Editing Catherine of Alexandria

{{short description|Christian virgin martyr}}
{{for-multi|the 2015 film|Katherine of Alexandria (film){{!}}''Katherine of Alexandria'' (film)|other uses|Saint Catherine of Alexandria (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix = [[Saint]] 
| name         = Catherine of Alexandria
| image        = Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Caravaggio).jpg
| caption      = [[Caravaggio]], ''Saint Catherine of Alexandria'', 1598–99, [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]]
| titles       = Virgin and martyr
| canonized_date = [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints#Pre-Congregation|Pre-Congregation]]
| birth_date   = {{circa|287}}
| death_date   = {{circa}} {{death year and age|305|287}}
| birth_place  = [[Alexandria]], [[Roman Egypt]]<ref name="orthodox" />
| death_place  = Alexandria, Roman Egypt
| venerated_in = [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br />[[Catholic Church]]<br />[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]]<br />[[Anglican Communion]]<br />[[Lutheranism]]
| attributes   = [[breaking wheel]]; [[sword]]; with a [[Crown (headgear)|crown]] at her feet; [[hailstone]]s; [[veil|bridal veil]] and [[Ring (finger)|ring]]; [[dove]]; surrounded by angels, [[scourge]]; [[book]]; woman arguing with [[Paganism|pagan]] [[philosopher]]s<ref name="culture">{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-11-25|title=Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time; Optional Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr – November 25, 2020 – Liturgical Calendar|website=www.catholicculture.org}}</ref> 
| feast_day    = {{plainlist
|*25 November
|*7 December (24 November Julian Calendar) (Orthodox churches of Russian background)
|*29 [[Hathor (month)|Hathor]] (Coptic Orthodox church)}}
| patronage    = Unmarried girls; [[apologist]]s; [[Artisan|craftsmen]] who work with a wheel ([[Pottery|potters]], [[Spinning (textiles)|spinner]]s); [[archivist]]s; dying people; educators; girls; [[jurist]]s; knife sharpeners; lacemakers; lawyers; librarians; libraries; [[Balliol College]]; [[Massey College]]; [[maiden]]s; mechanics; millers; [[Hatmaking|milliner]]s; nurses; philosophers; preachers; scholars; schoolchildren; [[scribe]]s; secretaries; [[spinster]]s; [[stenographer]]s; students; [[Tanning (leather)|tanner]]s; [[theologians]]; [[St. Catherine University]]; [[University of Oviedo]]; [[University of Paris]]; haberdashers; wheelwrights; [[Aalsum (Friesland)|Aalsum]], Germany; [[Żejtun]], [[Malta]]; [[Żurrieq]], Malta; [[Katerini]], Greece; [[Grude]], Bosnia and Herzegovina; [[Pagbilao, Quezon]], [[Philippines]]; [[Gerona, Tarlac]], [[Carcar]], [[Cebu]], [[Porac, Pampanga]], [[Arayat, Pampanga]], [[Dumaguete]], [[Santa Catalina, Negros Oriental]], [[Santa Catalina, Ilocos Sur]], [[Santa, Ilocos Sur]], [[Leon, Iloilo|Leon]], [[Iloilo]], [[Tayum, Abra]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumaguete|Diocese of Dumaguete]], [[Negros Oriental]], [[University of Santo Tomas]]; [[Bagac, Bataan]], [[Santa Catarina (state)]], [[Brazil]].
| major_shrine = [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]]
}}

'''Catherine of Alexandria''', also spelled '''Katherine''',{{efn|Also referred to as '''Saint Catherine of Alexandria''', '''Saint Catherine of the Wheel''' and '''The Great Martyr Saint Catherine''' ({{langx|cop|Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲕⲁⲧⲧⲣⲓⲛ}}; {{langx|grc|ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς}}, "Holy Catherine the Great Martyr"; {{langx|ar|القديسة كاترين}}; {{langx|la|Catharina Alexandrina}}).}} was, according to tradition, a Christian [[saint]] and [[Virginity|virgin]], who was [[martyr]]ed in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor [[Maxentius]]. According to her [[hagiography]], she was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a [[Christians|Christian]] around age 14, converted hundreds of people to [[Christianity]], and was [[martyred]] around age 18.

