Thefts of Relics in Italy: From Late Antiquity to the Central Middle Ages, 300–1150

Abstract

Abstract

This historical account by Assistant Professor Marco Papasidero establishes that over several centuries, it was accepted practice in Catholicism to steal relics (furta sacra in Latin) of the saints from their owners and relocate them, supposedly as a sign of piety but often to gain prestige and income. Examining these thefts in Italy from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages reveals a systematic, rather than occasional, approach to not merely justifying, but positively exalting such activity. The author analyzes such larceny from sociocultural and anthropological perspectives, contextualizing their divine justification by the perpetrators and the Church.