Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor

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The coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III Karl den store krons av leo III.jpg
The coronation of Charlemagne by Pope Leo III

The Holy Roman Emperor received the imperial regalia from the hands of the Pope, symbolizing both the pope's right to crown Christian sovereigns and also the emperor's role as protector of the Catholic Church. The Holy Roman empresses were crowned as well.

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The Holy Roman Empire was established in 962 under Otto the Great. Later emperors were crowned by the pope or other Catholic bishops. In 1530 Charles V became the last Holy Roman emperor to be crowned by a pope, Clement VII, albeit in Bologna. Thereafter, until the abolition of the empire in 1806, no further crownings by the pope were held. [N 1] Later rulers simply proclaimed themselves Imperator Electus Romanorum ("Elected Emperor of the Romans") after their and coronation as German king.

Preliminaries

Before being crowned emperor by the pope, a monarch first had to win the support of the majority of the seven prince-electors in the Imperial election, then to be crowned King of the Romans by an archbishop, for example that of Cologne, Mainz, or Trier. He then had to conduct an Italienzug (Romzug), leading his army from Germany to Rome and occasionally having to fight off enemies barring the way, making his coronation into a military expedition. Some elected or crowned Kings of the Romans never made it that far, and thus were never confirmed as Holy Roman Emperors by the Holy See. The papal coronation was necessary for the Imperial title until 1508, when the Venetians blocked the journey of Maximilian I, and he was instead proclaimed emperor elect by Pope Julius II at Trent. [1] This established the right of elected Germanic monarchs to use the imperial title.

Ceremonies

Locations

Coronation of Emperor Henry VII Henry VII Holy Roman Emperor.jpg
Coronation of Emperor Henry VII

Successors of Charlemagne were crowned in Rome for several centuries, where they received the imperial crown in St. Peter's Basilica from the pope.

The Iron Crown of Lombardy (with the title King of Italy or King of the Lombards) was conferred in the Church of St. Ambrose at Milan or at the cathedral of Monza, [N 2] that of Burgundy at Arles. The German crown—which came to be the most important of all—was usually given at Aachen. [3] From 1562 until the last German coronation in 1792, the emperors-elect were crowned kings of Germany in Frankfurt Cathedral, which had already in 1356 had become the established site for the imperial elections.

German royal coronation

The German coronation ceremony first required the electors to meet at Frankfurt, under the presidency of the elector-archbishop of Mainz, who formally summoned the electors and had the right of the last vote. The new emperor-elect was led to the high altar of the cathedral and seated, then conducted to a gallery over the entrance to the choir, where he sat with the electors while his election was proclaimed. The coronation itself took place on a subsequent day.

If the coronation was performed (as usual before 1562) at the Palatine Chapel at Aachen (now Aachen Cathedral), then the archbishop of Cologne, as local metropolitan, was the chief officiant and was assisted by the two other clerical electors, the archbishop of Mainz and the archbishop of Trier. [N 3] These three archbishop-electors met the emperor-elect at the entrance of the church, where the archbishop of Cologne said the prayer, "Almighty, everlasting God, your servant,..." [N 4] The choir sang the antiphon, "Behold, I send my Angel..." (Ecce mitto Angelum meum...) as the emperor-elect and the archbishops filed into the church. The archbishop of Cologne then said the prayers, "God, who knows the human race,..." and "Almighty and everlasting God of heaven and earth,...." The Mass then began with the propers of the Feast of the Epiphany and the collect for the Feast of St. Michael. After the sequence and the Litany of the Saints, the archbishop of Cologne put six questions to the emperor-elect, each time receiving the response "I will": 1. Will he defend the holy faith? 2. Will he defend the holy church? 3. Will he defend the kingdom? 4. Will he maintain the laws of the empire? 5. Will he maintain justice? 6. Will he show due submission to the pope? [N 5] The emperor-elect then laid two fingers on the altar and swore his oath. The Recognition then followed, with the emperor-elect asking those assembled to accepted him as their king, three times receiving the response "Let it be done".

