While putzing around online and researching the Spear of Longinus, I ran into a bit of a problem with the Longinus story.
So, he was blind?
Did the Roman military keep blind people around? And how would he know where to stab? I could just take it as a religious tall tale, but I’d like to know if anyone has any knowledge of it.
The history and verifiability of any of the three or four “spear/lance of Longinus” fall short of convincing anyone who doesn’t already believe in the artifact. Longinus himself has very little to recommend him as a true historic character. It is one of those incredibly blasphemous legends that imbue the power of God into an object associated with Christ. That’s pretty much the definition of Idolatry. One of them is enshrined at the Basilica of St. Peter, as a relic. Another is supposed to be at Canterbury Cathedral, and one in Vienna. Several “less reliable” spears of Longinus are in other places.
Evidently, after verifying the death of Jesus, Longinus went on to a long career as a spearmaker.
Somehow this reminds me of the three Eastern Orthodox shrines, each of which has the Head of John the Baptist preserved. (Not a slam on Orthodoxy; they joke about it too!)
I was just wondering if there was any evidence that he was real, heh. Sometimes these Bibles things can be backed up (like Pilate), so you gotta check.
I was reading up on holy relics, and there was something about how if an object is in contact with a major relic (forget the real term), it’ll become a major relic over time through exposure to the holiness of the object or some such. Kind of a neat way to make endless relics, huh? Anyway, I’m not sure if that would account for the multiple skulls/spears, because none of the sites I went to went in to it all.
Does the Church even acknowledge relics? I can’t remember.
i watched a documentary on the discover channel last year for which the spear point housed in vienna was minutely examined by experts and found to date from about the third century a.d.
Well, if it makes you feel any better, late Medieval and Renaissance painters worked this one out (they might have gotten it from Passion tracts or some other commentary)-- at the Crucifixion you’ll have another soldier helping Longinus’ aim. For example in this Memling
Of course it’s a religious tall tale. It doesn’t show up in the Gospels, even (in John a soldier does stab him but there’s no mention of name or blindness) so it’s a later addition to the story.