Saturday, November 11, 2017

Chronology of the Turin Shroud: Thirteenth century

Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 to the present
THIRTEENTH CENTURY
© Stephen E. Jones
[1]

This is part #14, "Thirteenth century," of my "Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 - present" series. See also 21Jun17. For more information about this series see part #1, "1st century and Index." Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated.

[Index #1] [Previous: 12th century (2) #13] [Next: 14th century (1) #15]


13th century (1201-1300).

[Above (enlarge): Deposition fresco in Holy Sepulchre Chapel, Winchester Cathedral[2]. Note the double body length shroud about to be placed over Jesus, in a fresco painted in at least 1220, i.e. ~40 years before the earliest 1260 radiocarbon date of the Shroud! See below "c. 1220"].

1201 Nicholas Mesarites (c. 1163–1216), keeper (skeuophylax[3]) of the relic collection in Constantinople's Pharos Chapel[4], in defending the chapel and its relics against a mob during a palace revolution[5] led by a would-be usurper John Comnenus (c.1150-1201)[6], gave an impassioned speech warning the would-be looters of the sanctity of the relics within[7]. These included, "the sindon [shroud] with the burial linens":

"In this chapel Christ rises again, and the sindon with the burial linens is the clear proof"[8].
Nicholas continued:
"The burial shrouds [sindones] of Christ ... are of linen ... still smelling of myrrh and defying decay since they wrapped the outlineless [aperilepton], naked ... body after the Passion"[9]
Mesarites' mention of a sindon, the same Greek word in the Gospels for Jesus' burial shroud (Mt 27:59; Mk 15:46; Lk 23:53)[10], among these burial linens, together with aperilepton meaning "un-outlined"[11], which is a unique descriptor of the image on the Shroud which has no outline[12 & #14]; and Jesus body being "naked"[14], can only be the Shroud, already in Constantinople at the very beginning of the thirteenth century[15], nearly 60 years before its earliest 1260 radiocarbon date[16]!

1202 The Fourth Crusade[17], which had been called for by Pope Innocent III (r.1198-1216)[18], set out from northern France[19]. Its objective was to succeed where the Third Crusade had failed [see "1189"]: the recapture of Jerusalem from the Muslims who had captured it in 1187 [see "1187"] [20]. On the earlier advice of King Richard I of England (r. 1189-99) one of the leaders of the Third Crusade[21], the route to Jerusalem should be through Muslim-controlled Egypt[22], rather than overland through a longer stretch of Muslim-controlled territories which defeated the Third Crusade. That required a fleet of boats, to be provided by Venice, to transport the crusader armies across the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt[23]. However, the crusaders were unable to raise the full cost of the fleet, so they accepted the Venetian offer that in lieu of the shortfall, they stop on their way at Constantinople, and assist in dethroning the Byzantine Emperor, Alexios III Angelos (r.1195-1203), who had usurped the throne of the legitimate Emperor, his half-bother, Isaac II Angelos (r.1185-1195, 1203-4), blinding and imprisoning him[24]. Isaac's son, Alexios IV Angelos (r.1203-4) had promised the Venetians increased trade[25] and the crusaders payment of their debt to the Venetians and help on their crusade, if they overthrew the usurper Alexios III, so that he Alexios IV could ascend to the throne of his father, Isaac II[26].

1203 In June 1203 the main Fourth Crusade fleet arrived at Constantinople[27]. In July the crusaders attacked Constantinople and breached its walls[28], so Alexios III fled the city[29]. However, Constantinople's citizens released the blind Isaac II from prison and proclaimed him Emperor[30]. This was unacceptable to the crusaders, especially since Isaac II was the Emperor who failed to support the Third Crusade [see "1189"], and so they forced Isaac II to proclaim his son Alexios IV co-Emperor[31]. But Alexios IV had been living in exile from Constantinople since 1195 when he was only ~13[32], and so he was unaware that the Empire did not have the money to fulfill his promises to repay the crusaders' debt to the Venetians as well as provide financial assistance to their crusade[33]. The crusader army, led by Marquis Boniface de Montferrat (c.1150–1207), was demanding payment for deposing Alexios III and seating Alexius IV on the Imperial throne[34]. Alexius was forced to raise part of the promised payment by melting down into gold and silver priceless icons and works of art, and this shocked and angered the populace[35]. During this time, the knights and soldiers of the Fourth Crusade were inside the walls of Constantinople, awaiting payment and observing the city's enormous riches[36]. One of those knights was Robert de Clari (c.1170-1216) who described seeing what can only have been the Shroud being exhibited every Friday in Constantinople's St. Mary of Blachernae church [see "1216"].

1204a The fall of Constantinople. In January 1204 Isaac II died[37]. Opposition to his son and co-Emperor Alexios IV had grown, so the Byzantine Senate elected as Emperor the leader of the anti-crusader faction, Alexios V Doukas (r. 1204) who then overthrew and executed Alexios IV in February[38]. Doukas was then crowned Emperor Alexios V and immediately strengthened Constantinople's fortifications and forces[39]. The crusaders and Venetians demanded that Doukas honour Alexios IV's promises but the new Emperor refused[40], so they decided on an outright conquest of Constantinople[41]. In

[Above (enlarge): "Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204," 15th century miniature. Author unknown[42].]

April 1204, the crusaders and Venetians captured and sacked the city[43]. Alexios V's army stayed to fight but Alexios himself fled during the night[44]. Over three days so-called `Christian' (Mt 7:21-23) crusaders and to a lesser extent the Venetians[45], killed, raped, looted and defiled Constantinople's holy places[46]. Many of Constantinople's precious icons, relics and works of art were stolen or destroyed for their material value[47].

1204b Among the stolen relics was the Shroud[48] [see "1205b" and "1216"], taken by Othon IV de la Roche (c.1170-1234)[49], a crusader leader in the Blachernae area of Constantinople[50], where the Shroud was[51] [see "1216"]. Othon (or Otto) was a direct ancestor of Jeanne de Vergy (c.1332–1428)., wife of Geoffroy I de Charny (c.1300-56), the first undisputed owner of the Shroud[52] [see "1355"]. That the Image of Edessa/Mandylion also disappeared in 1204[53], is further proof that it was the Shroud "four-doubled" (tetradiplon )[54]. The crusaders then set up a new Latin Empire, partitioning former Byzantine territories amongst themselves[55]. One of those new Latin Empire partitionings was the Duchy of Athens[56], the first Duke (or Lord) of which was Othon IV de la Roche[57], who took the Shroud there [see "1205a"]. Only about a tenth of those who set out on the Fourth Crusade from France reached the Holy Land, where they reinforced the coastal Crusader States[58] which had been established in the Third Crusade [see "1189"]. The Fourth Crusade thus failed in its objective to recapture Jerusalem[59]. Moreover, by weakening the Byzantine Empire, the Fourth Crusade paved the way for the Muslim conquest of Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire in 1453[60] [see "1453"]. A Fifth Crusade (1213–21) by Latin Christianity would again try and fail to recapture Jerusalem[61]. The Byzantine Empire would eventually regain Constantinople in 1261[62]. The Sack of Constantinople only made the rift between Eastern and Western Christianity wider and deeper[63].

1205a Othon IV de la Roche establishes the Duchy of Athens[64], taking the Shroud with him from Constantinople to Athens[65]. Othon builds his palace on the Acropolis[66], next to and within the

[Above (enlarge): The remains of Othon's palace tower (left) next to the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, in 1875 before its removal that year[68].]

Parthenon, which was not then in its present ruined state[69] and indeed had been since the sixth century a Byzantine church[70]. The Shroud's presence in Athens when Othon was its Lord, was attested by Theodore of Epirus [see 1205b] and Nicholas of Otranto [see "1207"] [71].

