We three kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.
The Christmas carol "We Three Kings" tells the story of the Wise Men from the East who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. But who were the three kings, otherwise known as the Magi or Wise Men?
According to tradition dating back to medieval times, their names were Balthasar, Caspar (or Gaspar), and Melchior. They are often depicted as representing the three races. The Bible says they came from the East, but exactly where is not known. Arabia, Babylon, and Persia are popular choices. According to Armenian legend, Balthasar was king of Arabia; Caspar was king of India, and Melchior was king of Persia.
An eight century saint, Bede the Venerable, described the kings this way: "The first was called Melchior; he was an old man, with white hair and long beard; he offered gold to the Lord as to his king. The second, Gaspar by name, young, beardless, of ruddy hue, offered to Jesus his gift of incense, the homage due to Divinity. The third, of black complexion, with heavy beard, was called Baltasar; the myrrh he held in his hands prefigured the death of the Son of man."
The Bible, however, does not describe the kings or reveal their names. In fact, it does not call them kings at all, but simply Magi, or Wise Men. The Magi were a Median (Kurdish) priestly caste who rose to power in ancient Persia. They were held in awe as highly educated scientists and scholars who could interpret dreams and even control demons, but little is known of their religion. Early Church fathers believed that the Wise Men of the nativity tale were Persian magicians.
The Magi of the Nativity were probably important men in their own country and may well have been of noble or royal birth, but there is no evidence to back this up. The idea that they were kings arose in the Middle Ages and was based on earlier Biblical prophecies about kings bearing gifts.
We can't even say for sure how many Magi visited Jesus. The Bible does not specify three. According to Eastern tradition, the number was 12. The Western tradition of three wise men probably arises from the three gifts they brought to Jesus.
Tradition has it that in later years the Wise Men were baptized by St. Thomas the Apostle. All three became bishops and spent the rest of their lives spreading Christianity. They lived to be over 100 years old and died within a few days of each other in the city of Sewa (modern day Sebaste in Armenia), where they were buried. Their remains were brought to Constantinople in the 4th or 5th century and later moved to Milan. In the 12th century they fell into the hands of Holy Roman emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who gave them to the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany. The archbishop built a cathedral for the relics in Cologne, where they remain to this day.
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