The Smell of Relics: Authenticating Saintly Bones and the Role of Scent in the Sensory Experience of Medieval Christian Veneration
Paul Brazinski|Allegra Fryxell
<em></em><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: x-small;">The archaeology of smell is a burgeoning field in recent scholarship. This paper adds to existing literature by investigating the function relation relic sales and veneration medieval Europe, hitherto understudied area research. Collating historical texts concerning translatio saintly relics Western Europe Byzantine Empire with archaeological sources associated religious worship (including ampullae, unguentaria, sarcophagi, holy oils, pillow graves, silk), this suggests that (1) was used world as means challenge or confirm relic’s authenticity, (2) olfactory liquids imbued permeated material objects context functioned focusing attention on were an essential part cult and/or pilgrimage experience.</span>
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