#Christian Wilgefortis

[t0rschlusspan1k]

In the STORIEL collection of Gwynedd Museum and Art Gallery in Bangor, there is a wooden figure, around two feet tall, made by a Flemish carver around the year 1520. It represents Saint Wilgefortis, and the story behind this sixteenth-century object encompasses bearded women, oppressed people and gender fluidity within religious iconography. Interpretations of Wilgefortis's legend disrupt the binaries of male and female, and the human and the divine. Taking a close look at the figure, the face has a high forehead, with arched eyebrows and downcast eyes that suggest a humble or contemplative expression. The person has long, curling hair and a short, neat beard. It seems that the clothing on this figure is particularly feminine: there are beads on a necklace, ruched folds of the undershirt at the neck, and a cinched waist with a floral motif in the middle. Seen from the side, the figure seems to have a bust. The feet are covered by a shroud tied loosely at the ankles. The folds of fabric and waves of hair suggest softness.

Saint Wilgefortis (details), c.1520, wood by unknown artist

No arms are visible, and a cloak covers the shoulders. The angle of the shoulders, raised up, suggests the arms may have been splayed out, like on a crucifix – perhaps they were broken off, as the rectangular holes at the sides attest. How did a Flemish object come to be in Wales? The collection website explains the item was originally owned by Captain John Jones, a master mariner who collected objects on his travels and set up his own museum in Bangor. In Europe, after the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, many churches were stripped of decoration and these works of art were destroyed or even looted and sold, as part of the Beeldenstorm ('image storm'). This Flemish image of Saint Wilgefortis, usually venerated by Catholics, clearly didn't escape the looting. Also known as 'The Bearded Lady', Wilgefortis is known for her facial hair. The legend goes: the young Christian Wilgefortis was the daughter of the pagan King of Portugal, who arranged for her to be married to a suitor. The young woman, who had taken a vow of chastity, prayed to be made repulsive and released from the betrothal. Her prayers were answered in the form of a luscious beard. The new facial adornment put off the potential husband, and Wilgefortis's father was so angry that he had her crucified. Her story made her a popular saint with women who were in unhappy, abusive situations. The variations of her name across Europe echo parts of her tale: Saint Uncumber ('disencumbered'), Saint Ontkommer or Kümmernis ('ohne Kummer', without anxiety), Saint Liberata or Librada ('liberated'). Wilgefortis sounds also like virgo fortis ('courageous virgin' in Latin). [...]

[read more]

[thelefthandandtherighthandpath]

The beginnings of a St. Wilgefortis/St. Liberata litany

Bright light from Spain,

Brilliance and protection of the Netherlands,

Royal rose,

Bride of Christ,

Martyr,

Conquering Hero of Suffering,

Friend to the imprisoned,

Freerer of unhappy married women,

Friend of women and children,

Protector of both ox and ass,

Ensurer of a good harvest,

One with the poor and suffering,

[blessed-st-wilgefortis]

An independent Catholic church is named after St. Wilgefortis and is intended to minister to transgender people.

[mydudejc]

Not to toot my own horn but

You could probably show someone in the middle ages my transgendered body and there's a good chance they would think I was divine

Between side wound theology, St Francis breastfeeding, St Wilgefortis, literal Joan of Arc- on and on and on there's holy gender and sex transgression. Christianity reeks of it

(This includes homosexuality! Blessedly)

[maypoleman1]

20th July

St Margaret’s and St Uncumber’s Day

Saint Margaret by Joan Reixach. Source: St Bride’s, Liverpool

Today is St Margaret of Antioch’s Day. Margaret, a very early Christian lady in in third century Syria, resisted the amorous advances of the pagan Roman governor, Olybrius. He tried bribery, charm, even torture to get the virginal Margaret into his bed but was met with steadfast refusal. Eventually, wearying of serial rejection, Olybrius had Margaret chained to a stake and fed to a local dragon. The virtuous woman was swallowed whole and once in the beast’s belly, made the sign of the cross, causing the dragon’s abdomen to split open, killing the creature. Margaret stepped out unscathed. As can probably be imagined, Margaret never actually existed and as early as 494, the Church declared her a fabrication, This cancellation however, did not stop Margaret becoming the patron saint of women in labour.

