Enkolpion Reliquary Cross with Crucifixion and the Virgin (DO BZ.1965.2.1)
By Nina Masin-Moyer '22
This Byzantine enkolpion from the tenth or eleventh century depicts the Crucifixion and was meant to hold a piece of the True Cross. Enkolpia (plural) were devotional pendants that were worn around the neck to rest on the chest, touching the skin. In Byzantium these reliquaries served important social functions and were also highly valued personal possessions. The enkolpion was meant to protect its wearer from physical and spiritual harm as well as to assist in focus during prayer. These powers were especially potent when the enkolpion contained a fragment of the cross.
Although enkolpia were used by people of all social classes, more elaborate ones might be sent as diplomatic gifts to foreign rulers. Perhaps a gift with such personal and spiritual value was thought to engender loyalty, affection, or goodwill toward the giver. Thus, while enkolpia were Byzantine Orthodox objects, they traveled to Europe as gifts and as precious souvenirs sometimes associated with the crusades. During the Fourth Crusade, for instance, abbot Martin of Pairis (northeastern France) brought home an enkolpion that supposedly belonged to the Byzantine emperor. Because enkolpia were highly personal, they might be interred with their owners. The English king Edward the Confessor (r. 1043–66) was buried with one. In Edward’s case, the enkolpion is emblematic of the many ways that Byzantine objects could travel west and have an important impact on the visual expressions of rulership in England and elsewhere.
Suggested Reading:
Drpić, Ivan. “The Enkolpion: Object, Agency, Self.” Gesta 57 (2018): 197–224.
Jones, Lynn. “From Anglorum basileus to Norman Saint: The Transformation of Edward the Confessor.” Haskins Society Journal 12 (2002), edited by Stephen Morillo, 99–120.
