The Golden Legend's brief entry for St. Vincent of Saragossa recounts his passion, the preservation of his body after death, and a few remarks quoted from Augustine and Prudentius. According to the story he was tortured to death in Valencia at the order of a provost named Dacian with a variety of implements beginning with the rack and ending with the gridiron.
The gridiron is associated with St. Lawrence, so images of St. Vincent usually use the rack as his attribute, following the Legend in representing it as two crossed wooden beams. In portraits he wears a dalmatic and holds a martyr's palm and a closed book.
Dacian ordered that St. Vincent's body be tied to a millstone and thrown from a ship at sea. Thus in the image at left we see the millstone behind the donor, as well as the unfortunate Dacian himself, lying beneath the martyr's feet and wearing a Muslim turban. In another image the ship is used as St. Vincent's attribute.
Feast day: October 27
At left, 15th century panel from Spain
Another image:
Window
narrating Vincent's passionHagiography:
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