00:00You know, Christianity was a pretty big deal during the Middle Ages.
00:04At a time when Europe was beset on all sides by heathens, the one thing uniting our dear
00:11ancestors was praising the Lord.
00:14It clearly wasn't a perfect union, considering how frequently they'd kill each other over
00:19trivial details such as whether icons were cool or not, but it was a union nonetheless.
00:26Now, one of the ways our Christian ancestors venerated the Almighty was through relics.
00:33These were objects with particular significance to Christianity, like the remains of the apostles
00:39or fragments of the true cross.
00:42These holy items were said to invoke various miracles from God, including but not limited
00:48to the healing of grievous wounds, the spontaneous eruption of freshwater springs, and the prevention
00:54of natural disasters.
00:56With such an incredible sales pitch, it should come as no surprise that Christians became
01:02absolutely obsessed with relics.
01:05There was one big problem, though.
01:08While Christianity grew rapidly, the supply of its relics did not.
01:14Most relics were located either in Italy or the Holy Lands, which had been under Muslim
01:19control since the seventh century, with a brief intermission from our friends, the Crusaders.
01:24Thus, for the vast majority of priests and bishops in northern Europe, procuring a relic
01:30was really not feasible.
01:32However, if an entrepreneurial bishop could somehow secure one, he and his bishopric would stand
01:40to benefit greatly, and not just from the prestige.
01:45As soon as word got out that your church contained the remains of St. So-and-so, you could expect
01:51an annual flood of pilgrims eager to spend their hard-earned coin in the hopes of receiving
01:56a miracle.
01:57The procurement of said relic was a task best left to the experts.
02:02These could be either Crusaders returning from the Holy Lands with plenty of looted, I mean,
02:08reclaimed relics, or merchants of questionable virtue who just so happened to find valuable
02:16relics in abandoned catacombs.
02:19We do know of a certain Deus Dona, who during the ninth century maintained his very own trade
02:26network trafficking stolen relics from Rome to Frankfurt.
02:31Of course, since the demand for relics vastly outstripped the supply, it's highly unlikely
02:36that all of these smuggled relics were actually authentic.
02:41Indeed, if you add up all the relics of St. John the Baptist, for example, you'll conclude
02:46that he had three heads and five arms.
02:49Now, these are obvious forgeries, but there were some that were much harder to spot.
02:54Pieces of the Holy Shroud and splinters of the True Cross were favourites among counterfeiters.
03:01The running gag was that there were enough splinters out there to build a warship.
03:07You might be wondering, with good cause, if counterfeiting really was this rampant, wouldn't
03:13the clergy demand some sort of proof before accepting a relic?
03:18Well, since relics did not come with certificates of authenticity, the only real way to see if
03:24the relics were genuine was if they worked.
03:27Thus, if the blind regained their sight and the crippled started running, then the relic
03:34must have been the real deal.
03:35If that were the case, the newly healed would then also start spreading the word of this
03:41relic far and wide.
03:44And considering the lack of printing presses and mass literacy, that was about the only
03:49marketing a relic could get.
03:51A great case study is Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
03:55After he was brutally murdered in his cathedral, the surrounding area saw a spurt of miracles,
04:01and everyone visiting his tomb would be healed, apparently.
04:06When word of these miracles reached the Pope in Rome, Beckett was canonized as a saint and
04:12before long, Canterbury became one of the top pilgrim destinations in Europe.
04:18One of the reasons for Canterbury's enduring success was its marketing.
04:23The monks would offer vials with the blood of St. Thomas to anyone that visited.
04:27Eww.
04:29The blood was diluted with water, of course, so that there would be enough for everyone,
04:34but that was alright because its efficacy was said to remain exactly the same.
04:39It was really only with the advent of modern forensics that the forgeries finally started
04:45getting revealed.
04:47That is how we learned that the Holy Shroud, for example, actually dates from the 13th century,
04:52and almost certainly didn't rest on Jesus' face.
04:56Well, that, my friends, concludes our reading of Christian relics and where to find them.
05:03If this video has inspired you to become an enterprising relic hunter, I would be more
05:09than happy to share in the proceeds of your future business endeavors.
05:13But only, of course, if you believe and repent of all those naughty misdeeds of yours.
05:18Ah, yes, we at SideQuest have eyes everywhere.
05:21But fear not, my friend, we're on your side, and your secret is safe with us in return for,
05:27perhaps, a quick subscribe.
05:29You may also repay this favor by liking this video and sharing it with your friends.
05:35Or, if you're feeling especially generous today, by becoming a patron on Patreon.
05:42Anyhow, whether it be searching for the Holy Grail or sitting in front of that wonderful
05:47computer of yours, we'll see each other again two weeks from now for another impiously profitable
05:54episode of SideQuest.
06:03The
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