Title
Saint Genevieve
Caption
Saint Genevieve rescuing Paris under siege. Saint Genevieve (Nanterre, 423 - Paris, 502 or 512 according to some sources), virgin and french catholic saint. Born to a frankish father and a gallo-roman mother, she devoted herself very early to God and she was very quickly noticed by Saint Germain of Auxerre and Saint Loup of Troyes, who were travelling through Nanterre in 429 (see: history of the church of Saint-Germain-de-Charonne), on the occasion of the journey to Great Britain. She lead a devoted and ascetic lifestyle, most probably beginning so from the age of sixteen years old. According to tradition, in 451, thanks to her strength of character, Genevieve, at only the age of twenty-eight, was able to convince the inhabitants of Paris to resist surrendering to the Huns. It was her who would be later reffered to by the famous lyrics sung by the Parisians: "Let the men flee, if they want to, if they are not able to fight. We, the women, pray that God hears our pleas". It was due to the intense praying of Saint Genevieve that Attila would go on to spare Paris. She went on to build a church in the place of the tomb of Saint Denis, the first Bishop of Lutèce. 19th Century engraving.
Date
19th century
Credit line
Photo12/Hachedé
Reference
HAC08108_2007_P0500002
Model release
No
License type
Rights managed
Available size
35,8Mb (4,5Mb) / 13,0in x 10,7in / 3903 x 3207 (300dpi)