Relics galore

We have now catalogued the large collection of Relics given to us by the Poor Clares of Woodchester, another 150 or so reliquaries, containing between one and fifty-seven relics each.  The slipper of Pio IX (as kissed by Mgr Talbot) is the most spectacular, but some of the prettier frames are now displayed in the Relic Chapel on the "relic of the month" shelf, as well as two round frames containing relics of some of the English Martyrs. Such relics are extremely rare. Here is the main collection displayed before we put them away in the cupboards on either side of the altar:



Now there is more to tell about the puzzle monogramme, which has attracted interest from all over the world.  We have just looked at the second volume of "Roma Sotteranea" by J. Spencer Northcote and W.R. Brownlow (London 1879) which was probably the inspiration behind most of the designs in the Relic Chapel vault.  And look what we've found:



You will be wondering why we didn't look at this book before!  Exactly the same monogram appears on a sacrcophagus "from the Crypt of Lucina", even with the oddities, like the top bar of the T being different each side - this is clearly what our designer was copying. And if it's Early Christian, then I am afraid that rules out TYBURN and TRINITY, which were by far the most common suggestions. Our correspondant Richard Jones has an original interpretation, involving the Cross, the INRI, the IHC and other symbolic meanings, rather too long to set forth here.  Julien Chilcot-Monk suggested INRI and VICTOR, for Jesus, the Conqueror, and Fergus Ryan INRI and NIKE, the same meaning. Northcote and Brownlow, on the other hand, think it's just the name of the person buried in the coffin, TYRANIO, though they point out that the large T is an allusion to the Cross. Perhaps other ideas are still to come?