Visual Touch: Pilgrim Mirrors and Appropriation of the Sacred “Power”

Abstract

Medieval practices related to the transfer of sacred “power" (virtue) from relics and holy images attached great importance to physical contact. It transformed the ordinary objects (often instruments of torture and murder) that touched the bodies of saints into relics, the symbol and medium of their presence in this world. What is even more important, the objects that later touched the relics were believed to become secondary (or contact) relics that could respond to the aspirations of pilgrims. Through the liquid that was used to wash a reliquary or some engraving that was applied to a miraculous fresco, the Christians could partake in the salutary/healing power of the saints. Towards the late Middle Ages in Catholic Europe, along with the ancient tactile rituals, a new set of practices appeared, which relied on the touch of the gaze. This article deals with pilgrim mirrors as an instrument for appropriation of the sacred virtus and to other practices that relied on the power of sight.