Early Anglo-Saxon Christian Reliquaries

Summary

Early Anglo-Saxon Christian Reliquaries presents a corpus and discussion of a group of Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy containers dating to the seventh and possibly eighth centuries, and variously described as work boxes, needle cases, amulet containers or Christian reliquaries. Seventy-one boxes, some incomplete or fragmentary, have been recorded from forty-nine sites across Anglo-Saxon England. A typology, material specification, drawings, design and construction principles are provided, and a nomenclature applicable to these containers is outlined. Catalogue entries give details of site location, description, decorative features and references. Three box types are identified, and a concluding discussion suggests that boxes of Types I and II had a Christian function and should be considered as reliquaries. Type III boxes had a secular function, and their purpose remains enigmatic.