reliquary

views updated

reliquary. Receptacle in which the Relics of Saints are kept. They may be very small, such as a box or casket, or very large, ornate, and magnificent, such as the shrine of St Edward in Westminster Abbey. It should be remembered that great medieval buildings were often erected to house shrines or reliquaries, and so may be regarded, by extension, as reliquaries themselves (e.g. Cologne Cathedral, which contains the lovely reliquary of the Magi).

More From encyclopedia.com