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Stories of Martyrdoms

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morten sigurdson

Voivode of Wallachia
Hello! I'm going to post some stories, written by our friend Stepnash. They are about Martyrs, so I name thread ''Stories of Martyrdoms'' Any stories about Martyrs, Ancient or Medieval times are wellcomed, also illustrations will be nice.
 
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The Martyrdom of Anna

A young Christian missionary to Turkey put to death in Epheos in ad365, for refusing to worship the local Gods.
The devout Christian Anna was arrested and put on trial accused of teaching the local children the outlawed religion of Christianity.
Although the beautiful 18-year-old virgin was warned many times at her trial that the crime she was accused of carried the death sentence, she still refused to renounce her faith, she was sentenced to death and taken down to spend her last days chained in a damp and lightless cell.
While Anna spent the time left to her, deep in prayer to her Lord Jesus praying for strength to die bravely as he had, she had no idea what they would do to her but she felt proud that she was to suffer for her Lord.
By the time Anna was 13 she had realised the consequences of being a Christian, from this early age she had decided that if she was called on to bear witness to her faith, she would lay down her life and accept martyrdom rather than deny her Lord Jesus.
It had been decided by the Senate that as an example to other would-be Christians Anna must be put to death, without a shred of dignity.
The chief executioner lead the guards to Anna’s cell she could hear them coming and made one last prayer to Jesus and offered no resistance as her hands were tied behind her back and she was led out clothed in a simple white garment wearing a small wooden cross on a leather throng around her neck it was decided to let the girl wear this cross for the time being.
Anna has not seen daylight for days, and her face is twisted against the early morning light as, with arms tied behind her back, she is led out to the execution site, flanked by eight guards, she is bewildered, dazed, and for the moment fails to see some of the things that have been prepared for her execution.
There are people gathered to watch, even this early, more will come as the day goes on.
As we near the place where Anna is to die, she sees the preparations taking place, and an involuntary cry of shock and horror escapes from her.
A wooden cross, thirteen feet long and with a seven-foot crosspiece, lies on the ground, its upper end slightly raised on chocks, its base positioned over a narrow post-hole, a small pile of wedges alongside. there are guide-ropes looped around the ends of the crosspiece for raising the cross, and close by, seven-inch nails and a heavy iron mallet, there is more to this cross, halfway down its upright post is fixed on a block an upward-facing shaft of wood about 4 inches in diameter and nearly a foot long, shaped like a giant phallus horribly designed penetrate her vagina and destroy that which she had dedicated to her Lord.
Anna is now trembling violently, she had read how the early martyrs had suffered but now the reality of what she was facing was testing her faith to the limit, her knees seemed to grow weak.
She is held still and upright as she is told that she is to be crucified, even then the brave woman cried out that she is not worthy to die crucified in the same way as the Jesus she worships.
Mocking her the chief executioner informs her that she be crucified according to our law whether she is worthy or not, she shudders as he tells her that because by law we are not allowed to execute a virgin we have prepared something special for you after the guards have had their way with you, do you see that shaft fixed on the cross it is larger than any mans member and you will suffer married to it as you die on the cross, she can barely put one foot in front of the other as she is led over to the six guards who have been chosen to rape her.
Anna tries to remain calm as her hands untied from behind her back and four executioners begin to slowly strip her, in the sheer horror of the proceedings she begins to lose her composure and tries to resist, she never been naked in front of a man before, let alone seen naked men with penises fully erect at the sight of her being stripped.
Nothing could have prepared the beautiful and pious young woman for what was to happen next.
After a short and futile struggle Anna is held upright naked in front of the crowd, many of the men had only ever seen their wives naked and this was the spectacle they had come to see.
Anna had the face of an innocent young girl but the body of a small but fully developed woman, who had never shaved her body as this would have been a sign of pride, she possessed a mass of dark hair covering her pubic region and halfway up the lower half of her flat stomach, each side of her small firm breasts she also had under arm hair.
