Martyrs, died Agaunum (now Saint Maurice), Switzerland c286 According to the legend, the Theban legion of which Maurice was the leader, composed entirely of Christians, had been sent by Emperor Maximian Herculius into Gaul to suppress the Bagandre revolt. When ordered to sacrifice to the gods in thanksgiving for a victory, they refused. The troops were decimated several times, and the remainder finally massacred together. Maurice is the patron of many places in Switzerland, Piedmont, France, and Germany; of soldiers, the Swiss Guard of the Pope; swordsmiths, and dyers; he is invoked against gout and cramps. Represented as a knight full armor, bearing a standard and a palm; in Italian art he is portrayed with a red cross on his breast, and this has become the badge of the Sardinian Order of Saint Maurice. Relics at Magdeburg. Feast, Roman Calendar, September 22,. See also, patron saints index.
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