70
Schauerte 2012 Thomas Schauerte, Dürer – das ferne Genie. Eine Biografie. Stuttgart 2012. Minou Schraven
MATTHIAS MÜLLER
Schmid 1999 Wolfgang Schmid, Denkmäler auf Papier. Zu Dürers Kupferstichporträts der Jahre
1519–1526. In: Das dargestellte Ich. Studien zu Selbstzeugnissen des späten
Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit. Hrsg. v. Klaus Arnold, Sabine Schmolinsky und
Urs Martin Zahnd. Bochum 1999, S. 232–261.
Schmidt 2003 Peter Schmidt, Gedruckte Bilder in handgeschriebenen Büchern. Zum Gebrauch
von Druckgraphik im 15. Jahrhundert (pictura et poesis 16). Köln/Weimar/Wien
2003.
Schwarz-Hermanns 2007 Sabine Schwarz-Hermanns, Die Rundbildnisse Lucas Cranachs des Älteren. Mediale
Innovation im Spannungsfeld unternehmerischer Strategie. In: Lucas Cranach d. Ä.
1553–2003. Wittenberger Tagungsbeiträge anlässlich des 450. Todesjahres Lucas
Cranachs des Älteren. Hrsg. v. Andreas Tacke. Leipzig 2007, S. 121–133.
Spätmittelalter am Oberrhein 2001
Spätmittelalter am Oberrhein, Ausst.-Kat. Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. Bd. 1: Maler und
Werkstätten 1450–1525. Stuttgart 2001.
Volz 1972 Peter Volz, Conrad Peutinger und das Entstehen der deutschen Medaillensitte zu
Augsburg 1518. Diss. Heidelberg 1972.
Wahre abcontrafactur 2010 Wahre abcontrafactur. Martin Luther und bedeutende seiner Zeitgenossen im
grafischen Porträt des 16. Jahrhunderts. Hrsg. v. Bernd Schäfer. Gotha 2010.
Wallenstein 1994 Uta Wallenstein, Renaissancemedaillen. In: Gotteswort und Menschenbild. Werke
von Cranach und seinen Zeitgenossen, Teil II: Renaissancemedaillen-Renaissance-
plaketten-Statthaltermedaillen. Gotha 1994, S. 9–32.
Wettstreit in Erz 2013 Wettstreit in Erz. Porträtmedaillen der deutschen Renaissance. Hrsg. v. Walter
Cupperi, Martin Hirsch, Annette Kranz und Ulrich Pfisterer. Berlin/München 2013.
Wohlfeil 2002 Rainer Wohlfeil, Graphische Bildnisse Karls V. im Dienste von Darstellung und Pro-
paganda. In: Karl V.: 1500–1558. Neue Perspektiven seiner Herrschaft in Europa
und Übersee. Hrsg. v. Alfred Kohler u.a. Wien 2002, S. 21–56.
Abbildungsnachweise:
Alle Abbildungen Bildarchiv des Verfassers und Bildarchiv des Instituts für Kunstgeschichte der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität
Mainz
71
BEYOND THE
STUDIOLO.
RITUAL AND
BEYOND THE STUDIOLO.
TALISMANIC QUALITIES
OF COINS, MEDALS AND
AGNI DEI IN EARLY
RITUAL AND TALISMANIC QUALITIES OF COINS, MEDALS AND MODERN ITALY
AGNI DEI IN EARLY MODERN ITALY
Traditionally, the portrait medal is studied as a typical product of the Italian Renaissance, closely connected to
ambitious patrons and their insatiable appetite for ancient imperial coins as objects of learning and virtue. In-
ventoried under the generic term medaglia, ancient coins and portrait medals were kept in the ideal seclusion of
the Renaissance studiolo, where they would be handled, studied, cherished and exchanged by the collector and
his friends.1 The deep fascination of Renaissance patrons and collectors with these objects is beyond doubt:
combining one’s portrait likeness with a meaningful image and legend allowed patrons to propagate their ambi-
tions in a prestigious form.
But outside the secluded environment of the Renaissance studiolo, portrait medals and coins were handled in
surprisingly different ways. They could be either worn as jewelry2, used as amulets3, be thrown in foundation
pits of buildings, or be deposited in funerary contexts along with the body.4 How are we to make sense of
these magical and talismanic qualities of portrait medals and coins?
First of all, we should remember that along with the appropriation of purely formal aspects, talismanic qualities
of classical imperial coins lived on as well. Recent research into the talismanic values of coins and medals in both
ancient and medieval times indeed testifies of a remarkable continuity and longevity of certain ritual practices
related to coins and akin objects, such as wearing them close to the body for protection of the wearer.5 And of
course, the Renaissance portrait medal originated only in part from ancient imperial coins. There is a renewed
awareness of the extremely varied and somewhat messy pedigree of the medal, which includes Byzantine en-
kolpia, amulets, jewelry, seals, and mass-produced devotional medals and other circular talismanic objects worn
close to the body.
In order to deepen our understanding of the versatility of the renaissance portrait medal, it may therefore be
worthwhile to take a closer look at different contexts and ritual practices in which coins, medals and related
objects were used in early modern times. In this article, I would like to explore two avenues: first that of medals
used as building deposits, and secondly, the relation of medals to the Agni Dei, the powerful wax talismans
produced from the remainders of Easter candles and consecrated by the pope in Rome.
BUILDING DEPOSITS: THE TALISMANIC USE OF COINS AND PORTRAIT MEDALS
In occasion of the foundation and construction of an important building, renaissance patrons often would com-
mission a portrait medal with an image of the building on the reverse. Besides distributing them among their
friends and allies, they would use these medals as building deposits, meaning that the objects would be interred
within the foundations or walls of the new structure.6
1 Pfisterer 2008. – Syson 2002. – Syson and Thornton 2001. – Perspectives 2000.
2 See the contribution of Miriam A. Kirch in this volume.
3 Spier 1993. – Ohm 2013.
4 Examples are the six portrait medals buried with the body of Sigismondo Malatesta (d. 1468) in Rimini, or the long tradition to
deposit coins with the body of the pope; Attwood 2003.
5 Skerner 2006. – Maguire 1997. – Jones 2009. – Jones 2011.
6 Satzinger 2004, pp. 99–124. – Schraven 2014.
 72 73

