I first came to write Furta Sacra because I wanted to examine how people to the ninth through eleventh centuries integrated essential aspects of the sacred sphere into the mundane. I found that exploring narratives of furtive relic translations allowed me to interpret the meaning of generalized practice and attitudes within the matrices of specific, on going historical processes. The narratives themselves were often linked formally and echoed each other, both textually and through oral reports of other translations. At the same time, each was constructed around specific circumstances and within particular social, political, and economic contexts.