13 October 1247
A.D. King Henry III, Wildcat-Claim of a Relic,
Hoodwinkery & Declaration of Indulgences
Graves, Dan. “Mysterious Relic Brought
to Westminster.” Christianity.com. Jun 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/mysterious-relic-brought-to-westminster-11629836.html. Accessed
31 May 2014.
King Henry III was very mysterious. An order he
sent out instructed his nobles to assemble at Westminster Abbey on this day
October 13, 1247. All the king would say was that he had "most agreeable
news of a holy benefit recently conferred upon the English."
The whole nation knew that Henry was strongly
attached to the memory of Edward the Confessor. He had rebuilt Westminster
abbey in his honor and asked the pope to include Edward in the calendar of
saints. He had even named his own first son after Edward. Going beyond that, he
issued instructions for his own body to be buried at the abbey.
Curiosity drew many to the abbey (including the
historian Matthew Paris). What was this holy benefit going to be? Religious
hopes drew others. Henry had permission from the pope for the monks of
Westminster to give the pope's own blessings during certain prayers.
The big day came. Henry announced to the cheering
crowd that he had a most precious relic. Its arrival in England had been kept
top secret. It was a vial of precious drops of Christ's blood. Bishops in the
Holy Land affirmed its authenticity, and there were seals of the Knights
Templars, the Knights Hospitallers and the Patriarch of Jerusalem to back it
up.
Christians believe that it is by the
precious blood of Christ we are ransomed from sin and cleansed from evil. To
the Medieval imagination, a vial of Christ's blood was a remarkable relic,
holding immense power. In some places such vials became the focus of
pilgrimages.
Under a canopy supported on spears and supported by
two attendants (to be sure he did not drop the precious crystal vase), Henry
himself carried the relic the two miles to the abbey. Once he arrived there, he
carried the blood in procession around the abbey and the neighboring royal
buildings before consigning it to the care of the monks.
Preaching a sermon afterward, the Bishop of Norwich
praised the relic and said that indulgences of six years and one hundred and
sixteen days would be granted to anyone who venerated the relic.
The vial of Christ's alleged blood at Westminster
never became a popular pilgrim attraction. Did people doubt its authenticity in
spite of the king's assurances? In Hailes, an abbey founded about the same
time, a similar flask of blood drew large crowds of pilgrims. The Christian
mystic Margery Kempe visited the place and the poet Chaucer mentioned it in his
"Pardoner's Tale."
Today few believe that either vial really contained
Christ's blood. King Henry VIII had the vial at Hailes examined in the
sixteenth century; his agents reported that it consisted of clear honey mixed
with saffron coloring (another account says it was goose blood, replaced fresh
each week). Since the Hailes vial was even better authenticated than the
Westminster vial, the worth of Henry's treasure can be guessed.
The king ordered Matthew Paris to write a full
account of the events of this day and it is to his chronicle that historians
owe the detailed account that has been preserved.
Bibliography:
1. Vincent, Nicholas. The Holy
Blood; King Henry III and the Westminster Blood. Cambridge University Press,
2001.
2. Miscellaneous encyclopedia and
web articles.
Last updated June, 2007
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