Anna, already on the verge of breaking down having seen the huge shaft that will impale her on the cross, finally lets out a scream of fear. "Don't do this to me! I beg you!" "Oh, for heaven's sake, Jesus please, not this oh no not like this, I have preserved my body for you, please not like this.
Please, please! Have mercy, and then as she realises her martyrdom is about to begin and that she will soon be with her Lord in heaven, she raises her arms, as if already crucified above her head, and calls out ”Jesus help me bear this in your name” as her first and what will be her last sexual experience begins, she is spreadeagled on the ground in front of her cross and raped in turn by each of the six guards.
As the holy virgin struggled with no avail to resist the thrusts of her violators she began to experience a feeling deep inside that she had never known before, she thought this must be the ecstasy of martyrdom in giving up herself for the Lord.
As she suffered the pain and humiliation of losing her virginity she calls out to her violators to accept the love of Jesus and praying for them, this infuriated them to such an extent that one was detailed to hold her mouth shut, her debasement had not gone quite as planned.
“Now let's get on with the crucifixion” it is the growling impatient voice of the chief executioner, on his order Anna’s naked and abused body is dragged onto the cross, she offers no resistance as she is forced down and securely bound with strong ropes, her arms stretched wide and legs fixed either side of the giant phallus the rounded end of which is now aligned with the opening to her vagina still running with blood and semen underneath her wet and matted pubic hair.
Turning to face the young woman now fixed securely to the cross the chief executioner in a loud voice reads out the terrible sentence handed down by the court.
“Anna of Galilee for the crime of teaching Christianity and sedition you are hereby sentenced to be nailed to the cross displayed naked for all to see and as further humiliation to you and your Christian faith you are to suffer impalement through the womanhood and while you still live, your breasts and cunt shall be cut from your body”
Anna begins to pray aloud the sweat building up on her body.
Without further ado the guards begin to raise the cross with two pulling on each rope the rest start to push the cross upright and as this happens Anna’s body begins to slip down towards the huge phallus, the crowd can now see why her arms and legs are not bound straight.
Cheering breaks out as it becomes obvious what is happening, the guards and have now got the cross almost upright, Anna her whole body tensed and pulling up against the ropes holding her, she clenches her buttocks and vagina as tightly as she can but it is of no use, as the cross drops upright into the posthole she lets out a hideous scream, "Aaaaaaaagghhhh!!" and then keeps screaming as her vagina is torn open, her ecstasy disappears with this penetration.
To allow her impalement to continue a guard steps forward and cuts the ropes holding her legs to the upright, now with her legs hanging free Anna was no longer able to prevent the continued invasion of the impalement stake and as her arms give way and her body is stretched out straight, a roar of satisfaction came from the crowd as a lump begins to appear in her flat belly just above her pubic hair, gasping in agony from what was in effect the opposite to giving birth, Anna struggles to regain her composure and tries to pray.
The executioners satisfied that she is now fully impaled pull her legs either side of the upright and lash them firmly in place, the young Christian is now left her beautiful body on display naked fully conscious and humiliated for the satisfaction of the crowd.
Bound to the cross with her womanhood impaled, Anna was left until they were ready to begin the final stage of her execution, from the local judges point of view her demise satisfies the Turkish custom of impalement and the making an example of Christians by crucifixion.
The final part of her execution was now about to commence, two ladders are erected either side of the semiconscious girl, executioners scale these ladders to hammer large spikes through her wrists into the wood, having done this they cut the ropes binding her wrists, and descend to part her legs and nail her ankles either side of the upright.
The fully crucified girl is now barely aware of what is going on around her and can barely feel as a ladder is leaned against her naked body, and armed with a sharp knife the chief executioner ascends the ladder to complete the final act of the sentence by cutting off each of her small breasts and throwing them to the crowd,
this cruelty caused Anna to begin screaming out incoherently and then the executioner descended to her pubic region where he cut from below the swelling lump where the stake was pushing out from her stomach forcing his knife down he removed all her pubic hair and skin down to the bone.
The ladder was then removed and the executioners stood back to survey the the hideous spectacle they had managed to achieve.
Far from deterring would-be Christians the effect of her courage and bravery during her martyrdom actually increased the number converting to Christianity.
 
