Blog Post 5

“Reliquary Pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily Blessed by Bishop Reginald of Bath.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/63.160/.

This piece of art is called the "Reliquary Pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily Blessed by Bishop Reginald of Bath".  It was made between 1174-77 with a 5 x 3.1 x 0.7 cm dimension and made with gold, however, the creator of this relic is unknown.  This was made in Canterbury England and is of British culture.  This relic was given to the queen on her son's marriage data in 1177 to the daughter of queen Henry II.  It was King Henry II that instigated the murder of Archbishop Thomas Beckett, which on the latin engravings, it says, "Part of the blood of St. Thomas Martyr.  Parts of the vestments stained with his blood: the cloak, the belt, the hood, the shoe, the shirt."  The subject of this piece is obviously some sort of controversial death of Beckett and how he was murdered against the church's will.  On the back of this gold relic which cannot be seen in the picture, it says the latin translation, "Bishop Reginald of Bath hands this over to Queen Margaret of Sicily."  This shows the subject as well as how it represents the church's discontent with the murder of Beckett.  In this picture of the relic, the person who took the picture has light directly on the golden relic to reflect its gold and show the richness of how it was made.  This can also symbolize the importance this relic might have had and the influence it created when it was presented.  Also, the top of the piece where a crystal would be placed it is shiny and glossy against the dark reflection.  When this picture was taken, it was given the idea to reflect the gold of the relic and the image, hence the light directly on it.  It doesn't, however, portray the texture as much other than the shiny, smooth looking top part and the grooves from the picture and words imprinted into the relic.  

This relic conveys the religious values through the wording on the relic.  Not only what the words mean, but it is often overlooked how Latin is the language of the Catholic Bible and is a part of Catholicism itself due to its influence on the Church.  This piece is meant to convey how with the words on the relic, it was given to the queen on her son's marriage day.  Rather than it revealing discontent, it could also be some sort of peace offering with he queen as she was married to Henry II. The words "Part of the blood of St. Thomas Martyr.  Parts of the vestments stained with his blood: the cloak, the belt, the hood, the shoe, the shirt." could possibly mean a peace offering because the church is giving repentance on King Henry and want to continue on with good relations.  This is important because in the Middle Ages when this was made, it represents the commerce and very often gifts of great value given to different people.  Since the significance of this exact relic isn't precisely known, it can be given many interpretations, the strongest of which lies under it being a peace offering or even a present saying that even Beckett would have approved of this marriage since it was made with gold and in the Catholic Latin language.