LATE 15TH CENTURY

During the fourth century, St. Adrianus, patron saint of knights, jailers, executioners and founder, served as an officer in the Roman emperor Maximinus' army during his persecution of the martyrs. He is typically shown as an armed soldier holding an anvil and hammer (used to torture the martyrs) in one hand and with a lion, a symbol of his courage, at his feet. Other figures of St. Adrianus include one attributed to Nicolaus Gerhaert, circa 1400, at the Muses Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels, another at St. George's church, Nordlingen, and a third at Notre-Dame, Nieuwpoort.