The Martyr Valerius
Paul Koudounaris is Los Angeles based photographer and author, presenting images of spectacularly decorated skeletons thought to be the former bodies of Saints and Martyrs, dated from Medieval Europe. News came in 1578 that thousands of skeletons, bare of decoration, had been discovered in deep catacombs under Rome.
The skeletons became reliquaries- dressed, jeweled and installed for presentation and worship in chapels along the Pilgrimage Route in German speaking Europe. The Christian Pilgrims of Medieval Europe traveled the Pilgrimage route, traditionally walking barefoot from their homes to Santiago de Compostela, in the Northwest of Spain, purported to house the remains of St. James.
Many modern Christians make the trip to Santiago de Compostela today.
Until the 10th century, Christian Pilgrimages traveled to sites in Jerusalem associated to the life and death of Jesus Christ, after which time war prevented travel to the area. Other Christian Pilgrimage routes became popularized, spreading like a web across Western Europe. These routes found their way to Churches built where religious events had taken place, or which included Shrines that housed items of remarkable religious history.
St Felix, Sursee, Switzerland
Churches and Chapels throughout Europe would vie to secure a particularly important reliquary in the hope of helping to anchor the interest of the passing Christian Pilgrims. What was thought to be the shroud of Christ, the finger bones of the Mother Mary or the splendid skeleton of a loved martyr would create a must see and must worship spectacular. The installation of these relics gave cause for the Christian Pilgrims to pause in these Churches and communities, spending time and money, creating an early type of ‘destination marketing’.
It is estimated that in current times, “More than 200 million people go on pilgrimage every year – sometimes for hours, sometimes for days, and some leave home for many months.” This number compiles religious pilgrimages across faith, worldwide.
Deodatus Skull finished additionally with wax and pigment, as well as gold and jewels.
More about Photographer Paul Koudounaris here. His book, Heavenly Bodies: Cult Treasures & Spectacular Saints from the Catacombs, is available for more information and spectacular imagery.
Britt Germann 