Relics of place

Stone fragments of the Holy Sepulchre in eleventh-century France

Bibliographic Data

ID11891785
AuthorsRenana Bartal (Tel Aviv University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume44
Issue4
Pages406-421
Publication date2018-07-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Medieval History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0304-4181 • E-ISSN: 1873-1279
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03044181.2018.1487872
OpenAlexW2810418354
LanguageEN
Citations received7

This article considers stone pieces from the Holy Sepulchre brought to France in the eleventh century. Recent years have seen a growing awareness of architectural replications of the Holy Sepulchre built throughout the Latin West. Less attention has been devoted to its unmediated translation, namely, transporting its matter. Many French pilgrims who set out for Jerusalem before Urban preached crusade to the East in 1095 returned with stone fragments of the Holy Tomb to commemorate their visit and to consecrate architectural copies. Like the bodily remains of saints, these stone fragments acted as parts signifying the whole: they represented their place of origin and lent authenticity to local monuments. They could also act in unusual ways, attracting cults and prompting narratives, visual representations and staging in the church that announced their significance

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Eleventh · Classics · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub