How to get a head in France

We have walked through over 100 villages, and each one has a church.
We almost always go in and pause for a moment of reflection. Many have stained glass windows whose images represent the patron saint (or saints) of the church.


This is Saint Leon.  Unlike most of the saints we've seen, he is holding his head instead of wearing it (although for some reason his Halo remains in the usual spot).  It seems Leon was ransacking a mosque, looking for treasure, when he was caught and beheaded.

He became a saint with the act of beheading, and appearantly had the presence of mind to grab hold of it before his head rolled away.  Perhaps the bar for sainthood was lower back then, or I've missed some of the story, but here he stands, holding his head for all eternity.

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Comments

Unknown said…
Very interesting!