in ecclesiastical writers, a linen cloth or veil put over the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul, and left there for some time, by which it is supposed to 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. In this sense Brandeum is the same with what was otherwise called sanctuarium, sudarium, orarium, and culum. The use of brandea was introduced as a means of diffusing and propagating the virtues and influences of relics, without moving, or in any way impairing, the substance of them; the translation of relics in early days being strictly forbidden.