While the stone sarcophagi of saints were heavy and not easily moved, from at least
the 7th century on we also find in France smaller reliquaries that could be carried in
liturgical processions or brought to ecclesiastic councils. These reliquaries are made of
gilded copper, sometimes set with enamels or precious gems, the workmanship of the
7th- and 8th-century examples showing the influence of northern European Migrations
art. They are most frequently shaped like miniature sarcophagi (reliquary casket of St.
Maurice d’Agaune, 7th c.; reliquary casket of St. Mommola, 8th c., Saint-Benoît-sur-
Loire; reliquary casket with Christ blessing between the archangels Michael and Gabriel,
8th c., church of Saint-Evrault, Mortain), or they were fashioned like purses (purse
reliquary of Saint-Bon-net-Avalouze, 7th c.; purse reliquary with Virgin and Child
between SS.Peter and Paul, 8th c., now in the Cluny Museum).
During the Carolingian period, the demand for relics increased. Although dead bodies
were supposed to remain intact for the Final Resurrection, after considerable negotiation
the ecclesiastic hierarchy in Rome agreed to the dismemberment of saints’ bodies, having
placed them in a special category. Relic fragments in this period found their way into
altars and reliquaries of the casket and purse type.
It is during the Carolingian period that a new type of reliquary appears in France, one
that imitates the shape of the body part within. The tradition of body-part reliquaries may
have originated in the East: the Piacenza pilgrim (ca. 570) saw a gold-encased and
jeweled head reliquary of St. Theodota in Jerusalem. The earliest record of a body-part
reliquary in the West is the 9th-century Carolingian head reliquary of St. Mauritius, given
to Vienne cathedral by King Boso of Provence (d. 887). Head reliquaries be-come
common in the Middle Ages, with many French examples. In addition to head reliquaries
(Alexander head, 12th c.; St. Yrieux, 13th c.), there are bust reliquaries (St. Baudine, St.
Césaire, St. Chaffre, all from the 12th c.) and a considerable number of arm reliquaries
and some foot reliquaries, which seem to have been most popular during the 12th and
13th centuries.
Whole-figure reliquary statues in France are found from at least the 10th century. The
only extant reliquary of this type from this period is that of St. Foy in Conques (probably
assembled ca. 984), but Bernard of Angers writes of four such figure reliquaries brought
to a synod at Rodez in the early 11th century. A surviving 13th-century example is the St.
Stephen reliquary now at The Cloisters in New York.
By the 12th century, many types of reliquaries can be found, most of which continue
to be made to the end of the Middle Ages. In addition to the casket, purse, body-part, and
figure reliquaries, a number of relics of the True Cross are placed within cross-shaped
reliquaries (Cross of Clairmaris, Saint-Omer, 13th c.) and reliquaries in the shape of a
miniature church (reliquary of St. Romain, Rouen, and of St. Taurin at Évreux, both 13th
c.) became popular. Monstrance reliquaries, known from at least the 12th century,
become popular in the late Middle Ages. These reliquaries are in many shapes, but all
include a glass or crystal compartment in which the relic can be clearly seen (reliquary of
the hand of St. Attale, Strasbourg, 12th-15th c.; carriage reliquary, Orléans, 13th c.;
reliquary of the Holy Thorn, Arras, 13th c.). Reliquaries with the contemplative aid of
narrative scenes can also be dated from the 12th century on (Stavelot Triptych with relics
of the True Cross and scenes of the finding of the True Cross, Pierpont Morgan Library,
12th c.; reliquary of the Virgin and Child with scenes of Christ’s infancy, The Cloisters,
14th c.).
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