The
Holy Lance (also known as the
Spear of Destiny,
Holy Spear,
Lance of Longinus,
Spear of Longinus or
Spear of Christ) is the name given to the
lanceThe term lance has become a catchall for a variety of different pole weapons based on the spear. The name is derived from lancea, Roman auxiliaries' javelin, although according to the OED, the word may be of Iberian origin....
that pierced Jesus's side in
John's accountThe Gospel of John , is the last of the four canonical gospels. This non synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth...
of the
crucifixion of JesusThe crucifixion of Jesus is an event that occurred during the first century A.D. in which Jesus was arrested, tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged and finally executed on a cross...
.
Biblical references
The lance is mentioned only in the
Gospel of John and not in any of the
Synoptic GospelsThe synoptic Gospels are three Gospels in the New Testament the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, and the Gospel of Luke, that display a high degree of similarity in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence and paragraph structures...
. The gospel states that the Romans planned to break Jesus' legs, a practice known as
crurifragium, which was a method of hastening the death during a crucifixion. Just before they did so, they realized that Jesus was already dead and that there was no reason to break his legs. To make sure that he was dead, a Roman Centurion named in extra-Biblical tradition as
LonginusLonginus is the name given in medieval and some modern Christian traditions to the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus in his side with a lance while he was on the Cross...
stabbed him in the side.
- '… but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water.'
The phenomenon of blood and water was considered a miracle by
OrigenOrigen was an early Christian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished of the early fathers of the Christian Church. According to tradition, he is held to have been an Egyptian who taught in Alexandria, reviving the Catechetical School of Alexandria where Clement of Alexandria had...
(although the water may be explained biologically by the piercing of the
pericardial sinusThere are two Pericardial sinuses: transverse and oblique.* The cul-de-sac enclosed between the limbs of the inverted U of the venous mesocardium lies behind the left atrium and is known as the oblique sinus...
secondary to
cardiac tamponadeCardiac tamponade, also known as pericardial tamponade, is an emergency condition in which fluid accumulates in the pericardium . If the fluid significantly elevates the pressure on the heart it will prevent the heart's ventricles from filling properly. This in turn leads to a low stroke volume...
.)
CatholicsCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole...
generally choose to employ a more
allegorical interpretationAllegory is a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. An allegory is a device that can be presented in literary form, such as a poem or novel, or in visual form, such as in painting or sculpture...
: it represents the
ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
(and more specifically, the
sacramentA sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is what Roman Catholics believe to be "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an...
s of
BaptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
and the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
) issuing from the side of Christ, just as
EveEve was, according to the Book of Genesis and the Quran, the first woman created by God, and an important figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Her husband was Adam, from whose rib God created her to be his companion...
was taken from the side of Adam.
One of the earliest mentions of a
relicA relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Shamanism, and many other religions....
preserved as the Holy Lance is in the account of the pilgrim
Antoninus of PiacenzaThe sixth-century pilgrim Antoninus of Piacenza who described the holy places of Jerusalem in the 570s is confused often with Saint Antoninus of Piacenza, who is venerated as a saint and martyr in the Roman Catholic Church, with a feast day of 13 November in the Ambrosian calendar...
, about 570, who described the holy places of Jerusalem, where he saw in the basilica of
Mount ZionMount Zion is an elevation west of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel. Jewish scriptures apply the term "Mount Zion" to the Temple Mount or the City of David, both located on this elevation...
"the crown of thorns with which Our Lord was crowned and the lance with which He was struck in the side". According to the
Catholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and it was completed in April 1914...
, the presence in Jerusalem of this relic is attested half a century earlier by
CassiodorusFlavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname not his rank....
and was known to
Gregory of ToursSaint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
.
In 615 Jerusalem was captured for the Persian King
Khosrau II250px|thumb|Khosrau II was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628...
; according to the
Chronicon PaschaleChronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Byzantine universal chronicle of the world...
, the iron point of the lance, which had been broken off, was given in the same year to Nicetas, who took it to Constantinople and deposited it in the church of
Hagia SophiaHagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
.
This lance-point, embedded in an
iconAn icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism...
, was obtained in 1244 from the Latin emperor at Constantinople,
Baldwin IIBaldwin II of Courtenay was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.He was a younger son of Yolanda of Flanders, sister of the first two emperors, Baldwin I and Henry of Flanders...
