Old documents on the shroud of turin
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The shroud first emerged historically in 1354, when it is recorded in the hands of a famed knight, Geoffroi de Charnay, seigneur de Lirey. In 1389, when it went on exhibition, it was denounced as false by the local bishop of Troyes, who declared it “cunningly painted, the truth being attested by the artist who painted it.” The Avignon antipope Clement VII (reigned 1378–94), although he refrained from expressing his opinion on the shroud’s authenticity, sanctioned its use as an object of devotion provided that it be exhibited as an “image or representation” of the true shroud. Subsequent popes from Julius II on, however, took its authenticity for granted. In 1453 Geoffroi de Charnay’s granddaughter Marguerite gave the shroud to the house of Savoy at Chambéry, and there it was damaged by fire and water in 1532. It was moved to the new Savoyard capital of Turin in 1578. Ever since, it has been publicly exhibited only rarely, as, in recent times, on the marriage of Prince Umberto (1931) and on the 400th anniversary of its arrival in Turin (1978). In 1998 and 2000 Pope John Paul II arranged for public viewings; he called the shroud “a mirror of the Gospel.” Pope Benedict XVI similarly arranged a public display in 2010, and Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to see it in 2015. A replica of the shroud is housed in the Museum of the Shroud in Turin.
Scholarly analyses—attempting to use scientific methods to prove or disprove its authenticity—have been applied to the shroud since the late 19th century. It was early noticed (1898) that the sepia-tone images on the shroud seem to have the character of photographic negatives rather than positives. Beginning in the 1970s, tests were made to determine whether the images were the result of paints (or other pigments), scorches, or other agents; none of the tests proved conclusive. In 1988 the Vatican provided three laboratories in different countries with postage-stamp-sized pieces of the shroud’s linen cloth. Having subjected these samples to carbon-14 dating, all three laboratories concluded that the cloth of the shroud had been made sometime between 1260 and 1390. However, some scientists raised doubts about the researchers’ methodology. Upon receiving the results of the tests, the Vatican encouraged scientists to conduct further investigations of the shroud’s authenticity and recommended that Christians continue to venerate the shroud as an inspiring image of Christ.
The biblical evidence
Since the Bible is our sole highest authority, and since it is the inerrant, holy Word of God, it would be fitting to start out with the description of Jesus’ burial in the New Testament. There are four mentions of Jesus’ burial cloth, two in the Gospel of Luke and two in the Gospel of John.
Luke 23:52–53 describes the way Jesus’ body was wrapped before he was entombed:
“This man [Joseph of Arimathea] went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.”
Luke 24:12 describes how Peter found the Shroud after Jesus had risen from the dead:
“But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” (emphasis added)
John 19:40 says:
“So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.” (emphasis added)
John 20:5–7 describes the burial cloth of Jesus in a little bit more detail:
“And stooping to look in, he [the ‘disciple Jesus loved’] saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.” (emphasis added)
John 20:5–7 describes the burial cloth of Jesus in a little bit more detail:“And stooping to look in, he [the ‘disciple Jesus loved’] saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.” (emphasis added)This means that, at least according to Luke and John, there were multiple pieces of cloth, contrary to the single-piece Shroud of Turin. The only other possibility is that Jesus was wrapped in strips of cloth that were smeared with sticky myrrh and aloes, a cloth was placed over his face, then the wrapped body was laid on a separate linen sheet that the Bible does not mention. This sheet would then have to be folded over the top of the body, starting at the head. But not only would this be an argument from silence, the sheet should have become stuck to the spice-wrapped strips of linen and the inner cloth layers would have absorbed and otherwise obscured the blood and blood patterns on the body.The Shroud depicts the face of a man on it, but John 20:5–7 states that Jesus’ face cloth was a separate piece of linen, set aside in a place beside the burial “cloths”. John 20:5 calls these cloths “Ï„á½° ὀθόνια” (ta othonia), which is in the plural in Greek. A better understanding, from the Greek text itself, is that the body was wrapped in multiple strips of cloth and the face was covered by a separate cloth.We see this in another New Testament passage that deals with then-current burial customs, and this occurred only a few miles from Jesus’ burial site. John 11:11–45 describes the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus. Verse 44 describes in detail what Lazarus looked like when he came forth from his grave:“The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’”Even if it only specifically mentions his hands and feet, here Lazarus is bound with multiple clothes, just like Jesus was in John 20:7, with a separate napkin around his head.The image of the man in the Shroud
