Facebook - The Shroud of Turin
https://www.facebook.com/groups/125...636&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen
Academia.edu
https://www.academia.edu/142993891/...entioning_the_Shroud_and_Christs_Burial_Cloth
Pure Bible Forum (this post)
https://www.purebibleforum.com/inde...hronological-historical-lists.1642/post-23412
================================
Similar List to Compare
BCHF
Mentions of Turin Shroud or Image of Edessa before 400 AD?
https://earlywritings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2917
================================
Otangelo Grasso
Chronological List of Pre-1356 Literature Mentioning the Shroud and Christ's Burial Cloth
Key: ✓ = Confirmed | ? = Unverified | 🕮 = Symbolic/Allegorical
3rd Century
1. Acts of Thomas - "Hymn of the Pearl" (c. 200-250 CE)
Source: Syriac apocryphal text
Quote: "And the image of the King of kings was depicted entirely on it."
Analysis: Allegorical reference to a royal image-bearing garment; theological metaphor possibly informed by early traditions of Christ's burial cloth.
Status: ✓ (Text authenticity confirmed; allegorical relevance)
Citation: Klijn, A.F.J. (2003).
The Acts of Thomas
2. Gospel of the Hebrews (c. 150-250 CE)
Source: Apocryphal gospel (quoted by Origen)
Quote: "When the Lord had given the linen cloth to the servant of the priest, he went and appeared to James."
Analysis: Early non-canonical reference to Jesus transferring a linen cloth post-resurrection.
Status: ? (Text fragmentary; theological relevance debated)
Citation: Dreisbach (1995)
4th-8th Centuries
3. Epistle of Abgar Legend - Greek Recensions (4th-8th centuries)
Source: Expanded Greek versions of
Doctrina Addai
Quote: Image formation occurred
"in the tomb" rather than during Christ's lifetime
Analysis: Critical shift from pre-death healing cloth (original Syriac) to burial context, linking image formation to resurrection.
Status: ✓ (Multiple Byzantine manuscript traditions confirmed)
Citation: Wilson, I. (2010).
The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved
4. Pope Sylvester I - Altar Cloth Decree (325 CE)
Source: Liturgical institution
Quote: Mass celebrated on linen
"as if it were the clean Shroud of Christ."
Analysis: Formalizes liturgical symbolism equating altar cloths with Christ's burial shroud.
Status: 🕮 (Symbolic tradition; no relic claim)
Citation: Reported by Dreisbach
5. Theodore of Mopsuestia - Catechetical Homilies (c. 400 CE)
Source: Homily 15 (PG 66)
Quote: Deacons spreading altar linens
"represent the figure on the linen cloths at the burial."
Analysis: Explicit liturgical reenactment of burial scene implying a visible figure. Provides liturgical DNA for shroud veneration, showing deacons ritually reenacting burial with visible "figure" on linens.
Status: ✓ (Critical link between liturgy and shroud iconography)
Citation: Patrologia Graeca 66
6. Evagrius Scholasticus - Ecclesiastical History (c. 593-594 CE)
Source: Book IV, Chapter 27
Quote: References the
acheiropoietos (not-made-by-hands) image of Edessa used to defend the city in 544 CE
Analysis: Establishes early documented tradition of miraculous cloth images in Eastern Christianity
Status: ✓ (Primary source confirmed)
Citation: Evagrius Scholasticus,
Historia Ecclesiastica IV.27
6th Century
7. Narratio de Imagine Camuliana - "Narration of the Image of Camuliana" (late 6th century)
Source: Narratio de Imagine Camuliana (PG 115, col. 496-500)
Quote: Describes a miraculous image of Christ that transferred from one cloth to another by contact, associated with the city of Camuliana (Armenia Minor)
Analysis: One of the earliest accounts of an
acheiropoietos (not-made-by-hands) image of Christ on cloth. The image was transferred to Constantinople by 574 CE. Later Byzantine traditions conflate this image with the Mandylion and burial shroud traditions, creating theological bridge between facial images and full-body cloths
Status: 🕮 (Symbolic with latent theological convergence toward burial cloth traditions)
Citation: Auzépy, M.-L. (1997).
