Chronology of the Turin Shroud: Eighteenth century

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

This is part #23, "Eighteenth century" 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: 1700."

[Index #1] [Previous: 17th century #22] [Next: 19th century #24]

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18th century (1701-1800).

1701a 27 April. Birth of future King Charles Emmanuel III (r. 1730–73) to King Victor Amadeus II (r. 1675–1730) and Duchess Anne Marie d'Orléans (1669-1728)[2].

1701b July. The War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), is triggered by the death in November 1700 of the childless Charles II of Spain (r. 1665-1700)[3] and France's King Louis XIV (1643-1715), whose mother Anne of Austria (1601-66) was a daughter of King Philip III of Spain (1598–1621)[4] and his wife Maria Theresa of Spain (1638-83) was the eldest daughter of King Philip IV (r. 1621-65)[5], claimed the title of King of Spain[6].

1701c November. Victor Amadeus II forms an alliance with France against the Austrian Holy Roman Empire[7], which is sealed by giving his daughter Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (1688-1714) in marriage to King Philip V of Spain (1700-24)[8].

1703a An engraving of this year shows an exposition of the Shroud in front of the Bertola altar in the new Chapel of the Holy Shroud[9].

[Right (enlarge)[10]. Engraving dated 1703 by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Tasnière (c. 1675-1752) based on a drawing by Giulio Cesare Grampin[11]]

1703b October. Victor Amadeus II switches sides in the War of the Spanish Succession from France to the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire[12] and declares war on France[13].

1704-5 In 1704 French troops under Marshall Louis de La Feuillade (1673-1725) capture Savoy territories and by the end of 1705 Victor Amadeus controlled only his capital Turin[14].

1706a 12 April. The Shroud is exhibited in Turin[15], not on the usual 4 May, in anticipation of an impending French attack.

1706b 12 May. Marshall de La Feuillade and 48,000 French troops arrived at Turin but the blockade of the city will not be completed until 19 June[16].

1706c 23 May. The Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – under the command of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722a), won a decisive victory over the French in the Battle of Ramillies in the Netherlands[17].

1706d 2 June. The Siege of Turin begins under de la Feuillade but makes little progress against Turin's hardened defences[18].

1706e 16 June. The Shroud is in Cherasco[19], about 50 km (31 mi)

[Above (enlarge): Route (marked by red `diamonds') by which the Shroud was taken from Turin in June 1706 via Cherasco (16th June), Mondovì (24th), Ceva (25th), Ormea (26th), Caravonica (not shown), to Albenga. From Albenga the Shroud was then sailed via Savona to Genoa arriving on 16th July[02May15].]

southeast of Turin, enroute to the seaport of Genoa[20], about 169 km (105 mi) south east of Turin. The Shroud had been taken from Turin by Duchess Anne Marie, accompanied by her two youngest children, the 2 year-old Victor Amadeus (1699-1715) and the 1 month-old Charles Emmanuel (1701-73)[21], as well as Victor Amadeus II's mother, Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours (1644-1724)[22].

1706f 8 July. Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (1654-1712), one of France's best generals and any available forces, were sent to reinforce France's northern frontier after the defeat at Ramillies[23].

1706g 17 June. Victor Amadeus escapes from the city with 7,000 cavalry. He spends the next two months attacking French supply lines, while de La Feuillade continues siege operations with little success[24].

1706h Mid July. Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663-1736) [Left (enlarge)[25]], Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army, whose attempts to move west towards Turin had been previously thwarted by Vendôme's skillful manoeuvres, crosses the River Po from where he can at last move west towards Piedmont and relieve Turin[26].

1706i 16 July. The Shroud arrives safely in Genoa by a circuitous route (see map above)[27].

1706j 15 August, Prince Eugene begins his advance on Turin[28].

1706k 29 August. Prince Eugene reaches Carmagnola only 29 km (18 mi) south of Turin, where he is joined by Victor Amadeus[29].

1706l 7 September. Prince Eugene orders a general assault which

[Above (enlarge): "The Allied relief force breaks the French lines, lifting the siege of Turin"[30].]

finally forces the French to retreat with heavy loss of life, casualties, captures and loss of equipment. Victor Amadeus re-enters his capital the same day[31].

1706m October. The Shroud is returned to Turin[32].

1708 Victor Amadeus gains the bordering Duchy of Montferrat[33].

1713 April. Under the Treaty of Utrecht, Victor Amadeus II receives the kingdom of Sicily and parts of the Duchy of Milan[34].

1715 22 March. Death from smallpox at age 15 of Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont (1699-1715), the eldest son of King Victor Amadeus II and Duchess Anne Marie and heir apparent[35]. His younger brother Charles Emmanuel III (1701-1773) inherited the title Prince of Piedmont as the new heir apparent[36].

1718 2 August. Beginning of the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718-20) in which Spain sought to recover territorial losses it had agreed to in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht[37].

1720a 17 February. The Treaty of The Hague was signed on 17 February 1720 between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance of Britain, France, the Dutch Republic and Austria[38]. Its terms included that Victor Amadeus II [Right (enlarge)[39]] exchange his title of King of Sicily for the more geograph-ically practical King of Sardinia[40].

1720b Exposition of the Shroud to celebrate the union of Sardinia with the Savoy states[41].

1722a 15 March. Charles Emmanuel III marries Anne Christine of Sulzbach (1704-23)[42].

1722b On 4 May there is a showing of the Shroud in Turin and on 3 June another showing[43].

1723 7 March. Anne Christine gave birth to a son, Prince Victor Amadeus Theodore (1723–25), the Duke of Aosta[44]. But she died a few days later on 12 March at the age of nineteen in Turin[45].

1724a 15 March. Death of Victor Amadeus II's mother, Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours[46].

1724b 23 July. Marriage of Charles Emmanuel III to Princess Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg (1706–35)[47].

1725 11 August. Death of Prince Victor Amadeus Theodore (1723–25) at the age of 2[48].

1726 26 June. Birth of Victor Amadeus III (1726–96) who was to become Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia in 1773[49].

1727 Discovery by Johann Heinrich Schulze (1687-1744) "that the darkening in sunlight of various substances mixed with silver nitrate is due to the light, not ... heat" [50]. Contrast Nicholas Allen's claim that photography was invented ~4 centuries previously in the 13th-early 14th century [07Aug16, 16Jun19 & 15Nov20]!

1728 26 August. Death of King Victor Amadeus II's wife Duchess Anne Marie d'Orléans[51].

1730a 12 August. Marriage of King Victor Amadeus II to his mistress Anna Canalis di Cumiana (1680–1769)[52].

1730b 3 September. Abdication of King Victor Amadeus II[53]. Beginning of the long reign of his eldest son, King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (r. 1730– 73) [Left (enlarge)[54]][55].

1731 Having suffered a stroke and under the influence of his wife Anna, Victor Amadeus II informs his son King Charles Emmanuel III that he was going to resume his tenure on the throne[56]. Therefore King Charles Emmanuel III has his father confined to Moncalieri Castle and Anna was separated from her husband until April 1732 when she was allowed to rejoin him in Rivoli Castle[57].

1732 31 October. Death of Victor Amadeus II[58].

1735 13 January. Death of King Charles Emmanuel III's second wife Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg[59].

