Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe

Drawing on three major museum holdings as well as featuring pieces from other international collections, this book looks at the phenomenon of holy relics in the Middle Ages. It traces the history and development of the cult of relics, from its beginnings in late Roman funerary practices to its rise in both the Byzantine East and the West.

From tomb to altar. The religion of relics in late antiquity and Byzantium / Derek Krueger —

Relics and their veneration / Arnold Angenendt —

Catalogue 1-35 —

Gathering the saints. Sacred things and holy bodies : collecting relics from late antiquity to the early Renaissance / Holger A. Klein —

"Non est in toto sanctior orbe locus" : collecting relics in early medieval Rome / Guido Cornini —

Catalogue 36-54 —

Ritual and performance. Relics, liturgical space, and the theology of the church / Éric Palazzo —

From altar to amulet : relics, portability, and devotion / James Robinson —

Catalogue 55-76 —

Matter of faith. The stuff of heaven : materials and craftsmanship in medieval reliquaries / Martina Bagnoli —

"A brilliant resurrection" : enamel shrines for relics in Limoges and Cologne, 1100-1230 / Barbara Drake Boehm —

The spectacle of the charismatic body : patrons, artists, and body-part reliquaries / Cynthia Hahn —

Catalogue 77-124 —

Beyond the Middle Ages. The afterlife of the reliquary / Alexander Nagel —

Catalogue 125-139.

• Author
• Martina Bagnoli, Alexander Nagel, Derek Krueger, Arnold Angenendt, Holger A. Klein, Guido Cornini, Eric Palazzo, James Robinson, Barbara Drake Boehm, Cynthia Hahn

• Format
• hardcover

• Pages
• 260

• Publisher
• British Museum Press

• Language
• english

• ISBN
• 9780714123301

• Genres
• art, religion, medieval, history

• Release date
• 2011