1205b Theodore of Epirus, i.e. Theodore Komnenos Doukas (c. 1200-53), also known as Theodore Angelus, on 1 August 1205 wrote a letter to Pope Innocent III protesting about the looting of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade[72], and in particular the "most sacred of all the linen in which our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped after his death" which was now "in Athens":

"In April last year a crusading army, having falsely set out to liberate the Holy Land, instead laid waste the city of Constantine. During the sack, troops of Venice and France looted even the holy sanctuaries. The Venetians partitioned the treasures of gold, silver and ivory, while the French did the same with the relics of the saints and, most sacred of all the linen in which our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped after his death and before the resurrection. We know that the sacred objects are preserved by their predators in Venice, in France and in other places, the sacred linen in Athens. So many spoils and sacred objects should not be taken contrary to all human and divine laws, nevertheless in your name and in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, albeit against your will, the barbarians of our age have done just that"[73]
Theodore later became the ruler of Epirus (r. 1215–30) in then northwestern Greece, a successor state of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople[74].

c. 1206 French priest and historian Dom Francois Chamard (1828-1908) in 1902 wrote that Othon in 1206 sent the Shroud to his father, Pons I de la Roche (1145–1195)[75] in Burgundy, northeastern France[76]. Pons then in 1208 entrusted the Shroud to the care of Amadeus de Tramelay, archbishop of Besançon (r. 1197–1220)[77], where it was kept in St. Etienne's [Stephen's] cathedral, Besançon[78] until that cathedral was damaged by fire in 1349[79] [see "1349"]. But the first part of that is impossible because Pons I died in 1195[80] or 1203[81]. So I assume that if the Shroud was sent [but see "1225" below] to Burgundy in c. 1206, it was to Othon's brother Pons II de la Roche (1179–c.1216)[82]. I further assume that the Shroud was then (presumably upon Pons II's death in c.1216) transferred to Besançon cathedral and left there by Othon when he returned from Athens in 1225 [see "1225" below].

1207 Nicholas (or Nikolaos) of Otranto (c. 1155-1235), was the Abbot of Casole monastery in southern Italy[83]. In 1205 Nicholas accompanied as his interpreter a new Papal legate, Benedict of St Susanna, through Greece to Constantinople[84]. In a 1207 letter, Nicholas wrote:

"When the city [Constantinople] was captured by the French knights, entering as thieves, even in the treasury of the Great Place where the holy objects were placed, they found among other things the precious wood, the crown of thorns, the sandals of the Saviour, the nail, and the spargana which we saw with our own eyes"[85].
The Greek word spargana usually denotes the swaddling clothes of an infant (e.g. Lk 2:7,12), but it generally means "to swathe, to wrap" (e.g. Job 38:9 LXX)[86], so it is also used of burial linen wrappings[87], and since Nicholas is listing relics of the Passion, he must mean burial linens[88]. Nicholas does not say where he had seen the spargana[89], but in 1206 he and Benedict had traveled through Thessalonica and Athens, so his claim that "we saw with our own eyes" (plural) Jesus' burial linens would more likely apply to Nicholas and Benedict seeing the Shroud recently in Athens rather than Nicholas only seeing them years before in Constantinople[90].

c. 1212. Gervase of Tilbury (c.1150 – c.1228), a widely travelled, English born but Rome-educated[91], canon lawyer, statesman and writer[92], referring in his widely read Otia Imperialia, which was written between 1210 and 1214[93], to the story of the cloth upon which Jesus had impressed an image of His face and sent it to Edessa's King Abgar V, added that:

"... it is handed down from archives of ancient authority that the Lord prostrated himself full length on most white linen, and so by divine power the most beautiful likeness not only of the face, but also of the whole body of the Lord was impressed upon the cloth"[94].
This is one of a number (see Ordericus Vitalis (1075-c.1142) at "c.1130") of altered versions of the Abgar V story which substituted for the miracle of Jesus' pressing his face onto a cloth to explain Jesus' face on the Image of Edessa, a scenario by which Jesus laid his whole body upon a cloth in order to produce a likeness of his whole body[95]. It is so self-evidently preposterous that Jesus would have in life (let alone publicly!) laid His naked body on a cloth to imprint His image on it[96], that this can only be an early 13th century reference to the Shroud, nearly a half-century before the earliest radiocarbon date of 1260, and mentioned in archives which were "ancient"[97] even then!

1216 French Fourth Crusader knight Robert de Clari (c.1170-1216) wrote a chronicle in Old French from 1205 to 1216 titled, History of Those Who Conquered Constantinople[98]. In his eye-witness account of the period from 1203 to 1204 inside the walls of Constantinople, de Clari wrote:

"... there was another of the churches which they call My Lady St. Mary of Blachernae, where was kept the shroud [sydoines] in which Our Lord had been wrapped, which stood up straight every Friday so that the figure of Our Lord could be plainly seen there, and no one, either Greek or French, ever knew what became of this shroud when the city was taken"[99].
The Old French word "sydoines" is singular and the equivalent of the Greek sindon[100], the word used in the Gospels for the linen sheet in which Jesus' body was wrapped[101] [see above]. Also, the Old French word "figure" means "bodily form"[102]. So de Clari saw the Shroud bearing Jesus' bodily image, in Constantinople in 1203-4, more than a half-century before its earliest 1260 radiocarbon date[103]! De Clari's

[Above (enlarge): "How the Shroud may have been made to 'stand upright' from its casket, for very privileged showings during the last years of its possession in Constantinople. The`doubled-in-four' crease lines identified by Dr John Jackson (Lettered A-G on diagram 1) and the particularly pronounced set of lines at point F indicate a folding arrangement around an apparatus as indicated in diagrams 2 and 3. The cloth could then have been made to rise upright, as in 4 and 5"[104].

description of the shroud he saw having "stood up straight" agrees with Nicholas Mesarites', "In this chapel Christ rises again" (see above). These in turn can be explained by an apparatus (see above) which raised and lowered the Shroud, and corresponds with persistent foldlines in its cloth. As for de Clari's:

"And no one, either Greek or French, ever knew what became of this sydoine after the city was taken"[105].
that cannot be literally true, since whoever took the Shroud (i.e. Othon de la Roche - see above) did know what became of it[106]. So presumably what de Clari meant is that, despite his inquiries as to the fate of the sysdoines, no one he asked knew what had become of it[107].

c. 1220 The frescoes in the 12th century[108] chapel of the Holy Sepulchre in Winchester Cathedral, England, were repainted[109]. In the deposition scene (see above) of Jesus having been taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the unknown artist painted behind St John and Nicodemus a fourth man carrying a double-length shroud[110], intended to go over Jesus's head, body and down to his feet, exactly as the Shroud does[111].

1225 The last record of Othon in Athens is a papal bull of Pope Honorius III (r. 1216-1227) dated 12 February 1225[112]. In that year Othon transferred his titles to his son Guy I de la Roche (r. 1225–34)[113] and returned with his second wife Elisabeth de Chappes (1175-1236) and his two youngest children by his first wife, Isabelle de Ray (c. 1190-1212), to his castle at Ray-sur-Saone, Burgundy[114]. The

[Above (enlarge): A wooden chest preserved in Ray-sur-Saone chateau, which is claimed to be that in which Otho de Ray [Othon de la Roche's title by marriage to Isabelle de Ray (c. 1190-1212)] brought the Shroud from Constantinople[115]. A metal plate on the chest reads (translated):

"13th century coffer in which was preserved at Ray Castle the Shroud of Christ brought by Otho de Ray from Constantinople. 1206"[116]
However, the style of the carving is late 14th century, although the bottom of the chest may be original[117]. The inner dimensions of the chest in centimetres are ~37.5 long x 16.5 wide x 25 deep[118]. This would neatly fit the 437 x 111 cms Shroud[119], if it were folded twelve times long and eight times wide, i.e. 437/12 = 36.4 cms x 111/8 cms = 13.9 cms[120]. This twelve by eight folds is a simple and economical folding arrangement of the Shroud, and since Othon's family would be unlikely to know the true dimensions of the Shroud if they had never owned it, this ~37.5 cms long x 16.5 cms wide `floor plan' of the bottom of the Ray-sur-Saône chateau chest, which is claimed to have once held the Shroud, is strong evidence that Othon de la Roche sent the Shroud from Athens to his Ray-sur-Saône chateau in Burgundy, France in 1206! It cannot have been "brought by Otho de Ray from Constantinople [in] 1206" since, as we saw above, Othon was still in Athens until 1225.]

obvious explanation as to how the Shroud got to France from Athens is that Othon de la Roche took it with him when he returned home to Burgundy in 1225[121]. However there is no evidence that Othon kept the Shroud with him in Athens for over 20 years. Moreover it would be needlessly provoking the Byzantine Empire, which knew the Shroud was in Athens in 1205 [see above], to attack Athens. But if the Byzantine Empire knew in 1206 that the Shroud had been sent to France, there would be no point in attacking Athens. And this chest is evidence, albeit garbled, that the Shroud was in Othon's Ray-sur-Saone chateau in Burgundy by 1206. And as we saw in c. 1206 a plausible explanation which fits the facts is that Othon sent the Shroud in 1206, not to his father Pons I (who had died years before), but to his brother Pons II in Burgundy!

