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The Basilica of the Holy Blood, a church in Bruges, claims they hold the Holy Blood and the main thesis is that it was brought to Bruges by the Second Crusade. Note that in 1964, Nicolas Huyghebaert published a study in which he claims that the Holy Blood was brought to Bruges later.

My question is not whether it is indeed the Holy Bood. My question is more whether something is known about what made the Crusaders believe that it was indeed the Holy Blood (and how they "convinced" the locals that they indeed brought back the Holy Blood). Of course the odds are high this is the blood of some knight who participated in the Crusade, but in that case he still had to convince his fellow Crusaders that it was the blood of Christ.

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    If the Miracle of the Herring is any indication, the crusader could have claimed that the blood they happened to find had become the blood of Christ through their faith, or something.
    – SPavel ♦
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 20:08
  • @SPavel The "Miracle of the Herring" was a Eucharistic miracle?
    – Geremia
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 20:17
  • You'll get great answers, I'm sure, on christianity.stackexchange.com
    – user1973
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 15:26

1 Answer 1

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Well, if it was found in Constantinople being venerated as a relic of the Holy Blood, that would have been quite good enough. The events of Christ's life and the legends surrounding it were very immediate and personal for many Crusaders, and there was an expectation that traces of them would be found.

If it was presented by Baldwin III of Jerusalem, that would again have been more than good enough. He was King of Jerusalem. If anyone would have such relics, he would, and there was an expectation that these things would exist.

Yes, these beliefs could be exploited by the unscrupulous. There are beliefs that can be exploited at any time in history. It's a human characteristic.

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    This seems a theoretical answer. Aren't there some sources you could find?
    – user1973
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 15:27
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    @fredsbend: I can't read Latin well enough to make a realistic attempt on that.
    – John Dallman
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 15:59
  • I understand. Neither can I.
    – user1973
    Commented Mar 29, 2017 at 16:27

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