, by
Louis IX of FranceLouis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was a member of the House of Capet, the son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile...
, who enshrined it with his relic of the
Crown of ThornsIn Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus before his crucifixion. It is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew , Mark , and John and is often alluded to by the early Christian Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria,...
in the Sainte Chapelle, Paris.
During the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
these relics were removed to the Bibliothèque Nationale and then disappeared.
Longinus
The name of the soldier who pierced Christ's side is not given in the Gospel of John, but in the oldest known references to the legend, the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus appended to late manuscripts of the 4th century
Acts of PilateThe Acts of Pilate is a book of the New Testament Pseudepigrapha. Its date is uncertain, but scholars agree in assigning it to the middle of the fourth century. The text is found in the Gospel of Nicodemus, with additional material...
. The soldier is identified as a
Centurion-Military:* Centurion, professional officer of the Roman army* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy-Transport:* Centurion Engines, German series of aircraft engines...
and called
Logginus or LonginusLonginus is the name given in medieval and some modern Christian traditions to the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus in his side with a lance while he was on the Cross...
(making the spear's "correct" Latin name
Lancea Longini).
A form of the name Longinus also occurs on a miniature in the
Rabula GospelsThe Rabbula Gospels, or Rabula Gospels, is a 6th century illuminated Syriac Gospel Book. One of the finest Byzantine works produced in Asia, it is distinguished by the miniaturist's predilection for bright colours, movement, drama, and expressionism.- Description :The Gospel was completed in 586...
(conserved in the
Laurentian LibraryThe Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy is famous as a repository of more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books...
,
FlorenceFlorence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence...
(
illustration), which was illuminated by one Rabulas in the year 586. In the miniature, the name
LOGINOS (ΛΟΓΙΝΟC) is written in Greek characters above the head of the soldier who is thrusting his lance into Christ's side. This is one of the earliest records of the name, if the inscription is not a later addition.
Another "Longinus" is credited with the authorship of the treatise
On the Sublime. Roman names held little variety, especially among members of the same family.
Various relics claimed to be the Holy Lance
There have been many relics that are claimed to be the Holy Lance, or parts of it.
Vatican lance
No actual lance is known until the pilgrim
Antoninus of PiacenzaThe sixth-century pilgrim Antoninus of Piacenza who described the holy places of Jerusalem in the 570s is confused often with Saint Antoninus of Piacenza, who is venerated as a saint and martyr in the Roman Catholic Church, with a feast day of 13 November in the Ambrosian calendar...
(AD 570), describing the holy places of Jerusalem, says that he saw in the Basilica of
Mount ZionMount Zion is an elevation west of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, Israel. Jewish scriptures apply the term "Mount Zion" to the Temple Mount or the City of David, both located on this elevation...
"the crown of thorns with which Our Lord was crowned and the lance with which He was struck in the side". A mention of the lance also occurs in the so-called
Breviarius at the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The presence in Jerusalem of this important relic is attested by
CassiodorusFlavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname not his rank....
(c. 485 - c. 585) as well as by
Gregory of ToursSaint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
(c. 538 – 594), who had not actually been to Jerusalem.
In 615 Jerusalem and its relics were captured by the Persian forces of King
Khosrau II250px|thumb|Khosrau II was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628...
(Chosroes II). According to the
Chronicon PaschaleChronicon Paschale is the conventional name of a 7th-century Byzantine universal chronicle of the world...
, the point of the lance, which had been broken off, was given in the same year to Nicetas, who took it to
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
and deposited it in the church of
Hagia SophiaHagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
, and later to the
Church of the Virgin of the PharosThe Church of the Virgin of the Pharos was a Byzantine chapel built in the southern part of the Great Palace of Constantinople, and named after the tower of the lighthouse that stood next to it...
. This point of the lance, which was now set in an icon, was sold in 1244 by
Baldwin II of ConstantinopleBaldwin II of Courtenay was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.He was a younger son of Yolanda of Flanders, sister of the first two emperors, Baldwin I and Henry of Flanders...
to
Louis IX of FranceLouis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was a member of the House of Capet, the son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile...
, and it was enshrined with the
Crown of ThornsIn Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was woven of thorn branches and placed on Jesus before his crucifixion. It is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew , Mark , and John and is often alluded to by the early Christian Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria,...
in the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. During the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
these relics were removed to the Bibliotheque Nationale but subsequently disappeared. (The present "Crown of Thorns" is a wreath of rushes.)