This is another story of Martyrdom, written by stepnash.

“A CHRISTIAN GIRLS MARTYRDOM”

It was not often that centurion Gellius looked forward to a crucifixion with much enthusiasm. He had participated in many during his career in the Fourth Legion, and generally regarded them as sordid, unpleasant affairs. Service in the Roman army accustomed one to acts of barbarism and brutality, and soldiers generally were unmoved by scenes of human suffering. But this execution promised to be rather more entertaining than most, the crucifixion of a girl always tended to excite a particular interest even among the most hardened veterans, because torturing a helpless girl to death addressed their meanest instincts. It had been some time now since Gellius had been in charge of the crucifixion of a female victim - especially one so young and attractive as this.

Gellius' unit was presently serving in Gaul, a dingy, troublesome little corner of the Empire. The inhabitants of the country were a race of people who had openly begun to accept Christianity.

The condemned 18 year old girl was the daughter of a Christian teacher who had been captured by the Romans and after refusing to deny his faith under torture, was sentenced to death and executed by crucifixion.

After the death of her father she carried on his teachings with great courage but was betrayed, she was captured and arrested, and in a public show trial the Procurator sentenced her to death.

She was sentenced to die by crucifixion and even after hearing the sentence, she still cried out to the court to accept the Christian faith, and that she was not worthy to be crucified like her master.

We will see thought Gellius as he ordered her to be gagged, he shouted to her and the crowd that for her insolence she would indeed not die like Jesus.

It was early morning and the sun was just rising, but the garrison was already a hive of activity. Outside, the city was also astir. Carts and beasts of burden made their way through narrow streets carrying produce for sale in the market. Tradesmen and craftsmen were already about their business.

Gellius decided to take a look at the prisoner. He found her lying on the ground, chained to the wall. The night had been cold and she had been given no blanket. There was no need to waste compassion on a condemned Christian, though Gellius had to admit that the entire proceedings were unseemly for a girl so young.

A virgin when captured she had been roughly treated. Through the night she had been raped many times by soldiers who had been deprived of women for a long while. Now her woollen robe and thin linen underdress were soiled and torn, evidence of the abuse she had suffered. Gellius shrugged. It was the inevitable fate of a beautiful girl in the custody of brutal soldiers. He had seen it all before. But now the night was over. The day had dawned. It was time to get on with the business. Gellius strode away to assemble a punishment squad and an escort securing them against sudden attacks.

The soldiers selected for the task were in high spirits, impatient to get on with the job. But before they would start their procession to the place of execution, it was standard practice that the prisoner would be scourged. Gellius had decided to do the whipping himself. Though he knew it would at least shorten the prisoner's struggle on the cross, he had chosen the bullwhip, long and lean and guaranteed to cut the skin with each lash. He was anxious how the girl would act under the whip; her faith did not seem to be broken by the rapes she had suffered.

The girl was released from her chains and dragged to the whipping post in the centre of the courtyard. Rough hands divested her of her woollen robe and tore her linen dress down to the waist, then ripped it completely away. Now she was only wearing a small loincloth, held by two strings at the sides. The girl sought to cover her breasts with her arms, ashamed by the soldiers' scornful laughter. Gellius' face twisted in a wry smile, because the girl's instinctive attempt to preserve her modesty was a futile gesture, however. Within moments her arms were forced above her head while her wrists were tied with two leather straps dangling from the top of the post.

Gellius regarded the bound prisoner with a renewed interest, casting an appraising eye over her exposed body her small breasts full and firm, her belly was flat her back and shoulders slender.

Gellius stepped behind her and passed his hand over her back to sweep her long fair hair away. She turned around and gave him a sad look, "I will pray for you she said" and turned away.

Gellius smiled on this gesture, being sure she wouldn't keep this attitude for long as he stepped back and uncoiled the whip. Contemplatively he let it sneak on the floor, then he swung it in a wide bow over his head and delivered the first lash with all strength he could muster. The whip whistled sharply through the air before it cracked on the victim's bare back, right across her shoulders, and when he yanked it back the thong left a bloody mark in its way.

