In the heart of central Germany, there is an intriguing symbol along the streets of the quaint medieval town of Coburg. It is a representation of a dark-skinned African man who is a celebrated patron. Thousands of miles away, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, hangs a painting of this same individual, completed ca.1500 by Lucas Cranach the Elder. Throughout Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland, the patronage for Saint Maurice runs deep. But who is this striking figure?
Origins
The earliest historical chronicles of Christian saints were compiled by Eusebius of Caesarea and Eucherius of Lyon, both early bishops in the Roman Empire. The hagiography of Maurice begins in the ("The Passion of the
