The Relics of Battle Abbey: A Fifteenth-Century Inventory at The Huntington Library, San Marino

Abstract

This article analyses a previously unpublished fifteenth-century inventory of saints’ relics from Battle Abbey. The provenance of the relics is discussed, demonstrating that many are likely to have been at the monastery since the time of its foundation in the late eleventh century. Evidence for the continued acquisition of relics into the fourteenth century is also analysed. It is contended that relics affirmed the abbey’s self-identity and also its kinship with its dependent priories. The relationship between the cult of saints’ relics at Battle and the liturgy of the abbey is also considered. An edition of the inventory is appended.