Bone may belong to St Nicholas

A FRAGMENT of pelvis bone said to belong to the 4th-century saint who inspired the story of Father Christmas could indeed be from the legend himself, scientists have said.

Oxford University researchers radiocarbon-tested the relic, long venerated as from St Nicholas, and found it does date from the correct period. While they cannot prove they are from the Christian saint, the team said results pinpoint the age to the century in which St Nicholas died (around 343 AD).

“Many relics turn out to date to a period somewhat later than attestation suggests,” said Prof Tom Higham, of the Keble College’s Advanced Studies Centre. “This fragment, in contrast, suggests we could possibly be looking at remains from St Nicholas himself.”

When the relics of St Nicholas, that holy man of the Christmas season, toured Russia this year, 300,000 queued for up to 10 hours to revere them. The never-ending travels of good St Nick’s remains since his death in

343 make Bob Dylan’s schedule look very modest. From Myra in Asia Minor to Bari in Italy, with side trips to Venice and Illinois, everyone wanted a bit of him. Today we report that analysis by the Relics Cluster in Oxford confirms that the Illinois bone fragment dates from St Nicholas’s time. It is good that such a thing as a Relics Cluster exists (to apply science and history to their study). As for the relics, perhaps Philip of Spain (whose relic collection included 144 heads) was right when he said: “We lose no merit before God by revering his saints in heaven, even if the bones are not theirs.”