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The Shroud of Turin has survived multiple fires throughout its history. The most significant previous fire occurred on December 4, 1532, in the Sainte Chapelle in Chambéry, France. During this fire, the heat caused the silver casket holding the Shroud to melt, resulting in molten silver damaging the cloth. The long marks on the Shroud were the result of that fire. The Shroud survived another fire in 1997.
There are claims that the Knights Templar possessed a relic showing a red image of a bearded man, but this is not definitively linked to the Shroud.
Some historians maintain that a burial cloth, possibly the Shroud, was owned by Byzantine emperors but disappeared during the 1204 sack of Constantinople. This speculation is partly based on analysis of gold micro-particles found on the cloth. They suggest it may have been taken during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204.
Documented evidence of the Shroud's existence surfaced just after the Black Death, a devastating plague that killed an estimated 30-60% of Europe's population between 1347-1351. Surely that was a time in history when the people cried out for a Messiah.
The Shroud first emerged historically in 1354, when it is recorded as being in the possession of Geoffroi de Charny. The documented history of the Shroud dates back to 1354, when it was first exhibited in the collegiate church of Lirey, a village in north-central France.
Who was Geoffroi de Charny?
Geoffroi de Charny (c. 1300-1356) came from an illustrious family of French knights. Charny was a renowned French knight and nobleman, who served King Jean II. He was known for his piety and chivalric values.
Geoffroi de Charny played a significant role in the early history of the Shroud of Turin and contributed to its historical and religious significance.
De Charny is considered the first verifiable owner of the Shroud. It is speculated that he acquired it during his military campaigns, possibly on a crusade.
In 1353, de Charny founded a collegiate church in Lirey, France. The Shroud was first publicly displayed there, although the foundation document does not mention it.
The Shroud was exhibited in Lirey around 1355-1356, attracting pilgrims and controversy. Bishop Pierre d'Arcis later claimed it was a forgery.
After de Charny's death at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, his widow Jeanne de Vergy continued to display the Shroud, and it remained in the family's possession until it was transferred to the House of Savoy in 1453.
The Shroud remained owned by the House of Savoy, the former royal family of Italy, for several centuries. The Shroud has been kept in the Cathedral of Turin (Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista) in Turin, Italy since 1578.
In 1983, the former King of Italy, Umberto II, bequeathed the Shroud to the Pope and his successors, officially transferring ownership to the Holy See.
Today, the Pope is the official owner of the Shroud. It is held in trust by the Archbishop of Turin. So while the Pope is the official owner, the Shroud is physically housed in Turin under the care of the local archdiocese.
What technical features make the image so incredible?
The Shroud of Turin's image possesses many extraordinary technical features which can not be explained naturally. The technology to forge the Shroud, let alone even the knowledge of these special qualities did not exist at the time it surfaced, let alone at the start of the millennium when Jesus was crucified. Here just some of the amazing details about the image:
1. The image appears as a photographic negative, with light and dark areas reversed, making it more realistic when viewed in a photographic negative.
2. The image is extremely superficial, affecting only the topmost fibers of the linen threads, and penetrates only about 200 nanometers into the fibers.
3. The image encodes three-dimensional information, allowing scientists to create 3D reconstructions of the body.
4. Unlike typical images, the Shroud's image lacks directionality, suggesting it was formed by a collimated* process, not by direct contact or brushstrokes.
* Collimated -- Rays of light or particles made accurately parallel. ("a collimated electron beam"). Collimated light occurs when light rays are travelling parallel to each other, as opposed to converging to a focus or diverging away from the center. Essentially, you can consider collimated light to be focused at infinity.
Producing perfectly collimated light can be challenging and often requires specialized equipment or specific conditions.
5. The image is monochromatic and exhibits a halftone effect, where the intensity is determined by the number of discolored fibers per unit area.
The technique of producing halftone images was introduced in the 19th century. Specifically, the halftone process, which allows for the reproduction of images with varying shades of gray using dots of different sizes and spacing, was developed in the 1850s and 1860s. The Shroud was created LONG before this method existed!
These features contribute to the ongoing mystery and fascination surrounding the Shroud of Turin.
How is Shroud of Turin photograph a photo negative?
The image's of the Shroud of Turin created a major stir when it was first photographed in 1898.
- This negative image quality was first discovered in 1898 by photographer Secondo Pia when he took the first photographs of the Shroud.
- When photographed, the light and dark areas of the Shroud image are reversed, appearing more natural and realistic in the photographic negative.
- The human image on the Shroud can be discerned more clearly in a black and white photographic negative than in its natural sepia color.
- This means the actual image on the Shroud cloth is a negative image, with light and dark areas reversed compared to a normal positive image.
- The Shroud only contains image information on the cloth's surface fibers.
- The negative image quality of the Shroud remains unexplained and is considered one of its most mysterious aspects.
Back - The anatomical details on the image appear are extremely lifelike and revealing. For example you can see the scourge marks of Yeshua's back.
- Faint and Superficial: The image is faint and superficial, affecting only the topmost fibers of the cloth. It is more visible from a distance and fades when viewed closely.
- No Image Under Threads: The image does not appear under the crossing threads of the weave, indicating that it is only on the surface fibers. If blood seeped through the garment to make the image it can't be explained why the image is only on the surface.
- 3D Information: The image varies in intensity based on the distance between the cloth and the body, providing a three-dimensional effect.
- The technology to fully recreate all aspects of the Shroud of Turin does not exist today, despite significant advances.
- Researchers have been able to replicate some features of the Shroud using modern techniques, but not all of its unique characteristics simultaneously.
- Scientists from ENEA in Italy used excimer lasers to produce superficial coloration similar to the Shroud's image, but found it impossible to reproduce the full-body image using a single laser.
- The $1 million challenge to replicate the Shroud highlights the difficulty in recreating all its features, especially using only materials and methods available in medieval times.
- While some researchers claim to have reproduced the Shroud (like Luigi Garlaschelli), their replicas do not fully match all the Shroud's properties, particularly at the microscopic level.
- The Shroud's image has several extraordinary features that are challenging to replicate, including its superficiality, 3D information encoding, lack of directionality, and specific coloration depth.
