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How do you turn old gold into priceless treasure? At the turn of the twentieth century, Sigurlina finds herself in a hopeless situation. She is the motherless daughter of an eccentric father, who expects her to spend her life helping him catalogue Icelandic archaeological artifacts. But Sigurlina has her own ambitions of education and excitement and after a harrowing experience, takes fate into her own hands. She disappears from Reykjavik, along with a historical relic from her father's collection. Through a series of incredible events, the artifact is unveiled at The Metropolitan Museum of New York. Meanwhile, officials in Iceland launch their own investigation into the theft of the artifact. A tragicomic tale about the preservation of cultural treasure, an intriguing perspective on the coincidences that have determined their place in history and a thrilling and winding story of the human fates that underpin it all.

The Thirty Pieces of Silver: Coin Relics in Medieval and Modern Europe discusses many interconnected topics relating to the most perfidious monetary transaction in history: the betrayal of Jesus by Judas for thirty pieces of silver. According to medieval legend, these coins had existed since the time of Abraham's father and had been used in many transactions recorded in the Bible. This book documents fifty specimens of coins which were venerated as holy relics in medieval and modern churches and monasteries of Europe, from Valencia to Uppsala. Most of these relics are ancient Greek silver coins in origin mounted in precious reliquaries or used for the distribution of their wax imprints believed to have healing powers.Drawing from a wide range of historical sources, from hagiography to numismatics, this book will appeal to students and academics researching Late Antique, Medieval, and Early Modern History, Theology, as well as all those interested in the function of relics throughout Christendom. The Thirty Pieces of Silver is a study that invites meditation on the highly symbolic and powerful role of money through coins which were the price, value, and measure of Christ and which, despite being the most abject objects, managed to become relics.

This study explores how the understanding of the Byzantine emperor as a sacred or divine figure changed in the Middle Byzantine period. It is based on close readings and studies of three medieval Passion relics held in Constantinople: the Mandylion, the relic-reliquary ensemble of the Limburg Staurotheke; and the Holy Stone. Accompanied by English-language translations of medieval Greek source texts pertaining to these relics, Sprecher demonstrates that the Passion relics in this period served to focus and narrow an understanding of the emperor not only as divinely appointed and anointed ruler, but also in surprising ways as being somehow divine himself., Diese Studie untersucht, wie sich das Verständnis des byzantinischen Kaisers als heilige oder göttliche Figur in der mittelbyzantinischen Periode veränderte. Sie stützt sich dabei auf die genaue Lektüre und das Studium dreier mittelalterlicher Passionsreliquien, die in Konstantinopel aufbewahrt wurden: des Mandylions, des Reliquienensembles der Limburger Staurotheke sowie des Heiligen Steins. Begleitet von ins Englische übersetzten mittelalterlichen griechischen Quellentexten, die sich auf diese Reliquien beziehen, zeigt Sprecher, dass die Passionsreliquien in dieser Zeit dazu dienten, den Kaiser nicht nur als von Gott ernannten und gesalbten Herrscher zu präsentieren, sondern ihn auf überraschende Weise auch selbst als göttlich erscheinen zu lassen.

Christians have often admired and venerated the martyrs who died for their faith, but for a long time thought that the bodies of martyrs should remain undisturbed in their graves. Initially, the Christian attitude towards the bones of the dead, saint or not, was that of respectful distance. The Beginnings of the Cult of Relics examines how this attitude changed in the mid-fourth century. Robert Wiśniewski investigates how Christians began to believe in the power of relics, first over demons, then over physical diseases and enemies. He considers how the faithful sought to reveal hidden knowledge at the tombs of saints and why they buried the dead close to them. An essential element of this new belief was a strong conviction that the power of relics was transferred in a physical way and so the following chapters study relics as material objects. Wiśniewski analyses how contact with relics operated and how close it was. Did people touch, kiss, or look at the very bones, or just at tombs and reliquaries which contained them? When did the custom of dividing relics begin? Finally, the book deals with discussions and polemics concerning relics, and attempts to find out the strength of the opposition which this new phenomenon had to face, both within and outside Christianity, on its way to become an essential element of medieval religiosity.

John Calvin is one of historys most influential religious figures. Calvin was a French theologian during the Reformation and later developed the system of Christian theology known as Calvinism. This edition of Calvins Treatise on Relics includes a table of contents.

