Relics (Religion)

Romancing Islam: Reclaiming Christian Unity in the Middle English Romances of Otuel and Ferumbras

by Andrew Klein

Orderic Vitalis: New perspectives on the historian and his world (Call for papers)

by Daniel Roach

9-11 April 2013, St John’s College, University of Durham

Call for papers
Orderic Vitalis:
New Perspectives on the Historian and His World

(9-11 April... more Call for papers
Orderic Vitalis:
New Perspectives on the Historian and His World

(9-11 April 2013, St John’s College, University of Durham)

The organising committee of the Durham University Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies conference 'Orderic Vitalis: New Perspectives on the historian and his world' invite abstracts from prospective speakers. This event, funded by the Durham University IMRS, will provide a forum for the dissemination of new research into the life and works of the monastic scholar, Orderic Vitalis. With plans already in place to publish a 'companion' volume on Orderic, this conference will aim to re-invigorate existing work and open new lines of research around a figure whose legacy has proven vital to scholars of the Anglo-Norman world.

While the conference welcomes papers on a wide scope of topics, we particularly invite abstracts for papers relating to the following areas:

•The manuscript history of Orderic's Historia ecclesiastica.

•Orderic's scholarly and scribal career away from the Historia ecclesiastica.

•Orderic’s travels, administrative activities, and studies away from Saint-Évroul.

•Orderic’s world view and his networks of knowledge-exchange and transfer.

•The 'rediscovery' of the Historia ecclesiastica by early modern audiences, and Orderic's subsequent influence on the development of Anglo-Norman studies.

Prospective speakers are invited to submit abstracts of between 250-300 words, and should also include their contact details (name, affiliation, e-mail address). The deadline for submissions is 1 September 2012. Limited bursaries towards travel costs will be offered to postgraduate speakers. If you wish to apply for one of these, please indicate this when submitting an abstract.

For further information about Orderic Vitalis: New perspectives on the historian and his world or to submit an abstract, please email Charlie Rozier, at: c.c.rozier@durham.ac.uk or Dan Roach at: dr229@exeter.ac.uk, or visit:
www.dur.ac.uk/imrs/conferences/orderic_vitalis/

The Role of Christian Spirituality in 13th Century Interpretations of the Fall of Constantinople: Relics and Icons as Interpretive Lenses

by Donna Hawk-Reinhard

"A Living Relic: Venice’s Doge and His Paradoxical Two Bodies"

by Michelle Laughran

Presented April 2, 2012 at the Royal Body Conference at Royal Holloway University of London, UK

Analysis of the dual role of the doge as titular ruler and yet simultaneously primus inter pares, following the lines... more Analysis of the dual role of the doge as titular ruler and yet simultaneously primus inter pares, following the lines of a Kantorowiczian political theology is, of course, not new in Venetian studies. Paradoxically, though, Kantorowicz is not seamlessly transferable to the Venetian context, however rampant dual-body imagery was in the city’s ceremonial life. After all, the king’s immortal body royal had to depend symbiotically on its body natural, relying upon the later’s unique capacity for biological reproduction in order to ensure continuity of the dynastic bloodline which would allow the monarchy, at least in theory, both to endure in perpetuity. In Venice, however, such a formulation was impossible, not least because, as part of the measures to limit potential ducal reigns, doges – like popes – tended to be elected at an advanced age. Hence, a different formulation of the two-bodies model had to be devised for the Venetian context. Only by becoming the living incarnation of the relics of Saint Mark could the otherwise constitutionally (and perhaps, for that matter, even biologically) largely impotent doge manage to embody both a widely-recognized, powerfully stabilizing influence and a monarchic sacrality.

