Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

catherine, of, veneration, alexandria, contents, life, historicity, name, medieval, cult, legacy, in, art, see, also, notes, references, external, links, torture, and, martyrdom, private, revelations, anne, emmerich, citations, sources,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (305), catherine (135), and (118), her (78), #alexandria (75), saint (50), was (49), with (39), from (39), that (28), katherine (23), she (22), saints (20), church (20), edit (20), november (19), century (19), christian (18), john (18), retrieved (17), virgin (16), great (16), for (16), martyr (15), university (15), medieval (15), isbn (14), name (14), martyrs (13), hypatia (13), legend (13), 978 (13), articles (12), life (12), cult (12), wheel (12), after (12), who (12), feast (12), orthodox (11), england (11), day (11), catalina (11), santa (11), also (11), catholic (10), women (10), lewis (10), which (10), most (10), wikipedia (9), greek (9), paul (9), sinai (9), late (9), martyrdom (9), had (9), emperor (9), this (8), citation (8), encyclopedia (8), eastern (8), holy (8), walsh (8), many (8), one (8), according (8), named (8), monastery (8), not (8), new (7), roman (7), people (7), other (7), antioch (7), peter (7), has (7), press (7), christine (7), early (7), 2003 (7), mount (7), are (7), his (7), text (6), 2022 (6), egypt (6), 4th (6), states (6), portal (6), gregory (6), mary (6), jerusalem (6), james (6), cyril (6), michael (6), barbara (6), catharine (6), golden (6), island (6), related (6), 2007 (6), pilgrimage (6), young (6), book (6), history (6), museum (6), calendar (6), art (6), marriage (6), first (6), some (6), pagan (6), known (6), were (6), college (6), toggle (5), about (5), may (5), page (5), britannica (5), wikisource (5), 2021 (5), all (5), containing (5), christianity (5), macarius (5), alexander (5), iii (5), felix (5), dorothea (5), margaret (5), city (5), school (5), york (5), 1994 (5), original (5), cambridge (5), here (5), december (5), christ (5), dedicated (5), see (5), although (5), needed (5), emmerich (5), than (5), historical (5), date (5), evidence (5), veneration (5), around (5), death (5), while (5), but (5), maxentius (5), contents (4), search (4), under (4), commons (4), unsourced (4), statements (4), latin (4), language (4), ancient (4), coptic (4), philosophers (4), egyptian (4), fourteen (4), org (4), library (4), national (4), isaac (4), abraham (4), california (4), jacob (4), eusebius (4), cyprus (4), gabriel (4), timothy (4), rome (4), george (4), caxton (4), links (4), 2006 (4), europe (4), texts (4), western (4), lives (4), deakin (4), pizan (4), woman (4), middle (4), ages (4), modern (4), philosopher (4), cathedral (4), patron (4), age (4), english (4), mystic (4), later (4), account (4), family (4), any (4), there (4), legacy (4), have (4), churches (4), become (4), being (4), torture (4), during (4), scholars (4), could (4), what (4), historicity (4), hide (4), move (4), sidebar (4), view (3), site (3), wikimedia (3), inc (3), 2026 (3), incorporating (3), international (3), wikidata (3), whose (3), 305 (3), helpers (3), greece (3), united (3), clement (3), thomas (3), paphnutius (3), thebes (3), moses (3), mother (3), anthony (3), scetis (3), caesarea (3), basil (3), matthew (3), cosmas (3), joseph (3), mark (3), dionysius (3), raphael (3), statue (3), 11th (3), encyclopædia (3), between (3), role (3), eds (3), 1999 (3), girls (3), feasts (3), traditional (3), clugnet (3), 1908 (3), william (3), idea (3), allen (3), 1997 (3), sources (3), catharines (3), two (3), 2004 (3), archived (3), www (3), general (3), 217 (3), mandeville (3), fabri (3), oxford (3), 1995 (3), paris (3), maria (3), catharina (3), 2024 (3), time (3), references (3), article (3), 15th (3), body (3), master (3), sword (3), shown (3), child (3), usually (3), prominent (3), scenes (3), its (3), appearance (3), often (3), version (3), appears (3), among (3), angels (3), private (3), revelations (3), rather (3), been (3), anne (3), patronage (3), episcopal (3), wrote (3), catarina (3), devotion (3), christians (3), tradition (3), celebrated (3), work (3), several (3), create (3), more (3), years (3), however (3), became (3), well (3), based (3), ordered (3), oriental (3), tools (3), subsection (3), main (3), languages (2), table (2), contact (2), privacy (2), policy (2), terms (2), using (2), use (2), edited (2), september (2), categories (2), 1911 (2), reference (2), link (2), august (2), january (2), arabic (2), pages (2), march (2), short (2), description (2), existence (2), female (2), era (2), anglican (2), yale (2), spain (2), three (2), simon (2), didymus (2), ambrose (2), maurice (2), karas (2), theodora (2), samuel (2), confessor (2), poemen (2), simple (2), pachomius (2), marina (2), bashnouna (2), amun (2), abdel (2), porphyrius (2), gaza (2), polycarp (2), myra (2), ignatius (2), nyssa (2), nazianzus (2), epiphanius (2), patriarchs (2), xiv (2), vii (2), simeon (2), theodore (2), damian (2), dioscorus (2), athanasius (2), salamis (2), augustine (2), cyprian (2), fathers (2), sarah (2), bishop (2), assiut (2), abāmūn (2), disciples (2), son (2), bartholomew (2), apostles (2), our (2), theotokos (2), catholicism (2), 1905 (2), translation (2), iconography (2), gallery (2), details (2), passio (2), media (2), wikiquote (2), external (2), watts (2), edward (2), antique (2), development (2), jenkins (2), jacqueline (2), isd (2), 503 (2), 51290 (2), contexts (2), morton (2), 1841 (2), abbotsford (2), club (2), publications (2), london (2), 2000 (2), model (2), foley (2), mccloskey (2), 2009 (2), duffy (2), 1992 (2), altars (2), mathematician (2), 243 (2), 234 (2), translated (2), penguin (2), ladies (2), azevedo (2), 2005 (2), world (2), wisdom (2), philosophy (2), vol (2), robert (2), 1900 (2), bugge (2), 2012 (2), springer (2), barnhouse (2), parish (2), june (2), why (2), kaarina (2), 2008 (2), brief (2), research (2), 2023 (2), massachusetts (2), lacombrade (2), stuttgart (2), 956 (2), 967 (2), 966 (2), gustave (2), bardy (2), 1949 (2), 1503 (2), 1505 (2), 1504 (2), dictionnaire (2), histoire (2), géographie (2), ecclésiastiques (2), alexandrie (2), reallexikon (2), für (2), antike (2), und (2), christentum (2), dzielska (2), harold (2), davis (2), illinois (2), 2020 (2), intercessor (2), october (2), origin (2), pdf (2), restored (2), vaticana (2), 1969 (2), romanum (2), optional (2), memorial (2), liturgical (2), 2014 (2), north (2), america (2), citations (2), αἰκατερίνη (2), notes (2), order (2), kherson (2), glory (2), icon (2), virgo (2), inter (2), virgines (2), crowned (2), scholar (2), group (2), figures (2), thyssen (2), bornemisza (2), caravaggio (2), countless (2), literary (2), princess (2), either (2), long (2), unbound (2), hair (2), unmarried (2), vision (2), shows (2), ring (2), attributes (2), following (2), place (2), these (2), germany (2), born (2), former (2), mercuria (2), childhood (2), rejected (2), idols (2), point (2), father (2), household (2), attributed (2), associated (2), goddess (2), founded (2), celebrates (2), finland (2), ontario (2), spelling (2), particular (2), latter (2), katerini (2), off (2), brazil (2), located (2), west (2), coast (2), state (2), increased (2), nicomedia (2), preachers (2), heaven (2), importance (2), places (2), did (2), changed (2), built (2), compiled (2), observed (2), nov (2), solemnity (2), spiked (2), france (2), likely (2), focus (2), both (2), special (2), hagiographical (2), began (2), tomas (2), woodlark (2), community (2), would (2), study (2), developed (2), students (2), alleged (2), rediscovery (2), 800 (2), those (2), best (2), shrine (2), claimed (2), shrines (2), such (2), oil (2), various (2), healing (2), important (2), including (2), established (2), hagiography (2), derive (2), seen (2), probably (2), herself (2), persecutions (2), confused (2), governor (2), neoplatonist (2), arguing (2), narrative (2), doubtful (2), when (2), refused (2), suggested (2), breaking (2), converted (2), jesus (2), dove (2), crown (2), leon (2), commemorated (2), malta (2), negros (2), dumaguete (2), ilocos (2), sur (2), pampanga (2), film (2), upload (2), file (2), changes (2), read (2), norsk (2), беларуская (2), log (2), donate (2), menu (2), add, topic, mobile, cookie, statement, statistics, developers, code, conduct, legal, safety, contacts, disclaimers, available, additional, apply, you, agree, registered, trademark, non, profit, organization, foundation, creative, attribution, sharealike, license, rendered, parsoid, last, utc, hidden, encyclopaedia, category, 1913, templates, missing, 1453, plainlist, unknown, parameters, dmy, dates, different, consecrated, virgins, african, disputed, marian, visionaries, joan, arc, converts, religions, alexandrians, 3rd, deaths, 