Thefts of Relics in Italy : From Late Antiquity to the Central Middle Ages, 300–1150

Abstract

With the emergence of the cult of saints, their remains assumed a central role, becoming sources of miraculous events and healings. According to the accounts of their martyrdom, the bodies were initially removed immediately after death to protect them from destruction by the elements or animals. In the centuries that followed, particularly after the cessation of persecution, the possession of saints’ relics came to signify prestige for a church, monastery, or city. The phenomenon of relic theft (furta sacra) – attested throughout the whole medieval Europe – is therefore closely linked to the need to document and legitimise such thefts, thereby establishing the right of a specific religious or urban community to claim possession of a saint’s remains. Justifications, legitimations, ordeals and supernatural interventions are intricately woven into the narratives of hagiographers across the centuries. This book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to reconstruct the cultural history of relic theft within the specific context of Italy, from Late Antiquity through to the Central Middle Ages.