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The authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, also known as the ‘Síndone’ or ‘Holy Shroud’, faces significant doubt based on scientific evidence. Carbon‐14 testing conducted decades ago placed its origin in the Middle Ages, raising questions about its connection to Jesus Christ. This article highlights an anatomical anomaly: the hand placement covering the genitals appears inconsistent with human proportions, suggesting a possible artistic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liturgy was the perfect and unparalleled medium for public relations in the Middle Ages, and when it came to relics, it could transform any stone, bone, or a piece of wood into an object worthy of devotion. This article revolves around the activating force of the relics of Mary Magdalene in medieval France. It examines two liturgies—from Vézelay and from Saint-Maximin in Provence—honouring the saint, representing two distinct responses whose character reflects the priorities of the communities that produced them and the agendas that set them in motion. Liturgy was accorded a special role in bolstering the claims of Provence over the corporeal presence of Mary Magdalene in its midst, with liturgists adopting a more audacious and unreserved vocabulary to validate these claims over those of Vézelay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the symbols used for representing power in the Middle Ages were the relics of saints and martyrs. When it came to political power, relics were one of the most cherished symbolic instruments to achieve legitimation of political power. However, no texts from the Middle Ages can be found that reflect the practice of associating relics with power. Rather, we have to assume or derive that reflection indirectly through narratives and stories around the relics present in the culture and religion of the time. This article reflects on the symbolic use of relics from a theological–political perspective: What kind of power acts through relics? What meaning of power is embodied in their political use of them? The thesis that the article will defend is that reflection on the politics of relics leads to a resignification of the idea of power in the Middle Ages, which is closely connected to the idea of charisma originating in the writings of the Apostle Paul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article examines the material and ideological meaning of the three relics of the True Cross acquired by Louis IX in 1241 and 1242, which were venerated, along with the Crown of Thorns, in the Sainte-Chapelle, as part of the broader project of building Capetian sacral kingship in the High Middle Ages. Although cross relics flooded Western Christendom after 1204, these three relics, acquired directly from the Byzantine emperor, were specifically associated with Constantine and Heraclius and their historic military victories against enemies of Christian empire. The article identifies one of the three relics, known to contemporaries as the crux triumphalis in Latin and the croix de victoire in French, which Byzantine emperors were said to have carried into battle, as a relic that Louis IX then brought with him on his crusade of 1249–50 to Egypt, in hopes of martialing its historic power against the infidel in battle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his book Le portrait du roi, Louis Marin seems to continue Ernst Kantorowicz's work on the Middle Ages, extending it to Early Modernity. Marin's book adds another body to the historical and juridical political bodies of Kantorowicz's King described in The Two King's Bodies, namely the portrait of the King. According to Marin, this body drives the interchange between the historical and juridical bodies; hence, the absolutist king has three bodies in one: the historical, the semiotic-sacramental, and the juridical. Following Kantorowicz and Marin's argumentative line, this paper addresses the ways in which absent or dead bodies can act politically, in particular, the shift in political legitimation that goes hand in hand with the transition from a politics of relics to a politics of images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Reti Medievali is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Changzhou University (Social Science Edition) is the property of Editorial Department of Journal of Changzhou University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In a medieval church, saints were present in their relics and could be encountered, but typically not directly seen or touched. The sensory encounters occurred via specific interfaces or, in David Morgan's words, focal objects - reliquaries made with the best available skills and materials to represent the holy presence. These encounters, taking place, for instance, in the contexts of miracles or feasts of relic translations, were highlights of lived religion for laymen and religious professionals alike despite the differences between the groups' daily lives and access to religious objects. Reliquaries were made with remarkable investments in visual impact. However, in the medieval Nordic written sources, this impact is seldom described. Instead, other sensory and interactive effects manifesting the power of the saints and their relics - scents, sounds, touch, and movement - seem to dominate the emotionally charged encounters with reliquaries. This article argues that the eloquent shapes, shining materials, and hagi-ographic imagery were not ignored, but their message was incorporated into the other sensory stimuli in the written descriptions of encounters with the holy objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The paper deals with