A newly uncovered medieval document is the earliest known to suggest that the Shroud of Turin, widely believed to have been used to wrap Jesus’ crucified body, is not authentic.
The findings, published in the Journal of Medieval History, add evidence that even in the Middle Ages, people knew that the Shroud was fake.
In the document, medieval theologian Nicole Oresme rejected the Shroud as authentic, with the future bishop claiming it as a “clear” and “patent” fake that was the result of deceptions by “clergy men”.
Mr Oresme later became the Bishop of Lisieux in France and rose as an important figure, well-regarded for his attempts to provide rational explanations for so-called miracles.
In the document, Mr Oresme writes: “I do not need to believe anyone who claims: ‘Someone performed such miracle for me’, because many clergy men thus deceive others, in order to elicit offerings for their churches.”
“This is clearly the case for a church in Champagne, where it was said that there was the shroud of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the almost infinite number of those who have forged such things, and others,” he wrote.
“With this document, the story we already knew from other sources is perfectly confirmed,” said world-leading Shroud of Turin expert professor Andrea Nicolotti.
The Shroud is one of the most studied ancient artefacts, bearing the faint imprint image of the front and back of a man, consistent with accounts of Jesus after his crucifixion.
People still question the genuineness of the shroud to this day, with many maintaining their belief that it is authentic, despite ever-growing research pointing to the contrary.
For instance, a study published earlier this month used 3D analysis to conclude that the shroud was most likely wrapped around a sculpture, rather than Jesus’s body.
Dating of the Shroud material also suggests its linen was produced sometime at the end of the 13th or 14th century.
The newly uncovered document is now the first-ever written, “official”, and highly respected rejection of the Shroud presented to date, researchers say.
It is older than the previously known oldest account, written in 1389 by the bishop of Troyes, Pierre d’Arcis, who rejected the Shroud as a fraud.
“This now-controversial relic has been caught up in a polemic between supporters and detractors of its cult for centuries,” said Nicolas Sarzeaud, the lead author of the new study.
“What has been uncovered is a significant dismissal of the Shroud,” said Dr Sarzeaud, a researcher on the history of relics and images at Belgium’s Université Catholique of Louvain.
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