Letare Taxandria: Regionalism and Hagiographic Interactions between Sint-Oedenrode, ’s-Hertogenbosch, and Liège in the Medieval Cult and Liturgy of St Oda

“Rejoice, Texandria, for Oda!” Thus begins the series of chants and readings commemorating the virgin St Oda, patron of the village that took her name—Sint-Oedenrode—in the late medieval liturgy of the town of ’s-Hertogenbosch. Overt praise for the surrounding region, Texandria, extending across the northern limits of the duchy of Brabant and diocese of Liège, is a recurring theme in the liturgy inspired by the saint’s legend. Yet how did Oda, of Scottish origin, become so closely associated with this remote region? And what was the significance of her liturgical veneration in ’s-Hertogenbosch, to which Sint-Oedenrode was enfranchised? Exemplifying interactions between central and secondary places within a specific region, this study argues for the relevance of the historical approach to urban–rural dynamics in medieval hagiography and its related liturgy. Recognition that smaller towns and villages played important roles in regional networks prompts more focused attention to regional priorities in the legends and liturgies of local saints. That Oda’s cult is attested by a diversity of extant documentary evidence—historical, hagiographic, and liturgical, including newly discovered liturgical readings—facilitates interpretation of her veneration in ’s-Hertogenbosch and of the intertextual connections between her legend and those of other saints, notably Lambert, associated with the duchy and diocese. As suggested by this example, regionalism merits greater scrutiny as an integral component of civic religion.