BRANDEA. — By this term ancient Christians designated those cloths or veils which, having been applied directly to the body or tomb of the saints, were then considered as so many relics. The brandea therefore form a category of representative relics and constitute a special class among the eulogiae (q.v.).
The use of brandea certainly dates back to the period of the persecutions (Prudentius, Peristephanon, V: CSEL, 61, p. 346). The psychological basis for such a practice is to be sought in the common belief that the miraculous power of the saints' bodies could be communicated even to objects that had come into contact with them, whether directly or indirectly. Precedents for this psychology may be seen in the crowds' desire to approach Jesus closely enough merely to touch the fringe of His garments, or in the eagerness of the early Christians to touch the clothing or even the shadows of the Apostles, feeling themselves spiritually uplifted and often physically healed (Mk 5:28; 6:56; Acts 5:15; 19:11).
After the age of persecutions, cloths were lowered into the confessio of martyrs through a special aperture, where they became imbued with the saints' healing power (Gregory of Tours, Liber Miraculorum, I, 27). These brandea were held in such honor and esteem that, in the absence of authentic relics, they were very frequently used even for those purely liturgical purposes which required their employment (Gregory the Great, Reg. Ep., IV, 50). The use and cult of brandea is known and practiced everywhere, although they were given different names in different places, such as palliola, sanctuaria, etc.