1238 The last Latin Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Baldwin II (r.1228-1273)[122], in order to raise money to build up an army to recover the Empire's lost territories[123], offered to sell relics in Constantinople's Pharos Chapel[124], including the crown of thorns[125], to King Louis IX of France (r.1226–70)[126]. The

[Above (enlarge): The Crown of Thorns[127], bought in 1238 by King Louis IX of France from Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople, and since 1801 kept in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris[128]. Today the Crown of Thorns is a circlet made of plaited rushes[129], but originally it had many thorns which were over time removed and distributed as relics[130]. The locations of many of these thorn relics are known and they have been identified as having come from the plant Ziziphus spina-Christi[131]. On the Shroud the bloodflows at the back of the head all end in a concave line (see below), indicating they were halted by a circular band which held the thorns in place, so it is possible (if not probable) that this circlet was actually part of Jesus' crown of thorns (Mt 27:29; Mk 15:17; Jn 19:2)!]

[Above (enlarge): Bloodstains around the back top of the head of the man on the Shroud (inverted), consistent with a cap of thorns[132] [see 08Sep13, 19Oct15 & 13Apr16]. Note how the bloodflows at the back of the head all end in a concave line, suggesting they were halted by a circular band which held the thorn branches in place.]

Crown of Thorns was actually in the hands of the Venetians as security for a loan of 13,134 gold pieces (solidi) to Baldwin in 1237, by a Venetian merchant[133]. Louis' bought The Crown of Thorns for 10,000 gold solidi and it reached Paris in August 1238[134]. In 1247 Louis made a final payment of 21,000 pounds of silver, in return for Baldwin conceding that the Crown truly belonged to the French king[135]. In 1248 the Sainte Chapelle, Paris, built by Louis to house the Crown of Thorns and the other relics, was completed and the relics placed in it[136].

c.1248 Henri I de Vergy (c.1205-1263) married Isabelle (Elizabeth) de la Roche de Ray (c.1235-1278)[137]. Isabelle de la Roche was a direct descendant (granddaughter) of Othon IV de la Roche (above)[138]. Henri I de Vergy was a direct ancestor (great-great-grandfather) of Jeanne de Vergy (c.1332-1428) (above)[139]. Therefore Jeanne de Vergy, whose husband Geoffrey I de Charny (c.1300-1356) was the first undisputed owner of the Shroud [see "1355"] was a direct descendant of Othon de la Roche[140], who brought the Shroud from Constantinople, via Athens, to France!

1260 Earliest radiocarbon date of the Shroud. As Ian Wilson has

[Above (enlarge): From left to right, Prof. E. Hall (Oxford), Dr M. Tite (British Museum) and Dr R. Hedges (Oxford) announcing on 13 October 1988 that the Shroud of Turin had been radiocarbon dated to "1260-1390!"[141].]

pointed out, "if the radiocarbon dating is to be believed, there should be no evidence of our Shroud ... [before] 1260":

"Looking back in time ... if the radiocarbon dating is to be believed, there should be no evidence of our Shroud [before 1260]. The year 1260 was the earliest possible date for the Shroud's existence by radiocarbon dating's calculations. Yet artistic likenesses of Jesus originating well before 1260 can be seen to have an often striking affinity with the face on the Shroud"[142]
As we have seen in previous centuries of this series, there are indeed, "artistic likenesses of Jesus originating well before 1260" which "can be seen to have an often striking affinity with the face on the Shroud." Moreover, there are many historical descriptions in past centuries which can only refer to the Shroud. As the archeologist William Meacham pointed out, it is routine for archeologists to reject as "rogue" radiocarbon dates which are inconsistent with the majority of the evidence:
"As an archaeologist, I had used C-14 dating many dozens of times on excavated samples, and found that it does generally but not always give accurate results. Most other archaeologists and geologists that I know have the same view; a few are more skeptical of its reliability ... Rogue results were normally discarded without any follow-up research, when it was abundantly clear that something was amiss ... Such rogue dates are common in archaeology and geology and they are usually not subjected to any further detailed study ... Such has been my experience as an archaeologist: I have excavated, submitted and interpreted around one hundred fifty C-14 samples from Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Historical sites. Of these dates obtained, about 110 were considered credible, 30 were rejected as unreliable and 10 were problematic. I mention this merely to inform the non-specialist that rogue dates are quite common in the general application of C-14 in archaeology. As fate would have it, I had dealt with more rogue samples than most other archaeologists, and furthermore had been involved with several C-14 labs in investigating why some of these samples yielded results which simply could not be correct in terms of their real calendar date"[143].
Moreover, the three laboratories which dated the Shroud, Arizona, Zurich and Oxford, must know this, because they were chosen among the original seven laboratories in part because they had the most experience in radiocarbon dating:
"Of the seven labs, Zurich, Arizona and Oxford-all using AMS-made the greatest number of carbon-14 measurements per year and they were the three labs Gonella finally selected to do the job"[144].
Indeed, Oxford radiocarbon dating laboratory's Prof. Christopher Ramsey, who was involved in the 1988 dating and was a signatory to the 1989 Nature paper has effectively admitted that the "1260-1390" radiocarbon date of the Shroud was a "rogue" date by his acknowledgement in 2008 that, "There is a lot of other evidence that ... the Shroud is older than the radiocarbon dates allow":
"There is a lot of other evidence that suggests to many that the Shroud is older than the radiocarbon dates allow and so further research is certainly needed"[145].
So what Prof. Ramsey should have done in 2008 or earlier, when he became aware that, "There is a lot of other evidence that ... the Shroud is older than the radiocarbon dates allow," and should do now, since the "further research" which was "certainly needed" has not happened is, together with the leaders of the other two laboratories and the British Museum, write a letter to Nature to be published, advising that the "mediaeval ... AD 1260-1390" [146] radiocarbon date of the Shroud stated in Nature of 16th February 1988, was a "rogue" date and should be disregarded and the paper be retracted. Failing to do that is a continuing form of scientific fraud, where the laboratories' avoidance of embarrassment takes precedence over scientific truth and honesty!

c. 1265 Christ Pantocrator icon 1260-1270[147] in the Serbian

[Above (enlarge): "Christ Pantocrator Hilandar-Mt Athos," Carmelite Monastery Quidenham, Norfolk, England, July 2015. ]

monastery of Chilandari (Hilandar) on Mount Athos[148]. By my count this mid-thirteenth century icon has 12 of the 15 Vignon markings found on the Shroud: (1) Transverse streak across forehead, (2) three-sided "square" between brows, (3) V shape at bridge of nose ... (5) raised right eyebrow ... (7) accentuated right cheek ... (9) accentuated line between nose and upper lip, (10) heavy line under lower lip, (11) hairless area between lower lip and beard, (12) forked beard, (13) transverse line across throat, (14) heavily accentuated owlish eyes, (15) two strands of hair"[149], albeit stylised.]

1291 The Fall of Acre resulted in the loss of the Crusader-controlled city of Acre to the Muslim Turks[150]. From 1189 [see "1189"] to 1291

[Above (enlarge): "The Siege of Acre," Dominique Papety (1815–1849), c. 1840[151].]

the Knights Templar operated from Acre, a port in what is now northern Israel[152]. Their fortress at Acre was the Templars' main treasury[153]. When Acre fell, the Templars moved their treasury to Cyprus, then in 1306 to Marseilles, and then to Paris in 1307[154] [See "1307"]. It had been Ian Wilson's theory that after the fall of Constantinople in 1204 [see "1204"] the Shroud was aquired by the Templars, kept at Acre and then taken via Cyprus and Marseilles to Paris in 1307[155]. However, see "1119" that Wilson no longer holds that theory. With the fall of Acre in 1291 the crusaders lost their last major stronghold of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem[156]. The fall of Acre in 1291 resulted in the expulsion of the Templars[157] and the crusaders from the Holy Land[158]. It also marked the end of the crusades to recapture Jerusalem[159] . But although the Crusades were failures in their primary objective to recover Jerusalem, indirectly they were the largest single influence in the progress of Europe in the Middle Ages[160]!

