St. Christopher Wall Painting

14th century
St. Andrew's Church, Stoke Dry, England

This wall painting illustrates the Golden Legend's tale of St. Christopher carrying a child across a river on his shoulders. The child gradually becomes very heavy and explains that he is Christ,"that created and made all the world."

In the wall painting the Christ Child is just barely visible, perching precariously at the end of the saint's right shoulder. The hat resembles the traditional pilgrim's hat but with the brim turned down.

Carrying travelers across the river was a task appointed to Christopher by a hermit who had "preached to him of Jesu Christ and informed him in the faith." Many illustrations of this story will show the hermit in the background, so it is possible that he is the figure seen here on the left.

Read more about images of St. Christopher.

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Sources:
Date and location information Anne Marshall, "Martyrdom of St. Edmund, Stoke Dry, Rutland."
Photograph: Tim Heaton via this page at Wikimedia Commons.