Humanist courtiers were ready to associate this practice with classical models and the desire of long-lasting
MINOU SCHRAVEN
fame for their patrons. As Filarete explained to his patron in his architectural treatise on Sforzinda (ca 1460), the
very reason to deposit a foundation stone with building deposits, among them “many lead and bronze effigies
of worthy men” is that future generations will be able to identify the founder, thus contributing to his posthu-
mous fame:7
“The reason I put these things in the foundation is because, as every man knows, things that have a beginning
must have an end. When the time comes, men will find these things, and know our names, and remember us
because of them, just as we remember when we find something noble in a ruin or in an excavation. We are happy
and pleased to find a thing that represents antiquity and gives us the name of him, who had it done.”8
In this case, the portraits or effigies on the medals assured that the future finder would be able to identify the
founder of, in this case, the ideal city Sforzinda. But at the same time, this is connected to the much wider practice
of depositing objects in foundations and walls. Examples have been documented across many cultures and times,
from pre-Columbian pyramids to Minoan palaces in Crete, from Roman military camps to temples in ancient India.9
The deposited objects could range from terracotta figurines, ostrich eggs, coins and the sacrifice of animals and –
o horror – human beings.10 At the root of this widespread practice, there seems to be a desire to demand protecti-
on and longevity of the building and its inhabitants. Apparently, there is a deeply ingrained human notion that the
very act of building and the inherent disturbing of the soil needs to be accounted for. In this line of reasoning, the
purpose of the building deposits would be to appease the gods and chtonic powers inhabiting the soil.11
This well-documented practice of tossing coins in foundation pits may also have been behind the motivation of
BEYOND THE
Sigismondo Malatesta (d. 1468) to commission the first portrait medal with a building on its obverse since anti- STUDIOLO.
RITUAL AND
quity, and what is more, to use these medals in extraordinary numbers as building deposits. Designed by Matteo TALISMANIC QUALITIES
OF COINS, MEDALS AND
de’ Pasti, the portrait medal in question combines the portrait in profile of Sigismondo, dressed in armor, with AGNI DEI IN EARLY
MODERN ITALY
on the obverse the magnificent fortress that bore the name of its patron, the Castel Sismondo in Rimini (Fig.
1). Bearing the date 1446, the portrait medal presumably commemorates the year that Sigismondo took up
residence in the new fortress.15 Hundreds of these and other portrait medals were deposited at various stages of
the construction within the walls and foundations of Sigismondo‘s buildings, among them the Castel Sismondo
and S. Francesco (or Tempio Malatestiano) in Rimini, but also in many other fortifications in his territory.16
The excessive distribution of Sigismondo’s portrait medals as building deposits however was not to become the
standard.17 Instead, from the last quarter of the fifteenth century onwards, patrons would prefer to deposit
a limited number of portrait medals during the ceremony of the laying of the first stone. This way, the public

Because coins and portrait medals are so intimately related in both their form, their two-sidedness and their ma-
teriality, it is interesting to look at the longer tradition of the use of coins as building deposits. Italian humanists
were of course familiar with Tacitus’ description of the foundation of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome
in June 70 AD, where “newly minted silver and gold coins were showered in the foundations.”12

There seems indeed to have existed a continuous tradition to throw coins in foundation pits during foundation
ceremonies, in part connected to the desire to seek protection for the building. In 1325, during the foundation
ceremonies of the Torre del Mangia in Siena, coins were deposited in the foundations, along with stones with in-
scriptions “to prevent the tower from being damaged by thunder, assaults or winds.”13 In 1431, Roberto Galeazzo
Malatesta threw in “molti danari” in the foundation pits of the new fortifications in Rimini; Ludovico Gonzaga did
so at the foundation of new city walls of Mantua in 1449. In 1457, cardinal nephew Pietro Borgia deposited a gold Fig. 1: Matteo de‘ Pasti, Portrait Medal of Sigismondo Malatesta with Castel Sismondo, 1446. Geldmuseum Utrecht.

coin of St Peter with the Borgia bull on its obverse in the foundations of a new defense tower in Viterbo.14 The ca-
ses are so many, that it can be assumed that this was common practice, either for want of fame, or out of anxiety
for the arduous undertaking of long-term construction projects – and most probably a combination of the two.
foundation ceremonies came to actively reinforce the bond between founder, building deposit, and the future
building in presence of a community, just as had been the case with the tossing in of coins earlier that century
by Ludovico Gonzaga and Roberto Galeazzo Malatesta.18
7 Hub 2011.

8 Filarete 1965, vol. I, pp. 45–46: “La cagione perché io metto queste cose in questo fondamento sì è che, come ogni huomo sa,
tucte le cose che hanno principio hanno a havere fine; quando sarà quel tempo, si troveranno queste cose, e per questo da loro
saremo ricordati e nominati, come che noi nominiamo quando per cavamento o ruina si truova alcuna cosa degna, noi l’abbiamo
cara e piaceci haver trovato quella cotal cosa che ci presenti antichità et nome di quegli che l’hanno fatto.”
That the deposition of portrait medals, foundation stones and the throwing in of coins could happily coexist
is demonstrated in case of the foundation of Palazzo Strozzi in Florence on 6 August 1489. Living in the same
area, diarist Tribaldo de’ Rossi had come to witness the foundation ceremony of Palazzo Strozzi. When throwing

9 Klusemann 1909. – Hub 2011. – Schraven 2014. See also: Eastop 2010.

10 Wessing and Jordaan 1997. 15 It is in any case excluded that the portrait medal has any connection to the foundation ceremonies of the fortress, which enrolled
on 20 March 1437, a year before Pisanello would famously ‘invent’ the Renaissance portrait medal of John Palaeologus VIII and
11 Schraven 2009 and Hub 2011 for overviews of recent literature. at a moment that Matteo de’ Pasti was not yet working for Sigismondo Malatesta.

