Du culte des reliques à celui du Précieux Sang

Abstract

The worship of saints’relics played a major role in the Christianisation of Europe in the High Middle Ages. From the 11th century onwards, the religious fervour of the faithful was marked by a growing devotion to Christ and the Apostles, which found expression in a quest for any material sign of their earthly existence. The miracles attributed to the Holy Blood or the Precious Blood of Jesus first arose in the context of pilgrimages and crusades to the Holy Land, before becoming evidence of the actual presence of the Son of God in the sacrament of the Eucharist.

Keywords

• relics
• reliquary
• saint
• blood
• miracle
• pilgrimage