Turin Shroud Was Made For Medieval Easter Ritual, Historian Says

Guardian (UK) ^ | October 23, 2014 | Charlotte Higgins

[Steelfish]

Turin Shroud Was Made For Medieval Easter Ritual, Historian Says Charles Freeman believes relic venerated as Jesus Christ’s burial cloth dates from 14th century and was used as a prop

Charlotte Higgins 23 October 2014.

The Turin shroud, revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus, dates from the middle ages, historian says. Photograph: Antonio Calanni/AP When it is exhibited next year in Turin, for the first time in five years, 2 million people are expected to pour into the city to venerate a four-metre length of woven cloth as the shroud in which Jesus Christ was wrapped after his crucifixion, and on to which was transferred his ghostly image.

Despite the fact that the cloth was radiocarbon-dated to the 14th century in 1988, an array of theories continue to be presented to support its authenticity – including, this year, the idea from scientists at the Politecnico di Torino that an earthquake in AD 33 may have caused a release of neutrons responsible for the formation of the image.

But, according to research by British scholar and author Charles Freeman, to be published in the journal History Today, the truth is that the shroud is not only medieval, just as the radiocarbon dating suggests, but that it is likely to have been created for medieval Easter rituals – an explanation that flies in the face of what he called “intense and sometimes absurd speculation” that coalesces around it.

Freeman, the author of Holy Bones, Holy Dust: How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe, studied early descriptions and illustrations of the shroud. None predates 1355, the year of its first documented appearance in a chapel in Lirey near Troyes in France, before it was acquired by the House of Savoy in 1453 and “converted into a high-prestige relic”...

[Swordmaker]

Shroud of Turin PING about an Historian claims that the Shroud was made for Easter celebrations in the 14th Century and that there is no evidence of the Shroud before 1355 AD. But there is, including the 11th Century Pray Codex showing the Shroud with the poker holes, which shoots down his entire thesis.

If you want on or off the Shroud Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Defiant]

Sure thing, Mr. Historian. Just tell us how it was made and I’ll be on my way.

[Squawk 8888]

Ping.

[alexander_busek]

[...] Historian claims that the Shroud was made for Easter celebrations in the 14th Century and that there is no evidence of the Shroud before 1355 AD. But there is, including the 11th Century Pray Codex showing the Shroud with the poker holes, which shoots down his entire thesis.

Correction: "...showing a shroud.

Regards,

[UCANSEE2]

So... really this is just a press release from an author trying to sell a new book.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[UCANSEE2]

What if the author is correct about it being used in an Easter Ritual, AND the reason they used that piece of cloth was because it was reputed to be the burial cloth of Christ ?

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

I believe that pollen studies on the fabric ,
indicate that the shroud is from an earlier era.

[Tucker39]

Better, more scientific men than he have examined the negative image that is almost photographically imprinted into the very fibers of the fabric and came away scratching their heads. The naysayer’s name is Fischer? Jewish, possibly? If so, I would not consider him a prime candidate to render an opinion on a Christian relic; especially after numerous true scientists have exhaustively examined the negative image on the shroud and are at a loss to explain, scientifically, how it got there.

[ifinnegan]

Makes sense.

There’s no reason to believe in Shroud of Turin or any artifacts.

Pagans do that sort of stuff.

There are all sorts of Buddha’s tooths that are venerated, for example.

I think it does not diminish it’s uniqueness that it would be something made to commemorate the Resurrection in times past.

I think it’s fantastic that such an artifact exists from our Christian heritage.

But believing in Holy Grails, pieces of wood from the cross, Shroud of Turin is superstition.

[Tucker39]

My bad. It’s late. His name is Freeman. Same reply. I take his opinion with several pounds of salt, and I’m not even a Catholic.

[BlackVeil]

Thanks for the ping - and what a beautiful graphic you have for the list. Outstanding! I love medieval art.

[maine-iac7]

God grief, what rock has this guy been hiding under for the lase 30+ years?

There are libraries worth of expert research and tests and hypothesis, books, films, - a virtual plethora of evidence testifying not only to the authentic dating of The Shroud to the correct time and area - but also every tortured attempt at disproving it or duplicating it’s method of manufacture has been shot down.

I’ve been following The Shroud since before the STURP team on 1978.

But perhaps this History Channel documentary done a few years ago is the most inclusive for someone new to the evidence and studies. Well worth watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJPJ4JwHeE

[maine-iac7]

So... really this is just a press release from an author trying to sell a new book

by George, I think you've nailed it.

[timestax]

[21twelve]

From what I have read and seen, I “believe” that the Shroud of Turin was the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. And it bears witness to the miraculous event known as the resurrection. But I could be wrong.

I believe in Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead.

But agreed - belief “in” a thing such as a a chunk of wood or a piece of cloth is not right.

[LadyDoc]

But believing in Holy Grails, pieces of wood from the cross, Shroud of Turin is superstition.

yes, very superstitious. But very human. How many people collect stuff from Elvis? Or Lincoln? How many buy souveniers from Washington DC or other places they visit?

The church has never decided if the shroud is real or not (some early bishops insisted it was a fake). They don't encourage the idea which is why most of the time it is hidden away.

