Collecting Jamestown: Part 8. Jetton as Talisman

Jamestown made into a pendant.

Times were hard at Jamestown. There was little food, bad water, and hostile natives. It is likely that the settlers longed for safety.
   Despite the press of the Anglican Church (both in England and at Jamestown), several folks
reached out for safety in the old way. That is to say, some settlers appealed to the "old church" and the remedies that it offered.
   One example of this was to carry a talisman. Such items could be a verse, a crucifix, or other religious medal; even a coin could serve a protective function if it was fashioned in a particular way (bent and holed, for example). Of course, the use of these objects was forbidden. The Reformation Church had no tolerance for even a hint of idolatry.
   In England, Catholics were punished as heretics. Crossing one's self or wearing a crucifix was unlawful. Yet, many folks reached out for the practical magic that the "old church" had offered. For example, many folks still believed that a pilgrimage to a particular church might offer the chance for a miracle. So too, a talisman could protect a person from death or injury.
   Miracles were sorely needed. Plagues, debilitating ailments, and other misfortunes were commonplace in the mother country.
   So it was in Jamestown. The death toll was high. Most folks died within a year of stepping on Virginia shores.
   One of the colonists fashioned a pendant out of a jetton by piercing it carefully at about 12-o-clock and placing a small silver ring in the hole so that the piece could be worn. The image on the jetton was of the crucifixion. Hence, it was of the "old church."
   Was it for protection?

   Death -- by arrows, starvation, or illness -- was everywhere. The southwest corner of the old triangular fort was filled with bodies. Hundreds more were buried just beyond the west palisades on a slight rise, made higher by the flesh and bones buried there.

Similar jetton that is
smoothed like a pocket piece.

   To simply pray and consider one's faith might not have been enough for some of the colonists. So, maybe they reached out for a remedy. A talisman. The word itself means "to perform a rite." Wearing a talisman was to embrace a form of magic.
   The jetton had the legend: CVIVS LIVORE SANATISVM. This translates to "whose jealousy is satanism." I found a reference to a sermon given by Saint Thomas Aquinas with the same phrasing. According to scriptures, the devil is jealous of God and of people. On the reverse, the temptation is depicted. The legend reads: IN ADAM OMNES MORIVNTVR. This translates to "In Adam, all die." Enough said.
   There is a phrase in the exergue that I cannot completely translate: IN CHRISTOOM NESVIVIFICA BV?T??. It reads "In Christendom, ... ." Can anyone help out with the translation?
   This jetton was found in a 1617 to 1625 archeological context at the north end of the Governor's residence. There was an addition built at the end of the "row of houses" in the time of Governor Samuel Argall. It was a two-room framed structure with a brick foundation. This building was used at the end of the fort period.
   This jetton is scarce but available, as I have seen three for sale in the past year. Few folks know that one was found in Jamestown. Its use might tell us about the beliefs and coping strategies of the early fort residents. There is gathering evidence that "old church" practices were privately used at Jamestown -- remember the witch bottle?