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CROWNS AND CORONATIONS
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
Crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d. each.
Finger-Ring Lore: Historical, Legendary, and
Anecdotal. With over 200 Illustrations.
Credulities, Past and Present; including the Sea
and Seamen, Miners, Talismans, Word and Letter
Divination, Exorcising and Blessing of Animals,
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piece.
CHATTO AND WIND US, PICCADILLY, W.
Jn.u .,Lu.vn..> „... ,v i,is,.. i ,,„, ^, .,,,,,.1, ^,^ ,,, .,,. ^^^.^,„^^ c..-murv.->Vt A-. I
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CROWNS & CORONATIONS
a ^istorp of Eegalia
BY
WILLIAM JONES, F.S.A.
AUTHOR OF
FINGER-RING LORE,' "CREDULITIES, PAST AND PRESENT," ETC
WITH NINETY-ONE ILLUSTRATIONS
Sontion
CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY
1883
\_All rights reserved]
. ■ •*.«
i LIBRARY «
Toronto
JAN 1 2 1966
TO
QUEEN VICTORIA,
WHOSE REIGN
HAS BEEN RENDERED ILLUSTRIOUS
BY HER MANY VIRTUES,
UHICH HAVE ENDEARED HER TO THE HEARTS OF
HER LOVING SUBJECTS,
THIS BOOK
IS,
WITH PROFOUND RESPECT,
DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
VENTUKE to think that the
present book is the first that
contains a summary of corona-
tions extending through various
ages of the world's history.
There are numerous books
and tracts, in different lan-
guages, relating to particular
royal inaugurations, and some
of the former — to which I have
alluded in the following pages
— are remarkable for their decorative and costly character,
but I have not found in the catalogues of our great
libraries, or in those abroad, any work specifically devoted
to a general history of regalia.
I claim no merit in providing, to the best of my
ability, for what may possibly be considered a deficiency ; // A
my chief difficulty has been to retain, as much as possible, / / o
whatever might be thought singular and curious in
these princely ceremonials, and to avoid tedious anti- * </ (^
quarian details that would fill several volumes of the
VI 11 PREFACE.
compass of the present one, and prove wearisome to the
general reader.
It must be admitted that the present age is not
favourable to the perpetuation of elaborate ceremonies,
but the solemnities attending the coronation of sovereigns
have a peculiar interest, and, however they may be
simplified in minor details, should be retained in their
integrity and symbolic character. As landmarks of
history they have had a material influence on the
destinies of mankind.
CONTENTS.
CHAl'TER PAGE
Introduction ... ... ... ... ... xiii
I. Ancient Crowns... ... ... ... ... 1
II. The Crowns of England ... ... ... ... 28
III. The Regalia of England and Scotland ... ... 49
IV. The Coronation Chair and the Kingston Stone ... 94
V. The Court of Claims ... ... ... ... 108
VI. Coronation Processions from the Tower ... ... 141
VII. Coronations of English Sovereigns ... ... 173
VIII. The Coronation Oath ... ... ... ... 271
IX. The Anointing ... ... ... ... ... 28.5
X. Omens AND Incidents at Coronations ... ... ... 298
XI. Crowns and Coronations in Various Ages and Countries 327
XII. Fragmenta Regalia ... ... ... ... 455
Index ... ... ... ... ... ... 543
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.
PAGE
Inauguration of a king in past
times . . Frontispiece
State crown of England
Vignette
Head of the Empress Helena . 10
The Emperor Justinian and
his court 11
The Empress Theodora and
her attendants .... 12
Crown of the Holy Roman
Empire 18
Iron Crown of Lombardy . . 22
Crown of Hungary ... 24
King Edgar 30
Berengaria, queen of Richard I. 33
Effigy of King John ... 35
King I-Ienry III 35
King Henry IV 37
King Richard III. ... 40
Anne, queen of Richard III. . 40
Queen Elizabeth . . • . 42
State crown of England . . 45
Crown of England ... 48
The regalia of England . . 50
Jewel Room at the Tower . 68
The crown of Scotland . . 90
Sceptre of James V. . . .91
Sword of state and scabbard . 91
The rod of office .... 92
Coronation chair in West-
minster Abbey .... 95
John of Gaunt .... 110
Crowns of the nobility . .113
Archbishop's mitre . . . 121
Bishop's mitre .... 121
Star of the Order of the Bath . 142
Death of Harold . . . .191
Coronation of King Edward I. 198
PAGE
King Henry V 209
King Charles 1 315
Roman emperor, armed . . 335
Roman emperor in a military
tunic 335
Charlemagne 340
Elector of Germany in state
dress 343
Ivory sceptre of Louis XII. . 345
Royal crown of Prussia . . 351
Crown of the German Empire 352
Crown of the Empress of Ger-
many 353
Coronet of the Prince Imperial
of Germany .... 353
Charles V. of France . . .356
Gold ornaments supposed to
represent bees .... 365
Crown of Napoleon I. . . . 366
Crowns of the Bourbons in
France 370
Crown of France (Orleans
branch) 371
Crown of the Emperor of
Russia 387
Crown of the Empress of
Russia 387
Crov\n of Kiew .... 389
Crowns of Russia .... 390
Crown of the Austrian Empire 394
Crown of Bohemia . . . 399
Tiara of the popes . . . 405
Pope Nicholas 1 406
Pope Clement IV. ... 406
Pope Gregory the Great . . 407
Pope (from Cotton. MSS.) . 408
Venetian Doges .... 410
Biretta of the Doge of Venice. 411
Xll
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Venetian Doge • . . .412
Doge of Venice in armour . 413
Dogaresse of Venice . . . 414
Crown of the Emperor of
Brazil 422
Indian commemoration medal 456
Reverse of Indian commemora-
tion medal 458
Imperial Order of the Crown
of India 459
Coronet of the English prin-
cesses 462
Coronets {iemy. Henry VI.) . 463
Coronet of Arthur, Prince of
Wales 463
Coronet of Alice, Duchess of
Suffolk 463
Royal arms of England . . 467
Star of the Thistle . . .468
Fleur-de-lys 471
Silver cramp-ring . . . 475
PAGE
Lead cramp-ring .... 475
Earliest portrait of a king-of-
arms 479
Crown of Sir William Dugdale 480
Modern crown of a king-of-
arms 480
Star of the Garter . . . 480
Sceptres 490
Sceptres, from Sandford's
" Coronation of James II." 491
Coronation robes of James II. —
The dalmatic .... 495
The surcoat .... 497
The mantle . . . .498
The stole . . . . 499
Colobium sindonis . . 500
Royal sandal 501
Coronation stone at Kingston-
on-Thames 539
Cottage of La Grace at Hon-
fleur 541
INTRODUCTION.
OME men," remarks Didron
in his '' Iconographie Chre-
tienne/' ^' are born to com-
mand ; others to obey. The
former wear distinctive signs
— the king is recognized by
his crown, the pope by his
tiara, the bishop by his mitre.
Crowns are much varied, but
amongst all nations, whether
highly civilized, or in the
lowest state of barbarism,
the crown has been, and still
is, the insignia of supreme
power. "
As a symbol of authority
the crown dates from the most ancient periods of the world's history.
There are frequent allusions to it, both in a temporal and spiritual
sense, in Holy Writ : ' ' Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his
head." " Thou hast crowned him with glory and honour." Solomon
says : '^ The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom." *
The earliest monuments of Christian art represent either divine
hands, extended from the highest heaven, proffering crowns to
martyrs, or angels descending in like manner from heaven, bringing
crowns, by command of God, to all who by their death had been
witness to their faith.
The crown was the symbol of victory and recompense. It
was the emblem of martyrdom ; first, the cross was crowned,
and then crowns of laurel, flowers, palm, or precious metal were
suspended or carved over the tombs of martyrs and confessors.
Sometimes two crowns are offered for a virgin martyr ; or doves
* *' Corona sapientiae timor Domini." These words are inscribed within
the cupola surmounting the centre of the transept in the chapel of Anet, in
France. They surround a crown figured in relief.
XIV INTRODUCTION.
carry away crowns of olive, emblems of peace bought by the
martyr's triumph ; or the palm and cross are associated to represent
the merit, the labour, and the prize. Hence came the hanging
crown of light, and the ' ' oblations, " the representations of the
blessed offering their crowns to the Redeemer. The Christian
emperors gave their soldiers crowns of laurel adorned with the
monogram of Christ. *
Jewish tradition ascribes a heavenly origin to the figure or
shape of a crown. Nimrod, the mighty hunter, is said, like
Constantine the Great, to have seen a prodigy in the skies, and had
a representation of it made by his most skilful workers in gold, a
crown so beautiful and brilliant as almost to blind the beholder.
Whatever may have been the origin of this ensign of power, we
know how it is associated with some of the saddest, as, also, the
most glorious, events in the world's history. Men have waded
through oceans of blood, and imperilled both soul and body to
obtain the glittering bauble ; while others have, by their wisdom
and magnanimity, rendered the crown they had worn worthily,
illustrious and respected.
How many sovereigns have experienced that —
"A crown,
Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns ! "
and been willing to renounce the pomp and cares of rule.f " For
me," said King Robert of Taranto (who ascended the throne of
Naples in 1309) to Petrarch, who has himself recorded the memo-
rable words, ' ' I swear that letters are dearer to me than my crown,
* In a French carving of the sixteenth century on the stalls of the
cathedral of Amiens is a representation of the Holy Ghost, as man, assisting
at the coronation of the Virgin. Such representations are common in the
thirteenth and even the fourteenth centuries ; the Sou crowns His mother.
In a manuscript at the Bibliothbque Nationale at Paris the Son blesses the
mother, whom two angels are about to crown.
In paintings of the Middle Ages in Franco, God the Father appears
habited in the costume of a king, prior to His appearance as that of a pope.
The Divine King wears a regal crown just as we see it worn by Philip of
Valois, John the Good, and Charles V. Like the Emperor Charlemagne He
grasps the golden orb, or sphere, and is arrayed in the long robe or mantle ;
His head is encircled by a cruciform nimbus, and the feet are bare, because
He is God. The nimbus, in the West especially, is regarded as an attribute
of holiness ; a king is adorned with a crown, a nimbus marks the saint. It
is not thus in the East ; it is there a characteristic of physical energy no less
than of moral strength, of civil and political power as well as of religious
authority. A king is equally entitled to a nimbus with a saint. In a Turkish
manuscript preserved in the Bibliothoque Nationale at Paris is a figure of
Aurungzebe, mounted on horseback and reading. The aged descendant of
Timour is preceded and followed by an escort on foot. The Grand Mogul
alone, among all the persons there, is represented wearing a circular, or
radiating, nimbus on the head. It is an insignia borne by the mighty and
powerful alone.
■\ When Harrison reproached Cromwell for taking the crown from the
head of Josus, and putting it on his own, Oliver replied, " You speak of a
crowu of thorns ; as yet I have found uo other, and I expect no other."
INTRODUCTION. XV
and were I obliged to renounce the one or the other, I should
quickly tear the diadem from my brow."
But even the laurel crown which King Kobert, in his burst of en-
thusiasm, would have changed for the golden diadem of sovereignty,
and which was so worthily bestowed on Petrarch, was a source of
anxiety to the poet. " I blush," he said, on receiving it, ''at the
applauses of the people, and the unmerited commendations with
which I was overwhelmed." He said modestly afterwards, "These
laurels which encircled my head were too green : had I been of
riper age and understanding, I should not have sought them. Old
men love only what is useful ; young men run after appearances
without regarding their end. This crown rendered me neither
more wise nor eloquent ; it only served to raise envy, and deprive
me of the repose I enjoyed. From that time tongues and pens
were sharpened against me ; my friends became my enemies, and I
suffered the just efl'ects of my confidence and presumption."
So Tasso, when he heard of the pope's intention publicly to
confer upon him the laurel crown at the Capitol, two hundred years
after the crowning of Petrarch, being convinced of his approaching
dissolution, said, "You must order me a coffin and not a triumphal
car. If you wish to give me a wreath, you must reserve it for my
tomb. All this pomp and circumstance will add nothing to the
value of my works, and cannot give me happiness." And thus the
laurel crown, which was to have adorned his brow, was deposited on
his coffin.
One summer evening Mahomed (a king of Mahomedan Spain
in the ninth century) was seated in his garden, conversing with
several of his ministers and servants. " How happy is the condition
of kings," exclaimed Haxem ben Abdelasis, the courtly wali of
Jaen ; ' ' for them the pleasures are expressly made. Delightful
gardens, splendid palaces, immense riches, the instruments and
means of luxury — everything in short, has been granted to them
by the decrees of fate!" "The path of kings," replied the
more experienced monarch, " is, indeed, in appearance, strewed
with flowers ; but thou seest not that these roses have their thorns.
And is it not the destiny of the mightiest prince to leave the world
as naked as the poorest peasant ? The term of our lives," he added,
" is in the hands of God, but to the good that term is the com-
mencement of everlasting bliss." While thus speaking, adds the
Arabian chronicler, the king little thought that his own end was so
near. He retired to rest, but woke no more on earth.
In the churchyard of St. Anne's, Soho, is a tablet to the memory
of Theodore, King of Corsica, who died in that parish (1756) soon
after his liberation, by the Act of Insolvency, from the King's
Bench prison. He was buried at the expense of an oilman in
Compbon Street, Soho, of the name of Wright. Horace Walpole
paid for the tablet and wrote the inscription : —
"The grave, great teacher, to a level brings
Heroes and beggars, galley-slaves and kings.
XVI INTRODUCTION,
But Theodore this moral learn' d ere dead ;
Fate poured its lesson on his living head,
Bestowed a kingdom, and denied him bread."
'' Kings, princes, monarchs, and magistrates," says Burton,
" seem to be most happy, but look into their estate, you shall lind
them to be most encuml3ered with cares, in perpetual fear, agony,
suspicion, jealousy." But, as Valerius said of a crown, if they
knew all the discontents that accompany it, they would not stop
to take it up. Flus aloes qiiam mellis hahet, it has more bitters than
sweets belonging to it. Cowper says —
" To be suspected, thwarted, and withstood.
E'en when he labours for his country's good,
To see a band called patriot for no cause,
But that they catch at popular applause ;
Careless of all the anxiety he feels,
Hook disappointment on the public wheels,
With all their flippant fluency of tongue,
Most confident, when palpably most wrong.
If this be kingly, then farewell for me
All kingship ! and may I be poor and free."
The transient splendour of the crown is finely moralized by
Shirley : —
" The glories of our birth and state
Are shadows, not substantial things,
There is no armour against fate :
Death lays his very hands on kings.
Sceptre and crown must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal laid
With the poor crooked scythe and spade."
Shakspere, in matchless language, describes the cares of
kings : —
" What infinite heart's-ease must kings neglect,
That private men enjoy ? and what have kings.
That private have net too — save ceremony, save general ceremony ?
* *****
What are thy rents ? What are thy comings in ?
* *****
Art thou aught else but place, degree, and form ? —
I am a king, that find thee, and I know
'Tis not the balm, the sceptre, and the ball.
The sword, the mace, the crown imperial,
The intertissued robe of gold and pearl,
The farcfed title running 'fore the king,
The thione he sits on, nor the tide of pomp,
* *****
No, not all these, thrice -gorgeous ceremony,
Not all these, laid ii] bed majestical.
Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave :
And (but for cernnony) such a wretch,
« *****
Winding up days with toil, and nights with sleep,
Hath the fore-hand and vantage of a king."
INTRO D UCTION. X VI l
We have, too, the affecting language of a royal sufferer, expressed
by Charles I. in the time of his deep afflictions — lines dated " Caris-
brook, 1648," and entitled ''Majesty in Misery." An imploration
to the King of kings thus commences : —
*' Great Monarch of the world, from whose power springs
The potency and power of kings,
Record the royal woe my suffering sings ;
And teach my tongue, that ever did confine
Its faculties in truth's seraphic line,
To track the treasons of Thy foes and mine.
Nature and law, by Thy divine decree
(The only root of righteous royalty).
With this dim diadem invested me :
With it the sacred sceptre, purple robe,
The holy unction, and the royal globe,
Yet am 1 levelled with the life of Job.
******
Felons obtain more privilege than I —
They are allow'd to answer ere they die ;
'Tis death for me to ask the reason why," etc.
It is recorded of the Emperor Charles Y. that he became weary
of his sovereign dignities, and felt his cares weigh heavily upon
him. One day, passing through a village in Spain, he met a
peasant with a tin crown on his head, and bearing a spit in his
hand for a sceptre, as the '' Easter King," according to the custom
of the people. The man, who did not know the king, ordered him
peremptorily to take his hat off to him, which Charles did, good-
humouredly observing at the same time, "My good friend, I. wish
you joy of your new dignity ; you will find it a very troublesome
office."
History records the abdication of the Emperor Diocletian
(a.d. 305). This sovereign acquired the glory of giving to the
world the first example of a resignation, which has not been fre-
quently imitated by j)otentates generally. The ceremony of his
abdication was performed in a spacious plain, about three miles
from Nicomedia. The emperor ascended a lofty throne, and in a
speech full of reason and dignity declared his intention both to the
people and the soldiers who were assembled on this extraordinary
occasion. As soon as he had divested himself of the purple, he
withdrew from the gaze of the multitude, and, traversing the city
in a covered chariot, proceeded without delay to the favourite
retirement he had chosen in his native country of Dalmatia. On
the same day Maximian, as had been previously concerted, made
his resignation of imperial dignity at Milan. Diocletian was so-
licited by the latter, a restless old man, to re-assume the imperial
purple. He rejected this temptation with a smile of pity, calmly
observing that, if he could show Maximian the cabbages which he
had planted with his own hands at Salona, he should be no longer
urged to relinquish the enjoyment of happiness to the pursuit of
power.
xviil INTRODUCTION.
The abdication of Diocletian resembles, in some respects, that
of the Emperor Charles V. Both had not arrived at a very ad-
vanced period of life, since the latter was only fifty-five, and the
other was no more than fifty-nine years of age ; but the active life
of those princes, their wars and journeys, the cares of royalty, and
their apjilication to business, had already impaired their constitu-
tions and brought on the infirmities of a premature old age.
Diocletian, in his conversations with his friends, frequently
acknowledged that, of all arts, the most difficult was the art of
reigning. How often was it the interest of four or five ministers
to combine together to deceive their sovereign ! Secluded from
mankind by his exalted dignity, the truth was concealed from his
knowledge ; he could only see with their eyes, and heard nothing
but their misrepresentations. By such infamous arts the best and
wisest princes were sold to the venal corruption of their courtiers.
Justin II. , the nephew of Justinian I. , resigned his sovereignty
to Tiberius, his captain of the guard. This ceremony was per-
formed (a.d. 573) in the portico of a palace, in the midst of an
illustrious assembly of priests, senators, and soldiers, and almost
the entire city. The speech delivered by Justin on this occasion
is said to have been literally reported, and we have his very words
in the following translated form, as handed down by the sophist
Theophylactus JSimocatta : — "You behold," said the deposed em-
peror, "the ensigns of supreme power. You are about to receive
them, not from my hands, but from the hand of God. Honour
them, and from them you will derive honour. Respect the
empress, your mother. You are now her son ; you were, before,
her servant. Delight not in blood ; abstain from revenge ; avoid
those actions by which I have incurred the public hatred ; and
consult the experience rather than the example of your predecessor.
As a man, I have sinned ; as a sinner, even in this life, I have been
punished ; but these servants " — and he pointed to his ministers —
" who have abused my confidence and influenced my passions, will
appear with me before the tribunal of Christ. I have been dazzled
by the splendour of the diadem : be thou wise and modest.
Kemember what you have been ; remember what you .ore. You
see around us your slaves and your children ; with the authority
assume the tenderness of a parent. Love the people like yourself ;
cultivate the affections ; maintain the discipline of the army ; pro-
tect the fortunes of the rich ; relieve the necessities of the poor."
When the prayers and gorgeous service of the Church had
been concluded, Tiberius advanced to the seat Avhere Justin was
enthroned, and which he was about to abdicate. The new Augustus
knelt before the old emperor, who then placed the diadem, by which
the latter had been so much dazzled, on his brow.
One of many aliecting ei>is()des in the career of sovereigns was
that attending the resignation of one of the most ilhistrious
nionarclis that ever graced the pages of history, Gustavus Vasa,
King of Sweden. After a singularly eventful life and reign, the
INTROD UCTIOISr. X 1 X
grand old monarch, subdued by sickness and age, resolved to retire
from power, the event taking place June 25, 1560. The king was
supported into the hall of assembly, where his three sons and all
the senators were present. Here he caused his last will and
testament to be publicly read before him. This arranged, he took
an affecting farewell of his states. '' I have passed," he remarked,
" through many dangers during my forty years' reign, but by these
grey locks, and the furrows time has planted in this countenance, I
swear to you that the love of my people has been the end and aim
of all my actions. If I have done aught acceptable in my govern-
ment, be the glory to God ; for such faults as my human weakness
may have fallen into, they are mine alone ; but you, my beloved
subjects, will forgive me for them. My weakened body gives me
many a proof that I am now speaking to you for the last time, and
must shortly appear before the King of all kings, to give an account
of my stewardship. Follow me with your prayers ; do not forget
me in your assemblies, and when my eyes are closed in death, leave
my dust uncensured and undisturbed to its repose."
Having concluded his address with these words, Gustavus
stretched out his hands and blessed his whole people. All present
were in tears. The king departed, leaning on his two elder sons,
but looking often backwards, renewing his farewells to his grieving
senate. The members crowded around him, kissing his footsteps
as he passed out among them, and invoking blessings with one
voice on his honoured head.
This was the last public act of Gustavus, who did not, indeed,
make any formal resignation of the crown, but from that day all
matters of government were made over to Eric. On the 29th of
September in the same year, the great king breathed his last, at the
age of seventy-one.
Perhaps no sovereign ever quitted crown and state with greater
satisfaction than that strange personage, Queen Christina of Sweden,
who resigned the reins of power to her cousin, Charles Gustavus.
This remarkable event hajDpened June 10, 1 654. As if to show her
impatience for the coming of that day, the queen appeared before
the senate at seven o'clock in the morning. In the presence of all
assembled she signed the deed of resignation, and then arose, the
crown on her brow and the royal mantle hanging from her shoulders.
The sceptre was still grasped in one hand, and the symbolic orb
was in the other. With a crowd of brilliant officials around her,
and two ministers of state on either side bearing the sword and the
golden key, Christina entered the great hall of the palace, and took
her seat on a silver throne. The acts signed in the senate were
then read aloud, and the hereditary prince, whose chair was a little
in the rear of the massive low throne occupied by the queen, placed
the deeds in her hands. Then feeling that all was over, Christina
stood erect and beckoned Count Brake to approach and take the
crown from her head. The high official drew back, unwilling to do
so, turning aside to conceal his emotion. The queen then lifted the
XX INTRODUCTION.
crown from her head and held it to the count, who received it
kneeling. She then took off all her remaining royal adornments,
which were placed on a table near the throne, and remained
standing in a simple dress of white tatfeta. She advanced a few
steps, and spoke during a full half-hour on the past struggles and
glory of Sweden, and on its prospects. Christina was eloquent in
her address, and the whole assembly were deeply moved.*
While some monarchs have thus voluntarily laid aside their
crowns, others have exulted in the possession of theirs to the latest
hours of life. Thus the Emperor Frederick, who died in 1250, had
in the course of his career secured seven crowns — of the Roman
empire, Germany, Lombardy, Burgundy, Sicily, Sardinia, and
Jerusalem. A short time before his death he had them placed
before him. ''I still possess them all," he exclaimed, exultingly.
' ' No pope shall deprive me of one of them ! "
Our Henry IV. also clung with characteristic fondness to his
splendid crown, although it was so indirectly obtained. He
endeavoured to soothe his last hoiu's by ordering it to be placed
on the pillow of his death-bed. Few monarchs could adhere to
the outward display of power with greater pertinacity and more
unfeigned delight than Henry. Under this influence he adopted
for his motto the word " soverayne,'' frequently repeated on his
tomb. Exquisite is the dialogue which Shaksi)ere puts into the
mouth of Henry IV. and his son, who had taken the crown from
his dying father's pillow.
The gloomy and bigoted Philip II. of Spain displayed in his last
moments a strange contrast of feeling to that of the Emperor
Frederick, just mentioned. He ordered his cofhn to be brought,
and a dead man's skull, surmounted with the imperial crown, to be
placed beside him.
*' Within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a kinp^
Kee])S Death his court ; and there the antic sits,
Scoffing his state, and grinning at his pomp."
An instance of self-abnegation and modesty in the refusal of a
* Horace Walpole has some severe, but not altogether unmerited,
strictures on the character of this singular woman, and alludes to her abdi-
cation as an affectation of spirit in one who quitted a crown to ramble over
Europe in a motley kind of masquerade. When Dahl was painting her
picture, she asked what he intended she should hold in her hand. He
replied, " A fan." Her Majesty, whose ejaculations were rarely delicate,
vented a very gross one, and added, "A fan! Give me a lion; that is
fitter for a Queen of Sweden."
Tlie ex-queen, when at Home after her conversion to the Romish faith,
was said to have deposited in the church of Our Lady of Loretto a crown
and sceptre, signs of a majesty she had ever abandoned. She was pre-
viously heard to say, "So people will have it that I shall go to Loretto and
deposit my crown and sceptre at the feet of the Virgin Mary. I gave up
those symbols of royalty in Sweden, and if I had any other to disi)ose of, I
would present them to the poor King of England ! "
INTRODUCTION. XXI
crown is exemplified in the case of Godefroy de Bouillon, when
elected sovereign of Jerusalem, on the taking of the Holy City by
the Crusaders, in 1099. He refused to wear a crown of jewels on
the spot where the Saviour of the world had bled beneath one of
thorns, * and would only accept the title of ' ' Defender of the Holy
Sepulchre."
The Emperor Constantine had his principal standard, the
''Labarum," surmounted by a gold crown, which enclosed the
mysterious monogram at once expressive of the figure of the cross,
and the initial letters of the name of Christ.
At the coronation of the Emperor of Germany, E/udolph I. of
Hapsburg, in 3273 (who had been elected unexpectedly to him),
* In the church of St. Catherine of Sienna, at Sienna, is a mural painting
representing the Saviour offering to the saint two crowns, one of diamonds
and the other of thorns. She is choosing the latter and kissing it.
On the degradation of Baldwin II., one of the Latin emperors of the
house of Courtney, in the thirteenth century, great eiforts were made by
him to raise money. In the imperial chapel at Constantinople was pre-
served the crown of thorns which superstition declared had pressed the brow
of Christ. In the absence of the emperor the barons of Roumania borrowed
the sum of 13,134 pieces of gold on the credit of the holy crown, but they
failed in the performance of their contract. A rich Venetian undertook to
satisfy their impatient creditors, on condition that the relic should be lodged
at Venice, to become his absolute property if it were not redeemed within a
short term. The barons apprised their sovereign of the hard treaty and
impending loss, and as the empire could not afford a ransom of £7000
sterling, Baldwin was anxious to snatch the prize from the Venetians, and
vest it with more honour and emolument in the hands of the Most Christian
King Louis IX. His ambassadors, the Dominicans, were despatched to
Venice to redeem and receive the holy crown, which had escaped the dangers
of the sea and the gallies of Vataces. On opening a wooden box, they recog-
nized the seals of the doge and the barons, which were applied on a shrine
of silver, and within this shrine the monument of the Passion was enclosed
in a golden vase. The reluctant Venetians yielded it, and the court of
France advanced as far as Troyes, in Champagne, to meet with devotion
this inestimable relic. It was borne in triumph through Paris by the king
himself, barefoot and in his shirt, and a free gift of ten thousand marks
of silver reconciled Baldwin to his loss. About the middle of the last
century but one, an inveterate ulcer was said to be touched and cured by the
power of the holy crown. It was performed, in 1656, on the niece of Pascal.
The miracle confounded the Jesuits and saved Port Royal.
Among the paintings in the church of St. Louis, at Versailles, is one by
Frau(;;ois Lemoyne, of St. Louis adoring the cross and the crown of thorns.
The king is represented on his knees on the steps of an altar, and appears in
a profound ecstasy at the spectacle of the vivid light, which shines from the
cross and tlie crown of thorns, which he is about to place in the holy chapel
at Paris.
Among the precious gifts sent to Athelstan, in 926, by Hugh le Grand,
was a particle of the crown of thorns. Long after the Conquest the monks
of Malmsbury (to which monastery it had been given) believed that this
relic preserved their abbey from calamities and misfortunes.
It is observable that representations in the catacombs at Rome show the
soldiers crowning our Saviour, not with thorns, but with flowers, as if the
early Christians regarded the triumphant, rather than the mournful, aspect
of His great sacrifice.
X X 1 1 JXTROD UCTION.
the crown jewels were disj^ersed. When the princes present,
according to ancient custom, rendered homage to their new sove-
reign, there was no sceptre at hand. Rudolph removed the diffi-
culty by snatching up a crucifix, and employing that instead —
'' for," he remarked, "a symbol by which the world was redeemed
may well supply the place of a sceptre."
The Emperor Lothaire retired to a monastery at Priim, between
Aix and Treves, and took the cowl. He converted his crown into a
crucifix, which was preserved down to the time of the French Revo-
lution, when all the property of the monastery was confiscated.
In the royal chapel of the castle of Frederichsberg, where the
kings of Denmark were crowned, is a painting by Reinhold Timm,
a drawing-master of Sorre, of Christian IV., who is represented
clad in a shroud, praying before our Saviour, who appears in the
clouds above. The artist had first pourtrayed the king in his robe
of state, but Christian ordered it to be changed, and the crown and
sceptre may still be discerned from beneath the paint.
The inaugural address of Yarahan III., king of the Neo-Persian
empire (a.d. 292), is reported in these noble words: "I ascend
this throne by right, as the issue of your kings ; but the sole end
which I propose to myself in ruling, is to obtain for the people
who shall be subject to me, a happy and quiet life. I place all
my trust in the goodness of God, through whose help all may end
happily. If God i)reserves my life, I will conduct myself towards
you in such a way that all who hear me spoken of will load me
with blessings. J/", on the contrary the Angel of Death comes and
carries me away, I hope that God will not forsake you or sufter you
to perish."
The dignity and the virtues which should distinguish the wearer
of a crown were well put forth by Lord Chancellor John Staflbrd,
who in 143C, before King Henry VI., who was seated in his chair
in the Painted Chamber, delivered a discourse from the words
" Corona regni in manu Dei," in which he demonstrated that ' ' three
sorts of men are crowned, viz. all Christians in their baptism, in
token whereof they are anointed ; all clerks in their orders, in
token whereof they are shaven ; and all kings in their coronation,
who in token thereof wear a crown of gold set about with flowers
and precious stones. The erecting and standing of the flowers in
the upper i)art of the crown denoted the king's prc-eminency over
his subjects ; which ought to be garnished with four cardinal
virtues. That is to say, in the forepart ought to be wisdom, adorned
with three precious stones ; namely, memory of things past, circum-
spection of things present, and prudence in all things to come. On
tlie riglit hand ought to be fortitude, accomi)aniod with courage
in attempting, patience in suflering, and perseverance in well-
meaning. On the left side ought to be justice distributing her
arms three ways to the best mean, lowest. On the hinder part
ought to be temperance, with her trinity : viz. restraint of sensu-
ality in fear, silence in speech, and mortification in will ; all which,
INTRODUCTION. * XXlll
proceeding from God, fully proved that the crown of the king was
in the hand of God."
When Niels Kaas, the virtuons chancellor of Frederick II. of
Denmark, was dying, the young King Christian, who esteemed
him greatly, visited him some hours previous to his decease. The
chancellor told him he had promised his father, when on his death-
bed, that he would do his best to see the crown firmly seated on
his son's head, " but death," he said, " prevents me from satisfying
my desire. I am, however, proud before I leave to give to your
Majesty the key of the cabinet where, since the death of your
father, the crown, orb, and sceptre are preserved. As I am about
to quit the world I will hand them over to your Majesty alone.
Receive them as from God. Wear the crown with honour and
glory ; hold the sceptre with wisdom ; bear the sword with justice ;
and preserve the orb with judgment."
Christian was greatly affected at the time, but, later, forgot the
good advice of the young chancellor.
At the burial of Charles IX., Axel Oxenstjerna, taking the
crown from the hand of Magnus Brahe, exclaimed. " As this crown
is of the best gold, set with precious stones and beautiful pearls,
which the sovereign has worn in his lifetime, so should a king
be firm and sensible, pure and unalloyed as gold." He then made
an address to the sceptre before placing it in the dead king's hand ;
a third to the orb, symbolic of perfection and rotundity.
In the royal vaults of Strengnas Cathedral, Sweden, it had been
the custom to place regalia in the coflins of the deceased. It was
Ulrika Eleanora, the gentle queen of Charles XI. , who first put an
end to the practice. In his "Dagbok" her king notes down :
"July 26, 1693. To-day have I lost my dear wife, thirty-six years
ten months old. H. M. lay in state at Carlberg ; and as she bore
no liking for a worldly, only caring for an eternal crown, by her
order no regalia was placed in her cofiin, which was simply lined
with fine white linen. "
Let us admire the noble generosity of a crowned head in the
person of Timour, the great Mogul emperor, who after overcoming
Bajazet, the Ottoman j)rince, instead of putting him to death,
or subjecting him to torture and imprisonment, as was the usual
custom in those times, invited him to a feast, and placed a crown
on the head of the royal captive, and a sceptre in his hand, with
a solemn assurance of restoring him with an increase of glory to
the throne of his ancestors. But the effect of this promise was
disappointed by the sultan's untimely death.
The crown, so often typical of ^^ overweighing cares and sorrows "
lias, in a real sense, seared the brows of unanointed victims ; thus,
Henry VI., of Germany, in trying to secure to his house Naples
and Sicily (1192), was guilty of fearful cruelty. He not only took
away the gold and silver, jewels, and costly ornaments of the
Norman kings, to such an extent that one hundred and fifty animals
XXIV INTRODUCTION.
were loaded therewith, but he caused the eyes of the grandees who
had rebelled to be put out, and, as an insult to their misfortune,
and in mockery of their efforts to get possession of the throne, he
placed them on seats of red-hot iron, and fastened on their heads
crowns of burning iron. Shakspere's allusion in "Richard III."
(Act iv. sc. 1), "Were red-hot steel to sear me to the brain,"
was probably derived from an incident that occurred in the com-
mencement of the sixteenth century, and of which mention is
made in Goulart's '' Admirable and Memorable Histories " (1607) —
how John, the son of the Vaivode Stephen, having defeated an
army of Hungarian peasants in 1514, caused their general,
" George," to be stripped naked, and upon his head the
executioner set a crown of hot burning iron. This is the '' Luke's
iron crown " of Goldsmith. In Wyntown's "Chronicle" we have
the like punishment assigned to Jak Bouhowne.
A spirit of piety has actuated some wearers of an earthly
crown to acknowledge, in a spiritual devotion, their allegiance to
the one Power supreme over all. Canute, after the rebuke he
gave to his followers, refused, thenceforth, to wear any symbol of
royalty : —
" Canute (truth worthy to be known)
rroni that time forth did for his brow disown
The osteutatious symbol of a crown,
Esteeminj^ earthly royalty
Presumptuous and vain."
Henry III., of Germany, never placed the crown upon his head
without having previously confessed, and received from his con-
fessor permission to wear it. So, in our own country, we have
the instance of George III. , who at the coronation would not wear
his crown at the Communion service.
The last days, we are told, of the illustrious Fernando I.,
King of Leon and Castile (1005), were occupied in extraordinary
devotional exercises. On the morning of his death he caused
himself to be arrayed in his royal vestments, and carried to the
church of St. Isidore, in Leon, accompanied by his bishops and
abbots, and the inferior clergy. Kneeling before the altar of
St. John, and raising his eyes to heaven, he said, "Thine, O Lord,
is the power, Thine the dominion ! Thou art the King of kings,
the Supreme alike in heaven and earth ! I return unto Thee the
crown which Thou hast given me, and which I have worn during
Thy good pleasure. And, now, I only ask that when my soul
leaves this body. Thou wilt receive it in Thy celestial mansions ! "
His royal crown and mantle were then removed, the penitential
habit was tlirown over him, and ashes were scattered on his head.
On the day following he died.
In a spirit of superstitious zeal in former times we have in-
stances of sovereigns making votive oflerings of their crowns to the
INTRODUCTION. XXV
Virgin.* In 1636 Louis XIII. of France, a monarch sad and morose
of manner and habit, before the siege of Corbie, made an offering to
Our Lady of a large silver lamp for the cathedral of Notre Dame
at Paris. The retaking of Corbie appearing to him a special
interposition of the Virgin, he determined on j^lacing his crown
and kingdom under the protection of the mother of God. By
letters patent, under the royal seal, he " consecrated our
person, our state, our crown, and our subjects " to the Virgin,
decreeing an annual procession in memory of the act. This com-
memoration, called the "Vow of Louis," continued during one
hundred and eighty years. It was suppressed in 1792, re-established
in 1814, and was finally abolished in 1830. On one of the sides of
the grand altar of the cathedral of Notre Dame may still be seen
the statue of Louis XIII. ofiering his crown and sceptre, and
* In the early ages of Christianity it was by no means unusual for
sovereigns and other royal personages to dedicate their crowns to the use of
the Church. The gifts thus devoted -were known as donaria, and were
suspended by chains attached to their upper rim, above an altar or shrine,
or in some conspicuous part of the church. Other chains were attached to
the lower rim, supporting a lamp, from which usually depended a jewelled
cross. The crowned cross thus suspended above the altar, was felt to be an
appropriate symbol of the triumph of Christianity, and its use became almost
universal. In this manner the crowns of Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards,
and of her second husband, Agilulf, at the beginning of the seventh century
(see chapter on "Ancient Crowns"), were dedicated to St. John the Baptist
in the cathedral of Monza, as stated in the inscription borne by the latter
before its destruction, and there is little reasonable doubt that the celebrated
Iron Crown of Lombardy, preserved in the same cathedral, was at one time
employed for the same purpose. At a much earlier period, Coustantine the
Great had dedicated his crown to the service of the Church, according to
Constantine Porphj^rogenitus and Nicetas. In the time of these writers a
crown of remarkable beauty, " prse casteris et operis elegantia et lapillorum
pretio conspicua," hanging above the Holy Table, with others, was pointed
out as having been offered to God by the first Christian emperor. Tradition
asserted that he had received it by the hands of an angel as a present from,
heaven. With one of these votive crowns, the lamp and chains being
removed, in the time of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the new emperor of
the East received his inauguration.
Clovis, at the instance of St. Remigius, early in the sixth century, sent
to St. Peter's " coronam auream cum gemmis quae reguum appellari solet."
The crowns discovered near Toledo (see chapter on "Ancient Crowns")
were of the same votive character.
The custom for sovereigns to dedicate their actual crowns to the Church
led to the construction of imitative crowns, formed for votive purposes only.
A bas-relief now in the south transept of Monza Cathedral, representing a
coronation, exhibits several crowns suspended over the altar.
The convenience of the form of these donative crowns for the suspension
of lamps doubtless gave rise to the custom of constructing large chandeliers
after the same model.
In September, 1852, we find the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier
celebrated in the Ta^^e^, not only for their charity " in giving three thousand
reals in alms to the poor," but especially, and above all, "for their piety
in presenting the Virgin with a magnificent dress of tissue of gold, with
white lace, and a silver crown."
XXVI JNTROD UCTION.
on the other side the statue of Louis XIY. kneeling and joining
liis prayers and vows to those of liis father.
This action, at any rate, was consonant with the religious
practices of former times, and different to the conduct of our own
King John, w^ho, with a baseness unparalleled, resigned his crown in
St. Paul's Cathedral, into the hands of the papal legate, receiving
it back as a donation from the pope !
Baronius regards the death of Leo IV., Emperor of the East
(780), as an example of divine retribution. There was a splendid
crown, which had been j^laced above the high altar of the cathedral
by the Emperor Maurice. It blazed with fiery carbuncles, and Leo
so admired the precious stones, that he seized on the votive crown
and wore it. The imperial thief, adds Baronius, died of an eruption
of carbuncles : " amans isfitur carhwiculos ex sacrilei^is carbuncnJos
paritur passus est, et his coronatus est mortuis. "
Saints had the privilege of votive offerings of crowms ; thus
Edward L caused the golden crown of the last Prince of Wales to
be hung up on the shrine of Edward the Confessor.
In our day we have the devotional spirit of sovereigns exem-
plified in the instance of the Empress Eugenie, who, before leaving
for Zululand (March, 1880), on her sad mission to the death-place
of her son, the late Prince Imperial, gave her crown to the church
of Kotre Dame des Victoires at Paris. It is of great value, both
from its artistic composition, and the number of precious stones it
contains.
Superstition, crime, lust of power, and broken faith have,
indeed, in all ages and countries, dimmed the attributes of sove-
reignty, but in many instances the real nobility of worth has
impressed the crown with an undying brilliancy.
Nothing is clearer in our early history than the personal agency
of the king in everything that is done, and the unspeakable difference
between a good and a bad king. The truth is that, in an early state
of society, almost everything dejjends on the jDersonal character of
the sovereign.
Confucius gives a definiti(m of the true worth of a king. He
held tliat the government of a country is a test of the virtue of
its sovereign. Let but his virtue be daily renewed, and not only
the people of the empire, but the subjects of all the neighbouring
states, will love him ; but, on the other hand, should he be full of
his own will, he will be abandoned by even the nine classes of his
kindred. Thus the prince who rules by means of it is like the
north jiolar star, which keeps its place, and all the stars turn towards
it. Tlie wild tribes on all sides willingly acknowledge their sub-
jection to him, and his throne will be established in wisdom ; for he
who practises virtue is not left to stand alone, but has always at his
command the services of the wisest men in the empire.
In some fragmentary papers in the archiepiscopal palace at
Lambeth are moralistic lines on kings and their duties ; thus: —
INTRODUCTION. XXVll
" Al kynges therfore ought muche y* more
To loke vpon ther charge,
For al tlie land lieth on ther hande
Be it ueuer so large."
A lesson is given against royal pride and ambition : —
'' King Solomon saith al is one
A poore man and a kynge
Are first gotten and the boren
And differ yet nothynge.
The ar they fed Wt milcke and bread
Boeth licke, boeth wayle and wepe
Alike, boeth crie a like, boeth lie
A lyk, boeth wake an slepe.
The myghtie Kynge is found nothynge
Better than the bftggar
For by hys byrth he is but erthe
The beste is no better."
