Cordula (saint)

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Holy Cordula - detail from the left window in the apse of St. Kunibert in Cologne from around 1220

Cordula (also: Kordula ; † around 304 or around 451) is the name of a virgin , martyr and saint of the Catholic Church .

Lore

Cordula is one of the virgins (according to a legend there were up to eleven thousand) who came with St. Ursula on a ship from England and suffered martyrdom in Cologne . When the Huns approached , Cordula stayed in the lower hold and escaped the carnage. The next morning she voluntarily went to the murderer's camp so as not to evade martyrdom. She too was killed by the Huns.

The origin of the name Cordula from the Latin word cor, cordis (= heart, courage) is very likely and could therefore mean “the brave” or “the brave”. But it could also come from the Greek kora or kóre , which means something like 'girl' or 'virginity' in German.

The oldest known representation of St. Cordula is on an apse window from around 1220 in the Church of St. Kunibert in Cologne. Cordula is shown in a long robe and cloak. She holds a lance in her right hand and the martyr's palm in her left hand . She is on a ship; a man and a woman raise their hands pleadingly to her. She wears a wreath on her head, a symbol of virginity. She is often depicted with a crown as a symbol of her royal descent and as an attribute of martyrdom. Cordula is considered the patron saint of boatmen, pilgrims and travelers.

The bones of St. Cordula came to the Johanniskirche in Cologne, where they were elevated to relics by the scholar and bishop Albertus Magnus in 1278 . After secularization they came to Königswinter and Rimini. There is also a Cordula shrine in the cathedral treasure of Osnabrück . The Cordula shrine from the cathedral treasure of Cammin (today Kamien Pomorski ) has been missing since the Second World War.

The feast day of St. Cordula is October 22nd .

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Sacred Cordula  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Cordula
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cordula
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Martyr, virgin and saint of the Catholic Church
DATE OF BIRTH between 3rd century and 5th century
DATE OF DEATH at 304 or at 451