Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
and
virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
, who was
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...
ed in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor
Maxentius. According to her
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
, she was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
around age 14, converted hundreds of people to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, and was
martyred around age 18.
The
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
venerates her as a
great martyr and celebrates her
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
on 24 or 25 November, depending on the regional tradition. In
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Catherine is traditionally revered as one of the
Fourteen Holy Helpers, and she is commemorated in the
Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' () is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved appendices to it. It provid ...
on 25 November. Her feast was removed from the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
in 1969 but restored in 2002 as an optional memorial. In the
Episcopal Church, St. Catherine is commemorated on 24 November, together with the martyrs
Barbara of Nicomedia and
Margaret of Antioch, while in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
her feast day is 25 November.
Some modern scholars consider that the legend of Catherine was probably based on the life and murder of the virgin Saint
Dorothea of Alexandria
Dorothea of Alexandria (died c. 320) is venerated as a Christian virgin and saint. Her legend states that the Roman Emperor Maximinus Daia courted her, yet she rejected his suit in fidelity to Christianity and virginity, and fled Alexandria. She ...
and the
Greek philosopher
Hypatia
Hypatia (born 350–370 – March 415 AD) was a Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt (Roman province), Egypt: at that time a major city of the Eastern Roman Empire. In Alexandria, Hypatia was ...
, with the reversed role of a Christian and
neoplatonist in the case of the latter. On the other hand, Leon Clugnet writing in the
Catholic Encyclopedia
''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
states "although contemporary hagiographers look upon the authenticity of the various texts containing the legend of St. Catherine as more than doubtful, it is not therefore meant to cast even the shadow of a doubt around the existence of the saint".
Life
According to the traditional narrative, Catherine was the daughter of Sabinella and Constus (or Costus), the governor of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
during the reign of the emperor
Maximian
Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...
(286–305).
She was of
Greek origin. From a young age she devoted herself to study. A vision of the
Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
and the
Child Jesus
The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...
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.
Torture and martyrdom

The emperor gave orders to subject Catherine to terrible tortures and then throw her in prison.
[ 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. 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 ]martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, 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 external party. In ...
ed. Upon the failure of Maxentius to make Catherine yield by way of torture, he tried to win her over by proposing marriage. Catherine refused, declaring that her spouse was Jesus Christ, to whom she had consecrated her virginity.
The furious emperor condemned Catherine to death on a spiked breaking wheel, but at her touch it shattered. 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.
Veneration
In the 6th century, the Eastern Emperor Justinian
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
had established what is now Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...
in Egypt, which had been originally built encircling the purported burning bush
The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament and Islamic scripture). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb ...
seen by Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
. Countless people make the pilgrimage to the monastery to receive miracle healing from Catherine.
Historicity
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. Eusebius did not name the woman but Rufinus of Aquileia names her Dorothea () 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.
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia
''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
'', 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. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
'', no extant written mention of Catherine of Alexandria is known before the 9th century, and "her historicity is doubtful".
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." Harold Davis writes that "assiduous research has failed to identify Catherine with any historical personage".
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. 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
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...
and the bishop Cyril
Cyril (also Cyrillus or Cyryl) is a masculine given name. It is derived from the Greek language, Greek name (''Kýrillos''), meaning 'lordly, masterful', which in turn derives from Greek (''kýrios'') 'lord'. There are various variant forms of t ...
. 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.
The earliest surviving account of Catherine's life comes around 600 years after the traditional date of her martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' 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 external party. In colloqui ...
, in the '' Menologium'', a document compiled for Emperor Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...
in 976, although the alleged rediscovery of her relics at Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...
at the foot of Mount Sinai was about 800[S. R. T. O d'Ardeene and E. J. Dobson, ''Seinte Katerine: Re-Edited from MS Bodley 34 and other Manuscripts'' (Oxford: ]Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 1981), xiv. 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":
Name
Her name appears in Greek as () or (). The etymology is debated: it could derive from (, "each of two"); it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek (, "insult, outrage, suffering, torture"); or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
era, it became associated with Greek (, "pure"), and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.
Medieval cult
Catherine was one of the most important saints in the religious culture of the late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
and arguably considered the most important of the virgin martyrs, a group including Agnes of Rome
Agnes of Rome (21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Chu ...
