Historical Support of a 16 th Century Restoration in the Shroud C - 14 Sample Area

Modern-day museums abound with ornate medieval and renaissance woven tapestries, which have been meticulously restored throughout the centuries. Although weaving can nowadays be described as a “dying art,” history tells a much different story about this trade and the abilities of 16 Century artisans. These masterful artisans could repair a woven textile such that the repair was virtually “invisible” to the untrained eye. Two papers have posited and supported the hypothesis that the 1988 C-14 dating of the Shroud of Turin was skewed due to such an “invisible” 16th Century patch that had been added to the cloth for repair purposes. (1, 2) However, even with a plethora of compelling data, it is difficult for many to believe that, indeed, this type of workmanship was possible or desirable during this earlier time period. In 2000, archaeologist William Meacham commented that, ". . . it is highly questionable that any medieval restorer would have had the skill and/or taken the time to do a re-weaving that would not be immediately obvious to a textile expert.” (3) The purpose of this paper is to: 1) characterize the state of the weaving art during the time period of the hypothesized C-14 sample area patch; 2) describe the crucial role and passions for tapestries of Margaret of Austria (House of Savoy) and her nephew/ward Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, that would have mandated an expert restoration to the Shroud following the removal of the large corner pieces; and, 3) illustrate the capabilities of medieval/renaissance weavers to invisibly mend a woven textile such as the Shroud.