Angela
Elite member
- Messages
- 21,823
- Reaction score
- 12,329
- Points
- 113
- Ethnic group
- Italian
Well, let's say what might be the man whose bones repose in Bari and have been venerated as those of St. Nicholas look like.
See:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristi...-santa-claus-really-looked-like/#6862042a29a1
"They represented the remains of a male individual who was over 70 years old at the time of his death. He was of average height for the time, which was only about 5'4", with a slender-to-average build. St. Nicholas' short, wide face had wide cheekbones, a broad forehead, and a slightly jutting chin. His medium-width nose showed evidence of a healed fracture. As is common in people of that advanced age, St. Nicholas had numerous decayed teeth, as well as chronic arthritis of the spine and pelvis."
"Based on this thorough analysis of the skeleton, numerous reconstructions have been made over the years in an attempt to reveal what St. Nicholas -- and therefore Santa Claus -- looked like. The most recent reconstruction was undertaken in December of 2014 by forensic specialist Caroline Wilkinson at Liverpool John Moores University. For it, she used tissue depth information from men from Turkey, where St. Nicholas was born, along with CGI techniques to propose the visage of Santa."
So, take it with a grain of salt.
"St. Nicholas was born in 270 AD in Patara, in modern-day Turkey, and after losing his parents at a young age, was raised by his uncle, the bishop of Myra. Nicholas eventually took over that role from his uncle. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Nicholas was imprisoned for his faith for five years, which possibly exacerbated the debilitating arthritis discovered on his bones. It wouldn't be his first run-in with the law.By 325 AD, Nicholas was heavily involved in the First Council of Nicaea, where he became so furious with the heretic bishop Arius that they got into a fist fight. This may be where Nicholas suffered the broken nose that Martino discovered many centuries later. Nicholas was thrown in jail for hitting the other bishop, but he spent just one night there. In the morning, jailers discovered Nicholas had escaped from his chains, and the emperor Constantine ordered him freed and reinstated as bishop of Myra.
After his death in 343 AD, the body of St. Nicholas was buried in Myra, Turkey, and it became a popular pilgrimage spot. But in the spring of 1087, a group of Christian sailors based in Bari, Italy, began to get worried because Myra was being overtaken from the Roman Empire by Seljuk Turks. Perhaps fearing for the safety of Nicholas's bones in a potential Muslim conquest, or perhaps realizing they could capitalize on the confusion sparked by the battle in order to gain control over the relics, the sailors seized most of Nicholas's bones and brought them back to Bari. A few bits remained in Myra, where they are showcased to this day."
See:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristi...-santa-claus-really-looked-like/#6862042a29a1
"They represented the remains of a male individual who was over 70 years old at the time of his death. He was of average height for the time, which was only about 5'4", with a slender-to-average build. St. Nicholas' short, wide face had wide cheekbones, a broad forehead, and a slightly jutting chin. His medium-width nose showed evidence of a healed fracture. As is common in people of that advanced age, St. Nicholas had numerous decayed teeth, as well as chronic arthritis of the spine and pelvis."
"Based on this thorough analysis of the skeleton, numerous reconstructions have been made over the years in an attempt to reveal what St. Nicholas -- and therefore Santa Claus -- looked like. The most recent reconstruction was undertaken in December of 2014 by forensic specialist Caroline Wilkinson at Liverpool John Moores University. For it, she used tissue depth information from men from Turkey, where St. Nicholas was born, along with CGI techniques to propose the visage of Santa."
So, take it with a grain of salt.
"St. Nicholas was born in 270 AD in Patara, in modern-day Turkey, and after losing his parents at a young age, was raised by his uncle, the bishop of Myra. Nicholas eventually took over that role from his uncle. Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Nicholas was imprisoned for his faith for five years, which possibly exacerbated the debilitating arthritis discovered on his bones. It wouldn't be his first run-in with the law.By 325 AD, Nicholas was heavily involved in the First Council of Nicaea, where he became so furious with the heretic bishop Arius that they got into a fist fight. This may be where Nicholas suffered the broken nose that Martino discovered many centuries later. Nicholas was thrown in jail for hitting the other bishop, but he spent just one night there. In the morning, jailers discovered Nicholas had escaped from his chains, and the emperor Constantine ordered him freed and reinstated as bishop of Myra.
After his death in 343 AD, the body of St. Nicholas was buried in Myra, Turkey, and it became a popular pilgrimage spot. But in the spring of 1087, a group of Christian sailors based in Bari, Italy, began to get worried because Myra was being overtaken from the Roman Empire by Seljuk Turks. Perhaps fearing for the safety of Nicholas's bones in a potential Muslim conquest, or perhaps realizing they could capitalize on the confusion sparked by the battle in order to gain control over the relics, the sailors seized most of Nicholas's bones and brought them back to Bari. A few bits remained in Myra, where they are showcased to this day."