, 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
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
, 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.
The development of her medieval cult
Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...
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. There are several pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
narratives that chronicle the journey to Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...
, most notably those of John Mandeville
''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'', commonly known as ''Mandeville's Travels'', is a book written between 1357 and 1371 that purports to be the Travel literature, travelogue of an Englishman named Sir John Mandeville across the Near East as ...
and Friar Felix Fabri. 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
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
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
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, which claimed a phial of her oil, brought back from Mount Sinai by Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.
Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
. 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.
St. Catharine's College, Cambridge was founded on St Catharine's Day (25 November) 1473 by Robert Woodlark ( provost of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
) 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
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and 1470 to 1471, and English claims to the French throne, disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V of England, Henry V, he succeeded ...
, 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
St Catherine's College (colloquially called St Catz or Catz) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. In 1974, it was also one of the first men's colleges to admit women. It has 528 un ...
, 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
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
martyrs as the focus of devotion and models for proper feminine behaviour increased during the Late Middle Ages. Among these, St Catherine in particular was used as an exemplar for women, a status which at times superseded her intercessory role. 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". 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. 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.
Veneration
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
In the Catholic Church, holy days of obligation or precepts are days on which Christians, Catholic Christians are expected to attend Mass (Catholic Church), Mass, and engage in rest from work and recreation (i.e., they are to refrain from engagin ...
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
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
with a wheel, her instrument of torture.
The Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
es 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 (''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 Roman 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
''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
'' describes her historical importance:
Customs
In France, unwed women who had attained the age of 25 were called "catherinettes". They would wear richly decorated bonnets on the day of her feast. This custom gave rise to the French idiom ("don St. Catherine's bonnet"), to describe an unmarried woman between the ages of 25 and 30.
In memory of her sacrifice in some homes, Egyptian and other Middle Eastern foods are offered for her feast, such as hummus or tabbouleh salads. Favourites also are melons cut into circles with sherbet "hubs", or cookies shaped as spiked wheels with icing.
Meanwhile, owing to several circumstances in his life, Nicholas of Myra was considered the patron of young bachelors and students, and Catherine became the patroness of young maidens and female students. Looked upon as the holiest and most illustrious of the virgins of Christ after the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, it was deemed appropriate that she, of all others, should be worthy to watch over the virgins of the cloister and the young women of the world. The spiked wheel having become emblematic of the saint, wheelwright
A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...
s and mechanics placed themselves under her patronage. Finally, as according to tradition she not only remained a virgin by governing her passions and conquered her executioners by wearying their patience, but triumphed in science by closing the mouths of sophist
A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellen ...
s, her intercession was implored by theologians, apologists, pulpit orators, and philosophers. Before studying, writing, or preaching, they besought her to illumine their minds, guide their pens, and impart eloquence to their words. This devotion to Catherine which assumed such vast proportions in Europe after the Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...
, received additional éclat in France at the beginning of the 15th century, when it was rumoured that she had spoken to Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
and, together with Margaret of Antioch, had been divinely appointed Joan's adviser.
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
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
with a commemoration on 25 November. 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.
Legacy
The pyrotechnic Catherine wheel, which rotates with sparks flying off in all directions, took its name from the saint's wheel of martyrdom.[ The lunar impact crater Catharina is named after Saint Catherine. 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.] The Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona are her namesake.
Kaarina, Finland, is named after her. One accepted origin of the namesake of St. Catharines, Ontario, is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, but there are other proposed explanations as "no definitive documentation exists to conclusively prove that the founders chose the unique spelling for any one particular reason". St Catherine of Alexandria Parish and School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, is named after her.
St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota was founded in 1905 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet and named for St. Catherine of Alexandria.[Our History.](_blank)
St. Catherine University. Retrieved May 7, 2018. University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, California is the first Eastern Orthodox Christian university in the United States and the English-speaking world. St. Catherine's School, is an independent Episcopal diocesan school in Richmond, Virginia. St Helen and St Katharine, a girls' school in Oxfordshire, England celebrates "St. Katharine's Day" each November. The name of St. Catharine's School for Girls (Kwun Tong) in Hong Kong was chosen over that of St. Anne because it sounds better when translated into Chinese. Sœur de La Chapelle was a French nun who wrote a tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
about her martyrdom.
In art
]
Countless images of Saint Catherine are depicted in art, especially in the late Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, 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 often carries either a martyr's palm or the sword with which she was actually executed. She often has long unbound blonde or reddish hair (unbound as she is unmarried). The vision of Saint Catherine of Alexandria usually shows the Infant Christ, held by the Virgin, placing a ring (one of her attributes) on her finger, following some literary accounts, although in the version in the '' Golden Legend'' he appears to be adult, and the marriage takes place among a great crowd of angels and "all the celestial court", and these may also be shown.
She is very frequently shown attending on the Virgin and Child, and is usually prominent in scenes of the '' Master of the Virgo inter Virgines'', showing a group of virgin saints surrounding the Virgin and Child. Notable later paintings of Catherine include single figures by Raphael in the National Gallery, and by Caravaggio (in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid).
File:Bergognone 007.jpg, Ambrogio Bergognone. ''The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena''
File:Katharinaundmagdalena.jpg, Konrad Witz, '' Saints Mary Magdalen and Catherine'', shown as a crowned scholar with her wheel behind
File:VirgenMosca.jpg, Catherine, reading again, with sword on the ground, c. 1520
File:Virgo inter Virgines IMG 1383.JPG, Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy, late 15th century Master of the Virgo inter Virgines
File:Catherine of Alexandria.jpg, Orthodox icon
File:CatherineBeheadCitolanzo.jpg, Girolamo Citolanzo, ''The Martyrdom of St. Catherine'', Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...
, Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
File:ResurrCatherinePamplona.jpg, ''The Resurrection of the Body of St. Catherine'', Refectory Museum of the Cathedral of St. Mary, Pamplona
Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain.
Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
, Spain
File:Dlieja Sacun Santa Catarina d'Alessandria.JPG, Saint Catherine in a 15th-century fresco on the St. Jacob church in Urtijëi, Italy.
File:Lotto, pala di santo spirito 01.jpg, Lorenzo Lotto, ''Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...
''
File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Crowning of St Catherine - WGA20254.jpg, '' The Crowning of Saint Catherine'', by Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...
File:Memling Mystic Marriage of St Catherine.jpg, ''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherin (triptych by Hans Memling
Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; – 11 August 1494) was a German-Flemish people, Flemish painter who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. Born in the Middle Rhine region, he probably spent his childhood in Mainz. During ...
File:Jacob Huysmans - Queen Catherine of Braganza as Saint Catherine of Alexandria.jpg, Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza (; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, King Charles II, which la ...
, Queen of England, painted as Catherine of Alexandria - by Jacob Huysmans
File:Bernardino Luini - Saint Catherine.jpg, Bernardino Luini - Painting of Catherine of Alexandria, ( National Art Museum of Azerbaijan)
File:Raffael 020.jpg, '' Saint Catherine of Alexandria'' by Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
See also
* Cathedral of St. Catherine, Old Goa
* List of Christian women of the patristic age
This list of Christian women of the early church highlights female individuals who played important roles in shaping early Christianity as leaders, teachers, prophets, and contributors to its growth. Spanning from the late 1st century, first centur ...
* Saint Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint archive
* St. Catherine of Boletice
* St. Catherine's Cathedral, Kherson, dedicated to Saint Catherine, the original name of City of Kherson was to 'the Glory of Catherine'
* St. Catherine's Day
* St. Catherine's taffy
* Order of St. Catherine with Mount Sinai
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
Passio sanctae Katharinae
�� 11th century (between 1033 and 1048); at Latin Wikisource
* – Saint Catherine Orthodox Church; includes a gallery of icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
s of the saint
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Saint Catherine of Alexandria
at th
Christian Iconography
web site
from the Caxton translation of the ''Golden Legend''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Of Alexandria
282 births
305 deaths
3rd-century Egyptian women
4th-century Christian martyrs
4th-century Christian saints
4th-century Egyptian women
Anglican saints
Roman-era Alexandrians
Converts to Christianity from ancient Roman religions
Fourteen Holy Helpers
Hypatia
Joan of Arc
Ancient Christian female saints
Marian visionaries
African people whose existence is disputed
Saints from Roman Egypt
Great Martyrs
Virgin martyrs
Eastern Orthodox saints