King Alfred's notion of sovereign power was this : '^ If then it
should ever happen, as it very seldom happens, that power and
dignity come to good men, and to wise ones, what is there then
worthy of pleasing is the goodness and dignity of those persons : of
the good king, not of the power. Hence power is never a good,
unless he be good that has it, and that is the good of the man, not
of the power. If power be goodness, why then is it that no man,
by his dominion, can come to the virtues, and to merit ; but by his
virtues and merit he comes to dominion and power ? Thus no man
is better for his power ; but if he be good, it is from his virtues that
he is good. From his virtues he becomes worthy of power, if he be
worthy of it." *
* The Egyptians were the first people who rightly understood the rules
of government. The kingdom was hereditary ; but, according to Diodorus,
the Egyptian princes conducted themselves in a different manner from what
is usually seen in other monarchies, where the prince acknowledges no other
rule of his actions than his own arbitrary will and pleasure. Here kings
were under greater restraints from the laws than their subjects. They had
some particular ones digested by a former monarch, that composed part of
what the Egyptians called the sacred books. In the morning, at daybreak,
when the head is clearest, and the thoughts most unperplexed, they read the
several letters they received. As soon as they were dressed they went to the
daily sacrifice in the temple, where, surrounded by the whole court, and
the victims placed before the altar, they assisted at the prayer pronounced
aloud by the high priest, in which he asked of the gods health and all other
blessings for the king, because he governed his people with clemency and
justice, and made the laws of his kingdom the rule and standard of his
actions. The high priest entered into a long detail of his virtues, and spoke
next of the faults he might be guilty of ; but supposed, at the same time,
that he never committed any, except by surprise or ignorance, and loaded
with imprecations such of his ministers as gave evil counsel and suppressed
or disguised the truth. After the prayers and sacrifices were ended, the
counsels and actions of great men were read to the king, out of the sacred
books, in order that he might govern his kingdom according to their maxims,
and maintain the laws.
xxviii INTRODUCTION.
The poet Kerner, in his fine ballad of '' The Richest Prince/' has
illustrated the true value of a crown : —
" At ancient Worms' imperial diet
Prince and peer opponent stand,
Hiffh in speech, and flus^h'd with riot,
Boasting each his native land.
" 'Rich and glorious are my mountains,'
Cried the Saxon prince, ' where shines
Silver bright as sparkUng fountains
Bosom'd deep in pregnant mines.'
" 'Luscious hills, luxuriant valleys,
Golden corn and rosy wine
Burst my garners, brim my chalice,'
Cried the Palzgrave of the Rhine.
* ' Louis of Bavaria vaunted :
' Mine are domes and turrets high ;
Minsters where the mass is chaunted,
Munich's might and majesty.'
" Bearded Everard spake : * Behold me
Wiirtemberg's well-loved lord ;
No proud city's walls enfold me.
No bright ore my lands afford.
** * Yet there flames a jewel treasured
In my father-land, where I,
Safe 'mid woods and wilds unraeasur'd,
On each subject's lap might lie.'
" Then Bavaria's lord all-glorious,
Saxon proud, and palatine
Cry, ' Thou bearded chief victorious !
Yea, the gem of gems is thine ! ' "
Arsaces, upon ascending the Persian throne, had assumed the
name of Artaxerxes, and received the surname of Mnemon, from
his great memory. Being near his father's deathbed when he was
dying, he asked him what had been the rule of his conduct during
so long and hapjiy a reign as his, that he might follow his example.
" It has been," he replied, '' to do always what justice and religion
required of me." Memorable words, and worthy of being set in
letters of gold in king's palaces.
A strange story is related of Charles VII. of France. Our Henry
V. had slirunk his kingdom into the town of Bourges. Charles
having told a shoemaker, after trying on a pair of boots, that he
had no money to pay for them, Crisi)in had such callous feelings
that he refused to let the king have them. '^ It is for this reason,"
says Connnines, ' ' I praise those princes who are on good terms with
the lowest of their people, for they know not at what hour they may
want them."
Queen Elizabeth, in her speech to the last Parliament (November
30, IGOl), said, ** To be a king and weare a crown, is a thing more
INTRODUCTION. XXIX
glorious to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bears
it ; for myselfe I never was so much inticed with the glorious name
of a king, or the royall authoritie of a queene, as delighted that God
hath made me His instrumente to maintaine His truth and glorie,
and to defend thiskingdome from dishonour, dammage, tyrannie, and
oppression. But should I ascribe any of these things unto myselfe,
or my sexly weaknesse, I were not worthy to live, and of all most
unworthy of the mercies I have received at God's hand ; but to God
onely and wholly all is given and ascribed.
" The cares and trouble of a crowne I cannot more fitly resemble
then to the drugges of a learned physitian ; perfumed with some
aromaticall savour, or to bitter pils guilded over, by which they are
made more exceptable or lesse ojffensive, which, indeed, are un-
pleasant to take ; and for my owne part, were it not for conscience
sake to discharge the duty that God hath layd upon me, and to
maintaine His glorie, and keepe you in safetie, in mine own dis-
position I should be willing to resigne the place I hold to any other
and glad to be free of the glorie with the labors, for it is not my
desire to live or to reigne longer than my life and reigne shall be for
your good. And though you have had and may have many mightier
and wiser princes sitting in this seat, yet you never have had, nor
shall have, any that will love you better."
It is said that Queen Elizabeth composed the following prayer
as she went to her coronation : — '^ O Lord Almightie and everlasting
God, I give Thee most hearty thanks that Thou hast beene so
mercifull unto me as to spare me to behold this ioifull dale. And
I acknowledge that Thou hast dealt wonderfullie, and as mercifullie
with me, as Thou didst with Thy true and faithfuU servant Daniell,
Thy prophet, whom thou deliveredst out the den from the crueltie
of the greedy and roaring lions. Even so was I overwhelmed, and
only by Thee delivered. To Thee, therefore, onelie, thanks, honor,
and praise, for ever. Amen."
In the '' Basilicon Doron. Or His Majesty's Instructions to his
dearest sonne Henry, the Prince," James I. thus judges the kingly
character in a sonnet from the preface : —
" God gives not kings the style of gods in vain,
For on the throne His sceptre do they sway ;
And as their subjects ought them to obey
So kings should fear and serve their God again.
If then ye would enjoy a happy reign,
Observe the statutes of our heavenly King,
And from His law make all your laws to spring.
If His lieutenant here you should remain,
Reward the just, be steadfast, true, and plain ;
Repress the proud, maintaining aye the right ;
Walk always so as ever in His sight.
Who guards the godly, plaguing the profane,
And so shall ye in princely virtues shine.
Resembling right your mighty King divine."
In the work of King James, ^' The Trew Law of Free Monarchies,
XXX introduction:
etc.," he says, ''Kings are called Gods by the propheticall King
David, because they sat upon God His throne in the earth, and have
the count of their administration to give unto Him." '' By the law
of nature the king becomes naturall father to all his lieges at his
coronation."
" Crowns have their compass ; len^^th of days their date ;
Triumphs their tomb ; felicity her fate ;
Of nought but earth can earth make us partaker,
But kuowledge makes a king most like his Maker."
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
CHAPTER I.
ANCIENT CROWNS.
" Emblems of sov'reign power, the pomp
And pride of kings, the dread of foes."
OR royal and imperial crowns,
or diadems," writes Selden
in his " Titles of Honour,"
" however these names have
been from ancient times
confounded, yet the diadem^
strictly, was a very different
thing from what a crown
' now is or was ; and it was
no other then than only a
fillet of silk, linen, or some
such thing, Nor appears it
that any other crown was
used for a royal ensign, except only in some kingdoms of
Asia, but this kind of fillet, until the beginning of Chris-
tianity in the Roman empire." The diadema, not the corona^
was the emblem of sovereignty.
Such fillets appear to have been worn indiscriminately;
the only difference in the head-dress being in colour. The
prophet Ezekiel alludes to the " dyed attire upon the heads,
all of them princes to look to," pointing out the rich and
ornamented head-dress of the Assyrian kings. Crowns are
frequently mentioned in the Holy Scriptures, and of this
character was the inscribed plate of gold in front of the high
priest's mitre, " the holy crown upon the mitre." Josephus
^ f B
2 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
says that the mitre was the same in construction and figure
with that of the common priest (a turban), but that above
it was another with swathes of blue, embroidered, and round
it was a golden crown, polished, of three rows, one above
another, out of which rose a cup of gold, which resembled
the calyx of the herb called by Greek botanists liyoscyamus ;
he ends in laboured description by comparing it to a poppy.
"Possibly," observes Jennings ("Jewish Antiquities"), "this
might be the crown which Alexander the Great presented to
Jaddua, when he went out to meet him, and which was after-
wards worn on grand and solemn occasions." The mitres
worn by the ancient priests of Egypt resembled those pre-
scribed to the Jews, divested of idolatrous symbols, which
were displaced to make way for a simple plate of gold
inscribed, " Holiness to Jehovah." This plate extended from
one ear to the other, being bound to the forehead by strings
tied behind, and further secured in its position by a blue
ribbon attached to the mitre.*
The diadevt, properly so called, originally the linen band
or silken ribbon tied round the temples, became afterwards
adorned by Eastern luxury, with pearls and precious stones.
• " The Jewish monarch," remarks Dr. Smith, " was chiefly distin-
^ished by the crown that he wore upon his turban, also by the richness
and form of the turban itself, and both of them owed their origin to the
mitre and lamina of gold bound upon the mitre which adorned the head
of the high priest. The name of the regal turban is the same that is
given to the mitre of Aaron, and derived from a word expressive of the
circumvolutions of the linen by which it was formed. The regal crown
and the crown or lamina of gold affixed to the pontifical mitre are both
of them expressed in Hebrew by the same word, which signifies to
separate or set apart, as the pontiff and the sovereign were separated
from the rest of mankind, and appointed to their respective high and
authoritative offices. From the name it appears that the crown was the
sign of that separation, and the mark of distinguished dignity to both,
from which reason we may conceive that it differed in its form from the
crown, or diadem, used by the Gentiles.
" The form of the regal crown is nowhere ascertained, but the name
of the portion of gold belonging to the pontifical mitre may, possibly,
throw some light on the subject. It is called a flower of gold in one
place, and in another the flower of the holy crown, and in both passages
signifies the crown itself.
"The appellation of the 'flower' would lead us to suppose that it was
made in a flower-like, or radiated form, and we may reasonably enough
concludo that the regal and pontifical crowns bore some resemblance to
each other, when we are assured that they were symbolical in both
instances of the same thing."
ANCIENT CROWNS. 3
It is probable that the royal crown of the ancient kings was
like the diadem which we see on the heads of the ancient
Roman kings on their medals. It was the custom of the
Jewish kings, as well as those of the neighbouring nations,
to wear their crown constantly when they were dressed.
Kinff Saul had his crown on when he was slain in the battle
of Gilboa, and the King of the Ammonites when he headed
his army in war ; for when David had reduced Rabbah, the
royal city, he took the crown from the king's head and put it
on his own. From this custom it may reasonably be inferred
that the ancient crowns were much less in size and weight
than those which are now used by European kings. Yet the
crown of the King of the Ammonites, just mentioned, is
said to have weighed "a talent of gold with the precious
stones." Now, a talent being reckoned to be a hundred
and twenty-five pounds, such an enormous load on the head
no man can be supposed to have carried as a part of his
ordinary dress. Bockhart apprehends, with great probability,
that the word mislihal denotes not the weight, but the value
of the crown ; for although the verb shakel in the Hebrew,
like pondere in the Latin, related originally to weight — by
which, before the invention of coins, metals were exchanged
in trafiic — yet this came afterwards to be applied to the pay-
ment of money, when the custom of weighing it was laid aside.
The word nezer is said to denote a diadem, and is used in
this sense for that which Saul wore in battle and which was
brought to David, and also that used at the coronation of the
young King Joash ; and as another word, atarah, is applied
elsewhere to the crown, the probability is that the Hebrew
kings wore sometimes a diadem and sometimes a crown.
Josephus mentions the diadem of Pharaoh, which (according
to him) seems to have been nothing more than a circle or
fillet of gold.
Clemens Alexandrinus says generally of the royal crowns
used by the kings of Judah and Israel, " I know that the
ancient kings of the Hebrews had their diadem (crown) of
gold and rich stones, and this was set on their heads at their
inauguration by the high priest who anointed them."
Rawlinson describes the tiara of a monarch of Babylon
as remarkable. It was of great height, nearly cylindrical,
but with a slight tendency to swell out towards the crown,
which was ornamented with a row of feathers round its
entire circumference. The space below was patterned with
4 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
rosettes, sacred trees, and mytliological figures. From the
centre of the crown there rose above the feathers a projection
resembling, in some degree, the projection which distin-
guishes the tiara of the Assyrian kings, but rounded and not
squared at the top. This head-dress, which has a heavy
appearance, was worn low on the brow, and covered nearly
all the back of the head. It can scarcely have been com-
posed of a heavier material than cloth or felt. Probably it was
brilliantly coloured, as was the tiara of the Assyrian raonarchs.
In Egypt and Persia there are sculptures of earlier date
than the Hebrew monarchies, representing the royal crown
in the shape of a distinguishing tiara, cap, or helmet, of
metal and of cloth, or partly cloth and partly metal. The
bas-reliefs discovered by Layard, at Nineveh, represent the
king in a high conical tiara, which distinguishes the monarch
on these Assyrian monuments and appears to have been
reserved for him alone. " It is impossible," remarks Layard,
" to determine from the sculptures the nature of the material
of which it was made, but it may be conjectured that it
consisted of bands or folds of linen or silk. Such was the
head-dress of the Persian monarchs called cidaris, which
appears to have resembled the Phrygian bonnet, or the
French cap of liberty. That Avorn by Darius was of blue
and white, or purple and white." *
* Diodorus states that the Egyptian Pharaohs decorated their
crowns with figures of lions, bulls, and serpents, branches of trees, and
repx'escntationa of flames of fire, to inspire fear in the beholders. The
Assyrians confined themselves to putting horns on the tiaras of their
idols. The tiaras of the ancient Persians are bare, like those of the
Parthian monarchs. The custom of ornamenting tlie royal head-dress
with striking objects appears among the Sassanides in the founder of
the dynasty. A sphere is seen on the tiaras and the battlemented
crowns of Ardeschir Babcgau, and is seen up to Djamasp, of Bahi-ara II.,
of Azermidokht ; a pair of wings frequently accompany the diadems.
Some coins of Bahram II. give on the side of the effigy of the monarch
busts of women of which the head-dress terminates in the liead of a
wild boar or griffin. Hormuz II. (Hormisdas) wears a tiara in form of a
flying eagle, with a pearl in the beak. The crown of the father of
Hormuz, Narsi, is composed of tall leaves, which reminds one of the
tufts in the great crown of Novo Tcherkask. The tiara of Ardeschir II.
displays in front a crescent, which is seen also in several of his
successors. Later, under Chosroes II. (Khosrou Parviz), the crescent
became an aigrette issuing from a bird's wing. The ancient gemmed
taa(j of the Slialis of Persia, and their present talpak in furs, have the
aigrette in form of a round ensign. The taag was no other than the
embattled crown of the Sassanides with a circle raised much higher.
ANCIENT CROWNS. 5
On tlie coins of Sapor I. lie is represented with a cap
terminating in the head of an eagle, or else a mural crown
surmounted by an inflated ball.
Hormisdas I., of the Neo-Persian empire (died a.d. 272),
wears a lion-crested cap, with a flower rising from the
summit. Narses (abdicated a.d. 301), said to have been
named the "hunter of wald beasts," had a head-dress peculiar
to him, adorned with horns of the ibex or the stag.
The coins of Sapor III. and his predecessor, Artaxerxes II.,
represent the head-dress as not remarkable : the latter bears
a head which is surmounted with the usual inflated ball, and
has the diadem, but is without the crown — a deficiency in
which some see an indication that the prince thus represented
was regent rather than monarch of Persia.
Isdigerd I., sovereign of Persia (died a.d. 419 or 420), is
shown on coins with the inflated ball, above a fragment of
the old mural crown, and bears a crescent in front. Zamask
(a.d. 498-501) has also the ball and mural crown, but a
crescent in place of the front limb of the crown. The ends
of the diadem appear over the two shoulders. On either side
of the head there is a star, and over either shoulder a
crescent. Outside the encircling ring, or " pearl border," we
see, almost for the first time, three stars with crescents.
The special royal head-dress of the Assyrian kings was a
tall mitre or tiara, which at first took the shape of the head,
but rose above it to a certain height in a gracefully curved
line, when it was covered in with a top, flat, like that of a hat,
but having a projection towards the centre which rose up
into a sort of apex or peak, not however pointed, but either
rounded or squared off. The tiara was generally ornamented
with a succession of bands, between which were commonly
patterns more or less elaborate. Ordinarily the lowest band,
instead of running parallel with the others, rose with a gentle
curve towards the front, allowing room for a large rosette
over the forehead and for other similar ornaments. If we
may trust the representations on the enamelled bricks, sup-
ported as they are to some extent by the tinted reliefs, we
may say that the tiara was of three colours — red, yellow, and
white. The red and white alternated in broad bands ; the
ornaments upon them were yellow, being probably either
embroidered on the material of the head-dress in threads of
gold, or composed of thin gold plates which may have been
sewn on. The general material of the tiara is likely to have
6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
been clotli or felt; it can scarcely have been metal, if the
deep crimson tint of the bricks and the relief is true.
In the early sculptures the tiara is more depressed than
in the later, and it is also less highly ornamented. It has
seldom more than two bands, viz. a narrow one at the top,
and at bottom a broader curved one, rising towards the front.
To this last are attached two long strings or lappets, which
fall behind the monarch's back to a level with his elbow^
Another head-dress which the monarch sometimes wore
was a sort of band or fillet. This was either elevated in
front and ornamented with a single rosette, like the lowest
band of the tiara, or else of uniform width and patterned
along its whole course. In either case there depended from
it, on each side of the back hair, a long riband or streamer
fringed at the end and sometimes ornamented with a delicate
pattern.
Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, in his " Ancient Egyptians,"
mentions that the head-dress of the kings of ancient Egypt
was the crown of the upper or lower country, or the jpshent,
the union of the two. Every king, after the sovereignty of
the Thebaid and Lower Egypt had become once more vested
in the same person, put on this double crown at his coronation.
The king wore his crown during the heat of battle — some-
times merely a wig ; but a helmet (without a crest) made
apparently of woollen stuff with a thick nap, not very unlike
the modern Persian cap, was generally preferred ; and at
religious ceremonies he put on a striped head-dress, probably
of linen, which descended in front over the breast and
terminated behind in a sort of queue bound with ribbon.
When crowned, the king invariably put on the two
crowns at the same time, though on other occasions he was
permitted to wear each separately, whether in the temple,
the city, or the field of battle ; and he even appeared in his
helmet during the ceremonies in honour of the gods. On
some occasions he wore a short wig, on which a band was
fastened, ornamented with an asp, the emblem of royalty.
In the British Museum, and also in the Mayer Collection
at Liverpool, are representations of Egyptian divinities and
sovereigns with characteristic head oi'naments. Amen-Ra,
the principal deity of Thebes, is seen as a man, wearing as a
head-dress the disc of the suii and tall plumes. Ma, allied
to Thoth, or Mercury, has for emblem of sovereignty an ostrich
feather. Nefer-Atum (Atum), the "regulator of the two
ANCIENT CROWNS, 7
worlds," is sometimes depicted with the lily and plumes on
his head. Munt-Ra, or Mars, is represented with plumes and
the sun's disc. Pasht, Diana, wears a disc on her head,
fronted by a serpent. The royal head-dress of Rameses II.,
or the Great, is surmounted by a crown of simple form,
decorated with small serpents, symbols of imperial authority.
The upper part of a statue of the same monarch, in the
character of the ineffable Osiris, wears the pshent over the
royal wig; the flail and the crook of Osiris, symbols of
majesty and dominion, crossed, and reaching to the shoulders,
are the insignia of his ofiice. Khnum, the principal deity
at Elephantine, is represented with the conical cap of Osiris,
plumes, and horns. Osiris, the judge of the dead, is seen
with the crown of Upper Egypt, with plumes on either side,
and sometimes surmounted by a sun's disc. He is also
represented wearing a lunar disc. Isis, the wife of Osiris,
wears a throne on her head.
The white crown, which was more commonly called the
atef crown, was a grand head-dress, with disc, plumes, and
pendant urcei. It was symbolical of the kingdom of Egypt
and of the divinity of the gods.
The early Macedonian coins exhibit, some a head with a
flat cap or hat, and others the royal bandelet only, such as
those of ^ropus and Pausanias, three hundred and ninety-
four years before Christ. The coins of Antiochus lY.,
sovereign of Syi'ia a hundred and seventy-six years before
Christ, have a radiated crown instead of the usual fillet or
bandelet. The crown of rays was assumed by kings who
took the title of epiphanes, or gods, who manifested them-
selves to mortals.*
* The radiated crown originated in the solar worship of the East, and
was borrowed from thence by the rulers of the West. The influences
tending to the increase of the solar worship became still stronger after
the reign of Hadrian. The original emblem of the Roman emperors was
the laurel or bay-leaf of victory, and it was the policy of Augustus and
his first successors to avoid all titles and symbols which savoured of
royalty; if a radiated crown was allotted to them, it was after their
death, and as gods, not sovereigns. Nero is said to have been the first
to assume it in his lifetime ; it appears also in coins of Caligula, but only
such as were struck in Greek cities. Flattery, however, soon extended,
even in Italy, to living emperors. Gallienus wore it in public. Whether
considered as a mark of deification or of solar worship it would be
equally offensive to Christians. After the time of Constantine we do
not find the figure of the sun on coins, and the radiated crown is
replaced by a diadem of gems. In some of the coins of Salonina, the
8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The spikes that shot out from the crown represented the
rays of the sun. There were twelve of them, in allusion to
the signs of the zodiac. It is the kind of crown which Virgil
describes ("^neid," lib. xxii.) : —
" Four steeds the chariot of Latinus bear ;
Twelve golden beams around his temples play
To mark his lineage from the god of day."
In the Assyrian sculptures in the British Museam the
king is represented wearing a tall cap, or tiara, nearly conical,
with a spike rising from the flattened crown, both cap and
spike being jewelled ; two streamers hang from the back of
the tiara.
The spiked or radiated crown is exhibited on some of
the coins of the Roman emperors in the third century.
The earliest portraits in coins of Artaxerxes, the founder
of the new Persian dynasty of the Sassanidce, represent
him wearing the high and richly embroidered cap, which
is, no doubt, the ancient crow^n of Persia. It had been
previously assumed by some of the Arsacidse, kings of Parthia.
The portraits of Vologeses IV., on coins, display a banded
tiara, above which band the crown of the tiara appears to be
formed of pearls and a large circular ornament. Sapor, the
successor of Artaxerxes on the Persian throne, wears an
ornamental head-dress formed of a singular mass of what
appears to be drapery of a circular, or rather a pear-shaped,
fonn, which has been suggested to represent a celestial globe ;
the crescent, moon, and a star being conspicuous on it. The
crescent also appears afterwards on the variously shaped
crowns of his successors, sometimes with and sometimes
without the star. Some of the coins of Sapor are found with
the embroidered crown, such as that worn by his predecessor,
Artaxerxes ; but after Varanes I. the cap or crown finally
disappears.
Xerxes, a petty prince of Armenia, appears on a coin in
a conic cap with a diadem around it. Juba, the father, has
a singular crown like a conic cap, hung with pearls.
wife of Gallienus, her bust is represented on a figure of the crescent
moon. This appears to be another indication of tlie Oriental worship of
the sun and moon. The first head of an empress placed in this way is
that of Julia Domua, the second wife of Soptimius Soverus, and grand-
aunt of Heliogabalus, the high priest of the sun. Valeria, the daughter
of Diocletian and wife of Maximianus, is the last empress on whose coins
this peculiarity appears.
ANCIENT CROWNS. 9
There is a connection between the ancient and modern
Oriental crowns, the latter consisting either of a cap with a
fold or turban, variously enriched with aigrettes, or of a stiff
cap of cloth studded with precious stones. The turreted
crown appears on a female head on the coins of Tigranes,
King of Armenia, about eighty years before Christ. It is also
seen on the coins of Trajan, which have the head of the
emperor on one side and a female head with a turreted
crown on the other. In Roman times the turreted heads
formerly belonging to the independent cities of Smyrna,
Damascus, etc., were used as a symbol of the entire province
of Syria.
The kings upon Greek coins are generally represented
wearing the viita^ or ribbon, about the head, without any
other ornament, tied in a floating knot behind, the simple
but superlative badge of sovereign power. In the Roman coins
it is seen on the consular medals with ISTuma and Ancus, but
not after until the time of Lucinius. The diadem was intro-
duced to the Romans through their Oriental campaigns and
intercourse with Asiatic nations. When first seen at Rome
it caused great offence. Though they submitted to the reality
of sovereign power, their susceptible minds could not endure
its outward symbols. The golden "corona" had raised no
alarm. Caligula and Domitian wore it at the public games
without objection, and it appears on their coins. The diadem
became a recognized mark of sovereign dignity, but it seems
to have been chiefly worn on state occasions. The radiated
crown * (as I have observed, a mark of deification) appears
on most of the emperors' heads in the early centuries of the
empire.
Under Constantino the Great, who assumed the empire
of the West (a.d. 306), the fillet, or ribbon, was superseded
by the diadem of gold and precious stones ; additions were
made afterwards to various parts that went from ear to ear
over the crown of the head, and, at length, over a gold helm
on a cap, which made it somewhat like the close crown of
later times worn upon caps. In fact, this jewelled helm was
the origin of the imperial crown in its present form ; the
gradual transition from the defensive to the decorated head-
* TertuUian says, *' I will acknowledge none such to be gods and
eraperors too : for if they be not men, they can be no emperors : he that
calls himself a god, or allows himself to be so called, plainly shows that
he is no emperor."
lo CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
covering being easily traced in the lapse of after years. The
combination to which I have alluded is also seen on the
coins of Gratian, Valentian IL, Theodosius,
Leo the Great, and Basil,
Constantine, who died a.d. 337, is repre-
sented with false hair of various colours,
a diadem of expensive fashion, a profusion
of gems and pearls, collars, bracelets, etc.*
Mr. Planche observes " that the crown of
the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine
the Great, throws considerable light on
y^^-- the forms and ornaments of those we see
Head of the Empress on the heads of the early Ano^lo- Saxon
Helena
and Norman monarchs.
In a drawing given by Ferrario, Constantine the Great
is represented wearing a helmet surrounded by a diadem,
imtli a cross in front; Heraclius (a.d. 610-642) wears a
helmet, encircled by a gemmed diadem with pendant ends,
and a cross above the forehead.
The combination of the diadem with the cidaris, or tiara,
had been in use, as Zenophon informs us, from ancient times.
It was worn by Zenobia, and was adopted by her conqueror,
Aurelian, Emperor of Rome (died 275). It is seen in medals
under the form of a peaked cap, which in later times assumed
the popular name of tuphan, the origin of the modern
"turban."
The diadem, in its original form of a ribbon or fillet,
gradually went out of use from the time of Justinian, and
* The emperors of the East, at the close of the fourth and the
beginning of the fifth century, were remarkable for their splendour.
St. Chrysostom alludes in his sermons to the pompous luxury of the
reign of Arcadius. " The emperor," he says, "wears on his head a
diadem, or a crown of gold, decorated with precious stones of inestimable
value. These ornaments, and his purple garments, are reserved for his
sacred person alone, and his robes of silk are embroidered with the
figures of golden dragons. His throne is of massy gold ; whenever he
appears in public he is surrounded by his courtiers, his guards, and
attendants. Their spears, their shields, their cuirasses, the bridles and
trappings of their horses have the substance or the appearance of gold ;
and the largo, splendid boss in the middle of their shield is encircled
with smaller bosses, which represent the shape of the human eye. The
two mules that draw the chariot of the monai'ch are perfectly white, and
shining all over with gold. The chariot itself, of pure and solid gold,
attracts the admiration of spectators, who contemplate the purple
curtains, the snowy carpets, the size of the precious stones, etc."
ANCIENT CROWNS. 13
was replaced by a flexible band of gold, sometimes adorned
with a band of pearls and precious stones. Justinian, in the
mosaics of the sanctuary of San Vitale, at Ravenna, has
his head covered with a jewelled cap ; while the Empress
Theodora wears a tiara surrounded with three circles of
gems. Strings of pearls and other gems hang down from
each.
In the time of Constantino Porphyrogenitus (died 959)
the royal treasury contained circlets, or stemmata, of various
colours, white, green, and blue, according to the enamels
with which they were coated. These circlets, adorned with
gems, are mentioned by Claudian in connection with the two
sons of Theodosius, Arcadius and Honorius, towards the end
of the fourth century ; " Et vario lapidum distinctos igne
coronas."
Dr. Schliemann, on " Troy and its Remains," thus de-
scribes the diadems found in the (supposed) " Treasure " of
King Priam : " These consisted of two splendid gold diadems ;
one consisting of a gold fillet, 21|- inches long, and nearly
half an inch broad, from which there hang on either side
seven little chains to cover the temples, each of which has
eleven square leaves with a groove ; these chains are joined
to one another by four little cross chains, at the end of which
hangs a glittering golden idol of the tutelar goddess of Troy,
nearly an inch long. The entire length of each of these
chains, with the idols, amounts to ten and a quarter inches.
Almost all these idols have something of the human form,
but the owl's head with the two large eyes cannot be mis-
taken ; their breadth at the lower end is about nine-tenths of
an inch. Between these ornaments for the temples there are
about forty-seven little pendant chains, adorned with square
leaves ; at the end of each little chain is an idol of the tutelary
goddess of Ilium, about three-quarters of an inch long ; the
length of these little chains with the idols is not quite four
inches.
" The other diadem is twenty inches long, and consists of
a gold chain, from which are suspended on each side eight
chains completely covered with small gold leaves, to hang
down over the temples, and at the end of every one of the
sixteen chains there hangs a golden idol, an inch and a
quarter long, with the owl's head of the Ilian tutelary goddess.
Between these ornaments for the temples, there are likewise
14 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
seven tj-f our little chains, about four inches long, covered
with gold leaA'es, to hang down over the forehead ; at the end
of these chains there hangs a double leaf about three-quarters
of an inch lon^."
The same author, in his "Mycenae," relates the discovery
of the " diadems " which form such an interesting portion of the
objects unearthed. " On every one of the three bodies, which
wei-e found on the opening of the second tomb, in the first
and second sepulchres, were five diadems of thin gold-plate,
each nineteen inches and a half long, and four inches broad
in the middle, from which it gradually diminishes to a point
at both ends. The pointed ends have been broken off, but as
several of the other diadems have such points, there can be
no doubt that all had been fashioned in the same way. All
the diadems were piped with copper wires, in order to give
them more solidity, and a great many fragments of those
copper wires were found. All the fifteen diadems show the
very same ornamentation of repousse work, consisting of a
border of two lines on either side, between which we see a
row of treble concentric circles, which increase or diminish
in size, according to the breadth of the diadem, the largest
circle being in the middle. Between these treble circles is,
on either side, a row of smaller double concentric circles,
which likewise increase or diminish in size, in proportion to
the breadth of the diadems. As well in the larger treble, as
in the smaller double circles, the central or innermost circle
is always hammered so as to protrude, which gives to the
diadems a splendid aspect." The diadems had at one end a
pin, and at the other a tube, by means of which they were
fixed round the head ; of course, in such a way that the
largest treble circle was just in the middle of the forehead.
In the third sepulchre was found, on the head of one of
three bodies, a splendid crown of gold, Avhich Dr. Schliemann
describes as " one of the most interesting objects collected by
me at Mycenae. It is two feet one inch long, and pro-
fusely covered with shield-like ornaments. The work being
repousse^ all the ornaments pi'otrude and appear in low relief,
giving to the crown an indescribably magnificent aspect,
which is still further augmented by the thirty-six large leaves,
ornamented in a like manner, which are attached to it. It
deserves particular attention that the crown was bound round
the head, so that its broadest part was just in the middle of
the forehead, and, of course, the leaves were standing upright
ANCIENT CROWNS. 15
around the upper part of the head, for had it been otherwise
it would have shaded the eyes and the greater part of the
face. Near each extremity can be seen two small holes,
through which the crown was fastened by means of a thin
golden wire. I call particular attention to the curious signs
between the shield-like ornaments of the lowest row ; five of
these signs resemble beautiful flowers, the heads of which
give additional proof that the crown was worn with the leaves
upwards ; and so I found it on the head of one of the bodies.
The four other signs resemble the caduceus, the herald's
staff of Hermes.
"Around the head of another of the three bodies was found
a magnificent golden diadem, to which was still attached part
of the skull ; it is finely worked. It has a border formed
by parallel lines, and a line of protruding points, which is
broadest in the middle and gradually diminishes towards both
ends. This border is ornamented with spiral signs, accom-
panied by small lines of deep or protruding points. The
space between the two borders is filled up with a row of
shield-like ornaments, the size of which varies according to
the breadth of the diadem, containing a number of concentric
circles around a central boss. The space between the circles
is filled up, in the five larger ones, with a circular row of
small leaves or of protruding points. At each end of the
diadem is a perforation, which must have served to fasten it
round the head by means of a thin wire of gold or copper.
This diadem being of thick gold plate, it was not piped.
" With the three bodies were five diadems of gold. Two
of them have an ornamentation similar to the foreg-oingr, but
less rich. Both are piped with copper wire, and have no
border; and both consist of two halves, which seem not to
have been soldered together, but merely joined by the piping
wire. As neither of them has perfoi*ations in the extremities,
there must have been attached to them thin wires of copper
or gold, now broken off, by which they were fastened round
the head. Both these diadems have suffered much from the
funeral fire, which has blackened them so that the photographs
could not take well. The other diadem, though not piped,
has no border ; it is also ornamented with shield-like circles
representing beautiful flowers. We see an ornamentation in
the form of a star at each end, and small shield-like bosses
on both sides between the circles. At the right extremity is
still preserved part of the gold wire with which the diadem
l6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
was fastened round the head. On all these six diadems we
recognize the fine black ashes of the funeral pyre sticking to
the gold. We find round shields with an ornamentation of
crescents and stars represented on Macedonian coins ; but
these can, of course, have no relation whatever to the Mycenaean
diadems, which may be twelve centuries older. Although
similar diadems, with an ornamentation of rosettes, have
never been found before, yet there can be no doubt that they
were in extensive use in a remote antiquity, for the British
Museum contains six idols of Aphrodite from Cyprus — two of
terra-cotta and four of marble — all of which have the head
ornamented with similar diadems. In the Assyrian collection
of the same museum are four figurettes of ivory, representing
Hercules, whose head is likewise ornamented with such
diadems.
" There are two other diadems with a still simpler shield-
like ornamentation, and having in the middle two vertical
rows of spirals. Both these diadems consist of halves, which
were seemingly joined only by the copper wire with which
they are piped. The thin Avires at the extremities are here
also broken off."
Close to the head of another body in the fourth sepulchre.
Dr. Schliemann found a beautiful golden crown (represented
in Fig. 337, " Mycense "), of which he observes "it should be
distinctly understood that it is represented in the engraving
head downward, because to that side which is shown there as
the lower, were attached, with very small pins, of which six
can be seen, a number of leaves, a few of which still remain ;
and if, therefore, the crown had been put round the head as
it is shown, the leaves would have hung over the eyes, which
could never have been the case. Thus, this crown had on its
upper side the leaves, and on its lower a small border with
small oblique strokes, the intervening space being filled up
in the middle with three rosettes, intersected by vertical rows
of very small shield-like circles, and at both ends with similar
circles or with larger ones. At each extremity there is a
very small perforation, through Avhich the crown was fastened
by means of a thin gold wire.
" In the fourth sepulchre were also found four curious
golden diadems, two large and two small ones. The larger
one is one foot eight inches and a half long, and four inches
broad in the middle. Between two borders of zigzag lines it
has an ornamentation of shield-like double circles in rejpovss^
ANCIENT CROWNS. 17
work, the space between them being on either side filled up
by small circles of the same pattern, whilst both extremities
are covered with a beautiful spiral ornamentation. At the
one end is a pin, and at the other a small tube, by which the
diadem was fastened round the head. The smaller diadems
are only one foot five and a half inches long, and two
inches and five- fifths broad in the middle, and appear to
have adorned a child's forehead. Their ornamentation in
repousse work is most varied and curious. Between two
borders, each of two lines, we see in the middle a circle,
surrounded by thirteen small ones, on either side of which
follow two vertical bands, filled with small horizontal strokes ;
next a vertical row of three circles, and again two vertical
bands filled with horizontal strokes ; after that a vertical
band of spirals, and two concentric circles, surrounded by
smaller ones of the same shape ; then again a vertical band,
filled with horizontal strokes ; and, lastly, two vertical bands
of concentric circles, between which a horizontal band with
oblique strokes goes to the extremity. Only one end, with
a perforation, is preserved. The other end, probably, was
similarly fashioned, and the diadem was fastened with a fine
gold wire round the child's head. None of these diadems
were piped.
" There were further found two golden diadems which, like
the former, are of thin gold plate, but neither of them is
piped. Both of them are so small that they could only fit
round the heads of children ; one is one foot four inches and
a half, the other a foot and one-eighth of an inch long. The
former is ornamented, between two borders of points, with
five shield-like circles in the middle, of which three repre-
sent rosettes, the other two a wheel in motion. The re-
maining space to the right and left is filled up with small
shield-like circles, together with two larger ones, repre-
senting again a wheel in motion, and with spirals. The
other diadem has, between two borders of concentric circles,
in the middle, a shield-like circle representing a wheel in
motion, and to the right and left a similar circle representing
rosettes. Above the second circle from the middle one to
the right of the spectator is represented a bird."
In the church belonging to the monastery of Ghelaty in
the Crimea, is preserved in the treasury a superb specimen
of Byzantine art : a high bonnet, or crown, of cloth of gold,
C
1 8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
woven with subjects from sacred history, and profusely
adorned with pearls and rich jewels.
Among ancient crowns of peculiar interest is that erro-
neously stated to have been made for Charlemagne, now at
Vienna. This crown is evidently of a later period than that
of the great emperor, and is made up
of portions belonging to different
epochs. The costumes of the figures
in the enamels are Byzantine. The
crown is divided into eight parts,
made of gold, weighing fourteen
pounds. The forepart is decorated
with twelve unpolished jew^els. On
the second part, on the right hand.
Crown of the Holy Roman is our Saviour, sitting between two
SnV'SrrSgnr "' '^erubs, each with four wings, two
upward and two downward, with the
motto underneath, *' Per me reges regnant." The third part,
on the same side, has only gems and pearls. On the fourth
part is King Hezekiah sitting, holding his head with his
right hand, and by his side Isaiah, with a scroll, inscribed,
" Ecce adjiciam super dies tuos 15 annos ; " also, over the
head of these figures, " Isaias Propheta," " Ezechias Rex."
The fifth part, which is behind, contains jewels semes. The
sixth part has the effigy of a king, crowned, and a scroll in his
hand, inscribed, " Honor regis judicium diligit," as, also, over
his head, " Rex David." The seventh part is only of gems ;
but the eighth has a king sitting, crowned, holding in both
hands a scroll, inscribed, " Time Dominum," and " Regem
aurate," and over his head, " Rex Solomon." On the top
of the crown is a cross, the forepart of which contains
seventeen jewels, and in the top of the crown are the words,
"I.H.S. Nazaremus Rex Judseorum ; " also in the arcb, or
semicircle, stretching over the head to the back is inscribed,
' Chvonradus, Dei gratia Romanorum Imperator Aug." (the
Emperor Conrad, a.d. 1138).
Among the curious incidents in connection with crowns
may bo mentioned their discovery after a long lapse of time,
and that under peculiar circumstances. One of the most
singular trouvailles of this description occurred in 1858,
which brought to light the celebrated Hispano- Gothic votive
CROWNS, eight of which were purchased by the French
ANCIENT CROWNS. 19
Government for tlie Cluny Museum at Paris, and the others
were obtained by the Spanish Government. An account of
these invaluable objects was published in Spain in 1861, with
numerous illustrations.
Two leagues from Toledo and a quarter of a league from
the village of Guadamur, at a spot called La Faente de
Guarraz, is a copious spring of water, which gradually works
away the ground around it, in which it is further assisted by
torrents. By the action of the water a vault, probably a part
of some building, was gradually denuded, and the top washed
away. In August, 1858, there was a great storm with much
rain, after which the wife of a labourer at Guadamur acci-
dentally found some fragments of gold. She called her
husband, and during the following night they discovered and
appropriated a considerable treasure. Another labourer at
Guadamur noticed the light of the treasure-seekers, and on
the following day made researches on the same spot, and found,
two days later, a mass of treasure, which he removed and
concealed. Ultimately, at the persuasion of his uncle, the
schoolmaster of the village, he presented his treasures to
Queen Isabella of Spain, receiving in return a handsome
present and a pension. This was in May, 1861. These
trouvailles consisted of the following objects : — a crown
offered to a shrine by.the Visigothic King Svintila (reigned
621-631), and a rich cross presumed to have belonged to it;
a crown offered by the Abbot Theodosius ; the fragment of
another crown ; a cross offered by Lucetius ; an engraved
gem; part of another crown; various fragments with
jewels, etc.
The person who took the eight crowns first discovered
(now in the Museum, of Cluny) to Paris, seems to have been
desirous of disclosing as little of the truth as possible, fearing
probably, what afterwards happened, that the Spanish Govern-
ment would claim them. He declined, for some time, to
receive the money for them, thinking it was safer in the
hands of the French Government than in his own.
In these Gothic crowns false emeralds and opals may be
detected among the real stones, evidently intended to pass for
such, and particularly to replace the emerald, which appears to
have been then excessively rare in Spain, though the jeweller
had abundance of most beautiful sapphires at his command.
The crown of Svintila, King of the Visigoths, which
is now preserved in the royal armoury at Madrid, is of
20 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
massive gold, enriched with sapphires and pearls set, rose-
fashion, between two borders set with delicate stones. From
the lower rim hangs a fringe of open letters of gold, set with
red glass, suspended by chains of double links, with pendent
pear-shaped sapphires. The letters form the inscription,
" SVINTILANYS REX OFFERT."
A beautifully illustrated work on the crowns in the
Museum of Cluny, Paris, has been published by Count
Lasteyrie, who, while assigning to them a Gothic origin,
considers they were brought into Spain by North-German
barbarians. La Barte, on the other hand, attributes them
as Spanish work.
The most important of the crowns is that of King Recces-
vinthus, who governed Spain 649-672. This consists of a
broad circle of fine gold, eight inches in diameter, set with
thirty uncommonly large pearls, alternately with as many fine
sapphires. This band is edged with a border above and
below, fitted with a running pattern of Greek crosses of red
paste cloisonne in gold. From twenty-four little chains hang
the following letters of gold, encrusted with pastes like the
borders : " »J< Reccessvinthus rex offeret." From the letters
are suspended twenty-four pendelogues in gold, and five pearls,
which support twenty-four pear-shaped sapphires, forming a
fringe all round the circumference. . Lowest of all comes
a very magnificent Latin cross, of truly elegant design, four
inches long, set with eight enormous pearls, as large as ordi-
nary cherries, and six equally splendid sapphires of the best
colour — those in the middle row as large as pigeons' eggs,
all cabocJions — the centre one very protuberant, and having
three pendants from the arms and foot cut out of square
pastes. In this cross the gems are set d jour, the back of
their collets being filled in with a tree ornament in filagree.
The settings themselves are exquisite ; the claws holding the
stones being fleurs-de-lys. This cross is the finest example in
existence of ancient goldsmith's work. It has, perhaps, been
worn as a fibula or brooch, the acus by which it has been
fastened to the royal robes being still ^nsible. The entire
lengtlv of this combination of ornament, from the gold hook
to which the crown is fastened to the lowest pendent sapphire
attached to the ci-oss, is about three feet. The crown is com-
posed of the purest gold, the colour of which, with the violet
sapphires alternating with the pearls, presents a most gorgeous
appearance.
ANCIENT CROWNS. 21
A crown, supposed to have been tliat of the qneen of
Reccesvinthus, in form and arrangement corresponds to that
of the king, but the enrichments are less gorgeous. Like
that, it is formed in two pieces with a hinge, to adapt it to
the head of the wearer. The hoop is set with fifty-four gems,
rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and opals. From the lower ring
hang eight sapphires. There is no inscription. The pendent
cross is covered with jewels, but less costly than those on the
king's crown.
The crown of Theodelinda is a plain circlet, enriched with
a vast quantity of gems, of more or less value, chiefly emeralds
and pearls, and a great many pieces of mother-of-pearl. A
cross is pendent from it, also set with emeralds and pearls.
The other crowns are most simple, and set with but few
and inferior stones. Three of these are most singular — an
open grating with gems set at each intersection of the bars ;
from each hangs a flat cross, patee^ jewelled. One of the
crosses bears the dedicatory inscription : — ^ In Dei Nomine
Offeret Sonniga Sanct^ Marie in Sorbaces." Three crowns
(or coronets) are very light, and are simply ornamented with
arcades in repousse work in the common Byzantine style.
The small diameter of the Gothic crowns proves them to
have been intended as votive offerings to a church. No lamps
were attached to them when they were discovered, but the
appendages, as encumbrances of small value, may have been
removed when the regalia were buried, most probably to
conceal them from the Saracen spoiler.
" Few relics of this period," remarks Mr. Albert Way
(Archceohgical Journal, vol. xvi. p. 258), " deserve comparison
with this precious regalia, both in barbaric magnificence of
enrichment and in the impressive effect of so sumptuous a
display of natural gems, remarkable for their dimensions and
lustrous brilliancy."
The hopelessly lost treasure, the crown of Agilulf, takes
its name from Theodelinda's second husband, chosen by her
A.D. 691, on the death of Authar. From its small size (even
less than the Iron Crown of Lombardy) it must have been a
suspensory votive crown. This is also proved by the inscrip-
tion it bore : " ^ Agilulf, Grat. DH, vir. glor. rex . totius . Ital.
offeret, s^co JoJianni . Baptist . in . Eccl. Modiciay A gold cross
depended from it, with a large amethyst in the middle, two
gems in each arm, and four large pearls. Seven little chains
with pendent acorns hung from the cross. The crown itself
22 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
was a circle of gold, decorated with fifteen arched niches of
laurel boughs, containing figures of our Lord seated between
two angels, and the twelve Apostles standing. It bore a circle
of emeralds, carbuncles, and pearls above. The inscription
was in enamel. The clumsiness of execution leads La Barte
to the conclusion tbat this, and the crown of Theodelinda,
were of Lombard, not of Byzantine workmanship.
The circumstance of so many crowns, and some w^ith
inscriptions, reminds us of the fabulous story in the Moham-
medan histories of Spain, where Tarik, having taken Merida
(711), is stated to have found, among the rich spoils that
came into his possession, twenty-five crowns of gold, corre-
sponding with the number of Gothic kings from Alaric to
E/oderic.
Each crown, we are told, had a separate inscription of the
name, age, and reign of the wearer.
The celebrated Iron Crown of Lombardy consists of a
broad circle composed of six equal pieces, or plates of beaten
gold, joined together by close hinges of the same metal. The
face of each plate exhibits two panels divided by spiral
threads, one long and squarish, the other tall and narrow.
The plafond is covered with emerald-green semi-transparent
enamel. The long panels contain a large gem in the centre,
surrounded by four gold roses, or floral knobs, from which
ramify small stalks and flowers, in red, blue, and opaque
white enamels. The tall narrow plaques
contain three gems set vertically. One
plaque has only one gem and two roses.
The two centre plafonds meet without
an intervening plaque. The number
of gems is twenty-two, of gold roses
twenty-six, and of enamels twenty-four,
lion Crown of Lombardy. Within the circle is the iron band,
giving a name to the whole. The eccle-
siastics who exhibit it in the Cathedral of Monza (where it is
kept in an octagonal recess in the centre of an ornamental
cross, which is placed in an elevated situation over an altar
and closely shut up by folding doors of gilt brass) declare
that there is not a single speck of rust upon the iron, although
it has been exposed more than fifteen hundred years. This
iron ring, which is about three-eighths of an inch broad and
one-tenth of an inch in thickness, is said to have been
made out of the nails used at the Crucifixion, and given to
ANCIENT CROWNS. 23
Constantine by his mother, the Empress Helena, to protect
him in battle.* The traditions of Monza relate that this
crown was given by Gregory the Great to Queen Theode-
linda, who died a.d. 628, yet nothing is known of its origin,
nor was it really used in the coronation of the kings of Italy.
Henry VII. (or Henry of Luxemburg) is the first who is
known with any certainty to have worn it, in 1311. The
crown was carried to Milan for that purpose, in spite of the
* " The iron ring," remarks Dr. Smith (** Dictionary of Christian
Antiquities"), *'is asserted to be comparatively modern, never being
found in the rituals of the churches of Milan and Monza before the
time of Otho IV. (a.d. 1175). Before this epoch even its advocate
Bellani allows that it appears in the inventories as corona aurea. The
belief of its being fashioned from one of the nails of the cross, cannot
be traced further back than the latter part of the sixteenth century.
The existence of the band of iron is mentioned by ^neas Sylvius (Pope
Pius II., died 1464) simply as lamina qucedam, without a hint of its
supposed sanctity, and with an expression of contempt for the allegorical
meaning assigned to its employment in the coronation of the emperors
as denoting strength. According to Muratori, the first author who
mentions it is Bagatus (1587). He was followed by Zucchius, whose
violations of truth Muratori holds it charitable to attribute to gross
carelessness. Two years before the publication of Bagatus's book (a.d.
1585), a letter sent from the arch-priest of Monza to Pope Sixtus V.,
quoted by Muratori, speaks of the Iron Crown as a most precious pos-
session of his church, as having been used from early times for the
coronation of the Roman emperors (even this fact is doubtful), but
distinguishes it from the relics, so called, and makes no allusion to its
having been wrought out of a nail of the Crucifixion. From the six-
teenth century, onwards, the belief gained strength, but having been
discredited by the searching historical investigations of Muratori,
the worship of the crown as a sacred relic was alternately suspended
and re-enforced by decrees and counter-decrees of the ecclesiastical
authorities, until in 1688 the matter was laid before the Congregation of
Relics at Rome. A process was instituted, which lingered on until
1717, when a diplomatic sentence was pronounced, leaving the chief
point — the identity of the iron ring with the nail — undecided, but
sanctioning its being exposed to the adoration of the faithful, and
carried in procession."
The character of the workmanship of the Iron Crown proves its
Byzantine origin. La Barte, who holds this as an incontrovertible fact,
remarks that the art of working in enamel had not penetrated into Italy
in the time of Theodelinda. The small size of the crown, barely large
enough for the head of a child two years old, the internal diameter
being six inches (height 2*4 inches), leads to the conclusion that it never
was intended for ordinary wearing, but was a suspensory or votive
crown, hung over the altar and employed temporarily on the occasion of
coronations, for placing on the sovereign's head as a symbol of royalty,
and then returned again to its place.
24 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
remonstrances of the inhabitants of Monza. Charles V. was
the last of the later emperors crowned with it, and the crown
remained quietly as a relic in the Tesoro, until Napoleon
crowned himself with it. It has been since used at the
coronation of the two last emperors of Austria.
The most striking feature in the grand cortege which
followed King Victor Emmanuel's remains to the Pantheon
at Rome (Jan. 18, 1878), was the Iron Crown of Lombardy,
one of the most venerable political relics in Europe. Escorted
on its journey by the corporation and chapter of Monza, and
received with royal honours in its transit through Italy, it
rested, not unAvorthily, on the bier of him whose inheritance
had ransomed Lombardy from the yoke of the stranger.
There is no crown that has passed through so many
vicissitudes as that of St. Stephen of Hungary. It is a most
venerable relic of Byzantine art, and is formed by a broad
flat band of fine gold, whence springs
an arch supporting a cross. It was
sent in 1072 by the Emperor Michael
Ducas to Geisa, the first Duke of
Hungary, or, as he is strangely styled
in the enamel portrait of him upon a
plaque rising above the top of the
circlet, "Geabitras, King of the Turks."
Next to this comes the portrait of
Constantino Porphyrogenitus ; then
Crown of Hungary. One of Ducas himself ; the fourth and
largest enamel represents our Saviour
enthroned. These four portraits are set at the springing of
the arches which close the top of the crown. On the front
of the band itself are placed four small enamels of the angels
Michael and Gabriel, with St. George and St. Demetrius.
Over the medallion of Christ is a large heart-shaped
amethyst, below it an enormous rough sapphire ; four moi'e
large sapphires are set at equal distances on the band, all but
one being unpolished. The edges of the circlet are bordered
with a row of pearls set close together. The large sapphire
at the back is surrounded by four green stones cut oblong,
but their exact species has not been ascertained. In the deed
by whi(^h Queen Elizabeth of Hungary pledged the crown to
the Emperor Frederick lY., the stones are enumerated as
being fifty-three sapphires, fifty rubies, one emei'ald, and
a hundred and thirty-eight pearls.
ANCIENT CROWNS. 2$
This remarkable crown, however, really consists of two
united ones, for it is recorded that Duke Stephen, after the
battle of Yesprini (a.d. 1000), having put an end to the
conflict between Christianity and Paganism in Hungary,
obtained from Pope Sylvester II. permission to assume the
title of king, and the present of a crown which the pontiff
happened to have by him, intending it for the Polish king
Boleslav, but in consequence of a dream it was bestowed
upon King Stephen.* This crown Geysa had united to his
own, the Roman crown forming the lower part, and the
Byzantine one over the upper.f Singular adventures are
connected w^ith the crown. It was used at the successive
coronations of the twenty kings of the Arpad dynasty.
Wenceslas carried it away with him into exile, and is said
to have bestowed it upon Duke Otho of Bavaria, who had
been elected in his stead. The opposition of the Emperor of
Austria made it necessary for Otho to pass through that
country in disguise, but he succeeded in conveying the crown,
" packed in a wooden box, safely the whole way." He was
less fortunate in the next journey, when he went to seek the
daughter of the Duke of Transylvania in marriage, and lost
the emblem of sovereignty on the way. Without the crown
his wooing did not succeed, for the indignant duke imprisoned
the luckless pretender to his daughter's hand. The treasure
was subsequently found, and taken to the duke, who liberated
poor Otho, and accepted his suit. The crown, however, had
suffered severe injury in its fall, of which it still bears the
marks.
In 1439 King Albert of Hungary died, and his widowed
queen, Elizabeth, took possession of the sacred crown, and
placed it for safety in her own chamber. The babe to whom
she gave birth, not long after his father's death, was named
Ladislaus Posthumous, and when only four months old was
invested with the crown of St. Stephen as he lay in his
mother's arms. The queen trusted that this would secure to
him the sovereignty, which was so closely connected in the
* A picture in the Vienna Gallery, and which appears to have been
painted for Maria Theresa, represents St. Stephen receiving the orown
sent to him by the Pope.
t The gift of papal crowns, frequent in the early ages, did not,
however, secure the wearers from reverses. In the middle of the
fifteenth century, Stephen Thomas, King of Bosnia, was assassinated,
partly for the reason that he had accepted a crown from the Pope.
26 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
minds of the Magyars with the possession of the valued
crown, but the year afterwards the Parliament bestowed her
hand and the crown upon Wladislaus of Poland. An insur-
rection compelled her to return to Vienna ; again she resolved .
to get the crown into her own keeping, and with the help of
some confidential assistants she accomplished it. The ready
wit of one of her ladies secured the crown from observation,
for inverting it in the child's cradle, the interior was con-
cealed by the bedding around it, and a spoon put in it
gave it the appearance of being the baby's saucepan. For
the journey the crown was sewn up in a red velvet cushion
upon which the same lady sat, and thus it was conveyed over
the frozen Danube in a sledge. The crown was pledged (as
before remarked), but redeemed in 1458, for sixty thousand
gold pieces, by Mathias Corvinus, King of Hungary. About
seventy years subsequently, after the battle of Mohacs, John
Zapolya was crowned with the far-famed diadem. He placed
it in the custody of Peter Pereny, but the man betrayed his
trust, and gave up the crown to Ferdinand, King of Bohemia,
who used it for his own coronation in 1527, and then removed
it to Prague, where it remained for more than half a century,
to the great sorrow of the Hungarians. Once only during
that time, at the coronation of Rodolph, was the precious
treasure used in Hungary. On his abdication, and the accession
of his brother Mathias, a law was made which provided for its
better security, by appointing Hungarian crown-keepers, in
whose custody it was to remain, at Presburg. Other laws
referring to its safety were enacted from time to time. In
1784 the imperious mandate of the Emperor Joseph II. im-
pelled the keepers to remove the crown and the rest of the
regalia to Vienna, but six years afterwards they were restored
to Presburg.
The rapture with which the crown was received was
remarkable. Triumphal arches were erected in its passage ;
every town was a scene of festivity ; numbers, flocking from
all quarters, swelled the cavalcade, and at Buda exulting
multitudes, crowding to the cathedral, welcomed the precious
palladium of their national splendour and freedom.
At night the crown was removed into the chapel of the
palace, and guarded by two magistrates with drawn sabres.
The whole city was illuminated ; the streets resounded with
cries of joy and exultation, and on every side was heard the
exclamation, " Long live the liberties of the Hungarian people ! "
ANCIENT CROWNS. 27
The romantic adventures connected with the crown did
not end there. In 184-9 Kossuth, compelled the keeper to
deliver it to him. Mag-yar feeling still clung fondly to the
venerated relic, and the people insisted that the dictator
should receive it bareheaded. The keeper gave it up with
these words : "I hand you the holy crown with which fifty
kings have been crowned during eight hundred years." The
crown soon disappeared, and all traces of it were lost. A
Government commission made inquiry into the matter, which
only resulted in disappointment, and popular superstition
held that angels had hidden it in the tomb of Arpad. Four
years afterwards, an inundation of the country on the
Austro-Wallachian frontier gave Kossuth reason to fear that
the crown would be discovered, and he laid a plan for its
removal to London. He had confided the secret of its hiding-
place to some friends ; but one of them, in an unguarded
moment, made a remark which led to further investigation,
and the Austrian Government succeeded in obtaining the
required information. On September 8, 1853, the Hun-
garians rejoiced over the discovery of their crown, which
was found hidden in a field near Orsova. It was taken back
to Vienna, and subsequently placed at Buda.
28
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
CHAPTER II.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND.
" The crown of England hath ever been sovereign and independent ;
neither conferred nor protected by any federal head, as some have
been, but descending from the primitive leaders and chiefs of the
nation. In this sense the king may be said to hold his crown * immedi-
ately of the Lord of heaven and earth, without any other meane seyneorie,
or attendance of corporall or bodely service or allegiance to any other
worldly prince, or potentate.* " — Selden.
HE earliest form of a dis-
tinctive head ornament for
our English monarchs, as
represented upon coins, ap-
pears to have been a fillet,
or head-band of gold and
jew^els. This is the case
with the kings of Mercia ;
in some instances, tassels
or strings occur, hanging
from the back of the head.
In Whitaker's "History of
Manchester," 1773 (vol. i,
p. 347), there is a curious
delineation of a British
crown upon the tomb of a sovereign who reigned in the fifth
century. The stone was discovered in the Isle of Anglesea,
about the time of Charles II., lying six feet under the ground.
The edge of it bears an inscription to the memory of Pabo.
The plane exhibits the figure of the king dressed in his
armour, grasping a sceptre, and wearing a crown ; the former
being a strong weapon of iron pointed in the form of a lily,
and the latter a circlet studded with stars and decorated with
flowers.
The head ornament of the Anglo-Saxon kings is described
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND. 29
by the contemporary biographer of St. Dunstan as "made
with gold and silver, and set with precious stones."* On the
coins of Egbert and his son Ethelwulf, a round close cap, or
helmet, appears, distinct from those of Ethelred and Canute,
in the latter of which there is the form of a close helmet,
projecting over the forehead, and also of the conical shape,
so common to warriors. The most interesting record we
have respecting the crowns of early English sovereigns is
that connected with Alfred the Great. In the inventory of
royal ornaments which were removed from Westminster
Abbey to the Tower at the time of the Commonwealth,
mention is made of a crown called " King Alfred's," and it
is described as of " gould wyerworke, sett with slight stones,
and two little bells." That the authentic crown of Alfred
should have been preserved through so many ages, may seem
almost incredible, yet a tradition of its existence may be
found in a very early writer, Robert of Gloucester, in. the
time of Henry III. The gold, weighing seventy-nine ounces
and a half, was valued by the commissioners of the Common-
wealth at three pounds per ounce, amounting to £248 IO5.
Sir Henry Spelman, in his " Life of Alfred," says, "In the
arched room of the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, where
the ancient regalia of this kingdom are kept ; upon a box
which is the cabinet to the ancientest crown, there is (as I
am informed) an inscription to this purpose : — haec est prin-
cipalior corona cum qua coronabantur reges -^Ifredus,
Edwardus, etc., and the crown is of a very ancient work,
with flowers adorned with stones of somewhat a plain
setting."
Mr. Planche, in his " Regal Records," says, " Mr. Taylor,
who has quoted this passage in his ' Glory of Regality,' as
tending to prove the existence of King Alfred's crown, does
not seem to have been struck with the fact that if it were
indeed that king's, it was also that of Edward the Con-
fessor ; a most interesting circumstance, and by no means
improbable, as the veneration in which Alfred must have
been held by all Anglo-Saxon monarchs would naturally
have induced them to preserve his crown, the first crown of
England (properly so called, because, previously to the
election of Alfred, we hear only of ' election ' and ' con-
* Aldhelm (" de Laud. Yirg.," 298) remarks that " the gem.bearing
belts and diadems of kings, and various instruments of glory, were made
from the tools of iron."
30
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
secration,' and ever afterwards of 'coronation'), and to be
crowned with it themselves ; more particularly if there be
any truth in the story of that identical crown having been
sanctified by Pope Leo the Fourth ; a tradition alluded to by
E/obei*t of Gloucester, who saj^s, ' the Pope Leon him
blessed,' as well as the ' king's crown of this land,' " which
" he adds, ' in this land yet is,' thereby distinctly asserting that
a crown considered
as Alfred's was in
existence in the thir-
teenth century. In
my opinion, there-
fore," remarks Mr.
Planche, " the diadem
with which it was
customary to crown
all the kings of Eng-
land was King Alfred's
crown, and only St.
Edward's the Confes-
sor, because it bad
descended to him, and
had been entrusted by
him to the care of the
abbot and monks of
Westminster."
Athelstan and some
of his successors in the
regal dignity, appear
in crowns somewhat
like the coronets of
our earls, with slight
differences, such as
would occur where
each monarch would
have his crown made
to fit him, to be worn
on ordinary state oc-
casions. That there
were different crowns
is evident from illuminations and deeds of these periods. A
book of grants made by King Edgar to the Abbey of West-
minister, in 966 (preserved among the Cottoniau MSS. in
King Edgar. From Cottonian MS., Tiberius A. iii.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND. 51
the Britisli Museum, marked Vespasianus A. viii.), represents
that monarch wearing an open crown, with three folinted
pinnacles of the plainest character, without any jewels, and
such as are generally seen in Anglo-Saxon illuminations;
but varieties are also found, and we cannot now discriminate
between the fanciful designs of the artist and a faithful
representation of an actual crown of the period. In the
Cottonian collection (Tiberius A, iii.), Edgar is represented
wearing a square crown, of which extremely inconvenient
shape many examples are to be met with in Frankish and
Anglo-Saxon manuscripts of the tenth and eleventh centu-
ries ; but in this instance it is apparently jewelled, and is,
otherwise, more tastefully ornamented on the upper rim.
Edward the Martyr, son of Edgar, is represented on his
coins with crowns of various shapes. A radiated cap appears
first on a coin of Ethelred II., and the trefoil ornament is
upon a few of the coins of Canute.* The close, or arched,
crown is seen on some of the Confessor's coins ; upon his
great seal he is shown wearing the kyne-helme, or royal
helmet ; " much," says Spelraan, " like that of the Eastern
emperors." t Harold II. has a richly decorated croAvn,
* After the well-known rebuke of this king to his conrtiers, who, we
are told, flattered him grossly when walking on the sea-shore, he is said
from that day to have placed his golden crown upon the altar of
Winchester Cathedral, and never to have worn it afterwards. Canute
the Great, whose ambition could not be bounded even by three kingdoms,
has not retained so much as a grave for himself and his beloved queen
Emma. The presentiment of the perishableness of all earthly power
that seized him when he deposited his golden crown in the same place
has, in truth, been fulfilled. He was first buried in the old convent of
St. Peter's at Winchester, but his body was afterwards removed into the
grand choir of the cathedral, where both his and his son Hardicanute's
tombs are still to be seen. In Cromwell's time the coffins of the kings
in the choir were broken open, and the bones dispersed, but they were
afterwards collected as far as could be done, and again placed in coffins
in the choir.
t On opening the chest containing the body of this monarch, during
the reign of James II., the skull was found entire and encircled by
a band or diadem of gold, one inch in breadth. According to William
of Malmesbury, the diadems at this period were of great richness. He
relates that, at the marriage of a daughter of this king to Hugh, Count
of Paris, '* there was a diadem precious from its quantity of gold, but
more so for its jewels, the splendour of which threw sparks of light so
strongly on the beholder that the more steadfastly any person endea-
voured to gaze, so much the more he was dazzled, and compelled to avert
the eyes."
32 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
exhibiting the pendants that hung from the back of it ; in
one illumination he is seen in a square crown. The crown
represented in the Bayeux tapestry seems to be one of
fleurs-de-lys, which is the form of crown worn by Edward
the Confessor on his death-bed, and in the earlier scenes ; it
differs from that which is shown as being offered to Harold.
" It is worthy of remark," says Dr. Freeman in his
" History of the Norman Conquest," " that the crown (repre-
sented in the Bayeux tapestry) as offered to Harold is of
a different and simpler form from that with which Harold
is shown as being crowned the next day. This last is the
same as that which Edward is always drawn as wearing,
even when supported in the arms of Robert on his death-bed.
This last representation is, of course, merely symbolical ; It
is simply as much as to say, ' This is the king.' The crown
thus symbolically drawn is doubtless the crown used at the
actual coronation, and £ilso on the great days when the king
' wore his cro^vn ' publicly. But this simpler crown, borne,
it w^ould seem, immediately from the chamber of the dead
king, suggests that such a crown was commonly kept at hand
near the king's person. Compare the well-known story of
Henry V. trying on the crown which was kept by his father's
bedside ; a story which may pass as authority for the custom,
whether true or not as to the fact. This crown, as easier
of access, would be the one offered to the king elect, as the
symbol of the kingdom, while the crown of greater ceremony
would of course be used in the great rite of the morrow."
William the Conqueror is seen with a crown of singular
shape, in a curious manuscript of that period, preserved at
Bouen ; it is a combination of cap and crown. A new crown
enriched with gems was prepared for his coronation. Guy of
Amiens says —
" Auro vel pretntnis jubct ut sibi nobile stemma,
Illud quo deceat fiat ab artifice."
He gives twenty-four lines to a description of the jewels.
•' Why," inquires Dr. Freeman, " did \Villiam have a new
crown made r" One would have thought that he would have
made a special point of being crowned with the crown which
had been worn by Edward. Was it held to be desec^rated by
the irregular coronation of Harold? " The Saxon chronicles
describe William as wearing the regal helmet thrice every
year when he was in England : at Easter, he wore it at
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND.
33
Winchester ; during Whitsuntide, at Westminster ; and the
Christmas, at Gloucester. The Noi-man kiugs were ac-
customed to wear their crowns on
all great occasions, and these were
placed on their heads Avith much
solemnity by the Archbishop of
Canterbury, or some prelate deputed
by him to perform that office.*
Upon his great seal the Conqueror
wears a circle and three rays, raised
very high, their points terminating
in crosses, having a pearl, or pellet,
at each front of the cross, and two
fleurons between the rays. William
Rufus is also represented with a
radiated crown, with pearls on the
points, without fleurons.
The crowns of William the Con-
queror and William Rufus, the first
Norman kings of England, are seen,
also, as nearly similar in form to
the arched one of the Confessor on
his silver coins. Froissart, in his
account of the coronation of Henry
IV. of England, distinctly describes
the crown of St. Edward as "archee
en croix," which may be translated
either " arched across " by a single
bar, or " arched in form of a cross "
by two intersecting circles, which
would render it more like the
ancient crowns.
The earliest form of the crown
worn by the English kings after
the Conquest, which appears from
various illuminations closely to re-
semble the crowns of the Anglo-
Saxon princes, is exemplified in the
effigies of Henry II. and his queen Alianore ; of Richard I.
Berengaria, Queen of Richard I.
* It is reported of King Edward I. that " whereas the kings of
England before his time used to wear their crowns upon all solemn
feast days, he first omitted that custom, saying, merrily, that crowns
do rather onerate than honour princes." Afterwards the practice
D
34 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and Isabella of Angouleme, at Fontevraud ; of Berengaria,*
at L'Espan, near Mans ; and of John, at Worcester. The
crown of the latter monarch is a richly jewelled circlet of
gold, heightened with what may be entitled heraldic straw-
berry-leaves. These crowns were, doubtless, enriched with
real or imitation jewels, and other adornments.
Henry I., according to his great seal, wears a crown open
and round, surmounted by three knobs or pinnacles, and
having appendages on either side, thought to have been used
for fastening it under the chin. They were distinguishable,
more or less, upon the coins of the Williams. Gervase of
Canterbury relates a remarkable anecdote of Archbishop
Kalph, the successor of Anselm, snatching the crown from
the head of Henry I., and breaking the ansula, or clasp, by
the fastening of which it was kept on the head. (See
chapter on " Omens and Incidents at Coronations.")
According to the seal of Adelicia, queen-consort of Henry
I., pendent to the charter she gave Reading Abbey, her crown
was simple : a smooth band of gold with rims, in which
circlet three large gems are set ; three high points rise from
it, each terminated with a trefoil of pearls ; a cap of satin or
velvet is seen just above the circlet.
Stephen is represented, on a silver coin that was in the
collection of the late Sir Henry Ellis, with an open crown,
richly jewelled, the edges bordered with pearls and sur-
mounted by leaves.
The croAvn carried before Richard I. at his coronation is
stated to have been a large one, set with rich jewels, so heavy
that two earls supported it after it w^as placed on his head.
King John, according to William of Malmesbury, was
first crowned Duke of Normandy at Rouen, with a golden
circle, or coronet, adorned with roses, curiously wrought.
This monarch appears to have had several crowns of state.
In 1204, amongst other valuables taken by his order to
became forgotten. When the tomb of this monarch was opened in
1774, the body of the king was discovered, almost entire, with a crown
of tin gilt upon his head, a sceptre of copper gilt in his right hand, and
a sceptre and dove of the same materials in his left ; and in this state
he is still lying.
* The effigy of Queen Berengaria at L'Espan represents her with a
regal diadem of peculiar splendour, studded with several bands of gems,
and surmounted by fleurs-de-lys, to which so much foliage is added as
to give it the appearance of a double crown — perhaps because she was
crowned Queen of Cyprus as well as of England.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND.
35
Reading, by the masters and almoner of tlie New Temple,
who had usually, ♦at that time, the crown jewels and regalia
in keeping, mention is made of " our golden crown made in
London." Four years later, the king received from Germany
a present from the Emperor Henry YI. of a large and
splendid crown, and other ensigns of royalty, of a very rich
character. These " valuables " were, however, swept away,
as King John was crossing the Wash between Lincolnshire
and Norfolk (October 14, 1216). So complete was the loss,
that on the accession of his son, Henry III., a few days
afterwards, it was necessary to crown him at Gloucester with
a simple fillet of gold, London being
at that time in the hands of Louis
of France, and the ancient crown
of England not being attainable for
the purpose.*
King Henry III.
On the monument of King John
in Worcester Cathedral he is repre-
sented, as before observed, with a
crown composed of eight leaves,
alternating large and small, and in
form they are almost true trefoils. Henry III. appears on his
* This want was but temporary, for Matthew Paris tells us that on
the occasion of King Henry knighting William of Yalence, Earl of
Effigy of King John.
36 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
effigy at Fontevraud with a crown of trefoil leaves of two sizes,
a slightly raised point intervening between each pair of the
leaves. On his first great seal he has the open crown and
plain diadem. In the forty-sixth year of his reign Henry
had three gold crowns, which he sent to Paris during the
troubles of his sovereignty, and confided them to the care
of Margaret, Queen of France. Edward I. is represented
with a plain crown, a circle of gold, ornamented with jewels
and leaves. In an illuminated manuscript he is delineated
Avitli a bishop on each side, extending a hand to sustain the
crown — a necessary office where it did not fit the royal
head. This was likewise done, probably, over the heads
of the crowned children, Richard II., Henry VI., and
Edward YI.
The crown on the effigy of Edward II., at Gloucester,
is formed of four large and four small oak leaves, rising
vn.th graceful curves from the jewelled circlet, and having
eight small flowers alternate with the leaves. Edward III.
has the coronet and cap on his first great seal, with three
strawberry leaves, and an ornament composed of three pearls
alternately ; but on his second great seal he is represented
with an open crown and three flowers. This monarch, on
the deposition of his father, received the crown, sceptre, and
other ensigns of sovereignty from the hands of the commis-
sioners appointed to receive them from the deposed king at
Kenilworth. Edward pledged his crown and jewels to the
merchants of Flanders in the seventeenth year of his reign to
defray his expenses in the French wars. According to Rymer,
he frequently pledged his crown, and on one occasion to the
Bishop of Treves for twenty-five thousand florins.
In the Westminster portrait of Richard II., " the unhappy,
beautiful prince " is represented with a crown highly enriched
Pembroke, ho was seated on his throne in a splendid robe, having a
coronet of gold upon his head, commonly called a " garland ; " and in the
inventory of jewels belonging to this monarch, taken in the fifty-sixth
year of his reign, mention is made of five " garlands" of gold, of Paris
work, valued at £27 13s. 9d. In the same inventory we find a large and
valuable crown ; and immediately follow three other crowns of gold
enriched with precious stones, which are estimated at £336 13s. 4d. ; also
an imperial cap, or hat^ embellished with jewels.
When Isabel, sister of Henry III., was aflRanced to the Emperor
Frederic, she had with her (according to Matthew Paris) a crown of
most curious woi'kmanship, made on purpose for her, of pure gold
enriched with precious stones.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND,
37
with precious stones, a circlet with raised pinnacles A crown
which belonged to this monarch was pledged by Henry V.
to the Abbot of Westminster. It is simply called " the crown
of the late King Richard." Shakspeare alludes to this crown
in " Richard II. : " Redeem from broking pawn the blemished
crown."
The crown of Henry IV., the first king of the house of
Lancaster, as exhibited on his effigy in Canterbury Cathedral,
was massive and splendid, highly
jewelled and ornamented. The circlet
is decorated with eight strawberry
leaves and as many fleurs-de-lys, the
whole alternating with sixteen groups
of pearls, three in each. This may
have been the famous " Harry " crown
which was broken up by his succes-
sor, and the splendid jewels pledged
to different parties to raise money for
his expedition to France.*
Henry V. appears in the minia-
ture of a book that once belonged to
him (now in Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge) with a plain crown, a
gold circlet, with, perhaps, six pin-
nacles— only four of which are visible
— surmounted by trefoil ornaments.
The head of the king's effigy in West-
minster Abbey, having been of silver, was stolen, crown and
all, in the reign of Henry VIII.
Selden had read that Henry V. was the first English
monarch who wore the arched, crown ; and in a window of
Ockholt manor-house, in Berkshire, there remained, until
within a few years past, the arms of Henry VI. and his queen,
King Henry IV. From his
eflBgy at Canterbury.
* The names of these persons are recorded : — " To Sir John Colvyll
■was pledged a great flear-de-lys of the said crown, garnished with one
great balays (ruby of a pink colour), and one other balays, one ruby,
three great saphires, and two great pearls. To John Pndsey, Esq., a pin.
nacle of the aforesaid crown. To Maurice Brune and John Saundish,
two other pinnacles of the crown similarly garnished." Henry also
pawned a great circle of gold, garnished with fifty-six balays, forty
sapphires, eight diamonds, and seven great pearls, weighing altogether
four pounds, and valued at eight hundred pounds sterling. Rymer records
that the costly fragments of the crown were redeemed in the eighth and
ninth years of King Henry VI.
38 CROlViVS AND CORONATIONS.
Margaret of Anjou, in separate coats, both surmounted by
the arch-barred crowns. Mr. Boutell says that the arched
crown was introduced by Henry V. probably when a simpler
emblem of royalty was constructed, on the breaking up of the
more costly and precious crown of his father.*
In what was called the " Harry " crown was a great fleur-
de-lys, "garnished with one great balays, and one other
balays, one ruby, three great saphires, and two great pearls,"
and the pinnacle of the crown was " garnished with, two great
saphires, one square balays, and six pearls." It is stated that
at Agincourt, after mass, they brought the armour for the
head of Henry V., which was a very handsome bascinet, upon
which he had a very rich crown of gold (a description and
valuation of "la couronne d'or pur le bascinet," garnished
with rubies, sapphires, and pearls, to the amount of £679 5.s-.,
is to be seen in the Rolls of Parliament, vol. iv. p. 215),
circled like an imperial crown. This was twice struck and
injured by the blows of his enemies. The Duke of Alen-
9on struck oft' part of it with his battle-axe, and one of the
points or flowers was cut off by a French esquire, who,
with seventeen others, swore to perform some such feat or
perish.
A manuscript in the Bibliotheque Rationale at Paris con-
tains the proceedings in a suit of Gaucourt against Destoute-
ville, in connection with the recovery of the crown and
jewels lost by King Henry at Agincourt. Gaucourt had been
taken prisoner at Harfleur, and in order to obtain his release
offered to return to France and obtain these objects, which
also included a cross, containing a piece of the true cross, and
the chancery seal. Being permitted, he had the good fortune
to find these valuables ; but Henry is accused of having
broken his word, retaining Gaucourt in imprisonment, and
not even paying his expenses. Gaucourt accordingly claimed
foui-teen thousand crowns, " which the English king's conduct
* The crown of Don Pedro the Cruel was brought to England by the
heiresses of that king, one of whom married John of Gaunt, the other
the father of the Earl of Cambridge. The hitter intended, after a plot for
assassinating Henry V., to fly to the borders of Wales, where the Earl
of March was to declare his claims to the throne, and be crowned with
tlie royal crown of Spain, which was to pass witli tlie common people for
■the crown of England, and to be carried in the van of the army on a
cushion. This plot was frustrated by the refusal of the earl to assert his
rights or dispossess his friend and guardian. Cambridge was the king's*
near relation, having married Anne Mortimer, the sister of March.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND. 39
had caused him," and for which he considered Destouteville
was answerable with him.
The appearance of the English crown was greatly changed
in the reign of Henry VI., by the circlet being arched over
with jewelled bands of gold, and surmounting the enclosed
diadem with a mound and cross. Crosses occupy the positions
filled by strawberry leaves and roses, and fleurs-de-lys the
place of the small cluster of pearls. The arched crown at
first has the arches elevated almost to a point ; after a while
the arches are somewhat depressed at their intersection ; then
this depression is considerably increased, until at length, in
the reign of Queen Victoria, the arches which bend over
almost at right angles are flattened above at the intersection
where the mound rests upon them. At first, also, the arches
recede inwards from their spring from the circlet, then they
slightly project beyond the circlet, and now they rise almost
vertically.
Edward IV. is represented with a crown having six arches
springing from a jewelled circlet, adorned with fleurs-de-lys.
After the battle of Hexham, when the unfortunate Henry VI.
only escaped by the fieetness of his horse, the royal equipage
fell into the victor's possession, and he immediately used it
by being solemnly crowned at York. Henry's rich cap of
maintenance, or ahacot, having a double crown, was placed
upon his head.
The crown of Richard III., so fraught with retributive
misfortune, is represented in the Warwick Roll of John
Rous (preserved in the College of Arms), with four arches.
On his great seal there are four arches, springing from a
circlet, adorned with alternate crosses and fleurs-de-lys, sur-
mounted by the orb or mound. On the death of Richard, on
Bosworth Field, his crown was hidden by a soldier in a haw^-
thorn bush, but it was found by Sir Reginald Bray, and
carried to Lord Stanley, who placed it on the head of his
son-in-law, saluting him by the title of Henry VII. It was
in memory of this circumstance that the red-berried haw-
thorn was assumed as a device by the House of Tudor. The
loyal proverb of " Cleave to the crown though it hang on a
bush " alludes to the same incident. Among the devices on
the tomb of Henry VII. in Westminster Abbey are crowns in
bushes. The same is represented on the hall window at Stene,
in Northamptonshire, one of the family estates of the Brays.
According to the portrait of Rous, Queen Anne wore a
40
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
crown circle of alternate crosses and pearl trefoils. It has
four plain arches of gold, which meet on the top, under a
large pearl, on which is a little cross.
Henry VIII. is represented with a crown of four arches,
Richard III. From the Warwick Roll,
College of Arms, a.u. 1484.
Anne, queen of Richard Ilf. From the
Warwick Roll.
surmounted by the orb and cross. The velvet cap worn
inside the crown appears for the first time on the seals of this
monarch. The Tudor crown generally is displayed with
eight crosses, and as many fleurs-de-lys.*
* A cnrious reason for the " close" crown of the English monarclvfl
is given in a letter from Dr. Cuthbert Tunstall (afterwai'ds Bishop of
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND. 41
The crown of Edward VI. was found in an iron chest in
the Tower. It weighed two pounds one ounce, and. was
enriched with a fine diamond valued at £200 ; thirteen
other diamonds, ten rubies, one emerald, one sapphire valued
at £60, and seventy pearls. The gold was valued at
£73 I65. M., and the whole of the jewels at £355. This
was probably the " very rich crown " which, we are told, was
purposely made for the king, and the third with which he
was crowned at Westminster. On the great seal of this
monarch the arched crown, having an ogee curvature, appears
for the first time.
Queen Mary wore at her coronation three crowns : one
erroneously called St. Edward's, the imperial, and another
made purposely for this solemnity.
Queen Elizabeth wore two crowns at her coronation.
There are numerous illustrations of the crowns worn by this
sovereign, which dijBtered but little from that of her pre-
decessor. On her great seal, however, she is represented
wearing a small diadem, having eight arches.
The crown of James I. approximates the nearest in form
to the present imperial crown of England. It had eight arches.
In a curious inventory of the " jewelles remaining in an yron
cheste in the secrete Jewel house w'in the Tower of London "
is a description of the state crown and coronets of his Majesty.
The document was made in 1604, by command of the Earl of
Dorset, and its accuracy is authenticated by the royal auto-
graph being at the beginning and end : " fyrst, a crowne im-
peryale of gold sett about the nether border, with ix^" greate
pointed dyamondes, and betweene everye dyamonde a knott
of perle, sett by fyve perles in a knott in the upper border,
eight rock rubies, and xx"^ rounde perles, the fewer arches
being sett eche of them with a table dyamonde, a table rubye,
an emeralde, and uppon twoe of the arches xviij^" perles ; and
uppon the other two arches xvj*" perles ; and betweene
everye arche, a greate ballace, sett in a collet of golde, and
uppon the topp, a very greate ballace perced, and a little
cross of gold uppon the topp enamelled blewe.
Durham) to Henry VIIT., who was aiming at the imperial crown :
" Oon of the cheffe points in the election off th' emperor, is that he which
shal be electyd must be off Germanic, subgiet to [the] empire ; whereas
your Grace is not, nor never sithen the Christen faith the kings of
Englond were subgiet to th' empire. But the crown of Englond is an
empire of hitselff, mych bettyr then now the empire of Rome : for which
cause your Grace werith a close crown."
42
CROIVXS AND CORONATIONS.
Queen Elizabeth. From the original in the British Museum.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND. 43
" A coronett of golde, setfc about the nether border w"' iiij
blewe sapbyres,iiij ballaces,one emeralde, v roses of dyamondes,
and xiiif " round perles ; and about tlie upper border, sett
with three blewe saphyres, three ballaces, and vj quaters of
perles, everye quater having in the middle a small pointed
dyamond.
" A circle of golde sette w*^ a greate ballace rubye, viij
table dyamondes, Ik*^" emeraldes, xxxvj rocke rubyes, and Ixj
rounde perles."
On the great seal of James I. the crown is seen with eight
crosses, and eight flcurs-de-lys without any roses.
The state crown of Charles I. contained seven pounds
seven ounces of gold, and in one of the fleurs-de-lys was a
picture of the Virgin. In the " Antiquarian Repository "
there is an account of the valuation of this crown, which
was enriched with twenty-eight diamonds at £6 each,
£168 ; sapphires and rubies, £380 ; two emeralds, £5 ; two
hundred and thirty-two pearls at 155. each, £174 ; twenty-one
rubies, £16 ; the gold estimated at £40 per pound, with six
ounces abated for stones, £280 ; making in the whole £1023.
Sir Edward Walker, in his account of the coronation of
Charles II., says, " The master of the Jewel-house had orders
to provide two imperiall crownes, set with pretious stones ;
the one to be called St. Edward's crowne, wherewith the
king was to be crowned, and the other to be putt on after
his coronation before his Maj*'*^* retorne to Westminster Hall."
Also "two caps of purple velvett for the two crownes, turned
up with ermines." The coronation crown was enriched with
pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, with a
mound of gold on the top of it, encircled with a band or
fillet of gold, garnished also with precious stones, and three
very large oval pearls, one at the top, the others pendent to
the ends of the cross. The crown was formed of four crosses,
and as many fleurs-de-lys of gold, and set with precious
stones ; from the tops of the crosses rose four arches, which
met at the top in the form of a cross, at the intersection of
which was a pedestal, on which the mound was placed.
