The Shroud of Turin: March 2020

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Coronavirus pandemic and the Shroud of Turin

© Stephen E. Jones[1]

Introduction First my thoughts and prayers are with you my readers who are in countries being severely affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 (i.e. SARS-COV-2) pandemic.

[Above (original)[2]: "Coronavirus (COVID-19) map" as at ~11:45 PM Perth time, 28 March (image not updated). Click here and hover your mouse over a country to see its current cases and deaths. As at 11:11 PM Perth time, 7 April, Australia has 5,908 cases and 48 deaths, while the United States has 376,754 cases (almost as many as the next three highest Spain 140,511, Italy 132,547 and Germany 104,199, combined 377,257) and 11,752 deaths.]

[Above (enlarge)[3]: Electron microscope image of SARS-CoV-2 viruses, showing the spikes on their outer edge which resemble a corona, hence their name[4].]

Where I live in Western Australia, as at 7 April, there have only been 470 case and 6 deaths. WA's geographic isolation, its low population density and it not being a major end destination of overseas travellers and cruise ships has spared it from the large number of cases in the Eastern States: New South Wales 2,686, Victoria 1,191 and Queensland 934.

We are living in Luke 21:24b-32 between "Jerusalem" no longer being "trampled underfoot by the Gentiles" [which happened in 1967]

[Above (enlarge): "Israeli paratroopers stand in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem" in June 1967[5].]

and "the Son of Man [Jesus] coming in a cloud with power and great glory":

"²⁴They [the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem] will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. ²⁵And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.' ²⁹And he told them a parable: `Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. (Lk 21:24b-32)"

I had been a Christian for less than 6 months when Israel stunningly won the Six-Day War in June 1967 against the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria[6]. And then captured the Old City of Jerusalem, enabling Israel to take control of all of Jerusalem[7], for the first time since AD 70.

I still remember the excitement among my fellow Christians from seeing a Biblical prophecy fulfilled before our very eyes! That made us a uniquely privileged generation. In that excitement then was written items like:

"There are many prophecies about the return of the Jews to their homeland. Frequently, it was expected that these events would be inaugurated by the Messiah himself, but it was also held that they would precede his return. At just about the time we have proposed for the end of the Chalcedonian era in theology, the fifteen-hundredth jubilee of 1951, the Jews finally did return to political power in the Holy Land. The state of Israel was established in 1948. Even more recently, in 1967, the Jewish people gained full possession of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War. One prophecy of Jesus, unrealized for 1897 years, seems to have been fulfilled: `Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled' (Lk 21:24)"[8].

"In St. Luke's account of the Olivet discourse [Mt 24:3-25:46; Mk 13:3-37; Lk 21:5-36] there is a short but profound statement regarding the future of Jerusalem, which is taking on tremendous meaning: `And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled' (21:24). There are three time periods in this verse: the first is that of the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus, occurring forty years after our Lord uttered these words: `They shall be led away captive into all nations.' The second period extends from then, and perhaps long before that, to the end of this age, to the end of `the times of the Gentiles.' Finally, there is that hour or day or year in which there comes to an end the times of the Gentiles, which must be a part of the last days of this age ... In other words, Jerusalem would be in the hands of Gentile nations, as it has been for centuries, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. That Jerusalem, of which our Lord spoke, is now, since 1967, for the first time in all these centuries, no longer under the rule of Gentile nations but in the absolute control of the Jews, in fact, in the control of the new nation, Israel! To me, this is one of the great prophetic factors of our generation. If the Jews can hold this city and maintain their sovereignty here, I cannot help but think that we are at the end of the age of the times of the Gentiles"[9].

But over time that excitement has dissipated and the 1967 starting point of the generation which would see events which would culminate in Jesus' Second Coming has been largely forgotten.

My exegesis and interpretation of Lk 21:24b-32 (Luke's words are bold)

²⁴"They The Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem (vs 20-23). will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, Which happened in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem and its aftermath[10]. and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, Which happened finally after the Bar Kokhba Revolt of AD 132[11]. until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. "The ... period of Gentile domination of Jerusalem"[12].

²⁵And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, [parallel Mt 24:29 & Mk 13:24-25] Jesus now shifts His focus to His Second Coming. This is "vivid apocalyptic imagery ... of heavenly portents ... to denote sudden and violent change and the emergence of a new order[13]. And it might include Apophis (the Egyption "god of evil, chaos, darkness and destruction") a 370 metres (1,210 ft) diam-eter, 61 million tonnes, near-Earth asteroid, traveling at ~31 km/sec[14]. On

[Right (enlarge): "Asteroid" science fiction movie advert-isement, NASA. From my 24Feb07 post on this topic on another blog.]

Friday the 13th of April 2029 (in only 9 years' time), Apophis will pass by Earth only 31,200 km (19,400 mi) above its surface (less than 3 times Earth's diameter of 12,756 km or 7926 mi)[15]. I expect there will be widespread panic, despite astronomers' assurance that Apophis is going to pass by Earth, when the public realise that this huge asteroid is coming towards Earth. Apophis will return on 23 March 2036[16] and although by current calculations it will pass no closer than 8.4 million km or 5.2 million mi, its approach that close to Earth in 2029 will alter its orbit[17]. So it may be that Apophis' 2029 pass will alter its orbit such that astronomers will be unable to rule out it impacting Earth in 2036?

and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, "This is not to be understood literally, but as an image of great distress"[18].

²⁶people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. This could have been on the front page of today's newspaper! The current coronavirus pandemic is only part of that "fear and ... foreboding" and it will only get worse (see Rev 15:1-16:21) in this The Great Tribulation (Mt 24:21 & Mk 13:19). For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. The ESV Study Bible's comment on the parallel passage Mt 24:29 is:

"24:29 sun ... moon ... stars ... powers. It is possible that this is entirely literal language (with "stars" perhaps referring to a large, meteor shower). Others take it as a mixture of literal and figurative language, and still others take it as entirely figurative, pointing to political judgment on nations and governments. The argument in favor of a figurative interpretation is that this verse echoes possibly figurative language about heavenly disturbances in the OT prophets, such as Isa. 13:10; 34:4; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:10; and Amos 8:9"[19].

