Sacred Relics: From Byzantium to the West, session at 55th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, May 7–10, 2020

Recent work has shown that the Stone of Unction, a celebrated relic which arrived in Constantinople in 1172, is depicted in a wall-painting of the Lamentation in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel in Winchester Cathedral, commonly dated to the 1180s. This raises questions about societal interchange, whether through the rulers, the Churches, the artists or travellers. How was knowledge and understanding of the renowned relics transferred among the great cities and religious foundations of the east and of the west? This session explores the artistic and cultural influences this unrivalled collection in Constantinople had on the medieval west.

Papers are invited to consider theoretical interpretations of holy remains and their veneration as well as the replication of ceremonial performed around the relics and the creation of sacred space housing them. Other topics include the topological relation of sites (including those in the so-called Crusader States), iconographical representation, as well as the development of vitae of saints elaborated through the relics, and cultural transmigration.  

Session organizer
Cecily Hennessy, Christie’s Education, London