The crown of state was garnished with a profusion of
diamonds and other jewels, but was particularly remarkable
from being embellished with an emerald seven inches in cir-
cumference, a pearl of large size, and a ruby set in the middle
of one of the four crosses, esteemed (according to Sandford)
at £10,000.
44 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
A slight alteration made in the form of the crown, probably
at that time, or at the coronation of James II., brought it to
the shape in which it is represented in the fine work of Sand-
ford. The crown was taken to pieces, being too weighty, in
the reign of Queen Anne, and was, of course, altered, and
made suitable for George I. and his successors, George II, and
George III.
On the accession of George TV. an entirely new state
crown was made. The old one was broken up and another
made in 1 821, by the court jewellers, Rundell and Bridge. It
was larger, loftier, and more splendid than the former crown ;
in elevation fifteen inches ; the arches, instead of sinking in
their centre, were raised almost to a point, embossed, and
edged with brilliants, supporting an orb of brilliants more
than six inches in circumference. It was surmounted with
a diamond Maltese cross of exquisite workmanship, on the top
and sides of which were suspended three remarkably large
pearls. In front of the crown was a unique sapphire of the
purest and deepest azure, two inches long and one inch
broad, and at the back was the famous ruby worn by Edward
the Black Prince and Henry V. The sapphire and ruby were
each inserted in a Maltese cross of brilliants, and the other
parts of the crown were enriched with large diamond
flowers. The rim was encircled with diamonds, sapphires,
emeralds, and rubies of very considerable size, and the whole
was surrounded immediately above the ermine with large
pearls. This magnificent crown was estimated to be worth
£150,000, and the expenses upon it, preparatory to the
coronation of George IV., amounted to nearly £60,000 over
the addition of the inestimable sapphire. Crowned with this
superb ensign of sovereignty, which weighed five pounds
and a half, the king returned in the coronation procession
from the abbey, but on arriving at the hall his Majesty
exchanged it for one half that weight, made also by Rundell
and Bridge for the occasion, the jewels being lent for the
purpose. This light crown was broken up immediately after-
wards, but a private print of it exists, and was distributed at
the time by the makers.*
* In the " Greville Memoirs," under the date of August 10, 1831, \b
the following Btatement respecting the crown of Queen Adelaide : —
" Rode to Windsor to settle with the Queen what sort of crown she would
have to be crowned in. . . . She looked at the drawings, meant, ap-
parently, to be civil to me in her ungracious way, and said she would
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND.
45
The crown in which Queen Victoria appeared at her
coronation was also made by Rundell and Bridge, in 1838,
and is exceedingly costly and
elegant ; the design is in much
better taste than that of the
crowns of George IV. and Wil-
liam IV. The crown made for
the former of these monarchs
was much too large for the queen,
and the present one was made
with jewels taken from old
crowns, and others furnished by
command of her Majesty. It con-
sists of diamonds, rubies, pearls,
sapphires, and emeralds set in
silver and gold ; it has a crimson
velvet cap, with ermine border,
and is lined with white silk.
Its gross weight is thirty-nine
ounces five pennyweights troy. The lower part of the band,
above the ermine border, consists of a row of one hundred
State Crown of England.
have none of our crowns, that she did not like to wear a hired one, and
asked me if I thought it was right she should. "I said, ' Madam, I can
only say that the late King wore one at his coronation.' However, she
said, * I do not like it, and I have got jewels enough, so I will have them
made up myself.' The King said to me, ' Very well, then you will have
to pay for the setting.' ' Oh no,' she said, * I shall pay for it all
myself.' "
Haydon, in his "Autobiography" (1830), vol. ii. p. 236, has this odd
entry : " The crown at the coronation was not bought, but borrowed.
Rundell's price was £70,000, and Lord Liverpool told the King he could
not sanction such an expenditure. Rundell charged £7000 for the loan,
and as some time elapsed before it was decided whether the crown
should be bought or not, Rundell charged £3000 or £4000 more for
the interval."
There was a dispute about the will of George III., which he was
empowered to make by Act of Parliament in 1776. In the " Greville
Memoirs," under the date 1823, we read : " The King (George IV.)
conceives that the whole of the late King's property devolves upon him
personally, and not upon the Crown, and he has consequently appro-
priated to himself the whole of the money and jewels. . . . The King has
acted in a like manner with regard to the Queen's (Charlotte's) jewels.
She possessed a great quantity, some of which had been given her by
the late King on his marriage, and the rest she had received as presents
at different times. Those which the late King had given her, she con-
ceived to belong to the Crown, and left them back to the present King ;
46 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and twenty-nine pearls, and the upper part of the band of a
row of one hundred and twelve pearls, between which, in
front of the crown, is a large sapphire (partly drilled), said
to have been purchased for the crown by George IV.* At
the back is a sapphire of smaller size, and six other sapphires
(three on each side), between which are eight emeralds.
Above and below the several sapphires are fourteen diamonds,
and around the eight emeralds, one hundred and twenty-eight
diamonds. Between the emeralds and sapphires are sixteen
trefoil ornaments, containing one hundred and sixty diamonds.
Above the band are eight sapphires, surmounted by eight
diamonds, between which are eight festoons, consisting of
one hundred and forty-eight diamonds. In the front of the
crown, and in the centre of a diamond Maltese cross, is the
famous ruby, said to have been given to Edward Prince of
Wales, son of Edward III., by Don Pedro, King of Castile. t
the rest she left to her clanghters. The King has also appropriated the
Queen's (Caroline's) jewels to himself, and conceives they are hia
undoubted property. The Duke '(of York) thinks that the ministers
ought to have taken the opportunity of the coronation, rohen a new crown
was to he provided, to state to him the truth tvith regard to the jewels, and
to suggest that they should he converted to that purpose. This, however,
they dared not do, and so the matter remains."
* In the "Autobiography of Miss Knight" that lady mentions
(date 181 3) . that the Prince Eegent gave to the Princess Charlotte the
centre sapphire from the crown of Charles II., which the Prince had
received with the papers of the Stuart family from Rome. In the
" Greville Memoirs" the subject of this sapphire is also alluded to:
June 24, 1821, " The King dined at Devonshire house last Thursday
se'nnight. Lady Conynham had on her head a sapphire which belonged
to the Stuarts, and was given by Cardinal York to the King, He gave
it to the Princess Charlotte, and when she died he desired to have it
back, Leopold being informed it was a croWn jewel. This crown jewel
sparkled in the head-dress of the Marchioness at the ball. I ascertained
the Duke of York's sentiments on this subject the other day. He was
not particularly anxious to discuss it, but he said enough to show he has
no good opinion of her."
+ In the Alcazar at Seville, Pedro the Cruel (1353-1364) received the
red King of Granada with a promise of safe conduct, and then murdered
him for the sake of his jewels, one of which, a large ruby, he gave
to the Black Princo after Navarete, and which is the " fair ruby great
like a rocket-ball" which Elizabeth showed to the ambassador of Mary,
Queen of Scots, and now adorns the royal crown of England. Mr.
Speaker Onslow, observes Walpole ("Anecdotes of Painting"), has a
portrait of the l^ack Prince, which there is great reason to believe was
painted at the time. In his hat is represented a large ruby, exactly in
the shape of that now in the crown.
THE CROWNS OF ENGLAND. 47
It is pierced quite through, after the Eastern practice ; the
upper part of the piercing being filled up by a small ruby.
Around this ruby, to form the cross, are seventy-five brilliant
diamonds. Three other Maltese crosses, forming the two
sides and back of the crown, have emerald centres, and con-
tain, each, one hundred and thirty-two, one hundred and
twenty-four, and one hundred and thirty brilliant diamonds.
Between the four Maltese crosses are four ornaments, in the
shape of the French fleur-de-lys, with four rubies in the
centres, and surrounded by rose diamonds, containing re-
spectively eighty-five, eighty-six, and eighty-seven rose
diamonds. From the Maltese crosses issue four imperial
arches, composed of oak leaves and acorns, the leaves con-
taining seven hundred and twenty-eight rose, table, and
brilliant diamonds, twenty- two pearls forming the acorns,
set in cups containing fifty-four rose diamonds and one
table diamond. The total number of diamonds in the arches
and acorns is one hundred and eight brilliants, one hundred
and sixteen table, and five hundred and fifty-nine rose
diamonds. From the upper part of the arches are suspended
four large pendent pear-shaped pearls, with rose diamond
cups, containing twelve rose diamonds, and stems containing
twenty-four very small rose diamonds. Above the arch
stands the mound, containing, in the lower hemisphere,
three hundred and four brilliants, and in the upper, two
hundred and forty-four brilliants, the zone and arc being
composed of thirty-three rose diamonds. The cross on the
summit has a rose-cut sapphire in the centre, surrounded
by four large brilliants and one hundred and eight smaller
brilliants.
There is a tradition that the sapphire last mentioned came
out of the famous ring of Edward the Confessor, so long
treasured up in his shrine, and the possession of which was
supposed to give his successors the miraculous power of
blessing the cramp-rings. If this is at all probable, the stone
must have been recut for Charles II. (See chapter on the
" Regalia of England and Scotland.")
The total of the jewels in the imperial crown of England
may be thus comprised : one large ruby irregularly polished,
one large broad-spread sapphire, sixteen sapphires, eleven
emeralds, four rubies, one thousand three hundred and sixty-
three brilliant diamonds, one thousand two hundred and
seventy-three rose diamonds, one hundred and forty-seven
48
CROWNS AND C0R0NA7I0NS.
table diamonds, four drop-shaped pearls, and two hundred
and seventy-three pearls.
A pearl from the mouth of the river Conway, where,
Suetonius informs us, was a pearl fishery in the time of the
Roman occupation, was presented to the queen of Charles II.
by Sir R. Wynne, and is said to have found a place among
the jewels that now adorn the British crown.
From the time of Henry VII. until the reign of Charles I.,
no important change took place in the fashion of the crown,
except the introduction of
the velvet cap, which first
appears on the great seal of
Henry VIII. On the second
great seal of Charles, which
was brought into use in the
year 1640, the imperial crown
assumed the shape it con-
tinued to bear until the ac-
cession of Queen Victoria,
except that between the
crosses and fleurs-de-lys on
the rim there was placed a
small ray, having a pearl on
the top ; a row of pearls sur-
rounding the lower edge in the place of the ermine.
The crown of England (a representation of which is
given) is that worn on minor occasions of state. It is of
similar design to that last described, but principally gold-
smith work, with comparatively few jewels introduced.
Crown of England.
( 49 )
CHAPTER III.
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.
** 'Tis not the balm, the sceptre, and the ball,
The sword, the mace, the crown imperial,
The intertissued robes of gold and pearl,
The farsed title running 'fore the king.
The throne he sits on, nor the tide of pomp
That beats upon the high shore of this world ;
No, not all these thrice gorgeous ceremonies,
Not all these, laid in bed raajestical,
Can sleep so soundly as the wretched slave."
Shakespeare.
X the time of Edward the Con-
fessor the depository of the Re-
galia and other State treasures
appears to have been in West-
minster Abbey,* in what is now
called the " Chapel of the Pyx."
Hugolin, the chamberlain of that
monarch, was entrusted with the
charge. Here were lodged the
emblems of sovereignty of the
Saxon kings : and, at later times,
the black rood of St. Margaret
(the holy cross of Holyrood),
from Scotland ; the cross of St.
ISTeot, from Wales, deposited here
by Edward 1. ; the sceptre, or rod,
of Moses ; the ampulla of Henry IV. ; the sword with which
King Athelstan cut through the rock at Dunbar ; the sword
* "In the eastern cloister at Westminster," says Dean Stanley, "is
an ancient double door, which can never be opened except by the officers
of the Government or their representatives, now the Lords of the
Treasury (till recently the Comptroller of the Exchequer), bearing seven
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THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 51
of Way land Smith, by whicli Henry II. was knighted ; the
sword of Tristan, presented to King John by the emperor ;
the dagger which wounded Edward I. at Acre ; and the iron
gauntlet worn by King John of France when taken prisoner
at Poitiers.
At the coronation of the Norman kings the regalia, as
connected with Edward the Confessor, were used. They
were strictly Anglo-Saxon by their traditional names — the
crown of Alfred, or of St. Edward, for the king ; the crown
of Edith, wife of the Conqueror, for the queen. The sceptre
with the dove w^as a reminiscence of Edward's peaceful days,
after the expulsion of the Danes ; the gloves were a perpetual
reminder of the abolition of the Danegelt — a token that the
king's hands should be moderate in taking taxes. The ring
wath w^hich, as the doge to the Adriatic, so the king to his
people, was wedded, was the ring of the "pilgrim." The
coronation robe of Edward was solemnly exhibited in the
abbey twice a year, at Christmas and on the festival of its
patron saints, St. Peter and St. Paul. The " great stone
chalice " which was borne by the chancellor to the altar, and
out of which the Abbot of Westminster administered the
sacramental wine, was believed to have been prized at a very
high sum in St. Edward's days.
In the reign of King John the crown jewels appear to
have been lodged for security in the Temple and at the
Tower. In 1204 some of the reo^alia were taken to Readinof
by the master and almoner of the New Temple, and delivered
to the monarch preparatory to his celebrating the feast of
Christmas in that town. A list of these precious articles,
preserved in the State documents formerly in the Tower,
commences with " Coronam nostram auream factam apud
London."
Henry II., when he was carried forth to be buried (1189),
was, we are told, first apparelled in his princely robes, having
a crown on his head, gloves on his hand, and shoes on his
feet, wrought with gold ; spurs on his heels, a ring of gold on
keys, some of them of huge dimensions, that alone could admit to the
chamber within. That chamber, which belongs to the Norman sub-
etnictions underneath the dormitory, is no less than the Treasury of
England. Here it was, that probably immediately after the Conquest,
the kings determined to lodge their treasures under the guardianship of
the inviolable sanctuary which St. Peter had consecrated, and the bones
of the Confessor had sanctified."
52 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
his finger, a sceptre in his hand, his sword by his side, and
his face uncovered. But this regalia was of a strange nature ;
for the corpse of Henry, like that of the Conqueror, had
been stripped and plundered, and when those who were
charged with the funeral demanded the ornaments in which
Henry was to lie in state, the treasurer, as a favour, sent a
ring of little value and an old sceptre. As for the crown in
which the warlike brow of Henry was encircled, it was but
the gold fringe from a lady's petticoat, torn off for the occasion,
and in this odd attire the greatest monarch of the world,
stripped of his regalia, went down to his last abode.
In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Henry IH. the
regalia were sent, sealed up, to the Tower of London. It was
customary for the king, when travelling abroad, to have the
regalia carried with him. On the return of Henry from
France, in 1230, he commanded the Bishop of Carlisle to
replace the jewels in the Tower, as they had been before.
They were under the care of a keeper appointed by the king's
letters-patent, who had a stated salary. During the troubles
which embittered the latter part of his reign the crown
jewels and his plate were conveyed abroad, and confided to
the care of Margaret, Queen of France. They were laid up
in the Temple at Paris, and afterwards pledged to certain
merchants of that nation in order to raise money, so much
was Henry reduced by the rebellion of his barons. In 1272,
the year of the king's death, they were redeemed and brought
back into England; and we find in the State documents
(mentioned in the " Foedcra," vol. i. pars 1, p. 482) not ouly
a list of them, but a statement of their respective values.
It would seem that a portion of the regalia at least,
was kept in the treasury at Westminster in the reign of
Edward I., from a curious circumstance that happened in
1303, during the period when that monarch was engaged in
the Scottish wars. A messenger reached him at Linlithgow
with the news that the immense hoard of money on which he
depended for his supplies had been carried off. The chief
robber appears to have been one Richard de Podlicote, a
monk of Westminster, who had climbed by a ladder near the
palace gate, through a window of the chapter' house, and
broke oj)on the door of the refectory, whence he carried off a
considerable amount of silver plate. The more audacious
attempt on the treasury, the position of which he had then
ascertained, he concerted with friends partly within and
■ THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 53
partly without the precincts. Any one who had passed
through the cloisters in the early spring of tbat year must
have been struck by the unusual appearance of a crop of
hemp, springing up over the grassy graves, and the gardener
who came to mow the grass and carry off the herbage was
constantly refused admittance. In that tangled hemp, sown
and grown, it was believed, for this special purpose, was
concealed the treasure after it was taken out. In two large
black panniers it was conveyed away across the river to the
king's bridge or pier, where now is Westminster Bridge, by
the monk Alexander, of Pershore, and others, who returned
in a boat to the Abbot's Mill, on the Mill Bank. The broken
boxes, the jewels scattered on the floor, the ring with which
Henry III. was consecrated, the privy seal of the king him-
self, revealed the deed to the astonished eyes of the royal
officers when they came to investigate the rumour. The
abbot and forty-eight monks were taken to the Tower, and a
long trial took place. The abbot and the rest of the fraternity
were released, but the charge was brought home to the sub-
prior and the sacrist. The architecture still bears its protest
asrainst the treason and the boldness of the robbers. The
approach from the northern side was walled off, and the
treasury reduced by one-third.
After this event the more valuable contents of the
treasury were removed elsewhere ; the regalia, relics, and
records remained at Westminster, but these were after the
Restoration removed to the- Tower. Edward I. had his full
share of imperial regalia. It would seem (Rymer's " Foedera ")
that the crown, or coronet, of Llewellyn-ap- Griffith, Prince of
Wales, became his property on the capture (June 21, 1283),
or shortly after, of his brother David-ap- Griffith, Lord of
Denbigh, who had assumed the Welsh sovereignty on the
demise of Llewellyn ; the Princess Catherine, daughter and
heiress of the latter, and de jure sovereign Princess of Wales,
being then an infant. We read that Alphonso, about 1280,
offered the crown, and other jewels, at the shrine of Edward
the Confessor. That some of the crown jewels were deposited
in the Tower in the reign of Edward III. appears from the
grant of that monarch of the office of keeper of his jewels,
armouries, and other things in the Tower, to John de Flete,
during pleasure, with wages of "twelve pence per diem;"
and afterwards, in the same reign, it was enjoyed by John
de Mildenhall. In the fourteenth year of Edward III., certain
54 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
jewels are described as " en la Blanche Tour deinz la Tour de
Londrcs." There is another similar mention in the eighteenth
year of his reign, and in the thirtieth year we read of the
" Tresorie deinz la haute Toure de Londres^
In the " Liber Regalis " we find that the abbot and monks
of Westminster had charge of the regalia and coronation
robes. The right of the monastery as guardian of the
national insignia was established by the foundation charter
of Edward the Confessor, confirmed by the contemporary
bull of Pope Nicholas II., and the subsequent ones of Popes
Pascaland Innocent II., under every sanction that ecclesiastical
or civil authority could afford ; and there is every reason to
believe that it was held sacred till the privileges of the
I'eligious houses were subverted by Henry VIII. ; after which
period, the more valuable parts of the regalia were removed
to the royal treasury, in the Tower of London, and kept, like
the heirlooms of a family, by the possessors of the throne.
The precise time at which this removal took place cannot
exactly be traced ; it is likely, indeed, that during the
interval between the Reformation and the Civil War, the
regalia were deposited, part in the Tower and part at West-
minster Abbey, as convenience or accident might dictate.
Thomas Cromwell, afterwards Earl of Essex, was ap-
pointed master and treasurer of the jewel-house by Henry
VIIL, and besides the care of the regalia in the Tower, he had
the purchasing and custody of all the royal plate, and other
duties connected with the office.*
In public processions he had precedence next to privy
councillors ; at coronations he wore a scarlet robe, and dined
at the barons' table in AVestminster Hall ; and at opening
and closing sessions of Parliament, and on passing of bills,
when the king appeared in his robes, -he attended to put on
* The salary attached to this appointment of keeper of the jewel-
house was only £50 per annum, but his perquisites were very con-
siderable, and in the reign of Charles II., after they had undergone
considei-able reduction, amounted to £1300 yearly. He was allowed
a table of fourteen dishes, with beer, wine, etc., or thirty-eight shillings
daily for board wages. Three hundred pounds came to him every
year out of the New Year's gift money ; . and about £300 more he
obtained by cari'ying presents to ambassadors. lie had an allowance of
twenty-eight ounces of gilt plate yearly, and the small presents sent
to the king, anciently valued at £30 or £10; as also the purses wherein
the lords presented their gold, which were usually worth £30 or £-i0
each.
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 55
and take off tlie crown from his Majesty's head. These and
other privileges and emoluments were enjoyed by Sir Henry
Mildmay, who was master and treasurer of the jewel-house
during the interregnum ; but on the restoration of Charles II.,
and the attainder of Sir Henry, the office was given to Sir
Gilbert Talbot,* when, at the instance of Lord Chancellor
Hyde, many of the perquisites were either abolished, or came
into other hands ; and since that period all the duties and
advantages of the place have either been done away with, or
have merged in the office of the lord chamberlain, except
the custody of the regalia in the Tower, the appointment to
which is, also, in his lordship's gift.
Of the various precious objects comprising the regalia of
England in the time of James I., we have the following list
of " necessaries to be prouided by the M'. of the Jewell
House, the daye of the king and queen's coronacion," as
preserved in the Cottonian MSS. : —
" A circle of gold for the queen to weare, when shee goeth
to her coronacon. The king's ringe. The queene's rynge.
St. Edward's crowne, if it be in hys custody e. Two other
wearing crownes for the king and queen, to be sett readye
vpon St. Edward's altar, for the king and queen to put on
after theire coronacon. Two pointed swords. The sword
called Curtana. The orbe, the scepter, the armill. And
suche other regalls as hee hath in his custodye. Theis are
all the particular necessaries which for the present I fynd to
be proiiided by the M*". of the Jewel house." Signed by
Willm. Segar, Garter."
In a tract entitled " England's Farewell to the King of
Denmark," printed in Nicholls's " Progresses of James the
First," the writer gives an account of a royal visit to the
jewel-house in 1601 : " At the Tower, our gracious sovereign,
his dear esteemed brother King James, met his Highness,
and with kingly welcomes entertained him, and in his own
person, conducted him to the offices of the Jewel-house,
Wardrobe, of the Ordnance, Mint, and other places, where to
their kingly presence in the Jewel-house, were presented the
most rare and richest jewels, and beautiful plate, so that
he might well wonder thereat, but cannot truly praise or
estimate the value thereof by many thousands of pounds —
* In the " Flagellum Parliamentarian," 1671 (ascribed to Andrew
Marvell)j Sir Gilbert Talbot is described by the satirist as " the Kind's
Jeweller, a great cheat at bowls and cards, not born to a shilling."
56 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
the like in the wardrobe,* whereat for robes beset with stones
of great price, fair and precious pearl and gold, were such
as no king in the world might compare."
Two years previous to this royal visit, a descriptive
inventory of the crown jewels was made, under the authority
of a warrant of privy seal ; the original of which, signed at
the beginning and the end with the king's own hand, is
preserved among the records at Westminster. This document
is entitled, " a book conteyninge the remayne of all suche
Jewells and other p'cells as are remayninge in the Kinges
ma^ secrete Jewel-house w*''in the Tower."
" The Iniperial Crown, ■which is the first-mentioned article, is thus
described : ' A crowne imperyall of golde sett about the nether border
w* ix*'" greate pointed dyamondes, and betwene everye dyamonde aknott
of perlo, sett by fyve perles in a knott, in the upper border eight rocke
rabies and xx*^'*^ rounde perles, the fower arches being sett eche of them
w*'* a table dyamonde, a table rubye, an emeralde, and uppon twoe of
the arches xviij'" perles, and uppon the other twoe arches xvij*'" perles,
and betwene everye arche a greate ballace sett in a collett of golde, and
uppon the topp a ver\'e greate ballace perced, and a lytle crosse of golde
uppon the topp enamelled blewe.'
"A'coronett of golde, sett with sapphirs, ballaces, dyamondes,
perles, etc.,' is next described; and, after that, 'a circlett of golde,
sette w*'' a greate ballace rubye, viij table dyamondes, ix"' emeraldes,
xxxvj rocke rubyes and Lvj x'ounde perles.' Then follow : ' one circlett,
newe made for the queue, conteyninge in the myddest viij fay re
dyamondes, of djverse fashions, viij fayre rubyes, viij emeraldes, and
viij saphyrs, garnished w*'* xxxij smalle dyamondes, xxxij smalle rubyes
and Lxiiij"*" p'les fixed, and on eche border xxxij smalle dyamondes, and
xxxij smalle rubyes.'
" There are also enumerated fifteen golden collars, all of different
workmanship, and adorned with precious stones ; a great variety of
rings, brooches, and buttons, the latter chiefly of gold set with diamonds
and pearls ; a number of minor pieces of jewellery, and among them ' a
lardge agatt, graven w*'' the picture of Kinge llenrie the viij, and Kinge
Edwarde the vj"',' and, *a greate and ryche jewcll of golde called the
Myrror of Greate Brytaigne, conteyninge one verye fayro table dyamonde,
one verye fayre table rubye, twoe other lardge dyamondes cut lozenge-
wise, th' one of them called the stone of the I're H. of Scottlande,
garnished w*^'' smalle dyamondes twoe rounde perles fixed, and one fayre
dyamonde cut in fawcetis, bought of Sauncy.' Besides these, the Jewel-
house contained a variety of costly royal ornaments, such as golden
* Of the wardrobe in the Tower, frequent mention is made in early
records, not merely as the repository of the royal robes, armour, etc.,
but as a treasury, where moneys were deposited till they were admitted
to tbe receipt of exchequer.
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 57
flowers and feathers, set with diamoncls, rubies, etc., 'dyverse antiquities
in a purse of blacke velvett,' a great two-handed sword, garnished with
silver and gilt, and numerous ornaments which had been given by his
Majesty to the Queen. Amongst the latter the most curious was, ' a
fayre tablett w*'* a crosse of xxiij dyamondes on the one syde, and
a worde conteyninge sixtene I'res of dyamondes, Dieu, et man droyt w^^
a lytle knobb pendaunte, therein two little table dyamondes and twoe
rubyes, w*^ a clocke in it.' "
At the accession of Charles I. there belonged to the
crown, "one Suite of goulde, called the Morris Daunce.^^ Its
foot was garnished with six great sapphires, fifteen diamonds,
thirty-seven rubies, and forty-two small pearls ; upon the
border about the shank, twelve diamonds, eighteen rubies,
and fifty-two pearls, and standing about that yveve Jive morris-
dancers, having amongst them thirteen small garnishing
pearls and one ruby. The lady holding the salt had upon
her garment, from her foot to her face, fifteen pearls and
eighteen rubies ; upon the foot of the same salt were four
coarse rubies and four coarse diamonds ; upon the border,
about the middle of the salt, were four coarse diamonds,
seven rubies, and eight pearls: and upon the top of the said
salt, four diamonds, four rubies, and three great pearls ; the
lady had upon the tyre of her head, ten rubies, twelve
diamonds, and twenty-nine garnishing pearls.
By a special warrant of Charles I., dated at Hampton Court,
December 7, 1625, a large quantity of gold plate and jewels
of great value, which had long continued, as it were, in a
continual descent from the crown of England, were transferred
to the Duke of Buckingham and the Earl of Holland,
ambassadors extraordinary to the United Provinces, who were
thereby authorized to transport and dispose of them beyond
the seas, in such manner as the king had previously directed
these noblemen in private. The splendid gold salt called
the morris dance, above described, was disposed of among the
other precious heirlooms of the crown specified in the king's
warrant.
In Ellis's "Original Letters " (1st series, vol. iii. p. 151),
there is a letter from Mr. Mead to Sir Martin Stuteville,
dated May 16, 1623, stating that " there be jewels gone from
the Tower to Spain of six hundred thousand pounds value."
This must have been at the time when Prince Charles made
his quixotic expedition into that country, to court the
Infanta,
We now arrive at the period of the Commonwealth
58 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
when, as might be expected, the ref^alia would find little
mei'cy from the scorners of kingly dignity. On the 9th of
August, 1649, as appears from the " Journals," it was ordered
*' that those gentlemen who were appointed by this House to
have the custody of the regalia, to deliver them over unto
the trustees for sale of the goods of the late king, who are to
cause the same to he totally hrohen, and that they melt down
all the gold and silver, and sell the jewels to the best advan-
tage of the Commonwealth, and to take the like care of them
that are in the Tower." There is every reason to believe that
this order was executed, and that not only the regalia, but all
gold and silver articles, were melted down and sold. At this
period an inventory and appraisement was made, with a view
to the disposal of the rich objects of the crown. The list is
printed in the Archceologia (vol. xv. p. 285), from the
original manuscript : " A true and perfect Inventory of all
the Plate and Jewells now being in the upper Jewell House
of the Tower, in the charge of Sir Henry Mildmay, together
with an appraisem* of them, made and taken the 13th 14th
and 15th daies of August 1649."
£ s. d.
" The imperiall crowne of massy gold, weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz.
valued at ... .. ... ... ...'.
The queone's crowne of massy gold, weighing 3 lbs. 10 oz. ...
A small crowne found in an iron chest ; formerly in the
Lord Cottington's charge : * — the gold
the diamonds, rubies, sapphires, etc.
The globe, weighing 1 lb. 5 J oz.
Two coronation bracelets weighing 7 oz. (with three rnbies
and twelve pearls)
Two scepters weighing 18 oz.
A long rodd of silver gilt 1 lb. 5 oz.
The foreniencion'd crownes, since y® inventorie was taken,
are, accordinge to ord'' of parm* totallie broken and
defaced.
The inventory of that part of the regalia which are now re-
moved from Westminster Ahhey to the Jewel-house in the
Tower.
Queen Edith's crowne, formerly thought to be of massy
gould, but, upon trial, found to be of silver gilt; en-
riclied with garnetts, foule pearle, saphires, and some
odd stones, p. oz. 50^ oz., valued at ... ... 16 0 0
• From other accounts this appears to have been the crown of
Edward VI.
I
110
0
0
338
3
4
73
16
8
355
0
0
57
10
0
36
0
0
60
0
0
4
10
8
248
10
0
77
11
0
102
15
0
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 59
King Alfred's crowne of goulde wyerworke, sett with £ 5. d.
slight stones, and 2 little bells, p. oz. 79| oz. at £3
per oz.
A goulde plate dish, enamelled, etc.
One large glass cupp, wrought in figures, etc.
A dove of gould, sett with stones, and peai'le, per oz. 8| oz.,
in a box sett with studs of silver gilt ... ... 26 0 0
The gould and stones belonging to a coller of crimson
taflFaty, etc. ... ... ... ... ... 18 15 0
One staff of black and white ivory, with a dove on the top,
with binding and foote of goulde ... ... ... 4 10 0
A large staff with a dove on y'' top, formerly thought to be all
gould, but upon triall found to be, the lower part, wood
within, and silver gilt without ... ... ... 2 10 0
Two scept", one sett with pearles and stones, the upper end
gould, the lower end silver. The other silver gilt, with
a dove, formerly thought gould ... ... ... 65 16 lOJ
One silver spoone gilt, pr. oz. 3 oz. ... ... ... 0 16 0
The gould of the tassels of the livor cuU'd robe, weighing
4 oz. valued at £8, and the coat with the neck button
of gould £2, the robe having some pearle, valued at
£3 in all ... ... ... ... ... 13 0 0
All these according to order of parliament are broken and
defaced.
One paire of silver gilt spurres, etc. ... ... ... 1 13 4
An inventory of the regalia now in Westminster Ahhey, in an
iron chest, where they were formerly kept.
One crimson taffaty robe, very old, valued at
One robe, laced with gould lace, valued at
One livor culP*^ silke robe, very old, and worth nothing.
One robe of crimson taffaty sarcenett, valued at
One paire of buskins, cloth of silver, and silver stockings,
very old, and valued at . , .
One paire of shoes of cloth of gould, at
One paire of gloves, embroid*"^ w''*^ gould at
Three swords, with scabbards of cloth of gould ...
An old combe of home worth nothing.
The totall of the Regalia
Sacli was the republican estimation of the time-honoured
insignia of royalty ! There is no reason for doubting that
several of the objects of the regalia here mentioned were of
considerable antiquity, corresponding with items in the cata-
logues of Richard Sporley (who lived about the year 1450)
in the Cottonian MSS.*
* A story is told in Wood's "Athenoe," in connection with the
seizure of the regalia at this epoch, which does not correspond to the
0 10
0
0 10
0
0 5
0
0 2
6
0 2
0
0 1
0
3 0
0
612 17
8
6o CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The royal ornaments and the regalia having been defaced
and sold under the Protectorate, a committee was formed at
the Restoration to direct the re-making of the regal insignia,*
" and to settle," observes Sir William Walker, in his account
of the coronation of Charles II., " the form and fashion of
each particular ; all which doe now reteyne the old names
and fashion, altho' they have been newly made and p'pared
by orders given to the Earle of Sandwich, Master of the
great Wardrobe and Sir Gilbert Talbot, Master of the Jewell-
fact that the crown and the principal objects of the regalia were in the
Tower at this period, while the sacrilegious scene related is said to have
occurred in Westminster Abbey. As the story goes, the notorious
republican, Henry Marten, was intrusted with the commission of pre-
paring a list of the regalia. A huge iron chest, in the ancient chapel
of the treasury at Westminster Abbey, was opened ; the royal crown,
sceptres, swords, and robes were taken out, and George Withers, the
poet, who had accompanied the fanatical republican, was, by way of a
sorry jest, invested with them : "who being thus crowned and royally
arrayed, first marched about the room with a stately gait, and, after-
wards, with a thousand ridiculous and apish actions, exposed the sacred
ornaments to contempt and laughter.
* In a letter to C. R. Weld, Esq., assistant-secretary to the Royal
Society, the keeper of the crown jewels (the late Edmund Lenthal Swifte.
Esq.) thus alludes to the subject : " You are but too right in your idea
of the modern character of our regalia. Whether as an Englishman, a
Royalist, an historian, or as a gentleman, or in all these capacities, yon
must grieve over the annihilation of its ancient memorials. The bar.
barous spirit which descended on the French revolutionists, when they
destroyed even the tombs and the bones of their ancient monarchy,
actuated our Puritans to* bi-eak up and sell the old crown jewels of
England.
" The two jewel houses (for then there were tvoo, the upper and the
lower) were betrayed by my predecessors. Sir Henry and Mr. Carew
Mildmay, in 1649, and their precious contents transferred to the
usurper. The most shameful part of this afflicting transaction was the
breaking up of King Alfred's wire-work gold filagree crown, and selling
it for the weight of the metal, and what the stones would fetch.
" A new Regalia was ordered at the Restoration, to which additions
and alterations have been made as requisite, constituting that which is
now in my charge."
The Sir Henry Mildmay hero mentioned lost his character by this
dereliction of duty. In tlie last will and testament of the Earl of Pem-
broke, a singular and eccentric nobleman, who died in 1G50, is a bequest
of £50 : " Because I threatened Sir Harry Mildmay, but did not beat
liim, I give fifty pounds to tho footman who cudgell'd him. Item,
my will is that the said Sir Harry shall not meddle with my Jewells. I
know him when he served the Duke of Buckingham, and, since, how he
handled tho crowno Jewells, for both which reasons I now name him
the knave of diamonds."
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 6i
House. Hereupon the Master of the Jewell-House had
order to provide two Imperiall Crownes, sett with pretious
stones ; the one to be called St. Edward's crowne, where-
with the King was to be crowned, and the other to be
putt on after his coronation, before his Ma*'^* retorne to
Westminster Hall. Also, an Orbe of Gold with a Crosse sett
with pretious stones : a Scepter with a Crosse sett with
pretious stones, called St. Edwards : a Scepter with a Dove
sett with pretious stones : a long Scepter, or Staffe of gold,
with a Crosse vppon the top, and a Pike at the foote of
Steele, called St. Edward's Staffe : a ring with a Ruby : a
paire of gold Spurrs : a Chalice, and Paten of gold : an
Ampull for the Oyle, and a spoone, and two Ingotts of Gold,
the one a pound, and the other a Marke for the Kings 2 Offer-
ings. The new insignia that were made cost £31,978 95. \\d.
paid to the King's goldsmith. Sir Henry Yiner, in 1662. The
Master of the Great Wardrobe had also order to provide the
Ornaments to be called St. Edward's wherein the King was
to be crowned."
It was soon after the appointment of Sir Gilbert Talbot,
as keeper of the regalia in the Tower, that the royal insignia
became objects of public inspection, which King Charles
allowed in consequence of the reduction in the emoluments
of the office.* The profits which accrued from showing the
jewels to strangers, Sir Gilbert assigned, in lieu of a salary, to
the person whom he had appointed to the care of them.
This was an old confidential servant bf his father's, Talbot
Edwards, who held this office at the period of Blood's notorious
attempt to steal the crown (May 9, 1671).t The designer
* In the ArchoBologia (vol. xxii. p. 122) we find the origin of ex-
hibiting the regalia in the Tower : " He (the Master and the Treasurer of
the Jewel-House) hath a particular servant in the Tower, intrusted with
that great treasure, to whom (because S' Gilbert Talbot was retrenched
in all the perquisites and profits of his place, as is before mentioned, and
not able to allow him a competent salary) His Majesty doth tacitlv allow
him that he shall shew the Regalia to strangers, which furnished him
with so plentiful a lively-hood, that S"" Gilbert Talbot upon the death of
his servant there, had an offer made to him off 500 old broad. pieces of
gold for the place.
" Yet he first gave it to old Mr. Edwards freely, (who had been his
father's servant) whom Blood murthered, when he attempted to steal the
Crown, Globe, and Scepter. Signed May the 20th, 1680."
t The correctness of this date is proved by the official»account in the
London Gazette. Strype and other writers have assigned this transaction
to the year 1673. In a letter from S. W. Heushaw to Sir Robert Pastoij
62 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
of this desperate attempt was an Irishman, who had entered
the army of the Commonwealth, and rose to the rank of
colonel. He was a man of great energy, but of ruffianly
character, and ha^Hing conceived a spite against the Duke of
Ormond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, he formed a plot in
I6G3, for surprising Dublin Castle, and seizing the duke.
This attempt was, however, unsuccessful. In 1670, however,
he waylaid the duke, in company with some confederates, in
St. James's Street, as he was returning from a dinner given
to the young Prince of Orange. The duke managed to
escape, but not without considerable hurt, from the rough
treatment he had experienced. A thousand pounds was offered
for the capture of the ruffians, but in vain. Such was the
character of the person, who, a few months afterwards,
attempted the robbery of the crown. Considerable art was
employed in preparing for this adventure, the account of
which, derived chiefly from a relation which Edwards himself
made of the transaction, is printed in Stow's " Survey," by
Strype. It appears that about three weeks before the event.
Blood came to the Tower, dressed as a parson, accompanied
by a woman whom he passed for his wife.
" Thej desired to see the regalia, and just as their wishes had been
gratified, the lady feigned sudden indisposition; this called forth the
kind offices of Mrs. Edwards, the keeper's wife, who having courteoasiy
invited them into the house to repose herself, she soon recovered, and on
their departure they professed themselves thankful for this civility. A
few days after, Blood came again, bringing a present of four pairs of
gloves from his pretended wife, and having thus begun the acquaintance,
they made frequent visits to improve it. After a short respite of their
compliments, the disguised ruffian returned again ; and, in conversation
with Mrs. Edwards, said that his wife could discourse of nothing else but
the kindness of those good people in the Tower, that she had long studied,
and at length bethought herself of a handsome way of requital. * You
have,' quoth he, ' a pretty young gentlewoman for )'Our daughter, and I
have a young nephew, who has two or three hundred a year in land, and
is at my disposal. If your daughter be free, and you approve it, I will
bring him here to see her, and we will endeavour to make it a match.'
(May 13, 1671), we read : '' The romant of the rose is a story you will
find in Thursday's Gazette, of one Blood's stealing the crown out of the
Tower ; as gallant hardy a villain as ever herded in that sneaking sect
of the Anabaptists ; when he was examined before the King he answered
so frankly and ujulauntedly that every one stood amazed. . . . He
thought the crown was worth ,iJ100,000 (when crown, sceptre, globe, St.
Edward's staff cost the King but £6CH)0). There was found about him
()U signal deliverances from eminent dangers"
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 63
This was easily assented to by old Mr. Edwards, who invited the pre-
tended parson to dine with him on that day ; he readily accepted the
invitation ; and, taking upon him to say grace, performed it with great
seeming devotion, and, casting up his eyps, concluded it with a prayer
for the king, queen, and royal family. After dinner he went up to see
the rooms, and observing a handsome case of pistols to hang there,
expressed a great desire to buy them, to present to a young lord who
was his neighbour; a pretence by which he thought of disarming the
house against the period intended for the execution of his design. At
his departure, * which was a canonical benediction of the good company,
he appointed a day and hour to bring his young nephew to see his
mistress ; which was the very day on which he made his daring attempt.'
" The good old gentleman had got up ready to receive his guest, and
the daughter was in her best dress, to entertain her expected lover ;
when, behold. Parson Blood, with three more, came to the Jewel-house,
all armed with rapier blades in their canes, and every one a dagger, and
a brace of pocket pistols. Two of his companions entered with him, on
pretence of seeing the crown, and the third stayed at the door, as if to
look after the young lady, a jewel of a more charming description, but,
in reality, as a watch. The daughter, who thought it not modest to come
down until she was called, sent a maid to take a view of the company,
and bring a description of her gallant ; and the servant, conceiving that
he was the intended bridegroom who stayed at the door, being the
youngest of the party, returned to soothe the anxiety of her young
mistress with the idea she had formed of his person."
From the London Gazette, Whiteliall, May 9, 1671, we
learn the result :
"This morning, about seven of the clock, four men coming to Mr.
Edwards, keeper of the Jewel-house in the Tower, desired to see the
regal crown remaining in his custody ; he carries them into the room
where they were kept, and shows them ; but, according to the villainous
design, they, it seems, came upon, immediately they clap a gag of a
strange form into the old man's mouth, who, making what noise and
resistance he could, they stabbed him a deep wound in his belly, with a
stiletto,"' adding several other dangerous wounds on the head, with
a small beetle they had with them, as is believed, to beat together and
flatten the crown, to make it more portable ; which having, together with
the ball, put into bags they had to that purpose, brought with them, they
fairly walked out, leaving the old man grovailing on the ground, gagged,
and pinioned ; thus they passed by all the sentinels, till, in the meantime,
the son-in-law of Mr. Edwards, casually passing by, and hearing the door
shut, and some bustle, went in to look what it might be, when he found
his old father-in-law in the miserable condition they had left him;
* The Society of the Literary Fund are in possession, through the
bequest of Mr. Thomas Newton, of two daggers, the one used by Colonel
Blood in his attack upon Edwards, the keeper of the crown jewels, the
other by an accomplice. The inscription on the sheaths of each record
the facts.