The archbishop of Cologne then said the prayers, "Bless, Lord, this king,..." and "Ineffable God,...." [N 6] The archbishop then anointed the emperor-elect with the oil of the catechumens on his head, breast and shoulders, saying, "I anoint you king with the oil of sanctification in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." and then on the palms of both hands, saying, "Let these hands be anointed, as kings and prophets were anointed and as Samuel anointed David to be king may you be blessed and established king in this kingdom over this people, whom the Lord, your God, has given you to rule and govern, which he vouchsafes to grant, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,...." [N 7] He was then vested in the imperial robes, including buskins, a long alb, a dalmatic, a stole crossed priest-wise over the breast, gloves, and mantle. [N 8] The sword was given with the words, "Receive this sword at the hands of us bishops...." The ring was given with the words, "Receive this ring of royal dignity...." The sceptre and orb were given with the words, "Receive this rod of virtue and equity...." Finally the crown was set on his head conjointly by the three archbishop-electors with the words, "Receive this royal crown...." The oath was taken again, this time in the direct form in both Latin and German, "I promise and pledge in the sight of God...." The responsory is chanted, "My soul is longing,..," and the king is enthroned [N 9] [N 10] with the words, "Stand fast and hold firmly...." At the coronation of Charles V the archbishop-elector of Mainz preached a homily at this point.

The coronation of the queen followed and was conducted jointly by the archbishop-electors of Mainz and Trier. The Te Deum was then sung during which Charles V dubbed a number of knights with the imperial sword, although at subsequent coronations this took place after the Coronation proper. The Mass was then concluded, during which the king communed in one kind. Whenever the coronations were performed at Aachen, the new king was made a canon of the church at its conclusion. [3]

From 1562 to 1792 the German coronation took place before the Altar of St. Bartholomew in the crossing of the Frankfurt Cathedral.

Roman imperial coronation

The Holy Roman imperial coronation in Rome evolved over the thousand years of the empire's existence from an originally very simple ritual (which by its very simplicity paralleled and most clearly demonstrated its origins in its Byzantine counterpart) to one of increasing complexity. The oldest manuscript of the Roman imperial coronation ritual is found in the 9th century Gemunden Codex and while it is uncertain for whom (if anyone) the ritual described in it was intended to be used in it we come the closest to seeing the very types of forms which would have been used for Charlemagne himself. [5] The ritual began with a short prayer for the emperor, "Hear our prayer, Lord, and those of your servant...". This was immediately followed by the prayer, "Look, Almighty God, with a serene gaze on this, your glorious servant,...", in which a golden crown was placed on the emperor's head during the words of the concluding phrase of this prayer, "Through whom honor and glory are yours through infinite ages of ages. Amen." A sword was then given to the emperor with the word, "Receive this sword by the hands of bishops, who, though unworthy, are consecrated to be in the place and authority of the holy Apostles, deliver it to you, with our blessing, to serve for the defense of the holy Church, divinely ordained, and remember of whom the Psalmist prophesied, saying, 'Gird the sword upon your thigh, O most Powerful One, that with it you may exercise equity.'", a form which would have a long history both in the imperial coronation ritual and in those of numerous European royal coronation rituals as well. The Laudes Imperiale (a series of formal acclamations that originated in Roman times—see below) were then chanted. The ceremony traditionally took place in Saint Peter's basilica.

Coronation of Frederick I Barbarossa

In its more developed form during the High Middle Ages, before the coronation proper the emperor [N 11] went in procession first to the Church of St. Mary in Turri, [N 12] where he took an oath to protect the Roman Church, "In the name of Christ, I, Frederick, the emperor, promise, pledge and guarantee in the sight of God and the blessed Apostle Peter that I will be the protector and defender of this holy Roman Church in all ways useful to her, however many, in so far as I am supported by divine assistance according to my knowledge and ability." The imperial party then proceeded to the Basilica of St. Peter. The emperor was met at the silver door of St. Peter's by the cardinal bishop of Albano, who said the prayer, "God in whose hands are the hearts of kings...". He then entered the church, where the cardinal bishop of Porto said the prayer, "Inscrutable God, Author of the world...." The emperor then went up into the choir and the Litany of the Saints, then sang while the emperor lay prostrate before the Altar of St. Peter. The emperor then went to the Altar of St. Maurice, the patron saint of the Empire, where the cardinal bishop of Ostia anointed him on his right forearm and on the nape of his neck with the Oil of the Catechumens as he said the prayer, "Lord God with whom is all power, ..." or "God the Son of God,..." [N 13] [N 14] [N 15] Following this, the emperor proceeded to the Altar of St. Peter, where the pope handed him a sword with the words, "Receive the imperial sword for vindication over evil..." and then kissed him. The pope then girded the emperor with the sword saying, "Receive the sword upon your thigh..." and kissed him again. The emperor brandished the sword and returned it to its sheath. The pope next handed the sceptre to the emperor with the words, "Receive the royal sceptre, the rod of virtue..." and lastly crowned him with the words, "Receive the sign of glory..." and kissed the emperor a third time. The Germans present then chanted the Laudes Imperiale in German and Mass was celebrated. [6]

