Ineffable Illumination: Early Medieval Church Treasure and the Preservation of Heaven's Light

Sacral kings in traditional societies are responsible for the preservation of cosmic energies that create and support life. In early medieval Europe, they did so by depositing quantities of shining gold, silver, gems in church sanctuaries. These materials are interpreted as "performative things" that, by virtue of association with aristocratic charisma and militancy, derivation from foreign or "distant" locales, and skilled craftsmanship, were empowered in their own right to "generate" light. The brilliant glow of sanctuaries then was added to the cosmological light of the Christian universe, thereby preserving and enhancing the creative energy on which all life depended.