Lidwina
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| Saint Lidwina of Schiedam | |
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| Born | 18 April 1380, Schiedam, the Netherlands |
| Died | 14 April 1433, Schiedam, the Netherlands |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | cultus confirmed March 14, 1890 by Leo XIII |
| Major shrine | Schiedam |
| Feast | April 14 |
| Patronage | ice skaters |
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Saint Lidwina (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam) (April 18, 1380 – April 14, 1433) was a Dutch saint. At age 14, Lidwina was ice skating when she fell and broke a rib. She never recovered and became progressively invalid for the rest of her life. Her biographers state that she became paralyzed except for her left hand and that great pieces of her body fell off, and that blood poured from her mouth, ears, and nose. Saint Lidwina is thought to be one of the first known multiple sclerosis patients and her fall and consequent disability are attributed to the effects of the disease.[1]
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[edit] Life and legend
After her fall, Lidwina fasted continuously and acquired fame as a healer and holy woman (although she was also looked upon as being under the influence of an evil spirit).[2] The town officials of Schiedam, her hometown, promulgated a document (which has survived) that attests to her complete lack of food and sleep.[3] At first she ate a little piece of apple, then a bit of date and watered wine, then river water contaminated with salt from the tides. The authenticating document from Schiedam also attests that Lidwina shed skin, bones, parts of her intestines, which her parents kept in a vase and which gave off a sweet odor. These excited so much attention that Lidwina had her mother bury them.[4]
Several hagiographical accounts of her life exist. One of these states that while the soldiers of Philip of Burgundy were occupying Schiedam, a guard was set around her to test her fasts, which were authenticated.[5]
It is also reported that four soldiers abused her during this occupation, claiming that Lidwina's swollen body was due to her being impregnated by the local priest rather than from her sickness.[6]
She died at the age of 53.
[edit] Veneration
Her grave became a place of pilgrimage after her death. A chapel was built in 1434 over it. Thomas à Kempis wrote her biography and veneration for her increased. In 1615 her relics were taken to Brussels, but in 1871 they were returned to Schiedam. On March 14, 1890, Leo XIII officially canonized her. She is the patron saint of ice skaters and her feast day occurs on April 14th. Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote a biography of her in 1901.
[edit] St Lidwina and multiple sclerosis
Historical texts reveal that she was afflicted with a debilitating disease, sharing many characteristics with multiple sclerosis as were the age of onset, duration and course of disease. St Lidwina’s disease began soon after her fall. From that time onwards, she developed walking difficulties, headaches and violent pains in her teeth. By the age of 19, both her legs were paralysed and her vision was disturbed. Over the next 34 years, Lidwina's condition slowly deteriorated, although with apparent periods of remission, until her death at the age of 53. Together these factors suggest that a posthumous diagnosis of MS may be plausible, therefore dating MS back to the 14th century.[7]
[edit] Bibliography
- Saint Lydwine of Schiedam, by J.-K. Huysmans (translated by Ages Hastings), TAN Books and Publishers, Inc, 1923/79. ISBN 0-89555-087-3
[edit] Notes
- ^ Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 124.
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Lidwina
- ^ Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 124.
- ^ Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 125.
- ^ Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 124.
- ^ Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 124.
- ^ Medaer R (1979). "Does the history of multiple sclerosis go back as far as the 14th century?". Acta Neurol. Scand. 60 (3): 189–92. PMID 390966.
[edit] External links
- http://my.homewithgod.com/israel/lidwina/ (English)
- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09233a.htm (English)
- http://www.marypages.com/Lidwina.htm (Dutch)
