Jesus Carrying the Cross as portrayed by El Greco - Domenikos Theotokopoulos, 1580

In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns, one of the instruments of the Passion, was the woven chaplet of thorn branches worn by Jesus before his crucifixion. It is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew (27:29), Mark (15:17), and John (19:2, 5) and is often alluded to by the early Christian Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and others. The Crown of Thorns was worn by Jesus during the Passion. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (951x1300, 166 KB) Christ Carrying the Cross as portrayed by EL GRECO - Domenikos Theotokopoulos 1580 Uploaded to en. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (951x1300, 166 KB) Christ Carrying the Cross as portrayed by EL GRECO - Domenikos Theotokopoulos 1580 Uploaded to en. ... El Greco (The Greek, 1541 – April 7, 1614) was a painter, sculptor, and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. ... The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering, both physical and mental, of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. ... The term Chaplet is used commonly to designate Roman Catholic prayer forms which use prayer beads, but are not necessarily related to the Rosary. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead. ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally, according to Matthew; Greek, Κατά Μαθθαίον or Κατά Ματθαίον, Kata Maththaion or Kata Matthaion) is a synoptic gospel in the New Testament, one of four canonical gospels. ... The Gospel of Mark (literally, according to Mark; Greek, Κατά Μαρκον, Kata Markon),(anonymous[1] but ascribed to Mark the Evangelist) is a Gospel of the New Testament. ... For other uses, see Gospel of John (disambiguation). ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ... Origen Origen (Greek: Ōrigénēs, 185–ca. ...

John the Evangelist describes it thus (KJV, ch. 19): It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Names of John. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ...

"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!"

A scourge (from the Italian scoriada, ultimately from the Latin excoriare = to flay and corium = skin) is a whip or lash, especially a multi-tong type used in order to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification on the back. ... This article is a work in progress being translated from the German Wiki Ecce Homo by Quentin Massys, ca. ...

Biblical symbolism

Genesis 3:18 (KJV) says, "thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee..." This was spoken directly after the Fall of Man. Biblically, it is well-supported that thorns symbolize sin. For other uses, see Genesis (disambiguation). ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... Adam, Eve, and a female serpent (possibly Lilith) at the entrance to Notre Dame de Paris In Abrahamic religion, the Fall of Man, the Story of the Fall, or simply, the Fall, refers to mans transition from a state of innocence to a state of knowing only dualities such...

Jesus applies the symbolism of the Book of Jonah to himself when he says in Mathew 12:39-42 (RSV) "... no sign shall be given...except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." With that in mind, reading Jonah 2:5 "...weeds were wrapped about my head" takes on a symbolic reference to the Crown of Thorns. The Prophet Jonah, as depicted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel Jonah (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian  ; Arabic: يونس, Yunus or يونان, Yunaan ; Latin Ionas ; Dove) was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh/Old Testament) and Quran who was swallowed by a great fish. ... RSV is a three letter acronym that may stand for: Research safety vehicle Research and supply vessel (Australia) Research support vessel (US Navy) Respiratory syncytial virus, a virus causing respiratory disease (bronchiolitis), mainly in infants Resupply vehicle (US Army) Revised Standard Version, a version of the Bible translated into English. ...

Cultural Context

Plutarch makes reference in his Advice to Married Couples, to a custom (of parts of ancient Greece) in which "they crown [the bride] with a wreath of thorny asparagus." Apparently the prickly plant is also fragrant, and the custom symbolizes the need for the groom to be patient with his bride. It is possible that part of the humiliation intended by the crown of thorns was as an insult against the tortured man's masculinity.