Saint Uncumber. Source: John Rylands Library blog

Today is also St Uncumber’s Day. In a similar tale of brave virginity, the Christian Italian noblewoman, Wilgefortis, had taken vows of chastity and therefore was outraged to be forcibly married to the King of Sicily. She prayed her husband would find her unattractive and the following morning found she had sprouted a full beard. The King immediately divorced her. Uncumber’s father was so ashamed at his daughter’s alarming appearance that he had her crucified. Almost as fictitious as St Margaret, Wilgefortis/ Uncumber nonetheless stuck up for harassed women. If a wife was troubled by an unpleasant husband and she offered oats to the saint’s shrine or statue, Uncumber would send a satanic horse to the marital home who would carry the annoying spouse off to Hell.

[ahopefulbromantic]

Yeah you don't have to apologize, as you see i'm even worse at replying timely heh (has this post really been hiding from me in the depths of the drafts this long?! oh man...)

I'm so glad you liked my additions, and thanks for explaining the shoe joke! If you're interested, there seems to be a lot of gender non-conforming stories of saints, just recently i've found out about St. Marina the Monk and St. Theodora of Alexandria, another great examples of holy women living their lives as male monks (though in Theodora's case it was only for some time as a penance). Marina's story is especially sweet because she entered the monastery together with her widowed father after she rather stay with him and close to God than get married - and also especially tragic because she was accused of r*ping and impregnating a girl and because she couldn't blow her cover she agreed to all the punishments and raised the child; only after her death did it turn out she couldn't possibly have done it.

I mean it was very tolerant and inclusive of them to not even consider she might be a eunuch? But then again that would risk someone wanting to verify it

As for Lady Wisdom, i tried to look for something on the Roman or Greek goddesses connotations but honestly i couldn't find anything much. The picture i have used is a relatively late portrayal, as Lady Wisdom is from the biblical Book of Proverbs, a collection of texts put together most probably around 5th century B.C. and written years before that so we'll have to check how much the Jewish and Grecoroman cultures could be influencing each other during that time. Just going by their similarities as characters, though, biblical Sophia's main features are helping create the world and then joyfully taking part in the lives of its people, teaching them, living among them, feeding them, and even throwing parties for them, so i wouldn't really connect Her to Nike/Victoria, but there are some parallels with Athena/Minerva, although not much of a war strategist that Athena was known for being.

@kaleb-is-definitely-sane @jh-newman-opn @margindoodles2407 @apilgrimpassingby hey guys you seem to know a thing or two about Church history, maybe you have some info or sources on this?

Hi! I saw a post where you mentioned intersex Jesus being a part of medieval European alchemy and I'd love to learn more about that. Could you elaborate or maybe provide links to some articles? I know some saint mystics talked about Jesus being our Mother, and the holy wound in His side was often likened to a birth canal, especially in medieval times. Is it connected to that in any way?

I'd love to elaborate! (This is going to be a long post so buckle up lol)

I will be using the word "hermaphrodite" instead of "intersex" because that is the word that primary sources from medieval Europe and contemporary medieval scholars use when talking about this subject

The best scholarly article I've found is "The Jesus Hermaphrodite: Science and Sex Difference in Premodern Europe" by Leah DeVun. It talks about how the image of the hermaphrodite was used in a metaphorical way by alchemists to show the combining/transforming of two different metals. They believed that certain metals/elements were gendered, so combining male and female "traits" would make something of a completely new sex; similar to the way they perceived hermaphrodites as both but also neither sex.

The article then goes on to talk about two medieval texts: Aurora consurgens and the Book of the Holy Trinity. Aurora consurgens is an alchemic text and has the image below in it. The hermaphrodite is holding a rabbit and bat, both of which were thought to be hermaphroditic species where both males and females gave birth, to emphasize their dual sexuality as well as the conflicting male and female attributes of alchemy.

The Book of the Holy Trinity transitioned from the traditional alchemic hermaphrodite, like seen above, into the religious sphere by arguing that Jesus and Mary were two sides of the same coin. The author of the text says, "one can never see the mother of God without also seeing that God eternally hides and intermingles [his mother] within him. God was and is eternally his own mother and his own father, human and divine, his divinity and his humanity intermingled within. And he depends on that which he wishes to be hidden most of all within himself, the divine and the human, the feminine and the masculine." This makes Jesus/Mary a hermaphrodite.

