medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Hello Maddy,
It would seem more appropriate to me to refer to this item as an amulet
rather than a reliquary. Note the names of the three Magi around the
rim; these, I believe, were often associated with "white magic". As for
the female saint with the cross, it doesn't seem to me to have anything
to do with the Virgin Mary (a pity, really, as the shrine of Our Lady of
Ipswich might then have been involved). Even without a crown, it might,
I suppose, be St Helen, but many female martyrs were represented holding
quite large crosses simply to indicate their martyrdom. I'm working
with a small panel of stained glass with an image of St Margaret,who is
holding up a similar cross; mind you, in that case there is also a
rather obvious dragon at her feet as well. Here, we don't have any
other attributes, and it strikes me that it could be primarily the cross
which is of importance here. What is really striking about the work,
though, is the other side, with a wounded heart surrounded by what look
like four images of Christ's side wound with drops of (presumably) blood
dripping from them and more drops of blood surrounding them. It is
tempting to associate these with the relic of the Holy Blood at
Broomholm on the Norfolk coast, although there were Holy Blood relics
elsewhere in England, as well, as at Hailes and, I believe, Westminster
Abbey. Alternately, I suppose, the "side wounds" might be eyes, and the
drops thus tears: similar iconography is associated with the shrine of
the Sainte Larme at Vendome, which was also a prominent pilgrimage
site. Fascinating object, in any case.
Cheers,
Jim
PS Here's another try at providing a link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-11776113
On 20/11/2010 11:14 AM, Madeleine Gray wrote:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> I've been trying several times to send to the list a link to our BBC reporting of a reliquary found in a field in Essex. Apparently the British Museum has described it as depicting the Virgin Mary with a cross symbolising the Pieta. A colleague emailed suggesting it was more likely St Helen and was told very firmly that it couldn't be Helen because the figure is not crowned. I'd like to consult the collective wisdom of the list - so I'll try to send this again but without the link in case that's the problem. Without the link you can find it by going to the BBC site and keying in Reliquary as a search term.
>
> Maddy
>
>
> Dr Madeleine Gray
> Reader in History
> School of Education/Ysgol Addysg
> University of Wales, Newport/Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd
> Caerleon Campus/Campws Caerllion,
> Newport/Casnewydd NP18 3QT Tel: +44 (0)1633.432675
>
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|