Once cold and stiff and abandoned to the elements, James’s corpse became a source of holy relics. Some placed dust on the body and then sprinkled it on their own heads, hoping that it would infect them with the dead man’s valor. One man cut off his genitals “and kept them safely for begetting children so that even when dead, the man’s members—if such a thing were possible—would produce an heir with courage as great as his.”