As a bit of a fun side note to your ask, the author of the Book of the Holy Trinity gives a few more supporting points to his argument and then turns to say that as Christ contains Mary, He also contains the Antichrist which the Book illustrates like this:

The idea of the hermaphrodite Christ really took off after that and boosted the cult of Saint Wilgefortis, saint of monsters. Images of the hermaphrodite Wilgefortis were often indistinguishable from images of Christ because they were both depicted on a cross but where they both have beards, Wilgefortis only has one shoe on: a playful medieval illusion to female sex organs. Images of Saint Wilgefortis below (some images from the 1800s, some from the 1400s). You can read more about Wilegfortis in Bearded Woman, Female Christ: Gendered Transformations in the Legends and Cult of Saint Wilgefortis by Lewis Wallace.

About a hundred years later, “The Lamentation around the remains of Christ,” below, was made depicting Jesus with breasts and feminine curves. Not much is known about it and Christ's hermaphroditic traits weren't even discovered until it was restored in the 21st century. Because of how recent this discovery is, not much scholarly work has been published on it, but I did find this: "The androgyny of Christ" by H. Valdes‑Socin. It is now at the Museum of Notre-Dame à la Rose Hospital in Lessines, Belgium.

And you're absolutely right about Christ's stab wound being like a birth canal! I think the article Mysticism and queer readings of Christ’s Side Wound in the Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg by  Dr. Maeve K. Doyle does a good job of explaining it. Dr. Doyle says, "The image of the side wound, ... grants feminine bodily attributes to Christ, destabilizing assumptions about his gender. In mystical images and texts, Christ’s capacity to transcend the gender binary, like his capacity to transcend the binary of life and death, underscores his divinity." Dr. Doyle then goes on to talk about how images of the stab wound looking like a birth canal would also be comforting to medieval women, trans people, and homosexuals on both sides. Now I'm not Christian but I think it's really amazing that such a simple image can elicited so much comfort and joy in so many groups of people who were not able to fully be themselves in the era they lived in. It was a reminder that even Christ was like them, their feelings were valid (to an extent), and that Jesus loved them anyway. Medieval Jesus stab wounds below for people interested.

----

Just for fun here are some more cool things!

A medieval wooden architectural relief with a person with a beard, phallus, and breasts

Potta di Modena Metope/The Hermaphrodite (left) and detail from the Southern Archivolt (right) of the Modena Cathedral Modena, Italy, c. 1099-1319, Marble reliefs

The Potta di Modena Metope (left) is damaged because people in the 1500s thought it was too sexual/offensive so they vandalized it

More journal articles:

Bearded Women in Early Modern England by Mark Albert Johnston

The Third Sex: The Idea of the Hermaphrodite in Twelfth-Century Europe by Cary J. Nederman

Transvestites in the Middle Ages by Vern L. Bullough

[brookston]

Holidays 7.20

Holidays

The Binding of the Wreaths (Lithuania)

Cleat Dancing Day

Common Mullein Day (French Republic)

Deepfake Awareness Day

Dia del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay)

Engineer’s Day (Costa Rica)

Falun Gong Persecution Anniversary Day (China)

Frantz Fanon Day

Friend's Day (a.k.a. Dia del Amigo; Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay)

International Ambigram Day

International Chess Day

International Ride MTB Day

July Plot Anniversary Day

Liam Payne Appreciation Day

Lempira Day (Honduras)

Mammal Day

Man on the Moon Day (a.k.a. Moon Day)

Nap Day

National Biplane Day

National Dental BIller’s Day

National Heroes Day

National Megan Day

National Moon Day

National Natalie Day

National Pennsylvania Day

National POW-MIA Recognition Day

National Secretary Day (Mexico)

National Tell A Girl She's Beautiful Day

Peace and Freedom Day (North Cyprus)

Space Exploration Day

Special Olympics Day

Sumarauki (Iceland)

Sun’s Rest Festival (Elder Scrolls)

Tree Planting Day (Central African Republic)

Ugly Truck Day

Vigil for Peace, Justice and Respect for Human Rights (Colombia)

