblematic of
her purity and her martyrdom, were put in her hand. She was
placed, half sitting, in a sarcophagus with glass sides. After lying
in state in the church of Sant' Angiolo, she was carried in procession
108 LEGENDS AND STORIES
to Mugnano, amid the acclamations of the people, performing mira-
cles on the way. Jewels of great value now decorate her shrine,
Her image is found in Venetian churches, in Bologna and Lombard}*.
At Pisa, in the church of San Francisco, and at Paris in the
churches of St. Gervais and St. Merry, there are chapels dedicated
to St. Filomena. The Jesuits are said to receive this saint. Au-
gust 10, A. D. 303.
St. Fina of Gemignano. This saint was not a martyr, but re-
reived the honor of canonization on account of her patience and
cheerfulness during long and fearful sufferings from disease. She
labored as long as was possible for the relief of all the poor and
wretched within her reach. She is scarcely known outside of the
little town where she dwelt, but there her name is typical of pa-
tience, fortitude, and charity. She was warned of her death by A
vision of St. Gregory, whom she especially honored, and at the
moment of her decease all the bells in San Gemignano were miracu-
lously tolled. As her body was borne to the grave, she raised her
hand as if to bless her aged nurse, who from that time was healed
of a troublesome disease. The life of this saint is beautifully
painted on the chapel dedicated to her in the Cathedral of San
Gemignano. March 12, A. D. 1253.
St. Flavia was the daughter of a Roman Senator, and sister of
St. Placidus, who was taken by his father at the age of five years
to Subiaco to be educated by St. Benedict. Flavia followed her
brother to Sicily, where he was sent by his superior, and she, with
Placidus and thirty of their companions, was slain by the barbarians
outside of their convent near Messina. This legend is not con-
sidered as canonical by later Benedictine writers. October 5, A. D.
540.
St. Florian is one of the guardian saints of Austria. He was a
Roman soldier, who, on account of his Christian faith, was put to
death in the reign of Galerius. A millstone was tied round his
neck, and he was thrown into the river Enns. Many miracles were
attributed to him, one of which was, that with a single pitcher of
water he extinguished a large conflagration. Representations of
this saint are frequent in Austria and Bohemia, and often adorn
pumps and fountains. A magnificent monastery bearing his name
commemorates his life, and its painful end. A picture of St.' Florian,
by Murillo, is in St. Petersburg. May 4.
St. Francesca Romana. The church dedicated to this saint
in Rome was the scene of her fasts and vigils, and is now called
by her name rather than that of S. Maria Nuova, which it formerly
bore. In the Torre de' Spechi is her convent, which has been the
best school in all Rome foe the girls of the higher classes. Her
father was Paolo di Bassi. She was born in 1384. She was ex-
.remely pious from her childhood, and would have preferred the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
109
veil of the nun to that of a bride ; but her father married her to
Lorenxo Ponziano, a rich nobleman. She shunned the society and
pleasures belonging to her station, and devoted herself as far as pos-
sible to a religious life. Every day she recited the entire Office of
the Virgin, and went in disguise to her vineyard beyond the gate of
San Paolo to gather fagots, which she brought on her head into the
city, and distributed to the poor. During the lifetime of her hus-
band she collected the company of women, whose superior she
became after his death. Their principal labor was teaching the
young, and their vows were not irrevocable. She spent so much
time in prayer that she was frequently interrupted by the demands
of her family. Once it happened that while reciting the Office of
Our Lady she was called away four times at the same verse ; when
she returned the fifth time she found this verse written on the pagi
in golden light. This
was done by a guar-
dian angel who at-
tended her always,
and was visible only
to herself. Many
wonderful works are
Attributed to her :
the raising a dead
child to life, the stay-
ing of an epidem-
ic by her prayers,
and the increasing
of bread by prayer,
when there was not
enough for the in-
mates of her con-
vent, are some of the
most important results of her power to work miracles. She died of
a fever at the house of her son, whom she had gone to comfort on
the occasion of some affliction. Her fame was not by any means
confined to Rome, but was great in all Italy. March 9, A. D. 1440.
St. Francis of Assist (Lat. Sanctus Franciscus, Pater Seraph-
icus ; Ital. San Francisco di Assisi ; Fr. Saint Francois d'Assise).
St. Francis, called the Seraphic, from the peculiar favor in which he
was held by Heaven, was the founder of the Franciscans, one of
the three Mendicant Orders of Friars. His father, Pietro Bernard-
one, was a rich merchant. His baptismal name was Giovanni, but
he acquired the title of Francisco (the Frenchman), from the fact
that his father had him early instructed in French as a preparation
for business. In his early years Francis was beloved for his gener-
us and compassionate heart, and remarkable for his prodigality and
(Domeuichino fresco at Grotta Ferrata.)
St. t'raneesca Koiuana.
110 LEGENDS AND STORIES
love of gay pleasures. In a quarrel between the inhabitants of
Assisi and those of Perugia, Francis was taken a prisoner, and held
for a year in the fortress of Perugia. On reaching home he was
very ill for months, and it was during this sickness that his thoughts
were turned to the consideration of the wicked uselessness of the
life he had lived. Soon after his recovery he met a beggar, in
whom he recognized one who had formerly been known to him as
rich and noble. Francis exchanged garments with him, putting on
the tattered cloak of the mendicant, and giving him the rich clothes
in -which he was dressed. That same night, in a vision, he thought
himself in a splendid apartment, filled with all kinds of arms and
many rich jewels and beautiful garments, and all were marked with
the sign of the cross. In the midst of them stood Christ, and he
said, " These are the riches reserved for my servants, and the
weapons wherewith I arm those who fight in my cause." From this,
Francis thought that he was to be a great soldier, for he knew not
as yet of the spiritual weapons Christ gives his disciples. After-
wards, when he went to pray in the half ruined church of San
Damiano, as he knelt he heard a voice say, " Francis, repair my
Church which falleth to ruin." Taking this in its most literal sense
he sold some merchandise, and took the money to the priests of San
Damiano for the repairing of their church. His father was so angry
at this that Francis hid himself many days in a cave in order to
escape from his wrath. When he returned to the city he was so
changed, so haggard, and so ragged, that he was not recognized, and
the boys hooted him in the streets. His father believed him insane
and confined him, but his mother set him at liberty, begging him at
the same time to return to his former mode of life, and not to pro-
voke his father and disgrace them all by his strange conduct. At
length his father took him to the bishop, to be advised by him.
When Francis saw the holy man, he threw himself at his feet ; he
abjured his former life, and throwing his garments to his father, said,
" Henceforth I recognize no father but Him who is in Heaven."
The bishop wept with joy and admiration, and taking from a beggar
who stood by a coarse cloak, he gave it to Francis, who gladly
received it as the first fruits of the poverty on which he was
resolved. He was now twenty-five years old. The first labor he
performed was that of caring for the lepers in a hospital, and this
was considered the more meritorious from the fact that before this
lie could not look on a leper without fainting. The next years of
his life were passed in prayer and penitence. lie wandered among
his native mountains, begging alms, every penny of which that could
Le spared, after supplying the imperative wants of nature, was given
for the reparation of churches. He dwelt in a cell near the chapel
of S. Maria degli Angeli ; and several disciples, attracted by the
fame of his piety, joined him here. Poor as he was, his attention
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
Ill
was attracted to the text, "Take nothing for your journey, iK-itlirr
staves, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money, nor two coats," and li' 1 < 4 :^t
(School of Giotto.)
St. Francis espouses Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.
112 LEGENDS AND STORIES
about him to see if he had any superfluous comfort. He could find
nothing that he could spare, save his leather girdle ; and casting that
away, he used instead a rope of hemp. This has also been adopted
by bis followers, from which peculiarity they are called Cordeliers.
He preached with marvelous effect, and soon had many followers.
Among his female converts none are of greater note than the first,
Clara d'Assisi, the beautiful " Gray Sister," the foundress of the
Order of the " Poor Clares." The vow of poverty, the most com-
plete and absolute, was insisted upon by St. Francis in his Order.
One of the Franciscan legends is, that as he journeyed to Siena,
' St. Francis was encountered by three maidens, in poor raiment,
and exactly resembling each other in age and appearance, who
saluted him with the words, ' Welcome, Lady Poverty ! ' and sud-
denly disappeared. The brethren not irrationally concluded that
this apparition imported some mystery pertaining to St. Francis, and
that by the three poor maidens were signified Chastity, Obedience,
and Poverty, the beauty and sum of evangelical perfection all of
which shone with equal and consummate lustre in the man of God,
though he made his chief glory the privilege of Poverty." This
legend has been illustrated by various pictures, and Giotto made
Poverty the bride of him, who did indeed woo the sufferings which
she brought, with a more devoted ardor than that with which most
lovers seek the sweet and sometimes (/lit 'er ing rewards of more
attractive mistresses. At length Francis went to Rome to obtain
the confirmation of his Order. At first the pope, Innocent HI., con-
sidering him as an enthusiast, repulsed his suit. That night in a
vision the pope saw the walls of the Lateran tottering, and only
kept from falling by the support of the very man to whom he had
refused his aid. He immediately sent for Francis, and granted him
the privileges he desired for his Order, and full dispensation to
preach. He then built cells for his disciples, near his own, and
gave his brotherhood the name of " Frati Minori," to signify that
humility should be their chief attribute, and that each should strive
for the lowest, rather than the highest place while in his own
eyes he was himself the basest of men, and he desired to be thus
considered by all. His fear that his disciples should seek any other
than the deepest poverty led him to forbid the building of any con-
vent, and he commanded that the churches built for them should be
the plainest and most inexpensive. Another marked peculiarity of
this holy man was what is termed the " gift of tears." He wept
and prayed continually, on account of his own sins and those of the
whole world ; and he resolved to go to preach to the heathen, and
indulged the hope that God would grant him the great glory of
martyrdom. He attempted at different times to go to Syria and
Morocco ; but he was driven back by a storm the first time, and the
second was arrested by sickness. But he did many miracles, and
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 113
founded convents in Spain. Ten years after the establishment of
his Order he held the first general chapter, at which there assembled
five thousand friars. They seemed to be thoroughly inspired with
the spirit of their leader, and even he found it necessary to caution
them against an excess of austerities and penances. From this
assembly he sent forth missionaries to other countries, and again
started himself to preach in Egypt and Syria. He only succeeded
in reaching Damietta, where he was taken before the sultan, who
would neither allow him to preach nor to suffer martyrdom in his
territory, but sent him back to Italy, looking upon him with oriental
iv.gard and kindness, as one insane or wanting in mental capacity.
A few years later, having obtained from Pope Honorius the con-
firmation of his Order, he resigned his office as its head, and retired
to a cave on Mount Alverna. Here he had many trances and
visions of our Saviour and his blessed mother, and it is said that
the saint was sometimes raised into the air in ecstatic raptures of
devotion. Here it was that he had the wonderful vision, and
received the especial marks of the favor of God, which obtained for
him the title of The Seraphic. " After having fasted for fifty days
in his solitary cell on Mount Alverna, and passed the time in all the
fervor of prayer and ecstatic contemplation, transported almost to
heaven by the ardor of his desires, then he beheld, as it were, a
seraph, with six shining wings, bearing down upon him from above,
and between his wings was the form of a man crucified. By this
he understood to be figured a heavenly and immortal intelligence,
subject to death and humiliation. And it was manifested to him
that he was to be transformed into a resemblance to Christ, not by
the martyrdom of the flesh, but by the might and fire of Divine
love. When the vision had disappeared, and he had recovered a
little from its effect, it was seen that in his hands, his feet, and side
he carried the wounds of our Saviour." It has remained an article
of belief that these wounds were really impressed by a supernatural
power. Francis in his humility desired to conceal the great favor
and honor he had received, but, notwithstanding his endeavors, they
were seen by many. His last days were full of suffering. As death
approached, he commanded those about him to place him on the
earth. He attempted to repeat the 141st Psalm, and at the last
verso, " Bring my soul out of prison," he breathed his last. He had
requested that his body should be buried with those of the malefac-
tors, at a place called the Colle d'Inferno, outside the walls of his
native city. This request was fulfilled, and as his body was borne
past the Church of San Damiano, Clara and her nuns came out to
take a farewell of all that remained of him who had shown her the
true religion. Only two years passed before his canonization, and
the commencement of the church which covers his remains. These
are still entire and unviolated in their tomb, which is in a hollow
8
114
LEGENDS AND STORIES
rock. There are numberless legends connected with St. Francis, a
vast number of which are written in picture history. Many of them
are illustrative of his love for all lower animals and even insects ;
for he felt that love of Christ in our hearts should fill us with sym-
pathy for everything that can suffer pain, or be benefited by kind-
ness. When in Rome, he had always with him a pet lamb. One
instance of his tenderness is thus given : " One day he met, in his road,
a young man on his way to Siena to sell some doves, which he had
caught in a snare ; and Francis said to him, ' O good young man !
these are the birds to whom the Scripture compares those who are
pure and faithful before God : do not kill them, I beseech thee, but
give them rather to me ; ' and when they were given to him, he put
them in his bosom and carried them to his convent at Ravacciano,
where he made for them nests, and fed them every day, until they
became so tame as to eat from his hand. And the young man had
also his recompense ; for he became a friar and lived a holy life
from that day forth." There is in the church at Assisi a picture of
St. Francis, painted soon after his death, under the oversight of those
who had known him well. It has almost the value of a portrait.
October 4, A. D. 1226.
St. Francis de Paula. This saint, though a native of Paola, a
small city of Calabria, is more
important in France, and in
connection with French history,
than in his own country. It
was for this saint that Charles
VIH. founded the Church of
the Trinita-di-Monti at Rome.
At the age of fifteen he went
with his parents to the shrine
of St. Francis at Assisi. On
his return he became a hermit
and lived in a cave near Reg-
gio. His fame drew disciples
about him, for whom the people
built cells and a little chapel.
He called his little band Mini-
mes, or the Hermits of St.
Francis, for they followed the
Franciscan rule, adding to it
even greater austerities than
it already prescribed. They
kept Lent all the year, and they
calle;! themselves, as their title
8t. Francis de Paula. indicated, the least of all the
disciples of the Church, King Louis XI. of France had heard of
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 115
the many wonderful cures performed for the sick by St. Francis de
Paula, and sent for him to come to him at Plessis-le-Tours, where
he was dying. The saint felt that he had not been summoned in
the right spirit, and refused to go, when Louis applied to Sixtus IV.
for aid in the matter. At the command of the pope, Francis went,
and he was received at Amboise, by the dauphin and court, with all
the honors possible. When he arrived at the castle, the king knelt
to him, and prayed him to obtain from God the return of health
and a longer life. Francis rebuked him, and reminding him that
God alone could give life or death, and that submission to his will
was nvin's first duty, he performed for him the last offices of relig-
ion Francis was kept in France by Charles VUI. and Louis
X1L, and his influence was very great. The courtiers gave him
the title of ; ' Le Bonhomme," in derision of his mode of life, but
this became the title of his Order in France, where his disciples be-
came very popular, and were to the people " Les Bons-hommes " in
every good sense of the term. Francis was godfather to Francis I.,
and they are frequently represented together in pictures. Before
the Revolution the effigies of Francis de Paula were very common
in France. His tomb was broken open by the Huguenots in 1562
and his remains burnt. He died at Plessis, and Louise d'Angou-
leme prepared his winding-sheet with her own hands. April 2, A.
D. 1507.
St. Francis de Sales. This saint is famous for his religious
and devotional writings, which are held in great esteem by Protes-
tants as well as by those of his own church. He was also known
as very charitable, tolerant, and gentle towards those -who disagreed
with him, as well as those who lived lives of wickedness. When
others remonstrated against his charitable tenderness, he would re-
ply, " Had Saul been rejected, should we have had St. Paul ? " He
was made Bishop of Geneva in 1602. He was very remarkable for
his personal beauty and the almost angelic expression of his face.
January 29, A. D. 1622.
St. Francis Xavier was a Jesuit, the friend and disciple of Ig-
natius Loyola, and was sent by him as the leader of a band of mis-
sionaries to the Indies. He was of an illustrious family, and was
oorn at a castle in the Pyrenees. He studied at Paris. When
young he was gay and enthusiastic in his temperament, and it was
tr.>i until after many struggles that he was able to take the vow of
obedience ; but having once done so, he was more ardent in the pur-
suit of his duties than he had ever been in seeking the accomplish-
ment of his own desires and ends. He was thirty-five years old when
he went to the East, and most of the remainder of his life was spent
in Japan. His self-denial and sufferings were very great, and yet
he always wrote of happiness, and died believing that he had done
great good. He conferred the rite of baptism upon an almost innu-
116 LEGENDS AND STORIES
merable host. He appointed other teachers over their churches, and
saw the crucifix erected in many homes, as a token of the results of
his labors, and of the conversion of the heathen to the religion of
Christ. He would have hailed the martyr's death with joy, but his
end, though a painful one, was not brought about by the violence of
his enemies. He attempted to go to China. He had succeeded :'n
reaching the island of Sancian, where he was seized with fever and
O '
died. He suffered very greatly for want of shelter and care. He
regretted that he must die a natural death, but at length experienced
a willingness to depart in God's way, and felt that his desire for
martyrdom was sinful, since it was not according to the Divine will.
His body was interred near the shore, where there is still a cross to
mark the spot ; but his remains were carried to Malacca and finally
to Goa, where a magnificent church has been built to the honor of
this great missionary saint. December 3, A. D. 1550.
St. Francis Borgia stands as the third among the saints in the
Jesuit Order. He belonged to a family most illustrious in rank, and
equally as infamous in their lives. In youth he was surrounded with
all that would seem to make life desk-able and happy, wealth, sta-
tion, and power, while he was fondly in love with his beautiful wife,
and had a large family of promising children. But he was thought-
ful and melancholy, and cherished in his heart deep religious feeling.
Circumstances combined to strengthen these emotions. His friend,
Garcilasso de la Vega, the poet, died ; he was himself more than
once brought near to death by severe sicknesses. At length, when
the Empress Isabella died, it was his duty to raise the winding-sheet
from her face at the moment the body was to be buried, and to
swear to the identity of the remains. He did so, and took the oath,
and at the same moment made another vow to forsake the service
of the kings of earth, and from that hour to serve only the King of
Heaven. But this he could not fulfill literally at once. He was
Governor of Catalonia, and administered the affairs of the province
with great care and faithfulness ; but through the acquaintance of a
Jesuit named Aroas, he became a disciple of Loyola, and corresponded
with him. His wife died, and he then resolved that after providing
for his children in the best manner, he would renounce the world
and every human affection. For six years he devoted himself to
settling his affairs, and then went to Rome, and became an humble
Jesuit. He gave all his life and energy to perfecting the system of
education of his Order, and never granted his approbation to the
Inquisition. For seven years he was general of his society, being
the third who had held that high position. He died at Rome, and
was buried in the Gesu, near Loyola ; but his grandson, the Cardi-
nal Duke of Lerma, removed his remains to Madrid. October 10,
A. D. 1572.
St. Frediano of Lucca (Lot, Sanctus Frigdianus). This
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
117
saint was a native of Ireland. He was made Bishop of Lucca, to
which place he had gone, in 560. The principal occurrence in his
life which is represented in art, is his turning the course of the river
Serchio, when it threatened to deluge Lucca. This he did by draw-
ing a harrow along the ground, and the river followed the course he
thus marked out. His whole history is painted in a church at
Lucca called by his name.
St. Gabriel (Gr. "Ay. Taf3pLr'j\ ; Lot. Sanctus Gabriel ; Ital
San Gabnello, San Gabriele, L'Angelo Annunziatore ; Fr. St. Ga-
briel). This saint, whose name signifies " God is my strength," is the
second in rank among the archangels, or the seven who stand be-
fore God. (Rev. viii. 2.) His name is mentioned four times in
the Bible (twice in Daniel, viii. 16 and ix. 21 ; twice in Luke, i. 19,
26), and always as a messenger, bearing important tidings. First he
announces to Daniel the return of the Jews from their captivity, and
then makes him understand the vision which shows forth the future
of the nations. Next he tells Zacharias of the child that should be
born to his old age, and lastly he comes to tell the mother of our
Lord that she is the one highly
favored and blessed among wom-
en. These four authenticated
acts make him of such impor-
tance as to command our deepest
interest in all relating to him ;
and in addition to these he is
believed to have foretold the
birth of Samson, and that of
the Virgin Mary. He is ven-
erated as the angel who es-
pecially watches over childbirth.
The Jews believe him to be the
" chief of the angelic guards,"
and the keeper of the celestial
treasury. The Mohammedans
regard him as their patron saint,
as their prophet believed him to
be his inspiring and instructing
angel. Thus is he high in the
regard of Jews, Christians, and
the followers of Islam. It is as
the angel of the Annunciation
that he is most frequently and
beautifully represented. The
spirit in which these pictures
are painted has changed with
v Jie belief of the Romish Church.
Archangel Gabriel.
118 LEGENDS AND STORIES
In the earlier ones both the Angel and the Virgin are standing, and
the manner of the Virgin is expressive of humility and of reverence
for a superior being. She has been painted as kneeling. But after
the thirteenth century, she becomes the one to be exalted. She is
from this time the Regia angelorum; and as his queen, Gabriel often
kneels before her. His attributes are, the lily ; a scroll inscribed
"Ave Maria, Gratia Plena;" a sceptre and sometimes an olive
branch, typical of the "peace on earth" that he announced.
March 18.
St. Gaudenzio (Lat. Sanctus Gaudentius) was one of the early
bishops of Rimini. His effigy is found on its coins. He was scourged
and then rtoned to death by the Arians. He is patron saint of
Rimini. October 14, A. D. 359.
St. Gaudentius of Novara was the bishop, and is now patron
saint of that city.
St. Geminianus (Hal. San Geminiano). This saint was Bishop
of Modena in the middle of the fifth century. So great was the
fame of his miracles that he was sent for to go to Constantinople to
heal the daughter of the emperor, who was possessed of an evil
spirit. It is supposed to have been the Princess Honoria. (See
Gibbon, 35th chapter.) When Modena was threatened with de-
struction by Attila, King of the Huns, it was spared on account of
the intercession of Geminianus ; and after his death he preserved
the Cathedral from destruction by a flood. He is represented on
the coins of Modena, and worshipped as the patron saint and es-
pecial protector of that city.
St. Genevieve of Paris (Eng. ; Ger.; ltd. Saint Geno-
veva). This saint is essentially French, and one of very great im-
portance and interest among those of le moyen aqe. The village of
Nanterre was her birthplace, and during her childhood she tended
a flock of sheep. When she was about seven years old, St. Ger-
main spent a night at Nanterre. The inhabitants flocked to receive
his benediction. When his eyes rested on the little Geuevieve, he
was made aware by inspiration of the sanctity of her character,
and the glory for which God had chosen her. He talked with her ;
and with a manner which at her age showed her to be the especial
child of God, she declared her wish to be the bride of Christ. The
bishop hung round her neck a coin marked with the cross, and
blessed her as one consecrated to God's service. From this time
she believed herself to be separate:! from all worldly, and devoted
to all heavenly interests. There are many wonderful stories told of
her childhood. On one occasion, her mother struck her in a fit of
anger. She was struck blind, and remained so for twenty-one
months, when Genevieve made the sign of the cross above the wa-
ter with which she bathed her mother's eyes, and her sight wag
restored. Genevieve remained with her parents during their lives,
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
119
and then went to a relative in Paris. Although she did not. p"ter
a convent, she
vowed perpet-
ual chastity at
fifteen years of
age. It was
many years be-
fore God gave
any public and
unmistaka-
ble proof of his
approbation of
G e n e v i e v e.
During this
time, while
some venerated
her for the holi-
ness of her life,
others regarded
her as a pre-
tender and
hypocrite. She
was tormented
too, by demons,
who, among
other things,
constantly blew
out the tapers
she had lighted
for her nightly
vigils. But she
was able to re-
light them by (Guerin.) St. Genevteve of Pu-is.
faith and prayer. At length Attila threatened the destruction of
Paris, and the people in their alarm would have fled from the city ; but
Geuevieve addressed them, begged them to i-emain, and assured them
that God would not allow this pagan to overcome his followers.
Lnmediately the news was brought that Attila had marched away.
And again wher Childeric took possession of Paris, and the people
suffered from want of food, Genevieve took command of the boats
which went to Troyes for aid, a tempest arose, which was calmed
by her prayers, and the provisions they had received brought safely
ro the sufferers. Childeric respected the saint, and Clovis, even before
lie thought of being a Christian, venerated Genevieve, and granted
any requests she made of him. She influenced his own mind and
that of his queen, Clotilde, so that the first Christian church was
120 LEGENDS AND STORIED
erected, and the pagan worship forbidden in the city of Paris. It
was that which is now known by her name. Ever after the miracu-
lous manifestation of her power in the deliverance of Paris from
Attila, her prayers were sought by all the people, whenever they
were afflicted, and the miracles attributed to her are both wonderful
and numerous. One of these was the staying of a plague, called
the mat ardent. Until 1747, there was a little church called Ste.
Genevieve des Ardents, which was on the site formerly occupied by
the house of the saint. She was eighty-nine at the time of her
death. She was buried beside King Clovis and his wife. St. Eloy
maid a magnificent shrine for the remains of the saint, but in the
Revolution it was destroyed, and the relics burned in the Place de
Greve. January 3, A. D. 509.
St. Genevieve of Brabant. The story of this saint has fur-
nished the subject for poems, plays, and pictures which are anything
but religious in their character. But there are many representa-
tions in art of her romantic life and sufferings. She was the wife
of Count Siegfried, who was led by his steward to believe her to be
wanting in fidelity to himself and her marriage vows. He ordered
her to be executed, but those charged with the task of putting
her to death, left her alone in the forest. She gave birth to a child,
which was nursed by a white doe. A number of years having
passed, her husband, while hunting, came to her abode. Explana-
tions made plain her innocence. The steward was really put to
death, while the wife was restored to her home and happiness.
There is a picture by Albert Durer, which is sometimes called by
the name of Genevieve of Brabant, but it is in truth the " Penance
of St. John Chrysostom."
St. George of Cappadocia (Lett. Sanctus Georgius; Ital.
San Giorgio ; Fr. Saint Georges, le tres-loyal Chevalier de la
Chretiennete ; Ger. Der Heilige Jorg, Georg, or Georgius). The
legend of this saint, as most generally represented in art, makes him
a native of Cappadocia. His parents were of the nobility, and
Christians. He was a tribune in the army, and lived in the time of
Diocletian. There is a disagreement as to the scene of his most
wonderful conquest of the dragon. By some it is believed to have
been Selene in Libya ; by others, Berytus or the modern Beyrout of
Syria ; but the story is ever the same. Being on his way to join
his legion, he came to a city whose inhabitants were in great terror
on account of a terrible dragon who lived in a marsh near the walls.
This fearful monster had devoured all the flocks and herds, and the
people, having retired into the city, gave him daily two sheep until
all they had were gone. Then, in order to prevent his approaching
the city, they commenced to send out daily two children to be
devoured by this insatiable monster. Terrible as this was, it was
better than that he should come near them, for his breath poisoned
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
121
the air for a great distance about him, and all wlio breathed U, per-
ished from its pestilential effects. The children were chosen by lot,
and were less than fifteen years old. Now the king had a daughter,
named Cleodolinda, whom he loved exceedingly. At length the lot
fell to her. The king offered all he possessed, even to the half of
(Raphael Louvre.) St. George of Cappadocia.
the kingdom, that she might be spared ; but the people said that as
it was by his own edict that their children had been sacrificed, there
was no reason for allowing him to withhold his own, and they
threatened to take the princess by force, if she was not delivered to
them. Then the king asked that she might be spared to him eight
lays longer. This was granted, and at the end of that time Cleo-
122 LEGENDS AND STORIES
dolinda went forth to the sacrifice, clothed in her royal robes, aud
declaring herself ready and willing to die for her people. She
moved slowly towards the place where the dragon came daily for
his victims, and the way was strewed with the bones of those who
had already perished. Just then St. George came to the place ; and
seeing her tears, he stopped to learn the cause of her sorrow. When
she had told him, he said, " Fear not, for I will deliver you ! " but
she replied, " O noble youth ! tarry not here, lest thou perish with
me ! but fly. I beseech thee ! " Then St. George answered, " God
forbid that I should fly! I will lift my hand against this loathly
thing, and will deliver thee through the power of Jesus Christ 1"
Even as he spoke, the dragon approached them. Then the princess
again entreated him, " Fly, I beseech thee, brave knight, and leave
me here to die 1 " But St. George, making the sign of the cross,
rushed to combat with the monster. The struggle was terrible, but
at length the dragon was pinned to the earth by the lance of the
brave knight. He then bound the dragon with the girdle of the
princess ; and giving it to her, she was able to lead the conquered
beast like a dog. In this manner they approached the city. The
people were filled with fear ; but St. George cried out, " Fear noth-
ing ; only believe in the God through whose might I have conquered
this adversary, and be baptized, and I will destroy him before your
eyes." And in that day were twenty thousand people baptized.
After this St. George slew the dragon and cut off his head. Then
the king gave him great treasures, but he gave all to the poor, keep-
ing absolutely nothing for himself; and he went un his way towards
Palestine. This was the time of the publication of the edict of
Diocletian, which declared the persecution against the Christians.
All who read it were filled with terror, but St. George tore it down
and trod it into the dust. For this he was carried before the pro-
consul Dacian, and condemned to eight days' torture. He was first
bound to a cross, and his body torn with sharp nails ; next he was
burned with torches, and then salt rubbed into his wounds. Seeing
that all these horrible and devilish cruelties had no power to van-
quish the spirit of the saint, Dacian sent for an enchanter, who
invoked the aid of Satan, and then poisoned a cup of wine which
St. George drank. Before doing so, however, he made the sign of
tlx: cross, and the poison had no effect on him. The magician was
converted to Christianity by this miracle, and, upon his declaring
the fact, was immediately beheaded. St. George was next bound
upon a wheel filled with sharp knives, but two angels descended
from heaven and broke it in pieces. They then put him in boil-
ing oil. Believing that he must be now subdued, he was taken by
the judges to assist at the sacrifices in the heathen temple. Crowds
came to witness his humiliation. But the saint knelt down and
prayed, and instantly ther^ came thunder and lightnings from heaven
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 123
The temple was destroyed ; the idols were crushed ; while the priests
and many of the people perished. Now at last Dacian commanded
him to be beheaded. He met death with joy and courage. The
story of St. George bears great resemblance to those of Apollo,
Bellerophon, and Perseus, while the destruction of the temple and
his persecutors is very like that of the Philistines when they called
Samson out of his prison-house to make sport for them. The Greeks
give St. George the title of the GKKAT MARTYR, and his worst ip
is very ancient in the East. In Europe little was thought of him
until the Crusades, when the aid he gave to Godfrey of Boulogne
established his fame as a military saint. When Richard I. made
holy war, he placed his army under the protection of St. George,
and from this time he has been patron saint of England. His feast
was ordered to be kept through all England in 1222, and the Order
of the Garter was instituted in 1330. April 23, A. D. 303.
St. Gereon, one of the commanders of the Theban legion.
When St. Maurice and the greater part of the legion were at
Aganum (now St. Maurice), Gereon with his command reached
Cologne. Verus, the prefect, by order of the Emperor Maxhnin
commanded them to renounce Christianity. Upon their refusal,
Gereon and many of his soldiers were put to death and thrown into
a pit. The veneration of this saint extends back to the fourth cen-
tury, but he is little heard of outside the part of Germany which
was the scene of his sufferings. Many of the representations of St.
Gereon are in sculpture, and upon the stained glass in the oldest of
the German churches.
St. Gervasius and St. Protasius (Jtal. Gervasio e Protasio;
Fr. St. Gervais et St. Protais). These were twin brothers who suf-
fered martyrdom in the time of Nero. They were seat bound to
Milan, together with Nazarus and Celsus. They were brought to
Count Artesius, who bade them sacrifice to the idols. They refused,
and Gervasius was condemned to be beaten to death with scourges
loaded with lead, and Protasius to be beheaded. A man named
Philip obtained their bodies and buried them in his garden, where
they remained until the place of their burial was revealed in a vis-
ion to St. Ambrose. It happened after this wise. When Ambrose
founded the church at Milan (A. D. 387), the people were anxious
that it should be consecrated by holy relics. While Ambrose was
much engaged in thought of this, and very anxious to please his
people, he went to the Church of St. Nabor and Felix to pray ;
while there a trance came over him, and in it he beheld St. Paul and St.
Peter, and with them were two young men clothed in white, and of
wonderful beauty. It was revealed to Ambrose that these were two
martyrs who had been buried near the spot where he was. Assem-
bling his clergy, he made search, when the two bodies were found.
They were gigantic in size. The heads were separate from the
124
LEGENDS AND STORIES
bodies, and in the tomb was a writing which told their story. These
sacred relics were carried in procession to the basilica, and those
sick ones who could touch them as they passed along the street,
were instantly healed. Among these was a man named S^verus,
who had been many years blind. As he touched these bonos his
sight was restored. This miracle was seen by so many of the peo-
ple, that it established beyond a question the great efficacy of these
relics. St. Ambrose, as he laid them beneath the altar, blessed God
and cried out, " Let the victims be borne in triumph to the place
where Christ is the Sacrifice : He upon the altar, who suffered for
all ; they beneath the altar who were redeemed by his suffering.''
The enemies of Ambrose accused him of duplicity in this matter,
and even said that Severus was bribed to play a part, but the au-
thority of the father was sufficient to inspire confidence in spite of
all, and the church was dedicated to SS. Gervasius and Protasius.
Since the death of St. Ambrose, this church, which is one of the most
wonderful and famous in the world, is called " Sant' Ambrogio Mag-
giore." The veneration of these saints was introduced into France,
where they became very popular, by St. Germain in 560. He car-
ried some part of the relics to Paris. Many cathedrals and parish
churches have been dedi-
cated to them. It would
be natural to expect their
pictures to represent their
vast size, but this is not
the case. There are few
Italian and many French
paintings of them. June
19, A. D. 69.
St. Giles (Gr. "Ay.
lYAAos ; Lot. Sanctus
^Egidius ; Ital. Sant' Egi-
dio ; Fr. Saint Gilles ; Sp.
San Gil) was an Athe-
nian of royal blood. Some
miracles which he per-
formed, one of which was
throwing his mantle over a
sick man and thus healing
him, had gained for him the
veneration of the people. St.
Giles left his country and be-
came a hermit. After long
wanderings, he came to a
cave in a forest near the
mouth of the Rhone,
(Lucas V. Leyden.) St. Giles
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 125
about twelve miles south of Nismes. Here he subsisted upon herbs
and wild fruits, and the milk of a hind. This gave rise to hJs at-
tribute of a wounded hind, for it came to pass, that as a party, said
by some to be that of the King of France, and. by others the King
of the Goths, were hunting, this hind was pursued by the dogs. It,
fled to the cave and nestled in the arms of the saint. A
hunter sent an arrow after it, and when they came to look in the
cave, they found the holy man wounded by the arrow. Their soi-
row was great, and they entreated his forgiveness, even on their
knees. He resisted all their endeavors to draw him out of the cave,
and there he soon died. Above this cave was built a magnificent
monastery. A city sprung up about it bearing the name of the saint,
and the counts of that district were called Comtes de Saint-Gilles.
The church which still remains upon the spot is an extraordinary rem-
nant of the Middle Ages. It is covered with bas-reliefs on the out-
side, and has a remarkable staircase in the interior. Queen Matilda
dedicated a hospital, which she founded outside of London, to St. Giles.
This was in 1117, and the name now belongs to an extensive parish.
In Edinburgh, too, the parish church bore his name in 1359. He is
patron saint of Edinburgh, of Juliers in Flanders, and of the wood-
land everywhere. September 1, A. D. 725.
Glastonbury, Abbey of. The origin of this famous abbey is
lost in antiquity, but the legend connects it with the introduction of
Christianity into England. The wondrous story tells that when
Philip, who was one of the twelve Apostles, came to France, he sent
Joseph of Arimathea with his son and eleven other disciples to
Britain. King Arviragus so admired the beauty of their lives,, and so
appreciated the dangers which they had overcome in their long jour-
ney from Palestine, that he gave them an island called Avalon.
Here they built a church by twining wands, and consecrated a place
of burial. They limited their number to twelve, and lived in imita-
tion of the Master and his disciples. By their preaching many Bri-
tons were converted. It is a wonderful old place. It is here King
Alfred found a refuge from his Danish foes. Here King Arthur was
buried, and here ever bloomed the " mystic thorn " at the feast of
the Nativity. It is upon the strength of this legend that the kings
of England have claimed precedence of the kings of France in the
religious councils of Pisa, Constance, Siena, and Basle. They de-
clared that Joseph of Arimathea came to England in the fifteenth
year after the assumption of the Virgin Mary, and that France re-
ceived not the religion of Christ until the time of St. Denis, and that
for this reason they did " far transcend all other kings in worth and
honor, so much as Christians were more excellent than Pagans."
Godiva, the Countess, was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Murcia.
Godiva had a great affection for Coventry, and often entreated her
husband, that for the love of God and the Blessed Virgin he would
12G LEGENDS AND STORIES
free that place from the servitude to which it was subject. Leofric
was not willing to grant a request which so ill agreed with his profit,
and forbade her speaking again of the subject. But she again made
her appeal, when he said, that if she would ride on horseback,
naked, from one end of the town to the other, in sight of all the
people, her wish should be fulfilled. And she replied, " But will
you give me leave so to do ? " Then when he answered, " Yes,"
she appointed a certain day, and rode naked through the town
with her hair loose about her which concealed all her body save her
legs. And she returned with joy to her husband, who gave the
inhabitants a charter of freedom on account of this deed of Lady
Godiva. It is said that the countess had commanded that on that
day and hour every citizen should keep within his house, and away
from the window on pain of death. But one person could not con-
trol his curiosity, and it cost him his life. From this circumstance
arose the term of " Peeping Tom of Coventry," and an image of
him was long preserved there. The representations of Lady Godiva
are quite unmistakable.
St. Grata. See St. Adelaide.
St. Gregory, or Gregory The Great (Lat. Sanctus Greg-
orius Magnus ; Ital. San Gregorio Magno or Papa ; Fr. St. Gregoire ;
Ger. Der Heilige Gregor ; signification, watchman), was born at
Rome in 540. His father, Gordian, was a senator. His mother,
Sylvia, was a woman of remarkable character, and like many of the
mothers of that time, who bore sons destined to act a great part in
the world, she had a vision while he was but a baby in her arms, in
which St. Antony revealed to bj2r that this son should be the head
of the earthly Church. When grown he studied and practiced law,
and was praetor of Rome for twelve years. His character was,
however, always deeply religious, and the piety of his mother
seemed to have descended to, and been intensified in the son. On
the death of his father he devoted his wealth to religion and charity.
He made his home on the Celian Hill a hospital and monastery, and
dedicated it to St. Andrew. He then took a cell within it, and
taking the habit of a Benedictine, devoted himself to studies which
fitted him for his duties in later life. This monastery is now the
Church of San Gregorio. When a fearful plague broke out in
Rome, Gregory devoted himself to the nursing of the sick. One
of the victims of the pestilence was Pope Pelagius. The people
Jesircd to have Gregory as his successor, but he shrank from the
office, and even entreated the Emperor not to assent to the wishes
of the people. When finally his election was confirmed, he hid
himself in a cave away from Rome. Those who sought for him
were led by a celestial light about the place where he was hidden,
and he was brought again to Rome. He soon proved that the
choice of the people had been a wise one. He was the most humble
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 127
of men, and was the first to call himself, " Servant of the servants
of God." He introduced many reforms into the Church, and showed
a spirit of toleration and charity far in advance of his time. He
disapproved all persecution ; he restored the synagogues of Sardinia
to the Jews, from whom they had been taken; he abolished slavery,
and was so moved at the sight of some wretched British captives
who were to be sold in Rome, that he sent missionaries to England.
It is not certain that the belief in purgatory originated with Gregory,
but he first preached it. He also instituted the celibacy of the
clergy. He reformed the services of the Church, airanged the
garments of the priests, and the Roman liturgy has ever remained
as he modeled it. The chants which he arranged are used in all
churches, and have ever borne his name. He even trained the
choristers. He felt the responsibilities of his office so much as to
consider himself literally the father of each individual of the Church,
and on one occasion, he fasted and interdicted himself from any
sacerdotal function for several days, because a beggar had died in
the streets of Rome. His charities were boundless. When a monk,
a beggar asked alms at the monastery, and receiving something
came again and again until Gregory had nothing to give him but a
silver porringer, Avhich Sylvia had sent to her son, and this he did
not withhold. When pope he had twelve poor men to sup with him
each evening. One night he saw thirteen at his table, and calling
his steward he demanded the reason of this. The steward replied,
after counting, " Holy Father, there are surely twelve only ! "
Gregory said no more, but at the end of the meal, he asked the
uninvited one, " Who art thou ? " and he said, '' I am the poor man
whom thou didst formerly relieve ; but my name is the Wonderful,
ami through me thou shalt obtain whatever thou shalt ask of
God." Then Gregory believed him to be an angel, and some say,
Christ himself. The painting of this legend is called the " Supper
of St. Gregory." John the deacon, who was his secretary, has left
an account in which he declares that he has seen the Holy Spirit
seated on his shoulder in the shape of a dove, while he wrote. This
explains why the dove is so frequently one of his attributes. " The
Mass of St. Gregory," so often painted, is founded upon a legend, that
as the saint was officiating some one doubted the real presence in
the elements. The saint prayed, and instantly a vision was revealed
of the crucified Saviour, surrounded with all the instruments of his
passion, upon the altar.
Another painting represents the miracle of the Brandeum. The
Empress Constantia sent to Gregory, desiring a portion of the relics
of SS. Peter and Paul. Gregory replied that he dared not disturb
the sacred remains, and sent her the Brandeum, or a part of a con-
secrated cloth which had enfolded the remains of St. John the
Evangelist. The empress disappointed, rejected this gift with
128 LEGENDS AND STORIES
scorn. Then Gregory, wishing to show that it was not so much the
relics themselves, as the faith of the believer which worked the
miracles, placed the cloth upon the altar, and aller praying, pierced
it with a knife, and blood flowed from it as from a living body. St.
Gregory's doctrine of purgatory is illustrated in the legend which
recounts the manner in which the saint released Trajan from torment.
It is said that on one occasion, when that emperor was leading
his soldiers to battle, he was stopped by a poor widow who threw
herself before his horse, and demanded vengeance for the death of
her son, who had been killed by the son of Trajan. The emperor
prc-nised that on his return he would attend to her request, " But
Gire," replied the widow, " should you be killed in battle, who then
will do me justice ? " " My successor," said Trajan. Then she
replied, " What will it signify to you, great emperor, that any other
than yourself should do me justice ? Is it not better that you should
do this good action yourself than leave another to do it ? " Then
the emperor alighted, and listened to her story, and finally gave hi
own son to her, and bestowed upon her a large dowry. Now, as
Gregory was one day thinking of this story he became greatly
troubled at the thought that so just a man as this should be con-
demned as a heathen to eternal torments, and he entered a church
and prayed most earnestly, that the soul of the emperor might be
released from suffering. While still at prayer he heard a voice, say-
ing, " I have granted thy prayer, and I have spared the soul of
Trajan for thy sake ; but because thou hast supplicated for one
whom the justice of God had already condemned, thou shalt choose
one of two things : either thou shalt endure for two days the fires of
purgatory, or thou shalt be sick and infirm for the rest of thy life."
This is given as the explanation of the great weakness, and the
many infirmities suffered by Gregory, for he chose the sickness in
preference to the two days of purgatory. The last two years he
lived he was not able to leave his couch. His bed, and a scourge
with which he kept his choristers in order, are still preserved in the
Church of the Lateran. Gregory the Great was the last pope who
has been canonized. March 12, A. D. 604.
St. Gregory Nazianzen (Gr. "Ay. Tp^yopew 0eo\oyos ; Lot.
Sanctus Gregorius Nazianzenus ; Ital. San Gregorio Nazianzeno ;
Fr. S. Gregoire de Naziance ; Ger. S. Gregor von Nazianz), was
born about 328. His father, St. Gregory, was Bishop of Nazianus.
St. Nonna was his mother, and St. Gorgonia and St. Cesarea his
sisters. While a boy he had a dream, which in a great measure
influenced all his course in life. He thought there came to him two
celestial virgins of dazzling beauty. They took him in their arms,
and kissed him. He asked who they were, and from whence they
came ? and one said, " 1 am called Chastity, and my sister here ia
Temperance ; we come to thee from Paradise, where we stand con-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 129
tinually before the throne of Christ, and taste ineffable delights :
come to us, my son, and dwell with us forever.'' When this was
said they flew into heaven. He stretched out his arms to them, and
awoke. This dream was to him like a direct command from God,
and he took vows of perpetual continence and temperance. He
studied in Athens, where St. Basil and Julian, who though a Caesar,
is only known as the Apostate, were his fellow-students. He was
not baptized until almost thirty years old. He devoted himself to
roligious studies, and to austerities which he declared were ever
most repugnant to him. But if they have any virtue it must have
been increased by this fact. He was ordained the coadjutor of his
father, and succeeded to his bishopric in 362. He was invited to
preach against the Arians at Constantinople. The disputes ran
very high, and were carried on by all classes, and even by the
women, who argued in public as well as at home. Gregory was
small in stature, and every way insignificant in his appearance. At
first he was stoned when he attempted to speak, but his earnest
eloquence overcame all obstacles, and though he at length gave up
the bishopric of Constantinople, to wliich Theodosius had appointed
him, because he could not endure the contests in the church, yet he
had gained the respect of enemies and the confidence of friends.
Leaving Constantinople, he lived on a small estate of his father's
in great strictness and self-denial. St. Gregory Nazianzen is the
earliest Christian poet of whom we have any knowledge. In his
retirement he wrote hymns and lyrics which express all the strug-
gles and aspirations of his naturally intense and imaginative nature.
May 0, A. i). 390.
St. Gudula, called in Flemish Sinte-R-Goelen, and in Brabant
St. Goule or Ergoule. The patroness of the city of Brussels. She
was daughter of Count Wittiger. Her mother was St. Amalaberga,
and St. Gertrude of Nivelle, her godmother. She was educated
by the latter. There are many miracles told of her, Hut that of her
lantern is the one best known and oftenest painted. It was her cus-
tom to go to the church of Morselle in the night, to pray. It was a
long distance, and she carried a lantern. Satan was very envious
oi the influence she gained by her piety, and frequently put out her
light, hopii g that she might be misled. Whenever this was done,
Gudula immediately relighted it by her prayers. January 8 ; about
A. D. 712.
St. Guthlac of Croyland. The legend relates, that " at the
time of his birth a hand of ruddy splendor was seen extended from
Heaven to a cross which stood at his mother's door." Although
this was thought to indicate future sanctity in the child, he grew up
wild and reckless, and at the age of sixteen organized a band of
robbers, and was their leader ; but " such was his innate goodness
that he always gave back a third part of the spoil to those whom he
130
LEGENDS AND STORIES
robbed." He lived thus eight years, when he saw the sinfulness of
his life, and the remainder of it was devoted to penance and repent-
ance. At the monastery of Repton he studied the lives of the her-
mits, and learned to read. He went at length to a wilderness, where
he encountered evil spirits as numberless as those which tormented
St. Anthony. St. Bartholomew was the chosen saint of Guthlac,
and lie often came to his rescue and drove the demons into the sea.
The place of his retreat was a marsh. At first a little oratory was
built, and at length a splendid monastery was raised on piles, and
dedicated to St. Bartholomew. The marshes were drained, and
labor and cultivation changed
the appearance of the place,
and put to flight the demoniac
inhabitants of the former soli-
tude. The ruins of Croyland
Abbey cover twenty acres. The
country is again neglected,
and an unhealthy marsh. The
remains of a beautiful statue,
said to be St. Guthlac, may
still be seen. St. Pega, the
sister of St. Guthlac, gave to
the monastery the whip of St.
Bartholomew. April 11, A.
D. 714.
St. Helena. It is admitted
by all authorities, that St. He-
lena was born in England, but
the exact location of her birth
is a matter of dispute and
doubt. She married Constan-
tius Chlorus, (" the Pale "),
and was the mother of Con-
stantine the Great. When
her son embraced Christian-
ity she was much distressed,
and declared that it would
have been better to be a Jew
than a Christian. When she
at length became a convert,
her wonderful zeal, and the
great influence she had over
the mind of her son, conduced
to the rapid growth and the
strength of the Church. In
326 she made a journey to
(Boteseree QaUery.)
St. Helena.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 131
Palestine, and when she arrived at Jerusalem, she was inspired
with a strong desire to discover the cross upon which Christ h?d
suffered. The temple of Venus stood upon the spot supposed to ue
the place of the crucifixion. She ordered this to be taken down,
nd after digging very deep, three crosses were found. There are
two accounts given of the manner in which the true cross was se-
lected. Some say they were all applied to a sick person. The first
two without effect, while the third caused an instantaneous cure.
Others say, that they were carried to a dead person, and that at the
application of the third, life was restored. Constantine erected a
basilica upon the spot where the crosses were found, and it was con-
secrated September 13, A. D. 335. The following day was Sunday,
and the Holy Cross was elevated on high for the veneration of the
people. It is with the " Invention of the True Cross," as it is called,
that St. Helena is most frequently considered ; but she did many
other things which either in themselves or their effects still speak of
her active zeal for the Church. The Church of the Nativity at
Bethlehem was erected by her in 327, and is the oldest church
edifice in the world. August 18, A. D. 327.
Heliodorus. This apocryphal legend is found in the third
chapter of the second book of Maccabees. It is frequently illus-
trated in art, and is as follows. When Onias was high-priest at
Jerusalem and all was prosperous there, a certain Simon, governor
of the temple, became disaffected toward Onias on account of some
trouble in the city. So he went to Apollonius, the governor of
Ccele-Syria, and told him " that the treasury in Jerusalem was full
of infinite sums of money, so that the multitude of their riches,
which did not pertain to the account of the sacrifices, was innumer-
able, and that it was possible to bring all into the king's hand."
When Apollonius told this to the king he sent his treasurer Heliodo-
rus, with commands to bring to him this money. When Heliodo-
rus came to Jerusalem, he was courteously received by Onias ; and
when he told him what they had heard, and demanded if it was true
that so much money was there, the high-priest told him that much
money was indeed there, but that it was laid up for the relief of
widowo and orphans. Some of it belonged to Hircanus the son of
Tobias, and it did not in truth belong to the treasury as the wicked
Simon had said. Onias said that the sum was four hundred talents
of silver and about two hundred talents of gold, and " that it was
altogether impossible that such wrong should be done unto them
'.hat had committed it to the holiness of the place, and to the
majesty and inviolable sanctity of the temple, honored all over the
world." But Heliodorus said that the king had given him com-
mands, that in any wise it should be brought into the treasury. So
a day was set when he should receive the treasure. Now the
whole city was in agony, and the priests prostrated themselves be-
132 LEGENDS AND STORIES
fore the altars and entreated God that this should not be allowed,
and called unto Him that the law which he had made should be
kept, and the money preserved for those who had committed it to
their care. " Then whoso had looked the high-priest in the face, it
would have wounded his heart ; for his countenance and the chang-
ing of his color declared the inward agony of his mind. For the
man was so compassed with fear and horror of the body, that it
was manifest to them that looked upon him what sorrow he had now
in his heart. Others ran flocking out of their houses to the general
supplication, because the place was like to come into contempt.
And the women girt with sackcloth under their breasts, abounded
in the streets, and the virgins that were kept in, ran, some to the
gates, and some to the walls, and others looked out of the windows.
And all holding their hands toward heaven made supplication.
Then it would have pitied a man to see the falling down of the
multitude of all sorts, and the fear of the high-priest being in such
an agony. But in spite of all, Heliodorus went to the temple to
execute his intentions. Now as he was there present himself with
his guards about the treasury, the Lord of spirits, and the Prince of
all power caused a great apparition, so that all that presumed to
come in with him were astonished at the power of God, and fainted
and were sore afraid. For there appeared unto them an horse with
a terrible rider upon him, and adorned with a very fair covering,
and he ran fiercely, and smote at Heliodorus with his fore feet, and
it seemed that he that sat upon the horse had complete harness of
gold. Moreover, two other young men appeared before him, nota-
ble in strength, excellent in beauty, and comely in apparel, who
stood by him on either side, and scourged him continually, ami gave
him many sore stripes. And Heliodorus fell suddenly unto the
ground, and was compassed with great darkness : but they that
were with him took him up, and put him into a litter. Thus him,
that lately came with a great train and with all his guard into the
said treasury, they carried out, being unable to help himself with
liis weapons : and manifestly they acknowledged the power of God.
For he by the hand of God was cast down and lay speechless with-
out all hope of life. But they praised the Lord that had miracu-
lously honored his own place ; for the temple which a little afore
was full of fear and trouble, when the almighty Lord appeared, was
filled with joy and gladness. Then straightways certain of Heliodo-
rus' friends prayed Onias, that he would call upon the Most High
to grant him his life, who lay ready to give up the ghost. So the
high-priest, suspecting lest the king should misconceive that some
treachery had been done to Heliodorus by the Jews, offered a sacri-
fice for the health of the man. Now as the high-priest was making
an atonement, the same young men in the same clothing, appeared
and stood beside Heliodorus, saying, ' Give Onias, the high-priest,
ILLUSTRATED fN ART.
133
great thanks, insomuch that for his sake the Lord hath granted
thee life. And seeing that tlxou hast been scourged from heaven,
declare unto all men the mighty power of God.' And when they
had spoken these words, they appeared no more. So Ileliodorus,
after he had offered sacrifice unto the Lord, and made great vows
unto him that had saved his life, and saluted Onias, returned with
his host to the king. Then testified he to all men the works of the
great God, which he had seen with his eyes. And when the king
asked Ileliodorus who might be a fit man to be sent yet once
again to Jerusalem, he said, ' If thou hast any enemy or traitor,
send him thither, and thou shalt receive him well scourged, if he es-
cape with his life ; for in that place, no doubt there is an especial
power of God. For He that dwelleth in heaven hath his eye on
that place and defendeth it, and he beateth and destroyeth them
that come to hurt it.' And the things concerning Ileliodorus, and
the keeping of the treasury fell out on this sort."
St. Henry of Bavaria
was born in 972. He mar-
ried Cunegunda, daughter of
Siegfried, Count of Luxem-
bourg. Both are saints, and
both obtained that glory by
their perfect and entire devo-
tion to the Church. This
was so marked a feature of
Henry's character and reign
that it caused a revolt among
the princes of his empire, as
they thought he had no right
to lavish so much treasure
for the purposes of the
Church. Henry was no less
a soldier than a devotee, and
after defeating the seditious
nobles, he restored to them
their possessions and treated
them as if nothing had oc-
curred. When he went to
war to subject and convert
Poland and Sclavonia, he put
himself and his army under
the protection of SS. Lau-
rence, George, and Adrian.
He girded on the sword of the
latter, which had long been
preserved in Walbeck Church.
The legend teaches that the
(I. v. Melem.)
St. Ilenry
134
LEGENDS AND STORIES
three saints were visible, fighting by the side of Henry, and thi.t
through their aid he conquered. The Church of Merseberg waa
built to commemorate this victory. He also fought in Italy and
drove the Saracens from Apulia. Henry had an especial venera-
tion for the Virgin, and when on his expeditions, upon entering a
place, always repaired first to some church or shrine dedicated to
St. Cunegunda tested by the Ordeal.
her. On one occasion at Verdun, he was seized with such a disgust
and weariness of his imperial life and duties that he desired to be-
come a monk. The prior told him his first duty would be that of
tbedience, and when Henry declared himself ready to obey, he
made it his command that the emperor should retain his office and
discharge his duties. Henry and Cunegunda together founded and
richly endowed the cathedral and convent of Bainberg in Fran-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 135
conia, as well as many other religious edifices in Germany, and
also in Italy. After they had been united several years, during
which time, by mutual consent, they lived in the strictest continence,
Cunegunda was suspected of unfaithfulness to her husband. Henry
believed in the purity of his wife, and she would have looked upon
these reports as trials sent from Heaven to test her patience, but
she felt that her position demanded her justification, and she asked
to be allowed the trial by ordeal. She walked over burning plough-
shaves uninjured. Henry tried to make amends to her by showing
her the greatest respect and tenderness, but she preferred to retire
to the cloister; to which he consented. Henry died in 1024, and
was buried in the Cathedral of Bamberg. His wife then took the
Benedictine habit, and led a life of incessant prayer and labor,
working with her hands for the poor and sick. She died in 1040,
and Avas interred by the side of Henry. Festival of Henry, July
14. Cunegunda, March 3. For St. Henry, see also St. Lau-
rence.
St. Herman-Joseph, was a native of Cologne. His mother
was very poor, but brought up her son piously. It was his custom
each day, when on his way to school, to go to the Church of St.
Mary, and repeat his prayers before the image of Our Lady. One
day when an apple was all he had for his dinner he offered it hum-
bly to the Virgin, and the legend says that this so pleased " Our
Blessed Lady, that she put forth her hand and took the apple and
gave it to our Lord Jesus, who sat upon her knee : and both
smiled upon Herman." When still young, Herman took the habit
of the Premonstratensians. He had many beautiful visions, in one
of which the Virgin descended from heaven, and putting a ring on
his finger, called him her espoused. From this vision he acquired
the additional name of Joseph. April 7, A. D. 1236.
St. Hermengildus was the son of King Leovigild, and during
the contest between the Catholics and Arians, he was put to death
by his father for relinquishing the Arian faith. He is one of the
most famous Spanish martyrs. The chef-d'oeuvre of Herrera is the
apotheosis of this saint. He is carried into glory, while St. Isidore
and St. Leander stand on each side, and the young son of Hermen-
gildus gazes upwards as his father is borne to heaven. The saint
holds a cross, and wears a cuirass of blue steel and a scarlet man-
tle. April 13, A. D. 586.
St. Hilarion. See St. Donate of Arezzo.
St. Hilary (Ital. Sant' Eario; Fr. Saint Hilaire), was Bishop of
Poi^isrs. Although French, he is greatly reverenced in Italy, and
is one of the patrons of Parma, where it is said a part of his relics
repose. January 14, A. D. 363.
St. Hilda, of Whitby, was the great grand-daughter of King
Edwin. She was abbess of Whitby, and celebrated for her piety
136 LEGENDS AND STORIES
and learning and the excellent training which she gave all under
her charge. Six bishops were elected out of her convent. She
presided at a council held at her monastery. She was bitterly op-
posed to the observance of Easter according to the ritual of the
Romish church, to the tonsure of priests, and to the extension cf
the papal jurisdiction to England. These questions were dis-
cussed at the said council and decided against her, to which decision
she yielded. Her wisdom was so great that kings and princes
so ight her guidance. She was adored by the people, and many
wonderful miracles are attributed to her. Fossils having the shape
./f coiled serpents have been found which were believed to have
been venomous reptiles changed by the prayers of St. Hilda. Bede
thus tells of her death, " And in the year of the incarnation of Our
Lord, 680, on the 17th of November, the abbess Hilda, having s~<Jf-
fered under an infirmity for seven years, and performed many heav-
enly works on earth, died, and was earned into Paradise by the
angels, as was beheld in a vision by one of her own nuns, then at a
distance, on the same night : the name of this nun was then Bega ;
but she afterwards became famous under the name of St. Bees."
November 18, A. D. 680.
St. Hippolytus (Hal. Sant' Ippolito ; Fr. Saint Hyppolvte ;
Or. "Ay. 'iTrTroAuros : signification, " one who is destroyed by
horses," of which animal this saint is the patron). There is
great obscurity in the legends of Hippolytus. He was a Roman
soldier and was appointed a guard over St. Laurence. He became
a Christian from the influence of his prisoner, and his entire family
were also converted. After the fearful martyrdom of St. Laurence,
Hippolytus took the body and buried it. On account of this he was
accused of being a Christian, which he denied not, but declared
himself ready to meet any death, rather, than deny his Saviour.
He saw nineteen of his family suffer death, amon<r whom was his
aged nurse, Concordia, who was so bold in decl irinx her faith that
she was scourged to death, while the others were beheaile.l. Hip-
polytus was tied to the tails of wild horses, and thus torn to pieces.
The Brescians claim that his relics repose in the convent of Santa
Giulia. The legends also say that in the eighth century his re-
mains were carried from Rome to the Church of St. Denis, and on
this account he is a popular saint in France. August 13, A. D. 258.
Holofernes. See Judith.
St. Hubert of Liege was a very gay nobleman. He was of
Aquitaine, and lived at the court of Pepin d'Heristal. He partici-
pated in all the pleasures of the court, but was especially fond of the
chase, and even hunted or. the days appointed by the Church for
fasting and prayer. As he hunted in the forest of Ardennes one
day in Holy Week, there came to him a milk-white stag, with a
crucifix between his horns. Hubert was overcome with awe and sur-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
137
[rise. He became sensible of the wickedness of his life, and lived
a hermit in the very forest
where he had so often sought
his amusement. There were
bands of robbers, and large
numbers of idolaters in and
around the forest -of Ardennes,
and to them St. Hubert preached
Christianity, and also introduced
social reforms and civilization
among them. At length he
studied with St. Lambert, and
became a priest. He was after-
wards bishop of Liege. lie
requested that he might be
buried in the Church of St. Peter
at Liege. Thirteen years after
his death his remains were found
to be perfect, and his robes un-
stained. The Benedictines of
Ardennes desired to have his
body, and it was removed to
their Abbey church about a
century after his death. St. Hu-
bert is patron of the chase and
of dogs, and chapels are erected
to him in the forests where the
devout huntsman may pray.
Bread consecrated at his shrine
is believed to cure hydrophobia.
November 3, A. D. 727.
St. Hugh of Grenoble. This saint was Bishop of Grenoble
at the time when St. Bruno founded the first Chartreuse. Hugh
often retired to the monastery, and devoted himself to the life of
the most humble and penitent brother. One of the miracles related
as being performed by him is the changing of fowls into tortoises,
when his Carthusian brethren could eat no flesh and could obtain no
fish. It is said that Satan tempted Hugh forty years, by whispering
continually in his ear doubts of God's Providence, on account of his
permuting sin in the world. The saint fasted and did penance con-
tinually on account of this temptation, and it never obtained domin-
ion over him sufficiently to weaken his faith in God. April 1, A. D.
1132.
St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, was also a Carthusian. He was
sent to England in 1126, and made Bishop of Lincoln. The cathe-
dral, which had been destroyed by an earthquake, was rebuilt by St.
(U'ilkelm von Kola, 13SO.) St. Hubert.
138
LEGENDS AND STORIES
Hugh. It is a fine specimen of the best Gothic architecture. Of all the
munificent gifts of its
founder, the only one
remaining is the glass
in one window, which
is painted with scenes
from his life. His
proper attribute is a
swan, typical of soli-
tude, which was his
delight. November
17, A. D. 1189.
St. Hugh, Mar-
tyr. The legend con-
nected with this mar-
tyr is one of the latest
of the monkish fables,
and relates that this
child, who is repre-
sented as about three
years old, was stolen
by the Jews and
crucified by them in
ridicule of the Saviour
of tlie Christians, and
in revenge for the
cruelties which the
Jews suffered in Chris-
tian countries. There
are three other saints
who have been canon-
ized on account of
having suffered the
same martyrdom : St.
William of Norwich, A. D. 1137 ; St. Richard of Pontoise, A. n.
1182 ; and St. Simon of Trent, A. D. 1472. The date of St. Hugh's
death is in 1255, August 27.
St. Hyacinth, belonged to the family of the Aldrovanski, one of
the most noble in Silesia. He was educated in Bologna, and was
distinguished not only for his intellectual superiority, but for his
piety, and his prudence and judgment in everything he attempted to
do. Soon after the completion of his studies, with his cousin
Ceslas, he accompanied his uncle Ivo, who was Bishop of Cracow, to
Rome. There they listened to the preaching of St. Dominick,
which so moved the heart of Ivo that he besought the saint to send
one of his Order on a mission to his far-off and half heathen coun
(Boisseree Gallery.)
St. Hugh presenting a votary.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 13 ( J
try. But Dominick had no disciple to send, as all were engaged
elsewhere. Then the young Hyacinth declared his intention to
become a monk, and to preach to his ignorant and barbaric country-
men. Ceslas joined him, and they took the vows and the habit of
the Dominicans in the Church of St. Sabina at Rome. For forty
years Hyacinth travelled and preached in all the northern countries.
It is said that his wanderings extended from Scotland to the Chinese
boundaries. He founded various monasteries, and it is "elated of
him that his convent in Kiov in Russia, being sacked, he escaped
bearing the Pyx and the image of the Virgin, which he had taken
from the. altar. He reached the banks of the Dniester, pursued by
the Tartars. The river was much swollen, but being determined to
preserve the precious objects from desecration by the pagans, he
prayed to Heaven, and plunged into the river. The waters sus-
tained him, and he walked over as on dry land. He died at his
monastery in Cracow, to which he returned worn out by his labors
and exposures. Anne of Austria, after her marriage, requested the
King of Poland to send her some relics of St. Hyacinth. This he
did, and they were placed in the Dominican Convent at Paris.
From this time the saint became an object of veneration in France,
where many pictures of him are seen. September 11, A. D. 1257.
St. Ignatius of Antioch (Lat. Sanctus Ignatius ; JtaL Sant'
Ignazio ; Fr. Saint Ignace : Ger. Der Heilige Ignaz. His Greek
title is 6*eoc/>opos (inspired)). Tradition teaches that Ignatius is the
same, whom Jesus presented, when a child, to his disciples, with the
words, " Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name,
receiveth me." He was a di-.ciple of St. John the Evangelist, and
the dear friend of Polycarp. It is also said that on account of his
perfect purity of thought and life, he was permitted to hear the
music of the angels, and that from the angelic choirs he learned the
singing of God's praises in responses, which he introduced into his
church after he was Bishop of Antioch. The Emperor Trajan, after
one of his victories, commanded sacrifices to the gods in every prov-
ince of his empire. The Christians refused to obey. Trajan came
to Antioch, and sending for Ignatius charged him with the perversion
of the hearts of his people, and promised him great favors if he
would sacrifice in a pagan temple. But Ignatius scornfully refused,
and said he would worship only the true and living God. Then
Trajan asked how he could call Him living who had died upon a
cross. But Ignatius spurned the idea of any God but the Lord, and
Trajan commanded him to be imprisoned, and reserved for the
amphitheatre at Rome. Ignatius rejoiced in his sentence, and set
out on his journey with great courage. At Smyrna he saw Polycarp
and other Christians, whom he encouraged to labor for the church,
and if need be^ to die for it. Arrived at Rome, on a feast day he
was set in the midst of the Amphitheatre. He addressed the people
thus, " Men and Romans, know ye that it is not for any crime that
140
LEGENDS AND STORIES
I am placed here, but for the glory of that God whom I worship. 1
am as the wheat of his field, and must be ground by the teeth of
the lions, that I may become bread worthy of being served up to
Him.'' According to one tradition he fell dead before the lions
poached him, and his body was not touched by them. Another says
that they tore him and devoured him, leaving only a few bones.
\Vliatever remained of him, was carried by his friends to Antioch,
and ii is said his relics were brought again to Rome, and placed in
the Church of St. Clement in 540, or near that time. February 1,
A. D. 107.
St. Ignatius Loyola, who was the founder of the Order of the
Jesuits, was in his youth a page in the court of Ferdinand the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
141
Catholic, and then a brave and gay soldier. His family was one of
the most noble, and Ignatius was filled with pride of race, and was
vain of his handsome person. At Pampeluna, when thirty years old,
he was wounded in both legs, and although he endured the most
torturing operations to prevent lameness, they were in vain. While
confined by these sufferings, he read the Life of Christ and other
(Rubens.) St. Ignatius Loyola.
books, which resulted in his resolving to devote himself to the sev
vice of the Blessed Mother of God, and that 6f her Son, whose
soldier he would be. As soon as possible he laid his sword and
lance upon the altar of Our Lady of Montserrat, and went to Man-
resa. Here he was subject to great temptations, and Satan so tor-
mented him with doubts as to make him almost a maniac ; but at
length by visions he was assured of his salvation as well as instructed
in the faith He then attempted to go to Jerusalem, but was pre-
vented, and obliged to remain in Spain. Not being allowed to
142 LEGENDS AND STORIES
teach on account of his ignorance of theology, he submitted to a
tedious course of study. After a time he went to Paris, where he
made the acquaintance of five men who sympathized with his views,
and who with a few others, formed themselves into a community
under his direction. In addition to the usual monastic vows of
poverty, chastity, and obedience, they promised unreserved obedience
to the pope, and to go to any part of the globe where he should
aond them. There were three especial duties belonging to this
Order, which was called the " Company of Jesus": first, preaching;
second, the guidance of souls in confession j and third, the teach-
ing of the young. It was three years before Ignatius obtained the
confirmation of the % Order of which he was the first General The
usual number of miracles, visions, penances, and temptations are
attributed to him. On his way to Rome, it is said the Saviour
appeared to him, bearing his cross, and saying, " Ego vobis Romae
propitius ero," and again an angel held before him a tablet thus
inscribed, " In hoc vocabitur tibi noraen." July 31, A. D. 1556.
St. Ildefonso or Alphonso (Ger. Der Heilige Ildephons).
This saint was one of the first Benedictines in Spain. He devoted
himself to the service of the Virgin Mary, and wrote a book to
prove her perpetual virginity. He had two remarkable visions. In
one St. Leocadia, to whom he had vowed particular devotion, rose
out of her tomb to assure him of the favor of the Virgin, and of the
approval of his treatise in her praise. The saint wore a Spanish
mantilla, and Ildefonso cut off a corner of it, which was preserved
in her chapel at Toledo. Again, as he entered his church at mid-
night, at the head of a procession, he saw a great light about the
high altar. All were alarmed save himself. Approaching, he beheld
the Virgin seated on his ivory throne, surrounded by angels, and
chanting a service. He bowed before her, and she said, " Come
hither, most faithful servant of God, and receive this robe, which I
have brought thee from the treasury of my Son." Then she threw
over him, as he knelt, a cassock of heavenly substance, and the
angels adjusted it. From that time he never occupied the throne or
wore the garment. Archbishop Sisiberto died on account of his pre-
sumption in endeavoring to wear the robe, and sit on the throne.
He was archbishop and patron saint of Toledo. January 23, A. D. 66 7.
Innocents, The Massacre of (ftal. Gli Innocent! Fanciulli
Martin, I Santi Bambini Martiri ; Fr. Les Innocents ; Ger. Die
Unschuliigen Kindlein). These murdered infants are regarded with
especial homage by the Church, as being the first Christian martyrs,
aud in a sense they are so. While we connect willingness to suffer
for Christ with martyrdom, still it is true that unconsciously these
children suffered for him, since it was on account of his birth that
they were destroyed. They are represented with martyrs' palms.
Sometimes they sustain the cross and the instruments of torturei
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. H3
again they surround the Madonna and Child, or are received into
heaven by the Infant Saviour.
St. Isabella of France, who founded the convent at Long-
champs, was sister to the saintly King Louis. She was educated
with her brother by their mother, Blanche of Castile. She dedicated
her convent to the " Humility of the Blessed Virgin," and gave to it
all her dowry. As long as the convent existed, the festival of this
saint was celebrated with great splendor. February 22, A. D. 1270.
St. Isidore the Ploughman (7/a/. Sant' Isidore Agricola ;
Sp. San Isidro el Labrador). The Spanish legend teaches that this
saint could not read or write. His father was a poor laborer, and
he himself was the servant of a farmer, named Juan de Vargas.
Isidore spent much time in prayer, and his master went one day to
the field determined to forbid what he considered a waste of time.
As he came near he saw two angels guiding the plough, while the
saint knelt at his devotions near by. One day when his master
thirsted, Isidore struck a rock with his goad, and pure water flowed
out. He restored a child to life by his prayers, and performed
various other miracles. May 10, A. D. 1170.
St. Isidore, Bishop of Seville, is styled the " Egregius Doc-
tor Hispanise." His brother Leander, who preceded him in his
bishopric, is called the " Apostle of the Goths," and they are both
distinguished for their opposition to the Arian doctrines. In Spanish
pictures they are represented with Ferdinand of Castile and St.
Hermengildus. In the Church of St. Isidore, at Seville, is a magnifi-
cent picture (el Transito de San Isidoro), which represents him
dying on the steps of the altar, having given all his property to the
poor. Both these brothers are pjttron saints of Seville. April 4,
A. r>. 606.
St. Ives of Bretagne (Ital. Sant' Ivo; on account of his
profession, he is styled " Saint Yves-Helori, Avocat des Pauvres ").
He belonged to a noble family, and from his mother, Aza du Plessis,
who conducted his early education, he derived his remarkable piety.
As a boy he had an ambition to be a saint. He was but fourteen
when he went to Paris, and here and afterwards at Orleans he
devoted himself to legal studies. It has been said that lawyers have
chosen him as their patron rather than pattern, as he was distin-
guished for his love of justice and its vindication under all circum-
stances. All through his years of study he gave many hours to
religious duties, and especially to the labors of charity. He also at
this time made a vow of celibacy. After returning home he studied
theology. At the age of thirty he was made judge advocate. He
always attempted to reconcile contending parties without resorting
to law, and was always ready to plead for the poor without recom-
pense. At length he entered the ministry. Before assuming hia
priestly garments he gave those he had worn to the poor, and went
out from the hospital where he had distributed them with bare head
144
LEGENDS AND STOBIES
and feet. When a priest, he continued to be 1'Avocat des Pauvres,
and his double duties wore on his health. He died at the age of
fifty. He is the patron of lawyers in all Europe. May 19, A. D. 1303.
St. James the Great (Lat. Sanctus Jacobus Major ; Jtal. San
Giacomo, or Jacopo, Maggiore ; Fr. St. Jacques Majeur ; Sp. Sail
Jago or Santiago, El Tutelar). St. James, called the Major, the
Great or the Elder, is presented to us in two very different charac-
(Carreno de Miranda.) Santiago
ters, each being important and full of interest. First, in the Gospels
as the brother of the Evangelist, and a near kinsman and favorite
disciple of our Lord. He was much with Jesus, and present at many
of the most important events in his life, such as his transfiguration
and the agony of the Garden. Still, after the Saviour's ascension
nothing is told of him, save that he was slain by Herod. But in his
second character, as patron saint of Spain, we can make no com-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 145
plaint of the mcagreness of the writings concerning him. The
legends of him and his works would fill a volume ; and he is said to
O '
have appeared after death at the head of the Spanish armies on
thirty-ei'^ht different occasions. The Spanish legend, while it makes
Santiago the son of Zebedee and a native of Galilee, does not repre-
sent him as a poor fisherman, who followed that vocation for a liveli-
hood, but as a nobleman's son, who accompanied his father and
brother in a boat, attended by servants, merely for pastime and sport.
But so heavenly minded was this young nobleman, that he was
greatly attracted to Jesus, and chose to follow him in all his labors,
witnessing his wonderful miracles, and imbibing his spirit and teach-
ing. After the ascension of Christ, James preached first in Judaea,
and then travelling as a missionary, to bear the news of the Gospel
to all the earth, came at last to Spain. Here he made few converts,,
on account of the dreadful ignorance and idolatry of the people. At
length as he was standing one day on the banks of the Ebro, the
Virgin appeared to him, and commanded him to build there a church
for her worship, assuring him that in the future this pagan land
should devoutly worship her divine Son and herself. He obeyed,
and having established the faith in Spain, he returned to Judasa,
where he preached until his death, many years after. The Jews
were very bitter in their persecutions of James, and one Hermog-
enes, a sorcerer, especially opposed him. He sent one of his pupils,
Philetus, to oppose him in argument. James signally defeated the
Jew, and moreover converted him to his own doctrines. This greatly
enraged Hermogenes, who in revenge bound Philetus bv his spells,
and then told him to let his new teacher deliver him. Philetus sent
his servant to James, who, when he heard his story, sent his cloak to
his new disciple, and as soon as Philetus touched it he freed himself
and went to James with haste. Hermogenes then sent a band of
demons with orders to bind both James and Philetus and bring them
to him, but on the way they met a company of angels, who punished
them severely. St. James then ordered the demons to bring Her-
mogenes bound to him. They obeyed, and besought him as they
laid the sorcerer at his feet, that he would be revenged for them and
himself on a common enemy. But James assured them that Ids
Master had taught him to do good for evil, and so released the
prisoner. Hermogenes cast all his books into the sea, and entreated
James to protect him from the demons who had been his slave?.
The apostle gave him his own staff, and from that time the perse-
cutor became the earnest and faithful disciple, and preached his doc-
trines with effect. At length the Jews were determined to destroy
him, and sent to drag him before Herod Agrippa. His gentleness,,
and the miracles which he did on the way, so touched the soul of one
of his tormentors that he begged to die with him. James gave him
a kiss, saying " Pax vobis," and from this arose the "kiss of peace,'*
which has been used as a benediction in the Church from that time.
10
146 LEGENDS AND STORIES
The saint and his last convert were then beheaded. The legend
of the dead body of James is far more wonderful than any of his life.
His disciples took his body, but not daring to bury it, put it on a
ship at Joppa. Many accounts are given of this miraculous vessel.
Some say it was of marble, but all agree that angels conducted it to
Spain. In seven days they sailed through the Pillars of Hercules
and landed at Iria Flavia, or Padron. They bore the body on shore
and laid it on a large stone, which became like wax and received the
body into itself. This was a sign that the saint desired to remain
there. But the country was ruled by a very wicked queen, who
commanded that they should place the stone on a car and attach
wild bulls to it, thinking that they would dash it in pieces. But the
bulls gently drew the car into the court of Lupa's palace. Then she
was converted, and built a magnificent church to receive the body
of James. Afterwards the knowledge of his burial-place was lost
until the year 800, when it was revealed to a priest. The remains
were removed to Compostella, which became one of the most famous
of shrines, on account of the miracles done there. The Order of St.
Jago was instituted by Don Alphonso, for its protection, and was one
of the most honorable and wealthy in all Spain. The fame of the
shrine of Compostella spread over Europe, and in some years it was
visited by a hundred thousand pilgrims. One of the most curious
of the legends of this saint, and one frequently treated in art, is con-
nected with three of these pious pilgrims. A German with his wife
and son made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, and lodged at
Torlosa on the way. The son was a handsome youth, and the
daughter of the Torlosa innkeeper conceived a wicked passion for
him. He being a virtuous young man, and moreover on a pious pil-
grimage, repulsed her advances. She determined to revenge this
slight to her charms, and hid her father's silver drinking-ctip in his
wallet. As soon as it was missed, she directed suspicion to the
young pilgrim. He was followed, and the cup found in his sack.
He was then taken to the judge, who sentenced him to be hung, and
all that the family had was confiscated. The afflicted parents con-
tinued on their pilgrimage, and sought consolation at the altar of
Santiago. On their return, they stopped at the gibbet where their
son had hung for thirty-six days. And the son spoke to them and
said, " O my mother ! O my father ! do not lament for ne ; I have
never been in better cheer. The blessed apostle James is at mj
side, sustaining me, and filling me with celestial comfort and joy."
The parents being amazed, hastened to the judge. He was seated
at the table. The mother rushed in, and exclaimed, " Our son
lives ! " The judge mocked them, and said, " What sayest thou,
good woman ? thou art beside thyself ! If thy son lives, so do those
fowls in my dish." He had hardly spoken, when the two fowls,
which were a cock and a hen, rose up feathered in the dish, and the
cock began to crow. The judge called the priests and lawyers, and
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 147
they went to the place of execution, and delivered the young man
to his parents. The miraculous cock and hen were placed under the
protection of the Church, and their posterity religiously preserved for
a long time. The most notable occasion upon which St. James
appeared to lead the soldiers of Spain, was in the year 939, when
King Ramirez determined not to submit longer to the tribute of one
hundred virgins, which was annually paid to the Moors. He defied
Abdelraman to a battle which took place on the plain of Alveida, or
Clavijo. After a furious contest, the Christians were driven back. That
night St. James appeared to Ramirez and promised to be with him the
following day, and give him the victory. The king related this to
his officers, and also to his soldiers when they were ready for the
Held. He recommended them to trust to the heavenly aid which
had been promised. The whole army caught the spirit of their king,
and rushed to battle. Immediately St. James appeared at their head
on a milk-white charger, waving a white standard. He led them to
victory, and sixty thousand Moors were left dead on the field. From
that day " Santiago ! " has been the Spanish war-cry. In early
works of art St. James is usually, if not always, represented with the
other disciples, and may be known by his place, Avhich is the fourth.
But later he has been portrayed in all the different scenes of his
life, and very frequently as a pilgrim of Compostella. In tliis char-
acter he bears the pilgrim's staff and wallet, the cloak and shell,
while his hat is often on his shoulder. The most effective represen-
tation of this that I have seen is the statue by Thorwaldsen in the
Church of Our Lady at Copenhagen. July 25, A. D. 44.
St. James Minor (Fr. S. Jaques Mineur ; Ital. San Jacopo
or Giacomo Minore ; Lat. S. Jacobus Frater Domini ; Gr. 'ASeA-
<f)69e( c, brother of God). This saint has another most honorable title
of " The Just." He was the son of Cleophas and Mary, the sister
of the Virgin Mary ; in reality cousin-german to the Saviour, but
often styled " the Lord's brother." The epistle which he wrote
beautifully speaks the piety and love for which he was venerated.
He is distinguished as the first Christian Bishop of Jerusalem. The
Jews threw him down from one of the terraces of the Temple, and as
he fell his brains were beaten out with a fuller's club, which instru-
ment of his death is his proper attribute in works of art. When the
disciples are all represented, St. James the Less is the ninth in order.
The legends teach that James bore a striking resemblance to Jesus,
BO much so that they were at times mistaken for each other, and that
it W2s this circumstance which made necessary the kiss of Judas.
James made a vow that he would not eat bread from the time that
he partook of the Last Supper until he should see Jesus raised from
the dead. Soon after his resurrection, the Saviour went to show
himself to James, and asked for a table and bread. He blessed the
bread, and gave it to James, saying, " My brother, eat thy bread ;
for the Son of man is risen from among them that sleep." May 1 .
148
LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Januarius (Ital. San Gennaro ; Fr. Saint Janvier). This
saint, who was Bishop of Bcnevento, came in the tenth persecution
to Naples with six of his disciples, to comfort and cheer the Chris-
tians. They were seized and thrown to the beasts of the amphi-
theatre, but they would not harm them. Januarius was then thrown
into a fiery furnace, which hurt him not ; and at last he was be-
headed. He is represented as a bishop with the palm, and usually
with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance ; for he is the patron saint of
Naples, and its protector from the fearful eruptions of the volcano.
The miracle of the blood of Januarius is too well known to need
description here. September 19, A. D. 305.
^^V;^ /^ ^} ^H
St. Jerome (Lot. Sanctus Hieronymus ; Ital. San Geronimo 01
Girolamo ; Fr. Saint Jerome, Hierome, or Geroisme ; Ger. Der
Heilige Hieronimus). St. Jerome has universal importance and con-
sideration on account of " The Vulgate," or his translation of the
New Testament into Latin, and also that which his wonderful piety
and learning must inevitably command ; but in the Romish Church
he is additionally venerated as the father of Monachism in the West.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 149
He was the son of Eusebius, a rich Dalmatian of Stridonium, and
was born about A. D. 342. Being a scholar of more than usual
promise, he was sent to Rome to complete his studies. There for a
time he led a life of pleasure, but at length he became distinguished
as a lawyer, and especially so on account of his eloquence in plead-
ing his cause. At about thirty years of age he was baptized, and at
the same time took a vow of celibacy. After having journeyed into
Gaul, he went in 373 to the East, to gratify an insatiable desire to
live among the scenes where Christ had dwelt. He became so
enamored of the hermit life, .which was then so common in the
Orient, that he retired to a desert in Chalcis, where he passed four
years in study and seclusion. But this time was not without its
recollections of another life, and longings for both the sins and
pleasures of the past. He says : " O, how often in the desert, in
that vast solitude which, parched by the sultry sun, affords a dwell-
ing to the monks, did I fancy myself in the midst of the luxuries of
Rome ! I sat alone, for I was full of bitterness." But one thing
which caused him severe trials was his love of learning and his
appreciation of all that was elegant and beautiful in the ancient
classics. This gave him a disgust for the crudeness of the Christian
writers, and it was a fearful struggle for him to master the Hebrew.
All this appeared to him as dreadful sin. He says that he fasted
before he read Cicero, and he describes a vision which these mental
struggles undoubtedly caused. He thought he heard ^he last trum-
pet sounded, and that he was commanded to appear before God for
judgment. " Who art thou ? " was the first question. Jerome
replied, " A Christian." Then came a fearful reply : " 'Tis false !
thou art no Christian ; thou art a Ciceronian. Where the treasure
is, there will the heart be also." After ten years of wearisome
temptation and struggle, of weary controversy and labors, he returned
to Rome. Here he preached with all the enthusiastic eloquence he
could command, against the luxury of the Roman clergy and laity,
and maintained the doctrines of extreme self-denial and abstinence.
He especially influenced the Roman women, some of the most distin-
guished becoming converts to his doctrine, and being ready to follow
him in any self-sacrifice. Paula, a descendant of the Scipios and
Gracchi, whose cell is shown in the monastery at Bethlehem, was
perhaps the most celebrated of these converts, but Marcella is
another name handed down to us with his. She is by some held
to be the first who founded a religious community for women, while
others give this high dignity to St. Martha. Jerome remained but
three y,ars in Rome, when he returned to his monastery at Beth-
lehem. Here he died ; and when he knew that death was approach-
ing, he desired to be borne into the chapel, where he received the
sacrament, expiring soon after. He left many epistles and contro-
versial writings, and the cell in which he wrote at Bethlehem is
150 LEGENDS AND STORIES
regarded with great veneration. The Jeronymites were distin-
guished for the magnificence of some of their churches and convents.
The Escurial was theirs, as well as the Monastery of Belem, in Por-
tugal, and that of St. Just, to which Charles V. retired when he
gave up his throne. The proper attributes of St. Jerome are books,
illustrative of his writings, and the lion, which is emblematic of the
boldness and watchfulness of the saint ; but there is also a legend
which accounts for the association of the lion with the holy man.
One evening he was sitting at the gate of his monastery when a lion
entered, limping, as if wounded. The monks were all terrified, and
fled, except Jerome, who went to meet him. The lion lifted his
paw, and in it Jerome found a thorn which he extracted, and then
tended the wound till it was well. The lion remained with the
saint, and he made it the duty of the beast to guard an ass which
brought wood from the forest. One day, while the lion slept, a car-
avan of merchants passed, and they stole the ass and drove it away.
The lion returned to the convent with an air of shame. Jerome
believed that he had eaten the ass, and condemned him to do the
work of the ass, to which the lion quietly submitted, "until the ass
was again discovered by himself in the following manner : One day
after his task was ended, he saw a caravan approaching, the camels
of which (as is the custom of the Arabs) were led by an ass. The
lion immediately saw that it was his stolen charge, and he drove the
camels into the convent, whither the ass gladly led them. The
merchants acknowledged the theft, and St. Jerome pardoned them
for it. Hence the lion is so often associated with the saint ; but its
appropriateness as a type of his wilderness life, and his zealous and
vehement nature, is a more satisfactory thought than the fanciful
wildness of this legend can give. The introduction of the cardinal's
hat into the pictures of this saint is a glaring anachronism, as there
were no cardinals until three centuries later than that in which he
lived. St. Jerome, as a penitent, is the subject of numberless pic-
tures, and his last communion by Domenichino (Vatican) is one of
the most celebrated of all pictures. St. Jerome is the special patron
of students in theology. September 30, A. D. 420.
Jew, The Wandering. See Wandering Jew.
St. Joachim (Ital. San Gioacchino; Fr. St. Joakim) was the
husband of Anna, and the father of the Virgin Mary. He was of
Nazareth, and his wife of Bethlehem, and both of the royal race of
David. Joachim was rich, and an extremely devout man. He was
childless, and it happened that on a certain feast day when he
brought his offering to the Temple it was refused by Issachar, the
high-priest, who said, " It is not lawful for thee to bring thine offer-
ing, seeing that thou hast not begot issue in Israel." Joachim went
away sorrowful, and he searched the registers of Israel, and he found
that he alone of all the righteous men had been childless. And he
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
151
went away and would be seen by no one, and built a hut, and fasted
forty days and nights, saying, " Until the Lord look upon me merci-
fully, prayer shall be my meat and my drink." And Anna mourned
grievously, for her barrenness, and for the absence of her husband.
At 1 mgth her handmaid, Judith, wished to cheer her, and tried t"
persuade her to array herself, and attend the feast. But Anna
repulsed her in such a way as that Judith was angry, and told her
mistress that she could wish her nothing worse than that which God
had sent her, since he had closed her womb, that she could not be a
mother. Then Anna arose and put on her bridal attire, and went
forth to her garden, and prayed earnestly. And she sat beneath a
laurel-tree, where a sparrow had a nest, and Anna said, " Alas ! and
woe is me ! Who hath begotten me ? Who hath brought me forth ?
That I should be accursed in the sight of Israel, and scorned and
shamed before my people, and cast out of the temple of the Lord !
Woe is me ! to what shall I be likened ? I cannot be likened to
the fowls of heaven ; for the fowls of heaven are fruitful in thy
sight, O Lord ! Woe is me ! to what shall I be likened ? Not
to the unreasoning beasts of the earth, for they are fruitful in thy
sight, O Lord ! Woe is me ! to what shall I be likened ? Not to
these waters, for they are fruitful in thy sight, O Lord ! Woe is
me ! to what shall I be likened ? Not unto the earth, for the earth
bringeth forth her fruit in
due season, and praiseth
thee, O Lord ! " And im-
mediately she beheld an
angel standing near her.
And he said, " Anna, thy
prayer is heard, thou shalt
bring forth, and thy child
shall be blessed throughout
the whole world." And
Anna replied, " As the
Lord liveth, whatever I
shall bring forth, be it a
man child or maid, I will
present it an offering to the
Lord." And another angel
came to tell her that Joa-
chim was approaching. For
an angel had also spoken
to him, and he was com-
forted. Then Anna went
to meet her husband, who
came from the pasture with
tils flocks. And they met (A. Durer.) Joachim meeting Anna.
152 LEGENDS AND STORIES
by the Golden Gate, and Anna embraced Mm, and hung on his neck,
saying, " Now know I that the Lord hath blessed me. I who was 4.
widow, am no longer a widow. I who was barren, shall become a joy-
ful mother." Then they returned home together. And when her
time was come, Anna brought forth a daughter, and she called her
Mary, which in Hebrew is Miriam. The Franciscans in their devo-
tion to the Virgin have endeavored to teach that her birth was not
only immaculate, but altogether miraculous, and that the joyful kiss
with which Joachim met Anna, was the source of her being. This
the Church did not receive, but it would seem that the sentiment of
the idea had influenced some artists in the representations of this
meeting. March 20.
St. John the Baptist (Ital. S. Giovanni Battista; Fr. St.
Jean Baptiste ; Ger. Johann der Taiifer). In Scripture this saint,
the herald of Christ, is presented in three characters ; as Preacher,
Prophet, and Baptist. Parts of his story are given by all the Evan-
gelists, from the miraculous circumstances attending his birth to the
awfully sinful horrors of his death. To these tradition has added his
miraculous deliverance from the assassins of Herod, by being inclosed
with his mother in a rock, when she fled from the massacre with him
in her arms. Art has represented him as leaving his home, while
yet a child, to begin his desert life. Legends tell that the scene of
his death was the royal fortified palace of Macheronta, near the
Dead Sea, on the river Jordan, that he was buried at Sebaster, and
that his head was brought to Europe in 453. He is venerated almost
universally, and is the connecting link between the Old and New
Dispensations, being the last prophet of the former and the first
saint of the latter. The most ancient pictures represent him as
meagre and wasted, with unshorn beard and hair. This would seem
the true way ; but often in later times he is made beautiful, and even
dressed in rich mantles which cover the garment of camel's hair.
When painted as the Messenger, he wears the hairy garment, and
bears a cup, a reed cross, and a scroll with the inscription, " Vox cla-
inantis in deserto," or " Ecce Agnus Dei ! " The Greek signification of
Messenger is Angel, and this is rendered in Byzantine art by paint-
ing him with wings. As a witness to the divinity of Christ, he is
represented at various ages. He is introduced into Holy Families
in this character in many different positions, all expressive of wor-
ship to the Holy Child. He is patron of all who are baptized, and
also patron saint of Florence. In baptisteries he is very frequently
represented in sculpture. In the historical pictures of this saint,
which easily explain themselves, there is but one peculiarity to be
noticed. That to which I refer is the representation of the legend
that Mary prolonged her visit to Elizabeth until the birth of the
child. In these pictures Mary usually receives or holds the babe,
and is known by the glory about her head. Tire Greek legends
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153
teach that his death took place two years before that of Christ, and
that he descended to Hades to remain until the Saviour's death should
give him deliverance. He bore to the departed spirits the tidings of
the approaching redemption, at which they all rejoiced, while the
devils were filled with fearful rage. Nativity of St. John the Baptist,
June 24.
St. John the Evangelist (Greek title, 0eoAdyos (Wordcf God) ;
Lot. Sanctus Johannes ; Ilal. San Gio-
vanni Evangelista ; Fr. Saint Jean,
Messjre Saint Jehan; Ger. Der Heilige
Johan). More is known of this " disci-
ple whom Jesus loved " than of the other
Evangelists. He was son of Zebedee,
and brother of James the Great. His
life seems to have been almost insepar-
able from that of the Master, ever after
his call to follow Him. He saw the
Transfiguration. He leaned on the
bosom of Our Lord at the Last Supper.
He stood by the cross, and received the
charge of Jesus concerning the Virgin
Mary, and he laid the body of the
Saviour in the tomb. He went with
Peter through Judasa, to preach the
Gospel, after the death of Mary. He
then went to Asia Minor, living chiefly
at Ephesus, and founding the seven
churches. During the persecution of
Domitian he was taken, bound, to
Rome, and the Romish traditions
tell that he was thrown into a caul- (Raphael.) St. John,
dron of boiling oil without injury. The scene of this miracle was
outside the Latin Gate, and the Chapel of Snn Giovanni in Olio
commemorates the event. Being afterwards accused of magic, he
was exiled to Patmos, where he is believed to have written his
Revelation. Upon the death of Domitian, he was allowed to return
to his church at Ephesus. Here, when ninety years old, he is said
to have written his Gospel. He died at Ephesus, at the age of a
century, or very little less. One of the Church legends teaches that
he never died, and is founded upon the words which Jesus spoke to
Peter (John xii. 21, 22) ; but it is not generally taught or believed.
This idea is represented in art by his descending into an open grave,
and lying down in sleep, rather than death. The Greek tradition is
that he died without pain, and immediately arose again without
change, and ascended to heaven to rejoin Jesus and Mary. The
legends of the life and miracles of this saint are extremely interest
154 LEGENDS AND STORIES
ing. St. Isidore relates that at Rome an attempt was made against
the life of John, by poisoning the sacramental cup. When he took
the cup, the poison came forth hi the form of a serpent, and he
drank the wine unhurt, while the poisoner fell dead at his feet. It is
said to have been done by order of Domitian. Another account
says that he was challenged to drink of a poisoned cup, in proof of
the authority of his mission, by Aristodemus, the high-priest of
Diana at Ephcsus, and that while John was unhurt, the priest fell
dead. Clement of Alexandria relates that when John was first at
Ephesus, he took under his care a young man of great promise. When
he was taken away to Rome he left this youth to the care of a bishop.
But the young man became dissipated in his life, and at length was the
leader of a band of robbers. When John returned, he asked of the
bishop an account of his charge, and when he knew the truth, he
blamed the unfaithful guardian, and suffered great grief on account
of the young man. He then went in search of him, and when he
came where he was, the captain of the robbers tried to avoid his old
friend. But John prevailed on him to listen to his words. As John
talked to him, he tried to conceal his hand, which had committed
many crimes. But John seized it, and kissing it, bathed it with his
tears. He succeeded in reconverting the robber, and reconciled him
to God and to himself. At another time two rich young men sold
their possessions to follow the Apostle. Afterwards they repented,
seeing which John sent them to gather stones and fagots, and changed
these to gold, saying : " Take back your riches, and enjoy them on
earth, as you regret having exchanged them for heaven." When
John returned to Ephesus from Patmos, he met a funeral procession
as he approached the city. When he asked whom they bore, and
heard that it was Drusiana, he was sad, for she had been one rich in
good works, and John had dwelt in her house. He ordered them to
put down the bier, and he prayed earnestly to God, who restored the
woman to life ; and she arose and John returned with her, and dwelt
again in her house. Two wonderful miracles are related of John, as
being performed after his death. King Edward the Confessor rev-
erenced John next to the Saviour and the Virgin Mother. One day
ho attended a mass in honor of St. John, and as he returned he met
a beggar, who asked him an alms in the name of God and St. John.
The king drew from his finger a ring, and gave it to the man,
unknown to any one beside. When Edward had reigned twenty-four
years, two Englishmen, who had been as pilgrims to the Holy Land,
met on their return a man, also in the garb of a pilgrim. He asked
them of their country, and said, " When ye shall have arrived in
/our own country, go to King Edward, and salute him in my name.
Say to him that I thank him for the alms which he bestowed on me
in a certain street in Westminster ; for there, on a certain day, as 1
begged of him an alms, he bestowed on me this ring, which till now
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 155
I have preserved, and ye shall carry it back to him, saying, that in
six months from this time he shall quit the world, and come and
remain with me forever." Then the pilgrims said, " Who art thou,
and where is thy dwelling-place ? " And he replied, " I am John
the Evangelist. Edward, your king, is my friend, and for the sanctity
of his life I hold him dear. Go now, therefore, deliver to him this
message, and this ring, and I will pray to God that ye may arrive
safely in your own country." Having said this, St. John gave them
the ring, and vanished out of their sight. Then thanking God
for this glorious vision, the pilgrims kept on their way, and went to
King Edward, and delivered the ring and the message. He received
them gladly, and entertained them as royal guests. He also made
preparations for death, and gave the ring to the Abbot of Westmin-
ster, to be forever preserved as a holy relic. This legend is repre-
sented in sculpture in the Chapel of Edward the Confessor. Again,
in A. D. 42. r >, when the Empress Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna
from the East, she encountered a fearful storm. She vowed to St.
John, and being safely landed, she built in his honor a splendid
church. After it was done she was greatly desirous of having some
relics of the saint to consecrate the sanctuary. One night as she
prayed earnestly, the saint appeared to her, and when she threw her-
self down to kiss his feet, he vanished and left his sandal in her
hand, which was a long time preserved. The Church of Galla Pla-
cidia at Ravenna, though greatly changed, yet remains, and on it may
be traced in sculpture, both the storm and the Empress taking her
vow, and the miracle of the slipper. St. John is represented in art
as an evangelist, an apostle, and a prophet. The Greeks represented
him, whether apostle or evangelist, as an old, gray-bearded man ;
but in AVestern art he is never beyond middle age, and often young.
As a prophet, and the author of the Revelation, he is an aged man,
with flowing beard. The scene, a desert with the sea, to represent
Patmos, while the eagle is beside him. His proper colors are a blue
or green tunic, with red drapery ; and his attributes, beside the eagle
are the pen and bcok, and the cup either with the serpent or the
consecrated wafer, which last typifies the institution of the Euchar-
ist. Sometimes the eagle has a nimbus or glory. This figures the
Holy Ghost, as the Jews made the eagle a symbol of the spirit.
When the Baptist and Evangelist are introduced in the same picture,
as frequently occurs, the latter may be known from his more youth-
ful look, as well as by the above attributes. When associated with
the other apostles he is distinguished by his youth and flowing hair,
or by his nearness to the Saviour, and frequently by some token of
peculiar love in the position or aspect of the Master. On great
occasions, at the Church of the S. Croce, at Rome, a cup is exhibited
as that from which John, by command of Domitian, drank poison
without injury. December 27, A. D. 99.
156 LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. John Capistrano was a Franciscan friar, who after the capture
of Constantinople by the Turks, was sent out to preach a crusade for
the defense of Christendom. At the siege of Belgrade, in 1456.
when Mohammed was repulsed by the Hungarians, this saint was seen,
with his crucifix in hand, in the midst of the battle encouraging and
leading on the soldiers. He died the same year, and in 1690 he was
canonized in commemoration of the deliverance of Vienna from the
infidels, which took place in 1683. His attribute is the crucifix or
the standard with the cross. A colossal statue of him is on the ex-
terior of the Cathedral at Vienna. He is trampling a Turk under his
feet, while he has in one hand a standard, and a cross in the other.
October 23, A. D. 1456.
St. John Chrysostom (Lat. Sanctus Johannes Chrysostom ;
Ital. San Giovanni Crisostomo, San Giovanni Bocca d' Oro ; Fr. St.
Jean Chrysostome). This saint is always called by his Greek appel-
lative, which signifies, " Of the golden mouth." He was horn at Anti-
och in 344. He was of an illustrious family. His father died while
he was still young, and his mother, Arthusia, remained a widow that
she might devote herself entirely to her son. At twenty he had won
renown by the eloquence of his pleas, for he was an advocate, but
he greatly desired to retire from the world as a hermit. The entrea-
ties of his mother prevented this until he was about twenty-eight,
when in spite of all he fled to the wilderness near and led a life oi
such rigor as to destroy his health and oblige him to return to An-
tioch. Soon after this, Flavian ordained him a priest, and tradition
teaches that at the moment of his consecration a white dove de-
scended on his head. This signified his peculiar inspiration of the
Spirit, and truly from this time, he seems, as a Christian orator, to
have been assisted of God. Only Paul is ranked beyond him. He
saved the people of his native city by his eloquence, when they had
so offended the Emperor Theodosius that he had threatened them
with dreadful punishment. So much was he beloved at Antioch,
that when chosen Patriarch of Constantinople he had to go away se-
cretly before the people could interfere to retain him. At Constan-
tinople he lived a life of humble self-denial, but entertained the
stranger and the poor with kind hospitality. His eloquent enthusi-
asm, his poetic imagination, and elegant scholarship, added to his
great earnestness caused him to speak as one inspired of God, and
he preached so fearlessly against the irregularities of the Empress
Eudoxia, the monks, and all the customs of the court, that he was
banished from the city. The people obliged the emperor to recall
him, but again he was inexorable in his denunciations, and again
was sent into exile. His guards treated him so cruelly that he per-
ished from exposure and fatigue. He was sixty-three years old and
had been bishop ten years. It was thirty years after his death when
his remains were removed to Constantinople, and the Emperor Theo
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 157
dosius advancing as far as Chalcedon to meet them, fell prostrate on
the coffin and implored the forgiveness of the saint in the names of
Arcadius and Eudoxia, his guilty parents. The most peculiar of the
representations of this saint is that called " The Penitence of St. John
Chrysostora." The legend upon which it is founded is given in Ital-
ian, French, and German, and differs a little in each, but the princi-
pal points and the sentiment are the same. I give the German ver-
sion. When John Chrysostom was baptized, the pope (signifying
simply a priest) stood godfather. At seven years old he went to
school and was so dull that he became the butt of his schoolmates.
Greatly troubled at their ridicule he went into a church to pray to
the Virgin, and a voice said, " Kiss me on the mouth, and thou shall
be endowed with all learning." This he did, and when he returned
to school his companions were amazed at the manner in which he
surpassed them all. When they looked they saw a golden circle
about his mouth, and when he told them of how it came there they
were filled with wonder. His godfather loved him very much and
ordained him a priest when still young. The first time he offered
the sacrifice of the mass he was so overcome with a sense of his un-
worthiness that he threw off his priestly robes and fled to a rocky
cave, where he dwelt a long time in prayer and meditation. Not far
from his retreat was the capital of a powerful king. One day as
the princess was walking with her maidens she was lifted by the
wind, and carried far into the forest. She came to the cave of
Chrysostom and asked for admission, but he, thinking it a messen-
ger of the Devil, refused to let her in. She assured him that she
was no demon, but a Christian woman, and that if left there the
beasts would devour her. So he admitted her. Then he drew a
line in the middle of his cell and said, " This is your part, this is mine,
and neither shall pass this line." But all was in vain. Passion and
temptation overcame his resolution ; he passed the line and sinned.
Both bitterly repented, and Chrysostom fearing further sin took the
maiden to a precipice and threw her down. Then he was seized
with remorse, and went to the pope at Rome and confessed all, beg-
ging absolution. But the pope did not know him, and being filled
with horror drove him out, refusing him pardon. Then the unhappy
one made a vow never to rise from the earth, nor look upAvard, but
to crawl on his hands and knees until his crime should be expiated
and he should be absolved by Heaven. After fifteen years, the
queen gave birth to a son, and when the pope went to baptize it, the
child cried out, " I will not be baptized by thee, but by John."
This was repeated three times, and although none could understand
the meaning of this, the pope was afraid to baptize the child. Now
it happened that the huntsmen had gone to the forest for game for
the christening feast, and as they rode they saw an unknown animal
creeping on the ground, and they threw a mantle over it, and chained
158
LEGENDS AND STORIES
it, and brought it to the palace. Many came to look at this beast,
and among them the nurse with the infant in her arms, and iminedi
ately the child cried out, " John, come thou and baptize me." He
answered, " If it be God's will, speak again." And the child a sec-
ond and third time repeated the words. Then John arose and the
V
(A. Durer.) Penance of St. John Chrysostom.
moss and hair fell from him, and they brought him garments, and he
baptized the child with great devotion. Then he confessed to the
king, who thought, " Perhaps this was my daughter, who was lost
and never found." And he sent to seek her remains, that they
might be properly buried. When the messengers came to the foot
of the precipice they found a beautiful, naked woman, seated with a
child in her arms. And John said, " Why sittest thou here alone in
die wilderness ? " And she answered, " Dost thou not know me ?
I am the woman who came to thy cave by night, and whom thou
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
159
didst hurl down this rock." Then they brought her home to her
parents with great joy. The principal interest in this extravagant
legend is that it shows the feeling which existed towards Chrysostom
before he incurred the displeasure of the monks by his plain preach-
ing. The pictures illustrative of it are quite incomprehensible until
it is understood. Some of them are valuable works of art. They
usually represent a woman and child in the foreground, while " the
savage man " is seen crawling in the distance. St. John Chrysos-
tom died September 14, A. D. 407. The Greeks keep his festival
November 13th, and the Latin Church the 27th of January.
St. John Gualberto (Ital. San
Giovanni Gualberto ; Fr. S. Jean
Gualbert or Calbert) was born at
Florence. His family was rich and
noble, and he received an education
befitting his rank. He had but one
brother, Hugo, whom he passionately
loved. While John was still young,
Hugo was slain by a gentleman with
whom he had a quarrel. John, with
the consent and encouragement of his
parents, determined to pursue the
murderer to the death. It happened
that on Good Friday, at evening, as
John left Florence for his father's
country-house, he took the road which
leads to the Church of San-Miniato-
del-Monte. In ascending the hill he
met his brother's assassin, and drew
his sword to kill him, feeling that a
just God had thus delivered him into
his hand. The wretched man fell on
his knees, imploring mercy. He ex-
tended his hand in the form of a
cross, and reminded John that Jesus
had died on that praying for pardon
to his murderers. John felt himself
moved by a great struggle, and the
conflict between his desire for re-
venge and his wish to act as a Chris-
tian was so "Teat that he trembled
(F. Angelico.) St John Gualberto.
from head to foot. But at length, praying to God for strength, he
lifted his enemy, and embracing him, they parted. John, over-
powered with emotion, had scarcely strength to enter the church,
where he knelt before the crucifix at the altar. Here he wept
bitterly, and all the horror of the crime he had been about to
160 LEGENDS AND STORIES
commit was vividly impressed on his mind. He supplicated for par-
don, and as he raised his eyes to the face of Jesus, he believed that
the holy head was bowed in token of his forgiveness. This miracle
completed the great change already begun in him, and he deter-
mined to leave the world. He took the Benedictine habit, and en-
tered the monastery of San Miniato. When the abbot died, John
was elected to succeed him, but he would not accept the office, and,
leaving the convent, retired to the Vallombrosa, in the Apen-
nines, about twenty miles from San Miniato. At first he had but
two companions in his retreat, but the fame of his sanctity attracted
numbers to him, and thus originated the Order of Vallombrosa, of
which this saint was the founder. They adopted the rule of St.
Benedict, but revived some of the severities which had fallen into
disuse, and instituted others, especially that of silence. The pope
confirmed this new Order, and before the death of the saint twelve
houses were filled with his followers, in different places. The
Church of the Trinit& at Florence belonged to them, and in it is
preserved the miraculous crucifix before which John knelt on that
memorable Good Friday night. The ruins of the monastery of
Salvi, near Florence, wjiich was of the Vallombrosa, show by their
extent what its importance must have been. John was most strict
in his humility and simplicity, and was so shocked at the way in
which his disciples at Moscetta embellished their convent, that he
prophesied some fearful punishment for them. Shortly after an in-
undation destroyed a large part of their buildings. He is also dis-
tinguished for his determined opposition to the practice of simony,
which disgraced the Church in his time. Pietro di Pavia had pur-
chased the archbishopric of Florence. He was a man of notoriously
bad character. John denounced him publicly. Pietro sent sol-
diers to burn and pillage San Salvi, and several monks were mur-
dered. Still Gualberto would not be silent, and it is probable that
his order would have been destroyed by the powerful wickedness of
Pietro, had not one of the monks, called Peter Igneus, demanded
the ordeal by fire. He stood the test triumphantly, and the arch-
bishop was deposed. Several miracles, like that of multiplying the
food when they were in want, are attributed to this saint. The
Vallombrosans had fine libraries and many works of art, before they
were despoiled. These pictures are now scattered in galleries.
Cimabue painted his famous Madonna for them, and Andrea del
Sarto his Cenacolo. Gualberto meeting the murderer is represented
in a little tabernacle which has been erected on the spot where the
encounter took place. July 12, A. D. 1073.
St. John de Matha (Sp. San Juan de Mata) was a native of
Faucon in Provence. He was born in 1154, and his parents were
of noble family. Like so many saints, he was consecrated to God
by his mother, whose name was Martha. He was a student in the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 161
University at Paris, and after becoming famous for his piety was
ordained a priest. The first time he celebrated the mass he had a
vision of an angel, whose hands crossed over each other rested on
the hcnds of two slaves who knelt on each side of him. On the
breast of the white robe which the angel wore, was a cross of red
and blue. Felix de Valois, another holy man, was a friend of the
s:vmt, and when John had told him the vision, and that he regarded
it as an intimation from heaven that he was to labor for the relief
of prisoners and captives, the two determined to found a new Order,
baring this labor for its object. It was called "The Order of the
Ho'.y Trinity for the Redemption of Captives." John and Felix
went to Rome for their confirmation, and were most kindly received,
for the pope had also had a vision of an angel with two captives
chained, one of which was a Moor, while the other was a Christian,
which taught that all races and religions were to be benefited by
this new brotherhood. The parent institution of the Order was
that of Cerfroy, but they were called Mathurins, and had a monas-
tery in Paris near the street still called by their name. At Rome
they Avere given the church and convent on Monte Celio, so beauti-
fully situated, and from the ancient bark in front of it called, S.
Maria della Navicella. Having obtained followers and money,.
John sent his disciples, and went himself to various places in Africa
and Spain, and exchanged and ransomed prisoners and brought
them home. This was a most noble work, for no class of Chris-
tians so needed assistance as those who had been made prisoners
and then slaves during the fierce wars of those times. He had de-
livered hundreds, when, being about to sail with one hundred and
twenty slaves, the infidels became furious and tore up his sails and
broke his rudder. But he used his mantle and those of his disci-
ples as sails, and praying God to be his pilot, the ship was quietly
wafted to Ostia. But the health of the saint was so feeble that h(
was not able to go even to Paris, and after two years of suffering he
died at Rome. February 8, A. D. 1213.
St. John Nepomuck (Ital. San Giovanni Nepomuceno ; Ger.
Heil. Johannes von Nepomuk ; Sp. San Juan Nepomuceno). This
saint was the confessor of the beautiful and good Princess, Joan
of Bavaria, who was unfortunately married to the cruel Wen-
ceslaus IV. of Germany. John knew there was no earthly recom-
pense for such woes as his empress endured, and he earnestly en-
deavored to so lead her religiously, that she might suffer with pa-
tience the hardness of her life. At length Wenceslaus commanded
him to reveal the confession of the empress. This he refused to do,
and was imprisoned and tortured without effect on his silence. At
length the empress by prayers and tears obtained his release. She
dressed his wounds and nursed him with her own hands. Then he
returned to court and preached as usual, but knowing the uncer-
11
162 LEGENDS AND STORIES
tainty of his life he first chose the text " Yet a little while and ye
shall not see me." He endeavored to prepare himself and all whc
heard for death. Not long after, as he approached the palace, the
emperor saw him from the window, and being seized with one of
his tempers, he ordered him brought before him. Again he de-
manded the confession of the empress. The saint felt his end near,
and kept perfect silence. Then the emperor commanded the guards
to throw him over the parapet of the bridge into the Moldau. The
legend relates that as he sank five stars hovered over the spot ;
Avhich, when the emperor saw them, so distracted him that he fled
and hid for some time in the fortress of Carlstein. The empress
greatly mourned, and the people carried his body in procession to
the Church of the Holy Cross. When Prague was besieged in
1620, it is believed that St. John Nepornuck fought with his people.
The empress did not long survive her faithful friend and confessor.
He was canon regular of St. Augustine. He is patron saint of
bridges and running water in Austria and Bohemia. His statue
stands on the bridge at Prague on the very spot where he was
thrown down. Five stars are his proper attribute. Sometimes he
has his finger on his mouth ; sometimes a padlock on his mouth or
in his hand in token of silence. He is patron of discretion and si-
lence and against slander. May 16, A. D. 1383.
St. John and St. Paul were brothers and Roman officers in the
service of Constantia. They were put to death by Julian the Apostate.
Their church on the brow of the CcElian Hill is on the spot where
their house stood, which is one of the most lovely in ancient Rome.
It has existed since 499. The church at Venice which bears their
name was built by emigrants from the convent of St. John and St.
Paul at Rome. It is filled with most interesting monuments, but
none exist in honor of these saints. In art they are always repre-
sented together, and their attributes are the military dress with the
sword. June 26, about 362.
St. Joseph. (Lat. Sanctus Josephus ; Ital. San Giuseppe ; Fr.
St. Joseph; Ger. Der Heilige Josef). Joseph was not made a saint
in his own right until the sixteenth century, and all his glory seems
to be a reflected one, coming from the more sacred characters with
whom he was so intimately associated. The great honor which God
conferred upon him in selecting him to be the guardian of the Virgin
and her Divine Son is sufficient proof that he was a holy man. The
Scripture account leads us to conclude that he was gentle and tender
as well as just. He was of the lineage of David and tribe of Judah
a carpenter, and dwelt in Nazareth. This is the sum of the posi-
tive knowledge we have of him. Legends are the source of all other
opinions concerning him. In these there is great difference regard-
ing his age. All agree that he was a widower when he espoused
Mary. In early art he is made very old, and some monks taught
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 163
that he was more than fourscore at the time of his secorid marriage.
In later years he has been represented of mature middle-age, strong
and able to fulfill the duty of providing for his charge. One attri-
bute of age has however been handed down from the earliest time,
the crutch or cane, and is seldom omitted. The legend of the mar-
riage of Mary and Joseph is given in the Protevangelion and History
of Joseph, in these words: " When Mary was fourteen years old, the
priest Zach arias (or Abiathar, as he is elsewhere called) inquired of
the Lord concerning her, what was right to be done ; and an angel
came to him and said, ' Go forth and call together all the widowers
among the people, and let each bring his rod (or wand) in his hand,
and he to whom the Lord shall show a sign, let him be the husband
of Mary.' And Zacharias did as the angel commanded, and made
proclamation accordingly. And Joseph the carpenter, a righteous
man, throwing down his axe, and taking his staff in his hand, ran
out with the rest. When he appeared before the priest, and pre-
sented his rod, lo ! a dove issued out of it, a dove dazzling white as
snow, and after settling on his head, flew toward heaven. Then
the high-priest said to him, ' Thou art the person chosen to take the
Virgin of the Lord, and to keep her for Him.' And Joseph was at
first afraid, and drew back, but afterward he took her home to his
house, and said to her, ' Behold, I have taken thee from the Temple
of the Lord, and now I will leave thee in my house, for I must go
and follow my trade of building. I will return to thee, and mean-
while the Lord be with thee and watch over thee.' So Joseph left
her, and Mary remained in her house." Jerome makes a difference
which artists have followed. He relates that among the suitors for
Mary was the son of the high-priest, and that they all deposited
their wands in the Temple over night. Next morning Joseph's rod
had blossomed. The others in their disappointment broke their
wands and trampled on them, while one, Agabus, who was of noble
race, fled to Mt. Carmel and became an anchorite. In many pictures
the espousals take place in the open ah*, and various places outside
the Temple, having no appearance of the sacrament of marriage.
This is explained by the truth that among the Jews marriage was a
civil contract rather than a religious ceremony. Many believe that
Joseph was in reality only the guardian of Mary. His next appear-
ance, in the legends, is on the journey to Bethlehem. The way, so
loni* and weary to the suffering Virgin, is described, and the Prote-
vangelion tells that " when Joseph looked back, he saw the face of
Mary, thai it was sorrowful, as of one in pain ; but when he looked
back again she smiled. And when they were come to Bethlehem
there was no room for them in the inn, because of the great con-
course of people. And Mary said to Joseph, ' Take me down, for I
suffer.' " Another legend relates that Joseph sought a midwife, but
when he returned with her to the stable Mary was sitting with her
164 LEGENDS AND STORIES
infant on her knees, and the place was filled with a light, far brighter
than that of noonday. And the Hebrew woman in amazement said,
" Can this be true ? " And Mary replied, " It is true : as there is
no child like unto my son, so there is no woman like unto his
mother." Four times God sent angelic messengers to guide Joseph
in the execution of his important mission. First, he assured him of
the purity of Mary, and that he need fear nothing in taking her to
wife. The legends say that after waking from this vision, he " en-
treated forgiveness of Mary for having wronged her even in thought."
The second dream commanded him to flee into Egypt. The pic-
tures of the Flight, and of the Repose, which is an incident of the
flight, represent the watchful care of Joseph. The duration of the
sojourn in Egypt is differently given, and ranges from two to seven
years. The third vision told Joseph to return to Judaea, and a fourth
guided him on the journey. After the return to Nazareth, Joseph is
only associated with a quiet, industrious life, and the training of his
foster-son to the trade of a carpenter. The time of Joseph's death
is also a disputed point. Some assert that it occurred when Jesus
was eighteen years old, while some make it nine years later. One
of the most interesting accounts of this event is found in an Arabian
history of Joseph the Carpenter. Jesus is supposed to relate it to
his disciples. He tells that Joseph acknowledged him as the " Re-
deemer and Messiah," and speaks thus of Mary : " And my mother,
the Virgin, arose, and she came nigh to me and said, ' O my beloved
Son, now must the good old man die ! ' And I answered, and said
unto her, ' O my most dear mother, needs must all created beings
die; and Death will have his rights, even over thee, beloved mother ,
but death to him and to thee is no death, only the passage to eternal
life ; and this body I have derived from thee shall also undergo
death.'" Then after giving an account of the death scene, he says,
"I and my mother Mary, we wept with them," alluding to the sons
and daughters of Joseph who were about him weeping. Then fol
lows an account of a struggle between good and bad spirits for the
soul of Joseph, but at last Gabriel comes to clothe it with a robe of
brightness and bear it to heaven. On account of this triumphant
end, Joseph came to be invoked as the patron of death-beds. His
death is often represented in family chapels which are consecrated to
the dead. The twentieth of July had been observed in the East
with great solemnity as the anniversary of Joseph's death for many
years before he was popular in the West. It was the custom to read
publicly homilies upon his life and death, and many of them are very
curious and ancient, dating from the fourth century in some cases.
There is great significance in the different modes of representing
this saint, and in the attributes given him. He regards Mary with
veneration mingled with tender care and thoughtfulness. In the
pictures of the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, and in many
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 165
Holy Families, he is in an attitude of quiet and contemplative Admi-
ration ; and while treated with dignity is never made an important
point in the picture. In the flight and repose in Egypt he is the
caretaker and guide, and the importance of his trust is made appar-
ent. He sometimes holds the Infant or bears him in his arms, in
token of his high office of providing for him, and at the same time
carries a lily, the emblem of chastity, or his budded rod, in token of
the purity of the relation between himself and Mary. Sometimes he
gathers dates, '.eads the ass which bears the Virgin and Child, and
carries the wallet and staff of the pilgrim. When he kneels before
the Infant and presents a flower, it is an act of homage on the part
of the saint. His dress should be a gray tunic and saflron-colored
mantle. March 19.
St. Jovita or Giovita. See St. Faustinus.
St. Juan de Dios was the founder of the Order of the Hospi-
tallers or Brothers of Charity ; in fact he may be said to be that of
the same class of institutions in all countries. Our own hospitals
and asylums for the poor, the " Maisons de Charite* " of France,
the " Barmherzigen Briider " of Germany, the " Misericordia " of
Italy, and the " Caritad " of Spain. He was the son of poverty,
born in Monte-Mayor, Portugal, in 1495. He had no education, but
was piously reared by his mother. When Juan was but nine years
old he was so charmed by the stories of a priest who was enter-
tained by his parents, and who had travelled far and wide, that he
went away with him without the knowledge of his family. The
priest for some reason abandoned him, and he was left utterly alone
in Oropesa, a village of Castile. He entered the service of a
shepherd, where he remained until he entered the army. He was
reckless and dissipated as a soldier, and yet at times was greatly
moved by recollections of the piety of his mother and the lessons of
his childhood. He met with many adventures, and narrowly es-
caped death from wounds and accidents. Being set to guard some
booty taken from the enemy, he fell asleep, and the prize was car-
ried off. His commanding officer ordered him hanged on the spot,
but after the rope was around his neck, a superior officer who
chanced to pass released him on the condition that he should leave
the camp. He returned to his old occupation in Oropesa, but his
restless mind gave him no peace, and in 1532 he joined the troops
raised for the Hungarian war. At the end of the strife he returned
to his native place, making a pilgrimage to Compostella on his way.
Here he was so seized with remorse, when he learned that his par-
ents had died of grief for his desertion of them, that his reason
was impaired. Having no money he became the shepherd of a
rich lady near Seville. Here he gave much time to meditation and
prayer, and determined to do some good in order to atone as much
as possible for his past sins. He remembered the sad and wretched
166 LEGENDS AND STORIES
condition of the poor, and of captives and prisoners, of whom he
had seen many during his wanderings. At length he determined to
devote himself to their relief, and even, if possible, to be a martyr.
He went to Gibraltar, and there saw a Portuguese noble, who, with
his family were exiled to Ceuta in Africa. He entered the service
of these distressed people. They suffered much from sickness and
poverty, and Juan became their only support. He hired himself as
a laborer and toiled for them until they received aid elsewhere.
Then returning to Spain he travelled about, selling religious books
and pictures, and doing all in his power for the poor until he was
told in a vision, " Go, thou shalt bear the cross in Granada." The
miraculous bearer of this message was a radiant child who held a
pomo-de-Granada (pomegranate) in his hand. Juan came into
Granada at the time of the celebration of Saint Sebastian's festi-
val. He was already much excited in mind, and the additional ef-
fect of the enthusiasm of a famous preacher who was there drove
him to frenzy. He was taken to a niad-house ; and, as the custom
was, scourged each day until the blood flowed freely from his
wounds. The same preacher referred to was filled with pity for
him, and by patient attendance restored him to reason and liberty.