One of the soldiers began to count the lashes while the prisoner's head was tossing back, but despite the searing pain she managed to choke off the cry. Gellius was impressed by the self-control of the girl. Defiance he always regarded as a special encouragement, and in some sort of respect he waited till she had regained full composure to face the next lash. She winced, but once again no single moan escaped the prisoner's mouth as the whip indented her back, and this time Gellius didn't give her any time to recover.

In short intervals the cruel whip-cracks echoed through the backyard, followed by the monotonous enumeration of the lashes. By the eleventh lash Gellius had the prisoner where he wanted her to: she finally could no longer stand the pain nor stifle her moans, and from this point on, her reactions became more and more intense with each lash. Several times her body twisted so hard that she faced her tormentor for an instant and Gellius took these opportunities to lash her front, leaving bloody welts also across her chest and belly. One lash even grazed the tender tip of her breast, causing a particular loud scream and an approving laughter from the onlooking soldiers.

After twenty lashes her knees began to weaken, and for the last few strokes the formerly so brave girl hung limply at her bonds with tears running down her face.

When she was released from the post, she slid on the floor, and for a moment she squatted with her face in the dust of the yard, displaying the marks of the brutal flogging. Her slender back was torn to pieces by criss-crossing welts, and streamlets of blood trickled down at her sides. In this condition even the smooth draft of air made her quiver in pain, but this was only the beginning of long and agonising day, she knelt down and prayed for her tormentors.

The soldiers mocked the kneeling girl “Where is your God now they chanted when will he save you” her woollen Robe was placed back on her.

She was rudely dragged to her feet and a rough crown of thorns was forced onto her head, two soldiers brought forward the patibulum, the wooden crosspiece she would have to carry to the place of execution. She cried out as it was laid across her shoulders and her arms were outstretched and bound firmly to the splintered wood., the barracks gates swung open, and the condemned girl was prodded forward.

Bustling crowds of onlookers lined the city streets, drawn by curiosity about the prominent victim and eager to witness the procession of death. The prisoner staggered under the weight of her burden, her head bowed. There were some - mainly women - who lowered their eyes as she passed, to mitigate her humiliation. Others stood in silence, their eyes filled with horror. But most of the crowd took pleasure in the Christian girl’s shameful ordeal. They taunted her, spat at her, shook their fists and hurled abuse as she passed. There was little support for the Christians here, because the inhabitants of the garrison had always been the first to pay for assaults on Roman troops, which were blamed on the Christians. At least, in the presence of the numerous Roman soldiers securing the event it was prudent to show some support for peace and order to the masters.

The procession passed through the city gates and made its way towards the execution site, the route lined with spectators and others who hurried behind the crowd to reach the site in time. As the journey progressed the prisoner showed increasing signs of exhaustion, reeling and tottering with strain. Within sight of the place of execution she stumbled and fell on one knee; the heavy beam bowed aside and hit the ground, but to the amusement of the crowd, the whip landed on her thighs and buttocks to urge her remorselessly back on her feet.

Gellius had ordered that because of her outburst in court she was to be crucified upside down. Gellius took great pleasure in informing her and the crowd of how she would be crucified.

The Christian Girl bravely gave thanks that she was not to be executed like her master; again she called out to the people to accept Jesus.

A few yards from the wooden scaffold the execution party halted allowing the girl to view the terrible structure on which she was condemned to die.

It consisted of an upright post about 10 feet high with pulley wheel at the top. A rope ran through this and had already been attached to one end of the upright which was to form part of the cross, soldiers removed the beam from her shoulders and began to fashion a cross from the wood using nails and ropes.

Once the entire procession had gathered, she kneeled to pray but was immediately dragged upright to be stripped, this time in full view of the crowd, as her body was exposed she tried to cover herself praying to Jesus as soldiers hands explored her breasts and thick pubic hair.

Completely naked she was handed over to the executioners, who held her upright while Gellius read out her death sentence.