Women’s Union Day (Laos)

World Jump Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Fortune Cookie Day

International Cake Day

National Ice Cream Soda Day

National Lasagne Day

National Lollipop Day

National Milkshake Day (Australia)

National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

3rd Thursday in July

Get To Know Your Customers Day [3rd Thursday of each Quarter]

Latitude Festival (Suffolk, UK) [3rd Thursday thru Sunday]

Independence Days

British Columbia Province Day (Canada; 1871)

Colombia (from Spain, 1810)

Libernesia (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Republic of Plymouth (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Samana Cay (Declared; 2008) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ansegisus (Christian; Saint)

Apollinaris of Ravenna (Christian; Saint)

Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage (Christian; Saint)

Barsabas (Christian; Saint)

Ceslas (Christian; Saint)

Ealhswith (a.k.a. Elswith; Christian; Saint)

Editha (Christian; Saint)

Elias (Christian; Prophet)

Elijah (Christian; Saint)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman (Episcopal Church (USA))

Feralia: Day of Purification(Pagan)

Greater Bajram (Feast of Sacrifice; Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

Interstellar Lasagne Day Day (Pastafarian)

Jerom Aemiliani (Christian; Saint)

John Baptist Yi (Christian; One of The Korean Martyrs)

Justa and Rufina (Christian; Martyrs)

La Fontain (Positivist; Saint)

Larry the Fish (Muppetism)

Margaret the Virgin (a.k.a. Margaret of Antioch; Christian; Saint)

Max Liebermann (Artology)

Perun’s Day (Asatru/Slavic Pagan God of Thunder)

Pope John XII Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Synoika (Ancient Greece)

Thorlac (Christian; Relic Translation)

Turkish Invasion Day (Cyprus)

Uncumber (Christian; Saint)

Ulmer (a.k.a. Wulmar; Christian; Saint)

Wilgefortis (cult suppressed)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Batman: Hush (WB Animated Film; 2019)

Breaking Away (Film; 1979)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder (Novel; 1927)

Buddy Steps Out (WB LT Cartoon; 1935)

Christmas in Connecticut (Film; 1945)

The Dark Knight Rises (Film; 2012)

Do You Believe in Magic?, by The Lovin’ Spoonful (Song; 1965)

Ghost World (Film; 2001)

Hairspray (Film; 2007)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Film; 2001)

Like a Rolling Stone, by Bob Dylan (Song; 1965)

Lucky Number (Disney Cartoon; 1951)

Mama Mia!: Here We Go Again (Film; 2018)

The NeverEnding Story (Film; 1984)

Revenge of the Nerds (Film; 1984)

Sid and Nancy (Film; 1986)

Spirited Away (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2001)

Stop the World — I Want To Get Off (Musical Play; 1961)

Tabasco Road (WB LT Cartoon; 1957)

Train to Busan (Film; 2016)

The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2013)

Today’s Name Days

Apollinaris, Bernhard, Margareta (Austria)

Ilina, Iliya, Iliyana, Ilko (Bulgaria)

Apolinar, Bernard, Ilija, Margareta, Marina (Croatia)

Ilja (Czech Republic)

Elias (Denmark)

Elias, Erland, Liias (Estonia)

Maaret, Maarit, Margareeta, Marketta, Reeta, Reetta (Finland)

Élie, Marina (France)

Elias, Greta, Margarete (Germany)

Elias, Ilias (Greece)

Illés (Hungary)

Elia, Simmaco (Italy)

Namejs, Ramona, Ritma (Latvia)

Alvydas, Česlovas, Jeronimas, Vismantė (Lithuania)

Margareta, Margit, Marit (Norway)

Czech, Czechasz, Czechoń, Czesław, Eliasz, Heliasz, Hieronim, Leon, Małgorzata, Paweł, Sewera (Poland)

Ilie (Romania)

Eliáš, Iľja (Slovakia)

Apolinar, Aurelio, Elías (Spain)

Greta, Margareta (Sweden)

Elio, Eliot, Eliott, Elliot, Elliott, Marine (Universal)

