St Hubert's Key
Encyclopedia
St Hubert’s Key took the form of a metal nail or bar with a decorative head. It was used in Europe until the early 20th century as a traditional cure for rabies
and was named for St Hubert, the patron saint
of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers.
The key was heated and the head pressed to the area where a person had been bitten by a dog believed to have rabies
. If performed soon after the bite had occurred, the heat had the potential to cauterize and sterilize the wound, killing the rabies
virus
. The practice was endorsed by the Catholic Church and such keys were used by priests at places with which St Hubert was associated, where the skin of humans and animals was branded as a protection against the bites of rabid dogs. This practice is recorded in the 1870s in the Ardennes
region, France, where dogs were branded with St Hubert's Key, as "a sure preventative of madness".
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
and was named for St Hubert, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers.
The key was heated and the head pressed to the area where a person had been bitten by a dog believed to have rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
. If performed soon after the bite had occurred, the heat had the potential to cauterize and sterilize the wound, killing the rabies
Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic , most commonly by a bite from an infected animal. For a human, rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms...
virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
. The practice was endorsed by the Catholic Church and such keys were used by priests at places with which St Hubert was associated, where the skin of humans and animals was branded as a protection against the bites of rabid dogs. This practice is recorded in the 1870s in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
region, France, where dogs were branded with St Hubert's Key, as "a sure preventative of madness".