SAINT BARBARA T-SHIRT BLACK/WHITE

SAINT BARBARA

Legend holds that Barbara was a third-century noblewoman locked in a tower by her own father, Dioscorus, to shield her from the world and from marriage. Isolation didn't take, she studied, rejected the pagan idols around her, and converted to Christianity in secret. When Dioscorus found out, he handed her over for torture and executed her himself. On his way home, he was struck dead by lightning, a death by fire and sky that would define her legacy for the next 1,700 years.

That lightning strike is why Barbara became the patron saint of artillerymen specifically. Early cannons and artillery pieces were as likely to kill the men firing them as the enemy, misfires, barrel bursts, and powder explosions were a constant threat. Gunners invoked Barbara for protection against exactly that kind of sudden, violent death by fire. The tradition took root deep enough that ammunition magazines on warships are still called "Santa Barbara" in Spanish and Italian navies and "Sainte-Barbe" in the French navy, and field artillery units around the world still mark her feast day every December 4th with ceremony.

Sizing

Chest is measured across the bust 1" below the armhole, seam to seam, and length is measured from the highest point of the shoulder to the bottom hem. 

Product info

• 100% cotton, 5.3 oz, carded open-end heavy cotton.
• Classic unisex fit, preshrunk
• Tear-away label
• Machine wash cold, inside out. Tumble dry low or hang dry. Do not iron directly on the print.