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RELICS AND RELIQUARIES
. Relics are the remains of a dead holy person or objects closely related to that person.
The Middle Ages recognized three classes of relics: the body, or parts of the body, of the
holy person; objects closely related to the person, such as garments; and objects that
touched these remains, as oils from the tomb collected in ampullae. While relics
constituting the whole bodies of holy persons were placed in tombs, from the early
Christian period on fragmentary parts of these bodies or objects closely related to the
dead person were placed in smaller receptacles called reliquaries, usually crafted of ivory,
precious metals, enamelwork, and gems.
The most important relics were those of Christ. Because Christian belief held that
Christ was resurrected and ascended into Heaven, nothing of his adult body remained as a
relic, although “relics” of his foreskin were recorded at Conques (9th c.), at Charroux in
Poitou (from the end of the 11th c.), and at Boulogne (15th c.). Some relics of his
clothing are found in France, such as his swaddling clothes and loincloth at Aix-la-
Chapelle (by the 9th c.) and the Holy Cloak at Argenteuil (13th c.). By far the most
numerous relics are those of the Passion (pieces of the True Cross, nails from the
Crucifixion, thorns from the Crown of Thorns). The most famous group of Passion relics
in France was that acquired by King Louis IX in the mid-13th century. The expense of
creating the gold and jeweled receptacles to hold these relics was actually greater than the
cost of the Sainte-Chapelle, which was built to house them.
Relics of the Virgin were next in importance. As she, too, was believed to have been
assumed bodily into Heaven, her relics tend to be objects closely related to her, such as
the tunic she wore at Christ’s birth (at Chartres by the 9th c.) and other garments at
Soissons, Marseille, and Arles. Also venerated were her hair (Coutances, Saint-Omer,
Saint-Denis), nail parings, and milk.
Relics of the Apostles and saints remain the largest category. Between the 3rd and 6th
centuries, veneration of
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