kinges of Coloin

Middle English

Alternative forms

• kynges of Coloyne, kyngis of Coleyn

Etymology

So called from the popular belief that Archbishop Rainald of Cologne brought the Magi’s bones to Cologne Cathedral (wherein they are still housed in the reliquary of the Shrine of the Three Kings) from Milan in 1164, after they were presented to him as a gift by Frederick Barbarossa, who had obtained the relics after capturing the city in 1158.

Proper noun

kinges of Coloin

1. the kings of Cologne (the Biblical Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar)

References

• “king (n.)”, sense 1a.(c) in the Middle English Dictionary (1954–2001)