The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] venerates her as a [[great martyr]] and celebrates her [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] on 24 or 25 November, depending on the regional tradition. In [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], Catherine is traditionally revered as one of the [[Fourteen Holy Helpers]], and she is commemorated in the [[Roman Martyrology]] on 25 November.<ref>''Martyrologium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 {{ISBN|88-209-7210-7}})</ref> Her feast was removed from the [[General Roman Calendar]]<ref>''Calendarium Romanum'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 147</ref> in 1969 but restored in 2002 as an optional memorial. In the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]], St. Catherine is commemorated on 24 November, together with the martyrs [[Saint Barbara|Barbara of Nicomedia]] and [[Margaret the Virgin|Margaret of Antioch]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.episcopalcommonprayer.org/uploads/1/2/9/8/129843103/lesser_feasts_and_fasts_2024_.pdf |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2024 |publisher=Church Publishing |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-64065-808-0 |pages=17, 534-535}}</ref> while in the [[Church of England]] her feast day is 25 November.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Calendar |url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=The Church of England |language=en}}</ref>

Some modern scholars consider that the legend of Catherine was probably based on the life and murder of the virgin Saint [[Dorothea of Alexandria]] and the [[Greeks|Greek]] philosopher [[Hypatia]], with the reversed role of a Christian and [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonist]] in the case of the latter.{{sfn|Walsh|2007|pp= 3–26}}{{sfn|Deakin|2007|pp=135, 202}}<ref>[[Maria Dzielska]]: ''Hypatia of Alexandria'', Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1995, p. 21; Christian Lacombrade: ''Hypatia''. In: ''Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum'', Bd. 16, Stuttgart 1994, Sp. 956–967, here: 966; Gustave Bardy: ''Catherine d'Alexandrie''. In: ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques'', Bd. 11, Paris 1949, Sp. 1503–1505, here: 1504.</ref> On the other hand, Leon Clugnet writing in the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] states "although contemporary hagiographers look upon the authenticity of the various texts containing the legend of St. Catherine as more than doubtful, it is not therefore meant to cast even the shadow of a doubt around the existence of the saint".{{sfn|Clugnet|1908}}

==Life==
According to the traditional narrative, Catherine was the daughter of Sabinella and Constus (or Costus), the governor of [[History of Alexandria#Late Roman and Byzantine period|Alexandria]] during the reign of the emperor [[Maximian]] (286–305).<ref name=oca>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2015/11/24/103382-great-martyr-katherine-of-alexandria|title=Great Martyr Katherine of Alexandria|website=www.oca.org}}</ref> She was of [[Greeks|Greek]] origin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catharina K |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8166 |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=[[United States Geological Survey]] |quote=Origin: St. Catherine of Alexandria; Greek theologian, philosopher}}</ref> From a young age she devoted herself to study. A vision of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] and the [[Christ Child|Child Jesus]] persuaded her to become a Christian. When the persecutions began under the emperor [[Maxentius]], she went to the emperor and rebuked him for his cruelty. The emperor summoned 50 of the best [[pagan]] philosophers and orators to dispute with her, hoping that they would refute her pro-Christian arguments, but Catherine won the debate. Several of her adversaries, conquered by her eloquence, declared themselves Christians and were at once put to death.{{sfn|Clugnet|1908}}

===Torture and martyrdom===
[[File:IconEcaterina.jpeg|thumb|left|upright=0.75|[[Icon]] of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, with scenes from her martyrdom]]
The emperor gave orders to subject Catherine to terrible tortures and then throw her in prison.<ref name=oca/> Her legend tells that during the confinement she was fed daily by a dove from heaven, and Christ also visited her, encouraging her to fight bravely, and promised her the crown of everlasting glory.<ref>Irene González Hernando, ''Catherine of Alexandria''</ref><ref>The Golden Legend: Volume VII</ref> Angels tended her wounds with [[salve]].

During her imprisonment more than 200 people came to see her, including Maxentius' wife, [[Valeria Maximilla]]; all converted to Christianity and were subsequently [[martyr]]ed.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/99687/Saint-Catherine-of-Alexandria |title= Saint Catherine of Alexandria |publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date= 29 October 2010}}</ref> Upon the failure of Maxentius to make Catherine yield by way of torture, he tried to win her over by proposing marriage.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 November 2014 |title=St Catherine of Alexandria |url=https://downsideabbeylibrary.tumblr.com/post/103541462716/st-catherine-of-alexandria-today-is-the-feats-of |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=Downside Abbey Archives and Library}}</ref> Catherine refused, declaring that her spouse was Jesus Christ, to whom she had consecrated her virginity.<ref name="britannica1"/>

The furious emperor condemned Catherine to death on a spiked [[breaking wheel]], but at her touch it shattered.{{sfn|Clugnet|1908}} Maxentius ordered her to be beheaded. Catherine ordered the execution to commence. As per her legend, a milk-like substance rather than blood flowed from her neck.{{sfn|Morton|1841|p=133}}

