The second I saw the exterior of the House of the Black Heads in Riga, I was intrigued. And, I was not intrigued because the Brotherhood of Blackheads is an association of local unmarried male merchants, ship owners and foreigners active in Latvia during the early 1400s, I was intrigued because this obviously gorgeous modern-looking building in the Town Hall Square has a black man and silhouettes of black men featured prominently on the building’s exterior. 

The Black Heads name and black men featured in the iconography would make one thing this building and association had something to do with actual black men. But the only thing I could find regarding the origin of the Brotherhood of Blackheads name came oddly enough, from the brotherhood’s supposed patron saint, the black Egyptian Christian Saint Maurice and his likeness depicted as a dark-skinned man. Why this group of white males chose black male faces and the name of ‘Black Heads’ to identify their guild, well, no one really knows. 

So, let’s explore who is Saint Maurice? 

According to the hagiographical material (biography of saints or venerated persons), he was an Egyptian, born in Thebes, an ancient city in Upper Egypt, in 250 AD. 

In “The Legend of St. Maurice,” Jeff Bowersox writes about how the legend came to life. “In the mid-fifth century Eucherius, bishop of Lyons (ca. 434-450) wrote a letter to his fellow bishop Salvius that included the oldest known account of the martyrdom of St. Maurice. Eucherius credits the story, which he has heard third-hand, to bishop Theodore of Octodurum in eastern Italy.”

Bowersox continues, “In the tale, a Theban legion of Christian soldiers were ordered by the evil Emperor Maximianus to persecute fellow Christians in Acaunum (present-day Saint-Maurice-en-Valais, Switzerland). Under the command of the noble Maurice, the legion refused to carry out the ungodly orders, declaring that their oath to God took precedence over their oath to the Emperor. The Emperor first decimated the legion–killing every tenth man–but when this punishment failed to overcome their resistance he ordered them slaughtered wholesale. Following Christ’s example, Maurice and his men lay down their arms and offered themselves freely to their executioners,” from the website https://blackcentraleurope.com 

The martyrdom or killing of Saint Maurice and his men occurred in the year 286. He is the patron saint of several organizations from the Brotherhood of the Blackheads to the Vatican’s Swiss Guard. And, there’s the Abby of St. Maurice, Agaunum located in the village of Saint-Maurice near Geneva, Switzerland.

So, what is the historical meaning of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads?

Young, unmarried merchants, shipowners and foreigners residing in Riga chose Saint Maurice as their patron. He was traditionally portrayed as a black soldier, an Egyptian martyr, so they (the Blackhead Brotherhood of what I can find as all white men) started calling themselves the Black Heads. The lifestyle of these travelling merchants, of protecting their goods during the long journeys, was similar to that of soldiers, so Black Heads started calling themselves the knights of king Arthur (St. Maurice is traditionally depicted as a black soldier in knight’s armor). Then in 1413, the Brotherhood of Black Heads was first registered in Riga. The brotherhood’s, not so politically correct name for today’s social standing, originated from St. Maurice who is considered as one of the brotherhood’s patron saints. Another patron saint is Mary, the mother of Jesus and venerated since early Christianity, as the holiest and greatest saint for being chosen by God to bear and raise Jesus. Her likeness is also featured as an art piece in front of the brotherhood’s Riga building.

Exit through the gift shop but where are the black head souvenirs?

Since the art and statues throughout the Brotherhood of Blackheads featured black men and a sculpture of one woman, I thought there might be something in the fully stocked souvenir shop that I could purchase. Maybe even a copy of the beautiful sculpture of Saint Maurice seen inside the building.  But there was not one single item in the Brotherhood of Blackheads souvenir shop featuring any of the black heads, faces or statues for sale in the souvenir shop, not even a magnet. And, I looked. And, when I couldn’t find one, I asked two different sales people just to make sure. And, one of them said he’s never seen a black head, face, body or statue souvenir in the shop.

Let’s explore the House of the Black Heads.

Walk through the House of the Black Heads in Riga, Latvia, with me as we see the beautiful exterior and interior of a building first built in 1334 and fully rebuilt in 1999 that features the iconography of black male heads, faces and bodies said to be attributed to the brotherhood’s patron saint, the African, Christian, soldier and commander who lost his life for refusing to kill other Christians, Saint Maurice.