St. Margaret of Antioch (SAU 038) Ceramic Tile

According to tradition, St. Margaret (or St. Marina the Great Martyr) laid down her life for Christ during Diocletian’s persecution at the beginning of the fourth century. Though a famous virgin martyr, ironically she is patron saint of expectant mothers and women in labour. The devil in the guise of a dragon, as this unusual patronage’s origin story goes, swallowed her whole. However, the cross she was carrying so irritated the dragon’s innards that he either egested her or ruptured to be rid of her. While even Mediaeval popes and hagiographers deemed this story fanciful, nevertheless, it was embraced by the laity and by artists if only for its symbolism. And, the cross and the dragon have been her principal attributes ever since. + This image of St. Margaret is particularly fetching. The saint, whose beauty was legendary, stands on the back of a large green dragon that tugs at her cloak with its teeth. She is crowned with a garland of roses, her long blonde hair flowing over her shoulders. She wears a bright pink mantle over a white tunic against a blue background patterned with little white dots and stars. + This product line emphasizes St. Margaret’s patronage of pregnancy and childbirth. The dominant pink and blue colour scheme ties in well with the modern custom of using these colours for girl and boy babies. The mantle’s golden yellow lining allows for a gender-neutral theme. + Feast: July 20 + Image Credit (SAU 038): Antique NeoGothic goldprint with floral border of St. Margaret [of Antioch]”, originally published in chromolithography by the Socièté de St. Augustin, Bruges, Belgium, late 19th century, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.