the study of the hilltop Buddhist complex known as Giriyaka at Rājgir, Nālandā district of Bihar, India. This site was first noticed by the archaeologists of the colonial period. A M Broadley, Francis Buchanan, Malcom Kittoe, Alexander Cunningham, etc., surveyed and explored the site to identify Buddhist monastic artefacts and remains. The archaeological landscape of Giriyaka offers multi phases linear development of Buddhism since the NBPW period. Cunningham articulates it as Indasāla-guhā where the Buddha preached the Sakkapaňňa Sutta but it was vehemently opposed by Broadley and others. The archaeological remains include wellpreserved stūpas, water reservoir, monasteries, and seals. The close examination of remains at Giriyaka provides new facets into antiquity, development, and continuity of Buddhism from the age of the Buddha to the early medieval period. An enigmatic structure located on a steep hill protected by parapet corresponds to a glimpse of a well-developed sacred space of stūpas and vihāras. The caves in the surrounding hills show interesting but intricate information. The structural remains also indicate that the Giriyaka was the first fully evolved hilltop monastery in the Magadha region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Westminster Abbey's relics, and objects functionally related to them, were kept in the shrine chapel of St Edward the Confessor, where the kings and queens of England were customarily buried. They constituted a discrete collection, curated by a dedicated monastic officer titled 'the keeper of St Edward's shrine and the relics of St Peter's church'. Inventories of the chapel, made when the office changed hands, survive from 1467, 1479 and 1520. These documents are analysed here for what they reveal of the contents of the collection, monastic interest in it, and the way the relics and related objects were cared for. As an important aspect of the chapel's spatial configuration, the problem of where precisely the relics were located is also investigated. By examining the routine management of a single, important collection, the article aims to contribute to a more holistic understanding of the cult of relics in the late Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 'The Bartered Body,' George Greenia disentangles the complex desires and experiences of religious travellers of the High Middle Ages who knew the spiritual usefulness of their vulnerable flesh. The bodily remains of the saints housed in pilgrim shrines were not just remnants of a redeemed past, but open portals for spiritual exchange with the living body of the visiting pilgrim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charles IV accumulated collections of relics which symbolized his imperial ambi-tions: as the Holy Roman Emperor, he obtained the imperial crown jewels that he kept – along with a newly created collection of the reliquary treasure of the Bohemian Kingdom – in the Karlštejn castle. This collection, together with the relic collection of the St. Vitus Cathedral, represented his political idea of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. The relic collections were regularly shown to the large public at the Cattle Market (today’s Charles Square) and in the cathedral. The way these collections came about and the public’s interaction with them consti-tute a medieval form of the museum phenomenon and thus go beyond the contemporary pre-dominant ways of collecting objects of great value and significance as practiced by church treasuries and noble palace treasure chests.

This article focuses on the art and architecture of the Cistercian abbey of Hailes, home of a famous relic of the Holy Blood, in the two centuries before the Suppression. It is intended to be a contribution to evolving literature on late medieval monasticism, showing the enduring spiritual vitality and relevance of Hailes between the 14th and early 16th centuries. The article discusses the planning and architecture of the late medieval monastery, the extent of and motives for the internal and external patronage and the relationship of the monastery with its sister Cistercian houses, especially those in northern England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The early sixteenth-century Enclosed Gardens or Horti Conclusi of the Augustinian Hospital Sisters of Mechelen in Belgium, form an exceptional world heritage collection from the late medieval period. Most Enclosed Gardens have been lost to the ravages of time, with this loss exacerbated by lack of both understanding and interest. No fewer than seven Enclosed Gardens, however, were preserved until the late twentieth century in their original context: the small community of Augustinian nuns in Mechelen. Like sleeping beauties, they remained secluded in the sisters’ rooms as aids to devotion. Their centuries-long slumber has recently given way to a new phase of lively debate and active scholarship, as these popular retables are now considered unique testimonies of female spirituality in the sixteenth century. Their remarkable pictorial vernacular provides new insights into life, thought and devotion in female convent communities. They testify to a cultural identity connected with strong mystical traditions; they are a gateway to a lost world, an essential part of the rich material and immaterial culture of the Southern Netherlands in the early sixteenth century [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two early medieval jewelled crosses are preserved in the treasury of the Cathedral of Oviedo. The first, known as the Cross of the Angels, was donated by King Alfonso II in the year 808. The second, the so-called Cross of Victory, was given as a gift to the Cathedral by King Alfonso III in 908. The original function of these crosses remains unknown, as the early medieval sources are silent on the subject. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that the earlier of these two crosses was displayed on the main altar of the Cathedral of Oviedo before the twelfth century, while it seems likely that the second cross functioned as a processional cross. Around the turn of the twelfth century, the bishops of Oviedo began to develop a propagandistic programme using a series of old objects that were incorporated into new discursive contexts, in particular the corpus of texts redacted by Pelayo of Oviedo (1089–1153), consisting of theLiber Testamentorumand theCorpus Pelagianum. From this point on, the crosses became the stars of a series of legendary tales, whose enduring popularity has helped preserve these objects. This article reviews the historiographic process by which the first of these two crosses was transformed intoacheiropoieton, and the second, into a Christian battle standard at the Battle of Covadonga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the converged media enterprise that inextricably links St. Veronica with the vera icon. In order to employ both saint and relic as vehicles to impart concepts of salvation, medieval legendary narratives develop various media strategies, which undergo further differentiation within the contexts of religious transformations and media conversions characteristic of the late Middle Ages. This is specifically relevant with regard to a popular Middle High German adaptation of the Veronica legend generally known as Veronica II. This text presents the comfortless void created by the absence of Christ in the immediate aftermath of his crucifixion, only to suggest a number of practices and procedures designed to alleviate and counteract the effects of this loss. Veronica II deploys the vera icon's media-reflexive potential and displays a specific late medieval form of media competence, that is, an aptitude in combining and blending strategies of medializing salvation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charles IV accumulated collections of relics which symbolized his imperial ambitions: as the Holy Roman Emperor, he obtained the imperial crown jewels that he kept -- along with a newly created collection of the reliquary treasure of the Bohemian Kingdom -- in the Karlštejn castle. This collection, together with the relic collection of the St. Vitus Cathedral, represented his political idea of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. The relic collections were regularly shown to the public at the Cattle Market (today's Charles Square) and in the cathedral. The way these collections came about and the publics interaction with them constitute a medieval form of the museum phenomenon and thus go beyond the contemporary predominant ways of collecting objects of great value and significance as practiced by church treasuries and noble palace treasure chests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the history of religious practices in Europe during the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the religious Reformation from the early 1500s to about 1570. Particular attention is paid to religious relics in Christianity and the Catholic Church. The author argues that relics were part of a larger system of beliefs and religious practices such as pilgrimage, miracles and indulgences, which were also important to the religious lives of believers.

The article discusses the practice of burning corpses in the Middle Ages, with a particular focus on the relationship between the bodies of heretics and saints. According to the author, the burning of heretics originated with mob violence rather than an organized system of punishment designed by clergy or heads of state. Topics discussed include Biblical and hagiographical allusions to burning, pagan laws and rituals, and relics.

Ancient Greek is widely regarded as a language with an extraordinary number of so-called “Wackernagel P2 particles” such as γάρ, δ(έ), and μέν, which serve a multitude of discourse functions. From the post-Classical period on, however, these small words gradually lose their importance in discourse and die out. This is reflected in the interest of scholars: while there are many studies on particles in older stages of Greek, not much research has been conducted on the particles in late medieval Greek (LMG; twelfth to fifteenth centuries). At this stage of the Greek language, the P2 particles are acknowledged to no longer be part of the living spoken language. Nonetheless, some of these small words still turn up in texts written in the vernacular. Since most LMG vernacular literature is composed in the metre of the 15-syllabic πολιτικὸς στίχος (vernacular prose being extremely scarce in this period), these occurrences are traditionally explained by appealing tometricaland/orstylisticreasons: the particles constitute archaizing relics merely inserted to give a classicizing flavour to the text, or are even used “metri causa”, simply to achieve the required number of syllables. In this note, I present a case-study on the “explanatory” particle γάρ (“for”) in theChronicle of Morea, the best-known verse chronicle of the Greek Middle Ages. I show that γάρ is more than a blatant line filler. First, γάρ is not at all distributed at random, but consistently occupies P2 and thus obeys the so-called “Law of Wackernagel”, as the particles in Ancient Greek do. Moreover, γάρ can still exert a cleardiscoursefunction, albeit often a different one than in Ancient Greek. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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The aim of this article is to show the diffusion, survival and influence of the Christian medieval legendary in a corpus of historiographic sources. In this case, it is about how the tales of the Sevillian Saints Justa and Rufina, included in the Pasionario Hispánico, the most important hagiographic-liturgical collection in Spain and widely known in the Visigoth and Mozarab epochs, became ecclesiastical and urban stories, adapted and updated in function of the lay and ecclesiastical values and ideals. Thus, we consider that the religious and cultural tradition that grew up around the above-mentioned saints from the late antiquity was kept alive through written works. These served a clearly edifying purposes for faithful and devout Christians, with narrations that served to exalt their hometown, the city of Seville, ennobled by the illustrious patrons who, with their "tangible presence" demonstrated through their relics and miracles, sacralised it and protected its inhabitants during the Reconquest and everyday necessities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper relates the evolution of Gregory the Great’s reputation as creator of the Roman liturgy to the slow process by which the Rule of Benedict acquired authority within monasticism in the seventh and eighth centuries. It argues that Gregory composed the Dialogues to promote ascetic values within the Church, but that this work did not begin to circulate in Spain and then Gaul until the 630s, precisely when Gregory’s known interest in liturgical reform is first attested in Rome. The letters of Pope Vitalian (657–72) provide hitherto unnoticed testimony to the theft of Benedict’s relics by monks of Fleury c.660, marking a new stage in the evolution of monastic culture in Gaul. The paper also argues that the Ordo Romanus XIX is not a Frankish composition from the second half of the eighth century (as Andrieu claimed), but provides important evidence for the Rule being observed at St Peter’s, Rome, in the late seventh century. While Gregory was interested in liturgical reform, he never enforced any particular observance on the broader church, just as he never imposed any particular rule. By the time of Charlemagne, however, Gregory had been transformed into an ideal figure imposing uniformity of liturgical observance, as well as mandating the Rule of Benedict within monasticism. Yet the church of the Lateran, mother church of the city of Rome, continued to maintain its own liturgy and ancient form of chant, which it claimed had been composed by Pope Vitalian, even in the thirteenth century. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article explores the significance of sensory experience in the medieval period, with particular focus on the act of bodily participation with the divine, and its reflection in the visual and architectural structure of religious sites. It notes that medieval religiosity has dominated life and with its engagement, senses become inherent, such as the burning of incense and the kissing of relics of religious images. Furthermore, several stained glass images from the decorative frameworks of the two most popular English shrines of the medieval period are examined to illustrate the importance of sensory experience.

The paper investigates the evolution of St. John the New’s cult in Moldavia during the first two centuries of its existence, from the perspective of its dynastic implications. Orchestrated on princely initiative, the ceremonial transfer of his relics to Suceava (1415) played the role of a local canonization and marked the starting point of St. John’s veneration as protector saint of the country. However, the evidence suggests that his career as such was neither linear, nor long lasting. By scrutinizing all the available data indicating the direct participation of the political authority in supporting and consolidating St. John’s cult, the analysis points out that he was unequivocally promoted as protector saint of the principality only towards the middle of the sixteenth century. Almost completely ignored until then, the cult had been encouraged only by princes with strong dynastic preoccupations (Alexander the Kind, Stephan the Great, Petru Rares), which suggest a gradual association of St. John the New with the ruling dynasty. Even if invested with political significance from the beginning, the cult was explicitly exploited for dynastical purposes in Moldavia only towards the end of the sixteenth century. In a time when succession to the throne was no longer confined exclusively to the traditional ruling house, the increasing devotion of princes with dynastical flaws (Peter the Lame or Ieremia Movilă) for the saint’s relics was more and more charged with political significance, publicly affirming their affiliation to the dynasty. For the last Moldavian princes preoccupied with the continuity of the old lineage, the appropriation of St. John’s cult and its ostentatious promotion seem to have been effective in terms of dynastic legitimacy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sketches the origins of the veneration of relics in the early Church through the Middle Ages to a new approach to them in western Europe after the sixteenth century. They had been seen as a living link between heaven and earth, but new questions transferred them from a symbolic universe to an analytic sphere. The new question was 'how' did this work, about mechanics, not about meaning, the 'why' question, 'What is in it for me now?' How can we value relics today in our scientifically orientated world? Changes in thought are suggested together with ways to return to a serious appreciation of relics. I want to suggest that we can appreciate relics as part of a mutual dependence here and now between ourselves, the