Hubert

Hubert, St., Bishop of Liege and patron of sportsmen, was the son of Bertrancl, Duke of Guienne, and a courtier of Theodorie and Pepin of Heristal. Tradition relates that he was, when a layman, passionately fond of the chase, and that the appearance of a stag with a crucifix between his horns converted him as he was hunting on one Good Friday. He entered a monastery, and afterwards, when bishop, built a cathedral at Liege. One hundred years after his death, in 727, his body was translated to an abbey in the Ardennes, around which a town sprang up, owing to the resort thither of innumerable pilgrims. There is still a considerable traffic in medals, which are considered to be of efficacy as a preservative from hydrophobia. A picture in the abbey-church at St. Hubert illustrates the stag episode.