Sainte-Foy was born in the town of Agen in Roman occupied France in the 2nd or 3rd century. She was condemned to die at the age of twelve for converting to Christianity and refusing to worship pagan gods. She was first placed on a red hot griddle and then beheaded, as holy intervention stopped her from being burnt. Following her death, her relics came to perform miracles, such as curing blindness and freeing those in captivity. The relics moved from Agen to the Abbey of Conques around the 9th century, where her reliquary gained much attention for pilgrims who were on their way to Santiago de Compostela.
The date of which the reliquary was made is unknown. However, sources mentioning it first start appearing around 1010. Sainte-Foy is the last surviving example of an enthroned reliquary (common before the Romanesque period). She is crowned and enthroned in a frontal position, staring boldly at the viewer. Her body is made out of wood with gold and silver plates nailed to it and encrusted with gemstones (hence the title). Her golden head is presumed to have originally been the head of a Roman statue of a child. Reusing materials is called spolia, which is a practical method and, in this case, showcases the association with the riches of the Roman Empire. Over time, travellers visiting paid homage to the martyr by covering her with precious gems, such as agates, amethysts, crystals, carnelian, emeralds, parents, opals, sapphires, jade, etcetera. However, the true treasure of the reliquary is the martyr's skull, enshrined at the back of the statue. Having such a decorated statue at the time would have made quite the impression to its viewers. In fact, Bernard d'Angers, schoolmaster and author, wrote a book in 1010 CE about the miracles of Sainte-Foy and quoted:
The crowd of people prostrating themselves on the ground was
so dense it was impossible to kneel down...When they saw it for
the first time, all in gold and sparkling with precious stones and
looking like a humans face, the majority of the peasants thought
that the statue was really looking at them and answering their
prayers with their eyes
In order to gain the saint's protection, pilgrims circled the statue three times.
Ashley, Kathleen, and Sheingorn, Pamela. Writing Faith: Text, Sign, and History in the Miracles of Sainte Foy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999.
"Church and Reliquary of Sainte-Foy, France." Khan Academy, 27 August 2015. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/latin-western-europe/romanesque1/a/church-and-reliquary-of-saintefoy-france.
"Conques Abbey." Sacred Destinations, 27 August 2015. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/conques-abbey
"The Reliquary of Sainte Foy in Conques."University of Victoria, 27 August, 2015. http://web.uvic.ca/~medimap/StoriesofGold/SainteFoy/index.html
"St. Foy's Golden Reliquary." Atlas Obscura, 27 August 2015. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-foys-golden-reliquary
