Relics & Reliquaries

Chasse of Champagnat , ca. 1150, Limoges

Since relics were almost essential to the ordinary worship of the middle ages, and especially to monks, it was natural that men should everywhere seek and find. The following instance is chosen, out of scores or hundreds which might be found, on account of the celebrity of the saint, the reasonable tone of the narrative itself and the respect with which it is treated by so great a scholar as Mabillon.

Chasse: The Crucifixio n and Christ in Majesty, ca. 1180–90 French; Made in Limoges

Christian belief in the power of relics, the physical remains of a holy site or holy person, or objects with which they had contact, is as old as the faith itself and developed alongside it. This webpage includes a history of relics and reliquaries, as well as photos and descriptions of reliquaries in the Met's collection.

The history of the Black Rood.

late 14th to early 15th century. Wooden box with tin alloy badges.

In Northern European convents from about 1480 to 1520 artificial flowers were created from silk thread, parchment, and coiled wire to decorated the reliquaries. These were later refered to as "hortus conclusus".

Use of religous relics in period.