Fr. Garnet was implicated in the Gunpowder Plot. According to the entry in the Catholic Encyclopaedia, he confessed to some knowledge of the plot, which seems to have put the kybosh on him being declared a martyr. His execution was so closely guarded that no relics were obtained, other than some bloodstained straw (the congealed blood apparently took on the likeness of Fr. Garnet's face.)
However, a 17th Century book gives a Protestant account of the plot and Garnet's involvement. The book was published by the king's printer, Robert Baker, just months after Garnet's hanging and is titled "A True and Perfect Relation of the Whole Proceedings Against the Late Most Barbarous Traitors Garnet, a Jesuit, and His Confederates." The book is bound in skin, possibly Fr. Garnet's own... and some people believe that an image of Fr. Garnet's face can be seen on the cover...
Twitch of the mantilla to Roman Miscellany.
Very sad, but I suppose that if true it could be a macabre relic.
ReplyDeleteThe title includes the word "barbarous" and the volume itself is bound in human skin ...?
ReplyDeleteI can't be the only one who sees the irony in this.