282, births, https, index, php, title, catherine_of_alexandria, oldid, 1376334197, lux, rism, open, ddb, deutsche, biographie, cinii, academics, croatia, israel, vatican, poland, latvia, czech, republic, fast, gnd, viaf, isni, authority, control, databases, verena, maximus, domatius, children, tanner, candidus, habib, girgis, euphrosyne, blind, nine, frumentius, nino, illuminator, missionaries, zosimas, shenouda, pijimi, onuphrius, misael, anchorites, theodorus, tabennese, tekle, haymanot, sisoes, pishoy, petronius, tammah, patapios, parsoma, pambo, nilus, black, marinos, monk, dwarf, climacus, isidore, pelusium, nineveh, irini, hospitius, horsiesius, hilarion, awgin, farshut, abib, apollo, messih, makari, nuns, monks, yousab, abah, girga, severian, gabala, severus, serapion, thmuis, psote, ebsay, smyrna, nicholas, narcissus, mikhaeil, asyut, nikiû, nisibis, neocaesarea, bar, hebraeus, abraam, faiyum, abadiu, antinoe, bishops, zacharias, agathon, benjamin, andronicus, anastasius, theodosius, theophilus, theonas, heraclas, demetrius, julian, agrippinus, celadion, markianos, eumenes, justus, kedron, avilius, anianus, popes, nichola, cassian, syncletica, arsenius, ephrem, syrian, aphrahat, hippo, jerome, hilary, poitiers, chrysostom, irenaeus, justin, papias, hierapolis, wanas, wadamoun, veronica, varus, stratelates, theoclia, thecla, theban, legion, sidhom, bishay, rais, philotheos, philomena, otimus, nag, hammadi, moura, mohrael, menas, memnon, maspero, malati, kosheh, senhout, dafra, imbaba, innocents, hor, besoy, daydara, gereon, mozahem, gallicanus, metgaly, regula, faustus, abibus, epimachus, elias, companions, dismas, good, thief, demiana, dasya, cyrus, justina, colluthus, chiaffredo, chrysanthus, daria, basilides, potamiana, apollonia, arianus, alexandrian, abaskhiron, abanoub, libya, luke, evangelists, seventy, titus, stephen, silvanus, priscilla, aquila, philemon, phoebe, deaconess, magdalene, barnabas, apollos, philip, matthias, jude, zebedee, alphaeus, andrew, ananiel, sarathiel, zedekiel, suriel, seven, archangels, zeitoun, warraq, lady, baptist, daniel, ezekiel, baruch, jeremiah, isaiah, malachi, zechariah, haggai, zephaniah, habakkuk, noah, nahum, jonah, obadiah, joel, micah, amos, hosea, david, job, prophets, vitus, pantaleon, giles, eustace, elmo, denis, cyriacus, christopher, blaise, acacius, colonnade, square, web, muhu, estonia, includes, icons, 1033, 1048, sanctae, katharinae, quotations, jay, 9780520244214, athens, aldershot, ashgate, normans, via, cornell, boydell, 85115, 773, training, noe͏̈l, menuge, martin, 312, 22130, phillips, kim, leonard, patrick, franciscan, 86716, 887, lessons, eamon, 300, 06076, stripping, religion, 1400, 1580, amherst, mathematics, 0002, 9890, issn, 1080, 00029890, 11996935, doi, 101, american, mathematical, monthly, lawson, 196101, treasure, virtues, mateus, soares, 941532, shall, know, truth, perennial, léon, herbermann, charles, appleton, company, dent, englished, 015, 6886, virginitas, essay, 4039, 8312, knight, tower, manners, prudence, 2nd, eerdmans, 8028, 4270, concept, aristotelian, revolution, 750, 1250, 2018, scaoaklawn, home, exhibits, brocku, brock, lutheran, turku, otte, stacey, pedersen, jeannine, february, usgs, astrogeology, program, gazetteer, planetary, nomenclature, july, vbinder, net, convention, virtual, binder, april, yuste, belén, rivas, caballero, sonnia, real, academia, historia, tomás, 126, 193, trans, rosalind, brown, grant, books, 203, 146, 174, 229, 132, dover, 1964, ams, 1971, wanderings, travels, sir, ardeene, dobson, 1981, seinte, katerine, bodley, manuscripts, 197, 198, 214, thayer, principia, 1957, 441, 324, answers, çetinbaş, bride, muhammad, comparative, cults, rabi, basra, thesis, studies, central, european, budapest, crawley, 2013, 133, voragine, jacobus, granger, ryan, revised, princeton, 341, 0691001548, 334, readings, 2010, volume, irene, gonzález, hernando, theologian, geological, survey, oca, 135, 202, publishing, 535, 64065, 808, 534, lesser, fasts, craughwell, 2017, 2025, register, libreria, editrice, 147, calendarium, administrationem, patrimonii, sedis, apostolicae, civitate, 641, martyrologium, catholicculture, wednesday, thirty, fourth, week, ordinary, self, ruled, antiochian, archdiocese, referred, alexandrina, القديسة, كاترين, ἁγία, μεγαλομάρτυς, ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ, ⲕⲁⲧⲧⲣⲓⲛ, taffy, boletice, archive, list, patristic, old, goa, painting, azerbaijan, bernardino, luini, queen, painted, huysmans, braganza, triptych, hans, memling, catherin, rubens, crowning, lorenzo, lotto, fresco, italy, urtijëi, refectory, pamplona, resurrection, basilica, maggiore, girolamo, citolanzo, lucy, reading, again, ground, 1520, behind, magdalen, konrad, witz, siena, ambrogio, bergognone, very, frequently, attending, showing, surrounding, notable, paintings, include, single, madrid, images, depicted, especially, makes, can, easily, recognised, richly, dressed, befits, rank, holds, stands, next, segment, carries, actually, executed, blonde, reddish, infant, held, placing, finger, accounts, adult, takes, crowd, celestial, court, palm, attribute, mystical, walters, further, raised, residence, possessed, extraordinary, interior, visions, confined, repeatedly, removing, spent, described, costa, descending, princely, mesopotamia, granted, extensive, lands, belonging, priestly, worship, derketo, blessed, minnesota, san, marcos, speaking, independent, diocesan, richmond, virginia, french, nun, tragedy, annually, final, thursday, abingdon, helen, katharine, sœur, chapelle, sisters, carondelet, definitive, documentation, exists, conclusively, prove, founders, chose, unique, reason, oak, lawn, pyrotechnic, rotates, sparks, flying, directions, took, lunar, impact, crater, pacific, ocean, arrived, arizona, mountains, sebastián, vizcaíno, gulf, canada, remains, strong, amongst, relative, ease, travel, pilgrimages, officially, added, shares, commemoration, remembered, catholics, carving, crean, tomb, dating, 1506, sligo, abbey, ranked, unceasingly, praised, sung, poets, believed, beautiful, magnificent, poem, honour, vox, sonora, nostri, chori, adam, victor, panegyrics, jacques, benigne, bossuet, helpful, describes, bulgarian, celebrate, 1689, celebration, story, wish, share, patronal, hence, supported, russia, because, footnote, entry, hieromonk, makarios, simonos, petra, until, 16th, memory, note, koutloumousiou, inserted, transferred, might, kept, greater, menaion, synaxarion, presentation, leavetaking, empress, kniga, zhyty, sviatykh, dimitry, rostov, kievan, rus, serbian, russian, principal, symbol, denominations, utmost, servile, suppressed, devotions, attended, numbers, dioceses, beginning, 17th, splendour, ceremonial, eclipsing, chapels, placed, nearly, representing, instrument, obligation, wood, korpo, large, less, expressed, through, models, proper, feminine, behaviour, used, status, times, superseded, intercessory, paragon, emphasizing, virginity, wifely, chastity, instance, naming, 14th, literature, soon, popularity, reduce, 18th, catalan, geoffrey, tour, landry, exemplar, 1473, sought, small, exclusively, chosen, homage, part, renaissance, learning, delegacy, unattached, formed, 1868, henry, valois, theology, king, provost, gate, spurred, 500, supposedly, still, growing, constant, stream, issuing, narratives, chronicle, journey, notably, friar, difficult, reach, house, fingers, alone, accompanied, scattered, throughout, better, sites, phial, brought, back, generally, local, only, identified, mentions, physical, hill, hampshire, westminster, canterbury, rouen, religious, culture, arguably, considered, others, power, renowned, firmly, versions, specifically, entreats, moment, answer, prayers, remember, invoke, valerie, limoges, lucia, syracuse, agnes, carlo, crivelli, etymology, debated, each, insult, outrage, suffering, meaning, consecration, your, pure, katerina, katharina, reflect, katharós, καθαρός, aikía, αἰκία, hecate, hekáteros, ἑκάτερος, ekaterínē, ἑκατερίνη, aikaterínē, 143, originated, oral, traditions, figure, composite, drawn, memories, persecuted, their, faith, aspects, clearly, legendary, conform, topoi, diocletianic, discusses, earliest, surviving, comes, 600, document, 976, relics, foot, presumably, implies, existing, though, common, discovery, menologium, 1618, van, dyck, catherina, argue, slightly, astronomer, murdered, accused, exacerbating, conflict, popular, theory, since, accepts, parallels, does, believe, against, created, orestes, parabalani, anna, brownell, jameson, dismisses, calls, lack, positive, ever, existed, outside, mind, writer, composed, intended, simply, edifying, romance, writes, assiduous, failed, identify, personage, donald, attwater, denying, embellish, discourses, inventions, extant, written, mention, before, 9th, 