Combing continued to be used as a means of torture during the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire. The "Acts of St. Blaise", a Greek text describing the 3rd century Armenian bishop Saint Blaise, recount how he was captured by the governor of Cappadocia and beaten, combed, and beheaded for not renouncing Christianity. Eventually becoming a popular saint in Medieval Europe and venerated as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, the frequent depiction of St. Blaise in iconography with the iron combs of his martyrdom led to his adoption as the patron saint of wool combers in particular and the wool trade in general.