-------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/wall-paintings
.
. . . Christ with St Thomas and St Christopher
.
<<These two paintings were in the chapel of St Blaise, a small chapel in the southern section of the south transept which survived until the 18th century. They had been obscured by two monuments (now re-located) and were only discovered during cleaning
in 1934. By 1936 figures of the Risen Christ with St Thomas and St Christopher bearing the Christ Child on his shoulder had been revealed. The main figures are nine feet (three metres) in height. The Incredulity of St Thomas is painted on a vermilion
ground, diapered with fleurs de lys which were once gold, as was the vexillum, or cross, that Christ holds in his left hand. With his right he grasps the hand of the kneeling St Thomas to put it against the wound in his side. Christ wears a pink coloured
mantle and the Apostle wears a pale yellow tunic and dark green over-mantle. No inscription remains. St Christopher is painted on a green ground, originally diapered with small rosettes. The saint has his mantle drawn over his head and carries his staff
in his right hand while he holds the Child on his shoulder, supporting the foot in his hand. The Child wears a blue robe and carries an apple. In the water through which the saint is wading there is a small head, which may represent a mermaid associated
with his legend. Two Latin inscriptions remain. These can be translated: "Think that St Christopher was so called because he carried Christ. The Omnipotent makes grow the One whom he is carrying" and at the base "Whoever keeps safe the image of St
Christopher is surely possessed by no exhaustion on that day". Both saints were revered by Henry III. The paintings are in oil on a thin primed ground and have been attributed to Master Walter of Durham, the King's Painter. Dates from 1270-1300 have been
suggested for the paintings. The rosettes carved around the arches also have traces of colour.>>
------------------------------------------------- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_III_of_England

<<Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. Henry appears in King John by William Shakespeare as a minor character
referred to as Prince Henry. Henry is a character in Purgatorio, the second part of Dante's Divine Comedy (completed in 1320). The King is depicted sitting alone in purgatory, to one side of other failed rulers: Rudolf I of Germany, Ottokar II of Bohemia,
Philip III of France and Henry I of Navarre, as well as Charles I of Naples and Peter III of Aragon. Dante's symbolic intent in depicting Henry sitting separately is unclear; possible explanations include it being a reference to England not being part
of the Holy Roman Empire and/or it indicating that Dante had a favourable opinion of Henry, due to his unusual piety. His son, Edward, is also saluted by Dante in this work (Canto VII. 132).

Edward left for the Eighth Crusade, led by Louis of France, in 1270, but Henry became increasingly ill; concerns about a fresh rebellion grew and the next year the King wrote to his son asking him to return to England, but Edward did not turn back.[335]
Henry recovered slightly and announced his renewed intention to join the crusades himself, but he never regained his full health and on the evening of 16 November 1272, he died in Westminster, probably with Eleanor in attendance.

At his request, Henry was buried in Westminster Abbey in front of the church's high altar, in the former resting place of Edward the Confessor. A few years later, work began on a grander tomb for Henry and in 1290 Edward moved his father's body to its
current location in Westminster Abbey. His gilt-brass tomb effigy was designed and forged within the abbey grounds by William Torell; unlike other effigies of the period, it is particularly naturalistic in style, but it is probably not a close likeness
of Henry himself.

Eleanor probably hoped that Henry would be recognised as a saint, as his contemporary Louis IX of France had been; indeed, Henry's final tomb resembled the shrine of a saint, complete with niches possibly intended to hold relics. When the King's body was
exhumed in 1290, contemporaries noted that the body was in perfect condition and that Henry's long beard remained well preserved, which at the time was considered to be an indication of saintly purity. Miracles began to be reported at the tomb, but
Edward was sceptical about these stories. The reports ceased, and Henry was never canonised. In 1292, his heart was removed from his tomb and reburied at Fontevraud Abbey in central France with the bodies of his Angevin family.>>
-------------------------------------------------
The life and death of King Iohn. (Folio 1, 1623)
.
. . . . . Act 4 : Scene 2
...................................................
Ioh. But, thou didst vnderstand me by my signes,
. And didst in signes againe parley with sinne,
. Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent,
. And consequently, thy rude hand to acte
. The deed, which both our tongues held vilde {T}O NAME.
. Out of my sig{H}t, and neuer see me m{O}re:
. My Nobles leaue {M}e, and my State is br{A}ued,
. Euen at my gate{S}, with rankes of forraigne powres;
. Nay, in the body of this fleshly Land,
. This kingdome, this Confine of blood, and breathe
. Hostilitie, and ciuill tumult reignes
. Betweene my conscience, and my Cosins death. ..................................................
. {T} O N A M E.O u t o f m y s i g
. {H} t,a n d n e u e r s e e m e m
. {O} r e:M y N o b l e s l e a u e
. {M} e,a n d m y S t a t e i s b r
. {A} u e d,E u e n a t m y g a t e
. {S},
.
{THOMAS} 16
------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . Act 5 : Scene 1
.
Pand. It was my breath that blew this Tempest vp,
. Vpon your stubborne vsage of the Pope:
. But since you are a gentle conuertite,
. My tongue shall hush againe this storme of warre,
. And make faire weather in your blu{S}tring land:
. On this {A}scention day, reme{M}ber well,
. Vpon your {O}ath of seruice to t{H}e Pope,
. Goe I to make {T}he French lay downe their Armes. Exit.

Iohn. Is this Ascension day? did not the Prophet
. Say, that before Ascension day at noone,
. My Crowne I should giue off? euen so I haue:
. I did suppose it should be on constraint,
. But (heau'n be thank'd) it is but voluntary. ..................................................
. A n d m a k e f a i r e .w. e a t
. h e r i n y o u r b l u {S} t r i
. n g l a n d:O n t h i s {A} s c e
. n t i o n d a y,r e m e {M} b e r
. w e l l,V p o n y o u r {O} a t h
. o f s e r u i c e t o t {H} e P o
. p e,G o e I t o m a k e {T} h e F
. r e n c h l a y d o w n .e. t h e
. i r A r m e s.

{THOMAS} -16
------------------------------------------------------
<<In the Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty, and informed Peter. She then saw two angels, after which Jesus himself appeared to her. In the evening, Jesus appeared to the other followers, followed by another appearance a week later.[John
20:1–29] He later appeared in Galilee to Peter, Thomas, and two other followers, commanding Peter to take care of his followers.

The Gospel of John has three references to ascension in Jesus' own words: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man" (John 3:13); "What if you (the disciples) were to see the son of man ascending where he was
before?" (John 6:62); and to Mary Magdalene after his Resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to my father..." (John 20:17). In the first and second Jesus is claiming to be the apocalyptic "one like a son of man" of Daniel 7; the last
has mystified commentators – why should Mary be prohibited from touching the risen but not yet ascended Christ, while Thomas is later invited to do so?
.......................................................
John 20:24-29: But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my
finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be]
unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.
.......................................................
Commentators have noted that John avoids saying whether Thomas actually did "thrust" his hand in. Before the Protestant Reformation the usual belief, reflected in artistic depictions, was that he had done so, which most Catholic writers continued to
believe, while Protestant writers often thought that he had not. Regardless of the question of whether Thomas had felt as well as "seen" the physical evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus, the Catholic interpretation was that, although Jesus asserts the
superiority of those who have faith without physical evidence, he was nonetheless willing to show Thomas his wound, and let him feel it. This was used by theologians as biblical encouragement for the use of physical experiences such as pilgrimages,
veneration of relics and ritual in reinforcing Christian beliefs.>> ---------------------------------------------------
Art Neuendorffer

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