Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/122

This page needs to be proofread.
110
110

110 B. NOPPURG B. NoppUrg, NOTBITRQ (4). St. Norg^ette, Noouette. St. Norrice or Xorrih, same as St. Balsamia, nurse of St. Bemigius. St. Notburg (1), daughter of Dago- bert I., a very popular hero of French ballads. The historical novelette by M. du Bois de Beauchesne, called ^* La vie et la L^ende. de Madame Sainte Nothurge" Paris, 18()8, professes to have gathered the story of St. Notburg from the people of the valley of the Neckar, and gives in an appendix, many pieces justificaiives. This legend makes Notburg the daughter of Dagobert, by Nantilda ; and also makes her a friend of SS. Pepin, InA (3), Gertrude and Begoa. Notburg had a pet white deer, named Nisus, which saved her life and did her many good services. It carried her across the Neckar on its back, and when she lived hidden in a cave for fear of the invading Slavonians, it brought her loaves of bread on its head. Her father killed her by pulling off her arm ; but when he sent Pepin to bury her quietly, Pepin found that she had put her arm on again and was alive and preaching. She converted a great many of the Germans, and taught them cooking and other useful arts. Notburg died in her cave, and the people laid her upon a new wooden cart thickly covered with white roses. It was drawn by two young white bulls ; the stag attended, wearing a wreath of white roses and lilies. A great crowd of people accompanied the cart until the stag laid down its wreath on the ground and the bulls stood still, and there the saint was buried. It is most likely that there was no St. Notburg, daughter of Dagobert, and that this is either a distortion of the story of Notburg, niece of Pepin, or a pure fabrication. St. Notburg C2), Neitburg, Nokt- BURG, NOITBURO or NoTHBURGIS, Oct. 81. End of 7th century. Of noble descent among the Franks. Daughter of a sister of St. Plectrude, whose sons Drogo and Grimoald wished to marry her, either to one of themselves or to some other prince or noble ; but she, having vowed her life to her Saviour, prayed that she might die rather than be compelled to become the wife of a mortal man. She died, and her holiness was attested by lights, which appeared from heaven and stood at her h^id and feet as she lay on the bier. She was buried at Cologne, in the church of the monastery of our Lady of the Capital, which had been Plectrude's palace. Another corpse being laid beside hers, came to life and declared the miracle was caused by the merits of Notburg; in consequence of this, Notburg's worship became very popular among the people of Cologne, and they called the church by her name. She was afterwards translated to the Carthusian monastery of St. Beatus near Coblentz. Canisius calls her daughter of Pepin and Plectrude, and calls Pepin the king. ^^Iteni zu Coin am Rein die hegrehnusz der heilige Junck frawen NoiU hurge, welclie ein tochter war der Franck- reichischen hiinigs Pipini des (Tsten. Ir muter Plectrudis hat das Rathausff zu Coin welch damals des kUnigshurg war zu einer kirche weihen lassen." He tells of the miracle of the lights and of her translation to Coblentz. Surius, Le Cointe. Brower. Greven and Molanus, Auctaria. Migne, CXXIV. 641, etc. An earlier Notburg is probably a fictitious person, or rather a misdated and other- wise garbled version of this one. St. Notburg (3), Jan. 26. Patron of Constance and of Sulzen. 0th century. Hepresented holding eight infants in her arms, another lying dead at her feet. St. Notburga was a Scottish, i.e. pro- bably Irish, princess. She was married about the age of eighteen, and became a widow almost immediately. She found herself and her expected child liable to great dangers from wicked people, — possibly they were her husband's heirs, — so she fled from her own country, and after much wandering, came to Eleggow in Germany, and there, at a place not far from the right bank of the Bhine, in the county of Sultz, where the village of Buella afterwards stood, Notburga gave birth to nine infants. As she had no water with which to