Medieval saint: Barbara

Barbara is one of many martyrs from the 4th century, and her story belongs to the old legends of the Church. In the Middle Ages she was counted among the four female saints known as the Holy Virgins.

  • Viking Age

    AD 800 – AD 1100

  • Middle Ages

    AD 1050 – AD 1520

  • Modern Age

    AD 1520 – AD 2025

According to legend, Barbara was born in Nicomedia, near the Sea of Marmara. Her father, the powerful and wealthy Dioscorus, had her locked away in a tower because of her beauty, wishing to shield her from the outside world.

Nevertheless, she came into contact with Christianity and converted. When her father discovered this he was furious. After she had been tortured in an attempt to make her renounce her faith, which she refused to do, Dioscorus himself beheaded her with his own sword.

How is Barbara depicted?

Barbara is usually shown wearing a crown, either standing beside a tower or holding a miniature tower in her hand. In the collections of the Swedish History Museum there is an altarpiece with such an image of Barbara, painted on one of the outer doors of the altarpiece from Västra Ed in Småland. The work was created in 1526, just before the Reformation.

Barbara’s feast day is 4 December.

Colored wooden sculpture of a woman holding a cup

Barbara

Altarpiece from Västra Ed, Småland.

On view at Historiska museet in the exhibition Medeltida konst

Wooden sculpture of saint wearing a crown holding tower

Barbara

From Segersta church, Hälsingland.

Summary

Barbara was a young woman who lived in the 4th century and became a saint. According to legend, her father locked her in a tower to prevent her from becoming a Christian. He failed and became so angry that he eventually killed her because she refused to give up her faith. Barbara is often depicted with a tower, and at the Swedish History Museum there is an image of her on an altarpiece from 1526.

You may also be interested in

Medieval saint: Anna

Painting of two women holding a child

Medieval art: altarpieces

Painting of Jesus wearing a red mantle

Reading and writing in the Middle Ages

Painting of a bearded man holding his hand to his forehead

The black death

Painting of a man talking to a skeleton

The last abbess of Clare

Painting of three nuns
Exhibition

Medieval Art

Painted wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary
Exhibition

Medieval Life

House-shaped box with gold decoration

How we work with knowledge at the Swedish History Museum

The Swedish History Museum is part of the government agency National Historical Museums. The agency employs experts in various fields, such as history, archaeology, conservation, and more. The texts on the website are produced in collaboration between different experts, educators, and other staff. The texts have been fact-checked and are based on established research. In some cases, written sources are lacking and the physical remains are limited and ambiguous, especially far back in time. In such cases, the material is interpreted by the experts. However, the interpretations are always based on research.

Text summaries and translations have been created with the help of AI and have been fact-checked.

If you have questions about the factual background of our texts, please contact webb@historiska.se.

History hub

Search for articles and objects in the History hub. Sort and filter by time period and theme to find what's relevant to your specific interests.

To the History hub