Saint symbolism

Dutch Book of Prayers from the mid-fifteenth century. Group of five saints. From left to right, Saint Joseph, Saint James the Great, Saint Eligius, Saint Hermes, and Saint Ghislain, with their emblems.

Christianity has used symbolism from its very beginnings.^[1] Each saint has a story and a reason why he or she led an exemplary life. Symbols have been used to tell these stories throughout the history of the Church. A number of Christian saints are traditionally represented by a symbol or iconic motif associated with their life, termed an attribute or emblem, in order to identify them. The study of these forms part of iconography in art history. They were particularly used so that the illiterate could recognize a scene, and to give each of the saints something of a personality in art. They are often carried in the hand by the saint.

Attributes often vary with either time or geography, especially between Eastern Christianity and the West. Orthodox images more often contained inscriptions with the names of saints, so the Eastern repertoire of attributes is generally smaller than the Western. Many of the most prominent saints, like Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist can also be recognised by a distinctive facial type – as can Christ. In the case of later saints their actual historical appearance can also be used; Saint Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444) is one of the earliest whose distinctive appearance was well-known from early prints and is nearly always used by artists. Some attributes are general, such as the palm frond carried by martyrs.

The use of a symbol in a work of art depicting a saint reminds people who is being shown and of their story. The following is a list of some of these attributes.

Four Evangelists

The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the Book of Kells. The four winged creatures symbolize, clockwise from top left, Matthew, Mark, John, and Luke.

The Twelve Apostles

The key as symbol of St. Peter

The Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles. Russian, 14th century, Moscow Museum.

Saints listed by name

A

St. Agatha

B

tablet or sun inscribed with IHS

C

The college shield of St Catharine's College, Cambridge, prominently depicting a Catherine wheel.

D

Mariner's Cross

E

Bread

F

An axe, the symbol of the martyrdom of Judas Thaddeus and other saints

G

Saint George and the Dragon

H

A "fiddleback" chasuble from the church of Saint Gertrude in Maarheeze in the Netherlands

I

Saint Stephen depicted with three stones and the martyrs' palm

J

IHS monogram of the name of Jesus

Lily

K

Blackbird

L

Handcuffs

M

Spade

N

three purses or balls

O

P

Baptismal font in Magdeburg Cathedral, Germany.

Q

Young man with two spits

R

Angel holding the sun at the Bordeaux cathedral

S

T

Neo-Gothic "solar" monstrance at the hermitage church of Warfhuizen.

U

V

A traditional biretta

W

Crosier of arcbishop Heinrich of Finstingen, 1260–1286

X

Y

Mitre of Bishop Sztojkovics, Hungary, ca. 1860, stolen in 1989

Z

Further reading

• Walsh, Michael (2007). A New Dictionary of Saints: East and West. Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0-8146-3186-7. 

See also

• Calendar of saints
• Christian symbolism
• Christianized myths and imagery
• Doctor of the Church
• Four Evangelists and Evangelist portrait
• Iconography
• List of canonizations, for a list of Catholic canonizations by date
• Martyrology
• Mary (mother of Jesus)
• Patron saint

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint symbology.

• Christian Iconography from Augusta State University – alphabet of saints
• Catholic Online list of saints
• Hagiographies, hymnography, and icons for many Orthodox saints from the website of the Orthodox Church in America.
• Catholic Forum Patron Saints Index
• Saints' Badges or Shields
• On the Canonizations of John Paul II

References

Part of a series on Saints Calendar of saints General Roman Calendar Tridentine Calendar Eastern Orthodox Calendar Anglican Calendars Coptic calendar Lutheran Calendar Halo Traditions Relic Hagiography List of saints List of Catholic saints Symbology of the Saints Saints in Protestantism Theology Communion of saints Veneration Intercession Confessors Martyrs Passion bearers Patron saint Mariology Canonization process Congregation for the Causes of Saints Servant of God Venerable Beatification Related topics Roman Martyrology Saints in Anglicanism Saints in Methodism Saints portal