The Three Kings or Wise Men have been immortalised in popular carols and famous paintings. But not much else is known about them.
The Story of the Wise Men
They are supposed to have come from the East, accurately calculated the event of the birth of a King, diligently followed a star, and travelled far in search of the new born king. And yes, they did bring expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Other than castigating them mercilessly for their choice of gifts as being absolutely inappropriate, modern scholarship or media do not seem to have anything to add.
So, who were these three Wise Men? In the New Testament, Matthew gives a description of the wise men that came from the east in search of the new born king of the Jews. But nothing is said about where exactly they came from or even what their names were. Other sources (John of Hildesheim’s Historia Trium Regum) however, have been more forthcoming. The three Kings of Orient were Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar of “Ind, Chaldea, and Persia,” respectively.
The Wise Men from the East
One of the three wise men, Melchior is said to have come from India, known for its affinity for gold. Gold crowns and ornaments were routinely associated with royalty, and as such it is not surprising that Melchior came up with the idea of gold as a gift fit for a King. Hildesheim describes him as the “smallest in stature,” and shortest of the three.
The second wise man came from the land of the biblical Queen of Sheba. The land was known for its incense, which “drippeth out of certain trees in the manner of gum.” And so Balthazar brought incense as his gift.
The third wise man, Gaspar, is believed to be from Tarsus in Ethiope. Here “myrrh groweth more plentifully than in any other place in the world.” According to Hildesheim, Gaspar was the tallest of the three, and of a dark complexion.
The Wise Men after Bethlehem
The three had made their own calculations and come to the same conclusion independent of each other. They happened to meet at the gates of the city of Jerusalem and then proceeded together on their common pursuit. Once they had accomplished their mission and eluded Herod’s machinations, they returned together as far as the borders of Ind, where they built a chapel in honour of the holy Infant. They resolved to meet at the spot every year and eventually be buried there when the time came.
Final Resting Place in Cologne
But their days of travel were far from over. Around 330 AD, Queen Helena, the mother of Constantine, collected their remains along with various other relics and moved it all to Constantinople. They were laid to rest at the Church of Saint Sophia. Later on in 1164, Frederick I, the Holy Roman Emperor, gifted the remains to the Archbishop of Cologne in appreciation of his help in war. And at the Cathedral in Cologne in Germany, reputed to be the most magnificent in Christendom to this day, the three wise men finally rest in peace.
