One account of Eurosia's reports that she was a Christian living in Spain after the conquest by the Moors. Having been betrothed against her will to a Moor, she fled and hid in a cave. A search party discovered her by following the smell of woodsmoke. They then dragged her out of the cave by her hair and beheaded her.Another account says that she was a Bohemian aristocrat, pagan in her early years, but orphaned, adopted, and converted by Ludmila, wife of Duke Borivoj. Saint Methodius, who had been instrumental in keeping Borijov on his throne, needed to find a royal wife for a Spanish prince -- the Pope himself had assigned this matchmaking mission to Methodius. Eurosia was selected, and at age sixteen, packed off to Pamplona.
To get to Pamplona, they had to cross through a war zone. The Moorish captain, Aben Lupo, attacked the party, took her prisoner, and intended to wed her himself. She escaped, but was tracked down. Eurosia sought support from heaven, and lightning struck nearby, but the Moors were not dissuaded. They beheaded and dismembered her. After this, foul weather and lightning plagued the Moors all the way back to their camp.
June 25, the feast of a patron invoked against foul weather, is also my wedding anniversary. I'm pleased to recall that Jen did not have to be dragged from a cave by her hair, nor was anyone beheaded or dismembered. However, we took a ship across the Gulf of Maine to Nova Scotia, suffering some of the worst weather I have been in. Lightning -- enough lightning to destroy a flotilla of Moors! Last night, around 2:00 AM, there was lightning again, and it continues to rain today, as it seems to rain every June 25.
NB. Check out the hands -- or lack thereof -- in this painting of Saint Eurosia.
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