NAMES OF THE SHROUD
© Stephen E. Jones[1]
This is "Names of the Shroud," part #9 of my online book, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus!" For more information see the Cover #1, Contents #2 and Preface #3, of this series.
[Contents #2] [Previous: What is the Shroud of Turin? #8] [Next: A linen cloth #10]
- What is the Shroud of Turin? #8
- Names of the Shroud #9
Shroud of Turin The name "Shroud of Turin" (Sindone di Torino) in
[Right (enlarge): A poster advertising the exposition of the Shroud from 4-24 May, 1931[2]. As can be seen, the Shroud's preferred name in 1931 was a variant of La Santa Sindone, "The Holy Shroud."]
Italian, can only have been used of the Shroud since 1578, when it was moved from Chambéry, France by Duke Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy (r. 1553–80) to his new capital, Turin, Italy[3].
But it seems likely that the name "Shroud of Turin" is comparatively recent. The earliest use of "Shroud of Turin" that I am aware of is in a 1902 book by Paul Vignon (1865-1943), who referred to the Shroud as "the Holy Shroud of Turin"[4].
Holy Shroud In Italy the Shroud is more commonly known as "la Santa Sindone"[5] and in France, "le Saint Suaire"[6], both meaning in English "the Holy Shroud". In French both "suaire" and "linceul" mean "shroud"[7] with the latter denoting a funerary sense[8]. So both are used of the Shroud, for example Vignon's 1902 book, "Le linceul du Christ"[9] and Yves Delage's 1902 paper, "Le Linceul de Turin," Revue Scientifique 22:683-87[10].
Sudarium In Latin and the Romance languages Spanish and Portuguese, the Shroud is known as the "Sudarium"[11]. This probably originated as an attempt to harmonize the soudarion ("facecloth")[12] in John 11:44 and 20:7 with the sindon ("shroud")[13] in Matthew 27:59; Mark 15:46 and Luke 23:53[14]. This is confusing, because as we shall see, "the face cloth [soudarion] that had been on Jesus' head" (John 20:7), exists today as the "Sudarium of Oviedo"[15]! In the seventh century, Bishop Braulio (590-651) of Zaragoza, Spain) wrote in Latin of the preservation of the burial linteamina (linens) and sudarium of the Lord[16]. In the original Braulio stated that, "the body of the Lord was wrapped" in this "sudarium," so by it he was referring to the Shroud[17].
Shroud of Christ This is the earliest known name of the Shroud. The twelfth century historian William of Tyre (c. 1130–86), who was Archbishop of Tyre from 1127 to 1135, referred in his Latin chronicle Historia to the "shroud of Christ"[18].
At Ray-sur-Saone in Burgundy there is a chateau which is owned by 
[Above (enlarge): A wooden chest preserved in Ray-sur-Saone chateau, which is claimed to be that in which Otho de Ray brought the Shroud from Constantinople[19]. Othon had acquired the title of Baron of Ray from his marriage to Isabelle de Ray (c. 1190-1212))[20]. A metal plate on the chest translated reads :
"13th century coffer in which was preserved at Ray Castle the Shroud of Christ brought by Otho de Ray from Constantinople. 1206"[21].]a descendant of Othon de la Roche (c.1170-1234)[22], who as we shall see, was a leader in the Fourth Crusade which sacked Constantinople in 1204, and took the Shroud with him to Athens[23]. In the museum at the castle there is a chest which, according to family tradition, was used to transport the Shroud from Athens to France[24]. As can be seen above, the label on the chest states that it is a "13th century coffer in which was preserved ... the Shroud of Christ ..."[25].
In a 1389 memorandum to the Avignon Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-34), the Bishop of Troyes, Pierre d'Arcis (r. 1377-1395), complained that what was claimed to be the "Shroud of Christ" was being exhibited without his permission by Geoffroy II de Charny (1352–98) in the village of Lirey within his Troyes diocese[26]. Moreover, according to d'Arcis, "thirty-four years or thereabouts" previously, i.e. in c. 1355, the same claimed "Shroud of Christ" had been exhibited in Lirey[27], when it would have been by Geoffroy II's father Geoffroy I de Charny (c.1300–56)[28].
