The cult of St. Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgin Martyrs of Cologne was the most widespread relic cult in medieval Europe. The sheer abundance of relics of the Eleven Thousand Virgins, which allowed for the display of immense collections, shaped the notion of corporate cohesion that characterized the cult. Though the primacy of St. Ursula as the leader of this holy band was established by the tenth century, she was conceived as the head of a corporate body. Innumerable inventories and liturgical texts attest to the fact that this cult was commemorated and referenced as a collective mass - Undecim millium virginum. This group identity informed, and was formulated by, the presentation of their relics, as well as much of the imagery associated with this cult. This book explores the visual, textual, performative, and perceptual aspects of this phenomenon, with particular emphasis on painting and sculpture in late medieval Cologne. Examining the ways in which both texts and images worked as vestments, garbing the true core of relics which formed the body of the cult, the book examines the cult from the core outward, seeking to understand hagiographic texts and images in terms of their role in articulating relic cults.

The cult of St Ursula and the 11,000 virgins was one of the most popular and relic-rich of all saints’ cults in the medieval period. This volume constitutes the first interdisciplinary collection of essays in English to explore the development and transmission of the legend of St Ursula in detail, considering a wealth of different sources including physical remains, literary texts, artistic representations and medieval music.

Some of the most portentous events in medieval history—the Cathar crusade, the persecution and mass burnings of heretics, the papal inquisition—fall between 1000 and 1250, when the Catholic Church confronted the threat of heresy with force. Moore’s narrative focuses on the motives and anxieties of elites who waged war on heresy for political gain.

Hilarious and comprehensive, the ultimate guide to the universe of saints—and what each one means. Cross-referenced by birthdays, professions, and ailments, this is a must-have for any true believer with a proper sense of fun. Your name . . . your birthday . . . your nationality . . . your job . . . your hobby, each entitles you to the Papally Prescribed, Perpetual Personal Protection of a Plethora of Powerful Patrons in Paradise. Whatever your problem—social, sexual, or spiritual—or illness—mental or physical, chronic or acute—a Holy Host of Heavenly Helpers is at Hand. And you don’t even have to be Catholic! All you do need to discover the identities of Your Very Own Patron Saints, and to avail yourself of their Guaranteed Supernatural Assistance, is this Blessed Book. • Religiously researched! • Fanatically comprehensive! • Compulsively cross-indexed! • Incredibly credulous!

Raine Rassaby, an idealistic senior at a Manhattan Catholic school, and Al, her troubled guidance counselor who suspects his wife is cheating on him, embark on journeys of self-discovery when she is sent to see him because her world-saving ways are getting in the way of her studies.

At the turn of the sixteenth century, the notion of world was dramatically being reshaped, leaving no aspect of human experience untouched. The Nomadic Object: The Challenge of World for Early Modern Religious Art examines how sacred art and artefacts responded to the demands of a world stage in the age of reform. Essays by leading scholars explore how religious objects resulting from cross-cultural contact defied national and confessional categories and were re-contextualised in a global framework via their collection, exchange, production, management, and circulation. In dialogue with current discourses, papers address issues of idolatry, translation, materiality, value, and the agency of networks. The Nomadic Object demonstrates the significance of religious systems, from overseas logistics to philosophical underpinnings, for a global art history. Contributors are: Akira Akiyama, James Clifton, Jeffrey L. Collins, Ralph Dekoninck, Dagmar Eichberger, Beate Fricke, Christine Göttler, Christiane Hille, Margit Kern, Dipti Khera, Yoriko Kobayashi-Sato, Urte Krass, Evonne Levy, Meredith Martin, Walter S. Melion, Mia M. Mochizuki, Jeanette Favrot Peterson, Rose Marie San Juan, Denise-Marie Teece, Tristan Weddigen, and Ines G. Županov.