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+Russian Icon Painter, Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker Russian, c. 1300 St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum |
Happy Feast of Saint Nicholas, the real saint who became Santa Claus!
I have collected some images of this popular saint that offer a visual explanation of his fascinating history.
Nicholas started out as a devout Christian in a time when that could cost one's life. Later he became a charitable and strong-minded bishop who became the patron saint of mariners. He was given the title "The Wonder Worker" in the eastern Church and was extremely popular in the western Church as well.
But in the last 200 years he has somehow become a jolly old elf. Here is a short visual history of how this happened.
Iconography of Saint Nicholas
There are several strands in the iconography of Saint Nicholas. The simplest are images that depict him as a bishop or bishop-saint. In theses he is frequently seen holding the crozier, the symbol of the role of shepherd of souls which is the duty of a bishop, the miter, which is the distinctive headgear of a bishop, and often one to three golden balls, which represent the alms which the real life Nicholas gave to needy young women as dowries. These images persist the longest.
The story of that benefaction is one of the most popular of images of Saint Nicholas.
However, there are other images that were often extremely popular representations of this particular saint. These involve more legendary events supposed to have been actions of the saint. Among these are the rescue and resuscitation of three young men or boys who had been murdered and pickled by an unscrupulous butcher during a famine, the rescue of mariners at sea during a violent storm, the punishment of a cruel prior and of three condemned men.
Nicholas as Bishop and Saint
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| +Medallion with Bust of Saint Nicholas Byzantine, 9th Century London, British Museum This is a medallion intended for enameling, but apparently unfinished. The image is created by the little strips of metal, in this case gold, that create a sort of line drawing of the image. Each little cell will be filled with the enamel paste, containing ground glass and pigment. When each segment is filled the whole will be heated until the paste has reached the point at which it becomes solidified to create the finished enamelwork. |
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| Saint Nicholas From the Melisande Psalter Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, c. 1131-1143 London, British Library MS Egerton 1139, fol. 209r |
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| Saint Nicholas With Angels and Pilgrims German, c. 1246-1255 Soest, Catholic Chapel of Saint Nicholas |
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| *Giovanni di Benededtto and Workshop, Saint Nicholas From a Book of Hours Italian (Milan), c. 1385-1390 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 757, fol. 396v |
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| *Pietro di Giovanni d'Ambrogio, Saint Nicholas of Bari Italian, c. Mid-1430s New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| *Master of the Hours of Louis of Savoy, Scenes from the Life of Saint Nicholas From the Hours of Louis of Savoy French (Savoy), c. 1445-1460 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9473, fol. 177v |
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| *Saint Nicholas German, c. 1520 Munich, Cathedral of Our Lady |
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| Hans Georg Asam, Saint Nicholas in Glory German, c. 1686-1687 Benediktbeuern, Church of Saint Benedikt |
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| Saint Nicholas of Myra Peruvian, 18th Century Private Collection |
Ordination of Saint Nicholas as Bishop
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| *Mahiet and Workshop, Saint Nicholas Anointed as Bishop From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1335 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Ms-5080 réserve, fol. 307v |
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| *Master of the Livre du Sacre and Workshop, Saint Nicholas Anointed as Bishop From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1370-1380 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS NAF 15942, fol. 18v |
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| *After a design by Jacob Corneliszoon van Oostsanen, Glass Panel of the Anointing of Saint Nicholas as Bishop Dutch, 16th Century New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Medieval Art |
Stories About Saint Nicholas
The Provision of Dowries
This story from the life of Saint Nicholas is judged by to be the most likely to be something that really happened by many scholars. It tells us that while still a young man, not a bishop, Nicholas became aware of the plight of a poor family with three daughters and no son. In order to marry each girl needed a dowry. The dowry was comprised of money, especially gold, and was considered necessary by the family of any potential bridegroom. The girls father could not provide even one sum and certainly not three. Without a husband the girls would have very little financial support when their father died and would, therefore, have to become servants or prostitutes, practically the only options available for a woman in this kind of situation. Taking pity on them Nicholas, whose family was rich, gave three bags or purses of coins to the family. In order to remain anonymous in his generosity he threw the bags through the window of their house at night. All four inhabitants are usually shown in bed. This makes the illustrations of his deed so interesting.
