Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-22
A COAT WITH A HISTORY.

Garment OF Treves.
The interest in the Holy Coat of
Treves, which was publicly exhibited for
the first time in many years Oh Thursday,
seems to be intense throughout Europe. The
number of pilgrims who will visit Treves
will amount to the hundreds of thousands.
The preparations made for the reception of
visitors are something startling. The rail-
way authorities have had three new tempo
rary stations erected, with spacious waiting
and refreshment rooms The local tramway
companies have laid down two new sets of
rails. As many 1850 citizens have petit
toned the Town Council for licenses to set
up temporary beer saloons and public
houses for the accommodation of the pill
gTims during tho period of the exhibition of
the sacred garment.
Special arrangements have been made to
take tourists from England to Treves, and
many pilgrims have gone across the AtlaD-
tic thither. As in the year 1s44, the exhibit
tion may be expected to produce n vast
amount of controversial literature touching
the authenticity of the sacred relic.
In that year the disturbances caused by
the exhibition became so serious to as
sumo political hue and brought about the
interference of the Prussian Govern mt.
Even now the opponents of authenticity
have been heard. The first was sub-editor
of a Silesian newspaper,who was condemned
to Il days imprisonment on account of some
disrespcctful remark he had published in
reference to the holy garment.
Evidence of Genuineness.
Whatever people may say about the
| relic itself, there is no doubt of the age of
| Treves. 1t was Roman colony so years be-
| fore Christ was born. Though almost I'M
known to the sightseeing tourist, it is now
| one of the most interesting towns in Ger
many. 1t nestles within little valley be-
tween Coblentz and Metz and near it flows
| the picturesque and historic Moselle. Under
| Constantine the Great it was the capital of
| Gaul, and for more than q century Italy,
| Africa. Spain, Gaul and Britain looked up to
it as the residence of the Emperor and the
seat of supreme power of arts and sciences.
| Latin authors speak of it as the most
| wealthy, most splendid and famous of all
| cities Treves has still many monuments of
| her former glory. No city north OF the Alps
contains such a group OF Roman buildings,
! none of them perhaps equaling the amphi-
| theater or the Maison Carree at Mines, yet
as a whole they are unrivaled out of Italy.
| If we are to believe the account given in a
| monkish history, called the "Gesta Trevi-
| rorum," Rome even was but q mushroom
city compared with Treves. 1t is claimed in
| that work that Treves was built by Trebata,
| the son of Minus, King of Assyria, in the
| thirteenth century before the foundation of
Rome, or more than two 2,0G0 years before
| the Christian era.
There are however, no evidences from any
| other sources that Treves is the Damascus
| of Europe. Caesar found no such ancient
| and splendid civilization as the writers of
| the "Gesta" speak about, nor does he even
! mention a city in the region where Treves
| stands. The Trevirans as he found them
were tribe of barbarian Gauls or Germans
who gave him great deal of trouble and
were distinguished for the excellence OF
| their cavalry.
The Roman Antiquities.
The most important and best preserved
| of the Roman antiquities at Treves is the
Porta Nigra, at the north end of the town, q
gate with towers of defense, probably
erected under ClaudiuS about the middle of
the first century. In l035 it was converted
into n church, and the lower story filled up.
In this state it remained until 1917, when it
was restored to it's ancient condition by the
Prussian Government. In the part formerly
used as choir collection of Roman an
tiquitieS is exhibited.
Next in point OF interest are the Roman
baths. They were until 1877 almost entirely
concealed by earth and rubbish. but this has
been removed and the whole interior of the
building is thoroughly exposed to view.
Near the baths on q rising ground, is the
amphitheatcr, which could seat $1,000 spec
| tators Here Constantine sulied his fame
by casting several thousand captive Franks
to be torn by wild beasts, and in later years
thousands of the Bructeri were barbarously
sacrificed for the amusement of the people.
The Basilica is said to date from a period
prior to Constantine 1t was destined for
the administration of justice and for COM
mercial purposes During the Middle Ages
1t was the seat of the imperial governors of
the town. but was afterward transferred to
the Bishop. Among other interesting build
ingS are the Cathedral, said to have been
originally a palace and the birthplace of st.
Helena the bridge over the Moselle and the
Liefrauenlxirche.
The Great Feature Nowadays.
OF course the great feature of Treves
nowadays, and the one thing with which it
is always associated is the Holy Coat or
seamless garment of Christ. This celebrated
relic is now in the treasury of the Cathedral.
The legend of its origin is as follows: 1t was
found by st. Helena, a British lady and the
mother of Constantine the Great. ST. Helena
WIS born at Colchester. She became
Christian at the age of lS. 1t was she who
discovered the true cross and the other in
struments of the Passion.
The true cross was distinguished from
those of the two thieves by miracle, name
ly the healing of Il sick person who was
touched by the three crosses in succession.
The nails used in the crucitiXion were also
found. These were three in number. For
this reason many pictures of the crucifixion
represent Christ's feet nailed to the cross
by one nail only.
One of the nails st. Helena put in the he'll
met of her son Constantine. Another one
was thrown in the sea TO appease storm
and was afterward recovered by miracle.
St. Helena presented the seamless garment,
said to have been worn by the Virgin Mary
herself, to the city of Treyes, where she had
resided for many years. The earliest writ
ten testimony to this effect is found in tho
"LeSta Trevirorum"
st. Helena is said to have presented the
relic to the Church of Treves during the
episcopate of Agritius, 3l+3St. Several other
notices of the Holy Coat are found in docu-
ments mounting nearly up to the twelfth
century. But the most remarkable and in
teresting piece of evidence given in support
of the authenticity Of the relic is an ancient
ivory belonging to the Cathedral. This ivory
was for some time lost, but was recovered in
1874
A Remarkable History.
The Emperor is represented on it
seated at the church door and awaiting the
arrival of procession closed by chariot
chest. Above the chariot is the face of
Christ, by which some relation between the
Savior and the contents of the chest seem
indicated. The ivory was examined in 1916
by the Archaeological Society of Frankfort
with the result of fixing its date at the end
of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth
century. The relic was translated from the |
choir to the Cathedral in 1l96.
After an interval of more than 800 years it |
was exposed IN 1872 and on several other oc- |
casions in the sixteenth century, for the |
yeneration of the faithful. During the wars |
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries |
the relic was deposited in the Castle of |
Ehrenbreitstein, and afterward at Augs- |
burg In 1910, by permission OF Napoleon, |
the Bishop of Treves, Mgr. Mannay, took |
the relic back from Augsburg to his own |
CITY, and, in spite of the confusion of the |
TIMES many pilgrims, numbering over 200