The first Christian tattoos<\\/h2>\\n The Romans, like the Greeks, tattooed slaves<\\/a> and prisoners, usually with letters or words on their foreheads that indicated their crime. Soon after Jesus\\u2019 death, around the year 30 C.E., they started enslaving and tattooing Christians with the marks \\u201cAM\\u201d \\u2013 meaning \\u201cad metalla,\\u201d or condemned to work in the mines, a punishment that often resulted in death. <\\/p>\\n Almost at the same time, Christians<\\/a> who were not enslaved got tattoos<\\/a> of the early Christian signs such as fish or lambs in solidarity and to show that they identified with Jesus.<\\/p>\\n There were no specific words in Latin or Greek for tattooing<\\/a>, so the words \\u201cstizo,\\u201d \\u201csignum\\u201d and \\u201cstigma\\u201d were used. The word stigma<\\/a> also referred to the marks of nails on Jesus\\u2019 hands and foot, as a result of his crucifixion. Christians often got their own \\u201cstigmas\\u201d: a sign \\u2013 usually a cross \\u2013 in Jerusalem to honor Christ\\u2019s martyrdom. <\\/p>\\n The beginning of a tradition<\\/h2>\\n*** *\* ***There are several documented accounts of the tradition.<\\/p>\\n One from the third century mentions Christians in present-day Egypt and Syria<\\/a> getting tattoos of fish and crosses.<\\/p>\\n Another tells about the commentary that Procopius of Gaza, a theologian who lived between 475 and 538 C.E., wrote on the Book of Isaiah<\\/a> after he found that many Christians living in the Holy Land had a cross tattooed on their wrists. \\u201cStill others will write on their hand, \\u2018The Lord\\u2019s,\\u2019 and will take the name Israel,\\u201d he noted. <\\/p>\\n When a plague hit the Scythians, nomadic people living around the Black Sea, in 600 C.E., tattoos were believed to provide protection from the deadly disease. Theophylact Simocatta<\\/a>, one of the last historians of late antiquity, mentioned that missionaries among them recommended that \\u201cthe foreheads of the young be tattooed with this very sign\\u201d \\u2013 meaning that of a cross.<\\/p>\\n Many testimonies mentioned Crusaders and pilgrims<\\/a> returning from the Holy Land with a tattoo during the Middle Ages \\u2013 a tradition that continued in early modern times<\\/a>, between the 16th and 18th centuries.<\\/p>\\n Christian tattoos in Great Britain<\\/h2>\\n Other cultures used tattoos in different ways. When Romans came in contact with the Celts tribes that inhabited the British Isles in 400 C.E., they called them Picts<\\/a> because they were covered in body art<\\/a>.<\\/p>\\n \\n \"A<\\/a> \\n The word Picts is derived from the name given to them by the Romans because of their painted bodies.<\\/span>*** ***\\n Hulton Archive\\/Getty Images<\\/a><\\/span>*** ***\\n <\\/figcaption><\\/figure>\\n Pope Gregory the Great sent envoys to convert the Celts to Christianity, followed by a visit from another Vatican delegation. While missionaries were against \\u201cpagan tattooing,\\u201d both delegations agreed that tattoos done for the Christian god were fine. The members of the second delegation in the late 700s even said, \\u201cIf anyone were to undergo this injury of staining for the sake of God, he would receive a great reward for it<\\/a>.\\u201d<\\/p>\\n Similar was the conclusion of the Northumbria Council<\\/a>, a church gathering in Northern England in 787: Tattoos done for the right god were acceptable. At that time, the Anglo-Saxon elite also had tattoos; the bishop of York, Saint Wilfrid<\\/a>, for example, got a tattoo of a cross. <\\/p>\\n Tattoos in Italy<\\/h2>\\n***** *\* *****Around the 1300s, as the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land were losing control with the coming of the Ottomans, there appeared in Italy shrines called \\u201cSacri Monti.\\u201d These shrines were placed on \\u201choly mountains\\u201d where devotees could pilgrimage safely, instead of risking their lives going to Jerusalem, which by then was under the control of the Ottomans.<\\/p>\\n These shrines were established in cities such as Naples, Varallo and Loreto. Pilgrims could get tattoos<\\/a> in some of these shrines. One place was Loreto\\u2019s sanctuary, established in the early 1300s. A relic from the \\u201cHoly House,\\u201d which, according to the Christian tradition, is the house where the Virgin Mary is believed to have received the news that she will bear God\\u2019s son, was brought to Loreto\\u2019s sanctuary. <\\/p>\\n Tattooing in Loreto\\u2019s sanctuary was a communal activity, done by carpenters, shoemakers and artisans, who brought their stalls and tools to the main square<\\/a>***** *****\\nduring the days of celebrations and tattooed whoever wanted to get a mark of their devotion. These tattoos typically used wood planks for transferring the design on the body, like a stamp. However, the city of Loreto banned tattooing for hygienic reasons in 1871, according to Caterina Pigorini Beri<\\/a>, an anthropologist, who was one of the first to document the practice. <\\/p>\\n But people kept getting them. A shoemaker, Leonardo Conditti<\\/a>, was among those who kept doing tattoos in hiding during the 1940s. <\\/p>\\n \\n

{"id":1787,"date":"2024-03-26T13:22:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T17:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theconversation\/?p=1787"},"modified":"2024-03-26T13:22:44","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T17:22:44","slug":"tattooing-dates-back-to-the-crucifixion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theconversation\/2024\/03\/tattooing-dates-back-to-the-crucifixion\/","title":{"rendered":"Tattooing Dates Back To The Crucifixion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\n Christian Palestinian tattoo artist Walid Ayash draws a tattoo on the arm of a Coptic Egyptian pilgrim on April 28, 2016, at his studio in Bethlehem.
\n

