New research explores medieval Westminster's holy relics

But the medieval Abbey was also home to many other relics - the physical remains of saints, venerated by worshippers and pilgrims. These relics came to Westminster from across Europe and the Holy Land throughout the Middle Ages and were kept in sacred spaces around the church.

A new research project being undertaken by Natasha Billson, a PhD student from the University of Bristol, aims to uncover the history of these relics and how they were used.

Her thesis, Sacred Space and Sacred Objects in Westminster Abbey (960 to 1540), will trace how the Abbey came to acquire its relics, to establish where they were kept within the Abbey, and to understand how they contributed to the religious culture of medieval Westminster.

Matthew Payne, the Abbey's Keeper of the Muniments, said:

'Mapping Westminster Abbey's collection, curation, and use of relics is a major undertaking in itself, but also the starting point for an enquiry into the spaces of the church, their evolution over time, and their sacred meanings. The Abbey was not one place of worship but many, with a suite of sacred spaces both for public ceremonial and private devotion. However, the original form and function of these spaces, and in general the diversity of medieval devotions, is difficult to recover for 21st-century visitors.'

The project hopes to transform public understanding of the Abbey, shedding new light on its religious purpose and spiritual meaning beyond its roles of as a place of royal ceremony and national memorial.

The project forms part of a collaborative partnership between Westminster Abbey, the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter and will be jointly supervised by:

• Professor Beth Williamson, Professor of Medieval Culture and Chair in the History of Art, University of Bristol
• Professor James Clark, Director of Societies & Cultures Institute, University of Exeter
• Dr Matthew Payne, Keeper of the Muniments, Westminster Abbey

Further reading

Teeth, bones and books: the relics and their pilgrims at the shrine of St Edward
Edward the Confessor and Westminster Abbey
The Abbey’s muniment collection