The most notable feature is the face and body of the image on the Shroud, which shows quite a bit of detail. The man’s eyes appear to be closed, and he has hair down to his shoulders. STURP scientists counted 130 ‘blood stains’ coming from the man’s body. His arms are crossed over his groin area. STURP scientists also claim that the man was scourged by a whip with a dumbbell-like tip, which they claim was commonly used by Roman executioners during the first century. Furthermore, based on the nature of the man’s wounds, it appears that he had been carrying a heavy object (possibly the crossbar) to his execution. The man also showed evidence that his feet and wrists (not his hands) were pierced, that he had been stabbed in the side, and that he had worn a crown of spiky objects (possibly the crown of thorns). Streams of blood are visible going down the back of the man’s hands.However, several lines of evidence contradict the idea that the image in the Shroud was that of Jesus Christ. First, the shoulder-length hair should have fallen backwards, since Jesus was lying down in the tomb. Alternatively, his hair would not be free-flowing if his head was wrapped in a separate cloth. Instead, the man’s hair seems to be falling to his shoulders due to gravity. STURP scientists claim that they can detect signs of trauma that the man in the Shroud underwent. The man in the Shroud has a full beard, without any hair torn out. Thus, there is no sign of the trauma that would have happened when Roman soldiers tore out wads of Jesus’ beard when He was being tortured (Isaiah 50:6). This Old Testament passage is referenced by Matthew 26:67 and 27:30, during which the Roman soldiers strike Jesus in the face and also spit on Him. Even though the two passages from Matthew do not specifically mention that Jesus’ beard was torn out, we can still identify Jesus speaking in Isaiah 50:6 where this is specifically mentioned. Also, the famous ‘He was pierced for our transgressions’ passage in Isaiah 52 and 53 says:As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—so shall he sprinkle many nations. (Isaiah 52:14–15a)
HISTORICAL REFERENCESPersian King Chosroes I attacked the Byzantine city of Edessa in 544 AD but was repulsed. Evagrius Scholasticus (born 536 AD), in his 590 AD book Ecclesiastical History, wrote that the people of Edessa believed an image of Christ of "divine origin" allowed them to destroy the siege mound. This is the first reference to the Image of Edessa being a divinely created image (acheiropoieta, meaning "not made by human hands").The legend of King Abgar V, ruler of the city of Edessa (400 miles north of Jerusalem in Turkey) from 13 to 50 AD, locates a cloth with the image of Jesus in Edessa, though it is not called a burial shroud. It says that Jesus was given a towel, and when He had washed Himself, He wiped His face with it. His image having been imprinted upon the linen, He sent it to Abgar with a message. The Acts of Holy Apostle Thaddaeus (6th Century) calls the cloth a tetradiplon (cloth doubled-in-four). This Greek term only appears twice in historical texts, and both times refers to the Image of Edessa. Dr. John Jackson's raking light test in 1978 confirmed tetradiplon fold marks in the Shroud. If it is folded in half three times, the Shroud of Turin displays only the face of the man. There is a famous icon from the 10th century that depicts the image of Edessa being held by Abgar:
In 943 AD the Byzantine Emperor Romanus I sent an army of 80,000 men to besiege the Muslim-held city of Edessa in order to take the Image of Edessa. The cloth was given up, and on August 15, 944 AD it arrived in the Byzantine capitol Constantinople. The Narration De Imagine Edessena, written one year later gives a history of the Image including the legend of Abgar, and tells of a private viewing of the Image by the future emperor Constantine VII and his two brothers-in-law, the sons of Emperor Romanus. One of the most famous Medieval Greek writers, monk Symeon Magister Metaphrastes, wrote the Chronicle around 944, which describes the same event. These documents report that Constantine could see only a faint image, like a "moist secretion, without pigment or the painter's art". The other two men were said to be barely able to make out an image at all because