As for the larger portion of the lance, Arculpus claimed he saw it at the
Church of the Holy SepulchreThe Church of the Holy Sepulchre , also called the Church of the Resurrection by Eastern Christians, is a Christian church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem....
around 670 in Jerusalem, but there is otherwise no mention of it after the sack in 615. Some claim that the larger relic had been conveyed to
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
sometime during the 8th century, possibly at the same time as the Crown of Thorns. At any rate, its presence at Constantinople seems to be clearly attested by various pilgrims, particularly Russians, and, though it was deposited in various churches in succession, it seems possible to trace it and distinguish it from the relic of the point. Sir
John Mandeville"Jehan de Mandeville", translated as "Sir John Mandeville", is the name claimed by the compiler of a singular book of supposed travels, written in Anglo-Norman French, and published between 1357 and 1371....
declared in 1357 that he had seen the blade of the Holy Lance both at
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and at Constantinople, and that the latter was a much larger relic than the former.
Whatever the Constantinople relic was, it fell into the hands of the Turks, and in 1492, under circumstances minutely described in
PastorThe term pastor usually refers to an ordained person within a Christian church. In some countries the term is more usually used in traditional Protestant churches but is also used in reference to priests and bishops within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. The...
's
History of the Popes, the Sultan Bayazid II sent it to Innocent VIII to encourage the pope to continue to keep his brother and rival Zizim (
CemPrince Cem was a pretender to the Ottoman throne in the 15th century. He was a son of Mehmed II the Conqueror and younger brother of Sultan Bayezid II.-Succession of Mehmed II:...
) prisoner. At this time great doubts as to its authenticity were felt at Rome, as
Johann BurchardJohann Burchard was born c. 1450 at Niederhaslach, now Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Of humble origins, he was educated by the collegial chapter of St. Florent in Niederhaslach and eventually became secretary to the Bishop of Strasbourg...
records, because of the presence of other rival lances in Paris (the point that had been separated from the lance), Nuremberg (see "Vienna lance" below), and Armenia (see "Echmiadzin lance" below). In the mid 1700s Benedict XIV states that he obtained from Paris an exact drawing of the point of the lance, and that in comparing it with the larger relic in St. Peter's he was satisfied that the two had originally formed one blade. This relic has never since left Rome, where it is preserved under the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica, although the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
makes no claim as to its authenticity.
Echmiadzin lance
The lance currently in
EchmiadzinEjmiatsin is a town in the Armavir Province of Armenia. Ejmiatsin is the spiritual centre of Armenia and the seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians, the head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church. It is the most populous city in Armavir province, about 20 km west of Yerevan...
,
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, was discovered during the
First CrusadeThe First Crusade was a military expedition by European Christians to regain the Holy Lands taken by the Muslim conquest of the Levant, which resulted in the capture of Jerusalem in 1099. It was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the primary goal of responding to the appeal from Byzantine...
. In 1098 the crusader
Peter BartholomewPeter Bartholomew was a soldier and mystic from France who was part of the First Crusade.In December, 1097, during the siege of Antioch, Peter began to have visions, mostly of St. Andrew. Peter claimed St. Andrew took him to the Church of St. Peter, inside Antioch, and showed him where the relic...
reported that he had a vision in which St. Andrew told him that the Holy Lance was buried in St. Peter's Cathedral in
AntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River...
. After much digging in the cathedral, a lance was discovered. This was considered a miracle by the crusaders who were able to rout the
MuslimIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
army besieging the city and decisively capture Antioch. Some medieval scholars (e.g. Raynaldi and the
BollandistThe Bollandists are an association of scholars - originally all Jesuit, but now including non-Jesuits -- philologists and historians -- who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christianity. Their most important publication has been the Acta...
s) believed that this lance afterwards fell into the hands of the Turks and was in fact the lance that Bayazid II sent to Pope Innocent and is now in the Vatican.
Vienna Lance (Hofburg spear)
The
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
s had a lance of their own, attested from the time of Otto I (912-973). In 1000
Otto IIIOtto III was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected king of Germany in 983 on the death of his father Otto II.-Early years:...
gave
Boleslaw I of PolandBolesław I the Brave or the Valiant , in the past also known as Bolesław I the Great , was a Duke of Poland from 992-1025 and the first King of Poland since 19 April 1025 until his death...
a replica of the Lance at the
Congress of GnieznoThe Congress of Gniezno took place on March 11 1000. Scholars disagree over the details of the decisions made at the meeting, especially whether the ruler of Poland was pledged the king's crown or not....
