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00:00Jesus' crucifixion ends with a stab of a simple wooden spear.
00:12For 2,000 years, some of the most powerful men in history covet its power.
00:18Could one of these three relics have pierced the side of Christ?
00:23At last, modern science provides answers to the legend of the Holy Spear.
00:33The legend of the Holy Spear begins at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
00:54The Bible tells us his death is mercifully quick.
01:01A Roman guard pierces Jesus' side with a spear to confirm that he is dead.
01:08It's a crucial moment in the Christian faith.
01:14Proof of Christ's death and what makes his resurrection possible.
01:19In the centuries that follow, the spear becomes a preeminent Christian relic
01:31and assumes a legendary reputation.
01:37Emperor Constantine is said to hold the Holy Spear
01:41when he imposes Christianity on the Roman Empire.
01:44With the spear by his side, Charlemagne forges the first European Union
01:52out of the chaos of the Middle Ages.
01:55And both Napoleon and Hitler seek the spear's mythical power
02:00so they might rule the world.
02:02Today, there are three Holy Spears that are not known copies or fakes.
02:07One in Armenia, one in the Vatican, and the Vienna Spear.
02:14Could one of these be the spear of Christ, the relic of legendary power?
02:22Peter Owen Jones is a priest in the Church of England.
02:28He's embarking on a quest to examine the history of each spear
02:35and determine if it could have been present at the moment of Jesus' crucifixion.
02:40The spear, like many other Christian icons,
02:44is an incredibly important part, not just of Christian history, but of all history.
02:50Robert Feather, a specialist in ancient metals and artifacts,
03:01will assess each spear to determine its age and origin.
03:08The three spears, from a scientific and historical viewpoint,
03:12all have a strong indication that they date from a very early time in history,
03:21possibly close to the time of Jesus.
03:27After the crucifixion, the first report of the Holy Spear comes from Armenia,
03:33where locals claim to still possess it.
03:38Here, Peter begins his search.
03:44This is Etchmeatzin Cathedral.
03:47It's the heart and soul of the Armenian Apostolic Church,
03:51and this is where they keep their Holy Spear.
03:54How it gets here is an amazing story.
03:57According to the Armenian Church,
04:00one of Jesus' twelve disciples brings the Holy Spear to Armenia.
04:04The Apostle Thaddeus arrives here just a couple of years after the crucifixion.
04:11He carries the Holy Spear,
04:14and the pagan priests feel very threatened by his presence,
04:18so they have him beheaded.
04:22But before he's killed, Thaddeus converts a few pagans to Christianity.
04:26They protect the Holy Spear,
04:28possibly hiding it in a secret cave,
04:31which later becomes a monastery named Gayhard,
04:34meaning spear in Armenian.
04:38It remains hidden for over 200 years,
04:43until a local man named Gregory
04:46challenges the pagan priests by preaching the gospel in Armenia.
04:50But the pagans are powerful,
04:54and Gregory is soon imprisoned.
04:58In the shadow of Mount Ararat,
05:00where Noah's Ark is said to have landed,
05:02sits the ancient Armenian Monastery of Hor-Varat.
05:05Here Peter uncovers the next chapter in Gregory's story.
05:18Gregory is tortured and thrown into a pit full of snakes,
05:23which was located here,
05:25and he's kept there for thirteen long years.
05:29Miraculously, Gregory survives thirteen years in a pit full of snakes.
05:43Legend says that he then recovers the Holy Spear,
05:47and with the Holy Spear in his hand,
05:50he defeats the pagan gods.
05:52He converts the king and all his court to Christianity.
06:01And in the year 301 AD,
06:04Armenia becomes the first Christian state.
06:09Relics have the power to draw people together
06:14under one belief system,
06:17the flag of faith, if you like.
06:20If you believe you are blessed,
06:21if you believe you have the all-powerful spear in your possession,
06:25then you're actually going to behave in quite a different way.
06:31The spear is placed in the heart of the Armenian Mother Church,
06:35the Etchmiadzin Cathedral.
06:37It is one of the most sacred things we have as a church.
06:43The Armenian Church only takes its Holy Spear out once every seven years,
06:48but Peter is granted special permission to see it.
06:52Did this spear pierce the side of Christ 2,000 years ago?