Continued in the next part #15 of this series.

Notes
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to quote from any part of this post (but not the whole post), provided it includes a reference citing my name, its subject heading, its date, and a hyperlink back to this page.[return]
2. "Reflecting back on this week of poems of the Passion," The Pocket Scroll blog, 19 April 2014. [return]
3. Scavone, D.C., 1989a, "The Shroud of Turin: Opposing Viewpoints," Greenhaven Press: San Diego CA, p.89; Scavone, D.C., "The History of the Turin Shroud to the 14th C.," in Berard, A., ed., 1991, "History, Science, Theology and the Shroud," Symposium Proceedings, St. Louis Missouri, June 22-23, 1991, The Man in the Shroud Committee of Amarillo, Texas: Amarillo TX, pp.171-204, 195; Wilson, I., 1991, "Holy Faces, Secret Places: The Quest for Jesus' True Likeness," Doubleday: London, p.154. [return]
4. Adams, F.O., 1982, "Sindon: A Layman's Guide to the Shroud of Turin," Synergy Books: Tempe AZ, p.27; Petrosillo, O. & Marinelli, E., 1996, "The Enigma of the Shroud: A Challenge to Science," Scerri, L.J., transl., Publishers Enterprises Group: Malta, p.179; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, p.123; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.7; Tribbe, F.C., 2006, "Portrait of Jesus: The Illustrated Story of the Shroud of Turin," Paragon House Publishers: St. Paul MN, Second edition, p.25. [return]
5. Adams, 1982, p.27; Antonacci, 2000, p.123; Guerrera, 2001, p.7. [return]
6. Barnes, A.S., 1934, "The Holy Shroud of Turin," Burns Oates & Washbourne: London, p.53; Currer-Briggs, N., 1988a, "The Shroud and the Grail: A Modern Quest for the True Grail," St. Martin's Press: New York NY, pp.62-63. [return]
7. Adams, 1982, p.27; Scavone, 1991, p.196; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.179; Antonacci, 2000, p.123; Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.40. [return]
8. Adams, 1982, p.27; Petrosillo & Marinelli, 1996, p.179; Antonacci, 2000, p.123; Guerrera, 2001, p.7; Tribbe, 2006, p.26; Oxley, 2010, p.40. [return]
9. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, pp.167-168, 257; Scavone, D.C., "The Shroud of Turin in Constantinople: The Documentary Evidence," in Sutton, R.F., Jr., 1989b, "Daidalikon: Studies in Memory of Raymond V Schoder," Bolchazy Carducci Publishers: Wauconda IL, pp.320-321; Scavone, 1991, p.196; Wilson, 1991, p.155; Wilson, I., 1998, "The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the World's Most Sacred Relic is Real," Simon & Schuster: New York NY, p.145; Guerrera, 2001, p.7; Tribbe, 2006, p.26; Oxley, 2010, p.40; Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.185; de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, p.176. [return]
10. Wilson, 1998, p.269; Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.109; Bennett, J., 2001, "Sacred Blood, Sacred Image: The Sudarium of Oviedo: New Evidence for the Authenticity of the Shroud of Turin," Ignatius Press: San Francisco CA, pp.145-147, 148; Wilson, 2010, p.50. [return]
11. Wilson, 1991, p.155; Wilson, 1998, p.145; de Wesselow, 2012, p.176. [return]
12. Wilson, 1991, p.155; Wilson, 1998, p.145; de Wesselow, 2012, pp.176-177, 181. [return]
14. Barnes, 1934, p.53; Antonacci, 2000, p.122; de Wesselow, 2012, p.176. [return]
15. Antonacci, 2000, p.122; de Wesselow, 2012, p.177. [return]
16. Damon, P.E., et al., 1989, "Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin," Nature, Vol. 337, 16 February, pp.611-615, 611. [return]
17. "Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
18. "Pope Innocent III," Wikipedia, 10 November 2017. [return]
19. Latourette, K.S., 1953, "A History of Christianity: Volume 1: to A.D. 1500," Harper & Row: New York NY, Reprinted, 1975, p.411; Walker, W., 1959, "A History of the Christian Church," [1918], T. & T. Clark: Edinburgh, Revised, Reprinted, 1963, p.223. [return]
20. Oxley, 2010, p.41. [return]
21. Oxley, 2010, p.41. [return]
22. Latourette, 1953, p.411; Walker, 1959, p.223; Oxley, 2010, p.41. [return]
23. Latourette, 1953, p.411; Walker, 1959, p.223; Oxley, 2010, p.42. [return]
24. Latourette, 1953, p.411; Walker, 1959, p.223; Oxley, 2010, p.42; Wilson, 1998, p.272. [return]
25. Latourette, 1953, p.411; Walker, 1959, p.223; Oxley, 2010, p.42; Wilson, 1998, p.272. [return]
26. Latourette, 1953, p.411; Walker, 1959, p.223; Wilson, 1998, p.272; Oxley, 2010, p.42; "Alexios IV Angelos: Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 2 October 2017. [return]
27. "Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
28. de Wesselow, 2012, p.174; "Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
29. Wilson, 1998, p.272; de Wesselow, 2012, p.174; "Alexios III Angelos," Wikipedia, 5 August 2017. [return]
30. "Alexios IV Angelos: Emperor," Wikipedia, 2 October 2017. [return]
31. "Alexios IV Angelos: Emperor," Wikipedia, 2 October 2017. [return]
32. "Alexios IV Angelos: Prince in exile," Wikipedia, 2 October 2017. [return]
33. "Alexios IV Angelos: Emperor," Wikipedia, 2 October 2017. [return]
34. Antonacci, 2000, p.122. [return]
35. "Fourth Crusade: Further attacks on Constantinople," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
36. Antonacci, 2000, p.122. [return]
37. Ibid. [return]
38. Ibid. [return]
39. Ibid. [return]
40. Ibid. [return]
41. "Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
42. "File:ConquestOfConstantinopleByTheCrusadersIn1204.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 10 June 2017. [return]
43. "Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
44. Ibid. [return]
45. "Sack of Constantinople (1204): Sack of Constantinople," Wikipedia, 26 October 2017. [return]
46. "Fourth Crusade: Sack of Constantinople," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017; Adams, 1982, p.27; Ruffin, C.B., 1999, "The Shroud of Turin: The Most Up-To-Date Analysis of All the Facts Regarding the Church's Controversial Relic," Our Sunday Visitor: Huntington IN, p.60. [return]
47. "Sack of Constantinople (1204): Sack of Constantinople," Wikipedia, 26 October 2017; Maher, R.W., 1986, "Science, History, and the Shroud of Turin," Vantage Press: New York NY, p.93; Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, p.126; Antonacci, 2000, p.122; Oxley, 2010, p.102. [return]
48. Adams, 1982, p.27; Antonacci, 2000, pp.122-123. [return]
49. Currer-Briggs, N., 1988b, "The Shroud in Greece," British Society for the Turin Shroud Monograph no. 1, pp.1-16, 4; Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.50; Scavone, 1991, p.198; Scavone, D.C., "The Turin Shroud from 1200 to 1400," in Cherf, W.J., ed., 1993, "Alpha to Omega: Studies in Honor of George John Szemler," Ares Publishers: Chicago IL, pp.187-225, 192; Iannone, 1998, pp.127-128; Guerrera, 2001, pp.9-10; Tribbe, 2006, p.194; Breault, R., 2009, "Is the Shroud of Turin Medieval? History Tells a Different Story," EzineArticles.com, 18 October; Scavone, 1989a, p.96. [return]
50. Guerrera, 2001, p.9; Tribbe, 2006, p.32; Wilson, 2010, p.300. [return]
51. Guerrera, 2001, p.9; Tribbe, 2006, p.32; Wilson, 2010, p.300. [return]
52. Tribbe, 2006, p.44; Oxley, 2010, p.106. [return]
53. Antonacci, 2000, p.146. [return]
54. Wilson, 1979, pp.120-121; Drews, R., 1984, "In Search of the Shroud of Turin: New Light on Its History and Origins," Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham MD, pp.36-37, 39-40; Wilson, I., 1986, "The Evidence of the Shroud," Guild Publishing: London, pp.112-113; Scavone, 1989a, p.82; Wilson, 1991, pp.141-142; Iannone, 1998, pp.104-105, 115; Wilson, 1998, pp.152-153; Ruffin, 1999, pp.55, 57; Antonacci, 2000, pp.132-133; Guerrera, 2001, pp.2-3; Oxley, 2010, pp.23-24; Wilson, 2010, pp.140-141; de Wesselow, 2012, pp.186-187. [return]
55. "Fourth Crusade: Outcome," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
56. "Duchy of Athens," Wikipedia, 4 October 2017. [return]
57. "Othon de la Roche," Wikipedia, 18 May 2017; Tribbe, 2006, p.32; Oxley, 2010, p.104. [return]
58. "Fourth Crusade," Wikipedia, 14 November 2017. [return]
59. Walker, 1959, p.224. [return]
60. Latourette, 1953, p.412. [return]
61. Walker, 1959, p.223. [return]
62. Latourette, 1953, p.412; Walker, 1959, p.223. [return]
63. Latourette, 1953, p.412; Walker, 1959, p.223. [return]
64. "Duchy of Athens: Establishment of the Duchy," Wikipedia, 4 October 2017; Tribbe, 2006, p.194. [return]
65. Barnes, 1934, pp.54-55. [return]
66. Tribbe, 2006, p.194. [return]
68. "File:Bonfils, Félix (1831-1885) - Athens - Propylaia 1868-1875.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 24 February 2017. [return]
69. Tribbe, 2006, p.194; Oxley, 2010, p.104. [return]
70. Currer-Briggs, 1988b, p.4; "Parthenon: Christian church," Wikipedia, 27 November 2017. [return]
