The Holy Sponge

In 600 CE, the Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a 4th-century church in Jerusalem supposedly built on the site where Jesus was crucified. In an upper room Sophronius observed a few objects that inspired verses:

And let me go rejoicing
to the splendid sanctuary, the place
where the noble Empress Helena
found the divine Wood; 

and go up,
my heart overcome with awe,
and see the Upper Room,
the Reed, the Sponge, and the Lance.

The "divine Wood" found by the Empress Helena we know, because we've talked about the True Cross and Empress Helena's finding of it.

There were other relics there: "the Reed, the Sponge, and the Lance."

The Lance refers to the Spear of Longinus, the spear a Roman soldier jabbed into the side of the crucified Jesus mentioned only in the Gospel of John. There are, in fact, four known relics that claim to be the Spear/Lance of Longinus, in Rome, Vienna, Vagharshapat (in Armenia), and Antioch. Supposedly, one was even in the possession of the devout King Æthelstan of England.

The Reed was placed in the tortured Jesus' hands as a scepter, mocking him as King of the Jews.

The Holy Sponge and Holy Lance were brought by Nicetas, a cousin of Eastern Emperor Heraclius (610-641), to Constantinople from Palestine in 612. Latin Emperor Baldwin II sold the Sponge to King Louis IX of France. 

Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologos made a gift of a sponge to Pope Boniface IX, along with a piece of Jesus' tunic (not sure where he got that). The Basilica of Santa Croce in Jerusalem is a church in Rome, built to house relics of the Passion of Christ, such as the True Cross. In it you will find a brown sponge.

Pieces of sponge also reside at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, St. Mary in Campitelli in Rome, and the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano in Rome. The church of St. Jacques de Compiègne in France and in the cathedral in Aachen where a piece owned by Charlemagne is displayed.

The items mentioned here are part of the Arma Christi, the "Arms of Christ," the Instruments of the Passion of Christ. There are many more...many more. I'll let you know about some tomorrow.

Paleologos in Europe

Seeking aid against the fear of a complete Ottoman takeover of the Byzantine Empire (currently a vassal state under Turkish Emperor Bayezid I), Manuel II Paleologos went to Europe personally to meet with Western kings. He set sail on 10 December 1399, stopping in the Peloponnese to leave his wife and children in the care of his brother.

He was in Venice in April 1400, then overland to Milan where he met with Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti, son of the man whose daughter married Lionel of Antwerp (Chaucer was in the embassy that arranged it).

There was another man in Milan whom Manuel knew: his close friend and ambassador to Italy, Manuel Chrysolaros. Chrysolaros had been there for a few years and well-respected as a scholar and a source of knowledge about Greek culture.

Manuel II then went to Charenton in northern France where he met with King Charles VI on 3 June. Michel Pintoin (c.1350 - c.1421), the "Chronicler of St.-Denis," recorded their meeting:

Then, the king raised his hat, and the emperor raised his imperial cap – he had no hat – and both greeted one another in the most honourable way. When he had welcomed [the emperor], the king accompanied him into Paris, riding side by side. They were followed by the Princes of the Blood who, once the banquet in the royal palace finished, escorted [the emperor] to the lodgings which had been prepared for him in the Louvre castle.

Manuel spent summer and fall in France, leaving in December for England. His earlier entreaties for aid had been rebuffed by Richard II of England due to internal struggles, but those struggles ended when Henry IV became king. (The illustration shows the two meeting.) The meeting between Henry and Manuel—the first and only presence of a Byzantine Emperor in England—was recorded by contemporary writer Thomas Walsingham:

At the same time the Emperor of Constantinople visited England to ask for help against the Turks. The king with an imposing retinue, met him at Blackheath on the feast of St Thomas [21 December], gave so great a hero an appropriate welcome and escorted him to London. He entertained him there royally for many days, paying the expenses of the emperor's stay, and by grand presents showing respect for a person of such eminence.

Manuel received £2000 (the receipt exists) from Henry. A joust was held in his honor in February 1401. The emperor wrote to his friend in Milan, Manuel Chrysolaros, about Henry's hospitality:

A large number of letters have come to us from all over bearing excellent and wonderful promises, but most important is the ruler with whom we are now staying, the king of Britain the Great, of a second civilized world, you might say, who abounds in so many good qualities and is adorned with all sorts of virtues.

