St Christopher, one of the most celebrated saints of the late Middle Ages, is shown here wading through the river with the Christ Child on his back. He is supporting himself with a large staff or walking stick. This was how the saint was usually shown throughout the late Middle Ages. Here the carver had added details to the traditional image. He has included fishes in the river and the unusual feature of a small tonsured and hooded figure riding in the belt-bag may be a monastic traveller. St Christopher was also prayed to for protection from sudden death. Images of him were especially popular just inside the entrances to churches, where they were usually painted on a colossal scale on piers.
