FURTA SACRA

Holy Theft, True or False?

Eight true-or-false stories from the medieval black market in saints. Every story cited at the bottom.

1. 1.In c. 866, the monks of Conques stole the relics of the child-martyr Sainte-Foy from Agen — and proudly recorded the heist in their own Translatio.

   TRUEFALSE

2. 2.Bishop Hugh of Lincoln, on a visit to Fécamp Abbey in 1191, bit two fragments off the arm bone of Mary Magdalene so he could take a piece home to England.

   TRUEFALSE

3. 3.At least three medieval shrines simultaneously claimed to hold the head of John the Baptist — a fact medieval pilgrims joked about by explaining one was 'the skull as a young man.'

   TRUEFALSE

4. 4.In 828, two Venetian merchants smuggled the body of Saint Mark out of Alexandria by hiding it under barrels of pork to deter Muslim customs officials.

   TRUEFALSE

5. 5.The phrase furta sacra literally translates as 'holy theft.'

   TRUEFALSE

6. 6.Medieval canon law strictly forbade the moving of relics from their original resting place under any circumstance.

   TRUEFALSE

7. 7.Pilgrims sometimes slept inside a saint's shrine in hopes of being healed in their dreams — a practice called incubation.

   TRUEFALSE

8. 8.Monasteries that stole relics from rivals were considered shameful and concealed the theft from outsiders.

   TRUEFALSE