Shroud of Saint Lazarus of Autun

This silk shroud, of which there are two other fragments in the Musée historique des Tissus de Lyon (Lyon textile museum) and the National Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris[1], is decorated with rows of polylobed wheels and star-shaped medallions in alternate rows, ornamented with motifs, on a blue background. These motifs are linked to each other by fleurons emerging from fine scrolling stems. Inside the polylobed wheels, bordered by pomegranate motifs, are bearded horsemen on a hunt. Some of them are carrying a cheetah behind them, or holding a falcon, a spear, or a braided rod similar to that of the Umayyads of Córdoba. The rows of horsemen grouped in pairs are separated by a row of wheels enclosing a sphinx. There is an eagle clutching a hare inside the star-shaped medallions. The sphinx and horses are moving to the left with their right legs raised, giving the design a certain dynamism. The themes are part of the princely repertoire: the eagle is a symbol of power, the sphinx, a symbol of knowledge and wisdom, and hunting was the royal pastime par excellence. The composition, consisting of roundels and studded medallions, is found on Sassanid silks, which continued to indirectly influence decorations on textiles in the High Middle Ages.

E. Baer discovered the word al-Muzaffar (‘the Victorious’) on the belt of a falconer. This was the title given to the minister ‘Abd al-Malik, the son of al-Mansūr, after his victory over the Castillian count, Sancho García, in 1007. The silk may have been ordered by the caliph of Córdoba, Hishām II, as a reward—a theory that's all the more convincing since the chronicler Ibn ‘Idhārī mentioned ‘Abd al-Malik's penchant for ostentation and finery. Embroidered textiles were produced in tiraz textile workshops in Muslim Spain: Córdoba, Sevilla, Malaga, or Almería, the latter being the most probable. It can be compared with two gold embroidered pieces (one kept in Oña, and the other in the Cathedral of Fermo), to which it is similar in technique, lay-out, and symbolism. They may have also belonged to al-Muzaffar. The one in the church of Oña in Spain (near Burgos) depicts a bearded person similar to those on the Autun shroud. Furthermore, this person is wearing a ring with a disc on their finger, similar to the one worn by the lord—who is none other than al-Muzzafar[2]—carved in a medallion on the ivory casket from the Monastery of Leyre, dating from 1005. The other piece of embroidery (Cathedral of Fermo, in Italy), called ‘the chasuble of Thomas Becket’ has an inscription indicating the place and date of fabrication: ‘Almería, 1116’. But the date may not be correct, as the inscription is not clear and the work is very similar to the other two pieces. Be that as it may, the technique of embroidery enabled this princely iconography, with its astrological connotations, to rival carved ivory works, while maintaining the decorative lay-out of textiles. These embroidered pieces foreshadowed the coronation mantle of Roger II (1133–1134) and the liturgical capes called ‘copes’.

This silk shroud—like the chasuble of Thomas Becket and the piece of embroidery from the church of Oña—was integrated into the Christian cult. The relics of Saint Lazarus were wrapped in the silk and placed in a tomb in the Church of Saint-Nazaire. The shroud was discovered in 1147 when they were moved to the new cathedral consecrated to the saint. It was later divided into pieces and dispersed. In the ninth century, the Inventory of the Vatican[3]mentioned the rich silks of Al-Andalus. They were m uch sought-after for making liturgical garments and for wrapping relics in.

[2] The casket was then kept in Pamplona Cathedral.

[3] Liber Pontificalis (book of the popes), II, pp. 75, 107, 122, 128, 130, 133, 134, 146.