Margarete (English spelling)

Japanese: マルガレテ（英語表記）Margarete

?‐303
A legendary saint who is said to have been martyred during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian in the early 4th century. She was also called Margareta, and in the East she was called Marina. She was the daughter of a pagan priest in Antioch. She became a Christian under the influence of her wet nurse, and was imprisoned after refusing the governor's marriage proposal. She was swallowed by the devil who appeared as a dragon, but the cross she was holding grew larger (some say she made the sign of the cross with her hand), and she was able to split the dragon's stomach and escape unharmed. After being tortured, she was decapitated, and it is said that she prayed especially for women to be spared from the pain of childbirth.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

？‐303
4世紀初め，ディオクレティアヌス帝の迫害で殉教したとされる伝説的聖女。マルガレタMargaretaともいい，東方ではマリナMarinaと呼ぶ。アンティオキアの異教の祭司の娘。乳母の影響でキリスト教徒となり，総督の求婚を断ったため投獄された。竜となって現れた悪魔にのみ込まれたが，手にしていた十字架が大きくなって(手で十字を切ったとの説もある)，竜の腹を裂き，無傷でのがれた。拷問の末首を切られたが，その際とくに，出産の苦痛から婦人たちが救われるよう祈ったと伝えられる。

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