Dating Evidence

The National Széchényi Library in Budapest is the home of a collection of medieval documents known as the Hungarian Pray Manuscript, or Codex Pray. It was named after György Pray who discovered it in the year 1770 and had been compiled at the Boldva monastery in northern Hungary between 1192 and 1195.

The manuscript includes various illustrations, including one with two scenes depicting the tomb of Jesus. The upper scene shows the body of Jesus lying in the tomb. He is being anointed by Nicodemus and there are two additional figures represented in this scene, who are believed to be Joseph of Arimathea and the apostle John. The lower scene depicts Mary Magdalene, Salome and Mary the mother of James entering the tomb. Here they see an angel who tells them that Jesus had risen.

Perhaps the most unusual features found on the Pray Manuscript illustration are the zigzag patterns and the sequence of four circles arranged in the shape of a letter ‘L’.

Both of these motifs are very unusual features. It’s hard to understand why the artist who illustrated the Pray Manuscript would have decorated one part of the Shroud with a herringbone pattern when the other part was adorned with crosses, a more appropriate choice of decoration. It’s even harder to explain why the artist would have added four circles arranged into an ‘L’ shape, an irregular pattern which certainly doesn’t enhance the artistic appearance of the painting.

it seems highly likely that the inspiration for the zigzag pattern and the arrangement of circles came from having viewed the Shroud. The zigzag pattern captures the essential character of the Shroud weave in a simple but effective way, whilst the ‘L’ shaped arrangement of four circles matches the ‘poker-holes’ so closely that it’s difficult to perceive of any other credible explanation for their presence.