Relics @ the Lab: An Analytical Approach to the Study of Relics (Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion) 9789042936676, 9789042938427, 9042936673

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INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

IN

ANCIENT CULTURE

AND

RELIGION

20 RELICS @ THE LAB AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF RELICS

edited by MARK VAN STRYDONCK, JEROEN REYNIERS AND FANNY VAN CLEVEN

PEETERS

RELICS @ THE LAB

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES IN ANCIENT CULTURE AND RELIGION

EDITOR Leonard V. Rutgers (Utrecht) EDITORIAL BOARD Béatrice Caseau (Paris) Wolfram Kinzig (Bonn) Blake Leyerle (Notre Dame, IN) Paolo Liverani (Florence) Anne Marie Luijendijk (Princeton, NJ) Jodi Magness (Chapel Hill, NC) David Satran (Jerusalem)

Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion 20

RELICS @ THE LAB AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH THE STUDY OF RELICS

TO

EDITED BY

MARK VAN STRYDONCK, JEROEN REYNIERS AND FANNY VAN CLEVEN

PEETERS LEUVEN – PARIS – BRISTOL, CT

2018

A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. © Peeters, Bondgenotenlaan 153, B-3000 Leuven ISBN: 978-90-429-3667-6 eISBN: 978-90-429-3842-7 D/2018/0602/123

CONTENTS Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark VAN STRYDONCK

1

1. Red Fabrics in the Relic Assemblage of Turku Cathedral . Aki ARPONEN, Ina VANDEN BERGHE and Jussi KINNUNEN

3

2. The Corpi Santi under the Government of Pius VI, Materiality as a Sign of Identity: First Approaches to Novohispanic Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montserrat A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ 3. Medieval Iberian Relics and their Woven Vessels: The Case of San Ramón del Monte (†1126) Roda de Isabena Cathedral (Huesca, Aragon) . . . . . . . . . . . . Ana CABRERA-LAFUENTE, María Judith FELICIANO and Enrique PARRA 4. Behind the Saint Guidon Shrine, a Multidisciplinary Approach of the Relics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mathilde DAUMAS, Philippe LEFÈVRE, Jean-Pol BEAUTHIER, Jean-Pierre WERQUIN, Mark VAN STRYDONCK, Serge VAN SINT JAN, Marcel ROOZE, Frédéric LEROY and Stéphane LOURYAN 5. The Reliquary of Saint Dymphna: Dating Wood and Bones Kristof HANECA and Marjan BUYLE

21

43

77

91

6. Multidisciplinary Study of the Reliquary Contents Attributed to the Bishop Jacques de Vitry (12-13th C. AD) . 109 Caroline POLET, Aurore CARLIER, Lucie DOYEN, Fiona LEBECQUE, Caroline TILLEUX, Benoît BERTRAND, JeanBernard HUCHET, Jonathan BRECKO, Mathieu BOUDIN and Mark VAN STRYDONCK

VI

CONTENTS

 7. Sanctity Via the Light of Science: Radiographic Images of Ceroplastic Reliquaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Gabriela SÁNCHEZ REYES, José Luis VELÁZQUEZ and Ana Lucía MONTES MARRERO  8. The Relics of Saint Odilia in Abbey Mariënlof (Kerniel, Belgium) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Jeroen REYNIERS, Mathieu BOUDIN, Kim QUINTELIER and Mark VAN STRYDONCK  9. The Relic Treasure of Herkenrode, an Online Data Base . 205 Fanny VAN CLEVEN, Shirin VAN EENHOOGE, Frieda SORBER, Mark VAN STRYDONCK, Ina VANDEN BERGHE and Marit VANDENBRUAENE 10. A Box Full of Surprises. Relics Excavated in St. Rumbold’s Cathedral (Mechelen, Belgium). . . . . . . . . . . 213 Fanny VAN CLEVEN, Ina VANDEN BERGHE, Mathieu BOUDIN, Alexia COUDRAY, Joke BUNGENEERS, Veerle HENDRIKS, Marc MEES, Kim QUINTELIER, Gerrit VANDEN BOSCH, Marina VAN BOS, Maaike VANDORPE, Mark VAN STRYDONCK, Lieve WATTEEUW and Ignace BOURGEOIS 11. The Veneration of Harlindis and Relindis and the Enigmatic Content of their Relic Shrines. A Story about Ashes, Bones, Fabrics, Needles, Ivory and ‘Unexpected’ Substances . . . 267 Mark VAN STRYDONCK, Mathieu BOUDIN, Katrien HOUBEY, Caroline POLET, Anja NESKENS and Fanny VAN CLEVEN 12. Interdisciplinary Study of the 15th Century C.E. Medieval Russian Icon of Our Lady Deksiokratusa “Mylostivaja” (“The Gracious”) (Dendrochronology, Radiocarbon Dating, Chemical and Physical Analysis, Historical and Cultural Studies) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 Konstantin VORONIN and Mariya KABANOVA

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

INTRODUCTION This volume of INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES IN ANCIENT CULTURE RELIGION is dedicated to the analytical study of the remains found in relic shrines and kindred artefacts. Without any doubt relics as well as relic shrines and associated objects have played a prominent role in European history since the introduction of Christianity. While in the past primary, secondary as well as tertiary relics were merely studied in relation to their religious and (art) historical background, a more scientific, analytical and archaeological approach is currently arising. Scientists of many different disciplines are involved in the study of relics and kindred artefacts, but till now there was no real forum to exchange ideas and discuss methods. With this in mind the first international workshop RELICS @ THE LAB was organised on 27 and 28 October 2016 by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels (Belgium). AND

Fig. 1. Participants of the workshop RELICS @ THE LAB.

2

INTRODUCTION

The papers published in this volume are a reflection of the topics presented during this meeting. They cover a wide variety of topics and analytical methods. Radiocarbon dating and physical anthropology are the most important tools used for the authentication of the relics and their archaeological context, but also the identification of plant remains and macrofossils was used in this context. Textile analyses and dye analysis focus more on the artefacts found with the relics while dendrochronology dates the wooden remains of the sarcophaguses or chests that contain the relics. Also the typological identification of small archaeological artefacts and documents found with the relics are a great help to give context to the relics. Those studies try to give chronological as well as contextual information about the history and the veneration of the relics and their shrines. Imaging techniques were used to look at the structure of the relics and to gain information from very fragile parts of the relic without touching it. Mark VAN STRYDONCK

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL Aki ARPONEN, Ina VANDEN BERGHE and Jussi KINNUNEN INTRODUCTION In Turku Cathedral, South West Finland, a remarkable assemblage of medieval relics and related items is preserved.1 After bone, the second most common material in the assemblage are textiles including, for example, second-class relics, reliquaries, relic wrappings, a relic pouch, and a fragment of a dress for a sculpture of the Virgin Mary. The materials of the fabrics are silk, cotton, linen, nettle and wool. There are three relatively large red fabrics in the assemblage. The possible lining of one reliquary is all cotton which may indicate a non-European origin. The red silk wrapping of the so-called skull relic has been identified as Chinese.2 Another silk wrapping of the skull relic is beige in colour and lacks any details referring to its provenance. Dye composition and mordants have been analysed to investigate the dye technology behind which might be helpful to further elucidate the geographical origin of the fabrics. RESEARCH METHODS Fibre analyses of the fabrics were carried out in 2010–2011 at Turku Cathedral. Samples were taken both from the warp and the weft and they were examined with light microscope. Textile materials were radiocarbon dated in 2008–2011 with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at the Ångström laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden. Organic dye identification was carried out in 2016 at the textile laboratory of KIK-IRPA, Brussels, Belgium using reversed-phase 1  The relic assemblage has been researched since 2007 by the Turku Cathedral Relics Research Project led by Prof. Jussi-Pekka Taavitsainen / Turku University. 2  Geijer 1954, 294, 296; Nordman 1954, 304-305.

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

4

liquid chromatography and photo diode array detection. The dyes were recovered from the fibres using soft acidic extraction.3 Detected dye compounds were identified by comparison with a user-generated reference spectra database, developed from natural and synthetized dye molecules, allowing further interpretation towards applied biological dye sources.4 Traces of the metal salts, mordants, were detected with portable XRF in 2017 at Turku Cathedral. Analyses were performed with Olympus Delta DP-6500 portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, which has a 4W X-ray-tube with tantalum/gold-anode and SDD (Silicon Drift Detector) -photodiode as a detector. Focusing area of X-ray radiation is 10 mm diameter (circa 0.8 cm2). Analysis application was fundamental factory calibrated Mining Plus and beaming time was 30 seconds per beam, 60 seconds total.5 Cotton fabric In the relic assemblage of Turku Cathedral there is a relatively large separate piece of red fabric (catalogue number 52090-10, Fig. 1.1)6. After the first examinations of the relic assemblage accomplished by Finnish state antiquarian J. Rinne in the 1920’s the material of the fabric was considered to be linen.7 The fibre analysis made in 2010, however, revealed that this material was in fact cotton. The overall dimensions of the cloth are 31.8 cm × 33.5 cm. It is composed of a main piece and two smaller extension pieces (3.8 cm × 2.1 cm and 24.7 cm × 4.2 cm). There are also two patches (2.3 cm × 2.1 cm and 9.0 cm × 4.8 cm) on the main piece. Both the extension pieces and the patches are the same cloth as the main piece. The fabric is tabby with 17–18 yarns / cm in the warp and 17–22 yarns / cm in the weft. The yarns are clearly z-twisted. The extension pieces and the patches have been sewn with undyed, s-plied linen thread. The way the extension pieces are sewn to the main piece allows them to be turned 3

 Vanden Berghe et al. 2009.  Vanden Berghe 2016a; Gleba 2016. 5  Thomsen 2007. 6  The catalogue numbers referred to in this article have been given to the assemblage as it was temporarily kept at the National Museum of Finland. The assemblage, however, belongs to Turku Cathedral Museum. 7  Rinne 1932, 314. The definition of the material was probably made by naked eye. 4

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 5

Fig. 1.1. Cotton fabric, i.e. a possible lining of a relic casket (Photo Aki Arponen).

upright. Probably there have been a piece of cloth attached to each edge of the main piece to form a possible lining of a cubic reliquary.8 Five samples of the cotton fabric were taken for radiocarbon dating (Table 1.1). With the probability of 95.4% the main piece is dated to 1290–1410 calAD. The results obtained from another of the extension pieces and another of the patches are somewhat older, 1220–1300 and 1360–1390 calAD and 1270–1330 and 1340–1400 calAD respectively. The dating result of the patch, however, is clearly emphasized to the former span. With the probability of 91,2% it is 8

 Arponen 2011, 242-243.

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

6

TABLE 1.1: Radiocarbon dating results Cotton fabric

Ua-

BP

calAD (probability 95.4%)

main piece

36134 595±25 1290-1410

extension piece

39388 723±31 1220-1300 and 1360-1390

sewing thread of an extension piece

39391 661±30 1270-1330 and 1340-1400

patch

39389 665±34 1270-1330 and 1340-1400

sewing thread of a patch

39390 598±30 1290-1410

Red silk fabric fabric

39385 712±34 1220-1310 and 1360-1390

white silk sewing thread

54642 640±29 1280-1330 and 1340-1400

Beige silk fabric fabric

42096 636±30 1280-1400

beige silk sewing thread

54643 648±29 1280-1330 and 1340-1400

Ua refers to the Ångström laboratory of Uppsala University, Sweden.

dated to 1270–1330 calAD. Hence, it seems reasonable to date the cotton to 1290–1330. An all-cotton fabric was not the common-most type of cotton product in medieval Europe. In the most favoured cotton cloth, fustian (Italian fustagno, German Barchent), the warp was usually linen. Fabrics with cotton warp and weft were not manufactured north of the Alps and even in Northern Italy the production of cotton fabrics was concentrated on fustians.9 Both types of cotton fabrics were woven also in Islamic world but according to M. F. Mazzaoui they didn’t reach Northern Europe, where markets were dominated by Italian manufacturers from the mid-12th century to the end of the 9

 Mazzaoui 2008, 92.

