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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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‘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.
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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.
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Name origin: Thessalian princess in Greek myth, loved by the god Apollo. During her pregnancy, Koronis had an affair with a man named Iskhys; a raven informed Apollo of this, and either he or his sister Artemis killed her as a consequence. Later he felt remorse, and in anger against the raven turned its white feathers black.
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