Object biography for the Relic of the True Cross. By George Bingham

Object biography for the Relic of the True Cross

The journey of the True Cross is described by numerous but conflicting sources and splits into untraceable stories of each fraction. Therefore, I will focus on the narrative of the relic of the True cross that was in Jerusalem. Due to the religious aspect of the relic its history is more a discussion of legend and legacy rather than a factual chronological narrative. However, the discovery is almost unanimously credited to Saint Helena at the bequest of her son, Saint Constantine the Great. The oldest recounting of the legend is in De obitu Theodosii written in 395 by Ambrose which states that Helena recovered three crosses at Mount Golgotha with the aid of the Holy Spirit in around the year 327. The true cross was identified as it resurrected a young man. This narrative is largely supported by Paulinus of Nola in 402 and Rufinus the next year, although they introduce the assistance of a local bishop called Macarius.  Helena then decided to divide the cross between Jerusalem, Constantinople and Rome. The relic was held in the Basilica of the Holy Cross once it was built on the supposed site of Jesus’ crucifixion. Then in 380 the fragment of the True Cross was venerated and placed in a silver reliquary according to the recorded letters of the pilgrim Etheria[1]. For the next two centuries the fragment resided in the church and attracted swathes of reverent pilgrims. Its enshrined existence was shattered when the rampaging Sassanid Emperor Khosrow II overwhelmed Jerusalem’s imperious defences and removed the fragment of the True Cross from Jerusalem in 614. It is at this point where the fragment completely disappears with no record or account of its location.

This continues until 628 where at the Battle of Nineveh where upon defeating Khosrow II-which resulted in the collapse of his authority over the Sassanid empire- Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, miraculously recovered the relic and returned it to Jerusalem in 630. Professor Constantin Zuckerman casts doubt on this convenient recovery stating that Heraclius probably returned a fake to serve his political purposes as it gained him Christian support[2]. Therefore, the fragment of the true cross was likely lost or destroyed its 14-year disappearance, but this possibility is largely irrelevant in the narrative of the fragment as greater significance should be placed in its significant influence as a result of religious symbolism rather than the validity of its origins.

This returned fragment remained in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the next 400 years despite coming under Muslim control of the Rashidun Caliphate. This was the result of relatively harmonious relationships between religions based in Jerusalem although non-Muslim’s freedoms varied widely throughout. However, at the end of the 11th century the fragment was once again surrounded by chaos which began with the arrival of the Selquks into Palestine. The Selquks crushed the divided Byzantine Empire at Manzikert, in present day Turkey, in 1071 and by 1095 they were within 100 miles of Constantinople. This threat to both European territory and the rights of Christian Pilgrims incredibly managed to unite the majority of Europe to go on the First Crusade in response to Alexos I Komnenos’, the Byzantine Emperor, request for military aid. However, before Jerusalem and the fragment of the True Cross could be ‘saved’ by the crusaders, Jerusalem was seized by a far less tolerant group, the Fatimids.

The armies of the Fatimid Caliphate marched into Palestine in 1098 under the control of Malik al-Afdal seeking to capitalise on division between the Selquks. They stormed the essentially un-garrisoned Jerusalem and plunged the city into absolute chaos due to uncertainty over the tolerance or intentions of this powerful caliphate. This fear amongst Christians resulted in the venerated fragment being hidden by monks in an unknown location. This emphasizes that this holy relic took absolute priority over any property or object, irrespective of monetary value. However, the fragment was soon placed back into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre surrounded by bloody streets after the miraculous assault and following fervent slaughter of thousands by the soldiers of the First Crusade. The recovery of the most important relic in the Christendom represented the complete victory and most significant moment of all the Crusades. Any future Crusade was at its core about protecting the achievement that their forefathers made in 1099. This cause was maintained until the unification of the usually fractured Muslim states under one ruler, Saladin.

After a truce expire Saladin decided to destroy the Crusader states weakened by infighting and lack of leadership. At the Horns of Hattin an army of 20,000 arrived in a last stand having been summoned by the arriére- ban, emergency protocol, against the mass armies of Saladin. To inspire the crusaders to resist the vast horde against them the fragment of the True Cross was brought into battle as a symbol of “everything for which the crusader’s forefathers had toiled”[3]. However, the Franks where quickly encircled and were gradually crushed until they made a desperate last stand to protect the religious symbol of the Crusader states. But this was to no avail and the cross was captured. From this point in history despite its considerable potential to ransom it the fragment of the True Cross disappears from the records and the narrative of the Crusades. Apart from a potential sighting in Damascus, the last recorded moment of this holiest of relics is the desperate defence in the battle that lost Jerusalem. From that moment onwards the Crusader states prioritised short term survival and simply consolidated their much-reduced territories. Therefore, the fragment of the True Cross is inextricably linked to the early success of the Crusades and its disappearance coincided with the beginning of the decline for Crusading Influence in the Middle East.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

The Pilgrimage of Etheria (1919) by M. L. McLure and C. L. Feltoe                                                        Accessed at https://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm Accessed 4 June 2020

Baert, Barbara. “The Legend of the True Cross Reconsidered: A Discovery in the Grotto Church of Andria, Italy (Fifteenth Century).” Artibus Et Historiae, vol. 33, no. 66, 2012, pp. 49–74. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23509744. Accessed 2 June 2020.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Khosrow-II Accessed 3 June 2020

‘Crusaders’ by Dan Jones, Pg111 and Pg290-291

[1] The Pilgrimage of Etheria (1919) by M. L. McLure and C. L. Feltoe

[2] Heraclius and the return of the Holy Cross (2013) by Professor Constantin Zuckerman

[3] CRUSADERS by Dan Jones, Pg290