06:57Robert Feather has had a replica made of the Armenian Spear.
07:11He shows it to Mark Hassel, an expert on Roman weapons.
07:14It's not the spear that went in the side of Jesus.
07:17It's not? Why not?
07:18Because it's not a Roman spear.
07:21The head is totally, totally different.
07:23Absolutely.
07:24Completely different.
07:25Totally different.
07:27The Armenian Church accepts that its spear is not a Roman weapon,
07:30but they say it's one used by Jewish soldiers of the time.
07:37Feather and Hassel conclude that the Armenian Spear
07:40was likely not at Jesus' crucifixion.
07:43Nevertheless, legend says the power of its legacy
07:46helped convert a whole nation to Christianity.
07:49Another spear is also famous for its role in a religious power struggle
08:00between the two dominant religions of its day.
08:08Peter's investigation of the next spear, the Vatican Spear,
08:12begins here, by the ancient walls of Constantinople,
08:15modern-day Istanbul.
08:20Six hundred years after the crucifixion,
08:23Jerusalem is conquered by the Persians.
08:26Here, the tail of the Vatican Spear literally splits in two.
08:31Somehow around this time, the tip of the spear gets broken off.
08:36We don't know how, but it ends up here, in Constantinople,
08:40the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire,
08:43where it is set into a jewel-encrusted crucifix.
08:58It ended up here, in what was then the Christian Church of San Sophia,
09:03but it would be another 80 years before the other part of the spear joined it.
09:07One can only imagine the negotiations, the horse-trading,
09:13that must have taken place to prize such a valuable relic out of Jerusalem.
09:19The French king, Louis IX, buys the spear tip.
09:20Both parts of the spear remain in Constantinople for the next 600 years,
09:33until a French king, Louis IX, buys the spear tip.
09:38He believes that the important relic gives him a direct link to God,
09:45and therefore immense honor and prestige.
09:49The tip, in its bejeweled cross, is kept in Paris,
09:55until it disappears during the French Revolution.
09:58The rest of the spear blade remains in Constantinople until the city falls to the Muslims in the 15th century.
10:12The Western world is divided into these two enormous blocks,
10:20Christianity and Islam.
10:22The spear of Christ is also in two pieces.
10:25The tip is in Paris, and the main bulk of it is in Islamic Constantinople.
10:29In 1492, the sultan gives the rest of the spear blade to the pope,
10:40in exchange for him keeping his brother, who is claiming the sultan's throne, locked up in Italy.
10:46It's an incredible pact between the leaders of two great warring religions.
10:58The spear, minus his tip, was put into St. Peter's Basilica, and seldom seen again.
11:05Today, the Vatican makes no claims to its authenticity.
11:09If this is the true spear, the authentic one,
11:16then it provides an understanding of the redeeming passion of Christ,
11:20and the mercy of God, who doesn't seek revenge for the wrong he was done.
11:27The Vatican will not show their spear, nor allow it to be scientifically tested.
11:31So Robert Feather tracks down the only existing images of the Vatican's spear,
11:41a set of drawings made in the early 1900s.
11:46He shows them to Mark Hassel.
11:49So, I mean, this could be a genuine Roman spear,
11:53if you can imagine there being this sort of collar at that stage, or rather here.
11:57Even though the Vatican and the Armenian church greatly value their spears,
12:05Feather can't find any solid proof to link them to the crucifixion.
12:10So he and Peter turn their attention to the third and final spear,
12:15the famous Vienna spear.
12:17And their investigation soon reveals an astounding secret.
12:21Inside Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum is the Schatzkammer treasure house,
12:31home to the Vienna spear,
12:33and a collection of some of Europe's most fabulous jewels and relics.
12:38This is Peter's next port of call on the strange journey of this extraordinary relic.
12:46The history of the Vienna spear is a story of power, glory, and greed.
12:56Its reputation is astonishing, even if the legends surrounding it are partly true,
13:02that has helped shape the fate of mankind.
13:09Unlike the other spears, this one doesn't belong to a church.
13:12The museum grants Robert Feather permission to test the spear.
13:18For an expert on ancient metals, this is as good as it gets.
13:24What he discovers sends Peter off on an astonishing journey through the ages,
13:30tracking the story of the spear as it crosses paths with some of the most powerful
13:34and terrifying characters of the last 2,000 years.
