better in a poor little hut than in marble halls. AA.SS. Brit. Sanc. Martin. Guérin.
St. Christina (7), Nov. 26, Sept. 7, Dec. 5, Aug. 11, Marcb 3, V. † about 1100. Abbess of Romsey. Daughter of Prince Edward, and of Agatha, who was a nun with her at Romsey. Granddaughter of King Edmund II. of England. Sister of St. Margaret, queen of Scotland. She educated her nieces Edith or Matilda, queen of England, and Mary, countess of Boulogne. She compelled them to wear the dress of nuns, but they did not take monastic vows. Memorial of Ancient British Piety. Bishop Forbes, Kalendars: Analecta, iii. col. 1834. Bucelinus, Men. Ben., Aug. 11. Ferrarius. Wion, Lignum Vitæ. Eckenstein.
St. Christina (8), May 18. 12th century. Queen of Sweden. Of the Stenkil family; her father was Biorn of Denmark; her mother, Catherine, daughter of St. Ingo IV. and St. Ragnhild, king and queen of Sweden (1118-1129). Christina married first, Jarislav Haraldson, prince of Holmgard; and secondly, Eric IX., called "The Saint," and "The Lawgiver" (1155-1161 according to Haydn; 1141-1151 according to Butler); also called Henry, a Swedish nobleman, son of Iadward. He assisted Ingo to conquer the Finns, and sent St. Henry, bishop of Upsala, an Englishman and friend of Nicholas Breakspear, to instruct the people and convert them to Christianity. Henry is therefore called the Apostle of Finland, where he fell a martyr to his mission. On the death of King Swerker, or Smercher, Eric was chosen king on account of his virtues and prowess. Eric was content with his own property; he levied no taxes, and would not even accept the third of the confiscations, which belonged to the kings. He collected the laws into a code for his people, and won their lasting affection by his wise and upright rule. His cousin, Henry Scateler, son of Sueno, king of the Danes, claimed to be heir to the throne of Sweden through his mother, and having raised troops and bribed some influential persons among the Swedes, devised the death of the unsuspecting saint. While Eric was hearing Mass on Ascension Day, his attendants came and told him that the hostile army was near, but he would not go out to battle until the Mass was ended. Then he went bravely against the enemy, and was killed or taken alive, fighting, and beheaded next day. On the spot where he fell, a spring of water arose, which works marvellous cures. He is regarded as a martyr of justice and order. He was the chief patron saint of Sweden until the Reformation, and is still remembered with affection. His tomb is preserved undefaced, and King Eric's code is regarded with respect. Christina survived many years in great sanctity. She left two sons and two daughters, of whom Knut was afterwards king of Sweden, and Margaret was queen of Norway. Vastovius, Vitis Aquilonia, Butler and Baillet each give the Life of St. Eric, but do not call Christina, or her parents or grandparents, saints. Her worship is probably local; it is mentioned in Analecta Juris Pontificii, iii. 1834. Benzelstiema's History of Sweden, by Olof Dalin, ii. p. 127, Dähnert's German version. Vita S. Erici, in Fant and Annerstedt. Script. Rer. Suecicarum.
St. Christina (9), July 24, "the Wonderful." † c. 1224, V. Sometimes represented in a font. She was the youngest of three sisters living at St. Trudonopolis (St. Tron), in Brabant. On the death of their pious parents the three divided their labours thus: the eldest was to pray, the second to keep the house, and the third to keep the sheep. Soon Christina, the shepherdess, fell ill and died. Next day she was carried to the church amid the lamentations of her sisters and the sympathy of their friends. While the Mass was being said for her repose, she sat up on the bier, and then went like a bird on to the rafters of the church. All fled in terror except her eldest sister. At the end of the Mass, Christina was compelled by the priest to come down. She returned home with her sisters, and was refreshed with food. She told her friends that immediately after her death she was taken by angels to purgatory, where she saw souls, many of which were those of persons she knew, suffering