12 Tacitus: Histories 4.53. 16 Schraven 2009.

13 “L’operaio del Chonumo di Siena mise in fondo di detta torre alquanta moneta per memoria di detta torre. E fuvi messe in ogni 17 The sole exception is Pope Paul II (d. 1472), who had excessive numbers of his own portrait medals deposited in the foundations
chanto una pietra con lettere ebraiche e greche e latine, perchè non fusse perchossa nè da tuono, nè da saetta, nè da tempesta: and walls of his Palazzo di San Marco (better known today as Palazzo Venezia) in Rome; see Balbi 1973. – Schraven 2009.
e in questo modo fu fondata la detta torre,” as cited in Travaini 2009, p. 269.
18 The first case was the foundation of the Ponte Sisto in Rome in April 1473, when patron Sixtus IV laid the first stone, along with
14 Schraven 2009, p. 191. – Hub 2011, pp. 33–34. some portrait medals that depicted himself and the bridge on the obverse; Schraven 2012.
 74
in a first shovel of earth, patron Filippo Strozzi shattered some coins and invited bystanders to join him in this
MINOU SCHRAVEN
gesture. Tribaldo went home to fetch his son and together they threw in a lilied quattrino and a damask rose.
In his diary entry, Tribaldo explicitly mentioned that he had urged his son to remember it.19 This way, mimicking
the gestures of the founder, ordinary people actively participated in the foundation rituals, creating their own
memories of a historical event.
THE TALISMANIC USE OF AGNI DEI
In case we might still have doubts about the potential apotropaic use of portrait medals, it is instructive to have
a closer look at related objects that were being used as building deposits in the medieval and early modern
period. Among these objects feature the Agni Dei: powerful wax talismans made of the remainders of Easter
candles and consecrated by the pope during the Easter season. In 1909, two wax Agni Dei of Boniface IX (d.
1404) and Gregory XII (d. 1415) were retrieved from a cavity in the pavement of the church of S. Giovanni in
Monte in Bologna.20 According to the English chronicler Matthew Paris (d. 1259), the abbot of St Albans had
put an Agnus Dei “in summitate turris nostrae”, as a kind of lightning rod for the monastery.21 An Agnus Dei of
Pope Gregory XI (d. 1378) was retrieved from the foundations of the Castle of Poitiers, founded by Jean I Duc
de Berry in 1385.22 For the solemn consecration of the Vatican obelisk on St Peter’s Square on 26 September
1587, an Agnus Dei had been inserted within the bronze cross installed on top of the obelisk. Many more cases
are documented for the 17th and 18th centuries, both in Italy and North of the Alps.23
But besides being occasionally used as building deposits, Agni Dei were a powerful sacramental to which were
attributed extraordinary powers.24 According to a broadsheet of 1662, reproduced in J.F. Bernard’s and B.
Picart’s Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses du monde of 1723–1737, the Agni Dei would indeed drive away
thunder, wash away sin, secure from fire and drowning, preserve from sudden death, conquer enemies and
repel evil and daemons.25 What is the origin of these powerful objects, how were they used in the early modern
period, and what would be their relationships to coins and medals?
From the twelfth century onwards, Agni Dei were impressed with the Lamb of God, from which they derive
their name, plus the name and coat of arms of the pope who consecrated them.26 The obverse of the Agni was
often impressed with a devotional scene: the Virgin Mary and saints, or imagery related to Christ’s Passion.
This is also the case for the exceptional replica in bronze of an Agnus Dei consecrated by Pope Pius V Ghislieri
(1566–1572).27 Its obverse represents the Agnus Dei, or mystical Lamb of God, with a triumphal banner over
its right shoulder, standing in a landscape with a town in the background. The legend reads “ECCE.A.DEI.QVI.
TOLLIT.P.M.” (“Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”); the papal coat of arms at
19 Tribaldo de’ Rossi: Ricordanze. Florence 1770–1789, p. 249, as cited by Trexler 1980, p. 447.
20 Belcari 2004.
21 As cited in Bertelli 2001, p. 137.
22 Ibid.
23 Bruckner 1983, p. 117 for many examples in the early modern period, mostly in Germany. He cites from Keller 1975, p. 28.
24 While sacraments confer the grace of the Holy Spirit, sacramentals prepare us to receive this grace and dispose us to cooperate
with it; Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1670. Johnson 2009, pp. 219–225. – Franz 1909.
25 Bernard 1723–1737, vol. I, last engraving (no page number). For digitized versions, see http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/picart/index.