it was so faint.The next day, August 16, the population welcomed the Image to the city. Archdeacon Gregory Referendarius gave a public sermon in which he spoke of the legend of Abgar, and then said "...this reflection... has been imprinted only by the sweat from the face of the originator of life... For these are the beauties that have made up the true imprint of Christ, since after the drops fell, it was embellished by drops from his own side. Both are highly instructive - blood and water there, here sweat and image." Till then the cloth had only been reported to have a facial image.In 958 AD, Emperor Constantine VII sent a letter to his army which was engaged near Tarsus. To inspire them, he mentioned "...the sacred linens, the sindon which God wore, and other symbols of the immaculate passion." "Passion" refers to the suffering and death of Christ. Thus he states clearly that the burial cloth (sindon) was in the possession of the Byzantine Empire.In 1201 AD, Nicholas Mesarites, overseer of the Imperial Relic Collection in Constantinople, published an inventory. It includes "...burial sindones of Christ" that "wrapped the... naked body after the Passion... In this place He rises again..."The French Crusader knight Robert de Clari wrote in his memoirs that the "sindoines in which our Lord had been wrapped" was kept in a church and displayed every Friday, until it disappeared in 1204 with the attack and looting of Constantinople by French Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade.The Shroud was displayed in 1355 in the French town of Lirey. It was in the possession of a famous Templar Knight, Geoffrey de Charny, who claimed it was the cloth that "wrapped the Lord Jesus Christ after his death".SHROUD ILLUSTRATED IN PRAY MANUSCRIPTIn the Budapest National Library is the Hungarian Pray Manuscript, or Pray Codex, the oldest surviving text of the Hungarian language. It was written between 1192 and 1195 AD (65 years before the earliest Carbon-14 date in the 1988 tests). One of its illustrations shows preparations for the burial of Christ. The picture includes a burial cloth with the same herringbone weave as the Shroud, plus 4 holes near one of the edges. The holes form an "L" shape. This odd pattern of holes is found on the Shroud of Turin. They are burn holes, perhaps from a hot poker or incense embers that predate the 1532 fire. There are four sets of the holes, showing how the Shroud must have been folded in four layers when the holes were made. The holes in the top layer are large, and they get progressively smaller in the next three.THE SUDARIUM CHRISTI - THE FACE CLOTH OF CHRISTIn the Cathedral of Oviedo in northern Spain is a linen cloth called the Sudarium Christi, or the Face Cloth of Christ. It is often referred to as the Cloth of Oviedo. The Sudarium Christi is a poor-quality linen cloth, like a handkerchief, measuring 33 by 21 inches. Unlike the Shroud of Turin, it does not have an image. However, it does have bloodstains and serum stains from pulmonary edema fluid which match the blood and serum patterns and blood type (AB) of the Shroud of Turin.The Sudarium Christi has a well-documented history. One source traces the cloth back as far as 570 AD. Pelayo, Bishop of Oviedo in the 1100's, noted in his Chronicles that the Oviedo Cloth left Jerusalem in 614 AD in response to an attack led by Persian King Chosroes II, and made its way across North Africa to Spain. It was transported to Oviedo in a silver ark (large box) along with many other sacred relics. The Sudarium was never in contact with the Shroud since its arrival in Spain around 711 AD.The Oviedo Cloth was placed around the head at the time of death on the Cross and remained there until the body was to be covered by the Shroud in the Garden Tomb. Then it was removed and placed to one side (John 20:7). Oviedo scholar Mark Guscin notes that the practice of covering the face is referenced in the Talmud (Moed Katan 27a). He adds that Rabbi Alfred Kolatch of New York talks of the Kevod Ha-Met or "respect for the dead" as the reason for covering the head. Rabbi Michael Tuktzinsky of Jerusalem in his Sefer Gesher Cha'yim (Volume 1, Chapter 3, 1911) offers as a reason that it is a hardship for onlookers to gaze on the face of a dead person.According to Guscin, studies by members of the Spanish Centre for Sindonology (Dr. Jose Villalain, Jaime Izquierdo and Guillermo Heras of the University of Valencia) using infrared and ultraviolet photography and electron microscopy have demonstrated that this Cloth and the Shroud of Turin touched the same face, although at different points in the burial process. They note that the length of the nose on both cloths is 8 centimeters (3 Inches). Tradition and historical information support the idea that the face touched by both cloths was that of the historical Jesus of Nazareth.
