The Four Holy Marshals (''Vier Marschälle Gottes'' or just ''Vier Marschälle'') are four saints venerated in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, especially at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, Liège, Aachen, and Eifel.marschaelle
/ref> They are conceived as standing particularly close to throne of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, and thus powerful intercessors.Vier Marschälle - Kathpedia
/ref> Their joint veneration is comparable to that of the

Fourteen Holy Helpers The Fourteen Holy Helpers (german: Vierzehn Nothelfer, la, Quattuordecim auxiliatores) are a group of saints venerated together by Roman Catholic Christians because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against ...

, who are also venerated in the Rhineland. They are considered “ marshals of God” and were invoked against diseases and

epidemics An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Evidence of this devotion is testified by documentation dating from 1478; however, the joint devotion of these four saints may have existed earlier.Vier heilige Marschälle - Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon
/ref> The devotion reached its high point in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and diminished by the seventeenth. There were churches dedicated to them at Hüngersdorf,

Schleiden Schleiden is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies in the Eifel hills, in the district of Euskirchen, and has 12,998 inhabitants as of 30 June 2017. Schleiden is connected by a tourist railway to Kall, on the Eifel Railway between ...

, and in the Mariwald.

The Four Holy Marshals

The four saints are: In terms of protection over animals, Anthony is the patron of pigs, Cornelius cattle, Hubertus dogs, and Quirinus horses. In addition, each saint has its own particular place of special veneration: Anthony was venerated at

, Hubertus at St-Hubert in the Ardennes, Cornelius at Aachen, and Quirinus at

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

. Image:Mathis Gothart Grünewald 029.jpg, Anthony the Great Image:Heiliger Cornelius.jpg, Pope Cornelius Image:Meister des Marienlebens von Werden 001.jpg, Hubertus Image:Neuss Siegel.jpg, Quirinus

References

External links

Vier heilige Marschälle

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* http://www.cornelissen.de/cor_pap1.htm * Christian folklore Quartets

The Four Holy Marshals

See also

References

External links