The Holy Lance of Longinus

Otherwise known as Spear of Destiny in more modern New Age and esoteric writings, the Holy Lance of Longinus is an ancient relic linked to the crucifixion of Jesus which was first mentioned in the Gospel of St. John.

"The Jewish leaders didn't want the victims hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath at that, because it was the Passover), so they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was dead already, so they didn't break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out."
– The Gospel According to St. John, Chapter 19 verses 31- 34

While unnamed in Biblical canon, tradition originating from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus holds that the soldier’s name was Longinus, a Roman officer also recorded remarking "In truth this man was the son of God" after the death of Jesus (Mathew 27:54 and Mark 15:39). It is said that Longinus converted to the new faith of Christianity soon after his experience and he is venerated to this day as a Saint and martyr in the Catholic, Orthodox and Armenian churches.

The first post-Biblical reference to the Lance appears in the writings of Antonius of Piacenza which was dated to around AD 570 and was repeated in other contemporary sources of pilgrims to the Holy Land. Antonius records that he saw in the Basilica of Mount Zion, Jeruselem "the crown of thorns with which Our Lord was crowned and the lance with which He was struck in the side".

After this time the Lance was presumably lost as legends tell of its rediscovery in Antioch during the first Crusade of 1098. The Crusaders had recently managed to take the city of Antioch after a costly eight month siege only to find themselves surrounded and outnumbered by Seljun Turk re-enforcements An impoverished monk by the name of Peter Bartholomew accompanying the Crusader forces had a vision of St. Andrew which led him to the ruined Cathedral of St. Peter. The vision instructed Bartholomew to dig in the ground beneath the Cathedral where the monk soon unearthed the head of an ancient spear.

News of the discovery of such a Holy Relic spread like wildfire through the besieged and starving Crusader army and many considered it a miracle and a sign from God. Emboldened by this belief the Crusaders launched a counter offensive against the Muslim forces despite being half starved and outnumbered three to one. The subsequent rout of the Seljun Turk army went down in legend and resulted in the recapture of Jerusalem and the foundation of the Crusader States in the Levant. This stunning victory in the face of desperate defeat served to encourage the later belief that any force possessing the Holy Lance could not be defeated in battle.

At some point, it is unclear if this was before or after the battle, the point of the spear was broken. The tip was taken to Constantinople and enshrined in an Icon which was sold by Baldwin of Constantinople to Louis IX of France in 1244, while the main body remained in Byzantium.

With the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 the body of the Spear was captured. However, it was returned as a gift to Pope Innocence VIII by Sultan Bayazid II as an incentive for the Pope to keep the Sultan's brother prisoner. The Pope doubted the authenticity of the spear especially as there were several other lance heads scattered around Christendom claiming to be the spear that had spilt the blood of Christ. Innocence VIII requested a detailed sketch of the spear point from France and when the drawing arrived at the Vatican he was satisfied that the two parts were both of the same blade.

During the French Revolution the Icon containing the point was moved for safety but in the upheaval of the time it was lost and its whereabouts are currently unknown. The body of the Lance has never since left Rome where it is preserved under the dome of St. Peters Basilica. The Vatican refuse to give any comment of it authenticity.

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There are many alternative versions of the Holy Spear from Poland to Armenia. Some claim that the Spear has passed through the hands of many historical figures such as Constantine the Great, Attila the Hun and Charlemagne and attribute these leaders military prowess to the possession of the Spear of Destiny.

One of the most famous alternative Lances is known as the Hofberg Spear or the Vienna Lance. This spear head dates from a similar time to the Vatican lance, with a clear history being traced back to the Eleventh Century. From that time it passed through several hands before finding its way to the Imperial Museum of Vienna.

A modern legend tells how, as a young man, down and out in Vienna, Adolf Hitler became obsessed with the occult legends surrounding the Spear of Destiny which claimed that the Lance has phenomenal talismanic powers the would give its owner power to overcome any foe in battle. Should the Spear be lost or stolen however its former owner would surly die.

The story goes that upon arriving victorious into Vienna during the Anschluss Hitler went directly to the museum where he acquired the Lance and transported it back to Nuremberg, the spiritual capital of the Third Reich enabling him to conquer the majority of mainland Europe.

However with the Allied counter offensive of 1944 Hitler was separated from the Spear and unable to retrieve his prize. Nuremberg fell to the advancing Allied Forces with the American General George S. Patton taking possession of the Spear. The same day Hitler committed suicide, seemingly fulfilling the warning that to lose the Lance resulted in death.