Textual evidence

Jerusalem

Few writers of the first six centuries A.D. speak of it as a relic known to be still in existence and venerated by the faithful. There are exceptions: St. Paulinus of Nola, writing after 409, refers to "the thorns with which Our Saviour was crowned" as relics held in honour along with the Cross to which he was nailed and the pillar at which he was scourged (Ep. ad Macar. in Migne, P. L., LXI, 407). Cassiodorus (c. 570), when commenting on Psalm lxxxvi, speaks of the Crown of Thorns among the other relics which are the glory of the earthly Jerusalem. "There", he says, "we may behold the thorny crown, which was only set upon the head of Our Redeemer in order that all the thorns of the world might be gathered together and broken" (Migne, LXX, 621). When Gregory of Tours in De gloriâ martyri (in Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores Merov.", I, 492) avers that the thorns in the Crown still looked green, a freshness which was miraculously renewed each day, he does not much strengthen the historical authenticity of a relic he had not seen, but the Breviarius, and the itinerary of Antoninus of Piacenza (6th century) clearly state that the Crown of Thorns was currently shown in the church on Mount Zion (Geyer, Itinera Hierosolymitana, 154 and 174). From these fragments of evidence and others of later date (the "Pilgrimage" of the monk Bernard shows that the relic was still at Mount Sion in 870), it is likely that what purported to be the Crown of Thorns was venerated at Jerusalem from the 5th century for several hundred years. Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus, St. ... Jacques Paul Migne (25 October 1800 - 25 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely-distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias and the texts of the Church Fathers. ... The Patrologia Latina is an enormous work published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865. ... Cassiodorus at his Vivarium library ( in Codex Amiatinus, 8th century). ... Saint Gregory of Tours (c. ... The Monumenta Germaniae Historica (frequently abbreviated MGH in bibliographies and lists of sources) is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history (broadly conceived) from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500. ... Mount Zion (Hebrew: ‎ transliteration: Har Tziyyon - Height) is the ancient name of a mountain in jerusalem southe of the old city. ...

Byzantium

Francois de Mély supposed that the whole Crown was not transferred to Byzantium until about 1063. In any case Justinian (died in 565) is stated to have given a thorn to St. Germain, Bishop of Paris, which was long preserved at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, while the Empress Irene, in 798 or 802, sent Charlemagne several thorns which were deposited by him at Aachen. Eight of these are said to have been there at the consecration of the basilica of Aachen by Pope Leo III. The presence of the Pope at the consecration is a later legend, but the relics apparently were there, for the subsequent history of several of them can be traced without difficulty. Four were given to Saint-Corneille of Compiègne in 877 by Charles the Bald. Someone (not Hugh the Great Abbot of Cluny, who was born 1050, died 1102) sent one to the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan in 927, on the occasion of certain marriage negotiations, and eventually found its way to Malmesbury Abbey. Another was presented to a Spanish princess about 1160, and again another was taken to Andechs in Germany in the year 1200. This article is about the Roman emperor. ... Events January 22 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. ... Saint Germain (born near Autun 496; died in Paris, May 28, 576), was a bishop of Paris, who was canonized in 754. ... The archbishop of Paris is one of twenty-three archbishops in France. ... Saint-Germain-des-Prés is an area of the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. ... This solidus struck under Irene reports the legend bASILISSH, Basilissa. ... Events Coenwulf of Mercia invades Kent, deposes and imprisons king Eadbert Praen and makes his own brother Cuthred king. ... Events 31 October - Irene deposed as Emperoress of Byzantium and replaced by Nicephorus I. She is banished to Lesbos. ... Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. ... Oche redirects here; in darts the oche is the line from which players must throw. ... Pope Leo III (died June 12, 816) was Pope from 795 to 816. ... Charles the Bald - Detail from a painting in the First Bible of Charles the Bald, painted ca. ... Hugh the Great (d. ... Cluny nowadays The town of Cluny or Clugny lies in the modern-day département of Saône-et-Loire in the région of France, near Mâcon. ... Athelstan (c. ... Interior of the Abbey, showing the unusual watching-loft projecting above the nave. ... The Benedictine abbey of Andechs is a former place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee in the Landkreis of Starnberg (Oberbayern) in Germany. ...

The Holy Crown of Jesus Christ was bought by Louis IX to Baldwin II. It is preserved today in a 19th century reliquary, in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris.