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 7

14th century.10 Hence, it is possible that the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral represents production of the North Italian cotton manufactures. The dye analysis of the yarns in the red cotton fabric revealed the use of dyes deriving from the roots of a plant belonging to the Rubiaceae family (Table 1.2). Alizarin was by far the most prevalent dye compound, but it was found together with purpurin and a minor amount of lawson, anthragallol, pseudopurpurin, munjistin and nordamnacanthal. Such a dye composition is characteristic for the roots of the madder plant Rubia tinctorum L. The roots of the madder plant contain more than 28 anthraquinone dye compounds of which at least fifteen are known to contribute to dyeing. Madder originates from the Middle-East and eastern Mediterranean region from where it was introduced into the West as well as into the Far East (China, Japan and Malaysia).11 Despite numerous historical recipes and guild regulations dealing with madder dyeing of wool and silk in Europe and the Middle-East, hardly any information can be found concerning the dyeing of cotton and flax fibres with madder.12 Dyeing of linen and cotton is complicated as mordants do not attach with ease to plant fibres. To improve the dyeing result numerous methods have been applied throughout history and in many cases the ingredients used in different phases of the dyeing process are no longer known.13 Basically, metal salts or plant material were used to enhance the dyeing properties of wool, silk, cotton as well as linen fabrics. Their impact on the final colour was well known.14 Hence, it’s no surprise that tannin was identified as the applied organic mordant in the red cotton fabric of Turku Cathedral, based on the detection of ellagic acid (Table 1.2). No further inorganic components suitable for mordanting were detected by XRF (Table 1.3). As such, the results of the analyses do not oppose the assumption of the North Italian origin of the cotton fabric. However, the imperfect final appearance of the dyeing process, i.e. undyed cores of the 10

 Mazzaoui 2008, 88, 91.  Cardon 2007, 108. 12  Sandberg 1997, 101; Chenciner 2000, 174-186. 13  Cardon 2007, 116-118; Ramaswamy 2006, 19; Rebora 1970, 68-69, 117. 14  Cardon 2007, 27-53. 11

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

8

TABLE 1.2: Results of the dye analyses

Cotton fabric, main piece Red silk fabric

Beige silk fabric

RP-HPLC-DAD dye composition — relative ratio of detected components after peak area integration at 255 nm 19 ellagic acid, 60 alizarin, 12 purpurin, 3 nordamnacanthal, 0.5 anthragallol, 3 pseudopurpurin and munjistin, 0.5 lawson 71 alizarin, 16 purpurin, 6 nordamnacanthal, 0.5 lawson, 2 rubiadin, 2 lucidin-primveroside, 1 anthragallol, 1 munjistin marker compound for any redwood

plant source(s)

madder roots and tannin madder roots

sappanwood

Dyes extracted using mild acidic extraction protocol (Vanden Berghe 2016a).

yarns and unevenly dyed fabric surface, provokes some thoughts. (Fig. 1.1 and Fig. 1.2). It can hardly be a question of failure as in Northern Italy cotton dyeing was in hands of professionals and the quality of products was monitored by guilds and city officials.15 More probably the dyeing result represents the standard quality of the manufacturer. Such an uneven dyeing result as observed in the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral may be due to the painting of the fabric’s surface instead of dyeing the fabric as a whole or as yarns. The technique of painting and printing of cotton fabrics was used in India and Central Asia well before the Middle Ages. In India, the most cotton fabric was produced for the domestic market and consisted of fairly coarse fabrics. The fabrics were not only inexpensive but compared to finer cloths they were better suited for printing.16 The difference between cotton fabrics for the domestic market and those for export was probably small. The yarn density in some medieval block printed cotton fabrics exported from Gujarat to Indonesia is about 20 yarns / cm which correlates the yarn density in the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral. Also, the unevenly dyed surface of the Gujarat fabrics resembles that of the cloth at Turku Cathedral.17

15

 Mazzaoui 2008, 115, 117.  Parthasarathi 2009, 33. 17  Guy & Thakar 2015, 24-25. 16

66431 / 992 / 6.64 0.10

59763 / 414 / 5.98 0.04

#4

#6

32114 / 956 / 3.21 0.10

54806 / 1118 / 5.48 0.11

#12

#13

  0 1138  233   0  41606  6805

  0  958  386   0  39347  9348

ppm = parts per million % = ppm: 10 000

128974 / 0 / 0.00 142551 / 14107 / 0 / 0.00 296454 / 133321 / 92629 /   0 1121 1312   0 169140 19452 12.90 14.26 1.41 29.65 13.33 9.26

99883 / 81557 / 52923 /   0 1109  736 362  73760  7677 9.99 8.16 5.29

#11

395 / 0.04

44095 / 0 / 0.00 101602 / 7490 / 4.41 10.16 0.75

77348 / 58115 / 31295 /   0  619 1466   0  45118  8169 7.73 5.81 3.13

97725 / 37330 / 6873 / 9.77 3.73 0.69

119057 / 36476 / 5697 / 11.91 3.65 0.57

481  875  477   0  38630  6563

 0

0

39

 0

31

46

35

22848 /   0  664   78   0  16182     0 2.28

27 37

  0  21279     0

38

 0

 0

48

 0

 0

40

35

 0

 0

 0

940

948

266

101

 94

276

149

365

156

278

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

  0

  0

  0

  0

  0

126

  0

  0

  0

  0

Zr Mo Pb Bi Ag W ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm

37252 /   0 1460  202   0  34348     0 3.73

101586 / 31884 / 4820 / 10.16 3.19 0.48

82915 / 5728 / 8.29 0.57

152642 / 8597 / 15.26 0.86

14754 /   0  603  71 1.48

#8

2133 / 0.21

392 / 0.04

289 / 0.03

662 / 0.07

273 / 0.03

531 / 0.05

59817 / 5602 / 5.98 0.56

38542 / 3417 / 3.85 0.34

88206 / 5451 / 8.82 0.55

0 / 0.00 3956 / 0.40

0 / 0.00 6249 / 0.62

0 / 0.00 5770 / 0.58

24752 / 3985 / 2.48 0.40

0 / 0.00 8748 / 0.87

201 / 0.02

Cl ppm

#40

Beige silk fabric

83601 / 5173 / 8.36 0.52

#39

Red silk fabric

53485 / 0 / 0.00 0 / 0.00 4644 / 5.35 0.46

S ppm

12751 /   0 1104  103   0  27928     0 1.28

K P V Cu Zn As ppm/% ppm/% ppm ppm ppm ppm

115012 / 9925 / 11.50 0.99

#3

317 / 0.03

97916 / 836 / 9.79 0.08

#2

0 / 0.00 7915 / 0.79

Si Ti Al Fe Mn Ca ppm/% ppm/% ppm/% ppm/% ppm/% ppm/%

Cotton fabric

TABLE 1.3: Results of the mordant analyses

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

10

Madder was generally used for dyeing cotton in medieval India.18 However, the dye source, Rubia tinctorum, detected in the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral, is not native all over India. It exists in northern parts of the country (North West India and Kashmir), in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) and in South West Asia (Iran and Turkey).19 As there were other species of the Rubiaceae family suitable for red dyes growing in more southerly parts of India, there was no need for a madder trade. Only in the beginning of the Early Modern Period madder was imported to Southern India by sea.20 Moreover, the identified dye composition excludes the use of local Indian cotton dyes such as munjeet (Rubia cordifolia L.), chay (Oldenlandia umbellata L.) and Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia L.).21 Hence, Rubia tinctorum

Fig. 1.2. Detail of the cotton fabric dyed with madder. Undyed yarn cores are visible (Photo Ina Vanden Berghe). 18

 Ramaswamy 2006, 13, 18-19, 65, 192 (n. 2).  http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=220011762. 20  Ramaswamy 2006, 71. 21  Mohanty et al. 1987, 6-21. 19

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 11

may indicate that the cotton cloth at Turku Cathedral has a Northern Indian or Central Asian origin. The northernmost centre of cotton manufacture in India was in Punjab. As the area was far from seaports the most direct route for exporting cotton products was overland. Many caravan-routes crossed the area and connected it to Central Asia and the silk roads.22 In northern Iran and western Turkestan heavy cotton fabrics were traditionally woven for export. In more eastern parts of Central Asia coarsely-woven cotton cloths were manufactured in the cities of Merv (in modern Turkmenistan), Bukhara and Tashkent (both in modern Uzbekistan), among others.23 The type of weave, the method of dyeing and the materials identified in the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral were common to the cotton manufactures of Northern India – Central Asia. Hence, it is reasonable to presume that the origin of the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral is to be found in that region instead of Europe. Red silk fabric One of the skull relics (catalogue number 52090-3) at Turku Cathedral consists of 21 linen pouches containing relic bones. The pouches have been sewn together to accomplish a skull construction slightly smaller than a human skull. It is covered with linen and silk fabrics. The outermost silk is red twill damask with Chinese mythological characters, phoenix birds and tortoises (Fig. 1.3-1.4). The yarns have no visible twist. The pieces of the silk fabric are sewn together with undyed s-plyed silk thread.24 Although the textile reliquary was kept in its 3-dimentional shape during the examinations in 2011–2012 it was possible to observe some details including the treatment of the cut fabric edges with wax. It is worth noting that some of the seam allowances are unnecessarily broad and there is extra fabric in the folds. It seems that the wrapping does not comprise of irregular, scarce pieces of silk as A. Geijer has assumed. This is remarkable as we are talking about a precious fabric.25

22

 Parthasarathi 2009, 22.  Mazzaoui 2008, 22. 24  Arponen 2015. 25  Geijer 1954, 291 (Textfig. 31), 296. 23

12

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

Fig. 1.3. The skull relic (Photo Aki Arponen).

Fig. 1.4. Phoenix birds and tortoises woven into the silk damask. Drawing by H. Faith-Ell (Nordman 1954, Textfig. 33).

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 13

The content of St Eric’s reliquary at Uppsala Cathedral was examined in the 1940’s.26 As the skull relic at Turku Cathedral was considered to be a relic of St Eric by the Finnish state antiquarian C. A. Nordman, the silk fabric was also examined in detail with regard to such a connection. Due to the weaving technique and the asymmetric composition and the small size of the characters Geijer concluded that the cloth was woven in China at the end of the 13th century.27 Hence, the fabric is one of the oldest Chinese silks in Northern Europe. The silk has been radiocarbon dated with the probability of 95.4% to 1220–1310 and 1360–1390 calAD (Table 1.1). The result, however, emphasises to the former span, 1220–1310 calAD with the probability of 82.3%. Thus, the dating result agrees with Geijer’s conclusion. Also, the silk thread which has been used to sew the pieces of silk together has been radiocarbon dated. The result, 1280–1330 and 1340–1400 calAD (probability 95.4%) coincides with the date of the silk cloth. The date of the silk fabric coincides the beginning of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). Many characteristics of the silk fabric, like the twill damask weave, the monochrome colour and the traditional Han-Chinese characters were favoured in silks during the Yuan Dynasty.28 Hence, Geijer’s theory of the Chinese origin of the fabric seems to hold true. The anthraquinone dyes of the silk fabric derive from the root of madder (Rubia tinctorium L., Fig. 1.5, Table 1.2). Oriental species of Rubiaceae such as munjeet (Rubia cordifolia L.), chay (Oldenlandia umbellata L.) and Indian mulberry (Morinda citrifolia L.) frequently used in India in red dyes29, as well as Rubia sikkimensis Kurz can be excluded based on the dye composition consisting of alizarin as the major compound, purpurin as the second most important compound and also due to the very low amount of munjistin. Madder has been identified in Mongolian textiles from different sites dated already to the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).30 During the Yuan Dynasty 26  According to the legend, St. Eric (King Eric IX), the patron saint of Sweden, was murdered in Uppsala in 1160. 27  Arponen 2015, 113; Geijer 1994, 141; Nordman 1954, 304-305. 28  Feng 2012, 336. 29  Mohanty 1987, 6-21. 30  Chenciner 2000, 40; Vanden Berghe & Wouters 2000, 14-15, 44.