Coronation of Henry VI and Constantia

In the coronation of Henry VI and Constantia [7] we see the Roman imperial ritual in substantially its final form; the imperial coronation ritual used for Henry VII in 1312 [8] and that found in the Roman Pontifical of 1520 [9] differ from it only in certain details. The emperor and empress go in procession to St. Mary in Turri, the choir singing, "Behold, I send an angel" [10] (1312--The emperor is received as a brother canon by the canons of the church and dressed in a surplice and an almuce.) The emperor takes the Oath to defend the Roman Church and swears fealty to the pope and his successors and kisses the pope's feet. [N 16] The pope gives the emperor the Kiss of Peace and the procession sets out for the Basilica of St. Peter, the choir singing, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel". [11]

At the Silver Door of the Basilica the cardinal bishop of Albano says the prayer, "God in whose hands are the hearts of kings." [12] As the pope enters the Basilica the responsory "Peter, do you love me?" [13] is sung. At the Rota porfiretica [N 17] the pope puts several questions to the emperor about his faith and duty and then he retires to vest for the Mass. The cardinal bishop of Porto says the prayer, "Unerring God, Author of the World." [14] The emperor goes to the Chapel of St. Gregory where he is vested in amice, alb and cincture and is then led to the pope who 'makes him a cleric. The emperor is then vested in tunicle, dalmatic, pluviale, mitre, buskins and sandals. [N 18] The cardinal bishop of Ostia in the meanwhile goes to the Silver Door where the empress is waiting and on meeting her says the prayer, "Almighty, eternal God, fount and source of goodness" [15] and then leads her to the Altar of St. Gregory to await the pope's procession.

The pope proceeds to the confessio of St. Peter and beginning the Mass. After the Kyrie, while the emperor and empress lie prostrate before the confessio, the Archdeacon sings the Litany of the Saints. The emperor and empress then rise and go to the Altar of St. Maurice where the cardinal bishop of Ostia anoints the emperor with the Oil of the Catechumens on his right forearm and on the nape of his neck, while he says the prayers, "The Lord God Almighty, whose omnipotence is" [16] and "God the Son of God." [17] The cardinal bishop of Ostia then says the prayer, "God who alone has immortality" [18] for the empress and then anoints her on the breast with the Oil of the Catechumens while he says, "The grace of the Holy Spirit through my humble ministry descend upon you copiously." [19]

The pope then descends to the Altar of St. Maurice [N 19] (and 1312--kisses the emperor 'after the manner of a deacon'). The pope then give the emperor a ring with the words, "Receive this ring the visible witness of holy faith..." and then the short prayer, "God with whom is all power..." (a much shorter version of the prayer said at the anointing). The pope girds the sword on the emperor with the words, "Receive this sword with the blessing of God..." and the prayer, "God whose providence..." and then crowns the emperor with the words, "Receive the Crown of royal excellence..." The pope gives the emperor the scepter with the words, "Receive the Scepter of royal power, the rod of royal rectitude, the staff of virtue,..." and the prayer, "Lord, fount of all honor..."

The pope returns to the Altar of St. Peter and the Gloria in excelsis is sung and the pope says the collect, "God of all kings..." (In the 1312 and later coronations this is said after the collect for the feastday and after these collects the Laudes Imperiale are sung). The Epistle [N 20] and the gradual is sung.

(In the 1312 and later coronations the investitures with the imperial regalia take place after the gradual. The pope sets a miter on the emperor's head with the points 'to the right and to the left' and crowns him with the words, "Receive the sign of glory..." [N 21] The sword is then given to the emperor and gird on him, after which he brandishes it thrice. The Orb is placed in the emperor's right hand and the Scepter in his left hand with the words, "Receive the Rod of virtue and truth..." and the emperor is crowned and then kisses the pope's feet. The pope sets a miter on the empress' head 'with the points to the right and to the left' [N 22] and crowns her with the words, "Solemnly blessed as empress by our unworthy ministry, receive the crown of imperial excellence...")

