Some kind of relic of the Virgin--variously
called a "tunic" or a "shirt"
(latin "camisa"/french chemise) was
in the possession of the Cathedral
chapter of Chartres from the time of Emperor Charles
the Bald, who was
said to have received it himself from the Pope and
given it to the cathedral.
The learned Canon of the Cathedral Yves Delaporte wrote
a concise summary
(in French, with our own rough-n-ready Englishing)
of the history of the
pilgrimage connected with this relic for the Dictionnaire
d'Histoire et
Géographie Ecclesiastique (1952).
Here are a few 1927 Postcard Images of the "Voile
de Notre-Dame"
on display in the lower floor of the chapel of St.
Piat,
off the apse of the cathedral:
|
"Le Voile déplié
(24 mars 1927)" (N.b., Part of the beautifully carved
sarcophagus of Bishop John of Salisbury, excavated from the abbey of St.
Mary Josaphat at Lèves in 1905-6 is visible in the lower left.)
|
|
"Le tissue (grandeure reélle)" |
|
"Detail du tissue oriental servant d'envelope a la relique (grandeure reélle)" |
(Thanks to Professor Dawn Marie Hayes of Iona College,
here is what the "Voile" looks like
today in its 19th century
monstrance reliquary in the Chapel of St. Piat,
off the East end of the Cathedral: The
Voile Today )