Ursula

er'su-la, an English princess. According to the Christian legend of St. Ursula, she was returning from a pilgrimage to Rome, when, near Cologne, a horde of Huns fell upon her band and put herself and 11,000 attendant virgins to death barbarously. Some accounts reduce the number to as low a figure as eleven. The date is given as 384, also 453. The church of St. Ursula in Cologne was built to commemorate the name. In digging foundations for walls in the early part of the twelfth century the citizens of Cologne came upon an immense collection of bones. Despite the fact that there were skeletons of men and children they were declared to be the bones of St. Ursula and her companions. They were piously cared for and are still preserved in cases placed around the church. They are believed to have miraculous properties of healing. The legend is told also in a series of paintings on the walls of the church. The 21st of October is St. Ursula's day. An attempt is made to identify the St. Ursula of the Catholic church with the goddess Ursel, the Venus of Teutonic mythology. The religious order of Ursuline Sisters, represented in the United States at St. Louis, Alton, and elsewhere, was named for St. Ursula.