The Count of St. Germain (Le Comte de St. Germain, Count Saint-Germain) was an "nobleman", adventurer, alchemist, polyglot and musician who lived in various European countries in the 18th century.
Nobleman up there is in quotes because his actual familial origins are unclear. He would claim to be descended from nobility or royalty from various places (from Transylvania to Spain), but also used several names throughout his travels (admittedly not that unusual in and of itself, as "Captain Gars" and "Ralph Robinson" could attest) and deliberately obfuscated his backstory. What does seem to be actual historical fact is that he spent time in England (where he was arrested for suspected espionage), the Dutch Republic, France (specifically the court of Louis XV), and Russia mingling with European high society. He died in 1784 in Schleswig, Germany. Two books have been attributed to him: the esoteric La Très Sainte Trinosophie and an untitled manuscript called the "Triangular book".
There are, however, four major details that keeps him from being written off as another self-mythologizing eccentric European socialite and allows him to remain in the popular imagination.
Firstly: Le Comte was The Charmer and The Social Expert par excellence, who was able to work his way into fairly high places time and again, making a mostly-favorable splash while always being able to use his wits, some well-placed bribes, or his connections to get him out of any sticky situation.
Secondly: He was practically Zelig in terms of who he ran into. If there was someone of note in Western Europe during the "long" 18th century, he probably had a direct or indirect role to play in their story. The historical documents make it clear that he did in fact work in a diplomatic role for Louis XV (albeit he later got in trouble for exceeding his authority). It is known that Giacomo Casanova ran into him a few times and found that "as a conversationalist he was unequalled." This meant that he left a much larger footprint on history than many others of his kind. This might have been necessary due to the fact that when he died (or as some insist, "died", more on that later), his 'estate' was less than 90 Reichsthaelrs and an assortment of clothes and personal items, and while probably not always so poor he almost certainly had to keep moving and schmoozing in order to make his finances work, to say nothing of any real or imagined enemies he may have had.
Third: He was a true Renaissance man gifted in a host of skills from music to courtly decorum famous for making himself useful to the powerful, and even more famous for making even more tall claims about himself, including that he could purify gemstones and was immortal. And because of point 1, he was more likely to be believed or at least humored than some random off the street. It is telling that when Voltaire described him as "A man knows everything and who never dies" he was high praise for being only MOSTLY sarcastic.
But it's the fourth part that really draws attention: St. Germain was a skilled chemist, making his money through selling products he made using his skills. What is more, he was a rumored alchemist and handily played up these rumors. Which is why when his aforementioned death was in a factory designed to study alchemy and herbal remedies, people started to talk....
Naturally, rumors about him began to spread — that he helped put Catherine the Great on the Russian throne, that Giacomo Casanova himself was jealous of the count's skill with the ladies, that he was a friend and mentor of Alessandro Cagliostro. Supernatural talk followed him, too (helped along by himself during his life) — that he was immortal, the Wandering Jew, a prophet, an occultist, the possessor of the Philosopher's Stone, the reincarnation of several prominent figures, and so on. There are multiple claimed sightings of him after his recorded death. In fact, Count St. Germain is a major figure in Theosophy and some New Age belief systems.
These rumors about the count would follow him into fiction, which often utilizes Beethoven Was an Alien Spy or Historical Domain Superperson to explain his alchemy, charm, and alleged immortality — such as translating his interest in alchemy as actual magical skill, making him a time traveler or associating him with time, or straight-up making him Long-Lived.
In fiction:
Anime and Manga
- He's one of the magical courtiers in Louis' court in Le Chevalier d'Eon.
- Makes an appearance in cryptid/alien/ghost/psychic/yokai mashup Dandadan as an associate of the alien Kur. Turbo Granny calls him "Hyper Geezer" with some rancor.
- Le Comte is one of the historical characters who appear in Drifters. He is a flamboyant courtier of the Kingdom of Orte.
- Noah's Notes goes with the 'wandering immortal' take on the count.
- Nobunagun: Exclusive to the anime version, he appears as a mysterious immortal person who assists the organization DOGOO against alien invaders.
- In Servamp the Count is still alive and the creator of the other Servamps.
Comic Books
- The Dead Boy Detectives: Le Comte de Saint Germain is stated to be one of the aliases of Gilles de Rais, who had escaped his execution and maintained his immortality.
- In Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu (2002), the Count of St. Germain is initially referred to as a crazy immortal before he's revealed to be one of the aliases of Shang-Chi's immortal crime lord father.
Literature
- Fitting for a story about immortals, he is mentioned in Baccano! to have been a "famous immortal alchemist and peerless information broker". Gustav takes on his surname of St. Germain as a pseudonym.
- A Certain Magical Index: He appears as a body-snatching antagonist. It is revealed that St. Germain never actually existed, but this entity, a sentient virus that possesses host bodies, was created to fill the part due to a lot of people believing in him.
- The Count Saint-Germain is a supporting character in Fate/strange Fake, portrayed as a time-traveling pretty boy and an adviser of Richard I.
- He appears in Gog, claiming to be an immortal Walking the Earth.
- Outlander: The Count of St. Germain is an antagonist in Dragonfly in Amber: a French nobleman rumored to partake in the dark arts.
- The Queen of Spades talks up the Count and alludes to the mystical rumors surrounding him. The winning card trick was said to be learned from him.
- Count Saint-Germain is the antagonistic leader of a secret society in The Ruby Red Trilogy.
- He is the main character of The Saint Germain Series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, which portrays him as an immortal vampire.
- He's a supporting character in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, where he's an immortal former student of Flamel and the husband of Joan of Arc.
Live-Action TV
- Briefly appears in Casanova played by Paul Rhys. He is an acquaintance of the titular character.
- Warehouse 13: The Count of St. Germain is the real identity of Professor Bennett Sutto, an immortal alchemist and brother of Paracelsus.
Tabletop Games
- Very plot-relevant in Unknown Armies, where he's a very powerful sadist.
Video Games
- Le Comte is the herald of Card Shark. He trains the main character into becoming a world-class scammer.
- The count is a character in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, where he's a neutral time traveler with control over time.
- The Count of St. Germain appears in Drowned God as an alchemist who holds half of the Philosopher's Stone.
Visual Novels
- Code:Realize features Saint-Germain as a supporting character. He's characterized as a tasteful, wealthy and affable yet immortal and somewhat sketchy nobleman.
- One of the romanceable vampires in Ikemen Vampire is named for and patterned after St. Germain, a hedonistic nobleman.
Western Animation
- Count St. Germain debuts in the third season of Castlevania (2017), a time traveler with ulterior motives seen frequently writing in a "triangular book".