He obtained a little shed for his home, and here founded the first
Hospital for Charity, for he commenced the practice of bringing here
the most wretched ones he could find, and of begging for their support.
At first he could provide for but two or three, but would himself lay
outside on the ground for the sake of caring for an additional one.
Soon he succeeded in obtaining a large circular building, in the
centre of which was kept a great fire, and here he often gathered
two hundred homeless wretches. He gave up the idea of martyr-
dom, and devoted himself with wonderful zeal to the relief of the
misery about him. He made no rules for any Order, and does not
appear to have contemplated the establishment of one, and yet he
" bequeathed to Christendom one of the noblest of all its religious
institutions. In France he has the title of " le bienheureux Jean de
Dieu, Pere des Pauvres." His proper attributes are the pomegran-
ate and cross. Often he is painted with a beggar kneeling before
him. " The Charity of San Juan de Dios," painted by Murillo for
the Church of the " Caritad " at Seville, represents him staggering
beneath the burden of a dying beggar, whom he is bearing through
a storm to his hospital. It is said that few behold this picture with-
out tears. March 8, A. D. 1550.
St. Juan de la Cruz. He is mentioned by Mr. Stirling as '- A
holy man who was frequently favored with interviews with our
Saviour, and who, on one of these occasions, made an uncouth
sketch of the Divine apparition, which was long preserved as a relic
in the convent of the Incarnation at Avila." He was the first bare-
footed Carmelite, and is famous for his terrible austerities and pen-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 167
ances. He was the ally of St. Theresa in all her reforms, and is
frequently represented with her. Books with the titles of his writ-
ings are often introduced into his pictures. November 24, A. D.
1591.
Judas Iscariot (Ttal. Giuda Scariota; Fr. Judas Iscariote).
The silence of the Gospel concerning the life of Judas before he
became a disciple is more than filled by the legends of the Middle
Ages. They relate that he was of the tribe of Reuben, and that his
mother dreamed before his birth that he would murder his father,
commit incest with his mother, and betray his God for money. Hor-
rified at this prospect, his parents determined that he should not
live to fulfill such prophecies, so they put him in a chest and threw
it in the sea, but the chest was washed on shore and the child taken
by a certain king and reared as his son. This king had a son
whom Judas hated from the natural ugliness of his disposition. At
length he killed him in a quarrel and fled to Judaja and was employed
as a page by Pontius Pilate, who was attracted by the comeliness of
his person. In course of time he fulfills the dreadful prophecies re-
garding his parents, and at length learns from his mother the secret
of his birth. He is filled with horror of himself, and having heard
of the power of Christ to forgive sins, he seeks to become his fol-
lower. Jesus received him, knowing all, in order that the destined
betrayal should take place. He now adds avarice to his other vices,
and becomes so completely corrupt as to fit him for the end. The
bribery, betrayal, repentance, and death follow according to the
Scripture account. His repentance is in some cases most vividly
portrayed. Remorse is made a real person who seizes and torments
him until he invokes Despair, who brings to him all kinds of imple-
ments of death and bids him choose from them. He is represented,
too, with an imp upon his shoulder, figuring the Satan that entered
into him. The Mohammedans believe that Christ ascended alive into
heav^-i, and that Judas was crucified in his likeness. But his death
has been variously represented in art. Those who have painted him
as hanging with his bowels gushing out have seemingly made a mis-
take. The more reasonable version is, that having hanged himself
he fell, and from the fall he " burst asunder." One tradition is that
he was found hanging and thrown over the parapet of the Tem-
ple and dashed in pieces. Expression has been given to the wildest
imaginations concerning him. An old miniature makes demons toss
his soul from hand to hand like a ball. The horror of this restless-
ness is a fearful thought. The " bursting asunder " was considered
a special judgment, in order that his soul should escape from his
bowels, and not be breathed out through the lips that had betrayed
Christ. The idea is represented by a demon taking the soul, in the
usual form of a little child, from the bowels. The ugliness of per-
son and expression given to Judas in pictures appeals to our feeling,
168 LEGENDS AND STORIES
although noi in harmony with the legend. And it does not seem
that such a man would have been allowed in the company of the
twelve. The proper color for him is a dirty yellow. At Venice
the Jews were formerly compelled to wear hats of this Judas color,
while in Spain and Italy malefactors and galley slaves are clothed
hi it.
St. Jude. See St. Simon.
Judith, and Holofernes. In the seventeenth year of the rcigu
of Nabuchodonosor, king of Nineveh, he went out to battle with King
Arphaxad of Ecbatane ; and he sent to all the people round that
they should join his army and help him to conquer the Medes. But
the people scorned the commands of Nabuchodonosor, and did not
join his army. Then was he wroth, and he swore to destroy those
nations which would not acknowledge him for the king of the whole
earth. So he sent Holofernes, who was the chief captain of the
army of the Assyrians, and gave him commands to go forth and
destroy the cities and exterminate the people who had scorned his
authority. Holofernes did so ; and when he came to the city of
Bethulia he sat down before it to besiege it. And he was advised
not to attack the city, which was so high up in the mountains as to
be almost impregnable, but to seize the fountain outside the city
and thus cut off their water, so that the people of Bethulia would fall
dead in their own streets from thirst. Holofernes received this advice,
and seized the fountain. Now when all the water in the city was
gone, the women and children began to drop with faintness, and the
men were ready to perish ; then came they to Ozias, the chief of the
city, and they said it is better that we deliver us up to the Assyrians
than that we die thus ; and Ozias reasoned with them that God
would deliver them, but they would not hearken. Then Ozias said,
" Let us wait five days, and if God does not send rain to fill our
cisterns, neither deliver us in any other way, then we will deliver us
up to the enemy." Now there was in Bethulia a widow, Judith, and
she was exceeding beautiful and very pious. She had been a widow
three years and four months, and she had " fasted all the days of her
widowhood, save the eves of the Sabbaths and the eves of the new
moons, and the feasts and the solemn days of the house of Israel."
She was moreover very rich in lands and servants, cattle and money,
and beautiful apparel and jewels. Now she was thought very wise,
and her opinion greatly esteemed. She did not approve of the
decision of the people, and told Ozias and the other chief men that
they had done wrong ; that God was not a man that his counsels
should be limited or a time set for him to deliver them ; and she said
she would go forth out of the city with her waiting woman, and that
before the time they had promised to deliver up the city should come,
God would give their enemies into her hand. So she went and
prayed God to be with her ; to allow her to sway the heart of Holo-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 169
femes by the pleasant words she would speak, and by the sight of
her beauty. Then she put off her widow's garments, and she dressed
herself in the apparel which she wore in the days of Manasses her
husband ; she plaited her hair, and put a tire upon it, " and she ook
san lals upon her feet, and put about IKT \wr bracelets, and her
chains, and her rings, and all her ornaments, and decked herself
bravely, to allure the eyes of all men that should see her." And
when she had taken wine and figs and bread and parched corn, she
put them in a bag and gave to her waiting woman, and they pro-
ceeded to the gate of the city ; and Ozias and all who saw her won-
dered at her great and dazzling beauty. So went she forth ; and
when she was come to the camp of Holofernes, those who saw her
admired her greatly, and they took her to their captain with great
honor. Now when Holofernes saw her, from that moment he desired
to have her ; but he questioned her of herself, and why she had thus
come. Then she told him that her people were wicked, in that they
did not submit to his command, and that to this sin they were about
to add that of drinking the wine which had been kept for the use of
the Temple, and that she, foreseeing the destruction Avhich must come
for all this sin, had sought his presence ; she added that she would
remain with him, going out each night into the valley to pray, and
that when the wicked designs of her people were accomplished, she
would tell him, and then he could go forth with his army and con
quer them without difficulty. So she remained, and Holofernes
offered her food ; but she said, " I will not eat thereof, lest there be
an offense ; but provision shall be made for me of the things that I
have brought." And when he said " If thy provision should fail ? "
she answered, " As thy soul liveth, my lord, thine handmaid shall
not spend those things that I have, before the Lord work by mine
hand the things that he hath determined." So he gave her a tent,
and she and her waiting woman dwelt there, going out each night
into the valley. Now on the fourth day Holofernes made a feast for
his own servants, and called none of his officers to it. And he sent
Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge of all that he had, to invite
Judith to this feast ; and she arose and decked herself and went.
" Now when Judith came in and sat down, Holofernes his heart was
ravished with her, and his mind was moved, and he desired greatly
her company ; for he waited a time to deceive her, from the day that
he had seen her." Then Holofernes urged her to eat and drink,
which she did, such things as her maid prepared for her ; and she
paid, " I will drink now, my lord, because my life is magnified in me
this day, more than all the days since I was born." " Holofernes
took great delight in her, and drank much more wine than he had
drank at any time in one day since he wati born." At last when
evening was come the servants retired, and Bagoas shut the tent,
and Judith was alone with Holofernes, and he was drunk with the
170 LEGENDS AND STORIES
wine. Then Judith, praying to God to assist her, took down his
fauchion which was at his head, and she took hold of the hair of his
head and said, " Strengthen me, O Lord God of Israel, this day."
And she smote him twice upon his neck, and took away his head.
Then she pulled down the canopy, and went forth and gave the head
to her maid, and she put it in her meat bag, and they went forth
into the valley as was their custom. But now they kept on till they
came to Bethulia ; and Judith called to the watchman when they
were still afar off. And when her voice was heard, all the city
hastened to hear what news she might bring. And she commanded
them to praisi- God, and showed them the head of Holofernes, and
the silken canopy. Then Judith gave an order that they should
hang the head on the highest part of the wall, and when the morn-
ing should come every man should take his weapon and go forth as
if to battle ; then the Assyrians would go to the tent of Holofernes,
and fear should fall upon them, and they would flee before the men
of Bethulia. And it was all as she said. Now when Bagoas knocked
at the door of the tent, he had no answer he went not in, for he
thought that Holofernes had slept with Judith but when he could
hear no one he entered and found the body from which the head had
been cut away. Then was the Assyrian camp filled with dismay,
and they " fled into every way of the plain and of the hill country."
And the children of Israel fell upon them and smote them and chased
them beyond Damascus. And the tent of Holofernes with all its
rich appointments they gave to Judith ; and the men of Bethulia
spoiled the camp of the Assyrians. Then Judith sang a song of tri-
umph ; and she went to Jerusalem and gave the tent and all its
belongings to the sanctuary, and they feasted there for three months.
And Judith lived to be one hundred and five years old ; but she
would not marry, though many desired her. And the people of
Israel esteemed her according to her worth, and when she died they
of Bethulia mourned her seven days, and buried her by the side of
her husband, Manasses.
St. Julia (/<>. Sainte Julie; Ital. Santa Giulia) was a noble
virgin, who is oi'ten represented with the Brescian saints. She was
martyred at Corsica, and her relics carried to Brescia, where a
church and convent were dedicated to her. She is painted young,
lovely, and richly attired. She died in the fifth century. May 22.
Julian the Apostate. Julian, Flavius Claudius, Emperor of
Rome, nephew of Constantine the Great. Famous for his attempt to
reestablish Paganism. Born at Constantinople in 331, died of a
wound received in battle near Ctesiphon, when fighting against Sa-
por, king of Persia, being thirty-two years old. When young he
was kept in obscurity by his cousin Constantius, from jealousy. He
was first taught by Christian bishops, and was then a pupil of the
school at Athens, and intimately associated with men distinguished
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 171
for wonderful piety and learning. It is said that he revolted from
the Church on account of its intolerance of philosophy. But if he
hated intolerance, how must he have hated himself! for he persecuted
those he called persecutors, and became a fanatic in his opposition to
religion. For the legend of his death, see St. Mercurius.
St. Julian Hospitator (ltd. San Giuliano Ospitale ; Fr. St. Ju-
lien 1'Hospitalier) was a count and lived in great state. He hunted
and feasted continually. One day as lie pursued a deer it turned on
him and said, " Thou who pursm-st me to the death, shalt cause the
death of thy father and thy mother I " He stopped affrighted, and
resolved to flee from his parents in order not to fulfill the prophecy.
So he went into a far country. The king of this country received
him kindly and gave him a rich and lovely widow for his wife, with
whom he lived so happily as to forget his home and the prophecy.
But his father and mother had put on the attire of pilgrims and set
out to find their son. Now while Julian was absent at court, they
arrived at his house, and Basilissa, his wife, showed them every kind-
ness, and put them in her own bed to sleep. The next morning
while she was gone to church to thank God for having brought them
to her, Julian returned. He entered his chamber, and in the dim
light saw two people in bed, and one of them a bearded man. Seized
with furious jealousy he drew his sword and slew them both Kush-
ing out he met his wife. Astonished, he asked who was in his bed,
and hearing the truth was as one dead. He then wept bitterly, an'l
exclaimed, " Alas ! by what evil fortune is this, that what I sought
to avoid has come to pass ? Farewell, my sweet sister ! I can never
again lie by thy side, until I have been pardoned by Christ Jesus for
this great sin ! " But she replied, " Nay, my brother, can I allow
thee to depart, and without me ? Thy grief is my grief, and whither
thou goest 1 will go." So they travelled till they came to a stream
swollen by mountain torrents in which many who tried to cross were
drowned. Here Julian built a cell for himself and a hospital for the
poor. And he constantly ferried the travellers over the river with-
out reward. At length one stormy night in winter, when it seemed
that no boat could cross the stream, he heard a sad Ciy from the op-
posite bank. He went over and found a youth who was a leper dy-
ing from cold and weariness. In spite of his disease he carried him
over and bore him in his arms to his own bed, and he and Basilissa
tended him till morning, when the leper rose up and his face was
transformed into that of an angel, and he said, " Julian, the Lord
hath sent me to thee, for thy penitence is accepted, and thy rest is
near at hand." And he vanished from sight. Then Julian and his
wife fell down and praised God for his mercies, and soon they died,
for they were old, and full of good works. He is patron saint of
ferrymen and boatmen, of travellers and of wandering minstrels.
His dress should be that of a hermit ; his attribute a stag, which
172
LEGENDS AND STORIES
may be distinguished from that of St. Hubert by the absence of the
crucifix between the horns. January 9, A. D. 313.
St. Julian of Rimini was of Cilicia, and but little is known of
him beyond the fact that he endured a prolonged martyrdom with un-
failing courage. Of this St. Chrysostom writes. He is represented
as young and graceful melancholy. He is richly dressed, and car-
ries the palm, the standard of victory, and the sword. March 16.
Julian. There are twelve saints of this name, but the two given
t are the most important, and most frequently represented in art.
(Murillo.) St. Justa and St. Euflna.
St. Justa or Justina and St. Rufina, patronesses of Seville.
These were the daughters of a potter of Seville. They sold earthen-
ware, and gave away all they made after supplying their bare neces-
sities. Some women went to buy of them some vessels to be used in
the worship of Venus. They answered that they would not sell them
for that purpose, when the women broke all their ware, and the pop-
ulace seized them and bore them to the prefect, but not until they
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 173
had destroyed the image of Venus. They were condemned to the
torture. Justa died on the rack, and Rufina was strangled. The
Giralda is their .especial care, and it was believed that this beautiful
tower was preserved by them in the terrible thunder-storm of 1504.
They are sometimes painted as mucliachas (or of the lower class),
and sometimes beautifully attired. They always bear palms and
alcam/zas, or earthen pots. July 1&, A. D. 304.
St. Justina of Antioch. See St. Cyprian. September 26 ; A. D.
304.
St. Justina of Padua (Lot. Sancta Justina Patavina Urbis Pro-
tectrix ; Ital. Santa Giustina di Padova ; Fr. Sainte Justine de Pa-
doue) was a daughter of King Vital ici no, who was a Christian, and
brought up his child in the same faith. After the death of her father
she was accused before the Emperor Maximiun, who ordered her death
by the sword. She opened her arms, was pierced through the bosom,
and died. She is patroness of Padua and Venice, and in the former
city there is a sumptuous church in her honor, which was founded in
453, and rebuilt in the sixteenth century. Her proper attribute is
the sword transfixing her bosom. Sometimes the unicorn, which be-
longs to Justina of Antioch, is also given to this saint, which causes
confusion between the two. The unicorn attending a female is also the
emblem of chastity ; when it accompanies Justina of Padua, the
Venetian costume, or Venice itself, or else St. Mark in the dis-
tance, will usually decide, but when the female is alone or with a
company of martyrs and the unicorn, it is Justina of Antioch. Octo-
ber 7, A. D. 303.
St. Lambert of Maestricht (Ttal. San Lamberto ; Fr. and
Ger. Lambert, Lanbert, or Landbert). This name signifies, illustrious
with landed possessions. He was Bishop of Maestricht, but was
exiled and recalled in 677. It is said that when an acolyte he car-
ried burning coals in the folds of his surplice to kindle the incense ;
this typifies his fervor. The cause of his death is given in two ways.
One account is that two brothers who had robbed the Church of
Maestricht, were slain without the knowledge of the bishop, and
their kinsmen in revenge entered the house of Lambert, and mur-
dered all within. He was killed with a dart or javelin. The other
story is, that having boldly reproved Pepin d'Heristal for his love of
his mistress, the beautiful Alpaide, the grandmother of Charlemagne
one of her relatives entered his dwelling and slew him. His attri-
butes are the palm and javelin. September 17, A. D. 709.
Lamech. There is a Jewish tradition that after Lainech became
blind, he was hunting in a forest where Cain had concealed himself
and mistaking the vagabond for a wild beast, he slew him with an
arrow, and afterwards killed his son, Tubal-Cain, who had pointed
out to him the thicket in which Cain had been. This is said to
explain Genesis iv. 23, " For I have slain a man to my wounding,
and a youog man to my hurt." This legend has been illustrated in
174
LEGENDS AND STORIES
an engraving by Lucas von Leyden, and in sculpture in the cathe-
drals at Amiens and Modena, as well as in the Campo Santo at Pisa.
Last Supper (Ital. II Cenacolo, Le Cena ; Fr. La Cene ; Ger.
Das Abendmal Christi). This subject occupies a most important
place ir art when illustrating the history of Christ, as the Redeemer.
It has been treated in two distinct modes. First, as a mystery, and
" the spiritual origin of the Eucharist," and again as illustrative of
the detection and exposure of Judas. Keeping this distinction in
mind will help to explain the differences in treatment of the various
artuts, and influence the judgment in deciding points connected with
them ; as what seems irreverent, and out of place in a religious and
devoi ional picture, is quite admissible in one that is barely historical.
St. Laurence (Lat. S. Lau-
rentius; Fr. St. Laurent; Ital.
and Sp. San Lorenzo; Ger. Der
Heilige Laurentius, or Lorenz).
Historically, but little is known
of this saint. Even the time
and place of his birth are mat-
ters of doubt, but that he existed,
and was martyred according to
the general belief, is undoubtedly
true. His legend relates, that he
was a Spaniard, and a native of
Osca, or Huesca in Aragon,where
his parents are honored as SS.
Orientius and Patienza. He
went to Rome when quite young,
and by his exemplary life so
pleased Sixtus H., then Bishop
of Rome, that he made him his
archdeacon, and gave the treas-
ures of the Church into his care.
When Sixtus was condemned to
death as a Christian, St. Lau-
rence clung to him, and desired
to accompany him, saying, among
other things, " St. Peter suffered
Stephen, his deacon, to die before
him ; wilt thou not also suffer
me to prepare thy way ? " Six-
tus assured him that in three days he would follow him, and that his
sufferings would be far the greatest, because being younger and
stronger he could longer endure. He also commanded Laurence to
distribute the property of the Church to the poor, so that the tyrant
should never possess it. So Laurence took the treasures and sought
through all Rome for the poor, and he came at night to the Coelian
(Pinturicchio.) St. Laurence.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 175
Hill, where dwelt Cyriaca, who was a devout widow, who often con-
cealed the persecuted Christians, and cared lor them. She was sick,
and St. Laurence healed her by laying his hands on her, and also
washed the feet of the Christians in the house, and gave them alms.
Thus from house to house he dispensed his charities, and prepared
for his hastening martyrdom. The tyrant, learning that the treasures
were in his hands, ordered him to be brought to the tribunal,
He was required to tell where the treasures were, to wliich he.
would not reply, and was put into a dungeon under the care
of Hippolytus, whom he converted to Christianity with his whole
family, so that they were baptized. Being questioned again by
the prefect concerning the treasures, he promised that in thr^e
days he would show them. The time arriving, he gathered the
poor ones to whom he had given aid together, and showed them to
the tyrant, saying, " Behold, here are the treasures of Christ's
Church ! " The prefect then ordered him to be tortured until he
should tell what he wished to know. But no horrors could subdue
the saint, and the prefect ordered him to be carried by night to the
baths of Olympias, which were near the villa of Sallust, and a new
torment inflicted on him, which was, that he should be stretched on
an iron bed, made of bars like a gridiron, and roasted over a
fire kindled beneath. This was done, and all who saw were filled
with horror of the tyrant who could conceive such cruelty, and con-
demn so gentle and comely a youth to such suffering. But Laurence
was not now subdued, and cried out, " Assatus est : jam versa et
manduca " (I am done or roasted, now turn me and eat me). And
all were confounded by his endurance. Then he looked to heaven,
and said, " I thank thee, O my God and Saviour, that I have been
found worthy to enter into thy beatitude ! " and so he died. The
prefect and executioners went away, and Hippolytus took the body
and buried it in the Via Tiburtina. For this the tyrant commanded
him to be tied to the tail of a wild horse, and so he Avas martyred.
Soon after this prefect, as he sat in the amphitheatre, was seized with
pangs of death, and cried out to St. Laurence and Hippolytus, as he
gave up the ghost. In Rome six churches have been dedicated to
him ; in Spain the Escurial ; in Genoa a cathedral ; and in England
about two hundred and fifty churches, besides many others in all
Christendom. St. Laurence is connected with the death of the
Emperor Henry II., by the following legend. One night as a hermit
sat in his hut he heard a sound as of a host rushing past. He
opened his window, and called out to know who they could be. The
answer came, " We are demons. Henry the Emperor is about to die
at this moment, and we go to seize his soul." The hermit then
begged that on their return they should tell him the result of their
errand. This they promised, and after a time that same night they
came ao;ain, and knocked at the window. When the hermit ques-
176 LEGENDS AND STORIES
tioned of their success, the fiend swore that all had gone ill, for they
arrived just as the emperor expired, and were about to seize his soul
when his good angel came to save him. After a long dispute the
Angel of Judgment (St. Michael) laid his good and evil deeds in the
scale, and the latter descended and touched the earth, and the vic-
tory was to the demons, when lo ! the roasted fellow (for so he
wickedly called the saint) appeared, and threw into the other scale
the holy cup, which changed the balance, and defeated the fiends.
But the demon had avenged himself by breaking the handle off the
cup, and this he gave the hermit. In the morning the hermit hasted
to the city and found Henry dead, and one handle gone from the cup
he had given the Church, and this had disappeared in the night. St.
Laurence is usually painted in the rich dress of an archdeacon bear-
ing the palm, and la yraticola or gridiron. But sometimes he carries
a dish full of money, and the cross to signify his office of treasurer
to the Church, and also of deacon, for they bore the cross in proces-
sions. The gridiron varies in form and size. Sometimes it is em-
broidered on his robe, suspended round his neck, or borne in the
hand ; and again he puts his foot on it in triumph. Patron of
Nuremberg, the Escurial, and Genoa. August 10, A. D. 258.
St. Lazarus (Lat. and Ger. same as Eny.; Fr. St. Lazare ; Ital.
San Lazarro ; Sp. San Lazaro, Lazarillo. Signification : God will
help). This saint is venerated as the first Bishop of Marseilles.
When seen in any pictures other than those of his resurrection,
he wears in common with many other saints the bishop's dress, but
as he is most frequently associated with Mary and Martha, he is not
easily mistaken. In rare instances a bier is seen in the background.
September 2.
St. Leander. February 27, A. D. 596. See St. Isidore.
St. Leocadia was a native of Toledo. She was thrown into
prison during the persecution of Diocletian. While there she was
told of the death of St. Eulalia, who was her friend, and she ear-
nestly prayed that death might reunite them. Her prayer was soon
answered, and she died in prison. Another legend relates that she
was thrown down from a height of rocks, and a chapel was built on
the spot where she fell, and in it she was buried. When St. Ilde-
fonso had written his treatise defending the doctrine of the perpetual
virginity of the Virgin Mary, angels rolled the stone from the tomb
of St. Leocadia, and she went to St. Ildefonso to tell him of the ap-
probation of his work in heaven. Before she could disappear he cut
a piece from the mantilla which she wore, and this reiic was pre-
served as one of the church treasures. She is patroness of Toledo,
and her statue surmounts the gate (Puerta del Cambron). She is only
seen in Spanish pictures. December 9, A. . 304.
St. Leonard (Lat. Sanctus Leonardus ; Ital. San Leonardo ; Fr
Saint Leonard or Lionart. Signification : Brave as a Lion) was a
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
Ill
courtier of the court of King Theodobert, and was much beloved by
the king for his cheerfulness and amiability. He was a Christian,
and especially delighted in visiting and re-
lieving prisoners and captives, and often-
times the king pardoned those for whom he
pleaded. At length, being weary of court,
he retired to a desert near Limoges, and
became a hermit. One day as the king
and queen, with all the court, rode to the
chase, the queen was seized with the pains
of child-bearing, and seemed likely to die.
The spot where they were was near the
house of Leonard, and he, hearing of this
distress, came and prayed for the queen,
and she was soon safely delivered. Then
the king gave St. Leonard a portion of the
forest, and he founded a religious community,
but he would never accept any office above
that of deacon. His dress is that of a
Benedictine or of a deacon, and his attribute
a chain. Sometimes he bears a crosier as
founder of a community, and often slaves or
captives are near him. November 6, A. D.
559 (Old fresco.) St. Leonard.
St. Leopold of Austria (Ger. Der Heilige Leopold, Luitpold,
or Leupold. Signification : Bold for the People). Leopold, Margrave
of Austria, was born in 1080. At twenty-six he married Agnes,
widow of Frederic, Duke of Suabia. She bore him eighteen chil-
dren, and eleven of them were living at his death. He was canon-
ized on account of his having founded the splendid monastery of
Kloster-Xeuberg, on the Danube. The legend relates that soon after
his marriage, he stood with Agnes on the balcony of his palace of
Leopolds! )erg. They regarded the extensive view before them, with
Vienna near by, and hand in hand, they vowed to build and endow
an edifice for the service of God in gratitude to Him who had blest
their love. Just at that moment the wind lifted, and bore away the
bridal veil of Agnes. Eight years from this time, when hunting in
a forest near by, Leopold found this veil on a tree. He remembered
his vow, ordered the forest cleared, and built the monastery of
Kloster-Xeuberg. A flourishing town was built around it, and some
of the finest vineyards in Austria were here. The whole life of
Leopold was that of a virtuous and just man. He is one of the
patron saints of Austria, and is represented in armor. Sometimes
he has a rosary in his hand. November 15, A. D. 1136.
St. Lieven, or Livin, was a poet, and a Benedictine missionary.
He was born in Ireland, and educated in the schools of that country,
12
178 LEGENDS AND STORIES
famous in those days for their superiority. While pursuing his la-
bors near Ghent, he was cruelly martyred. His tongue was pulled
out and then his head cut off. The mother of St. Brice had been
his hostess, and both she and her son were killed with St. Lieven.
He had written a hymn in honor of St. Bavon, within whose church
at Ghent he was buried, and there his relics still repose. He ia
sometimes painted holding his tongue with tongs. Rubens painted
this martyrdom with terrible truthfulness. November 12, A. D. 656.
St. Lioba. This saint was the most distinguished companion of
St. Walburga. She was a poetess, and very learned for the time in
which she lived. Charlemagne, and his Empress Hildegarde, werr
very fond of Lioba, and would gladly have kept her with them as a
companion and counselor, but she preferred her convent life. She
was buried at Fulda by the side of St. Boniface. September 28, A.
D. 779.
St. Longinus (Ital San Longino ; Fr. Saint Longin, Sainct
Longis). This saint is known as being the " first fruits of the Gen-
tiles." He is said to be the centurion who pierced the Saviour's
side. The legend relates, that soon after this act he touched his
eyes with his "blood-stained hands and instantly the weakness of
sight or blindness from which he had long suffered was cured. He
then sought the Apostles and was baptized. After this he preached
in Cassarea and converted numbers, but being commanded to sacri-
fice to the pagan deities he refused. He was desirous of the mar-
tyr's crown, and assured the governor, who was blind, that after his
own death his sight should be restored. Upon this he was be-
headed, and immediately the governor was healed, and became a
Christian from the time of this miracle. This legend is repudiated
by the Church, but the knowledge of it explains the importance
given to the centurion in many works of art. His dress is that
of a Roman soldier, and his attribute a spear or lance. He has
been patron saint of Mantua since the eleventh century, when
his relics were said to have been brought to that city. His statue is
under the dome of St. Peter's in Rome, because tradition says that
his lance or spear is still among the treasures of the Church.
March 15, A. D. 45.
St. Lorenzo Giustiniani was a Venetian of noble family. He
was born in 1380, and from his youth was enthusiastic in his piety.
Quirina, his mother, though young and beautiful, remained a widow
that she might devote herself to her son. At nineteen he believed that
he was called to a religious life by a miraculous vision. His family
desired him to marry, but he retired to the cloister of San-Giorgio-in-
Alga. He came to his mother's palace to beg, " per i poveri di Dio."
She filled his wallet, and hid herself in her chamber. He became
so distinguished for his piety that he was made Bishop of Castello.
When the patriarchate of Grado was removed to Venice, Lorenzo
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
179
was the first to fill the office. The people so revered him that they
believed that his prayers had
saved them from war, famine, and
plague, and they exalted him as a
saint without canonization, and
built churches and altars to him
two centuries before he was made
a saint, by Alexander VIII. Sep-
tember 5, A. D. 1455.
St. Louis Beltran, or Bertrand
(ltd. San Ludovico Bertrando), was
born at Valencia. He became a
celebrated Dominican, and was a
missionary. He lived in the six-
teenth century. He was a friend
of St. Theresa. Feeling called to
preach to the heathen he went to
Peru, but he declared that he en-
countered greater trials from the
wickedness of the Christians than
from the ignorance of the hea-
then. He has no especial attribute,
but Peruvians or Peruvian scenery
often determine his personality.
Espinosa placed himself and his
family under the care of this saint
during the plague in Valencia in
1647, and in consideration of their
protection from harm he painted
a series of pictures, and placed them in the chapel of the saint
in the convent of San Domingo at Valencia. October 9, A. D.
1581.
St. Louis Gonzaga, or St. Aloysius, was born in 1568. He
was the oldest son of the Marchese di Castiglione. He entered the
Society of Jesus when not yet eighteen years old. He became emi-
nently distinguished for his learning, piety, and good works, and died
of fever at Rome in 1591, which was contracted while nursing the
sick. He has no particular attribute, but his youth distinguishes
him from most saints of his order. A. D. 1591.
St. Louis, King of Prance (Lat. Sanctus Ludovicus Rex ;
Ital. San Luigi, Rei di Francia). Son of Louis VIH. and Blanche
of Castile. Born in 1215 at Poissy. The holiness of Louis, his
talents and virtues, combined to make him respected and beloved
by all, and even Voltaire said of him : " II n'est guere donne" a
1'homme de pousser la vertu plus loin ! " The Franciscans claim
that he put on their habit before embarking on his first crusade,
(Venice. S. Maria dell Orta. Gentil
Bellini.)
St. Lorenzo Giustiniani.
180
LEGENDS AND STORIES
and that in it he died. He was a great collector of relics, for which
he had an extreme veneration. Baldwin II.
secured his aid by surrendering to him the
crown of thorns, and when it was brought
from Constantinople Louis carried it from
Sens to Paris, bareheaded and barefooted.
Having also a piece of the " True Cross,"
he built the beautiful chapel, La Sainte
Chapelle, in honor of these precious relics.
In 1247, being very sick, he laid in a
trance for hours. When he awoke lie ex-
claimed, " La Lumiere de 1'Orient s'est re-
pandue du haut du ciel sur moi par la
grace du Seigneur, et m'a rappele d'entre
les morts ! " He then called the Arch-
bishop of Paris, and in spite of all remon-
strance from his priests and friends he
commanded the cross of the crusade to be
affixed to his dress. The archbishop
obeyed with tears and sobs. As soon as
his health allowed, he sailed for Egypt.
His wife and brothers went also ; and his
army of fifty thousand men embraced the
flower of the French nobility. After many
disasters Louis was made prisoner. But
(Ancient French stained glass.) h j s zeal never cooled, and he regarded all
St. Louis. hig soldiers who perished as martyrs of a
noble type. When ransomed he spent three years in Palestine and
returned to France, where he remained sixteen years. He was a wise
ruler, and repaired his losses and enlarged his kingdom. At the end
of this time he set out on a second crusade. Those whom he left
as children when he went at first now made his army. After more
trials by disease and suffering he died in his tent, lying upon ashes,
and wearing the dress of a penitent. A portion of his relics were
taken to Palermo and placed in the Church of Monreale. The re-
mainder were laid in St. Denis, but did not escape the destroyers of
the first revolution. His proper attributes are the crown of thorns,
his kingly crown and sword. August 25, A. D. 1270.
St. Louis of Toulouse (ltd. San Ludovico Vescovo) was the
nephew of the last-named saint, son of the King of Naples and
Sicily. Like his kingly uncle-saint, he was piously reared by his
mother. When he was but fourteen his father, being made prisoner
by the King of Aragon, gave Louis and his brothers as hostages. He
became wearied of everything but religion, and in 1294, when he was
made free, he gave all his royal rights to his brother Robert, and be-
came a monk of the Order of St. Francis. He was then twenty-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 181
two years old. Soon he was made Bishop of Toulouse, and he went
barefooted and clothed as a friar to take his new office, lie went
into Provence on a charitable mission, and died at the Castle of
Bri'1-nolles, where he was born. He was first buried at Marseilles
O
and removed to Valencia, where he was enshrined. His pictures
represent him as young, beardless, and of gentle face. He has the
fleur-de-lys embroidered on his cope or ?ome part of his dress. The
crown which he gave away lies at his feet, while he bears the mitre
of a bishop. August 19, A. D. 1297.
Scaur Louise de la Misericorde, who was first the lovely
Louise de la Valliere, was never canonized as a saint, except in the
hearts of those to whom her sorrow and suffering, her repentance
and charities, have made her martyr and saint. She became a Car-
melite nun at thirty years of age, in 1674. She commanded Le
Brun to paint " Mary Magdalene renouncing the World," as an altar-
piece for her convent. It has been thought a portrait of her, but
many believe that another Magdalene by the same artist, which is in
Munich, is probably the best likeness of La Valliere.
St. Lucia (Eny. St. Lucy or Luce ; Fr. St. Luce or Lucie).
When Diocletian was emperor ami Pascasius was governor of Sicily,
this saint dwelt in Syracuse. She was a noble and virtuous maiden.
Her mother was named Eutychia. Lucia, without the knowledge of
her mother, had made the vow of chastity, but her friends had her
betrothed to a rich young man who was not a Christian. Eutychia
being ill, her daughter persuaded her to visit Catania to pay her de-
votions at the shrine of St. Agatha. While Lucia knelt beside the
tomb she had a vision of the saint, who addressed her thus, " O, my
sister handmaid of Christ," and assured her that her mother was
healed, and that as Catania had been blessed by her, so Lucia should
obtain the favor of Heaven for Syracuse. Now when her mother
was healed, Lucia persuaded her to allow that she should remain
single, and wished her dowry to give to the poor. Her mother
feared lest she should be a beggar before she died, and hoped to die
soon if Lucia thus distributed her wealth. But the daughter so en-
treated and argued that at length Eutychia consented willingly.
Then Lucia gave to the poor all she had. This so enraged the
young Pagan to whom she was betrothed that he accused her to
Pascasius as a Christian. She was taken to this cruel governor, who
ordered her tc sacrifice to the gods, and when she would not, he con-
demned her to be taken to a vile place and treated with indignity.
She assured him that he could not make her sin, although he could
control her body, for that was not sin to which the mind did not
consent. Then the tyrant in fury commanded her to be taken away,
but when they tried they could not move her. Then they fastened
ropes to her, and pulled her, but still she remained fixed. All the
magicians and sorcerers were brought, but their spells had no power
182
LEGENDS AND STORIES
on her. Then they kindled a great fire about her, but she prayed
that these heathen might be confounded, and the fire did not harm
her. At this Pascasius was so enraged that a servant, in order to
D.'ease him, murdered her by piercing her throat with a noniard.
(Crivelli.) St. Lucia.
Her body was buried by the Christians on the very spot where snu
died, and not long after a church was erected there and dedicated
in hy name. This legend, which is one of the most ancient, does
not speak of the loss of her eyes, but more modern ones relate the
following additional story. There dwelt in Syracuse a youth, who
having seen her but once was so enamored of her that he took
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 183
every means to woo her, and constantly protested that it was her
wonderfully beautiful eyes which so haunted him, and possessed his
soul that he could not rest. Whereupon Lucia, considering the
Scripture saying, " If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out," took out
her eyes and sent them to the young man on a dish, with this mes-
sage, " Here hast thou what thou hast so much desired ; and for
the rest, I beseech thee, leave me now in peace." The young man
was so affected by this that he became a convert to Christianity
and an example of virtue and chastity. But Lucia did not remain
blind, for as she was one day praying, her eyes were restored and
were more beautiful than at first ! The legend advises those who
doubt this to consult the writings of various learned men, where
they will find these facts related. There is another legend which
makes the loss of her eyes a part of her martyrdom, but there is
little authority for this. Her attributes are a light, which is the
signification of her name, her eyes on a dish, with or without an
awl by which they were bored out, and a poniard as the instrument
of her death. Sometimes light proceeds from wounds in her neck,
and again she is being pulled by men and oxen, with no effect. In
her apotheosis an angel carries her eyes to heaven while others bear
the saint. Patroness of Syracuse ; protectress against all diseases
of the eye; and of the laboring poor. December 13, A. D. 303.
St. Ludmilla was the grandmother of St. Wenceslaus or Wenzel,
who is venerated in the north of Germany. Ludmilla was con-
verted by the preaching of St. Adelbert, and she educated her
grandson in the Christian faith. His brother Boleslaus was a pa-
gan and instructed by his mother, Drahomira. Bohemia at length
became divided between Christians and Pagans, and Boleslaus and
his mother determined to kill Ludmilla, who protected the Christians.
They lured assassins who strangled her with her veil when she was
praying in her oratory. Wenceslaus was then persuaded to visit
his mother, and was slain by his brother when he too was in the act
of paying his devotions at the altar. Ludmilla was the first mar-
tyr saint of Bohemia. September 16, A. D. 927.
St. Luke (Lat. Sanctus Luca; Ilal. San Luca ; Fr. St. Luc).
We are told but little of St. Luke in the Gospel. It would seem
that he was not converted until after the Ascension of our Lord.
He was a disciple of Paul, and was with him until his death. Some
say he was crucified at Patras, and others that he died a peaceful
death. That he was a physician may be inferred from the fact that
Paul speaks of him as " Luke, the beloved physician ; " but the gen-
eral belief that he was an artist rests on Greek traditions, and can
only be traced to the tenth century. A picture of the Virgin
found in the Catacombs with an inscription, to the import that it is
" one of seven painted by Luca," is regarded as a confirmation
of this belief concerning the Evangelist Luke,
184 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Tradition teaches that he carried always with him two portraits,
one being that of the Saviour and the other of Mary. These he
had painted, and he made many converts by displaying these faces,
which inspired those who saw them' with devotion, and besides he
worked miracles with them. In the Church of Santa Maria, in Via
Lata at Rome, a small chapel is shown as that where Luko
wrote his Gospel and multiplied images of the Virgin, which it was
his delight to do. From these legends he has been chosen the pa-
tron saint of artists and academies of art. He is often represented
as painting the Virgin. His attributes are the ox, given him be-
cause he wrote especially of the priesthood of the Saviour, and the
ox is the emblem of sacrifice ; the book, signifying his writings, and
a portrait of the Virgin placed in his hand. Sometimes the ox has
wings ; and again the head of an ox is placed on the figure of a
man as a symbol of this Evangelist. In the Church of San Do-
menico and San Sisto at Rome, there is a tablet which is inscribed
thus : " Here at the high altar is preserved that image of the most
blessed Mary, which, being delineated by St. Luke the Evangelist,
received its colors and form divinely. This is that image with
which St. Gregory the Great (according to St. Antonine), as a sup-
pliant, purified Rome ; and the pestilence being dispelled, the angel
messenger of peace, from the summit of the Castle of Adrian, com-
manding the Queen of Heaven to rejoice, restored health to the city."
Another picture in the Ara Coeli claims to be the one which was thus
honored. Both of them are dark and far from beautiful, and if they
are the work of St. Luke, I would much prefer the word-picture of
Mary which he gives in his Gospel, to those of his brush. October 18.
St. Lupo. See St. Adelaide.
St. Macarius (of Alexandria) was one of the most famous
hermit saints of Egypt. He is represented in the great fresco by
Pietro Laurati in the Campo Santo at Pisa. He is in the centre
lookiag down at a skull which he touches with his stuff. This is
explai \ed by the following legend : As Macarius was wandering
among the Egyptian tombs he saw a skull of a mummy. He turned
it over and asked to whom it belonged. It answered, " To a pagan."
He then said, " Where is thy soul ? " And the skull replied, " In
hell." Macarius then said, " How deep ? " " The depth is greater
than the distance from heaven to earth," answered the skull. Then
Macarius asked, " Are there any deeper than thou art ? " an.l the
skull replied, " Yes, the Jews are deeper still." And again the
hermit said, '' Are there any deeper than the Jews ? " " Yes, in
sooth ! " replied the skull, " for the Christians whom Jesus Christ
hath redeemed, and who show in their actions that they despise his
doctrine, are deeper still ! " January 2, A. D. 394.
Madonna, La, or Our Lady (Fr. Notre Dame ; Ger. Unser
Hebe frau ; Eny. The Virgin Mary ; Lot. Virgo Gloriosa, Virgo
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
185
Sponsa Dei, Virgo Potcns, Virgo Vencranda, Virgo Prsedicanda,
Virgo Clemens, Virgo Sapientissima, Sancta Virgo Virginum ; Ital.
La Vergine Gloriosa, La Gran Vergine delle Vergini ; Fr. La
Grande Vierge; Greek, WtoroKry).
(Early Florentine Sculpture.) Head of the Virgin.
Taking the legends connected with the life of Mary in order, the
first is the legend of Joachim and Anna (Ital. La Leggenda di
Sant' Anna Madre della Gloriosa Vergine Maria, e di San Gioac-
chino). See St. Joachim.
The next historical picture is The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.
(Fr La Naissance de la S. Vierge ; Ital. La Nascita della B. Ver-
gine Gei . Die Geburt Maria.) As tradition teaches that Joachim
and Anna were " exceedingly rich," the room in which the birth is
represented is usually rich in furniture and decorations. A glory
sometimes surrounds the head of the child. Most artists have also
painted attendants, and a number of friends and neighbors who have
186 LEGENDS AND STORIES
come to rejoice with St. Anna that her prayers are answered and a
child born to her, while she herself reclines on her bed and receives
the attentions of the handmaidens and the congratulations of her
friends. September 8.
The Presentation of the Virgin (Ital. La Presentazione, oie
nostra Signora piccioletta Sale i gradi del Tempio ; Ger. Die Vor-
stellung der Jungfrau im Ternpel, Joachim und Anna weihen ihre
Tochter Maria im Tempel). The legend says, " And when the
child was three years old, Joachim said, ' Let us invite the daughters
of Israel, and they shall take each a taper or a lamp, and attend on
her, that the child may not turn back from the temple of the Lord.'
And being come to the temple, they placed her on the first step, and
she ascended alone all the steps to the altar : and the high-priest
received her there, kissed her, and blessed her, saying, ' Mary, the
Lord hath magnified thy name to all generations, and in thee shall
be made known the redemption of the children of Israel.' And
being placed before the altar, she danced with her feet, so that all
the house of Israel rejoiced with her, and loved her. Then her
parents returned home, blessing God because the maiden had not
turned back from the temple." There are various pictures of the
life of Mary in the Temple. She is represented as instructing her
companions, as spinning and embroidering tapestry. She is some-
times attended by angels, and tradition teaches that her food was
supplied by them, and that Mary had the privilege, which none
other of her sex ever had, of going into the Holy of Holies to pray
before the ark of the covenant. Presentation of B. V. November 21.
The Marriage of the Virf/in (Ital. II Sposalizio ; Fr. Le Mar-
iage de la Vierge; Ger. Die Trauung Maria). When fourteen
years old Mary was told by the high-priest that it was proper for
her to be married. But she replied that her parents had dedicated
her to the service of the Lord. Then the high-priest told her of a
vision he had had concerning her, and she submitted herself to the
Lord's appointment with sweet humility. The manner in which
her husband was selected is told in the legend of St. Joseph. In
the representations the Virgin is attended by a train of maidens,
and the disappointed suitors are often seen. The priest joins her
hand to that of Joseph, or Joseph is placing the ring on her finger.
Joseph frequently carries his blossomed wand, while the other
suitors break or trample on theirs. The Cathedral of Perugia is
eaid to contain among its relics the nuptial ring of the Virgin Mary.
The return of Joseph and Mary to their house is also a subject of
art, and Luini represents them as walking hand in hand, Joseph
regarding her with veneration, and she looking down, modestly
serene. January 23.
The Annunciation (Fr. La Salutation Ange*lique, L'Annoncia-
tion ; Ger. Die Verkiindigung, Der englische Gruss ; Ital. L'An-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
187
nunciazione, La B. Vergine Annunxiata). In addition to the Gos-
pel account of this event, artists have been influenced by legends.
One relates that as Mary went forth at evening to draw water, she
heard a voice which said, " Hail, thou that art full of grace ! '" but
could see no one. Being troubled, she returned to her house and
her work, which is said to have been purple and fine linen. Sc.
Bernard relates the event in this wise : Mary was studying the
(J. Van Eyok.) Annunciation.
book of Isaiah, and as she read the verse, " Behold, a Virgin shall
conceive and bear a son," she thought within herself, " How blessed
the woman of whom these words are written ! Would I might be
but her handmaid to serve her, and allowed to kiss her feet ! " And
instantly the angel appeared to her, and in her the prophecy was
fulfilled. The time is sometimes just at evening, in reference to
which belief that hour has been consecrated as the " Ave Maria."
But others believe it to have been midnight, and that Christ was
born at the same hour the following December. The place is
usually within the house and rarely by a fountain as the legend
presents it. Sometimes Gabriel flies in from above, or is borne by a
cloud. Sometimes he walks, but is always young, beautiful, and yet
thoughtful in look. He has wings, and in the early pictures full
drapery. He either bears the lily (Fleur de Marie), or it is in
188 LEGENDS AND STORIES
some other part of the picture. Sometimes he has the olivt, typical
of peace, or a sceptre with a scroll inscribed, " Ave Maria, gratia
plena ! " Very rarely he has the palm. The Holy Spirit, as a
dove, is sometimes poised over the head of Mary, sometimes hovers
toward her bosom, or enters the room through the window. A less
agreeable introduction is that of the Eternal Father, above the sky,
surrounded by a glory and sending forth celestial light. The spirit
or sentiment of the picture depends in a great measure upon the age
in which it was painted. Before the fourteenth century Mary is
usually represented as humble and submissive, as if listening to the
manda*' of God, and that from the lips of a superior being. But
after that time the increased veneration paid by the Church to the
Virgin, makes her the superior being, and her manner is that befit-
ting the " Regina angelorum." The work-basket, typical of the
industry of Mary, is seldom omitted, and to express her temperance
a dish of fruit and pitcher of water are frequently introduced.
There are certain mystical or allegorical representations of the An-
nunciation difficult to be understood. One represents a unicorn
taking refuge in the bosom of the Virgin, an angel near by winds
a hunting-horn, while four dogs crouch near him. Its signification is
given thus in an ancient French work : The fabulous unicorn, who,
with his single horn, was said to wound only to free the part
wounded from all disease, is an emblem of Jesus, the great physician
of souls. The four dogs represent Mercy, Truth, Justice, and Peace,
as the four considerations which influenced the Saviour to undertake
the salvation of men. The remainder of the explanation is so pecul-
iar that no translation can give the exact idea. It is thus : ' Mais
comme c'c'toit par la Vierge Marie qu'il avoit voulu descendre parmi
les homines et se mettre en leur puissance, on croyoit ne pouvoir
mieux faire que de choisir dans la fable, le fait d'une pucelle pou-
vant seule servir de piege a la licorne, en 1'attirant par le charme et
le parfurn de son sein virginal qu'elle lui presentoit enfin 1'ange
Gabriel concourant au mystere e'toit bien reconnoissable sous les
traits du veneur aile lan^ant les levriers et embouchant la trompette."
Another mode of representation is that of Mary, standing with her
hands folded over her breast and her head bowed. She is beneath
a splsndid portico. Gabriel kneels ontside and extends the lily.
Above the Padre Eterno appears and sends forth the Saviour, who
is in the form of the Infant Christ bearing his cross, who floats
downward toward the earth, preceded by the Holy Spirit in the
form of the Dove. These ideal pictures usually, if not always, date
earlier than the seventeenth century. March 25.
The Visitation (Fr. La Visitation de la Vierge ; Ital. La Vis-
itazione di Maria ; Ger. Die Heimsuchung Maria). This scene,
which represents the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, is also called
" The Salutation of Elizabeth." This picture is not easily mistaken
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
189
however painted : sometimes the scene is in the garden of Zachanas,
where the legend relates that Mary often retired to meditate upon
the great honor God had bestowed upon her. It is told that one
day while in this garden the Virgin touched a flower which before
then had no perfume, but since that time its odor is delicious.
Again the two favored women meet at the entrance of *,he dwelling
of Elizabeth. She is of course much older than Mary, but should
not be feeble and wrinkled. Her manner fitting one who recog-
nizes the Mother of her Lord, with glad humility, but showing also
a certain dignity, being herself appointed by God to an exalted
motherhood. Zacharias and Joseph as well as servants are fre-
quently introduced, and sometimes the ass on which Mary has rid-
den. Zacharias is robed as a priest and Joseph as a traveller.
Sometimes Elizabeth kneels, as if to make more impressive her
words, " And whence is this to me, that the mother of niy Lord
should come to me ? " July 2.
The Nativity (Fr. La
Nativite ; Ital. II Presepio,
II Nascimento del Nostro
Signore ; Ger. Die Geburt
Christ!) . An ancient leg-
end relates that about the
same time that Cassar Au-
gustus decreed " that all the
world should be taxed," he
was warned by a sibyl of
the birth of Jesus. The pic-
tures and sculptures repre-
senting this legend are not
improperly considered in
connection with those of the
nativity to which they so
distinctly point. The leg-
end relates that the em-
peror consulted the sibyl
Tiburtina, to know if it
were right that he should
accept the divine honors
which the Senate had de-
creed to him The sibyl,
after meditating some days,
took the emperor alone,
and showed him an altar. Nativity.
Above this altar the heavens opened, and he saw a beautiful vir-
gin bearing an infant in her arms, and he heard a voice saying,
'' This is the altar of the Son of the living God." Then
190 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Augustus erected on the Capitoline Hill an altar, and inscribed it,
" Ara primogeniti Dei." The Church called the Ara-Cceli stands on
the same spot as that on which the altar was built, and in it is a bas-
relief representing this legend, to which an incredible antiquity is at-
tached by the Church. There are other paintings of the same sub-
ject. The Nativity, when treated as an historical event, is represented
in a stable, at midnight, and in winter. The earlier pictures give
Mary an appearance of suffering, but from the fourteenth century
it is not so. Sometimes she kneels by the child, or points to the
manger in which he lays, or bending over him is bright with the
light which conies from the child, and, according to the legend, illu-
minated the place with supernatural light. Joseph is sitting, or
leaning on his staff, and frequently holds a taper or other light to
show that it is night. The angels who sang the " Gloria in excelsis,"
were at first represented as three, but in later pictures their number
is larger, as of a chorus. The ox and ass are invariably seen. The
old monks had various ideas associated with these animals. They
regarded them as the fulfillment of prophecy (Habakkuk iii. 4),
and as typical of the Jews and Gentiles, the ox representing the
former and the ass the latter. And one old writer relates that
they warmed the heavenly babe with their breath. Sometimes the
ass is with open mouth, as if proclaiming in his way the light that
had come to lighten the Gentiles. The shepherds are frequently in
the background. When treated as a mystery, the virgin adores the
child who is her son and God. It is sometimes difficult to distin-
guish between this and a " Madre Pia," but usually something is in-
troduced to denote the Nativity. The babe lies in the centre with
his finger on his lip, as if to say, " Verbum sum," and looks upward
to the angels, who in the heavens sing his glory. His hand rests
sometimes on a wheat-sheaf, emblem of the bread of life. Mary
kneels on one side, and Joseph, if present, also kneels ; and often
angels adore and sustain the child. When other figures are intro-
duced they are saints or votaries for whom the picture was painted.
December 25.
The Adoration of the Shepherds (Fr. L' Adoration des Bergers ;
Ger. Die Anbetung der Hirten ; Ital. L'Adorazione del Pastori).
The shepherds present their offerings of fruits, lambs, or doves, and
with uncovered heads show their devotion with rude simplicity.
Women, dogs, and sheep sometimes accompany them, and there is a
legend that the apostles Simeon and Jude were of their number. Some-
times the child sleeps, and the Virgin or Joseph raise the covering to
show him to the shepherds. When angels scatter flowers, they are
those gathered in heaven.
The Adoration of the Magi (Ger, Die heilige drei Konigen ; Die
Anbetung der Weisen aus dem Morgenland ; Ital. L'Adorazione de 1
Magia; L'Epifania ; Fr. L' Adoration des Rois Magesj. This picture,
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
191
while it makes one of the historical series in the life of the Virgin, hag
another deep interest in the
consideration that it is the
expression of the Epiph-
any ; of the manifestation to
Jews and Gentiles of God in
man. The legend follows
the Scripture account, and
the reasonable inferences to
be deduced from it, more
closely than many others.
It is, that these Magi were
not men who knew the arts
of magic, but wise princes
of some eastern country.
The prophecy of Balaam
had been held in remem-
brance by their people, " I
shall see him, but not now ;
I shall behold him, but not
nigh : there shall come a Star
out of Jacob, and a sceptre
shall rise out of Israel ; " and
when they saw a star differ-
ing from those which as
learned astronomers they had
studied, they recognized it
as the Star of the prophecy, (TaddeoGaddi.) Adoration of the Magi,
and at once followed where it led. It has been said that tba
star when first seen had the form of a child bearing a sceptre cr
cross. The wise men said farewell to their homes and friends, and
took numerous attendants for their long journey. After many perils,
the climbing of mountains, the crossing of deep streams, and many
difficulties, they came to Jerusalem. On inquiry for the Xing they
sought, they were directed to Bethlehem, and asked b/ Herod to
Wing him news on their return of where the child could be found,
chat he too might worship him. At length the star stood still over
the lowly place where Jesus was. No matter how different may
have beer, their previous imaginations from the reality they found,
their faith was equal to the demand upon it, and they bowed down,
thus giving themselves first, and then presented the gold, which sig-
nified that Jesus was king ; the frankincense, that he was God ; and
the myrrh, that he was suffering man, and must yield to death. In
return for their gifts Christ gave them charity and spiritual riches in
place of gold ; perfect faith for their incense ; and for myrrh truth
and meekness of spirit. The Virgin gave them as a precious memo-
192 LEGENDS AND STORIES
rial, one of the linen bands in which she had wrapped the divine
child. Being warned in a dream they returned not to Herod, but
went another way. There is a legend that their homeward journey
was made in ships ; and in a commentary on the psalms of the fifth
century it is said that when Herod found that they had escaped
from him " in ships of Tarsus," he burned all the vessels in the
port. But however they returned, the legend relates that the star
guided them to the East as it had led them from it, and they reached
their homes in safety. They never again assumed their former
state, but in imitation of their new sovereign they gave their wealth
to the poor, and went about to preach the new gospel of peace.
There is a tradition that after forty years, when St. Thomas went to
the Indies, he met there these wise men and baptized them ; and af-
terwards as they continued to preach they went among barbarians
and were put to death. Long after their remains were found, and
the Empress Helena had them removed to Constantinople. During
the first Crusade they were carried to Milan, and lastly the Emperor
Barbarossa placed them in the cathedral at Cologne, where they re-
main in a costly shrine, and have performed many wonderful mira-
cles. The names of these three " Kings of Cologne," as they are
often called, are Jasper or Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. In the
pictures they are of three ages : the first, Jasper, very old with gray
beard ; Melchior of middle age ; and Balthasar always young, and
sometimes a Moor or black man, to signify that he was of Ethiopia,
and that Christ came to all races of men. Sometimes this idea is
manifested by making his servant black. Their costumes, attend-
ants, and various appointments vary with the time in which the pic-
tures were painted and the nationality of the artist. Now they have
all the usual paraphernalia of royalty as it was seen in the continen-
tal capitals ; again the knowledge acquired in the Crusades was em-
ployed, and all about them is oriental in style ; and elephants,
leopards, and even monkeys are introduced into the scene. The
holy child is sometimes held by his mother, and sometimes sits alone,
but usually raises his hand as if in blessing. In early days Joseph
was seldom present, but as more veneration was accorded him by
the Church he was more frequently made an actor in this scene ; he
sometimes only looks on quietly, again he receives the treasure, and
iu some instances the Magi seem to congratulate him. The various
modes of representing this inexhaustible subject would fill a volume
if described. January 6.
The Purification of the Virgin ; The Presentation of Christ in
(he Temple (I/aL La Purificazione della B. Vergine ; Ger. Die
Darbringung im Terupel). The Virgin, after the birth of her son,
complied with all the requirements of the law, and the scene in
the Temple is sometimes called the Purification, but more fre-
quently it is regarded as referring especially to the Saviour ; aad
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 193
jiany representations present the prophecy of Simeon as the impor-
tant event in the scene. It is also considered as the first of the
seven sorrows of the Virgin, and the words, " Yea, a sword shall
pierce through thy own soul also," may well have saddened the
heart of Mury, and given her a warning of all the glorious sorrows
which were before her. The legend of Simeon is so closely con-
nected with this scene as to be better given here than elsewhere.
Two hundred and sixty years B. c., Ptolemy Philadelphus requested
the high-priest of the Jews to send him scribes and interpreters to
translate for him the Hebrew Scriptures, so that he might place them
in his library. Six learned Rabbis from each tribe were sent, seventy-
two in all, and among them Simeon, Avho was full of learning. His
portion was the book of Isaiah, and when he came to the sentence,
" Behold a Virgin shall conceive," he feared the translation might
offend the Greeks, and after much consideration he rendered it a
young tconuin, but when it was written, an angel effaced it, and
wrote the word Virgin, as it should be. Then Simeon wrote it again
and again, and each time it was changed. When this was done
three times he was confounded, and as he meditated on this it was
revealed to him that the prophecy should not only be fulfilled, but
that he " should not see death till he had seen the Lord's Christ."
So he lived until these things were come to pass, and then he was
led to the temple on the very day when this Virgin Mother came to.
present there her god-son. And there it was that he exclaimed,,
when his prophecy was ended, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word." Anna the prophetess acts,
her part in this picture. She prophesied of him who should bring-
redemption to Israel, but she did not take the child ; from this she
has been regarded as an image of the synagogue, which had prohp-
esied much of the Messiah but failed to embrace him when he
came. This picture is frequently called the Nunc Dimittis, which is
its title in Greek art. February 2.
The Flight into Egypt (Ital. La Fuga in Egitto ; Fr. La Fuite
de la Sainte Famille en Egypte ; Ger. Die Flucht nach JEgypten).
There are various legends connected with this journey of the Holy
Family which have been illustrated by artists. One is, that when
escaping, and fearing lest they should be overtaken by the officers of
Herod, they came to a place where a man was sowing wheat. Mary
said to him, " If any shall ask you whether we have passed this way,
ye shall answer, ' Such persons passed this way when I was sowing
this corn.' " And then, by a miracle of the infant Jesus, the corn
grew in one night, so as to be fit for the harvest. Next day the of
ficers did indeed come, and the man wha was cutting his wheat in
great wonder and thankfulness answered as he had been instructed,
and the pursuers turned back. Another legend relates that the
Holy Family encountered a band of robbers, of which there were
13
194
LEGENDS AND ST OKIES
large numbers in that country in those days. One of the rob-
bers was about to at-
tack them, when an-
other said, " Suffer
them, I beseech thee,
to go in peace, and I
will give thee forty
groats, and likewise
my girdle." This of
fer the first robber ac
cepted. The second
then took the travel-
lers to a safe place,
where they passed the
night. The Virgin
said to him, " The
Lord God will receive
thee to his right hand
and grant thee pardon
of thy sins ! " And
this was done, for (ac-
cording to the leg-
end) these were the
two thieves who were
crucified with Jesus,
and the merciful one
was the same who went
with Christ to Para-
dise. Another popular
incident of this jour-
ney in legendary writ-
(Zuccaro.) The Robber. i ngs i s tnat the palm-
tree bent its branches at the command of the child, to shade the
Blessed Virgin. It is also related that a tree which grew at the gate
of Heliopolis and was venerated as the home of a god, bowed itself at
the approach of the Saviour, and that all along their route wherever
there were idols, they fell on their faces and were broken in frag-
ments. And this is assented to by religious authorities as well as
writers of legends. There are many ways of representing the three
travellers on this remarkable journey, but all easily recognized.
There are a few in which they are either embarking, or are in a
boat crossing one of the streams or lakes which intercepted the
course of their journey. Sometimes an angel assists the Virgin to
enter and sometimes steers the boat. See, also, St. Joseph.
The Repose of the Holy Family (Ital. II Riposo ; Ger. Die
Ruhe in JSgypten ; Fr. Le Repos de la Sainte Famille). The sub-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
195
ject of this picture is really an incident of the Flight, but it is not
found in very early art, rarely, if at all, before the sixteenth century.
When other figures than those of the Virgin and child with Joseph
are introduced it is not a Riposo, but a Holy Family. The legend
teaches that the Holy Family reposed beneath a sycamore grove near
the village of Matarea, and that near the same village a fountain
pprang forth miraculously for their refreshment. This gave a relig-
ious interest to the sycamore, and the Crusaders brought it to Eu-
rope, and this same " Fountain of Mary " was shown me by the Arab
(N. Poussin.) Flight into Egypt.
guides, a few miles from Cairo. Mary is sometimes painted dipping
water, and again washing linen in this fountain, which the legend
also teaches that she did. In pictures of the Repose, angels often
minister to the comfort of the travellers, in various ways and with
beautiful propriety. There is a wild ballad legend, which probably
originated in the East, which gives an account of the meeting of Mary
and a Zingara or gypsy. The gypsy crosses the palm of the child
and tells his future, according to their customs. Her prophecy of
196 LEGENDS AND STORIES
all his sufferings quite overcomes the Virgin, but the Zingara con-
goles her with the assurance of the redemption of mankind through
all these sorrows, and ends by asking forgiveness of her sins, instead
of the usual gold or silver piece, the gypsies love so well. This af-
fords a fine subject for art, and has been painted. When the Holy
Family are seen as on a journey, and the Saviour represented as
walking, it is the return from Egypt that is intended.
The f/nly Family (Fr. La Sainte Famille ; Ilal La Sacra
Famiglia, La Sacra Conversazione). From the return to Nazareth
until Je?us is twelve years old, the Gospels record no events of the
life of the Virgin or her Son. Under the title of Holy Family, there
are hundreds of pictures representing the imaginary life of these ex-
alted ones, whose every act was full of interest to all the world.
The simplest form is that of two figures, the Virgin and Child, and
frequently she is nursing the babe, sometimes kisses him, or amuses
him with playthings, and again watches him asleep, and ponders in
her heart upon her wonderful child ; which last are called " II Si-
lenzio," or " Le Sommeil de Jesus." Where there are three figures
it is generally St. John who is added, but sometimes St. Joseph
makes the third. Four figures include either St. John and Elizabeth,
or more rarely St. Joseph and St. John. Five figures include all
who have been named, and Zacharias sometimes makes the sixth.
More than these are unusual, although there are pictures in which
large numbers surround the Holy Family proper, and are supposed
to represent the relatives of the Saviour, especially those who were
afterwards to be his disciples and followers. But any description of
these pictures would fill volumes. Many of them are designated by
some prominent peculiarity, and bear such names as " La Vierge aux
Cerises," " Vierge k la Diademe," " La Vierge & 1'Oreiller Verd,"
" La Madonna del Bacino," " Le Menage du Menuisier," " Le Rabo-
teur," etc., etc.
The Dispute in the Temple (//a/. La Disputa nel Tempio;
Fr. Jesus au milieu des Docteurs). While this is the representation
of a very important act in the life of Jesus, it is quite as frequently
made one of the series from the life of the Virgin, and " is one of the
sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary." And in regarding these pic-
tures it will aid one to consider whether it is the wonderful knowl-
edge of Jesus or the grief of Mary which is most forcibly portrayed.
The Death of Joseph (Ital. La Morte di San Guiseppe ; Fr.
La Mort de St. Joseph ; Ger. Josef's Tod). See St. Joseph.
The Marriage at Cana in Galilee (Ital. Le Nozze di Cana ;
Fr. Les Noces de Cana ; Ger. Die Hochzeit zu Cana). Although
Jesus performed his first miracle at this marriage feast, it was not a
favorite subject in early art on account of the low estimation of mar-
riage among the monks and early writers of the Church. But those
who would exalt the Virgin regard it as greatly to her honor that
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 197
this miracle was done at her request. His answer, that his hour had
not yet come, and his performing the miracle immediately after, is
construed to mean, that although the period had not fully arrived for
the use of his power, still out of regard to his mother and her
wishes, the power was put forth. In some pictures the bride is
dressed as a nun about to make her professional vows, and an ancient
1 igeiul taught that this was the marriage of St. John the Evangelist
will. Mary Magdalene, and that immediately they separated, and led
chaste and austere lives, devoting themselves to Christ's service.
After this marriage the Virgin is not mentioned in the Gospels until
the time of the Crucifixion.
In the Rosary two scenes from the Passion of Our Lord make
two of the mystical sorrows : the Procession to Calvary, or " II Por-
tamento della Croce." and the Crucifixion. It was in the Via
Dolorosa, through which Christ bore his cross, that Mary is said
to have fainted at the sight of his sufferings, and this incident is
frequently a subject of painting. The celebrated " Lo Spasimo di
Sicilia " of Raphael, represents Mary as " Notre Dame du Spasme,"
or " du Pamoison," as the French call the mournful festival which
they keep in Passion Week to commemorate this event. The
Italians call these representations " II Pianto di Maria," or " La
Madonna dello Spasimo." But in all these pictures, and those of
the Crucifixion, Mary is a prominent figure. There has been much
said and written upon the impropriety of representing the Virgin as
too much overcome with her grief, as it is thought to detract from
the grandeur of her character ; and it would seem, that although the
time had come when Simeon's prophecy was fulfilled, yet her heaven-
given patience and hope should have sustained her, and she should
have endured where any other mother might have fainted. The
legend relates, that in The Descent from the Cross, when Joseph of
Arimathea and Xieodemus removed the nails from the hands of the
Saviour, St. John took them away secretly, that Mary might not see
them, and while Nicodemus drew forth those which held the feet,
Joseph so sustained the body that the head and arms of Jesus hung
over his shoulder. Then Mary arose, and kissed the bleeding hands
of her beloved Son, and clasping them tenderly sank to the earth in
anguish ; and this action is usually represented in pictures of the
Descent from the Cross. In the Deposition, or the act of laying
down the body of Christ, the Virgin supports her son, or bends ten-
derly over him. In older pictures she is fainting here, which does
not meet with the same censure from critics in this case, as in the
Procession to Calvary. The Virgin is also seen in the representa-
tions of the Entombment, although this is not painted in the series
of the Life of the Virgin ; and in this as in the others her sorrow is
often expressed by fainting. The next subject in course is, " John
conducting the Virgin to his Home," which, beautiful as it is, did not
198 LEGENDS AXD STORIES
appear in works of art until the seventeenth century, so that it is
not frequently seen. Although not recorded in Scripture, the tradi-
tions teach that Jesus appeared first of all to his mother, and th?
story is thus told : After all was finished Mary retired to her cham
her, and waited for the fulfillment of the promise of Christ's resur-
rection. And she prayed earnestly, " Thou didst promise, O mj
fliost dear son, that thou wouldst rise again on the third day.
Before yesterday was the day of darkness and bitterness ; and, be-
hold, this is the third day. Return then to me, thy mother. O iny
son, tarry not, but come ! " And while she prayed, a company of
angels surrounded her, and they waved palms, and joyously sang
the Easter hymn, " Regina Coeli Ia3tare, Alleluia ! " Then Christ
entered, bearing the standard of the cross, and followed by the
patriarchs and prophets whom He had released from Hades. All
knelt before Mary, and thanked her, because their deliverance had
come through her. But she greatly desired to hear the voice of
Jesus, and He raised his hand in benediction, saying, " I salute thee,
O my mother ! " And she fell on his neck, exclaiming, " Is it thou
indeed, my most dear son ? " Then He showed her his wounds, and
bade her be comforted since He had triumphed over death and hell.
Then Mary on her knees thanked Him that she had been his mother,
and they talked together until He left her to show himself next to
Mary Magdalene. The representations of the Apparition of Christ
to the Virgin, are in the most matter-of-fact style, and poorly portray
the spirit of this beautiful legend. The Ascension of Christ is the
seventh of the mystical sorrows of the Virgin, for by it she was left
alone. The legends teach that she was present, and gazing at the
departing Saviour prayed, " My Son, remember me when thou
comest to thy kingdom. Leave me not long after thee, my Son ! "
Mary, when represented in the pictures of the Descent of the Holy
Ghost, is placed in the centre or in front, as Regina et Mater Apos-
tolorum. It has been objected that as Mary was Wisdom, or tho
Mother of Wisdom, she needed no accession of understanding. But
if the testimony of Scripture is taken, it would seem proper that
she should be represented here (Acts i. 14, and ii. 1). There
is no authoritative record of the life of Mary after the ascen-
sion of Jesus, but there are many legends which speak of circum-
stances of her lift, and a very curious one of her death and assump-
tion. One which has been the subject of pictures is the Communion
of Mary, in which she receives the sacrament from the hand of St.
John. The traditions relate that when the persecution began at
Jerusalem, the Virgin went with St. John to Ephesus, accompanied
by Mary Magdalene ; also, that she dwelt on Mount Carmel in an
oratory which the prophet Elijah had built, and from this she became
the patroness of the Carmelites, and the t-ixteenth day of July is set
apart by the Church as that of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount
Carmel.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 199
The Deatlf and Assumption of the Virgin (Lat. Dormitio,
Pausatio, Transitus, Assumptio, B. Virginia ; Itul. II Transito di
Maria, II Sonno della Beata Vcrgine, L'Assunxione ; Fr. La Mort do
la Viergc, L'Assomption ; Ger. Das Absterben der Maria, Mariii
Himmelfahrt). Sometimes these two events are represented together,
the death making the lower, and the apotheosis the upper portion of
Ik: picture. But so many circumstances of the legend are portrayed
in these pictures that they cannot be well understood without a
knowledge of it. It is thus given by Mrs. Jameson in the " Legends
o r the Madonna " : " Mary dwelt in the house of John upon Mount
Sion, looking for the fulfillment of the promise of deliverance ; and
she spent her days in visiting those places which had been hallowed
by the baptism, the sufferings, the burial and resurrection of her
divine Son, but more particularly the tomb wherein he was laid.
And she did not this as seeking the living among the dead, but for
consolation and for remembrance. And on a certain day, the heart
of the Virgin being filled with an inexpressible longing to behold
her Son, melted away within her, and she wept abundantly. And,
lo I an angel appeared before her clothed in light, as with a gar-
ment. And he saluted her, and said, ' Hail, O Mary ! blessed by
Him who hath given salvation to Israel ! I bring thee here a branch
of palm gathered in Paradise ; command that it be carried before
thy bier in the day of thy death ; for in three days thy soul shall
leave thy body, and thou shall enter into Paradise, where thy Son
awaits thy coming.' Mary answering, said : ' If I have found grace
in thy eyes, tell me first what is thy name ; and grant that the apos-
tles, my brethren, may be reunited to me before I die, that in their
presence I may give up my soul to God. Also, I pray thee, that my
soul, when delivered from my body, may not be affrighted by any
spirit of darkness, nor any evil an<jel be allowed to have any power
over me.' And the angel said, ' Why dost thou ask my name ? My
name is the Great and the Wonderful. And now doubt not that all
the apostles shall be reunited to thee this day; for He who in former
times transported the prophet Habakkuk from Judaaa to Jerusalem
by the hair of his head, can as easily bring hither the apostles. And
fear thou not the evil spirit, for hast thou not bruised his head, and
destroyed his kingdom ? ' And having said these words, the angel
departed into heaven ; and the palm branch which he had left behind
him shed light from every leaf, and sparkled as the stars of the
morning. Then Mary lighted the lamps and prepared her bed, and
waited until the hour was come. And in the same instant John, who
was preaching at Ephesus, and Peter, who was preaching at Antioch,
and all the other apostles who were dispersed in different parts of
'he world, were suddenly caught up as by a miraculous power, and
found themselves before the door of the habitation of Mary. When
Mary saw them all assembled round her, she blessed and thanked the
200 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Lord, and she placed in the hands of St. John the shifting palm, and
desired that he should bear it before her at the time of her buriaL
Then Mary, kneeling down, made her prayer to the Lord, her Son,
and the others prayed with her ; then she laid herself down in her
bed, and composed herself for death. And John wept bitterly. And
about the third hour of the night, as Peter stood at the head of the
bed, and John at the foot, and the other apostles around, a mighty
sound filled the house, and a delicious perfume filled the chamber.
And Jesus himself appeared accompanied by an innumerable com-
pany of angels, patriarchs, and prophets ; all these surrounded the
bed of the Virgin, singing hymns of joy. And Jesus said to his
mother, ' Ai'ise, my beloved, mine elect ! come with me from Leba-
non, my espoused 1 receive the crown that is destined for thee I *
And Mary, answering, said, ' My heart is ready ; for it was written
of me that I should do thy will ! ' Then all the angels and blessed
spirits who accompanied Jesus began to sing and rejoice. And the
soul of Mary left her body, and was received into the arms of her
Son ; and together they ascended into heaven. And the apostles
looked up, saying, ' most prudent Virgin, remember us when
thou comest to glory ! ' and the angels who received her into heaven,
sung these words, ' Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness
leaning upon her Beloved, she is fairer than all the daughters of
Jerusalem.' But the body of Mary remained upon the earth ; and
three among the virgins prepared to wash and clothe it in a shroud ;
but such a glory of light surrounded her form, that though they
touched it they could not see it, and no human eye beheld those
chaste and sacred limbs unclothed. Then the apostles took her up
reverently, and placed her upon a bier, and John, carrying the celes-
tial palm, went before. Peter sung the 114th Psalm, 'In exitu Israel
de Egypto, domus Jacob de populo barbaro,' and the angels followed
after, also singing. The wicked Jews, hearing these melodious voices,
ran together ; and the high-priest, being seized with fury, laid his
hands upon the bier, intending to overturn it on the earth ; but both
his arms were suddenly dried up, so that he could not move them,
and he was overcome with fear ; and he prayed to St. Peter for help,
and Peter said, ' Have faith in Jesus Christ, and his Mother, and
thou shalt be healed ; ' and it was so. Then they went on, and laid
the Virgin in a tomb in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And on the third
day, Jesus said to the angels, ' What honor shall I confer on her who
was my mother on earth, and brought me forth ? ' And they answered,
Lord, suffer not that body which was thy temple and thy dwelling
to see corruption ; but place her beside thee on thy throne in heaven.'
And Jesus consented ; and the Archangel Michael brought unto the
Lord the glorious soul of our Lady. And the Lord said, ' Rise up,
my dove, my undefiled, for thou shalt not remain in the darkness of
the grave, nor shalt thou see corruption ; ' and immediately the soul
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 201
of Mary rejoined her body, and she arose up glorious from the tomb
and ascended into heaven, surrounded and welcomed by troops of
angels, blowing their silver trumpets, touching their golden lutes,
singing and rejoicing as they sung, ' Who is she that riseth as the
morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army
with banners?' (Cant. vi. 10.) But one among the apostles was
absent ; and when he arrived soon after, he would not believe in the
resurrection of the Virgin ; and this apostle was the same Thomas,
who had formerly been slow to believe in the resurrection of the
Lord ; and he desired that the tomb should be opened before him ;
and when it was opened it was found to be full of lilies and roses.
Then Thomas, looking up to heaven, beheld the Virgin bodily, in a
glory of light, slowly mounting towards the heaven ; and she, for
the assurance of his faith, flung down to him her girdle, the same
which is to this day preserved in the cathedral of Prato. And there
were present at the death of the Virgin Mary, besides the twelve
apostles, Dionysius the Areopagite, Timotheus, and Hierotheus ; and
of the women, Mary Salome, Mary Cleophas, and a faithful hand-
maid, whose name was Savia." The French legend gives Mary
Magdalene and Martha among those who witnessed the Virgin's
death. The full illustration of this legend requires seven different
scenes, namely, 1. The Angel announces her death, and presents the
palm. 2. She takes leave of the Apostles. 3. Her Death. 4. The
bearing to the Sepulchre. 5. The Entombment. 6. The Assump-
tion. 7. The Coronation in Heaven. Frequently two or three of
these scenes are represented together, as, the Death below, and the
Assumption above, and sometimes the Coronation above all. The
angel who announces the death frequently presents a taper to the
Virgin. It was customary to place a taper in the hand of one dying.
The death of the Virgin is sometimes called the Sleep (II Sonno della
Madonna), as it was in early times a belief that she only slept before
her assumption. This doctrine has since been declared a heresy.
There are two modes of treating the Assumption : one represents the
assumption of the soul, and in these, Christ receives the Spirit, stand-
ing near the death-bed of the Virgin. The other portrays the union
of the soul to the body, when it rises from the tomb, and leaving earth
and all earthly things, the Mother soars to meet the Son, and to.
share his glory and his throne for evermore. She is represented in a
niandorla, or aureole, crowned or veiled (sometimes both), her dress
spangled with stars, and surrounded by adoring angels. These are
the more ideal or devotional pictures. The strictly historical ones,
have the wondering apostles, the doubting Thomas, and the blossom-
ing tomb below ; while Mary, " quasi aurora consurgens " is borne
toward heaven. The Legend of the Holy Girdle belongs properly to
the consideration of the pictures of the Assumption of the Virgin.
[t is of Greek origin, and relates that St. Thomas, when about to go
202
LEGENDS AND STORIES
to the far East, gave the girdle to one of his disciples for afe keep-
ing. The girdle remained for a thousand years guarded from pro-
fane eyes, and was in the possession of a Greek priest, tc whom it
had descended from a remote ancestry. He had one daughter, dearly
beloved, to whom he gave the care of the sacred girdle. It happened
that Michael of Prato, who had gone on the Crusade of 1096, had
remained in Jerusalem after the war was ended, and lodged in the
house of this priest. He too loved the daughter, and wished to
marry her, but the father would not consent. Then the mother
assisted the lovers to be married, and gave them the precious girdle
as a dowry. Tlu-y tied, and embarked for Tuscany. They landed
at Pisa, and sought the home of Michael at Prato, bearing always
with them the casket which held the sacred relic. Michael so ven-
erated his treasure, and so feared lest he should be robbed of it, that
he lighted each night a lamp in honor of it, and besides placed it
beneath his bed for safety. Now although he did this without know-
ing that it was wanting in respect to so holy a relic, it displeased his
guardian angels, and they each night lifted him out of his bed, and
laid him on the bare earth. At length Michael fell sick, and know-
ing that he was near death
he delivered the girdle to
Bishop Uberto, command-
ing him, that the girdle
should be preserved in the
Cathedral of Prato, and
from time to time shown to
the people. This injunc-
tion Uberto obeyed, and
carried it in a solemn pro-
cession to the church.
There it remained until
1312, when an attempt was
made to carry it away, and
sell it to Florence. This
attempt was discovered,
and Musciatino, the would-
be thief, was put to death.
Then the people of Prato
resolved to erect a shrine
for the safe keeping of the
girdle, which they did, and
the chapel containing it is
painted to represent all the
(Cimabue. S.Maria. Novella. Florence.) circumstances of this legend.
o
The Coronation of the Virgin is net always easily distinguished
from the allegorical picture called the " Incoronata." When the his-
^LLUSTRATED IN ART.
203
Kegina Virginum.
Mary
before
torical scene is intended,
the last of the life of Mary,
the death-bed, the tomb,
the apostles, and weeping
friends are seen on the earth,
while above the Saviour
crowns his Mother, or she
is seated beside him on his
throne.
Having thus briefly con-
sidered the historical pic-
tures of Our Lady, the
mystical, allegorical, or
strictly devotional ones re-
main. These are :
The Virgin Alone (Za/.
Virgo Gloriosa ; Ital. La
Vergine Gloriosa ; Fr. La
Grande Vierge). Pictures
representing the Virgin
alone, and placing her
us as an object of religious
veneration, are painted in a va-
riety of ways, and to illustrate
the different attributes which are
accorded to her by the Church.
When she stands alone, with
saints or apostles apparently sub-
ordinate to her, she is THE
WOMAN ; THE .MOTHER OF
HUMANITY, a second Eve ; and
the VIKGIN OF VIRGINS. When
she has a book she is the repre-
sentation of HEAVENLY WIS-
DOM, Virgo Sapientissima.
When she has a sceptre, or wears
a crown over her veil, or is en-
throned alone, she is the QUEEN
OF HEAVEN, Regina Coeli.
When represented as above and
surrounded by worshipping an-
gels, she is QUEEN OF ANGELS,
Regina Angelorum. When
veiled, with folded hands, and
face full of purity, sweetness,
and all imaginable beauty, she is Vir e Sapientissima. (Van iiy<
The Madonna, The Blessed Virgin, Santa Maria Vergine.
204
LEGENDS AND STORIES
L'Incoronata ; The Coronation of the Virgin (Lat, Coronatio
Beatfe Maria; Virginis ; Ital. Maria Coronata dal divin suo Fig-
lio ; Fr. Le Couronnement de la Sainte Vierge ; Ger. Die Kronung
Maria). This picture is entirely different in its spirit and object
from the historical coronation of the Virgin before described. That
picture makes the closing scene in the life of Mary, and as beforfi
remarked, has the apostles, the tomb of flowers, and the death-bed to
distinguish it. But the intent of the devotional coronation is to
represent the Virgin as the type or emblem of the Spiritual Church.
She is received into glory and exalted above all created beings, an-
gels and men, as the Espoused, the Bride of Christ, THE CHURCH.
Frequently the Saviour has an open book with the inscription,
" Veni, Electa mea, et ponam te in thronum meum," etc., " Come, my
Chosen One, and I will place thee upon my throne." Many chapels
are dedicated to the Virgin in this character. " Capella dell' In-
coronata." The dress of the Virgin is most beautiful, and frequently
embroidered with suns, moons, and golden rays, recalling the " wom-
an clothed with the sun,' which John describes (Rev. xii. 1).
When Mary holds the child and
is crowned, it is not a corona-
tion, but an adoration of her as
the Mother of God.
Our Lady of the Immac-
ulate Conception (Lat. Regina
sine labe originali eoncepta ;
Fr. La Conception de la Vierge
Marie ; Ital. La Madonna Puris-
sirna ; Sp. Nuestra Seiiora sin
peccado concepida, La Concep-
cion ; Ger. Das Geheimniss der
unbefleckt^n Empfangniss Ma-
ria). This picture is unknown
in the early days of art, but has
been almost miraculously multi-
plied since the beginning of the
seventeenth century, when Paul
V. instituted the office for the
commemoration of the Immac-
ulate Conception of the Virgin,
and forbade teaching or preach-
ing the opposite doctrine. The
question had been in agitation
a decade of centuries, and in
the fifteenth century the Sor-
bonne had declared in its favor ;
but the opposition of a large
f
(Guido.) Immaculate Conception.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
205
portion of the Church prevented its actual promulgation as a doc-
trine necessary to be believed, and even that did not satisfy the
opposers of the dogma, as a much later controversy proves. The
last papal ordinance concerning it was promulgated in 1849 by
Pius IX. The model for the Virgin in this representation is
the woman of the Apocalypse. She is young, about twelve or four-
teen, her robe of white with blue mantle, her hands folded as if in
prayer. Her beauty, " all that painting can express." The sun, a
vivid light about her, the moon beneath her, and a starry crown
above her head. Sometimes the same idea of the Madonna Puris-
sima is represented by the head alone. It is painted very young,
with white vesture and flowing hair. Before the authorization cf
the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception, there was another
mystical representation of Mary,
which might be confounded with
those of the Madonna Purissi-
ma. It is the embodiment of
the idea that the redemption of
the human race existed in the
mind of the Creator before the
beginning of the world. And
this is expressed by the Virgin
surrounded by the same attri-
butes as in the Conception, and
sometimes setting her foot on
the serpent. Mary, made thus
a second Eve, is sometimes
painted as an accompaniment to
the picture of Eve holding the
apple. The date of the picture (Miniature. 16th cent.) Predestination,
will decide the question between these subjects. December 8.
The Mater Dolorosa (Ital. La Madre di Dolore, L'Addolo-
rata ; Fr. Notre Dame de Pitie, La Vierge de Douleur ; Sp. Nues-
tra Senora de Dolores; Ger. Die Schmerzhaf-e Mutter). There
are three distinct modes of representing the " M urning Mother," to
whom the afflicted of the Roman Catholic world address their pray-
ers, feeling that she has felt the deepest pangs of earthly sorrow.
As the Mater Dolorosa, she is alone, seated or standing, and frequently
only a head or half figure ; of middle age, with bowed head,
clasped hands, sorrowful face, and streaming eyes. Often the bo-
>om is pierced with one, and sometimes with seven swords. As the
Stabat Mater, she stands on the right of the crucifix while St. John
is on the left. The whole figure expresses intense sorrow. She is
usually wrapped in a dark violet or blue mantle. La Pieta, the
third Sorrowing Mother, when strictly rendered, consists only of the
206
LEGENDS AND STORIES
Virgin and the dead Christ. Occasionally lamenting angels arc in-
troduced. This representation has been varied in every possible
way which could express sorrow, resignation, tenderness, love, and
dignity. But usually the son is in the arms, on the lap, or lying at
the feet of the Mother.
The Virgin of Mercy,
Our Lady of Succor
(Ital. La Madonna di
Misericordia ; Fr. Notre
Dame de MiseYicorde ;
Sp. Nuestra Senora de
Gracia ; Ger. Maria
Mutter des Erbarmens).
This picture represents
the Virgin as the Merci-
ful Mother of Humanity.
In it she sometimes
stands with outstretched
arms, crowned or veiled ;
her ample robe extended
by angels, over kneeling
votaries and worshippers.
Sometimes these em-
brace all ranks and ages,
and again those of some
particular Order who
seek her aid. But these
instances are rare, as she
usually bears the child
in her arms, signifying
that from her maternity
itself a large portion of
her sympathy is derived.
In pictures of the Day
of Judgment, the Virgin is also represented as Our Lady of Mercy.
She is on the right hand of the Saviour, while John the Baptist
kneels on the left. Mary is usually a little lower than the Saviour,
but has been represented in ancient pictures seated by his side. She
appears as a mediator and intercessor for mercy, whatever her posi-
tion. In one instance this inscription is painted beneath her : " Maria
L'ilio suo pro Ecclesia supplicat."
The Virgin and Child Enthroned (Lat. Sancta Dei Genitrix, Virgo
Deipara ; Ital. La Santissima Vergine, Madre di Dio ; Fr. La Sainte
Vierge, Mere de Dieu ; Ger. Die Heilige Mutter Gottes). The very
title of these pictures, which are numberless, explains their significa-
tion. They are devotional, and represent the mother and child in
(Greek Mosaic. A. D. 642. Lateran.)
Virgin of San Venanzio.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
207
208
AJ\L> STOX1ES
various positions, and with such differences of expression and senti-
ment as must inevitably result from the vast number of artists who
have treated this subject. Its beauties are as inexhaustible as they
are indescribable, and there are few hearts that have not been filled
with emotion and admiration by some of these representations of
what is purest and holiest in woman.
In addition to the Madonnas already mentioned, there are numer-
ous votive Madonnas both public and private. Their titles usually
indicate the objects for which they were painted, as those painted
for the Carmelites, which are called " La Madonna del Carmine."
Others denote especial acts, as "La Madonna della Vittoria," or
deliverance from dangers, such as pestilence, floods, fire, and tem-
pests, as the " Madonna di San Sebastiano," which was an offering
of the city of Modena against the plague. Family votive Madonnas
usually bear the name of those who offer them, as the " Madonna di
Foligno," which was consecrated by Sigismund Conti of Foligni, La
fulfillment of a vow made when in danger from a severe storm. There
is scarcely a church or religious institution of the Romish Church
that does not possess at least one votive Madonna.
The Mater Amabilis (Jtal. La Madonna col Bambino; Fr. La
Vierge et 1'enfant Jesus ; Ger. Maria mit dem Kind). This is the rep-
resentation of the Virgin as THE MOTHER alone, and its exquisite
beauty and feeling, when painted as it should and may be, is only to
be felt, it cannot be told. Here " she is brought nearer to our sym-
pathies. She is not seated in a
chair of state with the accom-
paniments of earthly power ; she
is not enthroned on clouds, nor
glorified and star-crowned in
heaven ; she is no longer so ex-
clusively the VERGINE DEA,
nor the VIRGO DEI GEXETRIX ;
but she is still the ALMA MA-
TER REDEMPTORIS, the young,
and lovely, and most pure
mother of a divine Christ. She
is not sustained in mid-air by
angels ; she dwells lowly on
earth ; but the angels leave
their celestial home to wait
upon her." A version of this
Madonna is styled the Madre
Pia, and represents the Virgin
as acknowledging the divinity
(FraBartolomeo.) Mater Amabalis. o f her Son. The Spirit of
these pictures is the same as that of some Nativities where the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
209
Virgin worships the babe, but the accessories determine the differ-
ence between them. And lastly there are the Pastoral Madonnas,
in which numerous persons, such as the relatives of the Virgin or
St. Joseph, the saints and holy personages, are introduced as partici-
pating with the Virgin in the adoration of the child.
(Francesco Francta.) The Madonna, St. Dominick, and St. Barbara.
La Madonna della Sedia. The pretty and poetical legend of
this famous picture relates that centuries ago there dwelt among the
Italian hills a venerable hermit, whom the people called Father Ber-
nardo. He was renowned for wisdom and holiness, and many visited
him for advice and consolation. He often remarked that though his
solitude was deep, yet he was not entirely alone, for he had two
daughters, one that spoke to him, and one that was dumb. Now the
first was the daughter of a vine-dresser, named Mary, who dearly
loved the old man, and often brought him little presents of such things
as would add to his comfort, and cheered him with loving words an<J
14
210 LEGENDS A\D STORIES
caresses. But his dumb daughter was a " brave old oak," that grew
near his hut and sheltered it with its branches. This tree old
Bernardo greatly loved, and in the heat of summer he brought water
to its thirsty roots, and tended and talked to it as if it could heai
and feel. At morning and evening he fed the birds which lived in
its branches, and in return was cheered by their songs. Many
times some woodman had desired to cut down this oak, but the
prayers of the old man deterred him from the deed. There came
at last a terrible winter when the mountains were laden with heavy
snow, and then the sun shone warm, and fearful freshets came down
like torrents, and swept away flocks and trees and even hamlets in
their course. After the worst had subsided, Mary and her father
went to see how it had fared with the good hermit, fearing that he
had perished. But his dumb daughter had saved his life ; for when
the thaw came on he had sought the roof of his hut, but he was soon
convinced that there was no safety for him there, and as he lifted
his eyes in prayer it seemed that the limbs of the oak beckoned him
to come to them. Then he climbed with confidence among its
branches, and there he stayed three days. While below him his hut
and everything else was swept away, still his daughter stood firm.
But he only had a few dry crusts to eat, and when Mary arrived he
was fainting and ready to die from cold and exposure. Then this
talking daughter comforted him, and took him to her home until his
hut could be rebuilt. And now with great fervor Bernardo thanked
God for his preservation, and called down blessings upon his two chil-
dren who had both been instruments in his deliverance ; and he
prayed Heaven to distinguish them in some way from the other works
of his hand. Years passed on and the hermit was laid to rest ; his
hut was in ruins forever, and the oak was converted into wine-casks
for Mary's father. One day one of these casks was in an arbor
where Mary, now a wife and mother, sat with her two boys. As
she pressed her baby to her breast and watched the elder one at
play, she thought of the old hermit and wondered if his blessing would
ever be fulfilled in her or these children ; just then the older child
ran towards her with a stick to which he had fastened a cross ; and
at the same time a young man approached, whose large dreamy
eyes were such as feast on beauty, but his air was that of one restless
and weary. And he was so ; for he had long been seeking a model
which could be used to assist him in painting a picture of the Blessed
Virgin and her son which floated before his vision ; just real enough
to haunt his thoughts continually, and just unreal enough to refuse to
be rendered by his brush. This was Raphael Sanzio d'Urbino. Now
at last as he gazed on Mary the wish of his heart was realized. But
he had only a pencil ! On what could he draw ? Just then the
smooth cover of the huge wine-cask presented itself to him, and
eagerly he drew upon it the outlines of Mary and her babe. This
ILLUSTRATED fN ART.
211
he took away with him, and rested not till with his very soul he had
painted his wondrous " Madonna della Sedia." Thus was the bless-
ing and desire of the old monk realized, and together his two
:laughters were distinguished for all time.
St. Marcella is represented with Lazarus and his sisters. All
that is known of her is that she accompanied these saints from the
East wrote the life of Martha, and preached the gospel in Selavonia.
St. Marcellinus. See St. Peter Exorcista.
St. Margaret (Ital. Santa Mar-
garita ; Fr. Sainte Marguerite ;
Ger. Die Heilige Margaretha ;
Greek "Ay. Mapyaptrr/s. Signifi-
cation : A pearl.) This saint was
the daughter of a priest of Antioch.
She was a delicate child, and was
therefore sent to a nurse in the
country. This woman was a Chris-
tian, and hrought Margaret up in
her own faith. She was seen one
day by Olybrius, who was govern-
or of Antioch, and her beauty so
impressed him that he commanded
that she should be brought to his
palace, and he determined to marry
her if he should find that she was
free born. But Margaret declared
herself a Christian, to the great hor-
ror of the governor and her rela-
tives. The latter deserted her, and
Olybrius attempted to subdue her
by torments of so fearful a nature,
that he could not endure the sight
of her agony. Still she yielded
not. She was then imprisoned,
and in her dungeon Satan appeared
to her in the shape of a hideous (Lucas v. Ley den.) St. Margaret.
dragon, and endeavored to confound her with fear. But Margaret
h; Id up a cross and he fled from her or (as another legend teaches)
ht Bwalbwed her, and instantly burst asunder, and she remained un-
hurt. He then came in the form of a man, to tempt her still further,
but she overcame him, and placed her foot upon his head, and com-
pelled him to confess his vile purpose and to answer her questions.
Again she was taken before the governor and tortured, but her firm-
ness was so great that she not only remained true to Christ herself,
but she converted many who witnessed her devotion, so that in one
day five thousand converts were baptized. Then it was determined
212
LEGENDS AND STORIES
that she should be beheaded, and as they led her away to death she
prayed that in memory of her deliverance from the womb of the
dragon, all who called on her in childbirth should be safely delivered.
And a heavenly voice assured her that her prayer should be granted.
The attributes of Margaret are the palm and the dragon. She is
young and girlish, and thus easily
distinguished from St. Martha,
who also has the dragon. Some-
times she has pearls around her
head, and rarely the daisy, or
marguerite, which is so named in
memory of her. She is especially
the type of maiden innocence and
humility.
" Si douce est la Marguerite."
In the picture by Lucas v.
Leyden, she is rising from the
back of the dragon, while a piece
of her robe remaining in" his mouth
indicates that he had swallowed
her. She is the patroness of
women in childbirth, and patroness
of Cremona. July 20. A. D.
306.
St. Margaret of Cortona,
whose church is on the highest
part of the hill upon which that
city is built, was the Magdalene of
that locality. She was born in Al-
viano in Tuscany. Her mother
died when she was still in infancy,
and the cruelty of a step-mothei
and the unkindness of her father
drove her to desperation, and she
One of her lovers was assassinated
when returning from a visit to her. A little dog which was with
him returned to Margaret and attempted to lead her to the body of
his master, by pulling at her robe and piteously whining. Wonder-
ing at length that her lover returned not, she went with the dog,
and was horrified to find the murdered body of him she sought.
She was overcome with terror and repentance, and went to her
father's house. But the step-mother persuaded her father to refuse
to admit her. She then retired to a vineyard near by, and here in
her lonely wretchedness she was tempted to return to her sinful life.
But she prayed God to be to her more than all earthly friends could
be, and while so praying she had a revelation that her prayer was
(Henry Til's Chapel.) St. Margaret.
led an evil life for several years.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 213
answered, and she was directed to go to the Franciscan jonvent at
Cortona. This she did, and entering barefooted and with a cord
about her neck, she threw herself before the altar and begged to be
admitted to the Order as an humble penitent. She was refused
this privilege until she should prove her penitence by a more worthy
life. But at length she took the habit of St. Francis in 1272.
Tradition relates that as she knelt one day before the crucifix,
Christ bowed his head in answer to her prayers, and from that time
sha was held in great reverence by the people of Cortona. She is
painted young and beautiful, her dress not always that of the nun,
but usually with the cord for a girdle, which indicates the Third
Order of St. Francis. Her attribute is a dog, which is seldom
omitted. February 22, A. D. 1297.
St. Marina. The sad story of this saint presents a touching
illustration of self-sacrifice and unbounded humility, for which she
was greatly reverenced. Her father was an eastern hermit, and
when he first went to the desert he so longed for this daughter
whom he had left that he dressed her in male attire, and charged
her that she should never reveal her sex. lie then took her with
him to his retreat, and there she grew up as Brother Marinus. She
was frequently sent to the shores of the Red Sea with a wagon and
oxen to get supplies for the monks. The man to whom she went
had a daughter who was found to be with child, and she wickedly
accused Marinus of being her seducer. Marina did not deny the
charge, and the abbot ordered her to be scourged and driven out of
the walls of the monastery, and the wicked woman came with her
child, and putting it in the arms of Marina said, " There, as you are
its father take care of it." Then Marina cared for the child. She
remained outside the gate of the convent and begged a support,
which was given her with many insults, as to a vile sinner. But
when she died and the truth was discovered, there was great mourn-
ing on account of all she had endured, and she w r as reverenced for
her humility. She is represented with the dress of a monk and the
face of a beautiful woman with a child in her arms. June 18.
' Eighth century.
Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi was of the noble Floren-
tine family whose name she bears. No events of her life are related,
but she was a Carmelite nun, and of extreme sanctity and humility,
for which she was canonized. May 27, A. D. 1607.
Maria Maggiore, Santa. This splendid church at Rome is
said to owe its origin to a vision related in a legend, called that "of
the Snow 1 " in Italian, " della Neve." Giovanni Patricio, a Roman
who was rich and childless, prayed the Virgin to direct him how he
should dispose of his wealth. On the fifth of August, A. n. 352,
Mary came to him in a dream, and commanded him to build a
church in her name on the spot where he should find snow the next
214 LEGENDS AND STORIES
morning. His wife and the Pope Liberius each had the same vis-
ion ; and early next day they all went to the Esquiline, where they
found miraculous snow, in spite of the heat of the season. Liberiua
traced upon it, with his crosier, the plan of the church, and here the
church was built. Murillo painted two beautiful pictures of this
legend, called in Spanish S. Maria la Blanca.
St. Mark (La'. S. Marcus ; Ital. San Marco Evangelista ; Fr. St.
Marc ; Ger. Der Hcilige Marcus). This Evangelist was not an
apostle, but a convert and beloved disciple of St. Peter, according to
the tradition of the Roman Church. He journeyed with Peter even
to Rome, where he wrote his Gospel, and many believe it to have
been dictated by St. Peter. He went afterwards to preach in Egypt,
and after spending twelve years in Libya and the Thebais, he
founded his church at Alexandria. On account of his miracles the
heathen accused him of being a magician, and at length when cele-
brating the feast of their god Serapis, they seized St. Mark and
dragged him through the streets with cords until he died. Then im-
mediately there fell a storm of hail, and a tempest of lightning came
with it which destroyed his murderers. The Christians buried his
remains, and his tomb was greatly venerated. But in A. n. 815,
some Venetian merchants despoiled the tomb of its sacred relics and
took them to Venice, where the splendid Cathedral of San Marco
was erected over them. There are many legends of this saint which
have afforded subjects for representations in art. One day as he
walked in Alexandria, it is said that he saw a poor cobbler who had
wounded his hand so severely with an awl, that he could no longer
support himself. St. Mark healed the wound, and the man, who
was called Anianus, was converted and afterwards became Bishop of
Alexandria. The famous legend of the preservation of Venice is
thus related : It was on the twenty-fifth of February in 1340. The
waters had been rising for three days, and on this night there was
a fearful storm, and the height of the water was three cubits more
than ever before. An old fisherman, with difficulty, reached the
Riva di San Marco with his little boat, and determined to wait there
for the ceasing of the tempest. But there came to him a man who
entreated him to row over to San Giorgio Maggiore. After great
persuasion, the fisherman, believing it to be the will of God, con-
sented. Having arrived at San Giorgio, the stranger landed and
commanded the fisherman to await his return. He came bringing
with him a young man, and they told him to row again to San Nic-
colo di Lido. The poor man doubted his ability to do this, but they
assured him he might row boldly and strength would be given him.
Then they came at last to San Niccolo di Lido, where the two men
landed. When they returned to the shore there was a third one
also. Then they ordered the fisherman to row beyond the two cas-
tles. When they came to the sea, they saw a bark filled witb
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 215
frightful demons rapidly approaching. They wore coining to over-
whelm the city with water. Then the three men in the boat made
the sign of the cross and bade the demons depart, and instantly the
bark vanished, the sea became calm, and the waters began to sub-
side. Then the men commanded the boatman to land them at the
places from which they had come. He did so, but in spite of the
great wonder he had seen he demanded of the third that he should
pay him. Then the man replied, " Thou art right ; go now to the
Doge and to the Procurator! of St. Mark ; tell them what thou hast
ace i, for Venice would have been overwhelmed had it not been for
us three. I am St. Mark the Evangelist, the protector of this city ;
the other is the brave knight St. George ; and he whom thou didst
take up at the Lido is the holy bishop St. Nicholas. Say to the
Doge and to the Procuratori that they are to pay you ; and tell them
likewise that this tempest arose because of a certain schoolmaster
dwelling at San Felice, who did sell his soul to the Devil and after-
wards hanged himself." The fisherman answered that his story
would not be believed. Then St. Mark took from his finger a ring,
and gave it to the man and said, " Show them this, and tell them
when they look in the sanctuary they will not find it." And he
then disappeared. The next morning the fisherman did as he had
been commanded, and it proved as he had been told, and the ring
was not found. Then the man was paid, a procession was ordained
with great solemnity, and they gave thanks to God and the three
saints for their miraculous deliverance. The fisherman received a
pension, and the ring was given to the Procuratori, ivho replaced it
in the sanctuary. Another legend relates that a certain slave, whose
master resided in Provence, persisted in going to the shrine of St.
Mark to pray, for which he was condemned to be tortured. As the
sentence was about to be executed, St. Mark descended to save his
votary. The executioners were confounded, and the instruments of
torture broken and made unfit for use. The tradition which makes
St. Mark the amanuensis of St. Peter is frequently illustrated in
paintings. The attribute of St. Mark is the lion either with or
without the wings, but generally with them. This enables one to
distinguish him from St. Jerome, who has the lion unwinged. He
ofteu wears the robes of a bishop. April 2.5, A. D. 68.
St. Martha (ltd. Santa Marta, Vergine, Albergatrice di Christo ;
Fr. Sainte Marthe, la Travailleuse). St. Martha is highly venerated
on account of haying persuaded her sister Mary to listen to the
words of Jesus, thus becoming the instrument of her conversion.
The old story in " n Perfetto Legendario " goes on to say of this, " Which
thing should not be accounted as the least of her merits, seeing that
Martha was a chaste and prudent virgin, and the other publicly
contemned for her evil life ; notwithstanding which, Martha did not
despise her, nor reject her as a sister, but wept for her shame, and
216 LEGENDS AND STORIES
admonished her gently and with persuasive words, and reminded
her of her noble birth, to which she was a disgrace, and that Laza-
rus, their brother, being a soldier, would certainly get into trouble
oh her account. So she prevailed and conducted her sister to the
presence of Christ, and afterwards, as it is well known, she lodged and
entertained the Saviour in her own house." The Provencal legends
relate that Martha was the first who founded a convent for her own
sex, and the first one after the Blessed Virgin who consecrated her
virginity to God. While Mary Magdalene made converts in Mar-
seilles, Martha preached at Aix. In those days there was a fearful
dragon who inhabited the river Rhone, and ravaged the country by
night. He was called the Tarasque, and on the scene of his life the
city of Tarascon now stands. Now Martha sprinkled this monster
with holy water and bound him with her girdle, and then he was
speedily killed by the people. When after many years of labor,
death approached, she desired to be borne to some spot where she
could see the sun in the heavens. She wished the story of the
Passion of Our Lord to be read to her, and as she died she said,
" Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." Her attribute is a
dragon, and she may be known from St. Margaret by the pot of
holy water, while the latter has the cross. St. Martha also bears
sometimes, a cooking utensil. Patroness of cooks and housewives.
.Tune 29, A. i>. 84.
St. Martial was Bishop of Limoges. St. Valerie or Valere was
a beautiful virgin who was converted by his teaching. She refused
to listen to the addresses of the Duke de Guyenne. This so enraged
the duke that he " lay fit trancher la teste, couronnant sa virginite
d'un martyre bien signale, car a la venue d'un chacun elle prit sa
teste, et la porta jusques au pied de 1'Autel ou S. Marcial disect la
messe ; le bourreau, la suivant pas-a-pas, niourut dans 1'Eglise,
apres avoir clairement proteste qu'il voyoit les anges a 1'entour de
son corps." This legend is illustrated in the Cathedral of Limoges.
She is represented with a streak around the neck. Her festival is
December 10.
St. Martin of Tours (Lat. Sanctus Martinus ; Ital. San Mar-
tino) was one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. He
was born at Saberia in Pannonia in the time of Constantine the
Great ; and tradition relates that on one occasion the Empress
Helena, who was the daughter of a wealthy lord of Caernarvonshire,
prepared for him a supper with her own hands, and waited on him
while he ate it, in the same manner as that of the humblest servant ;
and at the end gathered up the crumbs, estimating them as more
precious than any meal she could eat at the emperor's board. From
a child St. Martin was of a religious disposition, but became a sol-
dier before he Avas baptized. In the army he won the love and
respect of his comrades, by the great excellences of his character
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
217
and the purity of his life. He was especially noted for his benevo-
lence and charities to the poor. The winter of 332 was so severely
cold that large numbers perished in the streets of Amiens where the
regiment of St. Martin was quartered. One day he met at the gate
a naked man, and taking pity on him he divided his cloak (for it
was all he had), and gave half to the beggar. That night in ?
(Martin Schoen.) St. Martin.
dream Jesus stood before him, and on his shoulders he wore the half
of the cloak that Martin had given the beggar. And he said to the
angels who attended him, "Know ye who hath thus arrayed me?
My servant Martin, though yet unbaptized, hath done this." Then
Martin was immediately baptized ; and he was at the time twenty-
three years old. At forty years of age, he desired to leave the army
that he might devote all his time to God's service. Then the legend
tells, that Julian the Apostate being now emperor, accused him of
cowardice, saying that he wished to be dismissed to avoid a coming
battle. But Martin replied, he would be set naked in the front of
'.he fight, armed only with the cross, and not fear to meet the enemy
218 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Then the Emperor commanded men to guard him and see that this
was done ; but before the time of battle peace was made, and it waa
not attempted. After leading a religious life for years he was made
Bishop of Tours in 371. He did many miracles, healing the sick,
and even restoring to life the son of a poor widow. One day as he
celebrated mass in his cathedral he asked his deacon to clothe a na-
ked beggar before him. The deacon did not comply readily, and St.
Martin took off his priestly robe and gave it to the wretched man ;
and while he officiated at the altar a globe of fire was seen above his
head, and as he elevated the Host, his arms (being exposed on ac-
count of the absence of the garment) were covered by a miracle,
with chains of gold and silver, which angels fastened upon them.
His evenness of temper was an especial virtue, and he was never an-
gry, neither spoke he ever unkindly. In spite of all he was greatly
tempted, and Satan one day ridiculed him, because he so soon re-
ceived the sinful who repented. St. Martin replied, " O, most
miserable that thou art I if thou also couldst cease to persecute and
seduce wretched men, if thou also couldst repent, thou also shouldst
find mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ ! " It is due to the
wonderful energy of St. Martin that paganism was rooted out of that
portion of Gaul where he ruled the Church. He destroyed temples,
demolished the images of the gods, and was impervious to all threats
and dangers which he incurred by so doing. The demons whom he
thus disenthroned often appeared to him, sometimes in hideous forms,
and again with all the beauty of Venus ; but he overcame all fear
and all temptation, and steadfastly served God. At length he
wearied of the numbers who pressed about him, and he built himseh
a cell away from Tours, between the rocks and the Loire. From
this the monastery of Marmoutier arose. St. Martin not only op-
posed heathenism, he battled against blind superstition as well.
There was near Tours a chapel where the people worshipped a mar-
tyr, as they believed. But Martin thought them mistaken. He
went and stood on the sepulchre and prayed that it might be revealed
to him, if any martyr rested there. Soon a dark form appeared and
told St. Martin that he was a robber whose soul was in hell, and
whose body rested beneath him, where he stood. Then the saint
destroyed the chapel and altar as he did those of the pagans. He
was once invited to sup with the emperor. The cup was passed to
Martin before his majesty drank, with the expectation that he would
touch it to his lips, as was the custom. But a poor priest stood be-
hind Martin, and to the surprise and admiration of all, the saint pre-
sented the full goblet to him, thus signifying that a servant of God de-
served more honor, however humble his station, than any merely earthly
rank. From this legend he has been chosen the patron of drinking and
all joyous meetings. It is said that on an occasion when St. Martin
sought an interview with the Emperor Valentinian, his majesty did
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 219
not lise from his chair as the saint approached, whereupon the chaii
took fire beneath him, and necessity compelled him to do what rev-
erence had no power to effect. This unique legend has been repre-
sented in art. St. Martin died after being bishop more than thirty
years, and many heard the songs of the angels who bore him to
Paradise. From the time of his death he has been an object of ex-
treme veneration. In art he is usually represented with a naked
beggar at his feet. A goose when introduced alludes to the season
of his feast, which occurs at the lime when geese are eaten, and is
called in England, Martinmas-tide. In France this festival was
kept like the last day of the Carnival, a time of feasting and ex-
cess. November 11, A. D. 397.
St. Martina was a Roman virgin. A church dedicated to her
stands at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. It is on the left as we de-
scend to the Forum from the Ara Coeli. Here from very ancient
times there \vas a chapel where the people venei-ated this saint, who
was martyred in the time of Alexander Severus. In 1634, when
repairing this chapel, a sarcophagus was discovered built into the
foundations, which contained the body of a young woman, while the
head was in a separate casket. This being regarded as the body of
the saint, called the attention of all Rome to the place, and even the
Pope was filled with enthusiasm at the discovery. Cardinal Fran-
cesco Barberini undertook to rebuild the church, and Pietro da
Cortona very solemnly dedicated his talents to the work of adorning
the same. The church was given to the academy of painters and
consecrated to St. Luke, their patron. It now bears the name of
" San Luca e Santa Martina." Pietro da Cortona left all his fortune
to the chapel of St. Martina, which he had himself painted. She is
represented as young and beautiful, with different instruments of tor-
ture, siiinifviirj: the manner of her death. January 30.
St. Mary of Egypt (llal. Santa Maria Egiziaca Penitente ;
Fr. Sainte Marie I'Egyptienne, La Gipesienne, La Jussienne). The
legend of this Mary Egyptiaca is much older than that of Mary
Magdalene. It was in a written form, and fully believed in the sixth
century, for a very ancient tradition taught that a female hermit had
dwelt for years in Palestine, and there died. The legend as no\v
given is rested on the authority of St. Jerome, and relates that a
woman named Mary, whose wickedness far excelled that of the Mag-
dalene, dwelt in Alexandria, and after seventeen years of abandon-
ment to sin, in the year 365, as she walked one day near the sea, she
saw a vessel about to depart well filled with pilgrims. On inquiry
she found that they were going to Jerusalem to keep the feast of the
true cross. She was seized with anxiety to go also, but had no
money to pay her passage. Then she sold herself to the sailors and
pilgrims and so accomplished the journey. Arriving at Jerusalem
she thought to enter the church with the others, but when she.
220 LEGENDS AND STORIES
reached the entrance some invisible power held her so that she could
not go in, and as often as she tried to cross the threshold, so often
was she driven back. Then a sense of all her sins came over her
and she was overcome with sorrow, and prayed to God for grace and
pardon. Then the restraining power was taken away, and she en-
tered the church on her knees. She then bought three loaves of
bread and went into the desert, even beyond Jordan. Here she re-
mained in deepest penitence. She drank only water, and subsisted
(Pietro da Cortona.) Death of St. Mary of Egypt.
on roots and fruits, and her three loaves, which were constantly re-
newed by a miracle. Her clothing wore out and dropped from her ;
then she prayed God to clothe her and her prayer was answered,
for her hair became a cloak about her, or as others say, a heavenly
robe was brought her by an angel. She had lived thus forty-seven
years when she was found by Zosimus, a priest. She beo-o-ed him to
keep silence concerning her, and to return at the end of a year and
bring with him the holy wafer that she might confess her sins and
receive the communion before her death. Zosimus complied with
her desires and returned to her in a year. He was not able to cross
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
221
the Jordan, and Mary was miraculously assisted to cross (o him.
After receiving the sacrament she requested him to leave her
again to her solitary life, and to return at the end of another
year. When the year was passed and he went again to meet
her, he found her lying dead, with her hands folded as in prayer.
And upon the sands these words were written : " O, Father Zosi-
mus, bury the body of the poor sinner, Mary of Egypt I Give earth
to earth, and dust to dust, for Christ's sake ! " When he endeav-
ored to do this he found he had not sufficient strength, for he was
an old man. Then a lion came and assisted him, digging with his
paws ; and when the body of Mary was in the grave the lion went
quietly away and Zosimus returned home, praising God for the
mercy He had shown to the penitent woman. She is represented in
art as old, worn, and wasted, with longhair, and three loaves of bread
in her hand. When united with Mary Magdalene the contrast of
age, appearance, and dress is very
striking. The pictures of her
penance are sometimes mistaken for
the Magdalene, but if the vase,
skull, and crucifix are wanting it is
the Mary of Egypt. A chapel in
the Church of St. Merry in Paris
is painted with scenes from her
life. April 2, A. D. 433.
St. Mary Magdalene (Lat.
Sancta Maria Magdalena ; Fr. La
Madeleine ; La Sainte Demoiselle
pecheresse ; Ital. Santa Maria Mad-
dalena ; Sp. Santa Maria Magda-
lena). The writings which would
fill volumes, the numberless ser-
mons which have exhausted the
talents of the preachers and the
patience of the hearers, the learned
arguments of tongue and peu, and
the wild, imaginative legends
which have each and all essayed
to give and establish the truth about
this saint, have left her, in the
heart of the world, what the gospel
alone and unaided makes her, the
first sinning and repenting woman
forgiven through the love of Jesus,
* glorious beacon of hope, shining
down throuh all aes silently
lo, Florence
Magdalene.
Mary
saying to every other magdalene, " go and sin no more." It has
222 LKGENDS AND STORIES
never been decided whether she was differently spoken of as " Maty
of Bethany," the " woman who was a sinner," and she " out of
whom Jesus cast seven devils," or whether she was but one of
these ; but the legend as it is generally represented in western
art is as follows : Mary Magdalene was the daughter of noble,
if not royal parents, and the sister of Martha and Lazarus.
Syrus, their father, had vast riches, and at his death they were di-
vided equally between the three. The c'astle of Mary, called Mag-
dalon, was in the district of Magdala on the shore of the sea of Tibe-
rias. Lazarus was by profession a soldier. Martha was virtuous
and discreet, but Mary, giving herself up to luxury and idleness,
became at length so wicked as to be called " THE SINNER. " Mar-
tha, loving her sister, and filled with sorrow by her sinful life, con-
tinually rebuked her and finally persuaded her to listen to the teach-
ings of Jesus. The seven evil spirits which Jesus cast out were the
seven deadly sins, to which she had been subject before her conver-
sion. The entertainment of the Saviour at the house of Martha, the
supptt'- at the house of Simon the Pharisee, the devotion of Mary to
Jesus, and the scenes connected with his death and resurrection, are
given in the legend as in the Gospels. It then adds, that after the
ascension of Christ, Lazarus and his sisters with their handmaid
Marcella, Maximin who had baptized them, and the blind man to
whom Jesus had given sight, called Cedon, were placed in a boat
with no rudder to steer and no oars or sails to speed them, and set
adrift. This was done by the heathen. They were carried by
winds and waves to a harbor which proved to be that of Marseilles.
The people of that place were also heathen, and they refused to
give the castaways food or shelter. Then they found a resting-
place in the porch of a temple, and Mary began to preach of Christ,
and to urge the people to forsake their idols. And both the sisters
did such miracles that many were converted and baptized. Wheu
Maximin was dead, Lazarus was made first bishop of Marseilles. But
Mary desired to live in solitude, and retired to a frightful wilderness,
where she lived thirty years a life of penitence and sorrow for the
sins she never ceased to regret and bewail. It was supposed she
was dead, but at length a hermit whose cell was in the same desert
as her own saw a miraculous sight which disclosed the truth that
she still lived. It appears that often in her hunger and exhaustion
angels had ministered to her, and during the last years of her life
they bore her, each day, up into regions where she could hear celes-
tial harmonies, and see the glory prepared for those who repent and
believe in God. It was this daily ascension that the hermit saw, and
he hastened to the city to relate the wonderful vision. Legends
disagree concerning the place and manner of her death. Some re-
late tha," it occurred in the desert, where angels watched over her
rnd cared for her, while others say she died in a church, after re-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 22?>
ceiving the last sacrament from St. Maximin. The scene i.f her
solitary penance is said to be the site of the monastery of La Sainte
Beaume, or the Holy Cave, between Marseilles and Toulon. In the
thirteenth century some remains, believed to be those of St. Lazarus
and Mary Magdalene, were found about twenty miles north of Toulon,
at a place called St. Maximin. Here a church was built in 1279 by
Charles count of Provence, brother of St. Louis king of France. A
few years later Charles was made prisoner by the king of Aragon,
and he ascribed the praise of his liberation to Mary Magdalene, who
was his chosen protectress. She performed many miracles, one of
which has been frequently represented in pictures. A certain
prince of Provence came to Marseilles with his wife to sacrifice to
the pagan gods. They listened to the preaching of Mary, and were
persuaded to leave the service of the idols. One day the husband
told Mary of his strong desire to have a son. And Mary asked
him if he would believe if his prayer were heard. And he promised
that he would believe. Not long after this prince decided to go to
Jerusalem to see St. Peter, and to ascertain if the doctrines of the
Magdalene were the same as those of that saint. The wife deter-
mined to go also, but he said, " How shall that be possible, seeing
that thou art Avith child, and the dangers of the sea are very great ? "
But she so entreated him that he granted her request, and they
departed. After a day and night had passed a terrible storm arose.
The pains of childbirth came upon the woman, and in the midst of
the tempest the babe was born and the mother died. The sailors
wished to throw the body into the sea, believing that the storm
would not cease while it remained in the ship ; but the prince per-
suaded them with entreaties and money to retain it awhile. Soon
they arrived at an island, where he laid his wife on the shore, and
placing the babe on her breast he covered them with his cloak and
wept bitterly, and said, " O, Mary Magdalene ! to my grief and
sorrow didst thou come to Marseilles I AVliy didst thou ask thy
God to give me a son only that I might lose both son and wife to-
gether ? O, Mary Magdalene ! have pity on my grief, and if thy
prayers may avail, save at least the life of my child ! " Then he
proceeded to Jerusalem and remained there two years. And he
was instructed by St. Peter and saw the places which had been
hallowed by the life and death of the Saviour. Now on his return
he landed at the island where he had left the body of his wife, that
he might weep at her last resting-place. Who can tc II his surprise
when he saw his child running about on the shore ? And when the
infant saw the strange man, he was afraid and hid beneath the cloak
that covered his dead mother. Then when the father approached,
f he mother also opened her eyes and smiled, anil put out her arms
to embrace her husband. Then did the prince greatly rejoice, and
Uxey all returned to Marseilles and threw themselves at the feet of
224 LEGENDS AND STORIES
the Magdalene and were baptized. There are legends (though
never accepted by the Church) which relate that an attachment ex-
isted between St. John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene ; and
even that the feast which Jesus attended at Cana of Galilee was on
the occasion of the marriage of these two saints. Donatello's fa-
mous statue, carved in wood, stands above her altar in the baptis-
tery in Florence. It represents her as the wasted, sorrowing peni-
tent, and is strangely in contrast with the loveliness of many repre-
sentations of her. Her proper attribute is the jar of ointment.
This signifies either the ointment which she brake upon the feet of
the Saviour, or that which she prepared ibr the anointing of his cru-
cified body. It varies in size and form ; is usually either in her
hand or standing near her, though sometimes borne by an attending
angel. The colors of the dress of the Magdalene are red, expressing
love ; violet, penitence and mourning ; and blue, constancy. Some-
times she wears a violet tunic and red mantle. Some Spanish
pictures represent her with dark hair ; but it should be luxuriant,
fair, and golden. Patroness of frail and penitent women ; of Pro-
vence and Marseilles. July 22, A. D. 68.
St. Mary the Penitent (Ital. Santa Maria Penitente ; Fr,
Sainte Marie, la Penitente). This Mary was the niece of the her-
mit Abraham, and her life was mostly spent in the deserts of Syria
She too was a sinner and became a penitent, to whose prayers God
granted miraculous answers. Her father had large riches and lived
in splendor. When he died the daughter was carried to her her-
mit uncle to be religiously instructed. She was seven years old
when taken to the desert. Abraham built a cell close to his own
and opening into it by a window, and there placed the child. Here
he taught her to pray, to sing praises, to recite psalms, and to de-
spise the pleasures of the world. Thus Mary lived until she was
twenty years old. At this time there came a young hermit to the
cell of Abraham to receive his instructions. The beauty of the
face which he beheld by chance through the window, and the music
of the voice which chanted holy praises so near him, inflamed his
heart with love for the maiden, and he tempted her to sin, forget-
ting his vows. When she at length reflected on what she had done,
she so feared her uncle that she fled from his sight and went to a re-
mote place where for two years she lived a shameless life of sin,
Now on the very night that she fled, Abraham dreamed that a hid-
eous dragon came to his cell and found there a white dove and took
it away with him. When he awoke the dream troubled him. Again
when he slept he saw the same dragon, and he crushed his head
with his foot, and took the dove from its maw and put it in his bosom.
Then the dove came to life, and spreading its wings, flew to heaven.
Then the hermit knew that this dream referred to his beloved Mary.
