Dear needtoknow123,
Here is the information you requested:
- St. Perpetua -
Her full name was Vibia Perpetua, a young married lady of noble birth
who lived in Carthage, in the Roman province of Africa, in the early
2nd century AD. She was a Christian in a time when by a rescript of
Roman emperor Septimus Severus (193-211) all imperial subjects were
forbidden under severe penalties to become Christians. She and her
baptized slave, St. Felicitas, were arrested and sentence to be torn
in pieces by wild animals. By intervention of Perpetua's pagan father,
she was given a chance to abjure her faith before the Roman governor
Hilarianus, but she refused to. The public execution of the two women
and their three Christian companions (one had died in prison) took
place 7 March 203 AD, in the amphitheatre of Carthage.
St. Perpetua does not have a symbol or attribute which identifies her
in art. This picture shows her, portrayed as a late-Roman lady, on a
6th century wall mosaic in the Byzantine Eufrasiana Basilica, Porec,
Croatia:
http://nickerson.icomos.org/euf/u/ul-.jpg
(Nickerson: Eufrasiana Basillica)
Additional information:
Medieval Sourcebook: St.Perpetua - The Passion of Saints Perpetua and
Felicity 203
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/perpetua.html
New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia - Sts. Felicitas and Perpetua
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06029a.htm
The Lectionary: Perpetua and her Companions, by James Kiefer
http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Perpetua.htm
- St. Catherine of Alexandria -
A young, learned Roman lady of noble birth who had coverted to
Christianity. During the persecution of emperor Maximus, she offered
to debate the pagan philosophers. Many were converted by her
arguments, and immediately martyred. Maximus had her scourged and
imprisoned. The empress and the leader of Maximus' army were amazed by
the stories, went to see Catherine in prison. They converted and were
martyred. Maximus ordered her broken on the wheel, but she touched it
and the wheel was destroyed. She then was beheaded, c. 310 AD in
Alexandria, Egypt.
Her common attribute in art is the (sometimes broken) spiked wheel she
was tortured on, as shown on this picture (Dante Gabriel Rossetti: St.
Catherine, 1857. Oil on canvas. Tate Gallery, London, UK):
http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rossetti/rossetti13.html
(Olga's Gallery: Dante Gabriel Rossetti: St. Catherine)
Additional information:
New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Catherine of Alexandria
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03445a.htm
Catholic Forum: St. Catherine of Alexandria
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc01.htm
- St. Christopher -
He was a 3rd century martyr under Roman emperor Decius (reigned
249-251), but little else is known of one of the most popular saints.
The legend says: A heathen king (in Canaan or Arabia), through the
prayers of his wife to the Blessed Virgin, had a son, whom he called
Offerus (Offro, Adokimus, or Reprebus) and dedicated to the gods
Machmet and Apollo. Acquiring in time extraordinary size and strength,
Offerus resolved to serve only the strongest and the bravest. He bound
himself successively to a mighty king and to Satan, but he found both
lacking in courage, the former dreading even the name of the devil,
and the latter frightened by the sight of a cross at the roadside. For
a time his search for a new master was in vain, but at last he found a
hermit (Babylas?) who told him to offer his allegiance to Christ,
instructed him in the Faith, and baptized him. Christopher, as he was
now called, would not promise to do any fasting or praying, but
willingly accepted the task of carrying people, for God's sake, across
a raging stream. One day he was carrying a child who continually grew
heavier, so that it seemed to him as if he had the whole world on his
shoulders. The child, on inquiry, made himself known as the Creator
and Redeemer of the world. To prove his statement the child ordered
Christopher to fix his staff in the ground. The next morning it had
grown into a palm-tree bearing fruit. The miracle converted many. This
excited the rage of the king (prefect) of that region (Dagnus of Samos
in Lycia?). Christopher was put into prison and, after many cruel
torments, beheaded, probably around 251.
In art, St. Christopher is usually characterized by Jesus as a child,
whom he carries on his shoulders through a torrent. This picture (St.
Christopher with the Christ Child by Simon Pereyns, 1588, at Catedral
Metropolitano, Mexico City) gives an impression of a typical image of
St. Christoper:
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/stc05016.jpg
(Catholic Forum: Patron Saints - Pictures of St. Christopher)
Additional information:
New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Christoper
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03728a.htm
Catholic Forum: Patron Saints - St. Christopher
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc05.htm
- St. Lucy -
A virgin and martyr of Syracuse in Sicily, whose feast is celebrated
by Latins and Greeks alike on 13 Dec. According to the traditional
story, she was born of rich and noble parents about the year 283. Her
mother Eutychia was persuaded to make a pilgrimage in the hope of
being cured or a haemorrhage, from which she had been suffering for
several years. There she was in fact cured, and Lucy, availing herself
of the opportunity, persuaded her mother to allow her to distribute a
great part of her riches among the poor. The largess stirred the greed
of the unworthy youth to whom Lucy had been unwillingly betrothed, and
he denounced her to Paschasius, the Governor of Sicily. It was in the
year 303, during the fierce persecution of Roman emperor Diocletian.
She was first of all condemned to suffer the shame of prostitution;
but in the strength of God she stood immovable, so that they could not
drag her away to the place of shame. Bundles of wood were then heaped
about her and set on fire, and again God saved her. Finally, she met
her death by the sword in about 300-303 AD in Rome. But before she
died she foretold the punishment of Paschasius and the speedy
termination of the persecution, adding that Diocletian would reign no
more, and co-emperor Maximian would meet his end.
There are two stories of what happened to her eyes; one claims that
she tore her own eyes out and sent them to a suitor, one says that her
eyes were torn out as part of her martyrdom. Either was, they were
miraculously restored to her head. Thus, her eyes on a dish became her
attribute in art, as shown on this picture (Domenico Beccafumi: St
Lucy, 1521, oil on wood. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena, Italy):
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/art/b/beccafum/6st_lucy.jpg
(Web Gallery of Art: Beccafumi)
Additional information:
New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Lucy
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09414a.htm
Additional sources:
Saints Alive!: Saints' Symbols in Art
http://www.ichrusa.com/saintsalive/patron.htm#1
Domestic-Church.com: The Saints and Their Symbols, by Shonnie Scarola
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19980101/ARTICLES/STSYMBOLS.HTM
Studio of Cynthia Large : Keyboard Instruments
http://www.cynthialarge.com/keyboard/keyboardessay.html
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Hope this is what you were looking for!
Best regards,
Scriptor |