- April 10 (or 16), 1349: The Hundred Year War had been raging between France and England for over eleven years and the Black Death had just finished ravaging most of Europe when Geoffrey de Charny, a French knight, writes to Pope Clement VI reporting his intention to build a church at Lirey, France. It is said he builds St. Mary of Lirey church to honor the Holy Trinity who answered his prayers for a miraculous escape while a prisoner of the English. He is also already in possession of the Shroud, which some believe he acquired in Constantinople.
- 1355: According to the "D'Arcis Memorandum", written more than thirty years later, the first known expositions of the Shroud are held in Lirey at around this time. Large crowds of pilgrims are attracted and special souvenir medallions are struck. A unique surviving specimen can still be found today at the Cluny Museum in Paris. Reportedly, Bishop Henri refused to believe the Shroud could be genuine and ordered the expositions halted. The Shroud was then hidden away.
- September 19, 1356: Geoffrey de Charny is killed by the English at the Battle of Poitiers, during a last stand in which he valiantly defends his king. Within a month his widow, Jeanne de Vergy, appeals to the Regent of France to pass the financial grants, formerly made to Geoffrey, on to his son, Geoffrey II. This is approved a month later. The Shroud remains in the de Charny family's possession.
- August 4, 1389: A letter signed by King Charles VI of France orders the bailiff of Troyes to seize the Shroud at Lirey and deposit it in another of Troyes' churches pending his further decision about its disposition.
- August 15, 1389: The bailiff of Troyes reports that on his going to the Lirey church, the dean protested that he did not have the key to the treasury where the Shroud was kept. After a prolonged argument, the bailiff seals the treasury's doors so that the Shroud cannot be spirited away.
- September 5, 1389: The king's First Sergeant reports to the bailiff of Troyes that he has informed the dean and canons of the Lirey church that "the cloth was now verbally put into the hands of our lord the king. The decision has also been conveyed to a squire of the de Charny household for conveyance to his master".
- November (?) 1389: Bishop Pierre d'Arcis of Troyes appeals to anti-pope Clement VII at Avignon concerning the exhibiting of the Shroud at Lirey. He describes the cloth as bearing the double imprint of a crucified man and that it is being claimed as the true Shroud in which Jesus' body was wrapped, attracting crowds of pilgrims.
- January 6, 1390: Clement VII writes to Bishop d'Arcis, ordering him to keep silent on the Shroud, under threat of excommunication. On the same date Clement writes a letter to Geoffrey II de Charny apparently restating the conditions under which expositions could be allowed. That day he also writes to other relevant individuals, asking them to ensure that his orders are obeyed.
- June 1390: A Papal bull grants new indulgences to those who visit St. Mary of Lirey and its relics.
- May 22, 1398: Death of Geoffrey II de Charny. He is buried at the Abbey of Froidmont, near Beauvais, his tomb decorated with his effigy as a knight in armour.
- 1400: Geoffrey II de Charny's daughter Margaret marries Jean de Baufremont.
- June 1418: The widowed Margaret de Charny marries Humbert of Villersexel, Count de la Roche, Lord of St.Hippolyte sur Doubs.
- July 6, 1418: Due to danger from marauding bands, the Lirey canons hand over the Shroud to Humbert for safe-keeping. He keeps it in his castle of Montfort near Montbard. Later it is kept at St.Hippolyte sur Doubs, in the chapel called des Buessarts. According to seventeenth century chroniclers annual expositions of the Shroud are held at this time in a meadow on the banks of the river Doubs called the Pré du Seigneur.