In 1238 Baldwin II, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, anxious to obtain support for his tottering empire, offered the Crown of Thorns to St. Louis, King of France. It was then in the hands of the Venetians as security for a heavy loan, but it was redeemed and conveyed to Paris where St. Louis built the Sainte-Chapelle (completed 1248) to receive it. The relic stayed there until the French Revolution, when, after finding a home for a while in the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Concordat of 1801 restored it to the Church, and it was deposited in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. However the relic that the Church received is a twisted coronet of rushes. New reliquaries were provided for the relic, one commissioned by Napoleon, another, in jewelled rock crystal and more suitably Gothic, was made to the designs of Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. In 2001, when the surviving treasures from the Sainte-Chapelle were exhibited at the Louvre across the Seine, the chaplet was solemnly presented every Friday at Notre Dame. Pope John Paul II translated it personally to the Sainte-Chapelle during the World Youth Days. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 366 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1452 × 2380 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 366 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1452 × 2380 pixel, file size: 1. ... Crown of St. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Louis IX (25 April 1215 – 25 August 1270), commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 to his death. ... Notre Dame IPA: is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Baldwin II (1217—1273) was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Louis IX (25 April 1215 – 25 August 1270), commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 to his death. ... For other uses, see Venice (disambiguation). ... La Sainte-Chapelle (French for The Holy Chapel) is a Gothic chapel on the Ile de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. ... For broader historical context, see 1240s and 13th century. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, 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 on... The new buildings of the library. ... The Concordat of 1801 reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church as the major religion of France and restored some of its civil status. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ... This article is about the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. ... Genera Andesia Distichia Juncus - Rush Luzula - Woodrush Marsippospermum Oxychloë Prionium Rostkovia The Juncaceae, or the Rush Family, is a rather small monocot flowering plant family. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Interior of San Zanipolo, Venice, photo Giovanni dallOrto. ... Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (Paris, January 27, 1814 - Lausanne 1879) was a French architect, famous for his restorations of medieval buildings. ... This article is about the museum. ... Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II. The Letter M is for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to whom he held strong devotion Pope John Paul II (Latin: , Italian: Giovanni Paolo II, Polish: Jan PaweÅ‚ II) born   []; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) reigned as the 264th Pope of... World Youth Day 2000 in Rome World Youth Day (It. ...

The Catholic Encyclopedia asserted "Authorities are agreed that a sort of helmet of thorns must have been plaited by the Roman soldiers, this band of rushes being employed to hold the thorns together. It seems likely according to M. De Mély, that already at the time when the circlet was brought to Paris the sixty or seventy thorns, which seem to have been afterwards distributed by St. Louis and his successors, had been separated from the band of rushes and were kept in a different reliquary. None of these now remain at Paris. Some small fragments of rush are also preserved ... at Arras and at Lyons. With regard to the origin and character of the thorns, both tradition and existing remains suggest that they must have come from the bush botanically known as Zizyphus spina Christi, more popularly, the jujube tree. This reaches the height of fifteen or twenty feet and is found growing in abundance by the wayside around Jerusalem. The crooked branches of this shrub are armed with thorns growing in pairs, a straight spine and a curved one commonly occurring together at each point. The relic preserved in the Capella della Spina at Pisa, as well as that at Trier, which though their early history is doubtful and obscure, are among the largest in size, afford a good illustration of this peculiarity." For the band Reliquary, click here. ... Binomial name (L.) H. Karst. ... Leaning Tower of Pisa. ... Trier (French: ; Luxembourgish Tréier) is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. ...

Third-class relics

Not all of the reputed holy thorns are authentic. M. de Mély was able to enumerate more than 700. The statement in one medieval obituary that Peter de Averio gave to the cathedral of Angers "unam de spinis quae fuit apposita coronae spinae nostri Redemptoris" ("one of the spines which were touched to the thorny crown of our Redeemer") (de Mély, p. 362) indicates that many of the thorns were relics of the third class—objects touched to a relic of the first class, in this case some part of the crown itself. (A relic of the first class is a part of the body of a saint or, in this case, any of the objects used in the Crucifixion that carried the blood of Christ; a relic of the second class is anything known to have been touched or used by a saint; a relic of the third class is a devotional object touched to a first-class relic and, usually, formally blessed as a sacramental.) Again, even in comparatively modern times it is not always easy to trace the history of these objects of devotion, as first-class relics were often divided and any number of authentic third-class relics may exist. A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ...

Purported remnants

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) reported two "holy thorns" were venerated, the one at St. Michael's church in Ghent, the other at Stonyhurst College, both professing to be the thorn given by Mary Queen of Scots to Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland (see "The Month", April, 1882, 540-556). Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic English Jesuit independent boarding school near Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. ...