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| Saint Nicholas Providing the Dowries Italian, c. 1278-1279 Rome, Lateran Palace, Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum |
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| +Saint Nicholas Providing Dowries for the Three Girls From Livre d'images de Madame Marie Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1285-1290 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS NAF 16251, fol. 90v |
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| +Ambrogio Lorenzetti, The Charity of Saint Nicholas Italian, c. 1330-1340 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| +Bicci di Lorenzo, Saint Nicholas Providing Dowries Italian, c. 1433-1435 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| *Mahiet and Workshop, Saint Nicholas Giving Alms From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1335 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Ms-5080 réserve, fol. 307r |
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| *Saint Nicholas Giving Alms From a Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine German, 1362 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek MS Cgm 6, fol. 8r |
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| *Giovanni di Benededtto and Workshop, Saint Nicholas Giving Alms From a Missal Italian (Milan), c. 1385-1390 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 757, fol. 363v |
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| Master of Jean Rolin or Master of the Dunois Hours, Charity of Saint Nicholas From the Hours of Simon de Varie French (Paris), 1455 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 74 G 37, fol. 84r |
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| +Henri de Vermay II, Saint Nicholas Giving Dowries to the Three Girls French, c. 1630 Valenciennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts |
Saint Nicholas Rescuing Three Boys From the Pickling Barrel
This odd story is usually considered to be a fable, although fables are frequently based on actual fact. In this story there is a serious famine in the city of Myra. During the famine, an evil, but enterprising, butcher selected three of the less emaciated boys (or youths or young clerics) killed them and placed their bodies in barrels of his pickling brine, intending to pass them off as ham and ham substitutes. In prayer Saint Nicholas had a vision of their location. Going to the butcher shop he opened the barrels and prayed for the boys to come to life again, which they did.
This particular story was widely popular and examples survive from a very long period of time.
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| *Saint Nicholas and the Three Boys From a Lectionary French, 12th Century Charleville-Mézières, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 0258 (vol. 01) |
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| *Saint Nicholas and the Three Pickled Boys English, First Half of the 14th Century York, Minster |
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| Saint Nicholas Rescuing the Three Boys From the Stowe Breviary English (Norwich), c. 1322-1325 London, British Library MS Stowe 12, fol. 225 |
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| *Richard de Montbaston, Saint Nicholas Saves the Three Boys From a Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine French (Paris), 1348 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 241, fol. 10v |
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| *Master of the Mazarine, Saint Nicholas and the Three Boys From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1400 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10538, fol. 223r |
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| +Gentile da Fabriano, Saint Nocolas Rescuing the Three Young Men Italian, 1425 Vatican City State, Pinacoteca Vaticana |
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| +Bicci di Lorenzo, Saint Nicholas Rescuing Three Youths Italian, c. 1433-1435 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| *Saint Nicholas and the Three Boys From a Book of Hours French, c. 1450-1475 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 1175, fol. 146v |
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| +The Rambures Master, Saint Nicholas and the Three Boys From a Book of Hours French (Amiens), c. 1455-1465 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 194, fol.152v |
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| *Georges Trubert, Saint Nicholas and the Three Boys From the Diurnal of Rene, King of Sicily French (Nancy), c. 1492-1493 Paris, Bbiliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10491, fol. 217v |
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| *Saint Nicholas with the Three Boys in the Pickling Tub Flemish, c. 1500 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Medieval Art |
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| +Jean Bourdichon, Saint Nicholas and the Three Boys From Grandes heures d'Anne de Bretagne French (Tours), c. 1503-1508 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9474, fol. 183v |
The Rescue of Sailors in a Violent Storm
Another popular iconographic subject was the rescue of mariners from a violent storm at sea.
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| *Master of the Livre du Sacre and Workshop, Saint Nicholas Saving Mariners From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1370-1380 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS NAF 15942, fol. 18v |
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| *Gentile da Fabriano, Saint Nicholas Saving a Ship Italian, 1425 Vatican City, Pinacoteca Vaticana |
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| *Master Francois and Workshop, The Miracle of Saint Nicholas, Saving the Sailors From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), 1463 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 51, fol. 118r |
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| *After a design by Jacob Corneliszoon van Oostsanen, Glass Panel of Saint Nicholas as Patron of Sailors Dutch, 16th Century New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Department of Medieval Art |
The Cruel Prior
Another story about the activities of Saint Nicholas comes from the Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais, a thirteenth century Dominican scholar, who wrote what amounted to a compendium of all knowledge as it stood at that time. In other words, a medieval encyclopedia.In this story, the prior of a monastery was cruel to the monks under his jurisdiction. So, they prayed for the intercession of God, who sent Saint Nicholas (already deceased and in heaven) to punish the cruel prior. This Saint Nicholas did by hauling the prior out of bed and beating him with a switch.