He took his staff and went forth seeking her through all the land.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
225
After a long time he found her, and when she was overcome with
shame and sorrow he encouraged her, and promised himself to dc
penance for her. Then she cried out, " O, my father 1 if thou think-
est there is hope for me, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest,
and kiss thy footsteps which lead me out of this gulf of sin and
deatli ! " Then he comforted her, and leaving behind all her jewels
and gay attire she returned with him to the cell in the desert. Here
she ministered to her aged uncle and lived a life of contrition and
penance. And for many years after his death she still continued
the same life, and so great was the virtue of her prayers that the
sick who were brought to her were cured when she prayed. When
she died she was borne by angels to Paradise. Conversion of Mary
the Penitent, October 29.
St. Matthias (Ital. San Mattia ; Fr. St. Mathias ; Lat. Sanc-
tus Matthaeus) was the last apostle, chosen to take the place made
vacant by the treachery of Judas. St. Denis relates that he was se-
lected by the Apostles on account of a beam of divine splendor
which pointed to him. This has been represented in art. He
preached in Judtea a> was martyred by the Jews. His attribute
is a lance or an axe. February 24.
St. Matthew (Lat. S. Mattheus ; Ger.
Der Heilige Matthaus ; Fr. St. Matthieu ;
Ital. San Matteo). Among the Evangelists
St. Matthew holds the first place on ac-
count of having written his Gospel first.
In representations of the disciples he is
the seventh or eighth. He has not been
a popular subject of art. The Scripture
account only tells that his name was Levi,
and his office that of tax-gatherer. A
Hebrew by birth. When Christ called
him, he immediately left all else to obey ;
and he also made a great feast in his house,
at which Jesus with his disciples sat with
publicans and sinners to the horror of the
Jews. After the separation of the Apos-
tles, Matthew preached twenty-three years
in Egypt and Ethiopia. At the capital of
Ethiopia, he was honorably entertained by
that eunuch whom Philip had baptized. He
raised the son of the King of Egypt from
the dead, and cured his daughter, called
Iphigenia, of leprosy, and placed her at
the head of a society of young maidens,
dedicated to the service of God. A St. Matthew.
heathen king determined to take her away from this community, on
15
226
LEGENDS AND STORIES
account of which his palace was burned, and he became a leper.
When this saint was in Ethiopia a terrible fear was over the people,
on account of two skillful magicians who put many under their spells,
and afflicted them with dreadful diseases. St. Matthew overcame
these sorcerers, and ended their power by baptizing the people. All
this is related in the " Perfetto Legendario." The manner of his death
i* doubtful. The Greek legend says he died a peaceful death, bur
the western traditions teach that he suffered martyrdom in the time
of Domitian. His proper attributes are the purse when represented
as aii apostle ; the pen and book, with an attendant angel, when ho
is the Evangelist. The angel
holds the inkhorn or the book ;
or points to heaven, or dic-
tates. Greek pictures of his
death show him dying peace-
fully, while an angel swings a
censer ; other representations
give the martyrdom by the
sword. September 21, A. D.
90.
St. Maurelio or Maure-
lius was the first bishop, and
is the patron saint of Ferrara
and Imola. His image is on
the coins of Ferrara. He
was beheaded.
St. Maurice (Lat. Sanc-
tus Mauritius ; Ital. San Mau-
rizio ; Ger. Der Heilige
Moritz ; Fr. St. Maurice).
The legend of St. Maurice
and the Theban Legion is
one of the most ancient of all
legends, and has been so re-
ceived as to have almost the
same importance, as if it were
a strictly historical fact. The
Theban Legion was so called
because levied in the Thebaid.
It was composed of 6,666 men,
all of whom were Christians
It was commanded by Mau-
rice, who was of illustrious
descent. This legion was so
characterized by valor, piety,
and fidelity, that it had received the title of Felix. When Maximin
(Hemshirk.) St. Maurice.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 227
was about to enter Gaul, he ordered this legion to accompany him
thither. When they had passed the Alps the legion was divided : a part
went to the Rhine, and the remainder halted on the banks of Lake
(lonovM. Here Maximin ordered a great sacrifice to the gods, with
all die game* and festivities which accompanied the pagan rites.
There Maurice and his soldiers separated themselves from the army,
and pitched their camp at a place now called Saint Maurice, but
then Aganum. Maximin then made it known that the purpose of his
expedition was the extermination of the Christians, and threatened
the Theban Legion with his vengeance if they did not join in the
sacrifices. They steadfastly refused to do so or to assist in the per-
secution of the Christians. Then Maximin commanded the men to
be decimated. Those to whom the lot fell rejoiced in being thus
chosen to testify to their faith, and those who were left were still so
determined that they were decimated the second time. Even when
the third summons came Maurice replied, " O Caesar ! we are thy
soldiers, but we are also the soldiers of Jesus Christ. From thee we
receive our pay, but from Him we have received eternal life. To
thee we owe service, to him obedience. We are ready to follow thee
against the Barbarians ; but we are also ready to suffer death, rather
than renounce our faith, or fight against our brethren." Then Max-
imin commanded that the rest of the army should surround these
men, and murder every one with the sword. He was obeyed, not
one was left alive. But some were trampled to death, some hanged,
and some shot with arrows. Maurice knelt down and was beheaded.
At Cologne, and in other places, many more who belonged to the
Theban Legion suffered martyrdom. Savoy, Piedmont, and parts of
Germany abound in these soldier saints. The name of Maurice
signifies " a Moor," and he is represented as one in some pictures. He
is dressed in armor, and bears the standard and the palm. In Italian
pictures he wears a red cross on his breast, which is the badge of the
Sardinian Order of St. Maurice. September 22, A. D. 286.
St. Maurus was the son of a Roman senator, and was placed
under the care of St. Benedict at Subiaco, when only twelve years
old. He became one of the most famous disciples of his great
Master. At one time Maurus expressed his satisfaction at the death
of one Florentius, who had attempted to poison St. Benedict, and
had committed many crimes which disgraced his office (for he was a
pnest) ; this expression so shocked his teacher that he commanded
him to atone for his sin by a severe penance. After the death of
Benedict, Maurus introduced the Benedictine Order into France, and
founded the monastery of St. Maure-sur-Loire (then called Glan-
feuil), where he died. His attribute is the book or censer. January
15, A. D. 584.
St. Mercurials was the first Bishop of Forli in the second cen-
tury. His attribute is a dragon, representing sin, which the saint had
vanquished. He is patron saint of Forli.
228
LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Mercurius (Gr. v Ay. "E/^'s. Signification : God's MesKjn-
gcr). The representations of this saint belong especially to Greek
art. He was an officer whom Julian the Apostate put to death on
account of his Christian faith. When Julian afterwards fought
against the Persians, St. Basil had a vision in which he saw a
woman seated on a throne, and surrounded by augels. To one of
these she said, " Go forthwith, and awaken Mercurius, who sleepeth
in the sepulchre, that he may slay Julian the Apostate, that proud
blasphemer against me and against my Son ! " As soon as the vision
had passed Basil went to the tomb of Mercurius, but neither the
body nor the armor which had been buried with him were in the
tomb. But the next day the body of the saint and all the armoi
was as before, except that the lance was stained with blood. " For
on the day of battle, when the wicked emperor was at the head of
his army, an unknown warrior, bareheaded, and of a pale and
ghastly countenance, was seen mounted on a white charger, which
he spurred forward ; and, brandishing his lance, he pierced Julian
through the body, and then vanished as suddenly as he had appeared.
And Julian being carried to his tent, he took a handful of the blood
which flowed from his wound, and flung it into the air, exclaiming
with his last breath, ' Thou hast conquered, Galilean ! Thou hast
conquered ! ' Then the demons received his parting spirit. But
Mercurius, having performed the behest of the Blessed Virgin, re-
entered his tomb, and laid himself down to sleep till the Day of
Judgment."
St. Methodius. See St. Cyril.
St. Michael (Lat. Sanctus Michael
Angelus ; Fr. Monseigneur Saint
Michel ; Ital. San Michele, Samnii-
chele; "Ay. Mi^a^'A). St. Michael,
whose name signifies " like unto God,"
or Michael the Archangel, is regarded
as the first and mightiest of all created
spirits. He it was whom God com-
missioned to expel Satan and the re-
bellious angels from heaven. His office
now is believed to be twofold, includ-
ing that of patron saint of the Church
on earth, and Lord of the souls of the
dead ; deciding their merits, present-
ing the good to God, and sending the
evil and wicked away to torment. It.
is believed to have been St. Michael
(Cathedr-d of Cortona, about w ]j O appeared to Hagar (Gen. xxi. 17),
7th century.) St. Michael. /.,.,, .^ /
to Abraham to forbid the sacrifice 01
Isaac (Gen. xxii. 11) ; who brought the plagues on Egypt, led the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 229
Israelites on their journey, contended with Satan for the body of
Moses (Jude 5), put blessings instead of curses in Balaam's mouth
(Num. xxii. 35), was with Joshua at Jericho (Josh. v. 13), appeared
to Gideon (Judges vi. 11), brought the pestilence to Israel (2 Sam.
xxiv. 1G), destroyed the Assyrian army (2 Chron. xxxii. 21), deliv-
ered the three faithful Jews from the fiery furnace (Dan. iii. 25),
and sent Habakkuk to feed Daniel in the lion's den (Bel and the
Dragon, 32). The legends also relate that St. Michael appeared to
the Virgin Mary to announce to her the time of her death, and
that he received her soul and bore it to Jesus. And again, that
during the sixth century, when a fearful pestilence was raging in
Rome, St. Gregory advised that a procession should be made, which
should pass through the streets singing the service which since then
has been called the Great Litanies. This was done for three days,
and on the last day, when they came opposite to the tomb of Ha-
drian, Gregory beheld the Archangel Michael hovering over the
city ; and he alighted on the top of the Mausoleum and sheathed
his sword, which was dripping with blood. Then the plague was
stayed, and the Tomb of Hadrian has been called the Castle of
Sant' Angelo from that day, and a chapel was there consecrated,
the name of which was Ecclesia Sancti Angeli usque ad Coelos.
St. Michael is also said to have appeared to command the building
of two churches. The first was on the eastern coast of Italy, and
was called the Church of Monte Galgano. The legend relates
that in the fifth century there dwelt in Siponte a man named Gal-
gano, who was very rich in herds which were pastured on the
mountain. At one time a bull strayed away and Galgano took his
servants and went to find him, and when he was seen he was on
the very summit of the mountain, near the mouth of a cave. And
Galgano was angry with the bull and ordered a servant to kill it;
but the arrow came back to the bosom of him who sent it, and
killed him instantly. Then Galgano being troubled, sent to the
bishop to know what he should do. Then the bishop fasted and
prayed tor three days, at the end of which time, St. Michael ap-
peared to him and told him that the spot where the bull had been
was especially sacred to him, and he could not permit it to be vio-
lated by blood, and he commanded that a church should be built
ther? and sanctified to his service. And when they entered the
cave they found a stream of water running from the rock, wliich
jured all manner of diseases ; and three altars were already built
there, and one was covered with a rich cloth embroidered in crim-
son and gold. So the fame of this vision spread through all Eu-
rope, and the church which was there built became a resort for nu-
merous pilgrims. Again in the reign of Childebert H. St. Michael
appeared to St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches, and commanded that
a church should be built on the summit of a rock in the Gulf of
230
LEGENDS AND STORIES
Avranches., in Normandy. This rock is inaccessible at high water,
and has been celebrated as an impregnable fortress. The bishop
was also told that a bull would be found concealed there and a
spring of pure water, and the church should be made to cover as
much ground as the bull had trampled. St. Aubert considered this
as but a dream, but it was repeated again and again, and the third
time the Archangel pressed his thumb upon the head of the bisht f
(Martin Schoen.) St. Michael.
and left there a mark which never disappeared. After this a small
church was built which was afterwards replaced by a magnificent
abbey, commenced by Richard, Duke of Normandy, and completed
by William the Conqueror. Mont-Saint-Michel became one of
the most celebrated places of pilgrimage, as it is one of the most
picturesque in scenery, but the legend seems only a poor repetition
if that of Monte Galgano. From this time St. Michaol was greatly
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 23)
venerated in France. He was selected as patron saint of the coun-
try and of the Order which St. Louis instituted in his honor. An
old French writer also makes him the angel of good counsel, and
says, " Le vrai office de Monseigneur Saint Michel est de faire
grandcs revelations anx hommes en bas, en leur donnant moult
saints conseils," and particularly " sur le bon nourissement que le
pere et la mere donnent & leurs enfans." St. Michael is always
represented as young and beautiful. As patron of the Church
Militant he is " the winged saint," with no attribute save the shield
and lance. As conqueror of Satan, he stands in armor, with his
foot upon the Evil One, who is half human or like a dragon in
shape. The angel is about to chain him or to transfix him with the
xaiice. But the treatment of this subject is varied in many ways,
all however easily recognized. As lord of souls St. Michael is
unarmed ; he holds a balance, and in each scale a little naked figure
representing the souls ; the bealo usually joins the hands as in thank-
fulness, while the rejected one expresses horror in look and attitude.
Frequently a demon is seizing the falling scale with a Plutonic
hook, or with his talons. In these pictures the saint is rarely with-
out wings. When introduced in pictures of the Madonna and
Child he presents the balance to Christ, who seems to welcome the
happy soul. Whether with or without the balance, he is always the
lord of souls in pictures of the death, assumption, or glorification
of the Virgin Mary, for tradition teaches that he received her spirit
and cared for it until it was reunited to her body and ascended to
her Son. The old English coin called an angel was so named be-
cause it bore the image of this archangel. September 29. Appar-
ition of St. Michael, May 8.
St. Miniato orMinias. The Florentine legend relates that
this saint was an Armenian prince who belonged to the Roman
army and served under Decius. When that emperor was encamped
outside the city of Florence, Miniato was denounced as a Christian
and condemned to be thrown to the beasts of the amphitheatre. A
panther was first set upon him, but the saint was delivered from
him in answer to his prayers. He was then hanged, put in boiling
oil, and stoned without being destroved, for an angel descended to
comfort him, and clothed him in a garment of light. Finally he
was beheaded. It is said that this occurred in 254. He is repre-
sented dressed as a prince with scarlet robe and a crown. His
attributes are the palm, the lily, and javelins.
St. Modwena was an Irish virgin who had power to heal dis-
ea^es. King Egbert had a son who was epileptic, and no physician
of lus court could heal him. Now the king hearing of the power of
Modwena sent his son over seas to her with many and rich gifts.
The virgin refused the presents but she healed the sick boy. Theu
the king sent for her to come to England. He was surprised at her
232 LEGENDS AND STORIES
learning and piety, and he built for her a convent at Polesworth, in
Warwickshire, and gave his daughter Edith into her care. Thia
Edith of Polesworth, as she is called, also became famous and was
canonized. St. Modwena is represented in the black habit of a
Benedictine nun with a white veil. In one hand a crosier, as first
abbess of her monastery, and in the other a. book. July 5, A. D. 1387.
St. Monica (/>. Sainte Monique) was the mother of St. Augus-
tine and a Christian, while his father was a heathen. Monica was
sorely troubled at the dissipated life of her young son ; she wept
ard prayed for him, and at last sought the advice and aid of the
Bishop of Carthage. He dismissed her with these words : " Go in
peace ; the sou of so many tears will not perish." At length she
had the joy to behold the baptism of St. Augustine by the Bishop
of ]\lilan, in which city it took place. She is venerated as the first
Augustine nun. She is represented in many of the pictures illus-
trative of the life of St. Augustine. Her dress is a black robe with
veil or coif of white or gray. In one picture in Florence she is
seated on a throne and attended by twelve nuns or saints. This
represents her as the foundress of the Augustine Order of nuns.
May 4, A. D. 387.
Moses, The Patriarch. There are some legends concern-
ing Moses, so entirely outside all connection with the Scripture ac-
count of him that the pictures which are painted to represent them
are quite incomprehensible without the traditions. According to
these the daughter of Pharaoh Valid went to the Nile, in order to
heal some disease from which she suffered, by the use of its waters.
And when Thermutis (for so she was called) touched the babe she
found she was immediately well. One legend relates that the king
had seven daughters, and all of them lepers, and that all were made
whole by the touch of the infant, and that therefore the king al-
lowed them to rear the child in the palace. But art represents the
Srst version, and the tegend goes on to say that Thermutis having
no children, grew so fond of the boy, that she desired that he should
succeed to the throne of Egypt. Now when the child was three
years old, she brought him to the king who caressed him, and sport-
ively placed the crown on his head. Moses pulled it off and dashed
ii to the ground, it is said, because it was engraved with the fig-
ures of idols, which even then Moses abhorred ; again, it is said
that it was the covering of the king's beard that he pulled off and
threw down. But be it as it may those who stood by looked upon
it as a bad omen, and advised the king that he should be slain ; but
others said he was too young to know right from wrong ; while
others still thought there was something very uncommon in the
babe. Then the third counselor said, let a ruby ring and a burn-
ing coal be set before him ; if he should choose the ring it will
show that he knows right from wrong and so let him be slain ; but
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 233
if he choose the coal it will show he is too young to (Distinguish the
right, and so let him live. Then this was done, and the ring was
the king's signet which was large and shining. Then at first the
child reached out for the ring, but the angel Gabriel, who took the
form of one of the attendants, turned his hand aside, so that he
took the coal and put it into his mouth, and his tongue was so
burned that he could never speak distinctly while he lived ; but his
life was spared. This appears in art from the fourteenth century.
St. Nabor and St. Felix. Little is known of these two saints
beyond the fact that the}- were Christians, and were martyred on
account of their faith in the reign of Diocletian. They suffered at
Milan, and were buried by a Christian named Philip. A chapel
was built over their remains, and it was in this church that St. Am-
brose prayed when he had the vision which led to the discovery of
the relics of SS. Gervasius and Protasius. They are represented
in art both in armor and in secular costume. July 12.
St. Narcissus. See St. Afra of Augsburg.
St. Natalia. See St. Adrian.
St. Nazarius (Ital. San Nazaro). See St. Celsus.
St. Neot was the preceptor as well as kinsman of King Alfred.
He was a very learned monk of Glastonbury. It is said that he
journeyed to Rome seven times. He is described as " humble to
all, affable in conversation, wise in transacting business, venerable
in aspect, severe in countenance, moderate even in his walk, up-
right, calm, temperate, and charitable." He dwelt at one time in a
wild solitude in Cornwall. He died in 878. Two towns in Eng-
land bear his name. His attributes are the pilgrim's staff and
wallet. October 28.
St. Nereus (Ital. San Nereo). See St. Achilleus.
St. Nicaise (Lat. Sanctus Nicasius) was Bishop of Rheims, and
was famed for the success of his preaching. When Rheims was
besieged in A. n. 400 by the Vandals, St. Nicaise went forth to meet
them attended by his clergy, and singing hymns. A barbarian sol-
dier struck off the upper part of his head ; but still the saint
marched on and continued to sing, until after a few steps he fell
dead. He is represented in his bishop's robes, carrying a part of
his head upon which is the mitre. December 14.
St Nicholas of Myra (Lat. Sanctus Nicholaus ; Ital. San
Niccolo or Nicola di Bari ; Ger. Der Heilige Nicolaus or Niklas).
Very little of historical fact is known of this saint. There was a
bishop of this name, much venerated in the East as early as the
sixth century ; a church was dedicated to him in Constantinople
about A. i). 560 ; in the Greek Church he ranks next to the great
Fathers. He began to be reverenced in the West in the tenth cen-
tury, and since the twelfth has been one of the most popular of all
saints in Italy, Russia, and in fact all Catholic Europe. But what
234 LEGENDS AND STORIES
history does not tell is more than supplied by tradition. The stories
of St. Nicholas are numberless, and many of them have been treated
in art. According to these legends Nicholas was born of illustrious
Christian parents, when they had been many years married without
having children, and it was thought that this son was given by
God as a reward for the alms which they had bestowed upon the
Church and the poor, as well as for the prayers they had offered.
Their home was in Panthera, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor. The
very day of his birth this wonderful child arose in his bath, and
joining his hands, praised God that he had brought him into the
world. And from the same day he would only take the breast once
on Wednesday and Friday; thus knowing how to fast from the time
that he knew hunger. On account of his holy dispositions his
parents early dedicated him to the service of the Church. While
still young Nicholas lost both father and mother ; and he regarded
himself as but God's steward over the vast wealth of which he was
possessed. A certain nobleman of Panthera who was very rich lost
all his property, and became so destitute that he could not provide
for his three daughters, and he feared that he should be driven to
sacrifice their virtue for money to keep them from starvation. The
daughters were filled with grief, and having no bread knew not
where to look for aid. Now Nicholas heard of this and resolved to
relieve them. So he took a good sum of gold and tied it in a hand-
kerchief, and went to the house by night to try how he could give it
to them and not be himself seen. As he lingered near the dwelling
the moon shone out brightly and showed an open window. Then
Nicholas threw the gold inside the house and hastened away. The
money fell at the feet of the unhappy father, and with it he por-
tioned his eldest daughter and she was married. Again Nicholas
did the same, and the second daughter received this sum. But now
the nobleman resolved to watch, in order to know who was thus kind
to him; and when Nicholas went the third time he seized him by
his robe, saying, " O Nicholas ! Servant of God ! why seek to hide
thyself? " Then Nicholas made him promise that he would tell no
man. And this was but one of the many charities which he did in
Panthera. At length he determined to go to Palestine. On the
voyage a sailor fell overboard and was drowned, but St. Nicholas
restored his life ; and when a storm arose, and they were about to
perish, the sailors fell at his feet and implored him to save them ;
and when he prayed the storm ceased. After his return from
Palestine Nicholas dwelt in the city of Myra, where he was unknown,
and he lived in great humility. At length the Bishop of Myra died,
and a revelation was made to the clergy to the effect that the first
man who should come to the church the next morning was the man
whom God had chosen for their bishop. So when Nicholas came
early to the church to pray, as was his custom, the clergy led him
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
235
Into the church and consecrated him bishop. He showed himself
well worthy of his new dignity in every way, but especially by his
( Angelico da Fiesole.) Charity of St. Nicholas of Myre.
charities, which were beyond account. At one time a dreadful
famine prevailed in his diocese, and when he heard that ships were
in the port of Myra laden with wheat, he requested the captains
236 LEGENDS AND STORIES
that thcv should give him a hundred hotheads of wheat out of each
vessel. But they dared not do this, for the grain was measured at
Alexandria and would be again measured at Constantinople where
they were to deliver it. Then Nicholas said that if they obeyed
him it should happen by the grace of God that their cargoes should
not be diminished. So they complied, and when they were arrived
at the "ranary of the emperor they found as much wheat in thtir
ships as when they left Alexandria. And moreover that which
they gave St. Nicholas was miraculously increased ; for he fed the
people so that they had enough to eat, and still sufficient remained
to sow their fields for the next year. During this time of hunger, as
St. Nicholas was travelling through his diocese he did one of his
greatest miracles. He slept in the house of a man who was a most
loyal son of Satan, for in this time of want he was accustomed to
steal children, to kill them and serve them up as meat to those who
stopped at his inn. Now Nicholas no sooner had this abominable
dish placed before him than he knew what it was and understood
the horrible wickedness of the man. Then he accused the host, and
went to the tub where the children were salted down and made the
sign of the cross over it, when lo ! three children rose up whole and
well. All the people were struck dumb at this miracle, and the
three children were restored to their mother, who was a widow. At
one time Constantine sent certain tribunes to put down a rebellion
in Phrygia. On their journey they stopped at Myra, ard Nicholas
invited them to his table ; but as they were about to sit down he
heard that the prefect of the city was preparing to execute three
innocent men, and the people were greatly moved thereat. Then
Nicholas hastened to the place of execution, followed by his guests.
"When they arrived the men were already kneeling with their eyes
bound and the executioner was ready with his sword. St. Nicholas
seized his sword and commanded the men to be released. The
tribunes looked on in wonder, but no one dared to resist the good
bishop. Even the prefect sought his pardon, which he granted
after much hesitation. After this when the tribunes went on their
way they did not forget St. Nicholas, for it happened that while
thej were absent in Phrygia their enemies poisoned the mind of
Constantine against them, so that when they were returned to Con-
stantinople he accused them of treason and threw them into prison,
ordering their execution on the following day. Then these tribunes
called upon St. Nicholas and prayed him to deliver them. That
same night he appeared to Constantine in a dream and commanded
him to release those whom he had imprisoned, and threatened him
with God's wrath if he obeyed not. Constantine not only released
them, but he sent them to Myra to thank St. Nicholas, and to pre-
sent him with a copy of the Gospels which was written in letters of
gold and bound in covers set with pearls and rare jewels. Alsc
ILLUSTRATED *J ART. 237
certain sailors who were in danger of shipwreck on the yEgean Sea,
called upon Jesus to deliver them for the sake of St. Nicholas, and
immediately the saint appeared to them saying, " Lo, here I am, my
sons ! put your trust in God whose servant I am, and ye shall be
saved." And the sea was calm and he took them into a safe har-
bor. Now the fame of these miracles so went abroad through the
world, that since that time those who are in peril invoke this saint,
and find aid in him. And so his life was spent in doing all manner
of good works, and when he died it wa's in great peace and joy ;
and he was buried in a magnificent church in Myra. The miracles
attributed to St. Nicholas after his death were quite as marvelous
as those he did while yet alive. A man who greatly desired to
have a son made a vow that if this wish could be realized the first
time he took his child to church he would give a cup of gold to the
altar of St. Nicholas. The son was granted, and the father ordered
the cup to be made ; but when it was finished it was so beautiful
that he decided to retain it for his own use, and had another less
valuable made for St. Nicholas. At length he went on the journey
necessary to accomplish his vow, and while on the way he ordered
the little child to bring him water in the cup which he had taken
for himself. In obeying his father, the boy fell into the water and
was drowned. Then the father repented sorely of his covetousness
and repaired to the Church of St. Nicholas and offered the second
cup ; but when it was placed upon the altar it fell off and rolled on
the ground, and this it did the second and third time; and while all
looked on amazed, behold, the drowned child stood on the steps of
the altar with the beautiful cup in his hand ; and he told how St.
Nicholas had rescued him from death and brought him there. Then
the joyful father made an offering of both cups, and returned home
full of gratitude to the good St. Nicholas. This story has often been
told in prose and poetry as well as represented in art. Again, a
Jew of Calabria, having heard of all the wonderful deeds of St.
Nicholas, stole his image from the church and set it up in his house.
Whenever he left his house he put the care of his goods in the
hands of the saint, and threatened that if anything should befall
them in his absence he would chastise the saint on his return. One
da* the robbers came and stole his treasures. Then the J( w beat
thtj image and cut it also. That night St. Nicholas appeared to the
robbers all wounded and bleeding, and commanded them to restore
what they had stolen ; and they being afraid at the vision did a* he
bade them. Then the Jew was converted by this miracle and was
baptized. Another rich Christian merchant who dwelt in a pagan
country had an only son who was made a captive, and was obliged
to serve the king of the country as cupbearer. One day as he filled
the king's cup he remembered that it was St. Nicholas' day, and he
wept. Then the king demanded the cause of his grief, and when
238 LEGENDS AND STORIES
the young man told him he answered, " Great as is thy St. Nicholas
he cannot save thee from my hand I " And instantly the palace
was shaken by a whirlwind, and St. Nicholas appeared and caught
the youth by the hair, and set him in the midst of his own family
with the king's cup still in his hand. And it happened that the
very moment when he came there was that in which his father was
giving food to the poor and asking their prayers for his captive son.
It is necessary to keep these traditions in mind when regarding the
pictures of St. Nicholas, for in two different pictures there appears a
boy with a cup, so that it is important to distinguish them by the
accessories. Sometimes it is a daughter who is rescued from cap-
tivity. The tomb of St. Nicholas was a fatuous) resort for pilgrims
for centuries. In 807 the church was attacked by Achmet, com-
mander of the fleet of Haroun Al Raschid. But the watchfulness
of the monks prevented him from doing any harm, and putting to
sea, he and his whole fleet were destroyed in punishment for their
sacrilegious attempt. The remains of the saiat rested in Myra until
1084, although several attempts were made by different cities and
churches to possess themselves of these sacred relics. At length in
the year mentioned some merchants of Bari who traded on the coast
of Syria resolved to obtain these remains of which they had heard
so great wonders. At this time Myra was desolated by the Sara-
cens, and the ruined church was guarded by three monks. The
remains were taken without difficulty and carried safely to Bari,
where a splendid church was erected for their resting-place. The
Venetians however claim that they have the true relics of St. Nich-
olas, brought home by Venetian merchants in 1100. But the claims
of Bari are generally acknowledged, and the saint is best known as
St. Nicholas of Bari. In Greek pictures he is dressed like a Greek
bishop, with no mitre, the cross in place of the crosier, and the
persons of the Trinity embroidered on his cope. In western art he
has the bishop's dress, the mitre, the cope very much ornamented,
the crosier, and jeweled gloves. His attributes are three balls,
which are on the book, at his feet or in his lap. They are said to
represent the three purses of gold which he threw into the window of
the poor nobleman ; or three loaves of bread, emblematic of his feed-
ing the poor ; or again, the persons of the Trinity. The first inter-
pretation is the most general. He is chief patron of Russia. Pa-
tron of Bari, Venice, and Freiberg, as well as of many other towns
and cities, numbers of them being sea-port places. He is protector
against robbers and losses by violence. He is patron of children
and school-boys in particular ; of poor maidens, of sailors, travellers,
and merchants. December 6, A. D. 326.
St. Nicholas of Tolentino, was born in the little town of
St. Angelo, near Fermo, in 1239. His parents had prayed earnestly
ho St. Nicholas for a son, and as they believed that this son was
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
239
10 them through the intercession of this saint, they named him Nhh-
ulas, and dedicated him to
the service of the Church.
At an early age he took the
habit of an Augustine friar,
and so great was the auster-
it} uf his life that it has been
said, that " he did not live,
but languished through
life." lie was successful
ns a preacher, and his mir-
acles and visions are num-
berless. He never allowed
himself to taste animal
food, and when he was
very weak he refused a
dish of doves that his
brethren brought him, and
waved his hand above the
dish, when the doves rose
up and flew away. Tradi-
tion teaches that at the
hour of his birth a brill-
iant star shot through the
heavens from Sant' Angelo,
where he was born, and
rested over the city of
Tolentino, where he after-
wards lived. In the year
1602, a plague visited the
city of Cordova, and ac-
cording to the legend the
governor caused the image
of St. Nicholas of Tolentino to be carried through the city in
solemn procession, on the day which was observed as the festival
of that saint. Father G. de Uavas bearing a crucifix, met the
process! MII, when the figure of Christ stooped from the cross, avd
embraced that of St. Nicholas, and immediately the plague was
stayed. He is also represented in art as restoring a child to life,
and doing many other miracles. He is painted in the black habit
of his Order, with a star on his breast ; he often bears a crucifix
wreathed with lilies typical of the purity and austerity of his life.
September 10, A. D. 1309.
St. Nilus of Grotta Ferrata (Ital. San Nilo ; Fr. Saint Nil
le jeune). St. Nilus was connected with many interesting events in
Rouidi. histc ry in life, and since his death is associated with art in
St. Nicholas of Tolentino.
240
LEGENDS AND STORIES
an interesting manner. He was a Greek, born near Tarentum. It
wa? not uniil after the loss of his wife, whom he loved devotedly, that
l.e embraced a religious vocation. He took the habit of the Greek
Order of St. Basil, and was soon made the superior of his com-
munity on account of his Avorth and learning. The chances of war
drove him to the west of Italy, and he fled to the convent of Monte
Cassino at Capua, which was of the Benedictine Order. Hu was
received with great kindness, and a small convent assigned to him
and his followers by the abbot. At this time Capua was governed
(Fresco at Grotta Ferrata.) Miracle of St. Nilus.
by Aloare, who was the widow of the prince of Capua, and reigned
in the name and' right of her two sons. Tkis wicked mother had
influenced her children to murder their cousin, who was a powerful
and worthy nobleman. Now she was seized with the agony of
remorse, and sought St. Nilus to confess her crime, and entreated
absolution at his hands. He refused this, except upon condition
that she should give up one of her sons to the family of the mur-
dered man, to be dealt with as they saw fit. This she would not
consent to do. Then St. Nilus denounced her unforgiven, and told
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 241
her that what she would not give, Heaven would soon exact of her.
She offered him large sums of money, and begged him to pray for
her ; but he threw down her money in scorn and left her. Not
long after this the youngest son killed the elder in a church, and for
this double crime of fratricide and sacrilege, he was put to death by
command of Hugh Capet. Nilus afterwards went to Rome, and
lived* in a convent on the Aventine, where large numbers of sick
people visited him, and he did many and great miracles. Among
others, his cure of an epileptic boy forms a subject for art. Crescen-
tius was consul at this time, and John XVI., who was a Greek like St.
Nilus. was Pope. Then Otho III. came to Rome and made a new
pope, with the title of Gregory V. He put out the eyes of Pope
John, and laid siege to the Castle of St. Angelo to which Crescentius
had retired. After a short siege the castle was given up on honor-
able terms ; but not heeding these Otho ordered that Crescentius
should be thrown headlong from the walls, and Stephanie, his wife,
given up to the outrages of the soldiers. So great was the influence
of Nilus in Rome at this time that the emperor and the new pope
endeavored to conciliate him, but he fearlessly rebuked them, and
declared that the time would soon come when they should both seek
mercy without finding it. He then left Rome and went first to a
cell near Gaeta, but soon after to a cave near Frascati, called the
Crypta or Grotta Ferrata. Pope Gregory died a miserable death,
soon after. Otho went on a pilgrimage to Monte Galgano. When
returning he visited Nilus, and on his knees besought his prayers.
He offered to erect a convent and endow it with lands, but this
Nilus refused, and when Otho demanded what boon he could grant
him, the saint stretched out his hand, and replied, " I ask of thee
but this : that thou wouldst make reparation of thy crimes before
God, and save thine own soul ! " Soon after Otho returned to Rome,
he was obliged to fly from the fury of the people, and was poisoned
by Stephanie, the widow of Crescentius. When St. Nilus died, he
desired his brethren to bury him immediately, and to keep secret the
place where they laid him. This they did ; but his disciple, Barto-
lomeo, built the convent which Nilus had not wished to do, and
received the gifts he had refused. The magnificent convent and
church of San Basilio of Grotta Ferrata, was built, and St. Nilus is
regarded as its founder. Their rule is that of St. Basil, and their
mass is recited in Greek, but they wear the Benedictine habit as a
dependency of Monte Cassino. The finest Greek library in all Italy
was here, and is now in the Vatican, and Julius II. changed the con-
vent to a fortress. In 1610, Domenichino was employed by Cardinal
Odoardo Farnese, to decorate the chapel of St. Nilus, which he did
with paintings from the life of the saint. September 26, A. D. 1002.
St. Norbert (Itul. San Norberto, Fondatore de' Premostratesi ;
Ge,r. Stifter der Priimonstratensei'-Orden). This saint was a relative
16
242 LEGENDS AND STORTES
of Henry IV. He was born at Cologne, and early dedicated to the
Church. But he led a dissolute life as a young man. At last, as he
was one day riding, he was overtaken by a tempest, and a ball of
fire fell from heaven and exploding at the feet of his horse, sank into
the earth. He was terrified when he reflected upon what his state
would have been had he been killed by it, and he resolved to lead a
different life from that time. He bestowed his money on the -poor,
and determined to be a missionary. He only reserved a mule to
carry the sacred utensils for the altar and the vestments, and ten
marks of silver. He dressed himself in skins with a cord as a girdle,
and thus he went forth to preach. After preaching for some years
there were many who desired him to form a community, and lead
them in a life of austerity and severe discipline. He prayed to the
Blessed Virgin for direction, and she pointed out to him a spot called
Pre-montre (Pratum Monstratum), in the valley of Coucy, where he
should establish his monastery. The Virgin also directed what habit
they should wear ; that it should be a coarse black tunic, with a white
woolen cloak, in imitation of angels who are clothed in white ; and
a four-cornered cap of white also, but in form like the beret of the
Augustine canons. The rule was that of Augustine in extreme
severity. St. Norbert was made Bishop of Magdeburg, and before
his death his Order embraced twelve hundred souls. According to
the legend, one day when he had consecrated the holy wine, and
was about to drink it, he saw a large and poisonous spider in the
cup. For a moment he hesitated ; but he reflected that he could
not spill the consecrated wine, it would be sacrilege ; so he drank it,
and remained unharmed. This was considered as a miraculous
recompense of his faith, and is often seen represented in art. When
at Antwerp, there was one Tankelin who preached most heretical
doctrines, saying, that the sacraments were unnecessary ; the priest-
hood a cheat ; and a community of wives as well as goods the true
doctrine. St. Norbert confronted this heretic, opposed him, and
triumphed over him with great effect. He wears in pictures the
dress of an archbishop with mitre, crosier, and cope. Sometimes he
bears the sacramental cup over which is a spider. He also has, in
some instances, a demon at his feet, representing the sin and error
which he had overcome. May 6, A. D. 1134.
St. Omobuono was a citizen saint of Cremona. He was a mer-
chant, and married to a good and prudent wife, so though a saint
he was not monk or priest. From his youth all his affairs prospered
greatly, and his wealth was only equaled by his charity. He not
only fed and clothed but he comforted the poor, and tried to encour-
age the erring ones to repent and lead virtuous lives. His wife
often feared lest his generosity should make his children poor, but
his money seemed to be miraculously increased, and it is related that
being on a journey with his family he gave all the wine and bread
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 243
he had provided for their use to some poor pilgrims whom he met ;
but when he took his wine-flasks to a spring and filled them with
water, most excellent wine was poured from them, and his bags were
filled with bread by angels. He died peacefully while kneeling be-
fore a crucifix in the Church of St. Egidio, just as the choir sang the
" Gloria in Excelsis." He is represented clothed in a loose tunic and
a cap, both of which are trimmed with fur. He usually distributes
alms to the poor ; wine-flasks stand near him.
St. Onuphrius (Onofrio, Honofrio, Onuphre) was a hermit. He
went out from Thebes and passed sixty years in the desert, during
which time he never uttered a word except in prayer, nor saw a hu-
man face. His clothing was of leaves and his hair and beard were
uncut. He was thus seen by Paplmutius, who when he first saw him
was filled with fear, believing him to be some strange wild beast ;
but when he saw that it was a man, he fell at his feet filled with rev-
erence of his sanctity. Then Onuphrius recounted all he had endured
in his solitude : how he had been tempted ; had suffered from cold,
heat, hunger, thirst, and sickness, and how God had sent angels to
sornfort, strengthen, and minister unto him. Then he begged Paph-
autius to remain with him, as he was near to death. It was not long
before he died, and Paphnutius covered his remains with one half of
his cloak. Then he had a revelation that he should go into the
world and make known the wonderful life and merits of him who had
died. Many convents where silence and solitude are practiced, are
placed under the protection of this saint. Tasso died and is buried
in the convent of St. Onofrio in the Trastevere in Rome. He is rep-
resented as meagre and old ; a stick in his hand and a branch with
leaves twisted about him. In many old pictures he looks more the
beast than the man. Sometimes money is lying at his feet to signify
his scorn of it. June 12.
Ordeal. The trial by ordeal was used for the decision of cases
where the oath of the accused person was not considered worthy of
reliance. It was called the great purgation. The word Ordeal is
from two Saxon words. Or, great, and deal, judgment. There were
thiee tests used in these trials. 1. By red-hot iron. This the
person held in the hand, or walked on barefooted. 2. By boiling
water ; the person dipped the hand to the wrist or the arm to the
elbow and took out a stone. 3. By cold water or compelling per-
sons to swim. This was chiefly used for detecting witches, and was
also employed not only by judges, but at length by the people and
especially by foresters to discover criminals.
St. Oswald. This king being moved with a desire to live a truly
Christian life asked that a teacher might be sent to instruct him and
his people. The first man who was sent was severe in disposition
and had no success with the unlearned. Then Aidan came, and by
means of his mildness and great discretion he had' much influence
244 LEGENDS AND STORIES
with the king and his people. Aidan was afterwards prior of Mel-
rose. According to the legends, it happened that as Oswald sat at
dinner one Easter day with Aidan by his side, he was told that there
were those at his door who begged tor bread. Now there was before
him a silver dish filled with delicate and savory meat. Oswald told
the servant to give the beggars the meat, and then to break the
dish and divide it among them. Then Aidan took his right hand
saying, " May this hand never wither ! " And his prayer was
"ranted ; for at his death his heathen enemies cut off his head and
hands and set them on stakes ; but his head was taken to the
church of Landisfarne and buried in St. Cuthbert's tomb, between
the arms of that saint : his right hand was carried to Bamborough
Castle where it was a long time preserved, free from decay. At
one time Oswald was driven from his throne by Cadwallader. At
length he determined to regain his kingdom. He raised an army,
and when in sight of his enemies he ordered his men to make a large
wooden cross, and helped himself to place it in the ground. Then
he cried out, " Let us all kneel down and beseech the living God to
defend us from the haughty and fierce enemy, for He knows that we
have undertaken a just war, for the safety of our nation." And
when they fought Oswald was victorious. The greatest proof of his
charity of heart is shown in the fact that as he died he prayed for
those who killed him. " May God have mercy on their souls, as
Oswald said when he fell," was a proverb for many years in Eng-
.and. And the legend tells that " in the place where he was killed
bv the pagans, fighting for his country, infirm men and cattle are
healed to this day ; nor is it to be wondered at, that the sick should
be healed in the place where he died, for whilst he lived he never
ceased to provide for the poor and infirm, and to bestow alms on
them and assist them." His remains were carried to Bardney in
Lincolnshire by Osthrida, and afterwards to St. Oswald's in Glouces-
tershire by Elfleda, the daughter of King Alfred. He is dressed
as a king, in his pictures ; wears a crown and carries a cross. Au-
gust 5, A. D. 642.
St. Ottilia was the blind daughter of the Duke ut Alsace. Her
father, who was a pagan, commanded that on account of her infirmity
she should be left out, and exposed to death. Her nurse then fkd
to a monastery with the child. Tben Erhard, a bishop of Bavaria,
was told in a vision that he should go to a certain monastery where
he would find a little girl of noble birth who was blind. He was
commanded to baptize her and call her name Ottilia, and promised
that her sight should be given her. All this was done according
to the vision. Her father repented of his wickedness before his
death, and gave her all his wealth. Then Ottilia, knowing that
for his cruelty her father was tormented in purgatory, determined
to deliver him by prayers and penance. She built a convent at
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
24;
Hohenburg, of which she was abbess, and there she gathered on*
hundred and thirty nuns. She
is ranked as a martyr on ac-
count of her extreme auster-
ities. She is represented in the
black Benedictine habit. Her
attributes are the palm or cro-
sier, and a book upon which
are two eyes. She is patron
saint of Alsace, and especially
of Strasbourg. She is also
protector of all who suffer with
diseases of the eye. Decem-
ber 13. A. D. 720.
St. Pancras (Ital. San
Pancrazio ; Fr. St. Pancrace).
This saint when only fourteen
years old, offered himself as
a martyr. He boldly defended -
the Christians and their faith
before Diocletian, and was be-
headed. His remains were (Old German Missal.) St. Ottilia.
buried by Christian women. His church at Rome, near the gate
which bears his name, was built in the year 500. French kings for-
merly confirmed their treaties in his name, for he was regarded as
the avenger of false swearing, and it was believed that all who swore
falsely in his name were immediately and visibly punished. May
12, A' D. 304.
St. Pantaleon of Nicomedia (Ital. San Pantaleone ; Gr. "Ay.
Ha 'TttAe'w. ) was born (according to tradition) at Nicomedia
in Bithynia. He was remarkable for his personal beauty and
elegant manners, on account of which, after completing the study
of medicine, he became the favorite physician of the Emperor
Galerius Maxirnian. The father of Pantaleon was a pagan and his
mother a Christian - } but at the heathen court the son forgot all the
instructions that his mother Had carefully given him. At length he
heard a priest, Hermolaus, preach, and was converted. When the
persecution broke out he knew he could not conceal himself, and he
prepared to suffer a cruel martyrdom. He went about to the sick
and needy, and well earned the title of the " all merciful," which is
the Greek signification of his name. When accused before the em-
peror he was condemned to be beheaded, together with the aged and
venerable Hermolaus, who came forth from his retreat, desiring to
suffer with Pantaleon. The latter was bound to an olive-tree, and as
soon as his blood flowed to the roots of the tree it burst forth with
leaves and fruit. He is especially venerated at Venice. There
246 LEGENDS AND STORIES
have been some who doubted his existence, and believed his name
to have been derived from the war-cry of the Venetians, Pianta
Leone (Plant the Lion) ! But Justinian erected a church in his
honor in Constantinople, and he was celebrated in the Greek Church
at that time, when Venice would have been more likely to introduce
his worship from the East than to have originated it in any other
way. Patron of physicians. He is represented as young, beard-
less, and handsome. As a martyr he is bound to an olive-tree with
his hands nailed to it above his head, a sword at his feet. Without
observation he might be mistaken for St. Sebastian. When he is
painted as patron he wears the physician's robe and bears the olive
or palm, or both. July 27. Fourth century.
St. Patrick (Lot. S. Patricius) was the son of Christian par-
ents. He was carried a captive to Ireland when a boy, and tended
the herds of his master. He was greatly moved at the ignorance
and heathenism of the people about him, and when at last he made
his escape and returned to his home he had visions in which it ap-
peared, that the children of Ireland not yet born, stretched forth
their hands to him and cried for salvation. Patrick resolved to be-
come a missionary and prepared h!melf for his labor. He received
his mission from Pope Celestine and returned to Ireland. He la-
bored there forty years. He gained many disciples, and preached
with the greatest success. He baptized the kings of Dublin and
Munster, and the seven sons of the king of Connaught. Having
found Ireland in a state of profound ignorance, he left it Christian-
ized ; with schools which became famous, and sent forth many
learned scholars. The familiar story of the expulsion of the rep-
tiles from Ireland, by this saint, has the signification of many other
legends and allegories, and figures the triumph of good over evil.
He died and was buried at Down in the province of Ulster. His
resting-place is still venerated by the people, and his remains were
preserved many years, but his church at Down was destroyed in the
reign of Henry VIH. and such relics of him as remained were scat-
tered either by the soldiers of Elizabeth or those under Cromwell.
When represented as bishop, he wears the usual dress with the mitre,
cope, and crosier, while a neophyte regards him with reverence.
As the Apostle of Ireland he should wear a hooded gown and a
leathern girdle. The staff, wallet, standard with the cross, and the
Gospel, are all his proper attributes. A serpent should be placed
beneath his feet. March 17, A. D. 464.
St. Paul (Lot. S. Paulus ; Ital. and Sp. San Paolo ; Fr. St. Paul ;
Gr. "Ay. HauAos). St. Paul and St. Peter occupy the first place
among the Apostles. St. Peter more especially represented the con-
verted Jews and St. Paul the Gentiles ; together they represent the
Universal Church. There are few legends connected with St. Paul,
but the scenes of his life as given in the Gospel have furnished
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
247
inexhaustible subjects for the illustrations of art. St. Paul is so often
represented with St. Peter that it is
necessary to be able to distinguish the
one from the other. Augustine and
other early writers allude to portraits
of St. Paul as existing in their time,
and it is supposed that the tradition-
ary picture of him which is so strict-
ly followed, had its origin in those
portraits. He is small of stature,
with liigh forehead, sparkling eyes,
and aquiline nose. His hair and
beard are brown, and the latter
long and flowing. Later artists
have varied the head of St. Paul
more than that of St. Peter, but
the most ancient pictures are
exact in these particulars. When
the two apostles are together,
their proper place is on each side
of the Saviour, or of the Virgin
enthroned. Their pictures should be
placed on each side the altar, or of
the arch over the choir. The dress
is the same for both : a blue tunic
and white mantle in Greek pictures,
a blue or green tunic and yellow
mantle in later works of art. Paul
bears the sword in a double sense,
signifying his spiritual warfare and
the manner of his death. He also
has a book or scroll and sometimes
twelve rolls, representing his epis-
tles. When he leans on his sword
it is his death which is represented; (Greek, llth century.) St. Paul,
when he holds it aloft, it signifies the " good fight " which he
fought. If two swords are given him, both the manner of his
death and that of his life are signified. The events in the life
of this apostle are so well known to all, that they are easily
recognized in art. The church called " San Paolo delle Tre Fon-
tane " near Rome, is built over three fountains which are said to
have sprung up at the three places where the head of St. Paul
fell and bounded, after being cut off by the executioner. It is
said that the fountains vary in the warmth of the water : the first,
9r the one where the head fell, being the hottest ; the next, or that of
the first bound, cooler ; and the third still cooler ; but probably time
248 LEGENDS AND STORIES
has equalized the temperature, for I could not distinguish the dif-
ference. Formerly a magnificent monastery existed here, but three
old churches and ruins, with a few sickly looking monks, are the
only remains of its former splendor. The body of St. Paul was in-
terred where the Church of " San Paolo-fuori-le-mura " stands, be-
tween the Ostian Gate and the Aqua Salvias ; but traditions relate
that they were removed with those of St. Peter to the Catacombs,
and laid in the same tomb, during the reign of Heliogabalus. Two
hundred years later the Oriental Christians endeavored to possess
themselves of them, but the Roman Christians contended for them
with success, and they removed them to the Church of the Vatican,
and placed them together in a magnificent shrine. SS. Peter and
Paul, June 29. Conversion of St. Paul, June 30. See also St.
Peter.
St. Paul. Hermit. See St. Anthony.
Sts. Paul and John. See Sts. John and Paul, brothers.
St. Paula (Gr. "Ay. HauAa) was a noble Roman matron, a pupil
and disciple of St. Jerome. Though descended from the Scipios and
the Gracchi, and accustomed to luxurious self-indulgence, she preferred
to follow her saintly teacher to Bethlehem and devote herself to a
religious life. The church dedicated to St. Jerome at Rome, is said
to be upon the spot where the house of Paula stood, in which she
entertained that holy man during his stay in Rome, A. i>. 382. She
studied Hebrew, in order to understand the Scriptures better. She
built a monastery, hospital, and three nunneries at Bethlehem. Her
daughter St. Eustochium was with her. The rule for these convents
was very strict, and her own austerities so severe that she was repri-
manded for them by St. Jerome. Her granddaughter Paula was
sent to her at Bethlehem to be educated, and she succeeded her as
superior of the monastery. She died making the sign of the cross
on her lips, and was buried in the Church of the Holy Manger, where
her empty tomb is now seen near that of St. Jerome. Her relics
are said to be at Sens. January 26, A. D. 404.
St. Paulinas of York was sent from Rome to England in 601,
to assist St. Augustine in his mission. He became the first Primate
of York, where he founded the Cathedral. Wordsworth gives a
word-picture of him thus :
"of shoulders curved, and stature tall,
Black hair and vivid eye, and meagre cheek,
His prominent feature like an eagle's beak."
By the preaching of Paulinus, Coifi, the Druid and high-priest ol
Thor, was converted. King Edwin had renounced idolatry, and
given Paulinus license to preach. When the king asked Coifi who
would destroy the idols, the priest answered, " I ! for who can more
properly than myself destroy those things which I worshipped
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
249
through ignorance ! " It was not lawful for the high-priest to ride,
except on a mare, or to bear arms, but now he asked Edwin to give
him a horse and sword. This was done, and he rode to the temple
and thrust his spear in, and commanded the- temple and idols to
be burned. Paulinus is often seen in pictures of St. Augustine.
October 10, A. D. G44.
St. Perpetua was one of the martyrs who suffered at Carthage
during the persecution of Severus. This saint manifested miracu-
lons courage in devoting herself to her fate. She was tossed by a
wild cow in the amphitheatre, but was not quite killed, and after
great tortures was put to death in the spoliarium, or place where the
wounded were dispatched by the gladiators. She had a vision of a
narrow ladder which reached to heaven, beset with spikes, and a
dragon lay at the bottom on whose head she must tread in order to
mount the first step. One scene from her life represented in mod-
ern art, is her farewell to her infant child. There are many inci-
dents in her story which would be most interesting subjects for the
artist, that as yet remain without representation. In her pictures a
cow stands by her side or near her. March 7, A. D. 203.
St. Peter (Lat. Sanctus Petrus ; Ital. San Pietro or Piero ; Fr.
Saint Pierre; Sp. San Pedro. Signification: A rock). St. Peter
(Sarcophagus, 3d century.) Repentance of St. Peter.
and St. Paul are so associated in history that it is quite impos-
sible to separate them in our minds, or entirely to do so in de-
scriptions of them. And in works of art they are constantly asso-
250 LEGENDS AND STORIES
ciated. St. Peter is a strong man, old, with gray hair, and curling,
silvery beard, a broad forehead, and an expression of courage and
confidence. Sometimes he is bald ; and there is a legend that the
Gentiles shaved his head in mockery, and from this originated the
tonsure of the priests. His dress is a blue tunic and white mantle
in the oldest pictures and mosaics, but in later art it is a blue or
green tunic with a yellow mantle. In the earliest pictures Peter
only bears a scroll or book, and there is nothing to distinguish him
from Paul except the difference in the head and feature?. The keys
are not assigned as his attribute until the eighth century. He has
usually two keys, one golden and one silver ; they are interpreted as
signifying his power to bind and to loose ; or again, one as the key
of heaven the other of hell, when the first is of gold and the second
iron, and sometimes a third is added to express dominion over earth
also. When the traditional differences in the two men are well rep-
resented, the contrast is marked and impressive. In some early
representations, from the middle to the end of the fourth century,
Peter bears a cross and stands on the left of Christ, with Paul on
the right. This cross is said to be the emblem of the death he
should die. When St. Peter and St. Paul occur together in strictly
devotional pictures, they are represented as the founders of the Uni-
versal Church. Since the Protestant Church has separated from the
Roman Church, a distinction is made between these saints. The
Roman Church regards St. Peter as the saint of saints ; of all most
holy; while among Protestants St. Paul has come to be greatly
venerated, and his clear, subtle, philosophical, reasoning religion can
never be too much exalted by them. When St. Peter is represented
in company with all the apostles he frequently has a fish, which is
the symbol of his early vocation ; but if the fish is given him when
alone, it is symbolical of Christianity and the Rite of Baptism. When
represented as the Head of the Roman Church he is seated on a
throne ; one hand raised in benediction, while in the other he holds
keys, and often a book or scroll inscribed, " Thou art Peter, and on
this rock have I built my Church." Sometimes he wears the papal
tiara. When another apostle without attributes is seen with him it
is Mark, who was his interpreter and amanuensis at Rome ; and a
tradition relates that St. Mark's Gospel was written after the dic-
tation of Peter. The historical pictures, or those which represent
scenes in the life of Peter, are of great interest and almost number-
less, but all easily recognized. Of the legendary pictures those
connected with Simon Magus are important. The story is, that
Simon was a magician of great fame among the Jews. He did
wonderful things at Jerusalem, and greatly astonished the people ;
but. the miracles of Peter far excelled the inventions of the sorcerer.
Then Simon endeavored to buy from the apostles the secret by which
these miracles were done. These offers much enraged Peter, who
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 251
rejected them with great indignation. Simon then threw away his
wand, and casting his books into the Dead Sea he fled to Rome,
where he became a favorite of Claudius, and again of Nero. Peter
also came to Rome and afterwards Paul. Simon asserted that he
was a god and could raise the dead. Peter and Paul challenged
him to prove his skill before the emperor. His arts failed, and not
only then, but many times he was vanquished by the apostles. At
last Simon attempted to fly to heaven in the sight of the emperor
and all Rome. He was crowned with laurel and supported by de-
mons, and thus precipitated himself from a tower. He appeared to
float in the air for a time, but Peter knelt and commanded the de-
mons to let go their hold of him, when he fell to the earth and was.
dashed in pieces. This legend is not without some foundation in
history, as there existed a Samaritan magician by that name who
assumed to be God. Irenasus calls him, the father of all heretics.
He carried about with him a beautiful woman called Helena, whom
he said was the first conception of his divine mind. He presented
her as being the resuscitation of Helen of Troy. In the Church
of St. Francesca Romana at Rome, there are two stones let into the
wall, bearing a double depression, made it is said by St. Peter's
kneeling on them when Simon Magus was attempting his heavenly
flight. Another legend relates that after the burning of Rome Nero
accused the Christians of having fired the city. This was the origin
of the first persecution. The Christians besought St. Peter to save
himself by flight, which he at length consented to do. He departed
by the Appian Way, and when about two miles from the city he met
a vision of Our Saviour. Peter exclaimed, " Lord, whither goest
thou ? " Looking sadly upon him Christ replied, " I go to Rome to
be crucified a second time." Peter understood this as a Avarning
that he ought to return to Rome, which he did. This is called the
" Dornine, quo vadis?" when illustrated. In the little church erected
on the spot sanctified by this miracle, a slab is shown containing
footprints, said to be those made by the feet of Christ, as he talked
with Peter. After Peter's return to Rome, he preached and labored
as usual until he was seized with St. Paul and thrown into the Mam-
ertine Prison. Here the centurions who guarded them, Proeessus
and Martinian, and many prisoners, were converted. When St. Peter
wished to baptize them and there was no water, he prayed to God
and a fountain sprung up from the stone floor, which may still be
seen. It was not long till the two apostles were martyrized. The
traditions disagree in regard to the place where St. Peter suffered.
According to one, he was crucified with his head downward in the
court-yard of a military station on the summit of Mons Janicula,
where the Church of San Pietro in Montorio now stands ; but ac-
cording to another, his crucifixion took place in the Circus of Calig-
ula, at the foot of the Vatican. The legends make St. Peter the
252
LEGENDS AND STORIES
keeper of the entrance to Paradise and give him power to grant or
refuse admission. The Church of San Pietro in Vincoli at Rome,
was built by Eudoxia, wife of Valentinian III., to preserve the chains
with which St. Peter was bound at Jerusalem. The chains arc pre-
served in a bronze tabernacle in the sacristy, and are shown to the
people on the festival of St. Peter in Vinculis on the 1st of August
Here is the picture of the deliverance of St. Peter by Domenichino.
St. Peter and St. Paul, June 29.
St. Peter of Alcantara.
St. Peter of Alcantara was not canonized until 1669. Ac-
cording to the legend he walked on the sea by faith. In a picture
in the Munich Gallery, he not only walks himself, but a lay brother
goes with him, whom Peter seems to encourage by pointing to
heaven. October 19, A. D. 1562.
St. Peter Exorcista and Marcellinus (Ttal. SS. Pietro e
Marcellino). These saints are always represented together. Ac-
cording to the legend they were imprisoned during the last persecu-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
253
tion of Diocletian. Their jailer, Artemius, had a daughter, Panlina,
who was sick. Peter pi'omised to restore her to health if Artemius
would believe in God. Then Artemius ridiculed him, saying, " If I put
thee into the deepest dungeon, and load thee with heavier chains, will
thy God then deliver thee?" Then Peter told him that it mattered
little to God whether he believed or not, but that Christ might be
glorified he desired that it should be done. And it was so ; and in
the night Peter and Marcellinus, dressed in shining white garments,
came to Artemius in his own chamber. Then he believed, and was
baptized with all his family and three hundred others. When they
were to die it was ordered that the executioner should take them to
a forest three miles from Rome, in order that the Christians should
not know of their burial place. So when they were come to a soli-
tary place and the executioner pointed it out as the spot where they
were to die, they themselves cleared a space and dug their grave,
and died encouraging each other. They are represented in priestly
habits bearing palms. June 2. About 304.
St. Peter Martyr. St. Peter the Dominican (Ital. San Pietro
(or Pier) Mart ire ; Fr. St. Pierre le Dominicain, Martyr). This
saint is esteemed next to St. Dominick by his Order. He was born
at Verona about 1205. His parents were of the heretical sect called
Cuthari, but Peter went
to a Catholic school.
He was beaten at home
for reciting the creed.
St. Dominick found him
a zealous disciple, when
at Verona, and he per-
suaded him to unite with
his Order at the early
age of fifteen. He be-
came a most intolerant
man, and a successful
preacher. He greatly
delighted in the perse-
cution of the Cathari.
He was made Inquisitor
General under Pope Ho-
norius HI. Two Vene-
tian noblemen whom he
had accused, and whose
property was confiscated,
resolved to be revenged
on him. They hired as-
sassins who watched that
(Fra Bartolomeo. )
Jerome Savonarola as St. Peter Martyr.
Uiey might kill him in a forest where they knew he would pass un-
254
LEGENDS AND STORIES
accompanied, save by a single monk. When he appeared one of
the murderers struck him down with an axe. They then pursued
and killed his attendant. When they returned to St. Peter he
was reciting the Apostles' Creed, or as others say, was writing it on
the ground with his blood, when the assassins completed their cruel
work. Fra Bartolomeo painted the head of his beloved Jerome
Savonarola as St. Peter Martyr. He is represented in the habit of
his Order, am 1 ^ears the crucifix and palm. His more peculiar
attribute is eitner the axe stuck in his head or a gash from which
the blood trickles. April 28, A. D. 1252.
(Claude deMellan.) St. Peter Nolasco.
St. Peter Nolasco (Sp. San Pedro Nolasco) was a Convert of
St. John de Matha. When young he enlisted in the crusade against
the Albigenses. He was the son of a noble of Languedoc, and became
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 255
the tutor of the young king James of Arajjon, or Don Jayme el Con-
quistador. But being much moved at the consideration of the suffer-
ings of captives he founded a new Order called, " The Order of Our
Lady of Mercy " (Nuestra Senora de la Merced). At first the
Order was military, consisting of knights and gentlemen, and the
king placed himself at their head and gave them his arms as a device
or badge. The Order was very popular, and soon extended itself on
all sides. Peter Nolasco was the Superior, and spent his life in ex-
peditions to the provinces under the Moors, from which he brought
back hundreds of redeemed captives. In time the Order changed
its character from that of a military to that of a religious institution.
According to tradition, when Peter was old, he was taken from
his cell by angels, and borne to and from the altar where he re-
ceived the Holy Eucharist. He is represented as old ; with a white
habit and the shield of King James on his breast. January 13, A. D.
1258.
- St. Peter Regalato. This saint appears in the later Italian
and Spanish pictures of the Franciscans, to which Order he be-
longed. He was especially distinguished for his " sublime gift of
prayer." March 30, A. D. 1456.
St. Petronilla (Fr. Sainte Pernelle) was the daughter of St.
Peter. When at Rome with him, she was deprived of the use of her
limbs by sickness. One day when some of his disciples sat at din-
ner with the Apostle, they asked why it was that when he healed
others Ms own child remained helpless. Peter replied, that it was
good for her to be ill, but that his power should be shown, he com-
manded her to rise and serve them. This she did, and when the
dinner was over laid down helpless as before. Years after, when she
had become perfected by suffering, she was made well in answer to
her earnest prayers. Now Petronilla was very beautiful, and a young
noble, Valerius Flaccus, desired to marry her. She was afraid to
refuse him, and promised that if he returned in three days, he should
then carry her home. She then earnestly prayed to be delivered
from this marriage, and when the lover came with his friends to cele-
brate the marriage, he found her dead. Flaccus lamented sorely.
The attendant nobles bore her to her grave, in which they placed
her crowned with roses. May 31.
St. Petronius was Bishop of Bologna, and distinguished himself
oy banishing the Arians from that city. He was a Roman of an
illustrious family. His pictures are confined to Bologna ; and there
is in that city a beautiful church dedicated in his name. He is
represented in episcopal robes, with mitre and crosier. He has a
duck black beard in an ancient representation, but generally is with-
out it. His attribute is a model of Bologna, which he holds in hia
hand. October 4, A. D. 430.
St. Philip (Ital San Filippo Apostolo ; Fr. Saint Philippe). St
256 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Philip was bora at Bethsaida. Beyond the fact that he was the first
called to follow the Saviour, little is told of him in the Gospel. After
the ascension of Christ he preached in Scythia twenty years. Then
going to Hieropolis in Phrygia, he found the people worshipping a
huge serpent or dragon, whom they thought to be a personification
of Mars. Then Philip took pity on their ignorance. He held up
the cross and commanded the serpent to disappear. Immediately it
o-lided from beneath the altar, and as it moved it sent forth so dread-
ful an odor that many died, and among them the son of the king ;
but Philip restored him to life. Then the priests of the serpet.t
were so wroth with him that they crucified him, and when he was
fastened to the cross they stoned him. The Scriptures state that
Philip had four daughters who did prophesy (Acts xxi. 9.). St.
Mariamne, his sister, and his daughter St. Hermione, are martyrs in
the Greek Calendar. St. Philip is represented as a man of middle
age, scanty beard, and benevolent face. His attribute is a cross
which varies in form, sometimes a small cross in his hand ; again,
a high cross in the form of a T, or a staff with a small cross at the
top. It has three significations : it may represent the power of the
cross which he held before the dragon ; or his martyrdom ; or his
mission as preacher of the cross of Christ. Patron of Brabant and
Luxembourg. May 1.
St. Philip, Deacon (Or. "Ay. ^'AITTTTOS). It is necessary to dis-
tinguish him from the Apostle. It was Philip the deacon, who bap-
tized the chamberlain of Queen Candace. This baptism has been
beautifully illustrated in art. June 6.
St. Philip Benozzi (Ilal. San Filippo Beniti, or Benizzi) stands
at the head of the Order of the Servi or Serviti at Florence. He
was not the founder of the Order, not having joined it until fifteen
years after its establishment, but he is their principal saint. The
history of the origin of this Order is full of interest, and an outline
of it may be given in few words. It originated about the year 1232.
Seven rich Florentine nobles, in the prime of life, were accustomed
to meet every day in the Chapel of the Annunziata to sing the Ave,
or evening service to the Blessed Virgin, whom they especially ven-
erated. They became so well known for these pious acts that the
women and children cried out as they passed, " Behold the servants
of the Virgin ! " (" Guardate i Servi di Maria ! ") At length they
resolved to dispense their goods to the poor and forsake the world.
They retired to Monte Senario, about six miles from Florence, where
they built huts, and lived for the service of the Virgin. Their first
habit was plain white in honor of the immaculate purity of Mary,
but one of the number was warned in a vision that they should
change it to black, in remembrance of her " maternal sorrow, and the
death of her divine Son." These men, being allied to the proudest
families of Florence, drew much attention to their Order, and the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 257
city became proud of them. St. Philip Benozzi had studied medi-
cine at the Universities of Paris and Padua, and was a very learned
man ; but after receiving his degrees and commencing the practice
of surgery in Florence, he became greatly wearied and oppressed
with the sight and knowledge of human suffering. One day as he
listened to the service in the Chapel of the Annunziata, he was
impressed by the words, " Draw near, and join thyself to the chariot."
He went home full of thought upon these words, and when he slept'
he had a vision of the Virgin seated in a chariot, and she told him
to draw near and join her servants. Then he retired to Monte
Senario, but such was his modesty that it was long before the breth-
ren knew that he was so learned a man. He distinguished himself
as a preacher, but far more as a peace-maker, for he did much to
reconcile the then opposing factions of Tuscany. He obtained the
confirmation of his Order, and preached with great success through
Italy and France. He was General of his Order at the time of his
death. The pictures of Andrea del Sarto in the cloisters of the Annun-
ziata at Florence, have still further immortalized this saint. These
were painted after his beatification by Leo X., A. D. 1516 ; but his
canonization did not take place until 1671. August 23, A. i>. 1285.
St. Philip Neri (Ital. San Filippo Neri), who was the founder
of the Order of the Oratorians, was a Florentine, and born in 1515.
His father was of one of the oldest Tuscan families, and a lawyer.
When eighteen years old, Philip went to Rome, and became a tutor in
a noble family. By his intellect, eloquence, and purity of character,
he became very influential in the religious movements of his time.
He was the intimate friend and almoner of St. Charles Borromeo, and
in this capacity did much good. He was ever employed in works of
charity, and gathered about him young men, members of the nobility
and the learned professions, who went about reading and praying
with the sick and needy, founding and visiting hospitals, and various
charities. They were bound by no vows, and were not secluded
from the world. They called themselves Oratorians, and from them
arose the Peres de 1'Oratoire of France. St. Philip Neri was the
spiritual adviser of the Massimi family, and it is related that when
the son and heir of Prince Fabrizio Massimi died of a fever, St.
Philip came into the chamber where the family were lamenting over
his dead body. Philip laid his hand on the head of the boy, and
called his name ; he opened his eyes and sat up. Philip then said,
" Art thou unwilling to die ? " " No," replied the boy. " Art thou
resigned to yield thy soul to God ? " ''I am." " Then go," said Philip,
and the boy sank back and expired with a sweet smile upon his face.
On the 16th of March the Palazzo Massimi at Rome, is dressed for
a festival in honor of this event, and services are held in the chapel
at which the Pope sometimes officiates. A picture illustrative of this
miracle is in the Church of S. Maria della Vallicella, which was
17
258 LEGENDS AND STORIES
given to the Oratorians when their Order was confirmed. In thie
church a chapel was dedicated to St. Philip Neri, and a mosaic copy
of Guido's picture of this saint was placed there by Nero de' Neri
of Florence. The bed, the crucifix, the books, and other relics of the
saint are preserved in the oratory. May 26, A. D. 1595.
St. Phocas of Sinope (Ital. San Foca). This saint lived in
the third century. He had a cottage and garden near the Gate of
Sinope in Pontus. His cottage was open to all who needed shelter
and lodging, and the produce of his garden was distributed to the
poor after his own slight wants were supplied. As he sat at supper
one night some strangers knocked at his door. He asked them to
enter, gave them water to wash, and set food for them. Later in
the evening they told him they had been sent to find Phocas, who
had been accused as a Christian, and they had been commanded to
kill him wherever he should be found. The saint betrayed no emo-
tion, and gave them a chamber in which to sleep. When all was at
rest, he went to his garden and made a grave among the flowers he
loved. In the morning he announced that Phocas was found. The
guests rejoiced, and said, " Where is he ? " But when he answered,
" I am he," they were unwilling to betray their host. Then he said,
" Since it is the will of God, I am willing to die in his cause." Then
they beheaded him on the border of the grave, and buried him.
This saint is only represented in Byzantine Art. He is in the garb
of a gardener, and has a spade as his attribute. Patron of gardens
and gardeners. July 3, A. D. 303.
St. Placidus was the son of Tertullus, a Roman Senator, who
placed this child under the care of St. Benedict at Subiaco, when
only five years of age. Flacidus was sent by his superior to preach
in Sicily, when he was still quite young. According to tradition his
sister Flavia and two young brothers joined him, and they dwelt in
a convent near Messina. This was attacked by brigands, who mas-
sacred Placidus and Flavia, with thirty of their companions. The
later Benedictine writers do not believe the account of this massacre.
He is represented in the black habit of his Order, or with the rich
dalmatica above a black tunic. The palm is his attribute. January
35, A. r>. 584.
Plautilla, though not a saint, is seldom omitted in representations
of the martyrdom of St. Paul. According to the legend, she was a
Roman matron, and one of the converts of St. Peter and St. Paul.
She placed herself on the way by which she knew that St. Paul
would pass to his martyrdom in order to see him for the last time.
When he came she besought him to bless her, and wept greatly.
Then Paul seeing her faith asked her to give him her veil, that he
might bind his eyes with it when he was beheaded, and promised
that he would return it to her after his death. Then all who heard
mocked at this promise, but Plautilla gave him the veil ; and after
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 259
his death St. Paul did indeed appear to her, and gave her again the
veil which was stained with his blood.
St. Potitus of Pisa (Ital. San Potito). See St. Ephesus.
St. Praxedes and St. Pudentiana (Ital. Santa Prassede e
Santa Pudenziana; Fr. Sainte Prassede et Sainte Potentienne).
When St. Peter came to Rome he dwelt in the house of Pudens, who
was a patrician of great wealth. Not long after the coming of the
apostle, Pudens and Sabinella, his wife, with Novatus his son, and his
two daughters, Praxedes and Pudentiana, were all converted and
baptized. Soon after the parents and brother died, and the sisters,
left alone, inherited all the riches of the family. They had houses
and public baths at the foot of the Esquiline. Then began the first
great persecution, in which St. Peter perished. Now the sisters de-
termined to devote themselves to the relief and care of the suffering
Christians, and to the burying of the bodies of such as were slain.
They had the assistance of a holy man named Pastorus, who was
devoted in their service. They shrank from nothing that came in
the Avay of their self-imposed duties. They sought out and received
into their houses such as were torn and mutilated by tortures. They
visited and fed such as were in prison. They took up the bodies of
the martyred ones which were cast out without burial, and cai-efully
washing and shrouding them they laid them reverently in the caves
beneath their houses. All the blood they collected with sponges, and
deposited in a certain well. Thus boldly they showed forth the faith
which was in them, and yet they escaped persecution and martyrdom,
and died peacefully and were buried in the cemetery of Priscilla.
Pastorus wrote a history of their deeds and virtues. Their house,
which was made sacred not only by their lives but by the preaching
of St. Peter, was consecrated as a place of Christian worship by Pope
Pius I. Their churches are among the interesting remains of ancient
Rome. In the nave of the Church of Santa Prassede is a well, in
which she was said to have, put the blood of those who suffered on
the Esquiline. while the holy sponge is preserved in a silver shrine
in the sacristy. In the Church of St. Pudentiana there is a well, said
to contain the relics of three thousand martyrs. These sisters are
richly draped in pictures, and the sponge and cup are their especial
attributes. July 21, and May 19, A. D. 148.
St. Prisca. The church of this saint at Rome on the Aventine,
is supposed to occupy the spot on which stood the house of Aquila
and Priscilla, where St. Peter lodged ; which site was thought to be
also that of the Temple of Diana founded by Servius Tullius. And
here is shown the font in which St. Peter baptized the earliest con-
verts in Rome, and among others St. Prisca. According to the le-
gend, she was a virgin of illustrious family, and was exposed to the
beasts of the amphitheatre when but thirteen years of age. A fierce
lion, who was let loose upon her, humbly licked her feet, to the joy of
260 LEGENDS AND STORIES
the Christians. She was then beheaded, and an eagle watched over
her body until it was buried. She is represented bearing a palm
with the lion beside her, and sometimes the eagle, thus being hon-
ored by the kings of both beasts and birds, as the legend remarks.
The name of St. Prisca is retained in the calendar of the English
Church. January 18, A. D. 275.
St. Procopius was King of Bohemia. He relinquished his crown
and became a hermit. Many years passed without his being known,
but at length as a certain Prince Ulrich was hunting, he pursued a
hind which fled for safety to the arms of St. Procopius, and so he
was discovered. On account of the similarity of the attribute, his
pictures are sometimes mistaken for those of St. Giles. July 8, A. D.
303.
St. Proculus is the military patron of Bologna. In the time of
the tenth persecution, a cruel man named Marinus was sent to Bo-
logna to enforce the edict of the emperor. Proculus was so filled
with indignation, which might almost be called holy, that he entered
the house of Marinus and killed him with an axe, which axe is the
attribute given him in art. He sometimes carries a head in his
hands which may be either that of Marinus or his own.
St. Protasius of Milan. See St. Gervasius.
St. Pudentiana (Ral. Santa Pudenziana ; Fr. Sainte Poten-
tienne). See St. Praxedes.
Quattro Coronati, or the Four Crowned Brothers. According to
tradition these were four Christian brothers, workers in wood and
stone, who dwelt in Rome at the time of Diocletian. They refused
to employ their art in fashioning gods or building temples for them,
and for this suffered martyrdom. Some were scourged some be-
headed ; and some put in iron cases and cast into the sea. The
" Cinque Martiri " were also of the same trades and their fate the
same. The names of the Coronati are given as SS. Carpophorus,
Severus, Severianus, and Victorianus. The church dedicated to them
is on the part of the Coelian Hill which extends from the Lateran to
the Coliseum. It is said that their remains were found here during
the fourth century. Their title of Coronati alludes to the crown of
martyrdom. The five martyrs (I Cinque Martiri) are honored at
the same time and place with the Coronati, and they are represented
in art with the implements of their profession : the mallet, chisel,
square, and rule, bearing palms and wearing crowns. November 4,
A. D. 400.
St. Quintin. -was the son of Zeno. He became converted, and
gave up a high command which he held in the Roman army in order
to preach. He labored especially in Belgium and at Amiens. He was
accused before the prefect Rictius Varus, and suffered death by being
impaled on an iron spit. This instrument of his torture is his attri-
bute, which is not always represented. October 31, A. D. 287.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 261
St Quirinus was a soldier in the army of Aurelian. He became
a Christian, and preached so openly as to especially exasperate hifi
officers, who were pagans. His martyrdom was extreme in cruelty.
His tongue was first taken out and thrown to a hawk. He was then
dragged to death by horses. He is represented in armor with a
horse, and a hawk, and a shield, with nine balls as well as the mar-
tyr's palm.
St. Quirinus, Bishop of Sissek in Croatia. He was martyred by
being drowned with a millstone about his neck. One of the eight
guardian saints of Austria. June 4, A. D. 309.
St. Radegunda was the daughter of the King of Thuringia,
Berthaire, and the wife of Clothaire V. of France, who first- carried
her captive with all her family and afterwards married her. This
queen was devoted to prayer and alms-giving, and often wore be-
neath her royal garments, one of penitential hair-cloth. One day as
she walked in her garden she heard the prisoners, who were only
separated from her by a wall, weeping and imploring pity. She
thought of her own sorrows in the past, and she prayed earnestly for
them, not knowing how else to aid them. And as she prayed their
fetters burst in sunder and they were freed from captivity. Later in
life Radegunda took the religious habit, and founded a monastery at
Poitiers. She is represented with the royal crown, and beneath it a
long veil. A captive kneels before her with his broken fetters in his
hand. August 13, A. D. 587.
Ragnar Lodbrog. See St. Edmund.
St. Ranieri (Ital. San Ranieri; Fr. St. Regnier). The whole
life of this saint was full of poetry and mystery. He was born in
or about the year 1100. His family was that of the Scaccieri of
Pisa. In his youth an eagle appeared to him bearing in his beak a
blazing light, and said, " I come from Jerusalem to enlighten the na-
tions." But Ranieri lived a life devoted to pleasure. At length
as he one day played the lyre surrounded by beautiful damsels, a holy
man passed by who turned and looked on Ranieri ; and there was so
much of sorrowful sadness in his gaze that the young man threw
down his lyre and followed the man of God, bewailing and weeping
on account of his sins and wasted life. Soon he embarked for Jeru-
salem, where he took off his own garments and wore the schiavina,
or slave-shirt, and this he wore ever after in token of his humility.
He lived the life of a hermit, in the deserts of Palestine, for twenty
years. During this time he had numberless visions. On one occa-
sion he felt his vows of abstinence to be almost more than he could
keep. He then had a vision of a golden vase set with precious
stones and full of oil, pitch, and sulphur. These were kindled to fire
and none could quench the flames. Then there was put into his
hands a small ewer of water, and when he turned on but a few drops
the fire was extinguished. This vision he believed to signify the
262 LEGENDS AND STORIES
human passions, by the pitch and sulphur; but the water was the
emblem of temperance. He then determined to live on bread and
water alone. His reverence for water was very great, and most of his
miracles were performed through the use of it, so that he was called
San Ranieri dell' Acqua. But when he tarried with a host who
cheated his guests by putting water in his wine, the saint did not
hesitate to expose the fraud, for he revealed to all present the figure
of Satan sitting on one of the wine-casks in the form of a huge cat
with the wings of a bat. He did many miracles after his return to
Pisa, and made converts by the sanctity of his life and example.
When he died many miraculous manifestations bore witness to his
eminent holiness. All the bells in Pisa were spontaneously tolled, and
the Archbishop Villani, who had been sick in bed for two years, was
cured to attend his funeral. At the moment in the funeral service
when it was the custom to omit the " Gloria in Excelsis," it was sung
by a choir of angels above the altar, while the organ accompanied
them without being played by any perceptible hands. The harmony
of this chant was so exquisite that those who heard it thought the
very heavens were opened. He was buried in a tomb in the Duomo.
After the plague in Pisa in 1356, the lii'e of this saint was painted in
the Campo Santo by Simone Memmi and Antonio Yeneziano. These
frescoes are most important in the history of art, and consist of eight
scenes from the life of St. Ranieri. (1.) His conversion. (2.) He em-
barks for Palestine. (3.) He assumes the hermit's dress. (4.) He has
many temptations and visions in the desert. (5.) He returns to Pisa.
(G.) He exposes the fraud of the innkeeper. (7.) His death and
funeral obsequies. (8.) His miracles after death. July 17, A. D. 1161.
St. Raphael, the Archangel (Lett. Sanctus Raphael ; Ital. San
Raffaello ; Fr. St. Raphael ; Ger. Der Heilige Rafael. Significa-
tion : The Medicine of God). Raphael is considered the guardian
angel of humanity. He was sent to warn Adam of the danger of
sin and its unhappy consequences.
" Be strong, live happy, and love! but first of all
Him whom to love is to obev, and keep
His great command ; take heed lest passion sway
Thy judgment to do aught, which else free-will
Would not admit: thine, and of all thy sons
The weal or woe in thee is placed; beware! " Milton.
He was the herald who bore to the shepherds the " good tidings of
great joy which shall be for all people." He is especially the protector
of the young, the pilgrim, and the traveller. In the apocryphal ro-
mance, his watchful care of the young Tobias during his eventful jour-
ney is typical of his benignity and loving condescension towards those
whom he protects. His countenance is represented as full of benignity.
Devotional pictures portray him dressed as a pilgrim, with sandals;
his hair bound with a diadem or a fillet ; the staff in his hand, and a
wallet or paneticre hung to his belt. As a guardian spirit he bears
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
263
the sword and a small casket or vase, containing the " fishy charm "
(Tobit vi. 6) against evil spirits. As guardian angel he usually
leads Tobias. The picture of Murillo in the Leuchtenberg Gallery,
(Leuohtenberg Gallery, Murillo. ) St. Raphael.
represents him as the guardian angel of a bishop who appears as a
votary below. September 12.
St. Raymond (Sp. San Ramon). On account of the circum-
stances of his birth this saint is styled Nonnatus. He belonged to the
Order of Mercy, and labored for the captives among the Moors. Ac-
cording to tradition his lips were bored through with a red-hot iron
nd fastened with a padlock. He was a cardinal, and the General
of his Order. He presided at a chapter held at Barcelona. Pope
Gregory IX. and King James of Aragon assisted at his funeral obse-
quies. August 31, A. P. 1240.
264 LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Raymond of Pefiaforte was born at the castle belonging
to his family at Penaforte in Catalonia. He was allied to the royal
house of Aragon, and his family were of Barcelona. He early en-
tered upon a religious life, and became a model in his zealous devo-
tion to the church and his charity to the poor. He assumed the
habit of the Dominican Order, and was the third General of the
Order. His zealous preaching against the Moors was thought to be
the first cause of the final expulsion of the infidels from Spain. A
miracle which he is said to have performed, and which is attested to
in the bull of his canonization, is related thus : Raymond was the
spiritual director of King James of Aragon (el Conquistador). This
king was an accomplished gentleman, and did not incline to allow
his confessor to interfere with his pleasures. Now he was greatly in
love with a beautiful woman of his court from whom Raymond at-
tempted to separate him in vain. The king summoned the priest to
attend him to Majorca, but he refused to go unless the lady remained
behind. James affected to comply, but the lady accompanied him
in the dress of a page. Raymond soon discovered the deceit and
remonstrated severely with the king, who was very angry. The
priest threatened to return to Spain, but James forbade any vessel to
leave the port, and passed sentence of death upon any who should
aid Raymond to go away. St. Raymond then said, " An earthly
king has deprived us of the means of escape, but a Heavenly King
will supply them." Then walking up to a rock which projected into
the sea, he spread his cloak on the waters, and, setting his staff
upright and tying one corner to it for a sail, he made the sign of the
cross, and boldly embarked in this new kind of vessel. He was wafted
over the surface of the ocean with such rapidity that in six hours he
reached Barcelona." This miracle was attested to by five hundred
persons, who saw him land at Barcelona and take up his cloak per-
fectly dry from the water and wrap it round him, and then with an
air of great humility retire to his cell. Don Jayme, overcome by
this uih'acle, repented of his obstinacy and afterwards governed his
kingdom and his life by the advice of St. Ramon. He is represented
in the black habit of his Order, and kneels on his mantle while he is
borne over the sea, or else the miracle is represented in the back-
ground. January 23, A. D. 1275.
St. Regulus was an African bishop. He fled from his diocese
in the time of the contentions between the Arians and Catholics. He
came to Tuscany and lived the life of an anchoret. In the invasion
of Totila he was beheaded. According to tradition he took up his
head and proceeded two stadia, when he sat down. Being found
thus by two of his disciples he gave them his head, and they buried
him there with great reverence and (what is not strange) unspeak*
able aive.
St. Reparata was a virgin of Cesarea in Cappadocia. In the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
265
persecution under Decius she was martyrized, though only twelve
years old. As she died her spirit was seen to issue from her mouth
in shape like a dove, and to fly to heaven. This saint was fot six
hundred years the chief patroness of Florence, and the Duomo was
dedicated in her name ; but it was re-dedicated to Santa Maria del-
Fiore. She is represented in various colored robes, and bears the
crown, palm, book, and a banner with a red cross on a white ground.
St. Roch (Lat. Sanctus Ro-
chus; Ital. San Rocco ; Fr. St.
Roch or Roque) was the son
of noble parents. Montpelier, in
Languedoc, was his birthplace.
When he was born, there was a
small red cross on his breast. His
mother interpreted this as a sign
that he should be consecrated to
God's service, and educated him
with great care. The saint too
was of the same mind ; but he
inclined to follow the example of
Jesus, to go about to do good in
preference to that of many holy
men, who flee from the world to
serve God. His parents died
when he was less than twenty
years old, and left him vast
estates. He sold all, and gave
the money to hospitals and to the
poor. He then went on foot to
Rome in the garb of a pilgrim.
When he arrived at Aquapen-
dente a terrible plague was raging
there. St. Roch offered to attend
the sick in the hospitals. He was
especially successful in his care of
the plague-stricken, and it ap-
peared that some peculiar bless-
ing attended him ; so prevalent
was this idea that, considering
his youth and gentleness, the peo-
ple were ready to believe him an
angel ; and he himself was not
without the thought that a special blessing was on his efforts. He
then went to Cesena and Rimini, where he labored in the same man-
ner, and then he arrived at Rome in the midst of a fearful pestilence,
and for three years more devoted himself to the care of the most
(Carotto.) St. Roch.
266 LEGENDS AND STORIES
hopeless cases He constantly prayed that God might find him
worthy to die as a martyr to this care for others. Years passed
thus, and he went from city to city, wherever he heard of any dread-
ful disease and suffering. At length at Piacenza he was himself
struck down by an unknown epidemic then raging there. One night
he sank down in the hospital weary with nursing, and fell asleep.
When he awoke he found himself plague-stricken with a horrible
ulcer on his thigh, the pain of which compelled him to shriek aloud.
He feared lest he should disturb others, and crawled into the street ;
but he was not allowed to remain there. He then dragged himself to
a wood outside the city, and lay down to die. But a little dog
which had attended him in all his wanderings now cared for him,
and brought him each day a loaf of bread. According to the legend
an angfl also dressed his wound and cared for him, but others doubt-
ing 'his, believe that it was a man named Gothard, who did this for
him ; but be this as it may, as soon as he was able he set out for his
home. When he arrived at a little village near Montpelier, where
the land belonged to his estates, and the people were the vassals of
his family, no one knew him, and they regarded him so suspiciously
that they took him before the judge as a spy. The judge was his
uncle, but even he did not recognize him, and condemned him to be
imprisoned. St. Roeh regarded all this as the will of God, and
said nothing, desiring that all should be as Providence should direct.
So he was cast into a dungeon. There was no one to plead for him,
and he adhered to his resolve of silence; thus he remained five years.
One morning when the jailer went to his cell it was filled with a
glory of light, and the prisoner lay dead with a paper beside him,
which told his name, and these words also : " All those who are
stricken by the plague, and who pray for aid through the merits and
intercession of St. Roch, the servant of God, shall be healed." Then
the judge, when he saw this paper, wept and was filled with re-
morse. He was honorably buried midst the prayers of the whole city.
Nearly a century clasped before St. Roch was heard of outside his
native city, where he was held in the greatest possible veneration.
But at the time of the great church council at Constance, the plague
broke out in that city, and the priests were about to fly from it in
consternation when a German monk, who had been in France, advised
that the power of St. Roch should be tested in this emergency. His
counsel was followed, and the image of the saint borne through the
city accompanied by a solemn procession, with prayers and litanies.
Then the plague ceased, and to this the enlarged consideration of St.
Roch may be traced. Towards the close of the fifteenth century the
Venetians, who were especially exposed to the plague from their com-
mercial intercourse with the East, resolved to possess, if possible, the
relics of St. Roch. The men appointed to accomplish the purpose
wait to Montpelier as pilgrims. They succeeded in carrying away
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 267
the sacred remains, and were received with joy by all Venice, from
the Doge down to the poorest beggar. Then the splendid Church
of San Rocco was built under the auspices of a society wliicb
already existed in Venice for the care of the sick, and which had
been formed under his protection. In this society many of the
nobility enrolled themselves. Many votive pictures are seen of this
saint, in which he is represented as interceding for the sick person,
who is introduced in the painting. In devotional pictures, St. Rcch
is represented as a man in middle age, of refined and delicate fea-
tures, with an expression of benevolence and kindness. He is dressed
as a pilgrim, with the cockle-shell on his hat, the staff in his hand,
and the wallet at his side. With one hand he points to the plague
spot on his side, or lifts his robe to show it. His dog also attends
him. Patron of all who are in prison ; of all sick persons in hospi-
tals, but especially of those afflicted by the plague. August 16, A. D.
1327.
St. Romain, whose whole history is painted on the windows of
the Cathedral of Rouen, was bishop of that city in the time of Clo-
vis I. lie is considered as the great Apostle of Normandy, for he
preached there with remarkable zeal and overthrew paganism. The
Seine- at one time so overflowed its banks as to threaten the destruc-
tion of the city. St. Romain commanded the waters to retire, but
of the slime and mud which remained a poisonous dragon was born,
called by the French, la Gargouille ; this monster spread consterna-
tion all along the shores of the river. Then the saint, by the aid of
a wicked murderer, went forth and slew the beast. From this time
it was the privilege of the chapter of Rouen to pardon a criminal
condemned to death ; and this was so until the time of the Revolu-
tion. February 28, A. D. 639.
St. Romualdo was born at Ravenna, of the noble family of the
Onesti, about the year 956. He was trained like other young noble-
men, and loved the chase, but often as he rode on the hunt in the
forests of Ravenna, he was soothed and charmed by the beauty of
the scenery, and would slacken his pace, and become absorbed in the
thought of the quiet peace of those who dwelt alone with Nature.
Then he would breathe a prayer, and return to his busy life of pleas-
ure. But his father, Sergius, was a man of very different mettle. He
was proud and self-willed, and could brook no opposition. Having
disagreed with a relative concerning the succession of a certain pas-
ture, he challenged him to combat and slew him. Romualdo was
present at the time, and was so overpowered with horror that he
believed it his duty to expiate his father's crime. He retired to a
monastery near Ravenna, Sant' Apollinare in Classe, and assumed
the habit of the Benedictines. But to his enthusiastic and sensitive
temperament, the irregularities of the monks were unendurable ; after
seven years passed here he conceived the idea of establishing new
268
LEGENDS AND STORIES
monastical institutions, according to the pure spirit which he felt
should control them, and of
reforming the old ones and
raising them to the same
standard. Henceforth his
life was a continuous bat-
tle. He was hated and re-
viled by monks every-
where, and even his life
was in danger from the bit-
terness of their enmity to
him. But he scorned all
danger, and despised all
persecution, and fought
most bravely by prayer
and labor for the cause he
had undertaken to main-
tain. His first monastery
was founded near Arezzo
in the Apennines ; in a
glen called Campo-Maldoli,
from the name of the family
to whom it belonged. From
this the new Order was
called that of the Camal-
doli. The members of this
Order are consecrated to
perpetual service to God ;
they strictly practice soli-
tude, silence, and contem-
plation ; they do not even
(National Gallery.) St. Romualdo.
eat together, but each lives in a separate hut with his own garden,
in order to comply with the requirements for manual labor. The
Camaldolesi are among the most severe of all monks, and are in fact
hermits in societies. According to the legend the color of the habit
of his Order was changed in this wise : Not long before his death the
saint fell asleep beside a fountain not far from his cell, and he beheld
a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, on which the
brethren of his Order ascended by twos and threes, and all dressed
in white. So he immediately changed the color, which had been
black, and white has ever since been worn by the Camaldolesi.
Thirty years after his secession from his first convent he had become
famous throughout the north of Italy, and had communities of re-
formed monks numbering hundreds. He is represented with a loose
white habit, and a full beard which falls to his girdle, and leans upon
a cru'ch. February 7, A. D. 1027.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 269
St. Romulo (Lat, Sanctus Romulus) was a noble Roman, whom,
according to the legend, St. Peter sent to preach to the people of
Fiesole, which was then a most important Etruscan city. After thus
being the apostle he became the first bishop of Fiesole. He was at
length accused before the pnetor, as a Christian, and was sentenced
to suffer death. This was in the time of Nero. After suffering the
most cruel tortures, he was slain with a dagger. The old cathedral
of Fiesole is dedicated to St. Romulo. He is represented in the
episcopal robes, and bears the palm. July 23.
Santa Rosa di Lima was born at Lima in Peru, and is the
only canonized female saint of the New World. The principal thing
by which she is distinguished is the extreme hatred she had of
vanity, and consequently of beauty, which she regarded as the root
of vanity. The severities of her life also, were very great. She
was especially beautiful in her complexion, on account of which she
was named. She rejected many suitors, and at last destroyed her
great charm with a compound of pepper and quicklime. When her
mother commanded her to wear a wreath of roses she so arranged it
that it was in truth a crown of thorns. Her food was principally
bitter herbs. She was a model of filial devotion, and maintained her
parents by her labor after they had become poor, toiling all day in
her garden, and all night with her needle. She took the habit of
the Third Order of St. Dominick. The Peruvian legend relates,
that when Pope Clement X. was asked to canonize her, he refused,
exclaiming, " India y Santa 1 asi como llueven rosas ! " (" India and
saint ! as likely as that it should rain roses ! ") Instantly a shower
of roses commenced in the Vatican, and did not cease till the Pope
acknowledged his mistaken incredulity. Stirling's " Artists of Spain,"
thus speaks of Santa Rosa : " This flower of Sanctity, whose fra-
grance has filled the whole Christian world, is the patroness of
America, the St. Theresa of Transatlantic Spain." In a picture by
Murillo, she is represented with a thorny crown ; holding in her
hand the figure of the Infant Saviour, which rests on full-blown
roses. August 30, A. D. 1617.
St. Rosa di Viterbo was a member of the Third Order of St.
Francis. She lived in the thirteenth century, and was remarkable
for the influence she exercised in Viterbo, as well as for her extensive
charities and the eloquence of her speech. She lived a life of great
austerity. She is now the patroness of that city, to which while
living she was a benefactress. She is represented in a gray tunic,
with knotted girdle, and a chaplet of roses. May 8, A. D. 1261.
St. Rosalia of Palermo, whose statue towers upon the sum-
mit of Monte Pellegrino, overlooking the Mediterranean, and cheer-
ing the mariners who consider her their protectress, was a Sicilian
virgin of noble birth. When scarcely sixteen years old she with-
drew from her home and friends secretly, and lived in a cave in
270 LEGENDS AND STORIES
Monte Pellegrino, near the summit. She had rejected many suitors,
and longed for the solitude where nothing could distract her mind
from the service of God. She died without having been discovered,
and twice after she had ascended to her heavenly bridegroom, she
interceded for Palermo, and saved it from the ravages of the pesti-
lence. At length her remains were discovered lying in her cave, and
such was the purity of this unsullied virgin, that they remained
unoorrupted, even in death ! Her name was inscribed above her in
the rock, and on her head was a crown made of the roses of Para-
dise, and placed there by angels. Her cave has become a chapel to
which pilgrims resort. She is usually represented reclining in her
cave, which is bright with celestial light ; angels crown her with
roses, and she holds a crucifix upon her breast. Again, standing and
inserting her name upon lie rock. She wears a brown tunic, some-
times ragged, and her hair is loose about her. September 4, A. D.
1160.
Rosary, The. The beads used by Romanists and called by this
name are so often represented in art, that an explanation of its use
and signification will not be out of place. The use of beads to as-
sist the memory in regard to the number of prayers recited, is of
very ancient date and of eastern origin. They are used by the
Mohammedans, and were employed by the Benedictines before their
use became general in the Church. The rosary in its present ac-
cepted form was instituted by St. Dominick. He invented a new ar-
rangement of the beads and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin. The
festival of the Rosary was instituted by Gregory XHI. after the bat-
tle of Lepanto, A. D. 1571, and from this time it became popular as
a subject of art, and there are large numbers of pictures which re-
late to its institution. A complete rosary has one hundred and fifty
small beads and fifteen larger ones. The latter represent the Pater-
nosters and the former the Ave-Marias. The large beads divide the
rosary into fifteen decades, each one consisting of ten Ave-Marias,
preceded by a large bead, or Pater-noster, and all concluded with a
Gloria Patri. Five decades make a chaplet, Avhich is a third part
of a rosary. To these beads a crucifix is added. The " Mysteries of
the Rosary," consist in the assigning of a certain event in the life
of tl;3 Virgin, or in the life of the Saviour to each decade. There
arc, Cve joyful mysteries, which are, the Annunciation, the Visita-
tion, the Nativity, the Purification, and Christ found in the Temple.
Five dolorous or sorrowful mysteries : Our Lord in the Garden of
Gethsemane, the Flagellation, Christ Crowned with Thorns, the
Procession to Calvary, and the Crucifixion. Five glorious mysteries :
the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Ghost,
the Assumption, and the Coronation. The rosary in the hand or
about the person of a saint signifies that they obtained aid " per
mtercessione dell' Sacratissimo Rosario." When held before the Ma-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART 271
donna it indicates that by the use of it she is to be propitiated; in
short, the Rosary was intended to excite and assist devotion in various
ways, and its representations illustrate the same idea. Festival of
the Rosary, October 1.
St. Rufina. See St. Justina of Seville.
St. Sabina, to whom a church is dedicated at Rome, was a noble
matron who suffered martyrdom during the reign of Hadrian. The
church, which dates from the early part of the fifth century, is said to
occupy the site of her house, and the altar-piece represents a soldier
dragging the saint up the steps of a temple, with a sword in his
hand. With her, Seraphia, a Greek slave, who had converted Sa-
bina, was also executed. Her attribute is the palm. August 29.
Second century.
Santa Casa. This is the title given to the house in which the
Virgin Marv was born at Nazareth. According to the legend this
O O
house was threatened with profanation or destruction at the time of
the invasion of the Saracens, when four angels took it and bore it
over sea and land to the coast of Dalmatia ; but there it was not
safe, and the angels again removed it to a spot near Loretto ; but here
the brigands invaded it, and it was again removed to the spot where
it now remains, said to have been done in 1295. The Madonna
di Loretto is represented as holding the Infant Saviour, and seated 1
upon the roof of a house which is borne by four angels. Loretto
became one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage, and man)
chapels have been dedicated to Our Lady of Loretto.
St. Scholastica. Very little is known of this saint. She was the
sister of St. Benedict, and followed him to Monte Cassino, and there
gathered about her a small community of nuns. Benedict visited
her but once each year. At one time when he arose to take leave
of her, she begged him to remain longer, and when he refused she
bent her head and prayed that God would interfere to detain her
brother with her. Then immediately a furious storm arose and he
was forced to remain for several hours. This was their last parting,
for two days after St. Scholastica died, and Benedict saw her soul
ascend to heaven in the form of a dove, while he was praying in his
cell. She is represented in a black habit with a dove at her feet 01
pressed to her bosom, and a lily in her hand. February 10. About
543.
St. Sebald is one of the most distinguished among the early Ger-
man saints, and is especially venerated in Nuremberg. The legends
relate that he was the son of a Danish king, and left England witl,
St. Boniface. His name in English is Seward, Siward, or Sigward
He travelled through the north of Germany, preaching as a mission-
ary, and at last lived permanently in Nuremberg. While he dwelt
in a cell not far from the city he went there almost daily to teach
the poor. He was in the habit of stopping to rest in the hut of a
272
LEGENDS AND STORIES
cartwright. One day when it was very cold he found the family in
the hut nearly frozen, and they had no
fuel. Then Sebald commanded them
to bring in the icicles which hung from
the roof and use them to feed the fire.
They obeyed and were thus miracu-
lously warmed. Again the saint de-
sired fish for a fast-day and sent the
same cartwright to buy it. Now the
lord of Nuremberg had commanded
that no person should buy fish until
the castle was supplied ; so the poor
man was punished by having his eyes
put out. But St. Sebald restored
his sight. His wonderful shrine in
the Church at Nuremberg was made,
according to its inscription, by Peter
Vischer and his five sons. These
sons with their families all dwelt
with the father Peter, and shared alike
his labors, his rewards, and his fame.
It was commenced in 1508, finished
in 1523, and remains undisturbed.
He is represented in his statue by
Peter Vischer as a pilgrim with shell
in hat, rosary, staff, and wallet. He
holds in his hand a model of his
church. About A. D. 770.
St. Sebastian (Lat. Sanctus Se-
bastianus ; ItaL San Sebastiano or
Bastiano ; Fr. St. Sebastien ; Sp. and
Ger. Sebastian). The legend of this
saint, though very old, has the ad-
vantage of being better authenticated
oy history than many antique traditions. Sebastian was descended
from a noble family which had been honored with high offices
in the mpire. He was born at Narbonne, and when still quite
young vug made commander of a company of the Prastorian
Guards, <tnd was thus always near the emperor, Diocletian, with
whom he was an especial favorite. Now Sebastian was secretly
a Christian, and while from this very fact he conscientiously ful-
filled all his duties to the emperor, he also protected the Christians,
and endeavored to make converts ; and in this last he was very suc-
cessful. Among those whom he had thus influenced were two
young soldiers, of noble family, called Marcus and Marcellinus.
They were accused as Christians and condemned to the torture ; thii
(Nuremberg Statue. Peter Vischer).
St. Sebald.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 273
they firmly endured and were led out for execution. Then their
families, their wives and children, besought them to recant and live.
That which the tortures could not effect, these prayers and tears
were about to do, they wavered ; then Sebastian, regardless of him-
self, rushed forward and eloquently exhorted them, that they should
not betray their Redeemer. So earnest was he, and so great was his
power, that the two soldiers went boldly to their death, while their
friends, many of the guards, and even the judge himself, were also
converted and secretly baptized. Now Sebastian's time had come;
but before his public accusation, the emperor so loved him, that he
sent for him to see if privately he could not influence him to save
his life And he said, " Have I not always honored thee above the
rest of my officers ? Why hast thou disobeyed my commands, and
insulted my gods ? " Then answered the young saint, with courage,
"mt also with meekness, " O Caesar, I have ever prayed, in the name
of Jesus Christ, for thy prosperity, and have been true to thy ser-
vice ; but as for the gods whom thou wouldst have me worship, they
are devils, or, at best, idols of wood and stone." After this, Diocle-
tian ordered that Sebastian should be bound to a stake, and shot to
death with arrows, but that it should be inscribed on the stake, that
he had no fault but that of being a Christian. Then the archers did
their duty, and he was left for dead, being pierced with many ar-
rows. At night, Irene, the widow of one of his friends who had
been martyred, came with her companions to take his body away to
burial. And lo ! it was found that he was still alive, for none of
the arrows had entered a vital part. Then Irene took him home,
and carefully tended him until he was well again. When his
friends saw him they begged that he would fly from Rome and save
his life ; but Sebastian went to the palace and stood where he knew
Jie emperor must surely see him, and he plead for certain con-
demned ones, and plainly told the emperor of his cruelty and wicked-
ness. Then Diocletian, being amazed, exclaimed, " Art thou not
Sebastian ? " And he said, " I am Sebastian, whom God hath de-
livered from thy hand, that I might testify to the faith of Jesus
Christ and plead for his servants." Then was Diocletian doubly in-
furiated ; and he commanded that Sebastian should be taken to the
circus and beaten to death with clubs, and his body thrown into the
Cloaca Maxima, and thus hidden from his friends. But in spite of
all this, a lady named Lucina, who was a Christian, found means to
obtain his remains and they were laid with reverent care in the Cat-
acombs at the feet of St. Peter and St. Paul. Apollo was the
heathen god whom it was believed afflicted men by the plague ;
and he it was whom men invoked against it, and the arrow was the
emblem of pestilence. It would seem that from the association of
the arrow with St. Sebastian must have arisen the belief that he
was especially powerful to grant aid against this curse ; for them
18
274
LEGENDS AND STORIES
.ire, according to tradition, many cities which have been thus saved
by his intercession. A century after the great plague in the
time of Gregory the Great, another fearful pestilence ravaged Rome.
In the Church of San Pietro-in-Vincoli is an ancient mosaic of St.
Sebastian, and on a tablet the following inscription in Latin : " Tc
St. Sebastian, Martyr, dispeller of the pestilence. In the year of
salvation, 680, a pernicious and severe pestilence invaded the city
of Rome. It was of three months' duration, July, August, and Sep-
tember. Such was the multitude of the dead, that, on the same
bier, parents and children, husbands and wives, with brothers and
sisters, were borne out to burial-places, which, everywhere filled with
bodies, hardly sufficed. In addition to this, nocturnal miracles
alarmed them ; for two angels, one good and the other evil, went
through the city ; and this last, bearing a rod in his hand, as many
times as he struck the doors so many mortals fell in those houses.
The disease spread for a length of time, until it was announced to a
holy man, that there would be an end of the calamity, if, in the
Church of S. Peter ad Vincula, an altar should be consecrated to
Sebastian the Martyr ; which thing being done immediately, the
pestilence, as if driven back by hand, was commanded to cease."
From this time Sebastian became the universal patron against pes-
tilence, which honor has been shared in later years by St. Roch.
The pictures of St. Sebastian
are innumerable and unmistaka-
ble He is young, beautiful,
without drapery, bound to a tree,
and pierced by arrows. He looks
to heaven, from whence descends
an angel with palm and crown.
He is the favorite saint of Ro-
man women and indeed of
women of all Italy. January 20,
A. D. 288.
St. Secundus, especially ven-
erated at Ati, is one of the
saints of the Theban legion. See
St. Mauri'-e.
Seven Joys, The, and The
Seven Sorrows of the Bles-
sed Virgin, are often repre-
sented in series of pictures.
The subjects of the seven joys
are, (1.) The Annunciation.
(2.) The Visitation. (3.) The
Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs.
Adoration of the Magi. (4.) The Presentation in the Temple. (5.)
Christ found by Mary, disputing with the Doctors. (6.) The Assump-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 275
tion. (7.) The Coronation. The seven sorrows represent, (1.) The
Prophecy of Simeon. (2.) The Flight into Egypt. (3.) Christ lost
by 'his mother. (4.) Tlie Betrayal of Christ. (5.) The Crucifixion,
(St. John and the Virgin only present). (6.) The Deposition from
the cross (7.) Ascension of Christ, leaving Mary on earth.
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, The (Ital. I Sette Dormienti ;
Fr. Les Sept Dormants, Les Sept Enfants d'Ephese ; Get: Die
Sieben Sehlafer). This tradition is of great antiquity. Gibbon
says it can be tvacod to within fifty years of the time of the miracle
it relates. There is scarcely a written tongue in which ir, is not
fcand. Syriac, Latin, and Scandinavian relate it, and the writer
of the Koran has given it a place. In the time of the persecution
of Decius there dwelt in Ephesus seven young men who were Chris-
tians. Their names were Maximian, Malchus, Marcian, Dionysius,
John, Serapion, and Constantine. Having refused to offer sacrifice
to the gods they were accused before the tribunal. They fled to
Mount Cuelian and hid in a cave. They were pursued and dis-
covered. Then it was ordered that great stones should be rolled
against the mouth of the cave, and they should thus be left to die
of starvation. They resigned themselves to this dreadful fate, and
embracing each other went to sleep. Time passed on until one hun-
dred and ninety-six years had passed. Then, in the reign of Theodo-
sius, a heresy arose denying the resurrection of the dead. The Em-
peror, greatly afflicted at this, retired to his palace and dressed himself
in sackcloth and sprinkled ashes on his head. And God for his sake
restored these seven sleepers. For a certain man of Ephesus went to
Mount Coelian to build him a stable, and he discovered this cavern and
rolled the stones away. When the light entered there, the sleepers
awoke, and thought they had slept but for a night. Then it was deter-
mined that Malchus should venture into Ephesus to obtain food. He
went with fear and caution, and was surprised to find the gates of the
city surmounted by crosses. Then when he entered within the walls
he heard the name of Christ, which he had been accustomed to sigh
forth only with his breath, boldly spoken everywhere. He believed
himself in a dream. He entered a baker's shop, and in payment for
his loaf he offered a coin of the time of Decius. He was regarded
with great astonishment, and suspected of having robbed some hidden
treasure. When accused he knew not what to say, and he was dragged
to the bishop with contumely and reproaches. When the bishop had
talked with him the truth was discovered. Then went out the em-
peror, the governor, the bishop, and hosts of the people, and the six
other sleepers were found in the cave. Then when the emperor was
come, one of them said, " Believe in us, O Emperor ! for we have been
raised before the Day of Judgment, in order that thou mightest
trust in the resurrection of the dead 1 " Then they all bowed their
heads and gave up the ghost. Representations of this legend are
276 LEGENDS AND STORIES
very common among works of art of the thirteenth and fourteenth
century, in glass, miniatures, and sculpture. They are usually ex-
tended in their cave side by side. Their names are inscribed above
their heads and they have the martyr's palm. June 27.
Sibyls, The were prophetesses, who foretold the coming of Christ
to the Gentiles as the prophets did to the Jews. They are in the
art of the Latin Church what the sages of antiquity were to the
Greeks, and are in fact a kind of witnesses to the truth of Chris-
tianity. It may be shown that the Church accepted the witness of
the sibyls by an extract from the hymn " Dies Irae," said to have
been written by Pope Innocent III. It is translated thus in the
English version of the Missal:
The dreadful day, the day of ire
Shall kindle the avenging fire
Around the expiring world.
And Earth as Sibyl said of old,
And as the prophet king foretold,
Shall be in ruin hurled."
Their origin was obscure ; they were regarded as holy virgins, who
lived in caves and grottoes. They were believed to have the power
to read the future, and were interrogated by their votaries upon im-
portant matters, and their answers were considered authoritative.
Varro, who wrote about one hundred years B. c., gives their number
as ten, and their names as taken from the localities of their habita-
tions : The Sibylla Persica from Persia ; the Sibylla Libyca from
Libya ; the Sibylla Delphica from Delphi ; the Sibylla Erythrsea
from Erythrae^ ; the Sibylla Cumana from Cumse ; the Sibylla Samia
from Samos ; the Sibylla Ciiumeria from the Black Sea ; the Si-
bylla Tiburtina from Tivoli ; the Sibylla Hellespontina from the
Hellespont ; the Sibylla Phrygia from Phrygia. Two others
called the Agrippa or the Hebraica, and the Europa were added in
later times, as well as others seldom referred to. Sometimes the
Queen of Sheba is represented as one of these wonderful beings.
There have been serious disagreements in the opinions of the Church
regarding the sibyls and the worth of their prophecies. Some of
the early fathers considered them as agents of Beelzebub, while
others, including St. Jerome and St. Augustine, believed them to be
inspired of God. The two most interesting traditions of the sibyls
in this connection are those of the Cumasan and Tiburtine Sibyls
who appeared to King Tarquin and the Emperor Augustus. The
first, the Cumaean, presented herself to Tarquin with nine books
which she desired to sell him. They contained Sibylline Oracles.
Tarquin refused her request. She went away and burned three of
them and returned with six. Again he refused ; again she burned
three, and again returned with the three remaining. Then Tar-
quin sought the advice of the soothsayers, and they assured him that
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
277
the destinies of the world depended upon the preservation of these
oracles. So they were bought, and for centuries after were consulted
on all great emergencies of the Roman nation. They were preserved
in the Capitol under the care of priests, but during the wars of Ma-
rius and Sylla they perished. Then messengers were sent far and
(Balcl'issare Peruzzi.) Prophecy of the Sibyl.
wide all through the empire to collect the scattered Sibylline leaves,
and as many as were found were again carefully preserved. The
idea of the ancient Romans, as recorded by Tacitus and Suetonius,
that those who should rule the world should come out from Judaea,
is believed to have been derived from these Sibylline leaves. Again,
when the Roman Senate decreed divine honors to Augustus, he con-
sulted the Tiburtine Sibyl whether he ought to receive them. She
replied that it was more becoming for him Avhose power was declin-
ing to go away from her silently, for a Hebrew child should be born
278 LEGENDS AND STORIES
who should reign over the gods themselves. Or, that a king should
come from heaven whose kingdom should never end. Another ver-
sion relates that the heavens were opened and a vision of the Vir-
gin with the Infant Saviour in her arms, standing on an altar, was
shown him, and a voice was heard saying, " Haec ara filii Dei "
(This is the altar of the Son of God). The emperor adored the
vision and reported it to the Senate. And in remembrance of it ho
erected upon the Capitol an altar inscribed, " Ara primogeniti Dei."
On this spot stands the Church of S. Maria in Capitolio, or the " Ara
cash." A passage of Virgil, who wrote forty years u c., is also
quoted as proving that the advent of Christ was foretold In Sibylline
prophecy. It is thus translated : " The last age of the Cumasan
song now approaches ; the great series of ages begins again ; now
returns the Virgin (Astram), now return the Saturnian kingdoms,
now a new progeny is sent from high heaven. Be but propitious,
chaste Lucina, to the boy at his birth, through whom the iron age
will first cease, and the golden age dawn on the whole world." The
Sibyls do not appear in the earliest art. They were not represented
in the Catacombs. In the fourteenth century the vision of Augus-
tus was employed as a symbol of the appearing of the star to the
Magi, or the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. They were
employed in the cyclical decorations of churches with the prophets.
Often they were about the principal entrance, or if inside near the
door ; their position being typical of their having been " forerun-
ners of the Lord." Their number varies. In the Eastern Church
there is but one " la sage Sibylle." They should be recognized by
their scrolls, but the inscriptions have been so varied that they are
not always guides. The sibyls of Michael Angelo on the ceiling of
the Sistine Chapel are too well known to need any description, and
it has been said that these representations are " the highest honor
that art has rendered to the sibyls." Their various attributes, dress,
and age, as nearly as it is possible to give them, are as follows :
The Sibylla Persica was supposed to be a daughter-in-law of
Moses. She predicted the coming of the Messiah. She is old, and
her attributes are a serpent beneath her feet, and a lantern in her
hand.
The Sibylla Libyca prophesied the manifestation of Christ to the
Gentiles. She is twenty-four years old, and bears a lighted torch.
The Sibylla Erythrcca is the prophetess of Divine vengence. She
predicted the Trojan War; in this character she holds a naked
sword. But it is also said that she foretold the Annuneiat on, and
in this representation she has a white rose. She is old.
The Sibylla Delphica, her attributes are a horn or the crown of
thorns.
The Sibylla Samia, attributes a reed or a cradle. She lived, it is
supposed, in (he time of Isaiah.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
279
The Sibylla Cimmeria prophesied the Crucifixion. She is eigh-
teen years old, and has a cross or crucifix.
The Sibylla Camana is fifteen years old, and her attribute is a
manger, having foreseen the Nativity in a stable.
The Sibylla Hellespontina prophesied the Incarnation, and also the
Crucifixion. Her attributes are the crucifix and a budding rod.
The Sibylla Plirycjia prophesied the Resurrection. Attributes, a
banner and cross.
The Sibylla Tiburtina symbolizes the mocking and the flagella-
tion of Christ. She is dressed in skins and bears a rod.
The. Sibylla Agrippa. Attribute, a scourge ; fifteen years old.
The Sibylla Europa prophesied the Massacre of the Innocents.
Attribute a sword, fifteen
years old. Sometimes all the
Sibyls have books in which
they read ; or they bear
torches or lanterns ; and some
have a sun on the head.
St. Sigismond of Bur-
gundy (Ital. San Gismondo)
was the son of Gondubald
and the cousin of St. Clotilda,
wife of Clovis, King of France.
Gondubald, was an Arian, and
had murdered the parents of
Clotilda. Sigismond was a
Catholic, and though greatly
distinguished for his piety, he
put to death his eldest son on
the accusation of his second
wife, who hated and falsely
accused the son of her prede-
cessor. But Sigismond was
seized with remorse, and sorely
repented his crime. He prayed
that his deserved punishment
might be inflicted in this world
rather than the next ; and his
prater was granted, for the
eons of Clotilda invaded his
kingdom, took him prisoner,
nnd finally, in revenge of the
death of their grandparents,
they murdered Si;ismond.
St. Sigismond.
His body was thrown into a well, but was at length removed to the con-
vent of St. Maurice. In a chapel dedicated to St. Sigismond in Cro-
280 LEGENDS AND STORIES
mona, Francesco Sforza was married to Bianca Visconti, and in wituesi
of his love and gratitude he adorned this chapel with great beauty.
St. Sigismond is represented in the splendid altar-piece, by Giulio
Campi. He is patron saint of Cremona. May 1, A. D. 525.
Simeon, The Prophet. See the Madonna. The Presentation
in the Temple.
St. Simon Zelotes, or the Zealot ; St. Jude, Thaddeua or
Lebbeus (///. San Simone, San Taddeo ; Fr. St. Simon le
Zele, St. Thaddee ; Ger. Judas, Thaddaus). The contradictions
concerning these saints render it impossible to give any clear ac-
count of them. One tradition teaches that they were mentioned
as brethren or kinsmen of Jesus by Matthew. Another that they
were two brothers who were among the shepherds to whom the
birth of Jesus was revealed. There is but one point of agree-
ment concerning them. That is, that they preached the Gospel
in Syria and Mesopotamia, and were martyred in Persia ; but in
what manner is not known, although it is believed that St. Si-
mon was sawn asunder, and St. Jude killed with a halberd. They
therefore bear the saw and halberd as their attributes. They are
sometimes represented as young, and again as old, according to which
tradition the artist follows. In Greek art, Jude and Thadcleus are
different persons, Jude being young and Thaddeus old. They have
rarely been represented as members of the Sacra Famiglia, and when
so introduced have their names in the glories about their heads.
May 1.
St. Siro, or Syrus, whose statue is in the Cathedral of Pavia, was
first bishop of that city and governed the church fifty-six years. His
effigy appears on the coins of Pavia.
The " Spalatro," or the Vision of the Bloody Hand, is a
picture painted by Washington Allston, in illustration of a scene from
" The Italian," by Mrs. Radcliffe ; the story of which book is as fol-
lows : Vincentio di Vivaldi, the only son of the oldest and one of
the most noble Neapolitan families, was determined upon marrying
Ellena Rosalba, a lovely girl, and every way worthy of his admira
tion, but his inferior in rank. The Marchesa di Vivaldi, an ambi-
tious and heartless woman, was resolved to prevent this union at all
hazards. She had for her confessor a monk called Father Schedoni,
whose early life had been so fearful in its wickedness as to render
him a fitting instrument for any crime. He too, was ambitious, and
in consideration of a church preferment which the Marchesa could
obtain for him, he promised to render her son's marriage impossible
by destroying Ellena. For this purpose he employed Spalatro, a
man of many crimes who had before served Schedoni as an assassin.
Ellena was seized and conveyed secretly to the house of Spalatro, in
a lonely situation by the sea, and at night Schedoni and Spalatro
proceeded towards her apartment to accomplish their dreadful
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 281
designs. The beauty and innocence of Ellena had already softened
the heart of the assassin, and as he contemplates this new crime, all
those of his past life rise before him, and Macbeth-like he imagines
that he sees a vision of a bloody hand beckoning him on to this new
horror. He is seized with uncontrollable agony and fear. This is
the moment represented by the artist, and this the- word-picture of
the scene : " At the foot of the staircase he again stopped to listen.
' Do you hear anything ? ' said he in a whisper. ' I hear o n ly the
sea, ' replied the man. ' Hush ! it is something more,' said Sche-
doni ; ' that is the murmur of voices. ' They were silent. After a
pause of some length, ' It is, perhaps, the voice of the spectres I
told you of, Signer,' said Spalatro, with a sneer. ' Give me the dag-
ger,' said Schedoni. Spalatro instead of obeying now grasped the
arms of the confessor, who looking at him for an explanation of this
extraordinary action, was still more surprised to observe the paleness
and horror of his countenance. His starting eyes seemed to follow
some object along the passage, and Schedoni, who began to partake
of his feelings, looked forward to discover what occasioned this dismay,
but could not perceive anything that justified it. ' What is it you
fear ? ' said he at length. Spalatro's eyes were still moving in hor-
ror. ' Do you see nothing ? ' said he pointing. Schedoni looked
again, but did not distinguish any object in the remote gloom of the
passage whither Spalatro's gaze was now fixed. ' Come, come,' said
he, ashamed of his own weakness, ' this is not the moment for such
fancies. Awake from this idle dream.' Spalatro withdrew his eyes,
but they retained all their wildness. ' It was no dream,' said he, in
the voice of a man who is exhausted by pain and begins to breathe
somewhat more freely again. ' I saw it as plainly as I now see you. 5
' Dotard ! what did you see ? ' inquired the confessor. ' It came
before my eyes in a moment, and showed itself distinctly and out-
spread.' 'What showed itself ?' repeated Schedoni. ' And then it
beckoned, yes, it beckoned me, with that blood-stained finger ! and
glided away down the passage, still beckoning, till it was lost in the
darkness.' ' This is very frenzy ! ' said Schedoni, excessively agitated.
' Arouse yourself and be a man.' ' Frenzy ! would it were, Signer,
I saw that dreadful hand. I see it now ; it is there again ! there 1 '
The representation of the lonely corridor, the horror and fright of
the remorse-crazed villain, and the stern determination of the cold-
hearted monk is most powerful and true to nature. The chiaro-
scuro effect of light and shade and the whole coloring of the picture,
is such as must command the admiration of the artist, and sensibly
impress the less critical observer. [This picture is now the posses-
sion of Mr. John Taylor Johnston of New York, and makes one ol
the attractions of his rich and elegant art gallery. His generous
kindness in allowing an engraving of it to be made, has enabled me
to give my readers an idea of this gem of American art.]
282
LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Stanislas Kotzka, a young Polish nobleman, was among
the earliest converts of the Jesuits. He was distinguished for his
piety as a child. His mother educated him until he was fourteen,
when he went to Vienna. He entered the Society of Jesus through
the influence of Francis Borgia. He died at Rome when but seven-
teen. It is said that he fell sick at Vienna, and an angel brought to
him the Eucharist on account of his being in the house of a Protes-
tant. He is represented in art on a couch with an angel at his side.
He is one of the patron saints of Poland, and as such his attribute is
the lily. November 13, A. r>. 1589.
St. Stephen, Proto-martyr (LaL S. Stephanus ; Ilal. San Stefano ;
Fr. St. Etienne ; Ger. Der Heilige
Stefan). Little has been added
to the Scripture account of this
holy deacon by tradition or the
fancy of his votaries. His name
is significant of faith, devotion, zeal,
and enduring love ; it commands
the veneration of the world, stand-
ing as it does at the head of the
great and " noble army of mar-
tyrs." He was chosen deacon
during the first ministry of Peter,
and did great wonders and mira-
cles. He was falsely accused of
speaking blasphemously of the
Temple and the Jewish law. For
this he was condemned to death,
and stoned by the people outside of
the gate at Jerusalem, now called
by his name. The legend concern-
ing his relics relates, that it was
not known for four hundred years
what had become of Ids body.
