Tags: Saint.
Wilgefortis is a female saint of popular religious imagination whose legend arose in the 14th century and whose distinguishing feature is a large beard. Her name is thought by some to derive from the Old German heilige Vartez (holy face) a translation of the Italian Volto Santo; others believe it to derive from the Latin virgo fortis (strong virgin). In England her name was Uncumber and in Dutch Ontkommer (where her name means escaper).