La vie d'Étienne le Jeune
8. Pilgrim of Piacenza (c. 560-570 CE)
Source: Itinerarium §20
Quote: References veneration of a
sudarium (face cloth) at the Jordan River site
Analysis: Early Western pilgrimage attestation of cloth relics associated with Christ's Passion
Status: ? (Authentic pilgrimage account; no image explicitly described)
Citation: Wilkinson, J. (1977).
Jerusalem Pilgrims Before the Crusades
9. Arabic Homily of Pseudo-Theophilus of Alexandria (attributed 6th century)
Source: Coptic-Arabic homiletic tradition
Quote: "A cloth placed on Jesus' face in the tomb which was later found bearing the likeness of His holy face"
Analysis: Early Eastern example linking burial cloth to facial image formation in tomb context
Status: ? (Attribution and dating uncertain; no extant 6th-century manuscripts)
Citation: Dubois, J.-D. (2016).
Écrits apocryphes coptes
10. Mozarabic Rite - John 20:5-6 Retranslation (c. 600 CE)
Source: Visigothic liturgy
Quote: "Peter... saw the recent imprints of the dead and risen man on the linens."
Analysis: Deliberate scriptural alteration reflecting knowledge of bodily imprints. Demonstrates scriptural reinterpretation based on relic knowledge.
Status: ✓ (Liturgical manuscript tradition confirmed)
Citation: Dreisbach (1995)
7th Century
11. Theophylact Simocatta - Histories (c. 630 CE)
Source: Byzantine historical chronicle
Quote: Mentions a
"face-bearing linen sent from the East" in context of Persian-Byzantine conflicts
Analysis: Ambiguous reference that some scholars (Wilson) connect to early Edessa image traditions. No burial context mentioned, but represents awareness of Eastern cloth-image traditions in official Byzantine historiography
Status: ? (Indirect reference; connection to burial cloth traditions speculative)
Citation: Theophylact Simocatta,
Historiae
12. Anastasius Sinaita - Hexaemeron (c. 650-700 CE)
Source: Sinai monastic theological writings (PG 89)
Quote: "Christ left the imprint (τύπον) of His form in the linen"
Analysis: Earliest Greek theological statement suggesting a bodily impression on burial cloth; τύπος implies physical stamp or impression
Status: ? (Theological concept well-attested; primary manuscript verification lacking)
Citation: Gusein, M. (2009).
The Image of Edessa
13. Leontius of Neapolis - Life of John the Almsgiver (c. 640 CE)
Source: Hagiographical text
Quote: References miracles attributed to the
"linen cloth of the Lord" (σημείοις ἐν τῷ σινδόνι)
Analysis: Implies cloth's special veneration due to visible marks or associations with Christ
Status: ? (Text authentic; explicit "image" not stated)
Citation: Festugière, A.-J. (1974).
Vie de Jean l'Aumônier
14. Missale Bobiense - Bobbio Missal (c. 700 CE)
Source: Northern Italian liturgical manuscript
Quote: "Et linteamina quae in sepulchro remanserant, monumenta resurrectionis exstitere"
Translation: "And the linen cloths which remained in the tomb became witnesses of the resurrection"
Analysis: Earliest confirmed Western liturgical text linking burial cloths to resurrection evidence, implying visible testimony
Status: ✓ (Manuscript: Cod. Vat. Lat. 5768)
Citation: Lowe, E.A. (1920).
The Bobbio Missal
8th Century
15. Theodore of Mopsuestia & Isidore of Pelusium Liturgical Traditions (8th century)
Source: Byzantine liturgical commentaries (PG 66; PG 78)
Analysis: Eucharistic veils (
ἄερ) symbolically represent Christ's burial linens (
σπάργανα)
Status: 🕮 (Symbolic liturgical theology; no physical relic claimed)
Citation: Patrologia Graeca volumes 66, 78
16. Second Council of Nicaea (787 CE)
Source: Council Acts (Mansi XIII)
Quote: Faithful fleeing Jerusalem took
"images and sacred objects to Edessa" before 70 CE
Analysis: Official justification for icon veneration, implying Edessa housed early image relics.
Status: ✓ (Documented council proceedings)
Citation: Mansi XIII
17. Pope Stephen III (769 CE)
Source: Letter to Charlemagne
Quote: "Christ spread his entire body on linen... transferring the image of his face and noble body."
Analysis: Earliest papal assertion of a full-body imprint on burial linen. Adds papal authority to full-body imprint tradition.
