Throughout history there have been quite a few great examples of the connection between religion and fashion. Books about ecclesiastical attire and vestments abound, but there are extremely fascinating stories with some links to fashion that haven't been told yet.
Art historian and photographer Paul Koudounaris rediscovers the history of the lavishly dressed catacomb saints venerated in German-speaking countries in a volume recently published by Thames & Hudson. Entitled Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures and Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, the book recounts a part of a forgotten Catholic history.
In the period that followed the Thirty Years War (1618-48), fully articulated skeletons were sent from Rome to Germany to combat Protestant Reformers and offer replacements for relics lost when churches were ransacked.
The skeletons were collectively known as Katakombenheiligen, that is "catacomb saints", and were considered sacred items, even though in most cases it was almost impossible to be entirely sure that the bones really belonged to the body of a martyr.
As Koudounaris states in the book, the selection process that occurred in the Roman catacombs to choose the bones of the alleged martyrs was random, and, in most cases (though the bones were examined and certified), it was actually impossible to classify them, since they weren't accompanied by any detailed funerary plaques.
Once selected, the skeletons or bones started a long journey towards German-speaking lands accompanied by monks, pilgrims, merchants and, in some bizarre cases, also by protestants.
Years passed between their arrival in another country, their preparation and final translation into a church where they usually received a name - Boniface, Severina, Benedictine, Luciana, Fortunatus, Candida, Deodatus, Theodosius and so on - that called to mind other popular saints and their virtues. Most of them inspired new cults and successfully relighted the faith in the hearts of the communities they protected.
The most extraordinary thing about these skeletons was the fact that the bones were covered in lavish styles by nuns. Tulle, gauze, buratto lace or silk were used to cover the fragile bones; fingers and ribcages were decorated with pearls, golden thread and jewels donated by people, or artificial stones from Venice, while blue gems were set where the eyes should have been.
The chest was usually the centrepiece that offered artisans the chance to produce amazing decorations and intricate patterns. In some cases the skeletons - carefully set as reclining, sitting or standing - were dressed in ecclesiastical robes; in others nobles donated costumes that were then adapted and reinterpreted in Roman styles to hint at their origins. Through the works of nuns, silversmiths and goldmiths such as Adalbart Eder, the relics were transformed in appealing sacred bodies.
The images featured in the volume show intricate and grand costumes that offer a physical interpretation of sanctity, evoking the Heavenly Jerusalem.
Quite often the skeletons - with special papier mâché and wax faces moulded over the skull - were also accessorised with swords to symbolise the fact they were soldiers of Christ or with tools such as pincers and torches that referred to their martyrdom. In later years, parts of these skeletons were also encased in magnificent armours and shoulder guards.
Once ready the skeletons were paraded through the streets with large processions, accompanied by dramatic productions of plays and greeted by crowds asking for protection and help.
The relics often spawned a cult among people, and the author tells the stories of miracles performed by St Leontius, St Donatus, St Maximus and St Antoninus among the others.
As the years passed, though, the blessed bones fell from grace, becoming impopular and morbid reminders of an embarrassing past. Secularisation marked indeed a change in attitudes towards the display of jewelled skeletons.
Some visitors complained about the excessive handiwork or the cartoonish appearance that large gems ended up giving to the skulls, hiding death under a mask of beauty. Soon these ideological weapons against Protestantism, became weapons for Protestants to symbolically prove Catholic hypocrisy.
At the same time historians started highlighting the fact that the relics came from an unknown provenance: researchers even proved the bones came from the period after the persecutions, implicitly showing they couldn't have belonged to martyrs.
By the end of the 1800s, the fashion for jewel-encrusted skeletons was over: bones were stripped of their precious metals and gems and locked away at the bottom side of altars, covered in panels or sealed shrines, sent to small parishes, anonymously buried, thrown away or placed in dusty storage units and simply forgotten.
The luckiest skeletons were rescued by devout members of the communities they had protected or sent to museums (the author adds at the end of the book a list of churches where the skeletons can still be admired or where they are still preserved).
The story of these heavenly bodies and of their journey from anonymity to cult worship and back, remains a fascinating history of a forgotten past and devotion that also opens a new chapter revolving around fashion, religion, faith and craft (Koudounaris dedicates the book to "the anonymous hands that decorated the bones that line these pages in the hope that their beautiful work will not be forgotten"), ultimately teaching us all a final lesson about vanity and eternal life.
Heavenly Bodies by Paul Koudounaris is published by Thames & Hudson.
Image credits
All images in this post Copyright Paul Koudounaris and Thames & Hudson
1. Book Cover
2. St Valerius in Weyarn.
3. The remains of St Albertus arrived in 1723 in Germany.
4. Detail of the hand of St Valentin.
5. St Benedictus, received by the church of St Michael in Munich.
6. The relic of St Deodatus in Rheinau, Switzerland.
7. St Luciana arrived in Germany in the mid-18th century and was prepared for display by the nuns in Ennetach.
8. St Valentinus in Waldsassen, decorated by the lay brother Adalbart Eder.
9. St Vincentus' ribs are exposed beneath a web of golden leaves; the hand is raised to cover the face in a gesture of modesty.
10. St Munditia's hand grasps a flask supposedly containing dehydrated blood, evidence of her martyrdom
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
Comments