H. Benedikt c. 1579 - 1615

Dominicus Custos made this engraving of Saint Benedict around the turn of the 17th century. The image presents Benedict, a key figure in the history of monasticism, as both a scholar and a leader, holding a book and a staff that denotes his authority. This engraving comes out of the complex religious landscape of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Benedict, who lived in Italy in the 5th and 6th centuries, was a figure who united Catholics and who could also be honoured by Protestants, since both traditions found value in monastic discipline. Custos lived and worked in Augsburg, a city in Germany which was sharply divided between Catholics and Protestants. A print like this, therefore, would have served a devotional purpose, but also had a political role in representing a shared cultural heritage across religious divides, during a time of great conflict. Understanding an image like this requires attention to the religious history of the period. The tools of the historian are invaluable in piecing together these complex histories, and understanding the image's meaning.