Name origin: Unknown. There is a 19th century comic opera, Haydée, featuring the titular character as a slave girl who is really a princess and ultimately marries her beloved. A Haidee was also associated with the fictional libertine Don Juan, and a Haydée appears in The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas père.
Focus On: (368) Haidea Read Post »
Yrsa is the wife of Swedish king Aðils and mother of Danish king Hrólfr Kraki. There are several different versions of her story; in each she is depicted as a charming girl. Her father Halga kidnapped her mother Oluf against her will and got her pregnant. She named the child Yrsa after her dog, and sent her to live as a shepherd until she was 12.
Focus On: (351) Yrsa Read Post »
Name origin: Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary (1777-1860), Queen of Sweden and Norway from 1818 to 1844 as the wife of King Charles XIV John. Her name was officially changed to Desideria in Sweden, and she initially travelled there as crown princess. Unhappy in her new home and finding the change of etiquette difficult, she returned to Paris ostensibly for health reasons and lived incognito.
Focus On: (344) Desiderata Read Post »
Named for Brünn, now Brno, Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and is currently the second-largest city in the Czech Republic after Prague.
Focus On: (290) Bruna Read Post »
Sapientia is Latin for “wisdom”. The corresponding Ancient Greek term (Sophia) variously translates to “clever, skillful, intelligent, wise”; it also implies “skill in handicraft and art” in Homeric usage, which has been applied to both Hephaistos and Athene.
Focus On: (275) Sapientia Read Post »
Name origin: Roman goddess of justice. Justice was one of the virtues celebrated by Roman emperor Augustus, and a temple of Iustitia was established in Rome by his successor Tiberius.
Focus On: (269) Justitia Read Post »
St. Hubertus or Hubert (c.656-727), a kind of pre-Francis who established ethical rules on hunting, and cared about the welfare of animals. Hubert is venerated every year by the hunts in formal ceremonies. He is patron of archers; dogs; forest workers; trappers; hunting and huntsmen; mathematicians; metal workers; smelters and the city of Liège.
Focus On: (260) Huberta Read Post »
Name origin: Cleopatra, queen of Egypt from about 50 BCE to her death in 30 BCE. Realising she needed Rome’s help to sustain her nation, she became the lover of Julius Caesar and, later, the wife of Mark Antony. However, during the war between Antony and Octavian (Augustus), Antony was defeated and Cleopatra’s kingdom was finally annexed by Rome.
Focus On: (216) Kleopatra Read Post »
‘Possibly’ named for the Irish princess Iseult in Celtic myth, though some other characters bear that name. Iseult is to marry Tristan’s uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, and on the voyage there Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a love potion meant for the engaged couple, and fall hopelessly in love.
Focus On: (211) Isolda Read Post »
Name origin: Greek; food of the gods. The word ambrosia means immortality, and is often said to have either that effect or longevity on whoever consumes it. The term may not originally have been distinguished from nectar, the other food of the gods.
Focus On: (193) Ambrosia Read Post »
