Relics of the saints and of the Passion of our Lord were most eagerly sought after by mediæval Christendom, and whenever a relic of unusual importance was obtained, all the resources of the art of the time were employed to give it a worthy setting. The most famous of early pendent reliquaries was that worn by the Emperor Charlemagne, which contained relics from the Crown of Thorns and the True Cross, presented to him by Haroun al-Raschid. The reliquary was buried with him in 814, and found at the opening of his tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1169. In 1804 it was given to the Emperor Napoleon by the clergy of Aix, and was afterwards the property of Napoleon III; but it disappeared during the troublous times that terminated the Second Empire. The relics were enclosed under a large sapphire magnificently set in gold and precious stones[62] (Pl. XVIII, 4). Another historical relic of the early Middle Ages was the enamelled gold cross suspended from a chain, which was stolen from the tomb of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey in 1685 and given to James II. It was only lost sight of in the early part of the nineteenth century.[63] [62] See _Jahrbücher des Vereins von Alterthumsfreunden in Rheinlande_, XXXIX, p. 272. Bonn, 1866. [63] Wall (J. C.), _Tombs of the Kings of England_, p. 197. _Evelyn's Diary_, Sept. 16, 1685. Portable reliquaries in former times were often made of two plates of rock crystal or other transparent stones hinged together so as to form a box. An exquisite example of this style of ornament, and one of the most remarkable mediæval jewels, is the so-called reliquary of St. Louis in the British Museum. It is of gold, set with two large bean-shaped amethysts which act as covers to an inner case with a lid, enclosing what purports to be a spike from the Crown of Thorns. The back of this receptacle, as well as the insides of the covers, is enriched with minute translucent enamels representing the Crucifixion and other scenes from the Passion and the life of Christ (Pl. XVIII, 5). The jewel is said to have been given by St. Louis (who bought the Crown of Thorns from Baldwin, King of Jerusalem) to a king of Aragon, but the style of the work is somewhat later than the time of St. Louis, and dates from about the year 1310. It was formerly in the collection of Baron Pichon, and was presented to the British Museum by Mr. George Salting in 1902.