Julia Smith Discusses Medieval Reliquaries in Talk at Institute for Advanced Study

Julia M. H. Smith, Edwards Professor of Medieval History at the University of Glasgow and former Member (2008-09) in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, will present “Christianity in Miniature: A Look inside Medieval Reliquaries” on Wednesday, July 28, at 4:30 p.m. in the West Building Lecture Hall on the Institute campus.

A leading medieval scholar, Smith will discuss medieval reliquaries, superb examples of the jeweler’s and goldsmith’s craft seen in museums worldwide. But what was concealed inside them, what were they for, and what did they mean? Smith will look inside reliquaries and reveal the surprising variety of objects they contained. By exploring why and how relics were collected and preserved, Smith will emphasize the very personal meanings attached to reliquaries and uncover the ways in which they offered a miniature representation of the geography, history and teaching of Christianity during the Middle Ages.

The lecture, supported by the Dr. S. T. Lee Fund for Historical Studies, is part of a workshop organized by the Institute's School of Historical Studies, “Matter for Debate: Relics and Related Devotional Objects.” The workshop will provide invited scholars the opportunity to participate in a fundamental exploration, of what have been traditionally called “relics” in a range of religious and cultural traditions from many different places and historical periods. “Matter for Debate” is made possible with support from the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung.

In her work, Smith uses the medieval reception of early Christian saints’ cults to examine the ways in which late antique ideas of gender and sanctity were reinterpreted in the period of 400 to 1200. During her time at the Institute, she explored the central role of saints’ relics in the devotional, imaginative and political life of the Middle Ages.

After earning her D. Phil. from the University of Oxford in 1985, Smith joined the faculty of the Department of History at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., first as Assistant Professor (1986-90) and then Associate Professor (1990-95). From 1995 to 2005, Smith was Reader in Medieval History in the School of History at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. In 2005, she was named Edwards Professor of Medieval History at the University of Glasgow.

Smith is the author of numerous articles and books, including the upcoming “Christianity in Fragments,” to be published by Yale University Press. In addition to her year as the George William Cottrell, Jr. Member at the Institute, she has been awarded fellowships by the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Study and the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies at Princeton University, among others.

For further information about the lecture, which is free and open to the public, please call (609) 734-8175, or visit the Public Events page on the Institute website, www.ias.edu.