'Translatio.’ The art of (re)moving relics and reforming holiness in Europe’s borderlands.

Project Information

TRANSLATIO

Grant agreement ID: 842830

DOI

10.3030/842830

Project closed

EC signature date 24 April 2019

Start date 1 September 2020

End date 7 December 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 207 312,00

EU contribution

€ 207 312,00

Coordinated by

NATIONALMUSEET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRANSLATIO ('Translatio.’ The art of (re)moving relics and reforming holiness in Europe’s borderlands.)

Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The action, "'Translatio.’ The art of (re)moving relics and reforming holiness in Europe’s borderlands," (TRANSLATIO) investigated the ritualized relic in the history of early modern Europe c. 1550-1800 through the art, architecture, and material culture attending 'translatio,' the ceremonial transfer or removal of relics, between historical territories on the Italian peninsula and the Nordic-Baltic region. The objectives centered on training in object- and materials-centric research as well as transregional methodologies, developing a corpus of primary sources to expand the fellow’s research, and building the fellow’s professional research network in the Nordic-Baltic region. TRANSLATIO used relics, objects, artworks, and architecture to trace the central role of diverse forms of ritual not merely as a focus to highlight cultural changes, but as a prime generator of changes driving interreligious identity formation and coexistence between European communities, with an emphasis on cross-cultural exchanges interconnecting far-flung areas of Europe.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

17 of the project’s 24-month duration overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, fieldwork and access to primary and secondary research was severely curtailed, and modes and methods of training, exploitation, dissemination, underwent necessary adaptation. Despite the setbacks and adaptations necessitated by these circumstances, TRANSLATIO’s primary objectives were achieved and the anticipated results were both met and superseded. Instead of the anticipated three project scientific publications, for example, seventeen resulted, with six further publications forthcoming or in preparation. Dissemination activities occurred both virtually and in presentia. In sum, the overall progress of the project has been disseminated via numerous publications targeting a range of audiences, conference papers and invited lectures, public talks and a TV interview, collaboration on a museum exhibition, and the organization of a number of conference sessions, as well as a hybrid in-person and virtual symposium hosed jointly by the project HI (National Museum of Denmark) and the Art Academy of Latvia (see symposium poster).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The goal of the MSCA fellowship was to gain training in an understudied and underrepresented field of early modern art history, and to bring this field into conversation with approaches from religious history as well as methods from material and object studies, and global and entangled history (or histoire croisée). This MSCA has pushed the frontiers of understandings forward regarding the role of relics in, and the interconnectedness of, early modern Europe. The numerous publications the Fellow submitted and papers given opened a field of study and methodology that has gained international recognition through invitations for lectures, conference papers, and further publications. The Fellow has shed new light on the lives of lesser-known saints and forgotten exchanges between Italy and the Nordic-Baltic region, linking peoples, places and cultures that have been conventionally isolated in the scholarly and public imagination.
Overall, the Fellow disseminated their research via numerous presentations at international conferences, the organization of a symposium, and a number of panels at leading conferences. They also spread knowledge of their research via the project website, blog posts, a TV interview, talks live-streamed online to a broad public audience (including school children), and contributions to a museum exhibition that likewise reached a broad public audience. The combined activities created discussion and debate about the role of relics and connections between north-easternmost and south-western Europe across the centuries, challenging conventional understandings still embedded in European culture about certain inherent geographical and cultural divisions separating north/south and east/west.
Impacts anticipated from the MSCA have been achieved: the fellow has built a wide collaborative network with colleagues from the Nordic-Baltic region and bridged this network with other researchers in Europe and the United States. In addition, the findings have been disseminated via articles published in leading journals, edited volumes and conference proceedings, and two books. The results of the Action and the Fellow’s career growth have further been recognized, including through invitations to take on editorial advisory roles (for ORE and Baltic Journal of Art History), and to take leadership roles in professional service (e.g. the RSA mentorship committee). Despite the severe impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on research and training, the MSCA fellowship has enabled the Fellow to remain a competitive researcher.

TRANSLATIO International Symposium