The Laudes Imperiale are sung and then the Gospel is read by the emperor. At the Offertory the emperor offers bread, candles and gold and the emperor offers the pope the wine and the empress the water for the chalice. (1312--The Emperor serves the pope 'as a subdeacon offering him the chalice and water cruet.) Both the emperor and the empress communicate and in 1312 after Communion the emperor kisses the pope's cheek and the empress kisses the pope's hand. (After 1312 at the end of the Mass the pope if he chooses may say the prayers, "Look, we ask you, Lord, with a serene countenance...", "Bless, Lord, we ask you, this prince...," or "God, Father of eternal glory...").

Upon leaving the basilica, the emperor swore in three places to maintain the rights and privileges of the Roman people.

The Roman imperial coronation ritual had certain unique elements which distinguished it from those of the royal coronation rituals developed in the European royal coronation rituals, e.g., the stational character of the ritual in which individual parts of the ritual took place in different parts of the papal basilica (usually that of St. Peter's in the Vatican) [N 23] and the imperial coronation is quite unique in not having a solemn enthronement of the monarch (or even any use of a throne at all) in its ritual. Instead of an enthronement ritual we find the chanting of the Laudes Regiae, which paralleled in both form and importance its Byzantine imperial counterpart. Indeed, only those European coronation rituals which were directly modeled on the Roman imperial ritual, i.e., the papal coronation [N 24] and the royal coronation ritual in the Roman Pontifical, also include such chanting of a Laudes.

The custom of Holy Roman Emperors going to Rome to be crowned was last observed by Frederick III; in 1452, his great-grandson, Charles V, was crowned by the Pope in Bologna in 1530. After that, only the German coronation ritual was performed. [3]

Coronations of the Latin Emperors of Constantinople

R. M. Woolley states that the accounts of the coronations of the Latin emperors of Constantinople are very scant and provide no record of the actual texts used in these ceremonies, but from what is recorded it may be assumed that these imperial coronations were modeled on the forms used for the coronations of the Holy Roman Emperors, rather than those traditionally used for the coronations of the Byzantine emperors. [20] [N 25]

Crowns

Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire Weltliche Schatzkammer Wien (169)pano2.jpg
Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
Constance of Aragon's crown. Crown of Constance of Aragon - Cathedral of Palermo - Italy 2015.JPG
Constance of Aragon's crown.

It is unclear as to which crown was used for either the German royal coronation or the Roman imperial coronation. Lord Twining suggests that when the German royal coronation still took place at Aachen, the silver-gilt crown on the reliquary bust of Charlemagne was used, since the Imperial Crown or Reichskrone is made of gold. This is reinforced by medieval sources that refer to the Iron Crown of Italy, the silver crown of Germany and the gold crown of the Roman Empire. Twining indicates that it is also unclear as to what crown was used for the imperial coronation in Rome, and indicates that the Imperial Crown might have been worn by the emperor-elect for his formal entry into the city of Rome, with another gold crown, perhaps provided by the pope, being used in the actual imperial coronation ritual itself. One of these latter crowns, specifically that used for the imperial coronation of Frederick II, may be the Byzantine style closed crown found in the tomb of his mother, Constance of Sicily, in the Cathedral of Palermo. [21] Apparently, once Frankfurt had become the normal site for the German royal coronation, the Imperial Crown was always used and thus eventually became identified as the Crown of Charlemagne. [22]

The Imperial Crown was originally made for Otto I (probably in the workshops of Reichenau abbey, the single arch of the crown from front to back originally separating the two halves of the now collapsed inner cap like the ribbon which similarly caused the 10th bishops' miters to bulge up on either side. [23] Thus the Imperial Crown is the first example of the miter crown worn as a unique privilege of the Holy Roman emperors and empresses. Later personal crowns of the emperors were worn over miters with points like that of contemporary bishops' miters, [N 26] the miter eventually becoming a part of the crown itself, [N 27] although in the Baroque period the two halves of the miter took the form of two hemispheres. [N 28]