13:42Feather's investigation is a unique opportunity to test physical aspects of the priceless relic.
13:48I was offered special access to do non-destructive testing on the Vienna spear.
13:53And what I found was quite extraordinary.
13:59As we waited for the spear to be brought from the Schatzkammer Museum,
14:04I became more and more excited.
14:06Here was an opportunity to examine a relic of enormous historical significance.
14:11The spear was taken apart for cleaning in 1970, and the museum took a series of photographs.
14:24They show that the spear is made up of many different parts.
14:27The photos also reveal that beneath the outer golden sheath is a hidden silver one.
14:35With the inscription,
14:37Lancia Sancti Maurici Sanctus Mauritius.
14:43The Holy Lance of St. Maurice.
14:45Who is this St. Maurice?
14:51In a lakeside village, Peter unearths the answer.
14:56According to legend, in the years following the crucifixion,
15:00the Holy Spear is passed down among early Christians until it reaches Egypt.
15:05There, it finds its way into the hands of a Roman centurion named Mauritius, or Maurice.
15:15Maurice is Christian and commands a legion of Christian soldiers.
15:23It's the year 286, and Maurice is on the move.
15:33Roman Emperor Maximian orders Maurice and his legion to help him put down
15:39a violent uprising in Gaul, near Lake Geneva, in present-day Switzerland.
15:45But by the time he gets there, the rebellion has already been violently crushed.
15:55Maurice is horrified to discover that the slaughtered men are fellow Christians.
16:00now Emperor Maximian orders pagan sacrifices for the success of the mission.
16:13And it's at that point that Maurice and his men respectfully refuse to take part.
16:21all the inhabitants of the Empire are supposed to sacrifice for the success of
16:30the Emperor and the Empire and the fact that the Christians don't conform is
16:35treated as a crime infuriated Emperor Maximian orders the execution of the
16:41entire Legion over 6,000 men are slaughtered
16:51Morris's unswerving devotion to his faith in the face of certain death becomes
16:56the code of chivalry for medieval Knights
17:03St. Morris is the patron saint of Knights soldiers and armies
17:12whoever inscribed the silver sleeve obviously believed that St. Maurice once carried the spear
17:24but exactly who carved the silver sleeve and when remains a mystery
17:30from the photos feather discovers that at some point the spearhead was broken into the silver
17:44sheath was added to strengthen the spear after it was broken the spear was likely broken when a large
17:52hole was made in the blade in order to mount a kind of nail within it feather takes x-rays of
18:00the blade to get a better view of the mysterious nail
18:03the nail has an unusual shape
18:17and may have been placed by a man who shaped the destiny of the world
18:21Reverend Peter Owen Jones is following the legend of the Vienna spear and it's about to play a key
18:39role at a pivotal turning point in history
18:49after the execution of St. Maurice and his Legion
18:52the spear finds its way into the hands of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great
18:57the Roman Empire is fatally divided politically and religiously
19:12the Western Empire is run from Italy the Eastern Empire from Turkey
19:18Constantine is powerful but critically he's ambitious he wants to make the Roman Empire strong again to do
19:25that you'll need to unite it under one leader himself
19:37legend has it that just before the decisive battle that gives Constantine control over the empire he sees a vision
19:49a flaming cross appears above the sun and the letters in this sign you shall conquer
19:55the Roman Empire
19:57Constantine is so moved by what he's seen that he has the first letters of christ's name painted on his shield and those of his soldiers
20:10legend also says that he carries the holy spear with him into battle
20:18Constantine wins the battle and embraces christianity
20:22he did not believe that as a christian emperor he could execute anyone
20:30therefore
20:32he delayed his baptism
20:35because of the ancient belief that baptism wiped away previous sins
20:41but not subsequent ones
20:43Constantine sees in his new religion a way to unite his divided empire so he takes a decision
20:58that changes the fate of mankind christianity becomes the religion of the roman empire
21:05legend says he's got the holy spear when he makes this decision i mean it's almost too good to be true
21:17but then again if he's carrying the spear that won him the battle might he not also clasp it when it comes to this momentous decision
21:30once constantine is emperor he builds a new capital for his christian empire
21:40constantinople
21:45his mother helena who had converted to christianity long before constantine travels to the holy land in search of christian relics
21:53she returns with a rich array including what she believes are remnants of the holy cross and actual crucifixion nails
22:06she sets the nails in her son's armor to protect him
