Walpurga | |
|---|---|
 Painting by theMaster of Meßkirch, c. 1535–40. | |
| Born | c. 710 Crediton,Devonshire,[1]Wessex |
| Died | 25 February 777 or 779 Heidenheim,Francia |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Lutheran Churches Eastern Orthodox Church Anglican Communion |
| Canonized | 870 byPope Adrian II |
| Feast | 25 February 1 May (relocation of her relics) |
| Patronage | Eichstätt,Antwerp,Zutphen and other towns |
Walpurga orWalburga[a] (Old English:Wealdburg;Latin:Valpurga, Walpurga, Walpurgis;Swedish:Valborg;c. 710 – 25 February 777 or 779) was anAnglo-Saxon missionary to theFrankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 byPope Adrian II.Saint Walpurgis Night (or "Sankt Walpurgisnacht") is the name for the eve of her feast day in the Medieval period, which coincided withMay Day; her feast is no longer celebrated on that day, but the name is still used for May Eve.
Walpurga was born inDumnonia, roughly corresponding to modernDevon, during the period it was becoming incorporated intoAnglo-Saxon England. She was the daughter ofRichard the Pilgrim, a likelyBritonnic underking of the West Saxons, and ofWuna of Wessex, and had two brothers,Willibald andWinibald.[2]
In 721, Richard set out on a pilgrimage toRome with his two sons. Before leaving he entrusted Walburga, then 11 years old, to the abbess of thedouble monastery atWimborne Abbey inDorset.[3] She had been there but a year when she received word that her father had died atLucca. After seeing to their father's burial in theBasilica of San Frediano, her brothers completed the pilgrimage to Rome, where they both became seriously ill. (Hygeburg, who wrote theVita S. Willibaldi, says they contracted the Black Death; Francis Mershman suggestsmalaria).[4]
After recovering, Winibald, who was not of a particularly strong constitution, remained in Rome to pursue further studies, while Willibald set out for the Holy Land. After about seven years of travelling, Willibald returned to Italy and became a monk atMonte Cassino. In 730, Winibald returned to England and engaged a third brother and several amongst his kindred and acquaintances to accompany him on his journey back to Rome to begin a monastic life there.[5]
During this time Walpurga remained at Wimborne where she was educated, and eventually became a nun. The nuns of Wimborne were skilled at copying and ornamenting manuscripts; and celebrated forOpus Anglicanum, a fine needlework utilising gold and silver threads on richvelvet or linen, often decorated withjewels andpearls. Such English embroidery was in great demand across Europe.[6] She spent 26 years as a member of the community.[7]
In 737, Walpurga's uncle (her mother's brother),Boniface, was in Rome and recruited his nephews to assist him in his religious work in Germany. Winibald arrived inThuringia on 30 November 740, and after being ordained a priest,[4] was placed in charge of seven churches.[8] Willibald, upon arriving atEichstätt, was ordained by Boniface on 22 July 741 and began missionary work in the area.
Walpurga then travelled with her brothers, Willibald and Winibald, toFrancia (nowWürttemberg andFranconia) to assist Boniface in evangelizing the still-pagan Germans. Some sources claimed that she wrote her brother Willibald'svita and an account inLatin of his travels inPalestine,[7] though these were later determined to have been written byHugeburc of Heidenheim.[9]
Walpurga became a nun in thedouble monastery ofHeidenheim am Hahnenkamm, which was founded by Willibald. He appointed her as his successor and following his death in 751, Walpurga became the abbess of the monastery.[3] Upon Winibald's death in 760 she also succeeded him as superintendent of the Heidenheim monastery.[10]
Walpurga died on 25 February 777 or 779 (the records are unclear) and was buried at Heidenheim; the day carries her name in the Catholic church calendar. In 870, Walpurga's remains were translated toEichstätt. InFinland,Sweden, andBavaria, herfeast day commemorates the transfer of her relics on 1 May.