html.
26 Paravicini Bagliani 1994, p. 112. As has been pointed out by Brückner 1993, pp. 114–117, there appear to have existed also
secondary and even tertiary Agni Dei, that were produced locally and sometimes from different materials, but they are not our
concern here.
27 Toderi and Vannel 2000, vol. II, pp. 745–746. Diameter 131 mm. The current whereabouts of the medal are undisclosed; so far, I
have not been able to trace copies in other collections.
75
center bottom is that of Pope Pius V. On the reverse of the medal, we see the risen Christ, standing on what
BEYOND THE
appears to be a sarcophagus. Christ and two putti carry the instruments of Christ‘s Passion, among them the STUDIOLO.
RITUAL AND
cross, lance, the crown of thorns and dice. In the legend appears again the name of Pope Pius V (“PIUS V PONT. TALISMANIC QUALITIES
OF COINS, MEDALS AND
M. ALEXAN”: “Pius V Pontifex Maximus from Alessandria”). AGNI DEI IN EARLY
MODERN ITALY
As we will see in greater detail, Pius V consecrated his first load of Agni Dei in the Easter of 1566; he would
repeat the ceremony seven years later in 1572, just a few weeks before his death. Interestingly, the designs of
the Agni Dei of 1566 can be linked to medalist and goldsmith Federico Cocciola: he received a payment on 12
May that year from the Camera Apostolica for having designed the molds to form the Agni Dei.28 One year ear-
lier, Cocciola had designed his first portrait medal known to us: the foundation medal of the city of Valletta on
Malta, which were deposited, along with the first stone of the city during its foundation ceremonies in March
1565.29
As there is to date no overview of the formal development of the Agni Dei, we unfortunately cannot relate the
bronze replica to its wax original. The closest we can get are the two wax Agni Dei consecrated by Pius V in the
collection of the Museum Miniscalchi-Erizzo in Verona. One of these Agni, with a Crucifixion on its obverse, has
the same measurements as our bronze replica, namely 13 cm. There are also some similarities in the lettering of
the legend (“PIUS V ALEXA PONT MAX”).30
While the search for the wax original remains unresolved for now, there is the obvious question why this bronze
replica was made in the first place. For that, there seems to be an explanation; the Agni Dei consecrated by
Pope Pius V were considered particularly powerful, both in Italy and – as we will see – abroad. But let us first
address the origins and material aspects of the Agni Dei.
AGNI DEI: ORIGINS AND MATERIALS
Made from the remainders of Easter candles of the previous year, the Agni Dei are an extraordinary category of
miracle-working objects with either a circular, or sometimes oval, shape.31 Symbol of Christ and his Resurrection,
the Easter Candle in itself is a highly symbolic object in Christian liturgy. The candle signifies the return of Light
at the conclusion of the Holy Week that begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Silent Saturday.32 The Easter candle
was produced from the wax of ‘virginal bees’, whose chasteness was likened traditionally to that of Christ
and the Virgin Mary.33 In his treatise on the origins and meaning of Christian liturgy, the Rationale divinorum
officiorum, William Durandus of Mende (d. 1296) had already compared the pure wax of the Easter candle to
the flesh of Christ.34 The Missal of Pius V of 1570 – the standard until the Second Vatican Council – retained the
comparison of the wax of the Easter candle to the body of Christ.35
28 Cocciola would have received 25 gold scudi for providing the metal and a large mold for making the Agni Dei; as cited in Toderi
and Vannel 2000, vol. II, p. 746.
29 The medal contains the effigy of Malta’s founder Jean Parisot de la Vallette, or Valletta, grand master of the Order of the Hos-
pitallers of Malta, who after a legendary victory over the Ottoman fleet at Malta founded Valletta on the island to secure the
Christian presence in this part of the Mediterranean; Gagliuzzo 2011.
30 The Lamb of God on the obverse, however, is depicted kneeling, not standing. I thank Gian Paolo Marchini, director of the Mu-
seo Miniscalchi-Erizzo, for this communication. The Agni Dei of the collection are reproduced in Marchini 2008.
31 Moroni 1840. – Brückner 1993, pp. 108–117. – Gartner 1980. – Bertelli 2001, pp.128–138 (A Wax Lamb).
32 See Moroni 1841.
33 Brückner 1963.
34 “Huius enim cerei ceram apes mater sine concubitu eduxit; et Christi carnem virgo Maria concepit et peperit et, Deum in carne
quasi mel in cera proferens, inviolata permansit.” Durandus of Mende 1995, vol. 2, p. 396 (VI, LXXX, 7).
35 Nagel 2011, p. 321, note 91.
 76 77