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

14

Fig. 1.5. Detail of the silk damask dyed with madder (Photo Ina Vanden Berghe).

madder was adapted as a dyeing material in more southern parts of the imperial China.31 Madder, however, has been used as a dye in a very wide geographical area: in addition to the Orient it has been used in Europe, the Mediterranean region and the Near East.32 Hence, the result of the dye analysis doesn’t provide conclusive evidence of a Chinese origin for the silk fabric at Turku Cathedral. No tannin-rich mordants are found with HPLC and in the XRF analysis (Table 1.3) no aluminium was detected and even the amount of iron is low. This is surprising as the monochrome silks in Yuan Dynasty were generally mordanted in two faces: first with alum and secondly with green vitriol, Iron(II) sulphate, to produce differences in shades.33 Thus, the method of mordanting remains in question. 31

 Feng 2012, 333.  Hofenk de Graaff 2004, 92-138. 33  Feng 2012, 333. 32

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 15

The dye and mordant analyses do not either confirm or refute the supposed Chinese origin of the red silk fabric at Turku Cathedral. However, features such as the weaving technique, twill damask, and the lively layout of the Chinese mythological characters can be found specifically in Chinese silks. The silks of the Yuan period can be divided into two main groups. In the northern group, approximately north of the River Huai, Mongolian and Central Asian features such as large medallions with animals were favoured. The silk was often a monochrome jin fabric. In the southern group, twill damasks and complex gauzes were most common. The style in the southern silks was light and delicate and its most important decorative element was floral arrangements. The roots of the southern group were in the silks of the southern Song Dynasty.34 According to these general features, however, it is difficult to point out a more precise area of origin for the red silk at Turku Cathedral. As far as the decoration is considered, relatively close parallels can be found among the silks excavated in northern China (for example in the tomb of Wang clan, Zhang county, Gansu province). On the other hand, the weave, twill damask, points to southern China.35 So far, it is reasonable to consider the silk by and large Chinese. Beige silk fabric In the skull relic, underneath the red silk wrapping there is a beige silk fabric whose pieces have been sewn together with beige z-plyed silk thread (Fig. 1.3). The yarns of the plain weave fabric exhibit no visible twist (Fig. 1.6). The silk has been radiocarbon dated to 1280– 1400 calAD (95.4% probability) and the silk yarn to 1280–1330 and 1340–1400 calAD (Table 1.1).36 The beige colour of the fabric is due to complete fading of the original reddish colour produced by the heartwood of the tropical tree Caesalpinia sappan L., also known as sappanwood (Table 1.2). The use of this dye source dates back to ancient times in China. According to “Nan Fang Cao Mu Zhuan” (“Descriptions of Plants from the South”) by Ji Han, dyeing with sappanwood became widely

34

 Feng 2012, 340.  Feng 2012, 361 (7.30). 36  Arponen 2015, 113. 35

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

16

Fig. 1.6. Detail of the beige silk dyed with sappanwood (Photo Ina Vanden Berghe).

in use in China in the western Jin Dynasty (265–316 AD) and was still favoured during the Yuan Dynasty.37 Sappanwood is native in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Indochina, Southern China and Malaysia but it is naturalised in a vast area further east and south east. Textiles excavated in Turkestan witness the use of sappanwood for dyeing around the birth of Christ. It is described in Indian texts from the classical period and in a 12thcentury document it is mentioned specifically as a silk dye. Also, in Europe sappanwood was used for dyeing silk in the Middle Ages. It has been identified in a 13th-century Italian chasuble which is probably of Sicilian origin and its use is indicated by a Venetian 15thcentury dyeing manual.38 37

 Chen 1992, 313; Feng 2012, 333; Hofenk de Graaff 2004, 94.  Cardon 2007, 276, 284, 286; Hofenk de Graaff 2004, 142.

38

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 17

In the beige silk a relatively high concentration of aluminium and potassium was detected which may point at alum as a mordant. Since the Middle Ages, potassium alum became one of the most important products of international exchange. First in Asia Minor and later on in Europe, techniques were developed for manufacturing alum from rocks containing aluminium.39 Such procedure was also known in India, as mentioned in texts from the 13th century, as well as in China by the end of the 16th century.40 Neither the looks, weave nor the analyses allow the geographical origin of the beige silk to be determined. Monochrome plain weave silks were manufactured in Europe as in the Orient. Both the dye, sappanwood, and the mordant, potassium alum, was widely used in medieval silk dyeing. For the time being, the origin of the beige silk remains unresolved. CONCLUSION As such, the results of the dye and mordant analyses of the red fabrics at Turku Cathedral do not provide conclusive answers as to the question of their geographical origin. Many dyes were generally used in the Middle Ages both within and outside Europe. The monochrome, unpatterned beige silk has a simple weave and it lacks any particular feature that would provide a clue about its origin that could be tested with dye and mordant analyses. In the other simple red fabric, the cotton cloth, the material with a special dyeing technique hints at a non-European origin. India and Central Asia were probably the most important areas to manufacture all-cotton textiles in the Middle Ages and these were traded all over the world. The results of the dye and mordant analysis do not contradict the assumption of an Indian or Central Asian origin for the cotton fabric at Turku Cathedral. Additionally, the distribution of the plant used in its dyeing reduces the possible area of origin to northernmost India and Central Asia. The red silk has been considered Chinese on the grounds of its weave type and the lay-out of the mythical characters. Although the results of the dye and mordant analyses do not particularly underline a Chinese origin, they either give no reason to doubt it. 39

 Cardon 2007, 23.  Cardon 2007, 30.

40

A. ARPONEN, I. VANDEN BERGHE, J. KINNUNEN

18

DISCUSSION At least two of the red fabrics at Turku Cathedral may represent world-wide trade in the Middle Ages. The famous Silk Road ensured the availability of Asian fabrics in medieval Europe. Yet, it is surprising to find such luxurious items in Turku, far from the Central European trade centres…or is it? There are archaeological finds which indicate connections between Scandinavia and Asia well before the Middle Ages.41 Both people and goods crossed the East European Plain. In Central Asia, the Overland Silk Road divided into several alternative routes. One of the northern routes bypassed the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and ended at the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Another route bypassed the northern coast of the Caspian Sea and ended north of the Black Sea. Both of these alternatives enabled further trading northwards along the great rivers, the Volga from the Caspian Sea, or the Don and the Dnieper from the Black Sea. As a 14th-century Italian itinerary points out, there were several cities and trade centres along these rivers connecting the Silk Road and the trade routes northwards: Tana by the lower Don, Astrakhan in the delta of the Volga and Sarai further up by the same river.42 At these trading posts, furs were chiefly the main commodity to be exchanged for Asian products. Some of the main centres of fur trade were situated by the rivers mentioned above: Kiev by the Dnieper, Kazan by the Volga and Moscow by the tributary of the same river. The northernmost fur trade centre was Novgorod which was connected by rivers on one hand to Lake Ladoga and beyond to the Gulf of Finland, and on the other hand to the Dnieper and the Volga. Already in the 11th century, Novgorod started to monopolize the eastern and northern fur trade.43 This successful economy brought wealth to the citizens of Novgorod, as is reflected in the large selection of archaeological finds. Among them are silks from the Mediterranean, Byzantium and the Middle East. Unfortunately, the acidic soil is unfavourable for preserving plant fibres but the inscription in one of the birch-bark documents indicates the desire of cotton fabrics 41

 Edgren 2000.  Lopez & Raymond 2001, 355. 43  Epstein 2009, 97. 42

RED FABRICS IN THE RELIC ASSEMBLAGE OF TURKU CATHEDRAL 19

from Central Asia: A mother asks her son to buy her some good zendyants, i.e. cotton fabric manufactured in Zendan near Bukhara.44 Therefore, Novgorod may well have been the trade centre through which also passed silk and cotton products destined for Turku. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many thanks go to Marie-Christine Maquoi and Maaike Vandorpe for their dedicated work in the textile lab. This research was supported by Eino Jutikkala Fund of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and by Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.

44

 Kublo 2012, 236, 241-245.

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI, MATERIALITY AS A SIGN OF IDENTITY: FIRST APPROACHES TO NOVOHISPANIC CASES Montserrat A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ INTRODUCTION The study of relics in New Spain, in contrast to the highly specialized studies of European cases, remains in an early stage of development. Usually analyzed just from the devotional perspective or the aesthetic values associated to the reliquaries, topics like political and economic issues are still pending in the comprehension of how they worked inside their particular contexts. Therefore, the relics in New Spain need to be studied as dynamic objects that evolve throughout cultural tensions and historical junctures. Also, the interpretation of their historical development requires the consideration of three instances: the evidence of devotion, the legitimacy of a practice and the commitment of an authority,1 issues still not fully taken into account. On the other hand, even though the material analysis of the reliquaries that preserve the relics can give relevant information, it is necessary to find an argument that enables the interpretation of those facts. Considering the previous issues, this paper presents a first approach to a certain case of relics’ translation to New Spain: the corpi santi identified as grantings of Pope Pius VI. This study also attempts to relate them to other examples found in Italy, Spain and Portugal, as an initial effort to trace the Pope’s donations as part of a political discourse dedicated to defending the Church’s temporal authority through the use of relics and the image of a martyr.2 These relics were distinguished by their material characteristics, iconographic features and the chronological track of their arrivals. 1

 Boutry et al. 2009, 15.  I would like to thank the support of Dr. Werner Thomas and Andy Peetermans from KU Leuven (Belgium), Dr. Gianluca Nicolini who kindly shared with me a research on Saint Clementina in Correggio, Italy, and Diana Pereira for the photographs of Saint Felicidade and Saint Fortunato from Guimarães, Portugal. 2

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

22

PIUS VI,

THE DONOR

Pius VI, born Giovanni Angelo Braschi, ruled as Pope from 1775 to 1799. After his ascension to the pontifical throne, he had to struggle with attacks from the Enlightenment thinkers on philosophical, economic and political grounds which questioned the religion and the earthly authority of the Vatican. To fight these ideas, the Pope embraced the arts at a time of social, political and aesthetic flux in Europe,3 and shaped them around a political discourse used to defend and extol the earthly power of the Church; also, recalling a CounterReformation measure, he used his artistic patronage to create a political discourse used to promote a strong propaganda of the Holy See and to show his deeply held beliefs. In consequence he encouraged the ecclesiastical patronage of arts to bring out the beauty of the temples and the splendour and dignity of the objects dedicated to the divine service. This notion, taken from the twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent, taught that images — as well as relics — could portray the greatness of God and his Saints, exalt faith and attract people to their veneration.4 Among projects like the construction of a new sacristy for St. Peter’s Basilica, the enrichment of the Museum Pio-Clementinum’s collection and the restoration of the Via Appia Antica; he ordered the exploration of the catacombs, underground burials from the Early Christian era that were rediscovered in 1578.5 Inside these thousands of human remains were found, assumed to be early Christian martyrs, afterwards named “catacomb Saints” or corpi santi, whose bones were usually preserved in reliquaries that resembled the image of a martyr’s recumbent body. The last quarter of the eighteenth century was a golden age of the catacomb extractions that provided thousands of skeletons.6 During the government of Pius VI, corpi santi were donated massively to many European countries, mostly to Italy, where many examples can be identified by certain features that suggest that they were made in the same “workshop”. The discovery of similar examples that 3

 Collins 2004, 1.  Concilio de Trento 1787, 356. 5  Bouza Álvarez 1990, 47. 6  Ghilardi 2013, 107. 4

