Amulet of Saint Roch to protect against cholera

Silver, oval amulet of St Silver, oval amulet of St

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-SA 4.0 Licence

Buy this image as a print 

Buy

License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

License

Silver, oval amulet of St
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Silver, oval amulet of St
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Silver, oval amulet of St. Roch, for protection against cholera, artist of amulet unknown, French, 1800-1900

St Roch is the Catholic saint who has traditionally been invoked against the plague. He was said to be a Christian, born in the late 1200s, who went on a pilgrimage at the time of a plague epidemic. He helped nurse those with the disease and was believed to cure them of plague until he caught the disease himself.

To prevent the spread of the disease, he went to the woods alone. The story describes how a dog looked after him and brought him bread. As such, St Roch is almost always shown accompanied by a dog.

Once plague was no longer a threat in Europe, St Roch’s protection was transferred to other diseases. St Roch is invoked against cholera, epidemics and skin diseases. This amulet was created in France during the 1800s, at a time when there were multiple cholera epidemics.

Amulets have been worn for thousands of years to protect the wearer from illness, ill fortune and bad luck.

Details

Category:
Wellcome Medals
Collection:
Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
Object Number:
A677223
Materials:
silver
type:
amulet
credit:
Loan, Wellcome Trust