22:13did she also set a nail in the holy spear
22:16robert feather continues his investigation by taking microscopic photographs of the spear
22:24under magnification the nail appears even more intriguing
22:28now we can see that it's not actually a nail it's a pin
22:31and it has three bulbous lumps on it marked with yellow crosses
22:37what do they mean why are they there who placed them there
22:41feather is not allowed to carbon date the spear for fear of damage to the precious relic
22:48but he uses x-rays together with the old photographs to create a virtual model of the spear
22:53to see how its many parts fit together
23:01at the base of the spear are two blade-like wings which don't look roman and appear to have been added later
23:11feather shows the x-rays to weapons expert mark hassel
23:16you can see from this x-ray that the the bottom base part is quite separate from the central shape
23:25right so if you remove that part are we back to a basic that if that's the original artifact then
23:33that looks like a roman spear right but having this cross piece is the sort of thing that you wouldn't
23:38expect on a roman spear but you might get in post-roman spears in the dark 80s
23:45the wing blades are probably from a dagger added in the 7th or 8th century a.d
23:57if some parts of the spear are from the middle ages then perhaps the whole spear was made then
24:02but hassel still believes the spear head may be roman perhaps even from the time of christ
24:11and may provide a direct link to the crucifixion
24:21reverend peter owen jones picks the story of the vienna spear back up at the dawn of the middle ages
24:32476 a.d the roman empire in europe collapses overthrown by germanic tribesmen
24:49the order of the empire is replaced with chaos and violence
24:52many of the vienna spears parts are believed to have been added during this time of fear and uncertainty
25:04nothing has heard of the holy spear for 200 years
25:10till it surfaces in the hands of a powerful germanic warrior king
25:14the famous charles the great otherwise known as charlemagne
25:24charlemagne is the devout christian who aspires to the power and glory of ancient rome
25:33legend has it that he carries the holy spear with him as he manages to unite nearly 12 modern-day european
25:40countries which at that time were almost in a constant state of war in the year 800 the pope crowns him emperor of this vast territory
25:54which becomes the holy roman empire
26:00charlemagne is the most powerful man in europe
26:03powerful enough to perhaps order these strange wings added to a priceless holy relic
26:09peter follows the spear's trail to the heart of the holy roman empire nuremberg
26:15this is the nuremberg castle up until the 1500s it was home to the holy roman emperors
26:24according to the written account of the spear at the time of charlemagne
26:28it's very possible that the spear was in the possession of constantine
26:34a bishop called luprand of cremona writing in the 10th century said that charlemagne's spear was once
26:41owned by constantine
26:48charlemagne was very interested in having a connection with constantine as the first christian emperor
26:55but if charlemagne does own the real spear why would he add anything to it perhaps he doesn't have the
27:05spear at all perhaps he just has a copy made that looks roman and adds the trimmings a few trimmings of his
27:13own possessing a powerful relic like the holy spear gives charlemagne the legitimacy to unite the warring states of his empire
27:23the lance functions both as a marker of god or christ's support
27:35support of this ruler that this relic which touched the body of christ should be in his possession
27:42and also as an example of the divine right to rule and the divine right to conquer
27:48perhaps that's why the inscription is added to the silver sleeve
27:52it strengthens the claim that this is the true holy spear
27:59feathery examines the silver sleeve to find out who put it there
28:05clavus dominicus henricus de gracia tercius romano imperato augustus
28:12henry by god's grace the third roman emperor ordered this silver band to be made in order to
28:19strengthen the nail of the lord and the lance of saint maurice
28:24henry the third is a descendant of charlemagne he is crowned holy roman emperor in 1046
28:31helping feather to date the sleeve the silver sheath dates from the 11th century a.d
28:41there is a golden sleeve placed over the silver one it also carries a latin inscription
28:47lancia e clavus domini spear and nail of the lord perhaps a later addition by yet another owner of the spear
29:00in the nuremberg castle peter discovers that the next verifiable owner of the holy spear was a powerful
29:09ruler of the 14th century in the mid 1300s charles iv is the king of germany he wants to become the next
29:19holy roman emperor but he will need some major relics to give him power and credibility he gets hold of the holy spear
29:31to house his relics charles builds an impenetrable fortress outside prog
29:36in the heart of the czech republic castle carlstein