Laudes Imperiale

Cantors:Response:
Hear, O ChristLife to our Lord, decreed by God, Supreme Pontiff and Universal Father
Hear, O ChristHear, O Christ
Savior of the WorldYou that are (our) [N 29] Help
Hear, O ChristLife to our Lord, that Augustus crowned by God, the great and pacifying emperor
Saint MaryYou that are (our) Help
Saint MaryYou that are (our) Help
Saint MaryYou that are (our) Help
Hear, O ChristAnd life to the most excellent sons of the King
Saint PeterYou that are (our) Help
Saint PeterYou that are (our) Help
Saint PeterYou that are (our) Help
Hear, O ChristLife and victory to the army of the Franks, Romans and Germans [N 30]
Saint TheodoreYou that are (our) Help
Saint TheodoreYou that are (our) Help
Saint TheodoreYou that are (our) Help
Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands,Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands.
Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands,Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands.
King of kings, Christ conquers, Christ reignsKing of kings, Christ conquers, Christ reigns. [N 31]
Further acclamations:
Our King, Christ conquers, Christ reigns. Our Hope, Christ conquers. Our Glory, Christ conquers. Our Mercy, Christ conquers, Our Help, Christ conquers. Our Strength, Christ conquers. Our Victory, Christ conquers. Our Liberation and Redemption, Christ conquers. Our Victory, Christ conquers. Our Armor, Christ conquers. Our Impregnable Wall, Christ conquers. Our Defense and Exaltation, Christ conquers. Our Light, Way and Life, Christ conquers. To him alone be command, glory and power through immortal ages. Amen. To him alone be vigor, strength and victory through all ages of ages. Amen. To him alone be honor, praise and jubilation through infinite ages of ages. Amen. [24]

Empresses and queens

Up to and including the coronation of Richenza of Northeim at Cologne in 1125, Holy Roman empresses and German queens were usually anointed and crowned separately from their husbands, unless joint ceremony was required by political circumstances. From then on, joint coronation ceremonies were more common. [25]

List of Roman imperial coronations

Frankish kings crowned Emperors of the Romans

EmperorCoronation dateOfficiantLocation
Charles I (Charlemagne)25 December 800 Pope Leo III Rome, Italy
Louis I 5 October 816 Pope Stephen IV Reims, France
Lothair I 5 April 823 Pope Paschal I Rome, Italy
Louis II 15 June 844 Pope Sergius II Rome, Italy
Charles II 29 December 875 Pope John VIII Rome, Italy
Charles III 12 February 881Rome, Italy
Guy III of Spoleto 21 February 891 Pope Stephen V Rome, Italy
Lambert II of Spoleto 30 April 892 Pope Formosus Ravenna, Italy
Arnulf of Carinthia 22 February 896Rome, Italy
Louis III 15 or 22 February 901 Pope Benedict IV Rome, Italy
Berengar December 915 Pope John X Rome, Italy

Holy Roman Emperors

EmperorCoronation dateOfficiantLocation
Otto I 2 February 962 Pope John XII Rome, Italy
Otto II 25 December 967 Pope John XIII Rome, Italy
Otto III 21 May 996 Pope Gregory V Rome, Italy
Henry II 14 February 1014 Pope Benedict VIII Rome, Italy
Conrad II 26 March 1027 Pope John XIX Rome, Italy
Henry III 25 December 1046 Pope Clement II Rome, Italy
Henry IV 31 March 1084 Antipope Clement III Rome, Italy
Henry V 13 April 1111 Pope Paschal II Rome, Italy
Lothair III 4 June 1133 Pope Innocent II Rome, Italy
Frederick I 18 June 1155 Pope Adrian IV Rome, Italy
Henry VI 14 April 1191 Pope Celestine III Rome, Italy
Otto IV 4 October 1209 Pope Innocent III Rome, Italy
Frederick II 22 November 1220 Pope Honorius III Rome, Italy
Great Interregnum
Henry VII 29 June 1312 Ghibellines cardinalsRome, Italy
Louis IV 17 January 1328Senator Sciarra Colonna Rome, Italy
Charles IV 5 April 1355 Pope Innocent VI's cardinalRome, Italy
Sigismund 31 May 1433 Pope Eugenius IV Rome, Italy
Frederick III 19 March 1452 Pope Nicholas V Rome, Italy
Charles V 24 February 1530 Pope Clement VII Bologna, Italy

