The Arm Reliquary of Saint Pantaleon, a late 13th century example of a "speaking" reliquary in the style of Hugo of Oignies, provides insight into the medieval obsession with relics and the growth of the cult of saints. The reliquary, presented as a vested right arm, encased the arm bone of Saint Pantaleon, martyred in 305 AD, under the persecution of Diocletian. Arm reliquaries are the most well-preserved and thus common form of "speaking" reliquaries, occasionally referred to as body-part reliquaries by certain scholars. The production of reliquaries in the Middle Ages was closely aligned with the translation of and competition to acquire relics
[...] The Councils of Lyon met from 1245 to 1275 to deal with the increased avarice and fraudulent relics and decided to prohibit the veneration of recently found relics until approved by the Roman pontiff.[29] The history of the medieval Christian church is tarnished with the crimes associated with relics deception, robbery, ransacking tombs, etc. At the same time, the cult of saints is responsible for the growth of believers and intensification of faith because individual people began to believe in the stories of the saints. [...]
[...] The only description of contents of arm reliquaries is that they contained relic fragments, and they are more active, portable, and most importantly valuable to the medieval church because they are not with the buried body of the saint.[10] Many arm reliquaries probably did contain at least a fragment of an arm hand or finger because arm relics were originally meant to be placed in similarly shaped reliquaries. However, the significance and resonance of the dextra domino (right arm of God) in the Christian faith made reliquaries in the shape of an arm and a hand increasingly popular. [...]
[...] This new reliquary type that encompasses arm reliquaries created a cult of liturgical objects with highly detailed goldsmith work.[23] Relics and reliquaries have a strong tie to the medieval cult of saints. In the early 12th century, the church asserted itself to recover from the previous period ominously named the Dark Ages. Between 1050 and cathedrals large churches, and thousands of parish churches were built; there was approximately one church for every 200 people in most cities. Many Christians sought heavenly rewards to dispose of their sins and healing from saints in their shrines.[24] The most traveled destinations for pilgrimage were Rome, Canterbury, and Jerusalem. [...]
[...] At The Cloisters, there is an arm reliquary[17] that looks similar and is probably from the workshop of Hugo of Oignies ca The reliquary is crafted from silver on top of oak with bronze-gilt, silver-gilt, and niello and cabochon stones.[18] It has even more elaborate niello details; there are five plaques of figurative decoration showing Saint Paul, who is distinguishable by his balding head, long beard, and martyr's sword. The silver and bronze reliquary is decorated with filigree plaques inset with precious stones and cameos. [...]
[...] With this money, Saint Pantaleon freed his slaves and donated the rest to the poor. During the Diocletian persecution, envious colleagues denounced him to the Emperor. The Emperor wanted to save him and tried to persuade him to denounce Christianity, but in response, he confessed his faith and cured a paralytic by invoking Christ's name in front of the Emperor. The Emperor considered this an exhibition of magic and condemned him to death. It took several tries to kill Saint Pantaleon. [...]
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