Edna, Edwin, Edwina, Elias, Elijah, Ellice, Elliot, Elliott, Ellis, Ellison, Neal, Neala, Neil, Neila, Nelson, Niall, Nigel, Niles (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 201 of 2024; 164 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 29 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Ji-Wei), Day 3 (Ji-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 2 Av 5783

Islamic: 2 Muharram 1445

J Cal: 21 Lux; Sevenday [21 of 30]

Julian: 7 July 2023

Moon: 8%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 5 Dante (8th Month) [La Fontain]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 30 of 94)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 30 of 31)

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 7.20

Holidays

The Binding of the Wreaths (Lithuania)

Cleat Dancing Day

Common Mullein Day (French Republic)

Deepfake Awareness Day

Dia del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay)

Engineer’s Day (Costa Rica)

Falun Gong Persecution Anniversary Day (China)

Frantz Fanon Day

Friend's Day (a.k.a. Dia del Amigo; Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay)

International Ambigram Day

International Chess Day

International Ride MTB Day

July Plot Anniversary Day

Liam Payne Appreciation Day

Lempira Day (Honduras)

Mammal Day

Man on the Moon Day (a.k.a. Moon Day)

Nap Day

National Biplane Day

National Dental BIller’s Day

National Heroes Day

National Megan Day

National Moon Day

National Natalie Day

National Pennsylvania Day

National POW-MIA Recognition Day

National Secretary Day (Mexico)

National Tell A Girl She's Beautiful Day

Peace and Freedom Day (North Cyprus)

Space Exploration Day

Special Olympics Day

Sumarauki (Iceland)

Sun’s Rest Festival (Elder Scrolls)

Tree Planting Day (Central African Republic)

Ugly Truck Day

Vigil for Peace, Justice and Respect for Human Rights (Colombia)

Women’s Union Day (Laos)

World Jump Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Fortune Cookie Day

International Cake Day

National Ice Cream Soda Day

National Lasagne Day

National Lollipop Day

National Milkshake Day (Australia)

National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day

3rd Thursday in July

Get To Know Your Customers Day [3rd Thursday of each Quarter]

Latitude Festival (Suffolk, UK) [3rd Thursday thru Sunday]

Independence Days

British Columbia Province Day (Canada; 1871)

Colombia (from Spain, 1810)

Libernesia (Declared; 2022) [unrecognized]

Republic of Plymouth (Declared; 2015) [unrecognized]

Samana Cay (Declared; 2008) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ansegisus (Christian; Saint)

Apollinaris of Ravenna (Christian; Saint)

Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage (Christian; Saint)

Barsabas (Christian; Saint)

Ceslas (Christian; Saint)

Ealhswith (a.k.a. Elswith; Christian; Saint)

Editha (Christian; Saint)

Elias (Christian; Prophet)

Elijah (Christian; Saint)

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman (Episcopal Church (USA))

Feralia: Day of Purification(Pagan)

Greater Bajram (Feast of Sacrifice; Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

Interstellar Lasagne Day Day (Pastafarian)

Jerom Aemiliani (Christian; Saint)

John Baptist Yi (Christian; One of The Korean Martyrs)

Justa and Rufina (Christian; Martyrs)

La Fontain (Positivist; Saint)

Larry the Fish (Muppetism)

Margaret the Virgin (a.k.a. Margaret of Antioch; Christian; Saint)

Max Liebermann (Artology)

Perun’s Day (Asatru/Slavic Pagan God of Thunder)

Pope John XII Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Synoika (Ancient Greece)

Thorlac (Christian; Relic Translation)

Turkish Invasion Day (Cyprus)

Uncumber (Christian; Saint)

Ulmer (a.k.a. Wulmar; Christian; Saint)

Wilgefortis (cult suppressed)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Batman: Hush (WB Animated Film; 2019)

Breaking Away (Film; 1979)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey, by Thornton Wilder (Novel; 1927)

Buddy Steps Out (WB LT Cartoon; 1935)

Christmas in Connecticut (Film; 1945)

The Dark Knight Rises (Film; 2012)

Do You Believe in Magic?, by The Lovin’ Spoonful (Song; 1965)

Ghost World (Film; 2001)

Hairspray (Film; 2007)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Film; 2001)

Like a Rolling Stone, by Bob Dylan (Song; 1965)

Lucky Number (Disney Cartoon; 1951)