So this could refer to Apophis heading for Earth in 2036 (see above), just before Jesus returns? (see next).

²⁷And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [parallel Mt 24:30 & Mk 13:26].

"In the midst of these circumstances of utmost distress the Son of Man, the exalted Christ, will come in His divine power and majesty, and in such a manner that every eye will see Him"[20].

²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

"... the onset of the great oppression of the Last Days ... will be to believers the signal that their full redemption (in soul and body) is at hand. So Jesus commands His followers (He addresses the disciples as representing the faithful of all ages, including those of the Last Days), when they see the beginning of these predicted things, to be inspired with courage and faith in the knowledge that His second advent, and with it their redemption, are at hand. Although they do not know the precise day and hour of His coming, they will know that His coming is no longer far off"[21].

My fellow Christians. This is a command of our Lord Jesus that in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic, we are to straighten up and raise our heads, because our redemption is drawing near!

²⁹ And he told them a parable: `Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. [parallel Mt 24:32-34 & Mk 13:28-30]. ³⁰As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

"29-31 Just as, when the trees in nature begin to bud, one knows that spring is near, so assuredly Christ's followers must know that when the prophesied events begin to occur His second advent and likewise the visible and full revelation of the sovereign dominion of God are close at hand. His coming will indeed be like a thief in the night (xii. 40) and no one will be able to determine beforehand when it will be, and unbelieving mankind will indeed be engaged in their ordinary secular activities in spite of all the portents of His coming (xvii. 26-30), but none the less the predicted events will be a sign to the faithful believers when His coming is at hand, so that they will not be taken unawares by that day (xxi. 34)"[22].

³²Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place."

"21:32 this generation. If the reference is to the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred about 40 years after Jesus spoke these words, `generation' [Greek genea "race, family, generation"] is used in its ordinary sense of a normal life span. All these things were fulfilled in a preliminary sense in the A.D. 70 destruction of Jerusalem. If the reference is to the second coming of Christ, `generation' might indicate the Jewish people as a race ... who were promised existence to the very end. Or it might refer to the future generation alive at the beginning of these things"[23].

The middle meaning of "generation" above, "the Jewish people as a race" can be eliminated. There would have been no threat to the existence of "the Jewish people as a race" in the destruction of Jerusalem. Acts 2:5 says that 40 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, there were Jews living in "every nation" of the known world. And Jesus had already predicted in v.24 that even of the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem, some would not be killed but would "be led captive among all nations."

The first meaning of "generation" above, the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem, can also be eliminated. While the earlier part of Jesus' Olivet discourse (Lk 21:5-24a) applies to the destruction of Jerusalem, the events in the later part (Lk 21:24b-32) do not. In particular "Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (v.24b) and "they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (v.27) do not apply to the generation, used in its ordinary sense of a normal human life span, which experienced the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

So that leaves the third meaning of "generation," "the future generation alive at the beginning of these things." And that is the generation which in 1967, first saw Jerusalem no longer under Gentile rule. The generation, of which Jesus said, it "will not pass away until all has taken place" (v.32), including seeing "the Son of Man [Jesus] coming in a cloud with power and great glory"(v.27)! My generation!

Since the Biblical span of a normal human life is 70 years (Ps 90:10; Isa 23:15)[24], I expect that Jesus will return before the bulk of the generation that was alive in 1967 passes away, that is, before 2037! See my posts on my now closed CreationEvolutionDesign blog: 11Nov06, 12Jul08 & 30Nov08. See also above on Apophis returning in 2036.

Resurrection of Jesus All four Gospels affirm that Jesus was raised from the dead (Mt 28:1-6; Mk 16:1-6; Lk 23:55-24:7; Jn 20:1-9). Unless Jesus was raised from the dead, Christianity is utterly false:

"It is the witness of the NT that the resurrection of Jesus is the pivotal point of Christian theology and apologetics. Paul reports an early creed in I Cor. 15:3ff. which both includes the resurrection as an integral part of the gospel and reports several eyewitness appearances.Then Paul relates the importance of this event, for if Jesus did not literally rise from the dead, then the entire Christian faith is fallacious (vs. 14) and ineffective (vs. 17). Additionally, preaching is valueless (vs. 14), Christian testimony is false (vs. 15), no sins have been forgiven (vs. 17), and believers have perished without any Christian hope (vs. 18)"[25].

Jesus' prediction that He will return "in a cloud with power and great glory" (v.27), as well as His other predictions in Lk 21:24b-32, depends on Him having been raised from the dead:

"Jesus' resurrection ... verifies the future judgment of the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31)"[26].

Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus I was going to list these from my books but I realised it would take me too long. I will eventually do this when I get to "Resurrection" in my Turin Shroud Encyclopedia [Today (7 April 2020) it occurred to me to provide interim links from my Encyclopedia to posts where I have covered a topic, e.g. this one.], but I will instead provide the following links: "The Resurrection of Jesus by William Lane Craig; "Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ by Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli" and "Historical Evidence for the Resurrection by Matt Perman."

The Shroud as evidence for the resurrection of Jesus! For ease of comparison I will present this in the following table:

**The Shroud: Evidence for Jesus' Resurrection**
Jesus' resurrection	The Shroud
Jesus was buried in a linen shroud (Mt 27:59; Mk 15:46 & Lk 23:53).	The existence of the Shroud is itself evidence that the Shroudman's body separated from it within a few days, since all other shrouds have disintegrated with their decomposing bodies[27].
Jesus' body did not decompose (Acts 2:22-31; 13:32-37; Ps 16:10).	There is no evidence of decomposition on the Shroudman's body image[28].
Jesus' resurrected body could pass through walls (Jn 20:19-20, 26-27).	The blood clots on the Shroud are intact, therefore the Shroudman's body passed through the Cloth[29].
In Jesus' Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-9; Lk 9:28-9), His body was "transfigured" [Gk metamorphoō (Mt 17:1; Mk 9:2), such that His "face shone like the sun" (Mt 17:2); and his clothes "became white as light" (Mt 17:2), "became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them" (Mk 9:3) and "dazzling white" (Lk 9:29)[30].	The Transfiguration was "a preview and an anticipation of the resurrection" of Jesus[31]. In the Transfiguration, Jesus' body "turned briefly into light"[32]. A short and intense burst of ultraviolet light from an excimer laser has produced the closest match to the body image on the Shroud[33].

