“Now at Millan they boste that thei have y nayle that was put in Constantine’s horse bitte. To the whiche the towne of Carpentras opposeth herselfe, sayinge that it is she that hath it. Nowe S. Ambrose doth not saye that the nayle was knit to the bitte, but that the bitte was made thereof. Whiche thynge can in no wyse be made to agre eyther wt their saying of Milan or wt theirs of Carpentras.
“Moreover there is one in Rome at Sainct Helenes; another also at Sene, another at Venise. In Germany two: at Collyne one, at the three Maries: another at Triers, one in Fraunce at the holy chappell of Paris, another at ye Carmes, one also at Sainct Denis in France: one at Burges: one at Tenaill, one at Draguine.
“Beholde here fourteene, whereof account is made; in every place they alledge good approbation for themselves, as they suppose. And so it is that everye one hath as good right as aunother. Wherefor there is no better way then to make them all passe under one fidelium. That is to saye, to repute all that they saye hereof to be but lyes, seying that otherwise a man shoulde never come to an ende.”
What would Calvin have said if he had seen the formidable list of holy nails enumerated by Guisto (or Justus) Fontanini, Archbishop of Ancyra? which is as follows:—
- 1. Aix la Chapelle.
- 2. Ancona, in the Cathedral.
- 3. Bamberg.
- 4. In Bavaria, Convent of Audechsen.
- 5. Carpentras. The Holy Bit.
- 6. Catania, Sicily.
- 7. Colle, in Tuscany.
- 8. Cologne.
- 9. The Escurial in Spain.
- 10. Milan.
- 11. Monza. The Iron Crown.
- 12. Naples. Monastery of S. Patricius.
- 13. Nuremberg. Church of the Holy Virgin.
- 14. Paris.
- 15. Rome. Two Nails. Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem; Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli.
- 16. Sienna. Hospital Sainte Marie de de l’Echelle.
- 17. Spoleto.
- 18. Torcello, near Venice. Church of S. Anthony.
- 19. Torno, on the Lake of Como.
- 20. Toul.
- 21. Trèves.
- 22. Venice. Three nails.
- 23. Vienna.
But this list is further supplemented by M. Rohault de Fleury, who gives six more:—
- 1. Arras, according to M. le Chev. de Linas.
- 2. Compiègne. A point.
- 3. Cracow, in Poland, according to M. Gosselin.
- 4. Florence.
- 5. Lagney.
- 6. Troyes.
So that no less than twenty-nine towns claim the possession of thirty-two nails, all differing in form, the number of which can only be accounted for by the supposition that only a portion of the holy nails has been incorporated into each of them.
The Title of the Cross.