64 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
■whereupon i*nnning out in all haste, and crying to stop the authors of
this horrid villain}', the persons began to hasten more than ordinarily ;
which the last sentinel perceiving, and hearing a noise, bid them stand ;
but, instead of standing to give an account of themselves, one of them
fires a pistol at the sentinel, and he his musket at them; which gave the
alarm, so, as, with the pursuit of Mr. Edwards' son-in-law, two of the
malefactors were immediately seized ; two more, with another that held
their horses without the Tower-gate, escaped. With the two that were
taken were found the crown and ball, only some few stones missing,
which had been loosened in the beating of the crowu together, with the
mallet, or beetle spoken of.
" These two, being brought down to Whitehall, by his Majesties
command, one of them proves to be Blood, that notorious traytour and
incendiary, who was outlawed for the Rebellion in Ireland, eight years
ago; and the other one was Perrott, a dyer, in Thames Street. Within
two hours afterwards, a third was apprehended, as he was escaping on
horseback, who proves to be Thomas Hunt, mentioned in his Majesty's
proclamation for the discovery of the persons, who, sometime since, com-
mitted that horrid attempt upon his grace the Duke of Ormond, but is,
indeed, son [son-in-law] to the said Blood, who, with great impudency,
confesses, that they two were, with seven others, in that action. They
are, all three, sent close prisoners to the Tower, for the present."
The more circumstantial account is that —
" Blood told Edwards that they would not go upstairs until his wife
came, and desired him to shew his friends the ci'own till then; and they
had no sooner entered the room, and a door, as usual, shut, than a cloak
was thrown over the old man's head, and a gag put in his mouth. Thus
secured, they told him that their resolution was to have the crown, globe,
and sceptre ; and if he would quietly submit to it, they would spare his
life ; otherwise he was to expect no mercy. lie thereupon made all the
noise he possibl}'- could, to be heard above; they then knocked him down
with a wooden mallet, and told him, 'that if he would lie quietly, they
would spare his life ; but if not, upon his next attempt to discover them,
they would kill him.' Mr. Edwards, however, according to his own
account, was not intimidated by this threat, but strained himself to make
the greater noise, and in consequence received several more blows on the
head, with the mallet, and was stabbed in the belly : this again brought
the poor old man to the ground, where he lay for some time in so sense-
less a state that one of the villains pronounced him dead. Edwards had
come a little to himself, and, hearing this, lay quietly, conceiving it best
to be thought so. The booty was now to bo disposed of, and one of
them, named Parrot, secreted the orb ; Blood held the crown under his
cloak, and the third was about to file the sceptre in two, in order that it
might be placed in a bag, brought for that purpose, but, fortunately, the
son of Mr. Edwards, who had been in Flanders with Sir John Talbot,
and, on his landing, had obtained leave to come away, post, to visit his
father, happened to arrive while this scene was acting, and on coming
to the door, the person who stood sentinel, asked witlx whom he would
speak ? to whicli ho answered he belonged to the house ; and, perceiving
the person to bo a stranger, told him that if he had any business with
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 65
his father, that he would acquaint him with it, and so hastened up to
salute his friends. This unexpected accident spread confusion among
the party, and they instantly decamped with the crown and orb, leaving
the sceptre yet unfiled.
"The aged keeper now raised himself on his legs, forced the gag
from his mouth, and cried treason ! murder ! which being heard by his
daughter, who was, perhaps, waiting anxiously for other sounds, ran out
and reiterated the cry. The alarm now became general, and young
Edwards, and his brother-in-law^ Captain Beckman, ran after the con.
Bpirators ; whom a warder put himself in a position to stop, but Blood
discharged a pistol at him, and he fell, although unhux't, and the thieves
proceeded safel}' to the next post ; where one Sill, who had been a soldier
under Cromwell, stood sentinel; but he offered no opposition, and they
accordingly passed the drawbridge. Horses were waiting for them at
St. Catherine's gate, and as they ran that way along the Tower wharf,
they themselves cried out * stop the rogues ! ' by which they passed on
unsuspected, till Captain Beckman overtook them. Blood fired another
pistol at his head, but missed him, and was seized. Under the cloak of
this daring villain was found the crown, and although he saw himself a
prisoner, he had yet the impudence to struggle for his prey ; and when
it was finally wrested from him said, * it was a gallant attempt, however
unsuccessful ; it was for a crown ! ' "
Parrot, who had formerly served under General Harrison,
was also taken; but Hunt, Blood's son-in-law, reached his
horse and rode off, as did two other of the thieves ; but he
was soon afterwards stopped, and likewise committed to
custody. In this struggle and confusion the great pearl, a
large diamond, and several smaller stones were lost from the
crown ; but the two former, and some of the latter, were after-
wards found and restored ; and the balas-ruby, broken off
the sceptre, being found in Parrot's pocket, nothing con-
siderable w^as eventually lost.
The king, when informed of this extraordinary outrage,
ordered Blood and Parrot to be brought to .Whitehall to be
examined in his presence, a circumstance which is said to
have saved these ruffians from the gallows. Blood behaved
with the utmost effrontery, acknowledged that he was one of
the party who attempted to assassinate the Duke of Ormond,
and, on being asked respecting his associates, answered
that " he would never betray a friend's life, nor deny a
guilt in defence of his own." He also avowed to the king
that he had been engaged in a plot to kill his Majesty with a
carbine from among the reeds, by Thames' side, above Batter-
sea, but that his heart was checked by an awe of majesty,
and he not only himself relented, but also diverted his
associates from the design. He further told the king that
F
66 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
there were hundreds of his friends, yet undiscovered, who
were bound by oath to revenge the death of any of their
colleagues who might be brought to justice. On the other
hand, if his Majesty would spare the lives of a few, he might
win the hearts of many ; who, as they had been daring in
mischief, would be as bold, if received into pardon and favour,
to distinguish themselves in the service of the State.
Thus did the audacious and wary villain partly overawe
and partly captivate the good nature of the king. In short,
after having been remanded to prison, he and his accomplices
were not only pardoned, but the chief offender. Blood him-
self, was received into favour; had £500 a year conferred
upon him ; was admitted to the private intimacy of that
abandoned court, enjoying the smiles of royalty, and even
frequently seen employing his influence as a most successful
patron.* "He died," says Pennant, " peacefully in his bed,
on the 29th of August, 1680, fearlessly, and without the signs
of penitence, totally hardened and forsaken by heaven." f
Talbot Edwards, so far from receiving the merited reward
of his fidelity, obtained, through the intercession of his friends,
a grant from the Exchequer of £200 for himself, and £100
more for his son ; but the payment of even these small sums
was so long delayed, and the expenses attendant on the old
* Evelyn, in his "Diary" (May 10, 1671), writes: "Dined at Mr.
Treasurer's, where dined M. De Gramont, and severall French noblemen,
and one Blood that impudent bold fellow. . . . How he came to be
pardoned, and even received into favour, not only after this, but several
other exploits a,lmost as daring both in Ireland and here, I could never
come to understand. Some believe he became a spie of severall parties,
being well with the Sectaries and Enthusiasts, and did his majesty
service that way. The man had not onely a daring, but a villainous
unmercifuU looke, -a false countenance, but very well spoken, and
dangerously insinuating."
t In the Luttrcll collection of broadsides, in the British Museum, is
one entitled, ** An Elegie on Colonel Blood, notorious for stealing the
crown : "
" Thanks, ye kind fates, for your last favour shown, —
For stealing Blood, who lately stole the crowu."
Rochester, in his " Insipids," writes —
" Blood that wears treason in his face,
Villain complete in parson's gown,
llow muclie he is at court in grace
For stealing Ormorul and the crown!
Since loyalty does no man s<^"tl>
Let's steal the King, and outdo Blood ! "
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 67
man so great, that tbey were, at last, obliged to sell their
orders for half of their amount in ready money. He died at
the age of eighty years and nine months (September 30,
1674), and was buried in the Tower Chapel.
After this event additional precautions were taken to
insure the safe custody of the royal insignia, and a sentinel
was placed at the door during the hours of inspection.*
What robbery might not effect, however, the ravages of fire
might consummate, and the imperial regalia had a near chance
of falling a prey to the conflagration which took place in
the Tower on October 30, 1841. This calamity commenced
in the Round or Bowyer Tower, owing to the overheating
of a flue. The Great or White Tower was for a time in
imminent danger, and the jewel-house was so exposed to the
flames, that it was believed impossible to avert its destruction.
But, fortunately, both buildings were preserved. On the
news of fire having broken out, Mr. W. F. Pierse, superin-
tendent of one of the divisions of the Metropolitan police,
proceeded with a detachment of constables to the Tower.
Shortly after his arrival, the flames made such rapid advances
in the direction of the jewel-house, that it was deemed ex-
pedient at once to remove the regalia and crown jewels to a
place of safety. Accompanied by Mr. Swifte, the keeper of
the crown jewels, and other officials, including several of the
Tower warders, Mr. Pierse entered the building. To get
hold of the jewels was now the difficulty, as these treasures
were secured by a strong iron grating, the keys of which
were in the possession of the Lord Chamberlain, or elsewhere
deposited at a distance, and not a moment was to be lost.
Crowbars were procured, and a narrow aperture made in
the grating, so as barely to admit one person. Through this
opening Mr. Pierse contrived, with much difficulty, to thrust
himself, and hand through from the inside the various articles
of the regalia. One of them, a silver font, was too large to
be passed thus, and it became necessary to break away an
additional bar of the grating. While the warders were
effecting this, repeated cries were heard from outside, calling
* An instance is on record where some portions of the regalia have
undergone a temporary removal, for a special purpose, at the wish of the
sovereign. This was in the case of Allan Ramsay (son of the poet of
that name), the Court painter to George III., who was entrusted with the
crown jewels and regalia at his own house, when he was finishing the por-
trait of Queen Charlotte, with a guard round the dwelling for security.
68 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
to the party within the jewel-house to leave the building, as
the fire was close upon them. Mr. Pierse, however, retained
his post within the grating, and, at last, succeeded in rescuing
the font. The precious articles were all conveyed safely to
the governor's house, and a most extraordinary spectacle pre-
sented itself in the warders carrying the crowns and other
appurtenances of royalty, between groups of soldiers, police-
men, and firemen. The heat endured by the party in the
jewel-house was such as almost to reduce their garments to a
charred state.
The jewel-house in the Tower, until recently, was on the
basement floor of the St. Martin Tower. The crown insignia
seem to have been removed here soon after 1641, from the
south side of the White Tower, then used as a powder
magazine, which, it was feared, might be endangered by the
adjacent chimneys. The regalia were then shown behind
strong iron bars : through these, however, in 1815, a woman
forced her hands and injured the royal crown. The regalia
were next exhibited at one view by the light of six argand
lamps, with powerful reflectors. The present jewel-house
was erected in 1842, after the fearful fire of the preceding
year, in the Late Tudor style, south of the Martin Tower.
In Scobt's " Gleanings from Westminster Abbey " it is
stated that few persons are aware that the king's jewel-
house, built in the time of Richard II., is still standing. The
walls are perfect, even to the parapets, and the original door-
ways remain, their heads being of the form called the
shouldered arch, so much used in domestic work throughout
the Middle Ages, from the twelfth century to the fifteenth.
A modern door has been introduced over the first-floor room,
probably as a security against fire, this room having had,
originally, a wooden ceiling ; but fortunately the ground
rooms, having been used for a kitchen and offices, and being
below the level of the present street, have been preserved
intact, with their original groined vaults, with moulded ribs
and carved bosses, evidently a part of the same work as the
cloisters and other vaulted substructures of Abbot Litlington.
This tower is situated to the south of the chapter-house, and
at the back of the houses in Old Palace Yard.
In the new jewel-house the regalia are shown upon a
pyramidal stand, enclosed within plate glass, and over the
wliolo of it is an open iron frame, or cage, of Tudor design,
surmounted by a regal crown of iron.
P3
70 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The Regalia of England, now exhibited to the public in
the jewel-house of the Tower, consists of the Imperial Crown
(described in the chapter on " the Crowns of England "); St.
Edward's Crown; the Prince of Wales's Coronet; the Queen
Consort's Crown, and the Queen's Diadem; St. Edward's Staff;
the Royal Sceptre, or Sceptre with the Cross ; the Rod of
Equity, or Sceptre with the Dove; the Queens Sceptre; the
Ivory Sceptre; and a richly wrought golden sceptre, supposed
to have been made for Mary, queen of William III. In
addition to the crowns and sceptres are the Curtana, or point-
less Sword of Mercy ; the Swords of Justice, temporal and
ecclesiastical ; the Bracelets and Spurs ; the Ampulla and
Spoon ; the golden Salt-cellar, used at the coronation
banquet ; a Baptismal Font, employed at the christening of
the royal children ; various dishes, spoons, and other articles
of gold used at the coronation ; and a splendid service of
sacramental plate used at the same august ceremony.
The crowns of England, as now worn, are described in the
last chapter.
St. Edward's Crown was made for the coronation of
Charles II., in commemoration (says Sandford) of the ancient
crown which was destroyed at the Commonwealth. On the
accession of William and Mary, in 1689, this crown was
reported by the master of the jewel-house as being dismantled
of its jewels. It is richly adorned with precious stones of
various kinds, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls ;
with a mound of gold on the top, surmounted by a gold cross
patee, adorned with jewels, and particularly by three large
oval pearls, one of which is on the top of the cross, and the
others pendent at each limb. The crown consists of four
crosses, and as many fleurs-de-lys of gold upon a rim, or
circlet, of gold adorned with precious stones, from the tops of
which crosses rise four circular bars, ribs, or arches. The
cap within the crown is of crimson velvet, turned up with
ermine.
The Queen Consort's Crown is of gold, set with diamonds,
pearls, and other jewels, and was made for the queen of
William in.
The Diadem, or circlet of gold, was used for the corona-
tion of Marie d'Este, consort of James II., at a cost of
£110,000.
The Prince of Wales's Coronet is of pure gold, plain,
without jewels, and is placed on a velvet cushion in the
THE EEC ALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 71
House of Lords, before his seat, when the sovereign opens or
prorogues Parliament.*
The Royal Sceptre, or Sceptre with the Cross, which is
placed in the right hand of the sovereign in the coronation,
is of gold, the handle plain, and the upper part wreathed ; in
length, two feet nine and a quarter inches. The shaft is
enriched with rubies, emeralds, and small diamonds. The
ancient fleurs-de-lys, with which the sceptre was adorned,
were replaced, previous to the coronation of George IV., by
golden leaves, surrounding the large amethyst, each bearing
the rose, the shamrock, and the thistle. The magnificent
amethyst, at the top, forms a globe, which is encircled with
diamonds, and surmounted by a cross jpatee of precious stones,
with a table diamond in the midst.
The sceptre of Charles IE. was adorned with " a fair ballas
ruby," which was found in the pocket of Parrot, one of
Blood's accomplices. It is not particularized by Sandford.
The Sceptre with the Dove is of gold, three feet seven
inches in length, three inches in circumference at the
handle, and two inches and a half at the top. The pommel
is garnished with a circle or fillet of table diamonds, and in
several places with precious stones of various kinds. At the
top is a mound surmounted by a cross, sustaining a dove
with expanded wings, enamelled white ; the mound is encom-
passed by a fillet of diamonds. f
* Charles II. ordered an arch to be added to the coronet of the
Prince of Wales, which was previously only the rim of the crown ; and
by the same warrant (issued in February, 1660) assigned to the other
princes and princesses — sons and daughters of a sovereign, and to their
sons and daughters — the coronets now borne by them. As there was no
Prince of Wales acknowledged in England from that period until the
birth of George II., the first representation of the arched coronet occurs
in 1751. But it is worthy of remark that in a print of the reign of
James I., representing the catafalque of Henry, Prince of Wales, his efBgy
is depicted with an imperial crown of four arches ; and also that in a
manuscript in Vincent's collection at the College of Arms, known as
" Prince Arthur's Book " (in consequence of the arms of that prince, in
whose time it was executed, being painted on the first page), the
coronet over the shield, as well as that on the head of the lion, the
dexter supporter, has evidently had an arch to it, which was subsequently
expunged.
t " The dove,"" remarks M. Didron, in his " Iconographie Chretienne,"
*' was typical, from the earliest times, of the Holy Ghost. In several
fresco paintings, various manuscripts, and particularly miniatures,
amongst the Italians, a white dove, the Holy Ghost, is seen escaping
from the flowering staff of Joseph (mentioned in the apocryphal history
72 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS
The Queen's Sceptre with the Cross is of gold, adorned
with precious stones, and, in most part, is very like the king's,
but not wreathed, nor quite so large.
The Queen's Ivory Rod, which was made for Queen
Mary, consort of James II., is a sceptre of white ivory, three
feet one inch and a half in length, with a pommel, mound,
and cross of gold, and a dove on the top.
In the year 1814 a sceptre was discovered at the jewel-
house, lying at the back of a shelf, covered with dust. It
was found to be a rod of gold, with its emblem, the dove,
resting on a cross. It is of elegant workmanship, and adorned
with coloured gems. This nearly assimilates with the king's
sceptre with the dove, and it is conjectured to have been
made for Queen Mary, consort of William III., with whom she
was jointly invested with the exercise of the royal authority.
St. Edward's Staff, which is carried before the sovereign
at the coronation, is a staff, or sceptre, of beaten gold, four feet
seven inches and a half in length, and about three-quarters of
an inch in diameter, with a pike or foot of steel, four inches
and a quarter long, and a mound and cross at the top.
The Ampulla, or Golden Eagle (to which I have alluded
in the chapter on "Anointing "), containing the consecrating
oil, is of gold finely chased. The head screws off at the
middle of the neck, for the convenience of putting in the oil,
and, the neck being hollow to the beak, the holy oil is poured
out into the spoon through the beak. The height of the
ampulla, including the pedestal, is about nine inches, the
diameter of the pedestal about three inches and a half, and
the breadth between the furthest points of the wings about
of the nativity of the Virp^in) at the time of his marriage. The dove is
regarded, even amongst pagans, as a medium of instruction, an organ
communicating the vrill of deity. Mahomet taught a pigeon to perch
upon his shoulder, and made it pass for a celestial messenger, commis-
sioned to reveal to him the pleasure of the Almighty. The Holy Ghost
was thought to direct the actions of kings. In Montfaucon is a design
representing Charlemagne caiTyiug a sceptre surmounted with a dove,
whicli is evidently intended to symbolize the Holy Ghost. If the sceptre
bo regarded as a staff to assure the steps of the sovereign, the dove is a
spirit to direct his course.
*' At the ceremony of the consecration of the kings of Franco, after th^
rite of unction, wliito doves were let loose in the church, indicating that
as the ca])tive birds regained their liberty, so the coronation of the king
restored independence to the similarly captive peoi)lo, or, more probably,
tho custom conveyed an idea analogous to that of tlio sceptre on which
the Uoly Ghost rests."
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 73
seven inches; the weight of the whole abont eight or ten
ounces, and the cavity of the body capable of containing
about six ounces.
There is no mention of the ampulla in previous inventories
of the regalia, to which allusion has been made, and it is said
that the eagle now existing is the real original ampulla. It was
first used at the coronation of Henry lY/ (October 13, 1399).
The Spoon, from its extreme thinness, appears to be
ancient. It has four pearls in the broadest part of the handle.
The bowl has an arabesque pattern engraved on it. The
handle was originally decorated with enamel, but this has been
destroyed, leaving an uneven surface. It seems probable that
this spoon may have been used at the coronation of our
monarchs since the twelfth century. The Parliamentary Com-
missioners at the Commonwealth mention in the " list " of
the regalia a silver-gilt spoon, weighing three ounces, and
valued at sixteen shillings. An engraving of the spoon now
shown in the Tower is in Sandford's " Coronation of James
the Second," and in Shaw's " Dresses and Decorations of the
Middle Ages."
The Orb, Mound, or Globe, which is placed in the
sovereign's right hand immediately on being crowned, and
which is carried in the left hand on returning into West-
minster Hall, is a golden ball, six inches in diameter, en-
compassed with a band or fillet of gold, embellished with
roses of diamonds encircling other precious stones, namely,
emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, and edged about with pearl.
On the top is a remarkably fine amethyst, of an oval shape,
nearly an inch and a half in height, which forms the foot, or
pedestal, of a cross of gold, three inches and a quarter high and
three inches broad, set very thick with diamonds ; having in
the centre a sapphire on one side, and an emerald on the other,
and embellished with four large pearls in the angles of the
cross, near the centre, and three large pearls at the end of
the cross. The whole height of the orb and cross is eleven
inches.
The mound (from the French Tnonde) and cross were
placed in the left hand, either under Constantino the Great or
under Justinian, in the East,* about the year 527, and came
* Justinian erected a statue in the Augusteion, to whioh he gave the
globe and cross, which others had confined to their coins. He modified
the form of the cross into that which still continues, in the Eastern
Church, to be peculiarly called the Greek cross.
74 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
iDto use in the Western empire under the Emperor Henrj II.,
A.D. 1013. It was borrowed from the Roman emperors by
our early Saxon kings. We find the orb and the cross on
most of the coins and seals of our monarchs from the time of
Edward the Confessor ; indeed, Strutt authenticates a picture
of Edgar, made in the year 996, which represents that prince
kneeling between tf^o saints, who bear severally bis sceptre
and a globe surmounted by a cross. This part of the regalia,
representing supreme political power, has never been put in
the hands of any but kings or queens regnant. In the
anomalous instance of the coronation of William and Mary
as joint sovereigns, another and smaller orb was made for the
queen, which is still amongst the regalia. The "globe," as it
was called in the inventory of the regalia of Charles I,, weighed
one pound five ounces and a quarter, and was valued at
£57 105.
The Swords are Curtana, or the pointless Sword of Mercy ;
the Swords of Justice, Temporal and Ecclesiastical ; and the
Sword of State. Of these the last alone is actually used in
the coronation, being that with which the sovereign is girded
after having been anointed ; the others are carried before the
monarch by certain great officers.
Curtana is a broad bright sword, the length of the blade
being thirty-two inches and the breadth two inches ; the
handle, covered with fine gold wire, is four inches in
length, besides the pommel, an inch and three-quarters,
which, with the cross, is plain steel gilt, the length of the
cross being about eight inches. The scabbard belonging
to it is covered with a rich brocaded cloth of tissue, with
a gilt ferrule, hook, and chape. It is also called the sword
of Edward the Confessor, and is mentioned by both these
names by Matthew Paris, under the year 1236, when de-
tailing the marriage ceremonial of Henry III. In ancient
times it was the privilege of the Earls of Chester to bear
this sword before the king. The Earl of Oxford carried it
at the coronation of Charles II. In the wardrobe account
for the year 1483 are " iij swerdes, whereof oon with a flat
poynte called curtana.'^ Besides the instances I have men-
tioned, we find it at the coronation of Edward II. and
Richard II. ; also in the time of Henry IV., Richard III.,
and Henry VII. ; and among the regalia of Edward VI. we
read of a " swerde " called curtana.
The Sivurd of State is a large two-handed sword, having a
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 75
rich scabbard of crimson velvet, decorated with gold plates of
the royal badges, in order as follow : at the point is the orb
or mound, then the royal crest of a lion standing on an
imperial crown ; lower down are the portcullis, harp, thistle,
and rose. Nearer the hilt the portcullis is repeated. Next
are the royal arms and supporters. The handle and pommel
of the sword are embossed with similar devices, and the cross
is formed of the royal supporters, having a rose with a laurel
on one side and a fleur-de-lys on the other.
The Sword of Justice to the Spirituality is a pointed sword,
but somewhat obtuse. The length of the blade is forty
inches, the breadth one inch and a half ; the handle, covered
with gold wire, is four inches long; the pommel, one inch
and three-quarters deep ; the length of the cross is almost
eight inches.
The Sword of Justice to the Temporality is a sharp-pointed
sword. Length of the handle, four inches ; the pommel, one
inch and three-quarters ; length of the cross, seven inches
and a half.
In the inventory of the regalia of King James " in the
secrete Jewel-house in the Tower," printed in " Kalendars and
Inventories of the Exchequer," we find: " Item, one great Two-
handed Sworde, garnished with sylver and guilte, presented
to King Henry the Eighth by the Pope."
No swords are mentioned in the catalogue of Sporley (who
lived about the year 1450). "It is probable, therefore,"
observes Planche, "that they, as well as the spurs, were
added to the regalia kept at Westminster by later monarchs."
Three swords are mentioned as having- been carried before
Richard I. at his coronation, the scabbards of which were
richly ornamented with gold. In 1649 three swords, the
scabbards of cloth of gold, were amongst the regalia in
Westminster Abbey, and valued at £1 each.
The Bracelets are of solid fine gold, an inch and a half
in breadth and two inches and a half in diameter, and edged
with pearls. They open by means of a hinge for the purpose
of being put on the arm, and are chased with the symbols of
the three kingdoms. As an ensign of royalty, the bracelet
is recorded in the Holy Scriptures (2 Sam. i. 10) : " And I
took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that
was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my
lord." Bracelets and armlets were worn by the Assyrian
monarchs. In Eastern countries bracelets have been com-
76 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
monly used as a badge of power, and in Persia thej are only
allowed to be worn by the Shah and his sons. Among
Northern nations it was the reward of successful service.
The epithet, "giver of bracelets," as the kings were called,
is also to be found in many writings of the Anglo-Saxon
age.
The armillcB, or bracelets, formed part of the corona-
tion paraphernalia of our English sovereigns to a very late
date.
These ancient symbols of royalty appear in the catalogue
of Sporley under their Latin name "armillam." They were
not found in Westminster Abbey in 1649, but a pair was
produced from the Tower w^eighing seven ounces, decorated
with three rubies and twelve pearls, and valued at £36. In
the manuscript form of Queen Mary's coronation, they are
ordered to be produced by the master of the jewel-house ; and
at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth two garters were put
upon her arms, which must have been the royal bracelets — the
word garter being used in the sense of the old Saxon girder^
anything which binds or encompasses.
The Great Golden Spurs, the symbols of chivalry, are
curiously wrought, both round the edge and at the fastening.
They have no rowels, but end in an ornamented point, being
what are commonly denominated " prick- spurs." New richly
embroidered straps were added to them for the corona-
tion of George IV. A pair of large heavy gold spurs was
carried by the earl marshal at the coronation of Richard I.,
and a pair of silver-gilt spurs, valued at £>\ ISs. 4c?., was
entered in the inventory of the regalia at Westminster in
1649.*
The Ring used at the coronation is of plain gold, with a
large table ruby on which is engraved a St. George's cross.
This has to be newly made, or at least set, for each sovereign.
The queen's ring, described by Sandford in his " History of
the Coronation of King James the Second and Queen Mary,"
was of gold, " with a large table ruby set therein, and sixteen
* The "royal spurs" formed a part of tlie paraphernalia of the
Bovereif^ns of Bosnia. After the deatii of Queen Catliorine, in 1177, two
of her family appeared before Pope Sixtus IV. and presented to him her
will, in which she bequeathed her kinjj^dom of Bosnia to the Holy Roman
Church. As a token, her representatives handed over the sword of the
realm and the royal spurs, *' which the Pontili" bonignantly received, and
ordered them to be placed, with the will, in the Apostolic arohivos."
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 77
other small rubies set round about the ring, whereof those
next to the collet were the largest, the rest diminishing
proportionably . "
The coronation ring has been called by some writers " the
wedding-ring of England," and, like the ampulla, a miraculous
history is given of it in the " Golden Legende" (p. 187), of
which the folloAving are the leading particulars : — A certain
"fayre old man" having asked alms of St. Edward the Con-
fessor, he had nothing to bestow upon him but the ring.
Shortly afterwards, two English pilgrims lost their way in the
Holy Land, " when there came to them a fayre ancient man,
wyth whyte heer for age. Thenne the olde man axed theym
what they were, and of what regyon. And they answerde
that they were pylgrims of England, and hadde lost theyr
fellyshyp and way also. Thenne thys olde man comforted
theym goodly, and brought theym into a fayre cytee : and
whaune they had refreshed theym, and rested there alle
nyghte, on the morne this fayre olde man went with theym,
and brought thejm in the ryghte waye agayne. And he was
gladde to here theym talke of the welfare and holynesse of
theyre Kynge Saynt Edward. And whaune he sholde departe
fro theym, thenne he tolde theym what he was, and sayd, ' I am
JoHAN THE EvANGELYST ; and saye ye vnto Edward your Kyng,
that I grete him well by the token that he gaff to me thys
rynge with his owne handes, whych rynge ye shalle delyver
to hym agayne ; ' and whan he had delyvered to them the
rynge, he departed fro theym sodenly." This command
was, as may be supposed, duly obeyed by the messengers,
who were furnished with ample powers for authenticating
their mission. The ring was received by the royal Confessor,
and in after times was preserved with due care at his shrine
in Westminster Abbey, How implicitly this story of the
ring was believed in past ages may be judged from the pains
taken to commemorate it in so many places in and about
Westminster Abbey ; among the rest, over the old gate
leading into the dean's yard, in the stained glass of one of
the eastern windows of the abbey, and in the sculptured
groups on the screen which divides the shrine from the choir.
The ring is mentioned in Sporley's catalogue, but does not
appear among the regalia, either found at Westminster or the
Tower, at the period of the Commonwealth.
In the wardrobe accounts of Edward I. a ring is men-
tioned, made by St. Dunstan, ornamented with a sapphire ;
78 CROWh'S AND CORONATIONS.
also a g-old ring with which the king was consecrated,* In
the " Device " for the coronation of King Henry VII. we
read, " The said Cardinall (Thomas Bourehier) shall blesse
the key ring with a rubj, called the regall for the King, to be
sett on the iiij finger of the right hand." The queen's ring
had holy water cast upon it.
On the detention of James II. by the fishermen of Sheer-
ness, in his first attempt to escape from this country in 1688,
it is particularly noticed in Clarke's " Memoirs," " the king
kept the diamond bodkin w^hich he had of the queen's, and
the coronation ring, which for more security he put into his
drawers. The captain, it appeared, was well acquainted
with the disposition of his crew (one of whom cried out, ' It
is Father Petre — I know him by his lantern jaws ; " a second
called him an ' old hatchet-faced Jesuit ; ' and a third, ' a
cunning old rogue, he would warrant him ! ') for, some time
after he was gone, and probably by his order, several seamen
entered the king's cabin, saying they must search him and
the gentlemen, believing they had not given up all their
money. The king and his companions told him they were at
liberty to do so, thinking that their readiness would induce
them not to persist ; but they were mistaken ; the sailors
began their search with a roughness and rudeness which
proved they were accustomed to the employment ; at last,
one of them, feeling about the king's knees, got hold of the
diamond bodkin, and cried out, with the usual oath, he had
got a prize, but the king boldly declared he was mistaken.
He had, indeed, scissors, a. toothpick case, and little keys in
his pocket, and what he felt was, undoubtedly, one of those
articles. The man seemed incredulous, and rudely thrust his
hand into the king's pocket, but in his haste, he lost hold of
* At the coronation of Henry IV. the king exhibited the signet of
Richard II., delivered to him by that monarch as a token of his will that
he should succeed him. A contemporary French metrical history of the
deposition of the unfortunate Richard (British Museum) says, *' They "
(the archbishops) " took the costly ring of the realm, wherewith they are
wont to espouse their kings, w'hich is, say they, their peculiar right.
'J'hoy bare it between them to the constable, whom they esteem, a notable
knight, Lord Percy, and when he had taken the ring he showed it openly
to all wlu) were there present ; then he kneeled down, and put it upon the
king's right hand by way of espousal. But I would not give a farthing
for it ; because this office Avas performed without right or justice. I do
not say that it might not be a worthy thing, were it done as such a thing
should have been."
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 79
fhe diamond bodkin, and finding the things the king had
mentioned, remained satisfied it was so. By this means the
bodkin and ring were preserved." The latter is said to have
been the favourite ring of Mary, Queen of Scots; to have
been sent by her at her death to James I., through whom it
came into the possession of Charles I., and on his execution
was transmitted by Bishop Juxon to his son. This ring, con-
nected with so many sad memories, was among the relics of
the Stuarts purchased in Rome for Greorge IV.*
The other objects of the regalia in the Tower may be
briefly mentioned : — The Gold Salt-cellar (used at the last
coronation banquet in Westminster Hall, that of George IV,)
is set with jewels and chased with grotesque figures in the
form of a round castle, said, but erroneously, to be a model
of the White Tower. The tops of the five turrets are for the
salt. It was presented to the Crown by the city of Exeter.
The Baptismal Font, of silver, double gilt, was formerly used
at the christenings of the royal family. A laege silver Wine
Fountain, a present from the corporation of Plymouth to
Charles II. A magnificent service of Communion Plate,
belonging to the Tower Chapel, but kept in the jewel-house,
of silver, double gilt ; the principal piece having a fine
representation of the Lord's Supper.
Besides the precious objects mentioned, there are also
tankards, gold spoons, and a fine banqueting-dish, used at the
coronations.
The Regalia of Scotland.
" The steep and iron-belted rock
Where trusted lie the monarchy's last gems,
The Sceptre, Sword, and Crown, that graced the brows,
Since father Fergus, of an hundred kings."
Albania, a Poem.
The circumstances connected with the Scottish regalia,
now preserved in Edinburgh Castle, are extremely interest-
ing ; especially as they have had for exponent one of
Scotland's most gifted antiquaries. Sir Walter Scott, who,
in 1819, published a tract upon the subject, in which he
explained the origin and archaeological value of these royal
relics, and their importance in connection with the ancient
independence of Scotland.
The Scots, like other nations of Europe, are known to
* " Finger-ring Lore," by William Jones, F.S.A. Chatto and Windus.
8o CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
have employed a crown, as an appropriate badge of
sovereignty, from a very early period. After the memorable
revolution in which Macbeth was dethroned, and Malcolm
Canmor was placed on the throne, the new monarch was
crowned in the abbey of Scone,* on St. Mark's Day, 1057 ;
and among the boons granted to requite the services of
Macduff, Thane of Fife, that nobleman and his descendants
obtained the privilege of conducting the King of Scotland to
the royal seat on the day of his coronation — a ceremony which,
of course, implied the use of a crown ; but if such was the
case, there is little doubt ^ that the Scottish crown, which
was used in these ancient times, must have fallen into the
hands of Edward I. when, in 1296, he defeated John Baliol,
and took with him to England every monument of Scottish
independence ; as we read in the Prior of Lochlevin's
Chronicle : —
" This John the Baliol on purpose,
He took and brought him till Munros,
And in the castle of that town,
That than was famous in renown.
This John of Baliol dispoiled he
Of all his robes of royalty ;
The pelure [fur or ermine] they took off his Tabart,
(Toom-Tabart he was called afterward)
And all other inseygnys
That fell to Kings on ony wise
Baith Sceptre, Swerd, Crown, and Ring,
Fra this John that he made Kiner.
Halyly fra him he took thare,
And made him of the Kynryk bare."
The royal emblems of Scotland having thus passed into
the hands of the English monarch, it followed that when
Robert Bruce asserted the independence of Scotland in
1306, the ancient crown of Scotland was not used at his
coronation. A circlet, or ring of gold, was hastily prepared,
which temporary diadem, after the defeat of Bruce at
Methven, also fell into the hands of the English monarch.
* Scone Palace, now the seat of the Earl of Mansfield, is built upon the
site of the ancient palace of the kings of Scotland. The gallery, one
hundred and sixty feet long, occupies the place of the old coronation hall,
the last inauguration being that of the Chevalier do St. George (James
III.) in 1715. On that occasion two swords (of iron) were used to represent
those of Justice and Mercy, and these wore destroyed by the fire in the
Tower of London, where they had been deposited.
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.* 8i
This curious fact is established by a pardon afterwards issued
by Edward I., upon the intercession, as he states, " of his
beloved Queen Margaret, to Galfredas de Coigners, who is
therein stated to have concealed and kept a certain coronal of
gold, with which Robert the Bruce, enemy and rebel of the
king, had caused himself to be crowned in our kingdom of
Scotland."
From this it appears that the ancient crown of Scotland was
not in Bruce's possession when he went through the ceremony
of coronation in 1306 ; and that the coronal used on that occa-
sion fell into the hands of Edward in the following year.
The former must, therefore, have been made at a later period,
when Bruce was established in the sovereignty of Scotland,
after the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. 'lA.mong other reasons
for substantiating this opinion. Sir Walter Scott remarks
that it is not likely Bruce, highly valuing that independence
which his own valour had secured for Scotland, would suffer
her long to remain without the emblem of royalty proper to
a free state, especially without a crown, which in all
countries of Europe was regarded as the most unalienable
mark of royal dignity. It may, indeed, be asked why, in the
course of Bruce's triumphant negotiations with England, he
did not demand restitution of the ancient regalia carried off
by Edward in 1306, as we know that by the Treaty of
Northampton he stipulated the restoration of the stone called
Jacob's Pillar, used at the coronation, and of various documents
which had relation to the independence of Scotland ; but as
no allusion is made to the ancient crown of Scotland, it was
not likely to have been in existence, having been probably
destroyed for the sake of the precious materials of which it
was formed.
The present crown of Scotland, exhibited among the
regalia of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle, may, therefore, be
fairly presumed to date from the time of Robert Bruce.
It is said in style to correspond with the state of the jeweller's
art in the early part of the fourteenth century. It was worn
by David II., son of Robert Bruce, on his accession in 1329,
and notwithstanding the troublous periods that ensued, there
occurs no instance of the Scottish regfalia havingr been in
possession of an enemy or usurper, so that the present crown
remained unaltered from the days of Bruce to the accession
of James V., who added two imperial arches, rising from the
circle and crossing each other, and closing at the top in a
G
82 . CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
mound of gold, again surmounted by a large cross patee,
ornamented with pearls and bearing the characters I.R.V.
Three additional arches are attached to the original crown by-
tacks of gold, and there is some inferiority in the quality of
the metal. The gold employed was from the mine of Craw-
ford Moor, and an entry in the " Compotus " of Kirkaldy, of
Grange, treasurer, states the payment made to the goldsmith
*' for making and fashioning the king's crown, weighing three
pounds ten ounces : gold of the mine given out to him, forty
ounces and a quarter ; the goldsmith being paid for working
it thirty pounds. In this royal crown were set twenty-two
stones, of which three were great garnets, and one great
ammerot (emerald)."
It is also stated ia the " Compotus" that " the crown was
delivered to the king's grace at Holyrood House." * A charge
appears in the same accounts for a case for the king's new
crown, and one Thomas Arthur had " half an ell of rich pui-ple
velvet given to him to make a cap for the inside of the new
crown." This bonnet, or tiara, worn under the crown, is now
of crimson velvet turned up with ermine.
During the time of Queen Mary's troubles, scandalous
dilapidations were made upon the crown jewels ; the regalia,
however, escaped the general plunder, and appear at this
period to have been preserved, for purposes of security, at Stir-
ling Castle. Mary was crowned at Stirling (September 9,
1543), and thus the royal crown assumes additional interest
from having been worn on this occasion — one of peculiar and
romantic circumstances, inasmuch as Mary, at this period,
had barely completed her ninth month when she was taken
from her cradle, enveloped in royal robes, and carried
from her nursery in Stirling Castle by her lord keepers
and officers of state, in solemn procession to the stately
* In the same " Compotus " are some items of sums comiected with
the Scottish crown. The preparations for the coronation of Marj' of
Lorraine, consort of King James, were commenced in October, 1539,
when thirty-five ounces of " gold of the mine " (Crawford Moor) were
given out from the royal stores " for making the queen's crown." The
entries now become numerous of goldsmith's work for fashioning
ornaments which were to be worn at the approaching coronation.
The metal of these jewels is especially noted as "gold of the mynd."
John Mossman, the king's goldsmith, received thirty-one ounces of
silver to make a sceptre for the queen against her coronation; and
four ros(!-nobles were given out of the trcasin'y to gild the sceptre.
The fashion of the queen's sceptre and the making cost £7 15s.
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 83
church adjacent, where she was invested with the symbols of
sovereignty.
Twenty-four years after this event, the Scottish regalia is
again brought into prominent notice on the coronation of
James VI. (July 29, 1567) at Stirling, when, as appears
from the records of the Privy Council, Adam, Bishop of
Orkney, " delivered into his hands the Sword and Sceptre,
and put the Crown Royal upon his head with all due reverence,
ceremonies, and circumstances, used and accustomed."
The union of England with Scotland by the accession of
this monarch to the united crowns, would seem to have left
the latter regal badge without any distinctive use ; but it was
found necessary by Charles I. to indulge his Scottish subjects
with the ceremony of national inauguration, and, finding that
the Scottish regalia could not be sent to London without
violation of the independent rights of the people it mostly
concerned, he judged it necessary to visit Scotland in person
(June 18, 1633), when he was royally invested after the
accustomed manner. Charles II. was crowned at Scone
(January 1, 1661), "but the events which followed were
fraught with so much danger to the existence of royalty and
all its emblems," that it became necessary to take measures
for the preservation of the regalia from a foreign enemy.
In 1661 the rapid advance of the English arms rendered it
necessary that the Scottish regalia should be transported to
some remote place of strength and security, more free from
the chances of war than the royal castles ; and Dunnottar, a
strong and baronial fortress, built on an insulated rock which
projects into the German Ocean, was selected for this purpose.
The order of Parliament is in these words : — " Instrumentis
taken by the Erie Mareschal upoun the production of the
honouris [regalia], with his dessyre represented to the Parlia-
ment, that the same might be put in sum pairt of secu-
ritie ; his Majestic and Parliament ordaines the said Erie
Mareschal to cans transport the saidis honouris to the
hous of Dunnottar, thair to be keepit by him till further
or dour is."
A garrison was placed for the protection of the castle of
Dunnottar (July 8, 1661), under the command of George
Ogilvie, of Barras, a conscientious soldier, who, when pressed
by the Committee of Estates to deliver up the regalia, refused
compliance, on the plea that the instructions were so worded
as not to relieve him of any responsibility which this
84 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
important charge had imposed Tipon liim. The lord
chancellor, to whom the case was referred, gave him the best
advice he could, which was " that the Honours of the Crowne
should be speedilye and safelie transported to some remote
and strong castle, or hold, in the Highlands."
The danger being imminent, the castle having been
repeatedly summoned by Lambert to surrender, Ogilvie wrote
a letter to King Charles, requesting that a vessel might be
sent to Dunnottar, with a person properly authorized to
receive the regalia, and transport them beyond seas. This
was not possible, and a close blockade of the castle took
place ; the safety of the regalia became a matter of para-
mount interest, and in this, female ingenuity displayed itself,
as it often does on extreme occasions. The countess dowager
marischal, by birth daughter to John, Earl of Mar, was
probably the author of a scheme to accomplish this. The
immediate agent was Christian Fletcher, wife of the Rev.
James Grainger, minister of Kineff, a small parish church
within four or five miles of the castle of Dunnottar, who
obtained from the English general permission to pay a visit
to the governor's lady. Mrs. Ogilvie acted in concert with
the countess marischal, but it was agreed that her husband
should not be admitted into the secret, in order that upon
the surrender of the castle, an event now considered as
inevitable, he might be enabled to declare, with truth, that
he neither knew when, how, nor to what place the regalia
had been removed.
" In compliance with the scheme adopted, Mrs. Grainger took the
crown in her lap, and, on her return, the English general himself helped
her to her horse, which she left in the camp, as the castle cannot be
approached on horseback. Her maid followed her on foot, bearing the
sword and sceptre concealed in hards, as they are called, that is, bundles
of lint, which Mrs. Grainger pretended were to be spun into thread.
They passed through the English blockading army without being dis-
covered. From thence she transported the precious objects of the
regalia to Kineff, and put them under the charge of her husband, James
Grainger, who gave the countess marischal the account of their secret
depositation : —
" 'I, Mr. James Grainger, minister at Kineff, grant me to have in my
custody the Honours of the Kingdom, viz. the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword.
For the Crown and Scepti'o I raised the pavement-stone just before the
pulpit, in the night tyme, and digged under it ane hole, and put thera in
there, and filled up the hole, and layed down the stone just as it was
before, and removed the mould that remained, that none would have
discerned the stone to have been raised at all ; the sword, again, at the
west cud of the church among some common seits that stand there, I
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 85
digged down in the ground, betwixt the two foremest of these seits, and
laid it down within the case of it, and covered it up, so removing the
superfluous mould, it could not be discerned by anybody, and if it shall
please God to call me by death before they be called for, your ladyship
will find them in that place.'
" The regalia were transferred to Mr, Grainger some time in the month
of March, and in May following (1652) Ogilvie was obliged to surrender
Dnnnottar Castle to the republican general, Dean. He obtained honour-
able articles of capitulation, but when it was found he could give no
account of the regalia, he and his lady were treated with extreme
severity, dragged from one place of confinement to another, and
subjected to fines and sequestrations to extort from them this important
secret. The lady's health gave way under these aflBictions, and she died
within two years after the surrender of the castle, still keeping the
important secret, and with her last breath exhorting her husband to
maintain his trust inviolable. Tradition says that the minister and his
wife also fell under the suspicion of the ruling powers, and that they
were severally examined, and even tortured, but without any information
being extorted from them.
" The address of the countess marischal at length put the enemy on a
false scent. She caused a report to be spread abroad that the regalia, on
being secretly removed from Dunnottar were put into the hands of her
youngest son, the Hon. Sir John Keith, who went abroad at that time,
and whom she adroitly caused to write letters to his friends in Scotland,
congratulating himself on having safely conveyed the crown, sceptre,
aud sword of state out of that kingdom. Sir John Keith returning
shortly afterwards, he was examined closely on the fate of the regalia. At
every risk to himself, he persisted in the patriotic falsehood, that he had
himself carried them to Paris to King Charles. This feint having
fortunately succeeded, the Scottish regalia remained safe in their secure
place of concealment, visited from time to time by the faithful clergy-
man and his wife, for the purpose of renewing the cloths in which they
were wrapped, to save them from damp and other injury,"
On the Restoration, Charles II. created Captain Ogilvie a
baronet, with a new blazon of arms and a more favourable
charter of the lands of Barras, in which his distinguished
services are set forth, and the promise of a pension was made
but not kept. The king, however, told Lord Ogilvie, when
advocating his kinsman's claims, that Lady Keith had assured
him that she alone, and her son Kintore, had preserved the
regalia; whereupon he had made the latter a peer, with a
salary of £400 a year.
Sir George Ogilvie's family were, doubtless, very indig-
nant at the treatment he had received, the preservation of
the regalia being attributed, in Msbet's " Heraldry," to the
exertions of the earl marischal only. Sir William Ogilvie, to
vindicate his father, published " A true Account of the pre-
86 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
servation of the regalia of Scotland from falling into the hands
of the English usurpers, by Sir George Ogilvie, with the blazon
of that family " (4to, Edinburgh, 1701) . The Earl of Kintore
contended that the contents were a libel on his family, and
the matter being brought before the Privy Council at
Edinburgh, Sir William was fined for a mere recital of
facts, and the brochure was ordered to be publicly burnt
by the common hangman at the Cross of Edinburgh. This,
however, did not deter him from printing immediately
afterwards, " A clear vindication and just defence for the
publishing of the fore-going account, with other remarkable
and observable passages relating to, and confirming the truth
of it ; for truth seeks no corners, ' fears no discovery, and
justice is no respecter of persons."
Sir Walter Scott, in a letter to Mr. Croker (February 8,
1818), adverting to the regalia, remarked, " Thus it happened,
oddly enough, that Keith who was abroad during the
transaction, and had nothing to do with it, got the earldom,
pension, etc., Ogilvie only inferior honours." Mr. William
Bell, in a " Memoir " presented in 1819 to the Bannatyne
Club, justly observes, " Charles II. seems to have distributed
his rewards with more regard to rank and influence than
justice."
The Graingers were not forgotten. An Act of Parliament
in favour of Christian Fletcher states, " For as much as the
Estates of ParHamen doe understand that Christian Fletcher,
spouse to Mr. James Grainger, minister of Kenneth, was
most active in conveying the royal Honours, his Majesties
Crown, Sword, and Sceptre, out of the Castle of Dunottar
immediately before it wes rendered to the English usurpers,
and that be the care of the same wes hid and preserved :
Thairfore the King's Majestic, with advice of his Estates in
Parliament doe appoint tioo thousand merhs Scots to be forth-
with paid unto her be His Majestie's thesaurer, out of the
readiest of His Majestie's rents, as a testimony of their sence
of her service."
The regalia of Scotland continued to be produced in
public, as formerly, during the sittings of the Scottish
Parliament down to the Union, when, a report having been
cuiTcnt that these emblems of national sovereignty were to
be removed to London, the party who opposed the Union
proposed an addition to the twenty-fourth article of the
treaty, by which it should be enacted that " the Crown,
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND, 87
Sceptre, and Sword of State, Records of Parliament, etc.,
continue to be kept as they are, in that part of the United
Kingdom, now called Scotland, and that they shall so remain
in all time coming, notwithstanding of the Union " (January
14, 1707). This stipulation was adopted by the ministerial
party ; yet it appears that Government judged these emblems,
connected with so many galling and hostile recollections of
past events, could be no safe spectacle for the public eye,
while men's minds were agitated by the supposed degradation
of Scotland beneath her ancient enemy. When the Scottish
Parliament was finally dissolved, the earl marischal was
called upon, as formerly, to surrender the custody of the
regalia to the Commissioners of the Treasury ; but he
declined appearing in person at what he considered a
humiliating occasion, and delegated William Wilson, one of
the under clerks of Session, " to deliver the Crown, Sceptre,
and Sword of State to the Commissioners, to be by them
lodged in the Crown room of Edinburgh Castle." This
ceremony took place, March 26, 1707, when the regalia were
deposited in the chest, which was their usual receptacle, and
secured by three strong locks. The Grown-rooTn is a strong
vaulted apartment, its chimney and windows well secured
by iron stanchels, and the entrance protected by two doors,
one of oak, and one formed of iron bars, both fastened with
bolts, bars, and locks of great strength.
In 1794 the crown-room was opened by special warrant
from the king, to search for certain records connected with
Scotland ; but none were found, and nothing was observed
but the chest in which the regalia had been deposited, which
the commissioners did not think themselves authorized to
open. The room was again shut and secured.
According to Scott, "an odd mystery hung about this
chest and the fate of these royal symbols of national
independence." It had become generally apprehended that,
contrary to the provision in the Act of Union, they had been
transferred to London. During Sir Walter's conversation with
George IV., when regent, he mentioned the subject of the
regalia, which greatly excited his Royal Highness's curiosity.
In the year 1817 the prince regent, considering that all
political reasons for withdrawing from the people of Scotland
the sight of the ancient symbols of her independence had
long ceased to exist, gave directions for removing the mystery
which had so long existed with regard to the Scottish
88 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
regalia. A commission was appointed, of which Sir Walter
Scott was an active member (February 1, 1818), and the lid
of the great chest in the crown-room was forced, the keys
having been lost. The regalia were discovered in the same
state in which they had been deposited there in 1707. With
the sword of state and sceptre was found another rod, or
mace, of silver, with a globe at the top — the mace of office of
the lord high treasurer of Scotland. Upon the discovery
of the regalia, the royal flag was hoisted upon the castle,
and greeted by the shouts of a numerous crowd assembled on
the hill.* Orders were at once given for the safe custody of
the regalia, which were committed to the officers of state by
* It appears that all classes in Scotland had exhibited the most
anxious and lively curiosity, but no one would seem to have been more
excited than Sir Walter Scott himself. His daughter relates that,
accompanying him a day after the chest had been opened, to see the
regalia, she heard him utter an exclamation, in a tone of the deepest
emotion, something between anger and despair, " No." It appears that
one of the commissioners, not quite entering into the solemnity with
which Scott regarded the business, had made a sort of motion as if he
meant to place the crown on the head of one of the young ladies. The
gentleman at once laid down the crown with an air of painful embarrass-
ment. Scott whispered to him, " Pray forgive me." Very different
from this feeling was that evinced by the Earl of Seafield, chancellor,
when the sceptre of Scotland performed its last grand legislative
function of ratifying the Treaty of Union, namely, touching the docu.
ment, the ancient mode of confirming Acts of Parliament in Scotland.
His lordship, on returning the sceptre and Act to the clerk, is reported to
have said, " There is an end to an old song."
In the " Eecord of a Girlhood," by Frances Ann Kemble, we read :
" Sir Walter Scott told me that when the Scottish regalia was dis-
covered, in its obscure place of security in Edinburgh Castle, pending
the dcci.sion of Government as to its ultimate destination, a committee
of gentlemen were appointed its guardians, among whom he was one ;
and that he received a most urgent entreaty from an old lady of the
Maxwell family to be permitted to see it. She was nearly ninety yeai's
old, and feared she might not live till the crown jewels of Scotland were
permitted to become objects of public exhibition, and pressed Sir
Walter Scott with importunate prayers to allow her to see them before
she died. Sir Walter's good sense and good nature alike induced him to
take upon himself to grant the poor lady's petition, and ho conducted
her into the presence of these relics of her country's independent
sovereignty ; when, he said, tottering hastily forward from his support,
she fell on her knees be lore the crown, and clasping and wringing her
wrinkled hands, wailed over it as a mother over her dead child. Hia
description of the scene was infinitely pathetic, and it must have
appealed to all his own poetical and imaginative sympathy with the
former glories of his native land."
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 89
a warrant under the great seal, with power to appoint a
deputy-keeper and yeoman-keepers of the regalia, and to
establish regulations for the safe efxhibition of them to the
public. Captain Adam Ferguson (son of the historian), an
old Peninsula officer, Avas appointed deputy-keeper, with
two non-commissioned officers under him,- their uniform
being that of the ancient yeomen of the guard.
On the visit of George IV. to Scotland in August, 1822,
the regalia were conveyed from the castle to Holyrood
House, by the Duke of Hamilton, escorted by yeomanry and
Highlanders, amid the sound of their bagpipes, and submitted
to his Majesty. In the grand state procession of the king
from Holyrood House to the castle (the cavalcade wearing
dresses of satin and velvet of the time of Charles I., mounted
on Arab horses i*ichly caparisoned with Turkish saddles and
bridles), the sceptre was carried by the Honourable John
Stewart Morton, and the crown by the Duke of Hamilton, in
right of his ancient earldom of Angus, on the crimson
cushion found with the regalia, which he occasionally ele-
vated, so as to be seen by the assembled multitude, who
hailed the diadem of their sovereign with loud acclama-
tion.
Previously to the departure of his Majesty, he conferred
the honour of knighthood upon Captain Ferguson, and the
office of earl marischal, which had been forfeited by the
second Earl of Kintore, in consequence of his taking part in
the insurrection in 1715, upon Sir i^lexander Keith of
Dunnottar and Ravelston, as the representative of the ancient
earls marischal ; but no honours or benefits were bestowed
upon the Ogilvies.
It seems that the regalia suffered very little injury during
, the strange vicissitudes to which they had been exposed.
Two or three sockets in the crown, which had once been filled
with precious stones, like those to which they correspond, are
now empty, and three counterfeit stones, or doublets, may be
remarked among those which remain in the setting. The
head of the sceptre has been bent a little to one side, and
seems to have been broken, and awkwardly mended at some
early period. The handle and scabbard of the sword of state
are also somewhat broken, but it is remarkable that these
very imperfections are noticed in an act of the Privy Council
(July 10, 1621), when the regalia were narrowly examined,
lor the purpose of discharging the heir of Sir Gideon Murray
90
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
of Elibank of the keeping of the said honours, which had been
in his father's possession as deputy-treasurer of Scotland.*
The Crown op Scotland is of pure gold, and has a broad
band which encircles the head, adorned with twenty-two
precious stones, between each
of which is a large Oriental
pearl. Above the great
circle is a smaller one, fronted
with twenty points, having
diamonds and imitation
sapphires disposed alter-
nately ; the points are all
decorated with pearls at the
top. The upper circle is
raised into ten crosses ^o?'ee5,
each having in the centre a
large diamond between four pearls placed in cross saltire^ and
these cross florees are intermingled with the fleurs-de-lys
which surmount the points of the second small circle. From
the upper circle rise the four arches added to the crown by
James V., as before mentioned, adorned with enamelled figures
which meet and close at the top, surmounted with a globe
and cross patee. In the centre of the cross patSe is an
amethyst which points the front of the crown, and behind,
on the other side, is a large pearl, below which are the
The Crown of Scotland.
* The description is very precise, and deserves to be quoted at
length. It bears that " Thay [the Lords of the Privy Council] sighted
the saidis honouris and remarkit the same verie narrowlie and fand
that the crowne had in the neder circle nyne garnittis, and four
jasientis, three counterfute emcraulds, four am at ystis, twentie-twa
pearle : abone the neder circle sax small thine triangle diamontis, ten
small triangle challoms filled with blew amalyne in steade of stones,
twa small emptie challoms, having no thing in tham bot the black tent,
and twa challoms with twa flatt quhyte stones with the boddom upmost,
nixt abono the small challoms nynetoon grito ami small ray poarle, and
within the Roise, betwix the Flour de Luce thretty-fivo pearle, sum
less sum more, with ten quhyte stones in the middis thairof, in the four
quartaris of the bouett of the crowne four pcai'lo sett in four pecis of
garnisoone of gold enamald, and in the croco abone the crowne, ane
amatist and aught pcarlo, and that the sceptour was in three pecis,
haveing ane peai'le in the top, and ano crystell globo bonethe the heado
quhairof hes been brokin, and mendit with wyre, and the siwerd had the
plumbctt bersit and brokin with ane voydo place in everie syde thairof,
and the scabart thairof riven bersit and brokine, wanting sum pecis out
of it."
THE REGALIA OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. 91
initials I.R.V. The crown is nine inches in diameter, and
six inches high from the under circle to the top of the cross.
The Sceptre was made for James V. It is a slender
Sceptre of James V.
Sword of State and Scabbard.
92
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and elegant rod of silver, double gilt, two feet long, of a
hexagonal form, and divided by three buttons or knobs.
Between the first and second button is the handle ;
from the second to the capital three sides are en-
graved, the other three are plain. Upon the top
of the stock is an antique capital of embossed
leaves, supporting three small figures representing
the Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, and Saint James.
The ornamented niches in which these small figures
are placed, are again surmounted by a crystal globe,
of two inches and a quarter in diameter, and again
by a small oval globe, topped with an Oriental
pearl. Under the figures are the initials I.R.V.
The whole length of the sceptre is thirty-four
inches. Sir AValter Scott thought it probable that
James Y. had the sceptre made when he was in
France in 15^6, judging from the workmanship.
The Sword of State is five feet long, and of
elegant workmanship. The handle and pommel
are silver gilt, and fifteen inches in length ; the
traverse, or cross, represented by two dolphins,
whose heads join at the handle, is seventeen
inches and a half. On the blade is indented, in
gold letters, " Julius II. P. " a present from that
pope to James IV. The scabbard is of crimson
velvet, richly ornamented with filagree work and
silver, the prevailing work being oak-leaves and
acorns, which were the emblems of Pope Julius II.
It seems that James V. received a sword and
hat from Pope Clement VII., which had been
consecrated upon the night of the Nativity, in ordei*
that it might breed a terror in a neighbouring
wicked prince (Henry VIII.), against whom the
legate declared this holy weapon was sharpened.
Accordingly, in subsequent lists of King James's
regalia, we find two swords of honour repeatedly
mentioned, but only the sword presented by Pope
Julius is now in existence.*
* Lesley, in his " History of Scotland," thus relates this
incident : " Julius the Secound, Paip for the tyme, sent ane
i{(uj oi ambastadonr to the Kinj^, declaring him to be Protecteur
^^' and Uefendour of Christen faythe, and in signe thairof send
unto him ane purpour diadame wrocht with flouris of golde, withe ane
'the regalia of ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND, 93
The lord treasurer's Rod of Office is of silver gilt,
curiously wrought.
By order of William TV. the following jewels were placed
in the crown-room (December 18, 1830), being a bequest by
Cardinal York, the last male descendant of James VII., to
George IV. : —
A gold collar of the Order of the Garter, being that
presented by Queen Elizabeth to James VI. on his creation as
a knight.
The Saint George, or badge of the Order of the Garter,
of gold richly enamelled, and set with diamonds ; being that
probably worn by James, appendant to the collar.
The Saint Andrew, having one side the image of the saint,
finely cut on an onyx, set round with diamonds ; on the other,
the badge of the thistle, with a secret opening, under which
is placed a fine miniature of Queen Anne of Denmark.
A ruby ring, set round with diamonds, being the coro-
nation ring of Charles I.
Bword, having tlie hiltis and skabert of gold sett with precious
stanes."
In Thomson's " Collection of Inventories " we find among the
treasures left by James V. of Scotland, " the Hatt that cam fra the Paipe
[Clement VII.], of gray velvett with the Haly Gaist sett all with orient
perle " — the mystical cap, or diadem, blessed at Rome by the successor of
St. Peter at Christmas Eve.
LIBRARY \
94
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
CHAPTER lY.
THE CORONATION CHAIE AND THE KINGSTON STONE.
" Is the chair empty ? Is the sword unswayed ?
Is the king dead ? "
" A base, foul sfowe, made precious by the foil
Of England's chair, where he is falsely set."
Shakespeare, Richard the Third.
VERY marvellous history is
attached to the famous Coro-
nation Chair in St. Edward's
Chapel, Westminster Abbey,
in which our sovereigns have
been consecrated since the
time of the first Edward.
Holinshed gives us the history
of one Gathelus, a Greek,
"vvho brought from Egypt
into Spain the identical stone
on which the patriarch Jacob
slept and poured oil at
Luz.* He was " the sonne
of Cecrops, who builded the city of Athens ; " but having
married Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh, he resided some time
in Egypt, from whence he was induced to remove into the
west by the judgments pronounced on that country by Moses.
" In Spain, having peace with his neighbors, he builded a
* Probably the setting up of a stone by Jacob, in grateful memory of
the celestial vision, became the occasion of idolatry in succeeding ages,
to those shapeless masses of unhewn stone of which so many astonishing
remains are scattered through the Asiatic and European world. In
Maurice's "Indian Antiquities" we find some notices of "anointed"
stones ; also in Tavernier's " Travels," where, describing a black stone
idol in the pagoda of Benares, ho adds that one of the principal cere-
monies of tlie priests of the stone deities was to anoint them daily with
odoriferous oils.
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. 95
citie called Brigantia [Compostella], where lie sat upon his
marble stone, gave lawes, and ministred justice nnto his
people, thereby to maintaine them in wealth and qnietnesse.
And "hereof it came to passe, that first in Spaine, after m
Coronation chair in Westminster Abbey.
Ireland, and then in Scotland, the Kings which ruled over
the Scotishmen received the crowne sittinge upon that stone,
untill the time of Robert the First, King of Scotland." In
another part of his " Historic of Scotland," Holinshed mentions
96 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
King Simon Brech as having transmitted this stone to
Ireland about seven hundred years before the birth of Christ,
and that " the first Fergus " brought it out of Ireland, fe.c. 330.
The Mahometans, however, declare that Jacob's stone was
conveyed to the Temple of Jerusalem, and is still preserved
in the mosque there, and is called the " stone of unction."
Another story is told by some of the Irish historians, that
the Liagh Fail, or stone of destiny, was brought into Ireland
by a colony of Scythians, and had the property of giving
forth sounds whenever any of the monarchs of the Scythian
race seated themselves upon it.* Hector Boece (died 1536)
notices a prophecy, which, translated from the Irish, runs
thus : —
" Unless the fixed decrees of fate give waj,
The Scots shall govern and the sceptre swaj
Where'er this stone they find, and its dread sound obey."
Of the coronation stone, and its removal from Scotland,
Drayton thus makes mention in his " Polyolbion " (seven-
teenth song) : —
" Our Longshanks, Scotland's scourge, who to the Oreads raught,
His sceptre ; and with him from wild Albania brought
The reliques of her crown (by him first placed here),
The seat on which her kings inaugurated were."
The value attached to the stone brought by Edward I.
from Scone, was due in a great measure to the legend of
" Scota, the fairy princess." The following lines from a
manuscript in the Bodleian Library show one form of the
ancient fancy : —
" En Egipte Moise a le poeple precha,
Scota la file fata on bien I'escota,
Quarc il dite en espirite, qui ccste piere avera
De molt estraunge teiTe conquerour serra."
* "Nor ought we to pass by nnmentioned," writes Sir James Ware,
" that fatal stone anciently called Liafail, brought into Ireland by the
Tuath-de Danaus, and from thence in the reign of Moriertach Mac Ere,
Bent into Argile by his brother Fergus, but which was afterwards en-
closed in a wooden chair by King Keneth, to serve in the coronation
solemnities of the King of Scotland, and deposited in the monastery of
Scone, from whence it was at length removed to Westminster by
Edward I. Wonderful things are reported of this stone, but what
credibility they deserve, I leave to the judgment of others. In particular
fame reports, that in the time of heathenism, before the birth of Christ,
he only was confirmed monarch of Ireland, under whom, being placed
on it, (his stone groaned, or spoke, according to the Book of Hoath."
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. 97
Apart from legendary history, the interest of the corona-
tion stone is sufficiently ancient to claim for it an especial
regard. It is to be traced, on the best authorities, into
Ireland ; whence it had been brought into Scotland, and had
become of great notoriety in Argyleshire, some time before
the reiofn of Kinc: Kenneth, a.d. 834. This monarch found
it at Dunstaffnage, a royal castle, enclosed it in a wooden
chair, and removed it to the abbey of Scone, where for four
hundred and fifty years "all Kingis of Scotland" (says
Hector Boece) " war ay crownit quhil y^ tyme of Kyng
Robert Bruse. In quhais tyme, besyde mony othir crueltis
done be Kyng Edward Lang Schankis, the said chiar of
merbyll wes taikin be Inglismen, and brocht out of Scone to
London, and put into Westmonistar, quhaer it remains to our
day is."
Edward left it as an offering of conquest at the shrine
of the Confessor. In the Archceological Journal (vol. xiii.)
is an interesting article on Edward I. 's spoliations in Scotland,
A.D. 1296, by the late Joseph Hunter. From it we find that
the king took the castle of Edinburgh at the beginning of
June, and we also learn from an inventory that three coffers
containing plate and jewelled vessels were sent to West-
minster. At the beginning of August he visited the abbey
of Scone, where he found the "fatal stone" enclosed in a
chair. As to what became of the latter there are no docu-
ments to afford information. Of the former, however, mention
is made in several inventories of "una petra magna super
quam reges Scociae solebant coronari." The king intended
in the first instance to make the chair in bronze, and one
Adam, the king's workman, had actually begun it ; indeed,
some parts were even finished, and tools bought for the
cleaning up of the casting. However, the king changed his
mind, and we have, accordingly, one hundred shillings paid
for a chair in wood, made after the same pattern as the one
which was to be cast in copper ; also I3s. Aid. for carving,
painting, and gilding two small leopards in wood, which were
delivered to Master Walter the painter, to be placed upon
and on either side of the chair made by him. The wardrobe
account of the 29th Edward I. enables us to follow the
progress of the work, for Master Walter is there paid
^\ 19s. Id. for " making a step at the foot of the new chair
in which the Scottish stone is placed near the altar, before
the shrine of St. Edward, and for the wages of the carpenters
H
98 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and of the painters, and for colours and gold employed ; also
for the making of a covering to cover the said chair." The
present step and lions are modern work.
The step may have been a sort of platform, occupying
that space at the extreme west of the Confessor's chapel which
is now unpaved. The destination of the chair appears to
have been very clear, from the following entry by a con-
temporary hand in the inventory of the last year of Edward's
reign : — " Mittebatur per preceptum regis usque abbathium de
Westmonasterio ad assedendum ibidem juxta feretrum S'
Edwardi in quadam cathedra lignea deaurata quam Rex
fieri precepit (ut Reges Angliae et Scocice infra sederent
die coronationis eorundem) ad perpetuam rei memoriam."
Walsingham, however, says, " Jubens inde fieri celebrantium
cathedram sacerdotum." Most probably both accounts are
true, and in Walsingham's time it might have formed a seat
for the priest who officiated at the altar of St. Edward.
The next thing we hear of the stone is contained in a
royal writ of July 1, 1328, addressed to the abbot and monks
of Westminster, saying that the council had come to the
determination to give up the stone, and enjoining them to
deliver it to the sheriff ©f London, to be carried to the queen
mother. This resolution was not, however, carried out.
At the period when Camden wrote his history, the follow-
ing lines were to be seen on a tablet that hung by the royal
stone : —
** .Si qutti Ijabrnt farrt bcl rliront'ra, rana fitirsfac,
ClaiiUitur fjac catbctira nobilis rrrr lapis ;
^tJ caput cximius 3arob quontiam patriarrba
€iucm posuit,* ccrurns numina mira poli.
* " We were then conveyed to the two coronation chairs, where my
old friend (Sir Roger de Covcrley) after having heard that the stone
underneath the most ancient of them, which was brought from Scotland,
was called Jacob's pillow, sat himself down in the chair ; and looking
like the figure of an old Gothic king, asked our interpreter what authority
they had to say that Jacob had ever boon in Scotland ? The follow,
instead of returning him an answer, told him that he hoped his honour
would pay the forfeit. I could observe Sir Koger a little rufflied at being
thus trepanned ; but our guide not insisting upon his demand, the
kuight soon recovered his good humour, and whispered in my ear, that
if Will Wimble were with us, and saw those two chairs, it would go hard
but ho would get a tobacco-stopper out of one or t'other of them." —
Addison.
In tho " Citizen of the World " Goldsmith has a sarcasm at the chair :
** * Look yo there, gentlemen,' said the attendant, pointing to an old oak
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. 99
©uetn tulit EI ^cotis spolians quasio bictor fjonoris
fEnbartJiis primus, fHars belat armipotens,
.Scotorum tiamttor, nostcr balitiisstmus J^cctor,
^nglorum tiKUS, ct gloria milttiae/'
This "stone from Scotland" is described by Braylej
(Neale's " Westminster Abbey ") as bearing much resem-
blance to the dun stones, such as are brought from Dundee
for various purposes, of an oblong form, but irregular,
measuring twenty- six inches in length, sixteen inches and
three-quarters in breadth, and ten inches and a half in
thickness. With regard to its traditional Egyptian origin,
" it is remarkable," observes Planche, " that the substances
composing it accord in the grains with the sienite of Pliny,
the same as Pompey's (or more properly Diocletian's) Pillar
at Alexandria, but the particles are much smaller." These
substances are stated in Neale to be chiefly quartz, with light
and red coloured felspar, light and dark mica, with, probably
some green hornblende intermixed ; some fragments of a
reddish-grey clay slate, or schist, are likewise included in
its composition, and on the upper side there is also a dark-
brownish red- coloured flinty pebble.
From a "Geological Account of the Coronation Stone,"
by Professor Ramsay, printed by Dean Stanley in " Memorials
of Westminster Abbey" (pp. 499, 500), it appears that "the
stone is a dull reddish or purplish sandstone, strongly
resembling that of the doorway of Dunstaffnage Castle,
which was probably built of the stone of the neighbourhood.
It is extremely improbable that it was derived from the
rocks of the Hill of Tara, from whence it is said to have
been transported to Scotland, neither could it have been
taken from the rocks of lona. That it belonged originally
to the rocks round Bethel is equally unlikely ; while Egypt
is not know^n to furnish any strata similar to the red sand-
stone of the coronation stone."
The tablet to which I have alluded has long since
disappeared. Of the chair of Kenneth no remains have ever
been heard of, nor does it appear from the historians that
chair ; " there's a curiosity for ye ! In that chair the kings of England
were crowned. You see also a stone underneath, and that stone is
Jacob's pillar! ' I could see no curiosity either in the oak chair or the
stone ; could I, indeed, behold one of the old kings of England seated
in this, or Jacob's head laid on the other, there might be something
curious in the sight."
loo CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Edward brought it to London with the stone, though it is
not improbable that he did so, and the mention in the ward-
robe accounts of the new chair rather supports the belief
that the writer was cognizant of an old one. In that case
the distich might have been carved on the Scotch chair. It
was not very likely to have been copied upon the English
one.* There is, however, a rectangular groove, or indent,
measuring fourteen by nine inches, and from one- eighth to
one-fourth of an inch in depth on the upper surface of the
stone, into which perhaps a metal plate so inscribed might
have been fixed with cement or melted lead, and at one
corner of the groove is a small cross, slightly cut. Of the
very ancient existence of the prophecy there can be no doubt,
and the belief in it is said to have reconciled many of the
Scottish nation to the union with this country. The chair is
of solid oak, and still firm and sound, though much dis-
figured by wanton mutilations, as well as the hand of time.
Immediately under the flat seat the stone rests upon a kind
of middle frame, supported at the corners by four crouching
lions on a bottom frame or plinth. These lions are clumsily
executed, and are supposed to have been first attached after
the original step mentioned in the wardrobe account had
been destroyed. A new face was made to one of them
during the preparations for the coronation of George IV.
All around, on a level with the stone, ran formerly a beautiful
piece of tracery in quarterly divisions, each containing a
small shield, originally emblazoned, but there are no vestiges
of the arms sufficiently distinct to be recognized. Of these
shields only four out of ten remain, two at the back, and two
on the left side. All the rest have been broken away, and
* There is some reason to suppose that there were two stones at
Scone : the stone of fate, now at Westminster, and a stone chair in
which it would seem the stone of fate was placed when the kings were
to be inaugurated. Nothing is more certain than that King Edward I.
carried the stone of fate to Westminster in 1296. Yet, in 1306, we
read that King llobert Bruce was placed in the royal seat at Scone —
" in sede positus Regali." So also, after King Robert II. had been
crowned and anointed at Scone (March 25, 1371), we have record of
his sitting next day on the moothill of Scone. We learn elsewhere that
the moothill was on the north side of the monastery of Scone, outside
the cVujrchyard. This distinction between the stone of fate and the
stone chair may exj)lain away the difficulties which suggest themselves
in the way of applying the descriptions of some of the Scottish
chronicles to the oblong block of stone now at Westminster.
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. loi
even tlie tracery itself is entirely gone in front, so that the
stone is there fully exposed to view. The back is terminated
by a high pediment, along each angle of which are five
crockets ; but these, as well as the moulding whereon they
are mounted, are of inferior workmanship to the rest of the
chair, and of subsequent addition. Along each side of the
pediment is a smooth flat division, about three inches broad,
which appears to have contained a number of small pieces
of metal, probably with armorial bearings enamelled upon
them. The whole chair has been completely covered with
gilding and ornamental work, much of which may yet be
distinguished on a close inspection. On the inside of the
back are some faint traces of a male figure in a royal robe, a
small portion of the bottom of which, together with a foot
and shoe (the latter somewhat sharp pointed), are still visible;
but they were much more so within memory. Below the
elbow on the left side is distinguishable a running pattern of
oak leaves and worms, with red-breasts and falcons on the
oaken sprays in alternate order ; a different pattern of
diapered work is shown on the right side, as well as within
the tiers of panelled niches which adorn the outer side and
back of the chair.
Within the spandrils connected with the upper tier of
arches at the back, small sprigs were formerly depicted on a
metallic ground, either gilt or silvered, and covered with
plain or coloured glass, as may yet be seen in three or four
places. The diapering within the panels, as far as can now
be traced, was formed of running patterns of vine and oak
branches. The entire height of the chair is six feet nine
inches ; breadth at the bottom, three feet two inches ; width,
two inches ; breadth of the seat, two feet five inches ; depth
of the seat, one foot six inches ; from the seat to the ground,
two feet three and a half inches ; height of the elbows, one
foot two inches. *
Queen Mary appears to have been the only exception of
the monarchs who have occupied this chair at their coronation,
since the time of Edward I. A chair is reported to have
been blessed and sent her by the Pope for her consecration.
* The coronation stone is noticed at considerable length by Dr. W.
F. Skene and Dr. John Stuart in the Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries in Scotland. See also the "Coronation Stone," by the
former, published at Edinburgh by Edmonston and Douglas, with
illustrations.
I02 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
At the coronation of our sovereigns this venerable chair of
the "fatal stone" is covered in cloth of gold. It was
arrayed at the installation of Charles II., and from this
practice is shamefully disfigured with all sorts of nails, tacks,
and brass pins, which have been driven in to fasten the cloth
of gold, or tissue, upon that and subsequent occasions. The
use of the Scottish stone is first expressly mentioned at the
coronation of Henry IV., October 13, 1399.
Since the time of Edward I. this stone has only been
.moved once from the abbey, when Cromwell was installed
as Lord Protector in Westminster Hall ; then the " Chair of
Scotland" was brought there for that special occasion, "It
was," says Prestwick in his account of Cromwell's installation,
" set under a prince-like canopy of state."
"The Coronation Chair," says Dean Stanley, "is the one
primeval monument which binds together the whole empire.
The iron rings, the battered surface, the crack which has all
but rent its solid mass asunder, bear witness to its long
migrations. It is thus embedded in the heart of the English
monarchy — an element of poetic, patriarchal, heathen times,
which, like Araunah's rocky threshing-floor in the midst of
the Temple of Solomon, carries back our thoughts to races
and customs now almost extinct; a link which unites the
Throne of England to the traditions of Tara and lona, and
connects the character of our complex civilization with the
forces of our mother earth, — the stocks and stones of savage
nature."
An allusion may be made to the marble seat in West-
minster Hall, on which our early kings used to sit and
administer justice ; hence it was called the " King's Bench."
"At the upper end of this hall," writes Stow, "there is a
long marble stone of twelve feet in length and three feet in
breadth. And there is also a marble chair where the King's
of England formerly sate at their coronation dinners, and, at
other solemn times, the lord chancellor : but .now not to be
seen, being built over by the two courts of Chancery and
King's Bench." There are several instances of sovereigns
who are recorded as sitting in the marble chair. Henry VII.
was to come "by vj of the clock" in the morning of his
coronation " from his chambre into Westminster Hall, where
he shall sitt, under clothe of estate in the marble cliaire,
apparcilled with clothes and quisshins of clothe of golde
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. 103
bawdekyn as it apparteigneth." Richard III. went in great
pomp into Westminster Hall, and there in the King's Bench
court took his seat. Grafton informs ns that the same king
on the day of his coronation " came downe out of the white
hall into the great hall of Westminster, and went directly to
the Kinge's Benche." Hall records that Katherine, queen
of Henry V., after her coronation was " conveighed into
Westminster hal and ther set in the throne at the table of
marble at the upper end of the hal."
If the coronation stone of Scone ranks first in traditional
and antiquarian interest, that of Kingston in Surrey, upon
which some of our early Anglo-Saxon monarchs were
consecrated, possesses also peculiar claims to our regard.
"That stones of a particular form, or in a remarkable
situation," remarks Dr. William Bell, " were gradually elected
from the mass as the royal throne of princes and kings,
whence, when the pontiff and kingly character were united,
they were deemed holy, and afterwards shed the halo of their
sanctity on everything around, or in contact with them, is
but the natural and gradual march of the human intellect
from things common to select — from select to sacred and
divine. The meteor stones that had been observed to fall
from heaven — the Bethulia — had an additional, perhaps to
the savage mind, an inevitable cause of reverence, which in
many cases, as in the Caaba of Mecca,* or the misshapen
fragment worshipped as a deity at Edessa, and transferred
by Heliogabalus to Home with unbounded reverence and
unlimited expense, received honours more than human — they
became themselves the deities ; and when Sanconiathon
teaches that the worship of these Bethulia was invented by
Caelus, he but personifies the visible heavens, and ascribes to
the voluntary act of giving, a necessary operation of nature.
So rooted did this practice become in the East, that the two
ideas of stones and worship, or divinity, became almost
identical. The Hebrews frequently used the terms as
synonymous, when we find them giving the name of stone or
rock to kings and princes — even to God himself, as the Rock
* It is a tradition in Arabia, that when the black covering (the
Kesona) of the Caaba stone undulates in the wind, it is caused bj the
seventy thousand guardian angels of the shrine waving it with their
wings. These angels are to transport it to paradise when the last
trumpet sounds.
I04 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
of Israel, where the stone metaphor was intended to convey-
as much of sanctity, as of security or endurance,"
At or near a consecrated stone, it was an ancient Eastern
custom to appoint kings or chiefs to their office. Thus we
read in the Scriptures of Abimelech being " made king by
the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem " — the earliest
royal appointment, perhaps, of which we have any traces
in history. Joash had the crown put upon him while " he
stood by a pillar, as the manner was." Subsequently, and
among the northern nations, the practice was to form a circle
of large stones, commonly twelve in number, in the middle
of which one was set up, much larger than the rest : this
was the royal seat ; and the nobles occupied those surround^
ing it, which served also as a barrier to keep off the people
who stood without. Here the leading men of the people
delivered their suffrages and placed the elected king on hig
seat of dignity.
Whenever an Irish king or chief was to be inaugurated
on one of the sacred hills, it was usual to place him on a
particular stone, whereon was imprinted the form of their
first chieftain's foot, and there proffer to him an oath to
preserve the customs of the country. " There was then,"
says Spenser, who had himself witnessed the election of an
Irish dynast in this manner, "a wand* delivered to him by
the proper officers, with which in his hand, descending from
the stone, he turned himself round thrice forward and thrice
backward."
Among the ancient kings of Ireland, the Eugenian
branch of the Munster monarchs w^ere inaugurated on a
large stone ; those of the Dalcassian line were inducted
under the Bile-Magh-Adair, or sacred tree in the Plain of
Adoration at Adair. In 982 the tree was cut down by King
Malachy the Great.
The coronation chair of the O'Neills of Castlereagh
originally stood on the hill of that name, within two miles of
Belfast; but after the downfall of the family it was thrown
down and neglected, until the year 1750, when it was removed
* In an account of the ceremonies performed at the initiation of the
kings of Tyrconnel, we are told that in presenting the new king with
the wand, which was perfectly white anct 6trai«j:ht, the chief who
officiated used these words : " Eeceive, O king, the auspicious badge
of your autliority, and remember to imitate in your conduct the
straightness and whiteness of this wand."
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. 105
to Belfast, and built into the wall of tlie market house. On
the taking down of that building some years ago, it again
changed its quarters, and is in the possession of a family of
Rathcarrick, in the county of Sligo. The chair is very rudely
constructed, and made of common whin, or gritstone ; the
seat is lower than that of an ordinary chair, and the back
higher and narrower.
These inaugural chairs were sometimes merely large stones,
in which the impression of two feet were sculptured, and they
were anciently placed on some elevated spot in every princi-
pality or lordship.
The kings of Denmark were crowned in a circle of stones,
and in reference to the enormous weight of these stones,
Mallet remarks, " Que de tout temps la superstition a
imagine qu'on ne pouvait adorer la divinite qu'en faisant
pour elles des tours de force."
The election of the Swedish kings took place on the Mora
stone, near Upsala. The monarch took the oath prescribed,
and was placed on the sacred stone. For each new sovereign
a stone was put close to it, with the date of his election
engraved upon it.*
The ducal stone at Carinthia was an erection of stone.
On this a countryman, plainly dressed, was seated, to whom
the newly elected prince was introduced. The sovereigns
of Germany were inaugurated in the " Konigsstuhl," or
king's seat, in a building about four miles from Coblentz.
This relic of antiquity was replaced, in 1848, by a building
erected similar to the original plan.
Adjoining the north side of the church at Kingston, in
Surrey, stood — upwards of half a century ago — a chapel,
close to the famous stone to which I have alluded. This
building contained the figures of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs
* The Mora stone is described as a mass of rock, mounted on several
others ; round it were ranged twelve smaller ones, on which the chief
men sat. Beneath stood the throne of homage, carved with the image of a
king — crown and insignia. A smaller stone, bearing the date and name
of the newly elected sovereign, was placed within the ring, several of
which, mutilated, are still extant. To preserve these interesting relics,
Crown Prince Gustaf, in 1770, erected a small building over them, snr-
mounted by a crown. The Mora field, in which these stones are, derives
its name from a swamp. Saxo describes the king standing, or sitting,
upon a heavy stone, as "a sign and surety that his intentions were firm
and endurinsr."
io6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
who had been crowned at Kingston, and also a representation
of King John, who gave the inhabitants of that town their
first cliarter. In the inscriptions over these figures, some of
the kings were said to have been crowned in the market-
place, and others in the chapel, but no particular spot is
mentioned in the old chronicles. Unfortunately these figures
were destroyed by the fall of the chapel in 1730.
Alhiding to Kingston, in Sui'rey, Leland says, " The
tounisch men have certain knowledge of a few Kinges crowned
there afore the Conqueste."
It is certain that authentic historical documents fix the
locality for the royal installation of some of the Anglo-Saxon
monarchs at this town, in preference to other places of the
same name in various parts of the country. In the Saxon
charters it is laontioned that in 838 a great council Avas
held in the town of Kingston, in Surrey, at which King
Egbert, Athelwulf his son, and the bishops and nobles
of the land were present. In the record of this event the
town is called " Kyningeston, famosa ilia locus." In a chartei'
of King Edred (946), Kingston is mentioned as the royal
town where consecration is accustomed to be performed.
The number of kings crowned here, as recorded by Speed,
is nine, two of which are, however, doubtful. Those of which
we have authentic record are: —
924. Athelstan, by Archbishop Aldhelm.
940. Edmund, ) i » i i • i r\i.^
946. Edred, / ^^ ^r^l^^^shop Otho.
All three sons of Edward the Elder.
959. Edgar.
975. Edward the Martyr, his son.
978. Ethelred the Second, brother of Edward.
1016. Edmund the Second.
The rude stone on which they were crowned formerly stood
against the old town-hall, in the market-place, and was re-
moved to the yard of the Assize Courts, on the building of a
new one in 1837, where it remained — preserved, it is true, but
almost unobserved — until 1850, when the town council of
Kingston, having had their attention called to the matter,
appointed a committee to consider it, and eventually selected
a suitable place for its preservation. A design was made by
Mr. C. E. Davis, of Bath, and a grant of money was devoted
to defraying the cost of erection. The remainder of the funds
required were raised by private means. The coronation stone
THE CORONATION CHAIR AND KINGSTON STONE. 107
is placed on a septagonal block of stone, six feet in diameter
and fifteen inches thick, standing in the centre of seven stone
pillars connected together by an iron railing, moulded after
a design presumed to be characteristic of the period. These
pillars and the septagonal form of the monument are in
allusion to the seven kings crowned in the town, and by the
kindness of Mr. J. D. Cuffe, of the Bank of England, and
Mr. W. Haw^kins, a penny of each monarch was placed under
their respective names. The shafts of the pillars are of blue
Purbeck stone, polished, and the capitals of Caen stone, carved
with Saxon devices. The spot chosen for the monument
seems most appropriate, for tradition has always fixed it as the
site of the palace of the Saxon monarchs. In the notice of
the inauguration of the Kingston monument, published in
the Gentleman'' s Magazine (October, 1850), it is observed
that an additional interest is thrown around the stone by the
probability that the veneration in which it was held by the
Saxons did not originate with themselves, but had descended
from the ancient Britons, by whom it might have been held
sacred for inaugurations and other solemn and important
ceremonies from a very remote period ; and some weight is
given to this conjecture by the fact of the stone being a
kind of what is termed Druid's stone, similar in geological
character to those of Stonehenge. If this deduction be
correct, the Kingston crowning stone is in itself extremely
curious, and may lay claim to very great antiquity, without
assigning to it quite so many years as are given to the
CORONATION STONE IN WESTMINSTER AbBET.
io8
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
CHAPTER V.
THE COURT OF CLAIMS.
" The prirao genitive and due of birth,
Prerogative of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels,
But by degree stands in authentic place ;
Take but degree away, untune that string,
And hark what discord follows ! "
Troilus and Cressida, Act i. sc. 3.
" I'd net be king unless there sate
Less lords that shar'd with me in state,
Who by their cheaper coronets know
What glories from my diadepi flow :
Its use and rate values the gem :
Pearls in their shells have no esteem,"
Lovelace.
OURT OF Claims
takes its origin
from the ancient
prerogatives of
the lord high
vsteward, who
sat, judicially,
in the White
Hall of the
king's palace
at Westminster,
to receive the
appl i cation s
and decide upon
the claims of
all those who
held land on the tenure of performing some personal
service at the coronation.
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 109
The office of Lord High Steward is of great antiquity,
having been established prior to the reiga of Edward the
Confessor, and was formerly one of inheritance.* The services
which were decided in the Court of Claims had the name of
magnum servitium, or grand ser jean try, as being attached to
the person of the sovereign, and involved the honour of
knighthood in all cases ; no person beneath that rank, nor a
minor or female tenant, being allowed to perform them.
"Tenure by grand serjeantry," remarks Lyttleton, "is,
where a man holds his lands or tenements of the sovereign,
by such services as he ought to do in his own person, as to
carry the banner of the king, or his lance, or to lead his
army, or to be his marshal, or to carry his sword before him
at the coronation, or his carver, or his butler, etc."
The lord high steward (the " stead ward," or ward of the
king's stead or place), in after reigns, had the assistance of
councillors in deciding claims to service, and at the present
time the duty is committed to the whole of the Privy Council,
" or any five or more of them."
The office of lord high steward, which had been heredi-
tary in the house of Simon de Montfort, was, on his death,
abolished by Henry III., as a check to the enormous power
conferred on that office.
Many of these services at coronations are now obsolete,
and some of them are curious, illustrating the peculiarities
of manners and customs in bygone ages.
The feudal pomp and service which has been ever
attached to the ceremony of crowning a British king may, in
these days of universal information (it will be well if that
word may be coupled by future historians of the time with a
record of essential improvement), be thought a uselessly
expensive display of obsolete customs. Yet, on the other
hand, it may be observed that customs which exhibit the
tenure on which every man holds his fee, according to the
ancient constitution of the land, never, while that constitution
exists, can be trifling and unimportant. The king is, by
common consent, the fountain of honour, of property, and of
* The following order, copied from the original warrant book of the
Board of Green Cloth, will show the nature of the duties of the lord
steward at cei'tain times : — " June 12, 1681, Order was this day given
that the Maides of Honour should have CheiTy Tarts instead of Goose-
berry Tarts, it being observed that Cherrys are at three pence per
pound."
no
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
the public peace. If a man holds his land of him by the
service of tendering a rose on Midsummer Day, that rent is
not to be sneered at as trifling and ridiculous ; it is rather
a demonstration on
what generous terms
the constitution of
Great Britain exacts
the fealtj due to her
monarch. That she
looks chiefly to the
loyalty of heart, and
not to gain, with a
faithful adherence to
the great keystone of
^ the social bond, is her
^ object.
It may, therefore, be
^ matter not unworthy
of consideration, how
far the services and
attendance of the nobles,
and the tenants of
the crown by grand
serjeantry, on occasion
of a coronation, can be, even in these days, wisely dispensed
with. Such a dispensation might be to omit a useful
admonition, that they hold all from the people, through their
chosen and hereditary chief magistrate.*
* A proclamation for celebrating the solemnity of Queen Victoria's
coronation was issued April 4, 1838, and made in the usual form by the
heralds-at-arms in Loudon and Westminster. Subsequently, the pro-
cession and coronation banquet being omitted, as in the case of William
IV. and Queen Adelaide, a proclamation " declaring Her Majesty's
further Pleasure touching her Eoyal Coronation and the Solemnity
thereof" was issued, noticing these changes tlius : " The said Committee
of our Privy Council have further submitted to us, that in dispensing
with the ceremonies which have heretofore taken place in Westminster
Hall, it may be proper that we should disi)ense with the service and
attendance of those who, by ancient customs and usages, as also in regard
of divers tenures of sundry manors, lands, and other hereditaments, do
claim and are bound to do and perform divers several services at the
time of our said Coronation, which services would have been performed
in Westminster Hall, or in the procession, and at the same time that we
should bo graciously pleased to declare that such disptMisation should in
no wise interfere with the righta and privileges they may claim aa
John of Gaunt. From Cotton. MSS.
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. in
The coronation of Rictiard II., of which we have more
detailed records than those of preceding monarchs, affords
the first accounts of the proceedings of the Court of Claims.*
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and King of Castile and
Leon, presented himself before the king and his council, as
Earl of Leicester, and claimed the office of high steward or
grand seneschal of England. In virtue of this, the duke,
previous to the coronation, held his Court of Claims in the
White Hall of the Palace of Westminster, to determine such
claims of grand serjeantry, and the fees appertaining to them.
On the day assigned, open proclamation was made that all
claimants of such services, by their estates or any other title,
should prefer their several claims by bills or personal petition
to the steward or his deputies.
The claim of Thomas of Woodstocke, uncle to the king,
to be Constable of England, on the ground of his marriage
with the daughter of Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford,
was allowed. This constituted the tenure by which that
touching the performances of the said services at any future Coronation
of the Kings or Queens of this realm, etc."
* In Rymer's " Fcedera " are found the following mandates, in
Latin, respecting the coronation of Richard II., from which it
appears the necessary workmen for the purpose were compulsorily
impressed : —
" The King, to all and singular Sheriffs, Nobles, Bailiffs, Ministers
and others, his Liegemen within as well as without the liberties (of
London), to whom these letters shall come, health. Know ye that we
liave appointed our beloved William Hanway, clerk, to take and provide
by himself and his deputies, stone, mortar, and other necessaries for our
works which we have ordained to be executed in our palace of West-
minster for the solemnity of our Coronation. And to take Carpenters
and all other workmen necessary for the works aforesaid in our City of
London, and Counties of Middlesex and Surrey, and to put them on the
works aforesaid, to remain on the same at our command, as shall be
necessary. And all those whom he shall find perverse, or disobedient in
this matter, to arrest, take, and commit them to our prisons, there to
remain until by deliberation we shall be induced otherwise to ordain.
And therefore we command and strictly enjoin, that to the said William
and his deputies aforesaid, in all and singular the premises to be done
and executed, ye shall be acting, aiding, and answering, as often and
according as by William himself, aforesaid, or his deputies, ye shall be
warned on our part respecting this matter. In witness whereof we have
caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness the King at West-
minster, the 7th day of July."
By an order in precisely similar terms, Thomas de Thoroton is
appointed pavilioner, to impress tent-makers for preparing the tents
appointed to be made for the coronation.
112 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
dignity was successively held by the families of De Gloucester,
Bohun, and Stafford.
The great constable was an officer of state of very great
power, from an early period in France, and both in France
and England during the sway of the Norman and Plantagenet
sovereigns. He was the supreme judge in all matters brought
before the High Court of Chivalry, and to him lay the final
appeal in all questions of moment in military affairs.
The first great constable of England was Ralph de
Mortimer, who received 'the staff of office from the Conqueror
himself, and the dignity passed afterwards in succession
through several great families, until it was at length abolished
in the reign of Henry VIII. by the attainder of Henry
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, who was lord high constable
.in the year 1521. Some of the duties of the constable were
afterwards administered under other names; but the dignity
has never since been revived as a permanent office, only on
temporary occasions, as that of a coronation or other im-
portant State pageant, a lord high constable is created for
the time, and his power expires when the occasion is over.
The most recent instance was the appointment of the late
Duke of Wellington at the coronations of George IV., William
IV., and Queen Victoria.
At coronations it is the place of the lord high constable to
attend the royal person, assist at the reception of the regalia
from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, and, together
with the earl marshal, to usher the champion into the hall.*
The office of Earl Marshal, now held by the dukes of
Norfolk, is of great antiquity, from the fact of the first
possessor of this dignity on record being Gilbert de Clare, in
1135, afterwards Earl of Pembroke.f The rights belonging
* The original high constable's staff of office, the same which was
last borne by Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, at the coronation
of King Henry VIII., and used by him in his attendance on that monarch
at the famous interview with Francis I. at the Champ du drap d'or, is
still preserved in the castle of Stafford.
f Prynne (on the " Institutes ") says, " This is to be observed that
though there were divers lord marshals of England, before the reign of
Richard II., yet Richard II. created Thomas Mowbray, first earl marshal
of England, per nomen Comitis Mareschalli Anglice. He (and his suc-
cessor earl marshal) was enabled by this charter to carry a golden
staff before the king, and in all other places, with the king's arms on the
top of it, and his own at tlie lower end, when all the marshals before his
creation carried only a wooden staff."
THE COURT OF CLAIMS.
113
to this office were, formerly, to have the king's horse and the
queen's palfrey when they had alighted at the place where
they were to be crowned. He was always to be near the king
during the coronation cei'emony, and to sustain his crown " by
the flower." He also kept the king's peace within seven
miles of the court, and acted as high usher on the corona-
tion day, and to have the tablecloth of the high dais and the
cloth of estate, under which the king sate. The fees he
received were numerous.
Among the high duties appertaining also to the earl
marshal of England is the publication (as head master of the
Heralds' College) of all royal publications and the arrange-
ments for the coronation of the sovereign.
The day selected for this event is chosen by the sovereign,
and in the instance of Queen Victoria was proclaimed in the
Gazette.
By the earl marshal of England an order also is issued
respecting the robes, coronets, etc., which are to be worn by
the peers and peeresses on that august occasion.*
* The notice given at the inauguration of Queen Yictoria was thus :
" These are to give notice to all Peers who attend at the coronation of
Her Majesty, that the robe or mantle of the Peers be of crimson velvet,
edged with minever, the cape furred with minever pure, and powdered
Baron.
Viscount.
Earl.
Marquess. Duke.
Avith bars or rows of ermine, according to their degree, viz. Barons, two
rows ; Viscounts, two rows and a half ; Earls, three rows ; Marquesses,
three rows and a half ; Dukes, four rows. The said mantles or robes to
be worn over the full court-dress, uniform, or regimentals usually worn
114 C/^OWiVS A. YD CORONATIONS.
The lord of the Isle of Man was bound by bis tenure to
bring two falcons to the king* on his coronation.* The lord
at Her Majesty's Drawing-Rooms. Their coronets to bo of silver-gilt ;
the caps of crimson velvet turned up with ermine, with a gold tassel
on the top ; and no jewels or precious stones are to be set or used
in the coronets, or counterfeit pearls instead of silver balls.
*' The coronet of a Baron to have, on the circle or rim, six silver balls
at equal distances.
" The coronet of a Viscount to have, on the circle, sixteen silver balls.
" The coronet of an Earl to have, on the circle, eight silver balls,
raised upon points, with gold straAvberry leaves between the points.
" The coronet of a Marquis to have, on the circle, four gold strawberry
leaves and four silver balls alternately, the latter a little raised on points
above the rim.
" The coronet of a Duke to have, on the circle, eight gold strawbeiTy
leaves."
The earl marshal's order concerning the robes, coronets, etc., which
are to be worn by the peeresses at the coronation of her Most Sacred
Majesty, Queen Victoria : — " These are to give notice to all Peeresses
who attend at the Coronation of Her Majesty, that the robes and mantles
appertaining to their respective ranks are to be worn over the usual full
court-dress.
" That the robe or mantle of a Baroness bo of crimson velvet, the
cape whereof to be furred with minever pure, and powdered with two
bars or rows of ermine ; the said mantle to be edged round with minever
]>nre, two inches in breadth, and the train to be three feet on the ground ;
the coronet to be according to her degree, viz. a rim or circle, with six
pearls on the same, not raised upon points.
" That the robe or mantle of a Viscountess be like that of a Baroness,
only the cape powdered with two rows and a half of ermine, the edging
of the mantle two inches as before, and the train a yard and a quarter ;
the coronet to be according to her degree, viz. a rim or a circle with
pearls thereon, sixteen in number, and not raised on points.
" That the robe or mantle of a Countess be as before, only the cape
powdered with three rows of ermine, the edging three inches in breadth,
and the train a yard and a half ; the coronet to be composed of eight
pearls raised upon points or rays, with small strawberry leaves between,
above the rim.
" That the robe or mantle of a Marchioness bo as before, only the
cape powdered with throe rows and a half of ermine, the edging four
inches in breadth ; the train a yard and thi'oo quarters ; the coronet to
1)0 composed of four strawberry leaves and four pearls i*aised upon
points, of tho same height as the leaves, alternately above the rim.
" That the robe or mantle of a Duchess bo as before, only the cape
powdered with four rows of ermine, the edging five inches broad, the
train two yards ; the coronet to bo composed of eight strawberry leaves,
all of equal height above the rim.
" And that tho caps of all the said coronets be of crimson velvet,
turned up with ermine, with a tassel of gold on the top."
* The Lord of the Me of J/an (the "Mona" of tho Romans) was a
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 115
of the manor oE Xether Blesingtoa, in Kent, presented three
maple cups. A moiety of the manor of Heydon, in Essex,
was held by the owner on bearing a towel for the king when
washing before the banquet, and another moiety of the land
by the service of bearing the basin and ewer. The manor of
Addington, in Surrey, was held by presenting a mess called
<)(irout to the sovereign at the banquet. At the coronation of
Richard II. this claim was made by William Bardolph, who
calls the mess " dilgerunt," or " dillegrout," and " si apponatur
sagina ; " if fat were used in the making, it was called
" malpigerium " or " malpigernon." "Addington," observes
Blount, " is now come to the possession of Thomas Leigh,
Esq., who, at the coronation of his Majesty that now is
(16G1), brought up to the king's table a mess of pottage called
dillegrout, whereupon the Lord High Chancellor presented
him to the king, who accepted his service, hut did not eat the
jJottage.''
In the reign of the Conqueror this manor was held by
Zezelin, the king's cook, which will account for the culinary
service.
Dillegrout was, perhaps, a gruel flavoured with dill.
Johnson in his dictionary explains grout as coarse meal,
pollard, and then quotes as follows : —
" King Hardiknute, 'midst Danes and Saxons stout,
Caroused on nut-brown ale, and dined on grout ;
Which dish its pristine honour still maintains,
And when each king is crowned, in splendour reigns."
Dr. William King's Art of CooJcery.
dignity connected with many interesting historical associations. A few
particulars must suffice. Orry, a Danish prince, was the first sovereign
of the island of whom we have any trustworthy account. After six
successors a Norwegian race of kings followed, who held their power
from the time of their usurpation (1066) till 1270, when it fell into the
hands of Alexander III., King of Scotland. William de Montacute with
•an English force drove out the Scots, but his poverty prevented him from
keeping the island, and it thus became the property of the kings of
England. In 1307 Edward II. bestowed it, first, upon the Earl of Corn-
wall, and then on Henry Beaumont. Henry IV. granted it to Henry
Percy, Earl of Nortliumberland, upon whose attainder for high treason,
in 1403, the Isle of Man was forfeited, and given by the king to William
Stanley and his heirs, afterwards earls of Derby, on condition that he
should give two falcons to the kings of England on their condonation. By a
marriage with the Derby family, James, Duke of Athol, became king of
the island, but in 1764 sold the sovereign rights and privileges to the
British Government.
Ii6 CROWXS AXD CORONATIONS.
The manor of Liston, in Essex, was held by the servict
of making- tvafers — a composition of sup^ar, almonds, ginger,
saffron, and otlier things — for the king and queen at the
coronation banquet.*
The lord of the manor of Worksop, in Nottinghamshire,
claims the service of finding a glove for the king's right
hand, and supporting his right arm when holding the sceptre.
The barons of the Cinque Ports claim to carry over the
sovereign in the coronation pi-ocession a canopy of cloth of
gold or purple silk, Avith a gilt silver bell at each corner, sup-
poi'ted by four staves covered with silver, four barons to every
stalf, and to cany a canopy in like manner over the queen ;
haA-ing' for their fee the canopies, bells, and staves, with the
privilege of dining at a table on the king's right hand. The
oriofin of this claim is so ancient that a charter of Charles IT.
speaks of " the time of the contrary being never remembered
to have been." According to Richard of Devizes (1189), as
a i-eward for the readiness with which the Cinque Ports had
assisted John in his unfortunate voyages to and from Nor-
mandy, their five bai-ons were allowed henceforward to carry
the canopy over the king as he went to the abbey, and to
hold it over him when he was unclobhed for the sacred
unction. t
* In the collection of manuscripts belonging to Mr. Baillie Cochrane
are some papers relating to a portion of the lands in the neighbourhood
of the town of Lanark, which were held by the tenure of baking certain
" wafers " for the king when he happened to reside there.
t At the South Kensington Museum are three silver bells, bequeathed
by the late Countess of Waldegrave, all of different designs and of his-
torical interest. They w^ere appended to the canopies used at the
coronation of George II., George III., and George IV. The first husband
of the late Lady Waldegi*ave (Mr. Milward) was one of the barons of
the Cinque Ports, and it was through him that the bells came into the
possession of the testatrix.
A writer in ^oteii avd Queries (5th series, vol. v. p. 338) remarks:
" I am enabled, through the courtesy of Messrs. Widowson and Veale,
the well-known silversmiths in the StiTind, to annex, hereunder, a
description of a piece of gold plate, which has a direct bearing upon
the duties of the Cinque Ports Barons and fees, when employed on the
august ceremonies referred to. The tray, or salver, to which I alliade,
is of an oblong shape with rounded coi'ucrs ; the plate marks thereon
being the standard, the London assay; the maker's initials K. B. and the
date letter O, which would signify 1728-9. In the centre are engraved
these armorial bearings (without tinctures) : A chevron between three
trefoils slipped ; in chief a sunflower erect. Croat, a domi stag. Under-
neath is the inscription, 'This plate was made of the Staff of the Canopy
. THE COURT OF CLAIMS, 117
The lord mayor and twelve citizens of London claim their
right to assist the chief butler of England in the execution of
his office, and to sit at a table next the cupboard, on the left
side of the hall. The lord mayor serves the sovereign with
wine in a gold cup, and receives it for a fee. At the corona-
tion of Richard II. these claims were foi-mally made, and the
records of the Exchequer afforded a precedent for them ; but
the matter was left to the king's discretion, who yielded
to their requests for the following singular reasons, as ex-
pressed in the language of an ancient manuscript : — The king
*' considering the great fondeness and subsidy that his pro-
genators habundantly tyme paste had founde of the citie of
London, and trusting for the like fondeness and subsidie
tyme commyng, amongest the said citizens ; and to make
their heai'tis merier, and well willyng to do hym true service
and to helpe hym hereafter in his necessities, benignlie to
accomplish their desires, decreed and ordeyned that they
should doo service in the said offices before by them demanded,
according to their desires in all things." *
The mayoi', bailiff, and commonalty of Oxford also claim
to assist the chief butler, and have for their services three
maple cups. In the Cottonian MSS. the following account
of this service appears in a list of the claims of Edward VI. :
'- The Mayor of Oxenford claimeth to ayde the Chief Butler,
in their service of ale at the barr ; and for profe shewed olde
which I had the Honour to Support over the Queen, at the Coronation of
Their Sacred Majesties, King George 11"'^'. and Queen Caroline, October
11. 1727, as Baron of the Cinque Ports, being Elected for the Port of
Sandwich.— Gerald de Gols.' "
* On the coronation of Eleanor of Provence, queen of Henry III.
(1235), the citizens of London claimed the oflBce of " cellarers " to the
King of England, which having been granted, they attended the king
and queen on horseback in a procession from the Tower, each citizen
bearing a gold or silver cup in his hand for the royal use. (See chapter
on "Coronation Processions from the Tower.") At the banquet they
served the king and company with wine, according to their duty. The
Mayor of London, Andrew Buckeral, the pepperer, claimed the place of
Master Michael Belot, the deputy of Albini, Earl of Arundel, the grand
boteler or pincerna of England ; but he was repulsed by the king, who
said, " No one by right ought to perform that service, but Master
Michael." The mayor submitted to the royal decision, and served the
two bishops at the king's right hand.
As the citizens of London had claimed the service of the butlery, so
those of Winchester claimed that of the royal kitchen ; but the doings of
the men of Winchester, in the capacity of cooks' assistants, have not
been recorded.
ll8 CROVVA'S AA'D CORONATIOXS,
])residente.s wherein it appeared that the INIajor of Oxenford
hade done the service, wheruppon the Erie of Arrondell,
Chief Butler, gave him his livery, and did admit him to tht
same service."
The Chief Butli:rship is traced by authentic records into
the hands of William de Albini, who came to England with
William the Conqueror. The office has been held by some of
the noblest families in England, and is now an hereditary
right of the Duke of Norfolk as Earl of Arundel. The fees for
services at the coronation banquet were — the best gold cup and
cover, with all the vessels and Avine remaining under the bar,
and all pots and cups, except those of gold and silver, which
shall be in the wine-cellar after the banquet. The fees are
now commuted to a gold basin and ewer. As a proof of the
honour attached to this office, Henry III. himself attended on
his son as chief butler on the coronation of that prince.
The office of HereditapvY Gkand Almoner of England is-
attached to the barony of Bedford. The duties are to collect
and distribute certain moneys at the coronation from a silver
dish, which he claims as his fee. A tun of good wine was
formerly allowed him, together with all the cloth on which
the sovereign Avalks in pi-ocession from the door of the hall at
Westminster to the abbey church.*
* At Burghloj House, Northamptonshire, the seat of the Marquis
of Exeter, there is a buffet of gold plate, comprising coronation plate of
the times of King James, Queen Anne, George I., and George IV., and
received by the earls of Exeter in their capacity of hereditary grand
almoners at the coronations of the various sovereigns. The marquisate
was conferred in 1801. At the coronation of Henry IV. the office of
grand almoner was claimed by John, Lord Latimer, and Thomas do
Mowbray, in virtue of lands formerly belonging to Beauchamp, Lord
Bedford : by the former as one of the co-heirs, by the marriage of his
ancestor with Maud de Beauchamp; and by the latter as inhei'itiug a
]mrt of the barony which had passed in marriage with JMaud, daughter
of Beatrix do Beauchamp, to the family of Botelort. The claim was
disputed at the coronation of James II., but it was adjudged to the Earl
of Exeter, as descended from the Latimers.
The duties of the hereditary grand almoner, first instituted in the
reign of Richard I., are confined to the distribution of alms at a corona-
tion. The office of the higli almoner is of a more general description..
In the reign of Edward I, liis otticc was to collect the fragments of the
royal table, and distribute theui daily to the poor; to visit the sick, poor
widows, prisoners, and other persons in distress; to remind the king
about the bestowal of his alms, especially on saints* days ; and to see
that the cast-pfE robes were sold to increase the king's charity. For
more than a century the office of lord high almoner was held by tho
Archbishop of York.
THE COURT OF CLAiMS. my
The Dajpifer, or Seiver (a service now extinct), brought
up and arranged the dishes at the coronation banquet. In
Ives's " Select Papers " we are told that at the coronation of
Elizabeth, queen of Henry VII., "the lorde Fitz-water, sewer,
or dapifer, attended in his surcote with tabard sleeves, and a
hoode about his neck, and his towell above, and served the
messes."
The office of Grand Carver seems to have been attached
formerly to the earldom of Lincoln.
The Chief Cup-beaeer is the lord of the manor of Great
Wymondley, in Hertfordshire, who claims to serve the
sovereign with the first cup that he shall drink at the
banquet, and to have the said cup, of silver gilt, as his fee.
The duty of the Grand Pannetier (an office now extinct)
was "to beare the salte and the kerving knives from the
pantre to the kinge's dyning table," and his fees were the
salt-cellars, knives, and spoons laid before the king at the
coronation feast. The chief business of the pannetier, as
the name implies, was to provide the bread, and upon that
account the coverpane was also allowed. The office was of
great antiquity, and was performed of old by the Beau-
champs, Earls of Warwick.
The Chief Lar diner was entrusted with the care of the
royal larder, and his fees were the remainder of the beef,
mutton, venison, kid, lard, etc., as also the fish, salt, and
other things remaining in the larder after the coronation
feast. In 1333 Margaret, widow of John de Burdeleys, held
office by the service of coming to the king's larder on the
coronation day, with a knife in her hand, to perform the duty
of larderer.
The royal Napier had charge of the napery, or table-linen,
at the banquet. In an account of the coronation of Eleanor,
wife of Henry III., it is stated that Henry de Hastyngs,
whose office it was to serve the linen from ancient times, took
the tablecloths and napkins as his fee. Humfrey Tyrell,
in the time of Henry VII., claimed, "for the love of God,
to be gardeine of the napery," by virtue of certain lands in
Essex.
The Herh'Strewer was an office of some importance at
the royal court. Among the manuscripts belonging to
C. J. Eyston, Esq., of East Hendred, Wantage, is one dated
1702 (April 11, 1 Anne), " Order for a gown of scarlet cloth
with a badge and her Majesty's cypher on it, for the
120 CROWXS AND CORONATIONS.
Streioer of Herbs to her Majesty, as was provided at the
last coronation."*
Amongst the various offices Avhich were to be filled at
the coronation of George IV., considerable interest was nsed
by the ladies to procure that of herb-woman to his Majesty.
It was finally granted to Miss Fellowes, sister to Mr. Fel-
lowes, secretary to the lord great chamberlain, pursuant to
a promise which was made to her while his Majesty was yet
Prince of Wales. Sandford does not specify the precise
manner in which this duty is to be performed, but he repre-
sents the principal herb- woman with the royal arms embroi-
dered on her left breast.
The right of consecrating the sovereigns of England is
attached to the metropolitan Chair op Canterbury, the
archbishops of which see have (with three exceptions)
exercised it from the earliest ages of the monarchy. In the
reign of William I. this office is ascribed to them by a con-
temporary historian as an acknowledged privilege of ancient
(late. In the reign of Henry II., Pope Alexander III. inter-
dicted the Archbishop of York, and the bishops who assisted
him, because they had crowned Prince Henry, at the per-
suasion of the king, his father, in the absence of Thomas a
Becket, Archbishop of Canterbuiy, and without his licence.
In later times this privilege of the metropolitan see, though
broken through at the accession of Elizabeth, has, on all
occasions, been fully admitted. f
The Archbishop of Canterbury receives as his fee after
a coronation, the purple velvet chair, cushion, and footstool
on which he sits during the ceremony.
The Archbishop of Yoi'k has the honour to crown the
Queen Consort.
* In the clays of Stephen it was usual in houses, upon occasions of
festivity, to strew flowers over the floor. It was part of the luxury of
the times ; and Becket, when he was chancellor in the next reign,
ordered his hall to be strewed every day in the winter with fresh straw
or hay, and in summer with rushes and green leaves, fresh gathered ;
and this reason is given for it, that such knights as the benches could
not contain might sit on the floor without soiling their clothes.
t Cranmer takes the following view ou this subject in his address to
Edward VI. on his coronation : — " The oil, if added, is but a ceremony :
if it be wanting, that a king is yet a perfect monarch notwithstanding,
and God's anointed, as well as if he was inoiled. Now for the person
or bishop, tliat dotli annoint a king, it is proper to he done by the chicfest.
But if they cannot, or will not, any bishop may perform this ceremopy.'*
THE COURT OF CLAIMS.
121
The Dean and Chapter of Westminster, as successors to
the abbots of St. Peter, claim to instruct the sovereign in the
rites and ceremonies used at the coronation ; to assist the
Archbishop of Canterbury in perfoi'ming divine service, and
to have the keeping of the coronation robes ; with divers
fees, viz. robes for the dean and his three chaplains, and
sixteen ministers of the said church ; the royal habits which
are put off in the church ; the several oblations, the furniture
of the church, the canopy, staves, and bells, and the cloth on
Avhich the sovereign walks from the west door of the church
to the theatre.
The Abbot of Westminster was charged with the singular
office of administering the chalice to the king and queen, as a
sign of their conjugal unity, after their reception of the Sacra-
ment from the archbishop. The convent on that day was
to be provided wdth " 100 simnals [cakes] of bread ; a gallon
of wine, and as many fish as become the royal dignity."
The Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Bath and Wells
claim jointly, as of old custom, to assist in supporting the
sovereign in the coronation procession ; the first walking on
the right hand, and the latter on the left. So early as the
reign of Richard I. we find the predecessors of these prelates
in the enjoyment of this distinction.* It does not appear to
* Bishops wore their mitres at the coronation of Henry VIII.,
Edward VI., Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. At that of James I.
they wore their rochets, and therefore, most probably, their square caps.
At the coronation of Charles I., the
account given of that ceremony is
not sufficiently explicit to say
whether or not mitres were worn
by the prelates. The archbishop,
after the recognition, invested him-
self " in pontiticalibus." Whether
this term is to be received in its
full signification in reference to
the Roman Catholic ritual, or
simply as a conventional mode,
signifying that the bishops were
in their proper ecclesiastical habits,
is not quite clear. The ceremony
was performed at Edward VI.'s
coronation according to the form agreeable to the use of the Refoi-med
Church of England.
At the coronation of Charles I. the bishops wore their rochets, as
also at the coronation of James II., with their square caps in their
hands. At the coronation of William and Mary they wore their rochets
Archbishop's mitre.
Bishop's mitre.
122 CROWXS AXD CORONATIONS,
be older than that reign. According to illuminated manu-
scripts, one part of the office of the two bishops was that of
supporting King Edward's crown, on each side, if it did not
happen to fit the royal head on which it had descended.
Thus Edward I. is represented with a bishop on each side
extending a hand to sustain the crown of St. Edward by ont^
of its ornaments.
The duties of the Lord Geeat Chajiberlaix at a corona-^
tion were to dress the king, and serve him with water, foi'
which service he had the basins, towels, and cup of assay,
also forty yards of crimson velvet, the king's bed- and
bedding', the furniture of the chamber where he lay the night
before, with his wearing apparel and nightgown. But the
Court of Claims, only allowed the robe at George IV. 's coro-
nation, as it was shown that this fee was the only one
received in kind by usage, the others being compounded for
in a sum of money.
At the coronation of Eleanor of Provence, consort of
Henry III. (1285), Gilbert de Sandford claimed, for the
service of keeping the queen's chamber-door, the queen's bed
and all its furniture, as her chamberlain. Ho assists at the
reception of the regalia from the dean and chapter of West-
ininster, and, together with the earl marshal, ushers the
champion into the hall. To this office belongs many perqui-
sites, privileges, etc., but Avhich, on a coronation, are compro-
mised for a certain sum. It is of very high antiquity, and
was for many successions vested in the family of De Yere,
Earls of Oxford. It is now claimed by Lord Willoughby
d'Eresby.*'
and caps. The bishops wore their caps at the coronation of Queen
Anno. At tlie coronation of George I., Gooi'go II., George III., thej
carried their caps in their hands, and put them on at the time the peers
put on their coronets after the " crowning."
* Ashmole, in his " Laws of Honour," says of the lord gi*eat cham-
berlain : — '' To this great officer belongs Livery and Lodgings in the
lloyal Court, and certain fees due from each Archbishop or Bishop, when
they perform their Homage or Fealty to the Sovereign, and from all the
Peers of the Realm at their Creation, or doing thorn Homage or Fealty.
And at the Coronation of every King or Queen, ho claims Forty Ells of
Crimson Velvet for his own llobes ; as also on the Coronation Day,
before the King rises, to bring his A]iparal, and after ho is by him
Dress'd, the liod, and all the Furniture of the Chamber is his Foes j
with all the King's Night Ai)paral. Ho carries the (Jloves and Linneu
us'd by the King at the C/oronation, likewise the Sword and Scabbard,
and the Gold to be offor'd by the King, with the Robe Royal and Crown,
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 123
George, Lord Dartmouth, as master of tlie horse to
James II., was permitted, by the special consent of that
monarch, to attend at the coronation as Serjeant of the Silver
Scullery, and to have all the silver dishes and plates served
at the king's table at the coronation banquet ; also to take
assay of the king's meat at the kitchen-dresser bar.
At the coronation of Richard II., John, son and heir of
the Earl of Pembroke, claimed to bear the great gilt Spues —
"Ze5 grandes esperons " — as William Marshall, his progenitor,
had done at the coronation of Edward II. The claim was
allowed, but, owing to the nonage of the claimant, the office
was assigned to Edmund, Earl of March, in right of the
claimant. At the coronation of Queen Victoria the spurs
were carried by Lord Byron, deputy to the Baroness Grey de
Buthyn.*
and to pnt them on, and serve the King that Day, before and after
Dinner with Water to Wash his Hands, and to have the Bason and
Towel for his Fees."
In a curious manuscript entitled " The Booke of Henrie Erie of
Arundell Lord Chambr to King Henrie the Eighte, and copie of a Book
signed by his Ma'tie and deluered to the Erie of Worcetour sometime
Lord Chamberlain to his highnes," directions are given for the dif-
ferent officers about the court of King Henry VIII., drawn up at
the command of that king, by Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, lord
chamberlain from 1526 to 1530. These directions, as affording an
insight respecting the courtly customs of those times, and of the attend-
ance and observance that were paid to the monarch, are almost as
curious as they are copious. They detail the whole minutiae of the duties
of the officers of the court, from the knights and esquires to the lower
orders.
* On the failure of the male line the rights and jDrivileges of the
females in the succession to, and enjoyment of all, the feudal privileges,,
were recognized and respected by the Crown. At the coronation of
Henry IV., Thomas Dymocke officiated as champion in right of his
mother Margaret. In Blount's " Fragmenta Antiquatis " we find that
occasionally grand serjeantries were performed by them at the corona-
tions of the kings and queens of England and Scotland, in respect of
baronies, lands, manors, and tenements. Ela, Countess of Warwick, held
the manor of Hoke Norton, Oxfordshire, of the king in capite by the
serjeantry of carving before the king on Christmas Day, and to have the
knife with which she carved (" Pla. Coron." 13th Edward I., rot. 30).
Lady Lora de Saundford held in dower the manor of Hornmede, Hert-
fordshire, by being chamberlain to the queen ("Pla.," 7 Edward I.,
rot. 39). The Prioress of St. Leonard of Stratford held fifty acres of
land in Brambelegh, Middlesex, by the service of finding for the king a
man to hold the towel at the coronation (22 Edward I.) .
In France there are similar instances. Thus, Mahaut, the Countess
of Artois, assisted at the coronation of Philip the Long, and with other
peers supported the crown.
124 CROIVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
In the " R-atland Papers " (Camden Society) are given
the Claims at the coronation of Queen Mary (1553). "The
paper from which this is taken is without a date, but it
evidently i-elates to the coronation of a queen-regnant, and
npon comparison with the formulary for the coronation of
Queen Mary in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, and
other authorities for the same ceremony, it is clear she is the
queen referred to."
" The Duke of N'orthfolke, Earl Marsliall, claymethe to
liave the Queue's horse and palfrey, with all the furnyture
that is on the horse, and he claymethe to be liiqlie vsslier
the daye of the coronacion, and to haue the table clothe of
the high desse, and the cloth of estate that is behind the
Queue.
" Therle of Arundell claymeth to be cliief huttler the day
of the coronacion, and to have the Queene's best cuppe, and
to have all the wyne in the pypes and hogsheddes, and othei-
vessells of wyne as sooue as the same vesselles is drawen to
the barre, and also to have all the pottes and cuppes within
the wyne seller remanynge after dynei-, so that they be
neyther golde nor silver.
" Therle of Sussex claymethe to be sJieirer at dyner, the
daye of the coronation, and claymeth to have xxli in the
name of a fee, and xviij yardes of crymesin Aellett, and the
Queene's cloke, the hatt, and the cloke bagge, and one
geldinge with a foot clothe of vellett ; he claymeth, also,
tappoynte .all other sheweres that day, and to haue the
surnape which is borne before the spyce plate at the
coronacion.
"Therle of Oxford claymeth thoffice of great cliamherlayne
of England, and to have for his fees xl"^ yardes of crymesin
vellett ; and also he claymeth to have the Queene's bedd
■wherein she lieth the night before hir coronacion, with all the
jipparell and furnyture belonginge to the same, and to have
the nighte robe with the which the Queene was clothed the
night before, with all hangings, cusshions, and other furny-
ture and apparel of the Queene's bedd chamber; also the said
orle claymeth to serue the Queene with water at the coro-
nacion, as well before as after dyner, and to have the basens
and towells that the Queene is serued with that daye.
" Therle of Derbye claymeth to beare the short sworde
<;aulcd Cnrfaua, before the Queene the daye of the coronacion,
and to have the fees thereunto belonginge ; also he claymetho
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 125
to be cheef cnppe berer to the Queene that daje, and to have
for his fee [blank in the manuscript].
" The Lord La;tymer and the Lord Braye do clame to be
the Queenes almoner the day of the coronacion, and to have
the almoners dishe of silver.
" The Lord of Burgeveney claymeth to be seriaunte and
cheef officer of the larder the daye of the coronacion, and to
have all the beefes, muttons, veales, venyson redd and fallowe-
kydd, bacon, and all other fleshe and fyshe, salte, and all
other thinges remayning in the said office after dyner.
" The Lord Gray of Wilton claymeth to be master of the
Queenes haivlces the daye of the coronacion, and to have thtv
robe or vesture which the queene shall weare that daye.
" The Maior of London (claymeth) to serue the Queene
after meat, with a cuppe of wyne, and he to haue the cuppe
of golde for his labor.
" The Barons of the Sinque Portes clayme to beare the
canapye the da,je of the coronacion, and to haue the same
canapye, with the staves, and all thinges thereunto belonginge.
" Sir Gyles Alington, knight, claymythe (to) serue the
Queene at hir coronacion, with the first cuppe of silver and
gilt, and to have the same for his fee.
" William Clopton, esquire, claymeth to make wafres for
the Queene at the coronacion, and to serue the same wafres
to the Queenes table, and to haue for his fee all the instru-
mentes, as well as of silver as other mettall ordeyned for
makinge of the same wafers, and also to haue all the
napkyns and other profites and fees thereunto aperteyninge.
" Sir Edward Dymock, knight, claymythe to be the Q,ueene''s
champion the day of the coronacion, and to haue for his fee
one cuppe of golde, the horse and furnyture, with tharmoure
which he that day wearithe, and all other to his furnyture
apperteyning ; and he claymethe also xviij yardes of
crymesyn sattin for his lyvery, and the full servyce of meate
and drynk belonginge to a baron to be conveyed to his
lodginge."
With regard to the Poet Laureate of the sovereigns of
England — an office remaining to this day — he is undoubtedly
the same that is styled the king's Versifier, and to whom one
hundred shillings were paid as his annual stipend in the year
1251. But (says Warton) when or how that title com-
menced, and whether this officer was solemnly crowned with
126 CA'OWXS AXD CORONATIONS.
laurel at his tirst investiture, is not known. It seems most
])robable that the name of versifier gave way to an appellation
<if more elegance and dignity ; or, rather, that at length
those only were in general invited to this appointment who
had I'eceived academical sanction, and had merited a crown of
laurel in the universities, for their abilities in Latin compo-
sition, particularly Latin versification. Great confusion has
entered into this subject on account of the degrees in
grammar, which included rhetoric and versification, anciently
taken in our universities, particularly at Oxford, on which
occasion a wreath of laurel was presented to the new
graduate, Avho was usually styled poeta laiireatus. These
scholastic laureations, however, seem to have given rise to
the appellation in question. Thus the king's laureate was
nothing more than a graduated rhetorician employed in the
service of the king. Th^t he originally wrote in Latin,
appears from the ancient title versificator, and may be, more-
over, collected from the two Latin poems which Baston and
Gulielmus, who appear to have respectively acted in the
capacity of royal poets to Richard I. and Edward II., officially
composed on Richard's crusade and Edward's siege of Strive-
h"ng Castle.
The first mention of the king's poet, under the appellation
of laureate, was John Key, who was appointed poet laureate
to Edward IV. Andrew Barnard, successively poet laureate
to Heniy VII. and his successor, received a salary of ten
marks (£G H^s. 4^/.). John King, his successor, was followed
by Skelton, upon whose testimony we learn that Gower,
(/haucei-, and Lydgate enjoyed no such distinction ; they
wanted nothing hut the laurel. Then came a splendid train
of names: Spenser, Daniels, Jonson, Davenant, and Dry den.
Shadwell united the offices of poet laureate and histori-
ographer. At his death, Rymer (author of the " Fcedera ")
l)ecarae historiographer, and Tate the laureate ; who was
succeeded by Rowe, Eusden, and Gibber. William White-
head was the forerunner of '^rhomas Warton, and Henry
I'ye the harbinger of Dr. Southey, who was succeeded by
Wordsworth ; and one of the brightest constellations of the
poetic firmament, Alfred Tennyson, now adds a splendour to
this ancient office.
