Materia Medica
Blessed Objects
Holy water, blessed salt, oil, candles, herbs, and bread, medals, relics, and the instruments of the rite: the sacramentals that Canale set beside the apothecary’s remedies, and their kin.
52 entries · An introduction to Galenic pharmacy
SacramentalThe aspergillumAspergillum; aspersorium
The brush, or perforated ball on a handle, with which holy water is sprinkled.
SacramentalThe Caravaca crossCruz de Caravaca
A patriarchal cross with two cross-arms, after the relic of the True Cross kept at Caravaca de la Cruz in Murcia, Spain.
SacramentalChrismSacrum chrisma
Olive oil mixed with balsam and consecrated by a bishop.
SacramentalContact relicsBrandea
Cloths, oil, dust, or other things touched to a saint’s tomb or remains, and so made relics themselves.
SacramentalCramp ringsThe Good Friday rings
Rings blessed by the kings of England on Good Friday, made from gold and silver offered at the cross.
SacramentalEarth of the Holy LandBlessings (eulogiae) of the holy places
Earth, stones, water, and oil brought back by pilgrims from the holy places of Palestine.
SacramentalEpiphany chalkC+M+B
Chalk blessed at the Epiphany, with which the lintel of the house is marked for the new year, as 20+C+M+B+26.
SacramentalEpiphany waterWater of the Three Kings; the Great Blessing of Waters
Water blessed at the Epiphany by a solemn rite with a long exorcism, in the East as the Great Blessing of the Waters at Theophany.
SacramentalThe exorcists’ manualsFlagellum Daemonum, Fustis Daemonum, Thesaurus exorcismorum
The handbooks of the exorcist’s art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, above all those of the Franciscan Girolamo Menghi.
SacramentalThe Holy Name, IHSChristogram
The monogram IHS, the first three letters of Jesus in Greek, often within a sunburst.
SacramentalThe holy water stoupAcquasantiera
The basin of holy water at the door of a church, and the small stoups kept in homes.
SacramentalHoly wellsClootie wells; fontes sancti
Springs dedicated to saints, many of them sacred long before Christianity, visited for cures.
SacramentalINRIIesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum
The initials of the title Pilate set over the cross, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” written, the Gospel says, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
SacramentalLourdes waterEau de Lourdes
Water from the spring in the grotto of Massabielle at Lourdes, uncovered by Bernadette Soubirous on 25 February 1858 during the apparitions she reported.
SacramentalThe Miraculous MedalMedal of the Immaculate Conception
An oval medal of the Virgin with the prayer “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” made after the visions of Catherine Labouré, a Daughter of Charity, in the chapel of the Rue du Bac in Paris in 1830.
SacramentalOil of catechumensOleum catechumenorum
Olive oil blessed at the Chrism Mass for anointing those preparing for baptism.
SacramentalOil of the sickOleum infirmorum
Olive oil blessed by the bishop at the Chrism Mass of Holy Thursday for anointing the sick.
SacramentalPaschal candleCereus paschalis
The great candle blessed and lit from the new fire at the Easter Vigil, marked with a cross, the Alpha and Omega, and the numerals of the year, and set with five grains of incense for the five wounds of Christ.
SacramentalPilgrim badges and ampullaeSignacula
Small badges of lead and tin, and tiny flasks called ampullae, sold at shrines as tokens of pilgrimage.
SacramentalThe prologue of JohnIn principio erat Verbum
The opening verses of the Gospel of John, “In the beginning was the Word,” written out and worn, or read over the sick, the fields, and the weather.
SacramentalThe Roman RitualRituale Romanum
The book of rites for the priest, issued by Pope Paul V in 1614, the year of Canale’s treatise.
SacramentalSt. Agatha’s breadAgathabrot; minne di Sant’Agata
Bread blessed on 5 February, the feast of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr of Catania.
SacramentalSt. Benedict medalCrux Sancti Patris Benedicti
A medal of St. Benedict whose reverse bears a cross ringed by initials: Vade retro Satana, numquam suade mihi vana; sunt mala quae libas, ipse venena bibas, “Begone, Satan; never tempt me with vain things; what you offer is evil; drink your own poison.”
SacramentalSt. Blaise candlesThe blessing of throats
Two blessed candles, crossed and held at the throat on 3 February, the feast of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr of Sebaste in Armenia.
SacramentalSt. Christopher medalChristophorus, “Christ-bearer”
An image of St. Christopher carrying the Christ child across a river.
SacramentalSt. Hubert’s keyClef de saint Hubert
A small iron in the shape of a key or horn, blessed at the shrine of St. Hubert, patron of hunters, in the Ardennes.
SacramentalSt. Ignatius waterAqua Sancti Ignatii
Water blessed with a relic or medal of St. Ignatius of Loyola, by a formula of the Society of Jesus.
SacramentalSt. John’s firesMidsummer fires; fuochi di San Giovanni
The bonfires lit across Europe on the eve of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, 23 June, at midsummer.
SacramentalSt. Walburga’s oilWalburgisöl
A clear liquid that gathers on the stone slab over the relics of St. Walburga (died 779), the English-born abbess of Heidenheim, in her church at Eichstätt in Bavaria.
SacramentalThe stoleStola
The long band of cloth worn by the priest about the neck, the sign of his sacred office.
SacramentalThe thuribleCenser; turibulum
The metal vessel hung on chains in which incense is burned on live coals.
SacramentalTouch-piecesThe royal touch; the king’s evil
Gold coins, the angel and its successors, pierced and hung on a ribbon, given by the monarch to each person touched for scrofula, the “king’s evil.”
SacramentalThe vernicleThe Veil of Veronica; vera icon
The cloth with which Veronica was said to have wiped Christ’s face on the way to Calvary, leaving his image; and the copies and badges made of it.
SacramentalWax ex-votosEx voto; boti
Offerings of wax shaped as eyes, limbs, hearts, children, or whole bodies, hung at a shrine in petition or in thanks for a cure.
Historical description, not medical advice.