HOLY BLOOD PROCESSION

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My 1964 guidebook tells me that the Procession of the Holy Blood takes place in Brugge every year on the first Monday following the 2nd of May. Wikipedia tells me it takes place on Ascension Day. Perhaps one is wrong or the day has changed since my time.

A relic of the Holy Blood is said to have been given to the Count of Flanders by the Patriarch of Jerusalem for his help in the Second Crusade (c.1150).

Wikipedia maintains that "in all likelihood, the relic originated from the 1204 sack of Constantinople by the army of the Count of Flanders, Baldwin IX during the Fourth Crusade".

Take your pick.

In any event the procession is a great occasion and I was lucky enough to be in Brugge for the 1968 event and am sharing here some photos I took at that time. As you will see from the photos, which only chart a fraction of the procession, it is a mammoth religious, civic and touristic event.

Those taking part are for real - real bishops and burghers, alongside re-enactors of biblical and medieval events. The real (true?) relic is paraded and commands the same reverence as the Eucharist in a monstrance would have in days of yore.

Above, you can see a portrayal of the flight into Egypt.

And then Christ himself among the people, accompanied I assume by St. Peter.

I think this is Our Lady. We'll see her later more appropriately decked out. But Brugge is so full of saints that it is sometimes hard to know who you are dealing with. The admixture of the religious and the temporal means that not every lady with a crown on her head is the Queen of Heaven.

I'm not sure, no - I haven't a clue, who this is. Might be Judas having nicked a chalice of wine from the Last Supper.

A quick flip forward to the Middle Ages and the infantry.

The Count bringing back the relic from the Holy Land. I know my images are in black and white, but a quick check on the current procession suggest a serious wardrobe upgrading since then.

No shortage of crusaders, and would you look at the delicacy of the step of that horse.

A reminder that there were young crusaders too and they had to rely on bows and arrows as the artillery of the day.

The flag of Brugge and the Pelican. Blood everywhere.

That looks like a hammer on one of the flags - stonemasons' guild perhaps.

Definitely musicianers but with a lot of percussion. No harm when you're on the move.

Master bootmakers, just like my great grandfather. You can certainly see that some aspects of the labour market were well organised in them thar days.

Presumably a promotion for a happy medieval marriage. Though I think there were lots of nuns around too in those days.

I have become something of a budding expert since my recent short visit to Brugge and in my considered opinion this is Jan Crabbe's reliquary of St. Eloi from Sint-Salvatorskathedraal.

This may be the much vaunted statue of Our Lady from the Holy Blood Chapel.

So lets run ahead of the posse and check out the expectant spectators at the Dijver.

No, I haven't got one of those great big cranes the TV people are so fond of on occasions like this nowadays. I'm simply looking out the window of the College of Europe which is what has me in Brugge in the first place.

I take it this is the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, an uncontested story in my day.

More suffering in this valley of tears - Christ's calvary.

Forward to happier days of sack and pillage. The advance guard.

And the relic (depiction) this time accompanied by a mounted monk.

The Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven with the Brugge equivalent of the Legion of Mary as train-bearers.

And the the real relic itself mounted on an altar float which echoes the high arched ceilings of most of Brugge's churches. I don't know when they abandoned this float idea but modern pictures show the reliquary being carried in the manner of that of St. Eloi above.

As it approaches closer you can see the reliquary more clearly. Like that of St. Eloi this one is also by Jan Crabbe.

Followed by the bishop, liberally dispensing blessings, and then the clergy. Which reminds me, I should have visited the Chapel of the Holy Blood this time round. I gather you get a plenary indulgence just by going in, and at my age ...

Then the burghers. No separation of church and state in Flanders in 1968.

The Lord Mayor and various dignitaries.

Another view of the Lord Mayor really stepping it out.

Then the pilgrims, tourists, and the bevolking van Brugge itself.

Homeward bound?

Besides myself there was at least one media outfit present. A three man team I notice. I was trying to operate my still camera and a rickety 8mm Kodak box movie camera all on my own. Way ahead of my time I was.

This is me, signing off from my perch at the Dijver. Have a nice day.

And if you want to check some of this stuff out further try Wiki here and here.