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Reliquary monstrance with blood relic of St. Liudger

Münster

around 1350

Silver, gilded; rock crystal; enamel

Domschatz Münster, Inv.-Nr. E.27

To prevent being buried in Münster, Liudger announces a blood miracle before his death. This was to demonstrate that God supported his wish to be buried in his own monastery in Essen-Werden. The miracle is recorded in the illustrated Vita Liudgers. The blood of Liudger is preserved in the cathedral treasury to this day.

The blood relic itself is not visible within the reliquary monstrance. However, a strip of paper legible from the outside (a so-called *cedula*) indicates the relic: *De Sanguine S. Ludgeri* – Of the blood of St. Liudger.

Why did Paul become the patron saint of Münster Cathedral?

Illustration:
Vita Secunda Sancti Ludgeri
Werden, c. 1000
Berlin, State Library, Inv. No. Ms. Theol. Lat. Fol. 323
Fol. 20v
Image credit: Berlin, Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage, Ms. theol. lat. fol. 323, f. 20v. URL: http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000664700000042

Reliquary monstrance containing a blood relic of St. Liudger, Münster, c. 1350, Münster Cathedral Treasury, Inv. No. E.27. Photo: Team Paulus.
Reliquary monstrance containing a blood relic of St. Liudger, Münster, c. 1350, Münster Cathedral Treasury, Inv. No. E.27. Photo: Team Paulus.