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Reliquary Pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily Blessed by Bishop Reginald of Bath


Source - https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/63.160/ 





On December 29, 1170, King Henry II ordered 4 knights to assassinate his former friend and chancellor Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Shortly after his death, the Archbishop was declared a martyr. The murder is an expression of the power struggle between the king and the church. After Thomas Becket's death, Bishop Reginald of Bath, in the period from 1174 to 1177, made a small pendant to Queen Margaret of Sicily. The British artist is unknown but the pendant is currently having the title Reliquary Pendant with Queen Margaret of Sicily Blessed by Bishop Reginald of Bath.
The pendant is made of gold and has the dimension 115/16 x 11/4 x 1/4 in (5 x 3.1 x 0.7 cm). The pendant itself is a rustic and square jewelry. The front of the pendant had a setting where a gemstone or a crystal probably has been sitting. The front of the pendant has the following engraving: "Of the blood of Saint Thomas martyr. Of his vestments stained with his blood: of the cloak, the belt, the hood, the shoe, the shirt.”
The back of the pendant shows a simple picture of Queen Margaret of Sicily, which is blessed by Bishop Reginald of Bath. Despite the simple design, the artist have emphasized details such as the look and feel of the clothes. The Latin engraving identifies the subject of the image: "Bishop Reginald of Bath hands this over to Queen Margaret of Sicily.”
Although the exact circumstances of the gift remain unknown, many believe that the bishop presented this pendant to the queen on the day of her son's wedding to the daughter of Henry II in 1177.
The inscriptions on the attachment bear witness of the importance of relics in political and social relations in the Middle Ages. 
As it was a gift from a bishop (the Church) to a royal and at the same time showing the blessing of the church, witnesses both text and image of the power struggle between church and the royals. In addition, it is also highly likely that the King (Henry II) had to acknowledge his defeat to the church. Today, the pendant can help us understand how the church has indirectly exercised its power to the congress.

















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