Given by Latin Emperor Baldwin II to King Louis IX of France, among others including the Image of Edessa, arrived in Paris in August 1239 for the sum of 135,000 livres. The Saint-Chapelle was built to house these (pawned) relics from Constantinople, and the Crown of Thorns was housed there until the French Revolution, when it was then moved to the Bibliothèque Nationale, and then in 1801 to Notre Dame. The relic itself is made up of a twisted circlet of Juncus balticus, a plant native to the north of Britain, the Baltics, and Scandinavia. Other relics purported to derive from the Crown of Thorns come from a different plant, Ziziphus spina-christi, which is native to Africa, and Southern and Western Asia. The current rock crystal reliquary is not original.
Stained Glass window showing Louis IX Carrying the Crown of Thorns
This panel shows Louis along with his brother and courtiers at Sens, wearing simple clothes, processing the relic of the Crown of Thorns atop a chalice.
This painting is considered to be in the "Maniera Greca."
Krak des Chevaliers. Organization of space
Krak des Chevaliers. Location, location, location
Krak des Chevaliers. Location; history of the site; use and reuse.
Krak des Chevaliers, exterior of the chapel
Krak des Chevaliers, exterior of the chapel. What architectural style of this facade?
Arabic inscription embedded on the walls of the Krak des Chevaliers
Fragments of surviving frescoes, Krak des Chevaliers
The photograph captures some of the damage and destruction inflicted on the castle. Observatory of Syrian Cultural Heritage, UNESCO. Please, visit https://en.unesco.org/syrian-observatory/news/crac-des-chevaliers-and-qal%E2%80%99-salah-el-din
Krak des Chevaliers. Is this barrel vaulted space a chapel or a mosque? Discuss.