"Tiucfaid Tailginn Tar muir meirginn
A croinn cromcinn, a cinn toll cinn
A miasa in airthiur atighe...."
("The tonsured ones shall come ... their staved crook-headed..."). This is an early reference to a crozier. After the 11th century the crook-headed staff is the only form in which the bishop's crozier is found. The pastoral staff was made from a great variety of materials. As a rule the more precious woods were used such as ebony, cedar, cypress. This was usually gilt or overlaid with silver plates.

The crook-head of the Irish croziers was of bronze and was generally decorated with Celtic designs, and zoomorphic cresting. The croziers displayed on seals with effigies of bishops have nearly all got the Celtic U-shaped head. It was one of the earliest Christian symbols and is found on gems with the fish and palm branch, and accompanying the Good Shepherd. It was in general use in Spain in the 7th century, but a letter of Pope Celestine to the Bishops of Narbonne and Vienne referring to the Pastoral Staff seems to indicate that it was used in the 5th century.

Abbots as well as bishops and archbishops carried croziers, and the Pope carried a crozier up to the 10th century. By the 7th century the crook shape had become established. Later it became customary to enshrine or encase the old staff in a metal covering which was often richly decorated. Custodianship of the crozier was committed to some person associated with the church or monastery in whose family it descended from generation to generation.

Displayed here are 3 croziers: that of an abbot, an abbess, and a bishop.

Religious

Rosaries