The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-15
AUSTRIA'S
ARTICLES LONG vENERATED BY MIL
LIONS OF PEOPLE
Lance That Is Said tie Have Pierced
the saviOr's side-NIany Memen-
toes of the Crusades.

W. f. Curtis's Vienna Letter in Chicago
Record-Herald.
In the imperial palace of Austria, in what
is known as the treasury, with the insignia
of the Holy Roman Empire, is one of the
most interesting and sacred relics in ex-
istence. 1t is the lance or spear which is
said to have been used by Roman soldier
to pierce the side of Christ as He hung
upon the cross. This alone would make it
an object of veneration to all believers,
and of curiosity of skeptics but the his
toric value is greatly increased by the cir
cumstance of it's recovery by Godfrey de
Bouillon and other leaders of the first cru
SADIE for the recovery of the holy sepul-
cher.
In June. 1897, when the Christian hosts
before Antioch were spending their dark
est hours, and were so threatened with
famine that they were living on boiled fig
leaves and ox-hides softened in water;
when the richest mobiles were reduced al
most to the point of starvation, and We're
hemmed in by the Turks so that they could
not hope to obtain food or other supplies,
a young priest called Peter Bartholomew
appeared before Godfrey. Raymond and
other leaders, and told them that st. An
drew had revealed to him in a vision that
the lance which pierced the savior size
was buried in that neighborhood. At first
the strange tale found few believers, but
several days later Christ himself appeared
to another priest called Stephen, and prom
ised to rescue the crusaders If it were re-
covered For five days, night and day,
without ceasing, faithful volunteers dug in
the earth, and as each withdrew In wearl-
ness fresh workers took his place, until at
last the Lord, moved by their devotion,
disclosed the shOly relic and filled the hun
CRY army with joy and exultation.
10 frurly dot
them out. The Christians offered TO stake
the issue on the Valor of sir knights who
would meet an equal number of Turks
upon the field and fight to a finish, the
army represented by the defeated knights
to surrender, but this and other offers
were rejected with disdain, and, placing
faith in the efficacy of the relic which had
been secured in such a miraculous manner,
the crusaders determined TO risk an at
tack, and Prince Aldemar bore it before
them. Following him were Count Ray
mond, Hugh the Great, Godfrey de Bouil-
lon, Robert of Normandy, Trancred ,and
others of equal fame. accompanied by
fixes and praying for the intercession of
the holy mother, st. Andrew and other
saints.
SAVED BY THE LORDS LANCE.
The Turks dropped their arms and fled
on all sides to the mountains Many deeds
of valOr were wrought, and, although the
Christians were at times hard pressed,
thanks to the Lords lance" writes Aide
mar, none of us were wounded; no, not
so much as by an arrow. /. who speak
these things, saw them for myself, since l
bearing the Lords lance. And there
came out of the mountain innumerable
armies on white horses and bearing white
banners. And our men, seeing this host
knew not who they were till they recog-
niZed it for the promised aid of Christ"
1t the day of greatest glory for the
Christian host, for the half-famished band
of fanatics routed an immense, well-or-
ganized army and captured stores sufficient
to maintain them for many months.
But, as is often the case, 1t was not long
before the warriors began to recover their
cOnceit. and claimed the victory to have
been the result of their own valor instead
of attributing it to the host of angels,
which came down from heaven to rein
force them. They even scOffed at the eff
cacy of the holy lance, and soon divided
into two factions. those who believed and
those who denounced Peter Bartholomew
as an imDOStOr.
MAKE me the biggest fire that you can"
he retOrted, land L will pass through it
with the Lords lance in my hand. If it be
the true Lords lance L shall emerge from
the flames unframed; if it be false
shall be burned up"
And on Good Friday, April s, 1898, 10000
crusaders gathered to witness the test.
Two parallel piles Of dead olive branches
four feet high, eight feet wide and fourteen
feet long were blazing, with a pathway
only one foot wide between them Count
Raymond spoke TO the multitude: eff the
blessed ST. Andrew showed him the Lord S
lance as he slept, may he pass through the
fire unframed If the thing be lie let him
be burned up together with the lance which
he holds in his hand. And all the people
shouted Amen"
The fire burned so fiercely that no man
could approach nearer than twenty cubits,
but Peter Bartholomew, clad only in a cot
ton tunic and bearing the lance aloft
passed through; Some fancied that they
saw a bird. the Holy Spirit, fluttering
above his head. When he emerged from the
flames the amazed and awe-stricken multi
tude pressed forward to touch him, hop
ing to receive for themselves some of the
sanctity of his person. The crush was so
great that he was nearly torn in pieces
and he died a few days later. The skeptics
claimed that his death due to the eff
fects of the fire, but the great multitude
accepted the testimony of his supporters
that he passed through the flames unhurt
but was fatally injured in the excitement
that followed However that might have
been, the lance was unframed, and from
that hour has been accepted as genuine by
the Roman Catholic Church. 1t was car
ried at the head of the army during the
remaining crusades and, after the fall of
Jerusalem, was taken to France and pre-
served with the crown, the scepter and
the sword of Charlemagne, first at AK la
Chapelle. afterward at Nuremberg, and
since 1876 in the imperial treasury at vi
emma.
THE BLADE BROKEN.
1t Is the oldest and the most precious Of
all the relics of the Holy Roman Empire.
The spear is of iron, with blade shaped
like lancet. and a hollow socket for the
pole. During the reign of Emperor Ohio
the Great a narrow slip was made in the
center of the blade. Two explanations are
given. One is that a piece of metal was de-
sired as a gift to the cathedral at Prague
and the other is that Charles " desired to
make it still more holy by inserting a nail
said to have been taken from the cross of
Christ. Some accounts state that it is one
of the nails that pierced His hand. In
making the incisiOn. however, the blade
itself was broken and has since been held
together by ligaments of silver wire and a
band of gold.
The lance was used as a scepter at the
coronation of the rulers of the Holy Ro-
man Empire for several centuries.
In the same case, surrounding this inter
esting object, are several other precious
relics of the crucifiXiOn, including a piece of
the holy cross nine inches long. two inches
wide and more than an inch in thickness.