page_title: Crown of thorns
section_title: Purported remnants
hierarchical_section_title: Crown of thorns / Purported remnants
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Le Christ portant sa Croix, 1513, huile sur panneau, 45,5 x 34 cm, Nantes, musée des Beaux-arts
context_page_description: According to three of the Gospels, a woven crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It was one of the instruments of the Passion, employed by Jesus' captors both to cause him pain and to mock his claim of authority. It is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and John and is often alluded to by the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen and others.
  In later centuries, relics believed by many to be all or part of the crown of thorns have been venerated.
context_section_description: During a crusade to the Holy Land, French King Louis IX bought what was venerated as Jesus’ Crown of Thorns. It is kept in Paris to this day, in the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Individual thorns were given by the French monarch to other European royals: the Holy Thorn Reliquary in the British Museum, for example, containing a single thorn, was made in the 1390s for the French prince Jean, duc de Berry, who is documented as receiving more than one thorn from Charles V and VI, his brother and nephew.
  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.
  The "Gazetteer of Relics and Miraculous Images" lists the following, following Cruz 1984:
  Belgium: Parochial Church of Wevelgem: a portion of the crown of thorns (since 1561)
  Belgium: Ghent, St. Michael's Church: A thorn from the crown of thorns
  Czech Republic: Prague, St. Vitus Cathedral: A thorn of the crown of thorns, in the cross at the top of Crown of Saint Wenceslas, part of the Bohemian Crown Jewels
  France: Notre-Dame de Paris: The crown of thorns brought from the Holy Land by Louis IX in the 12th century, from which individual thorns have been given by the French monarchs to other European royals; it is displayed the first Friday of each month and all Fridays in Lent (including Good Friday)
  France: Sainte-Chapelle: A portion of the crown of thorns, brought to the site by Louis IX.
  Germany: Cathedral of Trier: A thorn from the crown of thorns
  Germany: Cologne, Kolumba: A thorn from the crown of thorns, given by Louis IX to the Dominicans of Liège, and a second thorn from the treasure of St. Kolumba, Cologne
  Germany: Elchingen: Church of the former Benedictine Abbey Kloster Elchingen: a thorn brought to the church in 1650/51
  Italy: Rome, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme: Two thorns from the crown of thorns.
  Italy: Rome, Santa Prassede: A small portion of the crown of thorns
  Italy: Pisa, Chiesa 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: Two 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: British Museum: Holy Thorn Reliquary (see above), Salting Reliquary, each with a thorn
  United Kingdom: Stanbrook Abbey, Worcester: A thorn from the crown of thorns
  United Kingdom: Stonyhurst College, Lancashire: A thorn from the crown of thorns
  United States: St. Anthony's Chapel, Pittsburgh: A thorn from the crown of thorns
  Ukraine: Odessa, St. Prophet Elijah Monastery: A fragment of a thorn of the crown of thorns
caption: Christ Carrying the Cross by Andrea Solario, 1513, portrays the crown of thorns
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