AMAD
"Archivum Medii Aevi Digitale - Specialized open access repository for research in the middle ages"To submission
| Date: | 2013 |
| Title: | The Smell of Relics: Authenticating Saintly Bones and the Role of Scent in the Sensory Experience of Medieval Christian Veneration |
| Contributor: | N/A |
| Author: | Fryxell, Allegra R. P. Brazinski, Paul Anthony |
| Description: | The archaeology of smell is a burgeoning field in recent scholarship. This paper adds to existing literature by investigating the function of smell in relation to relic sales and veneration in medieval Europe, a hitherto understudied area of research. Collating historical texts concerning the translatio of saintly relics in Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire with archaeological sources associated with relic veneration and religious worship (including ampullae, unguentaria, sarcophagi, holy oils, pillow graves, and silk), this paper suggests that (1) smell was used in the medieval world as a means to challenge or confirm a relic’s authenticity, and (2) olfactory liquids that imbued or permeated material objects in the context of worship functioned as a means of focusing attention on relic veneration and were an essential part of the cult and/or pilgrimage experience. |
| URI: | https://www.amad.org/jspui/handle/123456789/77069 |
| Other Identifier: | http://www.pia-journal.co.uk/jms/article/view/pia.430 https://doi.org/10.5334/pia.430 |
| AMAD ID: | 561458 |
| Appears in Collections: | BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine) General history of Europe |
