Editing Hubert of Liège (section)

==Spiritual conversion==
[[File:Wilhelm Räuber Hubertus.jpg|thumb|300px|"The Conversion of Holy Hubertus", Wilhelm Räuber (1849–1926)]]
Hubert's wife died giving birth to their son Floribert, and his grief prompted him to retreat from the court. He withdrew into the forests of the Ardennes and gave himself up entirely to hunting.<ref name=cds>[https://www.countydeerstalking.co.uk/blog/how-did-saint-hubertus-become-the-patron-saint-of-hunters "How did Saint Hubertus Become the Patron Saint of Hunters?", County Deer Stalking, January 15, 2019]</ref>

Legend holds that on a Good Friday morning, while the faithful were in church, Hubert was hunting in the forest. As he pursued a magnificent stag or [[hart (deer)|hart]], the animal turned and Hubert was astounded to see a crucifix floating between its antlers. He heard a voice saying: "Hubert unless thou turnest to the Lord and leadest a holy life, thou shalt quickly go down into Hell." Hubert dismounted and prostrated himself, and after asking "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me do?" is told, "Go and seek [[Lambert of Maastricht|Lambert]], and he will instruct you."<ref name=cds/>

The story of the stag first appears in one of the later legendary [[hagiography|hagiographies]] (''Bibliotheca hagiographic Latina'', nos. 3994–4002) and has been appropriated from the legend of [[Saint Eustace]] a.k.a. Placidus (Placidus was Eustace's name before he was baptized).<ref>{{cite web |title= Saint Eustace |website= Treasures of Heaven |publisher= [[Columbia University]] |access-date= September 25, 2024 |url= https://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/treasuresofheaven/saints/Eustace.php |quote= According to legend, the Roman general Placidus was out hunting a stag when an image of Jesus on the cross appeared between the animal's antlers, inspiring him to convert to Christianity and adopt the name Eustace.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Hubert, St |volume= 13 |last= Delehaye |first= Hippolyte |author-link= Hippolyte Delehaye | page = 846 |short= 1 }}</ref> The stag story was only attributed to Saint Hubert in the 15th century.