The relics of Mary’s veil – according to the antichrists

The relics Veil of Mary

Description of the Veil

The Veil of Mary (Sancta Camisa) is an oblong piece of silk that Mary is reported to have worn either during the Annunciation of Jesus’ birth by the angel Gabriel or during her labor and delivery of Jesus.

History of the Veil

King Charles the Bald gave the veil to Chartres Cathedral in 876. His grandfather, Charlemagne, had received it as a gift from the Byzantine Empress Irene. When tested in the twentieth century, the cloth was found to contain pollen from first-century Palestine. This piece of cloth is closely tied to the history of both Chartres Cathedral and the town of Chartres.

A key moment in that history occurred in 911. During the siege of Chartres by the Normans, Bishop Guillaume exposed Mary’s Veil over the ramparts. A medallion in the outer south ambulatory of the choir at Chartres commemorates this event.

In The Veil of Notre Dame, Yves Delaporte explains:

“It was during the siege of Chartres by the Normands in 911 that the relic acquired its notoriety and entered into history.”
“The bishop, in view of the combatants, displayed on the top of the Porte-Neuve the tunic of the Virgin Mary. When they saw the venerated relic, the courage of the Christian armies doubled, while the pagans were terrified… Everyone attributed the victory to the divine help and intercession of the Virgin Mary.”

Mary’s Veil and Its Journey Through Time

Around the year 1000 CE, Mary’s Veil was placed with other relics in a sealed wooden trunk covered in gold. This reliquary was usually kept on the high altar in the eastern part of Chartres Cathedral. At the time, people believed the veil was a type of shirt. Pilgrims came to pray near it, drawn by the belief that it offered divine protection. Shirts belonging to soldiers heading to war—and later, shirts meant for queens about to give birth—were placed against the reliquary. These garments were then worn or kept by those seeking safety.

When much of the cathedral was severely damaged by fire in 1194, there was widespread fear that the veil had been lost. Malcolm Miller explains: