| Summary: | This study deals with the use of the Three Magi as an image of kingship in the medieval West. Based on textual documents, ceremonials and iconographic sources, the thesis traces the development of the association between the medieval king and the Three Magi in all the kingdoms where this phenomenon is attested. The study attempts to explain its emergence and the specifics of its development during the whole period when sources give evidence of it, that is between the 12th and the 16th centuries.First, the thesis wishes to show to what extent the status and the virtues attributed to the Three Magi during the Middle Ages reflect those bestowed on the medieval king, or claimed by him. Next, the study explores the use of these Biblical figures in order to legitimize the medieval king and to depict him in his interactions with other social actors.In summary, this study highlights the potential of the Three Magi to construct the image of the ideal king during the middle Ages: virtuous, legitimate and perceived through his relations with other kings, with the Papacy and with his subjects. However, despite its obvious benefits, the association of the kings with the Three Magi does not always operate in favor of the monarch. This thesis shows that the inclusion of a medieval king in the scene of the Adoration of the Magi affords the possibility to portray, on the one hand, a legitimate and powerful king, and on the other hand, a king subjected or inferior to the authority of a bishop, of the Pope or of a town. Therefore, views concerning the ideal kingship are as varied as the authors and the commissioners who conceived the association of the kings with the Three Magi
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