71. Scavone, 1989a, p.96; Scavone, 1991, p.198; Guerrera, 2001, p.10. [return]
72. Scavone, 1989a, p.96; Piana, A., 2007, "The Shroud's `Missing Years'," British Society for the Turin Shroud Newsletter, No. 66, December, pp.9-25,28-31; Oxley, 2010, p.62. [return]
73. Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.148; Scavone, 1989b, p.326. [return]
74. Oxley, 2010, p.100. [return]
75. Barnes, 1934, p.55; Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.50; Currer-Briggs, 1988b, p.4; Scavone, 1989a, pp.97-98; Ruffin, 1999, p.62; Tribbe, 2006, p.194. [return]
76. Beecher, P.A., 1928, "The Holy Shroud: Reply to the Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J.," M.H. Gill & Son: Dublin, p.54; Currer-Briggs, 1988b, p.4; Scavone, 1989a, pp.97-98; Tribbe, 2006, p.194. [return]
77. Currer-Briggs, 1988b, p.4; Scavone, 1989a, pp.97-98. [return]
78. Scavone, 1989a, p.98. [return]
79. Scavone, 1989a, p.98. [return]
80. Online genealogies. Currer-Briggs, a professional genealogist, gave Pons I's death as "1193" (Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.38) yet in the same book at page 50 he states that Othon sent the Shroud back to Pons I! [return]
81. Oxley, 2010, p.302; Piana, A., 2010, "`Missing years' of the Holy Shroud," Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Scientific approach to the Acheiropoietos Images, ENEA Frascati, Italy, 4-6 May 2010. [return]
82. Online genealogies. [return]
83. "Nikolaos of Otranto," Wikipedia, 25 June 2017; Oxley, 2010, p.101. [return]
84. Scavone, 1989a, p.96; Oxley, 2010, p.101. [return]
85. Oxley, 2010, pp.101-102. [return]
86. Abbott-Smith, G., 1937, "A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament," [1921], T. & T. Clark: Edinburgh, Third edition, Reprinted, 1956, p.412; Bauer, W., Arndt, W.F., Gingrich, F.W. & Danker, F.W., 1979, "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature," University of Chicago Press: Chicago IL, Second edition, pp.760-761; Zodhiates, S., 1992, "The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament," AMG Publishers: Chattanooga TN, Third printing, 1994, p.1302. [return]
87. Barnes, 1934, p.51. [return]
88. Scavone, 1989b, p.325. [return]
89. Oxley, 2010, p.102. [return]
90. Scavone, 1989a, pp.96-97; Scavone, 1989b, p.325; Scavone, 1991, p.198; Ruffin, 1999, p.62; Guerrera, 2001, p.10; Piana, 2007; Oxley, 2010, p.102. [return]
91. Wilson, 1998, p.139. [return]
92. "Gervase of Tilbury," Wikipedia, 14 July 2017. [return]
93. "Otia Imperialia," Wikipedia, 18 June 2017. [return]
94. Green, M., 1969, "Enshrouded in Silence: In search of the First Millennium of the Holy Shroud," Ampleforth Journal, Vol. 74, No. 3, Autumn, pp.319-345; Wilcox, R.K., 1977, "Shroud," Macmillan: New York NY, p.95; Wilson, 1979, p.159; Drews, 1984, p.48; Wilson, 1991, p.153; Wilson, 1998, pp.139, 144, 255n20; Guscin, M., 2009, "The Image of Edessa," Brill: Leiden, Netherlands & Boston MA, pp.206-207. [return]
95. Scavone, 1991, p.195. [return]
96. Wilson, 1979, p.159; Wilson, 1998, p.144. [return]
97. Scavone, 1989a, p.89. [return]
98. Dembowski, P.F., 1982, "Sindon in the Old French Chronicle of Robert de Clari," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 2, March, pp.13-18, 13. [return]
99. Dembowski, 1982, p.14; Scavone, 1991, p.196; Wilson, 1991, p.156; Wilson, 1998, p.124; Antonacci, 2000, pp.122-123; Tribbe, 2006, p.30; de Wesselow, 2012, p.175. [return]
100. Dembowski, 1982, p.15; Wilson, 1998, p.124; Tribbe, 2006, p.30; de Wesselow, 2012, pp.175, 176. [return]
101. Wilson, 1998, p.124; de Wesselow, 2012, p.175. [return]
102. Dembowski, 1982, pp.16-17; Iannone, 1998, p.127; Tribbe, 2006, p.30; de Wesselow, 2012, p.175. [return]
103. Wilson, 1998, pp.124-125. [return]
104. Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, p.112. [return]
105. Oxley, 2010, p.102; Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.172; Adams, 1982, p.27; Dembowski, 1982, p15; Wilson, 1986, p.104; Scavone, 1989a, p.92; Scavone, 1991, p.196; Wilson, 1991, p.158; Iannone, 1998, p.126; Wilson, 1998, pp.125, 272; Ruffin, 1999, p.60; Antonacci, 2000, p.123; Guerrera, 2001, p.8; Tribbe, 2006, p.30; de Wesselow, 2012, p.175. [return]
106. Barnes, 1934, p.54; Tribbe, 2006, p.37. [return]
107. Stevenson, K.E. & Habermas, G.R., 1981, "Verdict on the Shroud: Evidence for the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ," Servant Books: Ann Arbor MI, p.17. [return]
108. Wilson, 1979, p.160; Wilson, 1991, p.152; Wilson, I., 1994, "News From Home and Abroad," BSTS Newsletter, No. 38, August/September, p.5; "Medieval wall paintings," Winchester Cathedral, n.d. [return]
109. Wilson, 1998, p.139. [return]
110. Wilson, 1979, p.160; Wilson, 1991, p.152. [return]
111. Wilson, 1979, p.160; Wilson, 1998, p.139. [return]
112. Piana, 2007. [return]
113. Piana, 2007. [return]
114. Oxley, 2010, p.104. [return]
115. Piana, 2010. [return]
116. Oxley, 2010, pp.105-106. [return]
117. Piana, 2010a. [return]
118. Ibid. [return]
119. Wilson, I., 2000, "‘The Turin Shroud – past, present and future’, Turin, 2-5 March, 2000 – probably the best-ever Shroud Symposium," British Society for the Turin Shroud Newsletter, No. 51, June. [return]
120. Piana, 2010a. [return]
121. Oxley, 2010, p.104. [return]
122. "Baldwin II, Latin Emperor," Wikipedia, 28 May 2017. [return]
123. "Baldwin II, Latin Emperor: Biography," Wikipedia, 28 May 2017. [return]
124. Oxley, 2010, p.102. [return]
125. "Crown of thorns: France," Wikipedia, 22 November 2017. [return]
126. Wilson, 1998, p.274. [return]
127. "File:Couronne d'epines - Crown of Thorns Notre Dame Paris.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 23 October 2015. [return]
128. "Crown of thorns: France," Wikipedia, 22 November 2017. [return]
129. Barbet, P., 1953, "A Doctor at Calvary," Earl of Wicklow, transl., Image Books: Garden City NY, Reprinted, 1963, p.94. [return]
130. Cruz, 1984, p.34. [return]
131. Cruz, 1984, p.35. [return]
132. Extract from Latendresse, M., 2010, "Shroud Scope: Durante 2002 Vertical," Sindonology.org. [return]
133. Cruz, J.C., 1984, "Relics: The Shroud of Turin, the True Cross, the Blood of Januarius ..: History, Mysticism, and the Catholic Church," Our Sunday Visitor: Huntington IN, p.35; "Baldwin II, Latin Emperor: Biography," Wikipedia, 28 May 2017. [return]
134. Currer-Briggs, N., 1995, "Shroud Mafia: The Creation of a Relic?," Book Guild: Sussex UK, p.6. [return]
135. Currer-Briggs, 1995, pp.6-7. [return]
136. "Sainte-Chapelle," Wikipedia, 29 November 2017. [return]
137. Oxley, 2010, p.105; Wilson, 2010, p.213; Jones, S.E., 2015, "de Charny Family Tree," Ancestry.com.au (members only). [return]
138. Oxley, 2010, p.105; Wilson, 2010, p.213; Jones, 2015, "de Charny Family Tree," Ancestry.com.au. [return]
139. Wilson, 2010, p.213; Jones, 2015, "de Charny Family Tree," Ancestry.com.au. [return]
140. Piana, 2007; Oxley, 2010, p.105; Wilson, 2010, p.213; Jones, 2015, "de Charny Family Tree," Ancestry.com.au. [return]
141. Wilson, 1998, pp.6-7 & pl.3b. [return]
142. Wilson, 1998, p.141. [return]
143. Meacham, W., 2005, "The Rape of the Turin Shroud: How Christianity's Most Precious Relic was Wrongly Condemned and Violated," Lulu Press: Morrisville NC, pp.53-54. [return]
144. Gove, H.E., 1996, "Relic, Icon or Hoax?: Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud," Institute of Physics Publishing: Bristol & Philadelphia, p.157. [return]
145. Ramsey, C.B., 2008, "Shroud of Turin," Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, 23 March, Version 152, Issued 16 June 2015. [return]
146. Damon, 1989, p.611. [return]
147. "Jesus Christ Pantocrator 1260-1270," Pinterest, n.d. [return]
148. Antonacci, 2000, p.127; Tribbe, 2006, p.80. [return]
149. Wilson, I., 1978, "The Turin Shroud," Book Club Associates: London, p.82e. [return]
150. "Siege of Acre (1291)," Wikipedia, 7 December 2017. [return]
151. "File:SiegeOfAcre1291.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 13 June 2017. [return]
152. Antonacci, 2000, p.147. [return]
153. Brent, P. & Rolfe, D., 1978, "The Silent Witness: The Mysteries of the Turin Shroud Revealed," Futura Publications: London, p.66; Antonacci, 2000, p.147. [return]
154. Wilson, 1979, pp.189, 258; Morgan, R., 1980, "Perpetual Miracle: Secrets of the Holy Shroud of Turin by an Eye Witness," Runciman Press: Manly NSW, Australia, p.39; Antonacci, 2000, p.147; Tribbe, 2006, p.33. [return]
155. Wilson, 1978, Map inside front cover; Wilson, 1979, pp.189, 259. [return]
156. "Siege of Acre (1291)," Wikipedia, 7 December 2017. [return]
157. Currer-Briggs, 1988b, p.6. [return]
158.Wilson, 1998, p.208. [return]
159. Latourette, 1953, p.412; "Siege of Acre (1291)," Wikipedia, 7 December 2017. [return]
160. Walker, 1959, p.224. [return]

