Saint Eligius

Eligius (Eloi) was born around 588 near Limoges, in Gaul, and trained as a goldsmith under the master of the local mint. King Clothar II gave him gold to make a throne, and according to tradition Eligius honestly made two from the material meant for one, winning the king's trust. As treasurer and adviser to King Dagobert I he crafted reliquaries and shrines, gave generously to the poor, ransomed slaves and founded the monastery of Solignac. In 641 he was made bishop of Noyon-Tournai and spent his last years preaching in Flanders, dying on December 1, 660.

Goldsmiths' and metalworkers' guilds across Europe kept his feast with Mass and processions, and he is often shown with a hammer, anvil or a chalice he made. A popular legend says he removed the leg of a restless horse to shoe it and then miraculously put it back.