Feuersegen. St. Florian wolle uns bewahren vor Feuer- und Wasser-Gefahren! Gebeth . - [S.l.], [s.a. ca. 1820].

Austrian National Library, shelfmark: 310.389-D.Alt-Flug

Well into the 19^th century, many a homeowner of the Alps region relied on printed fire blessings to protect his house and family from fire. Only a very few are extant, as people used to carry them about in their pockets; judging by the traces of usage, the one-time owner of our newly acquired Feuersegen may well have done so.

The woodcut shows St. Florian, the patron saint of Upper Austria. Florian, a Christian Roman soldier, had been sentenced to be burned at the stake for refusing the customary sacrifice for the emperor. He was miraculously preserved from the flames – only to be martyred by being drowned in the Enns river. Widely venerated in central Europe and called upon by those in danger from fire or water, Florian’s protective image is still found on house walls in rural Austria.

Our Feuersegen also recalls the miracle of the three young men preserved unharmed from the fiery furnace (in Daniel 3, 1-97) in the appeal “O God, who has mitigated the flames for the three youths …” Typically for protective blessings, the fire itself is addressed in a somehow placatory way: “Be welcome here, o fiery guest” and even humbly asked to content itself with some share of the property: “and don’t seize more than you already took …”