Rood of Grace
Encyclopedia
The Rood of Grace was a crucifix
kept at Boxley Abbey
in Kent
in southeast England
. It was claimed to be miraculous for the wooden likeness of Jesus
was said to move or come to life. The Rood's renown was such that Boxley became a pilgrimage site. At Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries
, it was discovered that the statue contained wires and other contrivances to create the so-called miracle. After this discovery, the Rood was shown off by the newly Protestant government to denouncement the Roman Catholics, and was eventually burned at London
.
According to tradition, the Rood was brought to Boxley Abbey on a stray horse. Considering that a miracle, the monks of the abbey took the crucifix. William Lambarde
, in his 1570 book, Perambulation of Kent, describes how the Rood was created by an English carpenter taken prisoner by the French in order to ransom himself.
The Rood was able to take various facial expressions, which differed based on the amount of the offerings. After the exposure of the fraud at the dissolution of the monasteries, the Rood was paraded around various market towns, including Maidstone, Kent. On 12 February 1538 John Hilsey
, Bishop of Rochester, denounced the Rood of Grace as a fraud, exhibited its machinery and broke it to pieces. The Rood was eventually burned in London along with numerous other statues of Roman Catholic saints.
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
kept at Boxley Abbey
Boxley Abbey
Boxley Abbey in Boxley, Kent, England was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1143-46 by William Ypres, Earl of Kent, and colonised by monks from Clairvaux Abbey in France. Some of its ruins survive, some four miles north-east of Maidstone.- Notable events :...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in southeast England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was claimed to be miraculous for the wooden likeness of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was said to move or come to life. The Rood's renown was such that Boxley became a pilgrimage site. At Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
, it was discovered that the statue contained wires and other contrivances to create the so-called miracle. After this discovery, the Rood was shown off by the newly Protestant government to denouncement the Roman Catholics, and was eventually burned at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
According to tradition, the Rood was brought to Boxley Abbey on a stray horse. Considering that a miracle, the monks of the abbey took the crucifix. William Lambarde
William Lambarde
William Lambarde was an antiquarian and writer on legal subjects.-Life:Lambarde was born in London. His father was a draper , an alderman and a sheriff of London. In 1556, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn...
, in his 1570 book, Perambulation of Kent, describes how the Rood was created by an English carpenter taken prisoner by the French in order to ransom himself.
The Rood was able to take various facial expressions, which differed based on the amount of the offerings. After the exposure of the fraud at the dissolution of the monasteries, the Rood was paraded around various market towns, including Maidstone, Kent. On 12 February 1538 John Hilsey
John Hilsey
John Hilsey was an English Dominican, prior provincial of his order, then an agent of Henry VIII and his church reformation, and Bishop of Rochester.-Life:...
, Bishop of Rochester, denounced the Rood of Grace as a fraud, exhibited its machinery and broke it to pieces. The Rood was eventually burned in London along with numerous other statues of Roman Catholic saints.