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The Religious Use of Various Stones: Charles

A splendid ecclesiastical ornament is described in the inventory of the royal treasures in the Chateau de Fontaine-bleau made in 1560, on the accession of Charles IX. This was of gold and composed of a crucifix with the figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John. It was "enriched with 41 sapphires, 3 pointed diamonds and 12 balas-rubies," which served to mark the nails in the cross. The weight of the gold was 25 marks 5 ounces, and the value of the entire object, gold and precious stones, is given as 2720 ecus, or about $6120. The intrinsic value of the gold alone would be about $4240. The most impressive of the ecclesiastical ornaments in the Spanish churches was the custodia, or monstrance, in which the Holy Eucharist was borne through the streets on Corpus Christi day; indeed, only at this time was the custodia publicly shown. It was in fact a large shrine, generally affecting the form of a church tower. The most ancient example now in existence is in the Cathedral of Gerona. It is of gold, is 1.85 m. (over 6 feet) high, and weighs nearly 66 pounds. This work, in which the architectural style is an ornate Gothic, was completed in 1458 by the goldsmith Francisco de Asis Artau. One of the finest specimens, however, was executed by Enrique d'Arphe for Charles V and is in the Cathedral of Toledo. This custodia measures no less than nine feet in height and is three feet wide. Here also the form is that of a Gothic tower; the cross at the apex was made by the goldsmith Lainez, and is adorned with 86 pearls and 4 large emeralds.

The shrine itself contains 795 marks' weight of silver (about 600 pounds), the gold in its composition weighing 57 marks, or about 38 pounds. The Venetian Navagero estimated its worth to be 30,000 ducats.