The book Relics @ the Lab, an Analytical Approach to the Study of Relics includes a series of studies presented at the first international workshop Relics @ the Lab organized by the Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels, Belgium (27-28 October 2016). The papers cover a large variety of themes as well as analytical methods. Some papers focus on the primary relics while others deal with the nature and origin of secondary as well as tertiary relics. The first group of papers emphases on the archaeological authenticity of the relics, the second group elucidate the use, additions and manipulations of the relics through the ages. The applied analytical techniques are very diverse. Radiocarbon and physical anthropology are the main tools to study the primary relics, while dye analysis, imaging techniques, textile analysis and dendrochronology are used to study the secondary and tertiary relics. Sometimes unexpected techniques, like the analysis of writing ink or the determination of plants and excrements, complete the wide range of analytical methods used to understand the origin, nature and context of the relics. Academics as well as professionals working in archaeology, art history, museum labs and conservation sciences will find this an invaluable reference source.

John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation, and a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. In 1543 he penned A Treatise on Relics, and their religious-historical influence.

St Augustinus complains, in his work entitled'The Labour of Monks,'that certain people were, even in his time, exercising a dishonest trade, hawking about relics of martyrs, and he adds the following significant words,'should they really be relics of martyrs,'from which we may infer, that even then abuses and deceits were practised, by making simple folks believe that bones, picked up any where, were bones of saints. Since the origin of this abuse is so ancient, there can be no doubt that it has greatly increased during a long interval of years, particularly as the world has been much corrupted since that age, and has continued to deteriorate until it has arrived at its present condition.

The Pyramids and the Pentagonis a detailed study of how and why government agencies have, for decades, taken a clandestine and profound interest in numerous archeological, historical, and religious puzzles.Focusing primarily upon the classified work of the U.S. Government, The Pyramids and the Pentagon invites you to take a wild ride into the fog-shrouded past. It's a ride that incorporates highlights such as:The CIA's top-secret files on Noah's ArkU.S. Army documents positing that the Egyptian Pyramids were constructed via levitationDisturbing military encounters with Middle Eastern djinnsClaims of nuclear warfare in ancient IndiaLinks between the Face on Mars and the pharaohsAnd many moreNick Redfern's The Pyramids and the Pentagon clearly and provocatively demonstrates that deep and dark conspiracies exist within the shadowy world of officialdom—conspiracies that have the ability to rock the foundations of civilization, religion, and history to their very core. The strange and amazing secrets of the past are just a heavily guarded government vault away.

The first Western autobiography since Augustine's Confessions, the Monodies is set against the backdrop of the First Crusade and offers stunning insights into medieval society. As Guibert of Nogent intimately recounts his early years, monastic life, and the bloody uprising at Laon in 1112, we witness a world-and a mind-populated by royals, heretics, nuns, witches, and devils, and come to understand just how fervently he was preoccupied with sin, sexuality, the afterlife, and the dark arts. Exotic, disquieting, and illuminating, the Monodies is a work in which the dreams, fears, and superstitions of one man illuminate the psychology of an entire people. It is joined in this volume by On the Relics of Saints, a theological manifesto that has never appeared in English until now.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Scripture speaks of miracles wrought through relics: a dead man was raised when Elisha's bones touched him, and the clothing of Jesus and His apostles healed the sick. In the early Church, Masses were celebrated over the bones of the martyrs, and phials of their blood have effected countless miracles. Direct successors of the Apostles themselves speak of venerating relics; Church Fathers encourage it; throughout the ages of Catholic legacy, relics of the saints are always present. The Church takes diligent care in preserving and documenting the authenticity of her relics. Best-selling author Joan Carroll Cruz takes full advantage of these resources. With painstaking research, she exposes the details behind hundreds of the Church's most famous and beloved relics. She covers 38 second-class relicsof our Lord and Lady, such as the Holy Grail and Our Lady's Veil, and relics of all sorts from 75 favorite saints, such as St. Mary Magdalene, St. Agnes, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Maria Goretti, and many more! Relics is a unique collection of years of dedicated research about the lives of the saints and the mementos they left behind, to remind us of their presence and intercession for us.