===Veneration===
In the 6th century, the Eastern Emperor [[Justinian I|Justinian]] had established what is now [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] in Egypt, which had been originally built encircling the purported [[burning bush]] seen by [[Moses]]. Countless people make the pilgrimage to the monastery to receive miracle healing from Catherine.{{sfn|Foley|McCloskey|2009|p=}}

==Historicity==
Sometimes cited as a possible inspiration of Catherine, [[Eusebius]] wrote around 320 that Maximinus had ordered a young Christian woman to come to his palace to become his mistress, and when she refused he had her punished by having her banished and her estates confiscated.<ref name=crawley>{{cite web |url= http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/C/stcatherineofalexandria.asp |title= Catherine of Alexandria, ''Lives of Saints''|publisher= John J. Crawley & Co., Inc. |access-date= 26 August 2013}}</ref> Eusebius did not name the woman but [[Tyrannius Rufinus|Rufinus of Aquileia]] names her Dorothea ({{lang|grc|Δωροθέα}}) in his translation of Eusebius' work. A sixteenth century Italian historian, [[Caesar Baronius]] (c.1538-1607), suggested that Catherine and Dorothea were the same person and that Catherine (Hecaterina) was her former pagan name while Dorothea (the gift of God) was the name given to her at the time of baptism.<ref>Çetinbaş, E., 2020. "A BRIDE OF CHRIST AND AN INTERCESSOR OF MUHAMMAD: COMPARATIVE SAINTS’CULTS OF ST CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA AND RABI’A OF BASRA IN THE MIDDLE AGES", MA Thesis in Late Antique, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Central European University, Budapest, 19-24</ref>
[[File:Artemisia Gentileschi - Saint Catherine of Alexandria.jpg|thumb|left|''Saint Catherine of Alexandria'' by [[Artemisia Gentileschi]], c. 1619]]

The ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'', while not denying her historicity, states that most of the details that embellish the narrative, as well as the long discourses attributed to Catherine, are to be rejected as later inventions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catherine of Alexandria, Saint |url=https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/catherine-of-alexandria-saint |access-date=2021-12-11 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> According to the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', no extant written mention of Catherine of Alexandria is known before the 9th century, and "her historicity is doubtful".<ref name="britannica1">{{Cite web|title=St. Catherine of Alexandria {{!}} Egyptian martyr |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Catherine-of-Alexandria|access-date=2021-12-11|website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

[[Donald Attwater]] dismisses what he calls the "legend" of Saint Catherine, arguing for a lack of any "positive evidence that she ever existed outside the mind of some Greek writer who first composed what he intended to be simply an edifying romance."{{sfn|de Azevedo|2005|p=324}} Harold Davis writes that "assiduous research has failed to identify Catherine with any historical personage".<ref>Harold Thayer Davis, ''Alexandria: The Golden City'' (Principia Press of Illinois, 1957), p&nbsp;441</ref>{{sfn|Allen|1997|pp= 214–217}}

[[Anna Brownell Jameson]] was the first to argue that the life of Catherine was confused with that of the slightly later [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonist]] philosopher [[Hypatia|Hypatia of Alexandria]].{{sfn|Walsh|2007|p=10}} Hypatia was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who was murdered by the [[Parabalani]] after being accused of exacerbating a conflict between two prominent figures in Alexandria, the governor [[Orestes (prefect of Egypt)|Orestes]] and the bishop [[Cyril of Alexandria|Cyril]].{{sfn|Watts|2006|pp=197–198}}{{sfn|Deakin |1994|pp= 234–243}} The idea that Catherine's life was either based on or became confused with the life of the pagan Hypatia has become a popular theory among modern scholars since. However, while Christine Walsh accepts the many parallels between Catherine and Hypatia, she does not believe there is any evidence for or against the idea that Catherine was created based on Hypatia.{{sfn|Walsh|2007|p= 10}}{{sfn|Deakin|2007|pp=135, 202}}<ref>[[Maria Dzielska]]: ''Hypatia of Alexandria'', Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1995, p. 21; Christian Lacombrade: ''Hypatia''. In: ''Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum'', Bd. 16, Stuttgart 1994, Sp. 956–967, here: 966; Gustave Bardy: ''Catherine d'Alexandrie''. In: ''[[Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques]]'', Bd. 11, Paris 1949, Sp. 1503–1505, here: 1504.</ref>
[[File:Anthony van Dyck - The Mystic Betrothal of Saint Catherina.jpg|thumb|279px|''The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherina'' by [[Anthony van Dyck]], 1618-20.]]