29:40within its walls he builds a beautiful chapel adorned with precious gems and priceless works of art
29:50the spear of christ and other relics are kept in a secret chamber behind the altar
29:55he believes it gives him a direct link to all the saints in heaven who come judgment day will return
30:04to earth and reclaim their relics and also look favorably on those who have looked after them well
30:14it's believed that charles is the one who covers over henry's silver sleeve
30:19with a gold one of his own probably to better impress the saints the gold sleeve clearly dates to the
30:2814th century ad both sleeves on the famous vienna spear share the same phrase the nail of the lord
30:39can science prove these words true
30:42reverend peter owen jones has followed the tale of the vienna spear down through the centuries as it
30:51passes from one powerful ruler to the next
30:56now comes its terrible fall from grace
31:02the early 1400s a descendant of charles iv needing money sells the holy spear to the nuremberg town council
31:12in their hands a powerful relic becomes a main attraction in one of the most lucrative trades of the middle ages
31:21the relic business one of the primary uses of relics in the 15th century is to attract offerings money
31:30offerings the spear is brought out only once a year for the feast of the holy lance
31:37pilgrims from all over europe come to venerate it throughout the middle ages relics are incredibly
31:49popular they're popular because they give direct access to all the faithful to uh heaven one doesn't
31:57need to be literate you don't have to learn sacred books you just engage with a relic
32:02in the city center a specially constructed temporary chapel is prepared the noblemen and the clergy
32:11solemnly gather to take their part in the display of relics there is a tooth belonging to john the
32:18baptist then a sliver of wood from the manger an arm bone of st man and finally the holy spear itself
32:32the church is making vast profits at the expense of the faithful understandably people are getting
32:42tired of being exploited and as the movement for reformation gathers pace the fortunes of nuremberg
32:50begin to decline the spear is locked away in an ornate silver casket
32:56and virtually forgotten for the next 400 years
33:04back in the lab robert feather continues searching for any clue that might shed light
33:10on the mysterious pin mounted in the blade he turns to an x-ray fluorescence gun
33:16to analyze the spear's metal composition
33:18the x-ray can't date the iron in the spearhead precisely so hassle is called in to give his expert
33:28opinion he believes the spearhead is probably roman from between the first and fourth century
33:35but the x-ray gun does come back with an intriguing reading from the pin
33:40peter now follows the holy spear into the turbulence of the late 18th century when another conqueror craves
33:49its power and glory at 1796 and napoleon is rampaging through europe he's also closing in on nuremberg
34:00and the city counselors there are terrified that if he seizes the holy spear he'll become invincible
34:05the spear held this dark promise that he who has it in his possession will rule the world and if you
34:15believe that and more importantly if you can get other people to believe that then that gives you
34:23a terrifying amount of power
34:28the nuremberg counselors decide to hide the spear in vienna
34:32the viennese promise to return it as soon as peace is restored
34:37ten years later napoleon has conquered most of europe including germany and in doing so he brings
34:44to an end the 1 000 year rule the holy roman empire during the chaos and confusion that follows
34:51the spear remains in vienna
34:53feather is examining the pins round discs or roundels
35:04when he notices something strange
35:11when you look at a higher magnification of these rondelles that appear to be quite separate from
35:17the pin itself under the microscope you can see that the two metals are separate and you can see the
35:25differentiation the line separating the two types of material the round bits must have been hammered on
35:33at some time onto the pin the x-ray fluorescence results confirm it the iron compositions are different
35:44and the round will contain significant amounts of cobalt while the pin has none the pin is really rather
35:54intriguing it probably was attached at the time of henry iii in the 11th century but we can't be sure
36:04it's quite apparent from the xrf analysis and the x-ray pictures that we took that the lumps the rondelles
36:14are quite separate from the pin they've been added at some stage when is not easy to say
36:25feather now conducts the ultimate test he measures the metal composition of a first century roman nail
36:32for comparison
36:36if the results match it could mean that the vienna spear includes fragments of crucifixion nails
36:43perhaps the ones that helena brought back from the holy land for the emperor constantine
36:50while feathers experiment brings him closer and closer to the crucifixion
