The Holy Forgery of Bromholm

This article describes the history of a medieval English True Cross
relic, known as the Holy Rood of Bromholm, supposedly acquired from
Constantinople by an English cleric during the Fourth Crusade. It compares
the English monastic accounts of the Holy Rood’s translation with accounts of
the Fourth Crusade and its aftermath to explore the biography of the English
cleric who gave the relic to Bromholm Priory and determine the historicity of
his account. However, in exploring the supposed origins of the Bromholm
Cross, this article demonstrates that not only can it not be the relic it claims to
be, because that relic continued to be used in Constantinople after its supposed
departure for England, but points out that the descriptions and artistic
depictions of the Bromholm Cross match a very different True Cross relic from
Constantinople than the relic it purports to be – thus proving it to be a forgery