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.
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