1619, artemisia, gentileschi, sometimes, cited, possible, inspiration, 320, come, palace, mistress, punished, having, banished, estates, confiscated, names, sixteenth, italian, historian, 1538, 1607, same, person, hecaterina, gift, god, given, baptism, caesar, baronius, δωροθέα, rufinus, aquileia, maximinus, 6th, now, originally, encircling, purported, make, receive, miracle, burning, bush, justinian, furious, condemned, touch, shattered, beheaded, execution, commence, per, milk, like, substance, blood, flowed, neck, imprisonment, 200, came, wife, subsequently, offered, imperial, declaring, martyred, valeria, maximilla, gave, orders, subject, terrible, tortures, then, throw, prison, tells, confinement, fed, daily, visited, encouraging, fight, bravely, promised, everlasting, tended, wounds, salve, daughter, sabinella, constus, costus, reign, 286, greco, devoted, persuaded, went, rebuked, him, cruelty, summoned, orators, dispute, hoping, they, refute, pro, arguments, won, debate, adversaries, conquered, eloquence, declared, themselves, once, put, maximian, consider, murder, despite, occurring, 110, reversed, case, hand, writing, contemporary, hagiographers, look, upon, authenticity, therefore, meant, cast, even, shadow, doubt, venerates, depending, regional, traditionally, revered, removed, 2002, together, martyrology, spelled, suffered, hands, noted, hundreds, dying, educators, knife, sharpeners, lacemakers, lawyers, librarians, libraries, mechanics, millers, nurses, schoolchildren, secretaries, haberdashers, wheelwrights, belgium, bosnia, herzegovina, bagac, bataan, santo, diocese, tayum, abra, iloilo, arayat, porac, cebu, carcar, gerona, tarlac, philippines, pagbilao, quezon, stabroek, grude, żurrieq, żejtun, aalsum, oviedo, theologians, tanners, stenographers, spinsters, scribes, milliners, maidens, massey, balliol, jurists, archivists, spinners, potters, craftsmen, apologists, feet, surrounded, scourge, bridal, veil, hailstones, major, pre, congregation, canonized, lutheranism, communion, venerated, aged, died, 287, 1598, 2015, uses, disambiguation, free, item, projects, printable, download, print, export, switch, parser, get, shortened, url, cite, information, permanent, actions, talk, tiếng, việt, vèneto, اردو, українська, türkçe, ไทย, kiswahili, svenska, српски, srpski, slovenščina, slovenčina, srpskohrvatski, српскохрватски, русский, română, português, پنجابی, polski, bokmål, nynorsk, nederlands, malti, മലയാളം, latviešu, lietuvių, lombard, ladin, lëtzebuergesch, latina, коми, 한국어, ქართული, jawa, 日本語, italiano, igbo, bahasa, indonesia, interlingua, magyar, hrvatski, עברית, hausa, galego, gaeilge, frysk, français, suomi, فارسی, euskara, eesti, español, esperanto

Text of the page (random words):
ughter of sabinella and constus or costus the governor of alexandria during the reign of the emperor maximian 286 305 12 she was a greco egyptian 13 from a young age she devoted herself to study a vision of the virgin mary and the child jesus persuaded her to become a christian when the persecutions began under the emperor maxentius she went to the emperor and rebuked him for his cruelty the emperor summoned 50 of the best pagan philosophers and orators to dispute with her hoping that they would refute her pro christian arguments but catherine won the debate several of her adversaries conquered by her eloquence declared themselves christians and were at once put to death 11 torture and martyrdom edit icon of saint catherine of alexandria with scenes from her martyrdom the emperor gave orders to subject catherine to terrible tortures and then throw her in prison 12 her legend tells that during the confinement she was fed daily by a dove from heaven and christ also visited her encouraging her to fight bravely and promised her the crown of everlasting glory 14 15 angels tended her wounds with salve during her imprisonment more than 200 people came to see her including maxentius wife valeria maximilla all converted to christianity and were subsequently martyred 16 maxentius offered catherine a place in his imperial household but catherine refused declaring that she had dedicated her life to jesus christ 17 the furious emperor condemned catherine to death on a spiked breaking wheel but at her touch it shattered 11 maxentius ordered her to be beheaded catherine ordered the execution to commence as per her legend a milk like substance rather than blood flowed from her neck 18 veneration edit