Barbara, Saint

Barbara, Saint, fl. 3d or 4th cent., virgin martyr, whose life is shrouded in contradictory legends. Her father is said to have shut her up in a tower and then to have killed her for being a Christian. He was struck down by lightning, and, by an extended analogy, St. Barbara became the patroness of makers and users of firearms and fireworks. She is invoked for a happy death. Feast: Dec. 4.

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Barbara, Saint

(died 200; feast day December 4) Early Christian martyr and patroness of artillerymen. She was the daughter of a pagan, Dioscorus, who kept her guarded to protect her beauty and virginity. When she converted to Christianity he became enraged and took her to the Roman prefect, who ordered her to be tortured and beheaded. Her father performed the execution himself, and on the way home he was struck by lightning and reduced to ashes. Barbara was a popular saint during the Middle Ages and was invoked for aid in thunderstorms. She was dropped from the church calendar in 1969.