Walpurga's feast day is 25 February, but the day of her canonization, 1 May (possibly 870), was also celebrated during the high medieval period, especially in the 11th century underAnno II, Archbishop of Cologne, so thatWalpurgis Night is the eve ofMay Day, celebrated in continental folklore with dancing.
At Eichstätt, her bones were placed in a rocky niche, which allegedly began to exude a miraculously therapeutic oil, which drew pilgrims to her shrine. The bituminous oil, called Walpurgis oil, was said to exude from her bones (especially from October through February) and was regarded as being efficacious against disease.[10]
The two earliestmiracle narratives of Walpurga are theMiracula S. Walburgae Manheimensis by Wolfhard vonHerrieden, datable to 895 or 896, and the late 10th-centuryVita secunda linked with the name of Aselbod, bishop of Utrecht. In the 14th-centuryVita S. Walburgae by Phillipp von Rathsamhaüsen, bishop of Eichstätt (1306–22), the miracle of the tempest-tossed boat is introduced, whichPeter Paul Rubens painted in 1610 for the altarpiece for the church of St. Walpurgis, Antwerp.[b][11] In addition, the 19th-centuryCardinal Newman declared the exuded oil to be a credible miracle.[10]
The earliest representation of Walpurga is in the early 11th-centuryHitda Codex, made inCologne, and depicts her holding stylized stalks of grain. In other depictions, the object has been called apalm branch which is not correct, since Walpurga was notmartyred. The grain attribute has been interpreted as an instance of a Christian saint (Walpurga) coming to represent an older pagan concept; in this case, the paganGrain Mother. Peasant farmers fashioned her replica in acorn dolly at harvest time and told tales to explain Saint Walpurga's presence in the grain sheaf.[12]
Walpurga is the patroness ofEichstätt and Weilburg, Germany;Oudenarde,Veurne,Antwerp, Belgium;Tiel (demolished),Groningen (demolished),Arnhem,Amby andZutphen the Netherlands; and she is invoked as special patroness against hydrophobia (rabies), in storms, and also by sailors.[7]
St. Walburga's Abbey is located at Eichstätt, Bavaria. A second Benedictine Abbey of St. Walburga is located inVirginia Dale, Colorado, near the Wyoming border. The abbey in Colorado is home to approximately 20 contemplative Catholic nuns and also has a retreat center.[3]St. Walburg Monastery inCovington, Kentucky, is a community of Benedictine sisters who arrived in Northern Kentucky in 1859. Their early teaching efforts later resulted in the establishment and development of Villa Madonna Academy andThomas More University.
TheChurch of St. Walburge, aCatholic church inPreston,Lancashire, England, is a church famous for its spire. At 309 feet (94 m), the spire is the tallest of any parish church in England, with only the spires ofSalisbury andNorwich Cathedrals reaching higher.[1]
TheSt. Walburg's Hospital, a 220-bed hospital in southern Tanzania was built in 1959.
Central in the first fortified city ofAntwerp, from the 11th century, was the church dedicated to Saint Walburga. Under French occupation in 1798, the church was confiscated and sold; it served as a warehouse. In 1816, the Dutch government confiscated the church building, and in 1817, it was demolished. The city mayor and aldermen decided to erect a statue ofPieter Paul Rubens on the burg square left after the demolition. In 1880, when the Scheldt quais were built, most of the area of the first fortified city from the 11th century was demolished and even the foundations of the St. Walburga Church disappeared, and the statue was moved to the Groenplaats.
Some parts of the interior of that ancient church, which actively served for more than 700 years, were recovered: the altarpiece paintingThe Elevation of the Cross and thepredella (foot of the altar) have been reused in the main altar of theCathedral of Our Lady.[13] Another altar was moved to theHeikese kerk [nl] inTilburg where it serves as the main altar.
In 1936, the city master builder (architect)Flor Van Reeth [nl] constructed a new modernistic church building with the same name on the Volkstraat nearHet Zuid [nl]. This building was declared a monument in 1995 and was restored in 2007.
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