St Eloi

Pilgrim badge of St Eloi. St Eloi was a French saint, born around 588. He became Bishop of Noyon and Tournai, and converted many people to Christianity. He was also supposed to have been a highly skilled farrier who could remove a horse's leg, shoe it, and put it back on! This badge shows St Eloi on the left, hammering on an anvil. On the right are a horse and a pilgrim giving St Eloi a trindle (a coiled candle). Above is a misspelt inscription: 'ELIGIUS'. Medieval people were sometimes 'measured for a candle', which meant that a piece of string that was as long as they were tall was turned into a trindle and offered to a saint in return for a favour. Evidence suggests candles were on sale at St Eloi's shrine in Noyon.