- 1438: Death of Humbert de la Roche, husband of Margaret de Charny
- May 8, 1443: Dean and canons of Lirey petition Margaret de Charny to return the Shroud to them.
- May 9, 1443: Parliament of Dole gives judgment on case of Margaret de Charny v. the Lirey canons.
- July 18, 1447: The Court of Besançon gives judgment on the case of Margaret de Charny v. the Lirey canons.
- 1448/9: Archives of Mons record Margaret de Charny (as Mme de la Roche) with in her care 'what is called the Holy Shroud of Our Lord' entering Mons and ordering French wine there.
- 1449: Belgian chronicler Cornelius Zantiflet records Margaret de Charny exhibiting the Shroud at Liege.
- September 13, 1452: Margaret de Charny shows the Shroud a Germnolles (near Macon) in a public exposition at the Castle.
- March 22, 1453: Margaret de Charny, at Geneva, receives from Duke Louis I of Savoy the castle of Varambon and revenues of the estate of Miribel near Lyon for 'valuable services'. Those services are thought to have been the bequest of the Shroud.
- 1457: Margaret de Charny is threatened with excommunication if she does not return the Shroud to the Lirey canons. On 30 May the letter of excommunication is sent.
- 1459: Margaret de Charny's half-brother Charles de Noyers negotiates compensation to the Lirey canons for their loss of the Shroud, which they specifically recognize they will not now recover. The excommunication is lifted.
- October 7, 1460: Margaret de Charny dies, leaving her Lirey lands to her cousin and godson Antoine-Guerry des Essars.
- February 6, 1464: By an accord drawn up in Paris, Duke Louis I of Savoy agrees to pay the Lirey canons an annual rent, to be drawn from the revenues of the castle of Gaillard, near Geneva, as compensation for their loss of the Shroud. (This is the first surviving document to record that the Shroud has become Savoy property) The accord specifically notes that the Shroud had been given to the church of Lirey by Geoffrey de Charny, lord of Savoisy and Lirey, and that it had then been transferred to Duke Louis by Margaret de Charny.
- 1465: Duke Louis I dies at Lyon. Just over two decades later a chronicle of Savoy will record his acquisition of the Shroud as his greatest achievement. He is succeeded by his son Duke Amadeus IX an inactive but devout prince who has a Cordelier as preceptor and who shares with his wife Duchess Yolande of France a particular devotion to the Shroud. Amaedeus is said in 1502 to have instituted the cult of the Shroud in the Sainte Chapelle at Chambéry. Yolande founds Chambéry's Poor Clares convent, whose sisters, in a few decades time, will repair the Shroud after the chapel fire. However, Amadeus neglects to honor the terms of Duke Louis's agreement to pay an annual rent to the Lirey canons.
- April 21, 1467: Pope Paul II elevates status of the Chambéry chapel to a co llegiate church.
- 1471: Beginning of second phase of construction of the Sainte Chapelle at Chambéry.
- September 20, 1471: Shroud transferred from Chambéry to Vercelli.
- 1472: Death of Duke Amadeus IX.
- 1472: Philibert I ('The Hunter') of Savoy succeeds his father as Duke at the age of six, although his mother, dowager duchess Yolande assumes the role of regent during his minority.
- May 14, 1473: Two delegates from the canons of Lirey press regent Yolande for eight years arrears in the promised rent, or, in place of this, the return of the Shroud to them.
- July 2, 1473: Shroud transferred from Vercelli to Turin.
- October 5, 1473: Shroud transferred from Turin to Ivrea.
- July 18, 1474: Shroud transferred from Ivrea to Moncalieri.
- August 25, 1474: Shroud transferred from Moncalieri to Ivrea.
- October 5, 1475: Shroud transferred across the Alps from Ivrea back to Chambéry.
- 1477-8: Shroud at Susa-Avigliano-Rivoli.
- March 20, 1478 (Good Friday): Shroud exhibited at Pinerolo.