As the Easter candle is a powerful object, so are the talismanic powers of its smaller parts. In early Christian
MINOU SCHRAVEN BEYOND THE
times, these particles would be distributed among the faithful, who either would either burn them in the STUDIOLO.
RITUAL AND
fireplace to protect the home; bury them in the soil for an abundant harvest; or would wear them for protecti- TALISMANIC QUALITIES
OF COINS, MEDALS AND
on around the neck, in close proximity to the body – a continuation of the pagan custom to wear amulets for AGNI DEI IN EARLY
MODERN ITALY
protection.36 While sources for the Early Christian period remain obscure, the Ordo Romanus of the 9th century
mentions that the Agni Dei were fabricated at the Lateran on Silent Saturday, the day between Good Friday and
Easter Sunday. Back then, it had been the Archdeacon who molded the wax in the form of lambs. A week after
Easter, the archdeacon would distribute these wax lambs among the faithful. Considering them as powerful
talismans, the people would burn the wax lambs in their homes for protection against harm and misfortune.37
The Ordines of two centuries later inform us that the pope by now has taken over the distribution of the Agni,
which takes place during mass on Sabato in Albis (the first Saturday after Easter Sunday).38

Subsequent Ordines continue to mention the fabrication, consecration and distribution ceremonies of the Agni
Dei. From the late Middle Ages onwards, chrism and oil had been mixed in with the wax to heighten the sacred-
ness and purity of the wax talismans even further. It is also said that before being molded in talismans, the wax
should remain for one night at the altar of St Peter‘s. Paravicini Bagliani has linked this emphasis on purity and
Petrine elements with an increasing identification of the Agni Dei with the figure of the Pope himself.39

This indexical association between Agnus Dei and pope comes to its full realization in the Ordo Romanus XIV
of the late 14th century. From that moment on, the pope assumed a central role in both the consecration and
distribution process of these powerful talismans.40 According to Brückner, the devotion to Agni Dei would
become ever more intensified from this period onwards, and the numbers of consecrated Agni would increase
accordingly.41

The pope consecrated the Agni Dei by merging them in holy water, in a clear analogy with the ritual of baptism.
It is stressed again and again that the pope for the consecration ceremony was dressed in white, in analogy with
the mystical Lamb and the munda and albissima („pure and very white“) wax used for the fabrication of the Fig. 3: The Consecration Ceremony of Agni dei by Pope Pius V in 1566. Engraving by Bartolomeo Faleti.
Agni Dei. The importance of the purity and whiteness of the Agni Dei becomes clear from repeated warnings © Trustees of the British Museum.
against the coloring of the talismans: Pope Gregory XIII established in a bull of 25 May 1572 that no one was
allowed to paint or dye color Agni Dei or counterfeit them in any way, threatening transgressors with excommu-
nication.42
FABRICATION AND CONSECRATION OF THE AGNI DEI IN 1566
A rare and remarkable engraving held in the British Museum shows the “consecration ceremony of the wax
Agni by Pope Pius V according to the ancient custom” in 1566 (Fig. 2).43 This much is stated on the title cartou-
che placed on the far end of the room, which identifies the patron of the engraving as young Cardinal nephew
Michele Bonelli (1541–1598). He had been created cardinal in March of that year, two months after the ascen-
sion of his uncle Pius V to the papacy.44 The engraving was issued by printer and engraver Bartolomeo Faleti in
36 Bonardo 1586, pp. 26–30.
Rome in 1567.45
37 “Sabbato sancto, in Lateranis venit archidiaconus in ecclesia, et fundit ceram in vas mundum majorem, et miscitat ibidem oleo, et
benedicit ceram, et ex ea fundit in similitudinem agnorum, et servat eos in loco mundo. In octavas vero Paschae dantur ipsi agni By combining this exceptional engraving with the entries of the ceremonial diary of papal Master of Ceremonies
ab archidiacono in ecclesia post missas et communionem populo, et ex eis faciunt in domos suas in censum ad suffumigandum Cornelio Firmano (d. 1588), we obtain an accurate view of the consecration ceremony of the Agni Dei in 1566.
pro qualicunque eis eveniente necessitate” – as cited in Paravicini Bagliani 1994, p. 130, note 6.
Instead of being performed on Silent Saturday as in previous centuries, the ceremony took place on Thursday 18
38 As stated in the Ordo XI of Benedict (1140–1143) and that of Cencio (1192), as cited in Paravicini Bagliani 1994, pp. 109–11.

