Another Peter Martyr

You may recall that I have a particular devotion to St Peter of Verona, a/k/a Peter Martyr, as well as to holy cards in general; last week, I bid on and obtained (at a very reasonable price) a holy card in my favorite style depicting Peter Martyr.

Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)

Now, this image departs from the “cleaver in the skull” stream of Verona iconography in favor of the “stab in the back” school. This example also features Peter touching his finger to his lips, perhaps in reference to his inquisitorial responsibility to silence heretics or perhaps in the silent contemplatives’ gesture requesting permission to speak (though this interpertation seems called into question by the title of Fra Angelico’s portrait, “St Peter Martyr Enjoining Silence”). He carries a book (signifying his scholarship), and his “Credo” (allegedly written in his own blood in his dying moments) appears at his feet.

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