Wilhelm V. and the relic theft
Subject:
Holy Lance
Conflict:
Lutheran
Agent:
Agricola, Wolfgang
©KHM-Museumsverband
Holy Lance
©KHM-Museumsverband

One of the oldest objects in the Imperial Regalia is the Holy Lance (Schnellbgl 1962,83-84), which was probably acquired by King Henry I in 935 and was already considered a valuable relic at that time. The elongated lance blade in the type of a Carolingian winged lance encloses a forged iron pin or spike. In the second half of the 11th c., the centrepiece of the lance was initially set with a silver cuff, and under Emperor Charles IV in the third quarter of the 14th c. with a gold cuff bearing the inscription “Lance and Nail of the Lord” (Holy Lance, n.d.). As an insignia, the lance had great power, as it was considered the coronation spear of the Lombards, and thus gave its owner a right to the throne (Schnellbgl 1962, 84; Fillitz 2006, 14). Among other things, the legend was also fomented that the lance had once been in the possession of Emperor Constantine and was wielded by the imperial saint Mauritius. It was only in the course of the 13th c. that the legend developed as the lance of Saint Longinus, who stabbed Christ on the cross in the side with it, thus wetting it with the blood of Christ (Schnellbgl 1962, 86). Together with the particle of the cross, this passion relic is a sign of the sacred position of a ruler (Fillitz 2006, 61). At the request of Charles IV, Pope Innocent VI introduced an ecclesiastical festival for the veneration of the Holy Lance and the Imperial Regalia. As documented by the papal bull of 1354 (Fillitz 2006, 68), this was to take place annually on the Friday after Quasimodogeniti (= the first Sunday after Easter) (Schnellbgl 1962, 86). When the Holy Lance was kept in Nuremberg, it was the custom to produce contact relics on certain days by piercing pieces of cloth with the lance, but also by holding it on rings or dipping it in wine (Burkart 2009, 283-284). However, this production of relics was strictly regulated and could not take place without the consent of the council (Schier and Schleif 2004, 418-421).


Silver cuff: “CLAVVS DOMINICVS + HEINRICVS D(E)I GR(ATI)A TERCIVS ROMANO(RVM) IMPERATOR AVG(VSTVS) HOC ARGENTVM IVSSIT FABRICARI AD CONFIRMATIONE(M) CLAVI D(OMI)NI ET LANCEE SANCTI MAVRICII . SANCTVS MAVRITIVS.”

Gold cuff: “LANCEA ET CLAVVS DOMINI”

Keywords
Christ, Counter-Reformation, Holy Lance, Imperial Regalia, Nuremberg, Passion of Christ, Relic

Date artwork
8th century, silver cuff: second half 11th century; gold cuff: third quarter 14th century

Measurements
H 50,7 cm
Historical Location

Nuremberg, Heilig-Geist-Spital

Spitalgasse 16, 90403 Nürnberg


Current Location
Vienna, Kaiserliche Schatzkammer
Hofburg, Schweizerhof, 1010 Wien, Österreich
Type of Object
Relic

Media Materials
Steel, iron, brass, silver, gold, leather

Measurements H 50,7 cm

Iconclass Number
11D433

Source
BayHstA, GR 513/65a
Literature

Fillitz 2006, 113-161;
Holy Lance, n.d.;
Schier and Schleif 2004, 401-426;
Schnelbögl 1962, 78-159

Permanent Link
https://www.sacrima.eu/case/wilhelm-v-and-the-relic-theft-16/