Agatha note
Agatha list or Agathe list are most Agathatag (February 5) Blessed note with a healing formula, sometimes with a representation of St. Agatha .
The inscription on the Agatha note read Mentem sanctam, spontaneam, honorem Deo et patriae liberationem , translated: (She had) a holy voluntary disposition, (she gave) God the honor and her homeland liberation. According to tradition, this was written on a marble tablet that was placed on Agatha's grave by an angel . Occasionally the Agatha label was supplemented with the addition Ignis a laesura protege nos, o Agatha pia ("Holy Agatha, protect us from being hurt by fire"). Sometimes the Agatha labels were written in German, for example:
“This house shall be entrusted to you! Protect it from fire and fire, and the whole country. Give us a sacred meaning, happy for God until death! "
In addition to their function as fire banners, Agatha labels could also serve as helpers in the concerns of mothers.
Agatha slips were either given out directly or were blessed on Agatha Day after they were purchased from dealers. They were often the blessing in the 16th century since also as a medicinal and preservative used Agatha rolls plugged. The notes could be kept in the houses, where they were often posted on the doors, or thrown into the burning fire. It was also reported that students wrote the intercessory prayer on paper and decorated it with colorful decorations. The pieces of paper were blessed in the service and given to neighbors and friends.
Agatha label from 1523, found above the lintel of a house in Ravensburg
An Agatha note
Agatha label with fire blessing and "instructions for use". Copper engraving, Munich, 18th century
Agatha note with a very flawed blessing. Engraving, 18th century
literature
- Lenz Kriss-Rettenbeck: Images and signs of religious folk belief. Callwey, Munich 1963
- Christoph Kurzeder : When things were sacred. Lived piety in the Baroque era. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2005, ISBN 3-7954-1769-4 .
- Dominik Wunderlin: Means to Salvation. Religious symbols of blessing and protection in the Dr. Edmund Müller (= treasures from the Dolderhaus in Beromünster, issue 7). Beromünster 2005, ISBN 3-9521775-9-8
