> A question
>> arises about scraps of wood said to be from
>> the true cross.
> The
>total number of known relics of the True Cross has been investigated and
>the entire mass does not come anywhere near a tiny portion of a real Roman
>instrument of execution. ...
> --Dennis Martin
>
However thorough the Counter-Reformation Jesuits were in their
investigation of the volume of the fragments of the "true cross," one
possible complication may make their apologetics irrelevant. Many relics in
the Middle Ages were "contact relics"--pieces of linen, vials of oil,
etc.--which were ordinary materials that had been placed in contact with
venerated relics for periods of time. Early medieval Rome, in particular,
preferred to issue contact relics as souvenirs rather than deplete its
treasure of originals. The logical contact relic from a fragment of the
true cross would have been a piece of wood. I have not seen any text
specifically indicating that relics of the true cross were multiplied in
this way, but it would have been quite possible. Thus, from the medieval
point of view, the volume of relics of the true cross, even if greater than
the original cross, would not necessarily indicate that many were invalid or
fraudulently created.
--John Howe
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