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

23

were donated between 1780-1795 to Spain and Portugal, made me consider them not only as gifts, but as pieces of a major policy that began in his trip to Vienna. In 1789, Pius made an unprecedented voyage to Vienna in order to confer with Emperor Joseph II about his anti-Roman politics; no Pope had left Rome since 1533 and Braschi’s move signalled his expanding sphere of action and inaugurated the pontiffs’ modern role as global ambassadors of the Faith.7 So, by granting corpi santi to all who requested them, Braschi made sure that his influence and presence were felt in the Catholic countries, and at the same time, he used the martyrs’ bones as reminders of the defense of the Christian Faith. Therefore, the corpi santi donations were part of the Pope’s conception of a Catholic Enlightenment, a response to the secular Enlightenment that was undermined the power of the Holy See, which presupposed a major artistic revival along the lines of the Roman Renaissance and the remembrance of the early Christian era.8 Regarding this idea, Braschi even compared the defense of the Church in the eighteenth century to the early persecutions suffered by Christians, evoking the martyrdom as an exemplum of resistance. In order to increase the spiritual power of the relic, it was necessary to find a way to make it accessible through a material, pictorial and ritual staging. The reliquary was the object that allowed the public display and manipulation of the relic, and in this singular case, the extension of it.9 Pius VI created a signature image that resembles the body of a martyr suspended after death, almost giving the image of an incorrupt body that suggests a workshop production, since all of them follow a standardized model. Massimiliano Ghilardi has related the confection of these corpi santi to the workshops supported by the Pope like the Conservatorio Pio founded in 1775 and formed by two types of factories: a wool mill and a fabric of linen, hemp and cotton.10 Made of fabrics and wires, these corpi santi —male and female— not only were they recreated in a full body, but also depicted as a glorious image of a recumbent martyr clothed in embroidered and richly ornamented fabrics. 7

 Collins 2004, 51.  Collins 2004, 65. 9  Schmitt 2002, 284. 10  Ghilardi 2013, 108. 8

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

24

Among the variety of relics that can be found in New Spain, the corpi santi stand out due to their presence in many cities of the country. These notable relics can be dated between the last third of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, and their arrivals are mostly related to donations of the high clergy like bishops and members of the cathedral chapter, as well as families with strong political and economic power. In a research project developed from 2010 to the present day I have identified 63 examples of corpi santi which are distributed in thirteen states of Mexico.11 Although the dissimilar conditions of their donations and material characteristics led me to consider them as part of a longue durée history, it was after analyzing and observing many examples that I started to notice the repetition of a certain model by their material and iconographic features. Nevertheless, their appearance wasn’t enough evidence to consider them as part the same phenomenon, so the second step required the identification of the years of their respective donations or arrivals to Mexico. By the recognition of a time lapse between 1780 and 1793, it was possible to trace a chronology that revealed them as relics granted by Pope Pius VI, who ruled between 1775 and 1799. It is necessary to highlight the fact that this Pope had a close relation with New Spain shown by the fact that he granted many concessions and privileges like the approval of the heroic degree virtues of Sor Maria Jesús de Tomellín, an illustrious nun from Puebla de los Ángeles; the allowance to celebrate a special liturgy of San Felipe de Jesús, the first Mexican Saint, a Franciscan martyr canonized in 1627; the beatification in 1789 of Sebastián de Aparicio, a Franciscan lay brother who died in 1600, and whose incorrupt body is preserved in the church of Saint Francis in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles. Besides, he created the bishoprics of Linares (1777) and Sonora (1779) northern cities of New Spain; he gave indulgences to Saint Cayetano’s church in Guanajuato, Mexico City’s Cathedral and several nuns’ convents in the same city: Santa Teresa, la Enseñanza, Saint Clara and Bernardas. Also, he granted the General Statutes for the erection and administration of the Propaganda Fide custodies and colleges in New Spain.12 11

 Báez 2013, 147.  Breve apostólico de Pio VI 1781.

12

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

25

By linking the Braschi corpi santi found in Italy, Spain, Portugal and New Spain, it is possible to propose a chronological tracking in a lapse of fifteen years. In some cases, because of the lack of information, it was only by their iconographic features that can be identified as Pius VI gifts. For example, in Portugal, Saint Felicidade in Guimarães and Saint Bonifacio in Borba de Godim, were only identified in this group of donations because of its iconographic features. On the other hand, it was possible to find more information about Saint Fortunato, located in the Church of Nossa Senhora da Consolaçao e Santos Passos in Guimarães. This martyr was placed to receive public veneration on December 11, 1787, just three years after the consecration of the church. The martyr instantly attracted alms that helped in the construction of new chapels.13 Nowadays it remains visible inside its urn, with its vas sanguinis, a helmet and a sword. In Italy there are many cases of Braschi corpi santi, although it is necessary to do more research about them. In Milazzo, Saint Candida’s authentica informs that it was disinterred from the Catacombs of Saint Ciriaca on June 19 (?) 1784.14 Saint Clementina in Correggio was also exhumed from the same catacomb, and granted to Friar Quirino Bertacchini on February 10, 1793, 15 arriving on December to Correggio. Pietro Velani wrote in 1794 a chronicle of Clementina’s translation to Correggio’s Basilica: 27 settembre 1794. Da San Sebastiano fù portata in Duomo procesionalmente col Capitolo e Preti il Corpo entro in una cassa col suo Cristallo d’avanti di Santa Clementina, venuta da Roma, regalo fatto alla sua Patria da Frà Quirino Bertacchini cappuccino; vi fù all’arrivo in Chiesa solemne Te Deum in música dopo il quale l’orazione panegírica dal Pungileoni di Correggio francescano. La será fue anche molto bene illuminata in onore della santa, la facciata di San Sebastiano.16

After the translation, the martyr was placed in Saint Aloysuis de Gonzaga chapel, were it stays until today. Another example is Saint Agape in Chiari, extracted from the Catacomb of Saint Callixtus on September 9, 1795. In 1796 the relic was moved to Chiari’s 13

 Ferreira Caldas 1996, 2.  Information provided by Saint Candida’s authentica. 15  Information provided by Saint Clementina’s authentica. 16  Pratissoli 2007, 4. 14

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

26 Name

City

Country

After 1780 Saint Columba

Bari

Italy

Saint Columba

Pachuca

Mexico

Saint Felicidade

Guimaraes

Portugal

Saint Vicente

La Malaha

Spain

Saint Candida

Milazzo

Italy

Saint Fortunato

Guimaraes

Portugal

Saint Pio

Morelia

Mexico

Osma

Spain

Lagos de Moreno

Mexico

Castelguidone

Italy

1787

1789 Saint Cristina 1790 Saint Hermión 1791 Saint Clementina 1792 Saint Teodora

Xalapa

Saint Faustina

Guanajuato

Saint Victorio and Saint Justino

Cuernavaca

Saint Vicente

Craco

Italy

Coreggio

Italy

Borba de Godim

Portugal

Mexico

1793 Saint Clementina 1794 Saint Bonifacio 1795 Saint Feliciano

Giugliano

Saint Agape

Chiari

Italy

Fig. 2.1. Chronological track of Pius VI corpi santi.

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

27

Collegiate Church with the intervention from Brescia’s bishop Giovanni Nani.17 Even though more examples will be found, this is a first effort to reconstruct a timeline for the circulation of these relics (Fig. 2.1). ANATOMY

OF A

PIUS VI CORPO

SANTO

Ever since the rediscovery of the Catacombs in Rome, thousands of human remains were disinterred and donated to the Catholic world but their material conditions weren’t always the same. Depending on the context, this type of notable relics served different functions which determined the way in which they were shown to the devotees. As an example, during the seventeenth century, bones were given just as plain skeletons wrapped in fabrics and bound with official seals, and in countries like Germany, Switzerland and Austria, they were reassembled and embellished with rich clothes, gilded ornaments and displayed in luxurious shrines. Named Katakombenheilige, these astounding martyrs were displayed to show the glory of those who were believed to have given their lives in the name of the faith, as part of a Counter-Reformation measure against those who strongly criticized the relics’ veneration.18 In consequence, corpi santi can be found in several kinds of reconstructions, from the rich katokombenheilige —works usually made by nuns— to the wax-covered skeletons that began to appear during the last decade of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth.19 Nevertheless, Braschi corpi santi are the first ones to be recognized as a serial production bound to a Pope and a specific period (Fig. 2.2).20 Their material and iconographic features are the same in all the cases, except for a few differences in the ornamentation of the vestments and the fabrics. So, after the extraction of the relics from the catacombs, in order to recreate the image of a recumbent martyr, the bones were assembled with wires and stuffed with cotton or other similar fibre to fix the skeleton and create the shape of a body. The 17

 Orazione in memoria 1872, 7.  Koudounaris 2013, 30. 19  Burkardt 2009, 85. 20  Massimiliano Ghilardi was the first researcher to identify this pattern. 18

28

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

Fig. 2.2. Saint, Clementina, Correggio.

Fig. 2.3. Saint Felicidade, Portugal.

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

29

facial features and the limbs were made over the assembled bones using an Italian technique called cartapesta, a type of papier-mâché covered with a thin layer of silk that gave the appearance of dried human skin.21 A wig and a crown of flowers were attached to the head (Fig. 2.3). Since the human remains from the catacombs were believed to belong to early Christian martyrs, their vestments were designed to resemble the Roman clothing. Males were dressed as Roman soldiers like miles christi “soldiers of Christ”, and females like Roman matrons wrapped in rich fabrics. The way in which they were depicted inside their urns, resting with their arms crossed over the chest and with a somnolent expression on their faces, suggests that they are seen inside their loculi in the catacombs, a reminder of the Saints waiting for the resurrection of the flesh.22 In 1668 the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Relics established the signa martirii to distinguish inside the catacombs, the tombs of those believed to be martyrs: a palm leaf or arrows drawn on the tomb stone and the presence of the vas sanguinis. Although many controversies emerged in the interpretation of these elements as authentic proofs of martyrdom, this vessel was considered the most conclusive sign, because it was believed that inside was condensed the blood or the bloodstained dirt from a martyr’s torture.23 The vasa sanguinis designed to go along with all of Braschi’s corpi santi resemble a chalice made of carved wood covered with gold leaf to give the appearance of metal crowned with a chrismon, and entitled by a ribbon-like cartouche; a crystal phial was placed inside with the remains of the original vessel (Fig. 2.4). Finally, at the moment of the donation, every corpo santo had to be sent with an authenticae, the official document issued by the Pope to prove the granting of a relic, and attest institutional and social recognition.24 During the government of Pius VI, authentica were signed by two people: Francis Xavier, Sacristan of the Apostolic Palace, and Cardinal Marcantonio Colonna, General Vicar of the Pope and his regent during his apostolic trip to Vienna in 1782. This 21

 Pratissoli 2007, 4.  Báez 2015, 328. 23  Boldetti 1720, 239. 24  Schmitt 2002, 285. 22

30

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

Fig. 2.4. Vas sanguinis.

Fig. 2.5. Saint Clementina’s (Corregio) authentica.

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31

paper displays a standardized formula completed with info about the concession: the date, the martyr’s name, the catacomb where was extracted and to whom it was given (Fig. 2.5). PIUS VI

CORPI SANTI IN

NEW SPAIN

It is important to be aware of the fact that more relics in New Spain can be identified as Pius VI’s endowments through the dates of donation in their authenticae, but in this paper I will only refer to those which still have the martyr image described previously. Therefore, in this section some new results from an ongoing research will be presented for the first time about these corpi santi characterized as a group. The first four examples are related to wealthy families engaged in mining: Saint Faustina, Saint Columba, Saint Victorio and Saint Justino. Saint Faustina can be found in the Collegiate Basilica Our Lady from Guanajuato, Guanajuato (Fig. 2.6). The martyr’s relics were taken from the Catacombs of Pontiano on the July 25, 1792, and acquired to Rome by Antonio Alonso Obregón y de la Barreda (1773-1838). This man was the son of the miner Antonio de Obregón y Alcocer (1722-1786), first Count of

Fig. 2.6. Saint Faustina, Guanajuato.

