I live in an area that was settled circa 1843 by German Catholic immigrants seeking religious freedom, and many of their beliefs and legends have stayed with the people of the area. I wonder how many of you may have heard of St.Kunigunda and the weather maxims surrounding her feast day of March 3? (I know I'm a little late, but I just found this article in my genealogy files.)
Just for your trivial pursuit pleasure:
"Grist from Old Mills, St. Marys Historical Society, Published in the Daily Press, St. Marys, Elk Co, PA on May 14, 1996, written by Walter Schaut (Good morning, weatherbirds!).
For generations the St. Marysites have tolerated St. Kunigunda story with benevolent amusement, treating her something like a female Punxsutawney groundhog.
St. Marys native Father Willy Wurm O.S.B. after reading the annual St. Kunigunda piece in the press, sent the following:
March 2, 1996
Eve of St. Cunegund
Dear Walter,
After reading the piece in the paper about St. Kunigundae, I decided to put this little card together. I hope you enjoy it. I got the material in a church newspaper from a diocese in Bavaria.
Hope all is well with you. I am ready for Spring.
Fr. Willy, O.S.B.
All this prompted a search and a trip to the local library, when after an unsuccessful search through a bakers dozen book the saint was finally located under an old spelling.
What follows in a brief retelling of the St. Cunegund story as excerpted from Lives of the Saints.
Cunegund was born in 978 A.D. to Siegfried and Hedwig of Luxembourg. She married Emperor Henry II and was crowned with him in 1014 by the pope. Bamberg was especially favored with ecclesiastical endowments through her influence and she founded a convent at Kaufungen near Hesse as a result of a promise made during the outbreak of a dangerous sickness. Her husband, the emperor, died during the construction, and she entered a Benedictine convent and spent the remainder of her life in prayer and meditation for the sick.
The legends surrounding the saint date largely from a 12th century biography prepared for her canonization in 1200, nearly 200 years after her death. They are typical of the time period with such stories of her walking over hot ploughshares to disprove accusations of unfaithfulness to her husband, and the permanent marks of a slap she had given her niece, the first abbess of Kaufungen, for feasting with some like minded sisters instead of being present for a Sunday procession.
Cunegunde died in 1033 and is buried with her husband, the Emperor Henry II in Bamberg Cathedral. Many incidents in her life are depicted in 16th century reliefs in that place.
Her feast day is March 3. Regrettably, nothing is said about how, where, or when the Kunigunda legend making her the prophet of springtime originated.
Wettergeln zum 3. März
Dem fest der heiligen Kunigunde
(Weather Maxims for the 3rd of March
Feast of St. Kunigunde)
Kunigund macht warm bon unt.
(Kunigunda makes it warm from below)
Wenn es donnert um Kunigund, treibts der Winter noch lange bunt.
(When it thunders on Kunigunda’s day, the winter’s going to stay.)
Der Fruhling kommt! (Spring is coming!)
