Catherine Etait Fille (Catherine was a Girl)

DESCRIPTION: French. Catherine is the king's daughter. Her mother is a Christian but her father is not. Her father finds her praying. She says that she prays to God, but he does not. He kills her with his sabre. Catherine is in heaven, but her father is not.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1949 (Creighton-MaritimeFolkSongs)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage homicide religious father royalty questions violence crime death discrimination Hell
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-MaritimeFolkSongs, pp. 154-155, "Catherine Etait Fille" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Laura McNeil, "Catherine Etait Fille" (on MRHCreighton)
NOTES [110 words]: The description is based on the translation in the notes to MRHCreighton. - BS
There are a number of early Christian legends about this sort of martyrdom. (Interesting that the name "Katherine" is from Greek καθαρος, "katharos," "pure.") This one doesn't ring any bells as written, though. The closest I can think of is the story of St. Barbara, whose father, upon learning she was Christian, had her turned over to the pagan authorities and executed. But he didn't do it himself. The name "Katherine" might perhaps have come in from Catherine of Alexandria, who allegedly died in 310 at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius. But that' just speculation. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.0
File: CrMa154

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