Saint Gereon of Cologne (french: Géréon), who may have been a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

, probably in the early 4th century.

History

According to the Roman Martyrology, "In Cologne in Germany, the Saints Gereon and his companions, martyrs, who with sincere piety, courageously offered their necks to the sword." That brief outline is the official account of the Church, that is, the martyrdom by beheading, in the famous German city, of a group of Christians headed by a certain Gereon. In fact, nothing more can be said about them with historical certainty.

Legend

According to his legend, Gereon (called the "Golden Saint") was said to be a soldier"St. Gereon", Köln Tourismus
/ref> of the

Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt—"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men"—who converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together in 286, acc ...

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, writing in the 6th century, said that Gereon and his companions were a detachment of fifty men of the Theban Legion who were massacred at

Agaunum Agaunum was an outpost in Roman Switzerland, predecessor of the modern city of Saint-Maurice in the canton of Valais, southwestern Switzerland. It was used by the Roman Empire for the collection of the '' Quadragesima Galliarum''. In Christian tr ...

by order of

Emperor Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods to obtain victory in battle. Some of his companions' names are stated as being Cassius, Gregorius Maurus, Florentius, Innocentius (Innocent), Constantinus, and Victor. Saint Bede mentions that their feast was included in the Sarum

calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

, as well as the calendars of

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. Later medieval legends increased the number of Gereon's companions to 290 or 319, and

Saint Norbert of Xanten Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (c. 1075 – 6 June 1134) (Xanten-Magdeburg), also known as Norbert Gennep, was a bishop of the Catholic Church, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is venerated as a saint. Norbert was c ...

is said to have discovered, through a vision, the spot at Cologne where the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

Saint Ursula Saint Ursula (Latin for 'little female bear', german: link=no, Heilige Ursula) is a legendary Romano-British Christian saint who died on 21 October 383. Her feast day in the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar is 21 October. There is little infor ...

and her companions, of Saint Gereon, and of other martyrs lay hidden. Gereon became a popular

military saint The Military Saints, Warrior Saints and Soldier Saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the Early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution ...

and is often represented in art as a

Roman soldier This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *''Actuarius'' – A military who served food. *''Adiutor'' – A camp or ...

or medieval knight. Along with other saints who were beheaded, he is invoked by those suffering from

migraine headache Migraine (, ) is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent headaches. Typically, the associated headache affects one side of the head, is pulsating in nature, may be moderate to severe in intensity, and could last from a few hou ...

Hélinand of Froidmont Helinand ( la, Helinandus, link=no) may refer to: * Helinand of Froidmont (fl. c. 1150 – c. 1230), monk, poet and chronicler * Helinand of Laon, bishop (1052–1096) * Helinand of Perseigne (fl. c. 1200), monk and theologian See also * Elinand

's ''Martyrium'' mentions Saint Gereon.

Legacy

St. Gereon's Basilica St. Gereon's Basilica (''Basilika Sankt Gereon'') is a German Roman Catholic church in Cologne, dedicated to Saint Gereon, and designated a minor basilica on 25 June 1920. The first mention of a church at the site, dedicated to St. Gereon, appea ...

, in Cologne, is dedicated to him. Stefan Lochner painted a triptych in the 15th century which, in the centre piece, shows in almost life-size figures the worshipping of the Magi, and the side panels of which represent St. Ursula with her companions, and Gereon with his warriors. In 1810 the triptych was moved from the town hall to the choir chapel of the cathedral.

Saint-Géréon Saint-Géréon () is a former commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune of Ancenis-Saint-Géréon. See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department *Gereon Saint G ...

is a small town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique of the French region Pays de la Loire. The martyr is depicted on the 13th century seal of the Convent of St. Gereon, Cologne.Tillotsin, Dianne. "Seals of Ecclesiastical Institutions", Medieval Writing
/ref> File:Stefan Lochner 004.jpg, Saint Gereon with companions File:Kopf Heiliger Gereon Köln.jpg, Statue of the head of Saint Gereon, outside of

References

External links

Patron Saints: GereonSaint of the Day, October 10: Gereon and Companions
at ''SaintPatrickDC.org'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Gereon 3rd-century births Saints of Germania 4th-century Christian martyrs 304 deaths Military saints Legendary Romans eo:Gereon#Sanktulo