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Phallic saints are representations of saints or local deities who were invoked for fertility. The representations of the phallus were benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and especial worship among barren women and young girls.
Contents
Description
Phallic saints are representations of actual saints or local deities who were invoked for fertility. More than vulgar representations of the phallus, phallic saints were benevolent symbols of prolificacy and reproductive fruitfulness, and objects of reverence and especial worship among barren women and young girls.
Association
Many were legitimate saints who acquired their priapic attributes through the process of folk etymology. Sir William Hamilton (1730–1803) reported that, among the wax representations of body parts then presented as offerings to Cosmas and Damian at Isernia, near Naples, on their feast day, those of the penis were the most common. Hamiliton's observations led Richard Payne Knight to write his Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus, in which he reproduced examples of the effigies.