*Ø* Blogmanac May 3 | Crouchmas
aka The Invention (Discovery) of the Holy Cross
(Poetic narcissus, Narcissus poeticus, was today’s plant, dedicated to this feast)
Helena (Flavia Iulia Helena, also known as Saint Helena and Helena of Constantinople, c. 248 - c. 329 CE) was empress and mother of the Roman emperor Constantine. England’s Geoffrey of Monmouth, claimed that she was a daughter of British King Coel Godhebog, meaning "King Cole the Magnificent". Other versions of the legend mention Coel not as King but as dux (chief) of Camelodunum (Colchester). (Her legendary father is not the same as King Coel Hen, meaning 'Coel the Old' – 'Old King Cole' of the nursery rhyme.)
She travelled to Jerusalem and demanded all the alleged crosses of Jesus Christ be brought to her. (She also got the four nails, the spear which pierced the side of Jesus, and other relics. Of the four nails, two were placed in Rome’s imperial crown, and one at a later date was taken by Charlemagne to France; a fourth was thrown in the Adriatic to calm the waters of that stormy sea.)
The body of a dead man was placed on each cross; when it was on the true cross, the body came to life. Thus was the True Cross of Christ 'invented', an archaic expression that means 'discovered'. May 3rd for centuries commemorated that event, until the abolition of this feast day by Pope John XXIII in 1960.
The cross was entrusted to the Bishop of Jerusalem and small pieces were cut off and sold to pilgrims, but it was found the cross had the power of self-regeneration. This legend was, no doubt, created to explain all the pieces of the cross that ended up in Medieval European churches.
In 614, Jerusalem was captured and the cross carried into Persia. There it remained a few years, but was recovered by the conquests of Heraclitus, who carried it back to Jerusalem on his back. This event is commemorated by Roman Catholic Church on September 14, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, or Holyrood Day, the word 'rood' meaning 'cross'.
In 1561 John Calvin wrote a tract that said that if all the pieces of the True Cross were gathered together, they would load a large ship, and would take 300 men, not one, to carry it.
A piece of the True Cross was the most important relic venerated by the Crusaders. It was kept in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre under the protection of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who raised it as a standard of the army before every battle. It was captured from the Europeans by the Arab freedom fighter Saladin (1137 - March 4, 1193) during the Battle of Hattin in 1187 ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
aka The Invention (Discovery) of the Holy Cross
(Poetic narcissus, Narcissus poeticus, was today’s plant, dedicated to this feast)
Helena (Flavia Iulia Helena, also known as Saint Helena and Helena of Constantinople, c. 248 - c. 329 CE) was empress and mother of the Roman emperor Constantine. England’s Geoffrey of Monmouth, claimed that she was a daughter of British King Coel Godhebog, meaning "King Cole the Magnificent". Other versions of the legend mention Coel not as King but as dux (chief) of Camelodunum (Colchester). (Her legendary father is not the same as King Coel Hen, meaning 'Coel the Old' – 'Old King Cole' of the nursery rhyme.)
She travelled to Jerusalem and demanded all the alleged crosses of Jesus Christ be brought to her. (She also got the four nails, the spear which pierced the side of Jesus, and other relics. Of the four nails, two were placed in Rome’s imperial crown, and one at a later date was taken by Charlemagne to France; a fourth was thrown in the Adriatic to calm the waters of that stormy sea.)
The body of a dead man was placed on each cross; when it was on the true cross, the body came to life. Thus was the True Cross of Christ 'invented', an archaic expression that means 'discovered'. May 3rd for centuries commemorated that event, until the abolition of this feast day by Pope John XXIII in 1960.
The cross was entrusted to the Bishop of Jerusalem and small pieces were cut off and sold to pilgrims, but it was found the cross had the power of self-regeneration. This legend was, no doubt, created to explain all the pieces of the cross that ended up in Medieval European churches.
In 614, Jerusalem was captured and the cross carried into Persia. There it remained a few years, but was recovered by the conquests of Heraclitus, who carried it back to Jerusalem on his back. This event is commemorated by Roman Catholic Church on September 14, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, or Holyrood Day, the word 'rood' meaning 'cross'.
In 1561 John Calvin wrote a tract that said that if all the pieces of the True Cross were gathered together, they would load a large ship, and would take 300 men, not one, to carry it.
A piece of the True Cross was the most important relic venerated by the Crusaders. It was kept in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre under the protection of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, who raised it as a standard of the army before every battle. It was captured from the Europeans by the Arab freedom fighter Saladin (1137 - March 4, 1193) during the Battle of Hattin in 1187 ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 10:23 PM | Permalink
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