Reflection essay

During the Middle Ages in Europe there was a craze for relics associated with holy persons and/or martyred saints from Early Christianity. Many of these objects (bones, hair, clothing) were brought back to Europe by the Crusaders. They were displayed in churches along the Pilgrimage Routes were traveling repentant Christians could view and venerate them.

1. Read these two articles on the Cult of Relics:

• https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/latin-western-europe/romanesque1/a/pilgrimage-routes-and-the-cult-of-the-relic
• https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/relc/hd_relc.htm

2. Answer these questions in the Reflections blog for Unit 3:

• Did you know about relics and that they are still venerated in churches today?
• Do you think there were a lot of false or fake relics disseminated in the Middle Ages?
• Is there a similar phenomenon in secular (non-religious) life that you can think of? For example, many people make a “pilgrimage” to Graceland, or Disney World.