living, and the dead who are alive in Christ. This would underline for us a sense of the goodness of the flesh, as well as the accessibility of the living saints in relation to us in Christ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the Counter-Reformation medievalization of Polish–Lithuanian St. Kazimierz Jagiellończyk (1458–1484)—whose canonization was only finalized in the seventeenth century—as a case study, taking up questions of the reception of cults of medieval saints in post-medieval societies, or in this case, the retroactive refashioning into a venerable medieval saint. The article investigates these questions across a transcultural Italo–Baltic context through the activities of principal agents of the saint's re-fashioning as a venerable saint during the late seventeenth century: the Pacowie from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Medici from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, during a watershed period of Tuscan–Lithuanian bidirectional interest. During this period, the two dynasties were entangled not only by means of the shared division of Jagiellończyk's bodily remains through translatio—the ritual relocation of relics of saints and holy persons—but also self-representational strategies that furthered their religio-political agendas and retroactively constructed their houses' venerable medieval roots back through antiquity. Drawing on distinct genres of textual, visual, and material sources, the article analyzes the Tuscan–Lithuanian refashioning of Kazimierz against a series of precious reliquaries made to translate holy remains between Vilnius to Florence to offer a contribution to the entangled histories of sanctity, art and material culture, and conceptual geography within the transtemporal and transcultural neocolonial context interconnecting the Middle Ages, Age of Reformations, and the Counter-Reformation between Italy and Baltic Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article talks about the devotion of Radegund, queen of the Franks, to the relic of the True Cross. It gives a description of the True Cross reliquary and discusses the small plaque containing cross relics believed to be a part of Radegund's collection. Piotr Skubiszewski believed that the reliquary disappeared in the early Middle Ages. The triptych wings, in which the plaque was once a part of, is also discussed. The story of Radegund's collection of relics is discussed in the queen's vitae written by Baudonivia.

The article discusses the relics, reliquaries and the limitations of trecento painting. It presents and discusses the Naddo Ceccarelli's reliquary tabernacle preserved in the Walters Art Museum, including the Reliquary Tabernacle with Virgin and Child and Christ as the Man of Sorrows. The Baltimore reliquary's focus on the relationship between panel painting, the diplay of relics and the visual culture of Marian devotion at the end of the Middle Ages is offered. Nino Pisano's statue of the Virgin and Child and a reliquary painted by Bartolo di Fredi are also discussed.

Presents a reconstruction and interpretation of a thirteenth-century office for the translation of Thomas Becket's relics from the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral in England. Connections between the longer lessons and the TH28 rhyming office; Significance of the dates of composition and use; Relationship with Stephen Langton and his circle.

The article presents a report from an April 11-12, 2014 conference in Munich, Germany on the history of transporting human remains in Europe. Topics of presentations delivered included the practice of boiling the flesh off of bones of venerated corpses to make relics in the Middle Ages, the preservation and burial of human hearts in the early modern era, and graffiti of vulvae and penises drawn by religious pilgrims in the Netherlands and in England.

The article deals with unpublished research materials from the medieval Christian cemetery located on the territory of the hillfort in the village of Kopachyntsi in Sub-Carpathian region (Ukraine) which were conducted in 1953. Excavations were verified, objects and artefacts were analysed, and an attempt to attribute and date them was made. The site is represented by inhumations in pits, as well as burials under stone slabs. The so-called "under the slab burials" are a separate category of monuments of funeral culture, which is characterized by its diffusion only on the territory of Halician-Volhynian state, but not the whole of Kyiv Rus'. At the same time, such monuments are known in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia and Poland. Data on most of the under the slab monuments discovered on the territory of Ukraine are often uninformative, and therefore the publication of the results of stationary archaeological excavations is extremely important for understanding this cultural and religious phenomenon. Special attention is paid to a rare stone cross that was found by the deceased. The search for analogies allows us to conclude that it may be a pilgrimage relic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article states that among Lord Peter's many wild projects with which English satirist Jonathan Swift lambasted "the ridiculous inventions of popery" in Section IV of the book A Tale of a Tub is a cow, which gave as much milk at a meal, as would fill three thousand Churches. In a note appended to the fifth edition of the Tale in 1710, the miraculous cow is said to signify the "ridiculous multiplying of the Virgin Mary's milk among the Papists," manifestly an abuse of a relic which was widespread in the Middle Ages and which had increasingly come under attack in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.