ABSTRACT
The third chapter focuses on analysing tales of relic theft in the first half of the Middle Ages (600–950), offering a detailed study of various episodes and a diachronic reading to establish the development of the phenomenon over these centuries. It begins with an examination of the Duchy, later Principality, of Benevento and the numerous relics forcibly acquired there. The chapter then delves into the significant case of St Mark, whose relics were transferred to Venice in the ninth century. Other stories are also analysed, including that of Sts Primianus, Firmianus and Pardo, between Larino, Lesina and Lucera, which serves as an excellent example of ‘compensatory translation’.