36:55peter arrives at the most recent and darkest hour in the holy spears history
37:02for over 100 years the spear remains in vienna
37:11then in 1933 adolf hitler seizes power five years later he annexes austria
37:21the first move towards realizing his vision of a nazi empire
37:24the third reich a reinvention of the germanic holy roman empire created by charlemagne
37:35hitler wastes no time in appropriating the jewels and relics of the empire's glorious past
37:40the spear of christ the spear of christ now passes into the hands of one of history's most infamous dictators
37:51if you have a weapon as an icon it's not surprising
37:55that warriors those who want to conquer and control
37:59are going to want to possess it because they're going to believe that
38:03once it's in their possession they will be better able to practice those very dark arts
38:13ironically nuremberg is the spiritual home of the nazis
38:18this is where hitler delivered his rousing speeches
38:22this is where he brings the spear in a strange twist of fate hitler returns the holy spear to nuremberg
38:34it's home for nearly 400 years
38:38but hitler's dream of a nazi empire is short-lived
38:42by the end of april 1945 the russian army takes berlin
38:47with germany defeated the americans set about trying to recover all the valuable artworks and relics
38:55plundered by the nazis from across europe they find the holy spear in here in this bunker
39:04underneath nuremberg castle along with countless other pieces of art
39:09they return it to the kunsthistorisches museum in vienna where it remains to this day
39:22the results of feathers x-ray fluorescence test on the roman nail are in
39:30the nail contains cobalt just like the roundels could this mean that the roundels which appear to
39:36be hammered onto the pin come from a first century roman nail
39:45if that's the case then one has to reconsider the whole possibility that while the rest of the
39:53spear might well be seventh eighth century a.d we have a fragment in it that was placed there
40:03because it was a much earlier piece and perhaps a part of a crucifixion nail
40:10after taking a closer look feather discovers something even more startling
40:16something that may provide a definitive link to the crucifixion
40:20having completed a detailed examination of the pin mounted in the vienna spear
40:33robert feather is finally ready to reveal what he's found
40:38evidence that may bring the spear closer to the crucifixion
40:43the randelle of the outline shape of a fish it's clearly defined it's not a scratch mark
41:04the fish was the secret symbol it was the secret symbol used by christians before the roman empire
41:15adopted christianity as its religion
41:21and they used the symbol because at times before constantine they were in fear of their lives there
41:27was the real danger that they would be tortured and executed
41:35feather also finds two curious letters next to the fish
41:41inscribed
41:42behind the fish are the two roman letters the i and the r
41:48in double outlined letters which is again reflects the kind of writing that you'd see at a very early
41:54period in history of roman writing what they mean is a question of speculation but i believe they
42:03stand for a jesus rex jesus the king over the cross the letters inri were inscribed a jesus nazarinus rex
42:14judeorum jesus of nazareth king of the jews and ir was sometimes used as a shortened version of that
42:24the tiny fish and letters can only be seen through a microscope inscribing them would have been a great
42:32technical feat during the early years of christianity
42:39the petri museum in london houses an important collection of ancient egyptian artifacts
42:45among them is a surprising miniature painting
42:48it's of the goddess nebke who was became the protector of the pharaoh i mean even with a
42:56magnifying glass it's it's not easy to see this is a roman period lens it's gone opaque but it would
43:04have been clear but it's clearly been ground and used as a magnifying glass and it's well over 2 000
43:11years old so the technology was there to see and engrave at this microscopic level
43:20this supports the theory that the mysterious roundels could come from early christian times
43:27someone has gone to the trouble of inlaying these crosses on each of them clearly to mark them with some
43:34significant value whether it was a fragment of a nail used in the crucifixion of jesus
43:45is a remote possibility but one you cannot rule out
43:51with feathers investigation concluded this discovery may tie the vienna spear closer to the crucifixion than
43:58ever before an achievement of great significance to christians of yesterday and today the true
44:05worth of this object for us is that it is a touchstone of faith it allows us into the mentality of what
44:16belief was it enables us to see just how powerful that belief system was
44:28the holy spears are each part history and part legend but to christians everywhere they're a powerful
44:37cornerstone of the faith and their true value cannot be measured