. In 1084
Henry IVHenry IV was King of Germany from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
had a silver band with the inscription "Nail of Our Lord" added to it. This was based on the belief that this was the lance of
Constantine the GreatCaesar Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus , commonly known in English as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine , was Roman emperor from 306, and the sole holder of that office from 324 until his death in...
which enshrined a nail used for the Crucifixion. In 1273 it was first used in the coronation ceremony. Around 1350
Charles IVCharles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor....
had a golden sleeve put over the silver one, inscribed "Lancea et clavus Domini" (Lance and nail of the Lord). In 1424
SigismundSigismund was one of the longest ruling Kings of Hungary, reigning for fifty years from 1387 to 1437, and was also Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, and the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Bohemia from 1419, of Lombardia from 1431, and of Germany...
had a collection of relics, including the lance, moved from his capital in
PraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" , "city of a hundred spires", or Stověžatá Praha in Czech and "the golden city" or Zlaté město in Czech.Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the...
to his birth place,
NurembergNuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and is Franconia's largest city. It is located about 170 kilometres north of Munich, at 49.27° N 11.5° E. The population is...
, and decreed them to be kept there forever. This collection was called the
Reichskleinodien or
Imperial RegaliaThe Imperial Regalia, insignia, or crown jewels are the regalia of the Emperors and Kings of the Holy Roman Empire. The most important parts are the Imperial Crown, the Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword...
.
When the French Revolutionary army approached Nuremberg in the spring of 1796 the city councilors decided to remove the
Reichskleinodien to
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
for safe keeping. The collection was entrusted to one "Baron
von Hügelvon Hügel is a German noble name.* Baron Charles von Hügel ** Friedrich von Hügel , son of Charles** Baron Anatole von Hügel , son of Chales, co-founder St Edmund's College, Cambridge...
", who promised to return the objects as soon as peace had been restored and the safety of the collection assured. However, the Holy Roman Empire was officially dissolved in 1806 and von Hügel took advantage of the confusion over who was the rightful owner and sold the entire collection, including the lance, to the
HabsburgThe House of Habsburg or Hapsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian and Spanish Empire and several other countries...
s. When the city councilors discovered this they asked for the
Reichskleinodien back but were refused. As part of the imperial regalia it was kept in the
SchatzkammerSchatzkammer in German translates as Treasury . In old times, feudal rulers would keep their most precious belongings in a guarded vault, most often in the basement of their castle. Today, the word is used only for museums in German-speaking regions.* The Imperial Treasury Schatzkammer in Vienna...
(Imperial treasury) in Vienna and was known as the lance of
Saint MauriceSaint Maurice was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms...
.
During the
AnschlussThe ' , also known as the ', was the 1938 de facto annexation of Austria into Greater Germany by the Nazi regime....
, when Austria was annexed to Germany,
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
took the lance. It was returned to Austria by American General
George S. PattonGeorge Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer most famous for his leadership commanding corps and armies as a general in World War II...
after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and was temporarily stored in the
Kunsthistorisches MuseumThe Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, crowned with an octagonal dome, is one of the premier museums of fine arts and decorative arts in the world...
. Currently the Spear is held in the
SchatzkammerSchatzkammer in German translates as Treasury . In old times, feudal rulers would keep their most precious belongings in a guarded vault, most often in the basement of their castle. Today, the word is used only for museums in German-speaking regions.* The Imperial Treasury Schatzkammer in Vienna...
(Imperial treasury).
Dr. Robert Feather, an English metallurgist and technical engineering writer, tested the lance in January 2003. He was given unprecedented permission not only to examine the lance in a laboratory environment, but was also allowed to remove the delicate bands of gold and silver that hold it together. In the opinion of Feather and other academic experts, the likeliest date of the spearhead is the 7th century A.D. - only slightly earlier than the Museum's own estimate. However, Dr. Feather also stated in the same documentary that an iron pin - long claimed to be a nail from the crucifixion, hammered into the blade and set off by tiny brass crosses - is "consistent" in length and shape with a 1st century A.D. Roman nail.
According to
Paul the DeaconPaul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...
the Lombard royal line bore the name of the Gungingi, which Karl Hauck and Stefano Gasparri maintain identified them with the name of
OdinOdin , is considered the chief god in Norse paganism and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon Wōden and the Old High German Wotan, it is descended from Proto-Germanic *Wōđinaz or *Wōđanaz.The name Odin is generally accepted as the modern translation; although, in some cases, older...