Posted 11 November 2017. Updated 30 Ocober 2022.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

No image under blood #25: The man on the Shroud: The evidence is overwhelming that the Turin Shroud is Jesus' burial sheet!

NO IMAGE UNDER BLOOD #25

Copyright © Stephen E. Jones[1]

This is part #25, "The man on the Shroud: No image under blood," of my series, "The evidence is overwhelming that the Turin Shroud is Jesus' burial sheet!" For more information about this series, see the "Main index #1" and "The man on the Shroud #8." Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated.

[Main index #1] [Previous: Blood clots intact #24] [Next: Other marks and images on the Shroud #26]


  1. The man on the Shroud #8
    1. No image under blood #25

Introduction There is no image under the bloodstains on the Shroud[2]. Therefore the blood was on the cloth before the image[3].

[Right (enlarge): The Shroud, showing major bloodstains outlined in red[4]. Most (if not all) of these are comprised of many minor bloodstains, which would have had to be individually depicted by an artist/forger if the Shroud was a forgery. And note that these are only the major bloodstains. There are hundreds of minor bloodstains, especially when it is realised that each of the over 100 scourge marks[5] includes a tiny bloodstain[6]. Since the blood was on the Shroud before the image, if the Shroud was a forgery, the artist/forger would have had to apply the blood first and then depict the image around the blood[7]! That this is not how an artist/forger would have worked[8], and is in practice impossible[9], is evidenced by the fact that every claimed replication of the Shroud adds the blood after the image (see below "Problem for the forgery theory")!

There is no image under the bloodstains There are no yellowed image fibres under blood stained fibres on the Shroud[10]. When bloodstained linen fibrils from body image areas were treated with proteases, enzymes which digest blood, after the blood had been dissolved by the proteases, the underlying fibrils were white like those from non-image areas[11]. This meant that blood on the linen had protected it from the image-forming process[12]. See 11Mar24 for the first discovery, and independent confirmation, of this, without realising it, by the 1973 Turin Commission!

The blood was on the cloth before the image That there was no underlying image on fibrils from bloodstained image areas means that the blood was on the cloth before the image[13]. The blood came first, then the image[14].

Problem for the forgery theory (see previous three: #22, #23 and #24). That there is no image under the blood means that the order of events was blood first followed by the image[15]. This is the correct sequence if the Shroud is authentic[16] but effectively impossible for an artist[17]. The artist/forger would have had to paint the wound areas with real human blood [see #23] with no image under the blood areas to guide him[18]. All attempts to replicate the Shroud add blood after the image was already created[19].

For example Joe Nickell (1987) arguing for his brass rubbing method of Shroud image formation[20], requires that the brass bas relief would be sculpted first, the image produced next and after that the bloodstains would be added (his question marks are only about how long it would take):

"A couple of days to sculpt the relief? Two more to produce the image and add the `flagellation marks' and the picturelike `blood' stains? Or perhaps it would take longer"[21].
Picknett and Prince (1994), after they had produced their "final image" then "add[ed] the `bloodflows'":
"Was there anything else that would be revealed when the final image appeared? ... When the image was 'developed' by the washing and heating, it left us ... with a perfectly graded, if faint, scorched image, visible on one side of the cloth only ... Then we turned our attention to adding the `bloodflows': because of their anatomical accuracy on the Shroud it has always been thought they would be difficult to fake. In fact, they were surprisingly easy. The trick is to make them backwards. Place a drop of 'blood' on the cloth (we used theatrical blood), then use a cocktail stick to trace out a thin line to the point where the 'wound' welled up"[22].
Prof. Nicholas Allen (1998), in support of his Medieval Photography theory [see 07Aug16, 01Sep16 & 05Sep16], after having produced his `medieval photograph' [but see here where I allege that it wasn't by medieval technology!], Allen then claimed the "medieval `photographers' paint[ed] on the stigmata with real blood":
"On the positive image of the Shroud of Port Elizabeth, it is possible to make out the finest detail of the original subject, details which are not visible in its negative state ... Having achieved a similar result, our medieval 'photographers' only had to paint on the stigmata with real blood ..."[23]
Earlier (1995) Allen had falsely claimed that "the denatured haemoglobin [i.e. blood] ... on the Shroud ... was applied by brush or stylus after the image was produced":
"Only a photographic technique could produce an image like the one which appears on the Shroud of Turin today. It is no use pointing aimlessly to the denatured haemoglobin which is found on the Shroud, since this was applied by brush or stylus after the image was produced"[24].
Prof. Luigi Garlaschelli (2009), first produced his `shroud' and "then added blood stains ... to achieve the final effect":
"An Italian scientist says he has reproduced the Shroud of Turin, a feat that he says proves definitively that the linen some Christians revere as Jesus Christ's burial cloth is a medieval fake ... `We have shown that is possible to reproduce something which has the same characteristics as the Shroud,' Luigi Garlaschelli ... said. A professor of organic chemistry at the University of Pavia, Garlaschelli ... reproduced the full-sized shroud using materials and techniques that were available in the middle ages. They placed a linen sheet flat over a volunteer and then rubbed it with a pigment containing traces of acid. A mask was used for the face ... The pigment was then artificially aged by heating the cloth in an oven and washing it, a process which removed it from the surface but left a fuzzy, half-tone image similar to that on the Shroud ... They then added blood stains, burn holes, scorches and water stains to achieve the final effect"[25]
See my my 08Oct09 and Prof. John Jackson's refutation of Garlaschelli on that point.

