I was just finishing my piece on Roodmas and the True Cross, starting to look up the history of the piece of the Cross that was held by the Duke of Buckingham in the 17th Century, when I came across this amazing story in the Shropshire News!
It seems two pieces of the True Cross have been given to Charles by the Pope! They have been put into a cross called the Welsh Cross which will take part in the Coronation Procession and then the King is giving the Cross (I assume with the pieces of the Holy Cross) to the Church in Wales. Let the Shropshire News tell the story:
This is quite extraordinarily medieval, and fits in with the news that we have been asked to take an oath of allegiance to the new King.
I, (Insert full name), do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.
It is a clear reminder that we are subjects not citizens and news that we still set store by superstitions. Its a delicate time because many non-natural-Royalists, like me, thought the Queen did a great job as a non-political Head of State. We remain unsure about Charles. We have heard calls to modernise the Royal Family. But this seems to be doing the opposite. Time will tell.
Roodmas is celebrated on May 3rd and September 14th, although the Church of England aligned itself with the Catholic Church’s main celebration on September 14th.
Rood is another word for the Cross. Parish Churches used to have a Rood Screen separating the holy Choir from the more secular Nave. This screen was topped with a statue of the Crucified Jesus.
The two dates of Roodmas reflects that it commemorates two events:
The Discovery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem in 326 by Queen Helena, wife of Constantius Chlorus and mother of Constantine the Great. Most of the Cross was sent back to the care of Constantine the Great.
The part of the Holy Cross that was left in Jerusalem was taken by Persians but recovered by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius in 628 in a peace treaty.
Queen Helena found the Cross with the nails, and the crown of thorns. She authenticated it by placing the Cross in contact with a deathly sick women who was revived by the timber of the Cross.
Over the years the Cross was shivered into ever smaller pieces as Emperors, Kings, Dukes, Counts, Popes, Bishops, Abbots, and Abbesses swapped relics with each other. The fragments were cased in beautiful reliquaries and had enormous power for those of faith and those who could be helped by healing by faith.
The Duke of Buckingham had a piece in his collection in the 17th Century, which I think he must have acquired from the aftermath of the destruction of the Reformation.
But I will be saving more about the Legend of the True Cross on September 14th.
For the story of Stratford-upon-Avon and the Legend of the True Cross click here: