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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture There's a modest sculpture of St. Margaret in the Chrysler Museum of Fine Arts (Norfolk, Virginia, USA), with the dragon a bit worse for wear (having lost its tail, it looks more like a lapdog than a dragon). According to the museum's label for the piece, Margaret became the patron saint of pregnant women because the cross she carried into the dragon's innards grew until it burst the dragon's belly (which might make her more appropriately the patron saint of caeserean sections). Tom Thomas L. Long Professor and Department Head of English Thomas Nelson Community College Hampton, VA, 23666 USA -----Original Message----- From: Phyllis Jestice To: Thomas L. Long Sent: 7/19/03 9:57 PM Subject: saints of the day 20. July Today (20. July) is the feast day of: Margaret of Antioch (d. c. 303) Another saint removed in the great Roman calendar-purge of 1969, although she probably did exist and really was a virgin martyr of Antioch in Pisidia. Her cult is very ancient and was very popular, and attracted some rather extravagant legend---including that she was swallowed and regurgitated by a dragon before being decapitated. ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html