Ursula

Ursula is a diminutive of “Ursa” which is Latin for “she-bear” (as in the celestial constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, aka the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper). According to Greek Mythology, Callisto was transformed into a bear by Hera when it was discovered Hera’s husband, Zeus, had an affair with the beautiful nymph. That union produced a son who almost shot his bear-mother with a bow before Zeus turned him into a bear and set them both, mother and son, together in the night’s sky (hence Great Bear and Little Bear). However, it was not the constellation nor the mythological tale that served to popularize the name Ursula in the Middle Ages. That credit goes to Saint Ursula, a 4th century Romano-British saint around whom a large cult grew and legends developed many centuries later. In fact, St. Ursula was a medieval celebrity. Her legend is largely considered invented (or at least hugely embellished) and very few historical facts survive that might prove she even existed. She was apparently born a princess near present-day Wales (which was then a part of the Roman Empire). Although she herself was Christian, she was betrothed in marriage to a Roman pagan governor of Gaul (present-day France). Ursula received a three-year postponement on the wedding so that she could embark on a pan-European pilgrimage to Rome. She set sail across the North Sea with 11,000 maidens and, upon entering Cologne (present day Germany), she and her virginal party were besieged and killed by the Huns (who had come to occupy the area). A 5th century inscription on the Basilica of St. Ursula in Cologne stated that the church had been rebuilt on the site where some virgins were martyred – and from this innocuous inscription a legend was born. Little known interesting factoids: Christopher Columbus named the Caribbean Virgin Islands in Ursula’s honor; and Cape Virgenes (the southern tip of Argentina) was named by Ferdinand Magellan when he rounded the straights on Ursula’s feast day, October 21. Virgin martyrs were among the most celebrated throughout Christianized Europe in medieval times, and Ursula was one of the favorites; the name was readily bestowed on baby girls in her honor. Today, however, Ursula is pretty uncommon among English-speakers. This little she-bear has clearly gone into hibernation.