In the Star Wars: Forces of Destiny short “Art History,” Sabine Wren and her brother Tristen climb a mountain in a dusty landscape, stopping to look at a monumental statue of their ancestor, the ancient Mandalorian warrior Tarre Vizsela. Vizsela, the first Mandalorian inducted into the Jedi Order, had created the darksaber, which Sabine now wields. Upon seeing the statue, Sabine reacts in wonder: “Amazing, right? So much history and hope in one carving.” When Tristen notes that a stormtrooper outpost has been erected around the statue, Sabine decides that they should “free” it. After successfully destroying the outpost without damaging the statue, Tristen comments that it “looks happy.” The final seconds of the two-and-a-half minute episode pan over the statue, showing it free from the command post.

This short encapsulates much of how Star Wars utilizes the medieval as inspiration. The statue is reminiscent of an effigy of a medieval knight, and Vizsela’s armor is reminiscent of aspects of plate armor. The Jedi clutches his darksaber in a way that simultaneously recalls a knight holding or gesturing to his sword and holding his hands as if in prayer.

For European believers, relics allowed worshipers to encounter some aspect of an object of devotion—a holy person or place—when the object itself was physically unavailable or geographically inaccessible. They often contained something of a saint’s essence; sometimes a relic was part of the saint’s body, but it could also be something that came into contact with the saint during their lifetime, or even came into contact with the saint’s shrine after their death. Mary’s breastmilk, Christ’s foreskin, the bones of saints, and even bits of cloth all formed part of the relic economy that purported to contain and spread the holy person’s essence. Relics circulated, but so did believers, and pilgrims often bought souvenirs on their travels. Pilgrim badges served as objects of remembrance, while ampullae—small flasks—provided a means to bring home some oil or soil from a key religious site. These souvenirs, especially ampullae, provided a constant multiplication of relics, as did the division of saintly bodies and clothes.