The Book of Judith is in the Catholic Bible but not in the Protestant canon. In it, the widow Judith charms her way into the tent of Holofernes, the general about to invade Israel, plies him with wine, decapitates him, and slips away with the head in her sack. As a result Holofernes' troops panic, run, and are slaughtered by the Israelites.
The many images of Judith either present the decapitation, as at left, or if portraits use the head as an attribute (example).
Feast day: According to Caxton, Judith's legend "is read the last Sunday of October" in the church.
At left, Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Beheading Holofernes," 1620
Hagiography:
The Book
of Judith (cached)
Caxton's extensions of the Golden Legend: html or pdf
Caxton's extensions of the Golden Legend: html or pdf
Old
English poem, Judith: Anglo-Saxon original
(cached) or translation
(cached)
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