Then a certain priest of Carsaga-
mala in Palestine, named Lucian,
had a vision in which Gamaliel, the
same who had instructed Paul in
all the learning of the Jews, ap-
peared to him, and revealed the
burying-place of Stephen. Ga-
maliel himself had taken up the
body and had placed it in his own
sepulchre, where he also interred
Nicodemus and other holy men
vision was repeated a second and
(V. Ourpaccio.) St. Stephen.
ind saints. This dream or
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 283
third time. Then Lucian, with the sanction of the bishop, dug
in a garden that had been pointed out, and found the relics of
St. Stephen, and their wonderful sanctity was proved by many
miracles. They were first placed in the Church of Sion at Jerusa-
lem ; then carried by Theodosius to Constantinople ; and lastly by
Pope Pelagius to Rome, where they were ^posited in the same
tomb with St. Laurence. The legend adds that when the sarcoph-
agus was opened to receive these sacred remains, St. Laurence
moved to the left, thus giving the honorable right hand to St.
Stephen. On this account St. Laurence is called by the populace
of Rome, " II cortese Spagnuolo," " The courteous Spaniard." St.
Stephen is represented as young and beardless, in the dress of a
ueacon. The dalmatica is square and straight at the bottom, with
large sleeves and heavy gold tassels hanging from the shoulders : it
is crimson and richly embroidered. He has the palm almost always,
and the stones are his special attribute, and when given to him it is
impossible to mistake him ; but when they are left out he is like St.
Vincent. December 2G.
St. Stephen of Hungary was the son of Duke Geysa. His
father and mother were baptized late in life by St. Adelbert the Nor-
thumbrian missionary. They gave their son the name of the; Proto-
martyr. Stephen was thus the first Christian king of Hungary. He
found his country in ignorance and heathenism ; he not only Christian-
ized it, but he subdued other pagan nations about him and brought
them also into the Church. He sent to Rome requesting the pope to
grant him the title of king and to give him his benediction. The
pope sent him a crown, and a cross to be borne before his army.
Maria Theresa was crowned with this diadem, which was preserved
at Presburg. St. Stephen married the sister of St. Henry, called
Gisela. No child survived him, and his son St. Emeric is associated
with him in the veneration of the Hungarians. He is represented in
armor with his crown. As apostle of Hungary he bears the standard
with the cross and the sword. September 2, A. D. 1038.
Sudarium. See St. Veronica.
St. Susanna was the daughter of Gabinius, brother of Pope
Cains, and nearly related to the Emperor Diocletian. She was
remarkable for her beauty, but more so for her learning. Diocletian
desired her as a wife for his adopted son Maximus. She had made
a vow of chastity, and refused even these tempting offers. Then
Diocletian desired his empress, Serena, to try her influence wi u h the
maiden. But Serena was herself a Christian, and sympathized with
Susanna in her determination. At length Diocletian became exas-
perated at her obstinate firmness, and sent an executioner who killed
her in her own house. Her attributes are the sword and palm
August 11, A. D. 290.
Susanna. The illustrations of the apocryphal history of Susanna,
284 LEGENDS AND STORIES
are often seen among works of art; indeed, " Susanna at the Bath " ii
seen at least once in almost every picture gallery ot' any size. She
was of Babylon, the daughter of Chelcias, and of exceeding beauty.
She was married to Joacim, a very rich man, and greatly respected ;
and unto his house all the Jews resorted. There was a fair garden
rvdjoining this house, and there Susanna was often seen walking with
her maids. Now thnre were two judges, elders of the people, and
both wicked men, who came each day to Joacim's house, and they
both desired to possess Susanna, for her beauty had inflamed their
hearts. So it happened that one day, when all the people departed
at noon, they departed also, but they both returned and went into
the garden to watch for Susanna ; and when they met there, being
surprised, they each questioned the other of what he sought. Then
they acknowledged their wicked purposes, and agreed together that
they would hide, and wait tor the coming of the woman. Then canie
Susanna with two maids, and it was warm, and she thinking the
garden empty save of herself, sent her maids to bring oil and wash-
ing balls, that she might bathe there. So they left her to bring these
things, and they shut the door of the garden as she had also told
them. Then the two judges laid hold of her, and they told her their
wicked designs upon her, and they said, " If you consent not unto us
we will accuse you, and say that we saw a young man with you here,
and the doors were shut, and the maids sent away." Then Susanna
sighed, and said, " I am straitened on every side : for if I do this
thing, it is death unto me ; and if I do it not, I cannot escape your
hands. It is better for me to f?ll into your hands and not do it, than
to sin in the sight of the Lord." Then she cried out, and the elders
cried out against her, and they opened the door, and the servants of
the house rushed in ; then the elders declared against her, and all
were sorrowful, " for there was never such a report made of Susanna."
Now the next day when all the people were assembled, these elders
came, and they called for Susanna, and Joacim was then;, and his
wife came with her children, and her parents and friends. Then the
elders made accusation against her that they had seen her with the
young man, and that he had escaped, but her they had retained.
And they compelled her to raise her veil, and expose her beauty to
the people. Now the assembly believed the accusation, and she was
condemned to death, and all her friends were weeping and filled with
grief; but she raised her eyes to heaven, and cried, " O everlasting
God ! that knowest the secrets, aud knowest all things before they
be ; thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me, and
behold, I must die, whereas I never did such things as these men
have maliciously invented against me." Then the Lord heard her
cry, and there arose a young man called Daniel, and cried out, " 1
am clear from the blood of this woman." Then the people asked the
meaning of his words, and he declared that it was not just to con-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 285
deinn a daughter of Israel without examination , and he Degged
them to return again to the place of judgment. So they returned,
and Daniel desired that the elders might be separated, that he might
question first one, and then the other. And it was so, and taking
hem separately, Daniel asked them of the place where they had
seen that of which they accused Susanna. And they contradicted
each other ; for one said it was beneath a mastic tree, and the other
said the tree Avas an holm. Then Daniel said that having thus lied,
they could not be trusted, and the whole accusation was false, and he
desired that they might be punished for their false witness according
to the law of Moses. So they were put to death, even as they had
intended to kill Susanna. Then the family of the woman and
Joacim, her husband, rejoiced greatly because there was no dishon-
esty found in her, and Daniel from that day forth had great reputa
tion in the sight of the people.
St. Swidbert, who was a Benedictine monk, left England to lead
the life of a missionary in Friesland, and the Duchy of Berg. He
built a large monastery in Kaiserwerdt (about six miles below Dus-
seldorf), on the Rhine. He is represented as a bishop holding a
star, which probably signifies the rising light of the Gospel which he
preached to the pagans. March 1, A. D. 713.
St. Swithen was associated with St. Neot, in educating Alfred
the Great. He was Bishop of Winchester. It is told of him, that
when superintending the building of a bridge near Winchester, a
poor woman complained to him that a workman had broken the eggs
in her basket ; whereupon St. Swithen made the eggs whole. He
went to Home with Alfred. He desired that his body should be
buried with the poor people, outside the church, " under the feet of
the passengers, and exposed to the droppings of the eaves from
above." When the clergy attempted to remove his body to a more
honorable tomb inside the church, there came on a storm of rain,
which prevented their doing so ; and this continued forty days until
the project was abandoned. It would seem that there could have
been no necessity of suffering from want of rain in Winchester, in those
times. St. Swithen is represented as a bishop. July 2, A. D. 862.
St. Sylvester, Pope (ltd. San Silvestro ; Fr. Saint Silvestre).
He is represented in pontifical robes, with the plain mitre or the
triple tiara, with the book and crosier as bishop. His proper attri-
bute is the bull, which crouches at his feet ; his dress distinguishes
him from St. Luke, who has the ox. Sometimes he holds the por-
traits of St. Peter and St. Paul. December 31, A. D. 335.
For legends, see Constantino, Emperor.
St. Thecla (Hal. San Tecla ; Fr. St. Thecle ; Ger. Die Heilige
Thekla). Although more especially a Greek saint, Thecla has been
accepted and reverenced in the Latin Church. St. John pronounced
the book called the "Acts of Paul and Thecla" to be spurious;
286
LEGENDS AND STORIES
but in the earliest days of the Church it was thought the highet
praise of any woman to
compare her to St. Thecla.
The legend relates that
when St. Paul preached in
the house of Onesiphorus
at Iconium, Thecla could
hear his sermons in her own
house, by sitting at the
window, and she became,
so entranced by what she
heard that she would not
turn her head or leave the
window for any purpose.
Now she was betrothed to
Thamyris, who loved her
with great devotion. Her
mother, Tlieoclea, sent for
the youth and told him how
intent the maiden was upon
the words of Paul ; that
she would neither eat nor
drink; and seemed to care
for nothing but what she
heard from the Apostle.
Then Thamyris also en-
treated her with words of
love, but she would not
heed him. Then he com-
plained to the governor,
and the governor impris-
oiii-d Paul, until he should
hive time to hear hha in
his own defense. But
Thecla went to the prison and bribed the turnkey with her earrings,
and the jailer with a silver looking-glass, and so gained admission to
Paul. She sat at his feet and listened to his instructions, and kissed
his chains in her delight. Then when the governor heard all this, he
commanded that Paul should be scourged and driven out of the city,
and that Thecla should be burned. So the young people of the city
gathered wood for the burning of Thecla, and she was brought naked
to the stake, where her beauty moved the hearts of all, and even the
governor wspt at the thought of the death she was to suffer. But
when the fire was kindled, although it was very large, the flamea
did not touch her, and she remained in the midst of it uninjured.
A* length the fire was extinguished, and she made her escape
(Lorenzo Costa.) St. Thecla.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 287
Then Paul took her to Antioch, where she was again accused before
the governor, who condemned her to be thrown to the beasts of the
amphitheatre. When this sentence was known it created great
indignation, and the people cried out, saying, " The judgments de-
clared in this city are unjust.'' But Thecla submitted without re-
proaches, only asking of the governor that her chastity might be
respected until the time of her martyrdom. Now when the time ar-
rived the amphitheatre was crowded with spectators ; Thecla was
deprived of her garments and a girdle fastened about her waist, and
the beasts were let in upon her. And murmurs of rage and disap-
probation arose from the populace. The women crie 1 out, ' O un-
righteous judgment ! O cruel sight ! The whole city ought to suf-
fer for such crimes I " and a woman named Trissina wept aloud.
But a fierce lioness bounded towards Thecla, and when she reached
her laid down at her feet ; all the bears and the he-lions also stretched
themselves out as if asleep. Then the governor called Thecla and
asked, " Who art thou, woman, that not one of the beasts will touch
thee ? " And Thecla replied, "I am a servant of the living God,
and a believer in Jesus Christ his Son." And the governor ordered
that her garments should be brought, and saying to her, " Put on
your apparel," he released her. Then Trissina took Thecla to her
own home. But Thecla desired much to see Paul, and determined
to go in search of him. Tr'ssina gave her much money and clothing
for the poor, in order that Paul might be aided in his work. Thecla
found him at Myra i i Lycia, where he preached and labored for the
conversion of the people. Thecla returned to Iconium, and after
years spent in the service of Christ, she was led by the Spirit to re-
tire to a mountain near Seleucia, where she lived in solitude, and was
beset with great temptations. While she lived in this mountain she
did many miraculous cures, and it was so that when the sick were
brought to her cave they were healed, and the physicians of Seleucia
were of no account. Then they consulted and said, " This woman
must be a priestess of Diana. It is by her chastity she does these
cures. If we could destroy that her power would be overthrown."
So they sent evil men to do her violence. And Thecla rail from
them praying for aid from Heaven, and lo ! a great rock opened be-
fore her, leaving a space large enough for her to enter, and when she
went in, it closed and she was seen no more, but her veil which one
of the men had seized remained in his hand. The legend adds,
" Thus suffered the blessed virgin and martyr Thecla, who came from
I^onium at eighteen years of age, and afterwards partly in journeys
and travels, and partly in a monastic life in the cave, lived seventy-
t-vo years, so that she was ninety years of age when the Lord trans-
lated her." Thecla is honored as the first female martyr in the
Greek Church. St. Martin of Tours greatly venerated her, and as-
Lted to make her popular in the Latin Church. She is rep re-
288
LEGENDS AND STORIES
seated in brown or gray drapery, and bears the palm. Wild beasts
are about her. Patroness of Tarragona. September 23. First
century.
St. Theodore (Lat. S. Theodorus ; ltd. San Teodoro ; G?r. Der
Heilige Theodor). This is a warrior saint. He held a high rank
in the army of Licinius. He was converted to Christianity and set
on fire t*ie temple of Cybele. He was burned alive or beheaded.
He is represented in armor with a dragon beneath his feet, lie was
patron saint of Venice before St. Mark. There is another St. Theo-
dore sometimes represented in Greek art, called St. Theodore of
Hsraclea. He is painted as an armed knight on horseback. The
Venetian saint is represented in the more ancient pictures as young
.nd beautiful, and often in company with St. George. January 11,
A. D. 300.
St. Theonestus was one of the saints of the Theban Legion.
See St. Maurice.
St. Theophilus (Gr. "Ay. 0eoc/><./\o? ; Lat. Sanctus Theophilus ;
Ital. and Sp. San Teofilo : Ger. Der Heilige Theophilus, Gottlieb ;
Fr. Saint Theophile). Signification ; A lover of God. See St. Doro-
thea.
St. Theresa
(ltd.
Santa Teresa, Fondatrice dei Scalzi ; Fr.
Sainte Therese de Jesus
des Carmes-Dechausses ;
Sp. La Nuestra Sera-
fica Madra Santa Teresa
de Gesu). The father
of this saint was Don Al-
phonso Sanchez de Ce-
peda, and her mother
was named Beatrix. She
herself is called Theresa
d'Avila, on account of
the place of her birth,
which was Avila, in Cas-
tile. She was born
March 28, 1515, and
was one of twelve broth-
ers and sisters. Her fa-
ther was exceedingly pi-
ous, and her mother ex-
tremely romantic. Under
these differing influences
the character of the saint
was formed. Among
her brothers was one of ardent temperament, sympathetic with her
own, whom she dearly loved. They especially delighted in reading
St. Theresa.
ILLUSTRATED IX ART. 23S
the lives of the saints and martyrs, and they eonoeived a passionate
desire to obtain the crown of martyrdom themselves. When but
eight or nine years of age they went into the country of the Moors
neggirr.:. hoping to be taken and sacrificed by the infidels. They
were disappointed in this, and i!:en resolved to become hermits, but
were prevented from thus pleasing themselves. But they bestowed
all their pocket-money in alms, and whenever they played with other
children always took the characters of monks and nuns ; walked in
processions and sang hymns. When Theresa was twelve years old
her mother died. During her girlhood she seems to have forgotten
her religious impressions, and to have given herself up to dress, and
pleasure, pride of position, and self-love. She ardently longed to be
loved and admired. Her father saw the dangers which surrounded
her and placed her in a convent, commanding that she should be
strictly secluded from the world. Again her religious nature was
aroused, and she felt that a convent was the only haven of peace and
safety for her A marriage which was disagreeable had been pro-
posed to her. Tlie conflict between her differing tastes and inclina-
tions was so serious that she fell ill. Again upon recovering the
struggle was renewed, and a second time she was prostrated by sick-
ness. All this shows the extreme sensitiveness and ardor of her na-
ture. At length the writings of St. Jerome decided her to lead a
religious life. Her father consented, but again her mental sufferings
on parting from her family nearly cost her her life. She entered
the convent of Carmelites at Avila at twenty. Here her mind be-
came more settled, although not at rest, and her health was for a
long time enfeebled. She herself writes, that for twenty years she
did not find the repose for which she had hoped. But she adds,
" At length God took pity on me. I read the ' Confessions of St. Au-
gustine.' I saw how he had been tempted, how he had been tried,
and at length how he had conquered." From this time there was
a change in her life and feeling. About the year 1561 Theresa set
her mind upon reforming the Order of the Carmelites. From the
people of Avila she obtained money, and there she founded her con-
vent. She dedicated it to St. Joseph, whom she had chosen for her
patron saint. When she entered her convent she had but eight
nuns with her ; before her death there were thirty convents estab-
lished according to her rule. She met with great difficulties, but
she overcame them ; and during the later years of her life she trav-
elled from convent to convent, promulgating the new regulations of
her Order, and settling all points of difficulty. Her labors were not
Dnly for nunneries ; she also effected changes in monasteries, and, in-
deed, founded fifteen convents for men. It was she who made the
Carmelites barefooted or sandaled. From this arises the term
" Barefooted Carmelites ; '' in Italy they are called Scalzi, the unshod,
and also Padri Teresiani. St. Theresa wrote many essays and ex-
19
290
LEGENDS AND STORIES
hortations for her nuns ; some mystical and poetical writings, and a
history of her life written at tlie command of her spiritual directors.
She never recovered the perfect use of her limbs after the repeated
sicknesses of her youth, and with years her infirmities increased.
She was attacked with her last illness at the palace of the Duchess
of Alva. She desired to be removed to her own convent of San Josd.
In her last moments she repeated the text from the Miserere, " A
broken and a contrite heart, O Lord, thou wilt not despise." Her
shrine at Avila in the church of her convent is a very holy place,
and many pilgrims visit it. The nuns of the convent always sit on
the steps and not on the seats of the choir, because they believe that
the angels occupied these seats whenever St. Theresa attended mass.
She is represented kneeling, and a flame tipped arrow pierces her
breast, a symbol of the fervor of Divine love which possessed her
soul. Sometimes she is gazing upwards towards the holy dove, a
symbol of inspiration. This was never claimed by St. Theresa.
Philip III. declared her to be the second patron saint of Spain,
ranking next to Santiago. The Cortes confirmed this declaration.
October 17, A. D. 1582.
St. Thomas (Ital. San Tommaso ; Sp. San
Tome) was a Galilean fisherman ; he is called
Didvmus, the twin, and is the seventh in the
series of the Apostles. From the Scripture his
character appears to be affectionate, and self-
sacrificing: "Let us go also, that we may die
with him." But so great was his incredulity
that he has always been remembered for that,
rather than for his other characteristics. Ac-
cording to tradition he travelled very far into
the East; founded a church in India, and met
the three Magi, whom he baptized. The legend,
called that of " La Madonna della Cintola,"
relates, that when the Virgin ascended to
heaven, Thomas was not present with the other
Apostles. Three days later when he returned,
he could not believe their account, and desired
her tomb to be opened. It was empty ; then
the Virgin, that he might be satisfied, dropped
her girdle to him from the heavens. (See also
the Madonna ; the Assumption.) According to
another legend, when Thomas was at Caesarea,
he had a vision in which Christ appeared, and
told him that Gondoforus, the king of the Indies,
had sent his provost to find an architect to build
him a palace more gorgeous than that of the Roman emperor. And
Jesus desired St. Thomas to go to undertake this labor. Then
St. Thomas.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 291
Thomas Tvent, and Gondoforus gave him much treasure, and com-
manded :he building of the magnificent palace, and went to a dis
tant country and remained two years. Thomas built no palace, but
gave all the riches with which he had been intrusted to the poor and
sick. When the king returned he was very wroth, and ordered that
St. Thomas should be cast into prison, and reserved for a terrible
death. Now at this time the brother of the king died, and four
days after his death he sat upright, and spoke to the king, saying,
" The man whom thou wouldst torture is a servant of God : behold,
I have been in Paradise, and the angels showed to me a wondrous
palace of gold and silver, and precious stones ; and they said, ' This
is the palace that Thomas the architect hath built for thy brother,
King Gondoforus.' Then the king ran to the prison to liberate
Thomas. Then the Apostle said, " Knowest thou not that those who
would possess heavenly things, have little care for the things of this
earth ? There are in heaven rich palaces without number, which
were prepared from the beginning of the world for those who pur-
chase the possession through faith and charity. Thy riches, O king,
may prepare the way tor thee to such a palace, but they cannot follow
thee thither." According to tradition the Portuguese found at Melia-
pore an inscription, saying, that Thomas was pierced with a lance at
the foot of a cross, which he had erected in that city, and that his
body had been removed to Goa in 1523. When represented as au
Apostle, his attribute is the builder's rule or square. As a martyr,
he bears the lance. The two principal scenes in which he is repre-
sented, " The Incredulity of Thomas," and the " Madonna della Cin-
tola," are easily recognized. Patron of Portugal and Parma. Decem-
ber -21.
St. Thomas a Becket. St. Thomas of Canterbury (Lat. Sanc-
tus Thomas Episc. Cantuariensis et Martyr ; Ital. San Tommaso
Cantuariense ; Fr. St. Thomas de Cantorb^ri). Mrs. Jameson, in
ner " Legends of the Monastic Orders," gives a resume of the princi-
pal events in the life of this saint, which is at once so concise and
so comprehensive that I cannot do better than to quote it : " The
whole of his varied life is rich in materials for the historical painter,
offering all that could possibly be desired, in pomp, in circumstance, in
scenery, in costume, and in character. What a series it would make
of beautiful subjects, beginning with the legend of his mother, the
daughter of the Emir of Palestine, who, when his father, Gilbert a
Becket was taken prisoner in the Crusade, fell in love with him,
delivered him from captivity, and afterwards followed him to Eng-
land, knowing no words of any Western tongue, except ' Gilbert ' and
' London,' Avith the aid of which she found him in Cheapside ; then
her baptism ; her marriage ; the birth of the future saint ; his intro-
duction to the king ; his mission to Rome ; his splendid embassy to
Paris ; his single-handed combat with Engleran de Trie, the French
292
knight ; the king of England and the king of France at his bed-
side, when he was sick at Rouen ; his consecration as archbishop :
his assumption of the Benedictine habit ; his midnight penances,
when he walked alone in the cloisters bewailing his past sins ; his
washing the feet of the pilgrims and beggars ; his angry conference
with the king ; their reconciliation at Friatville ; his progress through
the city of London, when the grateful and enthusiastic people flung
themselves in his path, and kissed the hem of his garment ; his
interview with the assassins ; his murder on the steps of the altar ;
and, finally, the proud king kneeling at midnight on the same spot,
(After a print by Vostermann.) St. Thomas 4 Becket.
-'ibmitting to be scourged in penance for his crime." It was his
martyrdom which made him a saint, and gave him a place in art.
When he was made archbishop he ceased to be chancellor, and
became a different man, and especially so to King Henry. He main-
tained his rank as spiritual father of the king and people with great
determination. Henry was at last desperate at the continued opposi-
tion of the courageous priest, and in a moment of more than usual
temper exclaimed, " Of the cowards that eat my bread, is there none
that will rid me of this upstart priest ? " This was enough ; as
powerful as a death warrant : and four Normans, attendant upon the
king, bound themselves by oath to murder the archbishop. Thv
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 293
went to Canterbury, and from the time of their appearance before
him he divined their awful errand. At first they were not armed;
he spoke to them with great spirit, and declared that he feared not
their swords, and would die sooner than retract what he had said or
done. This enraged them, and they rushed out to summon their
followers. Then was heard the singing of the Vesper Hymn, and
his friends urged Becket to go into the church as a place of safety.
He ordered the cross of Canterbury to be borne before him, and
passed through the cloister into the church. His friends barred the
gates behind him, but he commanded them to be reopened, saying,
that God's house should never be fortified as a place of defense. As
he ascended the steps of the choir, the four knights with twelve
attendants, all armed, burst into the church. " Where is the traitor ? ''
demanded one of the number. All was silent. " Where is the arch-
bishop ? " asked Reginald Fitzurse. Then Becket replied, " Here I am ;
the archbishop, but no traitor 1 Reginald, I have granted thee many
favors ; what is thy object now ? If you seek my life, let that suf-
fice ; and I command you in the name of God, not to touch one of
my people." He was then told that he must absolve the Archbishop
of York and the Bishop of Salisbury, whom he had excommunicated.
" Till they make satisfaction, I will not absolve them," he firmly
answered. " Then die ! " said Tracy. The first blow aimed at his
head was broken in its force by his cross-bearer, so that he was but
slightly wounded. Feeling the blood on his face he bowed his head,
and said. "In the name of Christ, and for the defense of his Church,
I am ready to die." The assassins then wished to remove him from
the church, in order to lessen the horrible sacrilege they were com-
mitting, but Becket declared that he would die there, and desired
them to hasten their work. He said, " I humbly commend my spirit
to God, who gave it," and instantly he was struck down, and soon
dead ; but so many blows were lavished on him that his brains
strewed the pavement before the altar. His monks buried him in
the crypt at Canterbury. According to tradition, as they bore him
to the tomb, angels were heard singing the beginning of the Service
of the Martyrs, " Lretabitur Justus." The monks were for a moment
amazed ; they ceased their funeral hymn ; then as if inspired they
joined their voices with the angelic hymn, and bore him in triumph
to his grave. The Church canonized him. His remains were in-
closed in a splendid shrine, and his votaries from all parts of the
world made pilgrimages to the scene of his martyrdom. But the
power of the kings, the power he had despised, burned his relics,
and threw the ashes into the Thames. He was fifty-two years old
when he died. He is represented as a bishop, with the crosier and
Gospels in his hand ; as a martyr he is without the mitre, and a
sword or axe is struck into his head ; or the blood trickles from a
wound over his face. December 29, A. D. 1170.
294 LEGENDS AND STORIES
St. Thomas Aquinas (Ital. San Tomuiaso di Aquino, Dottore
Angelico) was born at Belcastro in the year 1226. His father wag
Count of Aquino, Lord of Loretto and Belcastro. Thomas was grand
nephew of Frederick I., and a kinsman of the emperors Henry VI.
and Frederick II. The sweetness of temper, for which as a child
he was remarkable, was preserved through life. When ten years
old, the teachers at Monte Casino declared they could instruct him
no farther, so great was his learning. His mother, the Countess
Theodora, desired that he should have a private tutor, but his father
placed him at the University of Naples. His own inclination and
his mother's counsels kept him free from the temptations around him.
At seventeen he assumed the Dominican habit at Naples. His
mother hastened to persuade him not to take the final vows. He,
fearing he could not resist her appeals, fled towards Paris, but his
brothers, Landolfo and Ilinaldo, seized him near Acquapendente ;
they tore off his monk's habit, and took him to his father's castle of
Rocca-Secca. Then his mother came, and when her entreatie?
would not prevail, she had him guarded, and allowed no one to see
him save his two sisters, who were instructed to persuade him to give
up the idea of a religious life. The result was that Thomas so in-
fluenced his sisters that they sympathized with him, and aided him
to escape. He was lowered from a window in a basket ; some monks
waited for him below, and not a long time clasped before he took his
final vows. He was as eminent for his humility, and the quietness
of his manner by which he concealed his acquirements, as for his
learning. He was suruamed Bos, the Ox. On one occasion when
it was his duty to read in the refectory, the superior corrected him,
and told him to read a word with a false quantity. St. Thomas knew
that he was right and the superior wrong, but he did as directed
instantly. Being told that he should not have yielded, he replied,
" The pronunciation of a word is of little importance, but humility
and obedience are of the greatest." Pope Clement IV. desired to
make him an archbishop, but he declined all preferments. He was
the most learned man of his time in the Church. Being sent on a
mission to Naples he was taken ill at Fossa-Nova, on his journey.
He was carried to a Cistercian abbey, where he died. When ex-
treme unction was administered to him, he requested to be laid on
ashes on the floor. He is represented in the Dominican habit. His
attributes are : a book or books ; the pen or inkhorn ; the sacramen-
tal cup, on account of his having composed the Office of the Sacra-
ment ; on his breast a sun, and sometimes an eye within it ; fre-
quently he looks up at a dove, or writes. March 7, A. D. 1274.
St. Thomas of Villanueva, surnamed the Almoner. He was
born in 1488. His parents were of moderate fortune, but dis-
tinguished for their charities. They supplied seeds for the fields ol
the poor, and lent their money without interest. The son inherited
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 295
this virtue to an intense degree. As a child he would take off hi?
own clothes to give away to children in the street. He showed from
his infancy a singular fitness for the ministry of the Church. He
studied fourteen years at Alcala and Salamanca, and entered the
Augustine Order at thirty. In his life it is related that he pro-
nounced his vows in the self-same hour in which Luther publicly
renounced his. He passed two years in penance and prayer, and then
became an eloquent and distinguished preacher. Charles V. the
Emperor of Spain, held St. Thomas in great veneration, and when he
would not listen to the entreaties of friends or the requests of his son
Don Philip, he yielded to St. Thomas, saying, that he considered his
request as a divine command. In 1544 Charles made him Arch-
bishop of Valencia. He was reluctant in accepting the office, and
arrived in Valencia so poorly clad and provided for, that his canons
sent him four thousand crowns to buy him an outfit ; he thanked
them and sent it to the hospital for the sick ; and this, when the
only hat he had, had been worn twenty-six years ! His whole life
was but a grand series of beneficent deeds. He divided the poor
into six classes ; 1. The bashful poor, who had been independent,
and were ashamed to beg. 2. The poor girls, whose poverty exposed
them to temptation to sin and shame. 3. The poor debtors. 4.
Orphans and foundlings. 5. The lame, sick, and infirm. 6. Stran-
gers and travellers who came to the city without the means to pay for
food and lodging. For these he had a large kitchen always open
where they could have food ; rooms where they could sleep ; and in
addition a small sum of money when they went on their way. And
in the care of all this he did not forget his duties as a spiritual
teacher. When he died he had given away everything except the
pallet on which he laid, and this was to be given to a jailer who as-
sisted him in executing his benevolent designs. It was so surprising
that in spite of all he had given away he still left no debts, that it
was believed that his money had been miraculously increased accord-
ing to his wants. Thousands of poor people followed him to his grave.
When he was made a Beato it was also decreed that he should be
represented with an open purse, in place of the crosier ; but the lat-
ter is not always omitted. He is usually surrounded by poor people,
who kneel. The finest pictures of this saint are Spanish. One of
Murillo's of great beauty, represents him as a child dividing his
clothing among four ragged little ones. The one called the " Charity
of San Tomas de Villa Nueva," Murillo called " his own picture,"
and preferred it to all his other works. In this he stands at the
door of his cathedral relieving a lame beggar kneeling before him.
September 17, A. D. 1555.
St. Tibertius. April 14. See St. Cecilia.
Tobias, the son of Tobit. The pictures of the Archangel Ra-
phael, are so often illustrative of his journey with the young Tobias,
296 LEGENDS AND STORIES
that the story of their companionship rightly belongs here. Now
Tobit was a rich man and just ; and he and his wife Sara were car-
ried away into captivity by the Assyrians. He then gavt alms to
all his brethren that he could help and lived a just life, not eating the
bread of the Gentiles. But in one way and another, his misfortunes
were increased and he became blind, and nothing was left to him
but his wife Sara and his son Tobias. And he was so afflicted that
he prayed for death. At this same time there dwelt in the city of
Ecbatane a man called Raguel, and he had an only daughter who
had had seven husbands, and they were all killed by the evil spirit
Asmodeus, as soon as they were married to her. And her maids
reproached her and said she had strangled her husbands. And she
was so wretched at this, that she too prayed for death that she might
be at peace. So God sent his angel Raphael that he might take
away the blindness of Tobit and the reproach of this unhappy
woman. Then Tobit remembei'ed that he had given to Gabael in
Media, ten talents in trust, and he determined to send Tobias to ask
for this money. So he called him and gave him directions concerning
it. Then Tobias said, " But how can I receive the money, seeing I
know him not ? " Then Tobit gave him the handwriting and com-
manded him to seek for a guide who would show him the way. So
Tobias sought a guide, and Raphael offered to go with him, and he
was so that Tobias knew not that he was an angel. So he took him
to his father, and they agreed upon the wages of the guide ; and
Tobit gave directions for their journey, and they departed. And
Sara was much grieved to part from her son Tobias. At evening
they came to the river Tigris and they lodged there, and when Tobias
went to wash himself a fish leaped out at him. And the angel told
him to take the fish, and take out the heart and the liver and the gall
and preserve them carefully. This Tobias did, and they roasted the
fish and ate it. Then Tobias asked the use of the parts they had
kept, and the angel said, the heart and the liver were able to cure
any one vexed with an evil spirit if a smoke was made of them be-
fore the person, and the gall would take away blindness from one
who hath whiteness in the eyes. Now when they were come near to
Rages the angel said, " Brother, to-day we shall lodge with Raguel
who is thy cousin ; he also hath one only daughter named Sara ; I
will speak for her that she may be given thee for a wife ; " and he
added, that according to the laws she belonged to Tobias, and as she
was fair and wise, he could marry her on their return. Then Tobias
said, he had " heard that she had been married to seven husbands
who all died in the bridal chamber, and he feared that he too should
die and thus bring his parents to their grave in sorrow, since he was
their only son." But Raphael assured him that she was the wife
intended fur him by the Lord, and he should be preserved if when
he came into the marriage chamber he should make a smoke with the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 297
heart and liver of the fish, for at the smell of it the devil would flee
to come back no more. ; ' Now when Tobias had heard these things
he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her." So when
they were come to Ecbatane they met Sara and she took them to the
house of llaguel her father, and when they made themselves known
unto him he rejoiced to see them and wept to hear of the blindness
of his cousin Tobit, and Edna his wife and Sara wept also. And
they killed a ram of the flock and prepared a supper ; but Tobias
said unto Raphael, " Speak of those things of which thou didst talk
in the way, and let this business be dispatched.'' So they asked
Ragiiei for Sara, that he should give her to Tobias as his wife. Then
Raguel answered and told of the fate of the seven husbands she had
had already ; but he could not deny the request of Tobias, for by the
law of Moses she belonged to him. And so it was settled before
they diil eat together, and Raguel joined their hands and blessed
them. Then Edna prepared the marriage chamber and brought her
daughter in thither, and Sara wept, but her mother comforted her
and blessed her. Then when Tobias went in he took heed to make
the smoke with the heart and liver of the fish as Raphael had said ;
and when the evil spirit perceived the odor thereof he fled away to
return no more. Then Tobias and Sara knelt down, and Tobias
prayed as Raphael had commanded him, and Sara said, Amen. And
in the morning Raguel went out and dug a grave, for he counted
Tobias as one dead, and he desired to bury him quietly that none
should know what had taken place. And he sent a servant to see
if he were dead ; and the servant found them both quietly sleeping.
Then did Raguel and Edna rejoice, and they prepared to keep the
marriage feast of their daughter. And this feast kept fourteen days.
Meanwhile the angel went to Gabael and received from him the
money that Tobit had left with him. And when the feast was ended,
Tobias with Sara and the angel departed to go to his father. And
Raguel and Edna blessed them and gave them half of their goods,
servants and cattle and money. Now as they approached to the city
of Nineveh the angel said to Tobias, " Let us haste before thy wife
and prepare the house ; And take in thine hand the gall of the fish."
So they went, and the little dog which they took away went with them.
Now Anna was watching for them, and when she saw them she told
Tobit that they were coming, and they were exceeding glad, for they
had both been troubled at their long absence and feared lest some
evil had overtaken them. Then said Raphael to Tobias, " I know
that thy father will open his eyes ; therefore anoint thou his eyes
with the gall, and being pricked therewith, he shall rub and the
whiteness shall fall away and he shall see thee." Then Tobias did
so, and it was as the angel said, and the sight of Tobit was restored
to liim. Then they all rejoiced and blessed God, and Tobias re-
counted what had happened to him. And they went out to meet Sara
298 LEGENDS AND STORIES
and the servants and all that he had brought with him. And the
people wondered when they saw Tobit and he was no more blind.
And they brought in Sara and made a feast which they kept for
seven days. Then Tobit said to his son, " See that the man have
his wages that went forth with thee, and thou must give him more."
And Tobias answered, " O father ! it is no harm to me to give him
half of those things which I have brought, for he hath brought me
again to thee in safety, and made whole my wife and brought me
the money, and likewise healed thee." And Tobit said, " It is due
unto him." So they called Raphael and made known unto him their
intentions. Then told he them to praise God, and glorify Him for
all this good. And he told Tobit that all his acts and his goodness
had been known in heaven, and his weariness of life and desire for
death ; and also that of Sara, who had so great troubles. Then he
said, " And now God hath sent me to heal thee, and Sara thy
daughter-in-law. I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which
present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before
the glory of the Holy One." " Then were they both troubled and
fell upon their faces ; for they feared. But he said unto them,
" Fear not, for it shall go well with you ; praise God therefore."
And after a few more words he vanished, and when they arose they
could see no one. And from this time forth all did go well with
Tobit and Sara his wife, with Raguel and Edna his wife, and with
their children. And while they lived they never ceased to praise
God for all the wonderful things He had showed them. And when
Tobit and Sara were dead, Tobias took his wife and children and
went to Ecbatane to Raguel his father-in-law. And when Raguel
died he inherited his riches and lived with honor ; and he lived to
hear of the destruction of Nineveh, and died at Ecbatane, being an
hundred and seven and twenty years old.
St. Torpe, or Torpet, is a Pisan saint. According to the
legend he was a Roman, and served in the guards of Nero. He
was converted by Paul. He was beheaded. When there was no
water in the Arno and all were suffering for want of rain, the head
of the saint was carried in procession, and so effectual was his inter-
cession that the rain fell in floods and swept away a portion of the
pi ocession, and, mirabile dictu, the head of the saint also ! The
people knew not what to do, when two angels appeared, dived be-
neath the water, and brought again the head of the saint and gave it
to the archbishop. Saint Torpe was the patron of Pisa before St.
Ranieri. For a time he was eclipsed by the latter, but his fame
again revived in the seventeenth century. He is represented as a
Roman soldier, and bears a white banner with a red cross.
True Cross, The History of. A long time after Adam was
driven out of Paradise, he grew so weary of hi? life of toil and hard-
ship that he longed for death, and he sent his son Seth to the angel
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 299
who guarded the Tree of Life to a^k him to send him the oil of
mercy which God had promised him when he was driven out of
Paradise. And when his father had pointed out the way Seth 'vent,
and when he had asked the angel for the oil, he replied, " The cil of
mercy which God promised to Adam can only be given after five
thousand five hundred years shall have elapsed; but take these three
seeds, they will bear fruit for the good of mankind." Then he gave
him three seeds, believed to have been from the same tree of which
Adam had eaten. And the angel told Seth that his father should
die after three days, and commanded that after his death these seeds
should be put under his tongue. Then Adam was joyous, for he
much desired to die. And on the third day he died, and Seth buried
him in the Valley of Hebron, and the three seeds were under his
tongue. These seeds soon sprung up, and the three saplings thus
formed united into one, thus becoming a symbol of the Trinity. It
was with a part of tin's tree that Moses sweetened the waters of
Marah ; and with it also he struck the rock without calling on God ;
for which sin he was forbidden to enter the Promised Land. David
also did miracles with this tree, and at last brought it to Jerusalem,
and placed it in his garden, and built a wall about it. When Solo-
mon was building the Temple, he saw that this tree was good and
strong, and it was cut down for a beam ; but the workmen could
never make it fit in any place : sometimes it was too long, and again
too short, so at last it was given up and thrown aside. After some
years a woman, Sibylla, sat down upon it and immediately her
clothes took fire ; and she prophesied concerning it, that it would be
for the destruction of the Jews. And some men who were near by
cast it into a pond and it rose to the surface of the water, and formed
a bridge upon which many passed. But when the Queen of Sheba
came to visit Solomon, as she came to this bridge she had a vision
of its future, and she would not step upon it, but knelt down and
worshipped it ; and she took off' her sandals and walked through
the stream, and she told Solomon that one should hang on that tree
who should redeem the human race. Then Solomon took it and
cased it in silver and gold and put it above the door of the Temple
that all who came in might bless it. But when Abijah, the, son of
Rehoboam, reigned, he desired the gold and silver, and he took it
away and buried the wood deep in the earth. Now after a time a
well was dug over the spot where the Tree of Mercy was buried,
ind its waters were powerful to heal the sick, and it was called the
Pool of Bethesda. As the time for the death of Jesus drew near,
this beam was cast up to the surface of the waters, and the Jews took
it and made from it The Cross ; so was the tree which had grown
from the seeds from Paradise, and which had been nourished by the
decaying body of Adam, become at length the tree of the death of
the second Adam. Another legend relates that the Jews believed
300 LEGENDS AND STORIES
that the body of Jesus would hang as long as the cross would last,
and that it was made of four different kinds of wood, but the stem
was of cypress wood, because this would not decay in earth or water.
After the> crucifixion the cross was buried deep in the earth and
there remained for more than three centuries, until Coustantine and
his mother the Empress Helena were converted to Christianity ; and
she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where she was seized with an
uncontrollable desire to discover the Cross of Christ. So Helena
commanded that all the wise men of the Jews should come to her
palace. And they were alarmed, and questioned one with another
why this should be. And there was one named Judas who said,
; ' Know my brethren, that the empress hath come hither to discover
the cross on which Jesus Christ suffered. But take heed that it be
not revealed, for in the hour that the cross comes to light, our an-
cient law is no more, and the traditions of our people will be
destroyed. My grandfather Zaccheus taught this to my father
Simon, and my father Simon hath taught me. Moreover he told me
that his brother Stephen had been stoned for believing in him who
was crucified, and bid me beware of blaspheming Christ or any of
his disciples." Then the Jews obeyed his injunction, and when the
empress questioned them they all declared that they knew not where
the cross was hid. So Helena commanded that they should all be
buried alive. Then were they alarmed, and they said, " Here is a
just man, and the son of a prophet, who knoweth all things pertain-
ing to our law, and who will answer all questions." Then she
released the others, but Judas she retained. And when she ques-
tioned him he exclaimed, " Alas ! how should I know of these things
which happened so long before I was born ? " Then the empress
was so filled with wrath that she declared he should be starved to
death, and for that purpose he was cast into a dry well. Here he
endured hunger and thirst for six days, but on the seventh day he
yielded and led the empress to the Temple of Venus, which Hadrian
had built above the place where the cross was buried. Then Helena
commanded that the temple should be destroyed. And after that
Judas began to dig, and when he had dug twenty feet he found three
crosses ; but they were all alike and no one knew which was that
of Jesus. And as Helena and Macarius the bishop of Jerusalem
were consulting as to what should now be done, behold, a dead man
was carried past to his burial. And Macarius desired that he should
be laid on the crosses, and it was done. Now when he was put
upon the first and the second he stirred not, but when he was put
upon the third he was restored to life, and the demons were heard to
lament in the air above because Satan was overpowered and Christ
reigned, while the man went on his way rejoicing. Then was Tudas
baptized, and his name was Syriacus or Quiriacus. But the nails
of the cross were still wanting, and when Helena prayed for them
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 301
they appeared on the surface of the earth shining like gold. Then
Helena divided the cross, and left a part at Jerusalem, and a part
she carried to Constantinople. Constantino kept a portion of it
which was inserted into a statue of himself, and the rest was carried
to Home, where the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme was
built to receive and preserve it. One of the nails she had placed in
the crown of Constantine, another she had made into a bit for his
horse, and the third she threw into a whirlpool in the Adriatic, and
immediately the sea was calm. In the year 615 Chosroes, King of
Persia, came to Jerusalem and carried away the portion that had
been left there. Then the Emperor Heraclius gathered his army
together and defied Chosroes to battle. When they met the king
and the emperor decided to settle their difficulties by single combat.
Heraclius overcame Chosroes, and when he refused to be baptized
he cut off his head. Then the emperor returned to Jerusalem in
great triumph, and bearing the cross with him ; but when he would,
he could not enter, for the walls were all closed up by a miracle.
He was astonished at this and an angel came to him and said,
" AVhen the King of Heaven and Earth entered through this gate to
suffer for the sins of the world, he entered not with regal pomp, but
barefooted and mounted on an ass." Then Heraclius wept that
pride should have so led him to sin, and he descended to the earth,
took off liis crown, and also his shoes, and took the royal robes off
even to his shirt. Then he put the cross on his shoulder, and the
wall opened that he might pass in. Then was the cross exalted on
an altar and displayed to the people. There is scarcely a point in
this legend which has not been the subject of art. It is also related
in the legends that The Title of accusation was found and sent to
Rome by St. Helena ; that it was placed on an arch in the Church
of Santa Croce, and was there found in a lead box, in 1492. The
inscriptions in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were in red letters,
while the wood on wliich they were painted was white. Since then
it has faded, and the words Jesus and Judteorum are eaten away.
The board is now only nine inches long, but was originally about
twelve. The Sponge which was used for the vinegar, to wash the
wounds of Christ, as was the custom in crucifixions, is preserved
with great veneration at the Church of St. John Lateran at Rome.
The Lance wliich pierced his side is also at Rome, but the point is at
Sainte Chapelle in Paris. According to various authorities it was
buried with the cross. St. Gregory of Tours and Venerable Bede
agree that in their day this lance was at Jerusalem. In order to
guard it from the Saracens it was buried at Antioch, and there it
was found in 1098, when it wrought many wonderful miracles. It
was then carried to Jerusalem and from there to Constantinople.
Baldwin IT. sent the point of it to Venice in order to raise money
for his necessities. St. Louis of France obtained it by paying the
302 LEGENDS AND STORIES
um Baldwin had received. The rest of the lance remained at Con-
stantinople after it was taken by the Turks until 1492, when the
Sultan Bajazet inclosed it in a beautiful case and sent an ambassa-
dor with it to Rome to present it to Pope Innocent VIII.
The Crown of Thorns was given to St. Louis by Baldwin, both
on account of his kindness to him, and the friendly sentiments he
entertained for him, and because Constantinople was no longer a safe
place for it. St. Louis with his rnother-in-law, his brother, and
nianv priests and members of his court, met the ambassadors who
carried it to him five leagues from Sens. St. Louis and his brother
Robert of Artois were barefooted and in their shirts ; thus they bore
it to Sens and to the Cathedral of St. Stephen ; there it was re-
ceived with great ceremony. It was taken to Paris in the same
manner, and Louis built for its reception the Sainte Chapellc, to
which was attached a rich foundation for a chapter of canons. St.
Louis also received the portion of the cross which was at Constanti-
nople, and other relics which St. Helena had given her son. Some
of the thorns from this crown have been given to other churches,
and they have been imitated many times. They are very long.
The Nails of the cross have already been spoken of. These have
been multiplied by imitation, and many made in this way and touched
to the true nail were considered sacred.
The Pillar to which Christ was bound to be scourged, or a portion
of it, is preserved at Jerusalem. The inscription above it says that
it was placed there in 1223 by Cardinal Columna.
The Blood of Christ. Alban Butler says that this relic " which
is kept in some places, of which the most famous is that of Mantua,
seems to be what has sometimes issued from the miraculous bleeding
of some crucifix, when pierced in derision by Jews or Pagans, in-
stances of which are recorded in authentic histories. Representa-
tions of all these different relics, of circumstances connected with
their discovery, of the ceremonies which have taken place on ac-
count of them and of the miracles they have performed, are very nu-
merous in works of art.
St. Umilita, or Humility, was the wife of Ugolotto Cacciane-
mici of Faenza. She was the foundress of the Vallombrosan nuns.
She had desired to remain a virgin, but was compelled to marry on
account of the avaricious interests of her family. Her husband was
ahjo virtuous and pious. Not long after their marriage, Rosane, for
this was her name, thus addressed her husband, " Dost thou not feel
that we can find no real permanent happiness here on earth, and
should we not aspire to that peace and bliss which we can attain in
beaven ? Let us therefore, separate for a while, and in the silence of
some cloister make a sacrifice of ourselves to God, for our country,
our kindred, and for all those whom we love. Time fleets by with
lightning speed, and we shall soon be reunited in the kingdom of
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
303
heaven, where we shall enjoy all that felicity which has been denied
us hero, below." Ugolotto consented, and they both lived strict lives
according to the Valloinbrosan rule. This legend has been illus-
trated in a series of eleven pictures by Bufahnacco. One of them
represents Rosane persuading her husband to the separation. Her
face is alight with the inspiration of the project of self-sacrifice she
has conceived, while that of Ugolotto is sad at the thought of part-
ing with her.
St. Ursula, and her ._ -,
Virgin Companions (Lot.
id. ; Fr. Sainte Ursule ;
Ital Santa Irsola). This
legend, which from its
very improbability and
surpassing strangeness is
so fascinating, can be
traced to the year six hun-
dred. All the discussions
as to its signification, have
not (happily) changed
t.he legend, and the Co-
logne version is the one
followed by most painters
who have attempted to
depict its wonderful inci-
dents. The manner in
which this legend is told
is so charming in its
quaintness of thought and
expression, that even
when I consider the brev-
ity that is here desirable,
I cannot find it in my
heart to do other than
give it verbatim et literatim.
" Once on a time there
reigned in Brittany a cer-
tain king, whose name
was Theonotus, and he
>vas married to a Sicilian
princess, whose name was
Daria. Both were Chris-
tians, and they were
blessed with one daughter, (Bruges. Hans Hemling.) St. Ursula.
whom they called Ursula, and whom they educated with exceeding
care. When Ursula was about fifteen, her mother, Queen Daria,
-304 LEGENDS AND STORIES
died, leaving the king almost inconsolable ; but Ursula, though so
young, supplied the place of her mother in the court. She was not
only wonderfully beautiful, and gifted with all the external graces of
her sex, but accomplished in all the learning of the time. Her
mind was a perfect storehouse of wisdom and knowledge : she had
read about the stars, and the courses of the winds ; all that had
ever happened in the world from the days of Adam she had by
heart ; the poets and the philosophers were to her what childish
recreations are to others ; but, above all, she was profoundly versed
in theology and school divinity, ?o that the doctors were astonished
and confounded by her argumentative powers. To these accomplish-
ments were added the more excellent gifts of humility, piety, and
charity, so that she was esteemed the most accomplished princess of
the time. Her father, who loved her as the light of his eyes, de-
sired nothing better than to keep her always at his side. But the
fame of her beauty, her virtue, and her wondrous learning, waa
spread through all the neighboring lands, so that many of the
neighboring princes desired her in marriage ; but Ursula refused
every offer. Not far from Brittany, on the other side of the great
ocean, was a country called England, vast and powerful, but the peo-
ple were still in the darkness of paganism ; and the king of this
country had an only son, whose name was Conon, as celebrated for
his beauty of person, his warlike prowess, and physical strength, as
Ursula for her piety, her graces, and her learning. He was now old
enough to seek a wife ; and his father, King Agrippinus, hearing of
the great beauty and virtue of Ursula, sent ambassadors to demand
her in marriage for his son. When the ambassadors arrived at the
palace of the King of Brittany, they were very courteously received,
but the king was secretly much embarrassed, for he knew that his
daughter had made a vow of perpetual chastity, having dedicated
herself to Christ ; at the same time he feared to offend the powerful
monarch of England by refusing his request ; therefore he delayed
to give an answer, and, having commanded the ambassadors to be
sumptuously lodged and entertained, he retired to his chamber, and,
leaning his head on his hand, he meditated what was best to be
done ; but he could think of no help to deliver him from this strait.
While thus he sat apart in doubt and sadness, the princess entered,
and learning the cause of his melancholy, she said with a smile,
' Is this all 1 Be of good cheer, my king and father ! for if it
please you, I will myself answer these ambassadors.' And her
father replied, ' As thou wilt, my daughter.' So the next day,
whin the ambassadors were again introduced, St. Ursula was seated
on a throne by her father's side, and, having received and returned
their salutations with unspeakable grace and dignity, she thus ad-
dressed them : ' I thank my lord the King of England, and Conon
Ws princely son, and his noble barons, and you, sirs, his honorable
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 305
ambassadors, for the honor ye have done me, so much greater than
my deserving. I hold myself bound to your king as to a second
father, and to the prince his son as to my brother and bridegroom,
lor to nn othor will I ever listen. But I have to ask three things.
O
L^irst, he shall give for me as my ladies and companions ten virgins
of the noblest blood in his kingdom, and to each of these a thou-
sand attendants, and to me also a thousand maidens to wait on me.
Secondly, he shall permit me for the space of three years to honor
my virginity, and, with my companions, to visit the holy shrines
where repose the bodies of the saints. And my third demand is,
(hat the prince and his court shall receive baptism ; for other than a
perfect Christian I cannot wed.' Now you shall understand that
this wise princess, Ursula, made these conditions, thinking in her
heart, ' either the King of England will refuse these demands, or, if
he grant them, then eleven thousand virgins are redeemed and dedi-
cated to the service of God.' The ambassadors, being dismissed
with honor, returned to their own country, where they made such a
report of the unequaled beauty and wisdom of the princess that
the king thought no conditions too hard, and the prince his son was
inflamed by desire to obtain her ; so he commanded himself to be
forthwith baptized ; and the king wrote letters to all his vassals in
his kingdom of France, in Scotland, and in the province of Corn-
wall, to all his princes, dukes, counts, barons, arid noble knights, de-
siring that they would send him the required number of maidens,
spotless and beautiful, and of noble birth, to wait on the princess
Ursula, who was to wed his heir the Prince Conon ; and from all
parts these noble virgins came trooping, fair and accomplished in all
female learning, and attired in rich garments, wearing jewels of
gold and silver. Being assembled in Brittany, in the capital of
King Theouotus, Ursula received them not only with great gladness
and courtesy, but with a sisterly tenderness, and with thanksgiving,
praising God that so many of her own sex had been redeemed from,
the world's vanities ; and the fame of this noble assembly of virgins
having gone forth to all the countries round about, the barons and
knights were gathered together from east and west to view this
spectacle, and you may think how much they were amazed and edi-
fier. by the sight of so much beauty and so much devotion. Now
when Ursula had collected all her virgins together, on a fresh and
fair morning in the spring-time, she desired them to meet in a
meadow near the city, which meadow was of freshest green, all over
enameled with the brightest flowers ; and she ascended a throne
which was raised in the midst, and preached to all the assembled
virgins of things concerning the glory of God, and of his Son, our
Lord and Saviour, with wonderful eloquence ; and of Christian
charity, and of a pure and holy life dedicated to heaven. And aU
these virgins, being moved with a holy zeal, wept, and, lifting ii{>
20
306 LEGENDS AND STORIES
their hands and their voices, promised to follow her whithersoevei
she should lead. And she blessed them and comforted them ; and
as there were many among them who had never received baptism,
she ordered that they should be baptized in the clear stream which
flowed through that flowery meadow. Then Ursula called for a pen,
and wrote a letter to her bridegroom, the son of the King of Eng-
land, saying, that as he had complied with all her wishes and fulfilled
all her demands, he had good leave to wait upon her forthwith. So
lie, as became a true knight, came immediately ; and she received
him with great honor; and in presence of her father, she said to
him, ' Sir, my gracious prince and consort, it has been revealed to
me in a vision that I must depart hence on my pilgrimage to visit
the shrines in the holy city of Rome, with these my companions ;
thou meanwhile shalt remain here to comfort my father and assist
him in his government till my return ; or, if God should dispose of
me otherwise, this kingdom shall be yours by right.' Some say
that the prince remained, but others relate that he accompanied her
on her voyage ; however this may be, the glorious virgin embarked
with all her maidens on board a fleet of ships prepared for them,
and many holy prelates accompanied them. There were no sailors
on board, and it was a wonder to see with what skill these wise vir-
gins steered the vessels and managed the sails, being miraculously
taught ; we must, therefore, suppose that it was by no mistake of
theirs, but by the providence of God, that they sailed to the north
instead of the south, and were driven by the winds into the mouth
of the Rhine as far as the port of Cologne. Here they reposed for
a brief time, during which it was revealed to St. Ursula, that on her
return she and her companions should on that spot suffer martyrdom
for the cause of God ; all which she made known to her companions ;
and they all together lifted up their voices in hymns of thanksgiving
that they should be found worthy so to die. So they proceeded on
their voyage up the river till they came to the city of Basil ; there
they disembarked, and crossed over the high mountains into the
plains of Liguria. Over the rocks and snows of the Alps they were
miraculously conducted ; for six angels went before them perpetually,
cleaving the road from all impediments, throwing bridges over the
mountain torrents, and every night pitching tents for their shelter
and refreshment. So they came at length to the river Tiber, and
descending the river they reached Rome, that famous city, where is
the holy shrine of St. Peter and St. Paul. In those days was Cyria-
cus Bishop of Rome ; he was famous for his sanctity ; and hearing of
the arrival of St. Ursula and all her fair and glorious company of
maidens, he was, as you may suppose, greatly amazed and troubled
in mind, not knowing what it might portend. So he went out to
meet them, with all his clergy in procession. When St. Ursula,
kneeling down before him, explained to him the cause of her coming,
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 307
and implored his blessing for herself and her companions, who can
express his admiration and contentment ! He not only gave them
his blessing, but commanded that they should be honorably lodged
and entertained ; and, to preserve their maidenly honor and decorum,
tents were pitched for them outside the walls of the city, on the
plain towards Tivoli. Now it happened that the valiant son of king
Agrippinus, who had been left in Brittany, became every day more
and more impatient to learn some tidings of his princess-bride, and
at length he resolved to set out in search of her, and, by a miracle,
he had arrived in the city of Rome on the self-same day, but by a
different route. Being happily reunited, he knelt with Ursula at the
feet of Cyriacus, and received baptism at his hands, changing his
name from Conon to that of Ethereus, to express the purity and
regeneration of his soul. He no longer aspired to the possession of
Ursula, but fixed his hope on sharing with her the crown of martyr-
dom on earth, looking to a perpetual reunion in heaven, where neither
sorrow nor separation should touch them more. After this blessed
company had duly performed their devotions at the shrine of St.
Peter and St. Paul, the good Cyriacus would fain have detained
them longer ; but Ursula showed him that it was necessary they
should depart, in order to receive the crown ' already laid up for
them in heaven.' When the bishop heard this, he resolved to ac-
company her In vain his clergy represented that it did not become
a pope of Rome and a man of venerable years to run after a company
of maidens, however immaculate they might be. Cyriacus had been
counseled by an angel of God, and he made ready to set forth and
embark with them on the river Rhine. Now it happened that there
were at Rome in those days two great Roman captains, cruel hea-
thens, who commanded all the imperial troops in Germania. They,
being astonished at the sight of this multitude of virgins, said one
to the other, ' Shall we suffer this ? If we allow these Christian
maidens to return to Germania they will convert the whole nation ;
or if they marry husbands, then they will have so many children,
no doubt, all Christians, that our empire will cease ; therefore let us
take counsel what is best to be done.' So these wicked pagans con-
sulted together, and wrote letters to a certain barbarian king of the
Huns, who was then besieging Cologne, and instructed him what he
-hould do. Meantime St. Ursula and her virgins, with her husband
and his faithful knights, prepared to embark ; with them went Pope
Cyriacus, and in his train Vincenzio and Giacomo, cardinals ; and
Solfino, Archbishop of Ravenna ; and Folatino, Bishop of Lucca ;
and the Bishop of Faenza, and the patriarch of Grado, and many
ather prelates ; and after a long and perilous journey they arrived in
the port of Cologne. They found the city besieged by a great army
of barbarians encamped on a plain outside the gates. These pagans,
seeing a number of vessels filled, not with fierce warriors, but beau-
308 LEGENDS AND STORIES
tiful virgins, unarmed youths, and venerable bearded men, stood still
at first, staring with amazement; but after a short pause, remember-
ing their instructions, they rushed upon the unresisting victims.
One of the first who perished was Prince Ethereus, who fell, pierced
through by an arrow, at the feet of his beloved princess. Then
Cyriacus, the cardinals, and several barons, sank to the earth or
perished in the stream. When the men were dispatched, the fierce
barbarians rushed upon the virgins just as a pack of gaunt hungry
wolves might fall on a flock of milk-white lambs. Finding that the
noble virgins resisted their brutality, their rage was excited, and
they drew their swords and massacred them all. Then was it wor-
thy of all admiration to behold these illustrious virgins, who had
struggled to defend their virtue, now meekly resigned, and ready as
sheep for the slaughter, embracing and encouraging each other ! O,
then ! had you seen the glorious St. Ursula, worthy to be the captain
and leader of this army of virgin martyrs, how she flew from one to
the other, heartening them with brave words to die for their faith
and honor I Inspired by her voice, her aspect, they did not quail,
but offered themselves to death ; and thus by hundreds and by thou-
sands they perished, and the plain was strewed with their limbs and
ran in rivers with their blood. But the barbarians awed by the maj-
estic beauty of St. Ursula, had no power to strike her, but carried
her before their prince, who, looking on her with admiration, said to
her, ' Weep not, for though thou hast lost thy companions, I will be
thy husband, and thou shalt be the greatest queen in all Germany.'
To which St. Ursula, all glowing with indignation and a holy scorn,
replied, ' O thou cruel man ! blind and senseless as thou art cruel !
thinkest thou I can weep ? Or dost thou hold me so base, so coward-
ly, that I would consent to survive my dear companions and sisters ?
Thou art deceived, O son of Satan ! for I defy thee, and him
whom thou servest 1 ' When the proud pagan heard these words,
he was seized with fury, and bending his bow which he held in his
hand, he with three arrows transfixed her pure breast, so that she
fell dead, and her spirit ascended into heaven, with all the glorioue
sisterhood of martyrs whom she had led to death, and with her
betrothed husband and his companions : and there, with palms in
their hands and crowns upon their heads, they stand around the
throne of Christ ; and live in his light and in his approving smile,
blessing Him and praising Him forever, Amen ! " It has been very
troublesome for the artists who have represented this legend to de-
vise any means by which they could represent the idea of the eleven
thousand virgins, and in spite of all their ingenuity, several thousands
still remain to whom justice has never been done. The attributes
of St. Ursula are the crown of the princess ; the staff of the pil-
grim ; the arrow as a martyr ; the white banner with the red cross
as the victorious Christian ; and the dove, because a dove disclosed
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
309
her burial place to St. Cunibert. She is frequently represented ai
spreading outlier broad mantle, underneath which many virgins clus-
ter. There are many series of paintings giving the scenes of her
life. Patroness of all young maidens ; especially of school girls and
of such women as instruct the young of their own sex. October 21.
St. Valerian. See St. Cecilia.
St. Valerie. See St. Martial.
Vera Icon, The. See St. Veronica.
St. Verdiana is seen in Florentine pictures. She is in the habit
of a Vallombrosan nun, and bears a basket from which serpents feed.
A. D. 1222.
St. Veronica (Ital. Santa Veronica; Fr. Sainte Veronique).
There are two quite dif-
ferent legends concerning
this saint. The most
ancient relates that she
was the woman who
was healed by touching
Christ's garment, and
that she greatly desired
a picture of his face.
She first took a cloth to
St. Luke and he painted
a picture that both he
and Veronica thought to
be like Christ, but when
next she saw him, she
found his face quite dif-
ferent. Then the Sa-
viour said to her, ' Un-
less I come to your help,
aH Luke's art is in vain,
for my face is known (Andrea Sacchi.) St. Veronica.
only to Him who sent me." Then he told her to go to her house
and prepare him a meal, and before the day ended he would come
to her. Veronica tlid this joyfully, and when Christ came he first
desired water to wash. Veronica nave him this with a cloth whereon
to wipe. He pressed the cloth to his face and his image remained
on it. He then gave it to Veronica saying, " This is like me, and
will do great tilings." About this time the Emperor of Rome was
ill of a dreadful disease. Some say it was Vespasian, and others
Tiberius ; that he had worms in his head, or a wasp's nest in his
nose. It was a fearful sight. Now the emperor hears that a great
physician performs wonderful cures in Judaea. So he sends his mes-
sengers to Jerusalem and finds that Jesus, the physician, had been
slain three years before. Then Pilate is filled with alarm and ac
310 LEGENDS AND STORIES
cuses the Jews of the deed, while they in turn, make him responsible
for it. Then the messenger inquires for the followers cf Jesus, and
at last Veronica is brought to him. He then desires to see the por-
trait. At first she denies having it, but at length acknowledges that
she treasures it with great care, and brings it to him. The messen-
ger desires to take it to Rome, but she will not consent except she
goes also. They therefore depart, and arrive after a very short and
prosperous voyage. When all is explained to him of the death of
Jesus, the miracle of the picture, and the powers it has, the ein-
peror regards it believing, and is healed. Pilate, who has been brought
to Rome, is then cast into prison ; he kills himself and his body
is thrown into the Tiber, where demons attack it. Then the em-
peror determines to avenge the death of Christ upon Jerusalem. Ho
besieges the city, and so many Jews are slain, that they cannot be
buried. Captives are crucified, the thieves who divided the gar-
ments of Jesus are cut in quarters, and many are sold for thirty
pence each. Now this cloth, which is the subject of this legend, is
the " Volto Santo," or " God's image," and these words were used as
an imprecation in the Middle Ages. Vera Icon, another name for it,
signifies, " The Sacred Picture," and is the same as the name of the
saint, and in fact the picture is sometimes called " a Veronica."
It is well to compare this legend with that of King Abgarus, as they
probably came from the same source, and are very likely different
versions of one legend. The later legend of St. Veronica does not
make her the healed woman, but merely a woman of Jerusalem
whose house Christ passed when bearing his cross. Seeing his suf-
ferings she pitied him, and gave him her veil to wipe his brow.
When he returned it to her it was impressed with the sacred image.
This is recognized by the Roman Church. The house of St. Veron-
ica is shown at Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa. This last legend
also takes Veronica to Rome, but the emperor has died before her
arrival, and she remains with St. Peter and St. Paul, and at last suf-
fers martyrdom under Nero. Still another version makes her go to
Europe with Lazarus and his sisters, and suffer death in Provence or
Aquitaine. The image is the Vera Icon, or the true image, and the
cloth is the Sudarium. (Ital. II Sudario ; Fr, Le Saint Suaire.) A
chapel in St. Peter's at Rome is dedicated to this saint, and there is
kept an image painted on linen, and regarded by the people as the
veritable Vera Icon. St. Veronica is unmistakable in art, as she is
represented holding the napkin. The festival of St. Veronica (Fr.
La Sainte Face de J. C.) is held on Shrove Tuesday.
St. Victor of Marseilles (Ital. San Vittore) was a soldier under
Diocletian and suffered martyrdom in the tenth persecution. He
endured terrible tortures with wonderful strength and devotion. In
the midst of them a miniature altar was brought him on which to
sacrifice to Jupiter and thus save himself, but he dashed down the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 311
image and destroyed it. He was then crushed with a millstone and
afterwards beheaded. When lie died angels were heard to sing,
" Vicisti, Victor beate, vicisti ! " lie is represented as a Roman
soldier with a millstone near him. July 21, A. D. 303.
St. Victor of Milan (Ital. San Vittore) was another Roman sol-
dier who suffered also in the tenth persecution. He was a native of
Mauritania but suffered at Milan, where there is a church dedicated to
him. He is the favorite military saint of Northern Italy. It is said
tliat lie was thrown into a heated oven, and an oven with flames
burs ing out, is sometimes near him in pictures, but he is more fre-
quently represented as the Victorious, sometimes on horseback, and
always in the dress of a soldier. May 8, A. D. 303.
St. Vincent, Deacon and Martyr (Lat. S. Vincentius Levita; Ital.
San Vincenzio Diacono, San Vincenzino ; Fr. Saint Vincent). The
principal facts concerning this saint are so established by good
authorities that they cannot be denied, but imagination has had
great license in the legend, as it is illustrated by those who paint;
whether it be with brush or pen, artist or poet. It is as follows :
Vincent was born in Saragossa. At the time of the terrible perse-
cution under Diocletian he was about twenty years old, and already
a deacon. The proconsul Dacian caused all the Christians of Sara-
gossa to be brought together, with a promise of immunity, and then
ordered them all to be massacred. St. Vincent did all in his power
to encourage and sustain the people of God, and at length was him-
self arrested, and brought before the tribunal. With him was his
bishop, Valerius. When they were accused Valerius answered first ;
but he had an impediment in his speech, and was moreover old and
feeble, so that his answers were almost unintelligible ; then Vincent
exclaimed, " How is this, my father ? canst thou not speak aloud, and
defy this pagan dog ! Speak, that all the world may hear ; or suffer
me, who am only thy servant, to speak in thy stead ! " When the
bishop, therefore, gave him leave, he proclaimed his faith aloud, and
defied all tortures and sufferings. Then was Dacian very wroth,
and he commanded that the young man should be reserved to the
tortures, but the old man be only sentenced to banishment from the
city. The most tearful tortures were invented for Vincent, to which
he submitted with miraculous strength. Prudentius says, in his cele-
brated hymn to St. Lawrence, " When his body was lacerated by iron
forks, he only smiled on his tormentors ; the pangs they inflicted
were to him delights ; thorns were his roses ; the flames a refreshing
bath ; death itself was but the entrance to life." After his terrible
suffering- thry laid him on the floor of his dungeon strewed with
potsherds ; but angels came and ministered to him, and when his
jailers looked in they beheld the place filled with celestial light, and
a sweet perfume came out from it; they heard the songs of angels,
: n which Vincent joined with thanksgiving ; and he called to the
312 LEGENDS AND STORIES
jailers to come in and partake of his bliss. And then they fell oc
their knees and were converted. After this, Dacian being convinced
that tortures could not conquer his spirit, resolved to try the seduc-
tions of luxury. He had him placed on a bed strewn with roses :
his friends were admitted to him, and everything was done to ease,
his pain. But no sooner was this done than he died, and angels bore
his soul to glory. Then the furious Dacian ordered his body to be
tl rown to the wild beasts ; but God sent a raven to guard them, and
they remained untouched for many days. Then the Consul com-
manded that it should be sewed up in an ox hide, as was done to
the bodies of parricides, and thrown into the sea. So it was thug
prepared and carried out in a boat, and thrown over with a mill-
stone attached to it ; but lo, when the boatmen reached the shore
it was returned before them, and lay upon the sands ! Then they
ran away terrified, and the waves hollowed out a grave and buried
it. Here it remained for many years, until at last it was miracu-
lously revealed to certain Christians of Valencia, where he was buried,
and they removed him to their own city. When the Christians of
Valencia fled from the Moors, they bore with them these sacred relics.
The vessel in which they were was driven upon a promontory on the
coast of Portugal, where they stopped, and interred the body, and
that point has been called Cape St. Vincent from that day. Here
too the ravens guarded the remains, and a portion of the cape is
called in remembrance of them, " el Monte de las Cuervas." When
in the year 1147, Alonzo I. removed the remains to Lisbon, two
crows accompanied the vessel, one at the prow and one at the stern ;
these crows multiplied greatly in Lisbon, until rents were assigned
to the chapter for their support. Vincent has been surnamed the
Invincible, both on account of his character and the signification of
his name. St. Vincent is represented as young and beautiful, in a
deacon's dress, and his proper attribute is a crow or raven. Patron
of Lisbon, Valencia, and Saragossa ; of Milan ; of Chalons, and many
other places in France. January 22, A. D. 304.
St. Vincent Ferraris was born at Valencia in 1357. His
parents denied themselves greatly in order to educate him and his
brother Boniface. He was a Dominican, and took the habit when
only eighteen. He became one of the most celebrated preachers and
missionaries. He went all through Spain, Italy, and France, and by
invitation of Henry IV. to England. He so moved the hearts of his
hearers that he was often obliged to pause that the sobbing and weep-
ing might subside. He did many miracles, and it is related that
when he preached in Latin, he was understood by all who heard him,
of whatever nation, learned or unlearned. He spent the last two
years of his life in Brittany and Normandy, and died at Vannes.
Jeanne de France, Duchess of Brittany, washed his body, and pre-
pared it for the grave with her own hands. His proper attribute is
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 313
the crucifix, which he holds aloft in reference to his labors as mis-
sionary. He sometimes has wings as symbols of his fervor, but with
the Dominican habit they have a strange effect. April 5, A. D.
1419.
St. Vincent de Paule, who, as a saint, is so popular in Paris,
should as a man be highly venerated everywhere. He wa? born in
1576, at Puy, in Gascony. His father was a fanner, and he tended the
flocks. But his temper was so sweet, and his mind so active, that
his father desired an education for him ; so he was sent to a convent
of Cordeliers, and assumed the habit of the Franciscans when twenty
years old. He was sent to Marseilles, and when returning by sea,
was seized by African pirates and carried into slavery. He remained
thus two years, and had several masters. The wife of the last one
pitied him. and when she spoke to him was charmed by his conversa-
tion. One day she asked him to sing, and he bursting into tears,
sang, " By the waters of Babylon, we sat down and wept," and then
the glorious " Salve Regina." This woman was converted, and in her
turn preached to her husband, who also received the truth. Then
they all escaped, and came to Aiguesmortes. Vincent placed his
companions in a religious house, and went himself to Rome, from
which place he was sent by the pope to Paris. This was in 1609.
He had been greatly moved at the sight of the sufferings of the
galley slaves. He had been in captivity. He was not able to do
much for them, but he preached, and comforted them as much as
possible. He then turned his attention to the Magdalenes of Paris,
and founded the hospital of " La Madaleine." He also founded the
Order of the Sisters of Charity, and established a foundling hospital.
This is no place to speak of all the good he thus did, and indeed,
who can tell it ? He was a friend of Richelieu, until his death. He
was called to the side of Louis XIII. in his last moments. During
the wars of the Fronde, he ministered to the sufferers ; and greatly
desired to do something for the Catholics of Ireland, who were then
suffering great oppression. In short he has been named by general
consent, " L'Intendant de la Providence et Pere des Pauvres." He
died at St. Lazare. He is represented in the Franciscan habit, with
a new-born infant in his arms, and a Sister of Charity kneeling
before him. July 19, A. D. 1660.
St. Vitalis of Ravenna, was the father of SS. Gervasius and
Protasius. He was condemned to be buried alive for having taken
up and cared for the body of a Christian martyr. He was a soldier
in the army of Nero, and had been converted by the preaching of
St. Peter. His wife, Valeria, fled with her two sons to Milan. The
church dedicated to him, and erected over the spot where he was
buried, is a remarkable monument of Byzantine architecture. The
fame of this saint extended all over Europe. He is represented as a
soldier with the martyr's crown, and sometimes on a white charger,
with the standard of victory. April 28 ; about 62.
314 LEGENDS AND STORIES
. St. Vitus (Ital. San Vito ; Fr. St. Vite or St. Guy ; Ger. Dei
Heilige Veit, Vit, or Vitus) was the son of a noble Sicilian, who
was a pagan, but the nurse and foster-father of Vitus were secretly
Christians, and they brought him up in the faith, and had him bap-
tized. When only twelve years old, he declared himself a Christian,
which so enraged his father and the governor, that they attempted to
compel him to retract. They shut him in a dungeon after beating
him ; but when his father looked through the key-hole, he saw him
dancing with seven beautiful angels, and so daxzling was the sight
that the father was made blind, and only restored to sight at the
intercession of his son. Again after this he persecuted Vitus, and
he fled with his nurse and her husband in a boat which was steered
by an angel to Italy. But here they were again accused as Chris-
tians, and were thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. He is repre-
sented as a beautiful boy. He has many attributes : the palm ; the
cauldron of oil ; a lion, because he was once exposed to them ; a wolf,
because his remains were guarded by one ; and a cock, the reason of
which is not known ; but on account of which he is invoked against
too much sleep. He is one of the fourteen Noth-helfers or patron
saints of Germany. Patron saint of dancers and actors; and is in-
voked against the nervous disease, St. Vitus' dance. Patron of Sax-
ony, Bohemia, and Sicily. June 15, A. J>. 303.
St. Walburga, whose Anglo-Saxon name is the same as the
Greek Eucharis, and signifies " gracious," is also called Walpurgis,
Walbourg, Valpurge, Gualbourg, and Avangour. When her uncle,
St. Boniface, and her brother, St. Willibald, determined to take a
company of religious women from England to the continent, to assist
in teaching the pagans, Walburga left the convent of Winburn,
where she had lived twenty-seven years, and went with ten other
nuns to Mayence. She was afterwards made first abbess of the con-
vent of Heidenheim. After the death of Willibald, on account of
her learning and talents she was called to Eichstadt, and governed
the two communities there ; the monks as well as the nuns. She
wrote a history of her brother in Latin. She had studied medicine,
and did some wonderful cures. After her death, she was entombed
in a rock near Eichstadt, from which exuded a bituminous oil. For
a long time the people about believed this oil to proceed from the
remains of the saint, and it was called Walpurgis oil, and thought
to effect wonderful cures. The cave became a place of pilgrimage,
and a church was built on the spot. On the night of her festival,
Walpurgis' night, the witches held their orgies at Blocksberg. Her
cliief festival is on the first of May. She is represented in the Bene-
dictine habit with a crosier, and a flask ; the latter a symbol of the
Walpurgis oil. May 1 ; about 778.
Wandering Jew, The. This legend is given in several different
ways. According to Matthew Paris, an Armenian archbishop came
ILLUSTRATED IN AltT. 315
Lo England to visit its shrines, and was entertained at the monastery
of St. Albans. He was questioned in regard to his own country and
his travels, and was asked if he had ever known anything of a
miraculous person who wns present at the crucifixion of Christ, and
who still lived. The archbishop testified that it was true that such
a man lived, and that he knew him well. He said he had been the
porter of Pontius Pilate, and was named Cartaphilus. When the
Jews were dragging Jesus from the judgment hall, Cartaphilus struck
him with his fist, saying, ' Go faster, Jesus, go faster, why dost thou
linger ? " Then Jesus turned and said, " I indeed am going, but
thou shalt tarry till I come." Afterwards he was converted, and
baptized by the name of Joseph. At the end of every century he
falls ill, and is incurable ; at length he goes into a fit of ecstasy, and
when he comes out of it he is the same age that he was when Christ
died, which was about thirty. He is a grave and holy man. He
remembers all the circumstances of the crucifixion, the resurrection,
and ascension ; of the composing of the Apostles' Creed, and their
separation when they went forth to preach.
Another legend gives his name as Ahasuerus, and relates that as
Jesus was bearing his cross he stopped before his door to rest, and
Ahasuerus drove him away with curses. Then Jesus told him that
he should wander until he came to judgment ; and ever since he
wanders, bowed down with grief and remorse, and unable to find a
grave.
St. Wenceslaus of Bohemia. See St. Ludmilla.
St. Werburga figures among the early Benedictine saints in
England. She was abbess of Repandum, and had jurisdiction over
monks as well as nuns. She was the niece of St. Ethelreda, and
was brought up with her at Ely. She founded several monasteries,
and had the care of them besides that of Repton, Weedon, Trent-
ham, and Hanbury. The Cathedral of Chester was dedicated to her
in 800, and a part of her shrine now supports a pew erected for the
bishop of the diocese. About 708.
St. William of Aquitaine. See St. Benedict of Anian.
St. Zeno of Verona, was bishop of that city in the fourth
icntury, and was remarkable for the wisdom with which he governed
his diocese during those troublous times. He is represented in one
picture holding a long fishing-rod, and the legend of Verona says,
he was fond of fishing in the Adige ; but it is quite probable that the
fish which hangs from the line, is symbolical of baptism. It is doubt-
ful whether he was martyred, although he is said to have been, by
Julian the Apostate. It is related that King Pepin desired to be
buried in the same grave with St. Zeno, so great was his esteem for
him. April 12, A. D. 380.
St. Zenobio of Florence was the son of noble parents, Lucian
*nd Sophia, but they were pagans. He was born in the last year of
316
LEGENDS AND STORIES
the reign of Constantine. He was converted while at school, and
succeeded in converting his parents. He lived in Rome, and was
a deacon, and the secretary of Pope Damasus I. He was sent to
Florence in a time of great distraction, but both Catholics and Avians
desired to have him for their bishop. He restored to life a man who
nad fallen down a mountain precipice, when on the way to bring
some sacred relics to him, sent by St. Ambrose. A lady on her way
to Rome stopped at Florence, to see this good man of whom she had
heard much, and she left her son in his care until she should return.
The day before her return the child died, but when she took it and
(aid it at the feet of St. Zenobio, he restored it to life. He led a
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
317
most holy life, and died in the reign of Honorius. When he was
being borne to his grave the people so pressed about his bier that
in the Piazza del Duomo his body was thrown against the trunk of
an elm that was withered. It immediately put forth buds and leaves.
He is represented in his episcopal robes ; his attribute is frequently
a tree which is putting forth leaves. May 25, A. D. 417.
LEGENDS OF PLACE.
Adolphseck was the name of a castle at Eichthal near Schwal-
bach, built by Adolphus of Nassau. This legend is not entirely his-
torical, but gives a good picture of the romance of love and the
sorrows of war, mingled as they so frequently were during the ad-
venturous INIiddle Ages. A war had broken out between France
and Germany. The Bishop of Strasbourg made a traitorous league
with the French king. He then challenged the Emperor of Ger-
many. Adolphus of Nassau, who was a brave soldier and an excel-
lent commander, entered Alsace to punish this treachery. His ardor
carried him too far, as it had often done, and he so exposed himself
to danger that he was borne wounded from the field, and taken to a
convent. Here he was nursed by a novice, Imagina, whose lovely
face and tender gentleness robbed the Duke of his heart while her
devoted care restored him to health and strength. When she was
near him his soul was soothed into an unutterable calm. At length
he declared to her his love. Imagina made no answer, but withdrew
from his sight, weeping. Then three days passed, and she returned
not. When summoned to perform her accustomed duties she de-
clared herself sick. Alas ! how truly, for who are more sick than
those whose hearts are tortured by the soul struggles between love
and duty, even though the latter be, as in this case, imaginary ?
In these three days Adolphus heartily repented the rashness of his
declaration, and could neither rest or sleep. At last, in the middle
of the third night his door opened noiselessly and Imagina entered,
disturbed with painful emotion, but far more lovely in her expressive
grief than when calm and peaceful as she was wont to be. " Fly ! I
beseech you, my prince ! " exclaimed she ; " the Bishop of Strasbourg
is at hand to make you his prisoner. You have not a moment to
lose 1 " The emperor rose hastily and dispatched his servant to
warn the commander of his troops. Then he proceeded with Iniag-
lua, through the deserted, echoing corridors of the convent, into the
church and to a small door of which the maiden had obtained the
key. " Heaven be praised, and the Blessed Virgin also, that she
has heard my prayer, and you are saved I " murmured the maiden.
u Farewell, most noble prince 1 God grant thee happiness 1 Do not
LEGENDS Of PLACE. 319
forget Imagina," and she was about to leave him. But Adolphua
detained her, and declaring that life without her was valueless,
beo^ed even on his knees, that she would llv with him and be his
r
bride rather than that of Heaven. She could not refuse, and
wrapped in cloak and hood she followed her lover to the Rhine,
which they were soon able to cross in safety. Adolphus shortly
after concluded a peace with France, and built the Castle of Adolph-
seek in which to dwell with his faithful Imagina. Here they lived
happily, but the unrestful spirit of the age soon made it necessary
for the emperor to take the field again in order to retain his crown.
Imagina followed her husband, and awaited him at the Convent of
Rosenthal. The battle took place at Gollheim near Donnersberg.
Adolphus was forgetful of all save the duty of a soldier, and rashly
risked his life. He fell pierced with a lance. Thus Albert of Aus-
tria was made emperor. Imagina had listened with heavy heart to
the resounding war-cries, and when at night her husband came not,
she went to seek him. As she passed over the battle-field, its
ghastly scenes, disclosed by the pale moon, filled her with fear and
horror. At length the hound of Adolphus ran to her and led her
to his master. He was carried to the Convent of Rosenthal and
there interred, and in his grave, not only his dead body, but the liv-
ing heart of Imagina was buried. She took the veil, and was not
long separated from him she loved ; for Death soon comes to the
release of those whose hearts he has already broken. The Castle of
Adolphseck was destroyed by the new emperor, and a cross erected
by his command on the spot where Adolphus died.
Aix-la-Chapelle. " The Foundation of the City." The Emperor
Charlemagne governed an immense empire, and he moved about in
it, living sometimes in one portion and again in another, in order
that he might make himself acquainted with all his subjects and
understand their hearts and their necessities ; and to this end he
was always accessible to all who desired to see' him. At one time
he held his court at Zurich, and had erected there a column upon
which was fastened a small bell, and any who wished to see the
emperor had but to ring it and he would himself appear. One day
the bell was rung, but when Charlemagne came to the place there
was no person in sight. Again on the following day the same thing
occurred. Then the emperor set a servant to watch, where he
could not be seen, and his surprise cannot be imagined when he saw
an immense serpent issue from a cave near by and ring the bell.
Charlemagne, who was dining, was told of this, and he immediately
left the table to hasten to the spot, saying, " Be it animal or man 1
will have justice done to every one who demands it from me." Now
when the serpent saw the emperor it bowed before him three times
and went slowly to its cave. The emperor and his suite followed
there also, and before the opening of the cave sat a monstrous toad
320 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
that stopped the entrance of the serpent. It seemed that the serpent
desired its removal ; so Charlemagne ordered that it should be
killed. A few days after as the emperor and his guests were about
to sit down to dine, the same serpent came into the banqueting-hall
and bowed to Charlemagne as before. It then crawled up to a
drinking-cup and dropped therein a splendid jewel of wonderful size
and beauty, and retired amidst universal surprise. The emperor
gave this jewel to his wife, and she wore it as an ornament for her
hair. It proved a magic stone, and to have the power of fixing the
heart of the emperor upon whoever possessed it. Ever after the
empress received it, Charlemagne could not endure to be absent
from her, and his whole life and thought was devoted to her and her
happiness. Now as the empress felt the approach of death she
feared lest this treasure should fall into the hands of some one un-
worthy of the love of Charlemagne ; so she hid it under her tongue,
and there it remained. Then was the fondness of the emperor for
the dead body of his wife as great as it had been for her when liv-
ing ; and he had it embalmed, and carried it with him wherever he
went. At length this wonderful devotion excited a suspicion in the
mind of Archbishop Turpinus that there must be something super-
natural connected with it, and as he was the constant companion of
Charlemagne, he took an opportunity to examine the dead body,
and soon found the jewel. This he took and the love of the em-
peror was transferred to himself, and he would not be separated from
him any more than formerly he would be from the empress. After
a time this became very tiresome to Turpinus and in a fit of impa-
tience he threw the jewel into some water they were passing in the
western part of Germany. Then Charlemagne was fascinated with
the country which contained his jewel ; for nothing destroyed its
magic art. So he built here the town of Aix-la-Chapelle, and the
magnificent cathedral there still bears his name. Here he loved to
stay, and he would sit for hours and days in happy, restful thought
beside the quiet waters which held the miraculous gem, and it is
believed that it is from the wonderful effects of this magic stone that
the baths of Aix-la-Chapelle receive their healing properties and are
90 beneficial to those who use them.
The Catkedral. When the splendid Cathedral of Aix-la-Cha-
pellc was not more than half finished, all the funds that could be raised
for its building were exhausted, and those who had it in charge knew
not how to obtain more money. One day as the Senate was con-
sidering this matter, and its members could not agree upon any
course of action, there appeared to be great danger that the work
would be abandoned. At this juncture of the affair a stranger was
announced, who said he had an important proposal to make to the
full Senate. His appearance was a singular combination of the re-
pulsive and the agreeable. His costume was bizarre in the extreme,
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 321
Hnd there was an indescribable expression in his face of mingled
'alculation and mockery. But his address was faultless, and so
courtly and pleasing was he in his speech that it was impossible to
listen to him without a certain kind of pleasure. He told the Senate
that he quite understood their difliculties ; that he appreciated their
sorrow at the prospect of being obliged to abandon the glorious
work they had undertaken, and he also knew that as honest men
they could not proceed without more money. Therefore he had come
to offer them the full amount that they desired, and was ready at
any time to give it to them in solid gold, if they could agree to his
*erms. The senators regarded him with astonishment, and wondered
wL'it could be the end of this strange affair. Did he know of what
he spoke, and if so, who was he that spoke of millions as if they
wei e a mere bagatelle, and to be had at will ? and moreover offered
the actual money on any day they desired it. Had he discovered
the philosopher's stone ? and could he convert all before him into
gold ? If so what assurance had they that he would not reduce
themselves to ' filthy lucre," and thus deprive them of their privilege
of becoming more common and less valuable dust ? Trust me- for
it, they trembled at the thought, and on the heads of such as wore
no wigs the hair was strangely bristled ! From this surprise the
mayor first recovered, and began to question the stranger concerning
himself, and what assurances he could give that his contract would
be fulfilled. To this the man replied, that he would leave it to their
wisdom to determine who he might be ; that the money should not be
a loan but an actual gift, for all time ; that it should be paid imme-
diately and thus no doubt be left of their receiving it. But for all
this he made two conditions : One, that the Cathedral should be fin-
shed. Another, that on the day of its dedication, the first entering
iy the open door should belong to him, " skin and hair, body and
soul ! " As he said this the senators fled to the farthest part of the
nail, for tl-ey well knew with whom they talked. The mayor indig-
nantly commanded him to go away, and not flatter himself that they,
men of dignity, Avere so foolish as to fall into the same trap that
with another plausible device caught Mother Eve, and had since her
day, by means of changing the bait, seduced so many of her descend-
ants, bur in spite of this, he only moved the nearer to them, and
courteously demanded the cause of their strange conduct. He rea-
soned with them if it were not better that one should be given for
all ; and reminded them how little kings and governments hesitated
M sacrifice thousands in war, to obtain some good for those remain-
ing. Thus at last the senators recovered from their surprise and
began to consider him with some favor. Their great need of money
also influenced them, and finally the bargain was made. Then the
Devil, after recommending himself to their kind consi leration, van-
ished by way of the chimney with peals of Satanic laughter. It
21
322 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
was not long before many well-filled sacks descended this same
chimney and thus secretly reached the council chamber. At. first
the senators were suspicious of the money, but examination proved
it to be of genuine metal and exact weight. Then they agreed that
the whole matter should remain a secret among themselves, and went
on to finish the cathedral. But some of them whispered it to their
wives, and some told other men, and so it happened that soon their
secret was everybody's secret, and the whole city in deep anxiety
concerning the result. When all was ready and the day for th
dedication had arrived the door was opened, but none would enter :
and though the bell tolled to call them, and all heartily desired to
see the splendid temple, yet not one advanced to go in. The mayor
and senators knew not how to proceed, when suddenly a little priest
appeared who had a plan by which he hoped to cheat Satan out of
his soul and his gold, and for once make him an instrument of good.
The contract had indeed been that the first entering should be his,
but it had not been stated what it should be, whether man or beast.
By this oversight he hoped that the Devil might be outwitted. It
happened that the day previous a wolf had been taken, and now the
trap was so placed that if let out the wolf must run into the church.
Then it was opened, and Satan, who watched for his prey, chased
the devoted wolf with lightning speed ; but when he found how he
had been cheated his anger was terrific. He broke the wolf's neck,
he spat fire and howled terribly, he banged the cathedral door with
such force as to split it, and vanished in smoke, leaving the cathedral
nlled with the odor of brimstone. On the door an image of a
wolf in brass is yet shown, and a fir-cone which represents a lost
soul. The crevice also remains, a lasting memorial of the little
priest who was so wise as to outwit the Devil.
The Hunchbacked Musicians. Long ago there lived at Aix-la-
Chapelle two musicians both of whom were hunchbacked. But
a great difference existed in their faces and characters. Friedel
was well looking and amiable, and a fine musician, for his soul was
full of goodness and it found expression through the tones of his
violin. But Heinz had ugly red hair and a more ugly temper, and
his playing was so unmusical that none ever listened to him for
pleasure. Thus it happened that Friedel and his violin ^ere always
in demand for all occasions of merry-making and frolic, while Heinz
was left unemployed. Now Friedel loved Agatha, the daughter of
% rich wine-merchant, and she, perceiving his soul and forgetting his
deformity, returned his love. All went well with the lovers them-
selves, but knowing the pride and love of money of the maiden's
father they determined not to speak to him until they should be com-
pelled so to do. At last a very rich suitor desired Agatha for bis
bride, and obtained her father's consent. Then it was that Friedel
was obliged to speak, though with sinking heart. The wine men
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 323
nhaut cruelly ridiculed him, and drove him away with harsh words.
Poor Friedel, quite distracted, wandered, he knew not whither. It
was late when the chilling dews recalled him to his senses and he
sought the town. As he approached it strange sounds were in the
air and sights more marvelous met his gaze. Daws and all sorts of
night-birds were screaming, and above the tops of the houses the
broom-riding witches were trooping. And all making their way to
the fish-market, or Perwisch, as it was called, in Aix-la-Chapelle.
Friedel also went there, and great was his amazement at what he
saw. The square Avas illuminated by little flames in the air, and
crowds of female figures were moving about. Then Friedel remem-
bered that this was quarter-day, and the witches were said to hold a
pic aic on that day at midnight in this very square. As he thought
of this a woman, who looked very much like the mayoress of the
town and seemed to be the leader of the others, advanced to meet
him and led him to a table loaded with all kinds of delicacies and
delicious beverages. She invited him to eat, and after he had re-
freshed himself, placed in his hand a violin and asked him to play
music for dancing. As soon as the violin sounded they moved away
the tables and seats and prepared to dance. It gave Friedel a very
novel sensation to perceive that while all appeared to be busily talk-
ing and laughing together, no sound reached his ears. Soon the lady-
president gave the signal to begin ; then the violin of Friedel seemed
as if bewitched, for in spite of him it would go quicker and more
quickly, and the dancers whirled faster and more swiftly till all was
as witchlike as could well be. At length Friedel fell on a seat
exhausted, and the lady-president thanked him for his sweet music,
and commanded him to kneel to receive his reward. Then she
whispered words of strange sound above him, and laid her hand
upon his poor deformed shoulders, and juickly removed the hump
from them and placed it in a dish which she instantly closed. As
rhe did this the clocks sounded the hour of one and in a twinkling
all vanished and Friedel was alone. Weary and confused he has
tened home, and to bed, where for the remainder of the night strange
dreams came to him. But in the morning he found the most won-
derful part of all, to be true. He was straight and comely in form
as in face ; moreover, a goodly sum of money was in the pocket of
his jacket ; enough to make him equal to any of the suitors of Aga-
tha. As soon as possible he repaired to the house of the wine mer-
chant, and told him his story under promise of secrecy. Now his
reception was quite different from the former one, but it was more
the sight of the money that decided the merchant to make Friedel
his son-in-law, than the loss of the hump. Then were the lovers
made happy. Although this adventure of Friedel's was to be a
secret, it escaped in some way, and among others Heinz heard the
itory. His envy and hatred of Friedel, which had been bitter enough
9
324 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
before, were increased, and he reported wicked stories jf Friedel and
accused him of the most immoral intercourse with the witches. But
he secretly determined to attend their picnic on the next quarter-
day and try his fortune among them. Now as he came to the fish-
market the same scene met his gaze as that which Friedel had be-
held, and Heinz advanced boldly, bearing his own violin, and mak-
ing signs that he was willing to play. The dance was formed as
before, but Heinz was so occupied in gazing avariciously upon the
plate on the tables that he forgot his music, and played even more
discordantly than was his custom. Soon the dance became a race,
and Heinz believed he was doing so well as to give the witches
great pleasure, when they all ran to him in a fury and shook their
fists at him. He had also been so unwise as to call by name some
wives of the town whom he thought he recognized. When the
lady-president commanded him to kneel he thought it the time to
claim a reward, so he seized a large gold drinking-cup. The lady
gave him so smart a box on the ear that he gladly dropped the
cup ; she then took from a tightly covered dish the very hump she
had taken off the shoulders of Friedel, and fastened it on the
breast of Heinz. At that instant the clock struck one and he was
left alone. Who can describe the rage and despair of Heinz ? He
added also to his misfortune by foolishly telling the story, and thus
became the laughing-stock of the whole city. Only Friedel felt
sorry for him, and he, out of his goodness of heart, maintained
Heinz comfortably all the rest of his days.
All Saints, or Allerheiligen. See Baden-Baden.
Alsace and Breisgau, " The Holy Odilie" Attich, Duke of Al-
sace, had a lovely and amiable wife, with whom he lived in great
happiness, desiring but one thing more than he possessed ; this was,
the blessing of children. But his prayers remained unanswered un-
til he vowed that if the Lord would grant him a child he would
dedicate it entirely to his service. At length a daughter was born
to him, but his joy was alloyed by the fact that she was blind. She
was christened Odilie. When she was grown she was a beautiful
maiden, and as good as lovely. Very early *he showed singular
piety and devoutness of character, and was the delight cf all who
knew and loved her. Often she lamented that she could not see,
and the more delightful the descriptions that were given her of God's
creation, the more sad her blindness seemed to her. She was ac-
customed each day, and many times a day, to ask God to bestow on
her the gift of sight ; and this she did with the same confidence and
faith with which she would have asked her father for a new robe.
At length, to the great astonishment and joy of all, this prayer was
answered. Beautiful before, the new expression of her eyes en-
hanced her loveliness, and while previously she had no lack of suit-
ors, now she was wooed by many and most noble youths. This so
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 325
dazzling prospect, affected the mind of her father and led him to
repent the vow he had made to give his sweet child to God. He
had almost determined to announce that he had changed his inten-
tions, when Count Adelhart, a brave man, and one who had done
much service for Attich claimed the hand of Odilie as his reward.
Then the duke resolved that she should be his bride. Odilie heard
this with terror. She told her father how wrong she believed it to be,
and how she much feared the vengeance of Heaven if they thus disre-
garded his vow. But when she saw that they would marry her by
compulsion, she fled, she knew not whither. Then Attich called out
his servants and huntsmen to pursue her ; she ran through the forest
like an affrighted hare, and at last came to a wall that she could not
pass. Her pursuers were close upon her, and despair filled her soul,
when lo, a rock opened before her! She glided in and it inclosed
her from the sight of her father and his men. All were amazed.
Soon Odilie called out from the bosom of the rock and declared that
unless her father would fulfill his vow he should never see her again,
but that if he would consent that she should be the bride of Heaven,
she would come to him. Attich, who now plainly saw the will of
God concerning Odilie, promised all she asked, and the rock opened
that she might come forth. In remembrance of this miracle, Attich
built there where the rock had opened, a cloister. Odilie was the
first nun who took the veil in it, and was afterwards abbess of the
convent. After her death she was made a Beato by the pope. This
is the popular legend. The religious one will be found by i-eference
to St. Ottilia, in the preceding portion of this book.
Alten-Aar. " The last Knight of Alien- Aar." On one of the
precipitous, cone-shaped hills that overlook the river Aar, may be
seen the ruins of a once magnificent castle. This was formerly the
home of a powerful and noble family of knights ; but the end of
Kurt, the last of his race, was so horrible, in its sadness, that no one
would again inhabit the castle, and though for many years it re-
mained stately and grand in its desertion, it at last crumbled and fell,
no longer able to survive the adverse fate of the race it had shielded.
Kurt of Alten-Aar, the last knight of his name, was a noble champion
of liberty. He opposed the oppressions of Church and State, and
thus offende 1 princes and bishops. He had two lovely daughters
who so cheered his stern, warrior life, that he often trembled lest the
time should come when they would leave him. At length he received
;>n the same day two letters demanding them in marriage. Pale and
tearful he read these letters and with sad heart gave them to his
children. When they had read them he asked their decisions. The
eldest threw down the letter with scorn, and declared, " The daugh-
fo r of the Count of Alten-Aar is too proud to give her hand to a
fobber ! " " And you, my darling ? " asked the father of the other.
She threw her arms about his neck, and kissing him said, " Father,
326 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
my sister lias spoken for both." Then was the old knight proud of
his children. " It is true," exclaimed he, " these knights are rob-
bers. They will attack and besiege us, but it is better that we
should die than to make these unholy alliances." Then he tore the
letters and delivered the pieces to the messengers who had brought
them and bade them return to their masters. Soon the castle was
besieged. The brave Kurt called all his followers together, and gave
permission for those who desired to leave the castle. But none
would go, all preferred to die with him rather than desert, him. The
strength of the castle was such that the besiegers knew they could
not attack it with any profit, and they determined to subdue it by
famine. Thus weeks passed on, no relief came, and at length thi>,
provisions were spent and death was lurking in every nook of the
vast castle, sure of victims. Again the knight assembled his re-
tainers, and the second time offered them the opportunity to go forth
from the castle. But not one was ready to leave him whom they
loved as well as served. Then they determined upon a sally, but
this failed and death alone was left to them. One by one they
dropped away. Fevers broke out among them and the hunger-
weakened ones could not long endure. Soon all save the old knight
were gone. He stood by the dead bodies of his children, and de-
termined that he would not wait for death which was so slow in
claiming him. He put on a full suit of armor, and descended to the
stables ; his favorite horse remained. He mounted it and rode to
the highest tower of the castle. It was early morning, and the ris-
ing sun irradiated all the scene, and showed plainly to the besiegers
this wonderful sight. The commanding figure of the noble Kurt,
his long silver hair, his stern face shaded by the plume of his hel-
met, the glistening steel of his armor, his beloved milk-white charger,
and all standing out against the sky, as does the angel on the Castle
of St. Angelo. Those who beheld were breathless with horror, but
could not turn away their gaze. At length he waved his hand, as
if to speak. " Here you behold the last man and the last steed that
live in my castle ! Hunger and disease have taken all. Wife,
children, comrades, all, all are gone! Gladly would I have died an
honorable death, to give them an honorable life. But sooner would
I see them die, than that they should live beneath your oppression.
Thank God, they have died free, even as I will die ! " So saying he
spurred his steed to the edge of the rampart. The animal started
back and reared ; but soon perceiving the will of the master he had
loved and obeyed, he gave the fatal leap into the air. Down, down
the deep abyss, from rock to rock, and into the dark river rolled
the noble beast and his more noble rider, and the waters hid from
.iew the old knight Kurt, the last of Alten-Aar ! Hastily, and over-
come with horror the besiegers retired, nor could any find courage to
mter the A r ast castle-tomb, which seemed to frown, as if ready to
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 327
fiill upon them, should they dare to pollute by their presence its
ghastlv, death-strewn halls.
Auerbach. As a poor peasant was one day passing the old castle
of Auerbach, he thought of the stories he had heard of the rich
treasures supposed to be concealed in such old castles ; and as he
regarded the vineyards all about, he thought that there might well
be wines also, for why should not they be preserved as well as gold
and jewels V As he thus reflected there came towards him an old
man, with smiling face and shining eyes, and wearing a cooper's
leather apron. He thus addressed the peasant. " Would you not like
to taste the wine of the noble lords of Auerbach ? Aye, I thought so.
Well, follow me." And he led the way through the vineyards towards
the castle. The peasant was only too ready to follow, and he smacked
Irs lips, and fancied he could smell the luscious wine. They stopped
at an old, rickety cellar-door, and when this was opened, descended
some steps, slippery with moss and partly decayed. At the bottom the
old cooper took a huge bowl, a lever, and a candle from a niche, and
proceeded over the moist, uncertain ground with careful step. As
they advanced, and their eyes became more accustomed to the gloom,
the flickering candle disclosed a row of gigantic, jolly, comfortable
looking wine-tuns. The old cooper began to talk fluently of them
all, as if they were his friends, and in fact had names for them, such
as Bulgegood and Cheer-me-quick, Warm-me and Lay-me-down.
He said that this was his kingdom, and the tuns his loving subjects.
The astonished peasant was filled with admiration, which he ex-
pressed by varied exclamations and continually clapping his hands.
" And then," said he, " the tuns shine like real burnished gold ! "
The old cooper declared that it was true, and explained that this
was because the tuns were formed from the wine ; that those made
by man had long since dropped away. " But," he added, " looking
is not enough ; you must taste." So saying, he filled his bowl, and
first drank himself to the health of the peasant. Then came the
peasant's turn, and so good was the wine, that he stopped not short
of emptying the bowl. He smacked and lapped his mouth, declar-
ing the wine to be fit for the pope himself. Then the old cooper,
(hough pleased, declared, that the wine which they had tasted was
quite plebeian, and his aristocracy were farther on. Thus they pro-
ceeded, and soon the peasant was hugging and kissing the casks, and
cutting all manner of ridiculous capers. But the old cooper only
laughed, and at each bowl declared that he had still better, farther
and farther on. At length the tears gushed from the eyes of the
happy peasant as he tipped the last bowl, and sank down in a deep
sleep. Next morning when he awoke, he found himself in a ditcl
behind the old ruin, and when he arose and searched for the entrance
to the wine cellar, it could not be found, and since that time though
many have sought, none have discovered it ; but sometimes they per-
328 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
ceive an odor of wine which causes them to exclaim, " Beholc? the
cooper is tasting his wine I "
Bacharach. Palatine Count Hermann of Stahlech On a
mountain above Bacharach lies the ruin of Stahleck. Here, in tue
middle of the twelfth century, lived Hermann, Count of Stahleck,
nephew of the Emperor, Conrad IH. He was remarkable for his
wisdom and learning, but was exceedingly avaricious, and possessed
of an unquiet spirit. His wife succeeded in persuading him not to
join the Crusades ; but he could not rest, and was carried away by
his desire to possess a large tract of country which was under Ihe
rule of the Bishops of Mayence and Trier. Many other knights
joined him, and at length he stormed the stronghold of Treis, a
castle on the Moselle, belonging to Adelbert, of Monstreil. Arch-
bishop of Metz and Trier. Now this bishop, fearing for the strength
of his arms, had recourse to a spiritual ruse which assisted him im-
mensely. He presented himself to his troops with a crucifix in his
hand, which he declared to them was brought to him by the Arch-
angel Michael ; and he added that this heavenly messenger had
assured him of success, if- only his troops would fight bravely and
well. This served to inspire his soldiers with confidence, and when
those of Hermann saw the bishop advancing with the crucifix in his
hand, they did not stand firm, and their cause was lost. But Her-
mann, not yet discouraged, continued the war, and attacked the
Archbishop of Mainz, Arnold of Selnhofen. And here he would
have succeeded, but for the employment against him of treachery,
and a great abuse of spiritual power. The archbishop, by means of
dazzling promises of preferment, seduced the chaplain of Stahleck
Castle. He refused absolution to the countess, because her husband
was battling against the Church, and it was her duty to try by all
the means at her command to put an end to this unholy conduct.
He urged her to write to Hermann, persuading him, which she did ;
but as this failed, he hired two assassins who enlisted among Her-
mann's soldiers under false pretenses ; and the bishop promised them
full absolution for all their past and future sins, if they would rid
him of his enemy. These wicked ones fulfilled their mission but
too well. They waited until they were on watch together, and then
entering Hermann's tent, they struck oif his head, and fled with it to
his own castle in tirder to prove to the confessor that they had fully
executed his will. Here a true follower of the countess saw the
dreadful sight, and hastened to inform his mistress of the truth. She,
with dagger in hand, rushed to the apartment of the chaplain and took
t meagre revenge by stabbing him on the spot. 'She then lavished
tears and caresses on the head of her murdered husband. But sud-
denly all reason fled. She ran wildly about the castle, threatening all
who attempted to approach her with the same fate as that of the con-
fessor. At last she rushed to the highest part of the castle, and
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 329
threw herself down to instant death. But the principal cause of all
this wrong was still left, the archbishop, Arnold of Mayence. It
was not long before the punishment of his sins overtook him. He
had excited the hatred of the people by his hardness and oppressions,
and soon they razed his palace about his head, and he was forced to
escape for his life. His friends warned him, and even the Abbess
Hildegarde wrote to him, urging him to repent, but all in vain. He
retired to the Abbey of Jakobsberg. The abbot was his enemy,
and betrayed him to the people, who came by night and murdered
the archbishop, even as he had caused to be murdered the Palatine
Count Hermann of Stahleck.
Baden-Baden. All Saints, or Allerheiligen. The abbey of this
name was celebrated in bygone days for the learning of its monks ; and
the school connected with the monastery was frequented by the sons
of the most illustrious families, as well as by those of lesser consider-
ation. At one time there came hither a well-born youth of Stras-
bourg. He excelled in the pursuits of literature, and had a soul
keenly sensitive to the beautiful, and in harmony with nature. The
scenery in the vicinity of Baden-Baden was his delight; and the
forest depths, and the falling waters of the Grindbachs held him
spell-bound for many hours. One day as he sat watching the snowy
waterfall, lost in thought and admiration, a lovely maiden issued from
a cave near by, and seemed to seek peace and rest as he had done.
She was a gypsy, and a perfect child of Nature. She knew it all by
intuition ; by having learned it in her earliest years ; by having
breathed and lived its truth and simplicity with every moment of
her life. Thus was she suited to all about her, and seemed to the
young student to be the one element which had been wanting to
make the perfection of the scene. From this time his wanderings
had a purpose, and soon the gypsy Elmy and the student had plighted
their faith and love forever and forever ! Her childish heart was
more than full of happiness, and she spent many hours of his absence
in gaxing on the plain gold ring, which he had given her in pledge
that she should be his bride. One day she laid it down before her
that she might see it glisten in the sun. A raven sat upon a tree
above her, and suddenly he seized the ring, and bore it to his nest.
Then was Elmy sorrowful, for her grandmother, a learned gypsy,
had often told her that all her happiness depended on the safe-keep-
ing of this ring. When her lover came, she begged that he wculd
devise some means for its recovery. He dispelled her sadness, and
assured her that his love depended not on any gift or bauble, or.
nothing save her own good and truthful heart. But next day as she
walked near the grotto a frightful scene presented itself to her. The
student, anxious to comply with the request of Elmy, had obtained
the assistance of some of his friends, and had come to try if it were
possible to recover the lost ring. They had lowered him ov<er he
330 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
oliff in a basket, and just as Elmy came in sight, he had almost
reached the nest. She was rigid with fear. She would have
screamed, but her voice was gone; it would not warn him of her
love and nearness. And now he approaches the nest ; he reaches
out ; the ring is his. But whence that fearful shriek, that agonizing
cry that conies but when the very soul is rent asunder, and is the wild
death-knell of hope? It was Eliny; for even then, just then, when it
seemed that all was well, and the joyous thought had flashed through
lier, that he had done all this for her, and soon she should thank him
for it, the rope gave way a single crash, a dash from rock to rock,
and Elmy bent over the lifeless body of her faithful lover !
Balilreit. This was the name of one of the most celebrated old
hotels in the vicinity of Baden-Baden. It was acquired in the fol-
lowing manner : One of the princes of the Palatinate was a great
sufferer from gout, and was sent by his physician to try the effect of
the hot springs of Baden. Has cure was very slow, and his patience
almost exhausted, when one morning he awoke and found himself
free from all pain, and able to move with perfect ease. His delight
was so great that he determined to test his recovery even at this
early hour. He dressed and ordered his horse, and descended to
the court-yard to mount. As soon as he was in the saddle the court-
yard door was opened, and he spurred his horse ; but the animal
went prancing about for some minutes in the paved court ; this noise,
so unusual at this hour, woke all in the house, and the landlord and
several servants appeared at the windows. Waving his hand to
them the prince said, " See, how soon I can ride." But the noise
was such that " soon ride," were the only words that they could hear,
and this has remained the sign of the house to this day.
Burkhardt Keller of Yburg. Many years ago a margravine
of Baden-Baden determined to pass the days of her widowhood at
the Castle of Hohen-Baden. In her suite was young Burkhardt
Keller, a most noble knight. The steward of the margravine had a
lovely daughter, Clara von Tiefenau, with whom Burkhardt was soon
passionately in love. She lived at Kuppenheim, and the young man
was accustomed to go to and from the castle and town sometimes
very late at night. It happened that as he passed one night near
twelve o'clock, he saw a lovely lady sitting beneath the trees, whose
face was only covered with the thinnest of veils. He was spell-
bound by her beauty, and at length stretched out his hand as if to
touch her, when she vanished like the dew from a flower. The
knight returned to Hohen-Baden and related this strange vision to
the old warder of the castle. Now this particular old warder fully
realized the accepted idea of old warders in general, and was not a
whit lacking in garrulity, and knowledge of all that was wonderful
for leagues about his castle, or in the love of telling it. So he told
Burkhardt whom he had seen. That on or near the spot where th
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 331
airy lady sat there had formerly been a heathen temple ; thai
nymphs and sueh-like dangerous and bewitching ones often came
there by night ; and that no sane people ever ventured there, and
added that now it even seemed unsafe for love-sick and dazed ones,
like our young knight. But Burkhardt could not rest : the vision
he had seen came constantly before his sight and deprived him of
all peace. So he determined to try if he could solve this mystery.
He took with him men and implements for digging. Soon after they
commenced the excavations they found an altar which had been
dedicated to the Nymph of the Forest, and a little farther down an
exquisitely chiseled statue in marble. It represented a lovely and
richly dressed lady, full of grace and attractiveness. It acted as a
spell on Burkhardt. lie remained motionless before it. He caused
it to be placed upon the altar, and at last went away. But still the
strange spell was on him ; he returned next day to see the statue,
when to his surprise he again beheld the same lovely being he had
first seen at midnight. And now she did not vanish ; she greeted
him kindly and with sweet smiles, and as she listened to his burning
words of love and wild devotion she clasped him in her arms. Alas,
that death should lurk in anything so sweet as were her kisses and
embraces to the infatuated knight 1 His horse returned to the castle
without his rider, and next morning his dead body was found at the
foot of the altar; but the beautiful marble statue was gone. The
brother of the knight destroyed the altar, and erected on the spot a
cross on which may be seen the name of Burkhardt Keller, and not
far from the cross is a stone statue called Keller's Bild.
The Conrent of Lichtenthal. Kloster LichtentJial. Long ago, in
one of the German wars, the enemy approached so near this con-
vent that the good Abbess of Lichtenthal was rightfully alarmed.
She had heard much of the wrongs inflicted upon helpless women
and children, and she feared for the chastity and the lives of her
nuns if they remained in the cloister. So she called them all to-
gether and told them of her decision to seek safety in flight. They
then went in procession to the chapel to pray for grace and protec-
tion in this hour of need. When the service was ended the abbess
stood before an image of the Blessed Virgin, which was carved in
wood. In a loud voice she besought her kind care, and hung the
keys of the convent on her arm, begging her to protect their loved
home from the rage and fury of the approaching foe. Just then a
peasant rushed in. He was bleeding from wounds, and his clothing
tern and soiled. He announced that the soldiers were so near that
on'y minutes, not hours could elapse before they would reach the
gate. Then the nuns hastened to go out by a side door which led
in an opposite direction from that of the coming troops, and they
were soon out of sight of the convent. The soldiers cam-e, they
found none to oppose, and made their way through the silent corri
332 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
dors to the chapel, hoping to find there rich plate and other booty
such as they desired. But as they would have entered, the imago
of the Virgin, surrounded by a dazzling light, came towards the
door of the church. At first they were fixed to the spot, but as she
moved on and came nearer they were filled with awe, and when she
seized the convent keys and offered them with a threatening air,
none dared to take them, and they fled from the convent with far
more readiness than they had entered it. Thus was the Kloster pre-
served, and when the nuns returned they found everything undis-
turbed, and but for the testimony of those who had seen they could
Lot have believed that the army had been there. The wonderful
miracle-working Madonna is still in the choir of the church. It
is evidently a production of a master of the Byzantine school of
art.
Eberstein, Old. After the Emperor Otho I. had conquered
Strasbourg, he besieged the Castle of Eberstein which the counts of
that name held against him. But they were brave warriors, and
after a siege of nine months Otho was apparently no nearer his
hopes than at the beginning. Then one of his knights advised him
to proclaim a tournament at Spiers and promise the counts of Eber-
stein safe-conduct if they should choose to attend, and meantime,
while they were absent, the castle could be surprised. Otho profited
by this advice, and the tournament was held. The counts of Eber-
stein appeared and did themselves great credit. After the tourna-
ment there was a ball, and the counts danced with many of the chief
ladies of the company. During one of these dances the Count of
Eberstein was told by his partner of the ruse of the emperor ; she
advised him to confer with his two brothers, and that they all
should leave as early as possible. He acted on the advice of the
fair lady, but after telling his brothers, they returned again to the
dance, and after a little Count Eberstein proposed that the knights
and ladies should reassemble next day to repeat the tournament,
and proposed to leave a hundred guldens in honor of the noble ladies.
The emperor consented, and all separated with great good-will, but
the three counts of Eberstein hastened to their castle. Next day
all were assembled and waited for the tournament to begin. At
length it came out that the counts of Eberstein had returned -home
and the emperor was outwitted. Then he sent men to try if they
could not reach the castle before them ; but they were already there,
and repelled the assault in such a manner as to convince all that it
was worse than useless to contend against them. Then Otho sent
three ambassadors to negotiate terms with them. The castellan
conducted them through the castle, and showed them casks of wine,
heaps of fruit, and an abundance of flour. Now the casks had false
bottoms, and the flour covered a mass of chaff; but the ambassadors
told Otho that the castle contained provisions for another nine
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 333
months, and that it was vain to think of subduing it. They advised
hi 111 the rather to propitiate them by giving one of his sisters in
marriage to Eberhard, the youngest Count of Eberstein. This was
done, and their union was celebrated by joyous festivals thiv ighout
all Saxony.
Eberxtein, New. The Knight's Leap. The counts of Eberstein
were ever a bold and fearless race, who preferred liberty before
lite, and death sooner than imprisonment. They were also adven-
turous, and frequently engaged in wars and battles. A deadly
tend existed between Count Wolf of Eberstein and the counts of
Wiirtemburg. He was obliged to flee for his life, and found an asy-
lum with his unele William at the Castle of New Eberstein. But
his retreat was discovered, and it was again necessary that he should
flee. He arose one morning and mounted his horse to do so, when
he found that the castle was already surrounded by his enemies, ex-
cept on the side which overhung the Murg. There was no other
way of escape, and this was apparently the way of death. He con-
sidered but a moment. He would not fall into the hands of his
enemies. He thought of the mettle and spirit of his faithful horse,
and he turned his head in the direction of the rocks ; Avhen he
'cached the edge, he spurred the noble creature to take the leap.
One moment and it was done. He had gone into the deepest part
of the river, but he was rewarded by success. His enemies had
seen his leap with wonder and shouted with excitement. They now
saw him gain the opposite bank and ride away, with oaths and crie3
of rage. He made his way to the Castle of Pfalzgraf Ruprecht, who
joyfully received him, and helped him to regain his possessions.
The Fremtrsl>erfi. This eminence commands a very extensive
view of the Valley of the Rhine even as far as the Vosges. Here
in 1411 a hermit, called Brother Henry, built a cell and chapel. He
was soon joined by others, and they felt the need of more extensive
buildings. At length it chanced that the Margrave James, who was
an untiring huntsman, was one day separated from his friends and
servants, and could not find them again. He wandered for hours,
but found no way of escape. His path was ever closed by some
craggy height or dangerous precipice. He sounded his horn again
and again with no effect, and at length a moonless night seemed to
end all hope. But the barking of his dog and the sound of the
horn reached the ears of the hermits of Fremersberg. They went
out with torches and found the good Margrave, whom they conducted
to their cells. They gave him all the comforts their poverty would
allow, and though vastly different from his accustomed fare, the sup-
per was eaten with keen relish, and he slept better than ever before.
He was charmed with the spirit of the hermits and grateful to them
for their kindness. But words were not the only testimonial of this,
for with such liberality as becomes the rich and royal, he built hnre
834 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
in 1451 a fine monastery, and it was filled with monks governed by
the Franciscan rule. In 1689 it escaped destruction, and was a
monastery until 1826, when the number was so small that it was
sold. A portion of the estate is now in vineyards. On another part
there was an inn, now a chateau, the delightful situation of which
could not well be surpassed. In 1888 a cross was erected where the
high altar had formerly been.
H'/he.u-Baden. At the end of the fifteenth century a fearful
plague broke out through all Germany. The Margrave, Charles I.,
Jied at Pforzheim. The Margravine, Catherine of Austria, fled
with her two children, Frederic and Margaret, to the Castle of
Hohen-Baden. Here she passed her time in the care of her chil-
dren, and in prayer to the Blessed Virgin that she would preserve
the lives of the little ones. Each day the plague came nearer and
nearer, and the reports of its ravages grew more frightful. At
length Catherine took her children into a room in the highest tower.
Here she carried a large supply of provisions, and allowed no one to
come near her, save an old man who came each morning to the foot of
the staircase with fresh bread and water. The children played several
hours each day upon the turret, and seemed to thrive in the pure air
they breathed. One evening they fell asleep in each other's arms
upon a carpet in the corner of the turret, and as the mother watched
them she was moved to praise and thanksgiving for the goodness
that had spared them thus far, and at the same time she earnestly
prayed for further protection. Suddenly as she was kneeling upon
the stone pavement, with her clasped hands raised towards heaven,
a beautiful vision was before her. The Blessed Mother of Mercy
was near her on the clouds, which on each side of her were
formed into radiant pictures. That on the right represented the
convent and Lichtenthal, that on the left the hot springs of Baden-
Baden. She bent her head lovingly towards the margravine, and
pointed with her right hand to the sleeping children, and then to
the convent and church. With the left she pointed to the springs
of Baden. Then she disappeared instantly as she had come. The
pious Catherine pondered long on the meaning of this and what it
demanded of her. She decided that she had been instructed to de-
vote her children to the Church if they survived the plague, and
that the hot springs would be the means of their preservation.
Praying that her mind might be enlightened with heavenly wisdom
she slept till morning. She then commanded that the water from
the springs should be allowed to flow through all the streets. As
soon as this was done a thick vapor was spread through the town
and its surroundings. From this time the plague was stayed. The
water was then freely used, and soon no traces of the dreadful dis-
ease remained save the sorrow in the hearts of those whose dear
ones were gone. The Princess Margaret afterwards took the veil at
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 335
Lichtenthal, and Frederic entered the Church. [Jo became Bishop
of Utrecht, and his monument is in the greal church at Baden-
Baden.
Tht. Mummelsee. At some distance from Baden-Baden, between
Sassbachwalden and Oberkappel, in the northern portion of the
Black Forest, there is a long range of hills, they are about
3,800 feet high. They are called Hornisgrinde, and the southern
point is Greuzberg. Here is the Mummelsee, a large lake whose
waters are generally calm, but at times stirred as from the very
depths and tossed in billowy waves. This occurs too when all is
peaceful on the land and scarcely a leaf stirred in the forest; when
the silence is unbroken, save by the raven's cry, and it would seem
that some fearful tumult must exist within the lake and thus mani-
fest itself upon the surface. It is in short a gloomy and soul de-
pressing spot. It takes its name from the water-nymphs who are
said to dwell there, beautiful Undines, whose homes are in ever-
verdant and luxuriant gardens, where the orange blooms among the
blood-red coral, and a thousand flowers and glistening crystals com-
bine to make a scene of untold beauty. The nymphs, themselves so
ethereal and lovely, are as if formed of snowy lilies with the exqui-
site blush of a delicate rose. Every month, when the moon is at the
full, they rise to the top of the lake to revel in the moonlight which
cannot penetrate to their subterranean home. They frolic and jest,
swim and dive hither and thither with the utmost abandon of
joyousness. But when the cock crows and the first streak of dawn
appears, they must descend to their sea-home and wait until Madame
Luna again puts on her broadest smile of invitation. Sometimes
they are forgetful of the hour, and the cock's crow and the morning
light are equally unheeded by these frolicking nymphs. Then there
appears an ugly old water dwarf who orders them home with such a
voice and manner as cannot be disobeyed ; and the waters are left
as dull and gloomy as if there were no joy and beauty in all the
earth.
The Pulpits of the Angel and the Devil. One of the finest views
near Baden-Baden can be had from what is called the Devil's
Pulpit. It is a high rock on the road to Gernsbach, just where it
turns off to Ebersteinburg. It is surrounded with beautiful trees and
not difficult of ascent. It gained its name from the following cir-
cumstances : About the time that the Christian Gospel was first
preached in Germany and many were converted, the Devil was sc
much disturbed, that he decided to make some great exertions to
stop the progress of these new doctrines, so fatal to his dominion in
Rhineland. So he Avas accustomed to leave the lower regions near
the source of the hot springs (which place on this account was called
Hell), and proceed to the rock before des ribed to teach and preach
his dangerous and seductive doctrines. He is, as all admit, a fine
336 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
orator, and employs every art that can increase the power of what
he says. He described the good gifts he lavishes on his devotees :
the pleasures of the world, the gratifications of ambition, the
glories of pomp and power, the comforts of wealth, the revels of the
gay and licentious, and all this in language so fascinating, with
touches of poetic inspiration, always in exactly the right place to
catch the ear of the sentimental hearer, with arguments of ap-
parent reason, for the satisfaction of the cooler headed ones, with
a metaphysical mystery for those who would appreciate that style of
thing, and in short, with some nice, little, well-turned sentence, ex-
actly suited to tickle the ears of each one who listened. Many
were affected by all this, and just prepared to take him for their
leader, when a strange sound was heard through the air, and lo, a
bright and glistening light was seen on a rock opposite to that on
which the Devil stood, and as it separated a little, there appeared
in its midst a glorious angel, holding in his hand the branch of
peace. Then he addressed the assembly in a manner so unlike the
other as to chain the attention from the very first word he spoke.