in the 6th century the eastern emperor justinian had established what is now saint catherine s monastery in egypt which had been originally built encircling the purported burning bush seen by moses countless people make the pilgrimage to the monastery to receive miracle healing from catherine 19 historicity edit sometimes cited as a possible inspiration of catherine eusebius wrote around 320 that maximinus had ordered a young christian woman to come to his palace to become his mistress and when she refused he had her punished by having her banished and her estates confiscated 20 eusebius did not name the woman but rufinus of aquileia names her dorothea δωροθέα in his translation of eusebius work a sixteenth century italian historian caesar baronius c 1538 1607 suggested that catherine and dorothea were the same person and that catherine hecaterina was her former pagan name while dorothea the gift of god was the name given to her at the time of baptism 21 saint catherine of alexandria by artemisia gentileschi c 1619 the catholic encyclopedia while not denying her historicity states that most of the details that embellish the narrative as well as the long discourses attributed to catherine are to be rejected as later inventions 22 according to the encyclopædia britannica no extant written mention of catherine of alexandria is known before the 9th century and her historicity is doubtful 23 donald attwater dismisses what he calls the legend of saint catherine arguing for a lack of any positive evidence that she ever existed outside the mind of some greek writer who first composed what he intended to be simply an edifying romance 24 harold davis writes that assiduous research has failed to identify catherine with any historical personage 25 26 anna brownell jameson was the first to argue that the life of catherine was confused with that of the slightly later neoplatonist philosopher hypatia of alexandria 27 hypatia was a greek mathematician astronomer and philosopher who was murdered by the parabalani after being accused of exacerbating a conflict between two prominent figures in alexandria the governor orestes and the bishop cyril 28 29 the idea that catherine s life was either based on or became confused with the life of the pagan hypatia has become a popular theory among modern scholars since however while christine walsh accepts the many parallels between catherine and hypatia she does not believe there is any evidence for or against the idea that catherine was created based on hypatia 27 9 30 the mystic marriage of saint catherina by anthony van dyck 1618 20 the earliest surviving account of catherine s life comes around 600 years after the traditional date of her martyrdom in the menologium a document compiled for emperor basil ii in 976 although the alleged rediscovery of her relics at saint catherine s monastery at the foot of mount sinai was about 800 31 and presumably implies an existing cult at that date though the common name of the monastery developed after the discovery in her book the cult of st katherine of alexandria in early medieval europe christine walsh discusses the historical katherine as we have seen the cult of st katherine of alexandria probably originated in oral traditions from the 4th century diocletianic persecutions of christians in alexandria there is no evidence that katherine herself was a historical figure and she may well have been a composite drawn from memories of women persecuted for their faith many aspects of her passio are clearly legendary and conform to well known hagiographical topoi walsh 2007 p 143 name edit her name appears in greek as αἰκατερίνη aikaterínē or ἑκατερίνη ekaterínē the etymology is debated it could derive from ἑκάτερος hekáteros each of two it could derive from the name of the goddess hecate it could be related to greek αἰκία aikía insult outrage suffering torture or it could be from a coptic name meaning my consecration of your name in the early christian era it became associated with greek καθαρός katharós pure and the latin spelling was changed from katerina to katharina to reflect this medieval cult edit catherine of alexandria by carlo crivelli catherine was one of the most important saints in the religious culture of the late middle ages and arguably considered the most important of the virgin martyrs a group including agnes of rome margaret of antioch barbara lucia of syracuse valerie