Simulacra corporum sanctorum martyrum

: estudo de um património em risco e estratégias para a sua valorização e salvaguarda

Abstract

This thesis intends to make known a unique and still unknown heritage in Portugal – the simulacra – a type of full-body, life-size reliquaries, produced between the end of the 17th century and the mid-19th century, to expose and glorify the mortal remains of the first martyrs of Christianity. Exhumed from Rome's underground cemeteries from 1578 onwards, thousands of bodies (corpi santi) believed to have died as Christian martyrs, were used by members of the Catholic and lay elites to strengthen religious practice in churches, convents, and oratories throughout the Christian world, namely Portugal. Fundamentally related to the ancient devotion to holy relics and faith in their spiritual power, and favored by Tridentine rhetoric, this practice would last for three hundred years. Produced with varied materials and complex manufacturing techniques, the simulacra were dressed in baroque ceremonial costumes and displayed with the attributes of sanctity and martyrdom inside reliquary urns or altars. However, the controversies over the authenticity of the bodies and their attributes, and the anticlerical attitude that marked the 19th century, put an end to the exhumations. Since research on simulacra is still scarce both nationally and internationally, this thesis intends to present a historical-artistic and scientific study, a national inventory, and a proposal for the conservation and safeguarding of specimens in Portuguese territory. Saint Clement (Braga), saint Clare (Porto), saint Vicent (Penafiel), and saint Justine (Lisbon) are just some of the dozens of inventoried pieces that testify the holy martyrs’ relics cult in Portugal. Regarding the analysis made of the materials and manufacturing techniques adopted by the artisans in charge of their montage, the thesis aims to bring forward the analytical results of seven specimens through imaging (radiography, OM and SEM), spectroscopic (EDS & ATR-FT-IR), and chromatographic (LC-DAD-MS and Py-GC-MS) techniques. Despite the probable Roman origin of the pieces, the results obtained support possible national productions or reassembly. Finally, simulacra face today dramatic deterioration processes and the risk of disappearing through dissociation. As in other countries in Europe and the Americas, in Portugal many of the pieces were covered up, removed from altars, or destroyed; even those that remain exposed in sacred spaces, although without worship, were, over time, forgotten. Thus, some strategic proposals for awareness, dissemination, and (re)valuation of these pieces will be proposed, through involving communitarian mobilization and intergenerational knowledge transfer. As defended in the present thesis, the simulacra constitute a heritage of great historical, cultural, and religious value that must be preserved with a multidisciplinary approach, for the benefit of present and future generations.

Date of Award	14 Sept 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Sponsors	Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Supervisor	Eduarda Vieira (Supervisor), Teresa Ferreira (Co-Supervisor) & Vânia Maria Coutinho (Supervisor)