He showed the value of what had been offered in comparison to
happiness and lasting peace. He told them how one life brought
death, the other life, and both eternal. Wonderful was the
effect of all he said. He strengthened the weakened, gave courage
to the hopeless, and faith to the doubting, and even touched the
hearts of those who disbelieved. Then Satan raved in his madness,
and attempted again to address the listeners, for he saw that his
cause was fast being lost. Just then the thunder roared, the light-
nings flashed, and the winds blew from every point. The confusion
of earth and sky was fearful. The angel held the branch threat-
eningly toward the Evil One. A tearful shriek rent the air; the
devil fell over the dread precipice, and was lost in the earth which
yawned to receive him. Then all fell on their knees, and the air
now calm was filled with praise and prayer, in the midst of which
the Heavenly Messenger vanished from the sight of those whom he
had saved from sin and death.
The Rocks. Many long years ago there stood a lonely castle
not far from Baden-Scheuern. It was the home of Imino, the wild
huntsman. No one dwelt with him save an old man and woman
who attended to his wants and comforts. His only companion was
his faithful doe. So fond was Immo of hunting that it never lost its
charm, and filled in his life the place of society and friends, of
business and literature, of love, wife, and children ; in a word, it
was his all. And his skill was such that he seldom failed to hit the
mark at which he aimed. What then was his surprise one day,
when he fired with perfect confidence at a white doe, to see his
arrow fall far short of his intended game ? He was astonished and
annoyed, and at the same time he felt a singular admiration for the
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 337
beautiful creature he would have slain. He determined to follow it.
When the doe reached a place where the rocks rose abruptly toward
the clouds it sprang into an opening in the crags. Immo now felt
sure of his prey, but suddenly as he advanced a lovely woman stood
before liini. With one hand she softly petted the frightened doe.
and with the other pointed toward the hunter as if to threaten him
She spoke in a low, sweet voice : " Immo, why followest thou my
doe ? " The wild hunter was overcome with admira'ion and sur-
prise. He knelt before her, but he shaded his eyes from the daz-
zling light which beamed around her. When he again looked up
both doe and maiden had vanished, and ugly goblins looked mock-
ingly down on him from all the rocks. But in these few moments
the life of Immo was changed. He went home with pensive heart,
and from that day he never hunted more.
The Wildsee, Not many miles from the Mummelsee toward
the south there lies another gloomy lake called the Wildsee. From
it flows the Schtinmiinzacli, which empties into the Murg. Upon
its shores are vast fir forests which cast a gloomy shade far over the
lake. Here dwell water-sprites who come more frequently to the
surface than do those of the Mummelsee. They leave the water and
sit on the banks weaving garlands, playing their lutes and singing,
or amusing themselves by telling stories, talking of each other and
the fashions, very much as ladies do. For while these nymphs
know little of flounces or puffs, and have no conception of drapery
and its effects ; yet the manner of weaving their garlands, the width
of their bracelets and anklets plaited of finest grass, and the most
becoming shade of coral, are topics as inexhaustible and full of in-
terest as are those Paris styles of which we hear so much. Now
it happened once on a time, that Bernfried of Schonengrund tended
his flock quite near this lake ; and as he lay stretched upon a moss
bank thinking and dozing away the autumn day, he heard a strain
of music more sweet than ever before had met his ear. The clear
tones of the voice thrilled to his very soul, and he sprang up with
flashing eyes and beating heart to listen with delight. Long time
he waited, until it seemed that some spell was on him, and then
sprang forward toward the lake from which the sound proceeded.
A woodman who saw him, and who well knew the nature of the
singer and the sad effects of gazing on her, tried to detain him, but
in vain. Bernfried dashed on until he saw a lovely maiden upon
Hie rocky shore. Beside her was a white doe, decked with garlands,
while she plaved a sweet-toned harp. He knew not which most to
admire, her beauty or her grace. Luxuriant blonde hair fell in
waves about her neck and bosom, and as she sang her coral lips and
pearly teeth were more bewitching than his wildest imagination
could have conceived. But what was more wonderful than all, as-
soon as she heard the step of Bernfried, she gave but a glance to
22
338 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
ward him, and sprang into the middle of the lake. The dark waters
hissed and bubbled over her, and she was hidden from the gaze of
the young shepherd. But alas, that single glance had deprived
him of his reason ! From that moment he was w.ld and under the
effect of a strange madness. He wandered from place to place,
and at leng h so far away that he never more was seen by those
who knew and loved Bernfried the Shepherd.
Wiiideck. The castle of this name stands high above the town
of Biihl, about eight miles from Baden-Baden. It is said to be
haunted by the spirit of a beautiful girl who appears here from time
to lime. A young sportsman once saw her, and she offered him a
glass of delicious wine. He was so charmed by her that he returned
day after day in hopes again to meet her, but each day he was dis-
appointed. At length he took up his abode in the lonely place and
was called the " Lord of the Castle." One morning he was found
dead, but on his face was a smile so radiant that all who saw be-
lieved he must have died while gazing on the face of his much loved
spirit maiden. On his finger was a ring never seen there before.
This confirmed the opinion that he had seen her, and some believed
that her kiss had been fatal to him. He was solemnly buried in the
vault of the castle by the side of his unearthly bride.
The Marriage of the Ghost at Castle Lauf. This is another name
for Castle Windeck, and the present legend refers in all proba-
bility to the same girlish spirit. Long time ago a young page who
had wandered out of the right way sought the shelter of the castle.
He saw a light in one of the rooms and made his way to it. It was
a reception-room, and in it was a beautiful girl. She seemed buried
in thought and did not notice the entrance of the page. Her beauty
was only equaled by her sadness, which gave a sorrowful air to face
and form, and seemed to have stolen all color from her cheeks. When
the youth spoke she raised her eyes and nodded gently to him. He
asked for lodging and a supper, and begged pardon for his intrusion,
for which his only excuse must be that he had lost his way in the
darkness. She answered nothing, but left the room. Soon she
returned and brought venison, fowls, and other delicious viands, as
well as wines, of which she motioned him to partake. After refresh-
ing himself and becoming more cheerful from the effects of the wine,
he ventured to address her : " You are the daughter of the house,
if I mistake not." She nodded assent. " And your parents ? "
asked he. She pointed to the portraits which hung upon the wall,
and sadly said, " I am the last of my race." The youth continued
to regard her with ever-increasing admiration, and the more wine
he drank, the more he found in the pale maiden to approve and the
more lovely she appeared. At length he reflected that this was an
opportunity of making his fortune such as seldom occurred, and not
to be slighted. He then asked her if she had a lover or was prom-
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 339
Ised in marriage, and when she answered in the negative, he imme-
diately begged that she would be his bride, and declared the passion
with which from the first moment of his entrance she had inspired
him. At this her pale, sad face was illumined with light and jov.
She arose instantly and took from a drawer two rings and a rose-
mary wreath. She then made a sign for him to follow whither she
should lead. At this moment two old and venerable men, dressed
in rich gala attire entered the apartment. They accompanied the
young couple to the chapel of the castle. In it there were many
monuments and splendid memorials of the family who had formerly
dwelt here. Among them was a statue of a bishop. This the
maiden touched as she passed on, and it instantly rose and proceeded
to the altar. The candles which were apparently arranged for some
impressive service, had meanwhile lighted themselves, and all was
ready for the marriage. The face of the bishop lighted up, and his
eyes shone as if he was full of joy. Then in a deep, impressive
voice he said, " Kurt of Klein, are you resolved to take Bertha of
Windeck, to be your wedded wife ? " The heart of the youth died
within him and he could not answer. Just then a cock crew, and a
gust of wind swept through the place as if it would destroy the
chapel and all that it contained. Instantly the whole company dis-
appeared, the candles were out and the bishop had again become a
brazen statue. Kurt fell senseless to the floor, but when he recov-
ered himself he was lying in the court-yard of the castle, and his
horse was quietly feeding by his side.
The " Hennegraben." Near this same Windeck Castle the traces
of a deep ditch are to be seen. The neighboring farm was named
from it, and the legend connected with it is as follows : Many long
years ago when a certain Dean of Strasbourg was the prisoner of the
knight of Windeck, there lived at Wolfshag an old woman, who
was called through all the country round, " The Woman of the
Woods." One evening as she sat at the door of her cot, two
delicate looking and pleasing youths passed by. " Whither go
you?" questioned the old woman. "We go to the Castle Windeck."
replied the elder with a blush ; " our uncle, the Dean of Strasbourg,
is prisoner there and we desire to give ourselves as hostages for him
until he can pay his ransom." " What ! " exclaimed she, " do yon
expect the knight will receive such hostages as you ? and how could
you bear imprisonment ? " saying which she looked with cunning
eyes at the elder of the two, who only blushed and looked away, then
quickly said, " God will assist us, for our dear uncle is the onl; one
to care for us, and all our support." Then the younger of th .: two
cried out, "But I will challenge the Knight of Windeck I Indeed,
I will ! for I too am a knight, and I will deliver our uncle." " Gentlv,
O ' '
Cuno, we must entreat, we cannot defy," said the elder brother.
'Pshaw! Imma ; you may sue and pray, but I will not!" Then
340 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the maiden blushed painfully at the careless words of her brother,
which thus revealed her sex. But the old woman said, ' Do not be
troubled, maiden. I saw through your disguise at my first glance ;
but you are honest, and I like you and will assist you. Go to the
castle and tell the Knight of Windeck that I sent you to warn him
that the people of Strasbourg have agreed to attack him and he
must hasten to make a ditch on the only side where ascent is possi-
ble. And as his time is short, I will give you something which will
help him." She then gave a peculiar whistle, whereupon a gray hen
came to her, and perched itself upon her shoulder. " Here, my child,
take this. Bring it to the castle, and when it is dark and the moon
lisen, carry it where the ditch should be and leave the rest to us."
The brothers were amazed, but the old woman was so kind they
could not refuse obedience. She then said something to the hen in
a strange tongue, and gave it to them with other charges to take care
of it, and do as she had commanded them. So they went on until
they reached the castle and were presented to the knight. He was
young and handsome, and received them with kindness. The maiden
hesitated and blushed, and could scarcely find words to make her
request. The knight seemed to enjoy this confusion, and did not in
the least assist her, but gazed on her in such a way as not at all to
reassure her. At length she explained why they were come, and
begged him to accept them as hostages. She also gave him the
hen and the message of the old woman. A strange emotion stirred
the soul of the knight as he listened to her proposition, and with
great kindness promised to take them to their uncle. Meanwhile
the younger boy had touched the belt and arms of the knight and
expressed his childish admiration for them. The knight spoke kindly
to him and took him in his arms, bidding the elder to follow. The
Dean was a prisoner in but a single respect, he could not leave his
prison. He was confined to a certain suite of apartments, but they
contained all he could desire for comfort or amusement. In spite of
this he was gloomy and dejected. The thought that he was in the
power of his enemy oppressed him, and the many duties he was
detained from performing weighed heavily upon his mind. Often he
thought of Inima and Cuno, and prayed the Holy Mother to guard
(hem from every danger. At times he succeeded in losing himself
in books, and mental activity dulled the pain of his grief. It was at
such a moment that the knight entered with the maiden and her
brother. The heart of the former beat with such force beneath her
doublet as she stood before him that she feared lest it should burst.
But the boy sprang forward and cried out, " O, uncle, darling
uncle ! See, Imma and I are come to set you free ! " The knight was
much astonished when the maiden's secret was thus revealed, but he
iid not allow his surprise to betray itself. He only reached his hand
to the Dean, saying. " Do you hear ? If you will yield these children
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 341
to me as hostages you are free, but I will not promise to return them
to you soon." Then to the maiden he said, " Now my fine page,
which will you choose to be, a soldier or to take a place in my house-
hold? You seem more fitted for the latter." Imma looked at him
with a glance of such tender reproof that he could no longer resist
his desire to embrace her, and tenderly pressing her to his heart he
said softly, " Tell me, will you have my home for yours, and me for
your husband and protector, or will you leave me with your uncle ? "
She spoke not, but as he gazed on her he read his answer in her
face, and in the tears she shed upon his bosom, for he cheerfully
summoned the Dean to change his prisoner's dress for the surplice,
and to become his uncle in place of his enemy. The Dean hesitated
to consent, but Imma added her persuasions to those of the knight,
and at length he joined their hands with solemn blessings. The hen
was placed according to the directions of the old woman, and when
the men of Strasbourg came they found a ditch filled with the sol-
diers of Castle Windeck, and in place of the battle they had come to
fight, they joined in the wedding-dance and drank to the good health
of the Knight of Windeck and his young Strasbourg Bride.
Baldreit. See the legends of Baden-Baden.
Basel or Bale. " One hour in Advance." A great many years
ago when Basel was surrounded with enemies, there were also trai-
tors in the town, and they had agreed together that at a certain time
they would combine in their movements and thus gain possession of
the city ; the signal agreed on was the striking of twelve by the
clock in the tower, on a certain night. Fortunately the watch-
man in the tower was informed of this plan before it was too
late to prevent it, but not soon enough to consult with any others
as to what should be done. Some cunning device alone could
nterfere with the success of the undertaking. So after a little
thought he advanced the clock one hour, and in place of midnight,
it sounded one o'clock. This confounded all. and made both
those outside and those within the city doubtful what to do. Mean-
while the watchman hastened to inform the magistrate, and the
commandant, and their united efforts prevented any result from
the treacherous device, and at length the enemy being weary of the
siege retired, and left Bale without having obtained any advantage.
The magistrate ordered the clock to remain as the good watchman
had set it, and for many years, until 1798, it struck one o'clock in
Bale when in other places it sounded twelve. From this the saying
arose, that " Though the inhabitants of Basel are a century behind,
yet they are one hour in advance of all the world." At Basel was
also the carved head called the Lallenkonig. It was placed on the
slock of the Basel Bridge steeple, and with each motion of the pen-
dulum the head turned its eyes and thrust out its tongue. This
singular thing was made and placed upon the clock after a dispute
342 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
among the inhabitants, and was intended to ridicule those of Little
Bale. This tower was taken down and the Lallenkonig destroyed
in 1839.
Bingen. The Mouse Tower. Bishop Hatto of Fulda was a
man of high ambitions, and much desired to obtain the vacant arch-
bishopric of Mayence. The Emperor Ludwig and the Duke Otto
ruled the country as regents, and Hatto was so much a favoiite tf
the emperor that he was called the " heart of the king." He was
at the head of the German clergy, and was governor of twelve rich
and powerful abbeys. He made heavy taxes in order to erect mag-
nificent buildings, and he it was who first established the temporal
power of the bishopric of Mayence. Among other devices for
raising the revenues he built a tower near Bingen, in the midst of
the river, and all passing ships were obliged to pay a toll. This
was considered extremely oppressive. Soon a dreadful famine visited
the bishopric ; drought, hailstorm, and vermin destroyed all the crops,
and this was rendered more distressing to the people because the
bishop had bought up all the grain and sold it only for the highest
prices. For this the tradition makes him suffer a terrible death, in-
flicted miraculously as a direct judgment from Heaven. This legend
is related in the following lines by Southey :
" The summer and autumn had been so wet,
That in winter the corn was growing yet ;
'Twas a piteous sight, to see, all around
The grain lie rotting on the ground.
" Every day the starving poor
Crowded around Bishop Hatto's door,
For he had a plentiful last-year's store,
And all the neighborhood could tell
His granaries were furnished well.
" At last Bishop Hatto appointed a day
To quiet the poor without delay:
He bade them to his great barn repair,
And they should have food for the winter there.
' Rejoiced such tidings good to hear,
The poor folk flocked from far and near.
The great barn was full as it could hold
Of women and children, and young and old.
" Then when he saw it could hold no more,
Bishop llatto he made fast die door;
And while for mercy on Christ they call,
He set fire to the barn and burnt them all.
" T faith, 'tis an excellent bonfire! ' quoth he,
' And the country is greatly obliged to me,
For ridding it in these times forlorn
Of rats that only consume the corn.'
LEGENDS OF PLACE.
u So then to his palace returned he,
And he sat down to his supper merrily,
And he slept that night like an innocent man:
But Bishop Hatto never slept again.
u In the morning as he entered the hall
Where his picture hung against the wall,
A sweat like death all over him came,
For the rats had eaten it out of the frame.
u As he looked there came a man from his farm:
He had a countenance white with alarm ;
' My lord, I opened your granaries this morn,
And the rats had eaten all your corn.'
Another came running presently,
And he was pale as pale could be,
Fly! my Ix>rd Bishop, fly,' quoth he,
Ten thousand rats are coming this way,
The Lord forgive you for yesterday ! '
" ' I'll go to my tower on the Rhine,' replied he,
*'Tis the safest place in Germany:
The walls are high, and the shores are steep,
And the stream is strong, and the water deep.'
" Bishop Hatto fearfully hastened away,
And he crossed the Hhine without delay,
And reached his tower, and barred with care
All the windows, doors, and loop-holes there.
" He laid him down and closed his eyes;
But soon a scream made him arise:
He started, and saw two eyes of flame
On his pillow, from whence the screaming came.
44 He listened and looked : it was only the cat ;
But the Bishop he grew more fearful for that;
For she sat screaming, mad with fear
At the army of rats that were drawing near.
" For they have swam over the river so deep,
And they have climbed the shores so steep,
And up the tower their way is bent,
To do the work for which they were sent.
u They are not to be told by the dozen or score ;
By thousands they come, and by myriads and more.
Such numbers had never been heard of before;
Such a judgment had never been witnessed of yore
" Down on his knees the Bishop fell,
And faster and faster his beads did he tell,
As louder and louder drawing near
The gnawing of tluir teeth he could hear.
* And in at the windows, and in at the door,
And through the walls, helter-skelter they pear,
344 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
And down from the ceiling, and up through the floor,
From the right and the left, from behind and before,
From within and without, from above and below,
And all at once to the Bishop they go.
" They have whetted their teeth against the stones;
And now they pick the Bishop's bones;
They gnawed the flesh from every limb,
For they were sent to do judgment on him."
Another legend of the Mouse-tower (Mausethurm) relates, that
when during the Thirty Years' War, the Swedes took possession of all
the castles on the Rhine, the Mc'ise-tower was held by the knights
of the Teutonic Order. It was , very important point, commanding
as it did the passage of the rrver. The knights well knew this, and
defended it with great courage. At length all but a single one were
killed. His enemies were filled with admiration of his valor, and
could not have the heart to murder him. They called on him to
surrender, but his reply rang out, " Mercy neither for you nor for
me. Knights can die, but cannot surrender." Then he seized the
tricolor, and cutting a way through the foe he plunged into the river.
The Swedes made earnest endeavors to recover his body, and sought
especially for the flag, but neither could be found. The Rhine re-
mained the faithful guardian of what was thus consigned to its care.
The Holy Rupert. During the reign of the pious Ludwig, Sax-
ony was governed by the Duke Robolaus. He was wild and full
of courage, and possessed of great skill in arms and all manly
exercises ; but he was not favorable to the Christians. In spite
of this he was deeply in love with Bertha, the daughter of one
of the most powerful dukes upon the Rhine ; and his passion was
ardently returned, although she was a quiet, amiable, and devout
maiden. She nattered herself with the hope that under the influ-
ence of her love, Robolaus himself would become a Christian. But
her endeavors to effect this change enraged him, and he became so
sulky and unkind that Bertha was obliged to leave him, and went to
a distant castle where she gave birth to a son, whom she called
Rupert. Him she determined to so educate, that he should as
greatly excel in virtue as did his father in courage and arms.
Robolaus fell in battle while the child was still young. Then
Bertha forget all his faults, and magnifying his virtues mourned him
sincerely. She determined to remove to the ducal palace of her
father at Bingen. Here she refused many offers of marriage, and
devoted herself entirely to the little Rupert. He fully repaid her
cares, and was early distinguished by many graces of character,
bul by none so much as that of charity, and love of doing good
to the poor and suffering ; he divided all he had with them,
and when Bertha would have built a church he opposed it, saying,
" First feed the hungry and clothe the naked." When he was
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 345
older, although universally beloved, he was urged to acquire such
knightly accomplishments as befitted his rank, and was frequently
rallied on account of his lack of them. But neither advice or
raillery moved him. He still devoted himself to works of charity.
One day as he slept on the bank of the Rhine he had a wonderful
vision : A venerable old man stood in the river surrounded by a
troop of boys ; he dipped them, one after the other in the stream, and
they emerged more lovely than before. Then a beautiful island, well
realizing in its fruits and flowers, its birds and their sweet songs, his
Mca of Paradise, rose in the midst of the stream. Thither the old
man led the boys, and clothed them in shining garments. Then
Rupert hastened to request that he too might be allowed to go to
the lovely island, but the old man solemnly replied, " This is not
a place for you, Rupert; your life of charity and holiness 'renders
you worthy of the life in heaven, and to see the face of the Trans-
figured." At these words there arose from the island, a beautifully
brilliant rainbow, and Rupert saw a band of angels with golden
wings, and in their ruidst the Infant Christ appeared in indescribable
glory. At his side knelt St. John, and two angels soared above
him, holding a garment which Rupert had recently given to a poor
child. With this they clothed the divine child, who said, " You
have fed the hungry, and clothed the naked ; for such works are
given the higher rewards of eternal glory." Rupert in an ecstasy,
stretched out his hands to the ' lovely vision. It vanished, and he
awoke. From this time he determined to resign all worldly honors.
He told his mother of his intention to visit Rome and the Holy Sepul-
chre, after which he would return to Rome, there to pass his days in
religious labors. Now although his mother had educated him relig-
iously, she had intended that he should be a knight, and support the
state and dignity which was his right. But no persuasions could
obtain from him more than a promise to return to her for a short
time, and he renounced all honors of rank and riches, preferring
thereto the staff' of the pilgrim. After a year of wandering he
returned. His privations had destroyed his health, and he came
to his mother to die in her arms. He was not yet twenty years old.
The pious Bertha did not long survive him. Rupert has since been
canonized, and the Convent of Eubingen is said still to contain the
garment which he gave to the poor child, and which was repre-
sented in the vision.
The Prophetess Hildegarde. After the death of Bertha and her
son, their estates were divided among several relatives, and the
Castle of Sponheim was built. Here the Knight of Bokelheiui lived
with his wife Matilda, and their only child, Hildegarde. This child
was sent to the Convent of Dissibodenberg to be educated. It was
soon evident that she was one set apart for the service of Heaven.
She was a. prophetess, and had many visions. She wrote much,
346 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
and was especially severe in her exposures of the corruptions of the
priesthood. When St. Bernard preached his Crusade he visited her,
and gained her approbation and assistance in his great undertaking.
He presented her with a ring, inscribed, " I suffer willingly." This
is still to be seen at Wiesbaden. She was made abbess of her
convent. Many of her writings were in Latin, and she was a learned
woman. She has been canonized, and her festival is on the seven-
teenth of September.
Bonn. The Treasure-seeker. After the siege of Bonn, in the last
part of the seventeenth century, there was much building ai.d repair-
ing to be done, in order to make good that which had been destroyed
during the war. All classes of workmen were prosperous, and
among them none more so than young Conrad, the locksmith. His
father had been a sheriff at Endenich, but had lost his property by
the war. His house was burned, and his eldest son had perished in
his attempts to save some portion of their valuables from the flames,
and now the old man had come to pass his remaining days with Con-
rad. All went well until the young man fell in love with Gretchen,
the pretty daughter of another sheriff, named Heribert. This wooing
did not promise well, for the father had declared that none save a man
of wealth should be his son-in-law. He himself had grown very
rich since the war. No one knew how, and all were full of surmises
concerning it. Some believed he had gained wealth by supplying
the enemy ; some that he had discovered hidden treasures, and
some that he had dealings with evil spirits ; and this last opinion
found the larger number of disciples. But the lovers did not
disturb themselves about the father or his consent. They were
happy without it, until on an occasion, he surprised them at
their love-making, when his fury was great and he struck Conrad
on the head so violently that he fell to the ground, and marched
Gretchen off in great displeasure. From that moment Heribert
hated Conrad, and vowed to ruin both him and his father ; and
he had the power to do them great injury. Soon their creditors
were clamorous, unwilling to await their payments ; their property was
to be sold and ruin staring them in the face, and all the result of
the hatred of the rich Heribert. But do all he would he could not
change the heart of Gretchen nor prevent her seeing her lover.
One evening Conrad had climbed to her chamber window,, and at
midnight when all others slept they softly discussed the sorrows of
their lives, and different plans for accomplishing their desires. Sud-
denly another window opened, and the voice of the father called,
out, " Rogue, thief, off instantly or I shall shoot you dead ! " Con-
rad alarmed sprang to the ground, and then cried out fearlessly :
" Although you have found me at night at your window, you
know that I am honest, and that love for your daughter alone brings
me here. You hate me because I am not rich, but who can tell
LEGENDS OF PLA^E. 347
how you obtained your wealth ? I too could have as much from the
devilish Lapp, if I would consent to hold intercourse with him.
AVould you not be willing to give me Gretchen if I wooed her,
laden with wealth ? " A shot was the only reply to this speech.
The bullet missed its aim, but despair went to the heart of
Conrad, and he felt that money alone could help him to wed
with his beloved Gretchen. As he was thus returning home the
clock struck twelve. Temptations came to him and he reflected,
"How would it be if I were to call'on Lapp, who lives under the
graves in the church-yard, and answers those who call at this hour ?
Be it so ! " and he hastened to the spot. Thrice he called the fear-
ful name, and a dreadful figure with flaming eyes rose from the
ground and stood before him. " What is your wish ? " it asked in
fear-inspiring tones. " I seek gold, help me to it ! " exclaimed Con-
rad. Then the figure beckoned him to follow and led the way to
the forest ; when there it pointed to a certain spot and put its fin-
ger on its lips in token of silence, then it disappeared. Conrad re-
turned home, and this great excitement threw him into a fever.
When he recovered from this, he went to the place which had been
pointed out, and dug for gold. After some time he came to a chest
filled with coins. Next day he bought in Bonn a nice house ; he
furnished it to his fancy and increased his business. He went each
night to his treasure-house to bring away the gold, and soon ex-
celled Heribert in his style of living. He also paid his father's
debts and released his mortgaged property. When all this was
done he repeated his wooing, and this time with very different re-
sults. The father was now but too ready to receive him, and the
marriage was celebrated. But all was not now as smooth and
happy as he had anticipated. Gretchen had all the curiosity of
her sex, and greatly desired to know how Conrad had obtained his
sudden wealth, and used all the bewitching arts which are so effec-
tive when employed by a lovely wife during the honeymoon, to find
out the secret. Conrad was about to confide all to her when sud-
denly one evening he was arrested and thrown into prison. He was
called on to account for the change in his circumstances, and as he
lefused all explanation, the torture was used to extort a confession
from him. He then declared that he had found a treasure. With
this the court let him rest from farther torture, and was apparently
satisfied. His wife was allowed to visit him, and listeners were set
to obtain, if possible, the whole truth. Then Conrad told Gretchen
all, and the listeners reported to the judges how he had obtained
his money. This produced no immediate effects, for although the
treasury could claim money so obtained, the elector decided that if
Conrad could prove what he had said to be true, he would allow him
to retain his riches. Just then when he was considering how to prove
this, a great cry was raised by the Jews of Bonn. One of their num-
348 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
her, Old Abraham, who was very rich, had disappeared, was prob-
ably murdered. Of course Conrad was suspected, again arrested,
and tortured. He confessed, and said he had an accomplice, whom
be declared to have been Heribert, his father-in-law, who had killed
Abraham by shooting. In this way he hoped to be revenged or.
him whom he regarded as the cause of all his troubles. The fright-
o O
ened sheriff also confessed under the torture, and they were con-
demned to be hung. The day of the execution came, and they
were dragged forth, when a most unexpected person appeared, none
other than the Jew Abraham. The prisoners were conducted to
their homes in joy. But although he had escaped death, all these
experiences had sadly affected Conrad. He could neither work nor
be happy at leisure. Gretchen too was sorrowful. They returned
to Endenich where they lived in the closest retirement. They had
no children, and Conrad left his property to churches and charities,
in order to atone as much as possible for having obtained the aid of
the spirit Lapp, in his greediness for gold.
Boppard. The Convent of Marienburg. In the days of Fred-
erick I. there lived in Boppard a young knight, Conrad, a de-
scendant of " Bayer of Boppard." He was in love with a maiden
also of noble race, and determined to marry her as soon as her
brother who had accompanied Frederick to Palestine should return.
During the absence of the emperor, robbers infested all the country
and attacked Conrad several times. He repulsed them successfully,
and also assisted other knights to do the same. This caused him
to lead a wild and irregular life, and he came to feel that marriage
would perhaps prove a certain kind of slavery, and his love for
Maria gradually grew less. At length he wrote her that he would
release her from her promise. But as soon as this was done, his
conscience reproached him and he was most unhappy. He tried to
drown sorrow in wine, and went frequently to the chase. As he
was hunting one day, he was more joyous than usual, all nature
seemed beautiful, his spirits rose and he was like his former merry self.
The hounds soon found a track, the chase became exciting and mad,
the stag disappeared in an underwood and the dogs followed, but
Conrad took a more open path. He soon found that he had been
misled and was separated from the chase. He was disappointed,
and dismounted to rest. Just then a knight in full armor came- up
and challenged him to combat. He demanded who thus addressed
him, and asked that he should raise his visor. Then the knight
replied, " I am the brother of Maria, and challenge you to atone for
the insult you have offered her." This, added to his ill-temper at
losing his way and the reproofs of his conscience, rendered him
furious. He turned his horse directly and charged at the knight
His adversary sunk down and covered his bosom with his hands, for
the blood was flowing copiously. Then Conrad's heart misgave
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 349
him, and lie hastened to take off the knight's helmet, whei. he was
filled with horror at the sight of Maria's own sweet face. Faintly
she spoke, " By your hand I wished to fall, since life without you is a
burden." In vain he essayed to stop the life-blood ; one moment
and she was gone. Then he cursed himself, and fell senseless upon
the body of his beloved Maria. So he was found, and it was with
much difficulty that he could be taken away from her. She received
a splendid burial, and above her remains Conrad erected a convent
which he called Marienburg. To this he gave all his property, and
hastened away to Palestine to seek death, which could alone reunite
liim to Maria. He fought without armor and exposed himself in
every way. He won much renown, but death came not. At length
at the storming of the fortress of Ptolemais, he was the first to as-
cend the ladder, and was killed by a deadly thrust from a spear.
Bornhoven. The Brothers' Hatred. Near the Convent of Born-
hofen, on the Rhine, are the ruins of a castle with nothing of
the romantic beauty that characterizes so many such localities on
this charming river. Here dwelt a very rich knight, who, when
dying, left two sons and a daughter. Their mother had long been
dead, and they had received no loving care ; for the old knight was
a wicked man, and had gained his wealth by oppression and injus-
tice, at the expense of all love and respect from equals or inferiors.
At his death, besides his estates he left a large amount of gold.
The brothers inherited all the avarice and selfishness of the father,
while the sister was gentle and loving, and was, moreover, very relig-
ious in life and thought. The brothers were unjust to her in the
division of the property, but she would not expose them to the world,
and having employed that which they chose to give her in founding
reli:ious houses, she entered a convent where she lived in retirement.
The brothers, who had been agreed in robbing the sister, now quar-
reled regarding the division of the booty between themselves, and
their hearts werti filled with hatred which was ever ready to blaze
forth on the slightest occasion. At length the spark necessary to
kindle the flame was added in the fact that both loved the same
maiden, and she being a coquette, was happy in the attempt to fas-
cinate them both. Jealousy added the last particle of hatred that
tli3y could endure, and they drew their swords in a duel, which
ended in the death of both; for in their blind rage they ran upon
each others' swords, and both were murderers, while, both were mur-
dered. Since this event gloom and melancholy have seemed to
preside over this spot, like avenging spirits of the unnatural crimes
of the inimical brothers.
Burkhard Keller of Yburg. See Baden-Baden.
Carlsruhe (Charles' Rest). The Margrave Charles of Baden
was a victorious warrior, and returned to his home determined to
devote himself to the arts of peace and the improvement of his pos-
350 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
sessions. He desired to commence with the embellishment of Dnr-
lach, but court intrigues so opposed him that he gave up the idea.
One day as he was hunting in the Haardt forest, he laid down
beneath an oak and fell asleep. In a dream he saw high above his
head, a crown set with precious stones, and inscribed, " This is the
reward of the noble." All around the crown was a splendid city
with towers. A noble castle, well fitted for a royal residence, was
there, and churches with spires, springing lightly toward heaven.
When he awoke his courtiers surrounded him, for they had sought
and found him while asleep. He related his dream, and declared
his intention of founding there just such a city as he had seen. He
would also dwell in it, and his place of burial should be beneath the
tree where he had rested when the vision came to him. Thus was
Carlsruhe founded, for Charles accomplished all that he proposed to
do.
Caub, Castle Gutenfels. This splendid castle was the scene of
a very romantic love-story about the middle of the thirteenth cen-
tury. Count Philip of Falken stein and his lovely sister Guta then
resided here. They attended a great tournament which was held
at Cologne. Guta had been courted by many brave knights, and
had refused all offers of marriage. On account of her beauty she
had been selected to bestow the prize on the victor of the day.
Among those who contended for the honors was a knight known only
to the Bishop of Cologne, whose guest he was, and he assured those
assembled that the stranger was worthy to contend with any in the
land. This knight was splendidly armed and mounted, and so skill-
ful that it was soon seen that he would carry off all prizes. He soon
fixed his eyes on Guta with admiration, and when he rode around
the lists as victor, he lowered his lance to her. This unexpected
attention so confused her that she dropped her glove, which the
knight quickly caught, and begged that he might retain it. This
she could not refuse, and he fixed it upon his helmet. Falkenstein,
much pleased with these attentions to his sister, invited him to call
on them at their castle. This he did a few days later, and then
declared his love to Guta, begging her to trust him and wait a few
months until he should be able to tell her of his name and circum-
stances. This she promised to do, and after exchanging vows of
love and faithfulness, they parted. Soon a war broke out, and Rich-
ard of Cornwallis was declared emperor and crowned at Frankfort
Falkenstein, who had been absent with the army, found on his return
that his sister was sad, and apparently drooping in health, which
greatly troubled him, but she concealed the cause of her grief and
shut herself in her own apartments much of the time, where she
mourned the falseness of her lover, for as the time he had named for
his return had long since passed, all hope of seeing him again had
left her. One lovely morning there appeared beforo the castle a
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 351
troop of cavaliers magnificently dressed and mounted oil spirited
horses. Falkenstein hastened to meet them, and as the leader dis-
mounted he exclaimed, " Be welcome, my king ! " and they entered
the castle, but scarcely were they within the walls when Richard
asked for Guta. " She is ill," replied the brother, " and sees no one."
" Tell her that King Richard demands her hand, that will cure her."
" No, no," said Falkenstein, " I believe it not, for she will not marry,
though many and brave men have sought her hand." But the
brother, well pleased, conveyed the message, and even urged his dar-
ling Guta to accept this honor, although it would separate them.
But she was immovable, and he returned to Richard with a refusal.
" God be praised ! " said the emperor. " Now know, my dear Falk-
enstein, that Guta plighted her troth to me after the tournament at
Cologne. She knew not my name, but she loved me. I have tested
her faith. She has i-efused a king. Bring her now this glove and
tell her a knight of the king's train sent it to her. Let her come to
me that I may fulfill my promise." Falkenstein did so, and as soon
as Guta saw the glove she hastened to welcome her lover. " You
are still faithful, as I myself am," said Richard, tenderly embracing
her. A sweet smile' was her only answer. " Should I deserve to be
emperor if I kept not my promise ? " Then looking at her brother
she exclaimed, " You ? Emperor ? " " Our emperor and your hus-
band, my sweet sister," answered Falkenstein, while tears flowed
from his eyes. Then were they married, and Richard changed the
name of the castle, which had been Caub until now, and called it
Gutenfels in honor of his true and loving wife.
Cleve. The Swan Kniyht. The young Countess of Cleve was
in great distress because a strong and daring vassal had announced
his rebellion, had made her a prisoner in her own castle, and would
restore her to freedom only on condition that she would marry him.
She saw no way of escape, for no other knight would venture to
challenge this traitor, so strong and powerful was he. And she
prayed to Heaven to send her release. Now on her chaplet was a
silver bell which had a surprising power. Its sound increased by
distance in one especial direction ; and this sound came to the ears
of a distant king, who regarded it as the cry of some one up the
Rhine who was in deep distress and greatly needing assistance. He
also believed it to be an occasion for his only son to make his name
known and respected, for these knights of olden time regarded ex-
ploits in aid of the defenseless, especially if women, as worthy of
great praise, and by them they established a reputation for bravery
and prowess. Then a swan appeared on the river drawing a boat by
a golden chain. It placed itself on the bank before the king's sou,
as if demanding to be used. This appeared to the young man like
a signal from a higher power ; he entered the boat, and immediately
the swan proceeded up the Rhine drawing the boat after it. Now
352 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the day had arrived on which the rebellious vassal of the yonag
countess had determined to marry her in spite of all repugnance on
her part. She knew she could not escape this hateful union unless
she could find a knight who would challenge him to mortal combat,
and of this she had no hope. While she was sadly reflecting on her
sorrows, and preparing to array herself for this marriage, she saw a
boat drawn by a swan in which was a sleeping knight. It approached
her domains on the river. Instantly she called to mind that an old
nun had once told her that a sleeping youth should save her from
some imminent danger. Just then the knigbA sprang to the shore,
and the swan and the boat instantly disappeared. He came directly
to the castle and kneeling before the countess begged that he might
be allowed to combat for her hand. She consented joyfully, and
preparations were instantly made for the trial. All who witnessed
it were filled with fear for the young knight, who seemed wholly
unable to contend with his proud and powerful opponent ; but justice
triumphed and the rebellious vassal fell, pierced through by the
sword of the young knight. Then the countess thanked him most
earnestly, and so great was her gratitude that a few days after she
willingly conferred her hand upon him. He proved a fond and
faithful husband, and there was but one thing which could have
added to the happiness of the countess. She much desired to know
who her husband might be, and of his former life ; most of all what
fate or fortune had brought him to her relief. But before he had
promised to marry her, he required of her that she should never
question him of these things, and assured her, that should she disre-
gard his wishes he should leave her forever. Time passed on, and
their happiness was increased by the birth of three sons who bade
fair to be an ornament to chivalry and the pride of their family.
But now the countess could no longer repress the cravings of her
mother's heart. She felt that her husband was of noble origin, and
she begged him to give his name to his children. She urged that
the lowest of parents gave that at least, to their sons, and she feared
lest her noble boys should be regarded and mocked as bastards.
Then was the knight sorrowful, and exclaimed, " Woe, woe, unhappj
mother ! What have you done ? By these words you have destroyed
our happiness. I must now leave you, never to return ! " Then
he had his silver horn blown on the waters, and at daybreak the
swan appeared drawing the boat as before. The knight entered, and
was borne forever away from the terrified and despairing countess.
She soon died of grief, but her sons lived and were founders of noble
families, who are still distinguished by the swan upon their arms.
Cologne. The Building of the Cathedral. About the middle
of the thirteenth century, the Archbishop of Cologne, Conrad of
Hochsteden, determined to build a magnificent cathedral. He had
large sums of money which he was willing to spend for the purposes
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 353
of religion, and ho was sure of liberal contributions. So as there
would be no lack of means, he desired that it should be more
imposing in its splendor than any cathedral in the world. The
first difficulty was to find an architect who could conceive and
execute a plan worthy of the acceptance of the archbishop. Now
there was in Cologne an architect of great reputation ; for him
the archbishop sent and requested him to make such a plan as he
desired, and to have it ready for his approval in one year. The
architect was greatly flattered and determined to devote himself
most heartily to this work, which if successful would make his name
known throughout all time. He thought of nothing else, and renounced
all other employment. How it should be arranged, how vaulted,
what columns, and where to be placed, and a thousand other things,
were revolved in his mind again and again, and plan after plan put
upon parchment. But nothing pleased him. He had in his mind a
more noble conception than any he could commit to paper, and
although a vision of splendor and sublimity in style and ornament
floated always before his eyes, it never could be made to appear
where he could show it to others. Thus ten months had passed
and nothing was done. The poor man began to be almost insane.
He knew at the appointed time not only the archbishop but all
his fellow-citizens would look for his promised plan, and he feared
greatly the ridicule which failure would bring upon him. At
length he had but three days remaining. He wandered far
away among the Siebengebirge. There night overtook him. and a
fearful tempest. The darkness was such as could almost be felt,
and the lightning when it came, gave an unearthly appearance to all
around him. The trees seemed like giants with their arms stretched
out to seize him. and contending with each other concerning him.
But he was too engrossed in his thoughts for fear to find any room
in his overtasked nature. He remembered but one thing, and that
the nearness of the day when he should be disgraced in his profes-
sion, lie cursed himself and his destiny, and raved like one mad.
Just then a flash of lightning set on fire a large oak, and the thunder
which followed seemed to rock the very earth. Then from the
flame of the tree stepped forth a figure which advanced toward the
architect. At another time he would have been startled by this
frightful scene, but now his mental agony had blunted all feeling,
and he received his new companion as he would have done any ac-
quaintance. He wore a fire-red mantle, and a broad-brimmed hat
with a long plume. His face was like what one would expect on a
poacher or highwayman. " A fearful storm, Dom-architect," said
he. " How rould you wander out in such a night ? If you will fol-
low me I will show you a short way to a place of safety." The ar-
chitect felt the bitter mocking of this speech. There was that in
the tone with which he said " Dom-architect," which cut him to the
23
354 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
heart, and lie turned and walked away without a word. But noth-
ing daunted, the stranger seated himself as for a conversation, and
drawing a bottle from his pocket, said, " Drink, master, to our
better acquaintance, and if you have a sorrow or should be reflect-
ing on anything, this beverage will do you good." " My grief," an-
swered the builder," is not removed by any beverage, neither can it
give me insight into that which T vainly endeavor to discover."
"You are an unsocial fellow," answered the stranger, " but that does
not frighten me, nor prevent my offering to assist you, as I have
done others. Still again, drink, and forget your sorrow." Then he
held the bottle close to the face of the architect, who to be rid of
his importunity, tasted the preparation. No sooner had he done so
than it seemed to flow through all his veins. He felt a new confi-
dence and an unknown strength, and he exclaimed as he sat down
by the stranger, " A genuine nectar ! An incomparable cordial ! "
" Ah ! my beverage is good, let that convince you that I have
other good qualities. I know that you reflect on a plan for a splen-
did cathedral ; you cannot succeed unless I assist you." The archi-
tect gazed at him with astonishment. "I see you have no confi-
dence in me, but I am the only one who can and will help you. Take
another draught, and you will see that it is the best you can do.
My conditions, too, are easy, and I keep my word as faithfully as
men do their oaths." The master had tasted the contents of the
bottle again, and asked how all this could be done in three days.
Upon this the stranger laughed and pulled from his pocket a parch-
ment, which he unrolled before the eyes of the builder. It was the
very thing he had so long attempted in vain to draw. " Yes, that
is it ! " exclaimed he, " that is the beautiful thought that always es-
caped me just when I believed to have it fixed." " Well," said the
other, " here it is, the plan is perfect in every part, you can have
it on one condition : sign this contract and all is done. Sign it
with a little of your blood. I have many such, and it is my hobby
to increase the number." The builder was overcome with horror.
He had read to whom he should give himself ; but the desire for re-
nown overcame all, and he signed. Instantly the fiend disappeared
and he was left with the dearly bought plan. He returned home.
His plan was viewed by the archbishop with delight, and he was
co~rted and admired by all. As the building of the cathedral wpnt
on, fetes were made in his honor, and great attentions lavished on
him; but he was the victim of an uncontrollable sadness in the
midst of all. The bishop ordered a plate engraved with his name
to be inserted in the wall of the dome, but nothing aroused him to
cheerfulness. He only reflected on hell and eternal torments, and
saw the quick completion of the church with anxious terror. At
length he could endure his agony no longer, and told all to his con-
fessor. This good man promised to do everything in his power
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 355
by prayers and atoning services, but advised the master to seek a
hermit who dwelt in the Eifel mountains and had power to exorcise
evil spirits. This he did, and the hermit assured him that by pray-
ers and penances his sin could be removed. He remained with the
hermit for weeks, and performed a great number of penances. At
length he returned to his home and continued his penitential life.
He was not allowed to finish his work, for disputes arose among the
electors and all went wrong, and at length full of grief and shame
the master died. On the same night the tablet which bore his
name disappeared, and soon the disputes became so important that
tlio work on the cathedral ceased altogether. The Devil sowed
seeds of discord, determined that as he had been cheated of his
booty the work should not be done ; and it is only in later years that
it has been possible to undertake its completion. This is one ver-
sion of the legend. Another relates that the architect agreed to
give the Devil not only his own soul, but that the first who en-
tered the. cathedral after its completion, should also be his ; and
that this compact becoming known he was the horror of all the
city, and deserted and wretched, awaited the time when his bar-
gain must be fulfilled. AVhen at length it came there was in
Cologne a woman of bad reputation, who had been sentenced to
punishment, which she awaited in the archbishop's prison. When
she heard of the perplexity of the citizens, and that no one dared
be the first to enter the cathedral, she offered to be the one, if by so
doing she could gain her freedom. This was assented to, and ou
the day appointed, large crowds were assembled to witness the
strange spectacle. Six men came from the palace with a large box,
which they placed before the door of the cathedral, which being
opened, a woman apparently crawled out on her hands and knees,
and passed through the door. She was sei/ed by Satan, and her
neck broken with a horrible yell; he then Hed. No sooner had he
gone, than a woman stepped out of the box, and entering the
church, kneeled down to pray. The archbishop saw that the evil
one had been exorcised, and entered with the people in the midst
of alleluias and rejoicings. The servants removed from the cathedral
the carcass of a pig, with which the woman had cheated Satan.
But the poor architect was found sitting in his library, horribly dis-
figured, his neck broken, and the fatal plan spread out before him,
while his prayer-book was thrown in a corner. He was buried pri-
vately. The wicked woman was so overcome by the sight of the
Devil, that she became converted and entered a convent.
The Burgomaster Gryn, the Lion-slayer. When Engelbert H.
was Archbishop of Cologne, there were very serious disputes be-
tween himself and the people of the town. He was determined to
subject them to his will, and they equally so to rule themselves.
He built the Bayeuthurm to assist him in his designs, but the citizens
356 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
stormed and took it very shortly after it was finished. Among his
persistent opposers the bishop found the family of Overstolz and
Herman Gryn, anil his hatred of the latter was such that he deter-
mined on his destruction. Two of his canons were set to entrap
Gryn by a pretended friendship. This they succeeded in doing ;
and at last invited him to a banquet to be held in the dome-
cloister. When he arrived, the other guests whom they feigned to
expect had not appeared, and they proposed that he should visit the
curiosities of the place. Accompanied by the canons, he had ex-
amined several apartments, when as he entered another the door
was suddenly closed behind him and he found himself a prisoner.
He had scarcely time to realize this when he perceived a lion in a
corner of the room. He had but a moment, in which he drew his
sword, and wrapped his cloak about his left arm. The lion had not
been fed for several days, and immediately sprang toward him with
flaming eyes. With wonderful presence of mind, Gryn ran his left
arm down the throat of the monster while with the right hand he
plunged his sword into his breast, and he fell dead. Meanwhile the
canons, who could not doubt the success of their plans, called loudly
for help, saying that the lion of the archbishop had attacked Gryn.
What was their surprise, when after a crowd had collected they en-
tered the room and found the lion dead and Gryn still alive ? Their
treachery being exposed, they attempted to flee, but were seized by
the people and hung near a door of the cathedral, which since that
day has been called the " priests' door." The heroic action of Gryn
is commemorated in a bas-relief, still to be seen on the portal of the
town hall.
The Legend of Herman Joseph, who was a native of Cologne, will
be found in the preceding portion of this book.
The Wife, Richmodis von Adocht. When the plague visited
Cologne in 1357, Richmodis von Lyskirchen, wife of the Knight
Mengis von Adocht was attacked by it. She fell into a deathlike
swoon, and was thus buried in the Apostles' Church. A beautiful
ring had been left on her finger and had not escaped the notice of
the grave-digger, who came at night to possess himself of it. She
was awakened by this, and arose and went home. When she ar-
rived there all in the house were asleep, but a servant, aroused by
her knocking, asked from a window who thus disturbed his repose.
The lady replied, and the servant much frightened told his master
who had come. Adocht replied that it was impossible, and added
that he would as soon believe that his gray horses would leave their
stable and come up-stairs to him. No sooner were these words
spoken than the horses started and were about to mount to the gar-
ret. Then Adocht hastened to welcome his returning wife. By
careful nursing she was restored, and lived to present her husband
with three sons. She was evermore thoughtful and serious in her
LEGENDS Ob' PLACE. 357
manner. A modern house now stands on the spot where that of
Adocht stood, but the heads of two horses made in wood are still
seen affixed to an upper window in commemoration of this remark-
able event.
Legend of St. Ursula. See preceding portion of this book.
The three Kinys of Cologne. See the Madonna, " Adoration of
the Magi," preceding portion of this book.
Darmstadt. Walter of Blrbach. This young knight distin-
guished himself above all others of his time by his great piety.
He was especially devoted to the service of the Blessed Virgin. On
one occasion he rode to Darmstadt to strive for the honors of a
tournament. His lady-love was to be present, and he was ex-
tremely anxious to win, but he knew that many knights more
skillful than he would endeavor to excel him. As he rode on thus
thinking of his wishes and chances of success, he came to an altar
upon which was a statue of the Virgin. He immediately dis-
mounted and performed his devotions, and entreated the aid of Our
Lady in the accomplishment of his desires. In the fervency of his
prayers, he lost his senses, a convulsion seized him, and he be-
came insensible at the foot of the altar. Then the Virgin descended,
clothed herself in his armor, and rode to the lists, where she con-
quered all the knights who contended. She then returned to Wal-
ter, replaced, his armor, and resumed her place on the altar. Soon
the pious knight awoke, and bowing once again to the Virgin, pro-
ceeded to the tourney. As he approached the town, all whom he
met congratulated him as the victor of the day, and lavished praises
upon him. At first he was amazed, but soon as by an inspiration,
he understood who had fought for him. In consequence of this suc-
cess he married his lady-love, and in gratitude to Mary he erected
on the spot where the altar stood, a commodious and elegant chapel,
and remained devoted to her service to the end of his life.
Drachenfels. The castled crag of Drachenfels," commands
one of the finest views on the Rhine. The Siebengebirge, the
basaltic rocks near Honnef, the villages of Unkel, Erpel, Rhondorf,
Rheinbreitbach, Remagen, and the Church on the Apollinarisberg,
the ruins of Olbriick and Tomberg, and the volcanic Eifel, the isl-
ands of Nonnewortb and Grafenwerth, the ruin of Rolandseck and
the farm-house of Roderberg, and still further away Kreuzberg,
Bonn, and a shadowy view of Cologne, make up a picture such as
is seldom seen. Drachenfels, or Dragon's Rock, is also famous for
having been the home of a huge dragon, who in his day did much
mischief in all the surrounding country. In the midst of his ravages
a war broke out between the heathen and Christian tribes. The
heathen were victorious, and brought to their homes much booty and
many prisoners, among whom was a lovely maiden. All wished to
possess her, but especially Ottfried. In order that this difficulty
358 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
might be settled they determined to consult the priestess of night
She declared that as the maiden was so beautiful as to create enmi-
ties and hatred, none should have her, but she should be thrown to
the dragon. All were filled with horror ; but the command must be
obeyed. Ottfried was in despair when the maid was led forth to
the dragon's cave ; but she advanced with firm and resolute step, as
if fearing nothing. The dragon came out and rushed toward her,
but suddenly fell to the ground, and Ottfried who had ktpt near
her plunged his sword into the monster and killed him. All shouted
for joy, and congratulated Ottfried that he had destroyed the mon-
ster and rescued the maid. Afterward Ottfried desired to know
why she had been so fearless, and how she, a delicate maiden, had
dared more than strong men could do. Then she showed him a
cross which she wore in her bosom, and told him that it always gave
her strength and courage ; and that any one who believed in Jesus
who had died on the cross, had no fear of death or the grave.
When she had explained all to Ottfried he was converted and bap-
tized, and at length was married to the maiden, and built for her the
Castle of Drachenfels. It is also said that he bathed in the dragon's
blood and thus became invulnerable. He was a good ruler, and
made not only his wife but his people happy. The stone for the
Cathedral of Cologne was taken from Drachenfels, and the quarry is
called Dombruck. The wine of the vineyard is Drachenblut,
Dragon's blood.
Diinwald near Miihlheim. The Oak Seed." The monks of
Dlinwald were very rich and not less avaricious. They desired
much wealth in order that they might be able to gratify their desire
for luxurious living. They were determined to annex to their pos-
sessions one hundred acres which belonged to the young nobleman
of Schlebusch. They made many claims out of their old parch-
ments, and thought to prove that they had a right to it. But the
young man knew it had been the estate of his family for many long
years and he would not resign it. Then it was referred to the
judges, but they fearful of the Church dared not give a decision, and
so the young man saw no hopes of a settlement. He then proposed
to the monks that if they would agree that he might sow one more
.crop and harvest it when ripe, he would then relinquish the land.
To this they joyfully agreed, and a contract legally written and
worded with gi*eat exactness was signed by the monks and the
nobleman. Then he sowed his seed. The monks watched with
.rreat interest to see what kind of grain he preferred for his last
crop upon the land ; but when it appeared it was neither wheat,
rye, or any grain the ground was covered with tender green leaves.
What was their consternation when they found that they were those
of young oaks I There was nothing to be done ; they were fairly
outwitted, and before the trees reached the top of the cloister the
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 359
monks were: nil dead, and before the oaks decayed the cloister itself
had crumbled into dust.
Eberstein. See Baden-Baden.
Eginhard and Emma. See Ingelheim.
Ehrenfels. In this castle, at the window of her chamber, sat
the maiden Uta. She wept bitterly, for her father had called the
knight of Castle Rcichenstein, whom .she tenderly loved, a robber,
and declared that he had been outlawed by the emperor. As she
gazed toward the home of her lover, and watched the waves of the
Rhine dancing in the moonlight, suddenly the flames leaped from
th~: castle, and in the fire-light, dark figures could be seen fighting
desperately. " Holy Mother, protect him 1 " she ejaculated. " O,
my God ! it is not possible. lie a robber, and his castle burning ! "
But it was all too true. The emperor had sentenced him, and
lleichenstein was destroyed. Just then she saw a small boat cross
the river, and she heard the knight say, " Uta, Uta, O come to me
once more, ere I leave you forever." She hastened to throw herself
in his arms. " I am an outlaw and fugitive, my Uta. I was only
able to save a few jewels to keep me from starving in the distant
lands to which I go. My life too, was in great danger, but though
all others curse me, you will still love me. Farewell, I must leave
you forever ! " She sobbed and tenderly clung to him, saying, " O,
my beloved, it would have been better that we had died while happy,
than to suffer this fearful separation." " Ah, Uta ! I cannot leave
you, I cannot live without you. Fly with me, my darling maiden."
" I cannot desert my father. I will take the veil, and in the cloister
give all my thoughts and prayers to you." " Never ! " exclaimed
Reichenstein. He took her in his arms, and stepped some paces
back, then with a leap plunged into the river. No sound was heard
as the waves closed over them, and the waters flowed calmly on, as
if it were nothing that in their midst two breaking hearts had ceased
to beat. Next day the lovers were found locked in a close embrace.
Eppstein or Eppenstein. This town lies in the Taunus, at
the extremity of the Lorsbacher valley. The knights of Eppstein
were of great renown, and five archbishops and electors of Mayence
were from their family between 1059 and 1284. The castle rises
from a rock above the town, and the legend of its foundation is as
follows : The Knight Eppo was one day lost in the forest while
chasing a boar. He sounded his bugle and cried for help in vain.
Al length worried and discouraged he alighted from his horse, and
reclined beneath the trees. Suddenly he heard a sweet song, sung
with much taste and expression. He went in the direction from
which it proceeded, and saw a maiden, who, with eyes raised im-
ploringly to heaven, was singing a sacred melody. Eppo stopped to
listen, but when she saw him she begged for his assistance with
many tears. She told him that a giant had stolen her, and brought
360 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
her here ; that he was now in a deep sleep, but she was chained
to a rock. The knight asked her how he could assist her. " Return
to my castle : bring me a consecrated net which I have there ; in it
I will entrap the giant in the name of the Holy Trinity, and when
I utter that sacred name, he will not have power to move." Eppo
did this, and awaited at the grotto a favorable time to use the net.
When the giant awoke he went out of the grotto to cut a pipe.
Then the maiden ran out and spread a bed of mosses and sweet
herbs, and told the giant to lie down to see if it was comfortable.
As soon as lie did so, she threw the net over him in the name of the
Holy Trinity. His horrible howls and yells of rage drove her away
with fright, but he was powerless to free himself. The maiden
desiiod the knight to fly with her instantly, but he demanded that
she should wait a little while. He ran to the giant and rolled him off
the precipice, where he was dashed in pieces. Then the knight
married the maiden whom he had saved, and built the Castl of
Eppstein for her; and there the giant's bones are still to be seen,
and this of course makes the tale quite true, if any proof were
needed.
Falkenburg. Tliis ruin, called also Reichenstein, stands on an
eminence above the village of Trechtingshausen. The castellan of
this fortress had a lovely daughter named Liba. When he died he
left her not only with a fine education, but also considerable fortune.
She lived in retirement with her mother, but nevertheless had many
suitors and offers of marriage. But Liba was betrothed to a young
knight, Guntram, who only waited to be invested with his fief in
order to marry her. One lovely May morning, Liba told her
mother how much she wished th?t Guntram might come to her that
day. Scarcely was the wish uttered when he rode into the court-
yard, and Liba rushed down to welcome him with smiles and kisses.
They spent a happy day, not the less joyous because Guntram was
even then on his way to the Pfalzgraf to obtain his estate ; for this
seemed to bring nearer the time when they should be united ; and
he left her with a smiling command that she should hasten the prep-
aration of the bridal dress. Saying this he kissed away, her tears,
which always came when parting from him, and rode hopefully away.
He was a noble fellow, and handsome as good, and Liba gazed after
him with a full heart, and a happy mingling of love and pride. He
immediately obtained the favor of the count, and as he desired an
ambassador for Burgundy, he selected Guntram for the honor. He
could not refuse this, and sent a messenger to Liba to announce his
appointment and excuse his prolonged absence. She received thi?
news with heavy heart ; she could not explain her sadness, but sincj
her last parting with Guntram she had been depressed and gloomy.
Meanwhile he, with all a lover's eagerness, hastened to dispatch hig
commission, and soon finished the affairs of his embassy. He was
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 361
on his return, and so great was his impatience that lie hastened
before his companions, and missed his path. He was on a side road,
and constantly thought he should meet some person who would
direct him aright, but he came first to an old, half-decayed castl*.
He entered the court-yard, and threw his reins to a boy who gazed
at him with strange surprise. Guntram inquired for his master, and
the youth pointed to an old tower, moss-grown and falling to decay.
The knight dismounting experienced a strange sensation, and fl-.lt as
if he were in fairy-land. He was met by an old man who declared
himself to be the steward of the castle, and led him to a gloomy
apartment where he desired him to await the entrance of his master.
The knight was surprised at his strange and solemn reception, and
was attracted by the sight of a veiled picture on the opposite
wall. He drew aside the drapery, and was startled by the face of
a beautiful girl who seemed to smile on him, and at the same
moment a harp sounded through the room. He had scarcely
reseated himself when the old steward returned, and announced the
lord of the castle. The old man advanced, and in a proud, grave
tone said, " We seldom entertain a stranger, but though we live in
retirement, we forget not the customs of hospitality. Be assured
that you are welcome." Guntram was chilled and thrilled by a
strange fear, but this was soon dispelled by the politeness of the old
man; and a few glasses of excellent wine enabled him to converse in
his usual agreeable manner, concerning warfare, chivalry, and various
topics of political interest. At length he referred to a harp which
was there, thinking by this means to learn something of the picture
he had seen. But the old man became instantly sad, and covered
his face with his hands. Immediately he excused himself, wishing
Guntram a good-night, and refreshing sleep. The old servant
retired with him, but soon returned to the young man. " Sir
Knight," said he, " my lord begs you to pardon his sudden leave-
taking, but you touched a chord which makes him gloomy and sad."
" Some strange mystery reigns here," said Guntram, " can you ex-
plain it to me ? " li Why not, Sir Knight. Come to your apartmeut,
and on the way I will tell you what you desire to know." They
arose and proceeded to the room where hung the veiled portrait.
" Stop here," said the knight, " and tell me first of all, why this
lovely portrait is veiled." " Then you have seen her," said the old
mar ; " how beautiful she is. She was the daughter of the house,
and when with us most lovely and bewitching. But alas, she was
a coquette. She had many suitors, and she treated them all in such
a way, and demanded such impossibilities of them as to drive them
all from her. All save one, he was the last of a noble race, and
the only support and hope of an infirm, old mother to whom he was
devoted. But his love for the maiden was so true as to endure
where others failed. At length as a last task she demanded of him
362 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
to descend ro the family vault, and bring to her a crown of gold
which would be found upon one of her ancestors. He did so, and
the profanation was punished by death, for a stone from the roof fell
on him, and he was found dead with the crown in his hand. His
mother survived him but a few days, and died cursing the foolish
maiden. From that time she drooped, and died a year from the day
on which her lover had descended to the tomb. But when we would
have buried her, the body had disappeared, and her coffin was
empty." As the story was ended they reached the bedroom of the
knight. The old man wished him " Good-night," and turned to go
away, but at the threshold he said, " Sir Guntram, if during the
night any strange thing should occur, say but a paternoster, and go
again to sleep." When Guntram was alone he found himself
strangely excited by all this, and filled with wonder at what the
warning might mean. Nevertheless in his weariness, he could but
sleep. Suddenly he seemed to hear a rustle as of a lady's dress
from the adjoining room, and then a harp, accompanied by a sweet,
sad song. He arose, and through a crevice beheld the original of
the picture, who, as she ended her song, dropped the harp on the
ground with a cry of sharp distress. He could wait no longer ; he
opened the door and stood before her, she regarded him with
tender kindness, and when he knelt and would have kissed her
hand she embraced him passionately, and abandoned herself to his
caresses with a sweet rapture. " You love me," said she softly.
" More than my life," replied the knight. She drew from her hand
a ring, and put it on his own ; he pressed her to his heart, and in-
stantly he heard the death-cry of an owl, and in his arms he held a
corpse. He staggered to his couch where he fell in a swoon. In
the morning when he awoke all seemed a dream, but for the ring.
This he would have thrown away, but he could not remove it from
his hand. He was almost distracted, and resolved to fly from this
hated place. The old lord entered to inquire for his health. " Where
are we ? What room is this ? " demanded Guntram. " It was my
daughter's, and the only inhabitable one in the castle." " Yes, yes,"
said the knight, " and I have seen her ; she herself gave me this
ring." " Then God help you sir," exclaimed the old servant, " in
three times nine days you will be a corpse." With a loud cry Gun-
1ram fell to the floor insensible. When he revived, though fever
was in his heart and brain, he proceeded on his way, and the joy of
Liba eiuld not be told when she saw him once more. But she
soon perceived his sadness, although she questioned him not. He
pressed her to hasten their wedding-day, which she did but too
gladly. AVhen the hour arrived he had persuaded himself that all
would yet be well ; his love for Liba remained unchanged, and he
approached the altar with a firm step ; but as the priest joined their
hands h Tcreamed, tottered, and fell. When he recovered he told
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 863
Liba all, ;vml that the dead girl had put her hand in his as he stood
at the altar ; but he still begged her to become his wife before he
died. She called a priest, and at his bedside pronounced the holy
vows. A few moments after he pressed her to his bosom as his wife
hu breathed his last. Liba soon retired to a convent, where she did
not long survive him.
Falkenstein. This ruined castle is on a mountain, remarkable
even on the Rhine for its difficulty of ascent. The following is the
legend concerning the zig/ag path which leads to it : A rough
old knight dwelt here, who, as is the custom with rough old knights,
had a lovely daughter. lie drove away her suitors by his harsh
manners, for in spite of the steepness of the ascent many cheerfully
climbed to the castle in the hope of obtaining a reward in the hand
of the daughter. But one Kuno von Sayn was never weary of com-
ing, for he was ' rewarded by the maiden's love and smiles. One
day he ascended with difficulty, almost overpowered by the heat,
but determined to brave the stern knight and demand the hand of
the daughter in marriage. He did so, and the old knight replied,
that if he would make a road up to the castle by which a carriage
could come before the next morning, he should possess the daughter.
The knight went away in despair, not even seeing his love again.
He told his miners of the strange condition, and offered immense
rewards if it could be done, but they declared it impossible. Then
he wandered away into the forest, almost frantic with love and dis-
appointment. Suddenly an old man stood before him and offered
co assist him. Kuno returned home to await the result, and next
morning rode his horse up the present crooked way. The old
knight was quite overcome, and his roughness all dispelled. He re-
lated how all night a dreadful storm had raged about the castle,
and continually the sound of hatchets and hammers could be heard
coming nearer and nearer. Much alarmed they had passed the
night in prayer, and only slept about day-break. The horse of
Kuno awoke them, and he joyfully demanded and received his
bride. Even now one cannot doubt that the wood sprites made the
path, so difficult would it be for any others to construct it. See
also Taunus.
Florsheim. Many years ago a knight of Florsheim, called
Bodo, was left a widower with an only child, named Adeline. She
was sought in marriage by many men of rank and worth, but she
loved her father too well and was too happy in her home to leave
it except for one she dearly loved, and such a person she had never
seen. One day a young man of cultivated manners and great beauty
came to the castle in the garb of a shepherd, and wished Knight
Bodo to employ him as superintendent of his flocks. He showed so
much good sense, and knowledge of agriculture and cattle-raising,
hat Bodo did not hesitate to engage him. Soon he began to see
364 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the wisdom of his decision, for never before had lie been so pros-
pered in all connected with his herds and flocks. But one thing
disturbed him. Otto, as he was called, refused to give his name or
tell anything concerning himself, saying that he had good reasons
for not wishing to speak of these things He was sad and kept
alone, thinking apparently of some grief. Adeline had heard much
of Otto from her father, but had never seen him, until they met one
day in the forest. He was so affected with her appearance, that he
stood for a time speechless. Then recollecting himself he begged
her pardon and to be allowed to attend her, as she was alone in the
forest. He was respectfully attentive to her words, and when they
neared the castle, ventured to express a hope that they might meet
again. After leaving her, Otto retired to his humble apartment and
reflected on what had occurred. The resemblance of Adeline to a
sister he had lost, affected him deeply, and he thought that if he
could determine again to enter the world from which he had
so early retired, if there existed happiness for him, Adeline
could lead him to it. The maiden too, reflected upon the inter-
view ; and one who had closely watched her could have detected
that love was awakened in the heart so long unmoved. From this
time scarcely a day passed that they met not, exchanging thought
for thought, aye, and heart for heart. At length Otto told her of
his past life. He was the son of a most noble knight of Thuringia,
who died while he and his only sister were very young. His mother
married again, and dying herself left her children to one of the
most cruel of step-fathers. Otto escaped to an uncle, and was edu-
cated as a knight. After several years he returned to find his sis-
ter dead, murdered by ill-treatment, and as some believed, by poison.
Otto demanded the restoration of his property, and challenged the
wicked wretch to answer for the death of his sister. He received
an insulting reply, and in a rage stabbed him whom the world re-
garded as his father. He then fled, and now even his uncle turned
against him, and shared his property with another relative. One
can understand how this story moved the very soul of Adeline, how
truly she loved him when ohe knew all his sorrow, and how she
planned different methods by which he should again be made happy.
And she had decided that her father should be made their confidant,
should assist Otto to recover his property, and make them happy by
consenting to their union. But very soon the pinions of this de-
lightful fancy were most effectually clipped, for a high-born and
rich knight, Siegbert, now demanded her hand, and it was an alli-
ance well pleasing to Bodo. He commanded Adeline to prepare to
receive him as her husband, and said much of the renown and fame
which he had gained in Palestine, and of the honor which had come
to her, in that she could be the bride of such a knight. Adeline
uras as one turned to stone and refused to see Siegbert. Then
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 86ft
Bodo grew angry and harsh, and even confined her to her apart-
ments. When Siegbert came he was greatly disappointed at the
coolness with which Adeline received his courtly attentions and decla-
rations of burning love, for he found her even more attractive than
report had made her. Then Bodo confined her in a dark room, and
threatened to send her to a convent if she did not give her promise
to Siegbert that very day. He went on to prepare fur a magnifi-
cent wedding. Otto meantime was in agony ; he could not s*.e Ade-
line ; he had heard of the visit of the stranger, and feared all the
dreadful truth. He wandered in the woods, but at last went irre-
sistibly toward the castle, when he heard of the approaching mar-
riage. Believing Adeline false, lie went to a deep stream and threw
himself into it. Meanwhile Adeline had told her love to her father,
and had been more strictly guarded on account of it. But when
all was ready and she was in her bridal dress, she found an oppor-
tunity of escape. As she rushed through the forest in search of
Otto, she saw the shepherds taking some one from the water. In-
stantly the truth (lashed on her mind, and glancing at her lover's
face, before any one could detain her, she plunged into the same
stream and was swallowed by the friendly waves. A few days later
she was washed ashore, and her beauty as she slept the death-sleep
in her bridal robes was such as none had seen before. The wretched
father buried her in the arms of her loved Otto, and did not long
survive his repentance and sorrow.
Frankfort. The foundation of the city. When the Emperor
Charlemagne contended with the Saxons the fortune of war was
often against him. On one occasion he was forced to retire be-
fore them along the banks of the Main. There was a heavy fog
and it was not possible to discover a vessel, neither did he find any
place where his army could make a passage. At length a doe
sprang from the thicket in great alarm. She bore a young one, and
plunging into the stream swam over as if to escape an enemy.
Charlemagne followed the example thus offered him, and delayed not
to cross at the same place. The fog concealed the army, and they
escaped. When the emperor reached the shore he struck his spear
into the earth and exclaimed, " Here shall a city arise, to be called
Frankenford ; " and as in consequence of this crossing the river, he
overthrew the Saxons, he here built the town, afterwards the scene
of the imperial coronations, and which is now the beautiful, com-
nercial city of Frankfort-on-the-Main.
The Knave of Bergen. All was gayety at the Rb'mer. There
was a great masked ball which made a part of the coronation festival.
The rich toilets of the ladies and the glistening costumes of the
orinces and knights, united with the joyous music, made up a scene
of brilliant, exciting merriment. There was but one in all the throng
who gave an idea of gloom or sadness. His armor, all Mack, and
366 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the manner in which he moved, excited general attention and curios
ity. None could guess his personality, for his visor was completely
closed. Tall and graceful, with much of pride and modesty, he ad-
vanced and bent his knee before the empress, requesting the favor
of a waltz with the queen of the festival ; it was granted, and he
danced easily and gracefully through the hall with the sovereign,
who thought she had never seen so elegant and excellent a dancer.
But this was not his only attraction, for he well knew how to please
in conversation, and the queen was most impatient to know with
whom she waltzed, and graciously accorded him even the fourth
dance. All regarded him with envy, and the other knights suf-
fered in the eyes of the ladies in comparison with his easy elegance.
Even the emperor was excited with curiosity to see him unmasked.
At ast the moment came, and all were breathless, but while others
removed their masks, his visor remained closed. At length the
queen commanded that his face should be seen. He opened the
visor ; not one of all the lords or ladies knew the handsome man
on whom they gazed, but from the crowd advanced the officials who
declared that he was the executioner of Bergen ! Then was the
anger of all great, and the emperor declared that he who had thus
insulted the empress should die. The culprit threw himself at the
feet of the emperor and said : " Indeed I have greatly sinned
against all this noble company, but most of all against you and my
queen. But no punishment can take away this insult. Therefore,
O my sovereign, allow me to suggest a way in which the disgrace
may be removed, and as if never received. Raise your sword and
knight me. Then will I throw down my gauntlet to all who dare to
speak with disrespect of my king or his most gracious lady." The
king hesitated, overcome by surprise and amazement at this bold
proposition. But soon he said, " You are a knave, but your ad-
vice is good, and (raising his sword) I make you knight even while
you kneel to me for pardon. Like a knave you have acted, and
Knave of Bergen shall you henceforth be called." The black knight
rose gladly ; three cheers were given for the emperor, and the
queen danced still once again with the Knave of Bergen.
The 9 in the Vane. At the end of Eschenheimer Street rises
a tower with five points, and having a vane on its gable, in which
nine holes form the figure 9. The origin of this singular thing was
as follows : Hans Winkelsee was a troublesome poacher, and so skill-
ful a shot that it was believed the Devil gave him charmed bullets.
At length he was taken prisoner, and suffered much in his confine-
ment, for freedom and the range of the forest were necessary to his
happiness. When the time came that he was to be hanged he ex-
postulated, and said it was a sin to kill a man for having shot the
animals which were made for his use. Then one of the judges ac-
cused him of beinsr leagued with the Devil and using: charmed
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 3C7
bullets ; whereto he replied, that he would shoot nine shots through
the vane, and with them form a figure, and this he would do with
bullets that had been blessed. He was assured that if he could do
this, one principal cause of his condemnation would be removed-
lie insisted on the trial, and all became so interested, and especially
the foresters, that they declared that if he could do this he should
go free, and the judges assented. On the day of the trial large
crowds, assembled both outside and inside the gates ; the foresters
were ranged upon the rampart, and their master cast the bullets on
which the life of Hans depended. Now a monk again warned Hans
not to trifle with them, and if the Devil had been his assistant he
promised him that he would now fail him. But Hans declared that
God and St. Hubert would help him and all would be well. Then
the master-forester loaded the gun and gave it to him. The first
shot went through the vane, and the next, and so on, and after each
one the people cheered, and when all was done, and the figure " 9 "
was seen on the vane, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. Then it
was that Hans fell on his knees in hearty thankfulness to God, in
which the people joined him. The mayor offered him the honor of
being captain of the shooting corporation, but Hans declared that
when once out he would never enter Frankfort again. So he went
forth loaded with presents, and lived an honest life ever after, but it
was always outside the walls ot the city.
Frederick and Gela. Sue Gelnhausen.
Premersberg. See Baden-Baden.
Gelnhausen. Frederick and Gela. The ruined fortress of
Gelnhausen was in the twelfth century a majestic and imposing
structure, and here dwelt Fredeiick, a descendant of the Emperor
Barbarossa, and later in life himself an emperor. The old castellan
had two charming daughters, and one of them, Gela, was beloved
by the young prince. One day he could restrain his speech no
longer, and abruptly declaring his love to her, he as abruptly left
her. For several days they did not meet, and Frederick was agoniz-
ing between hope and fear. At length they met in the fields, where
Gela had gone to gather flowers. At first she turned away as if to
avoid him, but seeing his look of sorrow, she frankly gave him he r
hand saying, " Frederick, I love you, and will wait for you this even-
ing in the church." Frederick was there before her ; and when she
came they softly whispered their love with all its hopes and fears,
for Gela well knew the wide distance which separated her station
from that of her lover. Here they met every evening for months ;
together they paid their devotions to the Blessed Virgin, and each
sought her blessing for the other. But soon the noise of war and
the preaching of the Crusade broke in upon their dream, and when
Frederick wished to assume the cross and go to the Holy Land, Gela
was brave enough to encourage him to do so. He returned covered
368 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
with honors and anxious to lay them at the feet of Gela, for he felt
that to her influence and prayers he owed much of the success which
had attended him. But instead of seeing Gela, he received a letter
which the noble girl had written, saying, that now he was a duke he
must marry a princess, suitable to his rank and place in life ; and
adding that she had retired to a convent, where her love for him
should ever remain pure and unviolated. When Frederick became
emperor he did not forget his noble Gela. Her letter he wore
always on his heart, during all Ids life ; and in remembrance of her
he built the town of Gelahausen or Gelnhausen.
Gernsbach. The Klingelkapelle. In the early days of Chris-
tianity in Germany, a hermit established himself in a deserted
cell near Gernsbach, on the road to Castle Eberstein. He performed
the duties of a missionary preacher in that part of the country.
One stormy night he heard a supplicating voice outside his cell.
When he opened the door he saw a beautiful young female, scantily
clothed and apparently suffering from her exposure to cold and
storm. She begged that she might enter and warm herself. The
hermit willingly permitted this, and gave her wine and honey.
When he had made her as comfortable as his poverty would allow, he
asked the cause of her wandering alone on such a night. She then
told him that she was devoted to the service of Hertha, that she once
lived in the cell where they then were, and had been driven from it
by the persecutions of the Christians. While she was speaking the
monk had drawn closer to the maiden and was more and more
charmed with her beauty, but when she announced herself as a
heathen, he started in horror. " You are shocked," she cried, " to
find me other than a Christian. But am I not a human being like
yourself? Reflect ! this cell was once mine, although I am now
obliged to beg a shelter in it. Is it any less comfortable for you
that I have lived here ? Do you sleep less soundly, or does the sky
look less bright because I have been happy here ? The world was
made for all. Why do you persecute me ? " Then he told her of
Jesus and how much he would rejoice over her conversion, which he
determined to accomplish if possible. He uttered a short prayer,
and again attempted to talk to her, but his heart was not in what
he said, for the beauty of the maid had dazzled all his senses. Sh* 1
affected to listen but constantly drew nearer to him, until her breath
wa s warm upon his cheek, and his blood flowed like fire in his veins.
The maiden saw her power, and continued to caress him until at las'
with apparent innocence she asked him to break the cross before
which he was accustomed to perform his devotions. He was about
to dc so, and had stretched out his hand to take it when a little bell
rang outside Ids cell ; this sound restored him to his senses, and in-
stantly he fell on his knees to thank God for his goodness. When
he raised his eyes the " Saga " had vanished. Some unseen hand
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 369
had placed the bell in the bushes near by. He carried it to his cell,
and from that time it was called, " The Klingelkapelle."'
Gerresheim, near Dusseldorf. Gunhilde. This beautiful
nun in the Convent of Gerresheim had become the object of the pas-
sionate love of her confessor. She did not imagine the existence of
this sentiment, and when at length he declared it to her she was
overwhelmed with surprise. But even then she did not suspect him
of any impure desires, and when he begged her to fly with him and
promised to marry her, she consented. He now thought her com-
pletely in his power, but Gunhilde resisted all his importunities to
sin, and demanded the fulfillment of his promise. This he did not
hasten to keep, but fell into all sorts of evil ways, and at length
joined a band of robbers. During an excursion he was seized, and
at length hanged for his crimes. The news of his dreadful death
was a fearful blow to Gunhilde. She had remained virtuous and
had preserved her chastity, but who would believe this ? After
some time spent in the closest retirement she went to her cloister
and threw herself before the abbess begging to be again received ;
acknowledging her great wickedness, and promising amendment in
life and to atone for her sins by constant penance. The abbess
chided her for thus distressing herself, and said that she had been
more holy and pleasing to God than she herself could be. Gunhilde
was led bewildered to her cell, and as she entered it she saw an
angel rise from her bed and disappear. She then knew that he had
been sent as her substitute, and had performed all her duties while
she was away, and thus her sin was known only to God and herself.
Gertruidenberg. The Holy Gertrude. Years ago there lived
in the Netherlands a holy maiden named Gertrude. A knight
of rich and illustrious family was deeply in love with her from
merely seeing her, and entirely without her knowledge. At length
he declared himself to her, and wooed her with the most zealous
attentions and unwavering devotion. But Gertrude had already
determined to be the bride of Christ, and was about to make her
profession as a nun. Her only grief was her poverty ; because on
account of it she was not able to gratify her desire to do what she
wished for the various charities in which her heart was interested.
This she expressed to her lover, and he resolved that since his heart
must be buried with her in her seclusion he would supply her wants
as far as possible. Often he had seen her in tears and sorrow on
account of her inability to give aught but consolation and hope to
the poor whom she visited. She was but eighteen when, in spite of
her lover's entreaties, she took the veil, and daily he sent her a sum
to be expended in charity. And this devotion continued for years
until his property was exhausted his estates had been sacrificed,
and he saw with sorrow that the time was not far distant when he
could neither give his accustomed aid or receive her smile and
24
370 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
grateful thanks, which was the only reward his faithful heart desired.
When he carried her the last sum that he possessed he bade her
farewell, saying that he was going on a journey, but in fact deter-
mined to make money in some way in order to supply the demands
upon the charity of Gertrude. But so unaccustomed to labor was
he, and so unfitted for it, that he knew not how to commence his new
life. He wandered for days in the forest frantic with grief. One
night about twelve o'clock a man suddenly stood before him. He
was repulsive in his appearance, and in a harsh voice demanded of
the knight what he desired, at the same time assuring him that if it
was gold he could supply his need, as he had done that of many
others. He promised that for seven years there should be an inex-
haustible store in his chest if he would sign his contract with a drop
of his blood. This provided that at the end of seven years they
should again meet at the same place where they then stood. The
knight well knew to whom he spoke, but so great was his need that
he hastily signed, and delayed not to return home to see if in truth
the gold would be supplied. His joy was great to find a good
amount in his chest, and from day to day he lavished large sums
upon the convent. Thus the seven years passed, and the time had
arrived when he must go to meet the author of so much wealth, and
alas, of how much agony ! Who could tell what was in store for
him ? Again he bade Gertrude farewell, under pretense of a jour-
ney. She begged him to drink a cordial under the pr Section of
her patroness, St. Johanna, and assured him that it would defend
him from all danger. He drank, and as he emptied the flagon a
life and strength coursed through his veins such as he had never
known before. He bade adieu to Gertrude, and hastened to the
spot where he was to meet the devil. He was awaiting him, but as
soon as he came near the knight he sprang away with a fearful
howl, and tore the contract in pieces, scattering it to the winds.
" Woe is me ! " cried Satan. " I have no power over you, for riding
behind you is St. Gertrude, whose happiness you last drank." Then
the devil vani-hed, leaving behind him an odor of brimstone and a
thick vapor. The knight returned to his home, where he found an
immense treasure awaiting him. This he devoted to a new charity
which Gertrude desired to undertake, and then entered a cloister,
where he passed the remainder of his days.
The Hague. Three hundred anil sixty-five Children. A beggar-
woman came once to Countess Henneberg, with twins in her
arms. The noble lady was angry at the interruption, and upbraided
the woman for want of virtue, declaring that twins could not be the
children of one father. The beggar cursed her, and expressed the
wish that she might bear as many children as there are days in the
year. Then she retired, bitterly weeping. Nine mouths later the
countess did, indeed, give birth to three hundred and sixty-five
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 371
children successively. As they were born they died, and she her-
self went mad and did not long survive them. The graves of all
are shown at a village church near the Hague, as well as the font iu
which they were baptized ! !
Hammerstein. Count Otto and Irmenganl. The Castle of Ham-
merstein is said to have been founded by Charles Martel. Early
in the eleventh century it was occupied by Count Otto, who had a
quarrel with Archbishop Erkenbold of Mayence. The brave count
always maintained himself in battle, and the bishop determined to
ruin him in some other way than that of open warfare. He had
married Innengard, his cousin, without a dispensation from the Pope.
O'l account of this, Erkenbold published his excommunication from
the Church and declared his marriage invalid. Otto did not allow
this to disturb his happiness. Next the bishop applied to the em-
peror, Henry II., to interfere. Henry was ever ready to listen to the
clergy. He therefore laid siege to the Castle of Hammerstein. It
was not possible to reduce it except by famine. This proved to be
a long and tedious undertaking, and after a time the emperor gladly
embraced an opportunity to settle all difficulties by a compromise.
Otto made a sally with Irmengard by his side. They were both
carried back to the castle wounded. Then Henry declared to the
bishop, that as both had shed their blood in defense of their union,
he thought it right that they should be pardoned, and even married
by himself. To this the bishop at length consented, and this second
marriage was celebrated with great pomp, and was the occasion of
a hearty and enduring reconciliation between the Bishop of Mayence
and Count Otto of Hammurstein.
The Wish of the old Castellan. After the death of Otto the
emperor gave his castle to the archbishops of Cologne. One even-
ing as the old castellan was sitting with his two daughters, listening
to their merry jokes and sweet songs, he became suddenly thoughtful,
and when they rallied him and asked if their songs did not please
him, he answered sighing, " Ah }-es, my darlings, your songs are sweet ;
but I often wish you wore jackets rather than petticoats, and could
manage a sword as well ,as you do a spinning-wheel. If I but had
a son I should indeed be a happy father I " Then they answered
him with merry repartee, and the younger one told how she would
play soldier, and danced about her father with such roguish airs as
banished all his seriousness. In the midst of this a servant an-
nounced two pilgrims who begged rest and lodging. " Bring them
in," said the castellan, " none shall want at this castle while I have
bread and wine." So they came in, an old and a young man. The
castellan approached them, and as he did so the elder pilgrim threw
back his hood. The castellan fell on his knees and exclaimed, " My
lord, and my emperor I " " Even so,' said Henry IV., " and I couie
is a fugitive to claim your hospitality." " A fugitive I Who has dared
372 LEGENDS OF PLACE
to commit this crime against his emperor ? " demanded the castellan,
as his hand sought his sword. " My son ! even my son ! " answered
Henry, and he covered his face to conceal his tears. " Thank
heaven, my friend, that you have no sons, but these loving daughters
to cheer your old age. How gladly would I exchange my lot for
yours, my brave friend ! " The emperor resided here for some time
in order to escape from Henry V., and here he kept the royal insig-
nia, until it was removed by the same usurping son. When he left,
the old castellan accompanied him to Cologne, and he often
reflected on the words of the good emperor, and never again desired
a greater joy than to live and be happy with his charming daughters.
Heidelberg. The JettebiiJd or Wolfsbrunnen. A road from
the east of the Castle of Heidelberg leads to a spot where the watei
of a spring flows off' into five different ponds. Here many years
ago, according to tradition, the priestess Jetta died. She lived in an
adjacent grove, where she was accustomed to make sacrifices to Her-
tha and reveal the will and wisdom of that divinity. One day as
Jetta sat by the altar, a young man advanced from the wood and
desired her to tell his fate. The maiden raised her eyes to his, and
instantly he felt that all he had heard of her wondrous beauty was
more than true, and a strange charm was over him. The priestess
too was confused and unable to answer as was her custom. " You
have come," said she, " at a time when the spirit of prophecy has
left me. Return at this hour to-morrow. Meantime I will offer a
sacrifice, and demand of Hertha that which you would know." The
youth assured her that he should return, and added that in leaving
her he left more than the future could possibly give him. When a
short distance away he stopped to admire the beauty of the maiden
as she sat unconscious of his gaze. When he came next day Jetta
was in the same place and attitude as before, and he knelt at her
feet and kissed the border of her robe. " You have come to hear
your fortune," said Jetta. " Yes, from the lips of her I love, but not
from a prophetess," replied he tenderly. She was not angry, even
when he drew her to himself and passionately kissed her, but he soon
perceived that she was weeping piteously, and his efforts at consol-
ing her were quite unavailing. She told him that his love was fully-
requited, but that it was forbidden a priestess of Hertha to love or
be the wife of any man, and she feared the punishment which the
outraged divinity would inflict on her. Then she promised to meet
him often in secret at the spring near by, and when he left her it
was with the hope of seeing her there the next evening. He car-
ried with him a light heart and did not fail to keep the tryst, but
what was his horror, as he approached the fountain, to see Jetta lying
dead, and a wolf drinking the blood from the wounds he had made
in her bosom 1 He rushed upon the ferocious monster and thrust it
through. Raising Jetta, he lavished caresses upon her, and called
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 373
her to answer him in vain. Hertha had indeed punished her faith-
less priestess !
Heisterbach. The Sleeping Skeptic. The old Convent of Heis-
terbach is situated in a ravine in the midst of the Siebengebirge.
Here many years ago dwelt a monk, Aloysius, quite celebrated for
his learning and untiring study of the Scriptures. But there was
one passage which he could never understand and which so staggered
his faith as to make him very unhappy, and at times the abbot and
his brother monks feared for his reason. The diflicult passage was
thif : " One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day." This constantly occupied his thoughts. At
length as he wandered in a wood near the cloister he fell asleep, and
when he awoke he heard the vesper bell. He returned to the con-
vent ; the monk who admitted him was a stranger, but he did not
stop to think of this, and entered the chapel. He found his seat
occupied, and by one whom he knew not, and who regarded him
with the same astonishment that he felt. Meanwhile the singing
ceased, and as he gazed about him he found that all the monks were
unknown to him. They also wondered at him, and gathered about
him to inquire his name. When he answered them and declared
that he belonged to the convent, they regarded him with great sur-
prise and believed him insane. Then one remembered to have read
that a monk Aloysius, of great learning, had disappeared in the wood,
and when Aloysius mentioned the name of his abbot they found it
was three hundred years since he had gone to sleep in the forest.
God had done this miracle to convince him of his power, and his
doubts were banished from that hour.
Heppenheim. See Lorsch.
Hohenbaden. See Baden-Baden.
Ingelheim. Below Mayence, near where the villages of Nieder-
ingelheim and Oberingelheira now stand, the Emperor Charlemagne
had his favorite palace, some of the ruins of which still remain.
There lived then in the Rheingau, a hermit who cured all manner
of diseases and gave every patient who visited him some small pres-
ent. The emperor was very curious to see him, and sent a mes-
senger to request his presence. The hermit replied that his visits
were more needed at the cottages of the poor than at the palaces of
the rich, and added that as the emperor had much better conve-
niences for travelling than himself, it would be better that he should
>ome to him. This much surprised his majesty, and he laughingly
determined to pay him a visit. One night he was restless and un-
easy, and after vainly endeavoring to sleep he determined to go then
to the hermit. He arose and dressed in an ordinary suit of armor,
vent to the stables and saddled a horse, and rode away without being
seen by any one. He had not gone far into the forest when he met
a kniglit in black armor. He addressed Charlemagne, r.esiring to
374 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
know whence he came and whither he went. The emperor replieu
that he came from Ingelheim in search of an adventure. The knight
questioned him still farther concerning the lateness of the hour and
the fact of his being alone, and at last demanded his name. The
emperor answered that he was called Charles, and asked the name
of the stranger. " Elbegast," was the reply. " What," said Charles,
" are you the robber whom the emperor has sentenced ? " " Sollly,
more softly, my friend, the emperor is not to blame, for he is misin-
formed by those about him. But if I could meet him here as I do
you, I would soon tell him by what a set of thieves and liars he is
surrounded." " You speak like an orator," said the emperor. I
am frank and sincere, at least, but if you will ride with me to-night
we must away. I am on a track, which if it misleads me not, will
break the necks of some of those rascals, whether Charles thanks me
tor it or no." " Perhaps you feel the emperor should reward you for
your skill in breaking necks ! " " If I do it to-night, it will be for
his benefit and he ought to do so." Then the emperor decided to
accompany him, and they proceeded like friends. Soon they reached
a fortress where Elbegast alighted, and signed for Charles to do so.
They proceeded to a small door, which the robber opened with an
implement which he carried for the purpose. They entered a dark
corridor and proceeded through a gloomy apartment, separated only
by a folding-door from one brilliantly lighted, in which men were
talking. As they listened one was speaking of the emperor and his
power, and declaring that a stop must be put to it. " To the devil,
with you ! " murmured Charles, as he tried to see the speaker. What
was his surprise as he recognized Count Eggerich of Eggermonde,
for whom he had done so much. What would Charlemagne say to
that ? " asked Elbegast. But Charles motioned him to be silent.
They listened thus until they heard a plan made for the murder of the
emperor. All swore tn i* upon a crucifix in the hands of a high prelate.
As they retired Charles asked Elbegast to come next day to the
palace to tell the emperor what they had heard, saying that he would
be there as a witness. But the robber replied that he would do no
such thing, as it would be sure to cost him his life. "Is the empe-
ror so unjust ? " asked Charlemagne. " Not he, but his vassals ; they
would cut my throat before I reached the emperor." " Then I will
tell him. But tell me where I can meet you." " No, no ! Elbegast
is not so foolish as to be thus caught ! " and the robber laughed mer-
rily. " Elbegast, I summon you in the emperor's name to appear
before him to-morrow morning." " Who are you to speak thus ? "
" Your former enemy and present friend. Elbegast, I am the Emperor
Charlemagne ! " Then Elbegast leaped from his horse and came
joyfully to Charles, exclaiming, " My emperor, and my lord ! " " Come
then to me in the morning, I will prepare all for you." Saying which
Charles rodo quickly away to Ingelheim. In the end the traitors
LEGENDS OF PLACE 375
were hanged, but Elbegast was made rich and loaded with honors.
Some time after the emperor again set out to visit the hermit, and
this time Elbegast accompanied him. As they rode on they met the
daughter of a charcoal-burner who was very pretty. The emperor,
who was ever fond of beauty, patted her upon the cheek and stoop-
ing from his horse clasped her with an arm, and would have kissed
her. She drew back and ran to a tall man who then appeared, and
who was in fact no other than the hermit. He looked at the empe-
ror. " Have you daughters ? " asked lie. " And if I have ? " re-
plied Charlemagne. '' Then do not forget what you have now
done to this girl, and censure not others if the same thing should
happen to your own." " Elbegast," said the monarch, " I believe I
cannot put on this attire, but I receive some salutary lesson like this."
" And I know, my master, how well you profit by them."
Eginhard and Emma. The favorite of Charlemagne was younf
Eginhard, his private secretary, and he dearly loved Emma,
(he daughter whom the emperor idolized, and this affection was
fully returned. They were frequently together during the day,
but in so cold and constrained a manner as not at all to satisfy
their lover's hearts; so the young man was accustomed to go at
night to the maiden's apartments. One night while he was there,
a snow fell and when he would have crossed the court he did not
dare to do so, as his foot-prints would betray his visit and expose
Emma to unworthy suspicions. After much discussion Emma per-
suaded him to allow her to carry him to the other side of the court,
upon her shoulders. Of course he at first refused, but as no other
plan could be thought of by which to avoid exposure, he at length
consented. Now the emperor had arranged his own apartments so
that none could pass the court unseen by him. This night he could
not sleep, and as he walked his chamber he saw the strange sight
which Eginhard and Emma presented, and also recognized them.
At first he was furiously angry, and would have killed Eginhard,
then he remembered the admonition of the hermit. " If such a
thing should happen to your daughter censure no one," and he could
but laugh at his child's cunning and determination. Xext morning
he sent for Eginhard and asked him what punishment was due one
who abused the confidence of his patron and seduced his child.
Eginhard could not endure to hear his love called seduction, for he
respected Emma as much as he loved her. " Death, if the father
cannot pardon the love," was his reply. " Then you love my daugh-
ter. But I well know why ; it is because she is the child of Char-
lemagne." Eginhard declared that he would love Emma, were
she any other. The emperor then led him to her apartments and
threatened her with the death of her lover. She begged that any
punishment might be inflicted upon herself if only he could go un-
harmed. When Charlemagne saw that she truly loved him, he toM
376 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
them that if they married they must go far away ; that Emma
would no longer be considered as his child, neither could he give her
any dowry. They begged his blessing, and he answered that while
he would give them nothing else, that he could not refuse. Then
they went away. They crossed the Rhine, and prepared to lead an
humble life, far from the palace of Charlemagne. Years after, as
the emperor hunted in the Odenwald, he was separated from his
huntsmen and friends. While he was alone, he came to a neat cot-
tage, where he saw a lovely young mother playing with her child.
He watched them some time, quite undiscovered, and he thought he
had never seen so beautiful a domestic picture as this young woman
and all her surroundings presented. Suddenly she turned towards
him and he saw that it was Emma. Then she ran lovingly to him,
and begged his blessing for her child. She told him that Eginhard
tilled the land for their support, and that he would soon return to
his cottage home. The emperor pressed her thankfully to his heart,
and when Eginhard came, he freely forgave them all. When the
emperor's train arrived, they found him at supper with his children,
and more happy than for years previously. He took them home
with him and made Eginhard secretary of state, but though from
this time all was prosperity, the young couple did not forget the
cottage where they had been so happy, and often visited it for the
sake of its sweet associations.
Queen Hildegarde. Once upon a time when Charlemagne
marched against the Saxons, he left the knight Thaland in charge
of the Castle at Ingelheim, and to him especially commended Queen
Hildegarde, desiring him to protect her from every danger, and to
report to him on his return, all that had occurred in his absence.
Now Thaland had been educated at the Grecian Court, and had so
meaa an idea of female virtue that he believed that every woman
could be unfaithful to her lord and husband. But at the court of
Charlemagne he had devoted himself to no lady, for since the day
when he first saw Hildegarde, no other had any charms for him.
She so far outshone all, as to render him indifferent to others, and
thus his conduct had been such as to win the respect and confi-
der.ce of the emperor. But now, having the opportunity, he re-
solved to gain the favor of the queen. He began to show his re-
gard by many little attentions and glances which Hildegarde could
not fail to understand. She allowed this to pass without remark,
and at length when an opportunity offered, he declared his love in
the mu3t passionate language, and swore that life was valueless if
this affection were not returned. Hildegarde repulsed him with all
the anger and contempt which be merited ; but he believed this to be
a ruse, and could not understand that she was in truth a loving wife
and virtuous woman. Next day he repeated his offense, and the
queen determined not to be subject to this insult during all the ah-
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 377
nence of her husband, but to rid herself of it by a harmless deceit.
She feigned to listen to him with some favor, and made an appoint-
ment to meet him the following evening in a part of the palace quite
unfrequented, where they could converse without fear of interrup-
tion. The knight was delighted with what he considered his success.
He proceeded to the appointed place and the queen was not long in
coming. She desired him to enter an apartment to which she led the
way. No sooner was he within than she closed the door and he
found himself her prisoner. She declared that there he should remain
until the return of the emperor. Thaland was devoured with rage,
but he was also powerless to free himself. Each day a discreet ser-
vant of the queen brought him a frugal allowance of food ; this was
passed through a small grated door, and then he was left in solitude.
He constantly sent the most earnest entreaties to Hildegardo to set
him at liberty, as well as assurances of his hearty repentance.
When Hildegarde heard that the emperor was at hand, she deter-
mined to free the knight, and did so the very day that Charlemagne
entered the castle. She made a pretense that he had been on a
secret mission, to those who had noticed his absence. The knight
was determined to be revenged on the queen, and proceeded to
excite the jealousy of Charlemagne. He declared that Hildegarde
had been so shameless in her conduct with a strange knight, that he
had retired to a distant place rather than witness the infidelity of
the woman who was left in his charge, by a man whom he esteemed
as he did the emperor. Charles loved his wife so fondly that he was
easily enraged by jealousy, and he commanded that the queen should
be taken to a neighboring forest and there decapitated. Thaland
gladly undertook the execution of this sentence, and gave the queen
to two villains who were sure to do his will. These men dragged
Hildegarde away, but just as they would have completed their
dreadful task, a tall white figure approached them, and in a hollow
voice, commanded them to release their victim. The assassins fled
affrighted, but they declared to Thaland that his command had been
executed. It was the faithful waiting-maid of the queen who had
thus saved her ; she had felt herself powerless at the court and under
the eye of Thaland, but had followed the queen, determined to save
her life. Convinced that there was no safety in returning, they pro-
ceeded to the cell of a hermit, where they remained some time, and
the queen learned from him the art of curing diseases by the useof
herbs. At length the two women proceeded to Rome, where Hil-
degarde supported them by her skill in medicine. She soon became
very noted, and even the pope consulted her. She assumed the
name of Arabella, and her fame extended even to Germany. Char-
lemagne had known no peace since his separation from the queen,
and was constantly brooding on her death, tormented by the reflec-
tion that possibly she was not guilty. At length he determined to
378 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
visit Rome, and Thaland, who was also ill in body and mind, begged
to be allowed to accompany him. When they reached Rome, Tha-
land decided to consult the wonderful woman of whom he had
heard. Hildegarde had seen the wretch by the side of her hus-
band when they made their public entry into the city. She
now assured him that if he had committed any crime it must be
confessed, or her remedies could have no power, and he must surely
die. Thaland was greatly distressed. He deferred his confession
from day to day, but at last becoming seriously alarmed for his life,
he sent for the emperor to attend his bedside and at the same time
summoned Arabella. He then confessed how he had sinned against
Charlemagne, and the innocency of the queen. Charles was con-
vulsed Avith agony, and when Hildegarde entered she could not re-
strain herself from exclaiming, " O, my lord and husband ! " and
she fell at his feet. Charlemagne raised her joyfully, and held her
in a loving embrace. Gladly they returned thanks to God who had
thus brought them out of all their sorrows. The wretched Thaland
had sunk upon a chair ? and when Charles turned to him life had
already flown. Then was there a feast made in Rome such as none
had seen before, and at this festival Charlemagne and his queen
were blessed by the pope and returned to Ingelheim in great happi-
ness. The faithful waiting-woman was by no means forgotten, and
with joy returned to her home on the Rhine, where the queen ever
honored her as a dear friend. The Abbey of Kempton was founded
by Hildegarde as a token of her gratitude to heaven for returning
her to her husband and home.
Kevelaer. Foundation of the Town. According to the re-
ligious traditions, this town was founded in the seventeenth century.
As Heinrich Buschinann journeyed over Kevelaer plain at a certain
Christmas-time he came to a cross by the road-side. He stopped
and prayed earnestly, and as he did so, heard a voice cry out, " Here
you are to build me a shrine." A few days later the same thing oc-
curred in the same place. Then Buschmann resolved that he would
save a portion of his earnings for the purpose of fulfilling this com-
mand, but as he was not a rich man, he could not hope to erect
any other than a simple shrine. The winter passed, and when
spring came the good man had put aside the necessary sum, when
one day his wife related to him a vision which came to her nightly.
It was that of a shrine on which was a figure of the Holy Virgin.
The} then told their story to some monks who inhabited a cloister
near them, and they assisted them in the performance of their
heaven-directed labor. The shrine was completed, and the statue
of the Virgin and Child unveiled, June 1, 1642. So many pil-
grims visited it, and so wonderful were the miracles there performed,
that houses were erected near by, and from this beginning, the
town of Kevelaer gradually arose. In 1842 the two hundredth an-
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 379
niversary of the consecration of the shrine was celebrated, at which
time two hundred thousand persons visited it as pilgrims.
The Klingelkapelle. See Gemsbach.
The Knight's Leap. See Baden-Baden.
Konigsdorf. The Election of Bishop Ilililebold. During the
reign of Charlemagne, there arose a great dispute at Cologne con-
cerning the election of a bishop. The emperor heard so much
of it that he determined to go himself to decide the difficulty and
appoint such a bishop as should seem best to him. So he WIT.'.
without a retinue, and as he reached Konigsdorf, the bell called th
people to hear mass. The pious monarch dismounted, and entered
the church. When the service was ended, he approached the priest
to give him a piece of gold as an offering. This the priest refused,
saying that he had no need of such money, and that it was not the
custom of his church to receive it. " But," he added, " you have the
appearance of a hunter, and if you will give me a hide from a stag
or roe, you will do a good work ; for my mass-book is in sad need
of a binding." This simplicity and earnestness impressed the empe-
ror and he resolved to remember the priest. When he was come to
Cologne he summoned the clergy, and told them he would himself
appoint the new bishop. Then each party attempted to influence
him in their favor, and large sums of money were paid him to secure
his interest. The gold he ordered to be used to pay the debts of
the bishopric, and at length he told them that they had endeavored
to bribe him in vain, and that he found none so worthy as the priest
of the forest chapel at Konigsdorf, for he despised his gold, and
seemed only intent upon his mass-book. He had therefore deter-
mined to make him bishop. The astonishment of the priest was
great when he learned the high dignity to which he was called ; but
he possessed the grace of God, and by it was instructed how
to conduct himself in his new office, and the name of Bishop Ilildebold
is still remembered in Cologne, where he Ibunded the dome of St.
Peter's, on the same spot as that on which the present cathedral stands.
Kbnigswinter. See Drachenfels.
Kreuznach. The Ebernburg. There are two legends con-
nected with the name of this castle. One relates that during the
fifteenth century it was besieged, and when the provisions were al-
most exhausted and they had come to the last boar, the master of
the castle had if taken out every day and bound as if for slaughter,
and then put again in its pen. Thus each morning the besiegers
heard the sound as of a boar being killed, and reasoned that it
would be lonj; ere the provisions could be exhausted, and as they
were already weary they raised the siege. From that time the cas-
tle was called Ebernburg. Another tradition recounts that when the
robber knight Rupert possessed the castle, he desired to mrry the
Countess of Moutfort. She had refused him and preferred the
380 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
Rhine Count Heinrich. Rupert desired to be revenged, and until
he could devise some measure to accomplish his end, he retired to his
estates and passed much of his time in hunting. One day he was
coming from the chase when he met a large fierce boar near the
Rheingrafenstein. So thick was his skin that the weapons thrown
at him only rebounded, and Count Rupert having lost all he car-
ried stood unarmed before the savage beast, expecting to be killed in-
stantly. Suddenly the monster fell dead at his feet, killed by a
well-directed blow, and when he looked around to thank his deliverer,
he saw onlj the Count Heinrich. This was the cause of a perfect
reconciliation between the two counts, and soon the Count Heinrich
was married to the beautiful Montfort. In commemoration of this
event, the head of a boar was carved in stone and placed above the
door of the castle which was called Ebernburg. This castle has
many interesting historical associations. Here Ulrich von Hutten
wrote his letters to Charles V. and the German nation. It was the
stronghold of Franz von Sickingen and in it his noble wife, Hedwig,
received and cared for many outlaws and fugitives, and it was some-
tunes called the " Asylum of Justice."
Laach. Near Laach is the Frauenkirche founded by Genevieve
of Brabant, in thankfulness for her restoration to her husband after
having been separated from him by the treachery of his steward
Golo, with whom her husband, Count Siegfried, had left the care of
his wife while he was absent in war. See legend in preceding por-
tion of this book.
Lahneck. The Order of Knight Templars founded by Godfrey
de Bouillon, for the protection of the Holy Sepulchre in 1118, in a
short time became rich and powerful, and spread all over Europe.
The clergy were jealous of it, and Pope Clement V. determined to
exterminate them with the help of Phillippe le Bel. Molay was
lured to France with sixty knights, and there* they were all exe-
cuted and their property confiscated. Then the pope commanded
the Archbishop of Mayence, Peter of Aichspalt, to exterminate the
knights in his diocese. The Templars held the Castle of Lahneck,
and they there defied the bishop. They were besieged, and as their
numV-er was small they were surrounded. At length all save one
were killed, and he was summoned to surrender ; but he declared
that he would never do so, and pointed to his fallen comrades with
pride. At this juncture a messenger arrived, who proclaimed a
truce from the emperor. The besiegers laid down their arms, and
the messenger respectfully approached the remaining knight, saying :
" Surrender to me your arms, noble sir. I regret not having come
in time to save your brethren, but to you I can promise safety of life
and property." " Think of Molay and his murdered followers !
Think of my comrades slain here ? " replied he. " As they had no
mercy, I desire none ! " Then he rushed upon the enemy and fell
pierced with many wounds.
LEGENDS OF PL AC 1C. 381
Lichtenthal, Convent of. Sec Baden-Baden.
Liebenstein and Sterrenberg. These two castles, called
" The Brothers," are situated not far from the village of Camp, upon
a sharp ledge of rocks at the foot of which is the Convent of Born-
hofen. In Liebenstein lived the noble Bayer of Boppard with his
sons, Conrad and Heinrich, and their beautiful foster-sister, Hilde-
garde. The father was anxious that one of the brothers should wed
with Hildegarde, but he was pained to see that both were enamored
of her. Heinrich with true generosity determined to leave the prize
to Conrad, and joining the Crusades fought with such bravery as to
cause his name to resound through all Europe, as well as in the East.
The wooing of Conrad was succvssful, and soon he was betrothed to
Hildegarde. Then the old knight, in order that the young couple
should be near him, commenced the erection of Castle Sterrenberg.
But he died before its completion, and the marriage was deferred for
a year. During this time Conrad was much with gay companions
who represented marriage to him as slavery ; he also greatly envied
the fame of his brother, and finally he too, determined to join the
Crusades. Hildegarde passed her days in close retirement, mourning
the absence of her lover, and praying for his safe return. Mean-
time Sterrenberg was finished, and made ready to receive the young
people. Suddenly Hildegarde was startled by the news that Conrad
had returned with a lovely Grecian bride, and would be received
at Sterrenberg with great festivities. This proved but too true, and
the heart-broken girl shut herself in the most lonely chamber of
Liebenstein, and refused to see any one save her attendant. Hein-
rich hearing of his brother's treachery returned to Liebenstein, de-
termined to avenge the wrongs of Hildegarde, and one morning sud-
denly appeared before her. He challenged Conrad to mortal com-
bat, which was about to begin, when Hildegarde stepped between
them and begged them to desist and be reconciled to each other,
leaving vengeance to Got I alone. She soon entered the Convent of
Bornhofen. It was not long ere the Grecian proved as faithless us
Conrad had been, and eloped with a friend of her husband's. Then
the brothers became fully reconciled, and lived together at Lieben-
stein, while Sterrenberg was forever deserted. This tradition and
that of the Lurlei, are the most popular of all the legends of the
Rhine.
Lorch. The Devil's Ladder. Near Lorch is a steep cliff"
called the Kedrich, or " Devil's Ladder." This was the home of
mountain spirits who did much mischief in the surrounding country,
and could never be assailed or punished, as their retreat was inacces-
sible. The knight Sibo, of Lorch, had become gloomy and morose
ifter his wife's death, and lived in retirement with his only child, a
beautiful maiden of fourteen. One evening some strangers requested
his hospitalities, and he drove them away with abusive language.
382 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
The next day his daughter went to the fields and did not ictiirn. A
search was made, and the father was wild with grief, for this child
was his idol. At length a shepherd lad said he had seen two little
gray men who led a maiden toward the Kedricli. Hither the father
hastened, and there high above him he saw the little spirits who
led away his child, and they cried out to him, " This is the reward
of your hospitality; when you know how to show it better we will
restore her to you." Years passed on, and every morning and even-
ing the maiden could be seen walking on the top of the inaccessible
cliff. Now a young man who had loved her from childhood returned
from his wanderings, and went at once to the Castle of Sibo. When
Le heard what had happened he was inconsolable, and spent much
time in examining the Kedrich to see if he could not discover a way
to climb its heights. One day while thus occupied, a little woman
came to him and asked if he still loved the maid. The young man
desired to know who she was, and if she could help him. " I have
taken care of her since she came here, and with a mother's tender-
ness. She loves you, and if you are inclined to marry her I will
help you," said the funny little woman. The young man swore that
his love was unchangeable. Then she told him to return the next
day and she would assist him, for it was time they should marry, and
the father was sufficiently punished. When the next day came Sibo
went with the young knight, and they found a ladder reaching from
the bottom to the top of Kedrich. This the young man mounted,
while the father anxiously watched him. Arrived at the top he
found an enchanted region. Gardens and beautiful groves with
fountains and rare flowers met his gaze. Wandering on he entered
a grotto where he saw the maiden asleep on a mossy bank. She
awoke with glad surprise, and ran to embrace him lovingly. Now a
gnome stood before them who regarded them maliciously, but the
woman who had made the ladder appeared, and speaking to the
dwarf in an unknown tongue, they both laughed, and told the lovers
that they should soon be made happy. The young man was in haste
to depart, and the dwarf told him to descend the ladder, but the
maiden should go down more easily. He obeyed, and found her
btfore him, and in her father's arms. The spirits gave the maiden a
box which they said contained her dowry, and assured her they
should come to her wedding, and so they did, and brought rich and
rare gifts to their foster-daughter. From this time the melancholy
of the old Sibo disappeared, and happiness reigned in the castle,
where grand-children soon played about the old man. The ladder
fell to pieces in time, and as the people called it the " Devil's Lad-
der," the cliff has always retained that name.
Filrsleneck. Knight Oswald and his revenge. Between this
knight and Wilhelm von Saneck there existed a deadly feud, and
the latter had greatly desired to get Oswald into his power. Thij
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 383
he succeeded at last in doing and earned him to his castle, where he
not only imprisoned him, but with fearful cruelty deprived him of his
sight. At his own castle it was thought that Oswald had fallen into
the hands of robbers, but as there were no proofs of this, young
Edwin, his only son, did not believe it, and greatly feared he had
been taken by the Knight of Saneck. He determined at all events
to ascertain, and disguised as a minstrel approached the castle.
Arrived there he found that a great banquet was being given, and in
his character of a musician he penetrated even to the room where
the knight sat at table with his guests. He listened attentively
to all that was said, hoping to hear something of his father. At last
when all were merry with wine and their tongues well loosened, one
said to Saneck, " Do you know that you are suspected of holding
Oswald of Fiirsteneck prisoner?" " Hum," said Saneck, "all tales
are not lies." " And some believe," added the first, " that you have
blinded him." "Well, well, what then? Does it make any differ-
ence whether a candle goes out or is blown out ? " " But it is a
great pity in one way," said a third, "for Oswald was a most skillful
archer." " I will wager," said another, " that he could still hit his
mark if one made it known to him." " And I will wager that he
cannot," said Saneck, now quite drunk; and he ordered the prisoner
to be brought in. Young Edwin was almost overcome by what he
heard, and when his father was brought could scarcely resist the
impul.se to declare himself. But he heard Saneck tell him the wager
and command a bow and arrows to be brought for him. Then
Oswald said, " Knight Saneck, give me the sign of what I am to hit."
" Here on the table I place a cup," said Wilhelm von Saneck, and
it was his last word, for Oswald sent his arrow when he heard his
voice, and it entered the heart of the knight. A wild cry aroso
throughout the hall, but Edwin sprang quickly to his father and cried
out, " I am the son of this poor man ! Whoever loves honor, will
approve his act, and to any who do not, I will answer with my
sword." Then the knights declared their horror of the cruelty of
Saneck and the j-istice of his punishment. Edwin conducted his
father to his home, where although he could not restore his sight he
nursed him with the tenderest care.
Lorsch. The Emj/cror ami (lie Motile. Once upon a time
the Emperor Charlemagne being on a journey, stopped at the Abbey
of Lorsch to pass the night. He was kindly received, and enter-
tained with a banquet by the good monks. But after retiring to his
bed he could not sleep, so harassed was he, and full of care. At last
he arose and went to the church to pray. While there he saw a
venerable monk who was blind come into the church, being led by a
boy. He tottered along to a place near the emperor and sank on
his knees. There was something in his manner that fixed the atten-
tion of the emperor, and he watched him as he prayed. He was
384 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
very devout in his manner, and his prayers were, oflei interrupted
with sighs and groans, and it seemed to Charlemagne that a halo of
light surrounded his head. In the morning the emperor related
what he had seen to the abbot, and inquired concerning the monk
The abbot said he knew not who he was or whence he came. That
he called himself Bernardus, but had always refused to tell anything
concerning himself, although he had been some years with them, and
was growing old. This excited the curiosity of Charlemagne, and
he went to the cell of the monk, where after a little he recognized in
him Thassalio, duke of Bavaria, whom he had banished years before
on account of political difficulties. As the emperor remembered all
this he called him by name, announced that he was Charlemagne,
and assured him of his forgiveness for his past wrong-doing. Thas-
salio was deeply moved, and told the emperor how sincerely he had
repented. He declared that he believed God had pardoned him, and
that las last earthly wish had been that he might receive his forgive-
ness also. Next morning Charlemagne wished again to speak with
him before his departure, but the abbot told him that the excitement
of their interview had deeply moved his already exhausted nature,
and in the night he had quietly died.
Lurlei. The rocks known by this name are just above St. Goar,
and rise four hundred and twenty feet above the Rhine. The legends
tell that in days of yore a charming maiden lived on the top, and
each evening sat there and combed her golden locks, or played the
lute and sang melodiously. All who saw or heard her were passion-
ately in love with her, and many boats were drawn into the Gewirre,
or whirlpool, while attempting to near her home. She did much good
to the fishermen, showing them the best places to fish, and did not
seem to be wholly wicked. The fame of her beauty and goodness
attracted the son of the Pfalzgraf to see her. He ordered his boat-
men to row toward the Lurlei; they remonstrated, but in vain ;
they went and could see nothing on the rock; but returning, they
heard a song coming from the depths of the river. Then the waves
rose as if with a storm, and raised the boat towards the rock where
now the virgin appeared dressed in white and veiled. Then the
youth would climb to her. The boatmen sadly tried to near the
rock, but he leaped out and was swallowed by the foaming waters.
His father was determined to revenge the death of his son, and sent
soldiers to take the undine prisoner, that she might be burned as a
witch. She stood on the rock smiling while they climbed up, and
when they comir anded her to come down, she said, " The Rhine
will receive me and that will be better." When they had almost
reached her, she bent toward the river singing,
" Hasten hither, lovely waves,
Take me quickly to your caves."
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 385
The waters rose, and two waves took her away while she sweetly
sung. But the men were thrown, down on the rocks, and were glad
to escape with their lives to the Pfalzgraf, who was convinced he had
no power over her. The undine was never seen again. Another
legend relates that at Bacharach dwelt an orphan maiden whose
exquisite beauty gained for her such numbers of admirers that it
became a great trial to her, for she loved one who had gone to Pales-
tine to acquire renown before he should marry her. She lived iu
strict retirement, and yet many duels were fought concerning her ;
and so great was the love and jealousy which she occasioned that
she was accused of exercising a magical art. At length the case
was referred to the Archbishop of Cologne, who went to see her ;
and told her he would take her to a place where she could peaceably
await the return of her lover, or in case of his death take the veil.
He ordered three; knights to conduct her, and give her every atten-
tion, on the way. When they were come to the Lurlei she ascended
it to take a parting look at the Rhine, and while there perceived a
boat coming toward her, bearing the flag of her lover, and in fact
he was in it. She was overcome with joy and fell on her knees,
extending her arms toward the boat. As it came near a splendidly
dressed knight stood on the deck waving his hat, and when he saw
and recognized his love he was full of joy. Iu his anxiety to reach
her no one thought of the whirlpool, and suddenly the boat was
swallowed up in it. All were filled with horror, and a pale figure
with fair hair appeared on the surface of the water. Then the
maiden with a frightful shriek leaped from the rock and sank where
the body of her lover had disappeared. They were afterwards found
locked in an embrace, and this confirmed the belief in the existence
of the Nymph of the Lurlei.
The Maiden Leap. Many years ago there lived in the Haardt
Mountains a giant of great power who had built a castle on one of
the highest peaks, and from his towers could overlook the whole
country. A few miles distant from him lived a maiden who had
large estates and many servants. She was very beautiful in person,
and fond of the chase and all such things as are called manly exer-
cises, and in these she excelled. She also managed her household
with great skill and judgment, and could do herself credit at the
spinning-wheel. Now the giant loved and was determined to possess
this maiden. So he sent his servant with rich jewels to ask her hand
in marriage. The servant, who was a cunning fellow, deemed it a
pity that these riches should be given the maid, and she refuse his
master as he was sure she would do, and felt that it was better for
him to retain them for himself. He turned aside into the forest to
find a place to conceal them, where he saw a knight who was weep-
ing. When the servant inquired the cause of his grief and offered
his assistance, he told him of his love for the same maiden to whom
25
386 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the giant had sent his proposals, and that he dared not approach her
on account of his poverty. Then the faithless servant told his errand,
and offered to divide the jewels with him if he would assist to con-
ceal them. This the knight assented to and they commenced to dig
a hole. When this was done the servant attempted to kill tin- knight,
fearing he might disclose his treachery. The knight had left his
sword on a rock while at work, and as the servant had seen him in
tears, he took him for a coward, but he realized his mistake most
perfectly, for he threw down the servant and was about to kill him,
but he decided to take his part of the booty and leave him alive. He
then sped toward the castle of the maiden. Meanwhile the giant
had become impatient at the long absence of his servant, and set out
himself for the maiden's home. When he arrived he declared that
he would kill her if she would not marry him. She and her maids
fell on their knees beseeching him to leave them in peace, but nothing
could move him or change his decision, so the maiden determined to
make a desperate trial for life, and told him that if he would wed her
he must prove himself worthy by running after and overtaking her.
To this he consented, and she leaped on her horse. She rode many
miles and still the giant pursued, and now the horse was giving out
and the giant gaining on her. Just then she reached a fearful chasm
and determined to risk all on a leap over it. She did so, and landed
safely on the other side. The giant was furious. He saw her
kneeling on the bank. He ran up and down seeking a place to cross,
and soon his triumphal shouts announced that he had found one.
The heart of the maiden grew cold, but at that moment the young
knight came up and attacked the giant, who weary with his chase
was easily overcome. While on his way to the castle he had seen
the pursuit of the maid and had followed as quickly as possible. In
consideration of the great service he had thus rendered her and the
wealth he had acquired he no longer feared to tell his love. He was
accepted, and in a few days the wedding was celebrated with much
gladness.
Mayence. The Heads of Stone. On the wall of Mayence, just
by the gate called " Gauthor," two heads are engraved. They
commemorate the following events: In 1462 Dethier of Isenburg
was Archbishop of Mayence. The pope and the emperor were op-
posed to him and desired to give his office to Adolf of Nassau. As
Mayence remained faithful to Dethier, Adolf besieged the city, and
misery and suffering soon reigned there. One evening Walderer,
the fisherman, sat gloomily in his cottage ; his wife was dying, he and
his child starving. At length he declared he would fight for Adol-
phus rather than die for Dethier. His wife began to repeat the
" Lord's Prayer," and at the end, the sweet voice of his daughter Ger-
trude said, " Amen." She tried to console her father, but the spirit
of hopelessness was in his heart While he uttered traitorous senti-
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 387
ments and the others argued with him for right and duty, three mer
entered the house. One of them, a young fisherman, hastened to
Gertrude and her mother, while the others conversed with the father.
Soon he came to the daughter with money and commanded her to go
and buy food. Then the truth flashed through the mind of the dyin<'
wife, and she knew that her husband was about to betray the city to
the enemy. The girl went out with the young man, who was her
lover, and her mother attempted, with all the impressive solemnitv
of one about to die, to dissuade Walderer from the crime. But all
in vain, and even while she talked, she died. Next day when the
monk who had been her confessor came to bury the poor wife, he too
was persuaded to assist in betraying the city by allowing the soldiers
of Adolf to pass the gate. He was a wicked hypocrite, and had
withal the most infamous designs upon the unprotected Gertrude.
One of the strangers who had come to the cottage the evening pre-
vious, had remained, and the monk brought him a habit like his own,
and thus disguised they together walked through the town. That
evening their plans were matured. Walderer was to be the watch-
man at the Gauthor, and the lover, John, was to conduct the soldiers
there, by ways known to few. At length the stranger departed,
much to the joy of Gertrude, for she feared lest he should be discov
ered in their cottage. When she was alone the monk came to attempt
the accomplishment of his designs against her, and when she scorned
him, he threatened to expose the treachery of her father. The poor
girl was in distress, when John came to her rescue. He declared the
only way was to make the monk a prisoner, and being the stronger,
and moreover armed, he soon placed the priest in a room from
whence he could not escape. Gertrude was then commanded to
remain in her chamber. At night John led Adolf and several of his
soldiers to the house of Walderer, in the disguise of monks. They
swore to a solemn compact. Gertrude heard the unusual noise and
then the departing steps as her father led them to the Gauthor. In-
stantly she knew the truth, and determined to save the city if possible.