The earliest surviving account of Catherine's life comes around 600 years after the traditional date of her martyrdom, in the ''[[Menologion of Basil II|Menologium]]'', a document compiled for Emperor [[Basil II]] in 976, although the alleged rediscovery of her relics at [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] at the foot of Mount Sinai was about 800<ref name=ArdeeneDobson>S. R. T. O d'Ardeene and E. J. Dobson, ''Seinte Katerine: Re-Edited from MS Bodley 34 and other Manuscripts'' (Oxford: [[Oxford University Press]], 1981), xiv.</ref> and presumably implies an existing cult at that date (though the common name of the monastery developed after the discovery).

In her book ''The Cult of St Katherine of Alexandria in Early Medieval Europe'', Christine Walsh discusses "the historical Katherine": {{blockquote|As we have seen, the cult of St Katherine of Alexandria probably originated in oral traditions from the 4th-century [[Diocletianic Persecution]]s of Christians in Alexandria. There is no evidence that Katherine herself was a historical figure and she may well have been a composite drawn from memories of women persecuted for their faith. Many aspects of her ''Passio'' are clearly legendary and conform to well-known hagiographical [[Literary topos|topoi]].|
source={{harvnb|Walsh|2007|p=143}} }}

==Name==
Her name appears in Greek as {{lang|grc|Αἰκατερίνη}} ({{transliteration|grc|Aikaterínē}}) or {{lang|grc|Ἑκατερίνη}} ({{transliteration|grc|Ekaterínē}}). The etymology is debated: it could derive from {{lang|grc|ἑκάτερος}} ({{transliteration|grc|hekáteros}}, "each of two"); it could derive from the name of the goddess [[Hecate]]; it could be related to Greek {{lang|grc|αἰκία}} ({{transliteration|grc|aikía}}, "insult, outrage, suffering, torture"); or it could be from a [[Coptic language|Coptic]] name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] era, it became associated with Greek {{lang|grc|καθαρός}} ({{transliteration|grc|katharós}}, "pure"), and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this.

==Medieval cult==
[[File:Carlo Crivelli 014.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|left|''Catherine of Alexandria'', by [[Carlo Crivelli]]]]

Catherine was one of the most important saints in the religious culture of the [[late Middle Ages]] and arguably considered the most important of the virgin martyrs, a group including [[Agnes of Rome]], [[Margaret of Antioch]], [[Saint Barbara|Barbara]], [[Saint Lucy|Lucia of Syracuse]], [[Valerie of Limoges]] and many others. Her power as an [[Intercession|intercessor]] was renowned and firmly established in most versions of her [[hagiography]], in which she specifically entreats Christ at the moment of her death to answer the prayers of those who remember her martyrdom and invoke her name.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The development of her medieval [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] was spurred by the alleged rediscovery of her body around 800 (about 500 years after her death) at Mount Sinai, supposedly with hair still growing and a constant stream of [[myrrh|healing oil]] issuing from her body.<ref name=ArdeeneDobson /> There are several [[pilgrimage]] narratives that chronicle the journey to [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]], most notably those of [[John Mandeville]] and Friar [[Felix Fabri]].<ref>John Mandeville, ''The Travels of Sir John Mandeville'' (New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1964); Felix Fabri, ''The Wanderings of Felix Fabri'' (New York: AMS Press, 1971), 217.</ref> However, while the monastery at Mount Sinai was the best known site of Catherine pilgrimage, it was also the most difficult to reach. The most prominent Western shrine was the monastery in [[Rouen]] that claimed to house Catherine's fingers. It was not alone in the west, however, and was accompanied by many scattered shrines and altars dedicated to Catherine throughout France and England. Some were better-known sites, such as [[Canterbury Cathedral|Canterbury]] and [[Westminster Cathedral|Westminster]], which claimed a phial of her oil, brought back from Mount Sinai by [[Edward the Confessor]].{{sfn|Walsh|2003|p=31}}{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=44}} Other shrines, such as [[St. Catherine's Hill, Hampshire]] were the focus of generally local pilgrimage, many of which are only identified by brief mentions in various texts, rather than by physical evidence.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=49–51}}
[[File:St. Catharine's College, Cambridge Gate Catharine Wheel.jpg|thumb|St. Catharine's College, Cambridge Gate Catharine Wheel]]
[[St. Catharine's College, Cambridge]] was founded on St Catharine's Day (25 November) 1473 by Robert Woodlark ([[Provost (education)|provost]] of [[King's College, Cambridge]]) who sought to create a small community of scholars who would study exclusively theology and philosophy. Woodlark may have chosen the name in homage to [[Catherine of Valois]], mother of [[Henry VI of England]], although it is more likely that it was named as part of the Renaissance cult of Saint Catherine, who was a patron saint of learning. [[St Catherine's College, Oxford]], developed from the Delegacy for Unattached Students, formed in 1868.