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

32

Valenciana, whose title was promoted by the viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, and granted by king Charles III in 1780.25 Obregón discovered and exploited the Valenciana mine, one of the richest and most productive silver mines in New Spain, so his family held great economic and political power until the first decade of the nineteenth century. Dead on August 30, 1786, Antonio de Obregón was buried in the Convent of Saint Peter of Alcántara, leaving his son and three daughters as the heirs to the mine’s wealth.26 In 1788 the Valenciana mine was divided into 24 stocks, the Obregón family kept 10 of them and the title was taken until 1804 by Antonio Alonso Obregón, and after that, Antonio Pérez Gálvez and Diego Rul assumed the responsibility over of the mine.27 The Obregón family was very appreciated in the Novohispanic society and seen as a pious family who used their fortune to help others and support the construction of churches and public works. It is not surprising that they kept a close and favourable relationship with the Catholic Church, who granted them several benefits. For example, in 1778, before the arrival of Saint Faustina, the family received another papal favor: Pius VI granted plenary indulgences for the 19th day of each month in Saint Cayetano Church. The temple, consecrated in 1788, was built at the opening of the Valenciana mine, under the sponsorship of the late first Count.28 Although the date when the Obregon family asked for Saint Faustina is unknown, she arrived to Guanajuato in 1803, shortly before the visit of the famous explorer Alexander von Humboldt to the Valenciana, so her homecoming took place in the moment of greatest abundance and fame of the mine. The corpo santo came with its authentica attested by Francis Xavier, Archbishop of Larissa in Thessalia and Sacristan of the Apostolic Palace. The document reports the delivery of a sacrum corpus cum vas (sic) sanguinis Sanctae Faustinae Martiris clothed in gold and silver vestments as a noblewoman, and displayed inside a wooden urn sealed with a silk cord and the signatures of the Holy See authorities.29 A few days later, on July 28 of the same 25

 Manso Porto 2008, 23.  Gazeta de México 1786, 196. 27  Macías 1987, 643. 28  Gazeta de México 1788, 141. 29  Marmolejo 1884, 11. 26

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year, the Archbishop’s secretary Domingo Hernández executed the confirmation and official inventory of the bones to ensure that the relic arrived in the same conditions explained in the authentica, this recognition allowed its display and public veneration, as is explained in the following document: After we had been seen collated, recognized and carefully examined the particular signals expressed in the printed letters, we found that it matches the presented urn, inside the body was found and, in a separated phial, a portion of blood of Saint Faustina Martyr: having found that the seal of these letters matches the same on the urn; we grant our license for the exposure, public worship and veneration of this relic.30

After this test, Saint Faustina was placed in their private oratory situated in the Calle de Plateros in the city of Guanajuato. On May 12, 1812, Faustina was moved to a new urn, and registered again by the Oratorian priest Juan Ignacio de Villaseñor.31 Finally, after only 23 years, in 1826, the family donated the relic to the Cathedral, and was received by the ecclesiastical judge José Francisco Contreras who placed it in a little chapel built in the space under the right tower.32 Saint Faustina is now resting in a trapezoidal urn in the altar of Our Lady of Sorrows, accompanied by its vas sanguinis and a sealed frame, probably its authentica. The next case is Saint Columba in the Church of Saint Francis in Pachuca, Hidalgo (Fig. 2.7). Columba depicts the same image as Faustina in Guanajuato, only differentiated by the ornamentation on their garments: Faustina’s dress is more embellished. Another contrast among the two corpi santi is the state of preservation; in Columba the thin layer of fabric over the martyr’s face is torn and exposes the jaw and part of the skull. The cartapesta technique is clearly seen in her arms and feet. The vas sanguinis can be seen next to the martyr, broken and with its upper part lost. As well as Faustina, Columba was requested by a member of a family enriched by the mining: María Micaela Romero de Terreros Trebuesto (1757-1817). She was one the daughters of Pedro Romero 30

 Marmolejo 1884, 12.  Marmolejo 1884, 127. 32  Marmolejo 1884, 189. 31

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

34

Fig. 2.7. Saint Columba, Pachuca.

de Terreros Ochoa y Castilla, first Count of Regla (1710-1781), one of the richest business men in the eighteenth century dedicated to mining and estate exploitation. María Micaela was the second Marquise of Regla, and from a very young age she was devoted to charity and the patronage of religious foundations, especially the Saint Francis College of Propaganda Fide in Pachuca, founded in 1732. Her father was the most important benefactor of this college, so both of them helped to raise it as one of the best Propaganda Fide foundations in New Spain. The Count and Micaela even requested to be buried inside the church after their deaths. Nevertheless, Maria Micaela’s most important donation was the corpo santo of Saint Columba, which was “brought from Rome with a book about the life and death of the martyr and her authentica”.33 Unfortunately the college’s archive and library were destroyed around 1850 by the general Antonio Carbajal y Cuéllar,34 so in spite of the lack of documentation it was only by the recognition of its iconographic features that it was possible to consider it among the Braschi 33

 Romero de Terreros 1944, 191.  Alfaro y Piña 1863, 170.

34

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

35

corpi santi. Saint Columba is fixed in the altar of Saint Joseph and inside the doors that enclose it shrine is written a legend that mistakes it for the famous Saint Columba of Sens, France, saying that its feast is celebrated on December 31th. Saint Justino and Saint Victorio are the last corpi santi related to mining families. The pair was rediscovered during a visit made in 2014 to Cuernavaca’s Cathedral in Morelos (Figs. 2.8 and 2.9). The couple was kept inside urns but stored in an inadequate condition. In 2015 they were restored and brought again to public veneration, however, their original features where changed due to their difficult restoration. Little is known about these corpi santi, but some references identify them as donations of José de la Borda (1699-1778) owner of the rich mines of Taxco and Zacatecas, and builder of the temple of Saint Prisca in Taxco. After his death it was his son, the priest Manuel de la Borda and his nephew Martín José Verdugo35 who received the relics on March 5, 1792, with a great joy in the city.36 Saint Hermion and Saint Pio are other corpi santi that claim further investigation. About Saint Hermion, it is known that its bones were extracted from the Cemetery of Saint Ciriaca and donated by José Ana Gómez Portugal on April 7, 1790, with the help from the Jesuit priest Pedro José Márquez Ochoa, who made all the freightage arrangements in Rome.37 Gómez Portugal was part of a wealthy family, descendants of the founders of Lagos de Moreno and part of the local elite.38 When he earned the clergy “teniente” position in the Our Lady of Assumption’s Parish, in addition to pay for the translation of Saint Hermion from Rome, he donated an organ and a watch for the tower, and ordered a copy from the city’s council book.39 The relic arrived to New Spain on January 21, 1790 and to Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco on June 12, 1791,40 being received by Juan de Aguilera, who placed it on its own altar in the Our Lady of Assumption’s Parish on June 6, 1791 (Fig. 2.10).41 There is a commemorative 35

 González de Matos 2015, 44-47.  López González 1999, 90. 37  Gómez Mata 2012, 47. 38  Cruz 2015, 42. 39  Rivera 1875, 13. 40  Gómez Mata 2012, 120. 41  Gómez Mata 2012, 137. 36

36

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

Fig. 2.8. Saint Victorio, Cuernavaca.

Fig. 2.9. Saint Justino, Cuernavaca.

plaque near to the urn that informs of the relic’s donation and transcribes part of the authentica’s content: Sancti Hermionis Corpus. Ex cementerio Sanctae Ciriacae. Proprio Nomine Indicato Repertum Est Dmo. Fraire Xaverio Christiani Porfiriensi Episcopo Apostolici que Sacrarij Pro-Prefecto Patrio Templo Donodatum Pridie que Nonarum Julij Nonagessimo Primo Anno Decimi octavi Hujus Saeculi Solemni Eccleciae Ritu Traslationi Peracta Sub Hac Ara Ipsi Dicata Propiis Manibus Colocavit JOSEPHUS ANNA Sacerdos Et ad recolendum Martiris Memoriam PIO VI

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

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Fig. 2.10. Saint Hermion, Lagos de Moreno. SUMMO PONTIFICE ANNVENTE Per ilustris Dms. FRATER ANTONIUS ALCALDE Diocesanus Episcopus Die XXVIII Mensis Februarij Fortunatissimo Hocce u Loco a clero Saeculari Deeo Recitari Mandavit (sic).

José Ana Gómez Portugal promoted the devotion to Saint Hermion by publishing a novena entitled “Novena del Glorioso Mártir San Hermión, cuyo santo cuerpo se venera en la Iglesia Parroquial de la Villa de Santa María de los Lagos, Obispado de Guadalaxara. Dispuesta por un sacerdote secular de la misma Villa” printed in Guadalajara in two editions: 1795 and 1796, by Don Mariano Valdés Téllez Girón.42 Although Saint Hermion’s case has been particularly studied by the Lagos de Moreno’s chronicler Mario Gómez Mata, it is necessary to undertake a more specific research that considers the relevance of the donor, since Gómez Portugal was later identified as a sympathizer of the Mexican’s independence cause in Lagos de Moreno, and supporter of the resistance led by Pedro Moreno, a local leader of the insurgent forces.43 42

 León 1906, 148.  Rivera 1875, 13.

43

M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

38

The only reference found so far about Saint Pio is the “Inventory of jewels of this holy church made in the year 1787” of the Cathedral Church of Valladolid (now Morelia), Michoacán. On May 30, 1787, this document describes in the chapel of the Kings: “a niche with stained glass in which the body of St. Pius martyr is placed with its curtain and laces” (Fig. 2.11).44 The corpo santo remains locked inside its urn, partnering with another one identified as Saint Cristóbal. A memory from Frances Erskine Inglis, Madame Calderón de la Barca, refers that in 1809 both martyrs had already been placed in one of the Cathedral’s chapels.45 The last corpo santo is Saint Teodora in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Xalapa, Veracruz, inside the Chapel of the Third Order of Saint Francis (Fig. 2.12). Even though its actual appearance does not match the signature image of Braschi corpi santi, thanks to the authentica and the testimony of its destruction it was possible to identify it as part of this group of donations. The authentica was signed in 1792 by Marcantonio Colonna, General Vicar of the Pope, and it explains that the bones of Saint Teodora were extracted from the Catacomb of Priscilla accompanied cum vase sanguinis, and dressed with noble clothes woven with gems, gold and silver: nobilibus vestibus gemmis, auro et argento contextis indutum collocavimus in urna lignea colore porphyreio depicta auroque circundata et crystallis. The caption Sacrum corpus Sanctae Christi Martyr (sic) S. Theodorae describes that probably this corpo santo consisted on a complete female skeleton. The relic was acquired by Bárbara Ortiz de Zárate and her husband Pedro Josef Hernández; the transfer of Teodora demonstrates how complicated it was to bring a corpo santo from Rome: the priest Andrés Antonio Rozo delivered the relic to Juan Bautista Capdevila, who had to hand it out to Pedro Garay and Eduardo Alsazua. Teodora traveled from Rome to Genoa and to Cadiz, spending around 100 pesos and 2 reales for her freight.46 After its arrival, in 1809, Bárbara Ortiz published a small pamphlet dedicated to the martyr, the document entitled Día Primero de cada mes dedicado a santa Teodora… informs that she received the relic in her house for five days, and then 44

 Sigaut 1991, 241.  Calderón de la Barca 1843, 406. 46  Pasquel 1949, 112. 45

THE CORPI SANTI UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF PIUS VI

Fig. 2.11. Saint Pius, Morelia.

Fig. 2.12. Saint Teodora, Xalapa.

