THORNS, CROWN OF

the wreath of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus Christ at his crucifixion, whereby the Roman soldiers mocked his title of King of the Jews. A relic purported to be the Crown of Thorns was transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople by 1063. The French king Louis IX (St. Louis) took the relic to Paris about 1238 and had the Sainte-Chapelle built (124248) to house it. The thornless remains are kept in the treasury at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.