MDVccards: The Arts of Pilgrimage

For centuries, thousands of Christian pilgrims traveled to the shrine of Saint Menas in the Egyptian desert and the site became a bustling center for tourism. As a memento of the journey, visitors could take home ampullae (flasks) containing holy water or oil with an image of the saint on the exterior [y62]. Menas had been martyred for his faith in the late third century during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The size and popularity of his shrine attest to the importance of pilgrimage and the veneration of saints beginning in early Christian times. One of the goals of pilgrimage was to come into the presence of relics— physical remains of saints or personal items they had once owned or touched. Pilgrims could also take home soil from a sacred site and treasure it as a relic. Medieval Christians believed that the holy presence of a saint resided within these relics and could promote healing, protect the owner, or perform miracles. Such objects were carefully preserved in special containers, called reliquaries. One sixth-century marble reliquary is in the shape of a sarcophagus [y1945-249 a-b] while another work, likely also a reliquary, takes the form of a martyrium, or saint’s shrine, in miniature [2003-88]. Both works evoke the practice of venerating saints at their tombs. During the Middle Ages, the Christian Church established the requirement that all altars have a relic in order to be consecrated, giving even greater force to the tradition of the veneration of relics. As the cult of relics grew, artisans developed new and more ingenious forms to contain these sacred objects. [The Reliquary: Martyrdom of Saint Stephen] from Limoges is in the form of a gabled chest (châsse). The narrative scenes on the exterior depict the sentencing and stoning of the early church deacon and proto- martyr, Stephen. His relic would have been accessible through the door in the back. Another reliquary takes the form of the bust of Saint Thekla of Iconium (in modern-day Turkey), with a carved recess in the chest that probably held the relic [y1954-127]. She holds the instruments of her torture: a column with flames and a lioness. An early convert to Christianity, she refused to recant her faith and was twice sent to her death in the arena. First, she was tied to a column to be burned to death, but a storm miraculously saved her. Later, Saint Thekla was thrown to wild beasts, but the lioness simply curled up at her feet. Saint Thekla was revered throughout Christendom, as shown by this reliquary from Germany and a gold pendant from the Byzantine East [y1968-136]. One of the most important sites of pilgrimage in medieval Europe was the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, which houses the relics of Saint James the Greater. Many monasteries and churches along the roads to Santiago de Compostela were pilgrimage destinations in their own right. The French abbey church of Sainte-Madeleine in Vézelay, a popular stop along the route through Burgundy, housed the relics of Saint Mary Magdalene. The monastery spared no expense in creating a lavish home for the relics, and the church is considered a masterpiece of twelfth-century architecture. Just as modern tourists bring home souvenirs of their travels, medieval pilgrims purchased badges that were consecrated and sold at holy sites. When pinned to a hat or cloak, these badges also indicated that the wearer was a pilgrim and was to be given safe passage. This tradition continues for modern pilgrims; for example, pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela wear scallop shell (coquille) badges, as did their medieval counterparts. In medieval manuscripts, Saint James is often shown dressed as a pilgrim, his staff and traveling hat adorned with scallop shell badges.