THE HOLY COAT OF TREVES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VIII, Issue 47, 21 November 1891, Page 614

THE HOLY COAT OF TREVES.

... , ' - H< >SE who know Treves in its ordinary I a *<LX attire would not recognise it at this moment. The Rathes Haus Hotel is % literally crammed to excess, the usually .quiet market place is thronged with visitois, Ift ttie Btreets a,e crowded with pilgrims, and if? noise, confusion, clamour, ate everywhete c« evidence. Noisy pedlars and strongseWVh lunged vendors parade the streets, and tiaflic generally is both difficult and dangerous. The exhibition of the Holy Coat of 1891 is estimated to attract four millions of visitors. Luther, in his * Warnings to his dear Germans,’ does not fail to hit oft the weaknesses of the exhibition. In 1546, speaking of the pilgrimage of the previous year, he writes : —• How they run to pilgrimages ! What fables have the popes, bishops, and monks spread abroad or silently approver!, causing deluded folks to lose their money ! Think of the trickery at Treves with Christ’s Coat. What fair has the Evil < >ne held there, and how many false miracles has he sold It is estimated that between thirty and forty thousand pilgrims arrive daily. They reach the city by a variety of ways. Many travel on foot, others patronise the slow but sure route of the Romany caravan, while so large have been the numbers by rail that every available carriage has been called into play. Quite apart from the interest centred in the exhibition, there is no gainsaying the fact that it is financially, a fine thing for Tieves. At the hotels and restaurants fabulous prices are charged, and the amount of money expended in souvenirs de pelcrinage must be very considerable. The grand old Cathedral has been decorated both internally and externally. From the eastern spire floats the ‘ Ave Maria ’ standard, while in the principal streets the bunting is lavish in its display. The coup d'eeil from the end of Stern Strasse is unique. In the Doni Square is gathering an enormous concourse of pilgrims. They, too, wave their banners aloft as they wait patiently for their admission to Liebfraun, where the Sacrament is administered, and the badge of admission to the Cathedral obtained. • Le Petit Caporal,’ on being applied to in 1810 to hold an exhibition of the Holy Coat, distinctly set his face against the miracles. ‘Il est defendu de faire des miracles en cet endroit.’ Notwithstanding this, there are shown the crutches of a countess who came away restored to health. The Bishop has evidently resolved not to permit imposters to participate in the alleged benefits of the cure by touch, inasmuch as he has issued an edict by which invalids are compelled, before touching Im Sainte liobe, to send in certificates from their physician and priests, testifying as to the merits of the case. The admission of pilgrims begins at seven in the morning, and continues throughout the day. On the march through the sacred building, the pilgrims repeat five paternosters. The highly prized relic is suspended behind the high altar. A gallery runs along the front, and on this the pilgrims pass when their curiosity is gratified The pilgrims are, of course, expected to contribute an offering ; in fact, a liint to that effect has been given by the Bishop, the restoration and repairs of the Cathedral being the object in need of charity. There is no perceptible diminution in the attendance each day, and it may be taken for granted that the estimated number of visitors, namely, four millions, will be probably exceeded by another half million.

How long the Holy Coat has been in the possession of the good people of Treves is not quite clear. As far back as 1196 the first solemn exhibition was held here, when it was placed under the new altar in the Cathedral. In 1511, at the express wish of Emperor Maximilian 1., and by permission of Leo X., another exhibition of the Holy Coat was held. Several times, too, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were held special shows ; and it was only when Louis XIV. threatened to carry off the relic that it was transferred to the rocky fastness of Ehrenbreitstein. Here it remained till the close of the Seven Years’ War, when, peace having been again restored, the Holy < 'oat was returned to its original resting place at Treves. In 1810 ‘ Le I’etit Caporal ’ gave permission for an exhibition, but did not permit any extravagant pomp. The last time the relic was shown was in 1844.

The relic in its entirety consists of three layers of stuffs fixed one over the other, the top piece being mostly of silk, with a pattern on it, the under one of a gauzy fabric rather like crepe de Chine. The age of this gauze it is impossible to determine. It may be concluded that the silk stuff came from the East, and most piobably originated between the sixth and ninth centuries. The coloured pattern consists of dark y ellow and purple stripes, the ground in large squares formed of narrow braid. Within these squares one recognises two birds turned towards each other, with a piece shaped like a hook or a lancet lying horizontally at the back of the head, a branch in front of the beak, and a rod under the whitish claws. The shape of the birds’ bodies can no longer be determined as on the only place where the drawing is at all perceptible there is a gap. Between the upper and under stuffs are decayed pieces spread out between the two layers of stuffs. These decayed parts formed, without doubt, originally the whole vestment. This plain, brownis-hcoloured stuff is, according to all appearance, of linen or cotton. The upper and under stuffs were evidently intended to preserve the vestment lying between them, and this is the reason why at different times, as necessity required, they were added.

The age of this inside stuff can also not be detei tinned ; in any case, it is older than the stuffs covering it. The material and workmanship leave no room for doubting the tradition concerning the vestment In the present state of the inner stuff an examination as to whether seams originally existed gave no results. But there is no reason for supposing any to have existed, for what seams there are belong to the top and bottom stuffs, and give one the impression of being necesserily seams made in later years.—77<r Gentleivmnan.