Apologise for being a day or two late with St Margaret’s story. I’m thinking this might be the last post about a converted Christian young woman, who declares her virginity and is then tortured and executed by a rich Roman official who wants to marry her. But St Margaret was a very important Saint in Medieval England, there were 250 churches in England dedicated to her. Perhaps the best known one being St Margaret’s in Westminster which is Parliament’s Parish Church.
Margaret is probably fictitious, but the martyrdom is placed in the early 4th Century near Antioch. When I worked for the V&A, I walked past her Altarpiece most days. You can see it below. I always stopped to look at it. I would wonder why medieval martyrdoms were so very bloody, frankly, sadomasochistic.
Her story is of a young women, who finds Christ, and vows to stay a virgin. She is desired by a powerful pagan Roman who she refuses. So he has her imprisoned, tempted by the devil, and tortured. First, with iron combs, then scourged, eaten by a dragon, boiled in a vessel of pitch, and finally beheaded.
The interesting bit is the dragon. She survives being eaten (does a dragon not have teeth?). And, in the dragon’s stomach, her Cross makes the dragon bursts open. She is ejected alive. But there is no respite, and resumes her torture. But because she comes out of the dragon’s stomach, she is the Patron Saint of Child bearing! It’s a mad story and all depicted in graphic detail on the central section of the altarpiece. Her beheading is on the right hand section.
If you, like me, do not understand all this holy violence, you will want to click on the link below. This will lead you to an fascinating essay on Martyrdom, written for St Margaret’s Day. For another Martyr, with a parallel story, have a look at my post of St Catherine.
First Published in July 2024, revised 2025
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