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The tradition of transferring and receiving relics has been analysed in detail for Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages; however, similar studies for the Late Middle Ages do not exist, even though there are often much more detailed sources for this period. An especially striking example is the reception of Saint Andrew -- or rather: of his head -- by Pope Pius II in Rome on the 12th and 13th of April 1462. A complete dossier of contemporary texts, which are interwoven in many ways documents this event: reports, orations, poems, etc. The best known account was written by the pope in his autobiographical Comentarii rerum memorabilium in which he presents his interpretation of the events. He not only describes the fundamental aspects of the Roman ceremony for the reception, he also highlights a plethora of details: the presence of large crowds, the visibility of the action from every point, the participation of many cardinals in painful pedestrian processions, the competition between Romans in decorating their houses, the effect of highly emotional speeches, and the miraculous clearing of the weather, without which the ceremony could not have taken place. By receiving Andrew, Pius II emphasized the apostolic dimension of the Eternal City (the apostle was received by the two Roman principes apostolorum), at the same time pushing towards a crusade against the Turks (the saint, who had fled to Rome, should have been brought back to his sedes on the Bosporus by force). The role the apostle played for the humanist pope's self-image can ultimately be seen in his building activity and his entombment next to Saint Andrew. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on kings and emperors as fishermen during the Carolingian Empire, mentions Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, and states that hunting and fishing was a good combination during the ninth century.