Mama Mia!: Here We Go Again (Film; 2018)

The NeverEnding Story (Film; 1984)

Revenge of the Nerds (Film; 1984)

Sid and Nancy (Film; 1986)

Spirited Away (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2001)

Stop the World — I Want To Get Off (Musical Play; 1961)

Tabasco Road (WB LT Cartoon; 1957)

Train to Busan (Film; 2016)

The Wind Rises (Studio Ghibli Animated Film; 2013)

Today’s Name Days

Apollinaris, Bernhard, Margareta (Austria)

Ilina, Iliya, Iliyana, Ilko (Bulgaria)

Apolinar, Bernard, Ilija, Margareta, Marina (Croatia)

Ilja (Czech Republic)

Elias (Denmark)

Elias, Erland, Liias (Estonia)

Maaret, Maarit, Margareeta, Marketta, Reeta, Reetta (Finland)

Élie, Marina (France)

Elias, Greta, Margarete (Germany)

Elias, Ilias (Greece)

Illés (Hungary)

Elia, Simmaco (Italy)

Namejs, Ramona, Ritma (Latvia)

Alvydas, Česlovas, Jeronimas, Vismantė (Lithuania)

Margareta, Margit, Marit (Norway)

Czech, Czechasz, Czechoń, Czesław, Eliasz, Heliasz, Hieronim, Leon, Małgorzata, Paweł, Sewera (Poland)

Ilie (Romania)

Eliáš, Iľja (Slovakia)

Apolinar, Aurelio, Elías (Spain)

Greta, Margareta (Sweden)

Elio, Eliot, Eliott, Elliot, Elliott, Marine (Universal)

Edna, Edwin, Edwina, Elias, Elijah, Ellice, Elliot, Elliott, Ellis, Ellison, Neal, Neala, Neil, Neila, Nelson, Niall, Nigel, Niles (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 201 of 2024; 164 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 29 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Tinne (Holly) [Day 11 of 28]

Chinese: Month 6 (Ji-Wei), Day 3 (Ji-Mao)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 2 Av 5783

Islamic: 2 Muharram 1445

J Cal: 21 Lux; Sevenday [21 of 30]

Julian: 7 July 2023

Moon: 8%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 5 Dante (8th Month) [La Fontain]

Runic Half Month: Ur (Primal Strength) [Day 7 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 30 of 94)

Zodiac: Cancer (Day 30 of 31)

[blessed-st-wilgefortis]

The goal of this blog is to provide information, such as prayers and novenas with those who wish to develop a relationship with the legendary St. Wilgefortis/St. Liberata. If you have come across this blog you may be asking why this folk saint in particular?

The short answer is because her legend and all that became associated with her is very fascinating to me.

The long answer is that she is a versatile saint. Interpretations of her and her story change depending on who is looking at her. She is a saint for today. In medieval times, she had a broad patronage that included women, the imprisoned, and even livestock. I think this makes her a needed saint in today's world.

On this blog, I want to share art and information I have gleaned about her. I aim to provide you sources so you can check my work and come to your own conclusions. This will also be the space for me to put devotionary works written for her. I hope that the material here can help you in developing a relationship with this unique saint.

[metalalia]

Mythological Throwback Thursday: Wilgefortis

How do you feel about obscure saints? What about fearless gender-role busting women of folklore? This week for Mythological Throwback Thursday we’re looking into the tale of Saint Wilgefortis, patron saint of women who aren’t taking any more of their husbands’ shit.

The legend of Wilgefortis originates in the 14th century. It is told that a pagan king of Portugal had a daughter who was Christian. She was a young and pretty princess, according to some versions no older than twelve, and her father arranged for her to be married to a prince, also a pagan. Shewas in no mood to be sold off, though. Wilgefortis took a vow of chastity, and prayed that she would be disfigured, and her wedding averted. Pretty heavy stuff for a pre-teen.

Her prayer was answered in style, and one morning Wilgefortis awoke to find a full beard had grown from her chin. The prince was of no mind to wed himself to someone with superior facial hair, and her father’s plans were thwarted. Apparently the razor blade had not yet reached Portugal at this period of history.

