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reliquarymore about reliquary

reliquary

 

  3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Reliquary  \Rel"i*qua*ry\  (r?l"?-kw?-r?),  n.;  pl  {-ries} 
  (-r[i^]z).  [LL.  reliquiarium  reliquiare:  cf  F.  reliquaire 
  See  {Relic}.] 
  A  depositary,  often  a  small  box  or  casket,  in  which  relics 
  are  kept. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  reliquary 
  n  :  a  container  where  religious  relics  are  stored  or  displayed 
  (especially  relics  of  saints) 
 
  From  THE  DEVIL'S  DICTIONARY  ((C)1911  Released  April  15  1993)  [devils]: 
 
  RELIQUARY,  n.  A  receptacle  for  such  sacred  objects  as  pieces  of  the 
  true  cross,  short-ribs  of  the  saints,  the  ears  of  Balaam's  ass,  the 
  lung  of  the  cock  that  called  Peter  to  repentance  and  so  forth. 
  Reliquaries  are  commonly  of  metal,  and  provided  with  a  lock  to  prevent 
  the  contents  from  coming  out  and  performing  miracles  at  unseasonable 
  times.  A  feather  from  the  wing  of  the  Angel  of  the  Annunciation  once 
  escaped  during  a  sermon  in  Saint  Peter's  and  so  tickled  the  noses  of 
  the  congregation  that  they  woke  and  sneezed  with  great  vehemence  three 
  times  each  It  is  related  in  the  "Gesta  Sanctorum"  that  a  sacristan 
  in  the  Canterbury  cathedral  surprised  the  head  of  Saint  Dennis  in  the 
  library.  Reprimanded  by  its  stern  custodian,  it  explained  that  it  was 
  seeking  a  body  of  doctrine.  This  unseemly  levity  so  raged  the 
  diocesan  that  the  offender  was  publicly  anathematized,  thrown  into  the 
  Stour  and  replaced  by  another  head  of  Saint  Dennis,  brought  from  Rome.




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