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. "Coronavirus (COVID-19) map," Google.com, 2020. [return]
3. "File:Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 27 March 2020. [return]
4. "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2," Wikipedia, 29 March 2020. [return]
5. "1967: The Six-Day War and the historic reunification of Jerusalem," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 17 May 2017. [return]
6. "Six-Day War," Wikipedia, 18 March 2020. [return]
7. "Old City (Jerusalem): Political status," Wikipedia, 24 February 2020. [return]
8. Brown H.O.J., 1984, "Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy and Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the Present," Doubleday & Co: New York, p.448. [return]
9. Smith, W.M., "Signs of the Second Advent of Christ," in C.F.H., ed., 1971, "Prophecy in the Making: The Jerusalem Conference on Biblical Prophecy," Creation House: Carol Stream IL, pp.207-208). [return]
10. Geldenhuys, J.N., 1950, "Commentary on the Gospel of Luke," Marshall Morgan & Scott: London, Reprinted, 1961, pp.528-529; "Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE): Aftermath," Wikipedia, 26 March 2020. [return]
11. "Bar Kokhba revolt: Aftermath," Wikipedia, 26 March 2020. [return]
12. Marshall, I.H., "Luke," in Guthrie, D., et al., eds., 1970, "New Bible Commentary," [1953], Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester, Third Edition, Reprinted, 1987, p.919. [return]
13. Morris, L., 1974, "The Gospel According to Luke: An Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament commentaries, Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Reprinted, 1986, p.210. [return]
14. "99942 Apophis," Wikipedia, 26 March 2020. [return]
15. Ibid. [return]
16. Beatty , K., 2013, "Asteroid Apophis Takes a Pass in 2036," Sky & Telescope, January 9. [return]
17. "99942 Apophis," Wikipedia, 26 March 2020. [return]
18. Barnes, A. & Cobbin, I., ed., 1962, "Barnes' Notes on the New Testament," [1832], Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 1962, Fifth printing, 1970, p.248. [return]
19. Wilkins, M.J., "Matthew," in The ESV Study Bible, Crossway Bibles: Wheaton IL, 2007, p.1874. [return]
20. Geldenhuys, 1950, p.538. [return]
21. Ibid. [return]
22. Ibid. [return]
23. Barker, K., ed., 1985, The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan: Grand Rapids MI, p.1581. [return]
24. Collins, C.J., "Psalms," in The ESV Study Bible, 2007, p.1053. [return]
25. Habermas, G.R., 1984a, "Resurrection of Christ," in Elwell W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker Book House: Grand Rapids MI., 1990, Seventh printing, p.938. [return]
26. Macleod, D.M., "Resurrection of Christ," in Ferguson, S.B., Wright, D.F. & Packer, J.I., eds., 1988, "New Dictionary of heology," Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, p.582. [return]
27. Scavone, D.C., 1989, "The Shroud of Turin: Opposing Viewpoints," Greenhaven Press: San Diego CA, p.65. [return]
28. Habermas, 1984b, pp.158-159; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, pp.33, 121. [return]
29. Wuenschel, E.A., 1954, "Self-Portrait of Christ: The Holy Shroud of Turin," Holy Shroud Guild: Esopus NY, Third printing, 1961, pp.51-52; Bulst, W., 1957, "The Shroud of Turin," McKenna, S. & Galvin, J.J., transl., Bruce Publishing Co: Milwaukee WI, p.144; 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.156; Habermas, G.R., 1984a, "Ancient Evidence for the Life of Jesus," Thomas Nelson: Nashville TN, pp.158-159; Habermas, G.R., 1984, "Turin, Shroud of ," in Elwell, W.A., ed., "Evangelical Dictionary of Theology," Baker Book House: Grand Rapids MI., 1990, Seventh printing, pp.1115-1116; Antonacci, 2000, p.235. [return]
30. Iannone, J.C., 2010, "The Three Cloths of Christ: The Emerging Treasures of Christianity," NorthStar Production Studios & Lulu Press: Kissimmee FL, p.102. [return]
31. "Transfiguration of Jesus: Transfiguration and resurrection," Wikipedia, 16 March 2020. [return]
32. Martindale, S., 2007, "H.B. doctor submits Shroud of Turin to scientific method," The Orange County Register, October 19. [return]
33. Tosatti, M., 2011, "The Shroud is not a fake," Vatican Insider, 12 December. [return]

Posted: 28 March 2020. Updated: 15 April 2020.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Chronology of the Turin Shroud: Sixteenth century (2)

Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 to the present
SIXTEENTH CENTURY (2)
© Stephen E. Jones[1]

This is part #21, "Sixteenth century (2)" of my "Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 - present" series. For more information about this series see the Index #1. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated. This page was initially based on Ian Wilson's 1996, "Highlights of the Undisputed History: 1500."

[Index #1] [Previous: 16th century (1) #20] [Next: 17th century #22]

16th century (2) (1535-1600).

1535a The Duchy of Savoy is invaded by French troops[2], following failed attacks by Duke Charles III (r. 1504-53) in response to the riots between Catholics and Protestants in Geneva[3]. Charles and his family abandon Chambéry and take the Shroud over the Alps to Piedmont, Italy, passing through the Lanzo valley via Bessans, Averole, Ceres and

[Above (original):

"Chapel of the Holy Shroud ... In this chapel there are frescos from the 16th century dedicated to the Holy Shroud, which bear witness to the passage of this Sacred Linen through the Ala Valley during its secret transport in 1535 from Chambery to Turin. They are the most ancient frescos in Piedmont and show the first representation of an official ostension of the Holy Shroud. They are not only religious paintings but also commemorate a historical event when the Holy Shroud stayed in this chapel in 1535, according to the wish of Carlo III, in order to avoid the risk that it fell into the hands of the French, who were about to invade Savoy and also to avoid being destroyed by Calvinists, who were fiercely against all religious relics."[4].]

Lanzo[5]. A fresco of an exposition of the Shroud is painted for the church of Voragno at Ceres[6].

1535b On 4 May, the Feast Day of the Holy Shroud, the Shroud is exhibited in Turin[7], probably at the Savoy Castle of Rivoli [Right (enlarge)[8].], on the outskirts of Turin and presumably kept there until before the French capture of Turin a year later (see "1536b" below).]

1535c In October 1535 the Duke of Milan, Francesco II Sforza (r. 1521-35) died childless[9]. Sforza had been appointed Duke of Milan in 1521 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (r. 1519-56) when he re-conquered Milan from the French[10]. But in 1526 Sforza switched sides, joining the League of Cognac with King Francis I of France (r. 1515-47)[11]. Sforza's widow was Christina of Denmark (1521-90), a niece of Charles V[12]. So on Sforza's death, Charles V subsumed the Duchy of Milan into the Holy Roman Empire[13]. This sparked the Italian war of 1536-8 between Francis I and Charles V, over the control of territories in Northern Italy and in particular the Duchy of Milan[14].

1536a The Protestant reformer John Calvin (1509-64) published in March his Institutes of the Christian Religion[15].

1536b In a preemptive invasion of Savoy and Piedmont by the French to counter the antici-pated moves of Charles V[16], French troops capture Turin in April, but fail to take Milan[17].

[Left (enlarge): Extract from Ian Wilson's "Travels of the Shroud" map[18], showing places the Shroud was taken in 1536-37).]

1536c On 7 May the Shroud is exhibited in Milan[19], presumably from the Sforza Castle [Right (enlarge)[20].]

1537a The Shroud is taken for safety to Vercelli because of further French invasions[21], and is kept in St Eusebius Cathedral (see "1543" below).

1537b On 29 March the Shroud is exhibited from the tower of Bellanda in Nice[22].

1540 The Shroud is taken to Aosta[23], presumably to the Savoy Tower Castle of Bramafan.

1543 Duke Charles III brings the Shroud back to Vercelli, where it is kept in the treasury of St Eusebius Cathedral[24], where it will be for most of the next 18 years (see "1553b" and "1561a").

[Left (enlarge)[25]: The late 16th century rebuilt St Eusebius Cathedral with the 12th century bell tower of the old cathedral behind it.]

1553a Death of Duke Charles III[26]. He is succeeded by his only surviving child, Duke Emmanuel Philibert (r.1553-80) [27] (see "1528" and below), who will become the greatest of the Dukes of Savoy, in recovering most of the Savoy state which had been invaded and occupied by France when he was a child[28].

1547 Death in March of Francis I, and he is succeeded as King of France by his son Henri II (r. 1547-59)[29].

1553b On 18 November troops of Henri II sack Vercelli and six soldiers enter the cathedral looking for the Shroud, but a canon, Antoine-Claude Costa, had hidden it in his house[30].

1557 On 10 August Duke Emmanuel Philibert [Right [31]] serving the Savoy's long time ally, the Holy Roman Empire of Charles V, personally leads the Spanish invasion of northern France and won a brilliant victory at Saint-Quentin in northern France[32].

1558 Death on 21 September of Charles V (1500-58)[33]. Due to ill-health Charles V had in 1556 abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor to his brother Ferdinand I, King of Spain (r. 1556-64)[34].

1559a In April, following Charles V's abdication and death, with the approval of the new Emperor Ferdinand I, the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed between Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603) and King Henri II of France and between Henri II of France and Charles V's son, King Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-98), ending the Habsburg-Valois wars[35].

1559b Due to Duke Emmanuel Philibert's military and diplomatic skills, the terms of the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis required that he recover from France almost all of his territories in Savoy[36].

1559c Also included in the treaty was that Francis I's daughter, Marguerite de Valois (1523-74), was to marry Emmanuel Philibert, which took place in June of that year[37]. A miniature in Duchess

[Above (enlarge)[38]: A miniature of the Shroud in Marguerite de Valois's 1559 prayer book, showing the pre-1532 `poker-holes' [see 21Aug18], but not the damage from the fire of 1532 [see "1532"]. Dorsally the body of Jesus is naked, but frontally he is wearing a loincloth[39].]

Marguerite's prayer book, thought to have been a wedding present from Duke Emmanuel Philibert, shows the Shroud held up by three bishops[40].

1559d On 30 June, Henry II was fatally wounded in a jousting tournament as part of the celebrations of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, his sister Marguerite's wedding and the wedding of his eldest daughter Elisabeth de Valois (1545-68) to the recently widowed King Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-98)[41]. Henri II was succeeded by his sickly 15 year-old son Francis II (r. 1559-60), who died 18 months later[42].

1561a On 3 June the Shroud is brought back to Chambéry from Vercelli and temporarily kept in the Church of St. Mary the Egyptian, within Chambéry's Franciscan convent[43]. From where, the next day, 4 June, in an elaborate procession the Shroud was returned to the Sainte Chapelle[44].

1561b On 15 August the first exposition of Shroud in a quarter of a century (since at least 1535) is held in the Sainte Chapelle, Chambéry's high altar[45]. Then on 17 August, because of the huge crowds and the

[Above (enlarge)[46]: Simulated exhibition of the Shroud (white rectangle) from a temporary scaffolding platform outside the Sainte-Chapelle, Chambéry's apse window[47], overlooking the piazza of Chambéry Castle, where the Shroud was presumably exhibited on 17 August 1561.]

confined space in, and in front of, the Sainte Chapelle, the Shroud is exhibited from the walls of Chambéry and also above the piazza of the castle[48].

1562 Birth in January to Marguerite and Emmanuel Philibert of Charles Emmanuel I (1562-1630), who was to be their only surviving child, who would become Duke of Savoy in 1580[49]. [see "1580"].

1563 Duke Emmanuel Philibert moves his administrative centre from Chambéry to Turin, thereby fixing it as his new capital[50].

