Blood of Louis XVI 'found in gourd container'

[Adsos Letter]

Source:
BBC
1 January 2013
LINK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20882305

The monarch was killed by guillotine by French revolutionaries more than 200 years ago, on 21 January 1793.

...

After Louis XVI's beheading many spectators were reported to have dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood.

The piece of fabric had been placed in a dried, hollowed-out gourd, leaving blood stains.

The squash was decorated with images of revolutionary heroes and the words: "On January 21, Maximilien Bourdaloue dipped his handkerchief in the blood of Louis XVI after his decapitation".

Gruesome piece of history to own.

[frazzled]

1. Ewwww

Thanks for sharing

Actually, that's pretty fascinating. But it's grotesque and rather meaningless in the end, anyway.

[aquart]

4. DNA is not meaningless.

[HereSince1628]

5. Looking for the genes of Jesus?

I suppose DNA might be important to a grail quest.

[aquart]

7. No. Unless you have a line of descendants we could match it to?

Perhaps those French kings? (Okay, now I'm giggling.)

[HereSince1628]

9. I thought the baseline markers were from Master Masons and 1st century graves

near/in Bethlehem and Nazereth.

[aquart]

10. Master masons?

Jesus was Etruscan?

[frazzled]

6. I'm talking about "relics" being meaningless.

Its only interest is the mildly historical one that people dipped their hankies in his blood. That kind of bloodlust during the Terror was interesting (severed heads of princesses marched around on top of pikes in the streets and all), but we kind of knew about that.

[aquart]

8. What we think we know and what we can confirm, not the same.

And considering how many bones saints had during the Middle Ages, I do wonder if that blood is Bourbon or just beer.

[progressoid]

2. Cool.

I'm emailing this to my French relatives.

[Sunlei]

3. be interesting to file DNA on that and all old museum specimens of people/animals/plants.

lot of extinct plants and animals rotting in museum drawers.