The Shroud of Turin and the Knights Templar
The Shroud of Turin is one of the most famous and controversial religious relics in the world. A length of linen cloth bearing the faint image of a crucified man, the Shroud is venerated by many Christians as the burial cloth of Jesus Christ, although its authenticity has been debated by scholars for centuries. The Shroud has been the subject of a vast popular and scholarly literature, and it has been the center of a complex mythology that includes a legendary connection to the Knights Templar.
This article examines the history of the Shroud and the legend of its connection to the Templars. It is a companion to Templar Mythology, Symbolism and Hidden Knowledge and to The Modern Legacy of the Knights Templar.
The History of the Shroud
The Shroud of Turin is a length of linen cloth, approximately 4.4 meters long and 1.1 meters wide, that bears the faint front-and-back image of a man who appears to have been crucified. The image is consistent with the Gospel accounts of the burial of Jesus, and the cloth is venerated by many Christians as the burial cloth of Christ.
The earliest known exhibition of the Shroud was in Lirey, a small town in the County of Champagne in northeastern France, in the 1350s. The exhibition was the work of a French knight named Geoffroi de Charny, who claimed that the Shroud had been in his family’s possession for some time. The exhibition was controversial from the start, and the Bishop of Troyes condemned the Shroud as a fake in 1389.
The Shroud was later acquired by the House of Savoy, the rulers of the Duchy of Savoy in northwestern Italy, and it has been kept in Turin since 1578. In 1983, the Shroud was given to the Holy See by the House of Savoy, and it is now the property of the Vatican.
The Radiocarbon Dating
In 1988, the Shroud was subjected to radiocarbon dating by three independent laboratories: the University of Arizona, the University of Oxford, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The results indicated that the Shroud was made from linen that dated to between 1260 and 1390 AD, which is consistent with the date of its first exhibition in Lirey.
The radiocarbon dating has been challenged by some scholars, who argue that the samples tested may have been contaminated by later repairs to the cloth. The most common challenge is that the cloth was contaminated by soot from a fire in 1532, when the chapel in Chambéry that housed the Shroud was destroyed by fire.
The Vatican has not taken an official position on the authenticity of the Shroud, and the question remains open.
The Templar Connection
The connection between the Shroud of Turin and the Knights Templar is one of the most popular and persistent elements of the modern Templar mythology. According to the legend, the Shroud was in the possession of the Templars at the time of their suppression in 1312, and it was hidden from the French crown by the brothers. The Shroud was allegedly rediscovered in the mid-14th century by Geoffroi de Charny, a French knight who had been associated with the Order.
Several variants of the legend exist:
- The Templar Possession Legend: According to this version, the Shroud was in the possession of the Templars, possibly as early as the 12th century, and it was hidden from the French crown during the suppression of 1312.
- The Templar Authentication Legend: According to this version, the Templars had authenticated the Shroud as the burial cloth of Christ, and they had used it as part of their initiation ceremonies.
- The Templar Transfer Legend: According to this version, the Shroud was transferred from the Templars to Geoffroi de Charny in the 14th century, possibly as part of a secret arrangement with the surviving Templars.
None of these legends is supported by strong historical evidence. The Shroud was first exhibited in Lirey in the 1350s, and there is no documentary evidence that it was in the possession of the Templars before that date.
The Evidence
The evidence for the Templar connection is, at best, circumstantial:
- The Shroud was first exhibited in the County of Champagne, the same region where the Templars were founded and where they held many of their most important commanderies. See The Founding of the Order.
- The de Charny family was associated with the Templars, and Geoffroi de Charny (a different person from the one who exhibited the Shroud) was a famous French knight and author of a treatise on chivalry.
- The Bishop of Troyes who condemned the Shroud as a fake in 1389 was Pierre d’Arcis, who was later associated with the suppression of the Templars in the region.
- The radiocarbon dating of the Shroud is consistent with a 14th-century origin, and the date of the first exhibition in Lirey is consistent with the post-suppression period.
These pieces of evidence are suggestive, but they are far from conclusive. The most likely explanation is that the Shroud was a medieval creation, possibly produced by a religious or political figure of the 14th century, and that the Templar connection is a later addition to the legend.
The Shroud in Templar Mythology
The Shroud has been an important element in the modern Templar mythology. The mythology includes:
- The idea that the Templars had discovered the Shroud during their occupation of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
- The idea that the Templars had used the Shroud as part of their initiation ceremonies, possibly as the “head” or “idol” that the brothers venerated. See What Was Baphomet?.
- The idea that the Templars had hidden the Shroud from the French crown during the suppression of 1312, and that it was later recovered by a French knight.
These ideas are examined in detail in Templar Mythology, Symbolism and Hidden Knowledge.
The Shroud in Popular Culture
The Shroud has been a popular subject in modern culture, and it has been the focus of numerous documentaries, books, and films. The most famous of these is Ian Wilson’s 1978 book The Shroud of Turin, which first popularized the Templar connection. Wilson’s book was followed by a series of other books and documentaries, including the 2003 BBC documentary The History of the Shroud and the 2010 film The Shroud.
The Shroud is also mentioned in several novels, including Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, in which the Shroud is presented as a possible Holy Grail.
Conclusion
The Shroud of Turin is one of the most famous and controversial religious relics in the world, and the legend of its connection to the Knights Templar is one of the most popular elements of the modern Templar mythology. The legend is not supported by strong historical evidence, and the Shroud’s authenticity as the burial cloth of Christ is not established. The story of the Shroud and the Templars is, however, a major part of the modern legacy of the Order, and it continues to be the subject of intense interest from scholars, from theologians, and from the general public.