MS M.50, Fol. 17v

Martyrdom of St. Ursula and Her Companions (fol. 17v, left)

Eleven ships sail the Rhine River as the flotilla of Ursula and her eleven thousand companions arrive at Cologne, Germany. Ursula's refusal to marry the Huns' leader caused him to slaughter the whole group.

Poyer shows the decapitation of three maidens in the foreground; the martyrdom of the rest of Ursula's eleven thousand companions is suggested by further carnage in the background. Ursula was a particular favorite saint of Anne de Bretagne's because, according to tradition, she was one of the earliest queens of Brittany, Anne's homeland.