1566 Private showing of the Shroud in the Sainte-Chapelle for the new duchess of Savoy from Nemours in north-central France, the important and influential Anna d'Este (1531-1607), who had married that year Jacques de Savoie, Duke of Nemours (1531-85), a descendant of both Duke Louis I's sister Agnes de Savoie (1445-1509) and Louis' brother Duke Philip of Savoy (1417-44), Count of Geneva[51]. The Shroud is described as kept in an iron box, because of the destruction of its casket in 1532[52].

1578a The saintly Cardinal Charles Borromeo (1538-84), Archbishop of Milan (r. 1564-84), announces that he will fulfill a vow he had made

[Above: Today's map of the 342 km (212 mi) route across the Alps from Milan via Turin to Chambéry[53].]

to walk with twelve companions from Milan to Chambéry to venerate the Shroud, if Milan was spared the bubonic plague of 1576[54]. Although only forty years old, Borromeo was sickly[55]. To save Borromeo from the rigours of crossing the Alps on foot[56], Emanuel Philibert ordered the Shroud be brought from Chambéry to Turin as temporary move for that purpose[57], more than halving the distance[58]. The Duke would have been concerned that Cardinal Borromeo would not survive the alpine crossing from Turin to Chambéry[59]. But he also saw it as an opportunity to transfer the Shroud from Chambéry to his new capital, Turin[60].

1578b On 14 September the Shroud arrives in Turin, never to return to Chambéry[61], amid much pomp and ceremony, a gun salute from the local artillery and emotional scenes[62]. The Shroud is deposited not in the cathedral, which would have implied church jurisdiction over it, but instead in then small Chapel of San Lorenzo adjacent to the Duke's palace[63]. The Duke had renamed the chapel "San Lorenzo" ("Saint Lawrence"), because it was the Feast Day of St. Lawrence, 10 August, that the defeated the French at the Battle of Saint-Quentin in 1557[64] [see "1557"].

1578c On 10 October Borromeo makes his way into Turin barefoot amidst a great deal of fanfare[65].

1578d The Chapel of San Lorenzo is too small even for a private exposition, so the next day, 11 October, the Shroud is taken to Turin Cathedral for a private showing to Borromeo and his companions[66].

1578e On Sunday 12 October the Shroud is carried in procession from the Cathedral to the piazza of the castle where, with Cardinal Borromeo, Vercelli's cardinal, the archbishops of Turin and Savoy, and six other bishops officiating, it is shown on a large platform before a crowd estimated at forty thousand[67]. The very first known print [Left (enlarge)[68]] commemorating a Shroud exposition, based on a copper engraving by Turin's Giovanni Testa, is published in 1578, as a souvenir of the Shroud's showing in honour of Cardinal Borromeo's arrival in Turin[69].

1578f After forty hours of devotions, on 14 October, a second procession brings the Shroud to the piazza for a second showing[70].

1578g On 15 October there is a second private showing of the Shroud in the cathedral for Borromeo's close circle[71].

1580 Death of Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy (1528-80)[72]. He is succeeded by his son Duke Charles Emmanuel I (r. 1580-1630)[73].

1582a On 24 February Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572-85) decreed that because the length of a year in the existing Julian Calendar was 11 minutes too long, in the 16 centuries since its introduction in 45BC the date of the Vernal Equinox had slipped to 10 March, a new calendar, later named the Gregorian calendar, would begin the day after Thursday, 4 October 1582, which would be Friday, 15 October 1582[74].

1582b on 12 April Pope Gregory XIII extends the Feast of the Holy Shroud, 4 May, throughout the entire dominions of the Duke of Savoy[75].

1582c In June Cardinal Borromeo made another pilgrimage to the Shroud in Turin accompanied by Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, Archbishop of Bologna (r. 1567-90), Paleotti's cousin Alfonso Paleotti, later also Archbishop of Bologna (r. 1597-1610) [see 1598 below], and others[76].

1582d On 13 June Borromeo and his entourage were given a private exposition of the Shroud in a new larger, but still small Chapel of San Lorenzo that Duke Charles Emmanuel I had built within the ducal palace[77]. The next day, 14 June, there was a larger private exposition in the cathedral[77]. Then on 15 June there was a public exposition of the Shroud in the piazza in front of the Duke's palace[78] (see below).

[Above (enlarge)[79]: Print depicting the public exposition of the Shroud in Turin on 15 June 1582, to mark the second pilgrimage by Cardinal Charles Borromeo (centre cleric holding the Shroud) to venerate the Shroud in Turin[80].]

1584 Marriage of Duke Charles Emmanuel I to Catherine Michelle of Spain (1567–97), daughter of King Philip II of Spain (1527-98) and Elisabeth de Valois (1545-68)[81].

1587a Birth of Victor Amadeus I (1587-1637), who would become Duke of Savoy in 1630 [see future "1630"], to Duke Charles Emmanuel I and Duchess Catherine Michelle of Spain[82].

1587b Duke Charles Emmanuel I carried through with the idea of Cardinal Borromeo, who had died in 1584, of locating the Shroud in Turin Cathedral (albeir temporarily while awaiting the building of its own Royal Chapel), displayed continuously in a shrine supported by four wooden columns over the cathedral's high altar[83].

1598 Publication of Esplicatone del Sacro Lenzuolo ove fu involto il Signore ("Account of the Holy Shroud which wrapped Our Lord"), by Alfonso Paleotti, the cousin of Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, from his direct observation of the Shroud in 1582 [see 1582c above], that the nail wounds were in the wrists, rather than the palms of the hands:

"The young Paleotto [sic] was so deeply affected by what he observed at first hand that he went on to write a full book on the Shroud, published in 1598. It is evident from this, the first such book to be created within the era of the printing press, that Paleotto, benefiting from his era's rapid advances in anatomical knowledge, actually recognized the Shroud's indication that the crucifixion nails pierced through the wrists rather than the palms. In his own words,
'It appears on the Holy Shroud that the [nail] wound is seen at the joint between the arm and the hand, the part anatomists call the carpus, leaving the backs of the hands without wounds.'
As Paleotto further deduced, pre-empting the French surgeon Dr Pierre Barbet's insights by three and a half centuries, the Romans must have driven in the crucifixion nail 'so that it passed through the hand ... towards the arm, where the hand gets thicker and the bone stronger. Thus the point of the nail comes out at that part of the back of the hand in the middle of the joint, and that is because the nail [in the palms] would not have supported the body. Instead the weight of the body would have torn the hand, according to the experiments made by master painters and sculptors with dead bodies that they intended as models for their artworks'" (my emphasis)[84].

