The four capital virgins, Latin: ''(quattuor) virgines capitales'', are a group of

virgin martyrs The title Virgin (, ) is an honorific bestowed on female saints and Beatification, blesseds, primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Chastity is one of the seven virtues in Christian tradition, listed by Pope Gregor ...

of the

early church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

. In literature they are also called ''main virgins'' or ''excellent virgins''. These are: Saint

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

, Saint

Margaret of Antioch Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr () in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in Western Christianity, on 30th of July (Julian calendar) by the Eastern Orthodox Church, and on Epip ...

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

and Saint Dorothea. Three of them – i. e. Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret and Saint Barbara – belong to the

Fourteen Holy Helpers The Fourteen Holy Helpers (, ) are a group of saints venerated together by Catholics because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases. This group of ''Nothelfer'' ("helpers in need") orig ...

. In

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

these four capital virgins are often depicted together or around the Virgin Mary. Occasionally, instead of the classical formation, St. Ursula is pictured instead of Saint Dorothea. Alternatively, Saint Dorothea is depicted with the attribute of Saint Ursula, an arrow, in her hands. Paintings of the four main virgins usually represent a form of the type Virgo inter Virgines, where several virgin martyrs beside the Virgin are sitting, on a bench or bank or on the ground, usually in a garden setting within an enclosure of some sort, a

hortus conclusus ''Hortus conclusus'' is a Latin term, meaning literally "enclosed garden". Both words in ''hortus conclusus'' refer linguistically to enclosure. It describes a type of garden that was enclosed as a practical concern, a major theme in the history ...

. The great veneration of the four capital virgins testifies that the ''Missale Coloniense'' (Missal of Cologne), printed in 1494, contained the

votive mass In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a votive Mass (Latin ''missa votiva'') is a Mass offered for a ''votum'', a special intention. Such a Mass does not correspond to the Divine Office for the day on which it is celebrated. Every day in the yea ...

''Missa de sanctis quatuor virginibus capitalibus.''

References

{{Reflist Groups of Roman Catholic saints Catherine of Alexandria Virgin martyrs Ancient Christian female saints Quartets in Christianity