She went to the monk and besought him to lead her to Dethier, but
he only caught her in his arms and declared she should pass the night
with him. With the strength of despair she broke away and rushed
into the street, crying, " To Arms ! To Arms ! The enemy ! The
enemy ! " Thus arousing those near her she told them all her sus-
picions, and begged them to hasten to the Gauthor. But the brave
girl was too late to prevent the entrance of the enemy, and soon a
desperate struggle was going on all over the city. The women fought
as fiercely as the men, and Gertrude fell pierced by an enemy's lance
at the feet of her father. Adolphus was victorious, and his punish-
ment of those he had conquered was fearfully cruel. But that of
Walderer and John tvas sent by a higher power. The father went
wad, and the lover threw himself into the river with the corpse of
388 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the noble Gertrude. The heads were carved on the wall w commem-
orate the bravery of the maiden, and the treachery and punishment
of her lover.
Arnold of Walpodc. In the middle of the thirteenth century
there was a tournament at Mainz, and nothing was left undone to make
it as magnificent as possible. The beautiful Anne of Walpode was
selected to confer the prize, and when the victor, a noble and hand-
some youth, knelt before her, an unspeakable happiness lighted both
their faces, and he tenderly kissed the reward she blushingly con-
ferred upon him. Then her father, the brave Arnold, led the young
man to the archbishop, who received him with kindness, and de-
clared him his chamberlain, saying, " Now salute your betrothed, for
you have gained a right to her hand. Is it not so ? " asked he of
Arnold. The old knight smiled, and commanded the young Sir John
to meet him at his castle, and dine with him that day. Now it
happened that Dethier of Katzenelnbogen, had been present at the
tourney and had seen and admired the lovely Anne. He coveted
her fortune also, for his own had been lessened by the building of
Castle Rheinfels. He so presumed on his rank and power that he
ioubted not his acceptance. But Arnold declared that his child
should not wed a Gaugraf, who levied taxes on citizens and mer-
chants ; for Dethier had rebuilt Rheinfels in order to exact customs
from all who passed on the river. The count was full of anger, and
left Arnold declaring, " You appreciate my castle rightly ; it shall be
a stumbling-block to bring your proud citizens to ruin ! Most noble
knight ! " said Walpode, " do not forget that Schwarz has discovered
powder, and the strongholds of robbers can be destroyed by it ! "
For a long time Arnold had striven to persuade the towns to make a
confederation to oppose those counts and barons who from their cas-
tles, demanded customs and oppressed all who came in their way.
Now he gave his entire energies to this purpose, but although many
approved his theory, they were slow to action. Meanwhile the lovers
were happy ; the wedding-day was fixed, and guests were invited
from great distances, for Arnold hoped to make it an occasion to per-
suade his friends to arouse themselves to the forming of the confed-
eration. The news of the preparations reached Count Dethier, and he
cursed himself that he had not been able to be revenged upon the
noble knight of Mainz. While thinking of this a horn sounded, and
he was told that a troop of armed men approached. He hastened to
put himself at the head of his retainers and proceed to ascertain
who they might be. It proved a train of the noblest and wealthiest
families of Cologne, Bacharach, and St. Goar, on their journey to the
wedding at Mainz. When Dethier learned this he determined to
make them prisoners, and though they would have fought, being much
embarrassed by the presence, of ladies, they weic soon led into the
eastle. They were expected at Mainz with impatience and surprise,
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 38S
which were not lessened when the truth was known. Then Arnold
of AValpode felt that the time had indeed come for the maturity of
his scheme. He addressed the citizens with such power, and so
depicted the abuses from which travellers and merchants suffered,
adding a vivid picture of the way in which these prisoners, their
friends, the first and best in the land, Avere even then suffering, that
all were at last aroused ; a league was made and money raised ; and
all swore that an end should come to the power of such robber
knights as Dethier of Kheinfels. The third day his castle was at-
tacked, and the prisoners rescued. Then was the marriage celebrated
with great joy. and after-events proved that the noble Arnold had
not overrated the value and importance of the confederation.
Count Henri/ of Meissen was a Minuesanger of the fourteenth
century. Many of his songs were in honor of the Blessed Virgin,
and all of them so filled with the praise of woman, that he acquired
the title of " EVauenlob " (woman's praise), by which he is still known
in German literature.' He died in 1317, and received such a burial
as no other ever had, before or since his time. The ladies of May-
ence assembled in mourning, the cathedral bells and those of all the
churches tolled from the break of day ; eight ladies of the highest
rank bore the coffin, covered with myrtle and flowers, and followed
by a long train of women whose songs mingled with the music of the
bells. The cathedral was splendidly decorated, and the archbishop
pronounced the benediction. The coffin was lowered to the tomb in
the mi: 1st of sobs and tears, while the young maidens strewed it with
roses an:l poured into the tomb the most delicious wines, from golden
cups. Then a song which Frauenlob had written was sung and
followed by a hiu'h mass, after which the maidens intoned a hymn,
expressing the hope of immortality. A monument was erected to
him in the cathedral, and again in 1842 a beautiful one by Schwan-
thaler was placed there by the ladies of Mayence, to perpetuate the
memory of the poet. It represents a female figure decorating a coffin
with a wreath, and is on the south wall of the cathedral.
Rabhi Amram was a Jew of Mayence, who founded a school
in Cologne, where he died. He expressed a wish to be buried near
his parents in Mayence, and being told that the bigotry of that city
would render it impossible, he commanded that after death his body
should be placed in a small boat on the Rhine, and allowed to go
where it would. This was done, and the boat went directly to May-
ence. The whole population came out to see the strange sight, but
when the truth was known, the Christians would not allow the wishes
if Rabbi Aim-am to be fulfilled. The bishop commanded that the
coffin should remain where it was, and a crypt be built over it.
Many believe that from this arose St. Emeran's Church. But the
Jewish students stole the body at night, leaving the coffin, and gave
the Rabbi the burial he so much desired. There was a fresco, repre-
390 LEGENDS OF PLACE
senting the drifting of the strange ship, upon a house in Mayence
which remained until 1850.
Marriage of Ghosts at Castle Lauf. See Baden-Baden.
Mousetower. (Mausethurm.) See Bingen.
Mummelsee. See Baden-Baden.
Niedeck Castle. The living Toy. Many years ago, Rhine-
land was the home of numerous giants who were good-natured, and
never employed their vast strength for the injury of men. Such an
one lived at Castle Niedeck. One day his little daughter went for a
walk, and as she strolled along, she saw a husbandman with a horse
and plough. She had never seen one before, and she clapped her
hands with joy, so that the mountains echoed. " What a fine toy !"
said she, " and living too ! So much better than my dolls, which are
but leather, and cannot move." And she hastened to snatch up
horse, plough, and husbandman, and returned to her father with them
all in her apron. She put them down on the table before him with
great exultation and danced about in glee. * Then her father ex-
plained to her that she had interrupted most important labor. That
the husbandmen who tilled the fields and supplied food for men should
ever be respected, and commanded her to return the toy she so ad-
mired to the field from which she had taken it.
Oberwesel. The Seven Virgins. Above Oberwesel rise the
picturesque ruins of Castle Schonburg. This was the birth-place of
the famous Marshal Schomberg who fought under the Prince of
Orange and compelled the Spaniards to acknowledge the House of
Braganza. Afttr being high in office in Prussia he went to England
and perished in the battle of the Boyne. He is buried in Westmin-
ster Abbey. In this same castle once resided a knight who was so
devoted to his wife that when she died nothing could interest him
or arouse him from his grief. She had left seven daughters ; they
grew up with little or no training, and when their father died they
lived a life of coquetry and folly. They were all beautiful, and as
they possessed vast estates many suitors flocked to their castle.
Here they were hospitably entertained, and gayety reigned trium-
phant in their halls, but no sooner did a suitor speak with earnest-
ness than he was dismissed with laughing raillery. At last at a
banquet two knights fell into a dispute concerning the sisters which
ended in a challenge for a duel, ami all the young men present
declared that it was time to end this folly, and demand of the sisters
an explanation of their flirting and fickleness. So a request was
sent to them to meet the knights next day and make a choice for
marriage. They consented to the gathering, and a vast number
went to the state-saloon where they thought to find the sisters ; but
a servant announced that they desired them to repair to an arbor on
the Rhine. When the young men readied the spot the seven vir-
gins were in a boat and at some distance from the shore. One of
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 391
them stood in the stern and told the knights that they had never
intended to many; that they loved liberty too well to be the slave*
of any, and that as this decision had been (breed on them they had
decided to leave their castle for a long time and go lo an aunt in
the Netherlands, where they would play tlie same comedy with the
knights of that country that they had so enjoyed here. This speech
was hailed with laughter by tlie sisters, and the boat moved off.
But suddenly a storm arose, and even in sight of the suitors the
boat was upset and all were drowned. On the spot where this
occurred seven rocks appeared above the water. They are a terror
to navigators, and are called the ' Seven Virgins," to this day.
Oggersheim. Han* Warxch, the valiant Shepherd. During
ihe Thirty Years' War, the Spanish troops approached Oggers-
heim. All the citizens tied save a poor shepherd, Hans Warsch.
He would not leave his wife who was very ill, having just given
birth to a child. When Hans found himself alone, he closed the
gates of the town, according to the usages of war, and placed him-
self on the watch-tower with a trumpet, ready to answer the sum-
mons of the enemy. When the Spanish trumpeter demanded the
surrender of the town, Hans replied that this should he done on
condition that the commander would insure the citizens the protec-
tion of their property. If this was not granted they were deter-
mined to defend themselves to the laxt man ! The Spanish com-
mandant gave his word of honor that the condition should be
observed, and Hans hastened to open the gates. When the warriors
entered the town they were surprised to see no one in the streets,
and more so when they became aware that the poor shepherd with
his sick wife and wee baby were the only persons left in all the
town. The commandant admired the brave shepherd, kept his
promise, and stood godfather to his child, Avhose christening was
kept with joy.
Oppenheim. The ruined Castle of Landskron is all that here
remains of the imperial fortress, once so famous. In the church-
yard of the town are the remains of many Spaniards and Swedes
who fell during the Thirty Years' War. One evening, not long before
the commencement of the Seven Years' War, in 1 75(J, a young artist
entered Oppenheim, and proceeded to an inn, at the door of which
stood the daughter of the landlord, a beautiful girl. The young man
was not long in becoming very friendly with the maiden. When
she learned that he was an artist, and making pictures of Khineland,
she begged him to paint one of her " dear Oppenheim," and told
him how beautiful it was when seen from the castle by moonlight.
lie promised to go that very night to select the spot from which
his picture should be made. He kept his word, and as he walked
past the church-yard was occupied with thoughts of the decay of
pomp and power, and exclaimed, " All vanishes save Glory ! and
3J/2 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
happy he alone who succeeds in gaining that." Just then his fool
knocked against a skull and sent it whirling along before him.
Soon the clock sounded the ho-ir of midnight, and instantly he
heard a strange noise through all the church-yard. The bones
began to unite and form skeletons, and these to form in line of bat-
tle Spaniards with Spaniards, and Swedes with Swedes, while
commands were given in an unearthly voice. They fought furiously
and more furiously, until the scene was most frightful. At length one
was thrown down at the feet of the artist, and when he looked at the
hollow cavities where once eyes had been, a strange light seemed to
shine in them, and a voice said, " Mortal, you have seen our dread-
ful contest ! Tell to all how we still suffer and are forced thus to
contend, because ic. life we were enemies instead of loving each
other." As this was said the clock struck one, and the bones were
again scattered about the church-yard as at first. Then the artist
hastened to the inn, full of fear and excitement, and told his strange
adventure. The people of Oppenheim afterwards regarded it as a
forerunner of the war which soon broke out. The artist, though he
gained not the glory he so earnestly apostrophized, married the
innkeeper's daughter, and to the end of his days was called on to
tell his story to every stranger who visited Oppenheim.
Pfalzgrafenstein. In 1194 the Emperor Henry VI. wished to
marry the daughter of the Count Palatine Conrad to some member
of his own family. The count had great wealth and no sons, and
Henry desired to secure these riches to some near relative. But
the princess was deeply in love with Henry of Brunswick. Her
father, dreading the anger of the emperor, would not hear of the
alliance, and sent her to be kept a close prisoner in the Pfalzgrafen-
stein, which rises from the Rhine " like an immense stone ship, for-
ever at anchor." It is situated a little below Bacharach and not
far from Caub. Now the wife of Count Conrad sympathized with
her daughter, and did not admit the right of the emperor to select
a husband for her. So she sent for Brunswick, who came in dis-
guise, and the marriage being solemnized in secret, the young
couple enjoyed a quiet and blissful honeymoon. The mother at
length told her husband what she had done, and so tenderly pleaded
for her daughter, who was about to become a mother, that she over-
came his anger at being thus outwitted. He in his turn told the
emperor, who then commanded the marriage to be celebrated with
great festivities. Count Conrad passed sentence upon the young
couple that they should remain at the Pfa'zgrafenstein until the
princess bore a son ; and tradition relates that hence came a law that
all future Countesses Palatine should go to this castle to await their
accouchements, and from this it derives its name of Pfalzgrafin-stein.
Philippsburg. The Brave RecrniL When this place was be-
sieged by the French, a storm attack was ordered on a lonely and
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 393
apparently undefended portion of the works, and twelve grenadiers
selected to make it, Now it happened that a recruit had been
made sentinel on this spot where no attack was anticipated. He
was watchful, however, and stood with his halberd ready for defense.
Suddenly the face of a mustachioed grenadier appeared above the
parapet, and the owner of it was about to set his foot upon the wall,
11 Ho, ho ! I will show you the way ! " called out the recruit, and
gave him a push which sent him from the storming ladder. But
scarce a minute had elapsed, when the same face (as the recruit
thought) appeared again, and again was pushed away. This was
repeated to the twelfth time, and the raw soldier thought he had
never seen such persevering determination as that of the inimical
grenadier. When the guard was changed, the sergeant asked the
recruit if anything had occurred there, and he answered, nothing
save that a grenadier had been determined to come upon the wall,
and he had pushed him back, but he always returned until lie had
thrown him down twelve times. The sergeant went to see what this
could mean, and found the bodies of the twelve grenadiers in the
trencli where the recruit had thrown them, and the storming ladder
still hanging O n the wall. When the commandent knew this, the
recruit was handsomely rewarded.
Pulpits of the Devil and the Angel. See Baden-Baden.
Rheinfels. See Mayence. Arnold of Walpo ie.
Rheinstein. The Ride to the Wedding. In the early part of
the thirteenth century this castle was inhabited by a very wealthy
knight named Siegfried, who was noted for his robberies and wick-
edness. Returning from one of his expeditions he brought much
booty and a beautiful woman named Jutta, whom he had taken in
Frankenland. The knight soon yielded himself to her charms and
married her. From this time the life at Rheinstein was changed in
all its aspects : merchants who passed on land or sea were undis-
turbed : Siegfried went on no more expeditions, and his wild and
rough comrades ceased to visit him. But, alas, this quiet happiness
was of short duration, for Jutta died in giving birth to a daughter.
Then the knight thought only of this child and gave his lite to her
care and education. She was called Gerda, and inherited the
character and beauty of her lovely mother. Though Siegfried en-
tertained no guests, the pilgrims and travellers who received the hos-
pitalities of the castle carried abroad the report of her beauty, and
this as well as the riches of the knight, attracted many suitors. At
length in order to free himself from their importunities the old knight
promised to meet them all at a tournament at Mayence, and declared
that the victor should be the husband of Gerda. Never had a larger
number striven in any tourney. Now among those who contended
were Kurt of Ehrenfels, which castle is not far above Rheinstein,
and Kuno of Reichenstein, which last fortress is near to Rheinstein,
394 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
the Church of St. Clement being between them. The last-named
knight was beloved by Gerda, and when he had conquered all in
the list save Kurt of Ehrenfels her hopes rose high. But Kurt, who
on account of his riches was her father's favorite, was more skillful
than they all, and was declared the winner of the prize. The wed-
ding day was then appointed, and though Gerda attempted to move
her father by prayers and tears, he would not listen to her. The
fatal day having come, she was decked in her bridal attire, than
which nothing could have been more magnificent. But when all
was ready, Gerda knelt before the Virgin in the castle chapel and
bcgg&l earnestly of Our Lady to provide some way of escape for
her. Kurt was so impatient of waiting that he even interrupted
her devotions to ask that she should hasten to join the marr age pro-
cession. She arose from her prayers with a feeling of confidence
and requested the knight that her white palfrey, which was a gift
from Kuno of Roichenstein, might lie saddled for her to ride to the
church. It was done, and the long and brilliant cortege at length
began to move. Kuno sat in a tower of his fortress, watching all
this with breaking heart. The procession had nearly reached the
Clemenskirche, when, look, the horse of Gerda becomes unmanage-
able ; it breaks away from those who hold it and dashes with
lightning speed toward Reichenstein ! Scarcely had Kuno time to
lower the draw, when she had reached it, and was soon in the
court and in his arms. He then barred all entrance and refused to
open to her pursuers. But Heaven freed them from their troubles,
for Kurt, maddened at seeing Gerda fleeing to Kuno, was so rash
in his pursuit that he fell and broke his neck. Siegfried now
gladly consented to the union which was so plainly according to the
will of God and the Blessed Virgin. Kuno, too, was the heir of
Kurt, and his great wealth was after all united to that of Gerda.
Clemenskirche, There is an interesting legend connected with
the foundation of this church. The beautiful Ina was an orphan of
great wealth who lived in the Sauerthal. The knight who then in-
habited Rheinstein was a brave, resolute fellow, and little given to
love-making. He was resolved to have Ina for his bride, and as she
had refused his offer, he marched to her home with his men, deter-
mined to seize her forcibly. They succeeded in taking the castle,
and carried the maiden to a boat which waited for them on the
Rhine. A furious thunder-storm now came on, and in spite of all
their efforts they were driven on the rocks. At this time Ina re-
covered her senses, and kneeling down to pray, she vowed to build a
church to St. Clement, if he would save her from death and the rob-
bers. Just at this moment there was a crash, and she closed her
eyes, to avoid the sight of the drowning men and the fearful waves.
Soon she felt herself borne through the air, and when she opened
Uer eyes they rested on such a bla/e of light as she had never seen.
LEGENDS OF L J LACE. 395
When she became accustomed to it, she found herself in the arms of
the saint, who bore her safely to the shore, and gently laid her on the
bank. The knight and his men had all perished. She hastened to
fulfill her vow and built the church, and when it was done she stood
before its altar, the happy bride of the knight she loved.
Rhense. Toward the end of the fourteenth century the Bohe-
mian emperor Wenzel ascended the imperial throne of Germany.
His temperament did not fit him for the cares of royalty; he much
preferred to pass his time with agreeable friends at the Konigstuhl,
drinking Rhine wine and listening to jest and song. The Count
Palatine, Rupert III., had long coveted the imperial crown, and lost
no opportunity of showing Wen/el all the troubles and cares of the
empire, and exaggerated them, hoping that he would cede his crown
to him. One evening as they sat together with other jovial com-
panions drinking their delicious Assmannshausen wine, Wenzel thus
addressed Rupert : " You have long aspired to my crown ; give us
now a wine which we shall find more delicious than this, and it shall
be yours." Rupert gave his orders, and a barrel was soon rolled in
from which their cups were filled. He begged them to give their
opinion freely, saying that it was Bacharach wine. The company
declared it superior to Assmaimshausen, and they sat later than usual
at the Konigstuhl, and drank deeply of this delicious wine. Wen-
zel kept his word, and the crown was ceded to Rupert, who sent
his accommodating predecessor four wagon-loads of Bacharach wine.
Thus runs the popular legend, but history declares that the Rhenish
Electors, on the 20th of August 1400, deprived Wenzel of the crown
at a little chapel which is seen at the south gate of Oberlahnstein,
and crossed next day to the Konigstuhl and elected Rupert in his
stead, and that the town of Niirnberg obtained its freedom by a
yearly tribute to Wenzel of four tuns of Bacharach wine.
Rocks, The. See Baden-Baden.
Rolandsesk. The beautiful legend connected with this castle is
believed to have suggested the " Ritter Toggenburg " to Schiller.
The young knight Roland, the supposed nephew of Charlemagne and
peer of France, had won great renown by his valorous deeds. Riding
one day on the banks of the Rhine, he came to the Castle of Urach-
enfels, where Count Heribert, the lord of the Siebengebirge, resided.
When he announced his name Roland was received with great honor,
and the count introduced him to his daughter Hildegunde, who ac-
cording to the custom of welcome, offered him bread, wine, and
fish. The heart of Roland, until now unmoved by beauty or wit,
was immediately surrendered to Hildegunde, and soon they were be-
trothed : but their happiness was interrupted by a summons from
Charlemagne, desiring Roland to join the Crusade. Time passed,
and news came of the fierce battle of Roncesvalles, and also that
Roland had fallen by the hand of the Infidels. Hildegunde was in-
396 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
jonsolable, and begged her father to allow her to entei the cloister at
Nonnen worth, which was an island within view of his castle. He
consented, and each morning the count and his wife looked down to
the convent, from which Hildegunde waved her hand to them as she
passed on to the chapel. Now the rumor of the death of Roland
\vas untrue ; he had indeed been severely wounded, but recovered,
and one day presented himself at Drachenburg to claim his lovely
Hildegunde. His sorrow when the truth was told was uncontrollable.
In despair he built the Castle of Rolandseck that he might be near
her and sometimes see her loved form as she passed to the chapel.
One morning he missed her from among the nuns, and the tolling of
the Kloster bell told him only too plainly that for her suffering was
ended. From that day Roland never spoke again. He sat much of
the time with his eyes fixed on the convent, and thus was he found
dead. Only a single arch of the castle is to be seen, but the moun-
tain on which it was built is still called Rolandseck.
Riidesheim. The Maiden Gisela. When Bernard of Clair-
vaux preached the crusade on the Rhine, the knight Brbmser of
Riidesheim determined to go to fight for the recovery of the Holy
Sepulchre. He was a widower with an only child, the maiden Gis-
ela. She bade her father farewell with much sorrow. Knight
Brb'mser won great renown by his bravery. He killed a terrible
dragon who lived near the source of the spring which supplied the
army with water, and poisoned it, so that the soldiers suffered much.
But so dreadful was the monster that none save the valiant Bromser
dared attack him. As he returned to the camp he was seized by
the Saracens and made prisoner. He was given to an emu- and
kept a captive for many years. He earnestly longed for freedom,
and made a vow that if he could but return to his home, he would
build a convent, and Gisela should be the first to enter it. At last
deliverance came, and Gisela welcomed her father with rapture ; but,
when he told her of his vow, her distress was most pitiable. She
told him that during his absence she had been betrothed, and begged
him not to insist upon the fulfillment of his vow at the expense of
hers. But he was inexorable, and the grief of Gisela soon deprived
her of reason. One dark and stormy night, she threw herself into
the Rhine, and was lost to father, lover, and convent. According to
tradition she still hovers about the ruined tower of her home.
Knight Bromser built the convent, and tried by every means in his
power to divert his mind, but his whole life was wretched. One day
his husbandmen, when ploughing, turned up in the furrow an image
of the Virgin, which cried out for help. The knight regarded this as
a sign from heaven, and built a chapel where it was found, and placed
the Virgin in it. It was soon said to work miracles, and pilgrims
flocked to the chapel. The knight called the church " Noth Gottes '
(God's need), and he died soon after its completion.
LEGENDS OF PLACE. S97
Schbnberg. See Oberwesel.
Sehwanau. In the fourteenth century, the affairs of Germany
were at a strange pass. The robber knights who inhabited feudal
castles were able to pounce upon merchants and travellers and do
them great injury. And so powerful were they that the towns were
obliged to make confederations, in order to defend themselves against
single knights. In these days Walter of Schwanau had a feud with
the citizens of Strasbourg. He intended to attack the town, and felt
sure of a safe retreat in his castle should not all go well. But on
this occasion the citizens determined to make the attack themselves,
which was contrary to their usual custom ; and without ever dreaming
of such a thing, Knight Walter found himself besieged. At last
ivhen his provisions failed he sent messengers to the enemy, but as
he had at first received their propositions with scorn and contempt,
so now they thought fit to refuse to listen to his proposals. Then
was he in despair. At this juncture, his lovely wife insisted that
he should tell her all the causes of the grief which she saw so plainly
written on his face. At first he refused to do so, but at length
yielded to her entreaties. Then she declaimed that she would go to
the camp of the besiegers. The commandant could not refuse to
see a woman. Her husband strongly opposed this, but she as-
sured him that she would preserve his honor unimpeached ; and at
length he consented. She then took her little son, and having
prayed to the Blessed Virgin, she went to the camp. She was
taken to the commander, and he could not long remain insensible to
the eloquent words which she spoke. At length they agreed that
the castle should be given up, and she should pass out with all her
treasures, free to go where she willed. " Then," replied the noble
wife, " take the castle. My husband is saved, for he and my child
are my first and greatest treasures. All else I willingly leave to
you. I know that my husband has incurred the displeasure of the
citizens of Strasbourg, and they desire to possess him in order to
punish him ; but since he is to go free by your promise, you will not
revenge yourselves on his soldiers who have but obeyed his will."
The commander turned away to hide his tears. But he kept his
word. The wife went forth with her husband and child as well as
their other treasures, and most of the soldiers joined the forces of
the confederate towns, but the castle was destroyed.
Seckenheim. Frederick the Victorious. When the Elector
Louis IV. died, his son, not one year old, was left the heir to the
Palatinate. A powerful regent was necessary, for the affairs of the
government were much disturbed by the lawlessness of the robber
knights who attacked all who passed their castles, taking their
money and making them prisoners. The choice fell upon Frederick,
the uccle of the little prince. This choice was not pleasing to
the emperor, and Frederick had otbpr enemies, who from jealousy
398 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
and other motives made an alliance against him. At length a deci-
sive battle took place near Seckenheim, where the regent 'vas victo-
rious and took many prisoners, among whom were the Bishop of Metz
and the Earl of Wiirtemburg, with many other nobles. Frederick
made a triumphant entrance into Heidelberg with his prisoners and
his victorious army, but he treated the former with kindness and
consideration, and that same evening invited them to a grand ban-
quet. The entertainment was magnificent, but there was no bread.
The Earl of Wiirtemburg asked a servant for it, but the Elector
Frederick took him by the hand and led him to a window, saying,
" The warriors who devastate the fields, stamp down the seeds, and
burn the mills, should not ask for bread. It does not belong to
them." Frederick then resumed the lively conversation which had
been interrupted ; but his lesson had touched the heart of h*is pris-
oners. After a time a considerable ransom was paid, a bond was
signed in which the prisoners agreed never again to invade the
Electoral-Palatinate, and they went free.
Seebach. The Spinning Undine. One evening when the lasses of
Seebach were all gathered in the spinning-room to twist the linen
thread, and the lads were there to repeat jokes and tell stories,
and all were as merry as one could wish, a beautiful young lady
entered, bearing at. ivory spinning-wheel. She asked to be al-
lowed to join their society. They received her very kindly, gave
her the best seat, and enlarged the circle to take her in. At first
they were a little embarrassed by her presence, but soon they resumed
all their former merriment. From the moment of her entrance the
son of the house was fascinated, and his eyes were riveted upon
her. When she had departed and all the others were filled
with speculations concerning her, he said not a word. From
this night she came every evening for a long time. She always
went away at a certain hour, and nothing could induce her to re-
main a moment later. The son of the house was sad when she
left, and joyous when she appeared, and one could tell that he loved
her. She had a perceptible influence too, on all. The maidens were
neater and more tasteful in their dress, and their work was better,
while the lads were softened and more gentlemanly in their deport-
ment., and all had come to love her gentle face and manner. One
night the lover determined to change the hands of the clock, that he
might have the joy of gazing on her for another hour. When she
rose to go he followed her. She went hastily to the Mummelsee, and
threw herself into the waters. Then a complaining, mournful sound
was heard, and the waters foamed and boiled angrily. At this the
lover also rushed into the lake and disappeared. Next day his
corpse was found, and the spinning undine came no more.
Solingen. The art of blade-making had not reached its perfec-
tion in Solingen in the tenth century. Among its blade-makers wa
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 39f.
one, Ruthard, wlio had all his life greatly desired to discover a pro-
cess by which he could equal the blades of Damascus. He had
spent much time and in fact much money in fruitless experiments.
One Christmas eve he returned to his home more discouraged than
ever belbre, for a trial on which he had greatly depended had failed
like all the rest. His daughter Martha upbraided him for thus work-
ing and wearying himself, and, quite unsuspicious of the waste of hi*
money, declared that he should give up labor altogether and that it
was wicked to work on this holy eve. But she could not rally him,
neither did he eat the supper she had served to please his taste, and
went out gloomy and sad. She sighed, and reflected that in this
humor he would not smile on the wooing of young William, his chief
workman, who was about to ask him for her hand. Soon after the
lover came to her, pale and sad. He told how her father had made
it a condition of their marriage that he should go to Damascus and
learn the secret he so wished to know. He had shown him a blade
with which lie had easily and smoothly cut off a nail from the wall,
and declared that no one should be his son-in-law who could not
make a blade like that. This caused Martha deep grief; but Wil-
liam was determined to try all in the hope of gaining the reward.
So the next morning he departed. The tenth day of his journey he
was in a solitary mountain as night approached, and just as he de-
spaired of finding a lodging he saw a hut, in which was a frightful
old crone. He begged a lodging and she promised him one, adding
that she expected another visitor. She was extremely ugly, her eyes
squinted and were red, while her voice was almost a shriek. As she
was preparing his supper William told her the object of his journey.
After he was in bed he could not sleep, and about midnight he heard
such strange sounds that he arose and peeped out to see the cause
of them. A man was sitting with the old woman by the hearth and
over the fire was a pot in which something was boiling and seething,
while from it rose at times a blue flame. The man was no more
agreeable in his personnel than the woman, and his feet were concealed
in the ashes. Suddenly the old woman started towards William, and
he had scarcely time to get to his bed, when she screamed to him to
get up and see a man from the far Orient who could tell him all he
wished to know. The strange appearance of the man and woman,
the flame-colored mantle which he wore, and the manner in which he
peered at William, filled him with fear and he trembled as he stood
before him. " I know what you seek," said the man " and can
help you. Hut I do nothing without pay. If you receive the knowl-
edge which you desire from me I will give you seven years and
seven days. Then you will belong to me. If you agree, well and
good. If not, you shall never return to your Martha." William was
too frightened to think and too anxious to see Martha to refuse, so
he signed a contract with a pen dipped in the contents of the kettle.
400 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
and having received a letter from the man he went again to bed. In
the morning the old woman had disappeared as well as the man.
William returned home and told his master all his experience. After
thinking much upon the matter, he advised William that he should
not open the letter, but lay it carefully away. He consented that he
should marry Martha, and if a son should be born to them he could
open the letter, for over him the Devil could have no power. Then
were William and Martha happy, and as he was honest and indus-
trious he mended the fortunes of the family, and all went well. Many
years after, when Ruthard and William were both in 1 their graves,
the letter was opened by their descendant, and the blades made by
its direction were equal to the Damascus blades, and from that time
those of Solingen have been excellent and world-renowned.
Speyer. The Cathedral was founded in 1030 by Conrad II., as
* burial-place for himself and his successors, and here many royal
personages have been buried. The following legend relating to the
death and burial of Henry IV. is not without interest! The poor
monarch had died while under the sentence of excommunication from
the pope. His unnatural son, Henry V., had treated him most
wickedly, and even obliged him to live in exile, and he died at last
in poverty and wretchedness. Five years elapsed before this son
requested the pope to remove the ban, so that his father might re-
ceive Christian burial. All this time the faithful servant of the old
emperor had stayed by the body of his master, and devoted much
of his time to praying for his soul. It would be impossible to tell
his joy when at length his beloved lord was interred with all the
honors and ceremonies which attend the burial of crowned heads.
Kurt did not long survive thase solemnities, and when he died all the
bells of Speyer were tolled by unseen hands, as if an imperial burial
were taking place. Henry V. lived to sadly repent his cruelty to his
father, and died a horrible death in Speyer, at which time, one bell,
and that the sharp, clear bell of the poor sinner, was miraculously
rung. Those in the street who heard it asked each other what
criminal was to be executed that day, and when the truth was known
horror filled every breast, and many prayers were offered for thy
repose of this wicked son.
Staufenberg in Ortenau. In the fine old times, when fairies
lived in dells and streams, dressed Cinderellas for balls, and helped
Aladdins to live in style, the Rhine was not without some most be-
witching specimens of this order of beings. But charming as they
were when pleased, their revenge was dreadful when reason was
given for its exercise, and this was strikingly illustrated in the case
of the young Count of Staufenberg. He was a very Apollo. So
much so that the fame of his beauty preceded him wherever he went.
He was devoted to the pleasures of the chase, and rode often to the
banks of the Rhine in pursuit of game. One day while there he
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 401
fell asleep, and when lie awoke a lovely maiden sat near and saluted
him in the most friendly manner. When he asked her of her home,
she said she was a nymph and lived in the rocky bud of the river.
The count was thoroughly bewitched by her, and did not say fare-
well until he had a promise from her to meet him next day at the
same time and place. And now he renounced the chase and "all his
former pleasures, and spent his spare hours with the enchantress.
The fairy demanded and received an oath of true and eternal love,
which he willingly gave; and she often told him, that were it broken
DJthing would remain to her but endless sorrow, for nymphs could
bve but once. She also said that were he false he could never rid
himself of her plaintive cry, for it would be hoard through all his
castle or wherever he might be, and that although she should be in-
visible he would some time see her foot, and that would be a sign that
he could live but three days longer. The count paid little heed
to all this, for he was at that stage of love when lovers are sure they
shall be ever true, and are ready so to swear by all on earth or in
heaven, fairy-laud not excepted. And this love was an advantage to
him, for whatever he undertook was successful through the magic art
of his fairy sweetheart. Did he leave her for the chase, his arrow
never missed the mark, did he ride in the lists, he was ever the vic-
tor, and in serious battle his lance or sword was always sure, while
his life seemed to be a charmed one. His fame was widely sounded,
and numberless damsels had set their hearts on him, and him alone.
But this moved him not ; he was always anxious to return to his
loved nymph, ever so sweet, so pure, so fresh, with all the refine-
ment, and none of the airs of the high-born maidens who so loved
him. But at length the only daughter of the emperor desired to
marry him, and her father, well pleased, made the count acquainted
with her wish. The young man appreciated the honor thus offered
him, and assured the empeior of his earnest desire to accept it, but
at the same time told him of his vows to the maid of the Rhine.
The emperor assured him that a promise to such a being was not
binding, and added that the bishop could release him from any vows
he had made. Thus persuaded, the count consented to the union, and
the marriage was soon celebrated with great festivity. As they sat
at the wedding-feast, the count most happy in gazing at his loving
young bride, and the guests proposing the health of the newly wed-
ded, suddenly, from the wall opposite the festive board, an extremely
beautiful female foot protruded, visible nearly to the knee, and at the
same time a heart-rending wail sounded in all the air. Then the
count cried, " Woe is me ! " and declared that in three days he must
die. He became mad, and rushed into the forest, where he could not
be found until after three days, when his lifeless body was borne to
his virgin bride. She retired to a cloister, where she passed her Ufa
in inconsolable rief.
402 LEGENDS OF PLAC E.
Stavoren. Six centuries ago, according to tradition, SLivoren
was the first commercial city of Holland. High life and magnifi-
cence prevailed there, and among those who attempted to excel in
splendor none exceeded the Virgin Richberta. Her wealth was
enormous. Her ships ploughed all seas, and brought home, uot only
merchandise, but the rarest articles for her house, as well as rich
clothing, jewels, and ornaments for her person. She was vain cf her
wealth, and especially so of the rich feasts she gave. On cne of these
occasions a strange guest was announced to Richberta. He sent
her a message that he had been in all countries, had seen the splen-
dor of many courts, and had come to admire that of Richberta, of
which he had heard much. The lady was flattered, and commanded
that he should be seated beside her. He was an old man in oriental
costume, who advanced toward Richberta with ease and elegance.
He expected her to offer him the welcome of bread and salt, but while
hundreds of expensive dishes loaded the table, there was no bread.
He conversed agreeably, and told many interesting stories of what
he had seen and heard in all the world. Richberta listened for a
word of praise of her and her feast, but she heard none. At last her
impatience overcame her wisdom, and she asked what impression it
had made on him. He declared that only in the halls of kings had
he seen such splendor, but added that he had been surprised to find
the best thing in the world wanting. Then all desired that he
should explain himself, but he would not. This rendered Richberta
miserable, and she could not imagine what the precious thing could
be which she had not. She sent ships to every clime, but could
hear of nothing that satisfied her. Now it happened that the vessel
in which the commander of her fleet had sailed, made a leak, and
the flour was spoiled. There was enough of meat and wine, but no
bread, and the want of it was so dreadful that he decided that bread
was the best and most indispensable of all things on earth. So he
steered to a Baltic town and took a cargo of the finest wheat, with
which he returned to Stavoren. He told Richberta of his decision,
and that the missing bread must have been that to which the stranger
h&d referred. But Richberta was in a rage, and demanded on which
side of the vessel the cargo had been received, and commanded that
it should all be thrown overboard from the opposite side. In vain
the commander expostulated with her ; she only repeated her orders,
and although crowds of the needy flocked to her she would not allow
them to receive an ounce of the grain ; and it was thrown into the
sea amidst their curses. But soon the grain germinated, and a forest
of stalks shot up and formed a sort of net-work to which the sand and
dirt could cling, and soon an impenetrable bar was formed before the
harbor of Stavoren, and all vessels that made the attempt to enter
were lost. Richberta Avas reduced to poverty. Moreover, a passage
through which the sea had been accustomed to flow was closed up,
LEGEtfDS OF PLACE. 403
and at last in a tempest it broke through the dykes and flooded the
city, and all was lost. Where Stavoren stood the Zuydersce now
tosses its many waves, and when the water is clear those who sail be-
hold with horror the towers and palaces of the once flourishing city.
Sterrenberg. See Liebenstein.
St. Goar and St. Goarhausen. These towns, though on opposite
sides of the Rhine, are both named for the holy St. Goar, who came
here about the middle of the sixth century. He built a hut below
the Lurlei, where the river, forced into a narrow channel, rushes on
witli noisy speed. Just above is the ledge of rocks called the
' Bank." In those early days many fishermen were attracted to this
spot by the great numbers of salmon abounding there. St. Goar
devoted himself to the work of a missionary among this people, and
especially cared for those who were shipwrecked in the " Gewirre "
or whirl [tool. The fishermen thus came to regard him as a messen-
ger from God, and loved him accordingly. The attention of King
Siegbert was drawn to St. Goar by his enemies, but when he watched
his life he so much admired his piety and good living that he ap-
pointed him Bishop of Trier. But this, and all other preferments,
St. Goar refused, and died where he had lived. The king com-
manded a chapel to be built over his cell and tomb, which became a
place of pilgrimage, and was in the end enlarged into a convent, the
monks of which devoted themselves to hospitality and charitable la-
bors, as St. Goar had done. Robbers plundered and burned this,
but the Count of Arnheim rebuilt it and inclosed it with walls, and
gradually the town of St. Goar was built around it. So many offer-
ings were made at this tomb that it became very splendid, and it was
believed that misfortune would follow those who passed it without a
visit. On one occasion Charlemagne did this and was enveloped in
a thick fog which did not clear until he had retraced his steps and
prayed in the chapel. His sons when at variance met there acci-
dentally and became reconciled, and his wife Fastrada was there
healed of a severe illness. In consideration of all these benefits,
Charlemagne built a court and a new church for the monks of St.
Goar.
Stolzenfels. This castle was much improved if not founded by
Arnold von Isenburg, Archbishop of Treves, in the middle of the
thirteenth century. Its highest point is four hundred and ten feet above
the river. Many years ago the treasurer of Archbishop Werner of
Falkenstein resided here with his daughter Elsbeth, a maiden both
beautiful and good. Her father was infatuated with the pursuits of
alchemy, astrology, and kindred subjects. One night a pilgrim begged
the hospitalities of the castle, and was admitted. Before long he de-
claved himself learned in alchemy, and immediately the treasurer
was fascinated with the idea that possibly this man could teach him
something of the black art, which he did not know. He fittf d a
404 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
room in one of the unoccupied towers, with everything .needful for
their use, and in this the two often passed their nights as well as
days. . Elsbeth watched her father grow troubled and nervous until
at last he no longer noticed her or her endearments. One day a
messenger announced the approach of the archbishop. Then was
the treasurer most wretched ; he was as one mad, and walked the
castle weeping. Elsbeth had watched him sorrowfully, and was
about to approach him to endeavor to comfort him, when he rushed
to the apartment of the alchemist. She followed to the door and
listened to see if she could ascertain the true cause of his grief. He
upbraided the pilgrim with having deceived him, and caused him to
spend not only his own gold, but that of the archbishop. The other
replied in measured tones that if he would comply with his request
and bring him a virgin who had never loved any man he could have
gold to his heart's content. The treasurer declared in one breath
that he would not add murder to his sins, and with the next, that he
must have gold if he suffered eternal torments for it. Then he
rushed away. Elsbeth now approached the pilgrim, and said that
having heard all she was ready to sacrifice herself for her father.
He at first regarded her with all his wickedness depicted on his face,
then remembering himself he changed to a tender manner, and
would have taken her hand. She repulsed him, shuddering, and
declared that she could plunge a dagger to her heart, but she would
not suffer the profanation of his touch. Then he told her to return
at midnight and all should be prepared, and added that at sunrise
her father should possess all he desired. The maiden demanded if
he could swear this. Instantly he took a cross from his bosom and
solemnly swore that if she obeyed him, her father should be rich and
honored. " I shall come," said Elsbeth, and withdrew. Then the
monk gloated over his wickedness ; he laughed at the cross, saying it
had done him much good, and touched a spring which sent a dagger
out of it. He proceeded to make fast the doors, and to raise a stone
from the floor where he had concealed the gold the treasurer be-
lieved to have been lost in the crucible. He fastened the bag con-
taining it beneath his gown and waited for the night. Meanwhile
the bishop and his train had arrived, and all was confusion about the
castle. Elsbeth, pale and sad, directed the servants, till the bishop
desired to see her. He told her how pretty she had grown, and pre-
sented her to his knights, warning them jestingly that all must not
fall in love with her, while she, blushing, could not raise her eyes.
Among the knights was one of the family of Westerburg, whose heart
was given to Elsbeth even while the bishop spoke, and he could think
of nothing save the maiden, and wonder whether fortune would favor
their better acquaintance. So wakeful was he with these thoughts
that he made no attempt to sleep. Looking from his window at mid-
night, he saw Elsbeth cross the court to the most remote part of the
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 405
?astle. Impelled as by an irresistible power, he followed her, and
arriving at the place where she disappeared lie looked into the apart-
ment of the alchemist. He saw the maiden on her knees and the
monk bent over a crucible. He turned to her saying, " Are you
resolved to do all as I shall bid you ? " The knight could not hear
her low reply, but the pilgrim said, " Then will your father be happy
and able to restore the gold he has taken from the archbishop. The
sacred book of science declares, blood for blood ; honor for honor.
By the sacrifice of the latter you can make your father honorable
among knights, and with the former you can obtain gold to rescue
him from infamy ! Prepare then for the sacrifice ! " Thus speak-
ing, he approached as if to embrace her. Elsbeth drew herself
proudly back, and said, " Away, wretch ! I came to shed my blood for
my father, but I will not suffer insult even for him ! " She seized a
dagger and would have plunged it to her heart, but the knight burst
in and snatched the fatal weapon. The maiden fainted, and the
monk was for a moment stupefied ; then while the knight restored
Elsbeth he hastened to escape. The maiden woke as from a fright-
ful dream in sobs and tears. The knight endeavored to console her,
and at length she confided all to him. Then he assured that he
would supply the gold for her father, and all should yet be well.
" Rejoice," added he, " as I do, that this has occurred, for by it have
I not found a treasure more precious than that which the alchemist
seeks ? " Their eyes met, and through them heart spoke to heart as
they sealed their betrothal with a kiss. Next day the knight sought
the treasurer, to confess his love for Elsbeth and to offer the gold he
so much needed. But the necessity was supplied in another way,
for the body of the pilgrim was found in the Rhine, and on it all the
gold that the treasurer had lost. The marriage of Elsbeth and the
knight was soon celebrated. Her father gave her a large dowry, and
never forgot the love and courage she had shown by resolving to
sacrifice her life for him.
Strasbourg. There lived in Strasbourg, many years ago, a me-
chanic who had gained great celebrity by the finish and delicacy of his
works. He was a widower with an only child. She managed the
affairs of the house and all was happiness. But the mind of the
father was ever occupied with the desire and endeavor to produce
some work more perfect than any he had yet done. He secluded
himself and gave little attention to business. His friends expostu-
lated in vain, and finally left him to what they called his folly. But
two persons out of all his acquaintances continued to visit him. One
of these was an old man, rich and disagreeable, who after years of
maneuvering had obtained the appointment to a magistracy. The
other, a young and worthy mechanic, who came often to converse
with the learned master upon topics connected with his art. He also
loved to watch the daughter as she performed her various duties, and
406 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
often tarried by her side, much longer than by that of the abstracted
father. At length the rich old man, in all the satisfaction and pride
of his new office, came to demand the hand of the daughter in mar-
riage. The father was overcome with surprise, and the daughter by
distress, for she well understood the revengeful disposition of her
suitor, and feared he would not easily forgive her refusal. This
proved to be so, for he left them with threats of vengeance. In the
midst of all this excitement the young mechanic came, and inquired
the cause of her distress, and when he heard her declare how hateful
the thought of such a marriage was to her, his heart was full of joy,
and he was bold enough to ask her, if since she scorned the wealth of
the magistrate, she could accept his poverty and devotion. Her an-
swer was all he could desire ; but she begged him to wait a time before
speaking to her father on this subject, as he had not recovered from
the surprise and unpleasantness of the late event. But the young
man, now sure of the maiden's love, dared asked the father to make
him a partner in his business, which he readily consented to do. Thus
the lovers were more together and all their affairs were more prosper-
ous than formerly, for the young man looked out for the interest of
the old one, while he dreamed over his schemes. Together the young
people made the father very happy. One day they were startled by
shouts of joy from the apartment of the father, and when they reached
him found him standing before a clock which although altogether new
and surprising in its construction, moved lightly and easily and with
wonderful exactness. The excitement of the master was intense. He
pressed his daughter to his bosom, while the young man held his
hand in silent admiration and respect. When the work was shown
to the public, there was no more ridicule of the master and all ideas
of his madness were dispelled. The rejected lover now saw an op-
portunity to revenge himself, and was able for a long time to prevent
the mayor of the city from approving the work. But the fame of
the clock went abroad, and commissioners were sent from Basel to
examine it. Then the mayor was forced to approve the clock, and
when those from Basel desired to buy it, the corporation of Stras-
bourg bought it and agreed to place it in a chapel in the cathedral.
The city of Basel then ordered another to be made for them, but this
greatly excited those of Strasbourg, for they were unwilling that any
any other city should have such a clock. The discarded lover was
loud in his declarations that it would be treason in the master to
make another. The latter was called before the authorities and a
promise that he wouli not make a second clock required of him.
He replied that God had given him his talents for use, that when he
ttudied and labored for years they turned from him sneeringly, and
derided his work when done, that only when those of Basel came to
admire, did they approve ; that he had been loyal in that he had given
the first, to his native city, but he would promise nothing which could
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 407
hamper his future labors. He retired from the tribunal, and ihey
then determined (being led on by the offended magistrate) to destroy
the sight of the master in order to gain their end. Cruel as was
this decision he received it without a word, and when asked if lie de-
sired anything before the execution of the sentence,, he answered that
he wished to suffer before his work, and asked that he might be
allowed to give it some final touches. These requests were granted,
and he gazed long at his darling clock ; even in this sad moment his
persecutor reminded him that others waited, and the old man, after
busying himself a moment with the works, declared that all was fin-
ished. The dreadful deed was done, but while he writhed in agony
there came a strange buzz from the clock, and lo, the weights fell to the
ground and it was destroyed. He had removed the principal spring,
and his revenge was complete. Then the lovers led him away and
being married devoted their lives to the master, while the wicked
magistrate was given up to scorn and contempt and expelled from
society. Thus the clock remained until 1842, when parts of it were
used in the new one constructed by Schwilgue ; and the old master
shares the honors with the new and more fortunate one of later days.
Taunus. When Rudolph of Hapsburg was emperor he published
a decree that any robber knight taken with arms in his hands should
be executed, and his accomplices also. At this time there lived in
the Taunus, at the Castle of Falkenstein, a knight named Kurt, who
had seven sons, and their depredations were so numerous and bold
that great complaints were made to the emperor at Worms, lie
took with him a large force and proceeded to invest Falkenstein.
The knight and his sons fought bravely, but were taken by a storm
attack. Then the emperor's edict must be obeyed. A circle of
soldiers was formed on the platform of the castle, and Kurt and his
seven sons were led out for execution. So sad a spectacle moved
even the heart of the emperor, but he could not violate the law.
Much sympathy was felt for the sons from the fact that they had
obeyed their father and been led on by him. The emperor then said
(in ordi r to give them a chance, however slight), that liberty should
be given to the son toward whom the father should advance after
execution. A light beamed on the face of Kurt a> he bowed his
head to the sword, and, mirabile dictu ! as soon as the head rolled
on the ground the form advanced to the eldest, the next, the third,
and sc on until it fell at the feet of the youngest. A strange sensa-
lior o mingled horror and amazement tilled the hearts of all who
beheld this wonderful sight. The emperor gave the seven young
men places in his army, in order that they might prove their loyalty
and efface the disgrace which had heretofore attended them.
Thann in Alsace. The Lyinr/jield. This is a barren waste on
which no vegetation flourishes, avoided by all, and literally a field of
death, upon which lie the bones of those who there fell. One night
408 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
a wanderer who had lost his way, entered on this plain. When the
hour of midnight sounded, he heard a strange subterranean noise
and a rattle of swords, with other sounds like those of a battle. An
armed knight came to him, and sternly demanded what he sought in
this accursed place. When the wanderer declared himseli a stranger,
the knight told him that many years before Louis the Pious had there
arranged his soldiers to fight an enemy. His sons who were with
him persuaded his troops to abandon him and leave him to his antag-
onists. When the old monarch realized his betrayal he raised his
hands to heaven and called down curses on his sons, his soldiers, and
the field which had witnessed their treachery. From that time the
plain had been deserted and the perjured men who fell there could
obtain no repose, but were ever forced to fight each other again and
again. When the story was ended the earth opened and the knight
disappeared. Then the wanderer hastened in great terror to leave
the place and when he at last reached Thann recounted his expe-
rience on the Lyingfield.
The Mortar that was mixed with Wine. There is a tower in
Thann which is said to have been built in a season when there was
a scarcity of water, but such a supply of wine that casks and vessels
enough to hold it could not be found. So the mortar was mixed
with wine, which gave it a delicious fragrance. It is said that it was
of an extraordinary solidity, and that to this day, when the vines
are in blossom the walls sometimes exude a pleasant substance ; and
some go so far as to say that at such times the sound of the bells is
more musical than usual. This legend affords a more pleasing as-
sociation with Thann than that of the Lyingfield.
Treuenfels. Upon this height, which rises above one of the val-
leys of the Siebengebirge, is an altar upon which the name of Liba
may still be read, it having formed a part of the inscription, for the
altar was built to commemorate the devotion of the maiden Liba to
her father, Knight Balther, who inhabited a castle not far distant
from Treuenfels. He lived in the days of Engelbert I. when that
bishop attempted to stop the depredations of the robber knights
Liba was his only child, and betrothed to the young Schott of Griin-
stein. Now Balther was not a robber, but he felt that the laws of
the archbishop were oppressive and an insult to the independence of
knights. One evening when entertaining a large party, these sub-
jects were discussed, and Balther declared that were he young he
would not submit to these insults, and taunted those about him with
want of courage and independence. They all sat for a time in si-
lence, when one arose and said that Balther was right, and challenged
those whc would prove their claim to knighthood to fill their goblets
and drink to an alliance against the tyrant. They were inflamed
with wine and passion, and all drank to the success of their under-
taking. Not long after, these knights waylaid and murdered the
LRGKNHS OF PI. ACE 409
bishop. This roused the indignation of all the land, and the em-
peror ordered the arrest of the assassins. All evidence tended to
make Balther their leader, and the command was given to burn his
castle and make him prisoner. The castle was on (in- before any
alarm of the approach of the troops had been given. Liba had
barely time to arouse her father and lead him through a subterranean
passage to a plaee of safety. They entered a thick forest and there
lived. Balther grew rapidly blind, and their only subsistence was
the berries and herbs which Liba gathered. One day in their wan-
derings they came to a cave, where she made moss couches, and
henceforth remained. Often Balther told how earnestly he repented
his crime, and begged Liba to forgive the deed which had resulted so
unhappily. One day they were sitting upon the rock and the old
man took her head in his hands as was his custom, kissing her and
smoothing her hair, when Liba saw a tall young hunter behind some
bushes near by. She would have suddenly called out " Schott ! "
but she feared the effect on her father, and she knew not if he would
still care for the child of a criminal and outlaw. The tears gathered
in her eyes, and raising her hands to heaven she prayed : " O God,
forgive our sins we pray Thee, and let our punishment be ended."
" Amen,'' responded the old man, and as they spoke a sharp flash
of lightning came and the heavy thunder reverberated through the
mountains. The good Father had heard their prayer, for when
Schott went toward them both were dead. He buried them where
he had found them and erected a chapel, the altar of winch still re-
mains, and the height was from that time named Treuenfels.
Trifels, Castle of. Richard the Lion-hearted. In the Ilaardt
mountains in the Bavarian-Rhenish Palatinate rises the mountain on
which stands Castle Trifels. The views from this and the neighbor-
ing heights are the finest in all the Palatinate. It takes in the bor-
ders of the Rhine from Strasbourg to the Odenwald with the Black
Forest also in the distance, while the towers of Worms, Mannheim,
Speyer, Carlsruhe, and Strasbourg are all to be seen with the eye
alone, and near at hand are the grotesque and many colored peaks
of the Vosges. But this is not the place even if we had the power
to picture these beauties. This castle was formerly a prison, a for-
tress and royal residence, and a treasury of the royal jewels and
insignia. About Easter time in 1193, Richard C<eur de Lion was
sent to Trifels by Henry VI., who had received him a prisoner from
Leopold of Austria. He was here more than a year, during which
time his faithful Blondel with some English knights had travelled
for and near to discover the prison of the king. At length the\
came to Trifels, and when Blondel in the role of a minstrel sang a
song which Richard had composed, the king answered him by sing
ing another strain. Blondel introduced himself into the castle under
ome pretext, and won the affections of the daughter of the jail'-r.
410 LEGENDS OF PLACE
At length they together contrived a plan by which, with the cooper-
ation of the other knights who remained at hand outside the castle,
they liberated the king, and all reached England in safety. There
Blondel married the beautiful Mathilda, and was largely rewarded,
with the other knights, for the services they had rendered the brave
Richard Coeur de Lion.
Wildsee. See Baden-Baden.
Windeck, Castle of. See Baden-Baden.
Worms. Siegfried. After the adventures of Siegfried in the
Nibelimgenlande he determined to go to Worms to sec- Chrimhilde
the sister of King Gunther. He took with him twelve well-chosen
and brave knights. When he was come to Worms, the king, who
had heard of his prowess, received him surrounded by his court.
Siegfried was amazed at the immense size of those he saw here and
especially that of the brothers of the king, and Ute, his mother.
Siegfried here passed a year in tournaments and feasts, but never
saw Chrimhilde as he so much wished. At length messengers ar-
rived from the Saxons and Danes to declare war against Gunther.
Siegfried immediately undertook to assist the Burgundians and
promised to go forth with his twelve knights. He persuaded Gun-
ther to remain at home. Siegfried fought with the two northern
kings, and conquered the first while the second surrendered to him.
They with much booty were sent to Worms, and Siegfried was re-
ceived there with the highest honors. He then saw Chrimhilde,
and from that day they were much together. About this time the
report reached Gunther of the beauty and prowess of Brunhilde,
queen of Iceland, who would marry any one who could conquer her
in wrestling, and many had fallen in the attempt. Gunther was re-
solved to go to see her, and Siegfried promised to go with him and
that he should succeed if he would give Chrimhilde to him on theii
return. To this Gunther assented, and with two other knights they
set out for Isenstein the capital of queen Brunhilde. She received
them with great ceremony and respect, and soon all was arranged for
Gunther's trial. His courage would have failed him after seeing tin;
great strength of the queen, 'but Siegfried encouraged him with
hopes and promises of success. When the day came, Siegfried put
on his Tarnkappe, which he had taken in the Nibelungenlande, and
which made its wearer invisible, and stood beside Gunther. He
whispered to him that he was there to aid him, and thus inspired
him with confidence, and in every trial of skill or strength Gun-
ther was by the help of Siegfried victorious. When all was over,
Gunther claimed the hand of Brunhilde, but she answered him eva-
sively, saying, " This cannot happen without the consent of my gen
erals and princes." Her answer did not please Gunther or Sieg-
fried, and they feared the queen intended some treachery, so
Siegfried took their ship and hastened away to Nibelungenlande,
LEGKNDS OF PLACE. 411
and requested assistance from the dwarf Alberich, and he gave him
a thousand of the best fighting giants of the land, and ships to take
them to Iceland. When Brunhilde saw them come she asked Gunther
who they were, and he answered that they were his suite whom he had
left on the way. Then she felt it was of no use to contend with such
a force, and prepared to go to the Rhine. When the fleet reached
the mouth of the river, Siegfried and some other knights hastened on
to make preparations for the reception of Gunther and Brunhilde.
All went well and they \vcre affectionately welcomed by Dame Ute and
Chrimhilde. Then the marriage was celebrated and at the wedding
feast Siegfried claimed of Gunther the fulfillment of his promise that
Chrimhilde should be his wife. The king turned to his sister for her
consent and she gave it most heartily, and the two were united and
lived happily. But with Gunther it was not so, for the truth was,
that Brunhilde was in love with Siegfried rather than the king, and
when they were come to the bridal chamber she refused him the re-
ward of love, and when he would have insisted she bound him and hung
him on the wall where she left him until morning. Then Gunther told
this to Siegfried and he promised to assist him, so lie again donned the
Tarnkappe and went with Gunther to his chamber. There he threw
Brunhilde down and tore off her magic girdle and a ring which gave
her such great strength, and she believing herself to be overcome by
her husband could make no farther resistance. Now shortly after all
this Siegfried and his wife went to the Netherlands to the court of
his father, where he was gladly received with feasts and festivals,
and the hearts of his parents were glad. Here he remained two
years, during which time Chrimhilde bore a son, his mother died, and
his father transferred the kingdom to Siegfried. Then a messenger
came from Brunhilde urging them to come to Worms. Now Brun-
hilde dkl this with evil intentions, because she had always been jeal-
ous of Siegfried and his power over the Nibelung nation. But the
invitation was accepted, and Siegfried set out with his wife, his
father, and a hundred knights. Arriving at Worms they were re-
ceived with great splendor, and feast succeeded feast ; but one day
when in the open space now in front of the Cathedral at Worms the
two queens had a fierce quarrel concerning the strength and bravery
of their husbands. Each declared that their own excelled the other,
and finally they waxed so warm that Chrimhilde declared that even
in the bridal night Siegfried had assisted Gunther. Now her brother
was grieved to find that Siegfried had nut kept this a secret, but he
was so thankful to him for all he had done that he could not think
of resenting this. But Brunhilde determined to be revenged, and
she enlisted the Knight Hagen and several others in her cause who
were bent upon killing Siegfried. They knew that he had been
rendered invulnerable with dragon's fat, but that like Achilles ho
had one spot remaining which was sensitive to injury : this was his
412 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
shoulder. So they arranged a great hunt, and when all were thirsty
they went to a spring, and as Siegfried stooped down to drink, Ha-
gen pierced the shoulder with a spear and a great stream of blood
gushed from the wound. Siegfried seized Hagen and threw him
10 the ground, but fell immediately himself, and only lived to recom-
mend Chrimhilde to the care of Gunther, who with all the right-
minded of his court greatly lamented this act of treachery. For
ctLer adventures of Siegfried see Xanten.
The Combat of Maximilian I. When this emperor called together
all the knights of his dominion to consult concerning the measures
to be employed to maintain peace and good order, a great tourna-
ment was announced, and knights of all nations were invited to con-
tend for the prize. Immediately there came a Frenchman of great
renown, Claude de Barre, and he hung his arms over the door of
his lodgings, and sent out a herald to invite all to a combat for life
or death. Time passed on and none dared accept the challenge, and
Maximilian saw with sorrow that no one would vindicate the Ger-
man against the French arms. When the time arrived and the chal-
lenger had become extremely vainglorious and disagreeable, the em-
peror himself hung the arms of Ostriech and Burgundy beside those
of the Frenchman. The day arrived, and many thousands gathered
to witness the combat. While mounted, both lances were broken,
but neither combatant unhorsed. They then dismounted to contend
hand to hand. At first de Barre seemed the best man, but sud-
denly Maximilian called up his strength and fire, and soon overcame
the giant boaster. The emperor offered his hand to his humbled
opponent, and invited him to a banquet that night, but de Barre
thought it well to leave Worms that very evening.
The Captive Jews at Worms. The lord of Dalberg, whose castle
was at Hernsheim, near Worms, and who belonged to one of the
oldest and most noble families of the German empire, served with
the Romans at the destruction of Jerusalem. He was a centurion,
and received as his portion of the booty a number of Jewish pris-
oners, whom he took home with him to form a Jewish colony. Among
them was an old man, almost blind, who was led by his daughter,
whose beauty was beyond description. The old man was both
learned and holy, and he, together with his daughter, cheered the
other prisoners and encouraged them to trust in the power of Je-
hovah. As soon as Dalberg arrived there were many feasts and
banquets to welcome him, and to give his friends an opportunity to
hear of all he had seen. Among his friends was a distinguished
Roman officer who belonged to a cohort stationed at Mayence. He
no sooner saw the lovely Jewess than he determined to possess her
To this he knew he could not obtain the consent of Dalberg, so he
resolved to run away with her. He prepared a refuge in the forest,
and watched his opportunity. One day he seized her as she was
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 413
drawing water, and leaping on his horse with her, carried her away.
But when he reached his hiding-place he could not accomplish his
base designs, and at last as he grew wild with passion and rage the
maid fell on her knees praying God to protect her, and preserve hci
virtue. " To hell with your God ! " shouted the Roman. " Mine you
shall be though the heavens fall ! " and he approached her with
wicked determination. Then came a lightning flash, and a *ton
which killed the blaspheming wretch. The maiden was saved ; bul
when she regarded the stone, she saw the features of Jehovah, ami
so dazzling was the sight that she became blind. Her father and
Dalberg at length found her, and on the stone was the name of
Jehovah in Hebrew, but the brightness was gone. When she told
her story all regarded her with reverence. But neither she or her
father long survived this sad event. When these poor Jews left
their homes they brought with them sacks of earth, that they might
be interred in their native soil, and these were the first who were thus
buried. The stone which marked their graves, was later built into
the synagogue at Worms, and in a part of the Jewish burial-ground is
still shown a spot, said to be formed of the earth brought from Judaea.
The Coquettish Maiden of Wainpolder Hof. This house, which is at
present divided, belonged to the distinguished lord of Wampold, and
was in charge of a castellan who was also a nobleman, but not rich.
He had a coquettish daughter, who although ibndly in love and
solemnly betrothed to a young man whom her father approved,
could never be done with teasing him. One Walpurgis night when
a company of young people were assembled at Wampolder Hof,
they told many stories of witches, and the maiden imposed on her
betrothed the task of watching the witches' procession, and telling
her of it afterwards. The youth laughed, and promised to do so, for
he was a good Christian and feared nothing. When the company
separated he went to a crossway in the fields for this purpose, and
was never seen again. His mother was a widow, and overcome with
grief, she cursed the maiden, who went mad, and it is said still haunts
the town, and runs about each night calling her lover. Some oe-
lieved that he was torn to pieces by the witches, but others, that he
was thrown into the Rhine by his rivals, and as a body was found
which appeared to be his, there is nothing in this legend which in-
controvertibly establishes the fact of the existence of witches.
Liebfrauenmilch. Milk of Our Good Lady. There was an old
Burgundian noble who was a great wine-drinker ; he was also a good
Christian and gave much in alms and charity. This troubled the
Devil, who wished to possess him entirely, so he disguised himself as
a strolling knight, and visited the nobleman. When the old man
gave him a bowl of his best wine, Satan described a most delicious
beverage which he said he had drank in the south. The noble then
baid that if he would brin; him such wine as he described, he would
414 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
:lo anything in his power for him. Satan promised to plant him a
vineyard which would yield it, but only on condition that he
should give him his soul. The vines were started, and grew as by
magic, and when the noble first tasted the wine, he christened it
Liebfrauenmilch, meaning that there could be nothing better. The
Devil was furious at hearing this name, but still hoped to gain the
soul of the old man. Then the " good lady," who pitied him, sent
an angel to drive the Devil away. The noble, who now began to
realize that wine may cost men their souls, built a chapel in his
vineyard and dedicated it to the Virgin, and for many years under
her protection enjoyed the Devil's delicious wine, which must have
deteriorated since the first vintage, although all who drink it agree
that the knight was pleased with good reason, when his Satanic
majesty made him a vineyard which produced so good a wine as the
Liebfrauenmilch.
Xanten. This town is about two and a half miles from the
Rhine, and is very ancient. It was called by the Romans, Castra
Vetera and Colonia Ulpia. Here stood the Castle of Nibelungen,
and in Xanten, Siegfried the dragon-slayer was born. He was the
son of Siegmund, King of the Netherlands. When but eleven years
of age he became weary of the quiet life at his father's castle, and
set out in search of adventures. He wandered to the Sicbenge-
birges where he met the famous armorer Mimer, and decided to go
with him as an apprentice. He quarreled with the workmen ; and
was of no use as an armorer, for he cut through all the iron he tried
to work, and drove his anvil into the ground by his powerful blows.
In order to get rid of him, Mimer sent him into the wood to burn
charcoal. Near the place was a fearful dragon who had formerly
been the giant Fafner, but on account of his cruelty, had been trans-
formed, and now watched some jewels and treasures which were in
a hollow cave. Just as Siegfried had his kiln well burning the
dragon came to attack him, and it afforded him great pleasure to see
the monster, for it gave hope of just such an adventure as he de-
sired. He came on with jaws wide open, intending to swallow
Siegfried, who, however, was of quite a different mind, for he thrust
a burning oak down his throat, which threw him into great agony.
The dragon then endeavored to kill him by a blow from his tail,
but Siegfried, full of courage and strength, managed to cut off his
head, and threw the carcass into the fire. Soon a stream of fat ran
out, and a little bird, sitting on a tree above him, sang to him that
if he should bathe in the dragon's blood, it would render him invul-
nerable and no sword could harm him. He did not fail to profit by
this advice, and threw himself naked into the stream and anointed
himself completely, with the exception of a spot on his shoulder,
where a leaf had fallen from a tree and adhered without his knowl-
edge. He took the head of the dragon and returned to the forge.
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 415
where IK- killed the malicious Mimer, and selecting a fine sword and
complete suit of armor, he mounted the racer Grani, and rode in
search of still other adventures. He travelled down the Rhine until
he came to the sea, where he embarked on a vessel ready to sail.
A storm drove it upon a rocky, rough coast. His good horse cliinlied
well and brought him to a castle surrounded with flames. lie knew
not what to do, but the little bird again sang and directed him to
leap into the flames, and he would find a spell-bound maiden whom
he should release from the power of the magician who held hei.
Siegfried obeyed, and as soon as he made the leap the flames were
extinguished and he entered the castle. Everything here was a.<?
rich and splendid as could be imagined, but the stillness of death
was on all, the servants were in the position in which they had been
at the moment of enchantment. The cook before the fire ; the but-
ler pouring a glass of wine ; the grooms before the horses, and even
the animals immovable before their mangers. At length he entered
a hall where a beautiful maiden slept on a divan, and was bound
with brass bands. Siegfried cut the bands ; he then kissed the rosy
lips, and instantly everything began to move, for his kiss broke the
spell which had endured for a century. Then Siegfried hoped for
the rewards of love, and that Brunhilde would consent to be his ;
but she wished not to be too easily won, and she enchanted him for
a long time without consenting to his wishes, until finally his restless
spirit demanded more change, and the little bird constantly sung to
him of the delights of Nibelungcnlande ; of great deeds to be per-
formed : of other beautiful women to be loved, and of daring adven-
tures to be enjoyed. So he left the enchanted castle, stealing away
by night, with the bird for his guide, who hopped from limb to limb,
and sang when he rested, of the beautiful country to which he went,
and of 'the great treasures hidden there; of a sword and cap
which he could obtain. The first should kill all his enemies, and
the latter make him invisible whenever he chose to put it on. Sieg-
fried became impatient to reach this land. When at last he did so
he stretched himself on the ground fatigued from his long journey.
As he laid there a troop of dwarfs surrounded him to make him a
prisoner. But he bound Alberich, their leader, and compelled him
to tell where the cap and sword were kept. But to gain possession
of them was not easy even then, for he had to overcome the giant
Wolfgrambiir, who was the keeper of a subterranean treasury. But
he was forced to deliver the sword Balmung to Siegfried, and when
he had also obtained the cap he released Alberich. Here he slew
another dragon which guarded immense treasures. After a time he
longed for home and returned to Xanten, where his parents received
him with joy. For other adventures of Siegfried, see Worms. Tc
those interested in German legendary lore, the " Xibelungenlied '
offers much entertainment.
416 LEGENDS OF PLACE.
Yburg. Many ghost stories are connected with this castle, and
it seems a fitting home for such people. Besides it is said that the
monks put all the ghosts and goblins of Baden in a bag and trans-
ported them to Yburg, which was certainly a clever proceeding, and
the locality for their future home well chosen. Here too the de-
scendant of Gustav Wasa had his laboratory and in connection with
Pestalozzi pursued his alchemical studies. The last representative
of the family who built Yburg was a wild and reckless fellow and
largely in debt while still a young man. After a violent scene with
his creditors, he dreamed that he had discovered great treasures in
the sepulchral vaults of his ancestors. He descended there, and
finding nothing, though he broke open many coffins, he began to
curse his ancestors that they did not furnish him with all he needed.
In the midst of his fury a dreadful figure rose from the earth, and
towered to the roof. The young man fell on his knees imploring
God and all the saints, while the goblin laughed. Then he made a
vow that he would become a hermit and lead a holy life from that
day, and from one of the coffins came a voice like that of a child,
reminding him to seek only his salvation, as his days were numbered.
The demon vanished in a flash of lightning which split one of the
towers from top to bottom. The knight kept his word, and though
the vault supplied him no earthly treasures, his visit there so changed
his life as to gain for him those of heaven.
Yburg. EurUiardt Keller of. See Baden-Baden.
Zahringen. Origin of the Castle. Many years ago a young
charcoal-burner lived in the valley at the foot of the Rosskopf. He
was worthy and industrious but never liked his employment, and
would many times have resigned it but for the sake of his aged
parents. After their death he was one day at a town where a tour-
nament was held, and was so in love with what he saw that he deter-
mined to try if he could not enlist in the service of some brave
knight. As he thought upon this after reaching home, an old man
came to him and said that he well knew what he meditated, but that
the time had not yet come for him to go away, but that he must
change his location to a place that he would show him. He followed
Lhe old man, who led him to a neighboring forest and vanished. The
yo'ing man made a kiln where he had been directed, and when it
was burned he found several pieces of gold which the fire had drawn
from the rocks, and this result he obtained time after time. He be-
jame so rich that he began to be anxious as to how he should remove
his gold and in what he should invest it. One evening a man
knocked at the door of his hut, desiring lodging and refreshment.
At first the young man hesitated, but the stranger told him that mis-
Ibrtune alone had driven him there, and at length he admitted him.
He remained several days, and by observing the young coal-burner
he saw that he was honest and trustworthy. He then told him that
LEGENDS OF PLACE. 417
he was his emperor, and having lost a battle his treasure had fallen
into tho hands of his enemy, and he desired the young man to guide
him to a place of safety where his friends awaited him. Then was
the young man glad, and falling on his knees he told the emperor of
his gold, and begged him to aceept it, and allow him to become hia
servant. The emperor was overcome with emotion at this unex-
pected fortune. They proceeded with the treasure to where his
friends awaited him, and by means of it he was able to levy a new
army and retrieve his lost fortunes. The charcoal-burner won
many honors during the war and was knighted on the field of bat-
tle. The emperor gave him the name of Zahringen and commanded
him to build a castle on the loftiest peak near his former charcoal-
burner's hut, which should be for him and his successors.
Zuydersee. See Stavoren.
ANCIENT MYTHS
WHICH HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
Achelo'US. The largest river in Greece, the god of which is the
eldest of the three thousand sons of Oceanus and Tethys. He fought
for Deianira with Hercules, and being conquered took the form of a
bull and fought again, when Hercules took away one of his horns.
Ovid says that the Naiads changed this horn into thu cornucopia or
horn of plenty. Achelous was a great god in ancient Greece and
represented all fresh water. Sirens are called Achelolades, daughters
of Achelous.
Achilles (Pelides, Peleiades or Pelion, JSacides). Son of
Peleus king of a part of Thessaly, and Thetis. Educated in elo-
quence and war by Phoenix, in medicine by Chiron. His mother
foretold that he would die early with great glory, or live long with-
out it. He chose the first. He led his troops to the Trojan war
in fifty ships. He was favored by Minerva (Athena) and Juno
(Hera). When Agamemnon was forced to give Chryseis to her
father he wished to take Briseis from Achilles. Minerva persuaded
him to surrender her, but he shut himself in his tent and refused to
fight. Jupiter (Zeus) promised Thetis that victory should attend
the Trojans until the Achseans should honor Achilles. So the
Greeks were unsuccessful. At last they offered him rich presents
and the restoration of Briseis in vain. But Patroclus persuaded him
l o allow him to use his men, horses, and armor. Patroclus was
slain, and Achilles filled with grief. Thetis promised him new arms
made by Vulcan (Hephaestus), and Iris implored him to recover the
body of Patroclus. When he had his new armor he put the Trojans
to flight by the sound of his voice and chased Hector three times
about the walls, killed him, bound him to his chariot and dragged
him to the Greek ships ; but afterwards gave the body to Priam.
ANCIENT MYTHS ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 419
Achilles fell in battle before Troy was taken. lie was ambitious,
the bravest and handsomest of Greeks; hero of the Iliad; affec-
tionate to friends ; revengeful to enemies, and obedient to the gods.
Various traditions relate that his mother concealed him in the fire
to burn out the mortal he had inherited from his father and render
him immortal. His father discovered him, and Thetis (led. Peleus
gave him to Chiron to instruct. He taught him hunting, riding, and
music, and fed him on the marrow of bears and hearts of lions.
Another way in which it is said Thetis tried to make him immortal
was by dipping him in the river Styx ; his ankles, by which she
held him, were not wet, and thus remained vulnerable. When but
nine years old Calchas declared Troy could not be conquered with-
out him, and Thetis disguised him as a maiden and he remained
with the daughters of Lycomedes at Scyros, where he was called
Pyrrha from his golden hair. Ulysses came here with female
dresses to sell and arms concealed among them. Achilles betrayed
himself by seizing the arms with great eagerness, and then accom-
panied Ulysses to the war. While at Scyros Deidamia became by
him the mother of Neoptol-
emus or Pyrrhus. While in
the Avar Achilles slew an
Amazon, Penthesilea, and
fought with Memnon and
Troilus. There are various
accounts of his death, but
all agree that he died not
by mortal hands but by
the assistance of Apollo.
Some say this god killed
him, others that Apollo as-
sumed the appearance of
Paris to kill him, and
again that he directed the
weapon of Paris ; while
again it is related, that he
loved Polyxena, daughter
of Priam, and went to the
temple of Apollo at Thym-
bra without arms and was
there assassinated. Ajax
and Ulysses rescued his
body, and his armor was
promised by his mother to the bravest Greek (see Ajax). After his
death he became a judge of the lower world and dwelt in the islands
of the blest, where he was married to Medea or Iphigema.
' r: >-*- : \ I/- \ /* Sssf-^Hs^v^N 'YK-
Achilles seizing arms at Seyrps
(Painting found at 1'ouipeiij.
.420
ANCIENT MYTHS
A'cis. Son of Faunus and Symsethis, loved by the nymph Gal-
atea. Polyphemus the Cyclop, being jealous of Acis, crushed him
beneath a huge rock. The nymph changed his blood into the river
Acis or Acinius at the foot of Mount JEitna.
Actse'on. Son of Aristasus and Autonoe. Celebrated as a
huntsman. One day coming
suddenly upon Diana (Arte-
mis), when she was bathing
with her nymphs, she changed
him to a stag, and he was torn
to pieces by his fifty dogs on
Mount Cithasron.
Admetus. King of Pherae
in Thessaly. He asked Pelias
for his daughter Alcestis, who
made a condition that he
should come in a chariot
drawn by lions and boars.
Apollo assisted him to do
this. Apollo persuaded the
Fates or Moira; to grant free-
dom from death to Admetus.
They consented if his father,
mother, or wife would die for
him. Alcestis did so, and
was brought back from the
Actaeon. (British Museum.) lower world by Hercules.
Ado'nis. Son of Cinyras by his daughter Smyrna or Myrrha.
He was very beautiful, and be-
loved by Venus (Aphrodite).
He was wounded in the chase
by a boar so that he died.
The anemone sprung from his
blood. Venus so mourned his
death that the gods of the
lower world allowed him to
pass six months of each year
with her on earth. His death
and return were celebrated by
games called Adonia in Egypt
and Greece, and referred to
the death of nature in autumn
and its revival in spring, as he
passed six months in the lower
Death of Adonis. (Painting from Pompeii). A , . . , i^
Adras'tus. Son of Talaus, king of Argos. Expelled from AT-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 121
gos by Amphiaraus, he fled to Polybus of Sicyon, to whose throne lie
succeeded. He established the Nemean games; was reconciled to
Amphiaraus and returned to Argos; married his daughter Dcipvle
to Tydeus of Calydon, and Argla to Polynices of Thebes. Both
husbands fugitives from their native countries. He attempted to
restore Thebes to Polynices, who had been expelled by Eteocles, his
brother. Amphiaraus foretold that all who fought should perish,
save Adrastus, who had six companions, Polynices, Tydeus, Amphia-
raus, Capaneus, Hippomedon, and Parthenopaeus. Adrastus onlv
escaped, and that by the fleet ness of his horse Arlon, which Hercules
gave him. Ten years later Adrastus led the six sons of those who
fell to Thebes, and it was then taken and destroyed. This war is
called that of the " Epigoni," or descendants, while the first is styled
that of the " Seven against Thebes." ./Egialcus was the only Ar-
give hero who fell, and his father, Adrastus, so grieved at this that
he died at Megara before he reached Argos, and was there buried.
^E'geus. Son of Pandion. He was King of Athens, and was
driven away by the fifty sons of Pallas. He was father of Theseus
by -3thra at Trcezen. Theseus came to Athens and restored his
father to the throne. When Theseus went to Crete to deliver Athens
from the tribute to Minos he promised that if successful he would
hoist a white sail on his return. He forgot to do so, and ^Egeus
threw himself into the sea from grief, supposing Theseus to be dead.
From this, according to tradition, comes the name ^Egean Sea.
JEgis'thus. Son of Thyestes by his daughter Pelopia. Atreus,
his uncle, had dethroned his father, and .^Egisthus restored Thyestes
to the throne by killing Atreus. He did not go to the Trojan War,
and while Agamemnon was gone he seduced his wife Clytsemnestra,
and murdered her husband on his return. He reigned seven years
in Myceme, and then Orestes the son of Agamemnon slew him to
avenge his father's disgrace and death.
JEne'as. Son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus), born on
Mount Ida. Beloved of gods and men. Did not go to the war till
Achilles drove away his flocks from Mount Ida. From that time he
appears with Hector as hero of the Trojans. When wounded by Dio-
medes, Venus carried him off, and when about to perish by the hand
of Achilles, Neptune (Poseidon) saved him. Homer evidently rep-
resents JSneas as reigning at Troy after the fall of the house of
Priam, but other accounts say that he went to Mount Ida with friends
and the images of the household gods, especially Pallas (Palladium), -
and theace crossed to Latium in Italy, and thus became the ances-
tral hero of the Romans. Virgil makes him first visit Epirus and
Sicily, and then Dido Dn the coast of Africa (See Dido). Then
arriving at Latium he married Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, king of
the Aborigines. He founded the town of Lavinium. Turnus had
been betrothed to Lavinia, and made war on JEneas, who slew him.
422 ANCIENT MYTHS
Latinus was also killed in the battle, so that JEneas was king of the
Trojans and Aborigines. Soon after he was killed in a battle with
the Rutulians. His body could not be found, and it was believed
that he was carried to heaven, or perished in the river Numicius.
JEs v chines. Son of Atrometus and Glaucothea. Born . c. 389.
Athenian orator. Sent OP embassies to Philip of Macedonia with
Demosthenes. Deserted to the Macedonian party. Established
school at Rhodes. Died at Samos.
-33scula'pias (Asclepias). God of Medicine. Homer does
not make him a god, but a "blameless physician." His father Apollo
was told by a raven before his birth that his mother Coronis was
false, and loved Ischys au Arcadian. Apollo killed them both, and
when the body of Coronis was to be burnt ^Esculapius was saved
from the flames. Chiron cared for him, and taught him hunting and
medicine. He not only healed the sick, but raised the dead, and
Zeus (Jupiter) killed him with a thunderbolt, fearing lest men should
learn to escape death ; but he placed him among the stars at the
request of his father. He was married to Epione, and Homer speaks
of his sons Machaon and Podalirius as physicians in the Greek army.
He was worshipped as a god, for medicine was held to be a sacred
and secret knowledge. His chief temple was at Epidaurus. His
worship was introduced at Rome u. c. 293, to avert a pestilence.
Cocks were sacrificed to him, and serpents were sacred to him, for
they were believed to discover healing herbs, and were a symbol of
renovation. His descendants were called Asrlepiadae.
Agamem'non. Son of Plisthenes and Aerope or Eriphyle.
Grandson of Atreus, king of Mycenae. Homer makes him ton of
Atreus and grandson of Pelops. He was reared in the house of
Atreus, together with his brother Menelaus and ^gisthus, the son
of Thyestes. After ^Egisthus murdered Atreus (see vEgisthus),
Agamemnon and his brother went to Sparta. Agamemnon married
Clytaemnestra, daughter of Tyndareus. His children were Tphianassa
(Iphigenia), Chrysothemis, Laodice (Electra), and Orestes. The
way in which he acquired the kingdom of Mycenae is variously re-
lated. Homer says he ruled all Argos, but this means Peloponnesus,
for Diomedes ruled the city of Argos. When Helen was carried off
by Paris, and the Greeks went to recover her, Agamemnon was their
leader. They spent two years in preparation, and then the fleet
assembled at Aulis in Boeotia. Here Agamemnon killed a stag
sacred to Artemis (Diana), and she to punish him, becalmed the
fleet and brought a pestilence upon the army. To appease her he
consented to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, but at the moment of
the sacrifice, Artemis put another victim in her place, and carried her
to Tauris. Then the fleet sailed for Troy. Quarrel with Achilles
(see Achilles). Though not the hero of the Iliad, Agamemnon was
commander of tin; Greeks, and though inferior to Achilles, he was
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
423
great in dignity and majesty. His eyes and head like Zeus (Jupiter),
girdle like Ares (Mars), breast like Neptune (Poseidon). Caa-
sandra, the daughter of Priam, was given to him after the fall of Troy.
Agla'ia. " The bright one." [See Charites].
A'jax (Aias). (1.) Grandson of JEacus. Son of Telamon, king
of Salamis. Sailed to Troy with twelve ships. Achilles only ex-
celled him. lie fought with Ulysses for the armor of Achilles ; and
Homer says this occasioned his death, but later writers say it made
him insane, and he rushed upon the flocks of the Greeks, fancying
them to be men, and at last killed himself. From his blood a flower
bearing his initials (At) sprung up. He had Tecmessa for his mis-
tress, who bore a son,
Eurysaces. (2.) Ajax, son
of Oileus, king of Locris.
Sailed to Troy with forty
ships. Though small, was
swiftest of the Greeks next
to Achilles, and skilled in
throwing the spear. Re-
turning from Troy was
shipwrecked, but was put
on a rock by Neptune
(Poseidon). He boasted
that he would escape in
spite of the gods. Nep-
tune then split the rock,
and Ajax was drowned.
This is the account of
Homer. Virgil says he
violated Cassandra in the
temple of Minerva (Athe-
na), on the night of the
Ajax (2Egina Marbles).
fall of Troy, and thus incurred the anger of that goddess.
Alces'tis (Alceste). Wife of Admetus. See Admetus.
Alcme'ne (Alcmena), daughter of Eleetryon, king of Mycenaj.
Her brothers were slain by Pterelaus, and she promised to marry
Amphitryon if he would avenge their death. While he was gone to
do this Zeus (Jupiter) visited Alcmena, and pretending to be her
husband, told how he had punished Pterelaus. She became the
mother of Hercules by Jupiter. Next day Amphitryon returned.
To him she bore Iphicles.
Althae'a, daughter of Thestius, and called Thestias. Wife of
CEneus and mother of Meleager, called also Thestiades. She killed
herself when Meleager died.
Amaz'ones (Amazonides). A mythical race of warlike women
424
ANCIENT MYTHS
Said to come from the Caucasus and to found Themiscyra in Asia
Minor. Often occur in Greek mythology. Ruled by a queen. Had
their right breasts cut off to enable them to use the bow with case.
Amazons. (Sarcophagus at Rome.
Achilles killed the Queen Penthesilea at Troy. They invaded Attica
in the reign of Theseus. One of the labors of Hercules was to de-
prive their Queen Hippolyte of her girdle. See Hercules.
Amphi'on. Twin
brother of Zethus. Son
of Jupiter (Zeus) and
Antiope. Born on Mount
Cithseron, and reared with
the shepherds. Lycus, the
husband of Antiope, had
treated her with great
cruelty and married Dirce
in her stead. He then
reigned at Thebes ; and
the twin brothers, march-
ing against him, killed both
him and Dirce to avenge
their mother. They tied
Dirce to a bull, who
dragged her to death.
They then threw her body
into a fountain, which was
afterward called by her
name. Hermes (Mercury)
gave Amphlon a lute, arid
he played it so skillfully
as to charm the stones,
and they moved and built
Amphion and Zethus. (Sculpture at Rome.) a wall about Thebes. He
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
425
married Niobe, and when Apollo killed the sons she had borne
Amphion destroyed himself. See Niobe.
Amphitri'te. Wife of Nep-
tune (Poseidon). An Oceanid
or Nereid. Mother of Triton.
Goddess of the sea, especially
of the Mediterranean.
Anchi'ses. Son of Capys
and Themis, daughter of I his,
King of Dardanus. His great
beauty won the love of Venus
(Aphrodite). She bore liiiu
Eneas, who is also called An-
chisiades. The goddess struck
him blind with lightning for
boasting of his intercourse with
her. When Troy was burned
by the Greeks, Eneas bore
Anclrises away on his shoul-
ders. He died at Sicily and
was buried on Mount Eryx. Dirce. (.Naples).
Androm'ache (Andromacha). Daughter of Eetion, king of the
Cilician Thebes. Wife of Hector and mother of his son Scaman-
drius (Astyanax), who was hurled from the walls of Troy when it
was captured. Andromache fell to the share of Neoptolemus (Pyr-
rhus), son of Achilles. He took her to Epirus and she afterward
married Helenus, brother of Hector, and ruler of Chaonia.
Androm'eda (Andromede) Daughter of Cepheus, king of Ethi-
opia, and Cassiopea. Her mother declared her to be more beautiful
than the Nereids, and in revenge Neptune (Poseidon) sent a sea-
monster to ravage the country. The oracle of Ammon said that
Andromeda must be given to the monster to save the country.
Cepheus chained her to a rock by the sea, it is said where Jaffa
now stands. Perseus slew the monster, and took her for his wife ;
but as she had been promised to Phineus, he came with his associ-
ates to the wedding to fight with Perseus, who slew him and all his
friends. After death she was placed among the stars.
Antiu'ous. Son of Euplthes of Ithaca. A suitor of Penelope.
Slain by Ulysses.
Anti'ope. (1.) Daughter of Nycteus. Mother of Amphion and
Zethus. (See Amphion.) (2.) An Amazon and sister of Queen
Hippolyte. Wife of Theseus and mother of Hippolytus.
Antis'thenes. An Athenian and founder of the Cynic philoso-
phy. Disciple of Gorgias and Socrates, at whose death he was
present. His mother was a Thracian, and he taught in the Cynos-
arges, a gymnasium for those born of foieign mothers, on account
426 ANCIENT MYTHS
of which his followers probably received the title of Cynics. He
opposed Plato, as he did not allow speculation, and taught that virtue
is the sole necessity of man. The Stoics sprung from his school.
Died at Athens, aged seventy.
Aphrodi'te CVenus). Homer makes her the daughter of Jupiter
(Zeus) and Dione. But later writers relate that she sprung from
the foam of the sea. Wife of Vulcan (Hephaestus), to whom she
was faithless, and loved the gods Mars (Ares), Bacchus (Dionysus),
Mercury (Hermes), and Neptune (Poseidon), also the mortals
Anchises and Adonis. She received the prize of beauty (see Paris.)
She had the power to grant beauty, and whoever wore her magic
girdle became an object of love and desire. The sparrow, swan,
iynx, swallow, and dove, served her as messengers, and to draw her
chariot. The rose, poppy, myrtle, and apple were sacred to her.
She is seldom represented without her son Eros (Cupid). Her
worship came from the East, and the islands of Cyprus and Cythera
were the places in Greece where she was most considered, and from
these her worship spread to all the country. She is thought to be
identical with Astarte or the Ashtoreth of the Hebrews.
Apollo. Celebrated Grecian divinity. Son of Jupiter (Zeus)
and Leto (Latona). Twin brother of Diana (Artemis). Born in
the island of Delos, where the jealousy of Juno (Hera) had driven
Leto. (See Leto.) He has many offices, and is (1.) The god of pun-
ishment ; represented with a bow and arrows. Sudden deaths were
attributed to his arrows, and with them he sent plagues into the
Greek camp before Troy. (2.) He wards off evil and grants aid.
In this character he is father of 2Esculapius and was identified with
Paeeon, ~cd of the healing art in the Iliad. (3.) God of prophecy.
He had numerous oracles, the chief one being that of Delphi; hence
he is called the Pythian Apollo, as Pytho was the ancient name of
Delphi. He gave the power of prophecy to gods and men. (4.)
God of music. In the " Iliad " he plays the phorminx, and gave the
power of song to the Homeric bards. In this office he is in close
relation with the Muses, and is styled Musagetes. He is said to
have invented the flute, and to have received the lyre from Mercury
(Hermes). (See Midas, Marsyas.) (5.) Protector of flocks and herds.
Homer says little of this attribute of Apollo, but later he is repre-
sented as tending the flocks of Admetus. (6.) The especial deity of
those who found towns and make civil constitutions. The Greeks
never founded a town or colony without consulting his oracle. (7.)
God of the sun. Homer makes him entirely distinct from Helios,
but later writers and the influence of other nations maintain this
attribute. He was the chief Grecian god, but not worshipped by
the early Romans, which latter nation were in later times instructed
concerning him by the Greeks. The ludi Apollinares were insti-
tuted in 212, during the second Punic war.
ILLUSTRATED IN AliT.
427
A'res (Mars). Sou of Jupiter (Zeus) and Juuo (Hera). Greek
god of war. One of the Olympian divinities. So savage in his
nature, and so delighting in war and destruction, that he was hated
by other gods, and even by his parents. He was wounded by Dio-
uiedes, assisted by Minerva (Athena), and he roared like ten thousand
warriors. The Alouhc conquered him and kept him confined thirteen
months, till Hermes (Mercury) released him. He fought concerning
his son Cycnus with Hercules, who conquered him, and compelled him
to retire to Olympus. Aphrodite (Venus) loved him. Later tradi-
tions relate that when Halirrhothius, the son of Neptune (Poseidon),
offered violence to Alcippe the daughter of Ares, he was killed by
her father. He was for this accused by Poseidon before the Olym-
pian gods who were assembled in the Areopagus. He was acquitted,
and it is believed that this event gave rise to the name Ai-eopagus.
See Mars, for Roman god of war.
Argonau'tse. These were the heroes who sailed to Colchis (Aea)
for the capture of the golden iieece. Pelias, king of lolcus in Thes-
saly, wished to get rid of Jason (see Jason) , and persuaded him to go
for the golden fleece, which was hung on a tree in the grove of Mars
(Ares) in Colchis and guarded by a dragon. Jason bade Argus, son
of Phrixus, to build a vessel with fifty oars. It was called Argo in
honor of the builder. Minerva (Athena) superintended the building
of the Argo. Hercules, Castor, Pollux, and many other heroes, went
with Jason, and after many adventures they reached the mouth of the
river Pliasis. The king of Colchis, zEetes, promised the fleece to Jason
it' he would yoke to a plough a pair of oxen with brazen feet who
breathed out fire, and sow the dragon's teeth which Cadmus had not
used at Thebes. Medea the
daughter of this king, loved
Jason, and gave him power to
resist fire and steel, and put
the dragon to sleep. Jason
then took the fleece and
sailed away at night with
his Argonauts, taking Medea
with them. They were driven
in a storm to Italy, but at
length reached lolcus. See
Medea, Jason.
Ariad'ne (Arladna).
Daughter of Minos and Pasi-
phae. When Theseus was
sent to Crete to free Athens
from tribute to the Minotaur Ariadne . (Painting from Pompeii.)
she fell in love with him and
-rave him the thread to guide him out of the labyrinth. Theseui
428
ANCIENT MYTHS
took her away under promise of marriage, but at Naxos she was
slain by Artemis (Diana), according to Homer, but more commonly
it is said, that Theseus deserted her and Dionysus CBacchus) found
her, married her, and placed the marriage crown he gave her among
the stars.
Ari'On. (1.) Born atMethymna in Lesbos. Inventor of dithyrambio
poetry and a wonderful musician. Lived about u. c. 625, spent many
years at the court of Periander at Corinth. Went to Sicily to contend
in a musical combat, and being the victor embarked for Corinth laden
with presents. The sailors intended to kill him to obtain his treasures.
He begged permission to play the cithara once more, which he did,
invoking the gods for aid. The music attracted many dolphins about
the ship, and he threw himself into the sea and got upon the back of
one of these, which took him to Taenarus, from which he reached
Corinth, and told all to Periander. When the vessel arrived, and
Periander inquired for Arion, the sailors said he had remained at
Tarentum. Then Periander called him, and the lying sailors were
confounded at the sight and punished by Periander. (2.) A fabulous
horse said to have been begotten by Neptune (Poseidon).
Ar'temis (Diana). According to the ancient traditions twin sister
of Apollo, daughter of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leto (Latona), born at
Artemis (Diana). Qorii, Mus. Flor. vol. ii. lay.
Delos. She appears in several characters. (1.) As sister of Apollo^
she is a female likeness of him. She has a bow, quiver, and arrows,
and like him sends sickness, plagues, and sudden deaths. Alsc
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 429
averts evils and alleviates suffering. In the Trojan war she was, like
Apollo, the friend of Troy. She watched especially over the young,
and because she guarded the young of flocks came to be considered
a huntress. She was never conquered by love. She turned Actaeon
into a stig, because he had seen her bathing, and slew Orion because
he had made an attempt upon her chastity. With Apollo she slew
the children of Niobe. When Apollo is represented as Helios or
the Sun, Diana is made Selene, or the Moon ; hence she is repre-
sented in love with Endymion and kisses him in his sleep ; but this
is not in character with Diana, and is probably Selene. (2.) The
Arcadian Artemis was not connected with Apollo. She was goddess
of the nymphs of the Arcadian mountains, and her chariot was drawn
by four stags with golden antlers. (3.) The Taurtun Artemi*. The
Greeks identified this goddess with their own Artemis. She dwelt in
Tauris, and all strangers thrown on the coast were sacrificed to her.
Iphigenla and Orestes brought her image from Tauris and landed at
Brauron, from which she was called the Brauronian Artemis, and
worshipped at Athens and Sparta, at which latter place boys were
scourged before her altar until it was sprinkled with blood. (4.)
The Ep/iexian Artemis is quite distinct from the Greek goddess. The
Greeks found her worship established when they settled in Ionia,
and they gave her the name of Artemis. She is often represented
with many breasts (multimammae.) The attributes of Diana vary
according to her different characters. As a huntress she wears the
chlamys, and her breast is covered ; legs bare to the knees. Has the
bow, quiver, arrows, spear, stags, and dogs. As goddess of the moon
she wears a long robe, a veil, and above her forehead a crescent.
She often bears a torch.
Asca'nius, son of JEneas and Creusa. Other traditions say this
was the name of the son of Lavinia. He went with his father to
Italy, founded the city of Alba Longa, and was succeeded by his son
Silvius. He was also called lulus or Julus, and the gens Julia at
Rome traced its origin to him.
Aspa'sia. (1.) Daughter of Axiochus of Miletus. She was the
most celebrated of the Greek Hetaeraj. Having gained the affec-
tions of Pericles, as much by her mental as her personal charms, he
parted from his wife, and lived with Aspasia until his death. Her
house was frequented by Socrates and all the most learned men of
Athens. She was accused by the enemies of Pericles of impiety,
but his influence procured her acquittal. After the death of Perieles
t is said that she attached herself to a cattle-dealer named Lysicles,
and so instructed him that he became a fine orator. (2.) The favor-
ite mistress of Cyrus the younger, and later of his brother Artaxerxe*.
Her name was Milto, but Cyrus changed it to that of the mistress of
Pericles. At length Darius, son of Artaxerxes, loved her and his
father made her a priestess in a temple at Ecbatana, where strict
clibacy was enforced.
430 ANCIENT MYTHS
Atalan'ta (Atalante). The Arcadian Aialanta was daughter of
lasus, lasion or lasius, and Clymene. Her father exposed her in
infancy, but she was suckled by a she-bear, a symbol of Artemis
(Diana). When older she joined in the Calydonian hunt. She slew
the Centaurs, who pursued her, and preserved her chastity. Her father
acknowledged her and desired her to marry, but she made a condi-
tion thai he who would be her husband must excel her in a foot-race.
She was the fleetest of mortals. She outran many, but was overcome
by Milanion, who was assisted by Aphrodite (Venus). They mar-
ried, but were changed to lions because they profaned the grove of
Zeus (Jupiter) by their embraces. The Boeotian Atalanta has pre-
cisely the same history, with change of names and localities. Daughter
of Schccnus, married to Hippomenes. The race was in Onchestus
in Boeotia, and the temple of Cybele the place profaned ; which god-
dess not only made them lions, but compelled them to draw her
chariot.
Athe'na (Athene, Minerva, Pallas, and Pallas Athena). Daughter
of Zeus (Jupiter), and Metis, whom Zeus swallowed before the birth
of the child. Athena sprang from the head of Zeus in complete
armor, and with a war-shout. As her father was most powerful, so
her mother was wisest of all gods, and she herself a combination of
power and wisdom. She was protectress of the state, and all useful
arts, such as agriculture, weaving, and others. Invented the plough
and rake. As goddess of wisdom she maintained law and order,
especially in courts, and is said to have founded that of the Areopa-
gus. As a Avarlike divinity she protected the state from enemies.
Was a friend of the Greeks in the Trojan war. When the giants
fought Zeus she slew Pallas, and buried Enceladus beneath the island
of Sicily. She never loved. Hephaastus (Vulcan) was compelled
to flee for making an attempt upon her chastity, and Tiresias was
made blind for seeing her in the bath. She was the special protec-
tress of Athens and Attica. She contended with Poseidon (Neptune)
for the possession of Athens. The gods declared that the one who
produced the best gift for man should have it. Poseidon produced
the horse, and Athena the olive. The city was given to her. As
goddess of war she is in armor, and bears the segis and a golden staff.
The head of the Gorgon Medusa is in the centre of her breastplate.
The olive, cock, serpent, and owl were sacred to her. The magnifi-
cent Panathencea was celebrated in her honor, and it is the proces-
sion of this festival which is represented on the frieze of the
Parthenon.
Atlas. Son of lapetus and Clymene ; brother .of Prometheus
and Epimetheus. He was sentenced to bear heaven on his head
and hands, for having joined the Titans in making war on Zeus
(Jupiter). Another tradition relates that Perseus, by means of the
head of Medusa, changed him into Mount Atlas which -supports
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
431
heaven and all the stars, because he refused him a shelter. Slale
descendants of Atlas are called At-
lantlades, especially Mercury and
Hermaphroditus ; and females Atlan-
tias and Atlantis, particularly one of
the Pleiades and Hyades. He was
father of the Pleiades by Pleione or
by Hesperis ; of the Hyades and Hes-
perides by vEthra ; of Q^nomaus and
Maia by Sterope. Calypso, Diune,
Hesperus, and Hyas, are all called his
children.
Auro'ra (Eos). Daughter of Hy-
perion and Thia, or Euryphassa ; Ovid
says of Pallas. Wife of Tithonus,
whom she carried off and to whom
she bore Memnon. She also carried
away Orion and Cephalus. She is
goddess of the dawn, and each morn-
ing leaves the couch of Tithonus to
ascend to heaven from the river Oce-
anus, in a chariot drawn by swift horses
to announce the coming of the sun.
AUS'ter. See NotUS. Atlas - (Farm-.-,- collection. Naples.)
Bac'chse, called Mtenades and Thyiades. The female attendants
on Bacchus (Dionysus), in his wanderings in the East. They
carry the thyrsus, are crowned with vine leaves, and dressed in fawn
skins. Also the priestesses who by wine and other exciting causes
threw themselves into a frenzy at the festivals of Bacchus. See
next.
Bac'chus (Dionysus). Son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Semele,
daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes. Hera (Juno) appeared to
Semele in disguise before the birth of the child, and urged Semele
to persuade Zeus to come to her in the same manner as that in which
he approached his own wife Juno. The god complied most unwill-
ingly, and came in thunder and lightning. Semele gave premature
birth to the child, but Zeus sewed him up in his thigh till he had
come to maturity. After birth he was reared by nymphs of Mount
Nysa, who were made Hyades among the stars by Zeus to reward
them for this service. When he was grown, Hera took away his
reason, and he wandered mad in all parts of the earth. He went
to Egypt, Syria, India, and all Asia. He taught the people the
cultivation of the vine and some elements of civilization. At
Thrace, Lycurgus, king of the Edones, received him ill (Lycurgus).
At Thebes he punished Pentheus, who attempted to prevent his wor-
432
ANCIENT MYTHS
ship, and compelled the women to go to Mount Cithaeron, and cele-
brate Bacchic festivals. The
mother and aunts of Pen-
theus, when in the Bacchic
frenzy, believed him to be a
wild beast and tore him in
pieces. At Argos the people
refused to receive him as a
god, until he drove all the
women mad to convince
them of his power. At Ica-
ria he hired a vessel which
belonged to Tyrrhenian pi-
rates to go to Naxos. They
attempted to take him to
Asia to sell him for a slave.
Then he changed the oars
and masts into serpents and
himself into a lion ; flutes
were heard, and ivy grew
over the vessel. The sailors
went mad and plunged into
the sea, where they became
Dionysus (Bacchus) (Painting at Pompeii).
dolphins. After thus showing himself a god in various places, he
took his mother out of Hades, and carried her to Olympus. Many
fabulous beings are said to be the offspring of '.his god, but of all
whom he loved, Ariadne is most noted (Ariadne). In the earliest
tunes Bacchus was not worshipped, and Homer makes him merely
the teacher of men in the cultivation of the vine, but as this culti-
vation increased, his worship spread, and his festivals assumed a
wilder and more frenzied character. He represents the productive
and intoxicating power of nature, and wine is called the fruit of
Dionysus, and is a symbol of this power. He also has a more
pleasing phase, for as cultivation of soil leads to civilization, he was
regarded as a lover of law and peace. The drama arose from tho
dithyrambic choruses of his festivals ; thus he was considered the
patron of theatres. He was accompanied by Bacchantes, or women
who are represented as frenzied, heads thrown back, disordered hah-,
with serpents, swords, cymbals, and thyrsus staffs. Satyrs, Pans,
Sileni, and Centaurs were his companions. The ram was the sacri-
fice usually offered him. The dolphin, ass, lynx, serpent, and pan-
ther were sacred to him, and in nature, the vine, asphodel, ivy, and
laurel. He is represented as youthful, languishing, and as one
slightly intoxicated.
JBeller'ophon (Bellerophontes). Son of Glaucus, king of Cor-
inth, and Eurymcde. His name was Hipponous, and changed be-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
433
cause he slew the Corinthian Belerus. He fled to Proetus, king of
Argos, to purify himself from the murder of Belerus. Antea, wife
of Proetus, loved him, but he rejected her advances. She then ac-
cused him to Proetus of having attempted her virtue. Proteus did
not wish to kill him, but sen; him to lobates, king of Lycia, father
of Antea, and desired him to kill him. lobates sent him to kill the
Chimaera. Bellerophon obtained Pegasus and slew the monster.
Bellerophon slaying the Chimsera (Hamilton Vases).
(See Chimsera, Pegasus). Then lobates sent him to fight the Solymi,
the Amazons, and the bravest Lycians. But he conquered all. lo-
bates then gave him his daughter, and made him his successor.
At length the gods came to hate him, and he wandered, inconsolable,
in the Aleian field and avoided men. Homer relates nothing of his
death, but later writers say he attempted to fly to heaven on Pega-
eus, when Zeus sent a gad-fly to sting the horse. Bellerophon was
thrown to the earth and became lame and blind from the fall.
Bo'reas. Son of Astraeus and Eos (Aurora). Brother of Hes-
perus, Zephyrus, and Notus. Himself the north or north-northeast
wind. He carried Orithyia, daughter of Erechtheus, king of Attica,
to his cave, which was in Mount Haemus in Thrace. By her he begot
^etes, Calais, Chione, and Cleopatra, wife of Phineus. They are called
Boreades. In the Persian war Boreas assisted the Athenians and
23
434
ANCIENT
destroyed the fleet of the barbarians.
Boreas.
(Bas-relief. Athens. Tempi? of the \Vinds.)
At Athens the festival of the
Boreasmi was in his honor.
Brise'is Her real name
was Hippodamia ; was
called Briseis from her
father, Briseus of Lyr-
nessus. She fell into the
hands of Achilles, from
whom Agamemnon took
her. This made the quar-
rel between the two heroes.
See Achilles.
Busi'ris. A king of
Egypt who sacrificed to
Zeus (Jupiter) all stran-
gers who fell into his hands. Hercules slew him.
Ca'cus. Soa of Vulcan. A huge giant. Lived in a cave on
Mount Aventine and preyed upon all the surrounding country.
When Hercules brought the cattle he stole from Geryon in Spain,
to Italy, Cacus stole a part of them and dragged them to his
cave by their tails while Hercules slept. When those remaining
were driven near the cave, the others began to bellow, and Hercules
killed Cacus for the theft. In honor of this event Hercules dedicated
the ara maxima at Rome.
Calli'ope. The muse of epic poetry. Her attributes in art are
a tablet and stylus, and a roll of paper or a book. See Musrc.
Callir'rhoe. (1.) Daughter of Achelous, and wife of Ale-mason.
She induced him to bring from Psophis the peplus and necklace of
Harmonia. For this act he was slain. (2.) Daughter of Scaman-
der, wife of Tros and mother of Ilus and Ganymedes. (3.) The
most celebrated well of ancient Athens, was in the southeast part of
the city and is still called Callirrhoe.
Callis'tO. An Arcadian nymph, called Nonacrina vir</o from Mount
Nonacris in Arcadia. A companion of Artemis (Diana). Zeus
(Jupiter) loved her, and in order to conceal this from Hera (Juro),
he changed her into a she-bear. But the truth did not escape Hera,
and she caused Artemis to slay Callisto while hunting. Areas was
her son by Zeus. He placed her among the stars under the name
of Arctos or the Bear.
Cal'ydon. A town of JEtolia, said to have been founded by
2Etolus, or his son Calydon. In the neighboring mountains, the hunt
of the Calydonian boar took place, and in the poets we read of
Cali/donis, a woman of ^tolia, who was Deianira, daughter of
CEneus, king of Calydon ; Calydonius heron, Meleager ; Calydoniu*
amnis, the Achelous, which separated JEtolia from Acarnania ; and
Calydonia reyna, Apulia, for Diomedes grandson of CEneus, king of
Calydon obtained Apulia.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
435
Calyp'so. A nymph of the island Ogygia. She loved Ulysses,
who was shipwrecked here. She promised him immortality if he would
remain, but he refused, and after detaining him seven years the gods
compelled her to release him.
Can'ace. Daughter of ^Eolus. Loved her brother Macareus un-
naturally, and was compelled to kill herself by her father.
Caryatides are female figures that support burdens in architec-
ture, and are so called from the women of Caryas, a town of Laconia,
who were reduced to abject slavery and degradation by the Greeks,
because they joined the Persians who invaded Greece.
Cassandra and Apollo (Pitture d'Ercolano).
Cassan'dra. Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Twin sister of Hele-
nas. Her beauty won the love of Apollo, who promised her the gift
of prophecy if she would comply with his desires. She consented,
but having received the gift, still refused to yield herself to him.
He then ordained that no one should believe her predictions. When
Troy fell she fled to the temple of Athena (Minerva), but Ajax tore
her away from the statue of the goddess. She fell to the lot of
Agamemnon in the division of the booty, and he took her to Mycenae,
where she was slain by Clytsemnestra.
Cas'tor. Son of Zeus (Jupiter) ; brother of Pollux. See
Dioscuri.
Ce'crops. Said to have been the first king of Attica. Husband
436
ANCIENT MYTHS
of Agraulos, daughter of Actaeus. Father of Erysichthon, Agrau-
los, Herse, and Pandrosos. It was during his reign that Athena
(Minerva) and Poseidon (Neptune) contended for Attica, and Ce-
crops decided for the former. (Athena). The citadel of Athens
was called Cecropia for him, said to have been its founder. The
division of Attica into twelve communities, the introduction of
civilization, the institution of marriage, the abolition of bloody
sacrifices, and the worship of the gods, are all attributed to Cecrops.
Another and later tradition makes him a native of Sais in Egypt,
who led Egyptians to Attica and thus introduced arts and civiliza-
tion there ; but this is rejected by those best able to decide.
Centau'ri, which name signifies Bull-killers, inhabited Mount Pe-
lion in Thessaly. Homer calls them savage beasts, but later they
are represented as half men and half beasts, and are said to have
Centaur. (Bas-relief, Parthenon, Athens.)
proceeded from Ixion and a cloud. They are celebrated for theii
contest with the Lapithae. This arose at the marriage of Pirithous,
and is sometimes connected with a combat between the Centaurs
and Hercules (Hercules.) They were expelled from their home
and fled to Mount Pindus. Chiron is most celebrated of their num-
ber (see Chiron). They are represented as men from the head to
the loins, and the remainder of the body like a horse with four feet
and a tail.
Ceph'alus. Son of Deion and Diomede. Husband of Procris or
Procne. Eos (Aurora) loved him, but could make no impression
on him because of his love of Procris. Eos then advised him to
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
437
test Procris, and gave him the appearance of a stranger. He thiu
visited his wife with rich presents which so tempted her that she
yielded to him. Ceplialus then discovered himself, and she fled to
Crete in shame. Artemis (Diana) then gave her a spear and a dog,
which were never to miss their mark. She disguised herself as a
youth, and then returned to her husband. In order to obtain the
dog and spear Cephalus promised to love the youth. Procris then
made herself known, and they were reconciled ; but she was ever
jealous of Eos, and watched her husband when he went out hunting,
and at length he killed her accidentally with the unerring spear.
Cer'berus. Son of Typhaon and
Echidna. He is the dog that guards
the entrance to Hades, and his den
is placed on the farther side of the
Styx where Charon landed the shades
of the dead. He has been repre-
sented by poets as having fifty and
one hundred heads, but later writers
give him three heads with serpents
twined about his neck and the tail
of a serpent.
Ce'res. Goddess of the Earth.
See Demeter.
Char'ites (Gratia?, Graces), were
three in number. Daughters of Zeus
(Jupiter). Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and
Thalia. They are the personifica-
tion of grace, beauty, and refine-
ment. They were in the service of
other divinities and lent enjoyment
to life by gentleness and all that
elevates and refines. They were companions of the Muses and
dwelt with them in Olympus. They especially favored poetry. In
most ancient representations they were draped, but in later art they
are n :de. They usually embrace each other, and are maidens in
the bloom of life and beauty.
Cha'ron. Son of Erebus. He is represented as an old man,
dirty and meanly clad. He carried the shades of the dead across
the rivers of the lower world in his boat. To recompense him for
this service an obolus or danace was placed in the mouth of every
corpse.
Charyb'dis. See Scylla.
Chimse'ra. A fire-breathing monster of Lycia. The idea prob-
ably originated in a volcano of this name near Ihaselis in Lycia.
It is represented with the fore part of a lion, the middle part of a
goat, and the hind part of a dragon. She madf great havoc in all
Cerberus. (Bronze Statue.)
438 ANCIENT MYTHS
the country about her home. Bellerophon having obtained Pegasus,
rose into the air and killed the monster with arrows. In some works
of art found in Lycia the Chlmsera is represented like one species
of the lion of that country. See Bellerophon.
Chi'one. (l.) Daughter of Boreas and Orithyia ; mother of Eumol-
pus, who is called Chionides. (2.) Daughter of Danlalion. Killed
by Artemis (Diana) because she compared herself to the goddess in
beauty. Mother of Autolycus, by Hermes (Mercury), and of Phi-
lainmon by Apollo.
Chi'ron. Son of Saturn (Cronus) and Philyra. The best of the
Centaurs. Lived on Mount Pelion. Was instructed by Artemis
(Diana) and Apollo, and so excelled in medicine, hunting, music,
gymnastics, and prophecy that the most distinguished Grecian
youths were given to him for instruction, such as Peleus, Achilles,
and Diomedes. The other Centaurs would have killed Peleus, but
Chiron saved him. He was a friend of Hercules, but while the
latter fought with the other Centaurs one of his poisoned arrows
hit Chiron. He was immortal, but he gave his immortality to Pro-
metheus and would live no longer. Zeus placed him among the
stars as Sagittarius.
Chryse'is. Daughter of Chryses, priest of Apollo at Chryse.
Taken prisoner by Achilles in the capture of Lyrnessus. She fell
to the share of Agamemnon in the division of the booty. Her
father sought to ransom her, but Agamemnon harshly repulsed him.
Apollo then sent a plague among the Greeks, and she was released
to appease the god. Her right name was Astynome.
Cir'ce. Daughter of Helios (the sun) and Perse. Dwelt in the
island of -ZEasa. Her mother was celebrated for her magic arts.
Ulysses was cast upon her island, and when his comrades drank of
the cup she offered them they were changed to swine with the ex-
ception of Eurylochus, who remained to tell the truth to Ulysses.
The latter had received from Hermes (Mercury) the magic root
moly which preserved from enchantment. He drank the cup of
Circe without effect, and he then compelled her to restore his com-
panions. He stayed with her a year, and she bore him a son Tele-
gonus, said to have founded Tusculum.
Cli'O. Muse of History. Represented standing. Her attributes,
an open roll or a chest of books. See Muste.
Clytsemnes'tra. Sister of Castor, Pollux, and Helena. Wife
of Agamemnon. Mother of Orestes, Iphigenia, and Electra. Dur-
ing the absence of Agamemnon at Troy she lived adulterously with
.ZEgisthus and assisted him to murder her husband after his return.
Orestes slew both her and ./Egisthus to revenge his father's dis-
grace and death.
Coryban'tes. These were priests of Cybele or Rhea in Phrygia.
They danced to the sound of drums and cymbals to celebrate her
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 489
worship. They are sometimes said to have been the nurses of
Zetis (Jupiter) in Crete, because they are identified with the Cure-
tes and the Id;can Dactyli.
Cro'nus (Saturnus). Son of Uranus an 1 Ge (Heaven and
Earth). Husband of Rhea. Father of Hestia (Vesta), Demeter
(Ceres), Hera (Juno), Hades (Pluto), Poseidon (Neptune), and
Zeus (Jupiter). Ho dethroned his father ami was in turn de-
thr. tned by Zeus. See Rhea, Zeus.
Cu'pid (Eros, Amor.) Son of Aphrodite (Venus) by either
Ares (Mars), Zeus (Jupiter), or Hermes (Mercury). See Eros.
Cy'ane. A Sicilian nymph. A playmate of Proserpine, at
whose death she was changed into a fountain through grief.
Cyb'ele. See Rhea.
Daed'alus. He personifies the earliest manifestations of sculp-
ture and architecture in Athens and Crete, and both these places
are credited with having been his home. He excelled in sculpture,
and taught Calos, Talus, or Perdix, the son of his sister ; but when
he excelled his master, Dasdalus killed him. Diedalus was tried
for this murder by the Areopagus and sentenced to death. He
fled to Crete, and by his skill made a friend of Minos. He made
the wooden cow for Pasiphae, and when she gave birth to the Mino-
taur he constructed the labyrinth at Cnossus in which to keep the
monster. For this Minos imprisoned him, but Pasiphae released
him, and as Minos guarded all the vessels on the coast, Daedalus
nade wings for himself and Icarus, his son (see Icarus). Dtedalus
Jew over the JEgean Sea and alighted at Cumae. He then went
to Sicily to King Cocalus, who received him kindly, and when Minos
pursued him he was killed by Cocalus or his daughters. Many
works of art in Italy, Greece, and Libya were attributed to him as
well as in the islands of the Mediterranean ; and the earliest images
of the gods, which were made of wood, gilded and dressed in dra-
peries of cloth, were called Dasdala by the Greeks.
Dan'ae. Daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, who confined her in
a brazen tower, because it had been prophesied th;it her son should
kill his grandfather. But Zeus (Jupiter) came to her in the form
of a shower of gold, and she became the mother of Perseus. Then
Acrisius placed her and the child in a chest and cast it into the sea.
The chest was sent ashore at Seriphus and they were saved by
Dictys. (See IVrseus.) Italian traditions relate that Danae went to
Italy, married Pilmunus, built Ardea, and gave birth to Danau's the
ancestor of Turnus.
Dana'ides. These were the fifty daughters of Danaiis son of Be-
lus. His twin-brother ./Egyptus had fifty sous, and Danaiis fled to
Argos with his daughters because he feared the sons of his brother,
but they pursued him to Argos and demanded his daughters as
wives. He consented, but he gave to each daughter a dagger, with
440
ANCIENT MYTHS
which to kill her husband in the bridal chamber. All did this save
one, Hypermnestra, who spared her husband Lynceus. He after-
wards killed Danaiis. The Danaids are obliged to constantly carry
water in the lower world, and to pour it into a sieve as a punish-
ment for their crime.
Danaidrf. (Mus. Pio Clem. Visconti.)
Daph'ne. Daughter of Peneus, the river god of Thessaly.
Apollo loved her and pursued her, but when about to reach her, she
prayed for aid and became a laurel tree. On this account the
laurel was the favorite tree of the god.
Daph'nis. Son of Hermes (Mercury) by a nymph. He was a
Sicilian shepherd, and learned to play the flute of Pan. The in-
ventor of bucolic poetry. He was faithless to a Naiad, and she made
him blind. His father then translated him to heaven.
Deme'ter (Ceres). Goddess of the earth. Daughter of Cro-
nus (Saturnus) and Rhea, mother of Persephone (Proserpine) by
Zeus (Jupiter). Without the knowledge of her mother Jupiter
promised Proserpine to A'idoneus (Pluto), and one day as she gath-
ered flowers on the Nysian plain, the earth opened and she was car-
ried off by Aidoneus. Demeter searched for her, until Helios told
her the truth. Then she left Olympus in anger, and came to dwell
on earth, where she blessed all who received her kindly, and pun-
ished those who did not. Then the earth produced no fruit, and
Zeus sent Hermes (Mercury), to bring back Proserpine. Pluto con-
sented, but gave Proserpine part of a pomegranate, which she ate.
Then Demeter returned to Olympus with her child, but the latter
having eaten in the lower world, was obliged to pass one third of the
year there with Aidoneus. Now again the earth brought forth fruit.
This is the account of Homer. Latin writers place the rape of
Proserpine at Enna in Sicily, and say that Demeter changed Asca-
laphus into an owl because he was the only witness of the eating of
Proserpine in Hades. The signification of the legend is, that Pros-
erpine carried off is the seed placed in the earth; when she re-
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 441
turns, she is the grain rising from the ground to feed men. Again
others make it refer to the burial of man and immortality. Other
incidents in the life of Demeter are these : Poseidon (Neptune) pur-
sued her and she changed herself to a mare, but he accomplished his
desire, and she bore the horse Arion. She was in love with lasion,
and conceived in a thrice-ploughed field in Crete ; Plutus (Wealth)
was the offspring. Erysichthon cut down her grove, and she so
punished him with hunger that he devoured his own flesh. The
Athenians claimed that agriculture originated in their country, and
that Triptolemus of Eleusis was a favorite of Demeter, and first
sowed corn and invented the plough. The festival of the Eleusinia
at Athens, and of the Thesmophoria in all Greece, were in her
honor. The Romans kept the festival of Cerealia in honor of De-
meter, and gave the property of traitors to her temple, where the
decrees of the senate were deposited for inspection by the tribunes.
In art she is fully draped, a garland of corn-ears or a ribbon upon
her head, and a sceptre with corn-ears, or a poppy in her hand.
Sometimes she had a torch and basket.
Dia'na (Artemis). At Rome her temple was on the Aventine.
There she was goddess of light, and represented the moon. See
Artemis.
Di'do (Elissa). Daughter of Belus, King of Tyre. She was
married to her uncle, Acerbas. Her brother Pygmalion killed him,
and Dido with many noble Tyrians, left their home secretly, and took
away all the great wealth of Acerbas. They went to Africa. She
bought as much land as could be surrounded by the hide of a bull.
She cut this into narrow strips, with which she measured the spot
where she built the citadel of Byrsa. This was the commencement
of Carthage, which rose rapidly. A neighboring king, Hiarbas, be-
ing jealous of her power, asked her in marriage, but she was deter-
mined to be true to the memory of Acerbas. When she saw that
all around her expected her to marry the king, she made a pretense
of sacrificing to the manes of Acerbas, and when the pile was
lighted, she mounted it and stabbed herself in the presence of the
people. Virgil gives another version, and makes yEneas land at
Carthage and gain the affections of Dido, so that when he sailed
away she killed herself as above. But the anachronism is most glar-
ing, as Troy was taken u. c. 1184, and Carthage not founded until
B. c. 853.
Diog'enes was born in Sinope in Pontus, u. c. 412. A cele-
brated Cynic philosopher. As a youth he was a disciple of Autis-
thenes (Antisthenes), and became eminent for his moroseness and
self-denial. In summer he rolled in hot sand, and in winter he em-
braced statues covered with snow. He lived a most austere life in
every particular : slept in porticoes, or in the streets, and finally
lived in a tub belonging to the Metroum, or temr le of the Mother of
442 ANCIENT MYTHS
the Gods. On his way to JEgina he was taken by pirates and sold
as a slave, and when asked what he could do, his answer was, " I
can command men." Xeniades of Corinth bought him, gave him
his freedom, and made him instructor of his children. At Corinth
he saw Alexander, who said to him, " I am Alexander the Great."
