In 1164, a line of armed riders hauled a golden chest out of Milan, over the Alps, and down the Rhine to Cologne. Leading them was Rainald von Dassel, the Archbishop of Cologne and right-hand man to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Inside that chest, Rainald claimed, lay the bones of the Three Magi — the Wise Men from the Christmas story who followed a star to Bethlehem and brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn Jesus.
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Prophets & Pilgrims·1/1·1′
The place
Cologne Cathedral (Kolner Dom)
The Shrine of the Three Magi
How the bones of the Three Wise Men were stolen from Milan and made Cologne the pilgrimage capital of the North
12th-13th century (1164-1225)Cologne Cathedral (Kolner Dom)
Moral of the Story
“The greatest treasures of faith are often the spoils of war — and a city that built its holiness on stolen bones can never quite escape that truth.”
Characters
R
Rainald von Dassel (Archbishop of Cologne)E
Emperor Frederick BarbarossaN
Nicholas of Verdun (goldsmith)T
The Three Magi (Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar)E
Empress HelenaSource
Cardini, Franco. The Three Magi: History and Legend; Wolff, Arnold. The Cologne Cathedral; Kessel, Johann Hubert. Antiquitates Colonienses, 1863