Relics, which are physical items associated with saints or other religious figures and traditionally believed to have supernatural healing powers, are housed in reliquaries, which are shrines. Reliquaries vary greatly in size and appearance, but many, especially in medieval Europe, are ornately decorated with precious metals and jewels. Some reliquaries are made to be carried on one’s person or displayed to the public in processions, while others are made to be housed in churches permanently.
Relics are often parts of a saint’s physical remains, such as bones, but they can also be items worn or touched the saint during his or her lifetime, such as clothing. During the medieval period, holy thorns from Jesus’ Crown of Thorns and fragments of the True Cross were popular relics, though as John Calvin reportedly noted, there were so many that only a few could have been genuine. The incorruptible bodies of certain saints, often displayed in their entirety in a coffin-like glass reliquary, are perhaps the most impressive relics.
Though relics are revered in other religions, such as Buddhism, they became significant to Christians in the fourth century, and the reliquary was a natural progression. The reliquary protected as well as attractively displayed a relic. Although not all reliquaries allow for viewing of the relic through glass, the majority are ornately decorated.
Initially, reliquaries were nothing more than boxes, but as time passed, they became more ornate. The reliquary fashioned in a shape related to the relic it held, such as a bust-like reliquary for a skull or an arm-shaped reliquary for arm bones, was a popular style. Pieces of the True Cross can be kept in a cross-shaped reliquary. Personal reliquaries in the form of jewelry, such as lockets, became popular in the late Middle Ages.
The 16th-century Protestant Reformation signaled the end of the reliquary’s heyday, which Martin Luther denounced as idolatrous. Reliquaries are still made today, especially in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries, and many from the Middle Ages can be seen in churches and museums.