1736 21 September. The Shroud is exhibited in Turin to celebrate the engagement of King Charles Emmanuel III to Princess Elisabeth Teresa of Lorraine (1711-41) [60].

1737a 1 April. Marriage of King Charles Emmanuel III to Princess Elisabeth Teresa of Lorraine[61].

1737b 4 May. Public showing of the Shroud to mark the royal

[Above (enlarge): Engraving by Filippo Juvarra (1678–1736) of the 1737 exposition of the Shroud from a pavilion in Turin's Piazza Castello to mark the marriage of King Charles Emmanuel III and Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine[62].]

marriage, commemorated by print showing vast crowd in front of the Royal Palace, as the Shroud is displayed from a balcony[63].

1750a A handwritten anonymous document (MS 826) is placed in the Besançon City Library, and claims that Othon de la Roche (c.1170-1234) sent the Shroud from Athens [see 11Nov17] to his father, Pons in Burgundy, who gave it to the Bishop Amadeus de Tramelay 1197–1220 of Besançon, and names three medieval writers (no longer extant) who stated this[64].

1750b 31 May. Prince Victor Amadeus III marries Maria Antonia Ferdinanda (1729-85), a daughter of King Philip V of Spain (r. 1700-24)[65]. They had three surviving sons, each of whom would become Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia: Charles Emmanuel IV (1751-1819), Victor Emmanuel I (1759–1824) and Charles Felix (1765-1831)[66].

1750c 29 June. Showing of the Shroud to celebrate the marriage of Prince Victor Amadeus III and Infanta Maria Antonia[z].

1751 24 May. Birth of Charles Emmanuel IV (1751-1819), who would be King of Sardinia from 1796 to 1802[68].

1758 3 May. Death of Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58), "... one of the best scholars to sit on the papal throne"[69], who had written of the Shroud:

"The Holy Shroud, that outstanding relic, is preserved at Turin. Popes Paul II (1464-71); Sixtus IV (1471-84); Julius II (1503-13) and Clement VII (1523-34) all bear witness that this is the same in which our Lord was wrapped"[70].

1759 24 July. Birth of Victor Emmanuel I (1759–1824), who would be King of Sardinia from 1802-21[71].

1765 Birth of Charles Felix (1765-1831), who would be King of Sardinia from 1821-31[72].

1769 16 June. Private showing of the Shroud for Emperor Joseph II (r. 1765-90) of Hapsburg-Lorraine and then the Shroud is displayed from the balcony of the Royal Chapel for large crowd gathered in the cathedral below[73].

1770 Discovery of the Pray Codex (1192-95)[74] by Hungarian Jesuit

[Above (enlarge)[75]: "The Entombment of Christ (above) and Three Marys [sic] at the tomb (below). The images are claimed as one of the evidences against the radiocarbon 14 dating of the Shroud of Turin"[76]. There are at least "eight telling correspondences between the Shroud and the drawings on a [this] single page of the Pray Codex"[77]. And by my count there are twelve - see 27May12. Actually fourteen - see 04Oct18. See also 26Oct14, 02Dec14, 23Jul15, 15Oct15, 27Dec15, 07May16, 07Aug16, 14Jul18, 15July18, 21Aug18, 20Dec18, 24May20 & 14Oct20]

archivist Gyorgy Pray (1723-1801)[78]. Even Wikipedia has had to admit, "This illustration shows remarkable similarities with the Shroud of Turin":

"One of the five illustrations within the Codex shows the burial of Jesus. This illustration shows remarkable similarities with the Shroud of Turin: that Jesus is shown entirely naked with the arms on the pelvis, just like in the body image of the Shroud of Turin; that the thumbs on this image appear to be retracted, with only four fingers visible on each hand, thus matching detail on the Turin Shroud; that the supposed fabric shows a herringbone pattern, identical to the weaving pattern of the Shroud of Turin; and that the four tiny circles on the lower image, which appear to form a letter L, `perfectly reproduce four apparent "poker holes" on the Turin Shroud', which likewise appear to form a letter L. The Codex Pray illustration may serve as evidence for the existence of the Shroud of Turin prior to 1260–1390 AD, the fabrication date established [sic] in the radiocarbon-14 dating of the Shroud of Turin in 1988"[79].

1773 20 February. Death of King Charles Emmanuel III[80] and beginning of the reign of his eldest son, King Victor Amadeus III (r. 1773-96)[81].

1775a 30 September. Marriage of Prince Charles Emmanuel IV to Princess Marie Clotilde of France (1759–1802), a sister of King Louis XVI (r. 1774-92) but their marriage would be childless[82].

1775b 15 October. Exposition of the Shroud in Turin to mark the royal marriage[83].

1789a 21 April. Marriage of Prince Victor Emmanuel I to Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria-Este (1773-1832)[84].

1789b 5 May. Beginning of the French Revolution (1789-99)[85].

1792a Revolutionaries break into the French royal relic collection in the Sainte Chapelle, Paris and a fragment of the Shroud is destroyed[86].

1792b The Kingdom of Sardinia and other Savoy states under Victor Amadeus III join the First Coalition against the French First Republic[87].

1793 21 January. King Louis XVI, Queen Clotilde's brother, is executed by guillotine[88], followed on 16 October by his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)[89].

1794 24 May. French Revolutionaries destroy the painted copy of the Shroud at Besançon[90] [Above (enlarge): A 1634 depiction of the Besançon copy of the Shroud[91].]

1795 December. The Holy Face of Laon (Sainte Face de Laon) is taken

[Above (enlarge): "Icon of the Holy Face (Mandylion), bought in 1249 in Bari (Italy) by Jacques Pantaléon, archdeacon of the cathedral of Laon who later became Pope Urban IV. Exhibited in the cathedral of Laon"[92].]

