Lectionary Calendar
Monday, December 23rd, 2024
the Fourth Week of Advent
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Bible Encyclopedias
Monstrance

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Monster
Next Entry
Mont Blanc
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

(through the French from Lat. monstrare, to show), a vessel used in the Roman Church for the exhibition of the Host at Benediction and also when carried in processions. Another name for the vessel is ostensorium, from ostendere, to exhibit, show; whence the usual French name ostensoir. The monstrance was formerly used of a reliquary, exposing the sacred object to view. The earlier monstrances followed the usual shape of these reliquaries, viz. a cylindrical crystal case mounted in metal frames, elaborately ornamented and jewelled. Such often took the form of a turret. There is a 15th-century Italian example in South Kensington Museum of a pilastered turret containing an oblong crystal case, the whole resting on a stemmed base, and surmounted with a cupola. In the 16th century the present shape was adopted, viz. a crystal or glass circular disk, more suited to the shape of the sacred wafer; this is mounted in a frame of golden rays, and the whole is supported by a stem and bases. The exhibition of the Host dates from the institution of the Festival of Corpus Christi by Urban IV. in 1264.

Bibliography Information
Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Monstrance'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​bri/​m/monstrance.html. 1910.
 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile