﻿ Pray Codex

The Definitive Shroud of Turin FAQ



Pray Codex

The Pray Codex, commonly referred to as the Hungarian Pray Manuscript, is the earliest known text in the ancient Finno-Ugric tribal languages of the Hungarian region. Today it is found in the Budapest National Library. It is named for the Jesuit scholar György Pray (1723-1801), an historian who studied it extensively.

The codex dates to between 1192 and 1195. One illustration in the manuscript shows the burial and resurrection of Jesus. In one panel he is being placed on a burial shroud. In another, the empty tomb is being viewed with an empty shroud.  The shroud in the second panel shows has the identical pattern of burn holes found on the shroud. The artist has drawn the very unusual three-hop herringbone weave like that of the Shroud of Turin. There are some other depictions consistent with the Shroud. Jesus is naked. His arms are crossed at his wrists, the fingers are unusually long and there are no visible thumbs.

The picture also shows a clear mark on Jesus’ forehead where the most prominent 3-shaped bloodstain is found on the forehead of the man of the Shroud.   There can be little question that this illustrator of the Codex, far removed from Western Europe and drawing at a time before the sacking of Constantinople, knew details about the Shroud.

Today, the pray Codex is considered one of the most important historical documents showing that the shroud of Turin existed prior to the 1200s within the Byzantine Empire.

illustration from the pray Codex

Three other illustrations:

  1. The living Jesus
  2. Jesus being taken down from the cross
  3. Christianity


