Notburga, St.
NOTBURGA, ST.
Maidservant; fl. ninth or tenth century; or, according to a recent version of the legend, b. Rattenberg, Tyrol, c. 1265; d. Sept. 14, 1313. Most of her life was spent in the service of Count Henry of Rottenburg. Pious, a diligent worker, she was noted for charity to the poor, to whom she gave food and drink. She died at Rottenburg Castle and was buried at Eben. Her relics were exhumed in 1718; ecclesiastical confirmation of her cult was given on March 27, 1862. She is an extremely popular saint among the farmers and peasants of the Tyrol, Bavaria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Istria, where numerous churches and altars are dedicated to her. Patroness of maidservants and farmers, she is invoked in cases of animal sickness and for successful childbirth. Her symbols include a sickle, a metal jug and a loaf of bread (relating to her care of the poor), and a ring of keys.
Feast: Sept. 14.
Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum Sept. 4:709–768. Andenken an die Feier der Heiligsprechung der Jungfrau und Dienstmagd Notburga von Rottenburg (Brixen-Lienz 1865). h. bachmann, "Die historischen Grundlagen der Notburgalegende," Tiroler Heimat, 24 (1960) 5–49. w. von pfaundler, Sankt Notburga: Eine Heilige aus Tirol (Vienna 1962), complete bibliog. 282–300.
[d. andreini]