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ See also Guy Stair Sainty, The Holy Roman Empire: Introduction Archived June 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . From the Almanach de la Cour website. Retrieved on 14 September 2008.
  2. ↑ The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that there is no clear record of a coronation with the Iron Crown before that of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII in 1312. [2]
  3. ↑ This account is of the German royal coronation ritual used for Rudolf I in 1273 and remained substantially the same until that of Matthias II at Frankfurt in 1612. The account is found in Woolley (1915), pp. 122–125.
  4. ↑ The canons of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen would bring the silver-gilt reliquary bust of Charlemagne with them to the entrance for the emperor-elect to venerate as he enter the Palatine Chapel.
  5. ↑ "Will you be duly subject and show reverent faith to the Father and Lord most holy in Christ, the Roman pontiff and to the holy Roman church?"
  6. ↑ The German rite as also the English has the word 'ineffable', whereas the other European coronation rites has 'inexecutable.'
  7. ↑ A number of other prayers of consecration then follow, which Woolley assumes were intended as alternative prayers, since the king had already been consecrated and anointed.
  8. ↑ These vestments may be seen at Commons-logo.svg Media related to Coronations of Holy Roman Emperors at Wikimedia Commons. Woolley notes that not only was the king clothed in these robes and invested with the regalia identified as those of Charlemagne, but accounts of the coronation of Leopold II state that the king's coiffure and beard were cut to look like that of "a man of the seventh (sic) century." [4]
  9. ↑ When the ceremony took place in Aachen, the throne used was Charlemagne's own marble throne directly opposite the high altar.
  10. ↑ Before the coronation proper Saint Stephen's Purse, reliquary containing earth soaked the blood of the first Christian martyr and which had once been in Charlemagne's tomb was placed within the throne.
  11. ↑ The emperor is attended by German archbishops or bishops, as the British monarch is similarly attended by the Anglican bishops of Durham and of Baths and Wells.
  12. ↑ A church which formed part of the complex of buildings around the east atrium of the Old St. Peter's.
  13. ↑ The Ordo of Waitz which is contemporary with this one used for Frederick I has the prayer, "God, who is glory of the just and the mercy of sinner,..." with the anointing taking place at the words, "Kindle, Lord, we ask you, his heart with the love of your grace through this anointing with oil as you have anointed priests, kings and prophets,..." After this was said the prayer, "Lord God with whom is all power,.."
  14. ↑ The anointing with the Oil of the Catechumens by the senior cardinal before a side altar and between the shoulders and right arm may have been intended to stress the fact that a coronation was not a sacramental act, unlike the consecration of a bishop which included an anointing with Chrism before the high altar on the top of the head.
  15. ↑ The text of this formula can be found in Coronation of the Hungarian monarch.
  16. ↑ In 1312 and in later coronations the emperor no longer swears fealty to the pope.
  17. ↑ A large circular stab of porphyry set into the floor of both the Old Basilica and the present one upon which many emperors, beginning with Charlemagne, are said to have been crowned.
  18. ↑ The emperor had the unique privilege as a layman given him by the pope of wearing pontifical vestments, i.e., the vestments proper to a bishop. Nevertheless, one should also recall that the dress and insignia of both emperors and bishops have a common origin in the dress and insignia of the Roman senators.
  19. ↑ where the crowns have already been deposited
  20. ↑ Ideally read by the King of France, he is present, or by the King of Naples.
  21. ↑ Cf. the portrait of Frederick III wearing such an imperial crown over a miter.
  22. ↑ The only other women who had the right to wear a miter were the 'mitered abbesses', the superiors of certain very ancient monastic communities, although Gregory Dix in his book, The Shape of the Liturgy notes that these abbesses were originally ex officio deaconesses and that these miters were originally the caps worn by deaconesses as an insignia of their deaconal status.
  23. ↑ Note that the prayer said by the cardinal bishops at the entrances of the emperor and empress into the church was later imitated in the French, German, Swedish and Norwegian coronation rituals.
  24. ↑ The Papal Laudes were last chanted during the entrance procession of the Inauguration Mass of Pope Benedict XVI on April 24, 2005.
  25. ↑ Cf. Coronation of the Byzantine emperor.
  26. ↑ Cf. The portrait of Frederick III.
  27. ↑ Cf. The only extant example is the Austrian Imperial Crown made for Rudolf II.
  28. ↑ The only extant example of such a crown is the Russian Imperial Crown made for Catherine the Great. Peter the Great adopted the contemporary miter crowns worn by the Habsburg emperors as the model for the actual and heraldic crowns of the Russian Empire.
  29. ↑ The actual Latin has no possessive pronoun, but the English translation would make no sense without it.
  30. ↑ The actual text has "Teutons".
  31. ↑ An English translation of the Latin text in Woolley (1915), pp. 42-43.