Status: ✓ (Text in MGH Epistolae IV)
Citation: MGH Epistolae IV
18. Theodore the Studite (c. 790 CE)
Source: On the Holy Icons
Quote: "The cloth in which Christ was wrapped... bears the divine features imprinted by His skin."
Analysis: Theological defense of icons using shroud as acheiropoietos prototype.
Status: ✓ (PG 99:700–701)
Citation: Patrologia Graeca 99:700–701
10th Century
19. Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus - De Imagine Edessena (945 CE)
Source: Imperial letter describing Mandylion's transfer to Constantinople
Quote: "The form of a face could be imparted onto the linen cloth from a moist secretion with no paint or artistic craft" and describes
"sweat not only of the face but of the whole body" (ὅλου τοῦ σώματος)
Analysis: Imperial documentation shifting Mandylion from face-only to full-body sweat imprint
Status: ✓ (Manuscript: Vatican Gr. 511)
Citation: Mansi, J.D. (1762).
Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova Collectio
20. Greek Synaxarion - Feast of Holy Mandylion (August 16, c. 950-980 CE)
Source: Byzantine liturgical calendar
Quote: Mandylion revealed
"the entire figure" and had been
"kept hidden in a niche above the city gate of Edessa"
Analysis: Liturgical evolution documenting transition from face-only to full-body image understanding
Status: ✓ (Multiple manuscripts, e.g., Sinaiticus Gr. 1096)
Citation: Delehaye, H. (1902).
Synaxarium Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae
11th Century
21. Georgios Kedrenos - Synopsis Historiarum (c. 1050-1100 CE)
Source: Byzantine historical chronicle
Quote: Describes the image of Edessa as
"a sweat image not made by hands" that was
"buried with Christ and found again in the tomb"
Analysis: First historian to explicitly merge Mandylion and burial cloth traditions
Status: ✓ (Critical edition: CSHB 34)
Citation: Bekker, I. (1838).
Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae
12th Century
22. Latin Abgar Recensions - Carolingian to 12th Century Adaptations
Source: Latin versions of the Abgar legend, particularly Western adaptations (e.g., Codex Vossianus Lat. Q. 69)
Quote: Some recensions describe a cloth
"found in the tomb" bearing Christ's likeness, separate from the original healing narrative
Analysis: These versions drift from original Syriac and Greek traditions, possibly reflecting Western attempts to assimilate Mandylion-like stories into Resurrection contexts. Significant for tracking Western theological awareness of image-bearing burial cloths before the Shroud's appearance in France
Status: ? (Indirect reference possibly influenced by Mandylion-to-Shroud theological conflation)
Citation: Scavone, D. (1999).
"The Syriac and Latin Abgar Traditions" in
Edessa Image Symposium Papers
23. Anonymous Imperial Correspondence (c. 958 CE, preserved in 12th-century copies)
Source: Byzantine imperial archives
Analysis: Focuses on burial cloths (
σπάργανα) while omitting mention of facial Mandylion, suggesting distinction between cloth types
Status: ✓ (Contextual evidence distinguishing facial vs. full-body relics)
Citation: Lamberz, E. (2004).
Studien zur byzantinischen Kunstgeschichte
24. Orderic Vitalis - Historia Ecclesiastica (c. 1141 CE)
Source: Anglo-Norman chronicle
Quote: "A linen showing the Lord's body size, miraculously imprinted when He wiped His face."
Analysis: Conflates facial sweat-cloth with full-body image tradition. Reveals medieval conflation of sweat-cloth (Mandylion) and full-shroud traditions in the West.
Status: ✓ (Chibnall ed., Oxford Medieval Texts)
Citation: Chibnall edition, Oxford Medieval Texts
1204 - The Sack of Constantinople: Critical Eyewitness Period
25. Robert de Clari - La Conquête de Constantinople (written c. 1205-1213)
Source: Eyewitness crusader chronicle
Original French: "Il i avoit une autre yglise que on apeloit Sainte Marie de Blakerne, où ert li siendres dont Nostre Sires fu envolupés, qui drechoit sus tous les venredis si que on pooit bien veoir la figure Nostre Signeur"
Translation: "There was another church called Saint Mary of Blachernae, where was kept the shroud in which our Lord had been wrapped, which was raised up every Friday so that the figure of our Lord could be plainly seen there"
Analysis: Direct eyewitness description of full-body image on burial shroud displayed weekly in Constantinople
Status: ✓ (Manuscript: Paris BnF Fr. 4976)
Citation: Dembowski, P. (2005).
