 Medieval hagiographies, such as the "Legenda sanctorum", record that St. Catherine of Alexandria was sentenced to be executed on one of these devices for refusing to renounce her Christian belief, which thereafter became known as the "Catherine wheel", also used as her iconographic attribute.It is said the wheel miraculously broke when she touched it; she was then beheaded.As an attribute it is usually shown broken in a small version beside her, or sometimes as a miniature she holds in her hand; the sword then used is also often shown.