out of hiding and placed in Laon cathedral[93]. The icon had been in Laon's Montreuil Abbey before the latter's destruction by French revolutionaries in December 1793[94]. Before that the icon had been given in 1249 by Jacques Pantaleon (c. 1195-1264), archdeacon of Laon Cathedral, but living in Rome as chaplain to Pope Innocent IV (r. 1243-54), and future Pope Urban IV (r. 1261-64)[95], to the Cistercian Abbey in Montreuil-en-Thiérache[96], via his sister Sybille who was Abbess of the Abbey's convent[97]. However, in 1636 a Spanish invasion compelled the Cistercian sisters to leave their abbey and in 1650 they and their precious treasure relocated to nearby Montreuil-sous-Laon[98] which became Montreuil Abbey. The Laon icon is a glazed panel[99], nearly square, 44 cm (17.3 in) high and 40 cm (15.7 in) wide[100]. It bears the inscription in Serbian, OBRAZ GSPDN NAUBRUSJE, "the image of the Lord on the cloth"[101]. Moreover it has at least thirteen (and by my count fourteen - see 23Apr12) of the fifteen Vignon markings[102] [see 25Jul07, 11Feb12, 18Mar12, 22Sep12, etc], more than any other known icon[103]. The Laon Face evidently came from Bari in southeastern Italy, where there was an Orthodox monastery with Serbian monks[104]. After the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by the Fourth Crusade, the Serbian Orthodox Church had been liberated from the Byzantine Empire and sought a closer relationship with the Roman Catholic Church[104a]. Jacques Pantaleon carried out diplomatic missions on behalf of Pope Innocent so it would have been normal for him to visit the Orthodox Serbian monks of Bari which is not far from Rome[105]. It was on one of these missions that Pantaleon presumably received a gift of the Holy Face from the monks of Bari[106]. The icon's disembodied head[107], circular `halo'[108], fringe [109], trellis pattern[110] and sepia/brown monochrome colour[111], reveal that the Laon Face is a depiction of the Mandylion[112], that is the Image of Edessa[113]. Which was the Shroud "four-doubled" (Greek tetradiplon)[114] - see 15Sep12]! That the Laon icon contains more Vignon markings than any other known icon, together with the artist's statement that the portrait is that of "the Lord on the cloth" must mean that he was working directly from the Image of Edessa/Shroud[115]! In the upper left and upper right corners of the icon (see above) are the Greek letters "I C" (Iota and final sigma) and "X C" (Chi and final sigma)[116], which are the first and last letters of the words 'Iesous Xristos - "Jesus Christ" in Greek[117]. The icon was therefore likely painted in Greek-speaking Constantinople after the transfer of the Image of Edessa/Shroud from Edessa to Constantinople in 944[see "944b"][118]. Between 1094 and 1149 Serbia was a vassal state within the Byzantine Empire[119], so it is likely the icon was painted by a Serbian in Constantinople between those dates. So the Holy Face of Laon alone (and it is not alone! - see for example the Pray Codex above) is proof beyond reasonable doubt that it is a depiction of the face of the Shroud[120] even at 1249 predating by 11 years the earliest 1260 radiocarbon date of the Shroud[121]. But to be a worthy gift from the Serbian Orthodox Church to the Roman Catholic Church, the Laon icon must have been painted many years, if not decades, before 1249[122]. Indeed, as we saw above, the Greek and Serbian letters on the icon indicate, it was most likely painted directly from the Shroud in Constantinople between 1094 and 1249, which is between 111 and 166 years before the earliest 1260 radiocarbon date!

1796a April. The First Coalition is beaten by the 26 year-old general Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) in northern Italy[123] and Victor Amadeus III is forced to sign the disadvantageous Treaty of Paris, which gives the French army free passage through Piedmont[124].

1796b 16 October. Victor Amadeus III dies[125] and is succeeded as King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy by his eldest son, Charles Emmanuel IV (r. 1796-1802)[126].

1798a 2 October. Birth in Paris of the untitled Charles Albert of Savoy (1798–1849), a great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Duke Charles Emmanuel I (r. 1580-1630), and who due to a lack of surviving male heirs in the royal line,would become King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy in 1831[127].

1798b 6 December. Napoleon's general Barthélemy Joubert (1769-99) occupies Turin and forces Charles Emmanuel IV to abdicate all his territories on the Italian mainland and to withdraw to the island of Sardinia, without the Shroud[128]. On 9 December Charles Emmanuel IV with the rest of the royal family privately venerate the Shroud and then depart for Sardinia[129]. From then on the Shroud would be effectively under the control of the Roman Catholic Church[130].

1799 9 November 1799. End of the French Revolution[131].

