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Original fileSaint Margaret
French: Sainte Marguerite Saint Margarettitle QS:P1476,fr:"Sainte Marguerite "label QS:Lfr,"Sainte Marguerite "label QS:Ltr,"Azize Margaret"label QS:Lhu,"Szent Margit."label QS:Lnrm,"Sainte Mèrdgitte"label QS:Lit,"Santa Margherita"label QS:Lpl,"Święta Małgorzata"label QS:Luk,"Свята Марина"label QS:Lnl,"Saint Margaret"label QS:Lde,"Hl. Margarete"label QS:Len,"Saint Margaret"label QS:Lwa,"Sinte Magrite"label QS:Leo,"Sankta Margareto"label QS:Lda,"Sankt Margaretha."
About This Work
This detail shows the lower half of the saint standing serenely on a rocky ground next to a monstrous beast. The dragon's wide-open maw, filled with sharp teeth and a dark, cavernous throat, serves as a grotesque contrast to the calm, bare foot of the saint. The juxtaposition emphasizes the victory of spiritual grace over the chaotic and demonic forces of the physical world.
The narrative follows the Golden Legend, where the dragon represents the devil; Margaret's escape symbolizes the soul's triumph over material corruption. Within the bestiary tradition, the dragon serves as a potent emblem of the adversarial forces of nature that must be subdued by divine or intellectual will.