Catherine also had a large female following, whose devotion was less likely to be expressed through pilgrimage. The importance of the [[virginity|virgin]] martyrs as the focus of devotion and models for proper feminine behaviour increased during the Late Middle Ages.{{sfn|Bugge|2012|p=132}}{{sfn|Lewis|2000|p=229}}{{sfn|Duffy|1992|p=174}} Among these, St Catherine in particular was used as an [[wikt:exemplar|exemplar]] for women, a status which at times superseded her intercessory role.{{sfn|Lewis|1999|p=}} Both [[Christine de Pizan]] and [[Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry|Geoffrey de la Tour Landry]] point to Catherine as a paragon for young women, emphasizing her model of virginity and "wifely chastity".{{sfn|de Pizan|2003|p=146}}<ref>Christine de Pizan, ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' trans. by Rosalind Brown-Grant (New York: Penguin Books, 1999), 203</ref>{{sfn|Barnhouse|2006|pp=126, 193}} This shows also for instance in the naming of [[Catalina Tomas]] (''Catalina'' being the [[Catalan language|Catalan]] version of ''Catherine'') whose family had a special veneration of Catherine of Alexandria.<ref name="RealAcademia">{{cite web |last1=Yuste |first1=Belén |last2=Rivas-Caballero |first2=Sonnia L. |title=Santa Catalina Tomás |url=https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/85613/santa-catalina-tomas |publisher=Real Academia de la Historia |access-date=3 November 2023}}</ref> From the early 14th century the [[mystic marriage of Saint Catherine]] first appears in hagiographical literature and, soon after, in art. In the Western church, the popularity of her cult began to reduce in the 18th century.{{sfn|Allen|1997|p= 217}}

==Veneration==
[[File:Saint Catherine of Alexandria Wood Statue.jpg|alt=Saint Catherine of Alexandria Wood Statue at the Korppoo Church in Finland.|thumb|upright=0.75|Saint Catherine of Alexandria Wood Statue at the [[Korpo]] Church in [[Finland]].]]
Her principal symbol is the spiked wheel, which has become known as the Catherine wheel, and her feast day is celebrated on 25 November by most denominations. In many places, her feast was celebrated with the utmost solemnity, servile work being suppressed and the devotions attended by great numbers of people. In several dioceses of France it was observed as a [[Holy Day of Obligation]] up to the beginning of the 17th century, the splendour of its ceremonial eclipsing that of the feasts of some of the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]]. Many chapels were placed under her patronage, and nearly all churches had a statue of her, representing her according to medieval [[iconography]] with a wheel, her instrument of torture.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian]], [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian]] and Bulgarian [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es celebrate it on 24 November. The origin of this tradition is not known. In 11th-century [[Kievan Rus]], the feast day was celebrated on 25 November. [[Dimitry of Rostov]] in his {{transliteration|ru|Kniga zhyty sviatykh|}} (''Book of the Lives of the Saints''), T.1 (1689) places the date of celebration on 24 November. A story that [[Catherine II of Russia|Empress Catherine the Great]] did not wish to share her patronal feast with the [[Afterfeast|Leavetaking]] of the feast of the [[Presentation of Mary|Presentation of the Theotokos]] and hence changed the date is not supported by historical evidence. One of the first Roman Catholic churches to be built in Russia, the [[Catholic Church of St. Catherine (Saint Petersburg)|Catholic Church of St. Catherine]], was named after Catherine of Alexandria because she was Catherine the Great's patron. A footnote to the entry for 25 November in ''The Synaxarion'' compiled by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra states: "Until the 16th century, the memory of St Catherine was observed on 24 Nov. According to a note by Bartholomew of Koutloumousiou inserted in the ''Menaion'', the Fathers of Sinai transferred the date to 25 Nov. in order that the feast might be kept with greater solemnity."