’s lance,
GungnirIn Norse mythology, Gungnir is Odin's magical spear, it always hits its mark and always kills.-Poetic Edda:In the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, the war between the Æsir and the Vanir is described as officially starting when Odin throws a spear over the heads of an assembly of Vanir gods...
(a sign that they probably claimed descent from Odin, as did most of the Germanic royal lines) Paul the Deacon also notes that the inauguration rite of a Lombard king considered essentially in his grasping of a sacred/royal lance. Milan, which had been the capital of the Western Roman Empire in the time of Constantine, was also the capital of the Lombard kings
PerctaritPerctarit was king of the Lombards from 661 to 662 the first time and later from 671 to 688. He was the son and successor of Aripert I. He shared power with his brother Godepert. He was a Catholic, Godepert an Arian. He ruled from Milan, Godepert from Pavia...
and his son
CunipertCunipert was king of the Lombards from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father Perctarit, though he was associated with the throne from 678....
, who became Catholic Christians in the 7th century. Thus it seems possible that the iron point of the Lombardic royal lance might have been recast in the 7th century in order to enshrine one of the 1st century Roman nails that St. Helena was reputed to have found at Calvary and brought to Milan, thus giving a new Christian sacred aura to the old pagan royal lance. If Charlemagne’s inauguration as the King of the Lombards in 774 had likewise included his grasping of this now-Christianized sacred/royal lance, this would explain how it would have eventually become the oldest item in the German imperial regalia. We might also note that the
Iron Crown of LombardyThe Iron Crown of Lombardy is both a reliquary and one of the most ancient royal insignia of Europe. It is kept in the Cathedral of Monza near Milan.-Antiquity:...
(dated to the 8th century), which eventually became the primary symbol of Lombardic kingship, takes its name from the tradition that it also contains one of the holy nails. Alternately, since
Gregory of ToursSaint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
in his
Libri Historiarum VII, 33, states that in 585 the Merovingian king Guntram designated his nephew Childebert II his heir by handing him his lance, it is possible that a royal lance was also a symbol of kingship among the Merovingian kings and that a nail from Calvary was in the 7th century incorporated into this royal lance and thus eventually would have come into the German imperial regalia.
Other lances
Another lance has been preserved at
KrakowKraków , in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow and pronounced
, is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination. Its historic centre was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites as the first of its kind...
,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, since at least the 1200s. However, German records indicate that it was a copy of the Vienna lance. Emperor
Henry IIHenry II , called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of Germany in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004. He is the only German king to have been canonized.He was...
had it made with a small sliver of the original lance. Another copy was given to the Hungarian king at the same time.
The story told by
William of MalmesburyWilliam of Malmesbury , English historian of the 12th century, was born about the year 1080/1095, in Wiltshire. His father was Norman and his mother English...
of the giving of the Holy Lance to King
Athelstan of EnglandAthelstan or Æthelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924/925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...
by Hugh Capet seems to be due to a misconception.
Richard Wagner
In his opera
ParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail....
,
Richard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
identifies the Holy Spear with two items that appear in
Wolfram von EschenbachWolfram von Eschenbach was a German knight and poet, regarded as one of the greatest epic poets of his time. As a Minnesinger, he also wrote lyric poetry.-Life:...
's medieval poem
ParzivalParzival is a major medieval German epic poem attributed to the poet Wolfram von Eschenbach, written in the Middle High German language. The poem is commonly dated circa the first quarter of the 13th century...
, a bleeding spear in the Castle of the Grail and the spear that has wounded the
Fisher KingThe Fisher King, or the Wounded King, figures in Arthurian legend as the latest in a line charged with keeping the Holy Grail. Versions of his story vary widely, but he is always wounded in the legs or groin, and incapable of moving on his own. When he is injured, his kingdom suffers as he does,...
. The opera's plot concerns the consequences of the spear's loss by the Knights of the Grail and its recovery by Parsifal. Having decided that the blood on the Spear was that of the wounded Saviour - Christ is never named in the opera - Wagner has the blood manifest itself in the Grail rather than on the spearhead.
