Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/314

302 ST. WILFETRITDE like-mindod yirgin on a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella. In 1248 she became a recluse at St. Florian's and practised extraordinary asceticism. Once during the season of Advent, she was grievously tormented by the devil and asked her confessor to bring the Body of the Lord into her cell for a short time, to allay those troubles. He, seeing that her necessity was urgent, brought the holy sacrament in a pyx, closely shut and carefully secured in a box, and left it there. She kept it with great venera- tion, fasting and praying until the vigil of the nativity. On that sacred night she gave herself devoutly to prayer, and lo, on the first stroke of morning, a child's hand was stretched out from the box, lighting up the whole cell with the brightness of the sun ; then the Lord Himself appeared, and as she rejoiced in this great favour and prayed devoutly for herself and all dear to her. He in- clined His head in token that her peti- tions were granted, and she cried in rapture, Thou hast come to me, my Beloved I ** She was regarded as a saint and carried on the shoulders of priests to her grave, in front of the altar of St. CuNEouND. Fez, Scriptores Berum Austriacarum, Stadler, Lexicon, St. Wilfetrude, Wulpbtbude, also WiLTBUDK (1). St. Wilfreda or Wilfbida, Wul- FltlDA. St. Wilfrith, Wulpbida. St. Wilgefortis, Help, Uncumbkb, or ViLOBFORTE, July 20, V. M. Her name differs greatly in the numerous places where she is worshipped; most of her appellations denote either that she escaped from great danger or that she rescues others from scrapes and troubles ; she befriends women in their household work and difficulties. The word Wilgefortis is believed to be a cor- ruption of ViRGOFOKTis, which soon became Vilgofortis, then Wilgefortis and Wilfordis. She is also called Bar- BATA, COMMERIA, CuMEBANA,DlONEFORTIS, EUTROPIA, LiBEBATRIX, BeOENFLEDIS, Beoenflegis, Begenfredis, Beounfledis. Her names in France are Ancombbb, Debarras, Livradb, Eombre. In Ger- many she is EUMHEBNISZ, EUMMEBNUS, Ohmkummeb, Ohnkttmmebniss. Id the cathedral of Maintz she was called by the people St. Gehijlff and in some places OsHtiLFE, Hilf, Hilpk. At Aschaffenburg she is called Ybbandk- BUNG, because of the change in her appearance which occurred in answer to her prayer. At Brunswick she used to be called Eva. In England she was formerly called Uncumbbb. In Belgium her name was Ongomheka, Ontcommbxa, or Ontgommeba, i,e, Entkokmbne, the one who got off or escaped. Bepresented crucified (1) as a child of ten or twelve; (2) as a child with a beard ; (3) dressed like the pictures of Queen Elizabeth of England, with stiff bellnshaped skirt and high ruff, and throwing her gold boot to a poor musi- cian. The most connected form of the legend is that she was the daughter of a heathen king of Provence or Sicily. She was converted to Christianity and made a vow of virginity. Her fother intended to marry her to Amasius, king of Por- tugal. As she refused she was pinched with red-hot tongs and oast into ^a dun- geon. She prayed that she might be so disfigured that no man would ever wish to marry her. At once her chin was covered by a thick flowing beard. She told her father she was betrothed to One Who was crucified and she wished to be like Him. Accordingly, she was fastened on a cross, where Sie lived for three days, praising Gk>d and preaching so well that thousands of persons were con- verted, amongst them her father who, to expiate his crime, built a church in honour of St. Soholastica, and set up in it a golden image of his daughter whidi soon wrought miracles, and people re- sorted to the saint to deliver them from their troubles. Once on a time a poor fiddler in debt and destitution sought her aid ; she stretched out her foot and threw him one of her gold boots ; it was soon missed and was found in his posses- sion. No one would believe his story. He was condemned to be hanged. Ho begged that he might once before he died be permitted to play his fiddle in the church before the holy statue, and lo, in presence of the king and all the