St. Ursula (and the
11 thousand virgins) was a daughter of a British Christian king betrothed
to a pagan prince. She wished to preserve her virginity and said to her
father that she could accept the marriage on condition that the prince's
father gave her ten most noble virgins, each with a thousand virgins in
her service, and would be allowed three years to consider. The virgins embarked
a ship; after sea passage, they went up the Rhine as far as Colonge, later
sailed on to Basel, after pilgrimage to Rome, where rhey met the Pope, they
returned to Colonge. The frustrated Ursula's fiancé fired an arrow at her,
which pierced her breast. Her companions were put to the sword by a king
of the Huns. |