In 1670 the Congregation of Indulgences in Rome, presumably at the direction of Pope Clement X (1670-76), granted a plenary indulgence to pilgrims to Shroud in Turin, albeit "not for venerating the cloth as the true Shroud of Christ, but rather for meditating on his Passion, especially his death and burial"[29].
As we have already seen, Paul Vignon chose "Le linceul du Christ" ("the Shroud of Christ") as the title of his 1902 book, which was "the founding text of sindonology"[30]. This was no accident. Twice on the first page of his book's Introduction, Vignon referred to the Cloth as "the Shroud of Christ"[31]. Clearly to Vignon (and to me), "The Shroud of Turin" merely denotes the Shroud's current location. "The Shroud of Christ" is the Shroud's name!
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. "Poster exhibition litografia Turin Shroud Exposition 1931 100 Cm X 70cm Sindone Holy Shroud," Todocoleccion.net, 14 February 2005. [return]
3. Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, pp.260-261. [return]
4. Vignon, P., 1902, "The Shroud of Christ," University Books: New York NY, Reprinted 1970, p.24. [return]
5. McNair, P., "The Shroud and History: Fantasy, Fake or Fact?," in Jennings, P., ed., 1978, "Face to Face with the Turin Shroud," Mayhew-McCrimmon: Great Wakering UK, p.21. [return]
6. Wilson, I., 1991, "Holy Faces, Secret Places: The Quest for Jesus' True Likeness," Doubleday: London, pp.161-162. [return]
7. Correard, M-H., Grundy, V., Ormal-Grenon, J-B. & Rubery, J., eds, 2009, "Concise Oxford Hachette French Dictionary," Oxford University Press: Oxford UK, Fourth edition, pp.343, 565. [return]
8. Wilson, I., 2012, "A Significant New Example of the Lirey Pilgrim Badge," BSTS Newsletter, No. 76, December. https://www.shroud.com/pdfs/n76part2.pdf. [return]
9. Translated into English in that same year as, "The Shroud of Christ." [return]
10. Meacham, W., 1983, "The Authentication of the Turin Shroud: An Issue in Archaeological Epistemology," Current Anthropology, Vol. 24, No. 3, June, pp.283-311. http://www.shroud.com/meacham2.htm. [return]
11. Bulst, W., 1957, "The Shroud of Turin," McKenna, S. & Galvin, J.J., transl., Bruce Publishing Co: Milwaukee WI, p.84. [return]
12. 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, p.759. [return]
13. Bauer, et al., 1979, p.751. [return]
14. Bulst, 1957, pp.82, 84. [return]
15. 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.13, 146-147. [return]
16. Bennett, 2001, pp.32-34. [return]
17. Guscin, M., 2012, "The History of the Shroud: Part One – Before the Thirteenth Century," 1st International Congress on the Holy Shroud in Spain - Valencia," Centro Español de Sindonologia (CES), April 28-30, 2012, Valencia, Spain. [return]
18. Adams, F.O., 1982, "Sindon: A Layman's Guide to the Shroud of Turin," Synergy Books: Tempe AZ, p.17. [return]
19. Piana, 2010. [return]
20. Oxley, 2010, p.105. [return]
21. Oxley, 2010, pp.105-106. [return]
22. Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.105). [return]
23. Tribbe, F.C., 2006, "Portrait of Jesus: The Illustrated Story of the Shroud of Turin," Paragon House Publishers: St. Paul MN, Second edition, p.194. [return]
24. Oxley, 2010, p.105. [return]
25. Oxley, 2010, p.105. [return]
26. Wilson, 1998, pp.120-121. [return]
27. Wilson, 1998, p.121. [return]
28. Wilson, 2010, pp.220-222. [return]
29. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, pp.26, 221. [return]
30. de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, p.158. [return]
31. Vignon, 1902, p.9. [return]
Posted: 26 February 2020. Updated: 12 September 2021.
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