Shroud Of Turin Essay

The Shroud of Turin has been an object of major debate since its discovery in the 14th century. People have tried to prove its authenticity for hundreds of years. A study of the cloth done in 1988 came to the conclusion that the Shroud was, in fact, a forgery. However, new discoveries have cast doubt on the reliability of the sample taken for carbon dating, which showed that the Shroud was manufactured between the years 1260 AD and 1390 AD. So the questions still remains, is it real? Is the Shroud of Turin the burial cloth of Jesus Christ? The first question we need to answer is- where did it come from? The Shroud of Turin can be reliably traced back to the 14th century. In 1453 Margaret de Charny gave the Shroud to the House of Savoy. Then in the 17th century it was put on display in a specially designed chapel, and in the 19th century it was photographed for the first time. Now it is kept in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin,
At some time in the past the shroud was damaged by a hot piece of iron. It isn't known whether it was done as an act of vandalism or as a test of its authenticity by a priest or minister at some time. The metal burned the cloth in 4 separate places which create the shape of a “L.” This burn pattern is very obvious and makes images of the cloth easy to identify. This identifiability means that we now have another example of the fallibility of the Carbon dating. In 1192, a prayer book known as the Pray Manuscript was created. In this book, there is a depiction of Jesus entombed and enshrouded. In the depiction of the Shroud in this book, it is easy to see the 4 separate “L” shaped burns, as well as the unique herringbone weave. The mere existence of this book throws into serious doubt the accuracy of the Carbon 14 Testing (The Shroud of