Notburga

This article is about the Austrian saint. For the main-belt asteroid, see 626 Notburga.

Saint Notburga of Rattenberg
The Baroque painting of Saint Notburga in the church on Bled Island, northwestern Slovenia
Virgin and Peasant
Born	c. 1265 Rattenberg, Austria
Died	September 13, 1313(1313-09-13) (aged 47–48) Buch, Austria
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Canonized	27 March 1862, Saint Peter's Basilica, Papal State by Pope Pius IX
Major shrine	Shrine of Saint Notburga, Chapel of Saint Rupert, Eben, Austria
Feast	13 September, sometimes 14 September
Attributes	Ear of corn, or flowers and a sickle in her hand; sometimes the sickle is suspended in the air
Patronage	Rural Youth Servants Peasants

Notburga (c. 1265 – 13 September 1313), also known as Notburga of Rattenberg or Notburga of Eben, was an Austrian saint and peasant from Tyrol. Numerous vitae have been written about her and painted of her where she is depicted with a scythe. She is venerated by the Catholic Church, having been canonized by Pope Pius IX.

Life

Notburga was born about 1265 at Rattenberg on the Inn river. She was a cook in the household of Count Henry of Rattenberg, and used to give food to the poor. But Ottilia, her mistress, ordered her to feed any leftover food to the pigs. To continue her mission, Notburga began to save some of her own food, especially on Fridays, and took it to the poor.

According to her legend, one day her master met her and commanded her to show him what she was carrying. She obeyed but instead of the food he saw only shavings, and instead of wine, vinegar. As a result of Notburga's actions, Ottilia dismissed her, but soon fell dangerously ill. Notburga remained to nurse her and prepared her for death.

Skeleton of Saint Notburga located in the altar of the Parish Church of Eben am Achensee

Next, Notburga worked for a peasant in Eben am Achensee, on the condition that she be permitted to go to church evenings before Sundays and festivals. One evening her master urged her to continue working in the field. Throwing her sickle into the air she supposedly said: "Let my sickle be judge between me and you," and the sickle remained suspended in the air.

In the meantime, Count Henry had suffered difficulties, which he ascribed to his dismissal of Notburga, so he rehired her and the estate prospered. Shortly before her death she is said to have told her master to place her corpse on a wagon drawn by two oxen and to bury her wherever the oxen stood still. The oxen drew the wagon to the chapel of St. Rupert near Eben, where she was buried.

Veneration

On 27 March 1862, Pope Pius IX canonized Notburga as a saint. Her feast is celebrated on 13 September or on 14 September. She is usually represented with an ear of corn, or flowers and a sickle in her hand; sometimes the sickle is suspended in the air.

Gallery

• 
  Saint Notburga next to a crucifix, Bavaria
• 
  Saint Notburga by Eduard von Grützner
• 
  Lithograph of the skeleton relic of Saint Notburga
• 
  Bas relief of Saint Notburga in Styria

• 
  Glass painting of Saint Notburga in Slovenia
• 
  Statues of Saint Apollonia, the Virgin Mary and Saint Notburga
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  Stained glass in Mater Dolorosa (Biesfeld)
• 
  Painting of Saint Notburga in Reith im Alpbachtal

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Notburga". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.