“The Fate and Power of Heroic Bones and the Politics of Bone Transfer in Ancient Israel and Greece"

by Brian R. Doak

Harvard Theological Review (forthcoming)

This paper is an attempt to read the narratives recounting the fate of Saul’s body in 1 Sam 31:1–13 and 2 Sam 21:1–14... more This paper is an attempt to read the narratives recounting the fate of Saul’s body in 1 Sam 31:1–13 and 2 Sam 21:1–14 in light of what is known about heroic relics—specifically the bones of the hero—and the politics of hero cults in the western Iron Age Mediterranean. Specifically, I argue that Saul’s status as an Israelite “hero” is an appropriate and hitherto underexplored lens through which to explore the meaning and power of Saul’s dead body. First, I review Greek concepts regarding the battle for the body of the hero and briefly demonstrate the notion that divine favor is bestowed upon the possessor of the heroic body as an important part of Greek hero cult, evident in the movement of Theseus’ bones from Skyros to Athens (recorded in Plutarch’s Life of Theseus) and the transfer of Orestes’ bones from Tegea to Sparta (in Herodotus’ Histories), among other examples. Second, I explore the biblical passages regarding Saul’s death and bone transferal with specific attention to the religio-political drama culminating in the burial of Saul’s body in his home territory of Benjamin, only after which a deadly conflict is settled and a famine ended. The attention given to the power of the bones and the dead body in this biblical account is, I argue, analogous to certain Greek accounts in important and revealing ways, as both contexts reveal situations in which the location of a hero’s body has significant implications for either blessing or disaster for the possessors of that body.

Anatomy of a Cargo Cult: Virginity, Relic Envy, and Hallowed Boxes

by Ryan Byrne

Resurrecting the Brother of Jesus, eds. Ryan Byrne and Bernadette McNary-Zak (University of North Carolina Press, 2009) pp. 137-186

The Cult of the Cross in the Order of the Temple

by Jochen Schenk

published in As Ordens Militares. Freires, Guerreiros, Cavaleiros. Actas do VI Encontro sobre Ordens Militares, Vol. 1, GEsOS / Município de Palmela (Palmela, 2012), 207–219

Santa Tecla, San Jorge y Santa Bárbara: Los monarcas de la Corona de Aragón a la búsqueda de reliquias en Oriente (siglos XIV-XV)

by Vicent Baydal

Spanish: La veneración de las reliquias de figuras bíblicas, mártires y santos caracterizó al cristianismo... more Spanish: La veneración de las reliquias de figuras bíblicas, mártires y santos caracterizó al cristianismo prácticamente desde sus inicios. Sin embargo, fue partir del siglo XI, con la aparición de las monarquías feudales y la expansión de la sociedad europea, cuando las reliquias que se conservaban
en tierras orientales pasaron a convertirse en uno de los objetos más codiciados por los reyes occidentales tanto por su valor económico como por su función simbólica.
En el caso concreto de la Corona de Aragón, la monarquía llevó a cabo una activa política de adquisición de reliquias entre principios de siglo XIV y comienzos del XV, en la que destacaron tres casos particulares: el del brazo de Santa Tecla, conservado en Armenia, el de la cabeza de San Jorge, en tierras griegas, y el del cuerpo de Santa Bárbara, en El Cairo. En conjunto, aunque la monarquía catalano-aragonesa sólo consiguió la primera reliquia, los reiterados intentos por obtener las otras dos muestran que el tráfico de restos sacros fue uno de los puntos de contacto –bélico, diplomático, comercial e identitario- más intensos entre Occidente y las sociedades
orientales a lo largo del período tardomedieval.

English: Virtually since its inception Christianism was characterized by veneration of relics of biblical figures, martyrs and saints. Afterwards, with the emergence of feudal monarchies and the expansion of European society from the eleventh century, the Oriental relics became one of the most coveted objects by western kings both for its economic value as for its symbolic function.
In the case of the Crown of Aragon, the monarchy carried out an active policy of relics’ acquisition from the early fourteenth century to the beginning of the fifteenth one, in which highlighted three particular cases: the arm of Saint Thecla, preserved in Armenia the head of Saint George, in Greek lands, and the body of Saint Barbara, in Cairo. Overall, although the Catalan-Aragonese monarchy only got the first relic, the repeated attempts to get the other two show that traffic of sacred remains was one of the most intense points of military, diplomatic, commercial and identity contact between the West and Eastern societies during the late medieval period.