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M. A. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ

40

it was placed in the Cathedral. The pamphlet contains smalls prayers dedicated to the martyr and invites its devotees to pray them the first day of the month.47 Saint Teodora stands out among other corpi santi donated by Pius VI to New Spain because it was desecrated during the religious persecution originated after the anticlerical policies enacted by the president Plutarco Elías Calles (1877-1945). In 1926 the Mexican government implemented a law that restricted the power of the Church in Mexico and banned demonstrations of public worship, a situation that unleashed an armed conflict called “Guerra Cristera”. From 1926 to 1929 in states like Jalisco, Nayarit, Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Michoacán there were many armed confrontations between the “cristeros” and the Mexican army, conflicts that caused several deaths and the destruction of churches and sacred images. In the state of Veracruz, under the second government of Adalberto Tejeda Olivares (1883-1960) from 1929 to 1932, the conflict took extreme measures that led to the murder of priests and Catholic civilians. On November 11, 1931, the public burning of Saint Teodora, the corpo santo kept in Xalapa’s Cathedral, was published in the newspaper Redención. This newspaper, founded in 1924, was directed by Trinidad Malpica and dedicated to exalting and celebrating the anticlerical actions of Tabasco’s governor Tomás Garrido Canabal, politician who sympathized with the suppression of the Catholic religion in Mexico.48 So according to the new in Redención, Teodora was destroyed to reveal “nothing but a coarse wire frame stuffed with cotton and tow” and not the miraculous preserved body of a young martyr, as everyone believed. The burning took place to denounce and expose “the infamies and lies” promoted by Catholicism and the “dark cults” professed to images and uncertain bones only to gain money.49 It is quite interesting that Teodora was mistaken for a mummy due of the cartapesta’s appearance in its face and arms. Nowadays its rescued remains are preserved inside a twentieth century wooden sculpture that depicts the martyr as a young female who carries the palm of martyrdom, a dissimilar image from its former body. The vas sanguinis probably was lost during the desecration.  Día Primero de cada mes dedicado a santa Teodora 1809.  Abascal 1987, 132. 49  Martínez Assad 2004, 48. 47 48

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Fig. 2.13. Saint Teodora’s authentica.

CONCLUSION Through the characterization of a corpo santo model distinguished by its materiality and iconography, it was possible to identify seven cases in New Spain whose period of production situates them during the government of Pius VI. These seven corpi santi in New Spain are traces of a papal politic that tried to establish the Pope’s influence and presence among all the Catholic countries, and at the same time, used the martyrs’ relics and images as a reminder of the defence of the Christian faith. Also, it has become clear that, in the case of New Spain, these notable relics where only granted to people with economic power that could afford their freightage: mining owners, entrepreneurs and members of prestigious families — laymen as well as religious members —; hence, owning a corpo santo was a signal of prestige and a spiritual grace awarded by the Pope himself. Although it is undeniable that the historical and devotional aspect of each relic should be studied individually to understand the motives behind their arrival and how they worked within their contexts, this

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research represents the first steps to reconstruct a network of corpi santi donations that already includes Spain, Italy and Portugal. These grantings, included in the Pope’s discourse of the defense of the Church’s temporal authority and the defence of the faith, portrays the political function of an image, where the union between relics and materiality could speak eloquently to the devotees around the world.

MEDIEVAL IBERIAN RELICS AND THEIR WOVEN VESSELS: THE CASE OF SAN RAMÓN DEL MONTE (†1126) RODA DE ISABENA CATHEDRAL (HUESCA, ARAGON) Ana CABRERA-LAFUENTE, María Judith FELICIANO and Enrique PARRA For Father Enrique Calvera Nerín, tireless champion of the rich cultural heritage of the Barbastro-Monzón Diocese

The Cathedral of San Vicente Mártir in Roda de Isábena (Aragón) preserves an exceptional collection of early medieval textiles. Although they have remained poorly studied and largely unknown outside of Spain, the textiles in Roda de Isábena’s treasury constitute one of the few medieval Iberian ecclesiastical textile collections to survive in situ. Our contribution to this volume presents a multidisciplinary analysis of this important textile collection for the first time.1 In this article, we seek to integrate technical analyses (chemical and characterization) with ethnohistorical tools (historiographic, epigraphic, and 1  Our ambitious cross-disciplinary efforts has been undertaken thanks to the generous support of the following research projects and grant programs: Dr. Ana Cabrera’s work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 703711, Interwoven. The Max Van Berchem Foundation has underwritten Dr. María Judith Feliciano’s epigraphic and ethnohistoric work as part of the Medieval Textiles in Iberia and the Mediterranean Research Project. Dr. Enrique Parra’s scientific analyses have been funded by the research project Las manufacturas textiles andalusíes: caracterización y estudio interdisciplinar (Ref. HAR2014-54918-P)) supported by the Spanish Government’s Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the staff at the Museo Diocesano de Barbastro-Monzón, especially to Father Enrique Calvera Nerín, Director, Mrs. María Puértolas, Assistant Director, and Ms. Sheyla Ayerbe, Conservator, for granting us open access to the pieces, welcoming us into their storage units, assisting in archival and documentary research, and sharing photographic material. This contribution is a work-in progress report of our first year of work at Roda de Isábena. Since then, our team has undertaken a second season of work and a detailed photographic campaign. The resulkts of our new discoveries will be forthcoming.

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Fig. 3.1. Chasuble from the sepulchre of San Ramón in 1990, after restoration (Roda de Isabena Cathedral). © Gemma Comas.

documentary studies) in a pioneering effort to write a cultural history of Roda de Isábena’s medieval textile treasures. This investigation is also the first publication to present this remarkable collection in its entirety while integrating the verifiable provenance of the woven goods with their association to the cult of Bishop San Ramón of Roda (1067-1126). HISTORICAL BACKGROUND In the second half of the tenth century, owing to political and administrative needs, Roda de Isábena was granted the rank of episcopal see as a new foundation under the protection of the Archbishop of Narbonne.2 Roda was conquered from Muslim hands by the Count 2  The most complete and up-to-date work on the historical bases of Roda de Isábena’s episcopal see in relation to the counties of Aragón and Catalunya is Grau Quiroga 2010. See also Rebecca Swanson Hernández’ ground-breaking and nuanced cultural history of the medieval Bishopric of Roda de Isábena from the perspective of its intellectual life (its famous cathedral library): Swanson Hernández 2016.

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of Ribargorza in the year 1100, while the city of Lleida, the traditional ecclesiastical centre, remained under Islamic control. The extant textiles are associated with the cult of San Ramón, Bishop of Roda (r. 1104-1126), who was part of the first wave of post-conquest French-born bishops appointed to head the Iberian church as a “Europeanizing” push by Alfonso VI. Ramón of Roda (born Raymond Guillem) was a highly educated aristocrat born in Ariège (Occitanie) in 1067. Before his election as Bishop of Roda, he professed in the Monastery of Saint-Antonin de Frèdelas and around 1100 became a prior at Saint Sernin de Toulouse.3 Ramón died in Huesca in 1126, on his return from Málaga, where he had been active in the battlefield alongside King Alfonso I, the Battler.4 The numerous reports of miracles recorded soon after his death led Ramón of Roda to be labelled “beatus” in 1134.5 In 1135 he was proclaimed “Sancti Raimundi”.6 Somewhere around 1136-43, his remains were translated from Huesca, the place of his original interment, to Roda de Isábena in a wooden box. In 1170, they were translated again to a new carved sepulchre inside of the cathedral, whose chapter quickly began to use the remains of the miraculous Bishop San Ramón (and those who preceded him) as an attraction to enhance the prestige of the cathedral as a pilgrimage site.7 Another translation took place in 1631, when the relics were placed in an urn, and again 1651, when the Bishop of Lleida Pedro de Santiago ordered the remains placed in an altar in the crypt.8 The notoriety that the development of the cult garnered for Roda de Isábena became especially important after its bishopric was removed in favor of Lleida in 1149. Following that date and owing to the continual popularity of the cult to San Ramón until today, the saint’s relics have seen immeasurable manipulation and subtraction. Notices of spoliation begin almost immediately after the translation of the episcopal see. Online: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/401465. We would like to thank Rebecca Swanson for her help navigating the vast archival resources of Roda de Isábena and for her important role as an interlocutor in San Ramón de Roda matters. 3  Swanson Hernández 2016, volume I, 43. 4  Lorés i Otzet 2015, 136. 5  Grau Quiroga 2010, doc. 213; Swanson Hernández 2016, volume I, 27. 6  Grau Quiroga 2010, doc. 214; Swanson Hernández 2016, volume I, 27. 7  Lorés i Otzet 2015, 138-139. For a detailed and nuanced discussion of the practice of relic translation in medieval Spain, see García García 2016, 143-174. 8  Huesca 1807, 155; Lorés i Otzet 2015, 141.

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Bishop Guillermo Pérez, the last to live in Roda, reportedly took the temple’s “richest items” to Lleida.9 In 1433, the body of San Ramón reportedly was found intact.10 By 1594, when the coffin was opened at the behest of Philip II, who requested a relic for his collection at El Escorial, it was found to have lost its integrity, suggesting intense activity around the body of the saint. In December of 1602, Queen Margarita de Austria requested and received a fragment of the saintly body.11 Between 1621-1632, the Bishop of Lleida Pedro Antón y Serra removed more remains from the sepulchre of San Ramón and kept them until he was compelled by the Papal Nuncio to return them.12 Twentieth century openings include one in 1938 and 1990. In addition to the recorded openings, pastoral visits of the Bishops of Lleida and local devotion undoubtedly led to undocumented openings, and quite possibly even more relic removals. San Ramón’s remains (textiles included), therefore, suffered a great deal of disturbance, removal, and dispersal over the centuries, which complicates their study. The richness of San Ramón’s burial vestments stand in contrast to Roda de Isábena’s decidedly rural location and apparent remoteness. In the twelfth century, however, it was rather advantageously situated connecting the Camino Catalán with the Camino Francés coming from Jaca en route to Santiago de Compostela. Additionally, Roda was directly linked with Toulouse through an ancient rural road system that gained traffic and importance as a result of Aragonese connections to Languedoc following the Christian conquest.13 In short, medieval Roda de Isábena was favourably positioned along a route that linked Iberian, Mediterranean, and trans-pyreneean commercial highways. It is within the context of Roda’s recent history as a reconquered city, its advantageous location, the life of San Ramón and his theological activity, and the development of his cult, that we position our analysis of the textiles. Given the size of Roda’s textile collection, we have catalogued the pieces in two preliminary tables. Table 3.2 refers to the objects that were found in the Cathedral prior to 1990 and that traditionally have been associated with San Ramón, while table 3.1 details the textiles removed 9

 del Arco y Garay 1942, 248.  Lorés i Otzet 2015, 141. 11  Huesca 1807, 159. 12  del Arco y Garay 1942, 249. 13  Guardia Pons 2011, 270. 10

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from the saint’s tomb in 1990. Following a brief conservation history of the objects in the collection, we will offer a detailed description of the unpublished objects found in 1990. For the rest of the objects, we will focus on their most relevant facts and will underscore the results of new analyses recently undertaken.14 Lastly, a cultural history of the textiles will be offered as an essential complement to the scientific study. PROBLEMS IN

THE STUDY OF RODA DE ISÁBENA’S TEXTILE COLLECTION

Perhaps the greatest challenge to the study of the textile finds at Roda de Isábena derives from the long history of manipulation and subtraction of San Ramón’s relics mentioned above. Only some of the textiles in the collection—namely, the objects found during the opening of the tomb in 1990—have a corroborated provenance as relics (Table 3.1). Others, such as the mitre and glove, likely were removed from the tomb at unknown and undocumented dates (Table 3.2). The provenance of the remaining textiles simply cannot be ascertained (Table 3.2). Traditional scholarship, undoubtedly informed by popular devotion, upholds that all the textiles housed in the cathedral treasury have been associated with San Ramón’s relics traditionally. In 1990, the most recent opening of San Ramón’s tomb and the discovery of its textiles was widely celebrated both locally in Roda de Isábena and in the province of Aragón in general, as newspaper coverage of the occasion indicates.15 Subsequently, Roda’s textile collection underwent conservation and was prepared for exhibition in its entirety. Not all the pieces were made available to the viewing public, which explains why important objects such as the large chasuble or shroud 2 have remained unpublished until now, despite their obvious significance. 14

 For this purpose, we follow the comprehensive approach of the pioneering interdisciplinary work in the publication of Archbishop Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada’s burial vestments (Mantilla (ed.) 1995). Most recently, the importance of multidisciplinary methodologies in medieval textile studies has been underscored in various publications. See Cabrera 2005; Rodríguez & Cabrera 2014. 15  http://hemeroteca.diariodelaltoaragon.es/ResultadosBusqueda.aspx?DiaDesde =2&DiaHasta=3&MesDesde=6&MesHasta=6&AnnoDesde=1990&AnnoHasta= 1990 &TextoBusqueda=San%20Ram%c3%b3n&p=1& por=0. We are very thankful to María Puértolas for generously sharing news clippings with us.

