Painting of St. Catherine

c. 1365-1370
Paintings of St. Catherine were common marriage gifts. The hagiography of St. Catherine contains a focal moment when the fourth-century Roman Emperor Maxentius attempted to turn Catherine away from Christianity by offering his hand in marriage. She refused, declaring that she was married to Jesus Christ.
Louvre

Connection to Website Themes

Spousal Power Dyanmics: While the patriarchical customs of medieval society dictated that the husband possessed authority over the wife, a painting such as this would serve to check that power. Reminding both the bride and the groom of a higher authority, the bride might later appeal to Christianity as a way to counteract the groom’s power.

Community Social Norms: The social norm of marrying inside the faith community remained constantly reinforced for Christians by the stories of the saints’ lives. St. Catherine’s bejeweled crown signifies the high value accorded to her martyrdom.

Church and State: The hagiography of St. Catherine situates the authority of Christ far above that of any political leader, especially a pagan emperor. Church authority would have been bolstered by the imagery on this object, as the bride’s marriage became symbolically associated with the purity of St. Catherine’s marriage to Christ. In the painting, the infant Christ on Mary’s lap offers Catherine a gold ring with a bezel, possibly including a precious stone.

What is Love: This object lacks overt displays of romantic or courtly love. Instead, the nine angels endorse this higher love, of religious piety. Presented as the ideal form of love, medieval people would have recognized this as the ultimate expression of love and the more lustful romantic love as a passionate but lesser feeling.