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Textile fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada (BOSMFA 53.118.1)

39447
By Cecilia Baillon '24


This silk textile fragment features a heraldically-posed eagle in the center of a roundel as well as a myriad of secondary imagery, including two tablets clutched in the eagle’s talons which read “Baraka,” the Arabic word for blessing.  Woven in Islamic Spain around the year 1100 and found in the Reliquary of St. Librada, it was likely wrapped around a fragment of St. Librada’s bone. This textile provides a vibrant example of how objects made by Muslim craftspeople were adopted and integrated into even the most sacred Christian contexts.  The distinct design of medallion silks, characterized by their repeated roundels, impacted a broad range of media, including the Chertsey tiles.

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  1. What is this?
  2. When was the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada made?
  3. Why was the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada made, and how was it used?
  4. How was the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada made?
  5. Who made the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada?
  6. Where was the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada produced?
  7. Where did the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada go?
  8. What does the Textile Fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada tell us about the crusades?
  9. Sources and Further Reading

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