Textile fragment from the Reliquary of St. Librada (BOSMFA 53.118.1)
Spanish Arabic, 11-12th c, believed to have come from the Church of St. Librada, Almerica, Spain. Fragment with two incomplete large roundels joined by interlace. Interior pattern includes large bird, 4 bands of script, 2 roundels with cats(?). Bird with human face times around roundel. Secondary rosette motif.
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, likely wrapped around a fragment of St. Librada’s bone, this textile exemplifies the vast cultural merging that resulted from the Crusades. In a time that has historically been characterized as a “clash of religions,” this textile provides a vibrant example of how Islamic objects were adopted and integrated into even the most sacred Christian contexts.
The distinct design of medallion silks impacted a broad range of media, including the Chertsey tiles. These and similar silks were often employed by Crusaders and pilgrims to transport relics – just one avenue that augmented textile circulation during the Crusades.