Wilgefortis | |
|---|---|
 Saint Wilgefortis, 18th century German painting | |
| Virgin and martyr | |
| Venerated in | Folk Catholicism |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Major shrine | Sigüenza Cathedral, Spain |
| Feast | 20 July[1] |
| Attributes | Bearded woman; depicted crucified, often shown with a small fiddler at her feet, and with one shoe off[2] |
| Patronage | Relief from tribulations, in particular by women who wished to be liberated from abusive husbands[3] |
Wilgefortis (Portuguese: Vilgeforte) is a female folk saint whose legend arose in the 14th century,[4] and whose distinguishing feature is a large beard. According to the legend of her life, set in Portugal and Galicia, she was a teenage noblewoman who had been promised in marriage by her father to a Moorish king. To thwart the unwanted wedding, she had taken a vow of virginity, and prayed that she would be made repulsive. In answer to her prayers she sprouted a beard, which ended the engagement. In anger, Wilgefortis' father had her crucified.
Her name is thought to have derived from the Latin "virgo fortis" ("courageous virgin").[5] In England her name was Uncumber, and in Dutch Ontkommer (meaning one who avoids something, here specifically other people from suffering).[6]
In German lands she was known as Kümmernis ("grief" or "anxiety"). In Poland she was called Frasobliwa ("sorrowful"). She was sometimes confused with a female martyr saint known as Liberata in Italy and Librada in Spain ("liberated") whose feast day is on July 10; while Saint Liberata is a crucified, beardless female usually with a crown, Wilgefortis is always depicted with a beard and generally crownless. In France Wilgefortis is known as Débarras ("riddance"). The confusion between the martyr Saint Liberata and Wilgefortis extended to places such as Sigüenza, Spain, where Liberata was widely venerated.[7]
While venerated by some Catholics, Wilgefortis was never officially canonised by the church, but instead was a popular intercessor for people seeking relief from tribulations, in particular by women who wished to be liberated ("disencumbered") from abusive husbands.
- ^ https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15622a.htm Wilgefortis Catholic Encyclopedia
- ^ https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article/doi/10.1093/hwj/dbad005/7146513 St Wilgefortis and Her/Their Beard: The Devotions of Unhappy Wives and Non-Binary People Oxford Academic
- ^ https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/07/21/beards/ Paying Tribute to Saint Wilgefortis The Paris Review
- ^ Friesen (2001), p. 15.
- ^ More, Alison (2018). Fictive orders and feminine religious identities, 1200–1600. Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0198807698.
- ^ Levin, Carole (2000). "St. Frideswide and St Uncumber: Changing images of female saints in Renaissance England". In Mary Burke (ed.). Women, writing, and the reproduction of culture in Tudor and Stuart Britain. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. pp. 223–237. ISBN 978-0-8156-2815-6.
- ^ Friesen (2001), pp. 47–48.