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Abstract
The goldsmith Eligius lived probably from 589 to 660 A. D. and was mint master of the Merovingian royal court in Paris. Some rare gold coins from his workshop have survived. Later Eligius became a priest and died as the Bishop of Noyon. His life was marked by charity, the reason he was canonized and became patron of many artisanal and artistic professions, including the veterinarians and farriers. As a patron of the mint masters his image appears on little medals to control the weight of coins. On modern coins his name can only be found once on a shilling dated 1623 from the Maccagno mint near the Lake Maggiore; however his picture is on numerous medals and pilgrims' plaques as well as on the merit medal from the veterinarians of Quebec.
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Saint Eligius became the saint patron of farriers and veterinarians in the 13th century. This was first mentioned by Jordanus Ruffus, emperor Frederic the 2nd's equerry, who refers to a gregorian hymnal dedicated to Eligius. The legend says that Eliguis amputated a horse's foot, shoed it and placed it back on the horse's leg. This legend might have replaced the Germanic cult described in the incantations of Merseburg. In Switzerland the veneration of Eligius is particularly spread in the canton of Lucerne.