- 1482: Warrant on behalf of the Lirey canons that the dowager Duchess of Savoy should observe agreement made by her late husband. About this same time Leonardo da Vinci leaves Florence to serve as court painter and military engineer at the court of Ludovico Sforza (Il Moro), Duke of Milan. He will stay in Milan for the next 18 years.
- June 6, 1483: Jean Renguis and Georges Carrelet, respectively chaplain and sacristan of the Sainte Chapelle at Chambéry, draw up an inventory in which the Shroud is described as "enveloped in a red silk drape, and kept in a case covered with crimson velours, decorated with silver-gilt nails, and locked with a golden key."
- 1485: The Shroud is regularly carried around with the Savoys as their Court journeys from castle to castle.
- 1488 Easter Sunday: Shroud exhibited at Savigliano.
- 1494 Good Friday: Dowager Duchess Bianca of Savoy exhibits the Shroud at Vercelli in the presence of Rupis, secretary to the Duke of Mantua. Leonardo begins painting of the Last Supper in Milan, on which he will work for two years.
- 1498: King Louis initiates extensive remodeling of the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. An inventory detailing the Shroud when at Turin in this same year describes its case as "a coffer covered with crimson velours, with silver gilt roses, and the sides silver and the Holy Shroud inside wrapped in a cloth of red silk."
- June 11, 1502: At the behest of Duchess of Savoy Marguerite of Austria, the Shroud is no longer moved around with the Savoys during their travels, but given a permanent home in the Royal Chapel of Chambéry Castle. Duke Philibert, Duchess Marguerite, Francois of Luxembourg, viscount of Martigues, husband of Louise of Savoy (grand-daughter of Duke Louis), together with nearly all the local clergy, attend the ceremony of translation during which Laurent Alamand, bishop of Grenoble, solemnly carries the Shroud in its silver-gilt case from Chambéry's Franciscan church to the Sainte-Chapelle. The Shroud is displayed on the Chapel's high altar, then entrusted to the care of archdeacon Jacques Veyron and the canons of the Chapel, who replace it in its case and deposit it behind the high altar, in a special cavity hollowed out of the wall. In this cavity it is secured by an iron grille with four locks, each opened by separate keys, two of which are held by the Duke. Pope Sixtus IV confers on the Chambéry chapel the title Sainte Chapelle.
- April 14, 1503 Good Friday: Exposition of the Shroud at Bourg-en-Bresse for Archduke Philip the Handsome, grand-master of Flanders, on his return from a journey to Spain. The Shroud, which has been specially brought from Chambéry, with great ceremony, by Duke Philibert of Savoy and Duchess Marguerite, is exposed on an altar in one of the great halls of the Duke's palace. Savoy courtier Antoine de Lalaing records of the events of that day: "The day of the great and holy Friday, the Passion was preached in Monsignor's chapel by his confessor, the duke and duchess attending. Then they went with great devotion to the market halls of the town, where a great number of people heard the Passion preached by a Cordeilier. After that three bishops showed to the public the Holy Shroud of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and after the service it was shown in Monsignor's chapel." Lalaing adds that the Shroud's authenticity has been confirmed by its having been tried by fire, boiled in oil, laundered many times 'but it was not possible to efface or remove the imprint and image.'
- 1509: New casket/reliquary for the Shroud is created in silver by Flemish artist Lievin van Latham, having been commissioned by Marguerite of Austria at a cost of more than 12,000 gold ecus. The Shroud's installation in this new casket takes place on 10 August, before the Sainte- Chapelle's grand altar, in the presence of the presidents of the Council of Savoy and other dignitaries. In return for the gift of the casket, the Sainte Chapelle chapter are required to say a daily Mass for Marguerite and her dead husband Philibert.
- 1511: Private exposition for Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, and for Francesco of Aragon.
- 1513: Death at Chambéry of Marguerite's mother-in-law dowager duchess Claude. She is buried behind the high altar of the Sainte Chapelle, Chambéry, immediately facing the repository containing the Shroud.