Humiliated by a foreign god, the king was furious, and sentenced his own daughter to be crucified. For...beard-related crimes? Wilgefortis died upon the cross, a grisly way to go for anyone. But the story doesn’t end there.

A humble fiddler came across her body on the cross, and played a mournful song out of respect. At the song’s end, one of the princess’ golden shoes tumbled from her foot and landed in front of the fiddler. He took it as a sign, and kept the shoe. When this was discovered, the king sentenced the fiddler to die as well. The criminal code in Portugal at the time was odd, to say the least.

The fiddler’s last request was to play for poor Wilgefortis, whose body was still upon the cross, one last time. When this was granted, and his second song completed, Wilgefortis’ other shoe dropped to his feet as well, exonerating him. Which was nice of her. Or her decomposing body, anyway.

With no real evidence of Wilgefortis’ existence, the Catholic Church quietly retired her from the canon in 1969, and her feast day is no longer celebrated. However, many people hold close the message of her bravery and dedication to this day. Here’s a video of some French feminists going on pilgrimage to pay their respects to the saint:

Please join us for another Mythological #TBT next week!

[hymnsofheresy]

drop it... i'm struggling to understand so pls drop it. how do you understand the essentiality of sex in female oppression (i do not mean this in like an anti-trans way) but also the essentiality of gender dysphoria and it's connection to gender identity and transphobia. And ultimately how do those thing relate to christianity... especially from a non-protestant christian approach?? I'm sorry i know i just asked a lot.. but i need help understanding. i promise i'm not trying to be mean /g

Firstly, it needs to be known that every single person functions under a variety of paradigms. There is no such thing as an pure unfiltered Christian perspective. There is no monolithic understanding of gender identity amongst trans or cis people. People do not exist in a vacuum, but exist within an intersections of different cultures and worldviews. You and I are likely never going to be able to fully understand anyone's perspective outside of our own. And even our own perspective is hard to grasp sometimes. I will tell you where I am coming from, but I do not expect you to fully understand me.

The Bible verse that I often meditate on a lot is Galatians 3:28. It sets up a variety of dualistic social constructs, and upheavals them. Gender is one of these constructs: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." This tells us that our intrinsic nature as humans is oneness with God, and everything else are constructs of our humanity, for better or worse.

I am not the only Christian out there who does not see gender roles as God-ordained. There are a lot of saints and Christians in history that don't exactly perform their assigned gender at birth, such as St. Thecla, St. Wilgefortis, Brother Marina, and the Public Universal Friend. And in general the numerous existence of Eunichs (both involuntary and voluntary) in Christian history already disrupted the notions of a strict gender binary.

Fundamentally, I see gender as a construct, a means in which people navigate society. Like all constructions, they tend to be founded on some understanding of material reality. The capacity to reproduce and breastfeed distinguished what makes someone a "woman" in the majority of cultures. Visibly this takes the form of breasts and a vagina/uterus, but in reality, what matters is what breasts and uteri do (or are "supposed" to do). For this reason, I often find it helpful to understand traditional gender as labor categories. The category of "women" historically describes the the workforce of "reproductive labor." As with all labor, within the structures of capitalism (and any other hierarchical societies) reproductive labor is exploited. This is why sex-based oppression is "real."

I see the disruption of our notions of gender as a good thing. It helps us understand that our oppression is not intrinsic, that we don't have to comply with the labor expectations assigned to us through our gender.

I do not really know nor do I really fucking care if gender dysphoria is "essential" or not. What I do know is that dysphoria causes profound suffering for many trans people. I know for certain transitioning, physically and/or socially, can be a euphoric experience for many trans people. To deny trans people a sense of belonging in their own bodies because it makes others uncomfortable is cruel and unnecessary. I think the mere existence of the trans liberation movement helps liberate all people from being coerced or forced into gendered labor.

As for my personal identity, I am a woman because I find solidarity through the label of womanhood, not because I "feel" like a woman. There is nothing "essential" about me that makes me a woman because there is no male or female in Christ Jesus.

Many people do not see me as a woman because I refuse to participate in many aspects of femininity and am not heterosexual. Some people do not see me as a woman because I have "masculine" features due to my higher testosterone levels. And truth be told, I do not give two shits if people do not see me as a woman. I am not a woman for them, I am a woman because I find it to be an effective label to struggle against the patriarchy with. I do not need people to understand my own identity.

