Noli me tangere casket
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The Noli me tangere casket (Noli me tangere:
Origin of the Noli me tangere casket
Four so-called "great relics" belong to Aachen cathedral: The dress of
Anno domini M CCC LVI in festo magne dedicacionis ecclesie beate marie virginis Aquensis fuit ordinatum per capitulum dicte ecclesie ad hoc indictum quod presens sarculum cui hec scedula est appensa de cetero non apperiatur et hoc propter specialem statum et utilitatem ecclesie antedicte. In the year of the Lord 1356, at the feast of the great dedication of the church of the blessed virgin Mary in Aachen, it was ordered by the chapter of said church that the present casket, to which this document is appended, not be opened hereafter and this on account of the special status and expediency of the aforesaid church.
On account of this inscription the silver casket became known colloquially by the name Noli me tangere. The expression derives from the Gospel of John, in which the resurrected Jesus prevents Mary Magdalene from touching him with these words (John 20.17).
Mysterious contents
In the following 448 years, no one changed the condition of the casket. It was removed from the
Opening of the casket
The actual contents of the casket are said to have been revealed by an accident. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Aachen and the
Location of the casket
At the time of the Second World War, most of the Aachen cathedral treasures were moved multiple times, ending up in
References
- Johannes Crumbach, Peter Lentz: Das Kästchen „Rühr mich nicht an!“ im Aachener Domschatz (= Veröffentlichungen des Bischöflichen Diözesanarchivs Aachen 3). Verlag Johannes Volk, Aachen 1937.
- Ernst Günther Grimme: Der Aachener Domschatz (= Aachener Kunstblätter 42). 2. Auflage, Schwann, Düsseldorf 1972, S. 75–76.
- D. P. J. Weynands: Zur Geschichte der Aachener Heiligtumsfahrt. Einhard Verlag, Aachen 2000, ISBN 3-930701-73-1.