has used symbolism from its very beginnings. Each saint has a story and a reason why they led an exemplary life. Symbols have been used to tell these stories throughout the history of the Church. A number of Christian saints are traditionally represented by a symbol or iconic motif associated with their life, termed an attribute or emblem, in order to identify them. The study of these forms part of iconography in art history. They were particularly used so that the illiterate could recognize a scene, and to give each of the Saints something of a personality in art. They are often carried in the hand by the Saint. Attributes often vary with either time or geography, especially between Eastern Christianity and the West. Orthodox images more often contained inscriptions with the names of saints, so the Eastern repertoire of attributes is generally smaller than the Western. Many of the most prominent saints, like Saint Peter and Saint John the Evangelist can also be recognised by a distinctive facial type – as can Christ. In the case of later saints their actual historical appearance can also be used; Saint Bernardino of Siena is one of the earliest whose distinctive appearance was well known from early prints and is nearly always used by artists. Some attributes are general, such as the palm frond carried by martyrs. The use of a symbol in a work of art depicting a Saint reminds people who is being shown and of their story. The following is a list of some of these attributes.
Keys of Heaven, boat, fish, rooster, pallium, papal vestments; man crucified head downwards on an inverted cross, vested as an Apostle, holding a book or scroll. Iconographically, he is depicted with a bushy white beard and white hair, and wearing a bluerobe and yellow mantle.
bishop portrayed with a crosier in his right hand, on the open palm of his left a miniature church of chased gold; with a hammer, anvil, and horseshoe; or with a horse
Saints Acacius, Barbara, Blaise, Christopher, Cyriacus, Catherine of Alexandria, Denis, Erasmus of Formiae, Eustace, George, Giles, Margaret of Antioch, Pantaleon, and Vitus, shown as a group.
an abbot blessing a bear that brings him a log of wood; may be shown holding a hermit's tau staff with the bear or carrying a loaf and a pilgrim's staff.<
Eucharist, chasuble with Jesuit-style collar, book often inscribed with "Ad majorem Dei gloriam", or the letters AMDG, the letters "ihs" with a cross across the h, sword, cross.
An old man with gray hair and beard holding a scroll with words from, ecce virgo concipiet et pariet filium et vocabitur nomen eius Emmanuel, "behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be Emmanuel
Isidore the Laborer
Portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn, a sickle and staff; as an angel plows for him; or with an angel and white oxen near him. In Spanish art, his emblems are a spade or a plough.
Isidore of Seville
bees, pen, book
Ivo of Kermartin
depicted as a lawyer, holding a document, in legal dress.
Augustinian holding a bird on a plate in the right hand and a crucifix on the other hand; holding a basket of bread, giving bread to a sick person; holding a lily or a crucifix garlanded with lilies; with a star above him or on his breast
Prophet with his index finger of his right hand pointing upward
Oda of Scotland
depicted wearing a long blue gown with one shoulder bare; usually carries a staff or a book; always shown with a magpie on her hand and a crown under her feet
Odile of Alsace
Abbess praying before an altar; woman with a book on which lie two eyes; larkspur
Olaf of Norway
axe in Norway's coat of arms, king with axe in a Viking boat
Onuphrius
old hermit dressed only in long hair and a loincloth of leaves; hermit with an angel bringing him the Eucharist or bread; hermit with a crown at his feet
Opportuna of Montreuil
depicted carrying an abbess's crozier and a casket of relics. She may also be shown with the Virgin appearing at her deathbed or as a princess with a basket of cherries and a fleur-de-lys
Osgyth
represented in art with a stag behind her and a long key hanging from her girdle, or otherwise carrying a key and a sword crossed, a device which commemorates St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Andrew
depicted as a young man with two spits; as a deacon; with a broken wheel; with a chair to which he is transfixed; with a sword; or beheaded, a dove flying from his severed head
Quiricus
depicted as a naked child riding on a wild boar
Quirinus of Malmedy
dragon
Quirinus of Neuss
military attire; knight with lance, sword, hawk; banner or sign with nine balls
Quirinus of Sescia
millstone hanging from his neck
Quiteria
depicted with a dog on a lead; depicted with her head in her hands, emerging from the sea.
R
Saint
Symbol
Raphael
fish
Raymond Nonnatus
A Mercedarian friar wearing a cardinal's red mozzetta, holding a monstrance and a martyr's palm branch
Raymond of Penyafort
skimming across the sea with his cape as both boat and sail
Remigius
dove, book, lamp
Reparata
Standing alone or near St. Mary, bearing a martyr's crown and palm; a dove; a banner with a red cross on a white field; sometimes depicted with St. Ansanus
Richard
bishop with overturned chalice
Rita of Cascia
roses, roses and figs, crucifix, thorn, sometimes with a wound in her forehead
Roch
angel, dog with bread, leg wound, pilgrim's dress
Rosalia of Palermo
Depicted as a young woman, sometimes holding a cross, book, or skull, and also a spray of lilies
sword, and wearing chancellor's robe and neck chain
Thomas More
axe
Timothy
three stones and a clubclub and stones; broken image of Diana
Trudpert
axe
Tudwal
dragon
U
Saint
Symbol
Ulrich of Augsburg
Bishop holding a fish; at dinner with Saint Wolfgang; rewarding a messenger with a goose leg, which turns into a fish on Friday morning; giving a garment to a beggar; with Saint Afra; riding through a river on horseback as his companion sinks; with a cross given him by an angel
portrayed in art after his beheading, with the papal tiara near him
Urban of Langres
bishop with a bunch of grapes or a vine at his side; a book with a wine vessel on it
Ursicinus
book and fleur-de-lis
Ursula
arrow; banner; cloak; clock; maiden shot with arrows; depicted accompanied by a varied number of companions who are being martyred in various ways; ship
Birds; roses; bishop with a crippled person or a child with epilepsy at his feet; bishop with a rooster nearby; bishop refusing to adore an idol; bishop being beheaded; priest bearing a sword; priest holding a sun; priest giving sight to a blind girl
Vedast
wolf carrying a goose in its mouth; child; bear
Venera
crown; book; palm; cross; a palm of martyrdom interlaced with a triple crown (signifying the fact that she was a Virgin, an Apostle, and a Martyr
From the Book of Numbers "The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds."
Anemone
crucifixion scenes and have been associated with the sorrow of Virgin Mary
