Furta Sacra

To obtain sacred relics, medieval monks plundered tombs, avaricious merchants raided churches, and relic-mongers scoured the Roman catacombs. In a revised edition of Furta Sacra, Patrick Geary considers the social and cultural context for these acts, asking how the relics were perceived and why the thefts met with the approval of medieval Christians.

Preface to the 1990 Edition

ix

Preface

xi

Abbreviations

xv

Relics and Saints in the Central Middle Ages

3

(25)

Relics as Symbol

5

(4)

Between Hagiography and History

9

(6)

The Evolution of Saints' Cults in the Central Middle Ages

15

(13)

The Cult of Relics in Carolingian Europe

28

(16)

Relic Cults to the Ninth Century

29

(3)

The Nature of Relics

32

(3)

Carolingian Reform and the Cult of Relics

35

(9)

The Professionals

44

(12)

The Italian Trade

45

(4)

England

49

(3)

Conclusions

52

(4)

Monastic Thefts

56

(31)

Monastic Competition

58

(5)

Financing Construction

63

(2)

Rival Local Traditions

65

(9)

Evolution of Religious Sentiment

74

(4)

Lay Encroachment

78

(4)

Conclusion

82

(5)

Urban Thefts

87

(21)

``Translatio Sancti Marci''

88

(6)

``Translatio Sancti Nicolai''

94

(9)

``Vita Sancti Appiani''

103

(5)

Justifications

108

(21)

Legality of Relic Thefts

110

(2)

Rationalizations

112

(6)

The Formation of a Literary Tradition

118

(6)

Perception

124

(1)

Sacred History and Communal Pride

125

(4)

Conclusions

129

(6)

Appendix A Critique of Texts

135

(14)

I. ``Translatio Beati Vincentii''

135

(3)

II. ``Translatio Sanctae Fidei''

138

(3)

III. ``Translatio Sanctae Faustae''

141

(4)

IV. ``Translatio Sancti Maiani''

145

(4)

Appendix B Handlist of Relic Thefts

149

(8)

Notes

157

(28)

Bibliography

185

(26)

Index

211

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Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials