Franco-flemish School, Saint-hubert, Oil On Copper, 17th Century.

Franco-Flemish School, Saint Hubert in a wooded setting observing the deer with the cross between its antlers, oil on copper, France, ca. 1650.

Saint Hubert, bishop, known as the patron saint of hunters. According to legend, one day while hunting (Sunday), he saw a deer appear carrying a luminous cross between its antlers. This vision is said to have pushed him to abandon his worldly life to devote himself to God.

From a scientific point of view, this “vision” can be explained as a hallucination due to fatigue, fasting, or strong emotion. But it is also likely that this story was invented or embellished long after his death, to convey a strong religious message: conversion and renunciation.

Saint Hubert is also invoked against rabies, at a time when medicine did not yet know how to treat it. Symbolic rituals were used (such as the “Saint Hubertage”) which mainly had a psychological effect.