This artwork, sculpted by the Italian artist Cristoforo Solari, was inspired by the stories of Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Although this saint became incredibly popular in the Middle Ages, there is little-to-no evidence that this saint actually existed. There are no ancient historical references about her, no known early cult followings in reverence to her, no early artistic representations of her, and no ancient archeological artifacts that depict the saint or allude to her existence. Nevertheless, stories about this illusive Saint Catherine character began to emerge in Christian society around the 9th century, hundreds of years after the time in which she was said to have lived. Tales of Saint Catherine quickly skyrocketed in popularity by the time of the Crusades era, earning her a place in saint tales collections, such as the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine (c. 13th century).
Dubious historical accuracy disclaimers aside, the medieval storytellers wrote that Catherine (also spelled Katherine or Katharine) lived in the Roman Empire of the 4th century. She allegedly descended from Cypriot royalty and had familial ties to Roman emperors. In particular, the storytellers claimed her father, King Costus of Cyprus, was the half-brother of the eventual emperor, Constantine the Great. As the story goes, Catherine was given the best education a young ancient noblewoman could receive, and she was seen as the heir to her father’s kingdom. This succession, however, became rocky when Catherine publicly pledged to never marry, instead vowing to remain a virgin and become a bride of Christ. Following this proclamation, Catherine set up camp around the city of Alexandria, Egypt, and was allegedly present there during the reign of Emperor Maxentius (r. 306-312).
In a curious plot point, the medieval storytellers claimed that Saint Catherine became caught up in a persecution of Christians led personally by Emperor Maxentius. This specific detail from the tale is odd because there is prevalent historical evidence that Emperor Maxentius ended the persecution of Christians in the territory he controlled within the Roman Empire. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260-339), the contemporaneous Christian historian and biographer of Constantine, stated as much in his Ecclesiastical History, writing, “Maxentius, who set himself up as tyrant at Rome, at first pretended our faith in order to please the Roman populace. He commanded his subjects to stop persecuting the Christians, putting on a show of piety to appear more friendly and moderate than his predecessors” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 8.14.1). Eusebius, as a biased supporter of Constantine (who went on to defeat Maxentius at the famous battle of Milvian Bridge in 312), did not write a flattering portrayal of the reign or character of Maxentius, and yet he still acknowledged that Maxentius put an end to the persecutions of Christian in his realm. In contrast to this historical portrayal of Maxentius being tolerant toward Christians, the storytellers of the Saint Catherine legend instead claimed that the emperor went on a rampage of executions against the Christians in Alexandria.
Saint Catherine, said to have been a prominent member of the Alexandrian Christian community of that time, ultimately clashed with Emperor Maxentius in the narrative of the tale. As Catherine was young, beautiful, wealthy, noble, and well-educated, Maxentius allegedly became smitten with the saint, and he supposedly proposed to marry Saint Catherine if she would renounce her Christianity. According to Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend (and its unfortunate old English translation), the emperor supposedly told Catherine, “set at thine heart this that I admonish thee, and answer not by doubtable words. We will not hold thee as a chamberer, but thou shalt triumph as a queen in my realm, in beauty enhanced” (Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend, 7.1). Catherine, citing her vow of chastity, refused the emperor’s advances, prompting a torturous response from the scorned persecutor.
According to the tales of Saint Catherine, she was subsequently imprisoned and faced several rounds of differing confrontations from the authorities. For one, she allegedly was questioned by fifty of the realm’s best philosophers. As the story goes, Catherine won the debates and converted these intellectuals. Next, the emperor decided to torture or execute Catherine with a wheel device. On this, the Golden Legend (again, translated to old English) stated, “And then was ordained that two wheels should turn against the other two by great force, so that they should break all that should be between the wheels, and then the blessed virgin prayed our Lord that he would break these engines to the praising of his name, and for to convert the people that were there. And anon as this blessed virgin was set in this torment, the angel of our Lord brake the wheels by so great force that it slew four thousand paynims “ (Golden Legend, 7.1). After the catastrophic malfunction of the wheel, the emperor decided to opt for the more reliable method of execution by blade. This time, unfortunately, the execution was successful and Saint Catherine lost her life. Yet, during the moment of her death, a miracle occurred, for she allegedly bled milk instead of blood, and angels supposedly swooped down and carried away the saint’s body. Regarding this, the Golden Legend stated, “And when she was beheaded there issued out of her body milk instead of blood, and angels took the body and bare it unto the Mount of Sinai, more than twenty journeys from thence, and buried it there honourably, and continually oil runneth out of her bones which healeth all maladies and sicknesses, and she suffered death under Maxentius the tyrant, about the year of our Lord three hundred” (Golden Legend, 7.1).
Such is the figure that Cristoforo Solari depicted in his sculpture. Catherine, in the artwork, has taken possession of the tools of torture used against her and has flipped the script, as it were, against her persecutors. She can be seen resting with her hand atop the torture wheel that she had been subjected to, and she also stands with her foot placed atop a man’s head, which has been severed much like her own head had been in the story. Cristoforo Solari’s classical-inspired sculpting technique, and the ancient garb that he carved for the saint to wear, pair well with the ancient setting in which the Saint Catherine story was said to have taken place.
It should be reiterated, however, that there is no evidence that this Catherine of Alexandria existed, at least in the specific way that she was described by the medieval storytellers. History contradicts much of her saintly tale, such as the fact that Emperor Maxentius was actually tolerant of Christians. Nevertheless, the tales of Saint Catherine spread throughout Christendom during and after the 9th century, becoming a favorite subject of artists. In her capacity as a saint, Catherine became seen as a patron of young girls, as well as of students, clergymen, philosophers, and other kinds of scholars. Ironically, due to the morbid association of the wheel to her story, she also became a patron of anyone dealing with wheel machines, such as weavers who use a spinning wheel. Additionally, as a martyr, Saint Catherine was also believed to be a patron saint of the dying.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Sources:
- The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, translated by William Caxton (c. 1422-1491), and reprinted unabridged and in seven volumes by SSEL (2022).
- Eusebius, The Church History: A New Translation with Commentary, translated by Paul L. Maier. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1999.
- Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Fifth Edition) by David Farmer. Oxford University Press, 2011.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, edited by Oliver Nicholson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.
- https://sourcebooks.web.fordham.edu/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume7.asp
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Catherine-of-Alexandria
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maxentius
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Constantius-I
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Constantine-I-Roman-emperor
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/238957
