MARGARET OF ANTIOCH, SAINT

St. Margaret was the daughter of a pagan priest from Antioch who banished her when she converted to Christianity. Margaret went to the countryside where she became a shepherdess and there she was able to practice her faith freely. She rejected the advances of Governor Olybrius who, in retaliation, ordered her torture and imprisonment. While captive, the devil appeared to her in the form of a dragon and swallowed her. Margaret carved her way out of the belly of the beast with a small crucifix she always carried with her. The following day, attempts were made to end her life by fire and drowning, but both efforts were futile as she miraculously emerged unscathed from the flames and water. The thousands of individuals who witnessed the event were immediately converted and executed. Margaret herself was finally beheaded. Because she carved her way out of the dragon's belly, Margaret is the patron saint of childbirth. She is included in that capacity on the bedpost in Jan van Eyck'sArnolfini Wedding Portrait(1434; London, National Gallery). In Francisco de Zurbarán's depiction of the saint (1634; London, National Gallery), she stands alongside the dragon, her dress and hat that of a shepherdess. She is also included in Friedrich Herlin'sFamilyAltarpiece(1488; Nördlingen, Städtisches Museum) where she presents female donors to the Virgin and Child.