… may be less stressed than those who obsess on it.
Cronaca, which focuses on historical and archaeological stuff, weighs in on the restitutionist debate, and its latest iteration — the demand that the Lindisfarne Gospels be returned to the north of England whence they were snatched by agents of Henry VIII during the Reformation. They currently reside in the British Library.
Nice thought, but if the Gospels are to be handed over to anyone, shouldn’t it then be the Roman Catholic Church?
[…] Seriously, this is pushing the restitution issue beyond the bounds of absurdity. There is room for reasonable persons to disagree over what should be done with objects removed by colonial powers in the modern era. But trying to undo (selectively, at that) the Dissolution nearly 500 years later? Where will it all end? I know one Byzantinist colleague who is still outraged over the Venetian-led sack of Constantinople in 1204. Perhaps the Fourth Crusade loot that adorns San Marco should now be sent back — but where? Istanbul? Greece? Russia? And the various Viking hoards that have been found in northern Europe, Britain, and Ireland over the years — should they be sent back to Scandinavia, or put into trust for the descendants of the victims of Viking raids?