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NICHOLAS VINCENT, The Holy Blood: King Henry III and the Westminster Blood Relic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp. 254. $50.00.
Nicholas Vincent begins this illuminating study by relating the lavish ceremony with which King Henry III delivered his newly acquired relic of the Holy Blood, purportedly blood that Christ had shed during his Passion, to the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1247. Refreshingly avoiding the condescension to which scholars of medieval relics are prone, Vincent uncovers the variety of political motivations that drove Henry without dismissing the possibility of genuine faith and piety. Among other goals, Henry sought to enhance the reputation of Westminster Abbey, his spiritual home and the object of his patronage, by stimulating an influx of pilgrims and income to the foundation. Yet despite all his efforts, including the large number of indulgences he procured for its visitors and heavy-handed legislation promoting a fair in its vicinity, Westminster did not experience an increase in pilgrims or donations, and the Holy Blood relic never achieved widespread acceptance. Vincent highlights the failure of the Westminster relic to excite popular piety through a comparative study of the immensely successful Holy Blood relic at Hails.
Much of this study is...