...

And now, in accord with his nature, he has made himself a virtual haven for us in the midst of a twofold tempest, that of the season and that of fortune, and we have found refuge in the man himself and his character.

Manuel II also gifted Western Europe with treasures from Constantinople. A piece of the tunic of Christ was sent to Pope Boniface IX, along with the Holy Sponge.

Ultimately, Manuel's efforts did not bear fruit. Bayezid was defeated by Tamerlane, the Turco-Mongol warrior who was expanding his own base. Constantinople would eventually fall to the Turks in 1453, a couple decades after Manuel's death.

But let's talk about that Holy Sponge, and maybe some of the other relics of Christ's life that were important objects throughout the Middle Ages.

Manuel II Paleologos

Manuel II Paleologos was the son of the beleaguered John V Paleologos. At that point in time, the Byzantine Empire was a vassal state of the Ottomans, and John and his successor, Manuel, sought aid from the West against a feared complete takeover by the Turks.

When John died in 1391, Manuel had in fact been at the Ottoman court. News of the death prompted him to rush to Constantinople to secure the succession, fearing Manuel's nephew, John VII. John had rebelled earlier and taken Constantinople from John V. Although later defeated with the help of the Ottomans and the Knights Hospitaller, he never gave up his claim.

Manuel was crowned in 1392 as well as married to Helena Dragaš, the daughter of another Ottoman vassal, the Serbian Konstantin Dejanović. Manuel was left to manage the Byzantine Empire as he saw fit, but a rebellion in Bulgaria (also under Ottoman control) made the Ottoman Emperor Bayezid I paranoid about his territories and determined to "lock them down" to prevent unrest.

Bayezid invited all his Christian vassals, like Manuel and Konstantin, to Serres in Macedonia in order to execute them and strike fear into their successors. He changed his mind, but the vassals became aware of his intention. Manuel looked for Western aid for protection, and sent 10 ships to aid in a Crusade by Sigismund of Luxemburg against the Ottomans. Sigismund was defeated at the Battle of Nicopolis.

Manuel sent his uncle, Theodore Kantakouzenos, to Charles VI of France to request military aid, then to Richard II of England. Richard had internal troubles, but Charles sent the Marshal of France and six ships with 1200 men to guard Constantinople. The Marshal, Jean II Le Maingre, advised Manuel to go himself to meet with the heads of Western Europe.

Manuel sailed to the Peloponnese, where he left his wife and children in the care of his brother Theodore I Paleologos, then sailed to Europe where he was greeted and hosted by several kings. Those historic events were recorded, and we'll talk about his itinerary tomorrow.

The Holy Monastery

One of the oldest monasteries in the Peloponnese, the Agia Lavra (Greek: literally "Holy Monastery") was built in 961. It is on Chelmos (also Helmos) Mountain, 961 meters above sea level. Chelmos is also home to the mountain village of Kalavryta.

Kalavryta was the seat of the Barony of Kalavryta in the later Middle Ages (established c.1209), of which very little is known except through some Venetian records and the 14th century Chronicle of Morea, a Greek poem of 9000 lines that narrates the Western European conquest of Morea (the Peloponnese) after of the shameful actions of the Fourth Crusade.

The monastery was destroyed more than once in the post-Medieval period, by Turks in 1585, by the Egyptian army of Ibrahim Pasha in 1826, and in 1943 by German troops. It survives, however, and has a museum as well as an opportunity for monastic living. The monastery celebrates the Dormition of Mary on 15 August.

The museum has many items, including an 11th-century Gospel, gold-embroidered vestments from the 1500s, patriarchal seals, and saints' relics, including part of the skull of St. Alexius. You can read about St. Alexius here and here. He was a wealthy Roman citizen in the 4th century who gave up everything to live as a hermit, presumably in Greece, before returning to Rome to live unrecognized in his family's home. Alexius is considered the patron saint of the town of Kalavryta.

The part of Alexius' skull at the monastery was given to them in 1398 by Manuel II Paleologos, Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425. Where he got it, since Alexius returned to Rome and died there many years later, no one can tell. Manuel offered many relics to different groups during his long reign. I think we should look into some goings on in Constantinople next.