St Anthony was one of the most popular of medieval saints, his powers being invoked for the cure of ‘St Anthony’s fire’ or ergotism – a disease caused by eating infected rye. The Order of Hospitaller’s of St Anthony was a holy order dedicated to the care of the sick, and among their many bases was a hospital in London, itself a popular site of pilgrimage. The attributes of St Anthony were the Tau cross and the bell. The popularity of these badges would have been enforced by the believed apotropaic powers of the Tau cross.

Original found in the Netherlands.

15th century.

23x 55mm A Tau cross on which is the figure of Christ crucified and from which is suspended a bell.