Coloman (Colmán)

Coloman (Colmán) (d. 1012), an Irish pilgrim to the Holy Land, was mistaken for a spy because of his strange appearance, and was taken captive, tortured, and hanged at Stockerau, near Vienna, Austria, on 16 July 1012. Later tradition has it that he was the son of Máel-Sechnaill (qv) (d. 1022), high-king of Ireland. He was made a saint by the local populace, possibly out of remorse for the deed and because of his endurance under torture and the many miracles reported from where his body was buried. The Annals of Melk state that his bones were removed by the margrave, Henry I (994–1018), and specially entombed in the Benedictine abbey church at Melk on 13 October 1014, the official date of his translation. He was Landespatron of lower Austria throughout the middle ages, but was replaced as national patron by St Leopold III (d. 1136) in 1663. His cult spread throughout Austria, southern Germany, and Hungary. He was venerated by medieval pilgrims, and many shrines and chapels were erected to him. In Bavaria he became the protector of farm animals. He is represented iconographically as a pilgrim, with a staff, hat, flask, and a rope or withe about his neck, denoting the manner of his martyrdom. His feast-day is 13 October.