There may possibily be information of use in studies of the death and relics of Thomas Aquinas. I have read that at some point after his death in 1274 at the Cistercian abbey of Fossanova, the monks boiled Thomas's remains; apparently their aim was to have the bones alone. I remember hearing that this was so the monks could hide these relics more easily, rather than keep Thomas's big body around. It may well be that odour had something to do with it, of course. The boiling was done either immediately after death (which I doubt), or at a time in the early 1300s, when moves were made to get a canonization process going.

Perhaps someone familiar with Thomas's relics could chip in?

Best wishes, George

George FERZOCO

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On 14 Feb 2013, at 16:14, Gaie Burnet wrote:

medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Dear members,

I am delighted to join the medieval -religion list and thank any of you who would be willing to help me with a particular aspect of my research: excarnation practices in Siena c.1310.

I am a retired Political Scientist, who lectured in Methodology, Statistics and Political Institutions, and am now studying for a PhD in the History of Art at the University of Bristol. My first PhD (at the LSE) was a a study of contemporary women artists; my second cousin is Barbara Hepworth, one of the earliest known women artists in the 20th century, which may explain some of my interest. Currently, my husband (a retired Professor of Science Communication) and I live half of our time in a windmill in Canterbury and the other half in Umbria, 40 km from Assisi.

The focus of my study is the altarpiece of Beato Agostino Novello by Simone Martini (c.1320s), which was originally painted for the Augustinian church of Sant'Agostino in Siena and currently resides in the Pinacoteca, Siena. The altarpiece is part of a tomb-altar to the beato and the record of the pastoral visit of the Bishop of Perugia in 1575 states that the sarcophagus was made of wood with an iron grill and decorated with paintings. I am interested in whether the paintings on the sarcophagus complemented those on the altarpiece and who might have painted them. Some idea of the length of time it would take before bones could be displayed in the wooden sarcophagus would be a useful indicator of who might have painted the panels, but I am finding it quite difficult to get a firm handle on the process of excarnation that might have been followed at that time. I would be most grateful if anyone has any information on this rather grisly topic.

With many thanks
Gaie

--
Gaie

Dr Gaie Burnet
St Martin's Windmill, 6 Windmill Close, St Martin's Hill, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1PT Tel. +44 (0)1227 470708. UK Mob/ Cell +44 (0)7979 842662
La Casella, 42 Prine, Monte Santa Maria Tiberina, Pg 06010 Italy Tel. +39 075 7826525. Italy Mob/ Cell +39 3208017922
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