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. "Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 17 November 2020. [return]
3. Wilson, I., 2010, "The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved," Bantam Press: London, p.271. [return]
4. "Anne of Austria," Wikipedia, 17 November 2020. [return]
5. "Louis XIV: War of the Spanish Succession," Wikipedia, 22 November 2020. [return]
6. Wilson, 2010, p.271. [return]
7. "War of the Spanish Succession: Savoy," Wikipedia, 23 November 2020. [return]
8. "Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia: War of the Spanish Succession," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
9. Wilson, I., 1997, "A Calendar of the Shroud for the Years 1694-1898," BSTS Newsletter, No. 45, June/July; 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.296. [return]
10. Scott, J.B., 2003, "Architecture for the Shroud: Relic and Ritual in Turin," University of Chicago Press: Chicago & London, p.111. [return]
11. Scott, 2003, pp.111, 369 n.53. [return]
12. "War of the Spanish Succession: Savoy," Wikipedia, 23 November 2020. [return]
13. "War of the Spanish Succession: Italy," Wikipedia, 23 November 2020. [return]
14. "Siege of Turin: Background," Wikipedia, 19 September 2020. [return]
15. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296. [return]
16. "Siege of Turin: Background," Wikipedia, 19 September 2020. [return]
17. "Battle of Ramillies," Wikipedia, 22 November 2020. [return]
18. "Siege of Turin," Wikipedia, 19 September 2020. [return]
19. Oddone, A., n.d., "THE_HOLY_SHROUD_files/OSTENSION_ENGLISH 5.doc," Accademia Vis Vitalis, Turin (no longer online). [return]
20. Morgan, R., 1980, "Perpetual Miracle: Secrets of the Holy Shroud of Turin by an Eye Witness," Runciman Press: Manly NSW, Australia, p.47; Wilson, 2010, p.306; Cassanelli, A., 2002, "The Holy Shroud," Williams, B., transl., Gracewing: Leominster UK, p.14; Wilson, 2010, p.271. [return]
21. "Anne Marie d'Orléans: Duchess and Queen," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020 & "Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia: War of the Spanish Succession," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
22. "Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours: Retirement and later life," Wikipedia, 27 May 2020 & "Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia: War of the Spanish Succession," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
23. "War of the Spanish Succession: Military campaigns 1701–1708," Wikipedia, 23 November 2020. [return]
24. "Siege of Turin: Siege," Wikipedia, 19 September 2020. [return]
25. "File:Prinz Eugene of Savoy.PNG," Wikimedia Commons, 30 November 2020. [return]
26. "Prince Eugene of Savoy: Turin and Toulon," Wikipedia, 29 November 2020. [return]
27. Oddone, n.d. [return]
28. "Siege of Turin: Siege," Wikipedia, 19 September 2020. [return]
29. Ibid. [return]
30. "File:BattleofTurin.JPG," Wikimedia Commons, 27 July 2020. [return]
31. "Siege of Turin: Battle," Wikipedia, 19 September 2020. [return]
32. Oddone, n.d. [return]
33. "Duchy of Montferrat," Wikipedia, 5 July 2020. [return]
34. Oxley, M., 2010, "The Challenge of the Shroud: History, Science and the Shroud of Turin," AuthorHouse: Milton Keynes UK, p.81; "Peace of Utrecht," Wikipedia, 9 November 2020. [return]
35. "Victor Amadeus, Prince of Piedmont," Wikipedia, 19 November 2019. [return]
36. "Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 19 November 2019. [return]
37. "War of the Quadruple Alliance," Wikipedia, 26 November 2020. [return]
38. "Treaty of The Hague (1720)," Wikipedia, 10 July 2020. [return]
39. "File:Vittorio Amedeo II in Maestà - Google Art Project.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 27 September 2020. [return]
40. Oxley, 2010, p.81; Wilson, 2010, p.271; Treaty of The Hague (1720)," Wikipedia, 10 July 2020. [return]
41. Oddone, n.d. [return]
42. "Anne Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont," Wikipedia, 24 October 2020. [return]
43. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296. [return]
44. "Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro, Duke of Aosta," Wikipedia, 24 October 2020. [return]
45. "Anne Christine of Sulzbach, Princess of Piedmont," Wikipedia, 24 October 2020. [return]
46. "Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours," Wikipedia, 27 May 2020. [return]
47. "Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg," Wikipedia, 7 August 2020. [return]
48. Prince Vittorio Amedeo Teodoro, Duke of Aosta," Wikipedia, 24 October 2020. [return]
49. "Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 13 December 2020. [return]
50. "Johann Heinrich Schulze," Wikipedia, 11 September 2020. [return]
51. "Anne Marie d'Orléans," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
52. "Anna Canalis di Cumiana," Wikipedia, 27 August 2020. [return]
53. "Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia: Abdication and later years," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
54. "File:Clementi - Charles Emmanuel III in armour.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 13 March 2020. [return]
55. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296; "Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 26 November 2020. [return]
56. "Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia: Abdication and later years," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
57. Ibid. [return]
58. "Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 27 November 2020. [return]
59. "Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg," Wikipedia, 7 August 2020. [return]
60. Oddone, n.d.; Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296; "Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine: Queen," Wikipedia, 10 December 2020. [return]
61. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296; "Elisabeth Therese of Lorraine: Queen," Wikipedia, 10 December 2020. [return]
62. "Palazzo Reale, già Palazzo Ducale o Palazzo Novo Grande," Museo Torino, 2010. [return]
63. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296; Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.11; Wilson, 2010, p.306. [return]
64. Scavone, D.C., 1989, "The Shroud of Turin: Opposing Viewpoints," Greenhaven Press: San Diego CA, p.98; 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.62. [return]
65. "Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain: Duchess of Savoy," Wikipedia, 8 December 2020. [return]
66. "Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain: Issue," Wikipedia, 8 December 2020. [return]
67. Oddone, n.d.; Morgan, 1980, p.48; Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.296; Guerrera, V., 2001, "The Shroud of Turin: A Case for Authenticity," TAN: Rockford IL, p.21; Wilson, 2010, p.306. [return]
68. "Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 6 July 2020. [return]
69. "Pope Benedict XIV," Wikipedia, 10 December 2020. [return]
70. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.297; Guerrera, 2001, p.26; Oxley, 2010, p.84. [return]
71. "Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 6 November 2020. [return]
72. "Charles Felix of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 8 October 2020. [return]
73. Oddone, n.d.; Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.297. [return]
74. Berkovits, I., 1969, "Illuminated Manuscripts in Hungary, XI-XVI Centuries," Horn, Z., transl., West, A., rev., Irish University Press: Shannon, Ireland, p.19; Wilson, I., 1986, "The Evidence of the Shroud," Guild Publishing: London, pp.114-115; Wilson, I., 1991, "Holy Faces, Secret Places: The Quest for Jesus' True Likeness," Doubleday: London, pp.150-151; Iannone, J.C., 1998, "The Mystery of the Shroud of Turin: New Scientific Evidence," St Pauls: Staten Island NY, p.154; Scavone, D.C., 1998, "A Hundred Years of Historical Studies on the Turin Shroud," Third International Congress on the Shroud of Turin, 6 June 1998, Turin, Italy, 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.58-70, 63-64; Wilson, 1998, pp.146-147; Guerrera, 2001, p.104; de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, p.288G. [return]
75. "File:Hungarianpraymanuscript1192-1195.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 2 March 2019. [return]
76. "Pray Codex," Wikipedia, 23 January 2020. [return]
77. de Wesselow, 2012, p.180. [return]
78. Fanti, G. & Malfi, P., 2015, "The Shroud of Turin: First Century after Christ!," Pan Stanford: Singapore, p.59; "Pray Codex," Wikipedia, 23 January 2020 (footnotes omitted). [return]
79. "Pray Codex," Wikipedia, 23 January 2020. [return]
80. Wilson, 1998, p.297; "Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 26 November 2020. [return]
81. "Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 13 December 2020. [return]
82. "Clotilde of France: Marriage," Wikipedia, 29 October 2020. [return]
83. Oddone, n.d.; Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.297; Wilson, 2010, p.271. [return]
84. "Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 16 June 2020. [return]
85. "French Revolution," Wikipedia, 25 December 2020. [return]
86. Wilson, 1997; Wilson, 1998, p.297; Wilson, 2010, p.271. [return]
87. "Kingdom of Sardinia: Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna," Wikipedia, 15 December 2020. [return]
88. "Louis XVI: Imprisonment, execution and burial, 1792–1793," Wikipedia, 3 December 2020. [return]
89. "Marie Antoinette: Trial and execution (14–16 October 1793)," Wikipedia, 18 December 2020. [return]
90. Barnes, A.S., 1934, "The Holy Shroud of Turin," Burns Oates & Washbourne: London, p.57; Beecher, P.A., 1928, "The Holy Shroud: Reply to the Rev. Herbert Thurston, S.J.," M.H. Gill & Son: Dublin, p.60; Hynek, R.W., 1951, "The True Likeness," [1946], Sheed & Ward: London, p.9; Rinaldi, P.M., 1978, "The Man in the Shroud," [1972], Futura: London, Revised, p.54; Crispino, D.C, 1985, "Doubts along the Doubs," Shroud Spectrum International, No. 14, March, pp.10-24, 12-13; Scavone, 1989, pp.99, 101; Ruffin, 1999, p.62. [return]
91. "The Holy Shroud of Besançon," 1634, Jean de Loisy, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2013. [return]
92. "File:Icône Sainte Face Laon 150808.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, 30 November 2020. Translated by Google. [return]
93. de Riedmatten, P., 2008, "The Holy Face of Laon," BSTS Newsletter, No. 68, December. [return]
94. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
95. 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; Currer-Briggs, N., 1984, "The Holy Grail and the Shroud of Christ: The Quest Renewed," ARA Publications: Maulden UK, p.21; Currer-Briggs, N., 1988a, "The Shroud and the Grail: A Modern Quest for the True Grail," St. Martin's Press: New York NY, p.157; Wilson, 1991, p.78H; Tribbe, F.C., 2006, "Portrait of Jesus: The Illustrated Story of the Shroud of Turin," Paragon House Publishers: St. Paul MN, Second edition, p.21; de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
96. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
97. Green, 1969; Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.157; Wilson, 1991, p.78H; de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
98. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
99. Wuenschel, E.A., 1954, "Self-Portrait of Christ: The Holy Shroud of Turin," Holy Shroud Guild: Esopus NY, Third printing, 1961, p.59; Tribbe, 2006, p.21; . [return]
100. Wilson, 1991, p.78H; de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
101. Wilson, I., 1983, "Some Recent Society Meetings," BSTS Newsletter, No. 6, September/December, p.13; Currer-Briggs, 1984, p.21; Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.58; Currer-Briggs, N., 1988b, "Dating the Shroud - A Personal View," BSTS Newsletter, No. 20, October, pp.16-17; Tribbe, 2006, p.21. [return]
102. Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.58. [return]
103. Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.67. [return]
104. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
104a. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
105. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
106. de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
107. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, pp.114-115; Wilson, 1986, pp.110F, 136; Wilson, 1998, pp.150-151. [return]
108. Wilson, 1979, p.121; Currer-Briggs, 1984, p.23. [return]
109. Wilson, 1979, p.114; Currer-Briggs, 1984, p.21; Currer-Briggs, 1988a, pp.60, 157; Wilson, 1991, p.136. [return]
110. Wilson, 1979, pp.114, 121; Currer-Briggs, 1984, pp.22-23; Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.60; Wilson, 1991, p.136; Tribbe, 2006, p.21; de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
111. Wilson, 1979, pp.114-115; Wilson, 1998, p.150. [return]
112. Green, 1969; de Riedmatten, 2008; Oxley, 2010, p.108. [return]
113. "Image of Edessa," Wikipedia, 14 December 2020. [return]
114. Wilson, I., 1977, "The Shroud's History Before the 14th Century," in Stevenson, K.E., ed., 1977, "Proceedings of the 1977 United States Conference of Research on The Shroud of Turin," Holy Shroud Guild: Bronx NY, pp.31-49, 44; Wilson, 1979, pp.120-121, 307; Drews, R., 1984, "In Search of the Shroud of Turin: New Light on Its History and Origins," Rowman & Littlefield: Lanham MD, p.36; Wilson, 1986, pp.112-113, 145; Scavone, 1989, pp.81-82; Scavone, D.C., 1991, "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, The Man in the Shroud Committee of Amarillo, Texas: Amarillo TX, 1991, pp.171-204, 184; Borkan, M., 1995, "Ecce Homo?: Science and the Authenticity of the Turin Shroud," Vertices, Duke University, Vol. X, No. 2, Winter, pp.18-51, 35; Iannone, 1998, pp.104-105, 115; Wilson, 1998, pp.152-153, 266-267; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, pp.132-133; Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, pp.110-111; Guerrera, 2001, pp.2-3; Oxley, 2010, pp.23-247; Wilson, 2010, pp.140-141, 174; de Wesselow, 2012, pp.186-187, 288I. [return]
115. Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.68. [return]
116. "Greek alphabet," Wikipedia, 11 December 2020. [return]
117. Currer-Briggs, 1988a, p.67; Tribbe, 2006, p.21; Jesus: Etymology," Wikipedia, 22 December 2020. [return]
118. Tribbe, 2006, p.21; de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
119. "Serbia in the Middle Ages: Byzantine suzerainty," Wikipedia, 22 December 2020. [return]
120. Wuenschel, 1954, p.59; de Riedmatten, 2008. [return]
121. Wilson, 1991, p.3; Wilson, I., 1996, "Jesus: The Evidence," [1984], Weidenfeld & Nicolson: London, Revised, p.134; Currer-Briggs, N., 1995, "Shroud Mafia: The Creation of a Relic?," Book Guild: Sussex UK, pp.56-57; Wilson, 1998, pp.125, 141; Wilson & Schwortz, 2000, p.113; Wilson, 2010, p.108; de Wesselow, 2012, p.176. [return]
122. Currer-Briggs, 1995, p.57. [return]
123. Napoleon: First Italian campaign," Wikipedia, 17 December 2020. [return]
124. "Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 6 July 2020. [return]
125. "Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 13 December 2020. [return]
126. "Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 6 July 2020. [return]
127. "Charles Albert of Sardinia: Accession to the throne," Wikipedia, 16 December 2020. [return]
128. Scott, 2003, p.267; "Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 6 July 2020. [return]
129. Wilson, 1998, p.297; Scott, 2003, p.267; "Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia," Wikipedia, 6 July 2020. [return]
130. Scott, 2003, p.268. [return]
131. "French Revolution: The Directory; 1795–1799," Wikipedia, 25 December 2020. [return]