That "there is no image under the blood meaning that the order of events is blood first followed by image" alone invalidates all claimed `replications' of the Shroud which all add the blood after the image[26]!

Further evidence of Jesus' resurrection That the blood was on the Shroud before the image is consistent with the Gospels that Jesus' blood first stained His shroud when He was taken down dead from His cross on a Friday evening and His body was wrapped "in a linen shroud" (Mt 27:57-60; Mk 15:46; Lk 23:50-54). And it is further consistent withe the Gospels that the image was later imprinted, as a "snapshot," on Jesus' already bloodstained shroud at His resurrection:

"Even from the limited available information, a hypothetical glimpse of the power operating at the moment of creation of the Shroud's image may be ventured. In the darkness of the Jerusalem tomb the dead body of Jesus lay, unwashed, covered in blood, on a stone slab. Suddenly, there is a burst of mysterious power from it. In that instant ... its image ... becomes indelibly fused onto the cloth, preserving for posterity a literal `snapshot' of the Resurrection"[27]!
early on the ensuing Sunday morning (Mt 28:1-6; Mk 16:2-6; Lk 24:1-7; Jn 20:1-9). Moreover, as those Shroud sceptics have unwittingly demonstrated in their `replications' of the Shroud, by all producing their image first, and then adding the blood, that the blood on the Shroud having been first, and after that the image, is only consistent with that order having been uniquely the result of Jesus' resurrection!

We have already seen in this series the following evidence for the image and blood of the man on the Shroud being the result of Jesus' resurrection: image has no style #16; image is non-directional #17; image is extremely superficial #18; image is a photographic negative #19; image is three-dimensional #20; the body shows no signs of decomposition #21; bones and teeth are x-rays #22; blood clots are intact #24. So together this is proof beyond reasonable doubt that the Man on the Shroud is Jesus and the image is of His resurrected body!

It is an assumption of modern-day secular man (including many who profess to be Christians) that continuing scepticism of Christianity, despite the overwhelming evidence for it being true, is not only acceptable, but even commendable. For example Dan Porter wrote in his final post on his blog:

"Skepticism is the healthiest of attitudes with all things having to do with religion. I believed that. For instance, a Christian should never fear new discoveries in science and history. There can be no better test of the strength and truth of one’s faith than to face the questions posed by new views of reality"[28]
I agree that a Christian should never fear new discoveries (and I for one don't), but it does not follow that a perpetual scepticism of the Shroud's authenticity, and of Christianity itself, is the answer. And what's more, Jesus warned against it! When the Apostle Thomas was told by his fellow apostles that they had seen the risen Jesus who had appeared to them in locked room when Thomas was absent, Thomas said he would not believe that Jesus had been raised:
"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side" (Jn 20:19-26).
A week later Jesus appeared again in the same locked room, but this time Thomas was present. Jesus, knowing what Thomas had said, invited him to put a finger in the nail wounds in His hands and place his hands in the spear wound in Jesus' side (Jn 20:26-27). After which Jesus commanded Thomas:
"Do not disbelieve, but believe"(Jn 20:27)!
So Jesus had tolerated Thomas' scepticism up to the point where He had given Thomas sufficient evidence to believe in His resurrection. Thereafter Jesus commanded Thomas to cease his scepticism and start believing that Jesus had in fact risen from the dead. The same applies to modern day `doubting Thomases'. If you have read this far, then Jesus, who is God in human flesh (Mt 1:23; Jn 1:1,14; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rom 9:5; Php 2:5-6; Col 2:9; Tit 2:13; Heb 1:8; 2Pet 1:1; 1Jn 5:20) has given you sufficient evidence for you to cease your scepticism and start believing in Him, and say to Jesus, as Thomas did, "My Lord and my God" (Jn 20:28)!

[Above (enlarge)[29]: Image of Jesus' face imprinted on the Shroud at the moment of His resurrection!

"`Were those the lips that spoke the Sermon on the Mount and the Parable of the Rich Fool?'; `Is this the Face that is to be my judge on the Last Day?'"[30]. Yes it is!!]
Continued in the next part #26 of this series.

Notes
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to quote from any part of this post (but not the whole post), provided it includes a reference citing my name, its subject heading, its date and a hyperlink back to this post. [return]
2. Heller, J.H., 1983, "Report on the Shroud of Turin," Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston MA, p.203; Minor, M., 1990, "Shroud of Turin Manuscript Discovered By Texas Member," The Manuscript Society News, Vol. XI, No. 4, Fall, pp.117-122, 122 Whanger, A.D., 1998, "Radiation in the Formation of the Shroud Image - The Evidence," in Minor, M., Adler, A.D. & Piczek, I., eds., 2002, "The Shroud of Turin: Unraveling the Mystery: Proceedings of the 1998 Dallas Symposium," Alexander Books: Alexander NC, pp.184-189, 189; Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, p.66; Adler, A.D., 1999, "The Nature of the Body Images on the Shroud of Turin," in Adler, A.D. & Crispino, D., ed., "The Orphaned Manuscript: A Gathering of Publications on the Shroud of Turin," Effatà Editrice: Cantalupa, Italy, 2002, pp.103-112, pp.106-107; Adler, A.D., 2000a, "The Shroud Fabric and the Body Image: Chemical and Physical Characteristics," in Adler & Crispino, 2002, pp.113-127, 121; Adler, A.D., 2000c, "Chemical and Physical Aspects of the Sindonic Images," in Adler & Crispino, 2002, pp.10-27, 22; Lavoie, G.R., 2000, "Resurrected: Tangible Evidence That Jesus Rose from the Dead," [1998], Thomas More: Allen TX, p.62; Whiting, B., 2006, "The Shroud Story," Harbour Publishing: Strathfield NSW, Australia, p.123; Breault, 2009, "Is the Shroud of Turin a Fake?," EzineArticles.com, October 11; Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.239. [return]
3. Heller, 1983, p.203; Minor, 1990, p.122; Adler, 1999, pp.106-107; Iannone, 1998, p.66; Adler, 2000a, p.121; Adler, 2000c, p.22; Lavoie, 2000, p.62; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.71; Whiting, 2006, p.123; Breault, 2009; Oxley, 2010, p.239. [return]
4. Extract from Latendresse, M., 2010, "Shroud Scope: Durante 2002: Horizontal (rotated right 90 °): Major bloodstains overlay," Sindonology.org. [return]
5. Minor, 1990, p.122. [return]
6. Minor, 1990, p.122. [return]
7. Guerrera, 2001, p.71. [return]
8. Heller, 1983, p.203; Iannone, 1998, p.66. [return]
9. Breault, 2009. [return]
10. Guerrera, 2001, p.71. [return]
11. Heller, 1983, p.203; Adler, 1999, pp.106-107; Adler, 2000c, p.22; Oxley, 2010, p.239; Whiting, 2006, p.123. [return]
12. Heller, 1983, p.203; Minor, 1990, p.122; Iannone, 1998, p.66; Adler, 1999, p.107; Adler, 2000a, p.121; Adler, 2000c; Lavoie, 2000, p.62, p.22; Whiting, 2006, p.123; Oxley, 2010, p.239. [return]
13. Heller, 1983, p.203; Minor, 1990, p.122; Adler, 1999, pp.106-107; Iannone, 1998, p.66; Adler, 2000a, p.121; Adler, 2000c, p.22; Lavoie, 2000, p.62; Guerrera, 2001, p.71; Whiting, 2006, p.123; Breault, 2009; Oxley, 2010, p.239. [return]
14. Lavoie, 2000, p.62; Breault, 2009; Oxley, 2010, p.239. [return]
15. Breault, 2009. [return]
16. Ibid. [return]
17. Ibid. [return]
18. Minor, 1990, p.122. [return]
19. Breault, 2009. [return]
20. Nickell, J., 1987, "Inquest on the Shroud of Turin," [1983], Prometheus Books: Buffalo NY, Revised, Reprinted, 2000, pp.101-106. [return]
21. Nickell, 1987, p.106. [return]
22. Picknett, L. & Prince, C., 1994, "Turin Shroud: In Whose Image?: The Truth Behind the Centuries-Long Conspiracy of Silence," HarperCollins: New York NY, pp.169-170; Picknett, L. & Prince, C., 2006, "The Turin Shroud: How Da Vinci Fooled History," [1994], Touchstone: New York NY, Second edition, Reprinted, 2007, pp.202, 204. [return]
23. Allen, N.P.L.,1998, "The Turin Shroud and the Crystal Lens: Testament to a Lost Technology," Empowerment Technologies: Port Elizabeth, South Africa, pp.109-110. [return]
24. Allen, N., 1995, "Letter from Dr Nicholas Allen," Shroud News, No. 92, October, pp.20-23, 22. [return]
25. Pullella, P., 2009, "Italian scientist reproduces Shroud of Turin," Reuters, October 5. [return]
26. Breault, 2009. [return]
27. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.251; Wilson, I., 1998, "The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence that the World's Most Sacred Relic is Real," Simon & Schuster: New York NY, p.234. [return]
28. Porter, D., 2015, "Thank You, Everyone," Shroud of Turin Blog, December 15. [return]
29. "Shroud University - Exploring the Mystery Since 33 A.D.," Shroud of Turin Education Project, Inc., Peachtree City, GA. [return]
30. Wilson, I., 1991, "Holy Faces, Secret Places: The Quest for Jesus' True Likeness," Doubleday: London, p.189. [return]