The philosopher answered, " And I am Diogenes the Cynic." Alex-
ander so admired him that he said, " Were I not Alexander, I should
wish to be Diogenes ; " and when he asked him if he could do any-
thing for him, he said, " Yes, you can stand out of the sunshine."
Diogenes died at Corinth, u. c. 323.
Diome'des. Son of Tydeus and Deipyle. He is called Tydides.
Succeeded Adrastus on the throne of Argos. His father died in the
war of the Seven against Thebes, and Diomedes fought in that of
the " Epigoni." He went to Troy with eighty ships, and was second
only to Achilles among the Greeks. Athena (Minerva) was his
special protectress. He fought with Hector, ,ZEneas, and even the
Trojan gods; and thus wounded Ares (Mars), and Aphrodite
(Venus). Later traditions teach that he, together with Ulysses,
carried off the Palladium from Troy, because it was said Troy could
not be taken while it remained within the walls. When he returned
to Argos after the fall of Troy, he found his wife ^Egialea living
adulterously with Hippolytus, or according to others with Cometes
or Cyllabarus. Aphrodite (Venus) had sent him this misfortune.
He therefore left Argos and went to /Etolia. Later he attempted
to return, but a storm sent him on the coast of Daunia, Italy.
Here he settled, and married Evippe, daughter of Daunus. He
lived to be very old and was buried on one of the islands off Cape
Garganum, since called Diomedean Isles. His companions so
mourned his death, that they were made birds, A vex Diomedece,
and would fly toward the Greek ships, avoiding those of the Ro-
mans. A plain of Apulia was called Diomedei Campi, and several
towns in the eastern portion of Italy were said to owe their origin
to him. (2.) King of the Bistones in Thrace. He had mares which
he fed on human flesh, and for this Hercules killed him.
Diony'sus. See Bacchus.
Dioscu'ri. Sons of Zeus (Jupiter), named Castor and Pollux.
Called Polydeuces and Castores by the Romans. Homer makes
them the children of Leda and Tyndareus, and the brothers of
Helen. They were called Tyndaridae. But others make them the
sons of Leda and Zeus, and born out of the egg at the same time
with Helen. (See Leda.) Again Castor was called the son of
Tyndareus, mortal and subject to age and death ; while Pollux and
Helen, children of Zeus, were like him, immortal. They had dis-
appeared before the Greeks went to Troy ; and were buried ; but
Homer says, came to life every other day and enjoyed the honors
of gods. Their lives were made remarkable by three events : (1.)
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 443
An expedition to recover their sister Helen, who had been carried
off by Theseus, and placed in Aphidiuc. (2.) They joined the ex-
pedition of the Argonauts, during which Pollux killed Ainycus,
king of the Bebryces, in a boxing-match, and they founded the
town of Dioscurias in Colchis. (3.) Battle with Idas and Lynceus,
sons of Aphareus : Castor being mortal, was killed by Idas, whom
Zeus (Jupiter) then killed by a (lash of lightning. Pollux slew
Lynceus. He then asked Jupiter to allow him to join his brother,
and his request was granted, so that he lived one day among the
shades of the lower world, and the next among the gods. Another
tradition relates that Zeus rewarded their brotherly love by placinw
them among the stars as Gemini. They were first worshipped in
Sparta, then in all Greece and Italy. Neptune (Poseidon) so ad-
mired their affection for each other, that be gave them power over
the waves, and they were especially honorCd by sailors. They were
also regarded as patrons of poets, presidents of public games, and
inventors of the war-dance. They always rode on magnificent
white horses, and are thus represented in art, with egg-shaped hel-
mets surmounted by stars. They carry spears. They were wor-
shipped from the earliest times at Rome. A temple was erected in
their honor opposite that of Vesta in the Forum. On the 15th of
July the Equites visited this temple in a magnificent procession.
Dir'ce- See Amphion.
Dis. Pluto and the lower world are sometimes called by this
name, which is a contraction of Dives.
E'cho. A nymph who amused Juno (Hera) by constantly talk-
ing to her while Jupiter (Zeus) sported with other nymphs. When
Juno discovered the trick she changed Echo into an echo ; in
which state she fell in love with Narcissus, and this love not being
returned she pined away so that nothing remained but her voice.
Ege'ria (/Egeria). The goddess by whom Numa was instructed
concerning the worship to be introduced into Rome. She was one
of the Camenae or prophetic nymphs of the religion of ancient Italy.
The grove in which she met the king was dedicated by him to the
Camena3 ; in it was a well which gushed forth from a dark recess.
Tradition points out two localities as sacred to Egeria : one near
Aricia, and the other near Rome, at the Porta Capena.
Elec'tra (Laodice). Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytasmnes-
tra. Sister of Iphigenia and Orestes. When her father was
murdered by her mother and ./Egisthus, she sent her brother Ores-
tes to King Strophius to be reared. When older she excited him to
kill their mother to avenge the death of Agamemnon, and herself
assisted to do the deed. Afterward Orestes gave her in marriage
to Pylades. Electra signifies " the brilliant one."
Endym'ion. A beautiful youth who was always asleep. As he
slept on Mount Latmus his beauty touched even the cold heart of
444 ANCIENT MYTHS
Seiene (the Moon), and she came down to him, kissed him, and
laid at his side. Various causes were assigned for this eternal
slumber, but it was usually believed that Selene kept him thus that
she might caress him without his knowledge.
E'os. See Aurora.
Epicu'rus. Greek philosopher, born at Samos u. c. 342. Re-
moved to Athens 306, purchased a garden and established the
school known as Epicurean. He taught that happiness is the sum-
mum bonum, and that, the happiness which results from virtuous
living ; and that virtue should be followed, not for its own sake
but for the happiness it brings. His doctrines were degraded and
misrepresented by men of sensual natures who attributed to him the
doctrine that pleasure and indulgence were the highest good.
Epimen'ides. A prophet and poet who lived in Crete and
whose history has been interwoven with many fables. It is thus
given : As a boy he was sent in search of a lost sheep, and becom-
ing weary, he fell asleep in a cave and slept fifty-seven years.
When he awoke and returned home, he was greatly surprised to
find how long he had slept, and also at the changes which bad
taken place. But his visit to Athens was a reality. A plague had
been sent upon the city on account of the crime of Cylon, who had
seized the Acropolis intending to become tyrant of the city. Epi-
menides being sent for purified the city by certain mysterious cere-
monies and sacrifices. Many writings were attributed to him, and
Paul referred to him (Titus i. 12): "One of themselves, even a
prophet of their own, said, ' The Cretans are always liars, evil
beasts, slow bellies.' "
Er'ato. The muse of Erotic Poetry. See Musse.
Erichtho'nius. King of Troy. Son of Dardanus. Father of
Tros.
2. Erichtho'nius or Erech'theus I. Son of Vulcan (Hephaestus)
and Atthis. Minerva (Athena) reared the child secretly and con-
cealed him in a chest which she gave to Agraulos, Pandrosos, and
Herse with the command that they should not open it. But they
disobeyed, and when they looked in saw the child entwined by
serpents or in the form of one. They went mad and threw them-
selves down from the Acropolis. This child was afterwards king of
Athens and his son Pandion succeeded to his throne. It is said that
he introduced the worship of Athena (Minerva), built her temple on
the Acropolis and established the festival of the Panathensea. He
also decided in favor of the goddess when she contended with
Poseidon (Neptune), for the possession of Attica. He was the first
who used a chariot with four horses, and for this reason was placed
among the stars as auriga. After his death the temple called the
Erechtheum was erected on the Acropolis and he was worshipped as
a god.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART
445
E'ros (Cupid, Amor). His mother was Aphrodite (Venus). His
father is not known ; was either Ares (Mare),
Zeus (Jupiter), or Hermes (Mercury). God of
Love. He was a boy full of tricks, and troubled
gods and men alike. He carried arrows in a
golden quiver, and torches that none could touch
with impunity. His arrows were of various sorts.
If golden, they kindle love, if lead they produce
the opposite effect. He had wings of gold and
fluttered as a bird. He often had his eyes
covered, and was as one blind. He is usually
with his mother. Anteros was the opposite of
Eros, and punishes those who do not return the
love they inspire. See Psyche.
Euphros'yne. See Charites.
Eurip'ides. Born at Salamis, n. c. 480, on
the day that the Greeks defeated the Persians off that isle,
was in reality an Athenian, as his parents (led from Athens when
Xerxes invaded Greece. He became distinguished as a tragic
poet. He pictured men and women as they are, not as they should
be. Socrates greatly praised him, on this account. His especial
excellence was in the tenderness and pathos of some of his writings.
There are eighteen of his tragedies yet known, omitting the
" Rhesus," which is not positively known to be his. In youth he
excelled as a gymnast. He was a friend of Socrates. He took
prizes for his plays in Athens. He died at the court of Archelaiis
of Macedonia, aged seventy-five. It is said that he was killed by
the dojrs of the kins.
He
Europa. (Stosch Coll., SchlichtergoU.)
Euro'pa. Her parentage is disputed, and she is called daughter
446
ANCIENT MYTHS
of Agenor, king of Phoenicia, and of Phoenix. Zeus (Jupiter) fell in
love with her beauty, and assuming the shape of a bull, mingled with
a herd near where she played with her maidens. The tameness of
the animal attracted her, and she got upon his back. Then he went
into the sea and swam to Crete, where he begot by her Minos,
Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon.
Euryd'ice. Wife of Orpheus. See Orpheus.
Euter'pe. Muse of Lyric Poetry. See Musae.
Fau'nus. Son of Picus, grandson of Saturnus, and father of
Latinus. He gave oracles, and protected agriculture and shepherds.
He was identified with Pan, after the introduction of the latter into
Italy, and represented with horns and goats' feet. Later writers use
the plural Fauni. This idea of plurality arose from the fact that he
manifested himself in various ways ; and in the end the Fauni came
to be considered the same as the Greek Satyrs. Faula, his wife,
was the same to the female sex that Faunus was to the male.
JTaus'tulus. A shepherd who saved the lives of Romulus and
Remus. See Romulus.
Plo'ra. The Roman goddess of spring and flowers. Her festival
was kept from the 28th of April to the 1st of May, and attended
with excessive dissipation and lasciviousness.
Fortu'na (Tyche). Worshipped both in Greece and Italy. She
has different attributes, according to the
characteristic represented. With the horn
of Amalthea, or with Plutus, she personifies
the plentiful gifts of good fortune ; with a
rudder, she is guiding the affairs of the
world ; with a ball, she represents the un-
certainty of fortune. She was more con-
sidered by the Romans than the Greeks,
and at Antium and Prasneste her oracles
were celebrated.
Galate'a. Daughter of Nereus and Doris.
See Acis.
Ganyme'des. Son of Tros and Callir-
rhoe. Brother of Ilus and Assaracus. The
most beautiful of mortals, and on this ac-
count carried off to live with the gods and
be the cupbearer of Zeus (Jupiter). This
is the account of Homer, but others are very
different. He is made the son of Laome-
don, of Ilus, of Erichthonius, or of Assaracus.
Fortuna. (British Museum.) And it is said Jupiter, in the form of a-
eagle or with the aid of one, bore him away, and remunerated his
father for his loss with a pair of divine horses. The place from which
he was taken is also variously given, but the greater number agree
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
447
upon Mount Ida. He is placed among the stars under the name of
Aquarius. In Latin lie is sometimes called Catatnitus.
Genius. A protecting spirit, corresponding to a guardian an-
gel. Botli Greeks and Romans believed in them, and the former
called them Daemons. They were believed to be the agents of
Zeus (Jupiter), dwelling on earth to fulfill his will and enforce jus-
tice. The Greek philosophers taught, and the Romans believed, that
such a being was appointed for each mortal at birth, and the Ro-
mans worshipped them as gods most holy, especially on their birth-
days, when they offered them libations of wine, garlands, and
incense. The bridal bed was called lectus genialis, and was conse-
crated to the genius on account of his connection with generation.
Every place, too, had its genius, and on many merry festivals sacri-
fices were offered to them. A genius of place is represented as a
serpent eating fruit.
Wine Genius. (Mosaic. Pompeii)
German'icus, Caesar. Son of Nero Claudius Drusus and
Antonia, daughter of the triumvir Antony. He was early raised to
the honors of the state by his uncle, Tiberius, who adopted him.
After being in various battles he had command of the forces in Ger-
many, andhad nearly subdued the whole country, when Tiberius
became jealous of his power, and recalled him to Rome. He then
ga,?6 him command of all the Eastern provinces, but placed Cn.
448
ANCIENT MYTHS
Piso to watch and thwart him. He died in Syria, and he and
others believed that Piso had poisoned him. So great was the
indignation at Rome, that Tiberius was forced to sacrifice Piso to it.
Germanicus was a writer, and some of his works were poems. He
had nine children, the most famous of whom were the Emperor
Caligula, and Agrippina, mother of Nero.
Ge'ryon (Geryones). Son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe. King of
Spain. He had three heads, or according to some, three bodies united.
Hercules stole his oxen and carried them away. See Hercules.
Gor'gones. These were Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, three fright-
ful maidens, sometimes called Phorcydes, from their father Phorcys.
Their mother was Ceto. They had claws of brass, wings, and enor-
mous teeth, and hissing serpents
about their heads in place of hair.
Medusa was the only one who was
mortal, and some legends relate that
she was at first beautiful, and was
the mother of Chrysaor and Pegasus
by Zeus (Jupiter), in one of the
temples of Athena (Minerva), for
which the goddess changed her hair
to serpents, and all who looked at
her were turned to stone. Athena
then placed her head in the centre
Medusa. (Marble. Munich.) c > , j. i j. o T>
of her breastplate. See Perseus.
Gra'tiae. See Charites.
Ha'des (Aides, Pluto, Dis, Orcus, Tartarus). Son of Cronus
(Saturn) and Rhea. Brother of Zeus
(Jupiter) and Poseidon (Neptune).
Husband of Persephone or Proserpina
[Demeter]. When the world was
divided between the three brothers,
Hades obtained the abode of the
shades. He was hated by mortals,
and fierce in character. Black sheep
were the sacrifice offered him, and
the person offering turned away the
face. He bore a staff with which to
drive shades to his dominion, and to
show his power. He had a helmet,
which he sometimes lent to gods and
men, which rendered the wearer in-
visible. Being king of the lower
world, metals and all the productions
of the earth are his gifts. He was
in love with the nymph Mintho, whom
Hades. (Vatisan, Rome.) Proserpina changed to the plant called
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 449
mint ; and with the nymph Leuce, whom he made a poplar after
death. He is represented as seated on his throne with Proserpina.
He resembles Zeus and Poseidon, except that his hair falls over his
forehead. He is dark and gloomy, and has the keys of Hades.
Cerberus is usually near him.
Harpy'ise (Harpies). These are the robbers or spoilers who
carried off persons. They are said to have stolen the daughters of
Pandareos. They tormented Phineus when he was blind, by dart-
ing down and stealing his food from before him, or rendering it
unfit to eat. After being driven away from Phineus they went to
the Strophades, islands in the Ionian Sea. They are represented
as maidens with fair hair and wings ; also, as most disgusting birds,
with heads like maidens and long claws, apparently pale with
hunger.
He'be (Juventas). Daughter of Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera (Juno).
Wife of Hercules after he was received among the gods, to whom she
bore two sons. Goddess of Youth. She filled the cups of the gods
before Gany modes became cupbearer. She was said to have the
power to make the aged young again.
Hec'ate (Perseis). The only Titan who retained power under
Zeus (Jupiter). Called the daughter of Persteus or Perses, and
Astoria. All the gods honored her, and she is identified with three
divinities. Selene (Luna), in heaven; Artemis (Diana), on earth,
and Proserpina (Persephone), in Hades. Hence she is called Tri-
formis, Teryemina, and Triceps. She became a goddess of the lower
world by searching for Proserpina [Demeter], and remaining with
her as an attendant, when she was found. She taught sorcery and
dwelt near tombs, and where people were murdered ; also where two
roads crossed. She wandered about with shades of the dead, and
the whining of dogs was said to give warning of her approach.
She sent demons from the lower world at night. Black female
lambs, honey, and dogs, were offered to her at Athens; dishes of
food were set out to her where roads crossed, at the end of each
month. She is represented with three bodies and three heads.
Hec'uba (Hecube). Daughter of Dymas of Phrygia, or of Cis-
seus, king of Thrace. Wife of Priam, king of Troy. Mother of
Hector, Paris, etc. After the fall of Troy she was made a slave by
the Greeks. She was metamorphosed into a dog, and threw herself
into the sea at a place called Cynossema, or the " tomb of the dog."
Hector. Son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba. Husband
of Andromache. Father of Scamandrius. The Trojan hero in
tha war with the Greeks. He slew Patroclus. This aroused
Achilles, who chased him three times around the walls of Troy, slew
him, fastened him to his chariot, and dragged him to the Grecian
camp. Other accounts say he dragged him three times round the
city. Zeus (Jupiter) commanded Achilles to give the body to
29
450
ANCIENT MYTHS.
Priam, and it was buried with great honors. Hector is one of the
noblest of all who are men-
tioned in connection with
the siege of Troy. He
made even Achilles look to
his laurels, and withal, was
a good son, husband, and
father.
Hel'ena (Helend).
Daughter of Zeus (Jupiter)
and Leda. Sister of Castor
and Pollux. Exceedingly
beautiful. While young
was earned away to Attica
by Theseus and Pirithous.
While Theseus was in
Hades, Castor and Pollux
went to liberate Helen,
took Athens, and carried
to Sparta not only Helen,
but JEthra, the mother of
Theseus, whom they made
a slave to Helen. When
Hector. (JEgina. Marbles. )
she was sought in marriage by all the noblest Greeks, she chose
Menelaus, and by him became the mother of Hermione. She was
then seduced, and carried away by Paris. The Greeks who had
been her suitors resolved to avenge this, and sailed against Troy.
This war lasted ten years, and Helen is represented to have had
great sympathy for the Greeks. On the death of Paris she married
Deiphobus, his brother, whom she betrayed to the Greeks on the
fall of Troy. She then became reconciled to Menelaus, and returned
with him to Sparta, where they lived happily for some time. There
are various accounts of her death. Some relate that she and Menelaus
were buried at Therapne in Laconia; again, that after the death of
Menelaus, his sons drove her out of Peloponnesus, and she fled to
Rhodes ; here she was tied to a tree and strangled by Polyxo. The
Khodians built a temple, and dedicated it to her in the name of
Helena Dendritis, in order to atone for this crime. Again it is related
that she married Achilles in the island of Leuce, and by him became
the mother of Euphorion. Bu\, Proteus in the " Odyssey " declared
that Menelaus and Helen would not die but would be conducted by
the gods to Elysium.
Hel'icon A range of mountains in Boeotia crowned with snow
almost constantly. Sacred to Apollo and the Muses, the latter being
called Heliconiodes and Heliconides. Here were the sacred fountains
Aganippe and Hippocrene.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 45!
Helios (Sol, Hyperionides, Hyperion). He is represented as
naving two splendid palaces, one in the East and one in the West.
He starts in the morning in a chariot drawn by four horses, which
feed at night upon herbs growing in the islands of the blessed. He
sees and knows all that is done on earth. He it was who disclosed
tc Vulcan (Hephtestus), the faithlessness of Aphrodite (Venus),
and to Demeter (Ceres), the truth concerning Proserpina. He is
sometimes identified with Apollo. His daughters Phretusa and Lam-
petia tended his flocks, on the island Thrinacia, which was sacred to
him. In many parts of Greece he was worshipped, and the Colos-
sus at Rhodes was a statue representing Helios. The cock was sacred
M him, and bears, bulls, white rams, and horses. Goats and honey
were sacrificed to him
Hel'le. Daughter of Athamas and Nephele. Sister of Phrixus.
His stepmother Ino had intrigued to sacrifice him to Zeus (Jupi-
ter), but his mother saved him, and Helle, by riding away upon the
ram with the golden fleece which Hermes (Mercury) had given her.
But Helle fell into the sea, which has since been called Hellespont
(Helles-Pontus), or Sea of Helle.
Hephses'tus (Vulcanus). Son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera
(Juno). Another tradition relates that he had no father, and that
Hera gave birth to him independently, on account of her jealousy of
Zeus in giving birth to Athena (Minerva) without her aid. She no
disliked him on account of his being lame and weak, that she threw
him down from Mount Olympus. Thetis and Eurynome received
him, and kept him nine years in a grotto beneath Oceanus. He then
returned to Olympus, where he became a great artist among the gods.
His palace in Olympus was imperishable, and glistened like stars. In
it was his workshop, with an anvil and twenty bellows which worked
at his bidding. He made all the palaces of Olympus, the arms of
Achilles, the necklace of Harmonia, and the bulls of ^Ee'tes. Later
traditions glace the workshop on some volcanic island, and represent
the Cyclops as his workmen. At first he was merely the god of fire,
but as that was necessary to the working of metals, he became an
artist in metals. Although so cruelly treated by his mother, he took
her part in a quarrel with Zeus, when that god seized him and hurled
him from Olympus. He was a day in falling, and landed on the
island of Lemnos. He again returned to Olympus, and acted as
mediator between his mother and Zeus. On this occasion he offered
nectar to his mother and the other gods, who were much amused,
and laughed loudly at his hobbling from one to another. In the
"Iliad," Charis is his wife ; in " Hesiod," Aglaia, but in the '' Odyssey **
and in later accounts, Aphrodite (Venus) is his wife, and when she
was in love with Ares (Mars), Helios disclosed it to Hephsestus,
who caught the guilty pair in an invisible net, and exposed them to
the ridicule of the gods. He preferred Lemnos for an earthly home,
452 ANCIENT MYTHS
but many volcanic islands have been called his workshops, such aa
Sicily, Lipara, Irnbros, etc. He was represented as a vigorous man,
with a beard, bearing a hammer or some implement of his art, and
wearing an oval cap and a chiton, which leaves the right arm and
shoulder bare.
He'ra (Here). Juno. Signifies, Mistress. Daughter of Cronus
(Saturn) and Rhea. Sister and wife of Zeus (Jupiter). She was
reared by Oceanus and Tethys, and became the wife of Zeus with-
out the knowledge of her parents, according to Homer. Others say
that Cronus swallowed her, as he did his other children, and after-
wards restored her. She was treated with great respect by the
gods, and Zeus consulted her, and told her his secrets, but she was
obliged to obey him, and the idea of her as queen of heaven is
much later than the "Hiad." She was unlovely in character, jealous,
quarrelsome, obstinate, and revengeful. She quarreled with Zeus at
times, and once made a plan with Poseidon (Neptune) and Athena
(Minerva) to put him in chains. He often beat her, and once hung
her in the clouds with her hands chained and anvils tied to her feet.
She was mother of Ares (Mars), Hebe, and Hephaestus (Vulcan).
Hera was the only goddess who was really married, and is therefore
the divinity of marriage and of births. She is mother of the Ilithyiae,
the goddesses who aided mothers in childbirth. She was hostile to
the Trojans on account of the judgment of Paris. She persecuted
the children of Zeus by mortal mothers. She was especially wor-
shipped at Argos, and to a less extent all over Greece. She was
represented as very beautiful and majestic. She wore a diadem and
veil to signify that she was the bride of Zeus. The sceptre and
peacock are her attributes. See Juno.
Her'cules (Heracles). Son of Zeus (Jupiter) by Alcmene, wife
of Amphitryon of Thebes, whom Zeus deceived, pretending to be
her husband. On the day he was to be born, Zeus boasted that he
was about to become the father of one, destined to rule oyer the race
of Perseus. Hera (Juno) persuaded him to swear that the first de-
scendant of Perseus, born that day, should be the ruler ; then she
hasted to Argos and caused Eurystheus, a grandson of Perseus, to
be born ; so Hercules was robbed of his kingdom. Zeus was angry,
but he had sworn. Alcmene gave birth to Hercules, and Iphicles,
begotten by Amphitryon one night later than Hercules by Zeus.
Hera sent two serpents to destroy Hercules, but the child killed
them. Castor instructed him in fighting in armor ; Linus in music ;
Eurytus in archery, and Amphitryon in driving the chariot. He
killed Linus because he censured him, and Amphitryon sent him to
tend his cattle. When eighteen years old, he killed a huge lion,
which made great havoc among the herds of Amphitryon and Thes-
pius. The latter had fifty daughters. He made Hercules his guest,
*nd delivered his daughters to him, so long as the chase for the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 453
lion lasted. After he bad killed him he wore his skin as a ^ar-
O
ment, the head and mouth being a helmet. Others say his lion-
skin was that of the Nemean lion. His next achievement was that
of killing Erginus, king of Orebomenos, to whom the Thebans paid
tribute. In this battle Amphitryon was killed. Creon rewarded
Hercules with his daughter Megara, who bore him several children.
He always carried a club he had cut near Nemea, and his arms
were presents from the gods. Hera now drove him mad, in which
state he killed the children of Megara and two of the children of
Iphicles. He went to Thespius, who purified him, and he sentenced
himself to exile, and consulted the Delphic oracle to find where he
should settle. Before this his name had been Alcides or Alcajus ;
the oracle now named him Hercules, and commanded him to live at
Tiryns, and be the servant of Eurystheus twelve years, when he
should become immortal. Later writers tell of twelve labors which
he performed for this master, but Homer mentions only the conquest
of Cerberus ; a fight with a sea-monster ; his expedition for the
horses of Laomedon, and the war with the Pylians, when he killed
the entire family of king Neleus, except Nestor. These twelve la-
bors are, (1.) The fght with the Nemean lion. This was the off-
spring of Typhon and Echidna. Hercules used his club and arrows
in vain, and finally strangled him with his hands, and carried him
to Tiryns on his shoulder. He had ravaged the vale of Nemea be-
tween Phlius and Cleonas. (2.) Fight with the Lernean hydra.
This monster sprang from the same source as the lion, and was
reared by Hera (Juno). It ravaged all the country of Lerna, near
Argos, and lived in a swamp by the well of Amymone. It had
nine heads, and the centre one was immortal. Hercules struck off
the heads, but in place of every one he took away, two new ones
appeared. At length with the help of lolaus, his servant, he burned
its heads, and buried the immortal one beneath a huge rock. He
dipped his arrows in its bile, which was an incurable poison. (3J.
Capture of the Arcadian stag. Eurystheus ordered him to bring this
alive. It had golden antlers and brazen feet. After pursuing it a
year, he wounded it with an arrow and bore it away on his shoul-
ders (4.) Capture of the Erymanthian boar. He was also com-
man&od to bring this fierce animal alive. He chased it through the
enow until it was exhausted, and then took it in a net. With the^e
immense labors smaller ones are connected, called Parerga. For
instance, while pursuing the boar, he encountered the centaur Pho-
lus, to whom Dionysus (Bacchus) had given a cask of wine. Her-
cules opened it contrary to the wishes of Pholus. Its fragrance at-
tracted all the other centaurs. Hercules drove them away, and in
his eagerness wounded his friend Chiron. (See Chiron). He also
killed Pholus by accident. (5.) Cleansing the Augean Stables. He
was ordered to perform this labor in one day. They belonged to Au-
454
ANCIENT MYTHS.
geas, king of Elis, who had three thousand cattle, and the stalls had
not been cleansed for thirty years. Hercules then went to Augeas,
and did not mention the name of his master, but offered to cleanse
the stalls in a day if he would give him a tenth part of the cattle.
Augeas gave consent, to which his son Phyleus Avas witness. Then
Hercules turned the rivers Alpheus and Peneus, so that they ran
through the stalls. Augeas, however, refused him the cattle, and
exiled his son because he witnessed against him. Hercules after-
wards killed both him and his sons. After this it is believed that
Hercules founded the Olympic games. (6.) Destruction of Stym-
phalian birds. These birds had brazen claws, beaks, and wings.
They used their feathers as arrows, and ate human flesh. They had
been reared by Ares (Mars). Hercules was commanded to expel
them from lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. Athena (Minerva) gave
him a brazen rattle with which he frightened the birds, and when
they flew into the air, he killed them with arrows. Some say that
he merely drove them away, and that the Argonautae found them at
the island of Aretias. (7.) Capture of the Cretan bull. This bull
had been sent to Minos for a sacrifice by Poseidon (Neptune). Mi-
nos so admired it that he kept it and sacrificed another. Neptune
then drove the bull mad, and he made great havoc. Hercules
caught the creature and carried it home on his shoulders. He let
it go again, and it appeared later at Marathon. (8.) Capture of
the mares of Diomedes. These mares were fed on human flesh, and
Hercules was commanded to
bring them to Eurystheus.
With a few assistants he
seized them and took them to
the sea-coast. Here he was
overtaken by the Bistones, the
subjects of Diomedes. While
fighting he gave the horses to
Abderus, whom they killed.
Hercules conquered the Bis-
tones and slew Diomedes.
He threw his body to the
horses. Eating the flesh of
their master tamed :hem.
Hercules founded the city of
Abdera in honor of his friend,
and then took the mares to Eurystheus, who set them free, and they
were destroyed by wild beasts on Mount Olympus. (9.) Seizure of
the girdle of Hippolyte. This queen of the Amazons had a girdle
which Mars (Ares) had given her. Admete, the daughter of Eurys-
theus, desired it, and he sent Hercules for it. He had many adven-
tures in reaching her country, where the queen received him kindly
Hercules and horses of Diomudes. (Museo
Borbonico.)
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
455
But Hera excited all the Amazones against him. A quarrel ensued,
in which Hercules killed Hippolyte, and seized her girdle. On his
return he stopped at Troas and rescued Hesione from the monster
sent by Neptune (Poseidon). Her father, Laomedon, promised him
the horses Zeus had given hint when he took away Ganymedes.
Ho did not keep his word, and Hercules afterwards made war on
account of this. (10.) Capture of the oxen of Geryones in Erythia.
The fabulous island of Erythia (the reddish), was so called because
it was in the west beneath the setting sun. Here lived Geryones,
the monster with three bodies. He had magnificent oxen, which
were guarded by Eurytion, the giant, and the two-headed dog Orthus.
These oxen Hercules was commanded to bring to Eurystheus. After
traversing many lands he reached the borders of Eui'ope and Libya,
and erected two pillars, Calpe and Abyla, one on each side of the
straits of Gibraltar, since called the pillars of Hercules. He so
suffered from the heat of the sun, that he shot at Helios, who ad-
mired his boldness, and gave him a golden boat in which he sailed
to Erythia. He slew Geryones, Eurytion and his dog, and sailed
with the oxen for Tartessus. Here he returned the golden boat to
Helios. On his journey through Gaul, Italy, Illyricum, and Thrace,
he met with many hindrances, but at last brought his booty safely to
his master, who sacrificed the oxen to Hera (Juno). (H.) Bringing
the golden apples of the Hesp.rides. Ge (the earth) had given these
apples to Hera as a marriage gift. Hera gave them to the Hes-
perides, and the giant Ladon on Mount Atlas, for safe keeping.
(Hesperides). Hercules did
not know where they were
kept, which made the task a
difficult one. When Hercules
arrived at Mount Atlas he bore
the weight of heaven, and com-
manded Atlas to bring the
apples. This he did, but re-
fused to take the Aveight again.-
Hercules, however, took the
apples, and hastened to Eurys-
theus and gave him the ap-
ples. He dedicated them to
Athena (Minerva), who re-
stored them to their former place. Some accounts say that Hercules
killed the giant Ladon. (12.) Bringing Cerberus from Hades. This
was the most difficult task. He entered the lower world near
Ttenarum in Laconia. Hermes (Mercury) and Athena (Minerva)
accompanied him. He liberated Theseus and vEsculapius from
torments, and obtained permission of Pluto to carry Cei berus to
Eurystheus if he could do it without force of arms. This he did. and
m
Hercules and Cerberus.
456
ANCIENT MYTHS
after showing the monster to his master he returned it to Hades.
These twelve labors being ended, Hercules returned to Thebes.
There he gave Megara to lolaus in marriage, and wished himself to
obtain lole, daughter of _Eurytus, king of (Echalia. Her father
promised her to any one who should excel himself and his sons in
shooting with the bow. Hercules excelled them, but they refused,
(with the exception of Iphitus), to give lole to him because he had
killed his own children. He soon killed Iphitus, his friend, in a fit
of madness, and although purified from this murder he was attacked
by a severe illness. The Delphic oracle declared that he could be
restored to health if he wo^ld serve three years for wages, which he
must give to Eurytus to atone for the murder of Iphitus. He be-
came the servant of Ornphale, queen of Lydia. Tradition says
that here he lived effeminately, spun wool and dressed like a woman,
while the queen wore his lion-skin. Others relate that during this
time he undertook an expedition
to Colchis ; met the Argonauts ;
took part in the Calydonian hunt ;
and met Theseus on the Corin-
thian isthmus when he returned
from Troezene. At the end of
three years he sailed to Troy,
killed king Laomedon, and took
the city. About this time the
gods sent for him to assist them
to fight the giants, who had made
war against them. After his re-
turn to Argos he marched against
Augeas ; against Pylos, and killed
the entire family of Neleus, with
the exception of Nestor. He went
to Calydon and fought with Ache*
lous for Deianira, daughter of
(Eneus. After being married to
her three years he accidentally
killed the boy Eunomus at the
Hercules and OmpUale. (Farnese Group, house of CEneus. Hercules then
Na P les -> went into exile, taking Deianira.
Whet they came to the river Evenus, where Nessus ferried travellers
across, Hercules crossed and left Deianira to follow him. Nessus
then attempted to violate her, but Hercules hearing her cries shot
an arrow which pierced Nessus through the heart. Before he died
he told Deianira to take his blood with her as a sure means of pre-
serving the love of her husband. Hercules then dwelt at Trachis,
and attacked Eurytus of (Echalia. He took his kingdom, killed
him and his sons, and carried his daughter lole away a prisoner.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
457
On his return he landed at Cenaeum, a promontory of Eubcca, and
erected an altar to Zeus. He sent Lichas to Trachis to bring him
a white garment to use during the sacrifice. De'ianira, fearing lest lole
should rob her of his love, sent a garment steeped in the blood of
Nessus. The arrow of Hercules had poisoned the blood, and when
Hercules put on the garment and it became warm, he was seized with
the most excruciating agony. When he pulled it off pieces of flesh
cauie with it. He seized Lichas and threw him into the sea. He
was conveyed to Trachis, and when Deianira saw what she had
done, she hung herself. Hercules commanded his eldest son by
Deianira, Hyllus, to marry lole as soon as he should reach manhood.
He then raised a pile of wood on Mount (Eta, placed himself on it
and commanded it to be set on fire. While it was burning, a cloud
descended and carried him to Olympus, where he was made immor-
tal ; was reconciled to Hera, and married Hebe. He was worshipped
at Greece and Rome. The sacrifices offered him were rams, lambs,
bulls, and boars. The poplar tree was sacred to him. He is vari-
ously represented in art as a child, youth, hero, and god. In every
case he personifies energy, courage, and strength.
Hermaphrodi'tus. Son of Hermes (Mercury) and Aphrodite
(Venus). Grandson of Atlas, and therefore called Atlantiades, or
Atlantius. He inherited great beauty from both parents. The
nymph of the fountain Sahuacis near Halicarnassus loved him, and
tried in vain to win his affections. One day as he bathed in the
fountain she embraced him, at the same time praying the gods to
unite them forever. Her prayer was answered, and their bodies
united, retaining the characteristics of both sexes.
Her'mes (Mercurius). Son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Maia, daughter
of Atlas. Born in a cave on Mount
Cyllene in Arcadia, and called Atlan-
tiades or Cyllenius. When but a few
hours old he went to Pieria, carried
off the oxen of Apollo and drove them
to Pylos. When he returned to his
cave he found a tortoise at the mouth
of it, which he made into a lyre, by
placing strings across its shell. Apollo
knew who had stolen the oxen and
came to demand them, but Maia showed
him the infant asleep in his cradle.
The god took him to Zeus, who com-
pelled him to give up the oxen, but
when he played the lyre Apollo was
so charmed that he returned them to
him and became his friend. Hermes
was made the herald of the gods, es-
Hennes. (Museo Borbonioo. }
458 1NCIENT MYTHS
pecially of Zeus ; and as the heralds speak publicly, he was the god
of eloquence, the god who protected travellers, aud the god of
commerce. His statue was erected on roads, at gates, and doors.
He was the god of luck, and presided over games with dice. IJu
invented sacrifices, and protected annuals used for them. For this
reason he was connected with nymphs and with Pan, and was hon-
ored by shepherds. He was the god of cunning, and even of deceit
and treachery, and his shrewdness caused him to invent many things,
such as measures, weights, the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, the art
of fighting, and gymnastics, music, the cultivation of the olive, as
well as the lyre and syrinx. Some of his important duties as a her-
ald were to lead Priam to Achilles to recover the body of Hector ;
to rescue Dionysus (Bacchus) from the flames after his birth ; to
sell Hercules to Omphale ; to carry off lo, who was changed into a
cow and guarded by Argus ; to tie Ixion to the wheel ; and to con-
duct Hera (Juno), Aphrodite (Venus), and Athena (Minerva) to
Paris. Arcadia, his native land, was the first place where he was
worshipped, but at length he was honored throughout all Greece.
All gymnasia were under his care, and he was always represented
as perfectly developed in limb and person, as if by gymnastic exer-
cises. His festivals were called HermiBa. The palm, the tortoise,
various fishes, and the number " 4 " were sacred to him. Young
goats, lambs, pigs, honey, cakes, and incense were sacrificed to him.
His attributes are a hat with a wide brim, and sometimes with wings ;
sandals which carried him swiftly on sea or land, having wings at
the ankles, from which he is called alipes ; and the herald's staff
given him by Apollo, which in early art was adorned with white
ribbons, but later twined with two serpents. See Mercurius.
Hermi'one. Daughter of Menelaus and Helen. Very beautiful.
Was promised to Orestes before the siege of Troy, but after the end
of the war Menelaus married her to Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus). At
his death she married Orestes and bore a son, Tisamenus.
He'ro. See Leander.
Hersil'ia. Wife of Romulus. After death worshipped as Hora
n. Horta.
Hesper'ides. Their parentage is disputed, but some call them
daughters of Atlas and Hesperis, hence called Atlantides or Hes-
pnriles. Some mention their number as three, and their names as
2Egle, Arethusa, and Hesperia ; others give them as four : .2Egle,
Crj (Jitia, Hestia, and Arethusa, and again they are said to have
oeen seven. Very early writers say that they lived on the river
Oceanus in the West, but later they are placed near Mount Atlas
and in Libya, where they guarded the golden apples which Ge (the
earth) had given Hera (Juno) at her wedding. The giant Ladon
assisted them. See Hercules.
Hes'tia (Vesta). Daughter of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea. She
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 459
was the first born of Rliea, and thus the first swallowed by Cronus.
She was one of the twelve great divinities. Goddess of the fire on
the hearth. When Apollo and Poseidon (Neptune) sought her in
marriage she swore by the head of Zeus to remain a virgin. She
was believed to dwell in the inner domestic life, as the hearth was
the centre of that life. As goddess of fire she had a part in all
sacrifices. She was goddess of the public hearth, as of the private ;
when colonists went forth they carried fire, which was to burn in the
new home they went to found. The public hearth was usually in
the prytaneum of a town, where Hestia had a special sanctuary.
See Vesta.
Hieron'. Tyrant of Syracuse. Brother and successor of Gelon.
A friend and patron of literature. JEschylus, Simonides, and Pindar
dwelt at his court. (2.) King of Syracuse and descended from
Gelon. A friend and ally of the Romans. Succeeded by Hierony-
nius, his grandson.
Hippol'ytus. Son of Theseus and Hippolyte, Queen of the
Amazones, or of her sister Antiope. Theseus afterward married
Phaadra, who fell in love with Hippolytus, and when she found that
he would not return it, she accused him to Theseus of having at-
tempted to dishonor her. Theseus cursed him and gave him over
to destruction. As Hippolytus rode near the sea, Poseidon (Nep-
tune) sent out a bull which frightened the horses, who upset the
chariot and dragged Hippolytus to death. When Theseus later
lea rued the deceit of PhtEdra she killsd herself. Artemis (Diana)
and zEsculapius attempted to restore Hippolytus to life. The ac-
counts concerning their success differ. Some relate that they could
not restore him ; others that they succeeded, and under the name of
Virbius he dwelt in the grove of Aricia in Latium under the protec-
tion of Egeria, and was worshipped as a divinity.
Ho'rae. Daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) and Themis. Goddesses
of the seasons and of the order of Nature. They kept the door of
Olympus and controlled the weather. Thallo (Hora of spring) and
Carpo (Hora of autumn) were worshipped at Athens from very early
times. They are usually represented as four in number. Hesiod
calls them Eunomia (good order), Dice (justice), and Irene (peace).
In art they are represented as blooming youths or maidens bearing
the products of the seasons.
Hyacin'thus. Son of Amyclas, King of Sparta. A beautiful
youth, beloved by Apollo and Zephyrus. He loved Apollo, hjit. as
he played quoits with him Zephyrus through jealousy caused the
quoit of Apollo to hit Hyacinthus and kill him instantly. The hya-
cinth sprang from his blood, and on its leaves was the woful excla-
mation AI, or Y, which is the initial letter of 'Ya.Kiv6<><;. He was
worshipped at Amyclae as a hero, and his festival was called Hya-
einthia .
460
Hydas'pes. The most northern of the five rivers which form the
Indus, and water the great plain of northern India.
Hy'dra. See Hercules.
Hygie'a (Hygea; Hygia). Daughter or wife of ^sculapius.
Goddess of health. In art she wears a long robe, and feeds a ser-
pent from a cup.
Hylas. A beautiful youth whom Hercules loved and took with
him in the expedition of the Argonauts. He went to draw water
on the coast of Mysia, and was carried off by the Naiads. Hercules
sought him in vain.
Hy'men (Hymenasus). Son of Apollo and a Muse. God of
marriage, who was invoked in a bridal song. In art he is young,
but more serious in expression than Eros (Cupid), and bears a
torch.
Hypsip'yle. Daughter of Thoas, king of Lemnos. When the
Lemnian women killed all the men, she saved her father, ami when
this was discovered she was compelled to quit the island. She was
taken by pirates when escaping, and sold to Lycurgus the Nemean
king. He gave her to his son Archemorus or Opheltes.
Ic'arus. Son of Daedalus. When they wished to escape from
Crete, the father made them wings
and fastened them with wax, and
he flew safely to Italy ; but Icarus
flew too near the sun so that the
wax was melted, and the wings
coming off he fell into the .ZEgean
Sea.
Fole. See Hercules.
Iphigeni'a. Daughter of Aga-
memnon and Clytaemnestra, or as
others say, of Theseus and Helena.
Agamemnon killed a hart sacred
to Diana (Artemis), and she be-
calmed the Greek fleet in Aulis
when they would sail to Troy.
Calchas, the seer, advised Aga-
memnon to sacrifice Iphigenia, but
Artemis put a hart in her place
and bore her to Tauris, where she made her a priestess. When her
brorh^r Orestes was to be sacrificed to Artemis she rescued him and
earned him to Greece with the statue of the goddess. Iphigenia
was probably the same as Artemis originally. She wa, worshipped
in Athens and Sparta.
I'ris. Daughter of Thaumas and Electra. Sister of the Har-
pies, called also Thaumantias. In the " Iliad " she was the mes-
senger of the gods. She is a virgin in the earlier tradition:?, but
Daedalus making wings for Icarus.
(Bas-relief).
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
461
Iris. (Ancient Vase.)
later the wife of Zephyrus and mother of Eros (Cupid). She was the
personification of the rainbow,
which was considered a swift
messenger of the gods. In
art she wears a long and full
tunic, over this a light gar-
ment ; wings on the shoulders ;
bears the herald's staff in
her left hand and sometimes
a pitcher.
I'sis. Chief female divin-
ity of Egypt. Wife of Osiris.
Mother of Horus. Originally
goddess of the earth, later of
the moon. Her worship was
introduced into Rome and be-
came popular. Her temple was in the Campus Martins, and she
was called Isis Campensis. She is also called lin!</eru, because
her priests wore linen garments.
Ixi'on. King of the Lapithae. Father of Pirithous. He mur-
dered his father-in-law, and when no one would purify him, he went
to Zeus (Jupiter) who took him to heaven and purified him. But
Ixion was ungrateful to Zeus, and tried to win the love of Hera.
Zeus then made a phantom like Hera, and by this Ixion became the
father of a centaur. Ixion was punished for his impious ingratitude by
Hermes (Mercury),
who chained him to a
wheel which revolves
perpetually in the air.
Ja'son. Son of
^son, king of lolcus
in Thessaly. Pelias,
uncle of Jason, took
the kingdom from his
father, and attempted
to kill Jason. His
friends saved him, and
he was cared for by
Chii-on the centaur.
When older he de-
manded his kingdom
of Pelias, who made
the condition that he
shculd bring him the
golden fleece. (See
Argonautae.) While
Jason was absent,
Medea and her children. (Museo Borbonieo. )
462
ANCIENT MYTHS
Pelias slew his father. Medea, the wife of Jason, in order to re-
venge this murder, persuaded the daughters of Pelias to cut him up
and boil him, to make him young again. He died thus, and his
son Acastus drove Jason and Medea out of lolcus. They went to
Corinth, where they were happy until Jason deserted Medea for
Glauce or Creusa, daughter of the king of Corinth. Medea sent her
A garment which burned her up when she put it on ; and her father,
Creon, also perished in the flames from it. Medea then killed her
children by Jason, and fled to Athens in a chariot drawn by winged
dragons. Several traditions are given concerning the death of
Jason. One says he killed himself from grief; another, that he was
crushed beneath the poop of the ship Argo.
Ju'no (Hera). Although the Roman Juno and Greek Hera are
considered the same goddess, there was a difference regarding her
in the opinions of the two nations. Juno was queen of heaven, as
Jupiter (Zeus) was king, and had the surname Regina, Her other
surnames were, Virginaiis, Matrona, Sospitn, Opigena, Juga or Juga-
lis, Pnmuba, Cinxia, Lucina, Moneta, and others. She was believed
to watch over every woman from birth till death. On birth-days
she was invoked as Natalis. The Matronalia on the first of March
was her great festival. It is said that June was originally called
Junonius, and was considered the most favorable month for mar-
riage. Women in childbirth, and newly born infants were her
special care. She also guarded the finances, and had a temple on
the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Juno Moneta.
Ju'piter (Zeus). The Roman lord of Heaven. His surnames
are Pluvius, Fulgurator, Tonitrualis, To-
nans, Fulminator, Victor, Imperator, Invic-
tus, Stator, Opitulus, Triumphator, and
many more. Being the highest god, he
was called Optimus Maximus. He was
called Capitolinus and Tarpeius, from the
fact that his temple was on the Capitoline
Hill. He was regarded as the special
protector of Rome, and recognized on all
important occasions, such as victories, the
assumption of office by new consuls, etc.,
etc. There were almost numberless tem-
ples and statues sacred to him in Rome,
under his various surnames. As Capitoli-
nus he presided over the great games ;
as Latialis or Latiaris over the Feriae La-
tinas. He was Prodigalis, because he
Head of Olympian .Jupiter.
caused all wonderful events besides determining the usual course of
all human affairs. Nothing was undertaken without seeking his
blessing, and he was regarded as the protector of justice, and the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
463
enforcer of faith and oaths. Fides and Victoria were his compan-
ions on the capitol ; hence were traitors thrown from the Tarpeian
rock. As prince of light, and lord of heaven, white was sacred to
him. White animals were sacrificed to him ; his chariot was believed
to be drawn by four white horses ; his priests wore white caps, and
the consuls wore white when they sacrificed to him upon assuming
their office. The Fiamen Dialis, who had the care of the worship
of Jupiter, was the highest of all the flaiuens. See Zeus.
La'don. The dragon who assisted the Hesperides to guard :he
golden apples of Juno. See Hercules.
Laoc'oon. A Trojan priest of the Thymbraean Apollo. He en-
deavored to prevent the Tro-
jans taking the wooden horse
into the city. As he was
about to sacrifice a bull to
Neptune (Poseidon), two ser-
pents came from the sea, and
destroyed him and his two
sons.
Laodami'a. Daughter of
Acastus. Wife of Protesilaus.
Her husband was slain before
Troy, and she obtained permis-
sion of the gods to converse
with him three hours. Her-
mes {Mercury) led Protesilaus
back to the upper world, and
when he died again Laodamia
died also.
Laom'edon. Son of Ilus.
Father of Priam, Hesione, and Laocoon. (Vatican.)
others. King of Troy. Poseidon (Neptune) and Apollo had dis-
pleased Zeus (Jupiter), and he sentenced them to serve- Laomu-
don. Apollo tended his flocks on Mount Ida, and Poseidon built
the walls of Troy. When they had done, the king refused the
wages he had agreed to give, and in revenge Poseidon sent a sea-
monster who preyed on the country, and the Trojans were forced to
sacrifice a maiden to him from time to time. It fell to the lot of
Hesione, the king's daughter, to be thus slain, and Hercules killed
the monster to save her. Laomedon promised to give him, as a
reward, the divine horses which he had received from Zeus as pay-
ment for Ganymedes. Again the king Avas faithless, and Hercules
sailed against Troy, took it, killed the king, and gave Hesione to
Telamon.
Lap'ithae. The mythical subjects of Pirithous, son of Ixion and
half-brother of the centaurs. This race were said to dAvell in the
464 ANCIENT MYTHS
mountains of Thessaly. The centaurs demanded a share of the
kingdom, and being refused there was war between them and the
Lapithae. They at length made a peace, but when Pirithous mar-
ried Hippodamia, the centaurs became intoxicated at the wedding-
feast, and urged on by Ares (Mars), they attempted to carry off the
bride and other women. A bloody contest ensued. The Lapi-
tha; were victorious. It is said that bridles for horses were in-
vented and first used by this people. They were probably a Pelas-
nian race, who drove the less civilized centaurs away from Mount
IV.lion.
La'res. These inferior gods of Rome were of two classes : Lares
/lublici, and Lares domestici. The publici were also divided into
L'jures prcestites and Lares compitales. The former protected all the
city, the latter different parts of it. The Lares domestici were the
spirits of good men honored as Lares. They were led by Lar, who
was esteemed as the founder of the family, and went with them,
wherever they might remove. The images of Lares in large houses
were hy themselves in a lararia. A portion of the meals was
offered the Lares, and on joyful occasions they were adorned with
flowers.
Lato'na. See Leto.
Lavin'ia (Lavinia). Daughter of Latinus and Amata. Mar-
vied to .ZEneas, although first betrothed to Turnus.
Lean'der. The brave lover of Hero, the priestess of Aphrodite
(Venus) in Sestus. He swam the Hellespont each night to see her,
anfl when at last he perished in the waves, and his body was washed
ashore at Sestus, Hero threw herself into the sea and thus perished.
Le'da (Thestias). Daughter of Thestius. Wife of Tyndareus.
Mother of Castor, Pollux, Clytsemnestra, and Helena, either by her
husband or Zeus (Jupiter). According to the tradition, the latter
visited her in the form of a swan, and she brought forth two eggs.
From one Castor and Pollux issued, and Helena from the other.
Le'to (Latona). Daughter of the Titan Coeus and Phoebe.
Mother of Apollo and Artemis (Diana) by Zeus (Jupiter). Juno
(Hera) hated and persecuted her, and at last she went to Delos, a
floating island. Zeus fastened it to the bottom of the sea with
chains of adamant, and here she gave birth to her children. She
was worshipped in connection with her children, and principally
at Delos. From her Apollo is called Leto'ius or Lato'ius, and Diana
Latoia, Leto'is, Lato'is or Latoe.
Leucip'pus. 1. Son of CEnomaus and lover of Daphne. 2.
Son of Perieres. Prince of the Messenians. Father of Phoebe and
Hilaria, who are called Leucippides. They were betrothed to Idas
and Lynceus, sons of Aphareus, but they were stolen by C..stor and
Pollux.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 465
Lips. The Southwest wind. Corresponds to the Latin Afri-
cus.
Lucre'tia. Wife of L. Tarquinius Collatinus. Her rape by
Sextus T.-irqniniiis lod to the
dtithrunuuiuiii of Tarquinius
Superbus and the founding of
the Republic.
Lycome'des. King of the
Dolopians. Achilles was sent
to his court as a maiden. (See
Achilles.) Lycomedes killed
Theseus by thrusting him
down a rock.
LyCUr'gUS. SonofDryas LipS ' < Athens - Temple of the Winds.)
and king of the Edones in Thrace. He is celebrated for his perse-
cution of Dionysus (Bacchus). The gods made him mad on account
of his impiety. He was killed, but the manner of his death is vari-
ously related.
Mars (Ares). Next to Jupiter the highest god at Rome. He was
considered the father of Romulus. Often called Father Mars. He
was one of the three tutelary deities, and to him Numa appointed a
flamen. He Avas god of war, and war itself was often called Mars.
The Campus Martins being dedicated to warlike exercises, was
named for him. His priests, the Salii, danced in full armor. He
was also the protector of agriculture and watched over the Roman
citizens as Quirites, he being identified with Quirinus. In each
character he has an appropriate name. As war god he is Gradivus,
as rustic god, Silvanux, and as civil god Quirinus. His wife was
called Neria or Neriene, the feminine of Nero, signifying strong.
Many temples in Rome were dedicated to Mars. The most impor-
tant was that on the Appian Way, beyond Porta Capena, and Mars
Ultor, built in the forum by Augustus. The wolf and woodpecker
were sacred to him.
Mar'Syas (Marsya). A satyr of Phrygia. He found the flute
which Athena (Minerva) had thrown away, because it distorted her
face. Marsyas finding that it emitted sweet music, challenged
Apollo to a musical contest on condition that the victor should do
what he chose with the loser. Apollo played the cithara, and the
Muses decided in his favor. Apollo bound Marsyas to a treo and
flayed him alive. His blood formed the River Marsyas, and Apollo
hung his skin in the cave from which that stream flows. The statues
of Marsyas were erected as a warning against presumption. Thai
in the Roman forum was often spoken of by the poets.
Mede'a. (See Argonauts, Jason.)
Medu'sa. (See Gorgones.)
Melea'ger (Meleagrus). Son of CEneus, king of Calydon, and
30
466
ANCIENT MYTHS
* Meleager. (Pompeii, Painting.)
Althrca. He was in the expedition of the Argonauts, ?.nd was after-
wards leader of his companions.
He slew the Calydonian boar.
He gave the hide to Atalanta
whom he loved, but the sons
of Thestius, brothers of Althaea,
took it away from her. Me-
leager slew them in revenge.
Althaea had been told by the
fates when Meleager was
seven days old, that he would
die when the firebrand then
on the hearth was consumed.
Althfea took, it, extinguished
the flames and carefully pre-
served it. She was so angry
at the murder of her brothers,
that she again lighted it, and
as soon as it was burned Mele-
ager expired. His mother then repented, and killed herself. The
sisters of Meleager wept for him so continually that Artemis (Diana)
metamorphosed them into guinea-hens and placed them on the
island of Leros.
Melpom'ene. Muse of Tragedy. See Musae.
Menela'US. Son of Plisthenes or Atreus. Brother of Aga-
memnon and king of Lacedaemon. Husband of Helen. Father of
Hermione. (The rape of Helen and expedition to Troy, see Aga-
memnon.) In the siege of Troy Menelaus killed many Trojans,
and would have slain Paris, had not Aphrodite (Venus) carried
him away in a cloud. Helen married Deiphobus, brother of Paris,
after the death of the latter. As soon as Troy was captured, Men-
elaus and Ulysses hastened to the house of Deiphobus, whom they
killed. It is said that Helen introduced them secretly to his cham-
ber, and thus was reconciled to Menelaus. He sailed from Troy
with Helen and Nestor, but was eight years in reaching Sparta,
where he afterwards lived with Helen in happiness, and surrounded
by wealth and luxury. One tradition relates that they never died,
but were translated to Elysium. Another that they went to Tauris,
and were sacrificed to Artemis by Iphigenia. Menelaus is repre-
sented in art with a noble and athletic form. The poets describe
him as silent, brave, gentle, intelligent, and hospitable.
Mercu'rius (Hermes). Roman god of commerce and gain. He
is identified with Hermes, but the Fetiales did not recognize the
identity, and gave him the branch of peace in place of the caiJuceus.
His name, connected with merx and mercari, sufficiently indicate his
office. Hist festival was kept on the 25th of May, and observed
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
467
prin jipally by merchants who went to his well near the Porta
Capena, said to have magic powers. A temple was built in his
honor, near the Circus Maximus u. c. 495.
Metrodo'rus. The most distinguished disciple of Epicurus.
Mi'das (Mida). Son of Gordias. King of Phrygia and famous
for his riches. He was so kind to Silenus that Bacchus (Dionysus)
flowed him to ask a favor of him. He asked that all he touched
should be turned to gold, but he soon begged that the permission
should be taken away. Bacchus ordered him to bathe in the river
Puctolus. Midas was saved, and ever after the river had much gold
in its sands. Pan and Apollo had a musical contest, and Midas
was the judge. He decided for Pan, and Apollo changed his ears to
those of an ass. He con-
cealed them by a Phrygian
cap, but his barber saw
them. The man dared not
tell this, and he could not
keep such a secret ; so he dug
a hole in the ground and
whispered the fact to the
earth. He filled up the hole,
but a reed grew from it, and
in its whispers it told the
truth.
Miner 'va (Athena). At
Rome she was a great divin-
ity and regarded as the
thinking power, her name
containing the same root as
neus. A chapel was dedi-
cated to her in the capitol.
She protected trade and the
arts ; guided men to conquer
in war by prudence and
courage, and invented musical
instruments, which were much
employed in her worship.
Her festival, called Qu'mquatrus, lasted five days from March 1S>.
Besides the chapel at the capitol she had one at the foot of the
Coelian Hill, where she was called Capta, and another on the Aven-
tice. The booty taken in war was often dedicated to her. She is
represented in a coat of mail with helmet and shield.
Minotau'rus. A monster which was half man and half bull.
Offspring of Pasiphae and a bull. Minos compelled Athens to send
seven youths and seven maidens to be given to this monster, each
year, until Theseus killed him, aided by Ariadne.
468 ANCIENT MYTHS
Mi'thras. Persian god of the sun, worshipped also at Rome. He
is represented as young and handsome, wearing the Phrygian cap
and costume. Usually kneeling on a bull and cutting its throat.
Mnemos'yne. Goddess of Memory. Daughter of Uranus (Heav-
en). Mother of the Muses by Zeus (Jupiter).
Moi'rse (Parcae ; Fates). They were three in number. Clotho,
the spinning Fate. Lachesis, the goddess who assigns his fate to man.
Atropos, the inevitable fate. These different offices are not always
strictly observed in their representations, for sometimes the three
are described as spinning the thread of life. At death they cut it.
They are sometimes said to be ugly and aged, but in art they are
grave women. Clotho with a spindle or roll (the book of fate).
Lachesis points to a globe with her staff. Atropos bears a pair of
scales, a sun-dial, or some cutting instrument.
Mor'pheus. Whose name signifies the fashioner or moulder, was
son of sleep, and god of dreams. Thus he shapes the dreams of the
sleeper.
Mu'sse (Muses). Daughters of Zeus (Jupiter) and Mnemosyne.
Born at Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus. They were nine in
number.
(1.) Cli'o. Muse of history. Represented standing or sitting
with a chest of books or an open roll of paper.
(2.) Euter'pe. Muse of lyric poetry. Attribute, a flute.
(3.) Thali'a. Muse of comedy and idyllic poems. Attributes, a
comic mask and wreath of ivy or a shepherd's staff.
(4.) Melpom'ene. Muse of tragedy. Attributes, a tragic mask, a
sword or club of Hercules. She wears the cothurnus and is crowned
with vine leaves.
(5.) Terpsich'ore. Muse of dance and song. Attributes, the lyre
and plectrum.
(6.) Erato. Muse of erotic poetry and mimic imitation. Attri-
bute, the lyre.
(J.) Polym'nia, or Polyhym'nia. Muse of the sublime hymn. Is
represented in a thoughtful, pensive attitude, without attributes.
(8.) Urania. Muse of astronomy. Usually represented pointing
to a globe with a staff.
(9.) Calliope, or Calliope'a. Muse of epic poetry. Attributes,
tablet and stylus, or a roll of paper or a book.
The favorite localities of the Muses were Mount Parnassus, with
the Castalian spring, and Mount Helicon, with the fountains Aganippe
and Hippocrene. They were invoked by poets ; but all who en-
deavored to compete with them were punished. The Sirens who
had done so were robbed of the feathers of their wings, which the
Muses wore as ornaments, and the nine daughters of Pierus, who
aspired to be their rivals were changed to birds. They were con-
nected with Apollo, who is said to have been the leader of their
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 469
shoir. He was .sometimes called Mumgetes. The offerings made
them were libations of water, milk, or honey.
Myr'rha (Smyrna). Mother of Adonis.
Narcis'sus. Son of Cephissua and Liriope. He was very beau-
tiful, but incapable of love. The nymph Echo, who was enamored
of him. died of sorrow. Nemesis, in order to punish him. showed
him his own image in a fountain, with which he was so charmed that
he too pined away, and was at last changed into the flower which
bears his name.
Neces'sitas (Ananke ; Necessity). A powerful goddess. Neither
gods nor men can resist her. She has brazen nails in her hands
with which she fixes the decrees of fate.
Nem'esis. A goddess who in the earlier times was believed to
measure out the lot of mortals, to control their happiness or misery,
and to send suffering to those who have too many good gifts. Later
she has been regarded as more like the Furies or Erinnyes, who pun-
ished crimes. Her surnames are Adrastia and Rhamnusia or Rham-
nusis; the last from an Attic town Rhamnus, where she had her most
celebrated temple.
Neoptol'emus (Pyrrhus). Son of Achilles and Deidamla, daugh-
ter of King Lycomedes. He was called Neoptolemus, on account of
going to Troy late in the war, and Pyrrhus on account of his golden
hair. He was reared in the palace of his grandfather at Scyros, and
was taken to Troy by Ulysses, on account of a prophecy which said
that Neoptolemus and Philoctetes were necessary to the taking of
Troy. He was one of the heroes concealed in the wooden horse, and
was a brave warrior. He killed Priam and sacrificed Polyxena to the
spirit of Achilles. In the distribution of the booty, Andromache,
the widow of Hector, fell to his share. He abandoned his native
Thessaly after this war and lived in Epirus, where he became the
ancestor of the Molossian kings. He married Hermione, daughter
of Menelaus, but was killed in a combat with Orestes to whom she
had previously been betrothed. From his father he is sometimes
called AchiUldes, and Pelldes and sEuctdes from his grandfather and
great grandfather.
Neptu'nus (Poseidon). The chief maritime god of the Ro-
mans ; identified with the Greek Poseidon. The early Romans
were not a maririme nation, and little is known of the worship of
this god. At his festivals the people made tents, umbne, of the
branches of trees, and enjoyed feasting and drinking. See Po-
seidon.
Nereides (Nereids). The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris.
Wymphs of the Mediterranean, and distinct from Naiades who were
nymphs of fresh water, and from Oceanides, nymphs of the great
oceans. They were very beautiful, and dwelt at the bottom of the
sea. They were kind to sailers. Thetis, the mother of Achilles,
470
ANCIENT MYTHS
was a Nereid. They are usually represented as beautiful maidens
but sometimes as half maidens and half fishes, especially on ancient
gems.
Ne'reus. Son of Pontus and Gaea. Husband of Doris and
father of fifty daughters. He dwelt at the bottom of his empire the
Mediterranean Sea, or especially the .ZEgean Sea, and he is hence
sometimes called the 2Egean. He acted an important part in the
story of Hercules. He had the gift of prophecy, and was wise and
unerring. He is sometimes represented with sea- weed in place of
eyebrows, beard, and hair.
Nes'sus. The centaur who carried travellers across the river
Evenus. See Hercules.
Niobe and her children. (Florence.)
Ni'obe (Nioba). Daughter of Tantalus. Wife of Amphion,
king of Thebes. She was so proud of the number of her children
that she boasted herself as superior to Leto (Latona) who had but
two children. The number of those of Niobe is usually given as
seven sons and seven daughters. Apollo and Artemis (Diana) so
heartily espoused the cause of Leto that they killed the children of
Niobe with their arrows. Zeus
(Jupiter) metamorphosed Niobe
into a stone, and placed it on
Mount Sipylus in Lydia.
During the summer this stone
always shed tears. The story
of Niobe was a favorite subject
of ancient art.
Notus (Auster). The
South or Southwest wind. It
brought rains and fog.
NOTOS
Notus. (Athens.)
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 471
Oce'anus. ' Son of Uranus (Heaven) and Ga>a (Earth). Hus-
band of Tethys and father of all the river gods and water nvinpha
in the whole earth. He was especially the deity of the Atlantic
or the water without the Pillars of Hercules, in distinction from the
Mediterranean, or the sea within them. Hence the Atlantic was
often called Oceanus.
CEd'ipus. Son of Laius, king of Thebes, and of Jocasta, sister
of Creon. His father exposed him on Mount Cithseron, because an
oracle had said that he should die by the hand of his son. His
i'eet were pierced and tied together, and when he was found by A
shepherd of Polybus, king of Corinth, they were so swollen that he
was on that account named CEdipus. Polybns reared him as his
own child, but when he was grown the Delphic oracle declared to him
that he was fated to kill his father and commit incest with his mother.
Believing that Polybus was his father, he determined not to return to
Corinth, and on his way to Daulis he met Laius whom lie killed with-
out knowing that it was his father. About this time the celebrated
Sphinx appeared near Thebes. The monster was seated on a rock,
and put a riddle to every Theban that passed. If not able to
answer he was killed. The Thebans proclaimed that he who would
answer the riddle should have the kingdom and Jocasta for his wife.
The riddle was as follows : " A being with four feet, has two feet
and three feet, and only one voice ; and when it has most it is weak-
est." OEdipus declared that it was man : that in childhood he went
upon all fours, in manhood upon two feet, and in old age supported
himself with a staff. The Sphinx threw herself down from the rock.
Then CEdipus married his mother and was made king. She bore to
him Eteocles, Polymces, Antigone, and Ismcne. A plague was sent
upon Thebes in consequence of this incest. The oracle was con-
sulted and declared that the murderer of Laius must be expelled.
Tiresias, a seer, told CEdipus that he was the guilty one. Then he
put out his own eyes, and wandered away from Thebes, accom-
panied by his daughter Antigone. Jocasta hung herself when she
knew the truth. CEdipus went to Attica, whence he was taken
away by the Furies or Eumenides. His fate was the subject of
many tragic poems.
CEno'ne. Daughter of the river-god Cebren. Wife of Paris be-
tbre he carried Helen away.
Om'phale. Daughter of lardanus. Wife of Tmolus, and queen
of Lydia, after his death. (See Hercules).
Or'cus. See Hades.
Ores'tes. Son of Agamemnon and Clytsemnestra. Husband of
Hermlone. When ^Egisthus and his mother murdered Agamem-
non, his life was saved by his sister Electra, who sent him to Stro-
phius, king of Phocis, who had married the sister of Agamemnon.
He became the dear friend of Pylades, the king's son, and when a
472 ANCIENT MYTHa
man went to Argos with him and avenged the death of his lather.
He slew both Clyttemnestra and ^Egisthus. After killing hia
mother he was mad, and went from land to land pursued by Furies.
Apollo at length advised him to go to Athens and have his case
judged by the court of -the Areopagus. This he did, and took
refuge in the temple of Athena (Minerva). He was acquitted by
the court. Another tradition relates that Apollo told him that he
could only recover his reason by bringing the statue of Artemis
(Diana) from the Tauric Chersonesus. He went there with Pylades.
The natives seized and were about to sacrifice them, when Iphige-
nla who was the priestess, and also the sister of Orestes, recognized
him. She saved their lives, and the three escaped, bearing with
I hem the image. After their return Orestes obtained his father's
kingdom of Mycenae, and after killing Neoptoleinus married Herrni-
one.
Ori'on. Son of Hyrieus of Hyria in Boeotia. He was a giant
hunter and very handsome. He went to Chios, where he loved
Merope, daughter of GEnopion. He so treated the maiden that her
father with the help of Dionysus (Bacchus) put out his eyes. An
oracle told him that he could recover his sight by exposing his eyes
to the rising sun. He went to Lemnos, and Hephaestus (Vulcan)
sent Cedalion as his guide to the east. After his sight was restored
he lived with Artemis (Diana) as a hunter. His death is attribu-
ted to various causes. One tradition relates that Aurora (Eos)
carried him away, and as this displeased the gods, Artemis shot him
with an arrow in Ortygia. Another, that he was loved by Artemis,
which displeased Apollo, and he challenged her to hit a mark that
he pointed out to her on the water. She aimed but too well, for
the mark was the head of Orion who was swimming. Horace
relates that Orion offered an insult to Artemis, who then killed
him. Again it is said that he was stung by a scorpion, and ^scu-
lapius was killed by lightning sent by Zeus (Jupiter) when he at-
tempted to cure him of the poison. After his death he was set
among the stars, where he is represented as a giant with a lion's
skin, a club, a sword, and a girdle. His constellation set at the be-
ginning of November, the season of rains and storms. Hence his
names are nimbosus or ajuosus.and iinbrifer.
Orithy la. Daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens, and Prax-
ithea. Boreas carried her off to Thrace, where she became the
mother of Cleopatra, Chione, Zetes, and Calais.
Or'pheus. A mythical poet, called the son of (Eagrus and
Calliope. He accompanied the Argonautic expedition. Apollo gave
him a lyre, and the Muses taught him how to play. He enchanted
everything that had life, and even trees and rocks, so that they
would follow him. After his return from Crete he married the
nymph Eurydice and dwelt in Thrace. She died from the bite
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
473
Orpheus. ( Mosaic. )
of a serpent. Orpheus followed her to Hades, where the charm
of his music caused the torments
to cease. Pluto consented that
Eurydice should accompany him
to tbe upper world, on condition
that he should not look back
while upon his way. This he
refrained from doing until he
reached the threshold, when he
turned his head and Eurydice
fell back to Hades. His grief for
his wife was so great that he
scorned the Thracian women, and
they iu revenge tore him to pieces
in their Bacchic feasts. The
Muses collected the fragments of
his body and buried them at the foot of Mount Olympus. Hir head
was thrown into the Hebrus and rolled to the sea, and was carried
to Lesbos. His lyre was also said to be carried there, but these two
stories are only illustrations of the truth, that Lesbos was the first
place where the music of the lyre became noted. Another tradition
relates that his lyre was placed by Zeus (Jupiter) among the stars.
Pal'las. One of the names of Athena or Minerva.
Pan. Son of Hermes (Mercury). God of Hocks and herds.
Arcadia was the source and
principal place of his worship.
From here it was carried to
all Greece. He is identified
with Faunus, and like him
represented as sensual, with
goats' feet, pug nose, and
horns. He is merry, and often
dances and plays the syrinx,
which he invented. He was
mischievous and dreaded by
travellers, whom he often sur-
prised with some sudden fear
with no apparent cause, hence
called i Panic. Pan - < B uze ltelief - Pompeii.)
Pando'ra. The first woman on earth. When Prometheus stole
the fire from heaven, Zeus (Jupiter) in order to avenge himself,
caused Hephaestus (Vulcan) to make a woman out of earth, whose
charms should bring misery on men. Aphrodite (Venus) gave her
beauty, and Hermes (Mercury) gave her cunning boldness. She
was called the all-gifted, or Pandora. She had a box containing
every human ill. Hermes brought her to Epimetheus, who was so
474 ANCIENT MYTHS
charmed with her that he forgot that Prometheus had told him nol
to accept any gift from the gods, and took her for his wife. She
opened the box and the ills spread over all the earth. Hope was
the only blessing which was there. Later writers say that the box
contained choice blessings destined for humanity by the gods, but
that when she opened the box these blessings being light and hav-
ing wings escaped.
Par'cae. (See Moirae).
Par'is (Alexander). Son of Priam and Hecuba. Before his
birth his mot her dreamed that she had brought forth a firebrand
which sot all the city on fire. Hence he was exposed on Mount
Ida, but was taken and brought up by a shepherd who named him.
When grown he so defended the shepherds and flocks that he was
called Alexander, the defender of men. He at length discovered
his parentage and was received by Priam as his son. He married
GEnone, the daughter of the river-god Cebren, whom he soon de-
serted for Helen. The reason of his going to Greece, was that he
offended Hera (Juno) and Athena (Minerva). He went away under
the protection of Aphrodite (Venus). The cause of this anger
arose from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, to which all the gods
were invited save Discordia. She being angry threw a golden ap-
ple among the company, inscribed " To the fairest." Then Hera,
Athena, and Aphrodite claimed it, and Zeus sent Hermes (Mercury)
to conduct them to Paris that he might decide between them. He
gave the apple to Aphrodite, which was the cause of all the ensuing
troubles, for the two rejected beauties persecuted Paris until he was
driven to Greece, where being received at the house of Menelaus he
loved Helen and carried her to Troy. She was the most beautiful
woman in the world, and had been wooed by many suitors, who now
joined her husband to assist him to redress this wrong. Hence the ten
years' siege of Troy. Paris would have been killed by Menelaus
with whom he fought, but Aphrodite carried him away in a cloud.
He is said to have killed Achilles. (See Achilles). At the capture
of Troy he was wounded by Philoctetes with one of the poisoned
arrows of Hercules. He then returned to (Enone and desired her
to cure the wound, which she refused to do, and he died. Then
CEnone repented and killed herself. Paris is represented in art as
young, without a beard, and in a Phrygian cap.
Parnas'sus. A mountain range in Doris and Phocis. Its two
highest summits near Delphi were called Tithorea and Lycorea ;
these art the parts usually referred to, and from them is Parnassus
called " double-headed." It contained many caves, ravines, glens,
and romantic spots. The sides were wooded, the top covered with
snow, while olives, myrtles, and laurel grew at its foot. It was the
favorite home of Apollo and the Muses. Here song and music were
inspired. The Muses are called Corycian nymphs, from the cave of
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 475
that name on Moant Lycorea. The famed Castalian spring issued
from between two cliffs near Delphi. These cliffs, named Naiiplia
and Hyamplia, were called summits of Parnassus. They are in
reality but small peaks and near the base of the mountain. The
Thyades held their Bacchic revels on a summit of Mount Parnassus,
for it was sacred to Dionysus (Bacchus) as well as to Apollo. The
sacred road to Daulis and Stiris from Delphi ran between Mount
Cirphis and Parnassus proper. Where this road branched was the
s< cue of the murder of Laius bv CEdipus.
Pasiph'ae. Daughter of Helios (the sun) and Perseis. Wife of
Minos. Mother of Androgeos, Ariadne, and Phaedra. Mother
also of the monster Minotaur, half man and half bull.
Patro'clus (Patrocles). Son of Mencetius of Opus and Sthe-
nele. Grandson of Actor and vEgina, hence called Actoride*. He
accidentally committed murder while a boy, and his father took him
Patroclus ( .Egina Marbles).
to Peleus at Phthia. Here he became the friend of Achilles. He
accompanied the latter to Troy, and when Achilles retired from the
fight Patroclus did the same. At length Achilles lent him his arms,
and he led the Myrmidons to battle. He was slain by Hector, and
a desire to avenge his death led Achilles again to take the field.
Peg'asus. The winged horse which sprang from the blood of
Medusa, when Perseus struck off her head. While he drank at the
fountain of Pirene on the Acrocorinthus, Bellerophon caught him
with a golden bridle which he had received from Athena (Minerva).
It was on account of having Pegasus, that Bellerophon was able to
kill the Chimera, but when he attempted to lly to heaven he foil
and was killed. (Bellerophon). Pegasus kept on to heaven and
dwelt among the stars. The fountain of Hippocrene in Mount Heli-
con in Boeotia, sacred to the Muses, sprang from the spot where
Pegasus struck the ground with his hoof. He is regarded as the
horse of the Muses and in later times he is most considered in this
connection.
Pe'leus. Son of .ZEacus and Endeis. King of the Myrmidons at
Phthia in Thessalv. Husband of Ai.tigone and Thetis. Fathei
476 ANCIENT MYTHS
of Achilles. Together with his brother Telamon, he .uurdcred his
half brother Phocus. For this he was expelled from JSgina, and
Hed to Thessaly. Here he was purified by Eurytion, son of Actor,
who gave his daughter Antigone and a third part of his kingdom to
Peleus. He then went to a boar-hunt where he accidentally killed
his father-in-law. Again he became a wanderer and took refuge at
L ileus; was again purified by Acastus, the king of that country,
and inspired Astydamia, wife of Acastus, with a wicked love.
When she found no return to her passion she accused him falsely,
and he was driven to Mount Pel ion, where he almost perished.
There he met Thetis, a Nereid, whose fate was to marry a mortal.
She had the power to assume any form she chose, and she attempted
to escape Peleus by becoming an animal, but ho had been instructed
by Chiron, and he held her fast while he persuaded her to marry
him. By her he became the father of Achilles. He was too aged
to go to the siege of Troy, and survived his heroic son. It was at
the wedding of Peleus and Thetis that the golden apple was thrown
by Eris, or Strife.
Pe'lias. Son of Poseidon (Neptune) and Tyro, daughter of Sal-
moneus. Twin-brother of Neleus. These twins were exposed by
their mother, but were found and reared by some countrymen. They
discovered their origin. Cretheus, king of lolcus, had married their
mother, and after his death, they seized his throne and excluded his
son /Eson. Soon after, Pelias excluded his brother and became sole
ruler of lolcus. Years after, Jason, the son of .ZEson, came to claim
the throne. Pelias, in order to get rid of him, sent him to Colchis
to obtain the golden fleece. He fitted out the Argonautic expedi-
tion for this purpose, and returned with Medea, who persuaded the
daughters of Pelias to cut their father to pieces and boil him, in
hopes to restore him to youth. His son Acastus held funeral games
in his honor at lolcus. He expelled Jason and Medea from th
country.
Pe'lops Son of Tantalus, king of Phrygia. Grandson of Zeus
(Jupiter). Husband of Hippodamia, daughter of CEnomaus. He
brought with him so much wealth, and acquired so much influence,
that Elis was called the " Island of Pelops." The principal events
of his life are: (1.) He was cut to pieces and boiled. Tantalus, his
father, was a favorite of the gods, and once made a repast to which
he invited them. On that occasion he killed Pelops and cooked
him that the gods might devour him ; but they, knowing all things,
immediately perceived of what the dish was composed, and would
not eat it, except Demeter (Ceres) who was so absorbed in grief at
the loss of Proserpina, that she heeded not and ate a shoulder.
The gods commanded Hermes (Mercury) to put him in another
cauldron and restore him to life. This was done, and when Clotho
took him out of the cauldron the shoulder was wanting. Demeter
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
477
(Certis) made one of ivory, and the Peloj>id(c, his descendants, were
believed to have an ivory shoulder. (2.) Context ivith (Enomans and
Hippodamia. An oracle had declared that (Enomaus should be
killed by his son-in-law, therefore lie vowed that no one should
marry his daughter unless he could conquer him in a chariot race,
moreover all who attempted to do so and failed, were to suffer death.
He thought himself safe in this, as his horses were the fleetest in all
the earth. Many suitors had been sacrificed when Pelops came to
Pisa. He promised Myrtilus, the charioteer of (Enomaus, one half
the kingdom if he would help him to conquer. Myrtilus took out
the linch-pins of the chariot so that it broke down, and Pelops was
victorious. Thus Hippodamia became his wife, and he threw Myrti-
lus into the sea to avoid fulfilling his promise of dividing his king-
dom. As the charioteer sank, he cursed Pelops and all his race.
Pelops then went with Hippodamia to Pisa in Elis, where he re-
stored the Olympian games with great splendor. His son Chrysip-
pus was his favorite, and this so roused the jealousy of Atreus and
Thyestes that they killed him with the assistance of their mother,
and threw him into a well. Pelops suspected the truth, and drove
them from the kingdom. After death, Pelops was honored at Olym-
pus more than all other mortal heroes. His name was so celebrated
that it was used as often as possible in connection with his descend-
ants. Hence his son was called Pelop&us Atreus, and his grandson
Pelopeius A(/amemnon. Iphigenia and Hermione were called Pelop-
eia viryo, while Virgil calls the cities in Peloponnesus which Pelops
and his descendants ruled, Pelopea mcenia. Mycenae is called Pel-
ope'iadcs Mtjcence by Ovid.
Penel'ope. Daughter of Icarius and Periboea of Sparta. Wife
of Ulysses king of
Ithaca. Her father
had promised to
give her to the con-
queror in a foot-
race ; but when
Ulysses won it, Ica-
rius tried to per-
suade his daughter
to remain with him ;
she blushingly cov-
ered her face with
her veil, thus inti-
mating that she
would follow Ulys-
ses. She had one
child, Telemachus,
an infant, when
Ulysses sailed for
Penelope. (British Museum.)
478 ANCIENT MYTHS
Troy. During his absence she was besieged by suitors, but she
deceived them by declaring that she must finish a robe for her
father-in-law, Laertes, before she could listen to them. She worked
upon this robe by day and unraveled it at night, and thus put
off her lovers, until the stratagem was exposed by her servants.
Then was she more pressed than before. Ulysses returned at the
end of twenty years, and was most joyfully received by Penelope.
Homer represents Penelope as thus faithful to Ulysses, and it is the
character usually attributed to her, but later writers charge her with
being the mother of Pan by Hermes (Mercury), or by all her suitors ;
and these add that Ulysses repudiated heron his return, and that she
then went to Sparta and thence to Mantinea. Another tradition
relates that Telegonus killed Ulysses and then married Penelope.
Penthesile'a. Daughter of Ares (Mars) and Otrera. Queen
of the Amazons. She assisted the Trojans after Hector was killed,
and was herself slain by Achilles. He mourned sincerely over his
victim on account of her youth, beauty, and bravery. When Ther-
sites ridiculed this grief, Achilles killed him also. Then Diomedes,
who was a relative of Thersites, threw her body into the Scamander.
Others say that Achilles buried her on the banks of the Xanthus.
Perseph'one (Proserpina). Daughter of Zeus (Jupiter) and De-
meter (Ceres). In Attica she was called Koprj, i. e. the daughter,
and when with Demeter, they were often called " The Mother and
Daughter." She was the wife of Hades (Pluto), queen of the lower
world and the shades of the dead. Hence she is called Juno Inferna,
Averna, and Styyia. Mother of the Eumenides, Erinnyes or Furies.
For story of the rape of Persephone, see Demeter. She is repre-
sented in works of art grave and severe, as would become the queen
of the lower world.
Per'seus. Son of Jupiter (Zeus) and Danae. Grandson of Acrisius.
Husband of Andromeda. Acrisius had been warned by an oracle that
he should perish by the hand of the son of Danae, so he shut her in a
brazen tower. Zeus visited her here in the form of a shower of gold
and became the father of Perseus. Hence he is called Aurigena.
When Acrisius discovered the birth of the boy, he put both him and
his mother into a chest, and cast it into the sea, but Zeus carried it
ashore at Seriphos, one of the Cyclades, where they were found by
a fishesrinan, Dictys, who carried them to king Polydectes. He re-
c jived them kindly, and fell in love with Danae. He desired to be
rU of Perseus, and sent him to kill Medusa and bring to him her
head. With the assistance of Athena (Minerva) and guided by
Hermes (Mercury) he went to the GrEeae, sisters of the Gorgons, and
took away their one tooth and one eye, and would not restore them
till they showed him where the nymphs lived who had the helmet of
Hades (Pluto), the winged sandals, and the ma^ie wallet. He ob-
tained all these. Hermes gave him a sickle, and Athena a mirror,
ILLUSTRATED IN AUT. 479
He then flew to Tartessus, tlie abode of the Gorgon He arrived
when they were asleep, and cut off the head of Medusa by looking in
the mirror, for if he had looked at her he would have become stone.
He placed the head in the magic wallet which was on his back. The
other Gorgons pursued him, but by his helmet he became invisible and
thus escaped. He then went to Ethiopia, where he saved Andro-
meda, and married her. (See Andromeda.) It is said that he changed
Atlas to a mountain by the sight of the head of Medusa. On his
return to Seriphus he found that Polydectes had so persecuted Danae
that she had sought refuge in the temple. He then turned the king
and all his guests to stone. lie at length gave the head of Medusa
to Athena, who put it in the centre of her breast-plate. He took
Danae and Andromeda to Argos. His grandfather, fearing lest the
prophecy of the oracle should be fulfilled, escaped to Larissa. Per-
seus followed him in disguise to endeavor to persuade him to return,
but while taking part in the games there he threw the discus in such
a way that Acrisius was killed by it without his intention Then
Perseus took the government of Tiryns and l^ft Argos to Megapen-
thes, son of Proetus.
Phse'dra. Daughter of Minos. Wife of Theseus. She falsely
accused her step-son Hippolytus. After his death her treachery
became known and she destroyed herself.
Pha'ethon (i. e. "the shining"). Son of Helios and Clymene.
He teased his father to allow him to drive the chariot of the sun
across the heavens for one day. Clymene added her request, and
Helios yielded to them, but the boy was too weak, the horses went
out of their course and came so near the earth as almost to set it on
fire. Then Zeus (Jupiter) killed Phsethon with a flash of lightning
and hurled him into the river Eridanus. The Ifeliatlce or Phaethon-
tiades, who were his sisters and had yoked the horses, were turned
into poplars and their tears into amber.
Philocte'tes. Son of Pceas and called Pceantiades. He was
the most skillful archer in the Trojan war. The friend and armor-
bearer of Hercules, he had lighted the pile on Mount (Eta on which
Hercules died, and for this service received the bow and the poisoned
arrows of the hero. On his way to Troy, when on the island oJ
Chryse, he was wounded by one of these arrows or bitten by a ser-
pent on his foot, and the stench from this wound was so unendurable,
that Ulysses advised his companions to leave him at Lemnos. He
remained there until the last year of the Trojan war, when an oracle
declared that Troy could not be taken without the arrows of Her-
cules. Then Philoctetes was brought and his wound healed by
JEsculapius. He slew many Trojans, Paris among the number. He
went trom Troy to Italy.
Phin'eus. (1.) Son of Belus and Anchinoe. Slain by Per-
seus. See Perseus. (2.) Son of Agenor. King of Salmydessus.
480 ANCIENT MYTHS
A soothsayer. He put out the eyes of his sons who had been
falsely accused by their step-mother, Idaja. The gods then - made
him blind and sent Harpies to torment him. (See Harpyiae.)
Zetes and Calais, sons of Boreas, freed him from these tormentors.
In return he explained the course which the Argonautic expedition
should take. Some say he was slain by Hercules.
Phoe'be. (1.) The feminine of Phoebus, and one of the appella-
tions of Diana 'when Luna or the goddess of the Moon. (2.)
Daughter of Tyndareus and Leda. Sister of Clytsemnestra.
Phoe'bus. One of the appellations of Apollo, meaning bright or
pure.
Ploti'na (Pompeia). Wife of the emperor Trajan. She per-
suaded him to adopt Hadrian.
Plu'to (Pluton). The giver of wealth. A surname of Hades,
afterward used as the name of a god. See Hades.
Plu'tus. Son of lasion and Demeter (Ceres). God of wealth.
Zeus (Jupiter) took away his sight, that he might distribute his gifts
blindly and without regard to merit.
Pollux (Polydeuces). See Dioscuri.
Pol'ybus. King of Corinth, who reared (Edipus. See CEdipus.
Polym'nia. See Musse.
Polyx'ena. Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Loved by Achil-
las. When the Greeks lingered on the coast of Thrace on their
homeward voyage, the shade of Achilles appeared and demanded
that she should be sacrificed to him. Neoptolemus slew her on the
tomb of his father.
Poino'na. Roman goddess of fruit. Called also Pomorum Pa-
trona. Silvanus, Picus, Vertumnus, and several other rustic divinities,
loved her.
Posei'don (Neptunus). Son of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea. Called
also Cronius and Saturnius. Brother of Zeus (Jupiter) and Hades
(Pluto). When the universe was divided between the brothers, the
sea was given to Poseidon. He was equal to Zeus in dignity, but
not in power. He once conspired with Hera (Juno), and Athena
(Minerva), to put Zeus in chains, but usually he was submissive to
the more powerful god. His palace was in the depths of the ^gean
Sea, and there he kept his horses. These had brazen hoofs and
golden manes. He rides over the waves in a chariot drawn by
these horses, and the sea becomes smooth at his appearance, while
the monsters of the deep gambol and play around him. Troy was
called Neptuna Peryama. because Poseidon assisted Apollo to sur-
round it with walls for king Laomedon, who refused to give them
their promised reward, and Poseidon sent a sea-monster to ravage
the country, which was killed by Hercules. He always hated the
Trojans, and assisted the Greeks against them. He prevented the
return of Ulysses, in revenge for his having blinded Polyphemus, the
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 481
eon of Poseidon. When he contested with Athena for the naming
of Athens, he create^ the horse for man. He was the originator
and patron of horse-races, and taught men to manage horses with
bridles. When he pursued Uemeter (Ceres), he changed him?elf
into a horse. His wife was Amphitritc, and by her he was father of
Triton, Rhode, and Benthesicyme. lie was also father of many
others by mortal women, and by other divinities. The horse and
chariot races on the Corinthian Isthmus, were held in his honor.
The animals sacrificed to him were usually black and white bulls ;
tut wild boars and rams were sometimes used. The trident or the
spear with three points was his weapon and the symbol of his power.
With it he shattered rocks, shook the earth, and brought on storms.
Jn art he is often represented in groups with Amphitrite, Tritons,
Nereids, etc., etc., and is easily recognized by his attributes, which
ai-e the trident, horses, and dolphins.
Pri'amus (Priam). Son of Laomedon. His real name was Pc-
darces, the " swift footed," but he fell into the hands of Hercules,,
and was ransomed by Hesione, his sister, hence he was called Pria
mus, " the ransomed." Husband of Arisba and Hecuba. Father of
fifty sons, nineteen the children of Hecuba. He was too old to be
active in the Trojan war. He superintended the contest between
Paris and Menelaus. lie went to the tent of Achilles to ransom
the body of Hector. At the fall of Troy he was slain by Pyrrhus,
son of Achilles.
Pria'pus. Son of Dionysus (Bacchus) and Aphrodite (Venus).
Born on the shores of the Hellespont, and hence called Hellesponti-
acus. God of fruitfulness. Especially the protector of flocks, of
bees, of the vine, and fruits of the garden. Usually represented in
the form of hernias, a sickle or horn of plenty in his hand, and car-
rying fruit in his garments.
Prome'theus. Son of the Titan lapetus and Clymene. Brother
of Atlas, Menuetius, and Epimetheus. The name of the latter signi-
fies " after-thought," and that of Prometheus " fore-thought." In
spite of Zeus (Jupiter) he was a great benefactor to men. He stole
fire from heaven in a hollow tube, and taught mortals many use-
ful arts. Zeus gave Pandora to Epimetheus (see Pandora), and
chained Prometheus to a rock on Mount Caucasus. Here an eagle
consumed his liver by day, which was restored each night. Zeus
consented that Hercules should kill the eagle, and thus liberate the
sufferer. Zeus did this in order that his son might gain never end-
ing fame. There is a legend that Prometheus created man by fash-
ioning him from earth, and giving him a portion of every quality
possessed by other animals.
Proser'pina. See Persephone.
Protesila'us. Son of Iphiclus and Astyoche. Born at Phylace-
ir. Thessaly. Called Phylaciux and Phylacides, either from his birth-
31
482 ANCIENT MYTHS
place, or his grandfather Phylacus. He was the first Greek who
leaped upon the shores of Troy, and the first, one killed. He wa
slain by Hector.
Pro'teus. The old man prophet of the sea who tended the seals
which made the flocks of Poseidon (Neptune). At mid-day he rose
from the water, and slept on the rocks with sea-monsters all about
him. He did not like to prophesy, and in order to compel him to
do so it was necessary to catch hold of him while thus asleep. He
could change his shape, and would assume all manner of hideous
forms to escape, but if one persevered and kept a hold on him, he
at length prophesied, told the truth, and then returned to the sea.
Homer says he lived on the island of Pharos, but a day's journey
from the river JEgyptus (Nile) ; but Virgil places him on Carpathos
between Crete and Rhodes.
Psy'che, " The Soul," was one of the three daughters of a king.
She was so lovely that Venus was jealous of her and commanded
'Cupid to inspire her with love for the most contemptible of men.
Cupid hastened to obey, but when he saw Psyche, he was so enam
wed of her that he carried her to a charming retreat where he
sjent each night with her, but fled at the approach of day. Her sis
ters l>eig jealous of her declared that she was receiving the em
braces of a hideous creature. So she approached him with a lamp as
he slept, and was enraptured at beholding the beautiful god. Shf
dropped from her lamp a bit of hot oil, which fell on his shoulder.
Awaking, he reproached her for her distrust, and left her to return
no more. She was wretched, and wandered from place to place
searching for him. At length she came to the palace of Venus, who
made her a slave and treated her with great cruelty. Cupid, who
still loved her, helped her secretly to bear her burdens, and at last
she overcame the hatred of Venus and won her love. Then she
was received among the gods, and united to Cupid forever. This
allegory plainly represents the soul that is purified by trial, and at
length made happy in heaven. Psyche is represented in art as a
maiden with butterfly wings, and often together with Cupid in the
various circumstances of the story above.
Pudici'tia. Personification of Modesty. Worshipped in Greece
and Rome. At Rome two sanctuaries were dedicated to her: cne
in the name of Pudicitia patricia ; the other Pudicitia plebeia. At
Athens an altar was dedicated to her.
Pyl'ades. Son of Strophius and Anaxibia, sister of Agamemnon.
His father was king of Phocis. After the murder of Agamemnon,
Orestes was carried to the court of Strophius, and there originated
his friendship for Pylades, which became proverbial. He assisted
Orestes to murder Clytsemnestra, and married his sister Electra.
PyrThus. See Neoptolemus.
Be'mus. See Romulus.
ILLUSTRATED IM ART.
483
Rhe'a (Cybele). Daughter of Uranus and Ge (Heaven and
Earth). Wife of Cronus
(Saturn). Mother of Hestia
(Vesta), Demeter (Ceres),
Hera (Juno), Hades (Pluto),
Poseidon (Neptune), and
Zeus (Jupiter). Cronus swal-
lowed all his children, but
when Rhea was about to give
birth to Zeus, she went to
Lyctus in Crete. She gave
Cronus a stone wrapped up
like a child. He swallowed
this supposing it to be the
infant. Many places claim to
have been the birth-place of
Zeus ; but undoubtedly, Crete Rhea or Cybele.
was the earliest place where Rhea was worshipped. She was
in truth the great goddess of the eastern world. In Asia Minor
she was identified with " The Great Mother " or the " Mother
of the Gods." Also called Cybele, Agdistis, Dindymene, etc.,
etc. Her worship became wild and exciting from the introduction
of eastern rites, and in the and it was closely connected with
that of Dionysus (Bacchus). As Cybele she was worshipped
in Phrygia ; as Agdistis at Pessinus in Galatia, and under various
names she was honored even as far as Bactriana. The Romans from
the earliest times worshipped Ops, the mother of Jupiter and wife of
Saturn, who was identical with Rhea. In European countries she
was supposed to be accompanied by Curctcs, who were connected
with the birth and rearing of Zeus in Crete. In Phrygia she was
associated with the Corybantes, Atys, and Agdistis. The Cory-
bantes were her priests. They danced on the mountains and in the
forests in full armor, having drums, cymbals, and horns. In Rome
her priests were called Galli. The lion was sacred to her, and in
works of art her chariot is sometimes drawn by lions, or they crouch
on each side of her throne, where she is often represented as seated
with a mural crown and a veil.
Khe'a Silvia. See Romulus.
Rom'ulus. Son of Mars (Ares) and Rhea Silvia. She was a
daughter of Nurnitor, and a Vestal Virgin. Her father was a de-
scendant of lulus and ^Eneas, and was excluded from the throne of
Alba Longa by his brother Amulius. Rhea Silvia and her twin
sons, Romulus and Remus, were condemned to deatli, for it was not
lawful for a Vestal Virgin to bear children. The babes were thrown
into the Tiber, but the cradle containing them was stranded, and
the children were suckled by a she-wolf who carried them to her
484 ANCIENT MYTHS
cave. Here they were found by Faustulus, the king's shepherd,
who carried them to Acca Larentia, his wife. When they were
grown up, they decided to found a city on the banks of the Tiber,
but a strife arose as to which brother should give his name to the
city, and Remus was slain. Romulus soon found that he had too
small a number of people, so he made a sanctuary for runaway
slaves and homicides, on the Capitoline Hill. Soon he had men
enough, but women were wanting. Then he instituted games, and
invited the Sabines and Latins, and when all were assembled, the
Roman youths rushed upon them and seized the virgins. Hence
arose a war; but when the Romans and Sabines were formed for
battle, the Sabine women who had been stolen rushed in and begged
their fathers and brothers to lay down their arms, declaring them-
selves happy with their Roman husbands. Then they made peace,
and agreed to unite to form one nation, with both a Roman and a
Sabine king ; but soon after, the Sabine king, Titus Tatius, was
slain, and Romulus reigned over all. He reigned thirty-seven
years, when his father, Mars, took him to heaven in a fiery chariot.
Not long after, he appeared to Julius Proculus in immortal beauty,
and bade him instruct the Roman people to worship him under the
name of Quirinus. This is the genuine legend. Another tradition
relates, that the senators, displeased at his tyranny, murdered him
during a tempest, cut him in pieces, and carried away his remains
beneath their robes.
Sabi'na (Poppasa). Daughter of T. Ollius, who took the name
of her grandfather, Poppaeus Sabinus. Wife of Rufius Crispinus.
and then of Otho, who was the intimate friend of Nero. She was
of wonderful beauty, but wanting in virtue. Nero soon became en-
amored of her and sent Otho to Lusitania as governor. Poppaea
then became the mistress of Nero, and governed him absolutely.
She was resolved to be the wife of the emperor, and persuaded him
to murder his mother, Agrippina, who would not hear of the mar-
riage, and soon after to divorce and at length to kill his wife Octa-
via. Then she accomplished her designs and married Nero who,
three years later, killed her by a kick when she was pregnant.
Sabi'nus, Ma'vius. Brother of the emperor Vespasian. Was
prcefectus urbis during the last eleven years of the reign of Nero.
He was removed under Galba, and restored under Otho and Vitel-
lius. During the struggle between Vespasian and Vitelh'us, Sabinua
took refuge in the capitol. The capitol was burned, and Sabinua
put to death, in the presence of Vitellius, who tried in vain to save
him. He was a man of unspotted character and distinguished rep
utation.
Sap'pho. A native of Mytilene or of Eresos in Lesbos. A con-
temporary of Alcaeus, Stesichorus, and Pittacus. Together with
llcaeus she led the 2Eolian school of lyric poetry. Her own poetry
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 485
and that of Alcaeus proves them to have been friends. Ovid allude*
to her flight from Mytilene to escape some danger, between C04 and
592 B. C. It is also said that she threw herself from the Leuca
dian rock because her love for Phaon was not returned. But this is
not probable. She was the centre of a female literary society in
Mytilene, the members of which were her disciples in gullantrv, poe-
try, and fashion. Her lyric poems made nine books, of which we
have but scanty fragments ; but the most important part, a splendid
ode to Venus, we probably have entire. The ancient authors were
unbounded in their praise of her writings.
Sardanapa'lus. The last king of Nineveh. The account of
Ctesias concerning him has been followed by most writers. It con-
tradicts Herodotus and the Old Testament writers, but is preserved
by Diodorns Siculus, and is the one commonly referred to in con-
nection with its subject. It represents him as effeminate, luxurious,
and licentious. He passed his time in his palace with concubines,
himself in female attire, and unseen by his people. At last Arbaces,
satrap of Medea, and Belesys, a noble Chaldaean priest, renounced
their allegiance to him and marched against Nineveh. Then Sar-
danapalus was roused from his luxurious idleness and showed him-
self a brave warrior. He twice defeated the rebels, but was then
obliged to shut himself up in Nineveh. He held out against the be-
siegers two years, and when this was no longer possible he collected
his treasures, his wives, and concubines in an immense pile which he
set on fire, and throwing himself therein he thus destroyed all to-
gether. B. C. 876.
Satur'nus. See Cronus, lihea, and Zeus.
Sat'yri. A class of beings who personify the luxuriant vitality
of nature. Inseparably associated with the worship of Dionysus
(Bacchus). Said to be the sons of Hermes (Mercury) and Iph-
thima or of the Naiades. The older ones are called Sileni, the
younger Satyrisci. They were greatly dreaded by mortals. Orig-
inally they were quite distinct from the Fauni, but have been con-
founded with them in later writings. They had two small horns
growing out of the top of the forehead, bristling hair, and pointed
eyes, round and turned up noses, and a tail like a horse or a goat.
They were fond of wine and all sensual pleasures. They wore the
skins of animals and wreaths of ivy, fir, or vine leaves. In art they
are of all ages, and are sleeping, dancing voluptuously with nymphs,
and playing on pipes and flutes.
ScylTa and Charyb'dis. Two rocks between Italy and Sicily.
Soylla was a daughter of Crateis and dwelt in a cave on one of
these rocks. She was a fearful monstrosity. She had twelve feet,
six necks and heads, with three rows of sharp teeth in each, and
she barked like a dog. A great fig-tree grew on the other rock,
and beneath it dwelt Charybdis. Three times each day she swal-
486
ANCIENT MYTHS
lowed all (lie waters of the sea and threw them up again. This it
Homer's account, but later writers differ. Hercules is said to have
killed Scylla because she stole some of the oxen of Geryon, and
Phorcys restored her to life. Virgil speaks of the plural, Scyllae,
and places them in the lower world. Charybdis is made the chiW
of Poseidon (Neptune) and Gzea (Tellus), and described as a vora-
cious woman who stole the oxen from Hercules, and was thrown intc
the sea by a thunderbolt from Zeus (Jupiter).
Semir'amis. Daughter of Derceto, fish-goddess of Ascalon, anJ.
a Syrian youth. Derceto, wishing to conceal her frailty, killed the
father and exposed the child, who was fed by doves until found by
some shepherds. The shepherd of the royal flocks, called Sinimas,
brought her up, and from his name hers was derived. The won-
derful beauty of Semiramis attracted Onnes, a general, who married
her. She displayed such bravery and military skill at the siege of
Bactra that Ninus was attracted to her, and also charmed by her
beauty so that he determined to make her his wife. Onnes killed
himself in despair. She had a son by Ninus called Ninyas. Upon
the death of Ninus she succeeded to the throne, and reigned forty-
two years when she resigned the kingdom to Ninyas, and leaving
the earth flew to heaven in the shape of a dove. Her fame far ex-
ceeded that of Ninus, who built the city of Ninus or Nineveh. Se-
miramis erected a tomb for him in that city, nine stadia high and
ten wide. She built other cities and magnificent buildings ; she
conquered Egypt, some part of Ethiopia, and many nations of Asia.
She built Babylon and made the hanging gardens of Media, but she
failed to conquer India, which she attacked. The foundation of
this story, so evidently fabulous, is probably this : Semiramis was a
Syrian goddess, perhaps identical with the heavenly Aphrodite or
Astarte who was worshipped at Ascalon. The dove was sacred to
this goddess, hence the story of
the heavenly flight. There were
accounts of her voluptuousness
which would also prove this iden-
tity.
Sera'pis (Sarapis). An Egyp-
tian goddess whose worship was
introduced into Greece during the
reign of the Ptolemies, and into
Rome with that of Isis.
Sile'ni. See Satyri.
Sile'nus. Son of Hermes (Mer-
cury, or of Pan and a nymph, or
Gsea (Tellus). He always accom-
panied Dionysus (Bacchus), whom
SUenus. (Bronze of Pompeii.) fa [ s sa iJ to h ave instructed when
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
487
a youth. Nysa was said to be his birthplace. He slew the, giant
Enceladus. He was a fat, jolly old man, and usually intoxicated;
generally supported by other satyrs, or riding ou an ass. He was
withal an inspired prophet, and when drunk or asleep was in the
power of mortals, who could compel him to prophesy and sing by
surrounding him with chains of flowers. He is mentioned as the
inventor of the flute, as are also Marsyas and Apollo. Silenus
is often represented playing upon it ; there is also a certain dance
called by his name.
Sire'nes (Sirens). Called the daughters of Phorcus ; of Ache-
.oiis and Sterope ; of Terpsichore ; of Melpomene ; of Calliope or of
Gjea. Some say they were two in number : Aglaopheme and Thelx-
iepia ; others that there were three : Pisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelx-
iepia, or Parthenope, Ligia, and Leucosia. They were sea-nymphs,
and charmed all who heard their songs. When Ulysses came near
their home he stuffed the ears of his companions with wax, and tied
himself to the mast until they were beyond the sound of the voices
of these singers. They were connected with the rape of Proser-
pina. When the Argonauts sailed past their home, their attempts
to charm them were unavailing, for Orpheus excelled them in the
sweetness of his music ; and as they were fated to die, when one who
heard their song passed by unmoved, they then threw themselves
into the sea, and were changed into rocks.
Sisyphus, Ixion, and Tantalus.
Sis'yphus. Son of ^Eolus and Enarete, and called jEolides,
Husband of Merope, the daughter of Atlas or a Pleiad. Father
of Glaucus, Ornytion (Porphyrion), Thersander, and Halmus. Later
traditions make him the son of Autolycus, and father of Ulysses by
Anticlea. Hence Ulysses is sometimes called Sisyphides. Sisyphua
was said to have built the town of Ephyra, or Corinth. As king of
Corinth he did much for commerce, but was deceitful and avaricious.
[n the lower world, his punishment is to roll a huge stone up hill,
always rolls down again as soon as it reaches the top.
488 ANCIENT MYTHS
Sy'rinx. An Arcadian nymph. Pan pursued her, and she fled
to the river Ladon. At her own request, she was metamorphosed
Into a reed, from which Pan made his pipe or flute.
Ta'ges. Son of a Genius, Jovialis, and grandson of Jupiter
(Zeus). He was like a boy with the wisdom of an old man. He
rose suddenly out of the ground, and instructed the Etruscans and
Tarchor. in the use of the haruspices. All that he said was written
down, and was said to fill twelve books, called the books of Tages.
Tan'talus. Sou of Jupiter (Zeus) and the nymph Pluto. Hus-
band of Euryanassa, or of Taygete or Dione, or of Clytia, or of
Eupryto. Father of Pelops, Broteas, and Niobe. All traditions
agree that he was a wealthy king ; some say of Argos, others of
Lydia, and again of Corinth. One tradition relates that he divulged
the secrets of Jupiter, and is punished in Hades with burning thirst,
while he is in the midst of a lake whose waters always recede if he
attempts to drink ; bunches of fruit hang over his head in such a
way that he cannot catch them, and a great rock is suspended as if
just about to fall and crush him. Again it is said, that in order to test
the power of the gods he cut up his son Pelops, boiled him and gave
him to them as a repast ; again, that he stole nectar and ambrosia
from the gods, for which he was punished. Still another account says,
that when Pandareus stole a golden dog, which Rhea had appointed to
watch Zeus (Jupiter) and his nurse, Tantalus received and kept it.
From his name and punishment comes the English verb " to tanta-
lize."
Ta'tius, T. King of the Sabiues. (See Romulus.)
Tel'ephus. Son of Hercules and Auge daughter of Aleus, king
of Tegea. Husband of Laodice, or Astyoche, daughter of Priam.
He consulted the Delphic oracle in order to learn his origin, and was
told to go to Teuthras, king of Mysia. There he found his mother,
and succeeded to the throne of Mysia. He endeavored to prevent
the Greeks from landing there, but Dionysus (Bacchus) caused him
to stumble over a vine, and he was wounded by Achilles. He was
told by an oracle, that the wound could only be cured by the person
who had inflicted it ; and the Grecians were also told that they could
not take Troy without the aid of Telephus. Hence when he came to
ti-e camp, Achilles cured him with the rust from the spear with
which he had been wounded, and he in turn pointed out their course
to them.
Terpsich'ore. See Musse.
Thali'a. See Musse.
The'seus. Son of /Egeus, king of Athens, and JEthra, daughter
of Pittheus, king of Troezene. He was reared in Troezene, and
when old enough took the sword and sandals which had been left by
xEgeus and went to Athens. He made the journey by land, and
did many brave deeds on the way, such as killing monsters and
ILLUSTRATED l\ ART. 489
tobbers which infested the country. Jigeus recognized Theseus by
the sword; and made him his successor, excluding the sons of Pallas.
Then Theseus captured the Marathonian bull which had laid waste
the country. Next he went to Crete as one of the seven youths
which were sent every year, together with seven maidens, as a trib-
ute to the Minotaur. He was determined to free Athens from this
necessity. Ariadne, the daughter of king Minos, loved him, and
gave him a sword with which he killed the monster, and a thread
by means of which he made his way out of the labyrinth. He then
left Crete with his companions whom he had preserved, and Ariadne
also. Accounts vary, but the usual one relates that he deserted her
at Naxos. (Ariadne). He is said to have had two sons by her,
QEonopion and Staphylus. Before leaving Athens he had promised
that if successful he would on his return hoist a white signal. This
he forgot to do, and ^Egeus, believing that his son had been slain,
threw himself into the sea. Thus Theseus became king of Athens.
One of his exploits was an attack upon the Amazons, which he is
said to have made before they had recovered from that of Hercules.
Theseus carried off their queen Antiope. The Amazons in turn at-
tacked Attica, and went even to Athens itself, where Theseus finally
defeated them. By Antiope he was father of Hippolytus or Demoph-
oon. After her death he married Pluedra. He was in the Argo-
nautic expedition ; he joined the Calydonian hunt ; he assisted
Adrastus to recover the bodies of those slain before Thebes ; he
aided his friend Pirithous and the Lapitha3 against the Centaurs ;
together with Pirithous he carried Helen to Aphidme when a young
girl, and placed her in care of ./Ethra ; he attempted to assist
Pirithous to recover Proserpina from the lower world, but Pirithous
perished, and Theseus was held a prisoner, until freed by Hercules.
During this time Castor and Pollux carried off Helen and .ZEthra.
At the same time Menestheus endeavored to influence the people
against Theseus, and Avhen he returned he was not able to resume
his government. He then went to Scyros, where he was treacher-
ously slain by Lycomedes. He is believed to have appeared at the
battle of Marathon. He is without doubt a purely legendary charac-
ter, but later Athenians regarded him as an historical personage, and
the founder of many of their institutions.
The 'tis. Daughter of Nereus and Doris. Wife of Peleus. Mother
of Achilles. She dwelt with her father in the bottom of the sea.
She received Dionysus (Bacchus) there when he fled from Lycurgus,
and in gratitude he presented her with a golden urn. She also
protected Hephrestus (Vulcan) when thrown down from heaven.
Hera (Juno) had brought her up, and when she was old enough,
Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera gave her to Peleus against her will. Po-
O eidon (Neptune) and Zeus himself desired to marry her, but Themis
declared that the son of Thetis should excel his father, and the gods
490
ANCIENT MYTHS
withdrew their suit. Another tradition relates that Thetis rejected
Zeus because she had been reared by Hera, and in revenge Zeus
declared she should marry a mortal. Thetis had power like Proteus
to assume any form she chose, but Chiron instructed Peleus, and he
held her fast until she promised to marry him. It was at their
marriage-feast that Eris, who was not invited, made the famous
quarrel by means of the golden apple. (Paris). Thetis bestowed
much love and care upon Achilles.
Tire'sias. A renowned soothsayer. A Theban, and blind from
his seventh year. He lived to be very old. The cause of his blind-
ness, and the origin of his prophetic power, are variously related.
He was connected with many important events in the history of
Greece, and it was believed that after death, while other mortals
were mere shades, he retained his powers of perception During
the war of the Seven against Thebes he declared that if Menoeceus
would sacrifice himself, Thebes would be victorious. In the war of
the Epigoni, after the Thebans were defeated, he advised them to
make a ruse of commencing negotiations for peace, and then to take
the opportunity to escape. He fled with them, or was carried cap-
tive to Delphi, but on his way drank of the well of Tilphossa and
died.
Tri'ton. Son of Poseidon
(Neptune) and Amphi trite (or
Celaeno). He dwelt with his
father in a golden palace at the
bottom of the sea, or at xEgae.
He is described as riding over
the waves on sea-horses and mon-
sters. The plural, Tritons, is
mentioned and their appearance
described. They were men in
the upper portion of their bodies,
and fish in the lower. Their
attribute in poetry and art is a
shell, concha, which they blow
at Neptune's command to calm the waves of the sea.
Ulys'ses (Ulyxes, Ulixes, Odysseus). Son of Laertes and An-
ticlea, or of Sisyphus and Anticlea. Husband of Penelope and
father of Telemachus. He was distinguished for his valor and
eloquence. He is said to have invented the wooden horse, and was
one of the heroes concealed in it. He assisted in carrying off the
Palladium. He fought with Ajax for the arms of Achilles and gained
the prize. Homer's " Odyssey " is an account of the adventures of
Ulysses after the fall of Troy. He visited the Cicones and Lotoph-
igi, and then sailed to the west coast of Sicily, where with twelve
companions he entered the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops. T)u?
Triton.
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
491
giant ate six of the companions of Ulysses, and reserved him and the
remaining six as prisoners. Ulysses succeeded in making Polyphe-
mus drunk, and with a burning pole put out his single eye. He
then concealed himself and his companions under the bodies of the
sheep which the monster let out of his cave, and in this way they
escaped. He next went to the island of ^olus and the god gave
him a bag of winds to take him home, but his companions opened
the bag and the winds all escaped, and they were driven back to
JSolus, but he refused to assist them again. He then visited Tel-
pylos, and next the island where dwelt the sorceress Circe. Ulys&es
sent a part of his number to explore the island and she turned them
Ulysses and Tirusias.
into swine. Eurylochus however escaped, and told the sad truth to
Ulysses, who while hastening to his friends was taught by Hermes
(Mercury) how to resist the power of the sorceress. He succeeded
in freeing his companions from her spell, and was treated kindly by
her. She advised him to cross the river Oceanus. He landed in
the country of the Cimmerians and went to Hades, where he con-
sulted Tiresias concerning the way in which he could reach home.
He then returned to Circe, and she gave him a wind that sent him
to the island of the Sirens, but he filled the ears of his companions
with wax and tied himself to the mast until beyond the sound of
their song. In passing between Scylla and Charybdis, the former
carried away six of his companions. Next he landed on Thrinacia,
and here his companions, in spite of the warning of Tiresias, killed
some of the oxen of Helios. In punishment of this, when next they
put to sea, Zeus (Jupiter) destroyed their vessels, and all save
Ulysses perished. He clung to a mast, and after ten days reached
492
ANCIENT MYTHS
the island of Ogygia, where the nymph Calypso lived. She loved
him, and promised him immortality if he would remain with her, but
after eight years he loflged for his home, and Athena (Minerva) re-
quested Hermes to carry to Calypso a command from Zeus to let
Ulysses go. Calypso showed him how to make a raft, and in
eighteen days he came to Scheria, the home of the Phaeacians.
Then Neptune (Poseidon) raised a storm which threw him from his
raft, but Leucothia and Athena assisted him to swim ashore. Here
he fell asleep from exhaustion. He was awakened by the voices of
Ulysses and the Sirens.
Nausicaa and her maidens. She was the daughter of Alcinous and
Arete. She took him to her father's palace, where the minstrel
Demodocus sang the fall of Troy. The hero wept, and when ques-
tioned of the reason of his grief, related his whole history. Then
king Alcinous prepared a ship to take him to Ithaca, from which he
had been absent about twenty years. During this time Laertes had
withdrawn into the country. Anticlea had died. Penelope had
rejected many suitors, and Telemachus had grown up. Athena
metamorphosed Ulysses into a beggar, and he was kindly received
by Eumceus, a faithful servant. Soon Telemachus returned from
Pylos and Sparta, where he had been to inquire concerning his
father. Ulysses made himself known to him, and together they
arranged a plan for the death of the suitors of Penelope. She was
induced with much difficulty to promise herself to him who should
excel in shooting with the bow of Ulysses. None of the suitors
could use it on account of its size and weight. Ulysses then took it
ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
103
and shot all the suitors. He then made himself known to Penelope,
who received hiiu with great joy. He also visited his aged father.
The relatives of the suitors now rose against him, hut Athena as-
sumed the appearance of Mentor and sueceeded in effecting a recon-
ciliation between the king and his subjects.
Ura'nia. (1.) A muse. Daughter of Mnemosyne by Zeus
(Jupiter). The bard Linus is said to be the son of Apollo and
Urania. Hymenseus was also considered her son. She was the
muse of astronomy, and her attributes are a celestial globe and a
small staff. (2.) Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and a nymph
in the train of Proserpina (Persephone). (3.) A surname of Aphro-
dite (Venus), meaning "the heavenly," and intended to distinguish
her from Aphrodite Pandemos. Wine was never offered in her
libations. Plato represents her as the child of Uranus, begotten
without a mother.
Yenti. (Vatican Virgil.)
Venti (the Winds). They are personified, and yet are the
phenomena of nature. The master and ruler of winds is JSolus,
who lives in the island of zEolia. Other gods have power over them,
especially Zeus (Jupiter). Boreas is the north wind ; Eurus the
east wind ; Notus the south wind ; and Zephyrus the west wind.
The beneficial winds, Notus, Boreas, Argestes, and Zephyrus, were
sons of Astraeus and Eos. The destructive winds, such as the
Typhon, were sons of Typhoeus. Between Boreas and Eurus are
placed the Meses, Caicias, and Apeliotes. Between Eurus and
Notus, the Phoenicias. Between Notus and Zephyrus, Lips ; and
494 ANCIENT MYTHS
between Zephyrus and Boreas, the Argestes (Olympias or Sciron),
and the Thrascias. This is the arrangement of Aristotle, who also
says that Eurus is not east but southeast. There is a different
arrangement upon a monument in the Museum Pio-Clementinum.
The Venti are represented in art with wings at the head and
shoulders. Black lambs were sacrificed to the bad, and white ones
to the good winds.
Ve'nus (Aphrodite). Goddess of Love. At Rome she was not
important until she was identified with the great Aphrodite But
Venus (Aphrodite) and Eros (Cupid).
she was at length worshipped in various characters. The surname
of Murtea or Murcia, referred to her fondness for the myrtle. That
of Calva, to the fact that on her wedding-day the bride cut off a
lock of hair to sacrifice to Venus. She was worshipped as Venus
Erycina, Venus Verticordia, Venus Obsequens and Postvorta, Venus
Genitrix, and Venus Victrix. Csesar favored her worship because
he traced his descent to ^Eneas, said to be the son of Mars (Ares)
and Venus. The month of April was especially sacred to the god-
dess of love.
Vertum'nus (Vortumnus). The Romans connected this god
with everything to which the verb verto, to change, could be ap-
plied ; such as change of seasons, purchase and sale, etc., etc. But
the transformation of the blossom to the fruit was in reality his
proper care. When he was in love with Pomona, he changed to all
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 495
manner of forms to please her, and at last succeeded as a blooming
youth. Gardeners offer him the first fruits, and especially budding
garlands. The Vortumnalia was celebrated on the 23d of August.
The worship of Verttimnus at Rome was so important that it was
attended by a special flamen.
Vesta (Hestia). Goddess of the hearth, and connected with
the Penates. It was believed that ./Eneas brought her eternal fire
from Troy with these gods. The praetors, consuls, and dictators
sacrificed to her before assuming their offices, as well as to the Pe-
nates. As every house had a hearth, so each one was a temple of
this goddess, but her special temple was in the Forum, not far from
that of the Penates. There was no statue to represent her, but the
eternal fire on the hearth personified her, and was kept alive by
Vestal Virgins, chaste and pure. The 1st of March was the day
when the sacred fire was renewed, and also the laurel tree which
shaded the hearth. The 15th of June the temple was purified.
The dirt removed was placed in an angiportus, and this locked by
a gate so that none could enter. The first half of this day was
thought so inauspicious, that even the priestess of Juno did not
comb her hair or cut her nails, but the last half was thought very
favorable for marriage or the commencement of any important
thing. On the 9th of June the Vestalia was kept, when only women
went to the temple, and they barefooted.
Virginia. Daughter of L. Virginius, a Roman centurion. She
was betrothed to L. Icilius, but the decemvir Appius Claudius, enam-
ored of her beauty, was determined to possess her. One of his
clients claimed her as his slave, when her father was away with the
army ; but her lover summoned her father, and he arrived the very
morning that judgment was to be rendered, and Virginia delivered
to the decemvir. When Virginius found that he had no power to
control the decision, and that Virginia would be delivered to Appius
Claudius, he asked to be allowed to speak to her and her nurse.
This was granted, and drawing them aside, he seized a butcher's
knife from a stall near by, and plunged it into the breast of his
daughter, exclaiming, " There is no way but this to keep thee free ! "
Then holding the bloody knife on high, he rushed to the Romau
camp. Then the people arose, the decemvirs were deprived of
their office, and the tribunes restored. Virginius was the first
elected. He sent Appius Claudius to prison, and there he killed
himself.
Vulca'nus (Hephaestus, Vulcan). His worship was important
at Rome, and his temple was regarded as a kind of centre of the
state. The temple of Concord was built upon the site of the tem-
ple of Vulcan. His most ancient festival was called Fornacalia or
Furnalia, he being the god of furnaces. His great festival was
Vulcanalia, on the 23d of August.
496
ANCIENT MYTHS
Zephyrus. (Athens.)
kieph/yrus. The West Wind. Dwelt with Boreas in a palace in
Thrace. By the harpy Poc large,
he became the father of the
horses Xanthus and Balius ;
these belonged to Achilles.
The wife of Zephyrus was
Chloris, whom he carried away
by force, and who was the
mother of Carpus.
Zethus. Twin brother of
Amphion.