“Julia of Gaul you have been found guilty of teaching the banned religion of Christianity, as a warning to other Christians you are to be crucified naked this day and according to Roman law you will not die a virgin”.

She shuddered at these words but with serenity and complete obedience to her faith, she submitted without resistance to the executioners, her body was stretched firmly on the cross and her arms tied down with ropes, her legs were now pulled apart and held firmly by the executioners ready for her deflowering

The crowd was now given the spectacle it had been waiting for, not knowing she had been raped during the night; they watched the deflowering and humiliation of this Christian virgin by a 7 ft tall Nubian slave, chosen for the huge size of his penis. Even as he forced his massive member into her, between her gasps of agony, she whispered that she forgave him.

As the giant Nubian worked hard at his task, the suffering Julia allowed her mind to drift back to when she first accepted the faith of Jesus, she had often wondered what it would be like if she was called on to bear witness and suffer martyrdom, she had been told that many of the young Christian women had been raped and had their bodies terribly mutilated and even their breasts cut off, she was jolted back to reality by the rhythmic pumping of the giant man inside her, just for a moment a feeling stirred inside her body which she had never known before and concentrating on this and the sufferings of Jesus who had died for her she managed to reach a trance like state of ecstasy oblivious to the goings on around her, even as the giant Nubian climaxed and withdrew she hardly seemed to notice.. The final part of Julia’s execution began, her spread legs were pulled back together and tightly bound either side of the upright with course ropes, after checking her wrists still secure the executioners were ordered to begin nailing her to the cross, although she was firmly bound it was customary at crucifixions for as many executioners as possible to secure the victim to prevent them from struggling free while the long iron spikes were hammered. Immediately Julia almost disappeared from view as six executioners descended on her and began to drive the spikes through her wrists and ankles, at this point the expectant crowd were waiting for the crescendo of screams and bellows of agony as Julia’s body was fixed in place, but there was no sound other than the grunts of the executioners and the sound of the spikes being hammered in place. To the amazement of the executioners and the crowds, only a few subdued moans and quiet prayers to Jesus escaped her lips, which impressed and moved even the most hardened men at the scene.

Now according to her sentence the ropes cut away leaving her affixed to the cross only by the four spikes, slowly he cross was hauled upright and set into place, Julia with her head hanging down supported only by the four spikes, could no longer suppress the agonising pain of her crucifixion and she screamed at the top of her voice for several minutes before she regained her composure, then cried aloud " JESUS FORGIVE THEM" ! The intense agony of being suspended upside down by nothing more than four nails was quite unimaginable, in her agony she still prayed to her lord Jesus drawing strength from remembering how he had died.

There executioners stepped back to admire their awful work they had fixed a sign above her feet bearing the inscription:

CHRISTIAN ENEMY OF ROME

As if her faith had helped her, she soon became unconscious, and died within six hours, cheating the crowds of watching a prolonged and agonising death Gellius not realising that the inverted position had caused her early death angrily refused to allow her family to take her body, instead he ordered that her body remain in place on the cross until it rotted.

Her bravery and courage had inspired others to embrace the faith; Christianity was soon flourishing out of the Romans control, throughout Gaul.
 
I can understand. A lot of people horribly died for the ideas or ideals. Like Joan of Ark or William Wallace.
Even simple woman that was accused in the witchcrafting. Her motivaton to stand against the tormentors is understandable...

But this martyrs, for what they died...
 
I can understand. A lot of people horribly died for the ideas or ideals. Like Joan of Ark or William Wallace.
Even simple woman that was accused in the witchcrafting. Her motivaton to stand against the tormentors is understandable...

But this martyrs, for what they died...
They died for Lord and for their beliefs, to be in Heaven after death. It was many times ago, and they believed like this.
 
