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| Nicolas of Verdun, Adoration of the Kings, with Otto
IV, and the Baptism of Christ, Reliquary of the
Three Kings,
Cologne Cathedral,
c 1181. The Shrine of the Magi, a large gilded and decorated triple sarcophagus, is the largest reliquary in the western world. The exterior is covered in a total of seven feet of gilded silver and jewels. Images of Old Testament prophets line the bottom while the twelve apostles decorate the top. It is considered the high point of Mosan art. In 1864 the shrine was opened and three skeletons were found inside; one of a young man, another of a middle aged man, and the third of an older man. |
| I. The Magi in Cologne, Germany 1162-2012 |
Art provenance is the documentation history of a work of art, its creation and ownership, that establishes the works authenticity. There is no doubt that the Shrine of the Magi was made by Nicolas of Verdun in the 12th century. However, questions arise about the contents.
Fredrick attacked the city of Milan after the Milanese revolted from his rule. The city surrendered on March 6, 1162, and was sacked on the emperor's orders. Fredrick sent the relics of the Magi back to the Archbishop of Cologne. As such relics had great religious significance they could be counted upon to draw pilgrims from all over Christendom. Occasionally, there was competition for such relics resulting in theft or in the case of Mary Magdalene a dispute between the Cluniac Benedictines of Vezelay and the Dominicans of Saint-Maxime that occasioned a rash of miraculous literature supporting one or the other site as the true repository of the saints relics. We must remember, for medieval man faith made a relics, not the other way around.
| II. The Magi in Milan, 344-1162 |
The second question is, obviously, how did those bones find their way to Milan? This account written almost nine hundred years after the move, states that the Relics of the Magi were originally brought to Milan by Eustorgius I, Bishop of Milan, in 344 from Constantinople.
| At that time Eustorgius lived, Greek birth, a very
informed man, nobly and piously, of pleasing exterior, eloquently, for
the service to God quite
been suitable and in this service turned, a guard of the faith, and also
chaste, and a native from Constantinople, before the times of bishop
Saint Ambrose of Milan. He came as an ambassador of the
emperor Manuel to Milan, and the people of Milan selected him to bishop.
Therefore Eustorgius returned to Constantinople, said thanks to the
emperor and spoke: My father and emperor Manuel, I thanks you that you
have appreciated the honour towards me up to now and that you have sent
me into the holy city Milan, your metropolis. You should know that I
have achieved everything, faithfully and after your will, the deliveries
are always secured for you, but I am however the chosen one of the city,
because you, in honor of God and to praise his charitableness. I
unworthy one was urgent asked to return and to announce, what in the
view
on our God and on you your you faithfully resulted people have done at
me and like the people delegated these envoys with me to you. Intend
mine and instruct, what I am to do. The emperor answered: Become bishop,
worthy man. Eustorgius answers: I thank God and you; but allow, dearest
gentleman, that I can carry forward and can take away to the holy city
of Milan anything of the sanctuaries, which me liked, if God's benignity
permits it, in order to honour the church with holy relics, and as a
gratification for your tributary people. The emperor answers: Select,
receive, carry forward, which you would like. Be as if you are, or, is
it possible, become still better. Greet my people and announce that from
now on the whole delivery is issued. Thus Eustorgius went pleased, and
he manufactured a marmorean coffin with large effort, and put into it
the bodies of the Three Kings, who had brought Christus their gifts -
gold, frankincense and myrrh. With trouble under many nights in which he
was awake, and through God's assistance and amicability he transported
it towards Milan into the city. The sarcophagus became buried outside of
the city-wall closely beside the city in a church, which later was
sanctified to honor holy Eustorgius. Also there is a famous and very
holy source, where the neophytes had received the holy baptism, all
Christians pious veneration with dignity. ..." -The Vita Beati Eustorgii Confessoris reports around the year 1200
Note: the Emperor in Constantinople at that time was Constantios, who ruled from 337-61 AD. Manuel I was a 12th century emperor. |
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| Sant Eustorigio, Milan | Stone relief in
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By tradition, the remains of the Magi were brought from Constantinople to Milan by Saint Eustorgio in an ox-cart and enshrined in a Roman sarcophagus in the church named after their transporter. Together with the holy relicts a craved stone slab with the Latin inscription SEPVLCRVM TRIVM MAGORVM (which can be translated as, Sepulcher of Three Magi) was brought to Milan.
| III. Magi to 327-344 |
John of Hildesheim (born in 1310/1320, died in 1375) continues the story of the wise men: A star appears above the cities in which the kings dwell just before Christmas, indicating to them that their lives were nearing an end.
