1. Relics and the medieval mind.
- Author
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Ward, Benedicta
- Subjects
- *
RELICS , *MIDDLE Ages , *SAINTS , *SHRINES , *MIRACLES , *BONES - Abstract
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]
- Published
- 2010
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