- 1516: King Francis I of France journeys from Lyon to Chambéry to venerate the Shroud after his victory at Marignan. Copy of Shroud preserved in the Church of St.Gommaire at Lierre is dated to this year.
- 1518: Shroud exhibited from castle walls at Chambéry in honour of the Cardinal of Aragon.
- 1521: Duke Charles III marries Beatrice, daughter of King Emanuel of Portugal in this year, and they make a pilgrimage from Vercelli to Chambéry to venerate the Shroud. Shroud exhibited at Chambéry for benefit of Dom Edme, abbot of Clairvaux. Carried by three bishops, it is shown on the castle walls, and then for privileged observers hung over the high altar of the Sainte Chapelle, Chambéry.
- 1530: Death of Marguerite of Austria.
- December 4, 1532: Fire breaks out in the Sainte Chapelle, Chambéry, seriously damaging all its furnishings and fittings. Because the Shroud is protected by four locks, Canon Philibert Lambert and two Franciscans summon the help of a blacksmith to prise open the grille. By the time they succeed, Marguerite of Austria's Shroud casket/reliquary as made to her orders by Lievin van Latham has become melted beyond repair by the heat. But the Shroud folded inside is preserved bar being scorched and holed by a drop of molten silver that fell on one corner.
- April 16, 1534: Chambéry's Poor Clare nuns repair the Shroud, sewing it onto a backing cloth (the Holland cloth), and sewing patches over the unsightliest of the damage. These repairs are completed on 2 May. Covered in cloth of gold, the Shroud is returned to the Savoys' castle in Chambéry.
- 1535: Savoy is invaded by French troops. Charles III and his family abandon Chambéry. The Shroud is taken to Piedmont, passing through the Lanzo valley.
- May 4, 1535: The Shroud is exhibited in Turin.
- May 7, 1536: The Shroud is exhibited in Milan. Indicative of the rumours that it had been destroyed in the fire, Rabelais' Gargantua published in France in this year includes a scene in which soldiers sacking a monastery vineyard call upon various saints and relics when attacked with a processional cross by one 'Frere Jean':. 'Some made a vow to St.James, others to the Holy Shroud of Chambéry, but it caught fire three months later so that not a single scrap could be saved...'
- 1537: The Shroud is taken for safety to Vercelli because of French invasions.
- March 29, 1537: The Shroud is exhibited from the tower of Bellanda, Nice.
- 1540: The Shroud at Aosta.
- 1541: The Shroud is once again at Vercelli, where it will stay for the next twenty years.
- Early June 1561: The Shroud is brought back to Chambéry and deposited in the Church of St.Mary the Egyptian, in the Franciscan convent.
- August 15 and 17, 1561: Showings of the Shroud from the walls of the city and in the piazza of the castello.
- 1578: The saintly Cardinal Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) decides to journey on foot from Milan to Chambery to give thanks to the Shroud following release of Milan from the plague. To save Borromeo the rigours of a journey across the Alps Duke Emanuel Philibert orders the cloth to be brought from Chambery.
- September 14, 1578: The Shroud arrives in Turin, heralded by a gun salute from the local artillery.
- Friday, October 10, 1578: Private showing of the Shroud for Charles Borromeo and his companions. Upon removal of its black silk coverlet, the cloth is shown stretched out on a large table.
- Sunday, October 12, 1578: The Shroud is carried in procession from the Cathedral to the Piazza del Castello where, with 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.
- October 14, 1578: After forty hours of devotions, a second procession brings the Shroud to the piazza for a second showing.
- October 15, 1578: Second private showing of the Shroud for the close circle of Charles Borromeo. Cusano describes the Shroud as 'testimony to its own authenticity'.
- June 13, 14 & 15, 1582: Showings of the Shroud on the occasion of a fresh pilgrimage by Cardinal Charles Boromeo to Turin, with Cardinal Gabriel Paleotto as another of the officiants. These showings are recorded on a rare print preserved in the Ufficio Manoscritti e Rari of Turin's Biblioteca Civica.