La Conquête de Constantinople
26. Theodore Angelus - Letter to Innocent III (1205 CE)
Source: Byzantine imperial protest
Quote: "Most sacred linen in which Christ was wrapped... now in Athens."
Analysis: Direct post-sack confirmation of shroud's location by Byzantium's ruling family. Bridges Constantinople and Lirey, confirming shroud was looted and taken to Athens.
Status: ✓ (Cited in Riant, Exuviae Sacrae II:211)
Citation: Riant, Exuviae Sacrae II:211
27. Nicholas Mesarites - Epitaphios (c. 1207 CE)
Source: Sermon by Byzantine ecclesiastical official and imperial relic keeper
Quote: References
"the image of Jesus' naked dead body" visible on a
sindon (burial sheet)
Analysis: Independent Byzantine authority confirming anatomical visibility on burial cloth
Status: ✓ (Critical edition: Heisenberg, 1923)
Citation: Angold, M. (1984).
The Byzantine Empire, 1025-1204
28. Nicholas of Otranto - Papal Envoy Report (1208 CE)
Source: Papal correspondence regarding dispersed Byzantine relics
Reference: Documents
spargana (burial wraps) being venerated in Athens following the 1204 sack
Analysis: Third-party documentation of burial cloth veneration and post-1204 dispersal
Status: ✓
Citation: Hoffmann, P. (1986).
Die Kreuzzüge und die byzantinischen Reliquien
Early 13th Century
29. Gervase of Tilbury - Otia Imperialia (c. 1211 CE)
Source: Imperial chronicle for Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV
Analysis: Documents the dispersal of Passion relics from Constantinople, including burial cloths
Status: ✓ (Contextual documentation of relic diaspora)
Citation: Banks, S. & Binns, J. (2002).
Gervase of Tilbury: Otia Imperialia
30. Gunther of Pairis - Historia Constantinopolitana (c. 1208 CE)
Source: Cistercian chronicler of Fourth Crusade
Analysis: Describes systematic division and redistribution of Constantinople's sacred relics, including Passion cloths
Status: ✓ (Contemporary crusade documentation)
Citation: Andrea, A. (1997).
The Capture of Constantinople
Evidence Classification Summary
Tier 1: Critical Confirmed Sources
- Theodore of Mopsuestia (5th cent.) - Liturgical - Earliest liturgical reenactment with visible "figure"
- Bobbio Missal (7th cent.) - Liturgical - Earliest Western evidence of burial cloths as resurrection "witnesses"
- Pope Stephen III (8th cent.) - Papal - Earliest papal assertion of full-body imprint
- Constantine VII (945 CE) - Imperial - Documents full-body sweat imprint tradition
- Robert de Clari (1204) - Eyewitness - Most explicit pre-Lirey account of visible figure on shroud
- Theodore Angelus (1205) - Imperial - Crucial bridge confirming shroud's post-1204 location
- Nicholas Mesarites (1207) - Ecclesiastical - Byzantine authority confirming full-body image
Tier 2: Strong Supporting Sources
- Mozarabic Rite Retranslation (6th cent.) - Scriptural alteration
- Theodore the Studite (8th cent.) - Icon theology
- Georgios Kedrenos (11th cent.) - Historical synthesis
- Orderic Vitalis (12th cent.) - Western conflation
- Greek Synaxarion (10th cent.) - Liturgical calendar
- Nicholas of Otranto (1208) - External corroboration
- Post-1204 crusade chronicles - Contextual documentation
Tier 3: Bridge Literature and Supplemental Sources
- Gospel of the Hebrews (3rd cent.) - Early apocryphal reference
- Pope Sylvester I (4th cent.) - Symbolic liturgical tradition
- Narratio de Imagen Camuliana (6th cent.) - Acheiropoietos cloth tradition
- Second Council of Nicaea (8th cent.) - Official icon justification
- Latin Abgar Recensions (12th cent.) - Western theological adaptation
- Various other sources providing contextual support
Shroud of Turin: Historical References Bibliography
Recent Comprehensive Works
Marino, Joseph G. Possible Post-Biblical and Pre-1350s References in History to the Shroud of Jesus: An English-language Bibliography. Published 2021.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1111/HEYJ.13929
Academia.edu
Marino, Joseph G. Documented References to the Burial Linens of Jesus Prior to the Shroud of Turin's Appearance in France in the Mid-1350s. Published 2022. Updated May 3, 2024.