The 1908 ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' describes her historical importance:

{{blockquote|text=Ranked with [[Saint Margaret the Virgin|St Margaret]] and [[Saint Barbara|St Barbara]] as one of the [[Fourteen Holy Helpers|fourteen most helpful saints in heaven]], she was unceasingly praised by preachers and sung by poets. It is believed that [[Jacques-Benigne Bossuet]] dedicated to her one of his most beautiful [[panegyric]]s and that [[Adam of St. Victor]] wrote a magnificent poem in her honour: {{lang|la|Vox Sonora nostri chori}}.}}

==Customs==
[[File:Saint Catherine carving in Sligo Abbey.jpg|alt=A carving of Saint Catherine of Alexandria from the O'Crean Tomb in Sligo Abbey dating from 1506.|thumb|upright=0.75|A carving of Saint Catherine of Alexandria from the O'Crean Tomb in [[Sligo Abbey]] dating from 1506.]]
In France, unwed women who had attained the age of 25 were called [[Catherinette|"catherinettes"]]. They would wear richly decorated bonnets on the day of her feast. This custom gave rise to the French idiom {{lang|fr|'coiffer Sainte-Catherine'}} ("don St. Catherine's bonnet"), to describe an unmarried woman between the ages of 25 and 30.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.france-pittoresque.com/spip.php?article5227 |language=fr |title=Coiffer sainte Catherine |work=La France pittoresque |date=24 November 2016}}</ref>

In memory of her sacrifice in some homes, Egyptian and other Middle Eastern foods are offered for her feast, such as [[hummus]] or [[tabbouleh]] salads. Favourites also are melons cut into circles with sherbet "hubs", or cookies shaped as spiked wheels with icing.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

Meanwhile, owing to several circumstances in his life, [[Nicholas of Myra]] was considered the patron of young bachelors and students, and Catherine became the patroness of young maidens and female students. Looked upon as the holiest and most illustrious of the virgins of Christ after the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]], it was deemed appropriate that she, of all others, should be worthy to watch over the virgins of the cloister and the young women of the world. The spiked wheel having become emblematic of the saint, [[wheelwright]]s and mechanics placed themselves under her patronage. Finally, as according to tradition she not only remained a virgin by governing her passions and conquered her executioners by wearying their patience, but triumphed in science by closing the mouths of [[sophist]]s, her intercession was implored by theologians, apologists, pulpit orators, and philosophers. Before studying, writing, or preaching, they besought her to illumine their minds, guide their pens, and impart eloquence to their words. This devotion to Catherine which assumed such vast proportions in Europe after the [[Crusades]],{{sfn|Foley|McCloskey|2009|p=}} received additional [[wiktionary:éclat|éclat]] in France at the beginning of the 15th century, when it was rumoured that she had spoken to [[Joan of Arc]] and, together with [[Margaret of Antioch]], had been divinely appointed Joan's adviser.{{sfn|Clugnet|1908}}

Devotion to Catherine remains strong amongst [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholics]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christians]]. With the relative ease of travel in the modern age, pilgrimages to Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai have increased. Catherine of Alexandria is [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|remembered]] in the [[Church of England]] with a [[Commemoration (Anglicanism)|commemoration]] on [[November 25|25 November]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-04-08|website=The Church of England|language=en}}</ref> In 2022, Catherine was officially added to the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church liturgical calendar]] with a feast day she shares with [[Saint Barbara|Barbara of Nicomedia]], and [[Margaret the Virgin|Margaret of Antioch]] on 24 November.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Convention Virtual Binder |url=https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=www.vbinder.net |archive-date=13 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220913143652/https://www.vbinder.net/resolutions/24?house=HD&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|right|Cathedral dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria located in [[St. Catharines]], Ontario, Canada.]]
The pyrotechnic [[Catherine wheel (firework)|Catherine wheel]], which rotates with sparks flying off in all directions, took its name from the saint's wheel of martyrdom.<ref name=crawley/> The lunar impact crater [[Catharina (crater)|Catharina]] is named after Saint Catherine.<ref>{{gpn|1076}}</ref> [[Santa Catarina Island]] in Brazil and the [[Santa Catarina (state)|State of Santa Catarina]] are named after her. The [[Gulf of Santa Catalina]] is located in the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of North America. [[Santa Catalina Island (California)|Santa Catalina Island]] off the coast of California, was named by [[Sebastián Vizcaíno]], who arrived there on her feast day.<ref name="otte">{{cite web|last1=Otte |first1=Stacey |last2=Pedersen |first2=Jeannine |year=2004 |title=Catalina Island History |url=http://www.catalinamuseum.org/history.html |work=A Catalina Island History in Brief |publisher=Catalina Island Museum |access-date=January 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224055443/http://www.catalinamuseum.org/history.html |archive-date=24 February 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Santa Catalina Mountains]] in Arizona are her namesake.