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The coronation of the monarch of the United Kingdom is an initiation ceremony in which they are formally invested with regalia and crowned at Westminster Abbey. It corresponds to the coronations that formerly took place in other European monarchies, which have all abandoned coronations in favour of inauguration or enthronement ceremonies. A coronation is a symbolic formality and does not signify the official beginning of the monarch's reign; de jure and de facto their reign commences from the moment of the preceding monarch's death or abdication, maintaining legal continuity of the monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire</span> Crown worn by the Holy Roman Emperor

The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, a hoop crown with a characteristic octagonal shape, was the coronation crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, probably from the late 10th century until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The crown was used in the coronation of the King of the Romans, the title assumed by the Emperor-elect immediately after his election. It is now kept in the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chrism</span> Consecrated oil used in various Christian churches

Chrism, also called myrrh, myron, holy anointing oil, and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian, Nordic Lutheran, Anglican, Old Catholic, and Latter Day Saint churches in the administration of certain sacraments and ecclesiastical functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enthronement</span> Ceremony of inauguration involving a throne

An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipope Paschal III</span> Italian cardinal and diplomat, antipope from 1164 to 1168

Antipope Paschal III was a 12th-century clergyman who, from 1164 to 1168, was the second antipope to challenge the reign of Pope Alexander III. He had previously served as Cardinal of St. Maria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of the Hungarian monarch</span> Legitimation ceremony in the Kingdom of Hungary

The coronation of the Hungarian monarch was a ceremony in which the king or queen of the Kingdom of Hungary was formally crowned and invested with regalia. It corresponded to the coronation ceremonies in other European monarchies. While in countries like France and England the king's reign began immediately upon the death of his predecessor, in Hungary the coronation was absolutely indispensable: if it were not properly executed, the Kingdom stayed "orphaned". All monarchs had to be crowned as King of Hungary in order to promulgate laws and exercise his royal prerogatives in the Kingdom of Hungary. Starting from the Golden Bull of 1222, all new Hungarian monarchs had to take a coronation oath, by which they had to agree to uphold the constitutional arrangements of the country, and to preserve the liberties of their subjects and the territorial integrity of the realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of the French monarch</span> Legitimation ceremony in the Kingdom of France

The accession of the King of France to the royal throne was legitimized by a ceremony performed with the Crown of Charlemagne at the Reims Cathedral. In late medieval and early modern times, the new king did not need to be anointed in order to be recognized as French monarch but ascended upon the previous monarch's death with the proclamation "Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of the Russian monarch</span> Formal investiture and crowning ceremony

The coronation of the emperor of Russia from 1547 to 1917, was a highly developed religious ceremony in which they are crowned and invested with regalia, then anointed with chrism and formally blessed by the church to commence his reign. Although rulers of Muscovy had been crowned prior to the reign of Ivan III, their coronation rituals assumed overt Byzantine overtones as the result of the influence of Ivan's wife Sophia Paleologue, and the imperial ambitions of his grandson, Ivan the Terrible. The modern coronation, introducing "Western European-style" elements, replaced the previous "crowning" ceremony and was first used for Catherine I in 1724. Since tsarist Russia claimed to be the "Third Rome" and the replacement of Byzantium as the true Christian state, the Russian rite was designed to link its rulers and prerogatives to those of the so-called "Second Rome" (Constantinople).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of Napoleon</span> 1804 French royal event

Napoleon and Joséphine were crowned Emperor and Empress of the French on Sunday, December 2, 1804, at Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris. It marked "the instantiation of [the] modern empire" and was a "transparently masterminded piece of modern propaganda".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronations in antiquity</span>

Historical ceremonies of introducing a new monarch by a ceremony of coronation can be traced to classical antiquity, and further to the Ancient Near East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronations in Europe</span>