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. 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.290. [return]
3. "Charles III, Duke of Savoy: Biography," Wikipedia, 23 February 2020. [return]
4. "Chapel of the Holy Shroud - Tourism in Valli di Lanzo," 2020. [return]
5. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.290. [return]
6. Wilson, 1998, p.290. [return]
7. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.290. [return]
8. "Castle of Rivoli," Wikipedia, 31 December 2019. [return]
9. "Francesco II Sforza," Wikipedia, 19 February 2020. [return]
10. Ibid. [return]
11. Ibid. [return]
12. Ibid. [return]
13. Ibid. [return]
14. "Italian Wars: Italian War of 1536-1538," Wikipedia, 7 February 2020. [return]
15. "Institutes of the Christian Religion: Background," Wikipedia, 7 February 2020. [return]
16. Scott, J.B., 2003, "Architecture for the Shroud: Relic and Ritual in Turin," University of Chicago Press: Chicago & London, p.52 [return]
17. "Italian Wars: Italian War of 1536-1538," Wikipedia, 7 February 2020. [return]
18. Wilson, I. 1978, "The Turin Shroud," Gollancz: London, inside cover. [return]
19. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.290. [return]
20. "Sforza Castle," Wikipedia, 1 March 2020. [return]
21. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291; Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.80. [return]
22. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291. [return]
23. Ibid. [return]
24. Ibid. [return]
25. "File:3489 - Duomo (Vercelli) - campanile (sec. XII - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 20 May 2011.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 17 April 2013. [return]
26. "Charles III, Duke of Savoy," Wikipedia, 23 February 2020. [return]
27. "Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy," Wikipedia, 7 December 2019. [return]
28. Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.257; "Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy," Wikipedia, 7 December 2019. [return]
29. "Francis I of France: Death," Wikipedia, 7 March 2020. [return]
30. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291; Wilson, 2010, p.257. [return]
31. "File:Emanuele Filiberto diSavoia.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 23 November 2018. [return]
32. Wilson, 2010, p.257; "Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy," Wikipedia, 7 December 2019. [return]
33. "Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor: Death," Wikipedia, 14 March 2020. [return]
34. "Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor: Habsburg Emperor (1556-1564)," Wikipedia, 14 March 2020. [return]
35. "Italian War of 1551-1559: Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559)," Wikipedia, 17 March 2020. [return]
36. Wilson, 1998, p.116; Oxley, 2010, p.80; Wilson, 2010, p.257. [return]
37. Wilson, 1998, p.291; Wilson, 2010, p.257; "Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry: Marriage," Wikipedia, 2 December 2019. [return]
38. Extract from the cover of Cozzo, P., "The Shroud at Court: History, Usages, Places and Images of a Dynastic Relic," Brill: Leiden, Netherlands, 2019. [return]
39. Wilson, 1998, p.291. [return]
40. Ibid. [return]
41. Wilson, 1998, p.291; Wilson, 2010, p.257; "Henry II of France: Death," Wikipedia, 15 March 2020. [return]
42. Ibid. [return]
43. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291; Wilson, 2010, p.257. [return]
44. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291; Wilson, 2010, p.257. [return]
45. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291. [return]
46. Chambéry Palace piazza, La Savoie, terre d'accueil de la Fédération Française de Gymnastique, www.savoie-ffgym.com. [return]
47. Scott, J.B., 2003, "Architecture for the Shroud: Relic and Ritual in Turin," University of Chicago Press: Chicago & London, p.50. [return]
48. Wilson, 1998, p.291; Scott, 2003, pp.47-49. [return]
49. "Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy," Wikipedia, 20 March 2020. [return]
50. Wilson, 1998, p.291. [return]
51. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291. [return]
52. Wilson, 1979, p.263; Wilson, 1998, p.291. [return]
53. "Distance from Milan to Chambery," Google Maps, 2009. [return]
54. Wilson, 1979, p.220; Wilson, 1998, p.292; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.18; Scott, 2003, p.53; Wilson, 2010, p.260. [return]
55. Guerrera, 2001, p.18. [return]
56. Wilson, 1998, p.292; Wilson, 2010, p.305. [return]
57. Wilson, 1998, p.115; Guerrera, 2001, p.18. [return]
58. McNair, P., 1978, "The Shroud and History: fantasy, fake or fact?," in Jennings, P., ed., "Face to Face with the Turin Shroud ," Mayhew-McCrimmon: Great Wakering UK, p.24. [return]
59. Wilson, 1979, p.220; Guerrera, 2001, p.18; Wilson, 2010, p.261. [return]
60. McNair, 1978, p.24; Wilson, 1979, pp.220, 263; Guerrera, 2001, pp.18-19. [return]
61. 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.68; Guerrera, 2001, p.19. [return]
62. Morgan, R., 1980, "Perpetual Miracle: Secrets of the Holy Shroud of Turin by an Eye Witness," Runciman Press: Manly NSW, Australia, p.46. [return]
63. Scott, 2003, p.62. [return]
64. Scott, 2003, p.62. [return]
65. Guerrera, 2001, pp.18-19. [return]
66. Wilson, 1998, p.292; Scott, 2003, pp.62-63. [return]
67. Wilson, 1998, p.292. [return]
68. Fossati, L., 1985, "The Souvenir Engraving of the 1578 Exposition," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 15, June, pp.7-11, 9. [return]
69. Wilson, 1998, pp.115-116; Wilson, 2010, pp.262-263. [return]
70. Wilson, 1998, p.292. [return]
71. Ibid. [return]
72. Ibid. [return]
73. Wilson, 1998, p.292. [return]
74. "Pope Gregory XIII: The Gregorian calendar," Wikipedia, 2 March 2020. [return]
75. Wilson, 1998, p.293. [return]
76. Wilson, 1998, p.293. [return]
77. Wilson, 1998, p.293; Scott, 2003, pp.66-67. [return]
78. Wilson, 1998, p.293; Scott, 2003, p.67. [return]
79. Wilson, 2010, plate 30b. [return]
80. Wilson, 1998, p.293; Wilson, 2010, p.274F. [return]
81. "Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy: Marriage and issue," Wikipedia, 20 March 2020. [return]
82. "Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy," Wikipedia, 28 December 2019. [return]
83. Wilson, 1998, pp.115, 293; Scott, 2003, pp.69-70; Wilson, 2010, pp.264, 305. [return]
84. Wilson, 1998, p.293; Wilson, 2010, p.263. [return]