[[Kaarina]], Finland, is named after her.<ref>{{cite web |title=St Catherine's Church |url=https://www.turunseurakunnat.fi/english/churches-and-chapels/st-catherines-church |website=The Lutheran Church in Turku and Kaarina |access-date=24 June 2022}}</ref> One accepted origin of the namesake of [[St. Catharines]], Ontario, is Saint Catherine of Alexandria, but there are other proposed explanations as "no definitive documentation exists to conclusively prove that the founders chose the unique spelling for any one particular reason".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why St. Catharines with two "a's" ? · So Many Catharine's · Brock University Library|url=https://exhibits.library.brocku.ca/s/so_many_catharines/page/introduction|access-date=2022-06-23|website=exhibits.library.brocku.ca}}</ref> St Catherine of Alexandria Parish and School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, is named after her.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://parish.scaoaklawn.org/home|title=Home|website=parish.scaoaklawn.org}}</ref>

[[St. Catherine University]] in St. Paul, Minnesota was founded in 1905 by the [[Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet]] and named for St. Catherine of Alexandria.<ref name="Our History">[https://www.stkate.edu/about/history/ Our History.], St. Catherine University. Retrieved May 7, 2018.</ref> [[University of Saint Katherine]] in San Marcos, California is the first Eastern Orthodox Christian university in the United States and the English-speaking world.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} [[St. Catherine's School, Richmond, Virginia|St. Catherine's School]], is an independent Episcopal diocesan school in Richmond, Virginia. [[St Helen and St Katharine]], a girls' school in Oxfordshire, England celebrates "St. Katharine's Day" each November. The name of [[St. Catharine's School for Girls (Kwun Tong)]] in Hong Kong was chosen over that of St. Anne because it sounds better when translated into Chinese. [[Sœur de La Chapelle]] was a French nun who wrote a [[tragedy]] about her martyrdom.

==In art==
[[File:German - Scenes from the Life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria - Walters 372638.jpg|thumb|left|''Scenes from the Life of Saint Catherine of Alexandria'', Germany,
 {{Circa|15th century}}, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:German_-_Scenes_from_the_Life_of_Saint_Catherine_of_Alexandria_-_Walters_372638.jpg Walters Art Museum]]]

Countless images of Saint Catherine are depicted in art, especially in the late [[Middle Ages]], which is also the time that the account of [[Mystical marriage of Saint Catherine|Saint Catherine's Mystical Marriage]] makes its first literary appearance. She can usually be easily recognised as she is richly dressed and crowned, as befits her rank as a princess, and often holds or stands next to a segment of her wheel as an [[Emblem|attribute]]. She also often carries either a [[martyr's palm]] or the sword with which she was actually executed. She often has long unbound blonde or reddish hair (unbound as she is unmarried). The vision of Saint Catherine of Alexandria usually shows the Infant Christ, held by the Virgin, placing a ring (one of her attributes) on her finger, following some literary accounts, although in the version in the ''[[Golden Legend]]'' he appears to be adult, and the marriage takes place among a great crowd of angels and "all the celestial court",{{sfn|Caxton|1900|p=1}} and these may also be shown.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

She is very frequently shown attending on the Virgin and Child, and is usually prominent in scenes of the ''[[Master of the Virgo inter Virgines]]'', showing a group of virgin saints surrounding the Virgin and Child.  Notable later paintings of Catherine include single figures [[Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Raphael)|by Raphael]] in the National Gallery, and [[Saint Catherine (Caravaggio)|by Caravaggio]] (in the [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]], Madrid).{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

