Artigos

THE EARLIEST PILGRIM BADGES PRODUCED FOR THE SO-CALLED “SHROUD OF TURIN”, Ian Wilson

OS PRIMEIROS SOUVENIRES DE PEREGRINO PRODUZIDOS PARA O CHAMADO “SUDÁRIO DE TURIM”

New light is shed on the medieval history of the so-called ‘Shroud of Turin’ thanks to the chance discovery of a mould for making badges for pilgrims attending the alleged relic’s first known showings in a newly-founded church at Lirey, France. From the badge’s heraldry these showings are now known to have been held under the auspices of Jeanne de Vergy, the young widow of the knight Geoffroi de Charny († 1356), and not during the lifetime of Charny himself as long supposed. This suggests that Jeanne became forced to stage the showings for money-raising purposes due to extreme economic hardships following her husband’s untimely death, thereby dating them to shortly after 1356 rather than before. This same discovery enables the only other surviving example of a Charny-era pilgrim badge, found in the mud of the river Seine and long housed in the Cluny Museum, Paris, to be re-dated to the time of further showings held by Charny’s son of the same name in1389.             

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