[just-gay-thoughts]

Saint Pelagia of Antioch

Sorry for all the saints lol

Saint Pelagia of Antioch was also called Pelagia the Harlot, her feast day is the 8th of October

She lived as a monk under the name Pelagios for many years in the 4th or 5th century. until she died due to extreme asceticism (living off the very very base necessities required to live, eating very little, drinking very little, and wanting very little) and was buried in her cell. After her death her identity as a women was attempted to be kept a secret but gossip spread and she drew pilgrims from far around looking for her relics.

Legend goes that she was a harlot living in Antioch, who after sermon on hell and paradise decided to repent. When a priest then tried to deny her access to the church, she said if he should do so all her sins would be held against him at his judgment. Needless to say it worked.

Then as legend states, after her baptism the devil arrived to complain, but was driven off when she made the sign of the cross and breathed on him

A few nights later she snuck off to Jerusalem disguised as a male and lived for 3 to 4 years as a recluse

Again though, much like Wilgefortis it's unsure if she was an actual person in history. According to Britanica, there was a 15 year old girl named Pelagia, who in 311 threw herself from a rooftop in an effort to save her chastity, and died instantly, and it's thought she might have inspired the above legend.

It does fascinate me to see a prevalence of women who either defied gender norms in their legends or lived as men in their legends becoming semi well known saints, there's likely an aspect of religous prosectution and sex based oppresion that helped such figures resonate with people at the time. I do recommend reading the wikipedia article linked below, I very much paraphrased it but there were spots that made me laugh a little, specifically when she turned some priests heads going by on her donkey, all bejewled out

[lgbt-tiktoks]

Caption: [Hi! Yes! Let's talk about transgender saints. So identifying specific saints as transgender is a relatively recent phenomenom inthe scholarship. However, what's not a recent phenomenom is scholars noting that there are a non-negligible number of saints who are assigned female at birth who, over the course of their life, exhibit some form of gender non-conformity and that is in fact part of their sanctity.

Valerie Hotchkiss identifies thirty four such figures in the book "Clothes Make the Man". And this can be a single event such as with Saint Wilgefortis, who asks God for a beard in order to avoid an unwanted marriage. The beard appears. Or it could be more of someone's entire life, such as Saint Marinos, who was living in an all male monestary for his whole life. And then only upon his death is, I guess we could say, outed.

In "Byzantine Intersectionality", the author Roland Betancourt argues for a reading of the life of Saint Marinos as a transgender man. And he further says that this reveals "the range of sites available to premodern non-cisgender persons for self identification: not as queer abject or aberrant social figures, but rather often within the nominative practices of Christian worship asceticism and empire".]

[medusarevengetheory]

devotionals of ugliness, part two: defensive ugliness v.1

There’s debate about whether Saint Wilgefortis actually lived or not. However, the legend regarding her is as follows: “Wilgefortis was the teenage Christian daughter of a king in medieval Portugal. She had taken a vow of chastity, but her father ordered her to marry a pagan king. She resisted the unwelcome marriage by praying to be made repulsive to her fiancé. God answered her prayers when she grew a beard.” (Emphasis mine). 

The mythos of Medusa can be found everywhere. 

Just as ancient women adorned themselves with images of the Gorgon to protect themselves against the evil eye, modern (and not so modern) women invoke her legacy to protect themselves against a more pressing threat: men. 

Hair has always been something that women are expected to maintain and style. The styles may have changed, but the expectations haven’t. And women have always rebelled against this. Some women shave their heads, do away with hair entirely; some women refuse to shave, which is still a revolutionary act in today’s times. 

Medusa went a different route.

Her snaky hair is repulsive to men in a visceral way, from Freud to modern male artists who can’t imagine her as anything less than beautiful. Some say her hair is phallic in nature, others say it’s reminiscent of a woman’s pubic hair; either way, it repels. Both Medusa and Wilgefortis went the extreme route when desiring repulsiveness, but it worked: they repelled the male gaze just as effectively as a Gorgoneion repels the evil eye. 

[Saint Wilgefortis: Holy bearded woman fascinates for centuries, Kittredge Cherry]