reliquaries

A reliquary is a container, shrine, or chest designed to hold sacred relics—physical remains or objects associated with saints, martyrs, or other holy figures. The term derives from Latin reliquarium, via Old French reliquaire, from reliquus "remaining".

Relics may be bone fragments, hair, clothing, or artifacts believed to have touched the saint; a reliquary may itself be richly decorated to honor the sacred object. They range from small portable caskets used in processions to monumental architectural shrines housed in cathedrals.

In medieval Europe, reliquaries were central to the cult of saints and to pilgrimage. The veneration of relics supported church authority and local piety, and the objects became focal points for devotion, miracles, and liturgical festivities.

Materials and styles varied. Romanesque and Gothic pieces often concatenated gold, silver, enamel, gems, and sculpture to create dynamic reliquaries; some housed entire relics, others small fragments. Notable examples include the Shrine of the Magi in Cologne (late 12th–early 13th century) attributed to Nicholas of Verdun, and the Saint Foy reliquary at Conques. The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris housed royal reliquaries, including items connected to the Crown of Thorns.

Today reliquaries are often art-historical objects preserved in museums or still used in church processions and ceremonies. Their study intersects art history, theology, and archaeology, with conservation addressing metal corrosion, gemstone settings, and provenance issues.