Coronations were previously held in the monarchies of Europe. The United Kingdom is the only monarchy in Europe that still practises coronation. Other European monarchies have either replaced coronations with simpler ceremonies to mark an accession or have never practised coronations. Most monarchies today only require a simple oath to be taken in the presence of the country's legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of the Emperor of Brazil</span> Religious rite of consecration

The Coronation of the Emperor of Brazil was the religious act of consecration during which the monarchs of the Empire of Brazil were solemnly blessed, anointed, crowned, invested with the other items of the imperial regalia and enthroned, according to the usages of the Catholic Church, the Empire's official, established Church. The coronation of the Brazilian monarch confirmed the accession of a new emperor to the throne, and corresponded to similar rites that took place in other Christian monarchies. The two Brazilian emperors, Pedro I and Pedro II underwent the ceremony of coronation, on 1 December 1822 and 18 July 1841, respectively. Those remain the two sole acts of coronation that took place in the South American continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of the Swedish monarch</span>

Coronations of the Swedish monarchs took place in various cities during the 13th and 14th centuries, but from the middle of the 15th century onward in the cathedrals of Uppsala or Stockholm, with the exception of the coronation of Gustav IV Adolf, which took place in Norrköping in 1800. Earlier coronations were also held at Uppsala, the ecclesiastical center of Sweden. Prior to Sweden's change to a hereditary monarchy, the focus of the coronation rite was on legitimising an elected king.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coronation of the Byzantine emperor</span> Symbolic act of accession to the throne

The coronation was the main symbolic act of accession to the throne of a Byzantine emperor, co-emperor, or empress. Founded on Roman traditions of election by the Senate or acclamation by the army, the ceremony evolved over time from a relatively simple, ad hoc affair to a complex ritual.

References

  1. ↑ Weaver, Andrew H. (2020). A Companion to Music at the Habsburg Courts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. BRILL. p. 68. ISBN   9789004435032. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Iron Crown of Lombardy at Encyclopædia Britannica" . Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  3. 1 2 3 Muir (1911), p. 187.
  4. ↑ Woolley (1915), p. 125.
  5. ↑ Woolley (1915), p. 42.
  6. ↑ Woolley (1915), pp. 44–47.
  7. ↑ Cf. Woolley (1915), pp. 49–51.
  8. ↑ Woolley (1915), pp. 52–53.
  9. ↑ Woolley (1915), pp. 54–57.
  10. ↑ Ecce mitto angelum (Exodus 23.20).
  11. ↑ Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel (Luke 1:68).
  12. ↑ Deus in cujus manu sunt corda regum (Cf. Prov. 21:1).
  13. ↑ Petre, amas me? (John 21:1).
  14. ↑ Deus inenarrabilis auctor mundi
  15. ↑ Omnipotens aeterne Deus, fons et origo bonitatis.
  16. ↑ Dominus Deus omnipotens, cujus est omnis potestas.
  17. ↑ Deus Dei Filius.
  18. ↑ Deus qui solus habes immortalitatem.
  19. ↑ Spiritus Sancti gratia humiliatis nostrae officio copiosa descendat.
  20. ↑ Woolley (1915), pp. 7–9.
  21. ↑ Fletcher, Adrian. "The Palermo Duomo". Paradoxplace. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  22. ↑ Twining (1960)
  23. ↑ 'Crown' Encyclopædia Britannica.
  24. ↑ Woolley (1915), pp. 43–44.
  25. ↑ Jäschke (2002), p. 79.

Sources

  • Jäschke, Kurt-Ulrich (2002). "From famous empresses to unspectacular queens: the Romano-German Empire to Margaret of Brabant, Countess of Luxembourg and Queen of the Romans (d. 1311)". In Anne J. Duggan (ed.). Queens and Queenship in Medieval Europe: Proceedings of a Conference Held at King's College London, April 1995. Boydell Press. pp. 75–108. ISBN   978-0-85115-881-5.
  • Twining, Lord Edward Francis (1960). A History of the Crown Jewels of Europe. London, England: B.T. Batsford Ltd.
  • Woolley, Reginald Maxwell (1915). Coronation Rites. Cambridge University Press.
  • Muir, Thomas (1911). "Coronation"  . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 185–187.
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