Veronica

views updated May 14 2018

VERONICA

The Greek name Βερνίκη, Βερονίκη Beronica, given from antiquity to a woman, variously identified in legend with persons mentioned in the New Testament, who was associated with an image of the face of Christ that was said to have been brought to Rome. This name was later applied by metonymy to the image itself, which in medieval times was sometimes referred to as a veronica. This provided some plausibility for the suggestion of giraldus cambrensis in his Speculum ecclesiae that the word was derived from vera icon (true image), which in popular use became veronica and was appropriated as the proper name of the woman whom legend connected with the image.

There is evidence that a cloth with the image of the face of Christ was venerated at St. Peter's in Rome as early as the end of the 10th or the beginning of the 11th century, and there was a great devotion to it during the Middle Ages. It is still preserved among the major relics at St. Peter's, although what was depicted upon it has faded away or become indiscernible, or at any rate cannot be inspected or studied. Indications of its style, gathered from copies made in earlier times, suggest that the image was of a kind that had its prototy pe in the pe in the pe in the pe in the pe in the pe in the pe in the pe in the μανδύλιον of Edessa, brought to Constantinople in 944.

Various stories to account for the origin of the picture have been told. One of the earliest is an account given in the Mors Pilati, according to which a matron called Veronica, who desired to have a picture of Jesus to comfort her when He was away preaching, was taking a linen cloth to a painter to have a picture put upon it, when she happened to meet Jesus. He, upon hearing what she wished, took the cloth from her and caused his features to appear upon it [see M. R. James, tr., The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford 1926)]. In later versions the image was caused by direct impression upon the face of Christ. At one time it was popularly believed that this occurred during the bloody sweat in the Garden. In the 14th century the story of a compassionate woman wiping the face of Christ on His way to Calvary began to find favor. There is no evidence that this event was a part of a popular belief in earlier times, and it was not pictured in art, so far as is known, before the 14th century. The woman, of course, was identified with the Veronica of earlier legend. She was venerated in various places as a saint and in some localities Mass and the Office were celebrated in her honor. St. Charles Borromeo suppressed these liturgical honors accorded to her in the Ambrosian Rite at Milan. The name Veronica is to be found in none of the early martyrologies, nor does it appear in the present Roman Martyrology in connection with this legendary woman. Veronica was venerated also under a number of variants of the nameBerenice, Bernice, Venice, Venisse, Vernice, Veronce, Verone, etc.

Bibliography: There is a very extensive Veronica literature, a guide to which can be found in the following sources. a. degert, The Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. c. g. herbermann, 16 v. (New York 190714; suppl. 1922) 15:362366. Acta Sanctorum (Paris 1863), February 1:454463. h. leclercq, Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienneet de liturgie, ed. f. cabrol, h. leclercq and h. i. marrou, 15 v. (Paris 190753) 15.2:296266. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater, 4 v. (New York 1956) 3:8283. l. rÉau, Iconographie de l'art chrétien, 6 v. (Paris 195559) 3.3:131417.

[p. k. meagher]

Veronica

views updated May 11 2018

Veronica

A religious term for a cloth bearing the likeness of Jesus imprinted miraculously. The term was coined by St. Gregory of Tours (538-594 C.E.), deriving from the Greek icon (image) and Latin vera (true).

The story of veronica is that a woman of rank, living in the Via Dolorosa, broke through the procession of Jesus' crucifixion when it stopped for Simon of Cyrene to assist in carrying the cross. The woman, usually named as Seraphia (sometimes called Veronica), wiped the face of Jesus with a cloth, and the miraculous portrait became impressed from the blood and sweat. Other versions of the story claim that the woman simply handed the cloth to Jesus, who wiped his own face and returned the cloth. A detailed and highly circumstantial version of the incident was given by Anne Catherine Emmerich (see Germany ) when in an ecstatic trance.

A claimed veronica was placed in a marble coffer on the altar of a chapel attached to St. Peter's in Rome during the period of Sixtus V, but it was moved in 1440 and is said to be deposited in the Vatican. Another cloth with a similar miraculous portrait was presented by two Fathers to the seventh synod of Nice, C.E. 787. Such miraculous likenesses not made by people are also known as Acheropites.

In 1813, when a vault was opened in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, England, one of the coffins, believed to be that of Charles I, was opened and a portrait found on the grave cloth which had wrapped the body. The myth which surrounds the Turin Shroud is quite similar to that of the veronicas.

Veronica

views updated May 21 2018

Veronica (speedwell; family Scrophulariaceae) A genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs that have simple or lobed, opposite leaves without stipules. The flowers are usually blue, but sometimes pink or white. They are bisexual and are held in axillary or terminal racemes, or, if they are 5-lobed, solitarily in leaf axils. The calyx is fused and 4-lobed, or 5-lobed but with a very small upper lobe. The corolla is fused into a very short tube with 4 lobes; the upper, composed of 2 fused components, being the largest. There are 2 stamens and a superior ovary of 2 fused carpels. The fruit is an elongated, flattened capsule. There are about 250 species, present throughout temperate regions in a wide variety of habitats. Many species are cultivated as ornamentals.

veronica

views updated May 23 2018

ve·ron·i·ca / vəˈränəkə/ • n. 1. a herbaceous plant of north temperate regions, typically with upright stems bearing narrow pointed leaves and spikes of blue or purple flowers. • Genus Veronica, family Scrophulariaceae: many species, including the speedwells. 2. a cloth supposedly impressed with an image of Jesus' face. ∎  a picture of Jesus' face similar to this. 3. (in bullfighting) a slow movement of the cape away from a charging bull by the matador, who stands in place.

Veronica, St

views updated Jun 27 2018

Veronica, St. A woman of Jerusalem who, according to legend, offered her head-cloth to Jesus to wipe his face on the way to his crucifixion. When he gave it back, his features were impressed on it. A ‘veil of Veronica’ seems to have been at Rome since the 8th cent. The legend was probably written in its present form in the 14th cent. to explain the relic. The incident is now devotionally important as the sixth of the stations of the cross. Feast day, 12 July.

Veronica

views updated May 17 2018

Veronica Acronym for very easy rodent-oriented network index to computerized archives (the reference to rodents being related to the Gopher system). An information-retrieval tool on the Internet. A Veronica server holds an index of Gopher server systems, which can be accessed using Gopher on a workstation; the result of a search of the index is a menu of Gopher server systems that contain relevant information, and this menu can then be used by the workstation to connect directly to the Gopher servers.

Veronica, St

views updated May 29 2018

Veronica, St according to tradition, a woman of Jerusalem who offered her headcloth to Christ on the way to Calvary, to wipe the blood and sweat from his face. The cloth is said to have retained the image of his features, and is called a vernicle or veronica in her honour.

The term veronica also denotes the movement of a matador's cape away from a charging bull; this is said to be by association of the attitude of the matador with the depiction of St Veronica holding out a cloth to Christ.

veronica

views updated May 11 2018

veronica (speedwell) Widely distributed genus of annual and perennial plants of the figwort family. The small flowers are white, blue, or pink. Height: 7.5–153cm (3in–5ft). Family Scrophulariaceae; the genus includes about 250 species.

veronica

views updated Jun 11 2018

veronica2 see VERNICLE.

veronica

views updated May 18 2018

veronica1 plant of the genus Veronica. XVI. Obscure use of the name Veronica.