'Thorn from Jesus's crucifixion crown' goes on display at British Museum

Daily Mail ^ | Thursday, March 24, 2011 | Daily Mail Reporter

[SunkenCiv]

The Crown of Thorns is said to have been seized from Constantinople, the imperial capital of the Roman Empire, in the Fourth Crusade - around AD 1200 - and was later sold to King Louis IX of France while he was in Venice.

King Louis kept the religious relic in the specially-built Saint Chapel and thorns were broken off from the crown and given to people who married into the family as gifts.

The thorn at Stonyhurst College - a 400-year-old Jesuit boarding school - was said to have been given to Mary Queen of Scots who married into the French royal family and she took it with her to Holyrood in Edinburgh.

And following her execution in 1587, it was passed from her loyal servant, Thomas Percy, to his daughter, Elizabeth Woodruff, who then gave it to her confessor - a Jesuit priest - in 1600.

The Jesuits brought it with them to the college and it has been kept at the Ribble Valley college ever since.

Now it is to be loaned to the British Museum in London for a new exhibition, Treasures of Heaven, inspired by saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe.

[Swordmaker]

This is not truly a Shroud of Turin PING, but it is related. It relates to the exhibition of a thorn supposedly crom the Crown of Thorns... So I’m pinging the Shroud list anyway.

[muawiyah]

Go ahead ~ years ago I read of a study someone had done of the various "pieces of the True Cross" which had some sort of certifiable origin (usually back to the raid on Constantinople).

Seems that if you added the mass of all the pieces together it was about 3/4 of a patibulum of the size normally used throughout the Roman Empire.

Same with the thorns ~ there's this one group and it was broken up among members of the same group called by its members "The Family". I'd suppose a formal study would find the pieces would come together as a sort of "crown" we find reflected in the Shroud of Turin. Might be worth doing such a study.

[waterhill]

tube?

here goes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKImhhb3_-8

Bob Whitlock-dereck an the dominoes
‘
Duane Allman slide guitar and harmonics on guitar...

[SunkenCiv]

Yeah, I wanted to put a Monty Python reference in the ping message, but didn’t know if it would help or hurt the click-in count. ;’)

[muawiyah]

Hardly ~ Jesus tossed the money changers and their friends out of the Temple because they were NOT selling the faithful pilgrims anything that would at all be considered a "first fruit".

In short, He didn't really target the sellers or the guys running the cash register of the day (money changing table), but instead went directly after "The Law" as it enlightened the practice of Temple Sacrifice and REIMPOSED IT.

Then, in a matter of days He went out and fulfilled a whole lot more prophecies, was crucified, died, and was buried, and rose the third day ~ conquering death, and created a new religious regime that no longer practiced the burnt offering as provided by "The Law".

Odds are good that your basic money-changer at the Temple recognized the prophecy before others. Jesus' following was made up of a broad segment of society that'd come to recognize Him ~ including tax collectors (or as I believe, especially the tax collectors).

[muawiyah]

We were running a column of tracked vehicles through Regensburg and one of them blew out its engine. We sat there for several hours while a new engine was brought in and changed right there in a street leading to the square where you can see the building you refer to as "the cathedral".

My own track had been stopped swinging around a corner where the building facing the street had been "cut back" to allow room for a track ~ either an APC or tank ~ to pass easily without knocking more holes in the building.

We were allowed to buy icecream and so forth but I imagine if I'd known about the thorn the CO'd given me a 1 hour pass to go look at it.

Darned! Been through that town several times too.

[SunkenCiv]

It’s definitely interesting from either an anthropological perspective, or for fans of P.T. Barnum.

[onedoug]

2000 year old thorns, is it?

[grey_whiskers]

OK, can you Google and post the links to at least a dozen distinct claimants?

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

Sorry, I don't follow the Monty Python reference.

I guess I haven't seen Life of Brian since it was first released...

Cheers!

[grey_whiskers]

If Jesus had a following among the prostitutes and tax collectors, why aren't more politicians Christian?

...especially Democrats

Cheers!

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[fso301]

Cant have the crown of thorns without the spear of destiny

[navyblue]

Mary, Queen of Scots was not simply executed. She was murdered. A frame that said she was guilty of treason. She was a sovereign in her own right as Queen of Scotland. She owed no allegiance to the English queen. Murder was quite common in the Stuarts time.

[rdl6989]

bump!

[HiTech RedNeck]

Such a relic ought to be shown without jewelry, etc. blocking a clear view.

And what’s this, King Louis busted up the original crown?

Even on the view (which I share) that these relics have no supernatural powers in themselves, one would expect at least as much respect as a museum would give any item involved in an important historical event.

[CholeraJoe]

Maybe there’s some holy DNA on it and we can solve that whole vexing Mary Magdalene/Merovingean Line thing.

[GAB-1955]

Considering the fanaticism of the time, I can understand why Elizabeth had her murdered. Mary Queen of Scots was the closest Catholic heir to the throne of England, and Pope Leo had already “deposed” Elizabeth for her “heresy.” It was an act of political self-defense. When Elizabeth died, James, Mary's son, became king of England and Scotland.

[Melian]

Thanks for this interesting ping. I like the way the thorn is displayed wound in a string of pearls. Our faith is a pearl of great price!

[nina0113]

Even on the view (which I share) that these relics have no supernatural powers in themselves, one would expect at least as much respect as a museum would give any item involved in an important historical event.

If it is a real relic (I doubt it), it actually might have some power, though not of its own, but God's through it. I can never remember if it's Acts 18 or 19, but there's definitely Scripture testifying to the healing of the sick by placing handkerchiefs of the Apostles on them.

And yeah, the vandalism bothers me too. I'm sure Louis DID belive in the 'divine right of kings', but that's taking it a bit too far.