Oresme text shows earliest known written rejection of Shroud of Turin

A previously unknown medieval treatise by the 14th century French theologian Nicole Oresme, published this month in a peer-reviewed journal, contains what researchers say is the earliest known written rejection of the Shroud of Turin and suggests the relic was regarded as fraudulent in the Middle Ages. The text, likely composed in the 1370s but based on events from the 1350s, was identified by French medievalists Alain Bordeau and Béatrice Delaurenti and analyzed by a team led by historian Nicolas Sarzeaud of the Université Catholique de Louvain.

In the newly uncovered passage Oresme, who later became Bishop of Lisieux, calls the cloth a "clear and patent fake" and accuses clergy of fabricating miracles to solicit offerings. He writes that he does not need to believe those who claim such miracles because many clergymen deceive others, citing a church in Champagne said to possess the holy shroud as an example. Sarzeaud said Oresme's writing stands out for its rational approach to alleged miracles and for weighing the reliability of witnesses.

If the dating advanced by the researchers is correct, the document predates by more than a decade the previously cited earliest...