Another of St Anthony. This woodcut depicts the saint with a t-shaped tau cross with bells, flames, and a pet pig, which befriended him during his exile. He is associated with fire because of his encounters with the demons of hell.
In this piece, the pestering demons are replaced by victims of the holy fire or "St Anthony's Fire," and detached limbs dangle above the saint and his entourage. The explanation? Sufferers of St Anthony's fire were racked with gangrene of the extremities, which resulted in the withering and eventual detachment of affected limbs. This image reflects the practice of hanging amputated limbs of victims above entrance portals of Antonite monasteries, called to act as hospitals and authorized to heal in the name of the saint.
Unfortunately, body rotting and the subsequent dismemberment were not the only hellish indices rendered by the infectious bete noire. Hallucination, muscle contortions, convulsions, and an agonizing, burning chronic pain. Ouch. And all caused by a stupid mould. Known today as ergotism, holy fire was caused by the contamination of grain, most often rye, by the ergot mould. When heated in the oven, the mould transforms into a type of LSD. Notwithstanding, that trip does not sound like a fun one.
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