- May 4, 1604: Showing of the Shroud in the presence of Duke Charles Emanuel I and his Court.
- February 14, 1606: Private showing of the Shroud to Silvestro da Assisi-Bini, father general of the Capuchin order, an offshoot of the Franciscans.
- May 9, 1606: Public showing. The crowd swelled by 40,000 foreigners who had come to Turin to see the Shroud.
- 1608: The thirtieth anniversary of the Shroud's arrival in Turin. A print issued to mark the occasion is preserved in London's British Museum.
- 1620: Shroud shown in the castle piazza to mark the marriage of Duke Vict or Amadeus with Christine of France.
- June 16, 1633: Public showing of the Shroud in the Castle Piazza, Turin.
- May 4, 1635: Public showing of the Shroud in the Castle Piazza, Turin
- 1638: Private showing of the Shroud at Turin for St.Jeanne Franeoise de Chantal, founder of the Order of the Visitation.
- 1640: Shroud exhibited as an expression of thanks for the release of Turin from plague. A painted copy of the Shroud preserved at the Castillo de Garcimunoz was 'extractum ex originali' at this time.
- 1642: Solemn showing of the Shroud to mark the conclusion of peace between the princes of Savoy, in the presence of Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy, her young son Charles Emanuel II, and the princes Maurice and Thomas of Savoy.
- May 4, 1647: At a public showing this year, held in the Cathedral, some of the enormous crowd died of suffocation.
- May 16 and 17, 1663: Exposition of the Shroud in the Cathedral of Turin is delayed from the normal May 4 date to coincide with the wedding of Duke Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy with Francesca d'Orleans. The copy of the Shroud preserved in St. Paul's Church, Rabat, Malta was placed in contact with the Shroud at this time.
- 1665: Showing of the Shroud in the Royal Chapel, in the presence of Archbishop Michele Beggiano, to mark the marriage of Duke Charles Emanuel II with Maria de Savoy-Nemours.
- May 14, 1665 (Feast of the Ascension): Shroud is shown in public before a huge crowd, held up by seven bishops.
- March 24, 1666: Private showing for Duke Maximilian of Bavaria.
- May 4, 1666: Public showing conducted by the Archbishop of Turin and four bishops.
- May 4, 1667: Public showing, with ambassador Morosini of Venice in attendance.
- June 1st, 1694: The Shroud is brought solemnly into the Guarini Chapel where it has remained almost uninterruptedly for over three centuries.
- May 4, 1722: Public showing.
- May 4, 1737: Public showing of the Shroud to mark the royal marriage, commemorated by a print showing a vast crowd in front of the royal palace, as the Shroud is displayed from a balcony.
- June 29, 1750: Showing of the Shroud, presided over by Cardinal Delle Lan ze, to celebrate the marriage of Prince Victor Amadeus (III) with Maria Antonia of Bourbon, Infanta of Spain.
- June 16, 1769: Private showing of the Shroud for Emperor Joseph II of Hapsburg-Lorraine [?]. Shown in the Cathedral from the balcony of the Royal Chapel for the large crowd gathered in the Cathedral.
- October 15, 1775: Marriage of Piedmont Prince Charles Emanuel (IV) with Princess Marie Clotilde of France marked by showing of the Shroud with same ceremonial used in 1750.
- December 9, 1798: Forced to leave Turin and withdraw to Sardinia, Charles Emanuel IV (1796-1802), venerates the Shroud with the rest of the royal family before their departure.
- November 13, 1804: Private showing of the Shroud for the visit to Turin of Pope Pius VII, virtually a prisoner en route from Rome to Paris to crown Napoleon, who would be crowned by none other than the Pope. According to Sanna Solaro '.. The Pope knelt down to venerate it, then examined it in every part, kissing it with tender devotion'. Seven cardinals, eight bishops and many other notables were present.
- May 20, 1814: Solemn showing of the Shroud to mark the return of the monarchy, in the person of King Victor Emanuel. This is the first full public showing of the Shroud 1775 https://www.shroud.com/history.htm
Shroud History
