Lengyel László (szerk.): Devóció és dekoráció - 18. és 19. századi korolstormunkák Magyarországon - Studia Agriensia 7. (Eger, 1987)
Summary
One of the most important stopping places of relics destined for Hungary was Vienna, therfore more relics were decorated there. For example we know that Pál Esterházy, before he was named Bishop of Pécs, received a relic of St. Faustinus which was taken from Rome to Vienna in April, 1781, where it was decorated. The the relic went by ship to Mohács and from there it was transported to Pé.cs. The relic of St. Felix which was sent on the request of Otto Koptik, the abbot of Dömölk to Homokkom árom in 1751, was decorated by the Order of St. Ursula in Vienna. The relic of St. Vincentius which was sent by Alvaros Cienfuegos, the Bishop of Pécs to Pécs Cathedral was also decorated in Vienna because it was damaged during transportation. We found traces in the case of two relics that they were decorated abroad, not in Rome or Vienna but in Graz. The decoration of St. Innon- centius which arrived in Zalaszentgrót in 1769 was done by the Order of St. Ursula in Graz, like the decoration of the body of St. Vincentius which was placed in the Cistercian Abbey Church of Szentgotthárd. Regarding relics which were decorated in Hungary we met with the work of five different convents. The Order of St. Clarissa in Buda dressed the body of St. Candidus which was placed in the Church of St. Nepomuk in Székesfehérvár. Probably they made the decoration for the relics of St. Bonifatius and St. Clemens which were placed on the altar of the Order of St. Clarissa in Buda before 1782. The relic of St. Placidius in the Cathedral of Szombathely was made by the Order of St. Ursula in Győr in 1814 and the decoration cost 327 gold forints. The nuns of St. Elisabeth in Pozsony recived the commission to decorate the body of St. Neitus which came to the Cathedral of Rozsnyó. For their work the nuns received a relic piece of the saint’s body as a gift from the Bishop of Rozsnyó, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. It also occured in a few cases that they renewed the decoration of the relic because it was either damaged or they found it outdated. Such an example is the body of St. Fortunatus which was decorated for a second time in 1764 and placed in the Church of Our Lady in Buda Castle. The decoration and the new coffin cost more than 300 forints. When the relic which had been stolen and deprived of clothes was returned to the St. Elisabeth Convent in Víziváros after 1789, the nuns redecorated the body. 141