 ‘Lignum Salutifere Crucis quod in Prelio Detulerunt’: The Use of Sacred Objects in Battle during the Crusades

by Jan Vandeburie

ISHA Seminar ‘History Used as Propaganda’, 23-27 February 2011, Leuven

Face, Counterface, Counterfeit. The Lost Silver Visage of the Reliquary of St. Anthony’s Jawbone

by Francesco Lucchini

Published in in Meaning in Motion. Semantics of Movement in Medieval Art and Architecture, edited by N. Zchomelidse and G. Freni (Princeton, 2011)

Una proposta bolognese per il crocifisso ligneo duecentesco della Fondazione Giorgio Cini

by Luca Mor

in «Saggi e memorie di storia dell’arte», acts of symposium edited by G. Pavanello (Venice, Isola di San Giorgio 12-13 December 2003), 2005, 27, pp. 15-34
ISBN 8822255046

PROVIDED FOR NON-COMMERCIAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION USE.
NOT FOR REPRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION OR COMMERCIAL USE.

I cavalieri templari, la sindone di Torino e le sue presunte iscrizioni, in «Humanitas» 65/2 (2010), pp. 328-339.

by Andrea Nicolotti

About the Holy Shroud of Turin, its presumed link with the Kinights Templar, and invisible ancient insciptions on it About the Holy Shroud of Turin, its presumed link with the Kinights Templar, and invisible ancient insciptions on it

Quale l'antigrafo e quale l'apografo? Giovanni Aquilanti e Barbara Frale, Mysterium Baphometis revelatum, in «Giornale di Storia» 3 (2010).

by Andrea Nicolotti

About the pseudonyme "Giovanni Aquilanti" and its authentic connexion with Barbara Frale, from the Vatican... more About the pseudonyme "Giovanni Aquilanti" and its authentic connexion with Barbara Frale, from the Vatican Secret Archives

«Chi ha cervelliera di vetro, non vada a battaglia di sassi». In risposta a Barbara Frale, in «Giornale di Storia» 3 (2010).

by Andrea Nicolotti

La leggenda delle scritte sulla sindone, in «MicroMega» 4 (2010), pp. 67-79.

by Andrea Nicolotti

About the presumed ancient writings in Greek, Latin and Hebrew on the Holy Shroud of Turin About the presumed ancient writings in Greek, Latin and Hebrew on the Holy Shroud of Turin

Forme e vicende del Mandilio di Edessa secondo alcune moderne interpretazioni

by Andrea Nicolotti

in A. Monaci Castagno (ed.), Sacre impronte e oggetti «non fatti da mano d’uomo» nelle religioni. Atti del Convegno Internazionale – Torino, 18-20 maggio 2010, Alessandria, Edizioni Dell'Orso, 2011, pp. 279-307.
The entire book is available for free here: www.unito.it/csr

Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe April 27, 2011 Reviewed by Ittai Weinryb

by Ittai Weinryb

La consultation des possédés dans l'antiquité tardive: pythones, engastrimythoi et arrepticii

by Robert Wisniewski

Revue d’études augustiniennes et patristiques 51 (2005), 127-152

Le présent article traite d’une forme de divination consistant à interroger des gens considérés par le milieu chrétien... more Le présent article traite d’une forme de divination consistant à interroger des gens considérés par le milieu chrétien de l’antiquité tardive comme des possédés démoniaques. Je présenterai le matériel montrant que les propos des énergumènes, dans certains contextes, pouvaient avoir un caractère divinatoire. Mais l’essentiel de ma recherche ne porte pas tant sur les prophéties des démoniaques elles-mêmes que sur la pratique des consultations, laquelle, me semble-t-il, était analogue aux consultations des professionnels de l’art divinatoire. J’essaierai de recueillir différents témoignages établissant cette coutume, d’expliquer les termes utilisés pour désigner les énergumènes vaticinant, et de déterminer dans quelles conditions se déroulaient les consultations. Avant d’en venir à l’analyse de scènes attestant de cet usage pittoresque, l’on doit rappeler les idées des auteurs ecclésiastiques relatives à l’ensemble des méthodes de la mantique.

Picasso in Palestine: Displaced Art and the Borders of Community

by Younes Bouadi

Published in Continentcontinent.cc

Recherches sur l’essor du culte des reliques en Orient et en Occident

by Robert Wisniewski

Annuaire de l'École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Section des sciences religieuses 118 (2009-10)

A summary of the lectures delivered at École Pratique des Hautes Études in 2009 A summary of the lectures delivered at École Pratique des Hautes Études in 2009