"Then with one consent they built, at the Hill of Vaws, a fair and large tomb, and there the three Holy Kings ... died and were buried in the same tomb by their sorrowing people."
Assuming that this happened, that all three died at the same place at the same time, then it happened in the mid-first century (since the kings were adults in Bethlehem). If so, the kings had two centuries of rest in their tomb before beginning yet another journey.
"Queen Helen...began to think greatly of the bodies of these three kings, and she arrayed herself, and accompanied by many attendants, went into the Land of Ind ... after she had found the bodies of Melchior, Balthazar and Casper, Queen Helen put them into one chest and ornamented it with great riches, and she brought them into Constantinople ... and laid them in a church that is called Saint Sophia".
There is no mention in Byzantine history of Helen bringing back the bones of the Magi, only that, guided by Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem, she found the True Cross in a cistern beneath a temple to Aphrodite. Historians place St Helen's visit to the Holy Land around 327.
| IV. Marco Polo and the Magi |
Marco Polo in his famous journey claimed that he was shown the three tombs of the Magi at Saveh south of Tehran in the 1270s:
"In Persia is the city called Saveh, from which the three Magi set out when they came to worship Jesus Christ. Here, too, they lie buried in three sepulchres of great size and beauty. Above each sepulchre is a square building with a domed roof of very fine workmanship. The one is just beside the other. Their bodies are still whole, and they have hair and beards. One was named Beltasar, the second Gaspar, and the third Melchior .." (Book i).
When he asked the inhabitants who the three kings were, he was told that nobody knew exactly; they were kings and the tombs had been there for many years. As Polo continued his investigation about the Kings another story emerged; three days farther on, he found a town called Kala Atashparastan, that is "Town of the Fire-worshippers".
"And that is no more than the truth; for the men of this town do worship fire. And I will tell you why they worship it. The inhabitants declare that in days gone by three kings of this country went to worship a new-born prophet and took with them three offerings - gold, frankincense, and myrrh - so as to discover whether this prophet was a god, or an earthly king or a healer. For they said : If he takes gold, he is an earthly king; if frankincense, a god; if myrrh, a healer."
| V. The Source |
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In the church calendar, this event is commemorated in Western Christianity as the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). The Orthodox Church commemorates the Adoration of the Magi on the Feast of the Nativity (December 25). Christian iconography has considerably expanded the bare account of the Biblical Magi given in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (2: 1-22) and used it make the point that Jesus was recognized, from his earliest infancy, as king of the earth.
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The mysterious, but simple account of the wise men in the Book of Matthew evolves over the centuries to a full narrative saga of remarkable complexity.
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Giotto's 1305 fresco 'Adoration of the Magi' in the Arena Chapel in Padua. Notice the comet. |
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The Adoration of the Kings
,
1510-15, Jan Gossaert, National Gallery, London |
This large picture was painted as the altarpiece of the Lady Chapel of the Abbey of St Adrian's, Geraardsbergen, near Brussels. Behind the kneeling king, Caspar, stands Melchior with a retinue of attendants. Balthazar is on the left, and Gossaert has signed his name on the border of his headdress and again on the collar worn by his attendant.
The dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, descends to the infant Christ from the brilliant star in the sky, and angels approach from a great distance through a series of arches, giving the scene a spectacular sense of space and depth.
St Joseph stands off to the side of the action. Artist seem never know what to do with him, if he not leading a donkey.
Analysis of the Gossaert Painting
Over the centuries the Magi were given names and came to represent the universality of Christianity; Caspar: Europe, Balthasar: Africa, Melchior: Asia.
On the capital above Caspar's head is a representation of the Sacrifice of Isaac, which prefigures the Crucifixion. Though there are nine angels in the upper half of the painting, which suggests that they represent the Nine Orders of angels.
