Politics, diplomacy and the cult of relics in Venice and the northern Adriatic in the first half of the ninth century
John Osborne
In early medieval Europe the cult of saints emerged as a prominent focus for construction political identity. Corporeal relics became objects importance, conferring status on their possessor; and, like other precious commodities, they frequently served prestigious diplomatic gifts, useful fostering affiliations between donor and recipient. This strategic use saints' cults is here examined with special regard to region northern Adriatic. first decade ninth century, Byzantine attempts maintain allegiance Venice urban centres along Dalmatian coast may have prompted translations such Anastasia, Tryphon Theodore, all whom important civic patrons. Later in mission Moravia was focused St Clement, while archaeological evidence suggests that Frankish missions into Balkans stressed Martin, native Pannonia. Ultimately, Venetian independence from both powers made possible by adoption new patron saint, Mark, whose arrived Alexandria unencumbered implicit debts.
Early Medieval Europe