Supposed Thorn from Jesus' Crown of Thorns on Display in British Museum

Teresa Neumann : Mar 29, 2011
Staff - The Daily Mail

"It is an incredible object and we are really delighted that it will form part of the British Museum exhibition. It is a priceless treasure." -Jan Graffius

(United Kingdom)—The Daily Mail has offered a fascinating look into the history of a supposed Christian relic now in display at the British Museum in London in an exhibit called "Treasures of Heaven."

As noted in the report, the original Crown of Thorns was said to have been seized from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade (around 1200 AD) and later sold to King Louis IX of France when he was visiting Venice, Italy. King Louis reportedly kept the crown in Saint Chapel where individual thorns were broken off of it and given to family members as gifts. (Photo: Daily Mail)

Mary, Queen of Scots, was one of those family members and, ultimately, it was she who took the thorn given her to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Following Mary's execution in 1587, the thorn was passed to her servant, Thomas Percy. Percy's daughter later gave it to a Jesuit priest in 1600, who, in turn, kept it in safe-keeping at Ribble Valley College.

As seen in a photograph of the protected thorn, it has been preserved with a strand of pearls, owned by Mary Queen of Scots, twined around it.

Jan Graffius, curator at Stonyhurst, said: "It is an incredible object and we are really delighted that it will form part of the British Museum exhibition. It is a priceless treasure."