The Germans, after a month has passed since the winter solstice, celebrate a most curious custom. They gather at each others' homes, and at the temples, and the fields, and eat, and drink, and make sacrifices to Mercury. They shout unto the heavens for many hours, and throw swine back and forth until the sun sets.
-- Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, De origine et situ Germanorum
I have the strength of twelve men, for my defensive line is pure.
-- St. Vincent Lombardi
10th Century Icon of St. Vincent Lombardi. The representation of the Chiefs as a Dragon is allegorical.
Most people are aware of the pre-Christian origins of many of our holidays, like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. Many have forgotten, though, that one of our most important holidays also has its origins deep in the mists of history, long before Jesus of Nazareth began preaching in Judea. I refer, of course, to Super Bowl Sunday.
The Roman historian Tacitus tells us that as part of the Germans' celebrations for their god he identified as Mercury (believed by modern historians to be the same as Wotan in the Germanic pantheon, or Odin from Norse sources), they would toss pigs back and forth while drinking and feasting. For reasons that are obscure, during the Migration Period this grew to become one of their most important religious festivals, eclipsing the ceremonial duels between the sixty five greatest warriors of the land held every spring, and even the Serius Mundi, as Roman authors called it, held every fall.
As Christianity began to spread among the Germans, the Church realized that they would not easily give up their most important holiday. Thus, as they would later do with Christmas and Easter, they adapted Super Bowl Sunday to a Christian theme to speed Germanic acceptance of Christianity.
The saint whose career proved to be the best match for Super Bowl Sunday was Vincentius of Langobardia, commonly known in English as St. Vincent Lombardi. His early life is obscure, but he was probably born ~610 AD in Milan. He first enters history in 663 AD as a general in the armies of Grimoald, King of the Lombards. The Lombards had had many successes in Italy, but were facing an invasion by the Chiefs, a still pagan tribe from the East, led by their king Henricus Strammo. On account of Grimoald's illness, Vincentius was charged with defending Lombardy from Chieftain depredations.
On a January afternoon in 667, the armies met in battle. The first half of the battle, according to contemporary accounts, was fierce, with the Chiefs almost gaining the upper hand. During the second half, though, a series of successes led to Vincentius defeating the Chiefs and forcing their King to accept baptism. Chastened, the Chiefs retreated.
For his role in saving Lombardy and the rest of Italy, Vincentius was honored by the Pope and given a ring. (Vincentius was Catholic, but his religion was tolerated by Grimoald, who, while an Arian, was married to a Catholic.) After his death in 670, reports of miracles attributed to him and his relics, primarily the ring and his hat, began to spread. He was eventually canonized in 720 by Pope St. Gregory II.
Adapting St. Vincent Lombardi's story to the old Super Bowl Sunday holiday help spread Christianity among the Germanic peoples, but as time passed, his memory, and the memory of the original holiday, faded. As we gather with our friends and loved ones down at the bar or in our living rooms this Super Bowl Sunday season, let's take a moment to reflect on the holiday's origins, and St. Vincent Lombardi's story.