Posted 24 November 2020. Updated 20 January 2024.

My reply to Prof. Nicholas Allen (assumed)

© Stephen E. Jones[1]

On 15 November I received an anonymous comment under my 16 June 2019 post, "Allen, N: Turin Shroud Encyclo-pedia," which from its tone (I have had comments from Prof. Allen before) and its subject matter, I assume can only be from Prof. Nicholas Allen [Right[2]] himself! According to my long-standing stated policy:

"Comments are moderated. Those I consider off-topic, offensive or sub-standard will not appear. I reserve the right to respond to any comment as a separate blog post."

I am replying to Prof. Allen's comment here as a separate post. His words are bold to distinguish them from mine. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated. See also 13Jul07, 07Aug16 and 16Jun19.

Anonymous said... I regard it as significant that Prof. Allen does not give his name but hides behind a cloak (albeit see-through!) of anonymity.

Nicholas Allen never lived in Zimbabwe....when he lived there it was called Rhodesia.. I have now added "(then Rhodesia)" to that part of my 2019 post which I presume Allen is referring to:

"Allen's first exposure to the Shroud was in 1969, as a 13 year-old, when he saw a photograph of the Shroud face on the wall of the Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) home of his parish priest, Fr. Philip Foster."

Allen has conducted tests with synthetic and natural quartz...he also ensured that his synthetic quartz lenses had the same qualities as natural quartz. Thanks to Prof. Allen for conceding my main point, which is that if he did not use only medieval materials and technology, then he cannot truthfully claim that he has produced a "medieval photograph" explanation of the Shroud image! As I pointed out in my 2019 post, quoting Mark Antonacci, "For Allen to show that `a very large [180 mm = 7 inch diameter[3]], accurately ground high-quality biconvex [quartz] lens of long focal length" ... could have been used by his `medieval photographer,' Allen would need to replicate it using only medieval materials and technology":

"For Allen's purposes, he needs a very large, transparent, rock-crystal-quality quartz, which is very rare, just to begin his process. The largest and most abundant of these are found in the Western hemisphere, which certainly did not export them in medieval times. Once our medieval forger had obtained this unlikely stone he would have to form a perfectly circular lens, with smooth, equal curves around each side of the complete circle. The convex curves of each side would have to match perfectly. If our medieval forger is off a fraction of a degree anywhere, it will throw off the highly resolved and focused image. In addition, he cannot have imperfections of any kind on the perfectly curved surfaces anywhere on the entire lens. There is absolutely no history of such skill or such a product in medieval times. Our medieval forger would most likely have had to have done this perfect job with only his hands and a piece of cloth with some sand on it ... Allen does not inform us where he acquired his lens, but it is extremely doubtful that he chiseled and hand-ground it from natural stone. Since optical-quality quartz lenses do not appear historically until the nineteenth century, Allen has the burden of demonstrating how a seven-inch, optical-quality, biconvex quartz-crystal lens without any imperfections could be made"[4].

Allen himself has made this point that his "primitive photography" theory requires that only "technology readily available to medieval cultures" be employed:

"... the inferences of the author's recent investigation into shroud-like image formation techniques employing technology readily available to medieval cultures as far back as the eleventh century strongly suggests that the negative image as found on the Shroud of Turin was the product of a form of primitive photography employing either silver nitrate or silver sulphate as a light sensitive agent"[5].

Antonacci made a telling observation:

"Ironically, among his very valid criticisms of Picknett and Prince's [who plagiarised Prof. Allen's medieval photography theory - see 07Aug16] book and experiments, Allen does not criticize their use of lenses and apertures from cameras and slide projectors. Perhaps that is because he himself is using a type of lens that was not available until the nineteenth or twentieth century"[6].

