Saint Hubert's Key

St. Hubert’s Key (French: Clef de Saint-Hubert, Dutch: Hubertussleutel) is a sacramental object, typically in the form of a metal nail, cross, or cone.

The key is named after St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers.

[2] The practice was endorsed by the Catholic Church (though rarely observed in Orthodox regions), and priests used such keys at places associated with St. Hubert.

[3] This practice was recorded in the 1870s in the Ardennes region of France, where dogs were branded with St. Hubert's Key as "a sure preventative of madness".

[5] It was not until the mid-13th century that historical sources began to mention the key, as it underwent several transformations during the renovation of the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre de Liège, the original burial place of Saint Hubert.