Medallion from my grandpa...

So i got this weird medallion after my grandpa passed away and i have no idea what the words on it mean. I looked it up on google but i got nothing, not even a picture, this is what it says on it: NOSTER STVS,CHRISTOPHORUS,PROTECTOR. Does anybody have any idea what it means?

Also mods if this is in the wrong place move it please...

It's a St. Christopher medal. They were supposed to protect travelers. Too bad the Pope defrocked ole St. Chris.

Is it a Saint christopher medallion? If so those are for protection from what I have heard. The patron saint of travel.

St. Christopher is the saint of safe travel. People wear St. Christoper medals to bless them with safety.

Aside from people wearing a medal, a "visor clip" or other auto accessory with a St. Christoper medal displayed (and sometimes a prayer on it) is used to protect both a vehicle and the people inside during travel. These are often sold in Catholic and christian gift shops and bookstores. These can be blessed by a priest or someone qualified to bless them. And, as far as I know, may be used on a boat, in a car, in a motor home, RV, motorcycle, scooter, any form of travel.

St_Christopher



[edit on 10/14/2009 by mblahnikluver]

Sounds like a St. Christopher Medal.

E-How St Christopher

Over the centuries, St. Christopher became hugely popular with Catholics and non-Catholics alike. He is the patron saint of travelers, sailors, bachelors, skiers, epileptics, gardeners, toothache sufferers and surfers.

One example of a St. Christopher medal-


Hope I've helped.
Cuhail

I guess it must be, i dont know. What do you mean by defrocked?

reply to post by Cuhail


That's it man. My medallion looks completely different accept for St. Christopher in the middle. Also i bet my grandpa had it for when he was in the navy. Thanks...

[edit on 07/16/2009 by Lichter daraus]

The Pope "unsainted" him. He's no longer a Saint. Doesn't matter really, I have a Saint Chris medal in my car on the visor.

edit: I read in the link above that he was not "unsainted" but I seem to remember that he was.

[edit on 14-10-2009 by damwel]

reply to post by damwel


Yeah either way i only carry it because it was my grandpas. I'm not religious per say.

Hi Lichter,

here's the real story about St Christopher:

In 1969, the Catholic Church removed Christopher from the universal calendar of saints, though it allowed the celebration of his feast in local and diocesan calendars. Unfortunately many people believe that the Church removed Christopher's sainthood status, which is not the case. It merely concluded that there was too little known about him to justify a feast.

Source for the text is here

So, he's still a saint!

Now, about your medal.

The inscription on it is actually read this way:

Svts. Christophorvs Protector Noster

"Svts." is short for "Sanctus" which means "Saint". Weird way to abbreviate but as far as I know that's it. "Noster" means "our" (or "of us") -- and the rest is clear. The "our" comes after "protector" simply because in Latin, the order of words can be different to English.

BTW, the "v" is read as "v" or "u" depending on the word.

It was quite common for Latin inscriptions to have some words shortened. This was because if they were words or phrases that "everyone" knew anyway, the engraver could save space on the medal -- or on a carving over a door or on a statue's pedestal etc. I studied Latin in school but these days, as Latin is not so well known, sometimes these words are a bit of a mystery.

And no, I'm not Catholic and didn't go to a Catholic school. It was just a country region high school where we learned Latin because it was the tradition there. I hated it then but I'm very glad for it now. Useful knowledge comes from the most surprising places... It helped me to learn Czech!

Best regards,

Mike

[edit on 18/10/09 by JustMike]

reply to post by JustMike


Thanks for the extra info. I appreciate the effort...
It means a lot to me also, as it has been through both world wars.

[edit on 07/16/2009 by Lichter daraus]