St.
Agnes, virgin and martyr, is one of the oldest saints of Rome. Her
legend is described in the fifth century Acts: while a young girl she refused
a number of suitors to remain faithful to her vow of chastity. To punish
her she was put in a brothel, but her virginity was miraculously preserved
- all men who looked at her nakedness became blind; when she was publicly
stripped naked, her long hair hid her body (another version: an angel covered
her with a white cloak). After many humiliations she was finally executed
in c. 350 A.D. After her death her parents saw her appear accompanied by
a white lamb. This and a resemblance of her name to agnus (lamb)
made a lamb her principal emblem.
Recommended reading:
The
Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford Paperback Reference) by
David Hugh Farmer. Oxford University Press, 2003.
The
Golden Legend by Jacobus De Voragine, William Granger Ryan
(Translator). Princeton Univ Pr, 1995.
Saints:
Who They Are and How They Help You: More Than 150 of the Heavenly and Holy
from St. Agnes to St. Zita
by Elizabeth Hallam (Editor). Simon & Schuster, 1994.
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