1418

Custody leaves Lirey during the conflict

A tradition places the Shroud in the care of Humbert de Villersexel during wartime.

The transfer is part of the later custody history leading to the Savoy family. Details and the legal status of the cloth are debated; the date marks a transition rather than a fully documented public display.

In 1418, during the Hundred Years’ War, Margaret de Charny and her husband Humbert de Villersexel moved the Shroud from Lirey for safekeeping. Later accounts place it at Montfort and other residences while the region faced military danger. The Lirey canons continued to assert rights over the object, so custody and ownership did not necessarily coincide.¹

What the surviving source says

The episode is better documented than the pre-Lirey proposals, but details of the route come from later legal and family records. Disputes over the relic’s return show that the church, family and lay patrons did not have a simple, uncontested agreement about possession.¹²

Historical significance and limits

This period begins the movement from local shrine to dynastic custody. It is a historical phase supported by medieval documentation, though each asserted transfer should be tied to its particular record.²³

Sources and further reading

1. Alan Friedlander, “On the Provenance of the Holy Shroud of Lirey/Turin”. Consult the cited passage in the full source and its transmission context; the article distinguishes the source’s wording from later interpretation.
2. Otangelo Grasso, The Image That Should Not Exist: A Scientific Investigation of the Shroud of Turin (2026), ch. 2, “Origins and Historical Record,” pp. 23–31. Author synthesis; not an independent witness.
3. Otangelo Grasso, From Forensics to Faith (2026), ch. 3, “6th to 14th Century History,” pp. 126–194. The book advances an interpretation; this article separates that interpretation from the underlying document or measurement.
4. Otangelo Grasso, The Shroud of Turin: A Forensic Summary, 3rd ed. (2026), ch. 16, “The Hidden Thread,” pp. 276–294. The author’s proposed reconstruction is cited as interpretation, not corroboration.
5. Andrea Nicolotti, The Shroud of Turin: The History and Legends of the World’s Most Famous Relic. Further reading or contextual source retained from this event’s earlier bibliography.