THE LEGEND OF THE TURKISH HEAD

The legend of the Turkish head is a strange and obscure legend dating from the 14th century, which can be found on altar illustrations in two Norwegian churches, Dale and Nedstryn. The legend is set to the Ottoman-Byzanthine war. During their invasion of the Byzanthine Empire, the Turks attacked with an enormous, grotesque head of mysterious origins. The head was so terrible that it caused those who saw it to drop dead. When the Turks reached the walls of Constantinople, the patriarch of the city showed the Turks and the head an image of Mary, mother of Christ. When the head saw this holy image, it died instantly, and the siege was lifted.

The only online source on this legend that we could find was the following PDF:
http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/1992_xxiii_5.pdf   
(scroll to pages 410 - 411)