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Journal ArticleDOI

What Do Reliquaries Do for Relics

Cynthia Hahn
- 01 Jan 2010 - 
- Vol. 57, Iss: 3, pp 284-316
TLDR
In this article, the authors introduce prominent issues that surround the Christian use of reliquaries, first discussing examples from Trier made by the renowned Archbishop Egbert in the tenth century, then turning to early Christian texts to investigate the beginnings of relic practice and belief.
Abstract
This article introduces prominent issues that surround the Christian use of reliquaries, first discussing examples from Trier made by the renowned Archbishop Egbert in the tenth century, then turning to early Christian texts to investigate the beginnings of relic practice and belief. Of special interest are the letters and poems of Paulinus of Nola, but also the commentaries of Augustine, Ambrose, Victricius of Rouen and others that flesh out an understanding of how reliquaries were essential to the project of creating an appropriate reverentia for relics (Peter Brown’s term). The materiality of reliquaries, their creation of social relations, particular issues of enclosure and beauty, and questions of potential visibility are given special consideration.

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Dissertation

Chant and Urban Procession in Rouen 1150–1450

TL;DR: A rich body of processional chants from Rouen cathedral, the metropolitan church of the province of Normandy, survive from the beginning of the thirteenth century, a period defined roughly by the fall of the duchy of Normandy and the first building campaigns of the Gothic edifice at Rouen as discussed by the authors.
Dissertation

The story of an English saint's cult: an analysis of the influence of St Æthelthryth of Ely, c.670 - c.1540

TL;DR: In this paper, the history of the cult of St AEthelthryth of Ely is investigated, and it is argued that its longevity and geographical extent were determined by the malleability of her character, as narrated within the hagiographical texts of her life, and the continued promotion of her shrine by parties interested in utilising her saintly power to achieve their goals.

Faithful Handmaids to Scripture: Hermeneutics, Translation, and Devotional Practicein Late Medieval English Religious Writing

TL;DR: In this paper, the anonymous Marian debate lyric Dispute between Mary and the Cross, the Life of St Margaret by the Augustinian friar Osbern Bokenham, and two plays from the Nativity group in the Chester cycle plays, the Shepherds play and the Purification of the Virgin Mary play.
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Book

On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection

Susan Stewart
TL;DR: On Longing as discussed by the authors is an analysis of the ways in which everyday objects are narrated to animate or realize certain versions of the world, focusing on the relations of language to experience, the body to scale, and narratives to objects.
Book

Society and the Holy in Late Antiquity

Peter Brown
TL;DR: Brown as mentioned in this paper examines how the sacred impinged upon the profane during the first Christian millennium, with the blend of art and learning that is the hallmark of his work, and examines the relationship between the two.
Journal ArticleDOI

Furta Sacra. Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages

Kevin Trainor, +1 more
- 01 May 1993 - 
TL;DR: In a revised edition of Furta Sacra as mentioned in this paper, Geary considers the social and cultural context for these acts, asking how the relics were perceived and why the thefts met with the approval of medieval Christians.