Posted: 13 March 2020. Updated: 27 July 2020.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Colour: The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus! #11

The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus!
COLOUR
© Stephen E. Jones[1]

This is "Colour," part #11 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: A linen cloth #10] [Next: Dimensions #12]

A linen cloth #10

Colour #11

The colour of the Shroud cloth is old ivory[2]. Originally it would have

[Above (enlarge)[3]: The frontal half of the Shroud cloth showing its old ivory colour.]

been bleached pure white[4], but the gradual oxidization of the linen over time has darkened it[5]. In 1978 when Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) scientists cut a Shroud fibre in half they saw the inside of it was white[6].

Continued in part #12 of this series.

Posted: 11 March 2020. Updated: 29 June 2020.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

"News and Editorial," Shroud of Turin News, February 2020

[Previous: January 2020] [Next: March 2020]

This is the February 2020 issue of my Shroud of Turin News. I have listed below linked news article(s) about the Shroud in February as a service to readers, without necessarily endorsing any of them. My comments (if any) are bold in square brackets. See the January 2020 issue on, "I have decided to trial a cut-down version with less Editorial."

News:
There was only one Shroud news article worth mentioning in February 2020, that I am aware of, and it is on carbon 14 but says very little about the Shroud:

• "Murder! Espionage! Cosmic Rays! The History of Carbon-14 Is Way More Thrilling Than You Think," Popular Mechanics, 25 February 2020, Jennifer Leman ... Eighty years ago, the discovery of one small isotope helped us unravel the mysteries of the past ... "The general rule

[Above (enlarge): An Archaeologist's Dream Date ... The shroud of Turin. The link to this photo is, "

full-length-negatives-of-the-shroud-of-turin ...jpg." These full length, front and back, negative photographs of the Shroud in the article alone show that the 1260-1390 = 1325±65 radiocarbon date of the Shroud must be wrong! This exemplifies the "strong delusion" (2Thess 2:11) effect of scientific naturalism (`nature is all there is - there is no supernatural') so that this science journalist Jennifer Leman and her readers don't ask themselves the `Emperor has no clothes' question: "how did a forger-artist in the 13th-14th century depict the man on the Shroud as a photographic negative when photographic negativity was not known until the 1820s, ~500 years later? [see Negative #19]]

is that if you want to measure a process with a radioactive clock, the half life [of the isotope] has to be sort of around the right time scale of what you're measuring," says Thiemens. "When they wanted to verify if the Shroud of Turin was real or not, carbon-14 was perfect." ... Unless a hacker, allegedly Arizona laborat-ory's Timothy W. Linick (1946–June 4, 1989) [Right (enlarge) [ 22Feb16]], aided by German hacker Karl Koch (1965-c. 23 May 1989), inserted his program between the fully computerised AMS radio-carbon dating process at the three laboratories, Arizona, Zurich and Oxford, and its bogus results were displayed on their AMS computer terminal screens. [see 23Jul15]

Editorial
Posts: In February I blogged 5 new posts (latest uppermost): "Names of the Shroud: The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus! #9" - 26th; "News and Editorial," Shroud of Turin News, December 2019" - 21st; "My hacker theory: guarded support from Ian Wilson but censored by the BSTS' David Rolfe!" - 14th; "Date index 2020: The Shroud of Turin blog" - 14th; "What is the Shroud of Turin?: The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus! #8 - 12th

Pageviews: At midnight on 29 February 2020, Google Analytics [Below (enlarge)] gave this blog's "Pageviews all time history" as 1,149,073:

This compares with 1,022,356 at the same time in February 2019. That is 126,717 pageviews over the 12 months, or an average of ~346 pageviews per day.

Google Analytics also gave the most viewed posts for February (highest uppermost) as: "The Shroud of Turin is the Burial Sheet of Jesus!" Dec 8, 2009 - 141;"The Shroud of Turin: 2.6. The other marks (2): Poker holes," Mar 6, 2013 - 76; "Chronology of the Turin Shroud: AD 30 to the present: 1st century and Index" Jul 24, 2016 - 67; "Re: Shroud blood ... types as AB ... aged blood always types as AB, so the significance of this ... is unclear" Mar 18, 2011 - 66; "Problems of the Turin Shroud forgery theory: Index A-F" Jan 20, 2016 - 65.

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]

Posted: 10 March 2020. Updated: 16 April 2020.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

A linen cloth: The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Sheet of Jesus! #10

This is "A linen cloth," part #10 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. I originally wrongly had this page under chapter 1. What is the Shroud of Turin? #8" when it should be chapter 2's heading. So it, "Colour #11," and "Dimensions #11" are now permanently out of topic order in this online version of my book! However, they will keep their chronological part numbers #10 & #11 and also their hyperlinks. And if readers follow each page's "Previous" and "Next" links they won't notice, apart from the out of order part numbers.

[Contents #2] [Previous: Names of the Shroud #9] [Next: Colour #11]

A linen cloth #10

The Shroud cloth is fine linen[2]. As was Jesus' linen burial shroud

[Above (enlarge)[3]: The Shroud cloth laid flat at the 2010 exposition.]

(Greek sindon)[4] recorded in the Gospels (Matthew 27:59; Mark 15:46 and Luke 23:53)[5]. The exceptional fineness of the Shroud's linen suggests that the cloth could have been intended for the linen vestments worn by first-century Jerusalem temple priests[6].

