Saint Walpurga
The earliest representation of Walpurga is in the early 11th-century Hitda Codex, made in Cologne, and depicts her holding stylized stalks of grain. In other depictions, the object has been called a palm branch which is not correct, since Walpurga was not martyred. The grain attribute has been interpreted as an instance of a Christian saint (Walpurga) coming to represent an older pagan concept; in this case, the pagan Grain Mother. Peasant farmers fashioned her replica in a corn dolly at harvest time and told tales to explain Saint Walpurga's presence in the grain sheaf.