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For all my new followers, here's a short thread on my research! Let's start with this brief clip from the UK Parliament in 2018, wherein an MP removes the ceremonial mace from the central table. The mace is off the table for only 20 seconds, but it causes a huge uproar.
1/7 https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1072282313843650560
1/7 https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1072282313843650560
Watching this clip, it's striking how an object that is otherwise part of the room's background scenery suddenly becomes massively significant when it is removed from its "rightful" place. This kind of action, the movement of a portable, ceremonial object, is what I study.
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But I'm not interested in symbolic political items. I work on medieval European devotional objects: reliquaries, candles, liturgical books, censors, etc. These items were used in the Mass and ceremonies within the medieval church; when not in use, they were stored away.
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Some scholars have studied the taking of reliquaries on procession around towns, fields, and even in battle. But no one has really scrutinized how devotional objects change significance if they are moved just a few feet.
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In particular, I'm interested in medieval portable altars. These small, box- or tablet-shaped reliquaries, survive in surprising numbers; I've found over 120 existing portable altars made between 1050 and 1250 CE. But even though we have so many, they're still mysterious.
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These portable altars are fairly small. Most are about the size of an iPad or average shoebox. Here's DS25 in the Hildesheim Dommuseum (Hildesheim, Germany) with me for scale.
But, here's the thing: these altars are HEAVY. Which begs the question, how *portable* were they?
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But, here's the thing: these altars are HEAVY. Which begs the question, how *portable* were they?
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Most scholars remark that these altars were used to take Mass to local sick individuals. But in 2 years of research, I haven't found evidence for that. However, I have uncovered other intriguing practices related to portable altars. Stay tuned for more!
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