The text for many such paintings came from The Golden Legend. Accordingly, the star might represent the Holy Ghost, or the angel that appeared to the shepherds, or the newly-created body which returned to the underlying matter after its mission was accomplished?. Because the shepherds in the distance appear to be looking towards the star rather than at any of the angels, perhaps Gossaert favored the idea that the star is the angel, especially as the dove, the embodiment of the Holy Spirit, is also present.
The gifts of the kings may be interpreted in various ways. The most popular interpretation is: gold for tribute, frankincense for sacrifice, and myrrh for burying the dead. The gifts denoted Christ's roles as king, God, and man.
The architecture seems to act as a stage set, providing depth to the scene.
The frieze above the Virgin bears a relief of dancing putti. Four capitals are also decorated with putti: at the top left, above the head of the first angel; at the top right, above the head of the angel in pink; on the left, between the scroll and the left wing of the angel in green; and on the right, between the angel in white and the praying hands of the angel in pink.
On the capital above the eldest king is a relief of the Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22: 9?13). Abraham seems to be improbably nude; the angel grasps his right hand; Isaac, who is kneeling, is dressed in a long robe; the ram appears in front of Isaac.
The floor is made up of slabs of colored chipped and broken stone.
The floor is made up of slabs of colored chipped and broken stone arranged in geometrical patterns, with weeds between the stones. The two dogs have been adapted from prints. The dog on the right is from Durer's ?Saint Eustace?.
1) The
eldest king, Casper,
has offered
gold coins in a
golden goblet. The
Child takes one of
the coins in his
left hand. The cover
of the goblet,
inscribed with the
king's name: [L]E
ROII IASPAR, lies at
the feet of the
Virgin; the goblet
is ornamented with
columns, lions and
roundels of men?s
heads. In front of
Caspar are his hat and his scepter,
which incorporates
two babies holding ropes
and a figure of
Moses holding the
Ten Commandments.
2) The second
king, Melchior
stands behind Caspar
and carries his
frankincense in a
golden vessel. Behind him are four
attendants.
3) The third
king, Balthasar,
approaches from our
left. His elaborate
hat is inscribed
with his name,
BALTAZAR, and with
the artist's
signature. Balthasar's boots
are made of leather
so thin that his
toes and toenails
can de
distinguished.
Around his neck he
wears a fringed
stole inscribed with
the opening words of
the
'Salve regina
misericordiae', a
prayer or hymn to
the Virgin. His
gift of myrrh is
contained in a golden
vessel ornamented at
the top with three
figures of putti. Behind him
are three attendants;
the black attendant wears a
silver collar
inscribed with the
painter's name.
4) Through the
window on the left
are two men in
exotic clothes,
perhaps attendants
of the kings. On the
far right, the
horseman wearing a
turban and holding a
heavy ornamented
hammer is another of
the retinue, along
with other mounted
attendants who appear in
the distance
5) Between Balthasar
and the Virgin,
is Saint Joseph
dressed in a red
cloak. Behind
him, the head of the
ox appears through a
doorway in which
stands an angel.
6) The donkey,
between the Virgin
and Caspar, is
eating weeds. Directly behind
Caspar are two
shepherds. The one
on our left carries
a musical instrument
similar to a
recorder; the other
holds a straw hat
and a tool of some
kind. Hanging from his
neck on a twisted
cord is a small horn.
The four men between
the shepherd and the
Virgin are more
shepherds, and
behind them even
more
shepherds receiving the news
of Christ?s birth.
7) Above,
Nine Angels are floating. The two
on the left
wear headbands
and the second holds
a scroll inscribed:
Gloria in excelcis deo.
The angels and not
like some Biblical
angels described as
fiery wheels or with
several heads, but
are humanized and in
no way frightening.
8) At the top edge of the picture the star that guided the kings brightly shines. Below the star hovers the dove of the Holy Ghost.
End Note: For a hilarious take on the Magi story being moved from Milan to Koln see chapter 10, "Baudolino finds the Magi and canonizes Charlemagne" in Umberto Eco's novel, "Baudolino". Agents of Fredric Barbarossa discover the Magi's well preserved bodies in the church during the sack of Milan. But as the bodies are dressed in clothes like those depicted in the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo (above), the thieves don't think anybody back in Germany will believe they are the Magi. So they dress the corpses in holy vestments worn by contemporary bishops and place the bodies in wooden coffins for transport to Cologne.
Also, for another artist's take on the Magi story see Bosch's "Epiphany".