Trevor Ravenscroft
The
"Spear of Destiny" is a name given to the Holy Lance in various stories that attribute mystical powers to it. Many of these have originated in recent times and several popular
New AgeThe New Age is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that seeks "Universal Truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. It includes aspects of cosmology, astrology, esotericism, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability, and nature...
and
conspiracy theoryConspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral descriptor for any conspiracy claim. However, it has come almost exclusively to refer to any fringe theory which explains a historical or current event as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful Machiavellian conspirators.Conspiracy...
books have popularized the legend of the spear.
Trevor Ravenscroft’s 1973
The Spear of Destiny (as well as a later book
The Mark of the Beast) claims that
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
started
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in order to capture the spear, with which he was obsessed. At the end of the war the spear came into the hands of US General George Patton. According to legend, losing the spear would result in death, and that was fulfilled when Hitler committed suicide.
Ravenscroft repeatedly attempted to define the mysterious “powers” that the legend says the spear serves. He found it to be a hostile and evil spirit, which he sometimes referred to as the
AntichristThe Antichrist, according to Christianity, is one who fulfills Biblical prophecies concerning an adversary of Christ while resembling him in a deceptive manner. "Antichrist" is the English translation of the original Koine Greek ἀντίχριστος, pronounced än-tē'-khrē-stos. It is made up of two root...
, though that is open to interpretation. He never actually referred to the spear as spiritually controlled, but rather as intertwined with all of mankind's ambitions.
Despite publishing his findings in a supposed non-fiction book, Ravenscroft successfully sued
James HerbertJames Herbert is a best-selling English horror writer known for his simple yet compelling sensationalist novels, which are notable for their use of horrific set pieces...
, claiming Herbert's 1978 novel
The SpearThe Spear is a 1978 novel by British author James Herbert dealing with Nazi occultism and the Holy Lance.-Plot summary:The book deals with a neo-Nazi cult in Britain and an international conspiracy which includes a right-wing US general and a sinister arms dealer, and their obsession with and...
infringed on Ravenscroft's copyright. This case is similar to the
Dan BrownDan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
and Holy Blood, Holy Grail case.
Howard Buechner
Dr. Howard A. Buechner, M.D., professor of medicine at
TulaneTulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
and then
LSULouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State...
, wrote two books on the spear. Buechner was a retired colonel with the U.S. Army who served in World War II and had written a book about the
Dachau massacreThe Dachau massacre took place in the area of Dachau concentration camp, near Dachau, Germany, on April 29, 1945 during World War II. The incident happened following the surrender of Dachau to soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division of the U.S. Seventh Army....
. He claims he was contacted by a former
U-boatU-boat is the anglicized version of the German word , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
submariner, the pseudonymous “Capt. Wilhelm Bernhart,” who claimed the spear currently on display in Vienna is a fake. "Bernhart" said the real spear was sent by Hitler to
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
along with other Nazi treasures, under the command of Col. Maximilian Hartmann. In 1979 Hartmann allegedly recovered the treasures. Bernhart presented Buechner with the log from this expedition as well as pictures of the objects recovered, claiming that after the Spear of Destiny was recovered, it was hidden somewhere in Europe by a Nazi secret society. After contacting most of the members of the alleged expedition and others involved, including
Hitler YouthThe Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung .-Origins:The first NSDAP-related organization of German youth was the Jugendbund...
Leader
Artur AxmannArtur Axmann was leader of the Hitler Youth from 1940 through war's end in 1945.-Early life:Axmann was born in Hagen on 18 February 1913...
, Buechner became convinced the claims were true.
Further reading
- Brown, Arthur Charles Lewis. Bleeding Lance. Modern Language Association of America, 1910
- Childress, David Hatcher. Pirates and the Lost Templar Fleet: The Secret Naval War Between the Knights Templar and the Vatican. Adventures Unlimited Press, 2003.
- Crowley, Cornelius Joseph. The Legend Of The Wanderings Of The Spear Of Longinus. Heartland Book, 1972.
- Hone, William. The Lost Books of the Bible. Bell Publishing Co., 1979.
- Rutman, Leo. Spear Of Destiny A Novel. Pinnacle Books, 1989.
- Sheffy, Lester Fields. Use Of The Holy Lance In The First Crusade. L.F. Sheffy, 1915.
External links
- Piercing An Ancient Tale Solving the mystery of a Christian relic by Maryann Bird is an article in the European Edition of TIME Magazine on British metallurgist Robert Feather’s scientific examination of the Spear in Vienna.