Customs and objects that have long been symbols of good or bad, or referred to in timeless sayings, all trace their origins to either some age-old fact or folklore. Many customs, whether out of superstition or simply to honor some ancient practice, are followed by us without any knowledge of how or where the custom originated or stems from. Here is one example. The universally recognized horseshoe, as a symbol of good luck, dates back to 4th century Greece. It was the Greeks of that era who first introduced the horseshoe to Western culture and considered it as a symbol of good fortune. These people felt that the horseshoe’s magical powers were derived from the fact that they were made of iron, an element that they felt could drive away evil; and because a horseshoe was roughly the shape of a crescent moon, long thought of as a symbol of fertility and good luck. The Romans, who appropriated the horseshoe from the Greeks, not only used it for its original equestrian utilitarian intent, but also as a pagan belief of its magic strength. When the custom eventually passed on to the Christians, they gave it their own spin.
According to legend, it was St. Dunstan who, centuries later, first hung a horseshoe over a house’s door, in order to ward off evil. Folklore has it that Dunstan, who was a blacksmith by trade who eventually became the archbishop of Canterbury in 959 A.D., was asked by a man to have horseshoes attached to his own feet that were suspiciously cloven. Dunstan recognized the man as none other than Satan himself, and told the customer that the only way he would be able to shoe him was to shackle him to the wall. The blacksmith then purposely performed his service in such an excruciatingly painful way that the chained up devil repeatedly pleaded for mercy. However, Dunstan would not release him until Satan gave his solemn pledge never to enter a home where a horseshoe was displayed above the door. Following that legend, ancient Christians regarded the horseshoe as a means of keeping evil away from the home, first placing it above the doorframe and later placing it on the door itself, where it served double duty as a talisman as well as a door knocker. This is how the horseshoeshaped knocker originated. For centuries afterward, May 19 was known as St. Dunstan’s feast day, a day of celebration when the game of horseshoes was often played.
During the Middle Ages, the fear of witchcraft brought on additional power to the simple iron horseshoe. People believed that witches traveled on brooms because they were afraid of horses, and anything that reminded them of the animal, especially its iron shoe, would keep a witch at bay in the same manner that a crucifix would a vampire. A woman accused of witchcraft was buried with a horseshoe nailed to the top of her coffin in order to keep her from rising from the dead. The Russians believed that any blacksmith who forged horseshoes had the ability to perform “white (good) witchcraft,” and rather than take solemn oaths on a Bible, they were taken on an anvil that had been used to beat out horseshoes.
In British society, the horseshoe remained a strong symbol of good fortune well into the 19th century, and can be found in many illustrations and wording of the period pertaining to luck. Lord Horatio Nelson, Great Britain’s hero of the Napoleonic Wars, who prevented the French from invading England, when he defeated their fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, nailed a horseshoe to the mast of his command ship “Victory.” Despite this history shaping battle won by Nelson, it did him little good personally, as he was killed during the naval battle.
To this day, a horseshoe, in order to exercise its magical powers, cannot be hung in just any manner. It must be placed with the points upward, lest its luck drain out.
According to legend, it was St. Dunstan who, centuries later, first hung a horseshoe over a house’s door, in order to ward off evil. Folklore has it that Dunstan, who was a blacksmith by trade who eventually became the archbishop of Canterbury in 959 A.D., was asked by a man to have horseshoes attached to his own feet that were suspiciously cloven. Dunstan recognized the man as none other than Satan himself, and told the customer that the only way he would be able to shoe him was to shackle him to the wall. The blacksmith then purposely performed his service in such an excruciatingly painful way that the chained up devil repeatedly pleaded for mercy. However, Dunstan would not release him until Satan gave his solemn pledge never to enter a home where a horseshoe was displayed above the door. Following that legend, ancient Christians regarded the horseshoe as a means of keeping evil away from the home, first placing it above the doorframe and later placing it on the door itself, where it served double duty as a talisman as well as a door knocker. This is how the horseshoeshaped knocker originated. For centuries afterward, May 19 was known as St. Dunstan’s feast day, a day of celebration when the game of horseshoes was often played.
During the Middle Ages, the fear of witchcraft brought on additional power to the simple iron horseshoe. People believed that witches traveled on brooms because they were afraid of horses, and anything that reminded them of the animal, especially its iron shoe, would keep a witch at bay in the same manner that a crucifix would a vampire. A woman accused of witchcraft was buried with a horseshoe nailed to the top of her coffin in order to keep her from rising from the dead. The Russians believed that any blacksmith who forged horseshoes had the ability to perform “white (good) witchcraft,” and rather than take solemn oaths on a Bible, they were taken on an anvil that had been used to beat out horseshoes.
In British society, the horseshoe remained a strong symbol of good fortune well into the 19th century, and can be found in many illustrations and wording of the period pertaining to luck. Lord Horatio Nelson, Great Britain’s hero of the Napoleonic Wars, who prevented the French from invading England, when he defeated their fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, nailed a horseshoe to the mast of his command ship “Victory.” Despite this history shaping battle won by Nelson, it did him little good personally, as he was killed during the naval battle.
To this day, a horseshoe, in order to exercise its magical powers, cannot be hung in just any manner. It must be placed with the points upward, lest its luck drain out.
