Chant of the Martyrdom of St. Ursula - St. Hildegard Von Bingen (Latin + English)

This chant is written by St Hildegard Von Bingen and sung by the Ensemble Organum, it is based around the martyrdom of St Ursula and her large host of virginal handmaidens. Saint Ursula (Latin for ’little female bear’) was martyred on 21 October 383. The earliest evidence of a ’host’ (group) of martyred virgins at Cologne is an inscription from c. 400 in the Church of St. Ursula, located on Ursulaplatz in Cologne which states that the ancient basilica had been restored on the site where some holy virgins were killed. Her legendary status comes from a medieval story in which she was a princess who, at the request of her father King Dionotus of Dumnonia in south-west Britain, set sail along with many virginal handmaidens to join her future husband, the pagan governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica. As she arrived, Ursula declared that before her marriage she would undertake a pan-European pilgrimage. She headed for Rome with her followers and persuaded the Pope and Bishop of Ravenna