HSS 50th Anniversary Lecture

After receiving her BS in applied physics and history at Caltech in 2008, Kate Craig went on to pursue a PhD in medieval history at UCLA. Now an assistant professor at Auburn University, Craig offers a unique perspective on the interplay of the humanities and sciences informed by the ways her HSS studies helped shape her career path. Her research interests include the religious cultures of early and late medieval Europe, travel and mobility within the premodern world, and the application of natural scientific and digital techniques to medieval history.

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From the Buddha's tooth to the Liberty Bell, sacred objects play important roles within the societies that venerate them. Although we may think of these objects as securely fixed in place, surrounded by museum glass and guards, many have surprising histories of movement that helped establish their significance. Medieval European relics (the physical remains of holy Christian men and women) were no exception, and exploring the circumstances and effects of their travels reveals the complicated nature of medieval religious belief and practice. This lecture will follow several medieval relics on their journeys to explain where, when, and why they traveled, and what that movement can tell us about the roles of portable sacred objects in world societies. Stories of relics "on the road" reveal unexpected levels of religious tension and challenge the common idea of the medieval period as an age of unquestioned faith.