More recently, a website "Gazeteer of Relics and Miraculous Images" lists the following, following Cruz 1984:

• Belgium: Parochial Church of Weverlgham: a portion of the Crown of Thorns
• Belgium: Ghent, St. Michael's Church: a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns
• France: Notre Dame de Paris: a portion of the Crown of Thorns, now devoid of thorns, displayed the first Friday of each month and all Fridays in Lent (including Good Friday)
• Germany:Cathedral of Trier: a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns
• Italy: Rome, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme: a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns
• Italy: Rome, Santa Prassede: a small portion of the Crown of Thorns
• Italy: Pisa, Spedali Riuniti di Santa Chiara: a Branch with Thorns from the Crown of Thorns
• Italy: Naples, Santa Maria Incoronata: a fragment of the Crown of Thorns
• Italy: Ariano Irpino, Cathedral: tho Thorns from the Crown of Thorns
• Spain: Oviedo, Cathedral: five thorns (formerly eight) from the Crown of Thorns
• Spain: Barcelona, Cathedral: a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns
• Spain: Seville, Iglesia de la Anunciación (Hermandad del Valle): a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns
• United Kingdom: Stanbrook Abbey, Worcester: a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns
• United Kingdom: Stonyhurst College, Lancashire: a Thorn from the Crown of Thorns

Notre Dame de Paris: Western Façade For other uses, see Notre Dame. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Facade of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Inside of Santa Prassede. ... Leaning Tower of Pisa. ... For other uses, see Naples (disambiguation). ... At a height of 817 mt over the sea level Ariano Irpino is pratically centered between the Adriatic Sea and the Tirrenian Sea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... For other uses, see Seville (disambiguation). ... Bold textTHIS IS THE PAGE THAT A.S. REALLY NEEDS!! THIS IS NOW MARKED!!! ] ps i like A.O. This article is about an abbey as a Christian monastic community. ... Worcester (pronounced ) is a city in the West Midlands of England. ... Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic English Jesuit independent boarding school near Clitheroe, Lancashire, England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ...

Crown of Thorns iconography

William Marshall's print depicting King Charles I taking up the crown of thorns

The appearance of the Crown of Thorns in art, notably upon the head of Christ in representations of the Crucifixion or the subject Ecce Homo arises after the time of St. Louis and the building of the Sainte-Chapelle. The Catholic Encyclopedia reported that some archaeologists had professed to discover a figure of the Crown of Thorns in the circle which sometimes surrounds the chi-rho emblem on early Christian sarcophagi, but the compilers considered that it seemed to be quite as probable that this was only meant for a laurel wreath. Image File history File links Eikon. ... Image File history File links Eikon. ... This article is a work in progress being translated from the German Wiki Ecce Homo by Quentin Massys, ca. ... An image of the labarum, with the letters Alpha and Omega inscribed. ... The Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Spouses, at the National Etruscan Museum. ... A laurel wreath decorating a memorial at the Folketing, the national parliament of Denmark. ...

The image of the crown of thorns is often used symbolically to contrast with earthly monarchical crowns. In the symbolism of King Charles the Martyr, the executed English King Charles I is depicted putting aside his earthy crown to take up the crown of thorns, as in William Marshall's prink Eikon Basilike. This contrast appears elsewhere in art, for example in Frank Dicksee's painting The Two Crowns. Charles I (1631) by Daniel Mytens. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Eikon Basilike (Greek: Eικων Bασιλικη, the Royal Portrait), The Pourtrature of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings, was a purported spiritual autobiography attributed to King Charles I of England. ...

Episcopal Allegory

The crown of thorns is also an allegory of the episcopal governance of the church. Contrasted to a kingly crown, the crown of thorns signifies the difference between episcopal governance, and kingly governance of state. It serves as a reminder of the humility required of all bishops, and the fact that all bishops are of equal status, there being no higher temporal authority than that conveyed by the apostolic succession. The interwoven nature of the crown of thorns further represents the complexity of all the relationships between bishops, and their necessary interdependence in governing the church. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      This article... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ, composed of the Apostles. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Crown of Thorns

• Crown
• Relics attributed to Jesus
• Man of Sorrows
• Lance of Longinus
• Holy Sponge
• True Cross

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... A crown is a symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a god, for whom the crown is traditionally one of the symbols of power and legitimacy (See Regalia for a broader treatment). ... There are many relics attributed to Jesus that people believe or believed to be authentic relics of the Gospel accounts. ... Among the passages in the Hebrew Bible that have been identified by Christians as prefigurations of the Messiah, the Man of Sorrows of Isaiah 53 is paramount. ... Lance of Longinus refers to A legendary Christian artifact (see Spear of Destiny for the legend, Holy Lance for the relic). ... Among the Instruments of the Passion, which have all led such legendary careers, was the Holy Sponge, which Christians believe was dipped in vinegar and ironically offered to Christ during the Crucifixion, according to Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36; and John 19:29. ... According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. ...

External links

• Notre Dame's Crown of Thorns
• Louvre exhibition, 2001

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...