*

Linen tabby with woolen sup- H.: 160; w.: 160 plementary wefts; selvedges and warps ends with fringes.

 http://ipce.mcu.es/pdfs/M0901-02-4-2-PDF3.pdf

Silk

H.: 187; w.: 97

Compound-twill (2/1) with 4 wefts. Selvegdes and warp ends

Linen and wool

Linen tabby (shroud 1)

Decoration of yellow embroi- H.: 10; w.: 9; dery l.: 24,5

Silk textile (shroud 2?)

Leather, silk

Shoes

Doubled-face compound twill H.: 143; w.: 136 (2/1) of 2 wefts with tapestry decoration. With a band of appliqué embroidery

Compound twill (2/1) with H.: 9; w.: 41 tapestry decoration (tabby 2/2)

Silk

Dalmatic

Notes

End 11-first quarter Restored at IPCE of the 12th century

Chronology

_

Red: madder + elagic acid; green: indigo + weld

_

_

Arteaga et al., s.d.*; Partearroyo 2005, 52; Borrego 2005, 86-88; Gayo & Arteaga 2005, 130.

Unpublished

Arteaga et al., s.d.; Borrego 2005, 85-87; Gayo & Arteaga 2005, 123-147.

Unpublished

Published

End 11-first quarter Restored and Partearroyo 1993, 228. of the 12th century mounted with glass (according to Partearroyo 1993: 10-11th centuries)

End 11-first quarter Restored at IPCE of the 12th century

End 11-first quarter Restored at IPCE of the 12th century

End 11-first quarter Restored at IPCE of the 12th century

Green: indigo; End 11-first quarter Restored at IPCE blue: indigo; of the 12th century brown: elagic acid.

_

Dimensions in cm. Samples/Analysis (H.: height; (before this study) w.: width; l.: lenght)

Compound-twill (2/1) with H.: 133; w.: 230 2 wefts. Appliqué decoration of tapestry band, embroidery band and compound-twill textile

Weave technique

Band Silk, metal (so called stole) threads

Silk, linen, metal thread

Materials

Chasuble

Textile

TABLE 3.1: List of textiles from San Ramón burial (found in 1990). Analyses performed at IPCE laboratories by M.D. Gayo.

Silk, metal threads

Cotton

Linen and silk

Silk

Silk, metal threads

Silk

Linen and silk?

Glove

Tapestry band (shroud?)

Textile fragment

Band

Textile fragment

Embroidery

Materials

Mitre

Textile

Tabby and embroidery

Tabby with supplementary wefts. Selvedge

Tablet weave

Compound weave

Tabby and tapestry

Knitted

Embroidery

Weave technique

H.: 10; w.: 6,5

H.: 4; w.: 11

H.: 11; w.: 16

L.: 170; h.: 21

H.: 22; w.: 15

H.: 22; w.: 22

Dimensions in cms. (L.: lenght; h.: height; w.: width)

Restored

Not located

del Arco y Garay 1942.

Partearroyo 1993, 332.

Restored

13th century

Partearroyo 1993, 220.

Unpublished

Restored

End 10th-beginnings 11th century

del Arco y Garay 1942; Partearroyo 1993, 226.

Partearroyo 1993, 313.

del Arco y Garay 1942; Niño 1941, 145-146, fig. 11-15; Partearroyo 1993, 316.

Published

12th century (according to Cabrera and Feliciano)

Restored

10 to 12 century

th

12th century th

Restored

Notes

12th century

Chronology (according to Partearroyo 1993)

TABLE 3.2: List of textiles held at Roda Cathedral

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The objects underwent conservation in two distinct phases. One group was prepared for display in the exhibition Signos, arte y cultura en el Aragón medieval.16 Some objects included in this show were published textiles.17 Others were unpublished at the time of exhibition, as linen tabby with woolen supplementary wefts (shroud 1), which we believe came from the objects discovered in 1990. The second group was subject to conservation efforts after the textiles were removed from the tomb of San Ramón in 1990 (Table 3.2).18 These textiles (except for shroud 2) and San Ramón’s sandals were transferred to the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE) to be restored by members of its conservation staff. Loose fragments (parts of the chasuble’s hem band) also underwent restoration at the hand of Kenia Oteiza in 2000. The textiles were cleaned and washed on a suction table, aligned, and mounted for exhibition at the Cathedral of Roda de Isábena. A selection of the collection was published in an issue of the Revista de Bienes Culturales, dedicated to the study of Andalusi textiles.19 The rest have remained unpublished until today. THE 1990

TEXTILE DISCOVERY

San Ramón’s chasuble is a silk weft-faced compound twill. The weave is a weft-faced compound twill of 3 in Z direction with white or cream colour Z-spun threads. The plain textile’s lack of decoration is unusual, although a central tapestry band, embroidered bands on the shoulders, and a decorative hem band complement its apparent simplicity. Typologically, the object corresponds to conical (or cope-style) chasubles typical of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Relevant parallels are the chasuble of Pope Clement II (Diocesan Museum, Bamberg)20 and that of Saint Vitalis (Abbey of Saint Peter, Salzburg).21 16

 Partearroyo 1993. The exhibition catalogue indicates that Ana Schoebel was the conservator in charge of the intervention, but there is no documentation indicating whether any characterisation was completed, whether fibre, dyes, or metallic thread analyses. We have been unable to locate the conservation reports. 17  del Arco y Garay 1942; Orfebrería y ropas de culto 1941. 18  Borrego 2005; Gayo & Arteaga 2005. 19  Borrego 2005; Gayo and Arteaga 2005. 20  Miller 2014a, 180. 21  Miller 2014a, 154; Otavsky & Wardwell 2011, 142-144.

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Two salient features are worth noting. First, its white or cream colour lacks a parallel in similar pieces found in the Iberian Peninsula, although it may be related to other monochrome samites.22 Second, the width of the textile (more tan 163 cm) is unique, given the fact that no seam or selvedge has been detected. Even if there were a seam under the decorative tapestry band, the textile would be 81.5 cm wide, which suggests that it was woven in a widest loom. The chasuble has three decorative appliqued bands. The central tapestry band, made of silk and metallic thread (organic adhesive), is brown or black epigraphic decoration in Arabic that travels vertically across the centre of the chasuble on both sides. The tapestry work presents double warps threads in the decoration areas. An embroidered linen tabby — a counting thread embroidery with floral and vegetal motifs — runs around the shoulders. Its colours are faded, but the conservation report indicates that original red and blue can be seen on a fold. Lastly, the hem is an appliqued silk band fashioned from a silk textile decorated with animals surrounded by medallions and a band of Arabic epigraphy.23 The textile is a doublefaced compound twill (2/1),weft-faced in S direction at the front with Z-spun silk threads.24 Compound twills of similar decoration and chronology include the Chasuble of Pope Clement II25 and that of Aschaffenburg’s Schlosskapelle.26 A fragment, possibly from a Syrian or Iraqi workshop, at the Abegg-Stiftung Foundation and dated from the end of the tenth to the eleventh century offers another interesting parallel.27 In the Iberian context, the chasuble of Saint Armengol (Diocesan Museum, Seu d’Urgell) has been related to the samites of Roda de Isábena.28 The dalmatic (Fig. 3.2), a “T” shape vestment, is a double-face compound twill with two wefts in faded blue and cream silk. It is a plain textile, with the wefts working separately in each face, creating a reversible effect. The warps are Z-spun in blue and cream silk. In 22

 Otavsky 2011, 344; for a similar decoration in two lampas fragments at the Abegg Stiftung Foundation, see also Otavsky & Wardwell 2011. 23  Some loose fragments, found in 1990 and restored by Kenia Muñoz in 2000 belong to this textile. 24  As noted in the conservation report by Kenia Oteiza. 25  Miller 2014a, 211. 26  Durian-Ress 1986, 18-19. 27  Otavsky 2011, 140, no. 45. 28  Saladrigas 2013, 5.

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Fig. 3.2. Dalmatic from the sepulchre of San Ramón in 1990, after restoration (Roda de Isabena Cathedral). © Gemma Comas.

the tapestry decoration on the lower front of the vestment, the wefts are cream, blue, and brown, Z-spun with Z-spun organic metallic thread. It also has a selvedge in tabby with warps of cellulosic cords, which according to Borrego, is made with 10 fragments.29 Borrego also has identified this double-faced compound twill as plain (“liso”). The maximum width of the textile is approximately 57 cm.The tapestry decoration has the warps grouping 2 by 2 and some wefts working diagonally, to form vegetal and geometric motifs as well as epigraphic decoration. According to Borrego, there are 2 independently textiles with the same warps. There also are appliqued embroideries on the sleeves and the cuffs in a linen tabby with metallic and silk threads applied to the ground. The vegetal decoration, according to Borrego’s conservation report, would have included confronted peacocks. Technically, the embroidery is similar to the famous textile at Oña (Burgos). Typologically, the dalmatic has buttons on the side, like a kaftan, and preserves a button and a loop of thread. 29

 Borrego 2005, 149.

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53

Fig. 3.3. Leather shoes, decorated with embroidery, from the sepulchre of San Ramón in 1990, after restoration (Roda de Isabena Cathedral).

The chasuble and the dalmatic share important traits. Namely, they were both fashioned using the same weave, a compound twill, and achieve their decorative schemes using a similar embroidery. The aesthetic contrast between the blue dalmatic and the white or cream chasuble would have been striking. Sandals made of brown leather embroidered in yellow thread were added to this refined ensemble of ecclesiastical vestments. San Ramón’s are the oldest liturgical sandals found in the Iberian Peninsula. They show two heart-shaped openings surrounded by stars embroidered on the instep and a medallion with floral decoration on the tip. There are similar European examples, such as those of Bishop Desiderius of Délemont (Switzerland), dated to the twelfth century, or those of Saint Germanus (Switzerland), dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century.30 These sandals have the elements of the shoes worn by bishops, as the embroidery at the top and the cut-outs show the rich caligae.31

30

 Schmedding 1978, 100-101.  Miller 2014a, 199.

31

A. CABRERA-LAFUENTE, M. J. FELICIANO, E. PARRA

54

Fig. 3.4. Band of San Ramón (Roda de Isabena Cathedral). © Gemma Comas.

San Ramón’s body was wrapped in at least one shroud, which we have labelled shroud 1.32 It is a linen tabby decorated with supplementary woollen wefts in red and green. The fabric is complete with selvedges and warp ends with fringes. The central zone suffered the most damage, which has caused the textile to fragment into two pieces that correspond to the end with fringes. Shroud 1, with a width of 160 cm and decorated in wool, is one of the few Iberian samples of the eleventh to twelfth centuries woven in wool. The visual evidence indicates that the dalmatic and the chasuble are most deteriorated on the reverse, where the body rested. The same type of deterioration is evident in shroud 1, which shows a complete destruction of its central area. The tell-tale sign of decomposition is evident only in these three pieces, which were the ones in direct contact with the body of the saint. Finally, the last fragment in the 1990 inventory is described as a stole dated to the beginning of the twelfth century.33 It is a doublefaced compound twill with 2 wefts creating a reversible effect in green and cream. The warps are in green Z-spun silk and the wefts are green and cream silk. The stole has tapestry decoration (tabby 2/2), where some warps are grouped by three. The wefts are unspun red, blue, green, cream, and organic gilt metal thread. Lastly, there is a textile complete with selvedges and warp ends that we believe belongs to the discovery of 1990.34 It is a silk textile (Fig. 3.5) 32

 This shroud is currently rolled and has not been studied in detail.  Borrego 2005, 86-88. 34  Because they do not appear in the publications of 1941 and 1942, and for the first time in 1990, after this opening. 33

MEDIEVAL IBERIAN RELICS AND THEIR WOVEN VESSELS

Fig. 3.5. A textile decorated with circles and Kufic inscription (Roda de Isabena Cathedral) © Gemma Comas.