39 Paravicini Bagliani 1994, pp. 109–115.

40 Caspers and Brekelmans 1998, p. 65. 43 “Consecrationes Agnorum caereorum a Pio V Pont Max anno salutatis MDLXVI ex antiquo ritu factae Descriptio Michaeli Bonello
Card Alexandrino.” The engraving was published for the first time by Musacchio 2006. I thank Pascale Rihouet for this reference.
41 Brückner 1993, p. 110.
44 Prosperi 1969.
42 “[...] sub excommunicationis poena ipso facto incurrenda, prohibimus et interdicimus ne quisquam [...] agnusdei per Romanum
Pontificem pro tempore existentem benedictos depingere, inficere, minio notare vel aurum aut colorem aliquem illis imponere, 45 The coats of arms of Cardinal Bonelli (depicted at both sides of the cartouche) also appear in the far better-known engraving of
aut quiddam aliud super inducere, neque depingi aut miniari facere, nec illos venales proponere seu tenere.” Bullarum romanum the Benediction of Pope Pius V at St Peter’s, with the dome still under construction: “Areae et palatii pontificii vaticani topogra-
1857–1872, vol. VIII 1863, p. 11. Earlier, Nicholas V in 1447 and Paul II (d. 1471) had issued severe penalties on those who phia / pontificisque populum solemni ritu benedicentis imago / accuratissime delineata,” also issued by Faleti in 1567. For more
counterfeited and sold Agni Dei. information about Faleti, see Wittcombe 2004, p. 138.
 78
46
April: the week after Easter Sunday. This seems to have become customary in the sixteenth century: also Pope
MINOU SCHRAVEN
Gregory XIII would perform the consecration ceremony of Agni Dei on the Thursday after Easter.47
The engraving represents a room bustling with action, which Firmano identifies as the “Aulae nuncupata
Guardarobba” of the Vatican Palace, better known as the Sala dei Paramenti.48 He also informs us that nine
cardinals were present at the ceremonies; of them, both Cardinal nephew Michele Bonelli and Francesco Alciati
assisted the pope throughout the consecration ceremony. Besides the nine cardinals, there were 5 prelates, 12
chaplains, 11 chamberlains, one acolyte and two Masters of Ceremonies to assist the pope in consecrating 75
casse of Agni Dei, as we will see below. These agni had been produced earlier that week by friars or acolytes.49
The fruit of this labor was now standing in trunks at the far end of the room (A). To the far right of the engra-
ving, near the altar, the pope, assisted by the sacristan and two cardinals, takes on the stole (B). We then move
to the bottom right of the engraving, where the pope, dressed in white, blesses the water in which the Agni
Dei will be baptized (D). Around him stand sacristans with oil and salt to consecrate the water. Flanked by two
deacons with burning candles, a deacon holds the liturgical book from which the pope reads the verses. Behind
them stand buckets with holy water used during the consecration ceremony (G).
We now move on to the third scene, where the pope and two cardinals are seated round a silver vessel filled
with holy water in which the Agni will be consecrated (I). Although lemma K is missing from the engraving’s
legend, we see groups of cardinals seated around silver vessels with holy water in the act of consecrating Agni
Dei, thus assisting the pope in his task. During the consecration ceremony, friars continuously bring non-con-
secrated Agni Dei from the trunks to the vessels (L). After the consecration, they return the wet Agni Dei to
trunks filled with reeds for drying purposes (M and N). Other friars then lay out the consecrated Agni Dei on
large tables to finish the drying process (O). At the tables represented in the foreground of the engraving, still
other friars stack the consecrated Agni Dei and store them in trunks, ready for their distribution.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE AGNI DEI
Not represented on the engraving was the distribution ceremony of the Agni Dei. In 1566, this ceremony was
done two days later – on Sabato in Albis (i.e. also in the week after Easter Sunday).50 The pope would put a
number of Agni in the reversed miters of cardinals and bishops, depending on their rank: upon receiving the
Agni, the prelates would kiss the pope’s knee.51
Traditionally, popes also sent off Agni Dei to important rulers as precious gifts: according to the historical record,
Pope Leo would have sent one to Charlemagne; and in 1363, Pope Urban V famously sent three Agni Dei to the
Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologus, who would remain devout to them until his death. This gift was accom-
panied by a poem listing the Agni’s magical properties, written by Andrea Frari.52 The verses were circulating
46 Firmano, fol. 28v: “Die Iovis 18 Aprilis in Aulae nuncupata Guardarobba S.mus D. incepit consecrationem Agnorum Dei.”
47 Firmano, fol. 196v: “Die Jovis xxvi Martii S. Dominus in Aula consueta cum debitis caeremoniis consecravit Agnos Dei et sequutus
fuit per plures dies sequentes.”
48 Letarouilly 2010.
49 By the end of the 16th century, Pope Clement VIII would grant this right to the Cistercians of S. Croce in Gerusalemme.
50 “Die Sabbati in Albis 20 Aprilis S.mus D. venit ad missam quam celebravit R.mus Cardinalis Lomellinus. Interfuerunt 36 Cardinales
