The cult of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in late medieval Scotland

The veneration of Saint Catherine of Alexandria occupied a prominent place in the religious and cultural life of late-medieval Scotland. A comprehensive analysis of Saint Catherine’s cult in Scotland from the thirteenth century to the sixteenth shows its multifaceted manifestations across hagiography, liturgical observance, ecclesiastical dedications, onomastic traditions, and material culture. Positioning the Scottish cult in the context of broader medieval European devotional trends while elucidating its local particularities, one can view the interplay between the local and universal, and the ways in which Saint Catherine was integrated into Scottish identity and piety. Supported by a diverse corpus of textual and material evidence, her cult transcended social strata and geographic boundaries to become one of the most popular non-native saints of medieval Scotland.