Saint Cunera of Rhenen, also Kunera (strangled to death in Rhenen, diocese of Utrecht, 28 October 340) was a

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

. Her name is first mentioned in the 11th century. Cunera is the patron saint of the city of

Rhenen Rhenen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, and Elst (Utrecht), Elst. The town lies at a geographically interesting location, n ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and a protector of horses and against animal diseases and sore throat. Her attributes are the key and the scarf.

Life

According to the 14th-century legend, only one virgin survived the massacre when

Saint Ursula Ursula (Latin for 'little she-bear') was a Romano-British virgin and martyr possibly of royal origin. She is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion. Her feast day in the pre-1970 G ...

and her eleven thousand virgins were martyred in

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

, by the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

during the fourth century. Her name was Cunera — a princess from the

Orkney Islands Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland ...

. The King of the Rhine abducted her under his cloak and took her to his palace in Rhenen. Here she became deeply loved by the people for her kindness and care for the poor. She earned the King's support, who entrusted her with the key to his cellars. This aroused the jealousy of the King's wife. While the King went out hunting, Cunera was strangled to death by the Queen, by means of a scarf. Cunera's body was secretly buried in a stable. The crime was miraculously discovered thanks to the horses. The queen committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. Her chamberlain, who had assisted her in the murder, was beheaded. After her death, Cunera brought about many healings and rescues from drowning.

Controversy

The Latin and Dutch versions of legend of Cunera date from the 14th and 15th centuries. The historical events underlying the legend cannot be determined. Just as Ursula's the historicity of Cunera must be doubted. During the late 15th century the king was identified as Radbod, King of the Frisians (died 719), who was supposed to have assisted the Huns in the siege of Cologne. In fictional genealogical treatises, his grandson and namesake Radbod was married to Amarra, Princess of the Hungary (the land of the Huns). Recent fiction has given her the name of Adelgonde.

Veneration

The Utrecht bishop Saint

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and missionary. He became the first Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands, dying at Echternach in Luxembourg, and ...

(d. 739) is said to have announced Cunera's canonization. During the Late Middle Ages a great pilgrimage took place during the annual horse fair at Rhenen. Eventually this led to the consecration of the local St Peter's church to Cunera. The church was later replaced by the present Cunera-Church and the Cunera-Tower (completed in 1531). As a result of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

in 1580 the Cunera-church was stripped of its images of saints. Cunera's relics were moved to Emmerich in the

Duchy of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (; ) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the towns of Wesel, Kalkar, Xanten, Emme ...

and to Bedaf in Uden. The scarf, ''wurgdoek'' or ''dwale'' which had her strangled is now hosted by the Museum Catharijneconvent. Scientific research has proven that it is a 5th-century cloth, woven of Coptic linen. The feast of Cunera is celebrated on June 12.

Cunera and Kennera

It is likely, if not entirely probable that these two saints were in fact the same person given that both are associated with Scotland, St. Ursula and have a similar name etymology despite having different feast days.

References

*Cunera, Online Dictionary of Netherlands

External links

*http://saints.sqpn.com/12-june/ *http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienK/Kunera_von_Rhenen.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunera, Saint 340 deaths 4th-century Christian martyrs Dutch Roman Catholic saints Saint Cunera Year of birth unknown