Zeus (Jupiter). The great-
ost Olympian god. Son of Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea. Brother of
Poseidon (Neptune), Hades (Pluto), Hestia (Vesta), Demeter (Ceres),
and Hera (Juno), to which last
married. When the
divided between
he was
world was
the three brothers, Hades re-
ceived the lower world, Posei-
don the sea, and Zeus the
heavens and upper regions of
air, while the earth was equally
free toall. Mount Olympus in
Thessaly was believed to pierce
heaven itself with its lofty sum-
mit, and this was the home of
Zeus. Everything, both good
and bad, came from Zeus. He
possessed all power over gods
and men, and founded all law
Zeus (Medal in British Museum.)
and order. Dice (Astraea), goddess of justice, Themis, goddess
of order, and Nemesis, who measured the misery and happiness of
mortals, were his assistants. Even fate was subject to him. He
was armed with thunder and lightning, and called "the thunderer,"
" the gatherer of clouds," etc., etc. The shaking of his segis produced
storms and tempest. By his wife Hera, he was father of Ares (Mars),
Hephffistus (Vulcan) and Hebe. Mount Dicte or Ida, Thebes in
Bccotia, Ithome in Messenia, ^gion in Achaia, and Olenos in
^Etolia, have all been called the birthplace of Zeus, but the common
account, and the one generally followed is, that because Cronus
swallowed his children as soon as born, Rhea applied to Uranus and
Ge (Heaven and Earth) for assistance before the birth of Zeus, in
order that the child might be saved. They sent her to Lyctos in
Crete. At his birth she hid him in a cave of Mount JEgxou,
and gave Cronus a stone wrapped up as a child, which he swal-
lowed, believing it to be the infant. At last Cronus was made
ILLUSTRATED IN ART. 497
to bring up the children he had swallowed : first came the stone,
which was afterwards set up at Delphi by Zeus. The Cyclopes
whom Cronus had fettered were liberated by Zeus, and in <Tati-
f
tude they gave him thunder and lightning. He also freed Brm-
reos, the one hundred armed Gigantes, Coitus, and Gyes, all of
whom assisted him to conquer the Titans. When these last were
overpowered they were shut up in Tartarus and guarded by the Hec-
atoncheires. Then Typhoeus was born of Tartarus and Ge. lie
struggled desperately with Zeus, but was conquered. The god now
being ruler over all took Metis for his wife. When she was preg-
nant, by the advice of Uranus and Ge, he took the child from her
body and placed it in his head, that thereby he might preserve
his power ; for if Metis had given birth to a son, that son would
have displaced Zeus. Thus Athena (Minerva) sprang 'forth from
the head of Zeus. He was also father of the Horse and Moerzc by
Themis ; of the Charites (Graces) by Eurynome ; of Persephone
(Proserpina) by Demeter ; of the Muses by Mnemosyne, and of
Apollo and Artemis (Diana) by Leto (Latona). It is said that
Hera gave birth to Hephtestus (Vulcan) independently, in revenge
for the birth of Athena without her aid. The Cronida-, or the
twelve Olympian gods, were Zeus (Jupiter) the greatest of all ;
Poseidon (Neptune) god of the sea; Apollo, god of prophecy, of
song and music, protector of flocks, god of punishment, god who
gives help and turns away evil, and who establishes civil govern-
ments and founds cities and towns; Ares (Mars) god of war;
Hermes (Mercury), the messenger of the gods ; Hephiestus (Vulcan)
god of fire ; Hestia (Vesta) goddess of the hearth; Demeter (Ceres)
goddess of the earth ; Hera (Juno) goddess of love, marriage, and
births ; Athena (Minerva) goddess of war and of wisdom, and pa-
troness -of arts and trades; Aphrodite (Venus) goddess of love; and
Artemis (Diana) goddess of light, of flocks and the chase, and in
short representing the same i lea as a female that Apollo does as a
male, the especial protectress of the young. Both Greeks and
Romans recognized these gods, and the poets of both nations gave
Zeus or Jupiter many surnames derived from the powers which he
exercised, and from the places where he was worshipped. The oak,
the heights of mountains, and the eagle, were sacred to him. In
Arcadia and Dodona, the oak and prolific doves were sacred to him,
and the Dodonaean Zeus has a wreath of oak-leaves, while the Olym-
pian Zeus sometimes has a wreath of olive. In art he is represented
as the father of gods and men, and his attributes are the eagle,
thunderbolt, sceptre, cornucopia, and a figure of victory in the
Land.
32
[March 15, 1871. The following carol, from an old soug-book, was sent to
the author of this book too late for insertion iu the first edition, and is now
given here as an appendix to article St. Clement. See page 79.]
CAROL FOR ST. CLEMENT'S DAY.
IT was about November-tide,
A long, long time ago,
When good St. Clement testified
The faith that now we know.
Right boldly then he said his say
Before a furious king :
And therefore on St. Clement's day
We go a-Clementing.
Work in the mines they gave him then,
To try the brave old Saint;
And there two thousand Christian men
With thirst were like to faint.
He prayed a prayer, and out of clay
He made the waters spring ;
And therefore on St. Clement's day
We go a-Clementing.
An anchor round his neck they tied,
And cast him in the sea ;
And bravely as he lived, he died,
And gallantly went free.
He rests a many miles away,
Yet here his name we sing,
As all upon St. Clement's day
We go a-Clementing.
Our fathers kept it long ago,
And their request we make,
Good Christians, one small mite bestow,
For sweet St. Clement's sake ;
And make his feast as glad and gay
As if it came in spring,
When all upon St. Clement's day
We go a-Clementing.
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX A.
LEGENDS AXD STORIES WHICH HAVE BEEN ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
Beatrice, The Nun. This nun was portress of her convent. She
was somewhat vain, and not of the true spirit to follow a religious
life ; and yet she loved Our Lady, and went often to pray before
a pieture of her, which hung in the parlor of the convent, over a
kneeling-desk. At length her vanity led her to determine to leave
the convent, but she had not the courage to explain herself to her
sisters, and so, placing her keys before the picture of the Virgin, and
donning one of the secular garbs which were left in her care to give
to the poor, she passed out and went away. After she had gone the
Virgin came down from the canvas, assumed the garments sister
Beatrice had left, tied the keys to her girdle, and [>erformed the
duties of portress. All now remarked how gentle and modest sister
Beatrice had become, and soon the nuns began to feel that she mer-
ited a higher position, and made her mistress of the novices. In
these new duties she became quite remarkable, and the novices being
so well instructed were ornaments to their convent and their pro-
fession. Beatrice, meanwhile, found the secular life much more
troublesome than had been that of the quiet sisterhood, and she
often prayed for courage to go back and tell all her story. One day
the factor of the convent went to the house where Beatrice lived,
and, as he did not recognize her in her changed dress, she inquired
of him about the sisters, and demanded news of the nun Beatrice,
saying that she had formerly known her. The factor could not say
enough in praise of this nun, and Beatrice listened in dumb amaze-
ment to his story of how she was beloved and honored. As soon
as she could think about it she went back to her old home, deter-
mined to seek the pardon she so needed, and to heartily devote her-
self to the humblest duties of the house. When she arrived there
she asked for sister Beatrice, and when the new mistress of the nov-
ices entered the room the penitent Beatrice felt that she was in the
presence of a holy being. She fell on her knees, and poured out
her sorrow and repentance. Then Our Lady lifted Beatrice up,
put her own clothes upon her, and bidding her perform well her
500 APPENDIX.
duties and do penance for her faults, returned to the canvas. Bea-
trice so well obeyed her commands, and so earnestly strove to follow
the example which had been given her, that in a few months she
became a saint.
St. Bernard Ftolomei. See page 58. While a doctor of law in
Siena, this saint was struck with blindness, and made a vow that if
his sight could be restored he would devote himself to a religious
life. He was cured, and then took leave of his friends and pupils,
and went to Val d' Ombrone as a hermit. Two other young men
of high families accompanied him, and the trio built a chapel and
devoted themselves to prayer and good works. After a time others
joined them, and a community was formed. The Inquisitor of Tus-
cany hearing some evil reports of them, brought them to the notice
of Pope John XXII., who commanded them to appear at Avignon,
to give an account of themselves. St. Bernard (or Giovanni Ptol-
omei) sent two of the community to the Pope, who was soon satis-
fied of their orthodoxy, and directed them to consult the Bishop of
Arezzo, and to adopt some monastic rule. The Bishop had a vision
concerning them which led him to make them Benedictines. He
held a solemn service and conferred the habit of the Order upon
Giovanni and two others, and changed his name to Bernardo. Be-
fore his profession of the Benedictine rule, and while he and his
brethren were much exercised as to the dress they should adopt,
Bernardo saw a vision of a silver staircase reaching to heaven, with
the Saviour and the Virgin at its summit, and monks in white habits
ascending and descending. The Virgin interpreted the vision to
him as indicative of the proper habit of his Order. On the spot
where he beheld this vision a new church was erected.
[This vision so nearly resembles that of St. Romualdo (see page
268) that it is difficult to distinguish between them in pictures ; and
he only difference I can suggest is that sometimes, not always, in
the representations of St. Bernard of Ptolomei, a church appears
somewhere as an accessory, to indicate that which was built on ac-
count of the vision.]
St. Gallus. An Irish monk, who in the early part of the seventh
century left his monastery on the island of lona and travelled much
over Europe, converting the heathen and living a strict life as a
missionary hermit. He at length settled on the banks of the
Steinach, then a country inhabited by wild men as well as infested
by savage animals. Here the monk labored to teach the arts of
agriculture, and to inculcate the doctrines of Christ. His cell be-
came the centre of civilization for an extensive tract of country, and
he was a true father to his followers. After his death miracles were
said to be wrought at his tomb, and it became a place of pilgrimage
to which thousands made their way. Pepin 1' Heristal founded an
abbey on the spot, one of the oldest ecclesiastical establishments
APPENDIX. 50 1
n all Germany. Between the eighth and tenth centuries this was
the most celebrated school in all Europe. The MSS. which were
made here by the monks were of great value. About the beginning
of the thirteenth century, political and worldly ambitions crept into
the hearts of these obscure monks. They strengthened their convent
with walls, towers, and moats, and when it was threatened by un-
holy laymen, one hundred monks, in armor, and with swords, did
valiant warfare for their lands and riches. Gradually the offerings
of pilgrims had made them very rich, and they became tlie sove-
reigns of territories and peoples. They were raised to the rank of
princes of the empire, and were constantly at war with their neih-
bors, either to guard or increase their possessions. At length many
of their dependents threw oil' their allegiance, and in 1712 the ab-
bey was placed under the protection of those whom it had formerly
controlled. The French Revolution caused the secularization of
the abbey, and its revenues were sequestered in 1805. Pancratius
Forster, the last abbot, died in 1829, in die convent of Muri, where
he was supported by charity. Many interesting and important MSS
still remain in the convent library. They are both religious and
classical, and among them is one of the " Niebelungen Lied." Here
are also many letters relating to the Reformation.
St. Notburg. In the seventh century of the Christian era lived
Dagobert, a French Merovingian king. Before he became king he
loved and married a noble damsel named Nantilde, who bore him
one child, Notburg, to whom her mother gave a snow-white fawn
for a playfellow. At length Dagobert had many wives and Nan-
tilde was neglected, and was finally separated from Notburg, but
not until she had formed in the child, by her teaching and example,
a lovely character. The mother and daughter were each led to
believe that the other had died, and they never met again. Not-
burg superintended her father's house, dispensed many charities,
and was much beloved by all. Her personal beauty was as re-
markable as her loveliness of mind and temper, and when her
father lost his kingdom in war, his opponent, the leader of a barba-
rian horde, demanded the hand of Notburg in marriage as the price
of the restoration of Dagobert to his throne. The wretched father
consented, but the daughter made her escape with her faithful pet,
which had now become an antlered stag. On his back she was
borne over the rough Neckar, and she then sought shelter in a for-
est cavern. Each day the stag returned to the royal castle of Horn-
berg and brought her a loaf of bread ; but, alas ! Nisus, for that
was his name, was observed and followed, and thus the retreat of
Notburg was discovered. Dagobert went to bear her to the dreaded
marriage, but she struggled fiercely, was wounded and left for dead.
IVhen she recovered from her swoon, she devoted herself to a re-
i'ious life as a hermitess. The faithful Nisus revealed to the people
502 APPENDIX.
about her the place of her dwelling, and when they visited her she
spoke words which seemed to be those of inspiration, and converted
many to Christianity. She also taught them new modes of lite, and
the vale of the Neckar, where she dwelt, soon became happy in civ-
ilization and prosperity. When she died she was drawn to her
grave by two milk-white oxen, and the rustic chariot in which she
was laid was followed by a long procession of loving friends, bear-
ing banners and sacred emblems. When they reached the grave
the stag appeared with a garland of lilies and roses (symbols of her
purity and charity,) and gently laid them down. Over her grave
was built the church of Hochhausen in which Notburg's tomb still
remains.
[The life of this saint was written by M. de Beauchesne, and illus-
trated with eighty-four plates by S. Langlois, a favorite pupil with
Overbeck.]
Sandalphon. This beautiful Jewish legend, which has been so
exquisitely told in verse, and reproduced in works of art, cannot be
better given than in the words of Longfellow :
" Have you read in the Talmud of old,
In the legends the Rabbins have told
Of the limitless realms of the air,
Have you read it the marvellous story
Of Sandalphon, the Angel of Glory,
Sandalphon, the Angel of Prayer?
" How, erect, at the outermost gates
Of the City Celestial he waits,
With his feet on the ladder of light,
That, crowded with angels unnumbered,
By Jacob was seen, as he slumbered
Alone in the desert at night ?
The angels of Wind and of Fire
Chant only one hymn, and expire
With the song's irresistible stress;
Expire in their rapture and wonder,
As harp- strings are broken asunder
By music they throb to express.
" But serene in the rapturous throng,
Unmoved by the rush of the sonir,
With eyes unimpassioned and slow,
Among the dead angels, the deathless
Sandalphon stands listening breathless
To sounds that aacend from below ;
" From the spirits on earth that adore.
From the souls that entreat and implore
In the fervor and passion of praver;
From the hearts that are broken with losses,
And weary with dragging the crosses
Too lieuvv for mortals to bear.
APPENDIX. 503
* And he gathers the prayers as lie stands,
And they change into flowers in lii.s hands,
Into garlands of purple and red ;
And beneath tlie grunt arch of the portal,
Through the streets of the City Immortal
Is wafted the fragrance they shed.
" It is but a legend, I know,
A fable, a phantom, a show,
Of tlie ancient Itabbinical lore;
Yet the old mediaeval tiadition,
The beautiful, strange superstition,
But haunts me and holds me the more.
" When I look from my window at night,
And the welkin aliove is all white,
All throbbing and panting with stars,
Among them majestic is standing
Sandalphou the angel, expanding
His pinions in nebulous bars.
" And the legend, I feel, is a part
Of the hunger and thirst of the heart,
The frenzy and fire of the brain,
That grasps at the fruitage forbidden,
The golden pomegranates of Eden,
To quiet its fever and pain."
Sangreal, The (Holy Grail). At the crucifixion of Christ, when
His side was pierced by the spear, there flowed out blood and
water, and this, being collected by Joseph of Arimathaea, in the
vessel from which the Saviour had eaten the last supper, formed the
San Greal, or Holy Grail. The various legends concerning this sa-
cred vessel and its contents are of great interest, and have formed
the basis of poetry, the groundwork of many superstitions, and the
motives of works of art. I shall give a few of these legendary tales.
One goes on to say that Joseph Avas cast into prison by the Jews,
and left by them to die of hunger. Here he remained for forty-
two years, always nourished by this holy vessel, the presence of
which was powerful to confer upon him spiritual and all needful
nourishment. At the end of this long time he was set free by
Titus, whom he afterwards baptized. Then Joseph determined to
convey the Grail to England, and before liis death he gave it to the
care of his nephew. It is said that only baptized persons could see
the Grail when before it, and if they were sinful it was not dis-
tinctly visible ; the pure alone could perceive it clearly. Another
legend says that the Grail was preserved in heaven until a race
should appear on earth who should be worthy to protect and care
for it. Titurel, of Gaul, a descendant of an Asiatic prince, was the
chosen one who was to establish the worslrp of the Sangreal. He
was instructed in his duties by angels who bore to him the. fiacred
vessel. He erected a temple, in which to guard the precious treas-
504 APPENDIX.
ure, and appointed a band of men who should protect the Grail,
and carry out the ceremonial which was arranged for its worship.
This temple was built like that at Jerusalem. On Good Fridays
a white dove, bearing a white oblation, descended from heaven and
rested before the Grail. Its spiritual blessings to its guardians and
worshipers were a consciousness of peaceful joy, in fact, a foretasto
of heaven. Oracles were also given by means of characters which
at times appeared to be written on the vessel and then vanished.
Its physical benefits were, perpetual youth, a supply of the kinds of
food and drinks most acceptable to the person, freedom from the
possibility of any suffering or wound on the day it was seen, and
freedom from death for eight days. The guardians of the Grail
were, of course, free from all sensuality. None were allowed to
marry except the king of their order, whose office was hereditary.
The temple, which was on Montsalvatsch, was of aloe-wood, gold,
and precious stones. It was circular, and nad three grand entrances.
If the faith or the right was in danger, and a bell was sounded in the
chapel of the Grail, a knight was sent forth to defend it with sword
in hand. If he were questioned of his office he was to return to
Montsalvatsch without having replied. Titurel, although king for
four hundred years, never seemed more than forty years old. It is
too long to tell of the line of his successors. His son, Frimutelle,
fell from grace through an earthly love, and lost his office. Am-
fortas, a grandson of Titurel, fell into grievous sin, and was wounded.
The oracle announced that he could not be cured until a pure knight
should come to Montsalvatsch, who should demand the meaning of
the sacred vessel, or should apply the sacred blood to the king. As
he lay for years, suffering from this wound, the order of the Knights
of the Grail was dissolved, and everything connected with it was
almost forgotten. The Pelles or Pellam of the " Morte d' Arthure,"
was the Amfortas of this legend. The account of the Knights of
the Round Table is that when they, with King Arthur, were sitting
at supper at Camelot, they heard thunder, and a blast entered the
room, in the centre of which was a sunbeam seven times clearer
than any they had ever seen. By this strange light the knights
beheld themselves and all surrounding things fairer than was ever
dreamed before, and a silence fell on them which none could break.
Then the Holy Grail entered the hall, and there were none present
who were pure enough to see it ; but the place was filled with
spicy odors, and each knight had that which he most desired to eat
and drink. Then the sacred vessel departed, and they knew not
whither it had gone. The knights, one by one, rose from the table
and swore that they would go in search of the Sangreal, and would
never return to the Round Table until they had plainly seen it. The
experiences of Sir Galahad, Sir Percival, Sir Bors, and of Launce-
'ot, are most interesting, but too long to be given here. This leg-
APPENDIX. . r >05
end, in whole or in part, with some variations, of course, may be
traced through Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton folk lore, as well as
in bardic remains and the Arthurian romances. In some of these
a gory head takes the place of the sacrificial blood of Christ, and a
lance or spear plays an important part, and, as in the story of Sir
Galahad, Joseph of Arimathaea is borne in by angels, and celebrates
the Holy Supper, at which Jesus Himself appears. But in all these
differences and inconsistencies a well-practiced tracer cf such myth-
ical tales will recognize the same story, and will see that many old,
old legends have been adapted to suit an early Christian people,
and have thus been made more comprehensible, and fraught with a
sweeter meaning for us.
Tanhauser, Story of. The scene where this story is laid is that
of' the Ilorselloch, on the northwest side of the Horselberg which
rises between Eisenach and Gotha. This mountain is also called
the Venus-berg, a name used much in the Middle Ages, where it was
believed that here lived Venus with her court, and all imaginable
surroundings of pomp and gayety. According to Tliiiringian
legends, the Ilorselloch (a cavern from which come forth sounds as
of rushing water), was the entrance to Purgatory, and its name is
derived from //ore, die Seele, Hark, the Souls ! The Tliiiringian
Chronicle relates that near the close of the fourteenth century, one
day at noon, there appeared, very suddenly, in the air, three great
fires ; these united and seemed like a vast globe of flame, then sep-
arated, and at last sank into the Horselberg. Tanhauser was a
minnesinger and his songs were ever in praise of beauty and love,
and not always such as pure women would listen to. One day as
he passed the Horselloch on his way to Wartburg, where many
minstrels were gathering to contend for a prize, he saw a lovely
white form, of rare beauty, standing before him. As he regarded
the strange apparition he saw that it could be no other than the
goddess Venus. Sweet music floated about her, she seemed to rest
on roseate clouds which bore her on, while lovely nymphs strewed
roses before her. The minnesinger was wild with delight and curi-
osity, and when she beckoned to him he could do nothing but spring
from his horse to follow her. The goddess entered the Ilorselloch
and as she passed a path of living flowers sprang up, by which
Tanhauser could follow. From the moment that the abode of the
goddess was reached, there commenced a series of revelries, de-
bauches, and pleasures which endured without interruption. At
Arst the minnesinger was in rapture ; but after seven years these
things all palled on him and his conscience began to rouse itself.
He longed for the pure, life-giving breezes which floated far above
the Horselloch, about the mountain summit. He fancied he could
hear the shepherd's song, could smell the sweet wild-flowers, and
l ie turned away, disgusted, from the life around him. He entreated
506 APPENDIX.
Venus to allow him to depart all was in vain and only when,
in his despair, he called wildly upon the Holy Virgin, was he re-
leased. Then a passage in the mountain side was opened, and he
stood once more on the Horselberg. Words cannot tell his joy ; he
gathered the heather, he threw himself upon the moss in pure
ecstasy, he saw the sun rise slowly from its far-off bed, and the
tears rolled down his cheeks, while his heart overflowed with grati-
tude. He hastened to the nearest village church and there madu
full confession of all his strange experience. The holy father stared
at him aghast, and dared not give him his blessing. To another
and yet another priest he went until at last he came to the Pope.
Urban IV. was a hard, stern man, and when he heard the sicken-
ing tale, he exclaimed, " Guilt such as thine can never be remitted.
Sooner shall this staff in my hand grow green and blossom, than
that God should pardon thee ! "
Then Tanhauser, in despair, returned to the Horselloch, feeling
that all other asylums were closed to him. But the unhappy Pope
saw, in three days after the penitent had gone, that his staff had
budded and blossomed like a living branch. Then he sent for
Tanhauser with all dispatch. His messengers reached the Hb'rsel
Vallqy only to learn, that a " wayworn man, with haggard brow
and bowed head," had entered, a few hours before, the fatal cavern
of the heathen goddess. From that day Tanhauser, the minne-
singer, has not been seen. This myth exists in several forms.
There are Venusbergs in various parts of Germany, and one in
Italy, spoken of by Paracelsus ; but the above is the most satis-
factory and pleasing story which I have found. S. Baring-Gould,
in his " Curious Myths of the Middle Ages," says " there is scarcely
a collection of folk-lore which does not contain a story founded on
this root. It appears in every branch of the Aryan family, and ex-
amples might be quoted from Modern Greek, Albanian, Neapolitan,
French, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Scotch,
Welsh, and other collections of popular tales."
Wandering Jew, The. In the book of chronicles of the Abbey
of St. Albans, occurs the earliest known mention of the Wandering
Jew. There are various forms of this legend, but I have decided
to give this oldest form, as copied by Matthew Paris. It is the
account which was given to the monks of St. Albans by a well-
recommended Archbishop of Armenia, who visited them in 1228.
The monks, by means of an interpreter, asked him if he could
tell them aught of a certain man of whom much had been said, who
was present at the crucifixion of Our Lord, who still lives and is to
'ive until Jesus comes again. The interpreter replied that this
man was well known to the Archbishop, and then gave the account
as follows : " At the time of the suffering of Jesus Christ, He was
seized by the Jews, and led into the Hall of Judgment before Pilate,
APPENDIX. 507
the governor, that He might be judged by him on the accusation of
the Jews ; and Pilate, finding no cause for adjudging Him to
death, said to them, 'Take Him and judge Him according to your
law ; ' the shouts of the Jews, however, increasing, he, at their re-
quest, released unto them Bnrabbas, and delivered Jesus to them to
be crucified. When, therefore, the Jews were dragging Him forth,
and had reached the door, Cartaphilus, a porter of the hall, in
Pilate's service, as Jesus was going out of the door, impiously struck
Him on the back with his hand, and said in mockery, ' Go quicker,
Jesus, go quicker ; why do you loiter ? ' and Jesus, looking back on
him with a severe countenance, said to him, ' I am going, and you
will wait till I return.' And according as our Lord said, this Car-
taphilus is still awaiting His return. At the time of our Lord's
suffering he was thirty years old, an age to which he always re-
turns after reaching his hundredth year. After Christ's death, when
the Catholic faith gained ground, this Cartaphilus was baptized by
Ananias (who also baptized the Apostle Paul), and was called
Joseph. He often dwells in both divisions of Armenia, and other
eastern countries, passing his time amidst the bishops and other
prelates of the Church ; lie is a man of holy conversation, and re-
ligious ; a man of few words, and circumspect in his behavior; for
he does not speak at all unless when questioned by the bishops and
religious men ; and then he tells of the events of old times ; and of
the events which occurred at the suffering and resurrection of our
Lord, and of the witnesses of the resurrection, namely, those who
rose with Christ, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto
men. He also tells of the Creed of the Apostles, and of their sepa-
ration and preaching. And all this he relates without smiling or
levity of conversation, as one who is well practiced in sorrow and
the fear of God, always looking forward with fear to the coming of
Christ Jesus, lest at the Last Judgment he should find Him in
anger, whom on His way to death, he had provoked to just ven-
o-eance. Numbers come to him from different parts of the world,
O 1
enjoying his society and conversation ; and to them, if they are men
of authority, lie explains all doubts on the matters on which he is
questioned. He refuses all gifts that are offered to him, being con-
tent with slight food and clothing. He places his hope of salvation
on the fact that he sinned through ignorance, for the Lord, when
suffering, prayed for His enemies in these words, ' Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do.' " This sober and gentle
story is far more agreeable to us than those which represent the
Wandering Jew as a houseless, ragged, unshaven, neglected wan-
derer, ever restless, unable to return to his friends, knowing that he
Cannot die ! Could anything be more horrible '( Yet this is the
vay in which the legend was given by Doctor Paul von Eitzcn,
chief preacher for Schleswig, who died in 1598, and who claimed to
508 APPENDIX.
have seen the Wandering Jew at Hamburg in 1547, and to have
heard from the Jew the story of his sad and endless wanderings.
It is claimed that he has been seen in many countries ; in Spain,
Austria, Poland, Russia, France, etc. At different times impostors
have appeared in England, Denmark and Sweden, calling them-
selves the true Wandering Jew. Lunatics have also been known
who were quite honest in believing themselves to be so. There
have been many attempts to account for the origin of this strange
legend, but as yet all have failed, and those who love legends love
to tell it to those who have not heard it, love to wonder if they
shall ever meet this miraculous old man, and would not explain it
if they could !
APPENDIX B.
LEGENDS OF PLACE.
Einsiedeln. The Abbey of Einsiedeln was established in the
days of Charlemagne, by Meinrad, Count of Sulgen, who, although
of the noble house of Hohenzollern, lived the life of a holy anchor-
ite. To him the abbess of Notre Dame, at Zurich, had given a
little black image of the Virgin which proved to be miraculous in
its power. He was assassinated by robbers in 861, and his murder-
ers were discovered by means of two ravens which the holy man
had tamed. These birds hovered above the heads of the miscreants,
croaking, and flapping their wings, until at Zurich they attracted
so much attention as to cause the arrest of the men, who were at
last executed on the spot where the Hotel Bilharz (formerly Raben-
Wirthshaus) now stands. At the time of the death of St. Meinrad
there was but a small chapel, which, as the fame of the spot and
the image increased, was enlarged to an abbey. The legend re-
lates that in September (14th), 948, when the Bishop of Constance
was about to consecrate the church, he had a midnight vision in
which heavenly voices announced to him that Christ Himself, sur-
rounded by angels, had already performed the needful consecration.
Pope Leo XIII. confirmed this miracle by a bull, and granted ple-
nary indulgences to all who should visit this shrine, called " Our
Lady of the Hermits." Through the offerings of pilgrims it be-
came the richest abbey in Switzerland, after that of St. Gall. In
1274 the abbot of Einsiedeln was given the title of Prince of the
Empire, and even now, in the Roman Catholic cantons, the abbot is
called " Prince, of Einsiedeln," and exercises considerable power
In 1 798 the French carried many of the treasures of the abbey to
Paris. The monks, however, kept (as they declare) the true " Black
APPENDIX. 509
Virgin," fled to the Tyrol with it, and returned to the abbey in 1803.
Many pilgrims, an average of 150,000, go annually to this shrine,
and when the 14th of September falls on a Sunday, an immense
crowd gathers from all parts of Switzerland, and even from more
distant countries. In 18G1 the 1,000th anniversary of the estab-
lishment of the abbey was celebrated. An enormous concourse as-
sembled. The King of Prussia, and the Prince of Hohenzollem
presented two historical paintings by Miicke, of Diisseldorf. One
represents the presentation of the miraculous image by Hildegarde,
the other shows St. Meinrad preaching to a large concourse, and it
is said mat many of the heads are portraits of members of the FIo-
henzollern family. It is true of the pilgrims to this shrine, as of
pilgrims generally, that most of them belong to the poorer classes,
some of whom are paid for their pious acts by richer people, who
thus obtain by proxy the benefit of the devotional pilgrimage.
Florence. Via della Morte. Ginevra, whose story is so often
referred to in prose and poetry, was a daughter of a noble house of
Amieri or Adimari. She was beloved by one of the people, An-
tonio Rondinelli, and she returned his affection with all her heart.
But her father forced her to marry Francesco Agolami, whose po-
sition and family were equal to her own. When Florence was rav-
aged by the plague, in 1400, Ginevra was one of its victims, and fell
into a swoon which so resembled death that she was buried in the
cemetery, between the Cathedral and the Campanile. At length,
when the swoon was past, Ginevra perceived, to her horror, that she
had ,been buried. Despair gave her strength to burst the wrappings
which confined her, and to raise a stone which gave her escape. She
first went to the house of her husband, and so doing passed down
the narrow way which has since been called Via della Morte. But
her husband, believing her a spirit come to torment him, would not
allow her to enter. Her father, who lived in the Mercato Vecchio,
near St. Andrea, also refused to believe that she was his child, and
denied her a shelter. She then threw herself down upon the steps
of San Bartolommeo in Via Calzaioli, and reflected as to what she
could do. At length she sought the protection of Rondinelli, who
gladly received her, and whose parents eared for her until the tri-
bunals decided that a woman who had been dead and buried was no
longer held by her marriage-vows ! And thus she was permitted to
marry Rondinelli.
St. Gall, Shrine of. See St. Gallus, Appendix A,
Villana, Beata. In the church of Santa Maria Novella, at Flor-
ence, is an altar over the remains of Beata Villana, and in the same
chapel with the world-renowned Madonna of Cimabue, is a monu-
ment to the same blessed lady, which was brought hither from a
jthapel near that of the Purita. Villana was a daughter of a rich
Florentine merchant, whose dwelling was near the Piazza di San
510 APPENDIX.
Felice, Oltr' Arno. From her early childhood she was most de-
vout, and spent much time in prayer and contemplation; she fasted
often and sometimes wore a hair shirt, and did much other penance.
Her parents arranged for her a marriage with one of the noble
Benintendi, and insisted that she should become his wife. After
her marriage she was much in the gay world, and gradually forgot
her religious duties. One day when attired in more than her usual
splendor, as she regarded herself with much satisfaction, she be-
held a demon in her clothes reflected in her mirror. She was
frozen with horror ; she called for other mirrors, but in each new
one the reflected image was more frightful than before. Then she
threw off her fine robes, put on her chemise of hair, and hastened
to Santa Maria Novella, where she made her confession, and vowed
to return to her former life. She devoted herself to acts of charity,
and was herself so abstemious that her health gave way, and she
died in 1360, when but twenty-eight years old. Many wonderful
tales are told of the life of Beata Villana. This monument was
raised to her memory by her grandson. Vasari said it was the
work of Desiderio da Settignano, but it was probably that of Ber-
nardo Rosselino, called Gambarelli.
The Long Forest (Bosco lungo), Italy. The Mother before
the Nun. The peasants in the region named above have a legend
which may have appeared in print, but I have not chanced to see
it. Once on a time there lived here a family in which were a son
and two daughters. The son became a priest and a monk, and the
eldest sister went into a convent, but the younger sister loved the
world, and a certain young man in it, and turned a deaf ear to the
advice of her brother and sister, and remained at home, and at
length married her lover. Years passed on, and the monk, after
long pilgrimages, and a life of great devotion, returned to his early
home to learn the fate of his younger sister. He found her sur-
rounded with many children, for whom she labored early and late.
He asked her of her religious life and duties, and was horrified to
learn how little these subjects occupied her thoughts, and above all
to know how rarely she went to church or made her confession.
She excused herself on the ground that she could not leave her
children, and that her first duty to God Himself was to care for
those He had intrusted to her. Then the brother promised to re-
main as guard for home and little ones while she should go to at-
tend to her spiritual wants. The poor monk had need of all the
patience which his life of discipline had given him before the mother
returned. His gown was pulled on both sides at the same moment ;
the cord about his waist was seized as a delightful plaything, which
almost roused the " beast within," of whose submission it was the
outward sign ; his hood was made a receptacle for various small
articles, and, in short, the worthy uncle wondered at the mother's
APPENDIX. 511
sweetness and good temper long before her return, and when she
came declared that he should mourn no more over her spiritual wel-
fare, for lie believed that she suffered sufficient penance every day
to atone for all her sins, and so he went his way, and soon after
died and went to heaven. The nun, too, whose vows did not allow
her to leave her convent, often sent messages to the worldly sister,
begging her to care for her soul, and warning her of judgment to
come. The nun died also. As the brother was reposing near the
gate of Paradise one day, he heard the summons of a soul newly
arrived. The keeper of the gate slowly turned it a very little way,
scarcely enough for any one to pass, and the monk saw his nun sis-
ter painfully squeeze through the narrow opening, and come in as
one of those who are scarcely saved. Again, some time after, he
heard the same summons from a soul lately freed from earth. The
gate was opened wide, and strains of music proclaimed the advent
of one worthy to bear a crown, a servant to whom was gladly
said " Well done ! thou hast been faithful over a lew things, I will
make thee ruler over many things," and the monk wondered who
this great soul could be, for he himself had received no such honors,
and his sister who had given her youth and all her life to God's ser-
vice had with difficulty been allowed to enter at all. His aston-
ishment can scarcely be understood when he saw approaching the
worldly sister, and only then did it dawn upon his mind that the
true servant of God remains where he has been placed to meet and
overcome the temptations of the world, rather than to fly away and
hide himself from them.
Lourdes. Since 1858 the " Grotto of the Virgin," at Lourdes,
has been a noted plane of pilgrimage. A girl, Marie Bernardo
Soubirons, declared that on this spot the Holy Virgin had several
times appeared to her. The girl became insane, and was taken to
the Ursuline convent at Nevers to be cared for. It is claimed that
the spring of the Grotto has miraculous powers. Its analysis shows
nothing but a Avholesome water, but the devotees relate marvelous
tales of its cures, and believe it to be especially blessed by the Vir-
gin. A large church has been built over the grotto, and a convent
established near it.
Venice. Marino Faliero. In 1343 this Venetian commander
totally defeated the Hungarians who had gone to the aid of Zara,
and the city surrendered to him after a siege of eighteen months.
In 1354 this victor of Zara was elected Doge, but there were strange
omens attendant upon this honor; the Genoese fleet, under Doria. de-
feated that of the Venetians under Pisani, and captured thirty ships
and nearly six thousand prisoners ; on the day when the new Doge
made his public entrance into Venice the mist was so dense that it
was thought unsafe to attempt to guide the Buceutaur, and Marino
Faliero was forced to enter his capital in a common gondola ; more
512 APPENDIX.
than this, the gondoliers could not see their way, and instead of
landing him at the Riva della Paglia, he touched at the Piazetta,
a,nd disembarked where all public executions took place. All Ven-
ice was moved in view of these omens. When once established as
Doge the proud spirit of Faliero was restless under the many re-
strictions by which his authority was limited. As a soldier at the
head of his army he had exercised real power ; he now felt himself
but an actor in a great pageant, and he desired more authority.
Faliero had married a young and beautiful wife, and though she was
above all suspicion, the wits amused themselves with joking over the
disparity in 'the ages of the illustrious pair. A cavalier, young and
hot-headed, offended the Doge by his familiarity with a lady in wait-
ing upon the Dogaressa, and the youth further sinned by affixing to
the ducal chair these words, " Marin Falier, the husband of the
fair wife : others kiss her, but he keeps her." The author, Michele
Steno, was soon discovered, and summoned before the Forty ; his
sentence being two months' imprisonment and one year's banish-
ment from Venice. The Doge was yet more wroth, and declared
that Steno merited hanging, but should at least have been exiled
for life. About this time Bertuccio Israello, an admiral, had a quar-
rel with a member of the house of Barburo, and went to the Duke
Marino for redress. The duke assured him that his power was very
little. Then the admiral told him that he could advise him of a
plan which would make him prince of all the state, and give him
power to punish as he pleased. Thus began the conspiracy of Ma-
rino Faliero, the plan of which we have not space to give. Suffice
it to say that the day when the nobles were to be murdered, and
the government seized, was the 15th of April, 1355, but one of the
conspirators betrayed the plot, and sacrificed the Doge for the good
of the state. When Faliero was summoned before the Ten he pre-
served unshaken his pride, and spirit ; he excused nothing, denied
nothing, and listened to his sentence of death unmoved. He was
beheaded on the 17th of April, on the landing-place of the Giant's
Stair. The people were allowed to see his corpse as it still re-
mained where it had fallen. It was conveyed by torch-light to the
church of San Giovanni e Paola and interred without the usual
rites. His lands and goods were confiscated to the state, and his
portrait was excluded from the hall of the Great Council ; in its
place was suspended an empty frame with a black veil inscribed,
' Hie est locus Marini Faletro decapitati pro criminibus." (This is
the place of Marino Faliero, beheaded for his crimes.)
The Two Foscari. Francesco Foscari was Doge of Venice in
the middle of the fifteenth century, his reign lasted thirty-five years.
In 1433 he tendered his resignation of his office, but it was not
accepted, and he was induced to remain in his position nine years
more, when again he resigned ; this time the Senate not only in-
APPENDIX. 513
duced him to remain, but even to take an oath that he would retain
the crown for life. He had but one surviving child, a son, Giacopo,
who in 1450 was married to a maiden of the illustrious family of
the Contarini. The wedding was the occasion of pageants and
pomps almost unequaled. In 1454, this young husband was ac-
cused to the Ten of having received gifts from foreign powers, which
was contrary to the laws of Venice. He was probably innocent,
but he was tortured on the rack in presence of his father. An in-
coherent confession was extorted from him, and it became the terri-
ble duty of the father to sentence him to banishment. After a time
the Doge succeeded in gaining permission for him to reside at
Treviso, where his young wile joined him. In 1455, one of the
Ten was assassinated in the streets. By some inexplicable reason-
ing Giacopo Foscari was suspected of the crime. He was brought
to Venice, and again cruelly tortured in presence of his father. In
spite of the fearful agonies he declared his innocence. He went
mad through his sufferings, but as soon as his reason returned he
was exiled to Candia, and was compelled to remain there even
after the real murderer had confessed his crime. At length he
was determined by some means to return to Venice; he wrote a
letter to the Duke of Milan asking his aid ; this letter he left open
where it would be read by spies. He was again summoned before
the Venetian tribunal to answer for the crime of soliciting foreign
intervention. He at once confessed his offense and gave his motive,
which was simply his desire to return to the place where lived his
parents, his wife, and his child. He was not believed ; it was
thought that some deep design was hidden beneath this simple
reason ; thirty times he was stretched upon the rack. He was
then borne to his father's apartments, and his sentence of exile re-
newed with the additional punishment of passing the first year in
prison. lie was only allowed one short interview with his family.
Soon after reaching the Candian prison he died. One of the Ten
who had conceived some hatred of the father, now attempted to per-
suade his associates to depose the poor, broken-hearted old man,
whom before they had almost compelled to remain. At length he
was asked to resign. He replied that having made an oath not to
abdicate, he could not do so. At length the Council discharged
him from his oath, pensioned him and ordered him to quit the
Ducal Palace within three days.
" And now heroes. ' It is the hour and past,
I have no business here.' ' Hut wilt tliou not
Avoid the gazing crowd ? That way is private.'
' No! as I entered, so will I retire.'
And, leaning on his staff, he left the House,
His residence for five-ami thirty years,
I3y the same stair up which he came hi state :
33
514 APPENDIX.
Those where the Giants stand, guarding the ascent,
Monstrous, terrific. At the foot he stopt,
And, on his staff still leaning, turned and said,
By mine own merits did I come. I go,
Driven by the malice of mine enemies ! ' "
Five days later he died, and the same bell which announced
from the campanile of San Marco, the election of a new Doge, was
also the death knell of Francesco Foscari. The name of his enemy
among the Ten was Giacopo Loredano, and it is said that in his
ledger was written, among his debtors, " Francesco Foscari ; for
the death of my father and my uncle."
" When Foscari's noble heart at length gave way,
He took the volume from the shelf again
Calmly, and with his pen filled up the blank,
Inscribing, ' He has paid me.' "
San Salvatore, Church of. It is said that when Pope Alex-
ander III. fled to Venice in 1176, he passed the night under the
church which then occupied the site of the present San Salvatore.
In this church is that Annunciation painted by Titian when he was
nearly ninety years old. It is said that a critic told him that it
showed his years and that posterity would not believe the work to
be his ; then he seized his pencil and wrote on it " Titianus fecit,
FECIT." In this church too, was buried Caterina Conaro, whose
beautiful portrait by this same artist is one of the ornaments of the
Venetian room in the Uffizi at Florence. Her story is often the
theme of brush and pen, and by the picture of Hans Makart, seen
at Philadelphia in 1876, has been newly called to mind. She was
very beautiful, and her uncle, Andrea Corner, when an exile at
Cyprus, gained for her a husband and a throne by showing her
miniature to the young Prince Lusignan, who later became the
King of Cyprus. This noble youth fell violently in love with the
picture, and Caterina being solemnly adopted as a daughter of the
Republic, was given to him in marriage, with a rich dowry and
many imposing ceremonies. The King only lived two years after
his marriage, and his only child did not long survive. Catherine
reigned as Queen of Cyprus fourteen years, and then, following the
wishes and advice of the Venetian government, she resigned her
crown and returned to Venice. Here she was received with all
possible honor and was the only woman who was ever brought in
triumph into the city in the stately Bucentaur. She received a
stipend of eight thousand ducats a year, and at Asola established
her court, which became famous for its company of artists, literati,
and wits. In " Asolani," Cardinal Bembo told of her virtues,
graces, and acquirements, while many painters tried to fix upon
their canvases all that loveliness which we see in the St. Catherine
of Titian, as it is sometimes called, though the wheel may typify
APPENDIX. 515
the changing course of Fortune as appropriately as the martyr's
Buffering.
Piazzetta Granite Columns. These two columns, which are
objects of interest to all who visit Venice, were brought from the
Holy Land in 1127. A third column was lost in the Lagoon in
landing, and these remaining ones, after being brought to shore, re-
mained several years upon the quay before any one could be found
to raise them. At length Nicolo Barratiero, called " Nick, the black-
leg," put them in place, and claimed as his reward that he should be
allowed to carry on between them the games of chance which were
illegal in Venice. The Doge did not refuse his request, but he made
his consent almost worthless by making the same spot the place for
public executions. The Venetians would not cro-s it if they could
avoid it, and were little tempted to go there for amusement or
gain. The execution of Francesco Carmagnola was one of the
most notable events of this locality. He was a soldier who had
served the Lord of Milan, and in 1431, when serving Venice against
Milan, he was suspected of treachery. He was recalled and invited
to a banquet by the Doge, who, when the company were assembled,
excused himself from attendance. As Carmagnola was going home
a guard approached and said, " Yonder lies your path." He was
immediately surrounded by soldiers, and thrown into prison ; on en-
tering he exclaimed, " I am a dead man." He was tortured, and
at length led out to execution between the granite columns. He
was dressed in scarlet robes, and gagged so that he could not assure
the public of his innocence, which he stoutly maintained through
all his tortures. The executioner gave three blows before his head
was cut from his body. While the French occupied Venice the
Lion of St. Mark, which surmounts one of these columns, holding
the Gospel of the Evangelist, was made to hold up the war-cry of
the French Republic, " Droits de I'Homme et du Ciloi/en." Seeing
this, a gondolier declared that St. Mark had turned over a new
leaf! Upon the other column St. Theodore stands upon a croco-
dile, and holds a shield and a sword. This statue was made in
1329 by Pietro Guilombardo, and symbolizes the Venetian motto,
'' Defense, not defiance."
516 APPENDIX.
APPENDIX C.
ANCIENT MYTHS ILLUSTRATED IN ART.
Argonauts, The. There are some circumstances connected with
the Argonautic Expedition which are represented in works of art,
and should be mentioned in connection with it, which are not given
in the account on page 427. I. It had been foretold that a de-
scendant of .ZEolus would dethrone Pelias, and that he would ap-
pear before that king for the fii-st time with but one sandal. When
Jason reached the River Enipeus, on his way to claim his kingdom,
he found it so swollen that he could not have crossed had not Hera,
assuming the form of an old woman, conveyed him to the opposite
bank all safe, but for the loss of one sandal. II. The origin of the
golden fleece was the necessity of Nephele when she wished to re-
move her children (see Ino or Leucothea), and came with a golden-
fleeced ram to bear them away. As they crossed the Hellespont
the child Helle fell off the ram, and was drowned, hence the
name of the strait. Phrixus, when safely landed, proceeded to the
temple of Ares and there hung up the golden fleece, after having sac-
rificed the ram to Zeus. III. The Argonauts owed their satety in
passing the entrance to the Black Sea to Phineus, the old blind
king, who suffered much from the Hai - pies, who always carried
away or polluted his food just when he was about to satisfy his hun-
ger. This trouble as well as his blindness was the penalty the gods
had decreed him to suffer because he had treated his wife and chil-
dren with great cruelty. The two sons of Boreas who went with
the Argonauts drove away the Harpies (the wife of Phineus was a
daughter of Boreas), and in gratitude for this great kindness the
old man told them of a plan by which to outwit the Symplegades,
the two great cliffs at the entrance of the Black Sea which always
closed together, and crushed all that attempted to pass between
them. He advised that they should first fly a pigeon through and
let the rocks crush it ; then while they were receding the Argo
should be rapidly rowed through the passage. This was carried
out and the ship escaped with the loss of her rudder only. From
this time the two cliffs were united.
Cyclopes, or creatures with round or circular eyes. In works
of art they are represented as powerful men with one eye in the
centre of the forehead, while the usual places for eyes in human
beings is denoted by lines only. The traditions as to the origin of
these beings are various, but a certain resemblance runs through all.
According to ancient cosmogonies they were three in number, sons
of Uranus and Ge, belonged to the Titans, and were named Arges,
Steropes, and Brontes. After many experience* they were re
APPENDIX. 517
leased from Tartarus, where Cronus had placed them, by Zeus, whom
they provided witli thunderbolts and lightning; they also gave Pluto
a helmet, and Poseidon a trident. Alter serving Zens, they were
killed by Apollo for having furnished the thunderbolts to kill JSseu-
lapins. Others say not the Cyclopes, but their sons wore killed.
Other traditions represent them as the assistants of Hephaestus (\ r ul-
ean), and as living in Mt. JEtna. Their number is also increased,
and all the islands about Sicily resounded with their hammering.
Other accounts represent the Cyclopes as skillful architects, and
builders of Cyclopean walls. Some of these, twenty or thirty feet
in breadth, are still seen in parts of ancient Greece and Italy, and
are foolishly attributed to these mythical personages. In more mod-
errn countries we find analogous structures, as in Germany, where
walls, probably built by the Romans, are called by the people Teu-
felsmauer, or Riesenmauer.
Egypt, Gods of. Of course within the space here allowable no
adequate account can be given of the gods of Egypt, but to the
traveler, especially, a hint is of great use, as a foundation of an
understanding of these subjects in Egypt. It is well first to remem-
ber that the River Nile, upon which the people depended for so
many blessings, was regarded as sacred, and believed to be con-
trolled by a god. At first the gods of Egypt numbered eight. Of
these but six are now known by name and their attributes under-
stood. These are PTAHS or PHTHAS, the god of fire, somewhat
corresponding to Vulcan or Hephaestus. He was the superior god ;
the other gods were believed to be under his control, and he was
credited with being the first ruler of Egypt. He was, in fact, the
source of all life, and as Memphis, which was his sanctuary, rose in
importance, so PTAHS was strengthened in dignity and power. Next
him came AMUX or AMMON, the god of water. His two chief at-
tributes were creative and fertilizing power. His symbol was a ram.
He is the same god who is called MKNDES and KNUPII or KXUPKIS.
These names were used according to the power which he was de-
sired or supposed to exercise. Thebes was the local habitation of
this god, and as a consequence of the immense importance of that
city, Ammon gradually became first among Egyptian deities. Dur-
ing the XYlIIth dynasty this god fell into some disfavor, and his
name was erased officially from the public monuments. But after a
few years he was restored to his place. The third in order was
NEITH or NEITHA, believed to be the mother of the sun-god, and
the deity of clear and fiery ether. Sias was her abiding-place, and
her symbol was a vulture. The fourth deity was SATIS. She was
considered by the Greeks to be the same as Hera (Juno), as was
Ammon, to whom she was closely allied, thought to be identical
with Zeus. ATHOR was the goddess of night. Her symbol was a
cow. Denderah was the city devoted to her worship. She corre-
518 APPENDIX.
sponded in power and character to Aphrodite (Venus). BUTO, the
sixth, had some power over water. The Egyptians believed the
earth to be in the form of a serpent coiled in a circle as a symbol
of eternity. KNUPH (or Ammon) was believed to have ejected from
his mouth a great egg from which all things proceeded. In Thebes
he was represented with this egg in his mouth. When the serpent
is holding this egg it symbolizes the eternal duration of the world.
Ammon was, in later times, sometimes represented with the head of
a hawk, and bearing such a vase as Osiris bears. After the ear-
liest times twelve deities of a second order were added to these.
I. RA or PHRA. He was crowned with the disk of the sun. A
hawk was his symbol, and he was represented with a hawk's head.
He was the son of Ptahs and Keith, and the god of the sim. II.
JOH or PROH was the deity of the moon, and was represented with
a crescent upon his head. III. A god whose name is not known,
but whose character and office corresponded to that of the Greek
Ares (Mars). IV. The Egyptian Herakles (Hercules), called Sox
or CHON. V. THUT or THOT, resembling Hermes (Mercury), whose
symbol was an ibis. VI. ANUBIS, god of the dog-star, was repre-
sented with the head of a jackal, with pointed ears and snout (the
Greeks sometimes changed him to a dog in their representations).
He is represented also with a double crown. A yellow and white
cock was sacrificed to him. VII. SOCHOS or SOK had the form of a
crocodile. VIII. Was a goddess whose name is not known. She
corresponds to the Greek Rhea (Cybele). She is called the mother
of OSIRIS, Isis, HOKUS, NEPHTHYS and TYPHON. So little is
now positively known of this strange religion that one hesitates to
say even what is believed, but the following is compiled from some of
the best authorities that we have. We may be sure, however, that
the movement of the heavenly bodies, the more important opera-
tions of nature, and probably the practice of medicine, were the
matters with which these deities were associated. Osiris and Isis,
while they were the children of a deity of the second order, were
very important, because the sun and moon were believed to exercise
so much power upon the inundations of the Nile. In fact Osiris and
the Nile were often regarded as one deity. Planets and the signs
of the zodiac were deities, and had certain offices, some regulating
the days of the week, and some the hours of the day. The inferior
deities were, almost without exception, derived from the influence,
called divine, of the stars, the zodiac, the River Nile, or the animal
kingdom. I add a portion of the tales related of these deities.
Osiris was regarded as both the brother and husband of Isis.
When the Nile overflowed it was said that the two were married.
When the river had retired, and a wonderful fertility followed, it
was said that the brother of Osiris, Typhon, god of sterility, slew
Osiris, and divided him into fourteen parts, which Isis collected and
APPENDIX. 519
buried. Horus (son of the above marriage), avenged himself by
destroying Typhon. Then Amun restored Osiris to lile, and in so
doing a spark of the heavenly fire fell to earth and louehed a cow
which Inter bore the hull Apis. This bull was therefore regarded as
the visible incarnation of the god Osiris. But, in spite of the res-
toration, Osiris was always regarded as a departed deity, as a ruler
in the lower world, and as a judge of the dead, in which last of-
fice he was called AMENTHKS. On works of art he is represented
with the head of a vulture or a hawk, with a sceptre ending in a
hawk's head. He sometimes has the ears of an ox to symbolize his
connection with Apis. (See also Serapis).
Isis was also called MUT. She held a high place in the affec-
tions of the people. She was regarded as the ruler in the absence
of Osiris, as the instructor in agriculture and other arts of peace,
as the protector of every form of natural life, the founder of towns
and temples, and the perfector of the art of navigation. " She was
usually represented as a young wife, richly draped with a kind of
veil on her head, and above it a lotus flower ; in her hand a sis-
truin (a musical instrument made of metal) or a, vase for holding
water." She at times is figured with many breasts; she sometimes
is crowned with a crescent. In the earliest myths she was said to
have the head or the horns of a cow, with a globe between the horns.
She was principally worshipped at Memphis. The first fruits were
her sacrifice, and in presenting them the donors beat their breasts.
A festival of ten days with processions and offerings of grain was
annually celebrated in her honor. The worship of this goddess ob-
tained great favor with the Greeks and Romans. At one time her
festivals were the occasions of such excesses at Rome that they
were forbidden. Augustus dedicated a temple to Jsis. Tiberius
prohibited her worship. The Emperors Domitian, Commodus, and
Caracalla were her priests, and her temples were lavishly enriched
by those who attributed their recovery from illness to her power.
Horus, son of the two preceding deities, was regarded by the
Greeks as synonymous with Apollo. He is also compared to yEscu-
lapius on account of his knowledge of medicine. Some myths rep-
resent him as the brother of Osiris. His mother is said to have
endowed him with the gift of prophecy. He was the last of the
god-kings who ruled in Egypt. Sometimes he is represented like
Osiris, with a hawk or vulture's head ; again as a boy holding a
lotus flower, or standing upon one, with a whip in one hand, and
again as an infant in the lap of Isis, and frequently with his finger
on his lips. He was woi\-hipped at Edfou or Hut, the ancient
Apollinopolis Magna, where he was identified with Ra, or the
Sun. He was of a fair complexion, and the magnet was called his
bone.
Harpocrates, a younger brother of Horus, and who is often cou-
520 APPENDIX.
founded with the latter, was represented as a boy or youth with his
finger on his lips. In later times he was called the god of silence,
and his woi\-hip was adopted in other countries. A figure of Har-
pocrates was placed at the entrance of every Egyptian temple.
The scorpion, crocodile, lion, deer, and serpent were all sacred to
him. In contrast to Horus he was as weakness to strength. He
was sometimes represented as lame and imperfect in form, sitting on
a lotus flo'wer. His worship was not universal. Peaches and pulse
were sacrificed to him, and on certain days his image was borne
about by priests, while old men presented milk to him.
Bubastis, a daughter of Isis, was the Artemis (Diana), as Horus
was the Apollo, of Egyptian deities. The town of Bubastus was
her principal place of worship. Cats were sacred to her, on ac-
count of their power to see at night, and their wakefulness. They
were much reverenced in all Egypt. At Bubastus, on an island in
the Nile, was an immense temple to this goddess, to which many
thousands of pilgrims went annually, and bore costly gifts. She
was represented with the head of a cat, and sometimes she was simi-
lar to Isis, with a crescent or a new moon.
Serapis or Sarapis. This is not the title of a distinct god, but
that of Osiris in his character of monarch of the lower world. This
office was so important that in the time of the Ptolemies twenty-
four temples were dedicated in his name, and in later times he was
held in great honor in Alexandria. He was called the keeper of the
keys that held the Nile, lord of the elements, god of the earth and
the forces within it, giver of life, god of the lower world, and judge
of the shades of the dead. He was changeable in character,
sometimes friendly, sometimes terrible. One of his temples at
Memphis, called the Sarapeion, was extremely beautiful. " He was
represented as a bearded figure, richly draped, and wearing a mo-
dius or corn-measure on his head. Sometimes he appears holding a
sceptre with three prongs, his body wound round by a serpent, and
with rays round his head ; at other times, as the god of the lower
world, with suitable attributes."
Anubis was the deity of the dog-star, and was much honored.
Osiris was his father ; Nephthys his mother, who, fearing the wrath
of Isis, concealed him by the sea-shore. But Isis hunted him with
dogs, brought him up, and he afterwards became her faithful guard-
ian. He was a great hunter, and proved a valuable aid to Osiris in
his expeditions. His attributes are a dog and a vase. In the ear-
liest times he was worshipped under the form of a dog ; but he is or-
dinarily represented as a man with the head of a dog. Sometimes
he wears a helmet with a dog-skin thrown over it. Other myths
present him as a Mercury, or messenger of the superior gods. As
such he bears a staff twined with serpents, and a palm-branch.
But Thoth is the true Egyptian Hermes, the god of wisdom, and
must not be confounded with Anubis.
APPENDIX. 521
Neitha or Neith is described with difficulty, as tlie myths of dif-
ferent times make her the personification of time, of wisdom, of the
arts, and of clear, fiery ether. In early days she was like Isis ; in
later times like Athene (Minerva). Her worship endured the lonrr-
est in Lower Egypt. A temple to her honor, at Sais, had this in-
scription : " I am all that was, and is, and shall be. No mortal re-
moved my veil. The sun was my child." This splendid temple was
brilliantly lighted once a year.
Apis was chief of the animals worshipped by the Egyptians, and
since it was believed that the soul of Osiris migrated into a bull af-
ter death, he was essentially a god. The manner of choosing the
bull into which this soul had gone was as follows : He must be
black, with a white triangle on the forehead. A white spot like a
half moon must be on the right side, and under its tongue a knot
formed like a beetle. When such a bull was found he was placed
for four months in a building open towards the east. After this
time was passed, during the first new moon, he was taken to Ileli-
opolis, where he was fed and cared for by the priests for fourteen
days. He was then taken to Memphis, and honored as a deitv. He
was luxuriously housed and had a court for exercise. He had fes-
tivals in his honor, and received sacrifices, such as oxen of a red
color, golden plates thrown in the river, etc. All these honors he en-
joyed until he reached the age of twenty-five ; then he was quietly
thrown into one of the sacred wells. Other accounts tell of pomp-
ous funerals ; but this was probably when he died a natural death.
When one Apis was dead there was a mourning until the discovery
of another. Apis was thought to be a prophet, and to be able to
endow others with the gift of prophecy. The priests watched his
movements with great care, in order to decide important issues
thereby, as for example, whether he rested most in one building
or another, etc., etc.
Sphinx, The, whose riddle was read by (Edipus (see page 471),
was called the offspring of Typhon, and Echidna. She was sent to
torment Thebes by Hera (Juno). This is the Greek myth, but the
Egyptians called her a symbol of wisdom and of the mysteries of
nature. Her image was placed at the entrance of all temples, and
sometimes, as at Karnak, an avenue with Sphinxes on each side
formed the approach to a temple. She was sometimes represented
with many breasts, but more frequently with the body of a reclin-
ing lion, the head and breast of a woman, with a veil falling on
each side of the head.
Ino (Leucothea). A mortal, daughter of Cadmus and Harmo-
nia, whom Athamas, son of JEolus, loved. Athamas married Nephele
by the command of Hera, and was the father of two children by
her, Phrixus and Helle. But Ino also bore him two children,
Learchus and Melicertes. Nephele found that Ino was more be-
522 APPENDIX.
loved by Athamas than herself and flew into a great rage, during
which she disappeared. She returned to the gods and demanded
the sacrifice of Athamas. Ino, meantime, hated the children of
Nephele and by her influence caused a famine. Athamas sent to
Delphi to consult the oracles, and Ino bribed them to declare that
Phrixus must be sacrificed ; but when the people demanded the
sacrifice, Nephele rescued her children upon the ram with the
golden fleece and bore them off" to Colchis. For some cause (va
rious ones are given) Hera became angry with Athamas and Ino,
and Athamas went mad and killed Learchus. Ino threw herself into
the sea with Melicertes. On account of the murder of his own son
Athamas was obliged to exile himself from Bceotia. The gods di-
rected him to settle where the wild beasts should treat him hospi-
tably ; he came to a place, after long wanderings, where wolves
were devouring sheep ; they fled and left their prey behind. Here
he settled and called the country Athamania. He tlien married
Themisto, who bore him several sons. At length Athamas learned
that Ino was not drowned, but lived as a Bacchante in the valleys
of Mount Parnassus. He secretly sent for her, and Themisto re-
solved to be avenged upon Ino. She decided to kill her children.
So she commanded a slave to dress her own children at night in
white and those of Ino in black ; but the slave was Ino in disguise ;
so it resulted that the children of Themisto were, dressed in black
and were killed. When this was known Themisto hung herself.
The above is the most general version of the story of Ino or Leu-
cothea, but there are various other circumstances and episodes related
which will be found in large mythological dictionaries. [All the
circumstances represented in any works of art which I have been
able to find are contained in the above story.]
Oceanides. Hesiod says that Oceanus married Tethys, by whom
he begot three thousand rivers and as many Oceanides, or water-
nymphs. The Oceanides belong to the oceans, as the Nereides do
to the Mediterranean, and other nymphs to certain rivers, etc., etc.
Polyphemus. A celebrated Cyclops of the island of Thrinacia,
son of Poseidon and the nymph Thoasa.
2. Son of Poseidon and Hippea. One of the Lapithae at Larissa
in Thessaly. He was also one of the Argonauts ; beins left behind
in Mysia, he founded Cios. He married Laonome, a sister of Her-
cules, of whom he was a friend.
Thebes. The Seven Heroes who went against this city. Af-
ter the dreadful sins and sorrows of (Edipus had driven him from
his kingdom, his sons, Eteocles and Polynices, fell into a dispute as
to who should reign. At length they agreed fo govern by turns,
each one holding the throne a year at a time. Eteocles, the elder,
commenced his reign, but when the year was past, refused to give
up the power to Polynices. The latter went to Adrastus, the king oi
APPENDIX. 523
Sieyon, to seek aid in revenging himself. There lie found Tydeus,
who also wished to conquer a throne, that of Argos. Adrastus
gave his daughters in marriage to these two unfortunate young
princes, and then prepared to go with a large army to fight, and to
reinstate them in their proper places. First they were to go to
Thebes. The young men had made many friends in Greece, and
the heroes who joined in their service were Capaneus, of Ar'os,
Eteoclus, son of Iphis, Parthenopseus, of Arcadia, and the seer
prince, son of Apollo, Amphiaraus, these, with Adrastus and the
two young disputants, made up the Seven Heroes who undertook
the siege of Thebes. Amphiaraus went very unwillingly, for from the
beginning he knew that all would end disastrously. But Adrastus
agreed with him to leave the decision to Eriphyle, wife of Amphia
raus, who decided that her husband should go, although she had hearu
that Adrastus alone could survive. But Polynices had given her such
rich presents that she was prevailed on to use her influence to further
his plans. The expedition met with many adventures (too long to
be here given) before they sat down to besiege Thebes. But before
commencing hostilities Tydeus was sent into the city to demand of
Eteocles justice to his brother. This usurper set a trap for Tydeus,
and surrounded him with fifty men, but the strength of Tydeus was
such that but one of this number escaped alive to tell the story to
Eteocles. Then the siege Began in earnest. Each hero with his
forces had charge of a certain gate, and in the city the generals
were distributed in the same manner. Eteocles placed himself to
guard the gate which Polynices was to attack. The fighting was
most desperate, and the opposing brothers slew each other. Of all
the seven heroes Adrastus alone survived, and he only escaped by
means of his winged horse, Arion. Creon, the uncle of Eteocles
and his brother, succeeded to the throne of Thebes. He buried the
former with great pomp, but threatened direful things to any one
who should dare to bury Polynices. Antigone, with a true sister's
devotion, dared all and buried her unhappv brother, as she could
not endure that his soul should forever wander without rest in the
lower world, according to the doom of the unburied. But the mer-
cdess Creon, although his son Haemon was betrothed to Antigone,
sentenced her to be buried alive on account of her daring disobedi-
ence. She was placed in a subterranean chamber, where she hanged
herself in order to avoid starvation. Harmon would not live with-
out her, and so killed himself. In this way was Creon punished,
and at his death the house of CEdipus was extinct.
Epigoni, The. These were the sons of the Seven, who, thirty
years later, entered upon a second war against Thebes, in order
to avenge the death of their fathers. This undertaking, being ap-
proved by the gods, was successful, and Thebes was destroyed.
Some traditions relate that this war was made at the request of
524 APPENDIX.
Adrastus. The names of the Epigoni differ in the various accounts,
but usually they are given as Alcmseon (who had the command ac-
cording to an oracle), ^Egialeus, Diomedes, Promachus, Stheuelus,
Thersander, and Euryalus. The Thebans were under the com-
mand of Laodamas. After his death they took to flight, and tried
to protect themselves within the city from which they had bravely
marched out to meet the enemy. But the seer, Teiresias, persuaded
them to leave the city and send ambassadors to the Epigoni to sue
for favorable terms. Then the city was razed to the ground, and
Manto, the daughter of Teiresias, was sent with a part of the booty
to Delphi, and then to Peloponnesus. The statues of the seven
Epigoni were dedicated at Thebes.
Trojan "War, The. At the time of the war of the Epigoni, Priam
was the king of Troy or Ilion. His wife was Hecuba, and had borne
him noble sons. Cassandra was their daughter, and Apollo had made
her a prophetess. As the time approached when Hecuba should again
give birth to a child, this daughter foretold that a son should be born
who should be the ruin of the country. At the time of his birth the
child was exposed on Mount Ida, with the supposition that he would
there perish ; but a shepherd found him and brought him up. He
was called Paris or Alexander. (See page 474 for an account of the
so-called Judgment of Paris.) At length it happened that a sacrifice
was to be offered in Troy for which oxe'n were needed, and Hector
and Helenus, sons of Priam, were sent to Mount Ida to select proper
animals. Among those chosen was the favorite ox of Paris ; he de-
manded that it should be given up, but his brothers refused his re-
quest, and he determined to go to the king to renew his demand.
On the way a quarrel occurred, and Cassandra appeared and an-
nounced his birth to the three in order to prevent the crime of fra-
tricide. The prophecy was forgotten, and there were great rejoic-
ings and gay doings at court, on account of the finding of such a
handsome, brave son. Paris, too, forgot that the goddesses had
promised him the most lovely wife on earth ; but Aphrodite forgot
it not, and she prevailed on him to build ships and sail to Greece,
where, at Sparta, he would find Helen. .ZEneas and Aphrodite ac-
companied him. Upon his first landing he met Castor and Pollux,
who were the brothers of Helen. Pollux, like his sister, was im-
mortal ; but Castor and Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, were
the mortal members of the family. (For the story of these brothers,
see Dioscuri, page 442.) At length Paris arrived at Sparta, where
he was most cordially received by Menelaus and his wife Helen.
(For account of Helen, see page 450.) When Menelaus and Aga-
memnon were collecting their army, with which to go to Troy,
Ulysses was unwilling to go ; but instead of telling them so he feigned
madness, and yoked a horse and ox together, and dressed himself
strangely, and began to plow. But his ruse was detected, and hia
APPENDIX. 525
child, whom he dearly loved, Telemaclms, was placed before the
plow. The father, by his manner of saving the child, exposed his
sanity, and was compelled to leave his much loved-wife, Penelope,
and join the expedition. Achilles also, a son of Peleus and Thetis,
was sought out by Ulysses (see page 41 S), and went to the war,
accompanied by Patroclus. The ships with soldiers were assembled
at Aulis, preparatory to their departure. There were one thousand
ships with at least one hundred men each, and Agamemnon was
chosen leader. While they waited at Aulis a serpent was seen
to twine itself about a tree in which was a sparrow's nest with
nine young birds ; the serpent ate the young, but when it turned to
the mother it was changed to stone. Calchas, the high priest, was
asked the meaning of this augury, which he interpreted as follows,
"Nine years we must fight round Ilion, and on the tenth take the
town." When the fleet first came to land it was by mistake in
Mysia, and the Greeks here met great opposition from Telephus,
son of Hercules. (See page 488.) The fleet returned to Aulis,
and Agamemnon, who was fond of the chase, was so unfortunate as
to kill a beautiful stag sacred to Artemis (Diana), and he also boasted
that he eould excel that goddess in the chase. This caused Arte-
mis to do many things disadvantageous to the cause of the Greeks.
First she becalmed them, week after week, and the consequent idle-
ness caused great discontent among the men. At length Calchas
declared that only the sacrifice of Iphigenia could appease Artemis.
(See page 460.) At length, with Telephus for a guide, the fleet
sailed a second time for Troy. They stopped at Lemnos to make
a sacrifice, and there left Philoctetes. (See page 479.) The Tro-
jans had made all possible preparations to receive their enemies,
and Hector was their leader. The first engagement took place
when the Greeks were landing. The Trojans were driven within
the walls, and, as they would not surrender Helen, the Greeks made
preparations for a siege. For a long time nothing of note occurred,
except such incidents as that of a combat between Achilles and
Hector, and the capture and execution of Troilus. The quarrel
between Agamemnon and Achilles was the next important thing.
(See page 419 ; also Briseis, 434, and Chryseis, 438.) Hector, after
stoutly defending his country, was killed by Achilles. (See page
449.) Patroclus had fallen by the hand of Hector. The Greeks
buried him with great pomp and ceremony, and there was a pause
in the hostilities on account of the mourning in both camps. The
Trojans were naturally much dispirited by the loss of Hector, and
just then Penthesilea, the noted queen of the Amazons, came to
avenge the death of Hector, and desired to measure herself with
Achilles, who, on this occasion, shared the command with Ajax.
The latter drove back the Trojan army while Achilles and the beau-
tiful queen engaged in a hand to hand combat. (See page 478.)
526 APPENDIX.
One of the results of this combat was the disaffection of Achilles,
and he retired to Lesbos. There arose questions concerning some
points in his conduct, and he felt that the Greeks were not as en-
thusiastic as they should be in his praise. At length Ulysses was
sent to him and succeeded in persuading him to return. Soon after
his return he fought with Memnon, son of Aurora and Tithonus,
who also had arms made by Vulcan, and was found in all respects to
be a fitting match for Achilles. While this combat was in progress
Aurora and Thetis both sought Zeus to beg for the lives of their
sons. Zeus answei-ed that it depended on the will of one of the
Fates, and in the golden balances he weighed the destinies of the two
heroes ; that of Memnon sunk in indication of his death, and when
Aurora returned to the battle-field he was already dead, and she
bore his body away to the distant East. Achilles, flushed with suc-
cess, then led the Greeks against Troy, and was on the point of tak-
ing it when Apollo guided the arrow of Paris to the killing of Achil-
les. Ajax and Ulysses, by bravely seizing and defending his body,
bore it to the camp, where his burial was such as befitted so brave a
soldier. Thetis offered his armor to the most deserving, and it fell
to Ulysses Ajax went mad of disappointment, and fell on his
sword and killed himself. After the deaths of Achilles and Ajax a
truce was declared, and soon after the renewal of hostilities Ulysses
captured Helenus. a son of Priam, who, like his sister Cassandra,
had the gift of prophecy. This opportunity the Greeks improved
by forcing him to declare the conditions upon which they might be
victorious. They were three : I. Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles,
must assist them. II. The bow and arrows of Hercules must be
had. III. They must gain possession of the Palladium, an image
of Pallas-Athene, which was jealously guarded in the citadel of
Troy. Ulysses proceeded to Scyros, and gave to Neoptolemus his
father's armor, and brought him to the Greeks, thirsting for an op-
portunity to win renown. Philoctetes, who had been left at Lemnos,
was next visited by Ulysses and some other deputies. He had the
coveted bow and arrows. He was persuaded to come to the Greeks,
his wound was healed by Mach^on, and he became reconciled to
Agamemnon. Paris was the first victim of the fatal missiles.
(See pagi 474.) The Trojans were now in a state of close siege,
and the difficulty of obtaining the Palladium was great. Ulysses
again undertook the important part, and went within the walls of
Troy in order to discover the place where the Palladium was kept,
and in what manner it was guarded. During this expedition he
met Helen, who was beginning to lon-z for Greece and Menelaus.
She proved a valuable aid -to Ulysses, who returned to the camp,
and having secured the assistance of Diomedes, these two succeeded
in bearing off the Palladium. All the conditions being thus fulfilled,
the important thing to be considered was the plan of action for the
APPENDIX. 527
attack on Troy. Ulysses proposed that a large wooden horse should
be built, and some of the bravest Greeks be inclosed in it, and left in
the camp ; then all the others should embark and set sail as if their
project had been abandoned. This plan was carried out, and when
the Trojans found the horse in the deserted camp, after much dis-
cussion they took it into the city, where, after the inhabitants had
retired, a signal was made for the return of the fleet, which was
concealed behind the island of Tenedos. All the Greeks, in haste
and quietness, returned to the ill-fated city, and a terrible slaughter
ensued. The town was burned. Neoptolemus killed Priam. Few
Trojans were saved ; Anchises and ^Eneas, with the young Asi-a-
nius, being nearly all of any importance. The story of Laocoon is
connected with that of the wooden horse (see page 463), as is also
that of Sinon, a Greek, who was left bound upon the shore, and
when found, told the Trojans that the horse was a religious object,
and would bring good fortune to Troy ; that he bad been bound
as a sacrifice to it, but had by some means escaped. Priam set him
free from his bonds and allowed him to enter the city. He it was
who opened the secret door to the horse, and gave escape to the
warriors within. After the end of the war Menelaus became recon-
ciled to Helen. The further adventures of the various heroes,
especially of Menelaus, Agamemnon, and Ulysses, are of great inter-
est, and have been much written of. But they do not properly
belong to an account of the Trojan war, since they occurred after
the fall of Troy.
GENERAL INDEX.
Abbondio, St., 31.
Abgarus, King, 31.
Achelous, 418.
Achilles, 418.
Achilleus and Nereus, Sts.,32.
Acis, 420.
Acteeon, 420.
Adelaide or Alice of Germany, St., 33.
Adelaide, St. (of Bergamo), 33.
Admetus, 420.
Adolphus of Nassau, 318.
Adolphseck, Legend of, 318.
Adonis, 420.
Adoration of the Magi, 190.
Adoration of the Shepherds, 190.
Adrastus, 420.
Adrian, St., 33.
2Egeus, 421.
^Egisthus, 421.
Jlneas, 421.
JSschines, 422.
^Esculapius, 422.
Afra of Augsburg, St., 06.
Afra of Brescia, St., 35.
Agabus, Suitor to the Virgin Mary.
See St Joseph, 163.
Agamemnon, 422.
Agatha, St., 35.
Aglaia, 423, 437.
Aglae, St., 37.
Agnes, St., 37.
Agnes of Monte Pulciano, St., 38.
Aix-la-Chapelle. Foundation of the
City, 319; the Cathedral, 320; the
Hunchbacked Musicians, 322.
Ajax, 423.
Alban, St., 39.
Albert, St., 39.
Albertus Magnus, 39.
Alcestis, 420, 423.
Alcmene, 423.
Alexander, St., 39.
Alexis, St., 39.
All Sa ; nts or Allerheiligen, 324, 329.
Aloysius, St.. 179.
Alpaldo, grandmother of Charlemagne.
See St. Lambert of Maestricht, 173.
Alphege, St., 41.
Alphonso, St., 142.
Alsace. See St. Ottilia, 244.
Alsace and Breisgau, ' The Holy
Odilie," 324. See also St. Ottilia,
244.
Alten-Aar. "The last knight of Alten-
Aar," 325.
Altha, 423.
Amalaberga, St. See St. Gudula, 129.
Amand of Belgium, St. See St. Bavon,
52.
Amazones, 423.
Ambrose, St., 41; also see St. Gerva-
sius, 123.
Ammon, 517.
Amphion, 424.
Amphitrite, 425.
Amun, 517.
Anachronisms, 29.
Anastasia, St., 42.
Anchises, 425.
Anchor, 6.
Andrea of Corsini, St., 42.
Andrew, St., 42.
Andromache, 425.
Andromeda, 425.
Angelas, St., 43.
Anianus, or Annianus, St., 43.
Anna, St., mother of the Virgin Mary
43.
Annunciation, The, 186.
Ansano of Siena, St., 43.
Anthony, St., 44.
Antinous, 425.
Antiope, 425.
Antisthenes, 425
Antony of Padua, St., 46.
Antonio, St., Archbishop of Florence
47.
Anubis, 518, 520.
Anvil, 6.
Aphrodite, 426.
Apis, 519, 521.
Apollinaris of Ravenna, St., 47.
Apollo, 426.
Apollonia of Alexandria, 48.
Ares, 427.
Arges, 516.
Argonautie, 427, 510.
Ariadne, 427.
530
GENERAL INDEX.
Anon, 428.
Arnold of Walpode, Mayence, 388.
Arrow, 6.
Artemis, 428, 525.
Artemius. See St. Peter Exorcista, 253.
Arthur, King. See Glastoribury, 125.
Arviragus, King. See Glastonbury,
125.
Ascanius, 429.
Ascension of Christ, 198.
Aspasia, 429.
Assumption of the Virgin Mary, 199.
Atalanta, 430.
Athainas, 521.
Athanasius, St., 48.
Athena, 430.
Athor, 517.
Atlas, 430.
Auerbach, Legend of, 327.
Augustine, or Austin, St., 48.
Augustine of Canterbury, St., 50.
Augustines, The Order of, embracing
the Servi, the Order of Mercy, the
Brigittines, 25.
Augustus, Emperor. See Sibyls, 276.
Aureole, 1.
Aurora, 431.
Auster, 431, 470.
Avranches, Legend of. See St. Mi-
chael, 229.
Axe, 6
Bacchae, 431.
Bacchus, 431.
Bacharach. Palatine Count Hermann
of Stahleck, 328.
Baden-Baden. All Saints, or Aller-
heiligen, 329; Baldreit, 330; Burk-
hardt Keller of Yburg, 330; Kloster
Lichtenthal. 331 ; Old Eberstein,
332; New Eberstein, The Knight's
Leap, 333; the Fremersberg, 333:
Hohen-Baden, 334; the Mummel-
see, 335; the Pulpits of the An-
gel and the Devil, 335; the Rocks,
336; the Wildsee, 337; Castle Win-
deck, 338; the Marriage of the Ghost
at Castle Lauf, 338; the Hennegra-
ben, 339.
Balbina, St., 50.
Baldreit, 330, 341.
Bamberg, Convent and Cathedral of,
See St. Henry of Bavaria, 134.
Banner, 6.
Barbara, St., 50.
Baring-Gould, 506.
Barking in Essex. See St. Ethelberga,
100.
Barmherzigen Briider. See St. Juan
de Dios, 165.
Barnabas, St., 51.
Bartholomew, St., 51.
Basel, or Bale. One Hour in Advance,
341.
Basil the Great, St., 52.
Basilissa. See St. Julian Hospitator,
171.
Bavon, St., 52.
Bayer of Boppard, Knight. See Bop-
pard, 348; also Liebenstein, 381.
Beatrice, The Nun, 499.
Bede, St., The Venerable, 53.
Bee, St. See St. Hilda, 136.
Bel and the Dragon, 53.
Bell, 6.
Bellerophon, 432.
Benedict, St , 55; also see St. Sicholas-
tica, 271.
Benedict of Anian, St., 56.
Benedictines, The Order of, embracing
Camaldolesi, Vallombrosians, Car-
thusians, Cistercians, Olivetani, Or-
atorians, and Cluniacs, 24.
Benediction, Act of, 8.
Bennet Biscop, St., or St. Bennet of
Wearmouth. 56.
Benno, St., 56.
Berengariaof Castile. See St. Ferdi-
nand of Castile, 105.
Bernard of Clairvaux, St., 57.
Bernard Ptolomei, St., 58.
Bernard of Menthon, St., 58.
Bernardino of Siena, St., 59.
Bernardino da Feltri, St., 60.
Bethlehem. See St. Jerome, 149; also
St. Paula, 248.
Bibiana, St., 60.
Bingen. The Mouse Tower, 342; th
Holy Rupert, 344; the Prophetew
Hildegarde, 345.
Bishop Hatto, Bingen, 342.
Hlaise of Sebaste, St., 60.
Blood of Christ, The, 302.
Bonaventura, St., 61.
Boniface, St, Martyr, 61.
Bomface, St., 62. See St. Aglae, 37.
Bonn. The Treasure-seeker, 346.
Book, 6.
Boppard. The Convent of Marienburg,
348.
Boreas, 433.
Bornhoven. The Brother's Hatred, 349-
also Liebenstein, 381.
Bosco lungo, 510.
Brandeum, Miracle of the. &ee St
Gregory, 127.
Brave Recruit, The. See Philippsburg,
392.
Brice, St., 62.
Bridget of Ireland, St., 62.
Bridget of Sweden, St., 63.
Brigittines, Order of, 25.
Briseis, 434.
Brontes, 516.
Brother's Hatred, The. See Bornhoven,
349.
Bruno, St., 63.
Bubastis, 520.
GENERAL INDEX.
531
Buhl, Windeck, Baden-Baden, 338.
Burgomaster Gryn, The Lion-slayer.
See Cologne, 355.
Burgos, Cathedral of. See St. Ferdi-
nand of Castile, 106.
Burklumlt Keller of Yburg, 330, 349.
Bury St. Edmunds. See St. Edmund.
93.
Busiris, 434.
Buto, 518.
Cacus, 434.
Caedmon the Poet, 64.
Calista. Sue St. Dorothea, 89.
Calliope, 434.
Callirrhoe, 434.
Callisto, 434.
Calydon, 434.
Calypso, 435.
Canace, 435.
Candelabrum, 7.
Canterbury. See St. Thomas a Becket,
291.
Captive Jews at Worms, The, 412.
Capuchins, 26.
Caritad. See St. Juan de Dios, 165.
Carlsruhe (Charles' Kest), 349.
Carmagnola, 515.
Carmelites, or White Friars, 28; also
St. Juan de la Cruz, 166; and St.
Theresa, 288.
Caryatides, 435.
Casimir, St., 64.
Cassandra, 435.
Cassian, St., 64.
Castor, 435, 442.
Caterina ('ornaro, 514.
Cathari, The. See St. Peter Martyr, 253.
Catherine of Alexandria, St., 64.
Catherine of Bologna, St., 67.
Catherine of Siena. St., 68.
Caub. Castle .Gutenfels, 350.
Cauldron, 6.
Cecilia, St., 69.
Cecrops, 435.
Celsus, St., 71.
Centauri, 436.
Cephalus, 436.
Cerberus, 437.
Ceres, 437, 440.
Cesarea, St. See St. Gregory Nazian-
zen, 128.
Cesareo, or Caesarius, St., 71.
Chad of Lichtield, St., 71.
Chalice, 6.
Chantal, La Mere, 71.
Charites, 437.
Charles Borromeo, St., 72.
Charlemagne, Emperor, 72. See also
St Lioba, 178; also Aix-la-Chapelle,
319; Ingelheim, 373; fcginhard and
Emma, 375 ; Queen Hildegarde, 376 ;
Konigsdorf, 379; Lorsch, 383; St.
Goar, 403.
Charon, 437.
Charybdis, 437, 485.
Cheron, St., 72.
Chester, Cathedral of. See St. Wer-
burga, 315.
Childeric, King. See St. Genevi6ve
119.
Chimaera. 437.
Chione, 438.
Chiron, 438.
Chon, 518.
Christeta. See St. Dorothea, 89.
Christina, St., 73.
Christopher, St., 74.
Chrvsantlms, St., 77.
Chryseis, 438.
Chrysogonus, St., 77. See St. Anasta-
sia, 42.
Chrysostom, John. St.. 156.
Church, 6.
Cimabue. 509.
Circe, 438.
Clair, St., 77.
Clara, St., 78.
Clara of Monte -Falco, St., 79.
Cleinenskirche. See Rheiustein, 394.
Clement, St., 79; also 498.
Cleve. The Swan Knight, 351.
Cleodolinda. See St. George, 121.
Clio, 438.
Clock of Strasbourg, The Great, 405.
Clotaire II. King. Sfie St. Eloy, 98.
Clothing of Christ, Legend of, 10.
Clotilda, St., 80. See St. Genevieve,
119; also St. Sigismond, 279.
Cloud, St., 80.
Clovis, King. See St. Clotilda, 80 ; and
St. Genevieve. 119.
Club, 6.
Clytsemnestra, 438, 524.
Co'ifi, The Druid. See St. Paulinns, 248.
Cologne. Building of the Caihedral,
352; Burgomaster Gryn ; the Lion-
slayer, 355 ; Herman-Joseph, 356;
the Wife, Kichmodis von Adocht,
356; Three Kings of Cologne, 192,
357 ; St. Ursula,' 303 ; Caub, 350.
Colors. Symbolism of. 7.
Compostella. See James the Great,
146.
Concordia. See St. Hippolytus, 136.
Constantino, Emperor, 80; also St.
Nicholas of Myra, 236; also History
of the True Cross, 300.
Conventuals, Order of, 26.
Coquettish Maiden of Wampolder
Hof, The, 413.
Cordova. See St. Nicholas of Tolen-
tino, 239.
Corfe Castle. See St. Edward, Martyr,
93.
Corn, 7.
Cornwall. See St. Neot, 233.
coronation of the Virgin, 202, 204.
532
GENERAL INDEX.
Oorybantes, 438.
Cosmo and Damian, Sts., 82.
Costanzo of Perugia, St., 82.
Count Otto and Irmengard. See Ham-
merstein, 371.
Coventry. See Godiva, 125.
Crispin and Crispianus, Sts., 83.
Cronus, 439.
Cross, 2.
Cross, History of the True, 298.
Crown, 5.
Crown of Thorns. See True Cross, 302.
Croyland, Abbey of. See St. Guthlac,
130.
Cunegunda, St., 83. See St. Henry
of Bavaria, 133.
Cunibert, St., 83.
Cupid, 439.
Cuthbert, St., 83.
Cvane, 439.
Cybele, 439, 483.
Cyclopean Walls, 517.
Cyclopes, 516.
Cyprian and Justiua of Antioch Sts.,
83.
Cyprian of Carthage, St., 85.
Cyril, St., 85.
Cyril and Methodius, Sts., 85.
Daedalus, 439.
Dagobert, King. See St. Eloy, 98, 501.
Dale Abbey, 86.
Damian, St., 86. See St. Cosmo, 82.
Danae. 439.
Danaides, 439.
Daphne, 440.
Daphnis, 440.
Dnria, St., 86. See St. Chrysanthus, 77.
Darmstadt, Walter of Birbach, 357.
Dead Nuns, Legend of, 86.
Death of St. Joseph, 196.
Death of the Virgin, 199.
Delphine, St., 86. See St. Eleazar de
Sabran, 94.
Demeter, 440.
Denis of France, St., 86.
Deposition, The, 197.
Descent from the Cross, 197.
Descent of the Holy Ghost, 198.
Devil's Ladder, The. See Lorch, 381.
Diana, 441.
Dido, 441.
Diego d'Alcala, St., 87.
Digna, St., 87. See St. Afra of Augs-
burg, 35.
Diocletian, Emperor. See St. Sebas-
tian, 272.
Diogenes, 441.
Diomedes, 442.
Dionysus, 431, 442.
Dioscuri, 442.
Dirce, 424, 443.
Dis 443.
Dispute in the Temp.e, Ine, W6.
Dissibodenberg, Convent of. See Hil-
degarde, 345.
Dominicans, or Preaching Friars, 27.
Dominick, St , 87.
Donate of Arezzo, St., 89.
Donnersberg. See Adolphseck, 319.
Dorothea of Cappadocia, St., 89.
Dove, 4.
Down in Ulster, Ireland. See St. Pat-
rick, 246.
Drachenfels, 357 ; also Rolandseck, 395.
Dragon, 4.
Dunstan, St., 90
Duns Scotus, 92.
Diinwald near Muhlheim. " The Oak
Seed," 358.
Ebba of Coldingham, St., 92.
Ebernburg, The. See Kreuznach, 379.
Eberstein, Old, 332, 359.
Eberstein, New. The Knight's Leap,
333.
Ebersteinburg. See Baden-Baden 335-
Echo, 443.
Edith of Wilton, St., 92.
Edith of Polesworth, St., 92. See St.
Modwena, 231.
Edmund, St., 92.
Edward, St., Martyr, 93.
Edward, St., King, 93.
Egeria, 443.
Eginhard and Emma, 359. See Ingel-
heim, 375.
Egypt, Gods of, 517.
Ehrenfels, 359.
Eichthal. See Adolphseck, 318.
Einsiedeln, Shrine of, 508.
Eisenach. See St. Elizabeth of Hun-
gary, 95.
Eitzen, Dr. Paul von, 507.
Eleazar de Sabran, St., 94.
Electra, 443.
Elt'rida, 93.
Elizabeth, St., 94.
Elizabeth of Hungary, St., 95.
Elizabeth of Portugal, St., 97.
Elmo, St. See St. Erasmus. 99.
Eloy of Noyon, St., 98.
Elphege, St., 99. See St. Alphege,
Elv, Cathedral of. See St. Ethelreda,
100.
Endenich. See Bonn, 346.
Kndymion, 443.
Enns, The River. See St. Florian, 10&
Entombment, The, 197.
Enurchus, orEvurtius, St., 99.
Eos, 431, 444.
Ephesus, Seven Sleepers of, 275.
Kphesus and Potitus, Sts., 99.
Ephrem of Edessa, St., 99.
Enicurus 444.
GENERAL INDEX.
533
Epigoni, The, 523.
Epimenides, 444.
Eppstein, or Eppenstein, 359.
Erasmus of Fonuia, St., 99.
Erato, 444.
Ercolano, St., 99.
Erichthoiiius, 444.
Eros, 445.
Espinosa. See St. Louis Beltran, 179.
Eteocles, 522.
Ethel berga, St., 100.
Ethelred. See Sts. Edward, 93.
Ethelreda, St., 100.
Eudoxia, Empress. See St. John Chry-
sostom, 156.
Eudoxia, Wife of Valentinian III. See
St. Peter, 252.
Eugenia, St., 100.
Eulalia of Merida, St., 101.
Eunomia, St., 101. See St. Afra o
Augsburg, 35.
Eupheniia, St., 101.
Euplirosyne, 437, 445.
Euripides, 445.
Euro pa. 445.
Euridic'e, 446, 472.
Eustace, St., 102. See St. Afra of
Augsburg, 35.
Eustochium, St. See St. Paula, 248.
Euterpe, 446.
Eutropia, St., 103.
Evurtius, or Enurchus, St., 99.
Ewald the Black and Ewald the Fair.
Sts., 103.
Fabian, St., 103.
Faith, St., 103.
Falkenburg, 360.
Falkenstein. 363. See also Caub, 350.
Faunus, 446.
Faustinas and Jovita, Sts., 103.
Faustulus, 446.
Felicitas, St., and her Seven Sons, 103.
Felix de Valois, St., 104. See St. John
do Matha, 160
Felix de Cantalicio, St., 104.
Felix, or Felice, St., 105. See St Na-
bor, 233.
Ferdinand of Castile, St., 105.
Filomena, St., 107.
Fina of Gemignano, 108.
Fire, 5.
Fish, 2.
Flames, 5.
Flaming Heart, 5, 23.
Flavia, St., 108.
flight into Egypt, The, 193.
Flora, 446.
Florence, 15, 27, 509, 510.
Florian, St., 108.
Florsheim, 363.
Flowers, 5.
Poriuna, 446.
Foscari, The Two, 512.
Fra Bartolomeo. See St. Peter, Mar
tyr. 254.
Fra Giovanni, Angelico. See St. An
tonio, 47.
Francesca Rom ana, St., 108.
Franciscans, The Order of, Embracing
the Capuchins, Observants, Conven-
tuals, and Minimes, 26.
Francis of Assisi, St., 109.
Francis de Paula, St., 114.
Francis de Sales, St., 115.
Francis Xavier, St., 115.
Francis Borgia, St., 116.
Frankfort. Foundation of the City, 365 ;
the Knave of Bergen, 365; the 9 in
the Vane, 366.
Frederick and Gela, 367.
Frediano of Lucca, St., 116.
Fremereberg, The, 367. See Baden-
Baden, 333.
Fridolin," Schiller. See St. Eliza-
beth of Portugal, 98.
Fruit, 5.
Fiirsteneck. Knight Oswald and hit
Revenge, 382.
Gabriel, St., Archangel, 117.
Galatea, 44t>.
Gall, St., Shrine of, 509.
Galla Placidia, Empress. See St. John
the Evangelist, 155.
Callus, St., 500.
Ganymedes, 446.
Gaudenzio, St., 118.
Gaudentius, St., 118.
Gelnhausen. Frederick and Gela, 367.
Gemignano, Cathedral of. See St.
Fina, 108.
Geminianus, St., 118.
Genevieve of Paris, St., 118.
Gcnevieve of Brabant, St., 120. See
also Laach, 380.
Genius, 447.
George of Cappadocia, St., 120.
Gereon, St., 123.
Germanicus, Caesar, 447.
Gernsbach, Baden-Baden, 335; the
Klingelkapelle, 368.
Gerresheim, near Diisseldorf. Gunhilde,
368.
Gertrude of Nivelle, St. See St.
Gudula, 129.
Gertruideuberg. The Holv Gertrude,
369.
Gervasius and Protasius, Sts., 123.
Geryon, 448.
Giles, St., 124.
Ginevra, Legend of, 509.
Giovita, St. See St. Faustinas, 10.3.
Gisela, The Maiden. Kiidesheim, 396.
Glastonbury, Abbey of, 125; also se
St.Neot,"233.
534
GENERAL INDEX.
Glory, 1.
Goaf, St., 403 See also Lurlei, 384.
Goarhausen, St., 403.
Gocliva, The Countess, 125.
Gollheim. See Adolphseck, 319.
Gomloforus, King. See St. Thomas
290.
Gorgonia, St. See St. Gregory Nazi-
anzen, 128.
Gorgones, 448.
Grail, The Holy, 503.
Grata, St., 126". See St. Adelaide, 33
Gratia, 437, 448.
Gregorv, St., or Gregory the Great,
126."
Gregory Nazianzen, St., 128.
Greuzberg. See the Mummelsee, 335.
Grimlbachs, The. See Baden-Baden,
329.
Grotta Ferrata. See St Nilus, 241.
Gudula, St., 129.
Gunhilde. See Gerresheim, 369.
Guthlac of Croyland, St., 129. .
Haardt Mountains, or Forest. See
Carlsruhe, 350; the Maiden Lea^.
385; Trifels, 409.
Hades, 448.
Hague, The. Three hundred and sixty-
five Children, 370.
Hammerstein. Count Otto and Irmen-
gard, 371; the Wish of the old Ca-
tellan. 371.
Hans Warsch, the Valiant Shepherd,
391.
Harpocrates, 519.
Harpyiffi, 449, 516.
Hart "or Hind, 4.
Heads of Stone, Mayence, 386.
Hebe, 449.
Hecate, 449.
Hector, 449.
Hecuba, 449.
Heidelberg. The Jettebiihl, or Wolfs-
brunnen, 372.
Heisterbach. The Sleeping Skeptic,
373.
Helena St., 130; also History of the
True Cross, 300.
Helena (Helene), 450.
Helicon, 450.
Heliodorus, 131.
Helios, 451.
Helle, 451.
Hennegraben, The, 339.
Henry of Bavaria, St., 133.
Hephaestus, 451.
Heppenheim, 373.
Hera, 452.
Herculanus, St. See St. Ercolano,
99.
Hercules, 452.
Herman-Joseph, St.. 135.
Hermaphroditus, 457.
Hennengildus, St., 135.
Hermes, 457.
Hermione, 458.
Hermione, St. See St. Philip, 256.
Hero, 458.
Herrera, Chef d'CEuvre of. See St
Hermengildus, 135.
Hersilia, 458.
Hesperides, 458.
Hestia, 458.
Hieron, 459.
Hilarion, St., 135. See St. Donate of
Arezzo, 89.
Hilary, St., 135.
Hilda' of Whitby, St , 135.
Hililebold, Bishop, Election of. See
Konigsdorf, 379.
Hildegarde, Queen, 376.
Hildegarde, The Prophetess, 345
Hippolytus, St., 136.
Hippolytus, 459.
Hochhausen, Church of. 502.
Hohen-Baden, 334, 373. See also
Burkhardt Keller of Yburg, 330.
Holofernes, 136. See Judith, 168.
Holy Family, Pictures of, 196.
Holy Gertrude. See Gertruidenberg,
369.
Holy Girdle, Legend of, 201.
Holy Odilie. Same as St. Ottilia, 324.
Holy Kupert, The, 344.
Horae, 459.
Hornisgrinde. See Mummelsee, 335.
Hb'rselberg, 505.
Horselloch, 505.
Horns, 518, 519.
Hospitallers, or Brothers of Charity.
See St. Juan de Dios, 165.
Hubert of Liege, St., .136.
Hugh of Grenoble, St., 137.
Hugh of Lincoln, St., 137.
Hugh, St., Martyr, 138.
Hyacinth, St., 138.
H Vacinthus, 459.
Hvdaspes, 460.
Hydra, 453, 460.
Hygiea, 460.
Hylas, 460.
Hymen, 460.
Hypsipyle, 460.
Icarus, 460.
Ignatius of Antioch, St, 139.
Ignatius Loyola, St., 140.
Ildefonso, of Alphonso, St , 142.
Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of,
204.
Ingelheim. Charlemagne and Elbe-
east, 373; Eginhard and Emma, 376:
Queen Hildegarde, 376.
Innocents, The Massacre of, 142.
Iiio, 521.
GENERAL INDEX,
535
lole, 460.
Iphigenia, 460.
Iris, 460.
sabella of France, St., 143.
sidore the Ploughman, St.. 143.
.sidore, St., Bishop of Seville, 143.
sis, 461, 518, 519, 520.
ves of Bretagne, St., 143.
Ixion, 461.
James the Great, St., 144.
James of Araa'on, King. See St.
Raymond of Pefiaforte, 26'4.
James Minor, St., 147.
Januarius, St., 148.
Jason, 461, 516.
Jerome. St., 148.
Jerome Savonarola. See St. Peter
Martyr, 253, 254.
Jeron vmites, 28 ; also see St. Jerome,
160"
Jesuits. 28; also see St. Ignatius Loy-
ola, 140.
Jettebiih!, or Wolfshrunnen, 372.
Jew, The Wandering, 150, 314.
Joachim, St., 150.
Joan of Bavaria Princess. See St
John Nepomuck, 161.
Job, 518.
John, Abbot of San Martino. See
Benedict, Rennet Biscop, 56.
John the Baptist, St., 152.
John St., conducting the Virgin to
his Home, 197.
John the Evangelist, St.. 153.
John Capistrano, St., 156.
John Chrysostom, St., 156.
John Uualberto, St., 159.
John de Matha, St., 160.
John Nepomuck, St., 161.
John -and Paul, Sts., 162.
Josepli, St., 162.
Jovita, or Giovita, St., 165. See St.
Faustinas, 103
Juan de Dios, St., 165.
Juan de la Cruz, St., 166.
Judas Iscariot, 167.
Jude, St., 168. See St. Simon, 280.
Judith and Holofernes, 168.
Julia, St., 170.
Julian the Apo=tate, 170, 228.
Julian Hospitaler, St., 171.
Julian of Kimhii, St., 172.
Julian, 172.
Juno, 462.
Jupiter, 462.
Justa, or Justina, St., and St Kulina,
172.
Justina of Antioch, St., 173. See St.
Cyprian, 83.
Jitstina of Padua, St , 173.
Karnak, 521.
Kempton, Abbey of. See Queen Hil-
degarde, 378.
Kevelaer. Foundation of the Town,
378.
Kings of Cologne, The Three, 357.
Kiss of Peace, The. See St. James the
Great. 145.
Xlingelkapelle, The, 379. See Gems-
bach, 368.
Kloster-Neuberg on the Danube. See
St. Leopold, 177.
Knight's Leap, The, 379. See New
Eberstein, 333
Kiugiits ot the liound Table, 504.
Knuph, 517.
Ko'nigsdorf, The Election of Bishop
Hildebold, 379.
Kbnigstuhl. See Rhense, 395.
Konigswinter, 379.
Kreuznach. The Ebernburg, 379.
Kuppenheim. See Burkhardt Keller
of Yburg, 330.
Laach, 380.
Ladon, 463.
Lahneck, 380.
lallenkonig, The. See Basel, 341.
Lamb, 3.
Lambert of Maestricht, St., 173.
Larnech, 173.
Lamp, or Lantern, 5.
Lance, 6.
Lance, The. See History of the True
Cross, 301.
Landskron, Castle of. See Oppen-
heim, 391.
Laocoon, 463, 527.
Laodamia, 463.
Laomedon, 463.
Lapithae, 463.
Lapp, The Spirit. See Bonn, 347.
Lares, 464.
La Sainte Chapelle. See St. Louis,
180.
Last Supper, 174.
Latona, 464.
Laurence, St., 174. See also St. Ste-
phen, 282.
Lavinia, 464.
Lazarus, St., 176.
Leander, St., 176. See St. Isidore,
143.
Leander, 464.
Leda, 464.
L^ocadia, St., 176.
Leonard, St., 176.
Leopold of Austria, St. ,177.
Leopoldsherg. See St. Leopold, 177.
Leto. 464.
Leucippus, 464.
Leucotliea, 521.
Lichtenthal, Convent of, 331, 381.
Liebenstein and Sterrenberg, 381.
536
GENERAL INDEX.
Liebfrauenmilch, 413.
Lieven, or Livin, St., 177.
Lily, 5.
Lioba, St., 178.
Lion, 4.
Lion of St. Mark's, 515.
Lips, 465.
Living Toy, The. See Castle Nieaeck,
390.
Longfellow, Mr., 502.
Long Forest, The, 510
Longinus, St., 178.
Lorch. The Devil's Ladder, 381 ; Fiirs-
teneck. Knight Oswald and his Re-
venge, 382.
Loredano, Giacopo, 514.
Lorenzo Giustiniani, St., 178.
Lorerto. La Santa Casa, 271.
Lorsch. The Emperor and the Monk,
383.
Louis Beltran, or Bertrand, St., 179.
Louis Gonzaga, St., or St. Aloysius,
179.
Louis, St.. King of France, 179.
Louis of Toulouse, St., 180.
Louise d'Angouleme. See St. Francis
de Paula, 115.
Louise, Soeur de la Mise'ricorde, 181.
Louise de la Valliere, 181.
Lourdes, 511.
Lucia, St., 181.
Lucretia, 465.
Ludmilla, St., 183.
Luke, St., 183. See also St. Veronica
309.
Lupo, St., 33, 184.
Lurlei, 384.
Lycomedes, 465.
Lycurgus, 465.
Lyingfield, The. See Thann in Al-
sace, 407.
Macariusof Alexandria, St., 184.
Macheronta, Palace of. See John the
Baptist, 152.
Macrina, St. See St. Basil, 52.
Madonna, La, 184.
Madonna della Sedia, La, 209.
Maiden Leap, The, 385.
Main, the River. See Frankfort, 365.
Maisons de Charite". See St. Juan de
Dios. 165.
Makart, Hans, 514.
Marbourg, City of. See St. Elizabeth
of Hungary, 97.
Marcella, St.", 211, 252.
Marcellinus, St., 211.
Marcus and Marcellinus. See St. Se-
bastian, 272.
Margaret, St., 211.
Margaret of Cortona, St., 212.
Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, Santa, 213.
Maria Maggiore, Santa, Church of,
Koine, 213.
Marianine, St. See St. Philip, 256.
Marienburg, Convent of. See Boppard,
348.
Marina, St., 213.
Marino, Faliero, 511.
Mark, St., 214.
Marriage of the Virgin. 186.
Marriage of Ghosts at Castle Lauf, Ba-
den-Baden, 338, 390.
Marriage at Cana in Galilee, 196.
Mars, 465.
Marseilles. See Mary Magdalen, 222.
Marsyas, 465.
Martha, St., 215.
Martial, St., 216.
Martin of Tours. St., 216.
Martina, St. 219.
Mary of Egypt, St., 219.
Mary Magdalene, St., 221.
Mary the Penitent, St., 224.
Mater Amabilis, 208.
Mater Dolorosa, 205.
Mathurins. See St. John de Matha,
161.
Matthew, St., 225.
Matthias, St., 225.
Maurelio, or Maurelius, St., 226.
Maurice, St., 226.
Maurus, St., 227.
Maximilian, I., Combat of, 412.
Mayence, The Heads of Stone, 386 ; Ar-
nold of Walpode, 388; Count Henry
of Meissen, 389; Rabbi Amram, 389.
Medea, 427, 465.
Medusa, 448. 465.
Meleager, 465.
Melpomene, 466.
Menelaus, 466, 527.
Mendes, 517.
Mercuriale, St., 227
Mercurius, St., 228.
Mercurius, 466.
Merseberg, Church of, 134.
Messina. 15.
Methodius, St., 228.
Metrodorus, 467.
Michael, St., 228.
Midas, 467.
Minimes, 26.
Minerva, 467.
Miniato or Minias, St., 231.
Minotaurus, 467-
Misericordia. See St. Juan de Dio
165.
Mithras, 468.
Mnemosyne, 468
Modwenk, 231.
Moirse, 468.
Monica, St., 232.
Monte Galeano Legend of, 229.
GENERAL INDEX.
537
Monte Pellegrino. See St. Rosalia of
Palermo, 209.
Montpelier in Languedoc. See St.
Rodi, 265.
Mortar mixed with Wine, The, 408.
Morpheus, 408.
Moses, The Patriarch, 232.
Mother before the Nun, The, 510.
Mouse Tower, The, 342, 390.
Miicke, 509.
Mummelsee, The, 335, 390.
Mui-g, The Kiver. See New Eberstein,
333 ; also The Wildsee, 337.
Musse, 408.
Mut, 519.
Myrrha, 469.
Mystic Thorn. See Glastonbury, 125.
Nabor and Felix, Sts., 233.
Nails of the Cross. See History of
True Cross, 300, 302.
Naked Bodies, 7.
Nanterre. See St. Genevieve of Paris.
118.
Narcissus, St., 233. See St. Afra of
Augsburg, 35.
Narcissus, 409.
Natalia, St. 34,233.
Nativity, Church of the, Bethlehem.
See St. Helena, 131.
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, 185.
Nativity of Christ, 189.
Nazarius, St., 34, 233. See St. Celsus,
Necessitas, 469.
Neith or Neitha, 517, 521.
Nemesis, 469.
Neoptolemur-, 469.
Neot, St., 233.
Nephthys, 518.
Neptuntis, 409.
Nereides, 409.
Nereus, St., 32, 233.
Nereus, 470.
Nessus, 470.
Nibelungen, Castle of. See Xanten, 414
Nicaise, St., 233.
Nick, the black -leg, 515.
Niedeck Castle. The Living Toy, 390.
Nicholas of Myra, St., 233.
Nicholas of To'lentino, St., 238.
Nilus of Grotta Ferrata, St., 239.
Nimbus, 1.
Niobe, 470.
Nonna, St. See St. Gregory Nazian-
zen, 128.
Norbert, St., 241.
Notburg. St., 501.
Notus, 470.
Nuremberg. See St. Sebald, 271.
Oak Seed, The, 358.
Oberkappel. See the Mummelsee, 335.
Oherwesel. The Sevpn Virgin*, 390.
Observants, Order of, 20. See St. Ber-
nardino of Siena, 5'J.
Oceanides, 522.
Ocean us, 471.
CEdipus, 471, 521.
(Enone, 471.
Oggersheim, Hans Warsch, the Val
iant Shepherd, 391.
Olive, Tlie, 5.
Olivetani, Order of, 24. See St. Ber-
nard Ptolomei, 58.
Omobuono. St., 242.
Omphale, 471.
Onuphrius, St., 243.
Oppenheim, 391.
Oratorians, Order of. See St. Philip
Neri, 257.
Orcus, 471.
Ordeal, Trial by, 243.
Order of the Camaldolesi. See St. Ro-
nmaldo, 268.
Order of Mercy, 25.
Orestes, 471.
Oriflamme, The. See St. Denis, 87.
Orion, 472.
Orithyia, 472.
Oropesa. Sae St. Juan de Dios, 165.
Orpheus, 472.
Osiris, 518.
Oswald, St., 243.
Otho I. Emperor. See Old Eberstein
332
Ottilia, St., 244.
Our Lady of Mercy, Order of. See St
Peter Nolasco, 254.
Palatine, Count Hermann of Stahleck
328.
Pallas, 473.
Palms, 5.
Pan, 473.
Pancras, St., 245.
Pandora, 473.
Pantaleon of Nicomedia, St., 245.
Paplmutius. See St. Onuphrius, 243.
Parcffi. 474.
Paris, 474.
Paris, Matthew, 506.
Parnassus, 474.
Pasiphae, 475.
Passion and Crucifixion, Symbols of, 7.
Patrick, St., 240.
Patroclus, 475.
Paul, St., 246. See Plautilla, 258; St.
Thecla, 285.
Paul, St., The Hermit, 45, 248.
Paul and John, Sts., 162, 248.
Paula, St., 248.
Paulinus of York, St., 248.
Peacock, 4.
Pega, St. See St. Guthlac, 130.
Pegasus, 475.
538
GENERAL INDEX.
Peleus, 475.
Pelias, 476.
Pelican, 4.
Pelops, 476.
Penelope, 477.
Penthesilea, 478.
Pepin, King. See St. Zeno, 315.
Pepin, I'Mdristal, 500.
Perpetua, St., 249.
Persephone, 478.
Perseus, 478.
Peter, St., 249. See St. Petronilla, 255.
I'eter of Alcantara, St., 252.
Peter, St., Exorcista and Marcellinua,
252.
Peter Martyr, St., 253.
I'eter Nolasco, St., 254.
Peter Regalato, St., 255.
Petronilla, St., 255.
Petronius, St., 255.
Pfalzgrafenstein, 392.
PhEedra, 479.
Phaethon, 479.
Philip, St., 255.
Philip, St., Deacon, 256.
Philip Benozzi, St., 256.
Philip Neri, St., 257.
Philippsburg. The Brave Recruit, 39i.
Philoctetes, 479.
Phineus, 479, 516.
Phocas of Sinooe, St., 258.
Phoebe, 480.
Phoebus, 480.
Phra, 518.
Piazzetta, Venice, 515.
Pietro da Cortona. See St. Martina, 219.
Pie"-o in Montorio, San. See St. Peter,
251.
Pillar of Flagellation, 302.
Hncers, 6.
Pisa, Campo Santo, etc. See St. Ran-
ieri. 261.
Placidus, St., 258.
Plautilla, 258.
Plotina, 480.
Pluto, 480.
Plutus, 480.
Pollux, 480.
Polybus, 480.
Polycarp. See St. Ignatius of Antioch,
139.
Polymnia, 480.
Polyphemus, 522.
Polyxena, 480.
Pomona, 480.
Poniard, 6.
Poor Clares, Foundation of the, 78.
Portrait of Christ. See King Abgarus,
31.
Poseidon, 480.
Potitus of Pisa, St., 99, 259.
Prague. See St. John Nepomuck, 162.
Praxedes and Pudentiana, Sts., 259.
Premonstratensians, Order ot. See St.
Norbert, 241.
Presentation of Christ in the Temple,
192.
Presentation of the Virgin, 186.
Priamus, 481.
Priapus, 481.
Prisca, St., 259.
Procession to Calvary, 197.
Proconius, St., 260.
Proculus, St., 260.
Proh, 518.
Prometheus, 481.
Proserpina, 481.
Protasius of Milan, St., 123, 260.
Protesilaus, 481.
Proteus, 482.
Psyche, 482.
Ptahs or Phthas, 517.
Pudentiana, St., 259, 260.
Pudicitia, 482
Pulpits of the Angel and the Devil,
Baden Baden, 335, 393.
Purification of the Virgin, 192.
Pylades, 482.
Pyrrhus, 482.
Quattro Coronati, or the Four Crowned
Brothers, 260.
Quintin, St., 260.
Quirina. See St. Lorenzo Giustiniani,
178.
Quirinus, St., 261.
Quirinus, St., Bishop of Sissek in Cro-
atia, 261.
fia, 518.
Rabbi Amram, Mavence, 389.
Radegunda, St., 261.
Ragnar Lodbrog, 261. See St. Ed-
mund, 92.
Ranieri, St., 261.
Raphael, St., the Archangel, 262; also
see Tobias, 295.
Ravenna. See St. John the Evan-
gelist, 155.
Raymond, St., 263.
Raymond, St., of Penaforte, 264.
Regulus, St., 264.
Reichenstein. See Falkenburg, 360;
also, The Ride to the Wedding, 393.
Remus, 482.
Reparata, St., 264.
Repose of the Holy Familv. 194.
Rhea, 483.
Rhea Silvia, 483.
Rheims. See St. Nicaise, 233.
Rheinfels 393. See Arnold of Wal-
pode, Mayence, 388.
Rheinstein. The Ride to the Wedding,
393; Clemenskirche, 394.
Rhense, 395.
Richard of Cornwallis. See Caub, 350
GENERAL INDEX.
539
Richard, Cccur de Lion, 409.
Richelieu, Cardinal. See St. Vincent
de i'aula, 313.
Uiehmodis von Adocht, the Wife.
See Cologne, 356.
" Ritter Toggenburg," Schiller. See
Rolandseck. 395.
Rocli, St., 265.
Rocks, The, Baden-Baden, 336, 395.
Rolandseck, 395.
Roinain, St., 207.
Rumer, The See the Knave of Ber-
gen, Frankfort, 365.
Romualdo, St., 267, 500.
Koinulo, St., 269.
Romulus, 483.
Ro?a di Lima, Santa, 269.
Rosa di Viterbo, St., 269.
Rosalia of Palermo, 269.
Rosary, The, 270.
Rosemhal, Convent of. Seo Adolph-
seck, 319.
Riidesheim. The Maiden Gisela, 396.
Rudolph of Hapsbtirg. See Taunus,407.
Rutina, St., 172, 271.
Sabina, St., 271.
Sabina (Poppaea), 484.
Sabinus, Flavins, 484.
Sandalphon, 502.
San Domenico and San Sisto, Church
of, Rome. See St. Luke, 184.
San Greal, 503.
San Salvatore. Church of, 514.
Santa Casa, 271.
Santa Maria, Church of, in Via Lata,
Rome. See St. Luke, 184.
Sappho, 484.
Saragossa, 15.
Sarapeion, The, 520.
Sardanapalus, 485.
Sassbachwaldeu. See Mummelsee, 336.
Satis, 517.
Saturnus, 485.
Satvri, 485.
St. Scholastica, 271.
Schomberg, Marshal. See Oberwesel,
390.
Schonberg, 397. See Oberwesel, 390.
Schiinengrimd. See the \Vildsee, 337.
Sclionmiinzach, The River. See the
Wildsee, 337.
Schwalbach. See Adolphseck, 318.
Schwanau, 397.
Scourge, 6.
Scylla and Charybdis, 485.
Sebald, St., 271.
St. Sebastian, 272.
Seckenheim. Frederick the Victorious,
397.
Secundus, St., 274.
See bach. The Spinning Undine, 398
Seine, The River." See St. Romain, 207.
Semiramis. 486.
Serapis, 486, 520.
Serchio, The River. See St. Frediano
of Lucca, 117.
Serena, Empress- See St. Susanna, 283.
Serpent, 4.
8ervi,or Serviti, Order of, 25; see also
St. Philip Benozzi, 256.
Seven, a sacred number, 11.
Seven Joys, The, and the Seven Sor-
rows of the Virgin, 274.
Seven Sleepers ot Kphesus, The, 275.
Seven Virgins. See Oberwesel, 390.
Seven Years' War. See Oppenheim,
391.
Shears, 6.
Shell, 6.
Ship, 6.
Sibyls, 276.
Siebengebirge. See Rolandseck, 395;
Treuenfels, 408.
Siegfried, 410. See Xanten, 414.
Sigismond of Burgundy, St., 279.
Silenus, 486.
Simeon, The Prophet, 193, 280.
St. Simon of Trent. See St. Hugh,
Martyr, 138.
St. Simon Zelotes, 280.
Sinon, 527.
Sirenes, 487.
St. Siro, or Syrus, 280.
Sisiberto, Archbishop. See St. Ilde-
fonso, 142.
Sisyphus, 487.
Skull, 6.
Sleeping Skeptic, The. See Heister-
bach, 373.
Sochos, 518.
Solingen, 398.
Son, 518.
Spalatro, or the Vision of the Bloodv
Hand, 280.
Speyer, 400.
Sphinx, The, 521.
Spinning Undine, The. See Seebach,
398.
Sponge, The. See the History of the
True Cross, 301.
Sponheim, Castle of. See Prophetess
Hildegarde, 345.
Standard, 6.
Stanilas Kotzka, St., 282.
Staufenberg in Ortenau, 400.
Stavoren, 402.
Steropes, 516.
Sterrcnberg, 381, 403.
Stephen, St., 282.
Stephen of Hungary, St., 283
Siolzenfels, 403.
Strasbourg. The Clock, 405. See the
Hennegraben, 339.
Sudarium, The, 283, 309.
Susanna. St., 283.
540
GENERAL INDEX.
Susanna, 283.
Swan Knight, The. See Cleve, 351.
Swidbert, St., 285.
Swithen, St., 285.
Sword, 6.
Sylvester, St., Pope, 285.
Symbolism of Colors, 7.
Symbols of Angels and Archangels, 12.
Symbols of the Apostles, 20.
Symbols of the Evangelists, 17.
Symbols of God the Father, 8.
Symbols of God the Son, 9.
Symbols of the Holy Ghost, 10.
Symbols of the Monastic Orders, 22.
Symbols of the Trinity, 12.
Symbols of the Virgin, 14.
Svmplegades, The, 516.
Syrinx, 488.
Tages, 488.
Tanhauser, 508.
Tantalus, 488.
Taper, 5.
Tarasque, The, or the Dragon of the
Rhone. See St. Martha, 216
Tarquin, King. See Sibyls, 276.
Tasso. See St. Onuphrius, 243.
Tatius, T., 488.
Taunus, 407.
Telephus, 488.
Terpsichore, 488.
Tetramorph, 17, 19.
Thalia, 488.
Thann in Alsace. The Lyingfield, 407 ;
Mortar mixed with Wine, 408.
Theban Legion, The. See St. Maurice,
226: also, St. Theonestus 288.
Thebes, Seven Heroes of, 522.
Thecla, St., 285.
Theodore. St., 288.
Theodosius, Emperor. See St. John
Chrysostom, 156-
Theonestus, St., 288.
Theophilus, St., 90, 288.
Theresa, St., 288.
Theseus, 488.
Thetis, 489.
Thirty Years' War. See Oggersheim,
391"; also Oppenheim, 391.
Thomas, St., 290.
Thomas a Becket, St., 291.
Thomas Aquinas, St., 294.
Thomas of Villanueva, St., 294.
Thoth, 520.
Three Hundred and sixty-five Chil-
dren. See The Hague, 378.
Thut or Thot, 518.
Tibertius, St., 70, 2fl5.
Title of Accusation, The. See the His-
tory of True Cross, 301.
firesias, 490.
Tobias, the son of Tobit, 295.
Torpe, or Torpet, St., 298.
Trajan, Emperor. See St. Gregory the
Great, 128.
Treasure-seeker, The. See Bonn, 346.
Treis, Castle of. See Bacharach, 328.
Treuenfels, 408.
Trifels, Castle of. Richard the Lion-
hearted, 409.
Trinita-di-Monte. Church of. See St
Francis de Paula, 114.
Trinity, Order of the Holy. See St.,
John de Matha, 161.
Triton, 490.
Trojan War, The, 524.
True Cross, The History of, 298.
Typhon, 518.
Ulysses, 490, 527.
Umilitii or Humility, St., 302.
Unicorn, 4.
Urania, 493.
Uranus, 516.
Ursula, St., 303.
Val d'Ombrone, 500.
Valentinian, Emperor. See St. Mar-
tin, 218.
Valerian, St., 70, 309.
Valerie, St., 216, 309.
Vallombrosa, Order of, etc. See St.
John Gualberto, 160.
Vallombrosan Nuns. See St. Umilita,
302.
Venice. Preservation of. Legend. See
St. Mark, 214; also St. Pantaleon,
245.
Vend, 493.
Venus, 494.
Venusberg, 505.
Vera Icon, The, 309.
Verdiana, St., 309.
Veronica, St., 309.
Vertumnus, 494.
Vesta, 495.
Via della Morte, 509.
Victor of Marseilles, St., 310.
Victor of Milan, St., 311.
Villana Beata, 509.
Vincent, St., 311.
Vincent Ferraris, St., 311.
Vincent de Paule, St., 313.
Virgin alone, The, 203.
Virgin and Child enthroned, 206.
Virgin of Mercy, 206.
Virginia, 495.
Visitation of the Virgin, 188.
Vitalis of Ravenna, St., 313.
Vitus, St., 314.
Votive Pictures, 29.
Vulcanus, 495.
Walbeck Church. See St. Henry of
Bavaria, 133.
Walburga, or Walpurgis, St., 314.
GENERAL IXDEX.
541
Walter of IJirbach. See Darmstadt,
357.
Wandering Jew, The, 314.
Wartburg, Castle of. See St. Kli/.a-
beth of Hungary, 95, 97-
Wenceslaus IV. of Germany. See St.
John Nepomuck, 161.
Wenceslaus of Bohemia, St., 315. See
also St. Ludmilla, 183.
Wenzel, Emperor of Germany. See
Rhense, 395.
Werburga, St., 31 5.
Westminster Abbey. See Oberwesel,
390.
Wheels, 6.
Wiesbaden. See Prophetess Hilde-
garde, 346.
Wildsee, The, 337, 410.
William of Norwich, St. See St.
Hugh, Martyr 138.
William of Aquitaine, St., 315. See
St. Benedict of Anian, 56.
Winchester. - s ee St. Swithen, 285.
Windeck, Castle of, 338, 410.
Wish of the Old Castellan. See Ham-
merstein, 371
Wolfsbrunnen. See Heidelberg, 372.
Wolfshag, Baden Haden, 339.
Worms. Siegfried, 410; Combat of
Maximilian I. 412; Captive Jews at
Worms, 412; the Coquettish Maiden
of Wampolder Hot', 413: Liebfrauen-
milch, 413.
Xanten, 414.
Vburg, 416.
Yburg, Burkhardt Keller of, 330, 416.
York, Cathedral of. See St. I'aulinus,
248.
Zahrineen, 416.
Zeno of Verona, St., 315.
Zenobio of Florence, St., 315.
Zephyrus, 496.
Zethus, 496.
Zeus, 496.
Zosimus. See St. Mary of Egypt, 220.
Zurich. See Aix-la-Chapelle, 31ft.
Zuvdersee, 403, 417
PAINTERS, SCULPTORS, ARCHITECTS, ENGRAVERS,
AND THEIR WORKS.
A HANDBOOK.
BY -^_____^
CLARA ERSKINE CLEMENT.
In one volume, crown 8z'<?, frofuscly illustrated, $3.25.
FROM THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
For the convenience of my readers it seems best to explain more fully
than has been done the plan of this book. In writing it I had two objects
constantly in mind, namely, that it must be kept within a portable size and
a moderate cost. In order to do this, all living artists were excluded, and
those not living spoken of with as much conciseness as possible, while few
were mentioned whose works do not come in the way of most travellers.
This last rule when applied to the artists of antiquity takes in a very small
number. Of antique paintings we have almost nothing remaining, and of
antique sculptures but a small number of well attested originals and some
copies. My limits have been exceeded in this respect by adding a few
artists of antiquity of whom much is written and said, but whose works are
not extant. It is a pleasure to elaborate, to dwell with minuteness upon
every known circumstance in the lives of those who have left us works of
art ; and this has often been done. Our libraries are rich in such fascinat-
ing and valuable books ; but my aim was to give outlines ; to supply the
want of a Handbook for travellers, and a convenient book of reference for
all, in which facts may be quickly ascertained ; to make a suggestive rather
than an exhaustive work, in short, a book wherein
"Th" unlearned their wants may view,
The learned reflect on what before they knew."
From L. C. M., in tlte New York Tribune.
This book is a nodium in parvo affair. It will tell you all you want to know of hundreds
of artists, and where to find all you want to know of their more important brethren, of whom
no brief account will suffice you. It is a complete biographical dictionary of the heroes of
brush and chisel and graver. It is copiously illustrated with representations of standard
works of art, the treasures of European galleries and churches, and it contains the mon-
ograms of many of the painters and engravers. Its place in the library is unique, inasmuch
as one would have to turn over scores of volumes to find all which this single handbook con-
tains.
PUBLISHED BY
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY.
QTIje HttierfiiUe Jpregg, Cambri^e.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the ast date stamped below.
QL .
ART LIBRARY
UCLA-Art Library
N 5315 W31 1881
L 006 277 371 8
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