Academia.edu
I. Shroud-Specific Historical and Analytical Sources
1.
Wilson, Ian. The Shroud: The 2000-Year-Old Mystery Solved. Bantam Press, 2010.
Pioneering synthesis connecting the Shroud to the Mandylion tradition, with deep historiography.
2.
Wilson, Ian. The Blood and the Shroud: New Evidence That the World's Most Sacred Relic Is Real. Free Press, 1998.
Develops the argument of continuity from the Edessa image to the Turin Shroud, with new forensic insights.
3.
Ruffin, C. Bernard. The Shroud of Turin. Our Sunday Visitor, 1999.
Catholic summary work, focusing on physical and devotional dimensions of the relic.
4.
Scavone, Daniel C. The Shroud of Turin: Opposing Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, 2002.
Balanced treatment of naturalistic and supernatural theories surrounding the Shroud.
5.
Scavone, Daniel C. "Historical Records and the Holy Shroud." In
The Turin Shroud: Past, Present and Future, ed. G. Fanti & P. Malfi. Bologna: Bononia University Press, 2012.
Important paper summarizing pre-14th-century references to burial cloths and relic traditions.
6.
Dreisbach, Anne. Documented References to the Burial Linen of Jesus Prior to the 14th Century. Manuscript, 2005.
Compilation of patristic, liturgical, and apocryphal sources linking burial cloths to image traditions.
II. Mandylion and Image of Edessa Studies
[Section appears incomplete in source document]
III. Sudarium of Oviedo (Face Cloth)
13.
Guscin, Mark. The Oviedo Cloth. The Luttenworth Press, 1998.
Definitive study of the Sudarium of Oviedo and its possible relation to the Shroud.
14.
Guscin, Mark. "Recent Historical Investigations on the Sudarium of Oviedo."
L'Associazione Collegamento pro Sindone, 1999.
Presentation of comparative blood pattern and historical trajectory analysis.
️ IV. Byzantine and Crusader Sources (Primary or Analyzed)
15.
Dembowski, Peter F. (ed.). La Conquête de Constantinople par Robert de Clari. Droz, 2005.
Primary crusader eyewitness account of a cloth with Christ's figure shown weekly in Constantinople.
16.
Angold, Michael. The Byzantine Empire, 1025–1204: A Political History. Longman, 1984.
Background on Nicholas Mesarites and the imperial relic treasury in Constantinople.
17.
Andrea, Alfred J. The Capture of Constantinople: The Hystoria Constantinopolitana of Gunther of Pairis. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
Cistercian account of relic redistribution post-1204.
18.
Banks, S., & Binns, J. Gervase of Tilbury: Otia Imperialia. Oxford University Press, 2002.
Mentions relic dispersion from Constantinople, possibly including burial cloths.
19.
Hoffmann, P. Die Kreuzzüge und die byzantinischen Reliquien. Hiersemann, 1986.
Investigates the fate of relics after the sack of Constantinople.
20.
Bekker, Immanuel (ed.). Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae. Weber, 1838.
Critical edition of Georgios Kedrenos' history, merging burial shroud with Mandylion.
️ V. Western Liturgical and Pilgrimage Sources
21.
Lowe, Elias Avery. The Bobbio Missal: A Gallican Mass-Book (MS. Paris Lat. 13246). Henry Bradshaw Society, 1920.
7th-century Western liturgical text referencing the burial cloths as "witnesses of the resurrection."
22.
Wilkinson, John. Jerusalem Pilgrims Before the Crusades. Aris & Phillips, 1977.
Includes the Pilgrim of Piacenza's mention of cloth relics associated with Christ's burial.
23.
Festugière, André-Jean. Vie de Jean l'Aumônier. Les Belles Lettres, 1974.
Hagiographical reference to miracles associated with the "linen of the Lord."
Notes
This bibliography focuses on historical references to burial cloths and relics that may relate to the Shroud of Turin, particularly those predating its documented appearance in medieval France. The sources span from early Christian patristic writings through Byzantine chronicles and Western medieval accounts, providing a comprehensive foundation for understanding the possible historical trajectory of Christ's burial linens.
