The translation is quite spotty in places, done by an outfit "Corporate Translation Services," whatever that is. The writing is a bit academic and choppy in spots. The gist builds off two prongs: (1) Frale's complete immersion and knowledge of Templar documents, many that scholars have not really accessed before (and many that escape the view of English readers); and (2) the theory of Ian Wilson's that between the time the Shroud/Mandylion was looted from Constantinople in 1204 (during the Fourth Crusade) and it's appearance in France in the mid-1300s, it was in the care of the Templars. Frale builds on earlier theories and connects it to documents to come up with some pretty good circumstantial evidence that the Templars did indeed have the Shroud and venerated it as a relic, almost as an idol, which got them in trouble come Philip of France in 1307. For instance, she maintains that the "head" that the Templars supposedly confessed to "worshiping," under torture, mind you, was, in reality, painted copies of the Shroud's head (like the copies of Mandylion venerated in Eastern Orthodoxy as icons).

Frale makes a pretty good case, though it is a bit difficult to follow and roundabout. Frale is definitely not a popular history writer, like Ian Wilson, but she is a thorough scholar, so the book drags from time to time. But, diligent readers and researchers will benefit from careful study of the thesis. Frale is not as good as others (Wesselow, for instance, more recently, or Wilson, for instance) in showing that the Shroud is an authentic, first century artifact, but she does so competently enough. The meat of this book is to show that, indeed, the Templars had something that was probably the Shroud, that they got it (through many hands) from Constantinople (i.e., it was the Mandylion), and that when the Shroud appeared in the mid-1300s in France, it was in the hands of Templar-related families.

Again, Frale's writing is not the smoothest, nor is the translation, but it is a fine addition to the story of the Shroud of Turin. Kudos for proper footnotes for citations. It has a nice bibliography (lots of books in Frale's native Italian, which opens up whole new scholarly vistas for English-speaking enthusiasts of the Shroud). It has a serviceable index. A few pictures, but could use quite a number more (nota bene, the paperback edition has color plates yet the hardcover edition has black-and-white images, which makes no sense). For instance, the Templecombe face of Christ, which is a very Shroud/Mandylion-looking face found in a Templar church, is mentioned several times in the text, but no image of it appears in the book.

Still, a fine addition to the story of the Shroud of Turin, connecting Constantinople in 1204 to France in the mid-1300s via the Knights Templar. ( )

This is mostly a history of the hidden years of the Shroud of Turin. It is more history of the Knights Templars and their taking care of the shroud. It does not try to answer the veracity of the shroud, but to lay out the various types of research and theorizing on the shroud. A little too detailed for me, but a good book. ( )