Hand of St James the Apostle
The Hand of Saint James the Apostle is a holy relic brought to England by Empress Matilda in the 12th century.[1]
History
The first recorded mention of the relic is in 640 when it was in the custody of the Bishop of Torcello, Venice. In 1133 it was given to Reading Abbey by Emperor Henry V's widow Matilda, daughter of Henry I. In 1136 it was loaned to Henry of Blois (later Bishop of Winchester), and returned to Reading Abbey in 1155.[2] In the thirteenth century, the relic was used in healing miracles, which attracted many pilgrims to the Abbey.
In 1539 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, English monks hid the hand in an iron chest in the walls of Reading Abbey. It was dug up again in 1786 by workmen and given to Reading Museum. Around 1845 it was sold to Charles Robert Scott-Murray, who put it in his private chapel at Danesfield House. On his death in 1882 he gave it to St. Peter's Church in Great Marlow (now Marlow), which is where it resides today.[3] In 2011 it was loaned to the Church of St. James in Reading for three days to mark the Feast of St James. The event was sponsored by the Confraternity of St James.[4]
References
- ^ Simon Yarrow (23 February 2006). Saints and their Communities : Miracle Stories in Twelfth-Century England: Miracle Stories in Twelfth-Century England. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-151579-8.
- ^ "Mummified hand of St James is returned". Reading Chronicle. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Living the History: Empress Matilda and the Hand of St. James, accessed September 2017
- ^ "Mummified hand of St James is returned", The Reading Chronicle, July 31, 2011
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