of limoges and many others her power as an intercessor was renowned and firmly established in most versions of her hagiography in which she specifically entreats christ at the moment of her death to answer the prayers of those who remember her martyrdom and invoke her name citation needed the development of her medieval cult was spurred by the alleged rediscovery of her body around 800 about 500 years after her death at mount sinai supposedly with hair still growing and a constant stream of healing oil issuing from her body 31 there are several pilgrimage narratives that chronicle the journey to mount sinai most notably those of john mandeville and friar felix fabri 32 however while the monastery at mount sinai was the best known site of catherine pilgrimage it was also the most difficult to reach the most prominent western shrine was the monastery in rouen that claimed to house catherine s fingers it was not alone in the west however and was accompanied by many scattered shrines and altars dedicated to catherine throughout france and england some were better known sites such as canterbury and westminster which claimed a phial of her oil brought back from mount sinai by edward the confessor 33 34 other shrines such as st catherine s hill hampshire were the focus of generally local pilgrimage many of which are only identified by brief mentions in various texts rather than by physical evidence 35 st catharine s college cambridge gate catharine wheel st catharine s college cambridge was founded on st catharine s day 25 november 1473 by robert woodlark provost of king s college cambridge who sought to create a small community of scholars who would study exclusively theology and philosophy woodlark may have chosen the name in homage to catherine of valois mother of henry vi of england although it is more likely that it was named as part of the renaissance cult of saint catherine who was a patron saint of learning st catherine s college oxford developed from the delegacy for unattached students formed in 1868 catherine also had a large female following whose devotion was less likely to be expressed through pilgrimage the importance of the virgin martyrs as the focus of devotion and models for proper feminine behaviour increased during the late middle ages 36 37 38 among these st catherine in particular was used as an exemplar for women a status which at times superseded her intercessory role 39 both christine de pizan and geoffrey de la tour landry point to catherine as a paragon for young women emphasizing her model of virginity and wifely chastity 40 41 42 this shows also for instance in the naming of catalina tomas catalina being the catalan version of catherine whose family had a special veneration of catherine of alexandria 43 from the early 14th century the mystic marriage of saint catherine first appears in hagiographical literature and soon after in art in the western church the popularity of her cult began to reduce in the 18th century 44 veneration edit saint catherine of alexandria wood statue at the korpo church in finland her principal symbol is the spiked wheel which has become known as the catherine wheel and her feast day is celebrated on 25 november by most denominations in many places her feast was celebrated with the utmost solemnity servile work being suppressed and the devotions attended by great numbers of people in several dioceses of france it was observed as a holy day of obligation up to the beginning of the 17th century the splendour of its ceremonial eclipsing that of the feasts of some of the apostles many chapels were placed under her patronage and nearly all churches had a statue of her representing her according to medieval iconography with a wheel her instrument of torture citation needed the russian serbian and bulgarian eastern orthodox churches celebrate it on 24 november the origin of this tradition is not known in 11th century kievan rus the feast day was celebrated on 25 november dimitry of rostov in his kniga zhyty sviatykh book of the lives of the saints t 1 1689 places the date of celebration on 24 november a story that empress catherine the great did not wish to share her patronal feast with the leavetaking of the feast of the presentation of the theotokos and hence changed the date is not supported by historical evidence one of the first catholic churches to be built in russia the catholic church of st catherine