618 reform, idea of
eternal life or the BEATIFIC VISION. According to Thomas
AQUINAS, sacrificial Redemption could only be carried out
by the blood of God, who had created and recreated
human nature. This notion depended on the concept of
the Trinity and the sacrifice was commemorated in the
Eucharist, one of the SEVEN SACRAMENTS. Medieval Chris-
tians believed that salvation occurred in and through the
mediation of Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trin-
ity, who shared completely in God’s divinity. Whether this
Redemption might lead all or only some people to salva-
tion and the role of GRACEin this were problems.
See also BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,SAINT;BONAVEN-
TURE,SAINT;CHRISTOLOGY AND CHRISTOLOGICAL CONTRO-
VERSY;JOHNSCOTTUSERIUGENA;TRINITARIAN DOCTRINE.
Further reading:Caroline Walker Bynum, Fragmenta-
tion and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body
in Medieval Religion(New York: Zone Books, 1991); C.
William Marx, The Devil’s Rights and the Redemption in the
Literature of Medieval England(Cambridge: D. S. Brewer,
1995); Brian Murdoch, Adam’s Grace: Fall and Redemption
in Medieval Literature(Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2000);
Marie-Anne Vannier, “Redemption,” EMA,2.128–1,1219.
reform, idea of In the Middle Ages, any concept or
even the term reformwas used only for religious matters.
There was little concept of reform or change in the feu-
dal, the political, and the secular legal systems or in the
economic or social structure. Reform was a restoration or
resumption of forgotten practices or institutions, now
rediscovered or discerned. Some reform movements, such
as that of the GREGORIANREFORM, introduced new ideas
about the relationship of the church and the state to
restore its proper functioning. In the monastic world,
there were “reforms” regularly all through the medieval
period to set monks back on the right path. This could
involve a general reform or reform of a particular convent
or monastery. Other innovations included dispatching
MENDICANT ORDERSout into the world to reform and help
with pastoral care, to adapt to the needs of society and
CHRISTENDOM. ISLAM, as did Christianity, underwent
changes in religious practice and belief, all classified as
reform and attempting to resume the original correct
practice. For both religions these reform movements
sometimes led to general changes and the secession of
heretical groups.
See alsoHERESY AND HERESIES; MONASTICISM.
Further reading: Gerhart B. Ladner, The Idea of
Reform: Its Impact on Christian Thought and Action in the
Age of the Fathers(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
Press, 1959); Guy Fitch Lytle, Reform and Authority in the
Medieval and Reformation Church (Washington, D.C.
Catholic University of American Press, 1981); Herbert E.
J. Cowdrey, The Cluniacs and the Gregorian Reform
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970); Steven E. Ozment, The
Age of Reform (1250–1550): An Intellectual and Religious
History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe(New
Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1980); Gerd Tellen-
bach, The Church in Western Europe from the Tenth to the
Early Twelfth Century, trans. Timothy Reuter (1988;
reprint, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).relics In the Middle Ages Christian relics were either
the actual physical remains of men or women venerated
as saints or objects sanctified by any contact or even
vague association with them. The expectation of a physi-
cal resurrection lent value to the proximity of the remains
of the Saints. From early Christian times this veneration
of martyrs and, later, other selected holy persons at their
tombs diverged from Hellenistic and Jewish traditions,
which avoided polluting contact with corpses.
With their nearby bodies as signs of a pledge to help
their communities, dead saints continued to be part of that
local community of the faithful. They were expected to
provide support through MIRACLES. The miracles of the
saints, not done on their own but were believed to be the
work of GOD, who was prompted by the saints and their
relics. Veneration of the saints was absolutely secondary to
the adoration reserved for God only. This distinction was
not always clear to the faithful. Ecclesiastical authorities,
recognized their value and tried to control these cults to
their own benefit, even financial gain.COMMERCIALIZATION
By the mid-fourth century bodies and body parts were
being moved about or translated from east and west. In
the west the dismemberment or translation, sale, or theft
of saints did not become common until the eighth cen-
tury. There was always some concern about authenticity,
so superficial steps were taken to verify it. Doubts also
arose about their efficacy throughout the Middle Ages,
among both heretical groups and the skeptical orthodox.
Relics tied to Jesus and his mother, the Blessed Virgin
MARY, grew in importance in the later Middle Ages.MATERIAL DESCRIPTIONS
In the Byzantine world, relics were primarily the bodies
or pieces of the bodies of saints. Relics of Jesus were
objects that supposedly had been in contact with him or
his Passion. There were pieces of the cross in CON-
STANTINOPLE and in JERUSALEM and many fragments
were soon scattered all over Europe. The body of the
Blessed Virgin had been assumed into heaven, so her
relics were necessarily secondary, such as her girdle,
cloak, or breast milk. The veneration of bodies of the
saints and martyrs and of tombs was well established in
Byzantine Christianity. The Iconoclasts, especially in the
eighth century, sought to suppress the cult of relics,
considering them idolatrous. When the crusaders
sacked Constantinople in 1204, many relics were taken
back to western Europe.