Sir, the cult of the sacred relics, general physical remains or personal effects of a saint is a very important part of Christian religious and cultural tradition. According to Petaros et al., 'teeth represent a common type of Saints' relics because of their durability and the ease with which they can be acquired'.1

The numerous teeth of St. Apollonia have been described and analysed in previous studies.1,2 The authenticity of these sacred objects has been debated since the Renaissance and this is the case with St. Christopher's 'gigantic tooth' - one of the most remarkable examples of a non-authentic relic.

According to the legend, St. Christopher was a giant, five cubits (7.5 feet or 2.3 m) tall, who once carried a child through a deep river and finally discovered that the child was Christ.

Indeed, his name derived from the Late Greek name Χριστοφορος (Christophoros) meaning 'bearing Christ', derived from Χριστος (Christos) combined with φερω (phero), 'to bear, to carry'. The relic of the gigantic tooth was therefore a proof of the enormous size of the Saint.3

In the Late Middle Ages, the Humiliati friars purchased the relic and deposited it in a shrine of silver and gold in the church of St. Christopher in the town of Vercelli (Piedmont, Northern Italy). It attracted pilgrims from all parts of Europe, worshipping and praying to it.

Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540), a Spanish Renaissance humanist, stated that it was 'a molar tooth bigger than a fist' ('dens molaris pugno major').4,5

After the suppression of the Humiliati in 1571, the members of the religious order of Barnabites continued to venerate it until the end of the eighteenth century,3 when a naturalist analysed the relic. He surprisingly declared it to be a hippopotamus's tooth.6

As a consequence, Barnabites decided to keep it away from the altar and forbade its public veneration.

A few decades after, the Italian preacher Alessandro Gavazzi (1809-1889) reported this episode in a lecture against the Catholic cult of relics, stating that the Barnabites still kept the non-authentic relic as a curiosity in their monastery in Vercelli.6

In conclusion, the gigantic tooth of St. Christopher demonstrated that the authenticity of some tooth relics was also questioned and critically analysed in ancient times.