If it is real, one is reminded of the test of Gamaliel: If it is real, it will persist no matter what. If it's a fake, it will disappear on it's own. So the church will allow scientific testing and discussion, let the pilgrims see it once a decade, and wait another thousand years or so before they make a decision.

[Swordmaker]

Correction: "...showing a shroud.

Since the Shroud of Turin has those exact poker holes burnt in it in the same L pattern, and the herring bone weave pattern, unlike any other, It most likely is the Shroud of Turin being shown.

There is also a medallion struck in the 12 Century showing the double sided Shroud. Then there is the description of the Shroud from August 14, 944 AD in the Sermon of Gregorius Refendarius in which he relates the double image of Jesus on the Cloth. . . on the arrival of the Image of Edessa in Constantinople at the Hagia Sophia. There are many representations of Jesus in which there are points of comparison that match the Shroud.

Then there is the 11th Century letter of Sir Robert di Clari describing how, on every Sunday, the miraculous image of Christ on his burial cloth was raised at the Hagia Sophia for the worshippers to see. The Burial Shroud of Jesus was listed in the inventory of relics in Constantinople before the Knights of the 4th Crusade sacked the city and stole everything not nailed down and even some of those things.

[Swordmaker]

I believe that pollen studies on the fabric ,indicate that the shroud is from an earlier era.

You believe correctly. Professor Avinoam Danin, of the University of Jerusalem, the world's foremost expert on botany of the Israel area, and a world renowned expert on palynology identified multiple plant images on the Shroud as well as pollen from those plants that are distinctive plants that grow only in the Jerusalem area. One of the plants and pollens went extinct 1200 or so years ago.

THE ORIGIN OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN FROM THE NEAR EAST AS EVIDENCED BY PLANT IMAGES AND BY POLLEN GRAINS by Dr. Avinoam Danin,
Professor of Botany, Department of Evolution,
Systematics, and Ecology
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel 91904
Copyright 1998
All Rights Reserved
Reprinted by Permission

Hundreds of images of plant parts, such as flowers, flowering buds, fruits, stems, and leaves were found on high-grade photographs made from negatives by Enrie of 1931. These photographs were enlarged to life size and many were photographically enhanced to show these faint images more clearly. These images are mainly clustered around the head area but also extend down the sides of the upper body and onto the abdomen. They were observed initially by Dr. A. and Mrs. M. Whanger, and were confirmed more recently by me. While the images are of slightly wilted flowers rather tightly clustered together, many of them are quite identifiable even though they are faint, partial, and of low contrast. Experimental studies with corona discharge by physicist O. Scheuermann produced images from flowers similar to the images found on the Shroud. Nearly thirty species have been identified visually from the Shroud images. This correlates significantly with the studies by forensic microscopist Dr. Max Frei, who took sticky tape samples from the Shroud in 1973 and 1978. He found many pollen grains on these tapes, and tentatively identified some fifty-eight genera or species, mostly from plants growing in the Near East. Gundelia tournefortii L., a thorn, is one of the plants whose images I identified near the anatomical right side of the head image. Dr. Uri Baruch, palynologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority who made his M.SC. and Ph.D. dissertations on the flora of Israel, analyzed most of Frei's 1973 sticky tape pollen specimens and ten of the twenty-five 1978 sticky tapes. He examined 165 pollen grains, of which 45 (27.3%) were Gundelia tournefortii. On some of the tapes, he found more than ten grains in an area less than 5x1 cm. When Baruch was collecting "pollen rain" at various sites in the Judean Mountains and Judean Desert, he never found at any site more than 1 or 2 grains of this plant. The images of the plant and the presence of so many of its pollen grains on the Shroud prove that blooming plants were placed on the Shroud, as the pollen grains could not have been deposited by wind. G. tournefortii blooms in Israel from February (in the semi-desert warm parts) to May (in Jerusalem), hence testifying the time these plants could have been placed on the Shroud. G. tournefortii grows only in the Near East; therefore, the Shroud could have come only from the Near East.

Images of Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss, an endemic plant of Israel, Jordan, and Sinai, do not need any verification of pollen grains, although they are present in Frei's list. Two kinds of leaf images as well as flower images of this plant were identified on the Shroud. The unique leaf pattern development, visible on the Shroud, will be illustrated. Other species of Zygophyllum do not have this morphology. These plant images are observed on both the Enrie (1931), Miller (1978), Pia (1898) photographs, and I saw the large leaf with my own eyes armed with binoculars when visiting Turin June 5, 1998. All these indicate that the Zygophyllum images are not photographic artifacts. The northernmost place on earth where this plant could have been collected fresh is 15-30 km between the Sea Level sign on the road to Jericho and the Jordan River.

The authenticity of the Near East as the source of the Shroud of Turin is completely verified to me as a botanist through the images and pollen grains of Gundelia tournefortii and the images of Zygophyllum dumosum leaves. Other important botanical findings, such as the images of some 200 fruits of two-three species of Pistacia and the reed Arundo donax, will be described and illustrated by photographs. Using my data base of more than 90,000 sites of plant distribution, the place that best fits the assemblage of the plant species whose images and often pollen grains have been identified on the Shroud is 10-20 km east and west of Jerusalem. The common blooming time of most of these species is spring = March and April.