Saint Barbara

The legends say Barbara was an early Christian in Syria, locked in a tower by her father to keep suitors away. While imprisoned she converted, which enraged him enough to denounce her to authorities. She was tortured and finally beheaded by her own father, who was then struck dead by lightning on his way down the mountain. The story didn't surface in writing until the 7th century, and by the 9th her veneration had spread widely in the East. A 15th-century French account credited her with thirteen miracles, most of them ensuring devotees wouldn't die without confession. In 1969 the Vatican removed her feast from the General Roman Calendar over questions of historicity, though she remains on the list of saints - a martyr whose legend outlived her evidence.