The point being that it is not possible to make a shroud image with glass lens which cuts out the uv spectrum necessary for the chemical reaction with silver nitrate or silver sulphate. The "uv spectrum," i.e. ultraviolet light, was only discovered in 1801 by the German physicist Johann Wilhelm Ritter (1776-1810)[7], so "no one in medieval times knew about ultraviolet light at all, much less what materials would or would not transmit it":

"A lens made of regular glass will not transmit ultraviolet light, the portion of the EM [electromagnetic] spectrum that makes the image on Allen's treated cloth. Of course, no one in medieval times knew about ultraviolet light at all, much less what materials would or would not transmit it"[8].

I find it incredible that people who have never bothered to read his many scientific articles and books ... It is "incredible" in the sense of not credible! As is obvious from my references in my many posts about Allen's `medieval photography' theory (see 13Jul07, 07Aug16, 05Sep16, 14Mar17, 05Nov17, 21Aug18 and the very post Allen commented under 16Jun19a), I have indeed "bothered to read" Allen's "many scientific articles and books" on his `medieval photography' theory of the formation of the Shroud image. Except I have not yet bought and read Allen's 2017 book, "Turin Shroud: Testament to a Lost Technology" because its price on Advanced Book Exchange to Australia is A$223.03! However, I have just discovered it sells for A$65.64 from The Book Depository, so I will probably buy it eventually.

... still get his contributions so wrong ... If Allen really believed that I am wrong about his `medieval photography' theory, he would have jumped at the chance to point out on my blog, where I am wrong! And, as far as I am aware, no leading Shroud anti-authenticist agrees with Allen's `medieval photography' theory. Joe Nickell, for example, called Allen's theory "astonishingly absurd":

"... the astonishingly absurd notion of an art historian named Nicholas Allen that the image was "the world's first photograph." (The technique was supposedly invented to make a fake shroud and then conveniently lost for subsequent centuries!)"[9].

... and even feel that they have the right to make quite libellous comments on this blog. I presume Allen is referring to my alleging that he is guilty of scientific dishonesty in:

• Not having tested his theory that a corpse[10] was hung out in full sunlight for eight days ("four days" each side[11]) by hanging a dead animal out in the sun for even few days and seeing what happened to its image in his `medieval camera'[16Jun19b] (or if he did, not revealing it); and

• Titling his book, "The Turin Shroud and the Crystal Lens" [Left (enlarge)[12]] when hidden deep within it, not mentioned in the index, Allen admitted indirectly that he had used a piece of synthetic quartz to make his 180 mm lens, not a natural quartz crystal [16Jun19c]:

"Through the kindness of my institution I was made a loan with which I purchased a blank piece of high grade quartz. After many months of waiting, a blank sent from Switzerland, finally arrived in South Africa, where through the sterling efforts of both Derek Griffith and Dan van Staaden, it was ground and polished into a bi-convex lens"[13].

Plagiarizing an expert's life work and employing it for blogs as though you had done all the necessary research is the height of arrogance. Allen needs to check the dictionary definition of "plagiarism." According to the online Oxford dictionary it is:

"The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own"[14].

And I definitely wouldn't want to pass off Allen's `medieval photography' ideas as if they were my own! Indeed I meticulously cited footnotes to Allen's works to show that they are his ideas. Nor do I claim that I had done the primary research that Allen has, which I give him credit for. But what I don't give Allen credit for is his not being honest and admitting that his "life's work" in seeking to discredit the Shroud as a `medieval photograph" has failed. Because: 1) Allen did not use only medieval materials and technology in making his 180 cm = 7 inch optical quality quartz lens; 2) Allen did not test (or if he did he conncealed the result) of what would happen to a human corpse (using an animal substitute) if hung out in full sunlight for eight days; and 3) Allen does not admit that his photographic `replication' of the Shroud image fails because it is obviously directional in recording the sun's

[Above (enlarge)[16Jun19d]: Comparison of Allen's photographic `replication' of the Shroud image (left) and the Shroud image itself (right). As can be seen, Allen's image of a white plaster bodycast strongly shows the directional movement of the sun overhead, but the Shroud image does not show any directionality whatsoever. The white patches on the Shroudman's side, wrist, arms and feet are dark blood which is white in a photographic negative, and the other white patches are dark burns from the 1532 fire.]

repeated passage over it[15], but Allen had previously correctly stated that the Shroud's image is "non-directional":

"Directionless: The process that formed the image operated in a non-directional fashion. It was not generated according to any directional pattern as it would have been if applied by hand. A painting, for example, shows strong directionality, that is, the direction by which the medium was applied is evident from the brush strokes"[16].

As Ian Wilson pointed out, the value of Allen's contribution to sindonology is that he demonstrated that the Shroud image really is a photograph, and not a painting as claimed by most anti-authenticists, led by Walter McCrone (1916-2002):

"Now it can also be said unreservedly of Professor Allen that more than anyone else before him he has demonstrated that the Shroud's image really is photographic in character. This is in fact something that those in favour of the Shroud's authenticity have been saying for years and is certainly bad news for Walter McCrone and others"[17].

But not a `medieval photograph' using only medieval materials and technology (because they exist only in Nicholas Allen's imagination), but rather, as Wilson put it, a "`snapshot' of the Resurrection" of Jesus!:

"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"[18]!

Notes
1. This post is copyright. I grant permission to quote from any part of it (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. "CurriculumVitae: Nicholas P L Allen, North-West University," Academia.edu. Accessed 15 November 2020. [return]
3. Allen, N.P.L., 1995, "Verification of the Nature and Causes of the Photonegative Images on the Shroud of Lirey-Chambery-Turin," De Arte 51, Pretoria, UNISA, pp.21-35; Ware, M., 1997, "On Proto-photography and the Shroud of Turin," History of Photography, Vol. 21, No. 4, Winter, pp.261-269, 264; Allen, N.P.L., 1998, "The Turin Shroud and the Crystal Lens: Testament to a Lost Technology," Empowerment Technologies: Port Elizabeth, South Africa, pp.92, 100; Antonacci, M., 2000, "Resurrection of the Shroud: New Scientific, Medical, and Archeological Evidence," M. Evans & Co: New York NY, p.92; de Wesselow, T., 2012, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection," Viking: London, p.140-. [return]
4. Antonacci, 2000, pp.91-92. [return]
5. Allen, 1995. [return]
6. Antonacci, 2000, p.91. [return]
7. "Ultraviolet: Discovery," Wikipedia, 16 November 2020. [return]
8. Antonacci, 2000, p.91. [return]
9. Nickell, J., 2004, "PBS `Secrets of the Dead' Buries the Truth About Turin Shroud," Skeptical Inquirer, April 9. [return]
10. Allen, 1998, p.93; 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.260. [return]
11. Allen, 1995; Allen, 1998, pp.93, 100; Schwortz, B.M., 2000, "Is The Shroud of Turin a Medieval Photograph?: A Critical Examination of the Theory," Shroud.com. [return]
12. My scan of the font cover of my copy of Allen's 1998 book. [return]
13. Allen, 1998, p.100. [return]
14. "Plagiarism," Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com, 2020. [return]
15. Schwortz, 2000. [return]
16. Allen, 1995. [return]
17. Wilson, 1998, p.216. [return]
18. Wilson, I., 1979, "The Shroud of Turin: The Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ?," [1978], Image Books: New York NY, Revised edition, p.251; Wilson, 1998, p..234. [return]

Posted 15 November 2020. Updated 21 January 2024.