<gallery mode="packed-hover">
File:Bergognone 007.jpg|[[Ambrogio Bergognone]]. ''The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Catherine of Siena''
File:Katharinaundmagdalena.jpg|[[Konrad Witz]], ''[[Saint Madeleine and Saint Catherine (Witz)|Saints Mary Magdalen and Catherine]]'', shown as a crowned scholar with her wheel behind
File:VirgenMosca.jpg|Catherine, reading again, with sword on the ground, c. 1520
File:Virgo inter Virgines IMG 1383.JPG|[[Master of the Legend of Saint Lucy]], late 15th century [[Master of the Virgo inter Virgines]]
File:Catherine of Alexandria.jpg|Orthodox icon
File:CatherineBeheadCitolanzo.jpg|[[Girolamo Citolanzo]], ''The Martyrdom of St. Catherine'', [[Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore]], [[Rome]]
File:ResurrCatherinePamplona.jpg|''The Resurrection of the Body of St. Catherine'', Refectory Museum of the Cathedral of St. Mary, [[Pamplona]], Spain
File:Dlieja Sacun Santa Catarina d'Alessandria.JPG|Saint Catherine in a 15th-century fresco on the St. Jacob church in [[Urtijëi]], Italy.
File:Lotto, pala di santo spirito 01.jpg|[[Lorenzo Lotto]], ''Catherine of Alexandria and [[Augustine of Hippo|Saint Augustine]]''
File:Peter Paul Rubens - The Crowning of St Catherine - WGA20254.jpg|''[[The Crowning of Saint Catherine]]'', by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]
File:Memling Mystic Marriage of St Catherine.jpg|''Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherin''' (triptych by [[Hans Memling]]
File:Jacob Huysmans - Queen Catherine of Braganza as Saint Catherine of Alexandria.jpg|[[Catherine of Braganza]], Queen of England, painted as Catherine of Alexandria - by [[Jacob Huysmans]]
File:Bernardino Luini - Saint Catherine.jpg|[[Bernardino Luini]] - Painting of Catherine of Alexandria, ([[National Art Museum of Azerbaijan]])
File:Raffael 020.jpg|''[[Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Raphael)|Saint Catherine of Alexandria]]'' by [[Raphael]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Saints}}
* [[Se Cathedral|Cathedral of St. Catherine]], [[Old Goa]]
* [[List of Christian women of the patristic age]]
* [[Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/November 25|Saint Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint archive]]
* [[St. Catherine of Boletice]]
* [[St. Catherine's Cathedral, Kherson]], dedicated to Saint Catherine, the original name of City of Kherson was to 'the Glory of Catherine'
* [[St. Catherine's Day]]
* [[St. Catherine's taffy]]
* [[Order of St. Catherine with Mount Sinai]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="orthodox">{{cite web|url=http://www.antiochian.org/saint_katherine|title=Holy Great Martyr Katherine|website=Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|access-date= 11 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226125643/http://www.antiochian.org/saint_katherine|archive-date=26 December 2014}}</ref>

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<ref name="IMDB">{{imdb title|id=1587685|title=Fall of an Empire: The Story of Katherine of Alexandria (2014)}}</ref>
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}}

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*{{cite book|title=The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints, as englished by William Caxton|first=William|last=Caxton|date=1900|publisher=J.M. Dent|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/TheGoldenLegendVol7/page/n15|volume=7}}
*{{cite CE1913|last= Clugnet|first= Léon|wstitle=St. Catherine of Alexandria|volume=3}}
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*{{cite book|author-link=Michael A. B. Deakin|first=Michael A. B.|last=Deakin|title=Hypatia of Alexandria, Mathematician and Martyr|publisher=Amherst|location=New York|date=2007}}
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*{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Katherine J.|chapter=Pilgrimage and the Cult of St. Katherine of Alexandria in Late Medieval England|editor-last1=Jenkins|editor-first1=Jacqueline|editor-last2=Lewis|editor-first2=Katherine J.|title=St Katherine of Alexandria: Texts and Contexts in Western Medieval Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gVXZAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Isd|isbn=978-2-503-51290-7}}
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{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Catherine of Alexandria}}
* [http://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Passio_S._Katharinae Passio sanctae Katharinae]{{nbsp}}– 11th century (between 1033 and 1048); at Latin Wikisource
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080225022934/http://www.saintkatherineorthodoxchurch.org/saintkatherine.htm Details of Saint Catherine's life]}}{{nbsp}}– Saint Catherine Orthodox Church; includes a gallery of [[icon]]s of the saint
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150907055911/http://www.eelk.ee/muhu/ St Catherine's church in Muhu island (Estonia)]}}
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/catherine.html Saint Catherine of Alexandria] at the [http://www.christianiconography.info Christian Iconography] web site
* [http://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/catherine.htm "The Life of St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr"] from the Caxton translation of the ''Golden Legend''
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Catharine|year=1905 |short=x}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Catherine, Saint |short=x}}
* [http://www.stpetersbasilica.info/Exterior/Colonnades/Saints/St%20Catherine-44/StCatherine.htm Colonnade Statue St Peter's Square]

{{Fourteen Holy Helpers}}
{{Coptic saints}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Of Alexandria}}
[[Category:Catherine of Alexandria| ]]
[[Category:282 births]]
[[Category:305 deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century Egyptian women]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian martyrs]]
[[Category:4th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:4th-century Egyptian women]]
[[Category:Anglican saints]]
[[Category:Roman-era Alexandrians]]
[[Category:Converts to Christianity from ancient Roman religions]]
[[Category:Fourteen Holy Helpers]]
[[Category:Hypatia]]
[[Category:Joan of Arc]]
[[Category:Ancient Christian female saints]]
[[Category:Marian visionaries]]
[[Category:African people whose existence is disputed]]
[[Category:Saints from Roman Egypt]]
[[Category:Great Martyrs]]
[[Category:Virgin martyrs]]