Saint Benedict 1450 - 1470

This is an anonymous woodcut of Saint Benedict, and was likely made in Germany in the late fifteenth century. Woodcuts like these were inexpensive ways of illustrating sacred figures for a mass audience. The print shows Benedict in his monastic robes, holding a bishop’s crosier and gesturing towards a cup. This is a reference to a story in which someone tried to poison him, but the cup shattered when Benedict made the sign of the cross over it. The book in his other hand refers to the Benedictine Rule, his code of monastic life. The mitre at his feet could be another symbol of thwarted ambition. Benedict was asked to be abbot of a monastery but he returned to his cave because he found the monks too lax. These stories circulated widely. As historians, we can learn a lot about the cultural and spiritual life of the late medieval period by looking at the various depictions of Benedict, as well as the printed books and pamphlets in which these images were reproduced. These provide valuable insights into the hopes, fears, and beliefs of the people of that time.