It seems likely that this rather astonishing story is the origin of the switch sometimes found in their stockings or shoes by bad girls and boys (along with some coal perhaps) following a visit from Saint Nicholas.
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| *Mahiet and Workshop, The Cruel Prior From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1335 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Ms-5080 réserve, fol. 312r |
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| *Master Francois and Workshop, The Miracle of Saint Nicholas, The Cruel Prior From a Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), 1463 Par, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 51, fol. 122r |
The Transformation into Santa Claus
In the course of the nineteenth century, in both Europe and America, Saint Nicholas began to transform from the strictly religious bishop into something a bit different. He never quite lost his religious overtones in Europe, in spite of the hostility to saints in the Protestant countries; while in America he transformed into something entirely different, a jolly old elf, with virtually no overtones of his religious origins.In Nineteenth-Century Europe
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| Saint Nicholas, Reworked from a 16th Century Portrait of Charles V Dutch, c. 1814-1830 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| Brepols and Dierckxzoon, Saint Nicholas Dutch, c. 1850-1900 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| Jan de Haan, Entry of Saint Nicholas Dutch, 1870 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| Sinterklaas in a Bookstore Dutch, 1873 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| *Willy Sluiter, Jaarbeurs Cover of De Nieuwe Amsterdamer, 2 March 1918 Dutch, 1918 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
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| *Andreas Untersberger, Alter Freund Sankt Nikolaus From Fliegende Blaetter, 159.1923, No. 4090, p. 197 German (Munich),. 1923 Heidelberg, The Heidelberg University Library In this German version of an early 20th century Saint Nicholas, the vestments and regalia of a bishop have been swapped for an American style Santa hat, but the figure of Saint Nicholas is shown arranging the figures of a creche scene, so it remains distinctly within the Christian context. |
In the United States
While the European Sinterklaas retained some of his bishop's attire, the American version turned him into something else. By the middle of the twentieth century he had become merely an elf in a sleigh drawn by reindeer.
While the European Sinterklaas retained some of his bishop's attire, the American version turned him into something else. By the middle of the twentieth century he had become merely an elf in a sleigh drawn by reindeer.
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| Arthur J. Stansbury, The Children's Friend American, 1821 New York, William Gilley and Company |
This is, no doubt, due to the influence of the poem published in 1844 and written by the New Yorker Clement Clarke Moore called "A Visit From Saint Nicholas". The poem describes not a solemn bishop who rides a horse but a tiny elf who drives a miniature sleigh loaded with toys and powered by a team of "eight tiny reindeer". You can read the poem here: https://poets.org/poem/visit-st-nicholas However, it is clear from the 1821 illustration just above that an idea similar to this had been in circulation twenty years before the poem was published.
American illustrators and artists were quick to give visual form to the image conjured up by the popular poem.
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Illustration for "T'was the Night Before Christmas"
Poem by Clement Clark Moore
Boston, L. Prang and Company, 1864, Page 11
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| Illustration for "T'was the Night Before Christmas" Poem by Clement Clark Moore Boston, L. Prang and Company, 1864, Page 12 |
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| Thomas Nast, Illustration for "T'was the Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clark Moore American, 1869 New York, McLoughlin Brothers |
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| Thomas Nast, Merry Old Santa Claus Illustration from Harper's Weekly American, 1881 |
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| Christmas Postcard American, Early 20th Century New York, New York Public Library Digital Collection |
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| Christmas Postcard American, c. 1900-1919 New York, New York Public Library Digital Collection |
Santa was given his definitive American form by two illustrators who worked for The Saturday Evening Post in the first half of the twentieth century, J. C. Leyendecker and Norman Rockwell.
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| J.C. Leydendecker, Santa Behind a Window The Saturday Evening Post American, 1919 |
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| Norman Rockwell, Christmas The Saturday Evening Post American, 1927 Note that this Santa has a halo, linking him with his religious past. |
By the middle of the century, Santa was very much the figure we see today. A memorable and long-running series of ads for Coca Cola only cemented this persona in people's minds.
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| Haddon Sundblom, "They Knew What I Wanted" American, 1945 |
The only reminder of his real life and sanctity were: his red suit, an echo of the red vestments worn at Masses on the feast days of martyred saints; his pointy hat, an echo of the bishop's miter, but of softer material; his appearance at night and his generosity.
© M. Duffy, 2017. In 2024 I added much new material and refreshed many images from the original publication.
+ Indicates an updated image.
* Indicates a new image.
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