BRANDEUM, in ecclesiastical writers, a linen cloth or veil put over the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul, and left there some time that it might acquire a degree of sanctity, entitling it to be worshipped as a relic; and as such it was frequently sent by the pope as a present to some prince. It was otherwise called sanctuarium, sudarium, orarium, and relinquium. The use of brandea was introduced as a means of diffusing the virtues and influences of relics, their translation in early times being prohibited.