In 1973, Professor Gilbert Raes (1914-2001) of the Ghent Institute of Textile Technology in Belgium, examined four small pieces of material from the bottom left-hand corner of the Shroud[7]. Known from then on as "Raes' corner," it was from there the radiocarbon dating samples

[Above (enlarge)[8]: Raes' corner location at the bottom left-hand corner of the Shroud, showing Raes' fragment, the retained sample and the three laboratories' sub-samples.]

were cut in 1988 (see above). Raes identified the flax fibres from which the Shroud's linen yarn was spun as from the flax plant Linum usitatissimum[9], which is native to the region from the eastern Mediterranean to India[10].

Raes found minute traces of cotton, Gossypium herbaceum, a species of cotton native to the semi-arid regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Arabia where it still grows in the wild as a perennial shrub[11]. The cotton was actually part of the linen thread[12], so it was not the result of later contamination of the Shroud[13]. Therefore Raes attributed the cotton traces to the loom upon which the Shroud had been woven having also been used to weave cotton[14].

It was at first thought that cotton was not grown in Europe in the Middle Ages and so this was further evidence that the Shroud was not produced by a medieval forger[15]. However it was later realised that the Muslim Moors had grown cotton in Spain since the ninth century[16] and cotton had been woven in Italy from the fourteenth century.

The Old Testament prohibited Jews from wearing clothes "made of two kinds of material" (Leviticus 19:19). For example animal (wool) and vegetable (flax and cotton) fibre[17] and specifically not "wool and linen mixed together" (Deuteronomy 22:11)[18]. So if traces of wool had been found woven into the Shroud rather than cotton, that would have been evidence that the Shroud was not a Jewish burial cloth[19].

Raes also found that the yarn had been hand-spun[20] with a clockwise Z-twist rather than an anti-clockwise S-twist[21]. Linen with a Z-twist has been found in ancient Syria, whereas ancient Egyptian linen normally has an S-twist[22]. This points to the Shroud's linen having had a Syro-Palestinian, rather than an Egyptian origint[23].

Raes noted that the Shroud's weave is a complex three-to-one (3:1) herringbone twill[24]. In this type of weave a weft (widthwise) thread

[Above: The Shroud's complex herringbone three-to-one twill weave (a) compared to a plain weave (b)[25].]

passes alternatively under three warp (lengthwise) threads[26], forming a diagonal or "herringbone" pattern[27] (see previous).

Herringbone twill weave is rare[28]. It is has been found in silk and wool from antiquity but not yet in linen[29]. The only surviving example of herringbone twill weave in linen are coarse fourteenth century fragments in London's Victoria and Albert Museum[30]. As

[Above (enlarge)[31]: The larger of the only two known examples of herringbone twill weave in linen (the grey part is a reconstruction), dated the second half of the fourteenth century, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, ref. no. 8615-1863[32].]

evidence of the rarity of the Shroud's weave, when the British Museum's Dr Michael Tite tried in 1988 to obtain control samples for the Shroud's radiocarbon dating, he was unable to find any examples in linen similar to the Shroud's weave for the dating to be `blind'[33].

Being rare, herringbone twill weave is also expensive[34]. So the Shroud is consistent with the linen shroud bought by the "rich man" Joseph of Arimathea in which to bury Jesus (Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46)[35]. The Shroud most definitely is not just any "bit of linen" that Oxford radiocarbon dating laboratory's Professor Edward Hall (1924-2001) rightly told reporters that a medieval forger would have used to fake Jesus' burial shroud[36]!

Continued in part #11 of this series.

Posted: 4 March 2020. Updated: 20 June 2024.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

"News and Editorial," Shroud of Turin News, January 2020

[Previous: December 2019, part #1] [Next: February 2020, part #1]

This is the January 2020 issue of my Shroud of Turin News. I have listed below linked news article(s) about the Shroud in January as a service to readers, without necessarily endorsing any of them. My comments (if any) are bold in square brackets. See the December 2019 issue on, "I have decided to trial a cut-down version with less Editorial."

News:
• There were no Shroud news articles worth mentioning, that I am aware of, in January 2020. So I have provided a link to a paper listed on Shroud.com's January 21, 2020 update: Walsh, B. & Schwalbe, L., 2020, "An instructive inter-laboratory comparison: The 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin," Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Vol. 29, February:

"Abstract We review the statistical method cited in the report of the radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin. Following strict analytical protocol, we find the Shroud data to be heterogeneous, while data from three control samples show no heterogeneity. We consider two potential sources for the Shroud data heterogeneity. The first, an approximate linear dependence of the dates on the original sample locations suggests a variation in the carbon isotopic composition. The second, differences in the cleaning protocols of the three laboratories may have given rise to differences in residual contamination. We suggest experiments to test the two competing hypotheses."

The paper includes a helpful reconstructed diagram of the radiocarbon dating's Shroud sample (enlarge):

Editorial
Posts: In January I blogged only 1 new post:
"Antioch: Turin Shroud Encyclopedia" - 1st, which unexpectedly turned out to be one of my longest posts, taking up all of January and almost half of February!

Pageviews: At midnight on 31 January 2020, Google Analytics [Below (enlarge)] gave this blog's "Pageviews all time history" as 1,141,168:

This compares with 1,011,448 at the same time in January 2019. That is 129,720 pageviews over the 12 months, or an average of ~355 pageviews per day.

Google Analytics also gave the most viewed posts for January (highest uppermost) as: "John P. Jackson, `An Unconventional Hypothesis to Explain all Image Characteristics Found on the Shroud Image' (1991)," Jan 18, 2012 - 135; "Medieval photography: Nicholas Allen," Aug 7, 2016 - 114; "The Shroud of Turin: 2.6. The other marks (2): Poker holes," Mar 6, 2013 - 95; "Antioch: Turin Shroud Encyclopedia," Jan 1, 2020 - 79; "Off-topic: Norton Antivirus froze my computer so I switched to AVG Free," Aug 3, 2007 - 69.

I have no idea why my off-topic 2007 post about Norton Antivirus freezing my computer, so I switched to AVG Free, received 79 hits!

Posted: 3 March 2020. Updated: 14 April 2020.