Shroud of Turin News, October 2020

© Stephen E. Jones[1]

[Previous: August & September 2020] [Next: November 2020]

This is the October 2020 issue of my Shroud of Turin News. Emphases are mine unless otherwise indicated. The articles' words are bold to distingish them from mine.

---

News:
"Charles A. Rogers," Canton Daily Ledger, Canton, IL, 13 October 2020. Charles A. Rogers [Right] was born to Forrest J. and Vera (Bath) Rogers in Canton, Dec. 22, 1941. His intense curiosity and talents for mathematics and analytical thinking sparked a keen lifelong passion for all things science and nature related ... A quiet, sincere Christian, Charles always looked for signs and symbols of what God wanted him to do with his life ... he attended Northwestern University on a full scholarship, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts in Physics. He earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Illinois in 1964, continued studying high energy physics, then in 1967 began work at the Critical Mass Laboratory at Hanford in Richland, Washington. In 1970 he transferred to Westinghouse as a Nuclear Criticality Safety Specialist in support of the Fast Flux Test Facility. In 1997 he served as technical program chair for a topical meeting of the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division of the ANS [American Nuclear Society]. He worked in criticality safety at Hanford until retiring in 2007 ... Ever the scholar, Charles studied and observed natural phenomenon and saw patterns that reflected God’s hands at work in history ... In July 2017 he presented a speech at the International Conference on the Shroud of Turin [in Pasco, Washington], explaining his theory of how free electrons could have formed the image of Jesus on the shroud ... Charles passed away Sept. 14, 2020 at home, in Richland, Washington, after a courageous six year battle against five separate cancers. Where all these physical/chemical explanations for why the 1st century Shroud has a radiocarbon date of 1290-1360, i.e. 1355 ±65 years, fail is what the physicist Frank Tipler pointed out, it would be a miracle if the Shroud was first-century but its radiocarbon date was what it would be if the Shroud was a fake:

"If the radiocarbon date is ignored, there are quite a few reasons for accepting the Shroud as genuine ... But ... what must be answered before the Shroud can be accepted as genuine - is why the radiocarbon date is exactly what one would expect it to be if the Turin Shroud were actually a fraud ... A few decades after de Charny's death [in 1356], the bishop of Troyes [in 1389] denounced the Shroud as a fake and said that he knew the name of the forger, who had confessed. So if the bishop and later skeptics were correct, we would expect the linen of which the Shroud is made to date from the time of the forgery. That is, the middle of the fourteenth century. When the radiocarbon date was discovered to be between 1260 and 1390 (95 percent confidence interval), most scientists (including myself until a few years ago) were convinced that the Shroud had been proven a fraud. If bacterial or other contamination had distorted the date, we would expect the measured radiocarbon date to be some random date between A.D. 30 and the present. It would be an extraordinary and very improbable coincidence if the amount of carbon added to the Shroud were exactly the amount needed to give the date that indicated a fraud. That is, unless the radiocarbon date were itself a miracle ..."[2]

"... in 1988 on the radiocarbon dating of the Shroud. What originally convinced me that the Shroud was a fake was the fact that the date obtained was precisely that expected if the Shroud were a medieval forgery. The Shroud first appeared in France in 1355, and the Arizona laboratory obtained a radiocarbon date of 1350. It seems incredible that later contamination came in exactly the right amount to give an exactly incorrect date. Unless the contamination ... were a miracle"[3]

Tipler believes that the Shroud is 1st century and that its 13th-14th century radiocarbon date was a supernatural miracle by God (but that would make God a deceiver)! See 18Aug15, 19Apr17, 09May17, 20Mar19 & 14Feb20. Including that a better explanation why the 1st century Shroud has exactly the right c. 1355 radiocarbon date if it was a fake, is that the radiocarbon date was a fake, the result of a computer hacking!

"Douglas J. Donahue," Arizona Daily Star, 25 October 2020 ... We are sad to say our beloved father Douglas Donahue[Left [4]] passed away September 25, 2020 ... He was born ... in Wichita, Kansas ... At 16, he drove his Model A across the Pasadena Freeway on its opening day in 1940 [Therefore he was born in 1924?]. WWII followed. Doug volunteered for the Navy ... Doug earned his PhD in Nuclear Physics at the University of Wisconsin and moved to Washington to work on General Electric's nuclear reactor. He loved Academia, took a professorship at Penn State University and, in 1963, began a 37 year career at the University of Arizona, including time as Chairman of the Physics Department. Doug was a pioneer in Carbon 14 dating. In 1983, he assisted in establishing the USA's first accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon laboratory. He radiocarbon dated materials across the world including dating the Shroud of Turin to the 14th Century ... Donahue, with Paul Damon (1921-2005), founded the Arizona radiocarbon dating laboratory in 1981[5]. Donahue was present on 6 May 1988 [see 23Jun18] when Arizona laboratory first

[Above (enlarge)[6]: Extract of historic group photograph (presumably taken by Damon who isn't in it) of those present at the Arizona radiocarbon dating laboratory on 6 May 1988[7] when the AMS computer terminal [left] displayed a date of the Shroud, which when calibrated, was "1350 AD"[8]. The alleged hacker, Timothy W. Linick (1946-89) [see 05Jul14, 22Feb16], is in a black shirt[9], standing in front of everyone, including laboratory leaders Donahue (behind the seated person) and Timothy Jull (behind and on our right of Donahue). This is evidence that Linick was in charge of the fully computerised AMS dating process[10] at Arizona laboratory and those present were acknowledging that [see 22Feb16, 22Nov16, 25Mar18, 23Jun18, 15Jul18, 27Sep18 & 28Oct18].]

radiocarbon dated the Shroud as "1350"[11]. Donahue was one of the 21 signatories to the 1989 Nature article[12] which claimed (fraudulently [see 17Feb19; 20Mar19 & 29May19]) that:

"... samples from the Shroud of Turin have been dated by accelerator mass spectrometry in laboratories at Arizona, Oxford and Zurich ... The results provide conclusive evidence that the linen of the Shroud of Turin is mediaeval ... AD 1260-1390, with at least 95% confidence"[13]

Donahue was reportedly "a devout Catholic"[14] who turned "pale" when he was the first to announce that the Shroud's radiocarbon date was "1350"[15]. But that might have been because Donahue was concerned for the Catholic faith of his wife, Dee, than for his own. Anti-authenticist David Sox (1936-2016) had written that "Donahue's wife [Dee], who believed the Shroud was genuine, was going for 2000 years" and "The night before his [Donahue's] wife [Dee] had jokingly threatened divorce if the Arizona test did not show the Shroud was 2000 years old[16], but Sox doesn't say anything about Donahue's own belief in the Shroud's authenticity. Significantly Douglas and Dee's children in their parents' obituaries, wrote of their mother that:

"Dee was a devout Catholic who volunteered with the Catholic Charities of Tucson and who would often slip into the Benedictine Sisters Monastery down the street from her Tucson home for afternoon prayers. Her spirituality was a cornerstone of her life"[17]

But of their father they wrote not a word of his Catholicism or Christianity:

"Doug's career was Physics, but his passion was his family and community. He taught the value of hard work, education, community engagement, compassion and generosity and choreographed family travels across the United States, Mexico and Europe, including sabbaticals in Oxford and Munich. He served with the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association and was president of the St. Vincent DePaul Conference. He was an active tennis and badminton player into his nineties, competed in the Arizona Senior Olympics, and medaled in the National Senior Olympics in 2001 and 2007"[18].

