One of the most interesting relics in connection with the holy nails is the Iron Crown of Lombardy. This, as may be seen by reference to the illustration (Fig. 1), is a circlet of gold, ornamented with precious stones, and it is indebted for its name of “Iron” to a thin band (A) of that metal, which is inside the gold circlet. The Crown itself is of very antique form, being even devoid of rays, and is too small to go on the head. Charlemagne was crowned with it in 774, and Napoleon did not think himself King of Italy until he had placed this precious diadem on his head, in 1805. It is kept at Monza, nine miles from Milan, in the Cathedral, which is of great antiquity. There it reposes in a huge cross placed over the altar.
Of the relics of the Cross there now remains but two specks of the title or inscription thereon, and here, again, I am indebted to M. Rohault de Fleury for the illustration on page xciv., as it seems to me to be the best yet published.
The Evangelists, although agreeing in the spirit of the inscription, vary as to the letter.
| Says | St. Matthew: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” |
| “ | St. Mark: ”The King of the Jews.“ |
| ” | St. Luke: “This is the King of the Jews.” |
| “ | St. John: ”Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.“ |
Neither St. Matthew nor St. Mark note the tri-lingual character, and SS. Luke and John vary as to the order of the different languages; the former saying it was in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew—the latter that it was in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The latter is the generally accepted form, and the reason given is, that Hebrew, being the common language, it would naturally come first, as we should do in an English notice, first in English, then, say in French and German, for the benefit of foreigners, as were the Greeks and Romans in Jerusalem.
The tradition is that, along with the Cross, St. Helena found the inscription, and that she sent it, together with a piece of the Holy Cross and a number of other sacred relics, to Rome, where it was deposited in the basilica of Santa Croce. Here it remained until Valentinian, fearing that it might fall into the hands of the Goths and Huns, hid it in the wall of the building, until it was found in 1492.
Valentinian died A.D. 375, and Antoninus Martyr, in his De Locis Sanctis (sec. 20), written about A.D. 570, says he saw the inscription which had been placed on the Cross, and that the words were, “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum.” He says that he held it in his hand, and kissed it, in the Church of Constantine at Jerusalem. Hence it is evident that either tradition is incorrect, or that Antoninus did not tell the truth.
But the claim is that it is, and always has been, in Rome, and Bosius, in his Crux Triumphans (p. 60), gives an account of its re-discovery. He says that in February, 1492, Monseigneur Pedro Gonsalvo de Mendoza, Cardinal Sanctæ Crucis, was repairing and cleansing his church, and on the first day of that month, when the workmen reached the top of the arch which was in the middle of the basilica, and near the roof, they saw two small columns; and finding a space, they discovered a niche in which they found a leaden box, well closed, and on its lid was a tablet of marble, on which were engraved these words: Hic est Titvlvs Veræ Crucis. In this box was found a little board, about a hand’s breadth and a half, much corroded on one side by time, and bearing, in grooved, engraved characters, which were coloured red, the following inscription: Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdæorvm. But the word Ivdæorvm was not entire, the last two letters vm having crumbled to pieces by reason of old age. The first line was written in Latin characters, the second in Greek, and the third in Hebrew.
All the city went to see it; and three days afterwards, Pope Innocent went also, and ordered the relic to be preserved in its box, and covered with a sheet of glass. Every one was convinced that they had before their eyes the inscription which Pilate placed upon the Cross over our Saviour’s head, and which Saint Helena had deposited in the church at the time of its building.
The relic, as now seen, is very worm-eaten, but the letters are still visible, and have been cut with a small gouge. They read from right to left, as Hebrew does, thus lending great plausibility to the idea that it was done by some Jewish artificers; and it seems to be of some close-grained wood. Taking the piece now at Santa Croce, the whole inscription, if restored, would be thus: