Curiosities of Christian History Prior to the Reformation

by James Paterson

HOW TO DECIDE ON GENUINE RELICS (A.D. 844).

In 844 two pretended monks brought to the church of St. Cenignus at Dijon a parcel of bones, which they said were the relics of some saint brought from Italy. The bishop did not wish to acknowledge nor yet to despise them, but desired the monks to get testimonials. One monk went away in quest of a certificate, but never returned; the other monk died. Meanwhile, it was reported that the bones worked miracles; for a woman fell down suddenly in church, as if tormented, and yet with no visible cause for her ailment. A rumour then arose, and crowds flocked to the church of all ages and refused to leave. The bishop then consulted the archbishop as to what should be done. The archbishop said that, as there was no certainty, the bones should be removed secretly in presence of witnesses and buried. He said that the bones might have been brought by beggarly knaves only to gratify their avarice, and cause pretended miracles to give them an appearance of sanctity. It was not uncommon for knaves to encourage these abuses, that they might share in the profit and fill their bellies and their purses. He himself had seen in his own diocese persons brought to him who said that they were possessed, but by the exorcism of a few bastinadoes properly applied confessed the imposture, and declared that poverty had led them into it. He advised the bishop to exhort the people to stay quietly each in his own parish; and that when the alms and oblations should be cut off, the rabble would quietly disperse, the illusion would cease, and all would be quiet.

THE CROWN OF THORNS PAWNED AND SOLD (A.D. 1240).

When Baldwin II. was Emperor of Constantinople, the crown of thorns was pawned, as narrated ante, p. 19. Another chronicler gives the following account of that interesting event: In the absence of the Emperor the barons of Romania borrowed money upon the security of this precious relic; and as they could not redeem it, a rich Venetian, Nicholas Querini, undertook to satisfy the creditors on the condition that the relic should be lodged at Venice. The barons informed the Emperor of this bargain; but Baldwin was anxious to snatch the prize from the Venetians, and to vest it with more honour and emolument in the hands of St. Louis, King of France. The King sent two ambassadors to Venice to negotiate for the redemption of the holy crown. The crown was enclosed in a golden vase, and was duly forwarded to Troyes in Champagne, where the Court of France were ready to welcome the inestimable relic. The King made a free gift of ten thousand marks of silver to Baldwin, who was so pleased that he was encouraged to offer the remaining furniture of his chapel, and for twenty thousand marks more the King acquired a large portion of the true cross; the baby linen of the Son of God; the lance, the sponge, and the chain of the Passion; and part of the skull of St. John the Baptist.

THE CROWN OF THORNS BROUGHT TO FRANCE (A.D. 1240).

Matthew Paris’s account is this: In 1240 France exulted in repeated favours of our Lord Jesus Christ, for besides being rewarded with the body of the Confessor Edmund, who had removed himself from England, it was rejoiced by obtaining our Lord’s crown of thorns from Constantinople. Baldwin, Emperor of Constantinople, had sent word that if the French King would give him effectual pecuniary assistance, he, the Emperor, would, in consideration of his old ties of friendship, give him the veritable crown of our Lord, which the Jews had woven and placed on His head when about to suffer on the cross for the redemption of the human race. The French King, by the advice of his council, willingly agreed to this, and, with his mother’s concurrence, liberally sent a large sum of money to the Emperor, whose treasury had been exhausted by continual wars, and this supply inspired the said Baldwin with confident hopes of obtaining a victory over the Greeks. In return for this great benefit obtained from the King, the Emperor, according to promise, faithfully sent to him the crown of Christ, precious beyond gold or topaz. It was therefore solemnly and devoutly received, to the credit of the French kingdom, and indeed of all the Latins, in grand procession, amidst the ringing of bells and the devout prayers of the faithful followers of Christ, and was placed with due respect in the King’s Chapel at Paris.

THE KING OF FRANCE SHOWS THE HOLY CROSS (A.D. 1241).

Matthew Paris says that in 1241 the French King and his mother, Blanche, gave a large sum of money to the Saracens, in order to obtain possession of the holy cross of our Lord. The cross had at first been bought by the Venetians, then pawned by Baldwin, and at last was sold to the French King. This cross, on reaching Paris, was placed in a carriage, in which sat the King, his mother, his wife, and brothers, in presence of the archbishops and nobles, and a countless host of people who were awaiting the glorious sight with great joy of heart. After all had worshipped it with due reverence and devotion, the King himself, barefooted, ungirt, and with head bare, and after a fast of three days, carried it in wool to the cathedral church of the Blessed Virgin at Paris. The two queens also followed on foot. They also carried the crown of thorns, which the Divine mercy had given to France the year before, and raising it on high on a similar carriage, presented it to the gaze of the people. When they arrived at the cathedral church, all the bells in the city were set ringing; and after special prayers had been solemnly read, the King returned to his palace, carrying his cross, his brothers carrying the crown, and the priests following in a regular procession—a sight more solemn or more joyful than which the kingdom of France had never seen. The King ordered a chapel of handsome structure, suitable for the reception of the said treasure, to be built near his palace, and in it he afterwards placed the said relics with due honour. Besides these, there were in the same beautiful chapel the garment belonging to Christ, the lance—that is to say, the iron head of the lance—the sponge, and other relics besides.

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST AT WESTMINSTER (A.D. 1247).

Matthew of Westminster says that about the year 1247 the blood of Christ, which was preserved in the Holy Land as a most precious treasure, was sent and presented to the lord the King of England (Henry III.) by a certain brother of the Hospital, who also sent the treasure written by the lord the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and the masters of the body of knights of the Temple and Hospital, who all with unanimous goodwill and prompt devotion sent and gave and presented this treasure to the lord the King; and he consigned it to his own special house in the church of St. Peter, at Westminster, on the day of the translation of St. Edward, giving it to that church out of his own spontaneous magnificence and liberality. He also on the same day obtained from the bishops who were then present an indulgence of six years and one hundred and sixteen days for all those who came to worship the holy relics and the presence of the Lord. And about the year 1249 the preaching brothers brought a stone of white marble, which ever since the time of Christ had borne the print of the Saviour in the Holy Land; and the inhabitants of the Holy Land asserted that that impression was the print of the footstep of Christ when He was ascending into heaven. And the aforesaid lord the King gave it as a noble present to the church of Westminster, as he had, a little while before, given it the blood of Christ.