et 2m ritum S.mus D. distribuit Agnos Dei.” Firmano, fol. 29v.
51 Bertelli 2001, p. 132.
52 “Balsamum et munda cera cum chrismatis unda | conficiunt Agnum. Quod munus do tibi magnum | fonte velut naturam per
mistica sanctificatum | Fulgura desursum depellit et omne malignum | Peccatum frangit ut Christi sanguis, et angit | pregnans
servatur, sive de partu liberatur | dona confert dignis, virtutes destruit ignis | dampna cedat dignis etiam virtutibus ignis | portatus
munde de fluctibus eripit unde” – as cited in Paravicini Bagliani 1994, p. 133, note 29. See also Caspers and Brekelmans 1998, p.
67 and Bonardo 1586, p. 56.
79
widely for centuries: in 1586, when Pope Sixtus V sent an Agnus Dei to the Doge of Venice, Pasquale Cicogna,
BEYOND THE
the gift was accompanied by a breve that repeated this poem verbatim.53 STUDIOLO.
RITUAL AND
TALISMANIC QUALITIES
OF COINS, MEDALS AND
Interestingly, Master of Ceremonies Firmani states that the pope consecrated that Thursday as many as 75 AGNI DEI IN EARLY
MODERN ITALY
trunks of Agni Dei, with a total weight of 14,500 libbre. This amounts to an astonishing 5,000 kilo.54 Back in
the 12th century, the Ordo of Cencio mentioned just 10 libbre of wax. By 1500, that number had risen to 24
pounds55; and in 1519, in occasion of the second consecration of Pope Leo X (d. 1521), the number had gone
up already to 1,500 pounds.56 Demand for the Agni Dei was such that the 5,000 kilos of wax (or 75 trunks)
consecrated by Pius V in 1566 would be steadily increased in successive decades. The Avvisi inform us that Pope
Gregory XIII, successor of Pius V, during his first Easter as pope in 1573 would double the production – going
from 128 (perhaps the number of Pius’s second load consecrated in 1572?) to 256 casse – to ensure that there
would be enough Agni dei for distribution during the Holy Year 1575.57
These increasing numbers of Agni Dei were meeting devotional demands that were carefully orchestrated from
Rome. Cardinal Bonelli’s very idea to issue an engraving of the Consecration ceremony of the Agni Dei in 1566
in itself may already be seen as part of the plan to boost the cult of the Agni Dei. In that sense, the mention
of the “antiquum rituum” on the engraving ties in with the promotion of specifically Early Christian devotional
practices, most dear to the austere and reform-minded Pius V.58
After Pius V had produced his first load of Agni Dei in 1566, great numbers were sent off to those regions in
Europe where their powers supposedly were needed the most. Many were sent to Spain and the Southern
Netherlands, where the protestant William of Orange was contesting Spanish dominion. The Agni did also
their service during the Battle of Lepanto in 1571: before sailing off, Don Juan of Austria received a standard
blessed by Pope Pius V, a relic of the True Cross and a large Agnus Dei during a festive mass in the Cathedral of
Messina.59 It is claimed that all Christian soldiers participating in the Battle of Lepanto had received an Agnus
Dei consecrated by Pius V.60 Although there are no sources to document this, we know that in November 1573,
Pope Gregory XIII sent 10.000 Agni Dei for distribution in Spain and Portugal, along with a precious relic for the
King of Portugal.61
53 Venice, Archivio di Stato, Bolle ed Atti della Curia Romana, busta 14, doc. 435, dated 20 April 1586.
54 In Rome, a libbra was 340 grams – this would mean that almost 5,000 kilos of wax Agni Dei were consecrated.
55 Back in 1486, Innocent VIII had consecrated 6 trunks of Agni Dei, as reported by his Master of Ceremonies Burckard 1907, p.
147.
56 Brückner 1993, p. 110.
57 Archivio di Stato Florence, Mediceo del Principato vol. 4026, fol. 205, Avviso da Roma, 27 March 1573: “Giovedì mattina, Nostro
Signore [Gregory XIII] cominciò a far la beneditione delli Agnus Dei, i quali dicesi che sono al doppio di quelli che fece Pio V
ultimamente, ancora che fossero 128 casse, et ciò per rispetto dell’Anno Santo, havendosi da concorrer come è credibile infinita
gente. Hieri si continuò detta beneditione e domattina Sua Santità li distribuerà secondo il solito ai cardinali et altri prelati della
corte.”
58 De Blaauw 2006.
59 Caspers and Brekelmans 1998, p. 71.
60 Brückner 1983, p. 112, note 103 assumes this is a 19th century fabrication.
61 Archivio di Stato Florence, Mediceo del Principato vol. 4026, fol. 238: Avviso di Roma, 14 November 1573: “Martedì finalmente
partì il Signor Don Pompeo [Colonna] per Viterbo [...] per imbarcarsi in una delle galere di Nostro Signore fino a Marsiglia. Et
una portò una frezia di Santo Sebastiano che Sua Santità manda al Re di Portogallo per essere Sua Maestà devota e chiamasi del
nome di questo Santo, et X mila Agnus Dei bianchi con un’altra quantità di essi, fra miniati et guarniti.”
 80 81

THE MIRACLES OF THE AGNI DEI OF PIUS V BIBLIOGRAPHY

MINOU SCHRAVEN BEYOND THE
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the end of December 1570.66 Miracle no. 4 happened after the pope’s death, when a woman was healed from cera Benedetti. Rome 1586.
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