The Martyrdom of St. Vivian written by Stepnash

Vivian was a mature woman and although she was now nearly 30 years old, she was still a virgin having committed her body and soul to the Lord she served from a very young age.
Vivian was a brave and dedicated Christian and she had travelled many miles to a pagan country to fulfil her destiny as a disciple and spread the message of love and forgiveness.
Since she converted to Christianity as a young girl Vivian had often wondered if she would be called on to bear witness and whether she would have the courage to face martyrdom as many of her sisters in faith had done.
She was arrested while preaching and put on trial, she was given a chance to renounce her faith and save herself by marrying one of the pagan Lords but she refused saying that she was already betrothed to the one she followed and would remain a virgin until they were together in heaven.
The judge at her trial was amazed when far from being afraid she tried to convert him, he had no choice but to sentence her to be crucified at dawn, he also ordered that her last night would be spent in the soldiers quarters for their pleasure.
In the morning the abused and exhausted woman was clothed in a simple white shift and had a crown of thorns forced onto her head to increase her humiliation. Now with her wrists tightly bound, she was led with a rope around her neck to the site where she was to be put to death, deep in prayer with complete humility and obedience to her faith she offered no resistance and ignored the mockery of the crowds.
The execution site was on the edge of some woods overlooking a valley, the holy woman was stripped naked and by means of a pulley she was hauled up the trunk of the tree which had been specially prepared.
A ladder was erected and an executioner climbed level with Vivian's wrists and after fixing a sign above her head two large spikes were hammered through her wrists below the ropes.
Now with the ladder removed and no longer able to maintain herself in a state of religious ecstasy , Vivian screamed in terrible agony as the full weight of her naked body hanging by just the spikes through her wrists was stretched taught down the tree trunk.
Unconsciousness became a temporary relief but when she came round the agony had returned as the executioners had nailed her feet either side of the tree trunk leaving her intimate parts fully exposed.
In this position Vivian began to regain a limited amount of composure and managed to gasp out a prayer forgiving her executioners for what they had done to her.
The courageous woman had borne all this and suffered martyrdom rather than renounce her faith and many years later she became known as St Vivian.
Crown 07.jpg
 
Ste Viviane ( in French, Vivian=Viviane ) :

The Viviane are honored on December 2. Flavius was a prefect of Rome converted to Christianity, arrested and exiled and died of the consequences of the ill-treatment he suffered. His daughter, Saint Viviane, lived in Rome in the fourth century, during the persecution of Julien the apostate. She was entrusted to a perverse woman who was meant to induce her to deny her faith. But the young lady did not yield. She was then punished by two executioners, beaten to death with leaded ropes.

The first name Viviane is derived from the Latin name Vivianus, which means "full of life " or "ardent ". This name originates from the Latin verb vivee which means "Live ".
 

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Ste Viviane ( in French, Vivian=Viviane ) :

The Viviane are honored on December 2. Flavius was a prefect of Rome converted to Christianity, arrested and exiled and died of the consequences of the ill-treatment he suffered. His daughter, Saint Viviane, lived in Rome in the fourth century, during the persecution of Julien the apostate. She was entrusted to a perverse woman who was meant to induce her to deny her faith. But the young lady did not yield. She was then punished by two executioners, beaten to death with leaded ropes.

The first name Viviane is derived from the Latin name Vivianus, which means "full of life " or "ardent ". This name originates from the Latin verb vivee which means "Live ".
Many thanks Messa, for historical source.
 
The Demise of Queen Romilda

The Avars, led by Cacan, their king, crossed, in the year 611, the mountains of Illyria and Lombardy, killed Gisulph, the grand duke, with all his adherents, in battle, and laid siege to the city of Friuli, behind whose strong walls Romilda, the widow of Gisulph, had taken refuge. These events formed the basis of the romantic, and perhaps largely legendary, story we have to tell.

One day, so we are told, Romilda, gazing from the ramparts of the city, beheld Cacan, the young khan of the Avars, engaged in directing the siege. So handsome to her eyes appeared the youthful soldier that she fell deeply in love with him at sight, her passion growing until, in disregard of honor and patriotism, she sent him a secret message, offering to deliver up to him the city on condition of becoming his wife. The khan, though doubtless despising her treachery to her people, was quick to close with the offer, and in a short time Friuli was in his hands.

