Catherine wheel (window)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Catherine wheel is a spoked circular window. It is named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria who, was sentenced to be executed on a spiked wheel, Catherine touched the wheel and it shattered. She was beheaded. The wheel is prominently depicted on the St. Catharine's College shield. It is also called a spike wheel. She (Catherine) was supposedly martyred for refusing to marry a man she did not love.