Saint Margaret of Antioch

Daughter of a pagan priest, Margaret of Antioch, a Roman who converted to Christianity, made a vow of chastity.

She refused to marry the governor of Antioch, Olibrius. In response to this affront, and to make her renounce her faith, Olibrius condemned her to martyrdom, as depicted on this capital.

The life of the saint, who eventually became the patron saint of pregnant women, is one of the oldest documented hagiographical accounts (a 6th-century Greek manuscript). From the 10th century onward, her popularity grew with the transfer of her relics from the East to the West and the spread of her legend in the vernacular language, eventually becoming part of the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine in the late 13th century.