This accomplished, he returned to Hungary, taking with him Romilda and her children, of whom there were four sons and four daughters. Cacan kept his compact with the traitress, marrying her with the primitive rites of the Hungarians. But her married life was of the shortest. He had kept his word, and such honor as he possessed was satisfied. The morning after his marriage, he turned her over to twelve Avars, who abused her through the whole night with their lust, succeeding each other by turns. Afterwards moved perhaps by detestation of her treachery, he caused the hapless Romilda to be impaled alive, his exact words before the execution "It is fit you should have such a husband ". It was a dark end to a dark deed, and the perfidy of the woman had been matched by an equal perfidy on the part of the man.

References: Historical Tales: German
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by Charles Morris


In other articles there are references that the three of her sons managed to escape.
 
The Demise of Queen Romilda

The Avars, led by Cacan, their king, crossed, in the year 611, the mountains of Illyria and Lombardy, killed Gisulph, the grand duke, with all his adherents, in battle, and laid siege to the city of Friuli, behind whose strong walls Romilda, the widow of Gisulph, had taken refuge. These events formed the basis of the romantic, and perhaps largely legendary, story we have to tell.

One day, so we are told, Romilda, gazing from the ramparts of the city, beheld Cacan, the young khan of the Avars, engaged in directing the siege. So handsome to her eyes appeared the youthful soldier that she fell deeply in love with him at sight, her passion growing until, in disregard of honor and patriotism, she sent him a secret message, offering to deliver up to him the city on condition of becoming his wife. The khan, though doubtless despising her treachery to her people, was quick to close with the offer, and in a short time Friuli was in his hands.

This accomplished, he returned to Hungary, taking with him Romilda and her children, of whom there were four sons and four daughters. Cacan kept his compact with the traitress, marrying her with the primitive rites of the Hungarians. But her married life was of the shortest. He had kept his word, and such honor as he possessed was satisfied. The morning after his marriage, he turned her over to twelve Avars, who abused her through the whole night with their lust, succeeding each other by turns. Afterwards moved perhaps by detestation of her treachery, he caused the hapless Romilda to be impaled alive, his exact words before the execution "It is fit you should have such a husband ". It was a dark end to a dark deed, and the perfidy of the woman had been matched by an equal perfidy on the part of the man.

References: Historical Tales: German
spacer.gif
by Charles Morris


In other articles there are references that the three of her sons managed to escape.
Thanks, very interesting.
 
I found a digitized version of a series of books that captivated my young mind, called La Leyenda de Oro
mind you, it is in spanish, and it is pictures of an old book with thin pages so it is not easy read. but I remember many interesting stories, I wonder how many based in facts and how much in exagerations.

for example just on the first pages I read about Timoteo an Maura hist wife, who were crucified one in front of the other and survived for nine days, wonder what the guards did to pass time.

anyway, the link is here if anyone interested: https://bibliotecadigital.jcyl.es/es/consulta/registro.cmd?id=23196
 
I found a digitized version of a series of books that captivated my young mind, called La Leyenda de Oro
mind you, it is in spanish, and it is pictures of an old book with thin pages so it is not easy read. but I remember many interesting stories, I wonder how many based in facts and how much in exagerations.

for example just on the first pages I read about Timoteo an Maura hist wife, who were crucified one in front of the other and survived for nine days, wonder what the guards did to pass time.

anyway, the link is here if anyone interested: https://bibliotecadigital.jcyl.es/es/consulta/registro.cmd?id=23196
Many thanks, yeas it will be very interesting and a big material for stories, pity it's not in English.
 
The title suggests the Legenda Aurea by Jacques de Voragine - originally written about 1260, but it became enormously popular in the 16th century when printing got going and more copies were printed than there were of the Bible. However, the Spanish text in the link is evidently an 'updated' version of 1853 based on classics like Butler's Lives of the Saints. I'm sure many of us were influenced by such books at an impressionable age - I can clearly remember first reading about Eulalia in a little book of saints in the bedroom where I was staying in an aunt's house, I was a similar age to the young martyr and thought wow! and imagined myself being tortured like that as I lay hot and naked under the bedclothes ...
 
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