French Knight Geoffrey de Charny, first known owner of the shroud in Europe
Geoffrey de Charny, a French knight, is the earliest identified Western European owner of the Shroud. No records have been located to indicate who owned the shroud prior to Geoffrey.
He wrote to Pope Clement VI stating that he intended to build a church at Lirey, France, to honor the "Holy Trinity" who answered his prayers for a miraculous escape while a prisoner of the English. He is also already in possession of the Shroud, which some believe he acquired in Constantinople. It is just as likely that he acquired it elsewhere.
Large crowds of pilgrims visited the church at Lirey to view the Shroud and special souvenir medallions were struck. A surviving specimen that may be found at the Cluny Museum in Paris.
Geoffrey de Charny was killed by the English at the Battle of Poitiers, fighting at the side of the King of France.
The Shroud remained in the de Charny family for about one hundred years until it passed into the hands of the Savoy family. It remained a possession of the Savoy family until well into the 20th century.
