FORENSIC scientists say they have delved into the embalmed heart of Richard the Lionheart, finding chemical evidence the remains of England's Crusader king were handled with holy reverence.
Reduced to dust by eight centuries, the heart of the legendary warrior was analysed by modern lab technology.
It indicates the organ was treated with the veneration reserved for a Christian relic, said Philippe Charlier of the Raymond Poincare University Hospital in Garches, near Paris.
"We found things that we didn't expect," said Charlier, one of the world's top historical pathologists.
Medieval embalmers used mercury and tar-like creosote to preserve the heart, then applied frankincense, myrtle, daisy and mint to it so that it would smell sweet, his team found.
The organ was then wrapped in linen and sealed for eternity inside a lead box.
"The frankincense is something we have never seen until now. It is a substance whose use comes directly from divine inspiration," he said in an interview with AFP.
"It was one of the three gifts brought by the Wise Men at Jesus's birth, and it was used by Joseph of Arimathea to help preserve Jesus's body at his death. So using it is a direct reference to Christ."
The probe, reported in the journal Scientific Reports, sheds light on the contemporary status of a king who across Western Europe became the emblem of gallantry.
Through today's prism, though, many historians say the Lionheart was a neglectful king and war mongerer who slaughtered thousands of hostages in his battle to wrest Jerusalem from Saladin.
King Richard I died in 1199 at 41 while fighting the French in Chalus, central France, where he was shot in the left shoulder by a crossbow arrow, reputedly fired by a boy.
He died 12 days later, presumably from septicaemia or gangrene, although some folk tales suggest the arrow was deliberately poisoned.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Scientists study Richard the Lionheart
Dengan url
http://citylifehealt.blogspot.com/2013/02/scientists-study-richard-lionheart.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Scientists study Richard the Lionheart
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Scientists study Richard the Lionheart
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar