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CHRISTOPHER, SAINT (Christophorus, Ch...

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Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 295 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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CHRISTOPHER, SAINT (Christophorus, Christoferus)

CHRISTOPHER, See also:
SAINT (lat. sanctus, " holy ")
SAINT (See also:
CHRISTOPHORUS
Christophorus, Christoferus) , a saint honoured in the See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic (25th of See also:

JULY

July) and Orthodox Eastern (9th of May) Churches, the See also:

PATRON

patron of ferrymen. Nothing that is See also:

AUTHENTIC (from Gr. aOO 'rns, one who does a thing himself)

authentic is known about him. He appears to have been originally a See also:

pagan and to have been See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born in See also:

SYRIA

Syria. He was baptized by Babylas, See also:

bishop of See also:

ANTIOCH

Antioch; preached with much success in See also:

LYCIA

Lycia; and was martyred about A.D. 250 during the persecution under the See also:

EMPEROR (Fr. empereur, from the Lat. imperator)

emperor See also:

DECIUS, GAIUS MESSIUS QUINTUS TRAJANUS (2017-251)

Decius.' See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

Round this small See also:

NUCLEUS (Lat. for the kernal of a nut, nux, the stone of fruit)

nucleus of possibility, however, a vast See also:

mass of legendary See also:

MATTER

matter gradually collected. All accounts agree that he was of See also:

GREAT

great stature and singularly handsome, and that this helped him not a little in his evangelistic See also:

WORK

work. But according to a See also:

story reproduced in the New Uniat See also:

ANTHOLOGY

Anthology of Arcudius, and mentioned in See also:

BASIL (Russ. VASILY)

Basil's See also:

MONOLOGUE (from Gr. µovos, alone, and X yos, speech)

Monologue, Christopher was originally a hideous See also:

man-eating See also:

OGRE

ogre, with a See also:

DOG

dog's See also:

FACE (from Lat. fades, derived either from facere, to make, or from a root fa-, meaning " appear "; cf. Gr. cbatvstv)

face, and only received his human semblance, with his See also:

Christian name, at See also:

BAPTISM

baptism. Most of his astounding miracles are of the See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary type. He thrusts his See also:

STAFF (O. Eng. staef, cf. Du. staf, Ger. Stab, &c.; Icel. stafr meant also a written letter, and O. Eng. stafas, the letters of the alphabet; " stave," one of the thin pieces of wood of which a cask is made, is a doublet)

staff into the ground; whereupon it sprouts into a date See also:

palm, and thousands are converted. Courtesans sent to seduce him are turned by his See also:

mere aspect into Christians and martyrs. The Roman See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor is confounded by his insensi- Or Dagnus—perhaps to be identified with Maximinus Daza, See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint emperor (with See also:

GALERIUS [GALERIUS VALERIUS MAXIMIANUS]

Galerius) in the See also:

East 305-311, and See also:

SOLE (Solea)

sole emperor 311-313.bility to the most refined and ingenious tortures. He is roasted over a slow See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire and basted with boiling oil, but tells his tormentors that by the See also:

grace of Jesus See also:

Christ he feels nothing.

When at last, in despair, they cut off his See also:

head, he had converted 48,000 See also:

PEOPLE

people. The more conspicuous of these legends are included in the Mozarabic See also:

BREVIARY (Lat. breviarium, abridgment, epitome)

Breviary and See also:

MISSAL

Missal, and are given in the See also:

THIRTY

thirty-third See also:

SERMON (Lat. sermo, a discourse)

sermon of See also:

Peter See also:

DAMIEN, FATHER

Damien, but the best-known story is that which is given in the See also:

GOLDEN

Golden See also:

LEGEND (through the French from the med. Lat. legenda, things to be read, from legere, to read)

Legend of Jacopus de Voragine. According to this, Christopher—or rather Reprobus, as he was then called—was a See also:

GIANT (O.E. geant, through Fr. giant, O.Fr. gaiant, jaiant, jeant, med. pop. Lat. gagante—cf. Ital. gigante—by assimilation from gigantem, ace. of Lat. gigas, Gr. yiyas)

giant of vast stature who was in See also:

SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search of a man stronger than himself, whom he might serve, He See also:

LEFT

left the service of the See also:

king of See also:

CANAAN, CANAANITES

Canaan because the king feared the See also:

DEVIL (Gr. &a,3oXos, " slanderer," from &ctflisXX sty, to slander)

devil, and that of the devil because the devil feared the See also:

CROSS

Cross. He was converted by a See also:

HERMIT

hermit; but as he had neither the See also:

GIFT (a common Teutonic word, cf. Ger. die Gift, gift, das Gift, poison, formed from the Teut. stem gab-, to give, cf. Dutch geven, Ger. geben; in O. Eng. the word appears with initial y, the guttural of later English is due to Scandinavian influence)

gift of See also:

FASTING (from " fast," derived from old Teutonic fastejan; synonyms being the Gr. vnorebety, late Lat. jejunare)

fasting nor that of See also:

prayer, he decided to devote himself to a work of charity, and set himself to carry wayfarers over a bridgeless See also:

RIVER

river. One See also:

day a little See also:

child asked to be taken across, and Christopher took him on his See also:

SHOULDER (in O.E. sculder, cognate with Ger. Schulter, Dutch schouder, Swed. skuldra, &c; the root is unknown)

shoulder. When See also:

HALF

half way over the stream he staggered under what seemed to him a crushing See also:

WEIGHT

weight, but he reached the other See also:

side and then upbraided the child for placing him in peril. "Had I See also:

BORNE, KARL LUDWIG (1786–1837)

borne the whole See also:

WORLD

world on my back," he said, " it could not have weighed heavier than See also:

thou!" " Marvel not!" the child replied, " for thou See also:

HOST

host borne upon thy back the world and him who created it!" It was this story that gave Christopher his immense popularity throughout Western Christendom. See See also:

ROLLAND, JOHN (fl. 1560)

Rolland. Acta Sanct. vi. 146; Guenebault, Dict. iconographique See also:

DES

des .attribute des figures et des lcgendes des See also:

SAINTS, BATTLE OF THE

saints (See also:

PAR (Lat. par, equal)

Par., 185o) ; See also:

Smith and See also:

WACE, HENRY (1836– )

Wace, Dict. of Christ. Biog. (See also:

LONDON

London, 1877, &c., 4 vols.) ; A.

Sinemus, See also:

Die Legende vom h. Christophorus (See also:

Hanover, 1868) ; and other literature cited in See also:

Herzog-Hauck, Realencyk. iv. 6o.

End of Article: CHRISTOPHER, SAINT (Christophorus, Christoferus)

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