Eurosia (or Orosia) is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Jaca Jaca (; in Aragonese: ''Chaca'' or ''Xaca'') is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón River, situated at the crossing of two great ea ...

, a city in the

province of Huesca Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French Departments of Haute-Ga ...

of northeastern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

, the center of her

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

. In Spain, the "

Fiesta ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas *St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts *Fiestas d ...

de Santa Orosia" is celebrated on 25 June. Tradition states that she was born in

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

(or perhaps

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

) and died in 714,

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed by the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

at Jaca. Her legend states that she was of noble birth and

promised A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...

to a Moor in an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

. Eurosia escaped and hid in a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

. Unfortunately, the smoke from her fire led to her capture. She was dragged from the cave by her hair and martyred.

Eurosia as Bohemian princess

According to an alternate tradition, she was born ''

Dobroslava Dobroslava ( rue, Доброслава, hu, Dobroszló) is a village and municipality in Svidník District in the Prešov Region of north-eastern Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1600. The village is prim ...

'' into the ducal family of Bohemia in 864. When orphaned, Dobroslava was adopted by the succeeding duke, Borivoj I. Borivoj's wife was

Saint Ludmila Ludmila of Bohemia (c. 860 – 15 September 921) is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as the daughter of the Sorbian prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother ...

, who converted her adoptive daughter to the Christian faith. Dobroslava became ''Eurosia'' ("eloquent") – the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

translation of her

Slavic name Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most common in Slavic peoples, Slavic countries. The main types of Slavic names: * Two-basic names, often ending in mir/měr (''Ostromir/měr'', ''Tihomir/měr'', ''Niemir, Němir/měr''), ...

. Borivoj was deposed by

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

s, but restored thanks to the efforts of Saint Methodius. In 880, Methodius was ordered by

Pope John VIII Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century. John devoted much of his papacy ...

to find a worthy spouse for the son of the

king of Pamplona The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

, Prince Fortún; this son was heir to the throne of Aragon and Navarre, and would be a critical player in the fight against the Moors in

. Eurosia, now sixteen years old, was considered a good candidate, and was brought to Spain in 880. As she crossed the Pyrenees, she planned to meet her future spouse at Jaca. However, this area had become a war zone. A Moorish captain named Aben Lupo planned to wed Eurosia for himself and attacked the Bohemian party. However, thanks to the bravery of Eurosia's escort, the young bride-to-be managed to escape through the mountains. She was pursued and eventually caught. Eurosia invoked the heavens and a lightning bolt hit the ground near her captors. Nevertheless, her limbs were amputated and she was

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

. After she was beheaded, a storm came, terrorizing her tormentors.

Veneration

A shepherd of Yebra de Basa is said to have discovered her relics in the 11th century thanks to an

apparition of the Virgin Mary A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian ap ...

that identified their resting place. Her head remained at the original simple shrine, while

Sancho Ramírez Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V ( eu, Antso V.a Ramirez). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the f ...

, recognizing the importance of Eurosia's

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

, brought her body to Jaca, which he had designated his capital of his

kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, ...

. Drawing pilgrims to his city, he shifted the traditional route of the

Way of St. James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostle ...

, which had followed the Roman military route of the Puerto del Palo by the Monastery of San Pedro de Siresa to Berdún. He established a route through

Somport Somport or Col du Somport, known also as the Aspe Pass or Canfranc Pass, (el. 1632 m.) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain. Its name is derived from the Latin ''Summus portus''. It was one of the most popu ...

and Jaca, to bring traffic through his city, reinforced by publicized miracles at the urban shrine that was now on the direct route of the ''

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

''. There is a chapel dedicated to her in

La Seo Cathedral The Cathedral of the Savior ( es, Catedral del Salvador) or La Seo de Zaragoza is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain. It is part of the World Heritage Site ''Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon''. The cathedral is located on th ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

. Her cult spread throughout

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Bas ...

and northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

thanks to the subsequent campaigns of the Spanish realm in those regions. It is unclear when Eurosia became patroness of the demonically possessed. Until 1947, when the Bishop of Jaca prohibited the practice, those who were afflicted with possession were brought together in a procession and followed an

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

carrying her relics.

References

External links

Saints of June 25: Eurosia (Orosia)

Sant' Eurosia di Jaca

{{Authority control 8th-century Christian saints 8th-century Christian martyrs Czech Roman Catholic saints Women of medieval Bohemia People from Jaca Medieval Spanish saints Year of birth unknown Female saints of medieval Spain 9th-century people from the Kingdom of Pamplona Female saints of medieval Bohemia