55

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A. CABRERA-LAFUENTE, M. J. FELICIANO, E. PARRA

decorated with circles (possibly another pallia rotata) that we have identified as a shroud (shroud 2, Table 3.2). It is a silk compound twill (twill 2/1) with 4 wefts.35 Partearroyo identified it as a compund twill with an open twill36, but we believe the effect to be created by a lack of tension produced by the passage of time. The selvedges are formed with three thick linen cords in tabby, like the dalmatic and the silk textile decorated with stars from this collection, described by Borrego. The selvedges are formed by three thick linen cords similar to those found in textiles from the end of the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries, such as the fragment decorated with stars (Fig. 3.8). The group of textiles that emerged from San Ramón’s tomb in 1990 is particularly interesting for the homogeneity of their techniques; they are all double-face plain compound-twills except for shroud 2, and two of them have tapestry decoration with double warps and organic gold thread wefts. Further study is needed to know if these features could be identifiekd as local (Iberian) characteristics. Some time ago, von Wilkens highlighted some of them in some 12th and 13th centuries samites and their connections with the Iberian workshops.37 This is a very relevant characteristic to highlight in relation to the chasuble’s epigraphic information and the tapestry decoration of the dalmatic and the so-called stole. TEXTILES TRADITIONALLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAN RAMÓN Roda Cathedral preserves another group of textiles that traditionally have been considered relics of San Ramón, as is the case with the glove and mitre, a linen textile decorated in silk tapestry, a silk fragment decorated with a medallion that contains an epigraphic inscription, a silk lampas with geometrical and epigraphic decoration and a tablet weave fragment. These objects, with the exception of the tablet weave, were published starting in the 1940’s. We will limit our discussion, therefore, to a general description and instead highlight data related to our characterization and chemical analyses. 35  The textile is currently framed and we have not been able to analyse it closely to ascertain its ligaments. 36  Partearroyo 1993, 288. 37  Wilckens studied the compound twills 3/1 and the little Z-twist of the wefts as features. Wilckens 1992, 87-88.

MEDIEVAL IBERIAN RELICS AND THEIR WOVEN VESSELS

57

The mitre and glove have traditionally been associated with San Ramón because they are items proper of the dignity of bishops. The mitre (Fig. 3.6), one of the best medieval examples preserved in Spain, was originally made of silk satin with a rich embroidered decoration of metallic and silks threads.38 It lost some of the medallions during the famous robbery of 1979. According to Partearroyo, this kind of mitre was called aurifriata because they were worked with gold metallic threads and silk.39 The mitre also shows the “double-horned” typology of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.40 The extant glove (Fig. 3.7) is similar to those preserved in France41 and at the Diözesanmuseum of Hofburg.42 It was knitted with one needle, without seams, in an S-spun linen thread (following the analysis carried out by Dr. Parra, below). Lastly, there are four textile fragments that may be related to the burial of San Ramón or to the wrapping of other small relics. Only one fragment measures more than 20 cm. It is a silk tapestry band on a linen tabby known as Franja de San Ramón (“Band of San Ramón”), because it was found in his tomb in 1918. Yet, as Partearroyo and Schoebel have observed, the textile does not show deterioration related to bodily decay in a burial.43 The band was part of a bigger textile as a 1941 photograph indicates.44 The textile must have been very similar to shroud 1 and probably larger, as the extant fragment measures 172 cm. Technically the band has a series of features that suggest an Egyptian origin or workshop of the tenth or eleventh centuries, such as the grouping and crossed warps on the tapestry area and the decoration in the medallions. The second fragment is a small (16 × 10, 5 cm) textile45 decorated with a medallion with animals surrounded by an inscription. The weave is a lampas with blue and yellow Z-spun threads, the warps and wefts are blue and yellow. 38  The other is the now-lost miter of San Valerius, which disappeared after Erik el Belga’s (born René Alphonse van den Berghe) theft of 1979. 39  Partearroyo 1993, 316; Niño 1941, 145-146, fig. 11-15; Floriano Cumbreño 1942; del Arco y Garay 1942. 40  Miller 2014a, 201. 41  Cardon 1993, 30-38. 42  Miller 2014a, 201. 43  Partearroyo 1993, 226. 44  del Arco y Garay 1942. 45  This textile is currently kept inside a crystal frame that has prevented close study.

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Fig. 3.6. Embroidered mitre, traditionally attributed to San Ramon (Roda de Isabena Cathedral) from Niño 1941.

Fig. 3.7. Globe, traditionally attributed to San Ramon (Roda de Isabena Cathedral).

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59

The last two textiles in this group are very different from each other. The first (Fig. 3.8) is a silk fragment with a selvedge.46 It is a silk tabby with suplementary wefts. It maintains one of the selvedges, formed by three cords of linen as warps in tabby and has a loom mistake. This detail has allowed the identification of a second extant related fragment at the Museo Episcopal de Vic (no. MEV 9192).47 It is decorated with stars and other geometrical patterns outlined by epigraphic information. The last two textiles are fragments of tablet weave in silk and gilt metal threads, one of two examples preserved in Iberia along Queen Leonor’s stole at the Royal Treasury of San Isidoro in León. The tablet weave textiles were typically employed as stoles, belts, and bands for the hems. ANALYSES OF DYES,

MORDANTS AND METALLIC THREADS

The analysis of the samples from Roda de Isábena has focused on dyes, mordants, and metallic threads (Table 3.3).48 The chemical analysis has been conducted to determine both dyestuff and the salts related to mordants and colour modifiers. The chemical analysis of the dyestuffs has been carried out by high performance liquid chromatography with a Diode Array Detector (HPLC-DAD),49

46  This textile is currently kept inside a crystal frame that has prevented close study. 47  Partearroyo 1993, 332. 48  Undertaken by Dr. Enrique Parra at the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural Español (Madrid). The samples were taken by Dr. Ana Cabrera and Dr. Laura Rodríguez Peinado during their research at Roda de Isábena in November 2015. 49  The employed HPLC apparatus was an Agilent 1200 HPLC system equipped with a UV-VIS Diode Array Detector (DAD) and the Agilent 6530 Quadrupole Time of Flight Mass Spectometer (qTOF-MS). The chromatographic separation was achieved with a Zorbax-C18 SB column (50 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm) and with a binary mobile phase consisted of 0,1% (v/v) formic acid in water (eluent A) and pure acetonitrile (eluent B). The following gradient was employed for standards and real sample analysis: isocratic elution with 10% B up to 0,4 min; linear gradient to 22% B up to 6,5 min; isocratic condition up to 8 min; linear gradient to 35% B up to 14 min and then to 95 % up to 18 min; isocratic up to 21 min; linear gradient to 10% up to 25 min.

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Fig. 3.8. Fragment of silk textile with selvedge. (Roda de Isabena Cathedral). It has an inscription outlining the geometrical motifs. © Gemma Comas.

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coupled to a double mass spectrometer quadrupole – time of flight detector50. The results detailed in table 3.3 indicate a great variety of dye sources employed. As outlined in table 3.3, madder, young fustic, kermes and tannins (with both gallic and ellagic acid and derivatives) were detected. These results coincide with other analyses performed on medieval Iberian textiles51, but it is interesting to note the presence of young fustic (Rhus sp.) to achieve the yellow of the silk thread wrapped over the organic metallic thread of the tablet weave fragment. Red colours are made with madder (Rubia sp.) or with kermes (Kermes vermilio), sometimes mixed with a small proportion of tannins. As shown in table 3.3, madder with some tannins (mainly ellagic acid) (Fig. 3.9 and Table 3.4) was used on the red warp of the tapestry band of the band of tablet weave while kermes was found pure in the red thread from the embroidery of the mitre. It also is found in the silk thread from the dalmatic, together with a substantial quantity of ellagic acid to achieve some sort of reddish colour (orange?) now degraded to a brown hue. Kermesic acid is also detected in the gilt thread of the mitre, although it was not found in the silk fibres. DAD detector swifts between 200 and 800 nm, monitoring at λ= 275 nm, λ= 350 nm, λ= 550 nm y λ= 600 nm. QTOF detector worked in negative mode (Electrospray ESI (-)), gas temperature 300ºC, gas flow 8 L/min, nebulizer: 55 psi, sheath gas temp 400ºC, sheath gas flow 12 l/min, capilar voltage (-) 3500 V, fragmentor: 185 V. Acquisition was done in MS and MS/MS mode, with a mass range of 100-1700 m/z units. For indigoid dyestuffs MS detector worked also in positive mode (Electrospray ESI (+)) with the same conditions, but with a sheath gas flow of 5 L/min. 50  The conditions are following: all the samples have been subjected to the following pre - analytic procedure. For each sample, approximately 10 μg of dry sample has been weighted and put in a 1,5 mL Eppendorf tube. The disruption of the metal-dye complex has been achieved by hydrolyzing the micro-samples with 100 μL of a H2O/Methanol/formic acid 1:1:2 (volume) solution. After heating during 10 min at 60-70ºC, the solution has been evaporated to dryness under constant nitrogen flushing. Extraction of the soluble organic compounds was performed by adding 200 μL of a methanol/dimethylformamide 1:1 solution and later, sonicating the closed vials during 10 min without strictly control temperature (always less than 50ºC). The closed vials have been heated at 80ºC during 5 min, let cool to room temperature and, if necessary, evaporated to 20-30 μL at 100ºC, under nitrogen flushing. 1-2 μL were injected depending on the solution concentration (Sanyova 2008). 51  Gayo & Arteaga 2005, 123-145.

Gloves (white)

Dalmatic (brown)

Tapestry band (red) so called stole

Tapestry band (green) so called stole

Band of tablet weave (red)

RI-3

RI-4

RI-5

RI-6

RI-7

alizarine (+++) purpurine (+)

ellagic acid

alizarine (+++) anthragallol (+) xanthopurpurine (+) purpurine (+) munjistine (tr.) pseudopurpurine (tr.) buteine (tr.) ellagic acid

kermesic acid ellagic acid

n. d.

n. d.

Chasuble (from the textile of the hem, yellowish white)

RI-2

Dyeing Compounds

Chasuble (yellowish white) not detected (n. d.)

Description (color of the thread)

RI-1

Sample no.

Z ?

madder (possibly Rubia copper sulphate silk tinctoria)

Z

Z

S

Z

Z

Twist direction

silk

tanins

-

silk

madder (possibly Rubia alum tinctoria)

tannins

silk

alum

kermes tannins

flax

silk

silk

Fibre

-

-

-

Mordant

-

-

-

Dye

Metal (if present)

C (Na, Al, Si, S, Ca, Cu)

C (Al, Si, S)

C, Al (Si, S)

C, Al (Si, S)

C (Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, Cl, Ca)

C, Al, Si (S)

C (Na, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca)

Elementary analysis

TABLE 3.3: Results of fibres, dyes and metallic threads (analysis performed at IPCE, Madrid by Dr. E. Parra)

Mitre (golden)

Mitre (red)

RI-10

RI-11

kermesic acid

Dye

-

young fustic (Rhus sp.)

kermes

fiber: n. d. gold + support: kermesic acid, ellagic acid

n. d.

Mitre (silver)

RI-9

Dyeing Compounds

Band of tablet weave fisetine (golden, core thread of the sulfuretine (+++) metallic thread)

Description (color of the thread)

RI-8

Sample no.

silk

silk

Fibre

alum

silk

silk silk: support tanning: alum + tannins decoration: kermes lake

alum

-

Mordant

S?

Elementary analysis

Ag 100%

C, Al, Si (P, S, Ca)

silk C (Ca, S) proteinaceous support: C, Al, Ca, S (Na, Si, P, Cl, K, Fe)

C, Al (Na, P, S, Cl, K, Ca)

Au 76, Ag 23, C (Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca) Cu