Thomas Coex \/AFP via Getty Images<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/p>

By Gustavo Morello<\/a> of Boston College<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Holy Week and Easter are perhaps the most important days in the Christian calendar. Many associate those celebrations with church services, processions, candles, incense, fasting and penances. <\/p>\n

However, there is another tradition that many Christians follow \u2013 that of tattooing. Historically, Easter was an important time for tattoos<\/a> among some Christian groups. Today, Christian tattooing happens in many parts of the world and all year around. Some Christians visiting Jerusalem around Easter will get a tattoo of a cross, or a lamb, usually on their forearms.<\/p>\n

As a sociologist of religion and a Jesuit Catholic priest, I have long studied tattoos<\/a> as religious practices<\/a>. I have interviewed tattoo artists in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Loreto in Italy who have been continuing and recreating the tradition of Christian tattooing. Evidence is clear the practice started shortly after Jesus\u2019 crucifixion and spread across Europe in later centuries. <\/p>\n

The first Christian tattoos<\/h2>\n The Romans, like the Greeks, tattooed slaves<\/a> and prisoners, usually with letters or words on their foreheads that indicated their crime. Soon after Jesus\u2019 death, around the year 30 C.E., they started enslaving and tattooing Christians with the marks \u201cAM\u201d \u2013 meaning \u201cad metalla,\u201d or condemned to work in the mines, a punishment that often resulted in death. <\/p>\n Almost at the same time, Christians<\/a> who were not enslaved got tattoos<\/a> of the early Christian signs such as fish or lambs in solidarity and to show that they identified with Jesus.<\/p>\n There were no specific words in Latin or Greek for tattooing<\/a>, so the words \u201cstizo,\u201d \u201csignum\u201d and \u201cstigma\u201d were used. The word stigma<\/a> also referred to the marks of nails on Jesus\u2019 hands and foot, as a result of his crucifixion. Christians often got their own \u201cstigmas\u201d: a sign \u2013 usually a cross \u2013 in Jerusalem to honor Christ\u2019s martyrdom. <\/p>\n The beginning of a tradition<\/h2>\n* There are several documented accounts of the tradition.<\/p>\n One from the third century mentions Christians in present-day Egypt and Syria<\/a> getting tattoos of fish and crosses.<\/p>\n Another tells about the commentary that Procopius of Gaza, a theologian who lived between 475 and 538 C.E., wrote on the Book of Isaiah<\/a> after he found that many Christians living in the Holy Land had a cross tattooed on their wrists. \u201cStill others will write on their hand, \u2018The Lord\u2019s,\u2019 and will take the name Israel,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n When a plague hit the Scythians, nomadic people living around the Black Sea, in 600 C.E., tattoos were believed to provide protection from the deadly disease. Theophylact Simocatta<\/a>, one of the last historians of late antiquity, mentioned that missionaries among them recommended that \u201cthe foreheads of the young be tattooed with this very sign\u201d \u2013 meaning that of a cross.<\/p>\n Many testimonies mentioned Crusaders and pilgrims<\/a> returning from the Holy Land with a tattoo during the Middle Ages \u2013 a tradition that continued in early modern times<\/a>, between the 16th and 18th centuries.<\/p>\n Christian tattoos in Great Britain<\/h2>\n Other cultures used tattoos in different ways. When Romans came in contact with the Celts tribes that inhabited the British Isles in 400 C.E., they called them Picts<\/a> because they were covered in body art<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n <\/a> \n The word Picts is derived from the name given to them by the Romans because of their painted bodies.<\/span> \n Hulton Archive\/Getty Images<\/a><\/span> \n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Pope Gregory the Great sent envoys to convert the Celts to Christianity, followed by a visit from another Vatican delegation. While missionaries were against \u201cpagan tattooing,\u201d both delegations agreed that tattoos done for the Christian god were fine. The members of the second delegation in the late 700s even said, \u201cIf anyone were to undergo this injury of staining for the sake of God, he would receive a great reward for it<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar was the conclusion of the Northumbria Council<\/a>, a church gathering in Northern England in 787: Tattoos done for the right god were acceptable. At that time, the Anglo-Saxon elite also had tattoos; the bishop of York, Saint Wilfrid<\/a>, for example, got a tattoo of a cross. <\/p>\n Tattoos in Italy<\/h2>\n ***Around the 1300s, as the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land were losing control with the coming of the Ottomans, there appeared in Italy shrines called \u201cSacri Monti.\u201d These shrines were placed on \u201choly mountains\u201d where devotees could pilgrimage safely, instead of risking their lives going to Jerusalem, which by then was under the control of the Ottomans.<\/p>\n These shrines were established in cities such as Naples, Varallo and Loreto. Pilgrims could get tattoos<\/a> in some of these shrines. One place was Loreto\u2019s sanctuary, established in the early 1300s. A relic from the \u201cHoly House,\u201d which, according to the Christian tradition, is the house where the Virgin Mary is believed to have received the news that she will bear God\u2019s son, was brought to Loreto\u2019s sanctuary. <\/p>\n Tattooing in Loreto\u2019s sanctuary was a communal activity, done by carpenters, shoemakers and artisans, who brought their stalls and tools to the main square<\/a>* *\nduring the days of celebrations and tattooed whoever wanted to get a mark of their devotion. These tattoos typically used wood planks for transferring the design on the body, like a stamp. However, the city of Loreto banned tattooing for hygienic reasons in 1871, according to Caterina Pigorini Beri<\/a>, an anthropologist, who was one of the first to document the practice. <\/p>\n But people kept getting them. A shoemaker, Leonardo Conditti<\/a>, was among those who kept doing tattoos in hiding during the 1940s. <\/p>\n** \n