I have been working on an embroidered medal of Saint Benedict for Watts & Co. to be used either as part of a stole or altar frontal.
Saint Benedict is regarded a founder of Western Christian monasticism and lived in the 4th-5th centuries. The “Rule of Saint Benedict” contains the set of rules that his monks should follow.
Tradition holds that the medal protects from curses, evil and vice, protects against disease and protects good health. The medal is often included as part of a rosary or worn separately.
The front of the medal shows Saint Benedict holding a cross in his right hand and in the left his rule for monasteries.
The reverse side contains the following exorcism prayer. The first letters of which are inscribed on the cross and around the circumference of the medal.
In Latin it reads as:
Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux.
Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux.
Vade Retro, Satana!
Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana.
Sunt Mala Que Libas.
Ipse Venena Bibas.
This translates to English as:
May the Holy Cross be my light.
May not the dragon be my guide.
Begone, Satan.
Suggest not vain things to me.
Evil is the cup thou offerest.
Drink your own poison.
Here I have worked the reverse side of the medal on a damask background, using gold threads, purl-purl, applique and stranded cotton.
On the front side of the medal, to Benedict's right, below the cross, is a poisoned cup. This is a reference to the legend that hostile monks attempted to poison him, and the cup containing poisoned wine shattered when the saint made the sign of the cross over it. To his left, below the rule, there is the raven that carried off a loaf of poisoned bread. From this is derived the tradition that the medal protects against poisoning.