The French Roman Catholic scholar, Br Bruno Bonnet-Eymard [see 23Jul15a], interviewed Donahue at his Tucson hime in 1991, in which Donahue played a video ridiculing Catholic devotion to the Shroud, and indicated that he believed that the Shroud was a 14th century fake on the basis of the false [see again 1389] d'Arcis Memorandum:

"Last October [1991], I was in Tucson where I met Professor Donahue. He took me to his home to show a video recording of David Sox's programme, `The Threads of Evidence', shown by the BBC in July 1988, three months before Cardinal Ballestrero proclaimed on 13 October 1988 the results of the carbon dating of the `threads' taken from the Holy Shroud (21 April 1988). The programme ridiculed the traditional devotion of the Catholic Church as personified by Father Rinaldi, and presented in advance the results of the dating process being carried out by the laboratories at that time, in order to make them conform with the historical documentation of the `Memorandum of Pierre d'Arcis'. This `Memorandum' revealed that Henri de Poitiers, Bishop of Troyes, had conducted an inquiry in 1355 and had actually discovered the forger [but see 11Jul16]. For Douglas Donahue, the case had been heard: `The Memorandum of Pierre d'Arcis...' he said, with an indulgent smile"[19].

That Donahue was not "a devout Catholic" who "genuinely had high expectations that the Shroud would be found to be of the first century"[20] is evident by his readiness to believe, on the basis of only one radiocarbon dating run, at only one laboratory, and "he did not care what results the other two laboratories got" [see 08Jun14, 30Jan15, 22Sep15, 10Feb18, 23Jun18 & 03Aug19], that the Shroud's radiocarbon date was "1350":

"Based on these 10 one minute runs, with the calibration correction applied, the year the flax had been harvested that formed its linen threads was 1350 AD-the shroud was only 640 years old! It was certainly not Christ's burial cloth but dated from the time its historic record began ... I remember Donahue saying that he did not care what results the other two laboratories got, this was the shroud's age"[21].

As I mentioned in my post of 03Nov16b:

"... in consultation with a leading Shroud pro-authenticist, on 17 May 2014 I emailed Professor Emeritus Douglas J. Donahue a co-founder of the Arizona radiocarbon dating laboratory and a signatory of the 1989 Nature paper. I had read that Donahue was a Roman Catholic[22], who before the test had hoped that the Shroud was first century[23], and that his face became pale after the calculations produced by the AMS computer were displayed on the control console terminal's screen, indicating that the Shroud's date was AD 1350[24]. I therefore thought that when presented with the evidence that Arizona laboratory's radiocarbon dating of the Shroud had been hacked, Donahue might at least admit that was a possibility. So on 17 May 2014 I emailed Prof. Donahue at his Arizona University email address. I stated upfront who I was, the name of my blog with a link to it, and asked him the following questions:

"Have you any information that you would be prepared to share with me for me to publish on my blog about:

1) The circumstances of [Timothy W.] Linick's death?
2) The possibility of Linick being the leaker of Arizona's 1350 date?
3) The possibility of Arizona's C14 date of 1350 being the result of its AMS computer having been hacked?
4) The possibility of Linick being the hacker?

I don't want to receive information from you that I cannot publish on my blog as that will give me an insoluble ethical dilemma. However, if you ask me preliminary questions in reply I won't publish those.

If you wish to remain anonymous I would respect that and not publish, or tell anyone, your name, even my wife. I would just write, `someone who was there at Arizona Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory on 6 May 1988 when the Shroud of Turin was dated 1350 emailed me under the condition of strict confidentiality and anonymity that ...'"[25]

However, I have never received a reply from Prof. Donahue. And since if my theory [see 23Jul15b, 28Oct18, 29May19 & 14Feb20] was false, Donahue, like Jull and Ramsey (see 03Nov16a), would be in the perfect position to show that it was false, I can only conclude that Donahue's silence (as well as Jull's and Ramsey's), is itself evidence that my theory is true!"

I presume there will be an obituary of Prof. Donahue on the Arizona radiocarbon dating laboratory website and/or in the journal Radiocarbon. If there are any further obituaries of Prof. Donahue and I become aware of them, I will link to them and update this section (e.g. his year of birth) if necessary.

I have provided a link to this section about Prof. Donahue as an interim entry in my Turin Shroud Encyclopedia

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. Tipler, F.J., 2007, "The Physics of Christianity," Doubleday: New York NY, pp.178-179. [return]
3. Tipler, 2007, pp.216-217. [return]
4. "Douglas J Donahue," UA Science: Physics, University of Arizona, 2016. No longer online. [return]
5. "About us," Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, University of Arizona, 2020. [return]
6. Gove, H.E., 1996, "Relic, Icon or Hoax?: Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud," Institute of Physics Publishing: Bristol UK, p.176H. [return]
7. Gove, 1996, p.264. [return]
8. Ibid. [return]
9. Jull, A.J.T. & Suess, H.E., 1989, "Timothy W. Linick," Radiocarbon, Vol 31, No 2. [return]
10. Sox, H.D., 1988, "The Shroud Unmasked: Uncovering the Greatest Forgery of All Time," Lamp Press: Basingstoke UK, pp.146-147; Gove, 1996, p.264. [return]
11. Gove, 1996, pp.264, 279; Garza-Valdes, L.A., 1998, "The DNA of God?," Hodder & Stoughton: London, pp.163, 180; Wilson, I. & Schwortz, B., 2000, "The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence," Michael O'Mara Books: London, p.9. [return]
12. Damon, P.E., et al., 1989, "Radiocarbon Dating of the Shroud of Turin," Nature, Vol. 337, 16 February, pp.611-615, 611; Wilson, 1998, p.230. [return]
13. Damon, et al., 1989, p.611. [return]
14. 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.11. [return]
15. Gove, 1996, p.264; Wilson, 1998, p.11. [return]
16. Sox, 1988, pp.147, 151. [return]
17. "Dee Donahue," In memoriam: Funeral notices, Arizona Daily Star, May 3, 2020. [return]
18. "Douglas J. Donahue," Obituary, Arizona Daily Star, October 25, 2020. [return]
19. Bonnet-Eymard, B., 1991, "Study of Original Documents of the Archives of the Diocese of Troyes in France with Particular Reference to the Memorandum of Pierre D'arcis," Shroud News, No 68, December, pp.6-18, 6. [return]
20. Wilson, 1998, p.11; 188. [return]
21. Gove, 1996, p.264. [return]
22. Wilson, I., 1991, "Holy Faces, Secret Places: The Quest for Jesus' True Likeness," Doubleday: London, p.8; Wilson, 1998, pp.11, 188. [return]
23. Wilson, 1991, p.8; Gove, H.E., 1996, "Relic, Icon or Hoax?: Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud," Institute of Physics Publishing: Bristol UK, p.264. [return]
24. Gove, 1996, p.264; Wilson, 1998, p.10; Wilson. & Schwortz, 2000, p.9. [return]
25. Jones, S.E., 2014, "Re: Timothy W. Linick," Email to Dr. Douglas J. Donahue, 17 May, 10:48 PM. [return]

Posted: 6 November 2020. Updated: 12 April 2021.