was named after catherine of alexandria because she was catherine the great s patron a footnote to the entry for 25 november in the synaxarion compiled by hieromonk makarios of simonos petra states until the 16th century the memory of st catherine was observed on 24 nov according to a note by bartholomew of koutloumousiou inserted in the menaion the fathers of sinai transferred the date to 25 nov in order that the feast might be kept with greater solemnity the 1908 catholic encyclopedia describes her historical importance ranked with st margaret and st barbara as one of the fourteen most helpful saints in heaven she was unceasingly praised by preachers and sung by poets it is believed that jacques benigne bossuet dedicated to her one of his most beautiful panegyrics and that adam of st victor wrote a magnificent poem in her honour vox sonora nostri chori a carving of saint catherine of alexandria from the o crean tomb in sligo abbey dating from 1506 devotion to catherine remains strong amongst eastern catholics and eastern orthodox christians with the relative ease of travel in the modern age pilgrimages to saint catherine s monastery on mount sinai have increased catherine of alexandria is remembered in the church of england with a commemoration on 25 november 45 in 2022 catherine was officially added to the episcopal church liturgical calendar with a feast day she shares with barbara of nicomedia and margaret of antioch on 24 november 46 legacy edit cathedral dedicated to catherine of alexandria located in st catharines ontario canada the pyrotechnic catherine wheel which rotates with sparks flying off in all directions took its name from the saint s wheel of martyrdom 20 the lunar impact crater catharina is named after saint catherine 47 santa catarina island in brazil and the state of santa catarina are named after her the gulf of santa catalina is located in the pacific ocean on the west coast of north america santa catalina island off the coast of california was named by sebastián vizcaíno who arrived there on her feast day 48 the santa catalina mountains in arizona are named after her kaarina finland is named after her 49 catherine of alexandria is the patron saint of katerini greece and of st catharines ontario although no definitive documentation exists to conclusively prove that the founders chose the unique spelling for any one particular reason 50 for the latter st catherine of alexandria parish and school in oak lawn illinois is named after her 51 st catherine university in st paul minnesota was founded in 1905 by the sisters of st joseph of carondelet and is under the patronage of catherine of alexandria 52 university of saint katherine in san marcos california is the first eastern orthodox christian university in the united states and the english speaking world citation needed st catherine s school is an independent episcopal diocesan school in richmond virginia sœur de la chapelle was a french nun who wrote a tragedy about saint catherine s martyrdom st helen and st katharine school in abingdon celebrates st katherine s day annually on the final thursday of november private revelations of anne catherine emmerich edit according to the private revelations attributed to blessed anne catherine emmerich catherine spent her childhood in cyprus rather than alexandria emmerich described her father costa as descending from a princely family of mesopotamia who had been granted extensive lands in cyprus and her mother as belonging to the pagan priestly family of mercuria in salamis cyprus which was associated with the worship of the goddess derketo emmerich further related that catherine was born and raised in the former residence of mercuria s family possessed extraordinary wisdom and interior visions from childhood rejected pagan idols and was at one point confined by her father after repeatedly removing the household idols citation needed in art edit scenes from the life of saint catherine of alexandria germany c 15th century walters art museum countless images of saint catherine are depicted in art especially in the late middle ages which is also the time that the account of saint catherine s mystical marriage makes its first literary appearance she can usually be easily recognised as she is richly dressed and crowned as befits her rank as a princess and often holds or stands next to a segment of her wheel as an attribute she also o...