Posted 5 November 2017. Updated 26 March 2024.

Saturday, November 4, 2017

"Editorial and Contents," Shroud of Turin News, October 2017

Shroud of Turin News - October 2017
© Stephen E. Jones
[1]

[Previous: September 2017, part #1] [Next: November 2017, part #1]

This is the "Editorial and Contents," part #1, of the October 2017 issue of my Shroud of Turin News. I have listed linked news article(s) about the Shroud in October as a service to readers, without necessarily endorsing them. If I do comment on an article it will be in a separate Shroud of Turin News post and I will add after the link, "- see "ddmmmyy, part #n."

Contents:
Editorial
"Gary Vikan will lead a talk "Two Museum Thefts that Made Headlines in Baltimore, Herald-Mail Media, Crystal Schelle, October 8, 2017. [Anti-authenticist art historian Gary Vikan mentions his upcoming book on the Shroud. But what he says in this article about the book:

"The shroud appears in history in the 1350s for the first time, and that's about the time it was made,"
falsifies his book! See my "Chronology of the Turin Shroud: Twelfth century," for starters.]

Editorial
Rex Morgan's Shroud News: My scanning and word-processing of the 118 issues of Rex Morgan's Shroud News, provided by Ian Wilson, and emailing them to Barrie Schwortz, for him to convert to PDFs and add to his online Shroud News archive, continued in October up to issue #87, February 1995. [Right (enlarge)], i.e ~74% completed. Issues in that archive are up to #84, August 1994.

Posts: In October I blogged only 3 new posts (latest uppermost): "Vignon markings: Shroud's 1260-1390 radiocarbon date is against the preponderance of the evidence (2): Steps in the development of my radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud hacker theory #10," - 29th; "10 October 1987: On this day 30 years ago in the radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud," - 22nd; and "Editorial and Contents," Shroud of Turin News, September 2017" - 21st. Note that I only started my first October post on the 21st, due to an `overhang' from September.

Updates In October there were no significant updates in the background of past posts. Except that, having been through all my posts from 2007 to 2016, saving linked photos in case they become no longer online and replacing those which had gone offline, in October I started going through my posts from 2017 forwards.

Comments: In October I deleted as substandard another comment which I considered inane. In October I received an email that asked:

"My question is always and may never get answered. Who took the Shroud from the tomb?"
I replied:
"My answer is that Jesus took His Shroud out of the tomb and later gave it to `the servant of the priest' who was the Apostle John. See my series, "Servant of the priest".

My radiocarbon dating hacker theory: I blogged two posts about my hacker theory in October: "10 October 1987: On this day 30 years ago in the radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud" and "Vignon markings: Shroud's 1260-1390 radiocarbon date is against the preponderance of the evidence (2)."

My book: In October I continued to make slow progress in writing a dot-point outline of my book, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus!" on my smartphone (see 06Jul17). I am still working on Chapter "6. History and the Shroud: AD 30 to 944," going through the Resurrection accounts (Mt 28:1-15; Mk 16:1-8; Lk 24:1-12 & Jn 20:1-18), but I hope to finish those early in November.

News: ANTI-authenticist Hugh Farey no longer is Editor of the British Society FOR the Turin Shroud Newsletter! Barrie

[Left (enlarge): Hugh Farey[2].]

Schwortz's October Fall Update, under "BSTS Newsletter June 2017 Issue No. 85 Now Online," contained the good news that:

"BSTS Newsletter June 2017 Issue No. 85 Now Online ... This issue also marks the last issue from current Editor Hugh Farey, who is retiring from the position he has held since December 2013 and handing it over to long time BSTS member, David Rolfe. David is best known in Shroud circles for his films on the Shroud which include The Silent Witness, the BAFTA-winning production from 1978 which introduced so many to the subject for the first time."
As far as I am aware, Farey never did, as Editor of the BSTS Newsletter, author an article in it, or anywhere, in support of his ABSURD, "accidental 14th century origin" of the Shroud theory:
"Unlike my predecessors, whom I think are more or less committed to a pro-authenticity point of view, I myself currently incline more towards an accidental 14th century origin for the cloth now preserved in Turin." ("Editorial - by Hugh Farey," BSTS Newsletter, No. 78, December 2013. My emphasis).
If this is so, it shows that: 1) Farey does not really believe his own "accidental 14th century origin" theory, and 2) he does not believe any other Shroud anti-authenticist theory either!

Farey could not resist firing a parting shot at pro-authenticists, patronising us all as dwellers in "the sunlit uplands of the conventional acceptance of authenticity":

"Since I first took on the job, I was keen to make this publication a window onto all aspects of current Shroud research, and not simply the sunlit uplands of the conventional acceptance of authenticity" ("Editorial - by Hugh Farey," BSTS Newsletter, No. 85, June 2017. My emphasis).

Pageviews: At midnight on 31 October 2017, Google Analytics [Below (enlarge)] gave this blog's "Pageviews all time history" as 813,706. This compares with 609,349 (up 204,357 or ~33.5%) from the same time in October 2016. It also gave the most viewed posts for the month (highest uppermost) as: "Chronology of the Turin Shroud: Twelfth century," Sep 23, 2017, 195; "The Shroud of Turin: 3.6. The man on the Shroud and Jesus were crucified.," Dec 2, 2013 - 154; "29 June 1987: On this day 30 years ago in the radiocarbon dating of the Turin Shroud," Sep 13, 2017 - 128; "Blood clots intact #24: The man on the Shroud: The evidence is overwhelming that the Turin Shroud is authentic!," Sep 4, 2017 - 99


Notes:
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to extract or quote from any part of it (but not the whole post), provided the extract or quote includes a reference citing my name, its title, its date, and a hyperlink back to this page. [return]
2. Extract from, "Hugh Farey Is The Shroud of Turin a Forgery?" YouTube, August 24, 2015. [return]

Posted: 4 November 2017. Updated: 23 February 2021.