Religious relics, defined as'either portions of or objects connected with the body of a saint or other holy person,'are among the most revered items in the world. Christian relics such as the Holy Grail, the True Cross, and the Lance of Longinus are also the source of limitless controversy. Such items have incited people to bloodshed and, some say, have been a source of miracles. Relics inspire fear and hope among the faithful and yet are a perennial target for skeptics, both secular and Christian. To research the authenticity of numerous Christian relics, Joe Nickell takes a scientific approach to a field of study all too often tainted by premature conclusions. In this volume, Nickell investigates such renowned relics as the Shroud of Turin, the multiple heads of John the Baptist, and the supposedly incorruptible corpses of saints, first examining the available evidence and documented history of each item. From accounts of true believers to the testimony of the relics'alleged fabricators, Nickell then presents all sides of each story, allowing the evidence to speak for itself. For each relic, Nickell evaluates both the corroborating and contradictory bodies of evidence and explores whether the relic and attributed miracles can be reconstructed. In addition to his own experiments, Nickell presents findings from the world's top scientists and historians regarding these controversial objects of reverence and ire, explaining the circumstances under which each case was examined. Radiocarbon dating and tests to determine the validity of substances such as blood or patina indicate a variety of possible origins. Nickell even reveals some of the techniques used to create archaeological forgeries and explains how investigators have exposed them. Each relic is a mystery to be solved; guided by the maxim,'extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof,'Nickell seeks only the truth.

Why do the Ark of the Covenant, Mary's reliquary box, and Jesus'Coffer all have the same imagery? Was the Ark the container of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments, or the Chalice? Does the image of the Shroud of Turin contain a bioelectric field? These questions and others will be explored in The Ark, The Shroud, and Mary.Author Philip Gardiner recently won the acclaim of both scholars and the reading public with The Serpent Grail, which united three of the most mysterious objects known to man—the Grail, Elixir, and Philosophers Stone. Now, in this unique and thought-provoking work Gardiner proves that the Ark of the Covenant, the Shroud of Turin, and Mary are united in ways never before imagined.Travelling across the world, from Rome to India, Portugal to Egypt, Gardiner uncovers the trail of the Ark and finds that it does not lead to Ethiopia, as many believe, but instead in a direction that nobody could have imagined. The trail of the Ark takes Gardiner on a hunt into the very heart of an ancient secret society with clandestine meetings in far-off lands. Uniting the myth, tradition, and language of the Ark with the Shroud of Turin, Gardiner then goes on to re-date it, reveal how it was made, and identify whose image it actually recreates. Through his new-found contacts in the world of secret societies, Gardiner then shows how this incredible secret was protected by a dual brotherhood throughout time and was the secret source of the enlightenment spoken of by numerous orders from the Sufis to the Knights Templar. The Ark, The Shroud, and Mary outshines The Da Vinci Code for the simple reason that it is the factual story of one man's fight to uncover the truth.

In 1239, king Louis IX of France performed the translation of the Crown of Thorns from Constantinople to Paris. The translation celebrations became a splendid religious festivity showing sacral foundations of Saint Louis’s authority and the Capetian kingship. However, the translation of the Crown of Thorns to France had already a history under Louis’s reign: French hagiographers and chroniclers affirmed that the first relics of the Crown of Thorns from Constantinople were transferred to Aachen by Charlemagne, then to Saint-Denis Abbey by Charles the Bald. The book discusses Saint Louis’s translation of the Crown of Thorns as seen on the background of both Carolingian historical memory in Capetian era and Carolingian and Capetian tradition of the royal cult of relics.

Avec le culte des reliques et la critique de ce culte, différentes formes du christianisme ont élaboré un ensemble de questions d'une extraordinaire richesse pour l'histoire comparée des religions. Cette discussion a été influencée d'abord par les Pères de l'Eglise, les débats byzantins et occidentaux médiévaux, puis par ceux de la Réforme et de la Contre-Réforme. Les théories et les débats chrétiens sur le culte des reliques nous offrent en effet de très utiles points de comparaison pour interroger toute une série de pratiques – et parfois aussi d'attitudes hostiles – présentes dans des univers religieux différents, proches ou éloignés. Antiquité égyptienne, grecque et proche orientale, islam, bouddhisme, religions chinoises et japonaises sont conviés tour à tour, dans ce volume, à réagir aux questions que leur posent la tradition et la mémoire de nos propres expériences. Les séminaires et le colloque final qui sont à l'origine de ce volume ont été organisés en 2002-2003 par l'unité d'histoire des religions de l'Université de Genève, dans le cadre du Forum d'Etude Comparée des Religions (programme lémanique Science-Vie-Société).

Die Herausforderung religionsgeschichtlicher Forschung besteht darin, die Erschließung von Quellen in ihren Kontexten und ihre theoriegeleitete Erklärung mit einer historisch-kritischen Reflexion der Wissensproduktion selbst zu verknüpfen. Die Reihe Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche und Vorarbeiten (RGVV) will dieser Komplementarität von historischer Kontextualisierung, theoretischer Verdichtung und disziplinärer Positionierung Rechnung tragen. Studien zu kulturspezifischen Sachzusammenhängen stehen neben vergleichenden Arbeiten, in Form von Monographien oder thematisch fokussierten Sammelbänden.