The poet laureate was formerly expected to prepare a
given quantity of "long and short" verses, fashioned into
the shape of an ode, upon every impoi'tant event, and
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 127
invariably, on the natal day of the sovereign, to furnish a
birthday ode. This was set to music by the court composer
for the time, and performed at the Drawing-Room, but this
has been discontinued for some time. Southey, before
receiving the appointment of laureate (which had been
tendered to Sir Walter Scott, but declined in favour of the
former), stipulated that his poetical offerings should be "free-
will " offerings, and that though he might have verses as
plenty as blackberries, he should not give them on " compul-
sion."
In 1630 the first patent of this office appears to have been
granted, which fixed the salary or pension attached to it at
£100 a year, Avith an additional grant of a tierce of canary
wine from the king's stores. A commutation was agreed to,
in the case of Dr. Southey, of £27 for the allowance of wine.
*' The laurels," says Southey, in an amusing letter to his
daughter Edith, " should be gathered from the grove on
that mountain where the Nine Sisters take care of my
winged horse, and it is not proper that I should wear any
others."
The King^s Barher was an important office in the house-
hold of Edward IV. He was to have " every Saturday at
night, if it please the King, to cleanse his head, legs, or feet,
and for his shaving, two loaves, and one pitcher of wine.
Also, this Barber taketh his shaving cloths, basons, and all
his other towels [tools], and things necessary, by the
Chamberlain's assignment of the Jewel-house ; no fees of
plate or silver, but it be in his instrumental tools used by
occupation, and that by allowance of the King's Chamber-
lain."
As a protection to the royal throat, "it is accustomed that
ii Knight of Chamber, or else Squire for the Body, or both, be
present every time when the King will be shaven."
During the season of Lent, an ofiBcer denominated
the King's Coclc-crower crowed the hour every night within
the precincts of the palace, instead of proclaiming it in the
ordinary manner. On the first Ash Wednesday after the
accession of the house of Hanover, as the Prince of Wales,
afterwards George II., was sitting down to supper, this officer
suddenly entered the apartment, and proclaimed, in a sound
resembling " the cock's shrill clarion," that it Avas past ten
128 CROJVXS AXD COROXATIOXS. ^
o'clock. Taken thus by surprise, and very imperfectly
acquainted with the English language, the prince mistook
the treniulation of the assumed ci'ow as some mockery
intended to insult him, and instantly rose to resent the
affront ; with some difficulty he was made to understand the
nature of the custom, and that it was intended as a compli-
ment, and according to court etiquette. From that period
the custom has been discontinued.
So recently as in Debrett's "Imperial Calendar" for
1822, the " Cock and Cryer of Scotland Yard " is mentioned
as one of the individuals holding office in the lord steward's
depai-tment of the royal household. His duties were, during
Lent, to crow the hour of night instead of calling it.*
" When first the new-crowned King in splendour reigns,
A golden cup the loyal Champion gains.
With gesture fierce, his gauntlet stern he throws,
And dares to mortal fight his absent foes.
Where no brave Quixote answering to his call,
He rides triumphant through the guarded hall.
Thrice happy conqu'ror, that the laurel wears
Unstain'd b}^ warrior's blood or widow's tears.
Arm'd at all points, shoidd he a foe behold,
Say, would lie Tcee'p the field, or quit the gold ?'*
The office of Champion — the most perfect, and perhaps the
most striking, relic of feudalism that has come down to us
from the age of chivalry — is said to have been confen'ed by
William the Conqueror on Robert de Marmion, or Marmyon,
one of his followers, whose family held the barony of Fonteney,
in Normandy, by the service of being hereditary champions
to the dukes on the day of their inauguration, and their
lands in England were granted on the same tenure : —
* The cock-crowing, although strange and absurd at the present
day, may not be unreasonable, nor, perhaps, the following singular
tenure : — "King John gave several lands at Keppcrton and Attcrton, in
Kent, to Solomon Attefcld, to be held by this singular service, that as
often as the king should be pleased to cross the sea, the said Solomon,
or his heirs, should be obliged to go with him, to liold his luajesty's head,
if there should be occasion for it, that is, if he should bo sea-sick ; and
it appears by the recoi'd in the Tower, that this same office of head-
holding was actually performed in the reign of Edward I."
In tho same county we find that the manor of Ai'cher's Court was
hold by grand serjoautry (feivp. Edward III.) with this condition, that
tho owner or owners should hold the king's head when ho passed to
Calais, " and by the working of the sea, should be obliged to vomit."
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 129
'' Lord of Fontenaye,
Of Lutteward and Scrivelbaye,
Of Tamworth Tower and Town."
The possessions of Robert de Marmion descended to
Philip, the last Lord Marmion, a gallant soldier and adherent
of Henrj III., who died in 1292, leaving daughters only, one
of whom was married to Sir Thomas de Ludlow, and con-
veyed to him the manor of Scrivelsby in Lincolnshire, which
had come to her by inheritance. Their daughter wedding-
Sir John Dymoke, a Gloucestershire knight, invested him
with the championship of England, which office he executed
at the coronation of Richard II. The castle of Tamworth
passed by inheritance from Philip de Marmion to his elder
daughter and co-heir to the family of Frevile, and this
division of the family estates gave rise to a contest for the
privileges of the championship at the last-mentioned corona-
tion. This high distinction was claimed by Sir John Dymoke
as the possessor of Scrivelsby, and likewise by Sir Baldwin
de Frevile as lord of Tamworth. A decision was then given
that the latter was only holden by knight service, and that
the office was attached to the manor of Scrivelsby. At the
coronation of Henry lY. (1399), another Sir Baldwin de
Frevile revived the claim, and Dame Margaret Dymoke, then
a widow, asserting the right of her own inheritance was
successful, on the plea that Scrivelsby was holden per
haroniam, and was the head of the barony of the Marmion
family ; " moreover, it appeared that the late King
Edward III. and his son Edward, Prince of Wales, surnamed
the Black Prince, had often been heard to say that the office
belonged to Sir John Dymoke."
In the College of Arms there is a curious volume contain-
ing a pedigree of the Dymoke family. There is a " true "
representation of one painted in the margin opposite the
name, as he appeared accoutred on horseback, glove in hand.
The name of the Dymokes or Dymocks (being spelt both
■ways) is Welsh. According to Sir Bernard Burke, they
claim a traditional descent from Tudor Trevor, lord of Hereford
and Wbittington, and founder of the tribes of the Marches.
During a succession of ages the high distinction of the
championship has remained in this ancient family. Sir
Henry Dymoke, the seventeenth representative of the office,
died in 1865. His grandfather, John Dymoke, was champion
at the coronation of George III., and his second son, the Rev.
K
I30 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
John Dymoke (father of the late baronet), was called upon
to ofiBciate as champion at the coronation of George IV. He
was obliged, owing to his clerical character, to act by deputy,
and appointed his eldest son, the late Sir Henry Dymoke,
who fulfilled the duties accordingly.
On the death of Sir Henry Dymoke, his brother, Mr. John
Dymoke, of Scrivelsby, became the " Honourable, her
Majesty's Champion;" deceased November, 1873, at the age of
nearly seventy. His son and successor, Henry Lionel Dymoke
(born in 1832), died abroad before attaining even middle age,
leaving a widow, but no legitimate issue.
" Family feuds," observes Walford in his " Tales of our
Great Families," and pecuniary difficulties have together
done their best to level in the dust a once noble house, whose
heads once ranked as equal to the proudest peers of the realm.
There is, therefore, I believe, no male Dymoke who at this
moment, if a Coronation were to occur, could put in a claim
for the Championship — at all events without first establish-
ing his descent in a court of law. Such is the sad end of the
" Dymokes of Scrivelsby." Had the second Marquis Towns-
hend been still alive, in all probability he would have chosen
this moment to prefer a claim to the honour on his own
account. At all events, Horace Walpole wrote to Lady
Ossory, under date October, 1789 : —
" When he was but two and twenty, his Lordship called
on me one morning and told me he proposed to claim the
Championcy of England, being descended from the eldest
daughter of Ralph de Basset, who was Champion before the
Flood — or before the Conquest, I forget which — whereas the
Dymokes came only from the second; and he added 'I did
put in my claim at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.' A
gentleman who was with me and who did not understand
the heraldic tongue, hearing such a declaration from so
young a man, stared and thought he had gone raving mad ;
and I, who did understand him, am still not clear that the
gentleman was in the wrong." *
* In the following: note respecting the " champion, " from De la Pryme'a
" Ephomoris Vita)," tho diarist says, " I have promiss'd my votes for
[Captain] Wliitclicot and ('hanipiou Do Moc, commonly called Dimraock.
This champion holds certain lund.s by exhibiting, on a certain day every
year, a milk-white bull with black ears to the people, who are to run it
down, and then it is cutt in pieces and given amongst tho poor. His
estate is almost £2000 a year, and whoever has it is champion of
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 131
The manorial residence of the Dymokes, Scrivelsbj Court,
was partly destroyed by fire towards the close of the last
century. In the portion consumed was a very large hall
ornamented with panels, exhibiting in heraldic emblazonment
the various arms and alliances of the family. " The loss,"
says Sir Bernard Burke, " has been in some degree com-
pensated by the additions made to the remnant which escaped
the fire, but the grandear of the original edifice can no longer
be traced."
The following version of an old Anglo-ISTorman ballad
describes the transmission of the lands of Scrivelsby : —
" The Norman Barons Marmyon
At Norman court held high degree ;
Knights and champions every one
To him who won broad Scrivelsby.
"Those Lincoln lands the Conqueror gave,
That England's glove they should convey-
To knight renowned amongst the brave,
The baron bold of Fonteney.
" The royal grants through sire to son
Devolv'd direct in capite,
Until deceased Phil Marmyon,
When rose fair Joan of Scrivelsby.
" From London city on the Thames
To Berwick town upon the Tweed,
Came gallant all of courtly names,
At feet of Joan their suit to plead.
" Yet, maugre all this goodly band.
The maiden's smiles young Ludlow won,
Her heart and hand, her grant and land,
The sword and shield of Marmyon.
" Out upon Time, the scurvy knave.
Spoiler of youth, hard-hearted churl,
Hurrying to one common grave
Goodwife and ladie, hind and earl.
England ; but he ows more by far than he is worth, and has no family, so
that it will get into another family. The Dimmock has enjoyed it ever
since [William] the Conqueror's days, if I do not mistake."
In a note to this by Mr. Charles Jackson, the editor of Pryme's "Diary,"
he says that this Charles Dymoke, here referred to, was champion at
the coronation of William and Mary, and at that of Queen Anne, and was
succeeded by his brother, Lewis Dymoke, who dying unmarried, the
Scrivelsby estates went to his cousin, Edward Dymoke, then an eminent
batter in Fenchurch Street.
132 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" Out on Time — since the world be^an,
No Sabbath hath his greyhound limb
In coursing man, devoted man,
To age and death, out, out on him !
" In Lincoln's chancel, side by side,
Their effigies from marble hewn.
The anni written when they died.
Repose De Ludlow and Dame Joan.
" One daughter fair survived alone,
One son deceased in infancy,
De Ludlow and De Marmyon *
United thus in Margery.
" And she was wooed as maids have been,
And won as maids are sure to be.
When gallant youths in Lincoln green
Do suit, like Dymoke, fervently.
" Sir John de Dymoke claimed of right
The championship through Margery, •
And 'gainst Sir Baldwin Frevile, knight.
Prevailed as lord of Scrivelsby.
** And ever since, when England's kings
Are diadem'd — no matter where.
The Champion Dymoke boldly flings
His glove, should treason venture there.
** On gallant steed, in armour bright,
His visor clos'd and couch'd his lance,
Proclaimeth he the monarch's right
To England, Ireland, Wales, and France.
" Then bravely cry with Dymoke bold,
' Long may the king triumphant reign ! '
And when fair hands the sceptre hold.
More bravely still — ' Long live the queen ! ' "
Singularly interesting is the ancient office of the
champion. The word itself (from a Gothic root, signifyino-
to contend, Ang.-Sax. camp, fight) carries thought back to
the ordeals, or judicial combats of olden times, when it was
allowed to women, children, and aged persons (except in
cases of high treason and parricide) to appear in the lists, by
a hired combatant or representative, to assert their rights.
This same privilege, after ages of desuetude, was, owing to its
attempted revival in our own country in the remarkable case
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 133
of Ashford V. Thornton in 1818, abolished by Act of Par-
liament (59 Geo. III. c. 46).
There are many allusions to the office of champion in
old writers. In Shakspere's " Henry VI.," when Sir John
Montgomery appears before the walls of York at the head of
the army, in the cause of Edward IV., we read —
** Mont. Ay now, my sovereign speaketh like himself ;
And now will 1 be Edward's champion."
Hast. Sound trumpet ; Edward shall be here proclaimed.
Come, fellow- soldier, make thou proclamation."
And when the soldier has read aloud the name, style, and title of
the king, Montgomery adds, as he throws down the gauntlet —
" And whosoe'er gainsays King Edward's right,
By this I challenge him to single fight."
Champions are mentioned as early as the days of Charle-
magne, and Otto I. employed them in deciding the succession
to the empire. At a later period, the word " champion " had
a more dignified significance, and knights-errant, in the palmy
days of chivalry, devoted themselves to redress injuries from
a pure sense of honour, and to protect the defenceless. The
distinction of " champion " was also applied to that knight
who, at tournaments, had the charge of the safety and welfare
of the lady spectators.
Notwithstanding the presumed antiquity of the tenure of
champion of ducal rights in Normandy, and the assumption
of royal champion from the period of the Conquest, the first
historical mention of the official performance of the duties is
at the coronation of Richard II. This event, which occurred
in 1377, was unusually magnificent. The champion, in the
discharge of his duty, is thus introduced by Walsingham :
" Sir John Dimmook being armed according to usual custom,
came with his attendants to the door of the church when the
service was concluding ; but the Lord Marshal came to him
and said that he should not have appeared so soon. The
champion complied with the admonition and retired."
At this coronation the proclamation of the champion was
to this effect : — " Yf ther be any man of high degree or lowe,
that will saie that this oure soverayn liege Lorde Richarde,
cousin and heire of the Kynge of Englande, Edwarde late
deceased, ought not of right to be Kynge of Englande crowned,
he is redy now till the laste houre of his brethe, with his
134 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
bodie, to betn him like a false man and a traitor, on what
other daie that slial be apoynted."
His motto, in alhision to his name, was " Dz*m?cc» pro rege.''
Anciently the champion rode with the royal procession
from the hall to the abbey, and proclaimed the challenge on
his way, as well as at the banquet. Sir William Segur states
that at the coronation of Henry TV. the challenge was pro-
claimed in the palace and in six places of the city. It also
appears from some reports of the challenge that it was
originally adapted to delivery before the coronation. This
would certainly appear to have been the proper mode. It is
difficult to conceive how any person could come forward to
gainsay or deny a right which has been already put in execu-
tion ; thus the challenge being made at the banquet, between
the first and second course, makes this ceremony a mere act
of state and pageantry.
Froissart, in his account of the coronation of Henry IV.,
says, " In the midst of the dinner there came in a knight
who was called Dymoke, all armed, upon a good horse, richly
apparelled, and had a knight before him bearing his spear,
and his sword by his side, and his dagger. The knight took
the king a label, the which was read ; therein was contained,
that if there was either knight, squire, or any other gentleman,
that would say that King Henry was not rightful king, he
was there ready to fight with him in that quarrel. That bill
was cried by a herald in six places of the hall, and in the
town. There were none that would challenge him."
Fabian says, " The herald proclaimed that if any man
would gainsay the king's title, the champion was there ' redy
to wage with hym batayle.' "
The exuberant account by Hall of the coronation cere-
monies of Henry VIII., as regards the champion, is worth
quoting : —
" The seconde course beyng served [at the Coronation banqnet], in at
the haule dooro entered akniglit armed at al poyntes, his bases rich tissue
embroudercd, a great phinio and a sunipteons of oistriche fethers on hia
helmet, sittyng on a proat courser, trapped in tissue and ombroudered
with tharmea of Phiolaud and of Fraunce, and an herauld of annes
before hym. And i)assyng through the halle, presented hymself with
humble reverence before the kynges niaiestic, to whom Garter, kyng
of herauldcB, cried and said •with a Icude voyce, Sir knight, from
whence come you, and wliat is your pretence ? This knighte'a name
was Sir ]U)bcrt Dinmuicko, champion to the king by tenure of his
enheritanco, who answered the saied kyng-of-armes in effecte, after thi.s
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 135
maner : Sir, the place that I come from is not materiall, nor the cause
of my repaire hether is not concernyng any matter of any place or
countrey, but onely this. And therewithall commaunded his heraulde
to make an Oyes : then saied the knif^ht to the kyn^ of armes, now shal
ye here the cause of my commyng and pretence. Then he commaunded
his owne herauld by proclamacion to saie : If there be any persone, of
what estate or degree soever he be, that will saie or prove that King
Henry the eight is not the rightful! enheritor and king of this realme,
I Sir Kobert Dimmocke hero his champion offre my glove to fight in his
querell with any persone to thutteraunce."
At the coronation banquet of Queen Mary the champion
of England was Sir Edward Dyraoke, whose portrait, pre-
served in the College of Arms, in the act of throwing down
his gauntlet, gives the heau ideal of a knight worthy to do
battle in vindication of the claims of his sovereign lady. He
pronounced his challenge gallantly, the first in behalf of
a queen-regnant : " If there be any manner of man, of what-
ever estate, degree, or condition, soever he be that will say
and maintain that our sovereign lady. Queen Mary the First,
this day here present, is not the rightful and undoubted
inheritrix to the imperial crown of this realm of England,
and that of right she ought not to be crowned Queen, I say he
lieth like a false traitor ! and that Jam ready the same to main-
tain with him while I have breath in my body, either now at
this time, or any other whensoever it shall please the Queen's
Highness to appoint ; and therefore I cast him my gage ! " *
In Sir Edward Walker's "Account of the Coronation of
Charles II.," we find the following account of the champion's
appearance at the banquet in Westminster Hall : —
" Before the second course was ready, Sir Edward Dimock, the
Kinges Champion, came rideing into the Hall vpon a goodly white
Courser, Armed at all points in a Rich Armour, between the High
Conestable and Errle Marshall on Horseback : before him went two
Trumpetts, the Sergeant Trumpetter, and two Surgeants at Armes with
* Sir Edward Dymoke wrote a letter of complaint (November 23,
1553) to Sir William Cecil for making him sue out a warrant from the
queen, for his perquisites. "At the coronation of King Edward," he
says, " I had aU such delivered to me by your father [Richard Cecil,
groom and yeoman of the wardrobe] without warrant. I had my cup of
gold without warrant. I had my horse without warrant, and all my
trappings of crimson satin without warrant ; and, by the old precedents
of my claim, I ought to have them now. It is the Queen's pleasure that
I should have all things, pertaining to my office, and so she willed me to
declare to my lord treasurer ; and rather than I would be driven to sue
a warrant for such small things I would lose them."
136 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
their Maces, then 2 Esq"*, the one on his left hand caryed a Targett
with his Armes paynted thereon, and the other his Lance vpright; then
imediately before him went George Owen Yorke Herauld. The passage
to the Kinges table being cleered by the Knight Marshall, York Herauld
Proclaymed the Champion's challenge in these ensueing Words at the
lower end of the Hall.
" ' If any person of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or
gainsay Our Soveraigne Lord King Charles the Second, King of England,
Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, Sonne and next
heire to our Soveraigne, Lord Charles the First, the last King deceased,
to be right heire to the Imperiall Crowne of this Realme of England, or
that he ought not to enjoy the same; here is his Champion, who sayth
that he lyeth and is a false Traytor, being ready in person to combate
with him, and in this quarrell will venture his life against him, on what
day soever hee shale be appointed.'
"And therevpon the Champion caste downe his Gan tie tt, which lying
some small time, Yorke Hei'auld tooke it vp and delivered it to him.
Then they all advanced to the midst of the Hall, and Yorke made there
the same proclamation, the Gantlet being allsothrowno downe and againo
delivered the Champion. Lastly they advanced to the ffoot of the stepps,
and Yorke Herauld vpon the topp of the stepps made the third Procla-
mation, and the Champion then also threw downe his Gantlet, w*^''
nobody takeing vp, it was againe delivered him, hee makeing his humble
obeysance therevpon to the King, and a guilt Cupp full of wine being
brought to the King, by the Earle of Pembroke, assisted as before, the
King drank to the Champion, and by the Earle sent him the Cupp, who
drank off the Wine, and makeing his humble reverence departed, takeing
the Cupp for his ffee."
Previous to the coronation, the said Edward Djmock was
knighted bj the king, and, on the fulfilment of his duties,
received as fees the king's great courser, with its harness and
trappings, as also the suit of armour, and bases of cloth of
gold, and the gold (gilt) cup and cover.
At the coronation of James II., Sir Charles Dymock, having
required, as one of his fees, the gold cup, it was bj a hyper-
critical decision declared that the cup was a gilt cup, the word
in the record being d'orie, which could not be understood
otherwise than gilt : and at the last coronal ion it was so taken ;
so the champion had to be satisfied with a gilt cup, instead of
one of the intrinsic metal.
The arms provided for the champion at this coronation
are very particularly enumerated : " A complete suit of white
armour, a pair of gauntlets, a sword and hanger, a case of
rich pistols, an oval shield with the champions arms painted
on it, and a gilded lance fringed about the handles. Also
a field saddle of crimson velvet, with breastplate and other
caparisons for the horse, richly laden with gold and silver;
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 137
a plume of red, white, and blue feathers, consisting of
eighteen falls and a heron's top, another plume for the horse's
head, and trumpet banners with the champion's own arms
depicted on them." These were lawful fees to the champion,
but it was understood, that on payment, by way of compen-
sation, they were to be delivered to the master of the Royal
Armoury.*
* In the " Records of the Ordnance Department " are the following
notices of the champion's claims: —
"At the coronation of King Wilb'am and Queen Mary (1689), the
Champion had delivered to him from the stores the armour for his use,
on the day of their Majesties' coronation, which he never returned again
to the storehouse, but kept for his fee. And at the coronation of Queen
Anne he wore the same armour he did at the coronation of King William
and Queen Mary, and from the storehouse he had only a lance which he
returned. It appears from a letter written 17th March, 1714, that the
Champion received for his fee at the coronation of Queen Anne £50, and
furnished himself with everything.
" Copy of a letter written by the Board [of Ordnance] 14th Apiil, 1715,
to Champion Dymoke, ' in answer to a letter the Champion writ me on
30th March, in answer to the letter on the other side sent him per order
of the Surveyor-General, who dictated it to me at his house 17th March,
1714-5 :—
"'Office of Ordnance, 14th April, 1715.
'"Sib,
" ' Mr. Nicholas having showed us a letter of yours of 30th
March, in which you demand the armour you had at the last coronation,
we must acquaint . you that it being the armour of King Charles the
Second, we cannot justify parting with the same, but, to prevent further
trouble both to you and us, we have ordered to be paid you £60, which
we hope will be to your satisfaction.
*' ' Your humble servants,
*' 'Edward Ashe,
" ' John Armstrong,
" 'Thomas Erle,
'"A. Richards,
" ' To Lewis Dymoke, Esq.' " ' D. Windsor.
"1714. October 20. To Lewis Dymoke, Esq., for his use this day
at his Majesty's coronation : —
" One suit of armour, cap-d-pie, white and parcel gilt of King
Charles II. One white manifair. One short gauntlet, white engraven
and parcel gilt. One target painted with his arms, and set round with
silk fringe. One sword, with scabbard of crimson velvet. One belt of
crimson velvet."
The last order for the equipment of the champion was given by the
Duke of Wellington, as master general of the ordnance, in obedience to
the Order in Council relative to the coronation of George IV. The duke
reported (May 23, 1820) the supply for that purpose of — "One suit of
138 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The Dymocks peem to have kept a vig'ilant eye on the
cups, for we find the hereditary champion, Charles Dyraock,
Esq., claimint^ two cups at the coronation of William and
Mary in the double capacity of champion for king and queen.
With recrard to the horse and armour, these were anciently
only claimed as a right in case a combat ensued, which, for
the ease and comfort of the bellicose champion, has never
occurred. When this did not take place, it was at the
sovereign's pleasure whether they became the claimant's
property. At the coronation of George IV., Sir Walter Scott
tells us, "the champion was performed (as of right) by young
Dymoke, a fine looking youth, but bearing too much, perhaps,
the appearance of a maiden knight to be the challenger of the
world in a king's behalf. He threw down his gauntlet, how-
ever, with becoming manhood, and showed as much horse-
manship as the crowd of knights and squires around him
would permit to be exhibited. On the whole, this striking
part of the exhibition somewhat disappointed me, for I would
have had the champion less embarrassed by his assistants,
and at liberty to put his horse on the grand pas, and yet the
young lord of Scrivelsby looked and behaved extremely
well."*
armour, cap-d-pic, lined and complete. A pair of s^anntlets lined with
doeskin f^loves. One target painted with the Dymoke arms, and fringed
with pilk. One sword, gilt hilt, and crimson velvet scabbard. One
Bword-belt, do. One pair of pistols."
On July 17> 1877, a cap-a-pie suit of plate annour was at Christie,
Manson, and Wood's auction rooms, described " as the property of the
late Hereditary Champion Dymoke, removed from Scrivelsby Court,
Lincolnshire." A small portion of the horse armour belonging to the
suit was also on sale, and, it was understood, purchased for her Majesty's
collection at Windsor Castle.
* The haclcing of the horses by the champion and his supporters, to
be graceful and free from any mischance, was a matter considered
with some anxiety at the time of the coronation of George III. A kind
of dress rehearsal of this part of the ceremony took place in Westminster
Hall, a few days previous to the coronation. In tlio Public Advertiser
of September 11), 1761, it was anuounced as follows : — " Last night
Westminster Hall was illuminated, and John Dyjnoke, Esq., put on his
armour, and tried a grey horse which his late Majesty rodo at the battle
of Dettingon (?), before his Royal Highness the Duke of York, Prince
Henry Frederic, the Duke of Devonshire, Earl Talbot, and many other
pcrs(ms of distinction. There were also another grey and four other
horses, which were walked and rodo several times up and down the hall.
Earl Talbot rode one of tliem, a very fine brown bay horse, which his
lordship proposes to ride on the side of the Champion on the coronation
THE COURT OF CLAIMS. 139
Haydon, the painter, in his ^rand coronation tableaux
displays the Dnke of Wellington, Howard, and the champion,
standing in full view, as the most prominent objects in the
splendid ceremonial.*
The challenge given by the champion on this august
occasion was as follows : — " If any person of what degree
soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay our Sovereign
Lord, George the Fourth, of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Son and next
Heir to our Sovereign Lord, King George the Third, deceased,
to be right Heir to the Imperial Crown of the United
Kingdom, or that he ought not to enjoy the same, here is his
Champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a false traitor ;
being ready in person to combat with him, and in this quarrel
will adventure his life against him on what day soever he
shall be appointed,"
It will be remembered that, owing to the economy of the
Whigs, the champion was not called upon to perform any
official duty at the coronation of William IV., and this
omission, no doubt, served as a precedent when Queen
Victoria was crowned in 1838.
day." Whatever confidence his lordship may have had in the good
manners of his brown bay, it must have been shaken afterwards, for
Horace Walpole says that it entered the hall backwards (see chapter on
" Omens and Incidents at Coronations"). It is doubtful whether the
charger of the champion was the Dettingen one, for that battle was
fought in 1743.
* Haydon, in his " Diary," mentions the, perplexity he was in to get
a court dress, without which an entrance into the hall was impossible :
" Sir George Beaumont lent me ruffles and a frill, another friend a blue
velvet coat ; a third, a sword ; the rest I had." Being early at the
door he obtained a front place in the chamberlain's box. He thus
describes the championship : " Wellington, in his coronet, walked down
the hall, cheered by the officers of the Guards. He returned shortly,
mounted, with Lords Howard and Anglesea. They rode gracefully to
the foot of the throne, and then backed out. Lord Anglesea's horse
became restive. Wellington looked impatient, and, I am convinced,
thought it a trick of Lord Anglesea's to attract attention. He never
paused, but backed on, and the rest were obliged to follow him. This was
a touch of character. The hall doors opened again, and outside, in
twilight, a man in dark shadowed armour, appeared against the shining
sky. He then moved, passed into darkness, under the arch, and
suddenly Wellington, Howard, and the Champion stood in full view, with
the doors closed behind them. This was certainly the finest sight of
the day. The herald read the challenge; the glove was thrown down.
They all then proceeded to the throne."
140 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Accepting the challenge of the champion and the raising
of the gauntlet have been frequently alluded to.
The probability of this occurrence is thus mentioned in
a letter to Sir John Pringle from David Hume on the subject :
" You see, this story is so nearly traced from the fountain-
head as to wear a good deal of probability." Further, he
inquires, " What if the Pretender had taken up Dymoke's
gauntlet ? " Horace Walpole, writing to Miss Berry in
1791, remarks, " Madame d' Albany . . . chose to go and see
the King in the House of Lords, with the crown on his head,
proroguing the parliament. What an odd encounter ! Was it
philosophy or insensibility ? I believe it is certain that her
husband was in Westminster Hall at the coronation."
All are acquainted with the graphic incidents related in
Sir Walter Scott's " Redgauntlet," in which the romance of
the story is vividly introduced. In a note to that work the
author states that the popular notion had little appearance of
truth, and " was probably one of the numerous fictions which
Avere circulated to keep up the spirits of a sinking faction."
C HI )
CHAPTER VI.
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER.
" Mounted upon a liot and fiery steed,
Which his aspiring rider seemed to know,
With slow but stately pace, kept on his course ;
While all tongues cried, God save thee, Bolingbroke !
You would have thought the very windows spake.
So many greedy looks of young and old
Through casements darted their desiring eyes
Upon his visage ; and that all the walls
With painted imagery had said at once,
Jesu preserve thee ! welcome, Bolingbroke !
Whilst he, from one side to the other turning,
Bare-headed, lower than his proud steed's neck,
Bespoke them thus : I thank you, countrymen ;
And thus still doing, thus he passed along."
Shakspere.
UCH as the august ceremony of
the coronation is attended with
splendour and solemnity in
modern times, it has lost a
portion of its former eclat by
the omission of the Procession
FROM THE Tower, through the
City to Westminster, as — with
but slight intermission — was
the custom from the time of
E/ichard II. to that of Charles
II., whose "procession" occu-
pied one whole day, the corona-
tion taking place on the day following, and with whom ended
this picturesque part of the ceremonial.
The discontinuance of these splendid processions was
indeed necessary, in consequence of the enormous expense
142
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
they entailed upon tlie city and the Government. We must
remember, also, tbat these ])rocessions took their rise from a
period when the Tower was the occfisional abode of the
sovereign For several centuries the White Tower was used
as a royal residence, and continued to be occupied as such
until the reign of Elizabeth. Henry III, while he strengthened
iru / J^^ ""^ ?^^^' ^^orned it as a palatial place of abode.
Ihe first, second, and third Edwards resided at intervals
withm its wa Is, and Kichard 11. was brought up there in his
minority, by his royal mother, "who was lodged in that part
of the Tower Royal called the Queen's Wardrobe." During
Star of the Order of the Bath.
the insurrection of Wat Tyler, the court and principal nobility
to the number of six hundred, wx^re domiciled there Henry
IV. and ^V. are recorded as departing from their "castle o*f
liondon on many occasions of feasting and rejoicincr and to
the unfortunate Henry VI. this regal abode was by'^turns a
palace and a prison. Edward IV. frequently kept his court
here with great splendour, and both hi.nself and Queen
J^.Iizabeth Woodville, the parents of the ill-fated Edward V
lodged at the Tower before the day fixed upon for their
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 143
coronation ; proceeding thence to Westminster, according to
ancient usage, to be invested with th*e symbols of royalty.*
The rojal progress from the Tower to Westminster was a
theme of exuberant admiration to our old chroniclers, among
whom Hall, from his enthusiastic love for these displays,
and his notice of the most trivial circumstances attending
them, is conspicuous. It would, indeed, be difficult to conceive
a more popular accompaniment of the coronation ceremonial,
and although passed away from kingly pageants, the descrip-
tions of these processions through the city are full of
interest.
Before the departure of the sovereign on these august
occasions from the Tower, a creation of Knights of the Bath
took place. t It was an imposing and solemn ceremony in
* " Prince of Wales. Say, uncle Gloster, if our brother come,
Where shall we sojourn till our coronation ?
Gloster. Where it seems best unto your royal self.
If I may counsel you, some day or two
Your highness shall repose you at the Tower."
Richard III., Act iii. sc. 1.
t In the HarleianMSS. (No. 433, p. 227) there is a letter from King
Edward V. to Ofces Gilbert, Esq,, commanding him to be prepared to
receive knighthood at his approaching coronation : " Trusty and well
beloved, we greet you well ; and by the advice of our dearest uncle, the
Duke of Gloucester, Protector of this our Royaume during our young
age, and of the Lords of our Council, we write unto you at this time,
willing and natheless charging you to prepare and furnish yourself to
receive the noble order of knighthood at our coronation ; which, by
God's grace, we intend shall be solemnized the twenty-second day of this
present month at our palace at Westminster, commanding you to be
here at our Tower of London, four days before our said coronation, to
have communication with conamissioners concerning that matter, not
failing hereof in any wise, as ye intend to please us, and as ye will
answer. Given, etc., the 5th day of June.
"To Otes Gilbert, Squier."
In the reign of George I. a change was made in the accompaniments
of the coronation, namely, a new arrangement of the knights of the
Bath. In the earlier coronations it had been the practice of the sovereigns
to create a number of knights before they started on their procession
from the Tower. These knights, being made in time of peace, were not
enrolled in any existing order, and for a long period had no special
designation, but inasmuch as one of the most striking and characteristic
parts of their admission was the complete ablution of their persons on
the vigil of their knighthood, as an emblem of the cleanliness and purity
of their future profession, they were called " knights of the Bath."
Every 20th of October — the anniversary of George I.'s coronation, a
procession of the knights was to take place in Henry Vll.'s Chapel, with
144 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
former days. The noviciate was conducted to a chamber
where a bath was prepared, in which he was bathed. He
then resumed his clothes, with a hermit's weed of russet
cloth, and going to the church, or chapel, he there kept his
vigil until almost daybreak, when he retired to rest. In the
morning, habited in proud and costly robes, he came forth,
and took horse in the court, and, coming to the hall, received
the sword and spurs, and was dubbed knight by the hand of
the sovereign.
Such were the ceremonies practised in the creation of
knights of the Bath, previous to the coronation of our
monarchs ; but from the reign of Charles II., this part of the
ceremonial has been discontinued. The king ordinarily dined
at the Tower on the day after the creation of the knights of
the Bath, and devoted the greater part of the day, after
dinner, to the prolonged exhibition of himself to the people.
After the royal feast to the knights in the Tower, arrange-
ments were made for the convenient progress of the king and
his court through the capital. The streets were cleaned ; the
houses of the citizens were decorated with tapestry and arras ;
bands of music were stationed at different places ; and grand
triumphal arches were erected, peopled with gods and genii,
who saluted the sovereign in his route with speeches and
songs. The aldermen of the city were placed in Cheapside,
and the city companies ranged along the streets in their
several habits of ceremony. The procession consisted of
the usual attendants of royalty, and of the judges, peers,
great officers of state, and princes of the blood. As early
as 1235 we have, on the coronation of Queen Eleanor of
Provence, consort of Henry III., particulars of an equestrian
procession of the citizens of London, who, on that occasion,
a solemn service. On the occasion of an installation, they proceeded
after the service to a banquet in the prince's chamber. The royal cook
stood at the door of the abbey, with his* cleaver, threatening^ to strike
off the spurs from the heels of any knight who proved unworthy of his
knightly vows.
It was also the custom in France to make knights at the coronation.
Monstrolot mentions that " Louis XI., on being crowned, drew his sword,
and presented it to the Duke of Burgundy, desiring that he would make
him a knight, which was a novelty, for it has been commonly said that
all the sons of the kings of France were made knights at the font when
baptized ; nevertheless, the duke, in obedience to command, gave the
king the accolade, and with his hand dubbed him knight, with five or
six other lords then present. Upwards of two hundred knights were
created on that dav."
\
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 145
claimed tlie office of cellarers to the King of England. This
having been granted, they rode forth to accompany the king
and the queen from the Tower, clothed in long garments,
embroidered with gold and silk of various colours. They
mounted to the number of three hundred and sixty. Their
steeds were richly caparisoned with shining bits and new
saddles, each citizen bearing a gold or silver cup in his hand
for the royal use, the king's trumpeters sounding before
them ; and so rode they in at the i-oyal banquet.
The procession attending Richard II., which occurred
on July 15, 1377, the day preceding the coronation, was
conducted with great sjalendour. The young sovereign,
clothed in white robes, rode forth, attended by a multitude of
nobles, knights, and esquires ; the conduits in the streets
flowed with wine, and at the principal thoroughfares the pro-
cession was delayed to witness the exhibition of pageants.
The Goldsmiths' Company, in particular, shone in this part
of the festivities. A castle was erected at the upper end of
Cheape, with four towers, on two sides of which ran wine. In
these towers four beautiful damsels, with white vestures, blew
on the king's face leaves of gold, and threw before him and
his horse counterfeit golden florins. When he was come
before the castle, they took cups of gold, and filling them
with wine from the spouts of the castle, presented the same
to the king and his nobles. On the top of the castle, betwixt
the towers, stood a golden angel, holding a crown in his
hand, and so contrived that, when the king came, he bowed
down and gave him the crown. This was said to be the most
striking part of the pageants.
Nothing seemed wanting in this procession, which in-
genuity could devise, or expense procure, to testify the en-
thusiasm of the people for a prince whose father was endeared
to them ; but how shortlived was the duration of anticipated
peace and happiness !
Froissart relates the progi*ess of Henry IV., in 1.399,
through the city : " The Duke of Lancaster left the Tower
this Sunday after dinner, on his return to Westminster ; he
was bareheaded, and had round his neck the order of the
King of France. The Prince of Wales, six dukes, six earls,
and eighteen barons accompanied him ; and there were of
knights and other nobility, from eight to nine hundred horse
with the procession. The duke was dressed in a jacket of the
German fashion, of cloth of gold, mounted on a white courser,
L
146 CROIVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
with a l)lue garter on bis left leg. He passed throngh the
streets of London, which were all handsomely decorated with
tapestries and other rich hangings ; there were nine foun-
tains in Cheapside, and other streets he passed through,
which perpetually ran with Avhite and red wines. He w^as
escorted by prodigious numbers of gentlemen, with their
servants in liveries and badges ; and the different companies
of London were led by their wardens, clothed in their purple
livery and with ensigns of their trade. The whole cavalcade
amounted to six thousand horse, forming the escort of the
duke from the Tower to Westminster."
Under a more vivid aspect Shakspere describes the
monarch in the lines quoted at the head of this chapter.
The period fixed for the coronation of Edward lY. was Sun-
day, the 29th of June, 1461, being St. Peter's Day, and on
the Thursday or Friday preceding he removed from the
palace at Shene to the Tower of London, whither he was eon-
<lucted by the mayor and aldermen and four hundred citizens,
Avho went out to meet him on horseback, clad in splendid
liveries. At the Tower, Edward sumptuously entertained
most of the nobility and great men who were favourers of the
house of York ; and in the morning preceding that of his
coronation, he there made thirty-two new knights of the
Bath, who " being arrayed in blue gowns, with hoods and
tokens of w^hite silk upon their shoulders," rode before him
the same afternoon in the splendid procession which was
made through the city to Westminster.
Sir George Buck, in his " History of Richard the Third,"
remarks the observance " of the auncyent manner and custome
tliat the prince who was next to succeede the kinge deceased,
slioulde goe to the Tower of London, the castell royall and
clieefe howse of safetye in this kingdome, and stay there untill
all things of royall apparall and pompe necessarye and proper
to his consecration and coronation were fitly in rediness."
In the procession from the Tower there were three dukes
(the princely Buckingham, says Grafton, appearing "in
t;"rcat splendour, his habit and caparison being of blue velvet
embroidered with gokl, and the trappings of his horse were
sn Imported by footmen in rich and costly dresses, in such
solemn fashion that all men regarded it"), nine earls, and
t wenty-two barons, besides knights and esquires.
In the " Device for the Coronation of King Henry YII.,"
published from a manuscri])t belonging to his Grace the
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 147
Duke of Rutland (Rutland Papers, Camden Society), we
have notices of the procession of the monarch from the Tower
to Westminster : *
"And sone theruppon the King at the said Tour, arraied in a
■doblet of gren or white cloth of gold satyu, a long goune of purpur
velwct, furred with ermyns poudred, open at the sides and purfild with
■ermyns, with a riche sarpe and garter, to take his horse trapped in a rich
trapper, with vij coursours folowing hym, all trapped in rich and diuerse
trappers, and with a spare coursar lad in hand trapped with a trappur of
the Kiuges armes, and sadlet with a saddell of estate couerid with cloth
of gold, and all other saddels couerid with crymesyn velwet, except the
Kinges owne saddel whiclie is couerid in like cloth of gold to the saddell
of estate and vij henxmen, clothed in dobletts of crymesyn saten, and in
gownes of white cloth of gold, to folow the King vppon the said vij
coursers barehed.
" In this wise the King shall ride opyn heded vndre a seele of cloth
of gold baudekyn with iiij staves gilte, to be borne alweis by iiij noble
Knights, they to be chaunged at diuerse and many places, as well for that
the King may be serued of meny noble persones to their greit honoure,
as for the ese of the borers, considered the long distaunce from the Tour
to Westmynster.
" Afor the King directly his swerd shalbe borne by the Erie of Derby,
on the right hand of the Kinges swerd the Erie of Oxenford as Grete
Chamberlayn of England ; on the right hand of the said swerd, the Duke
t)f N. as Marshall of England ; then the mair of London bering a mace,
and the chieff herauld of the Kinges armys anempst him ; then, behynd
the King, my lords the Dukes of Bedford and Suffolk, the oon by hynd
the King on the right hand of the furst foloer, and on the left hand the
Duke of Suffolke ; and next before the mair of London William Newton
and Davy Phillipp, sqwiers for the Kinges body, bering in bawderik wise
ij mantels furred, couered with ermyns, and ij hatts of estate of crymesyn
cloth of gold, bek on bek, turned vppe by hynd, and furred also with
■ermyns, in representation of the Kinges ij ducheries of Guyan and Nor-
mandy ; afor them, all the herauldes and mynstrels ; afor them the new
made Knights of the Bath ; afor them, all noble men.
" Thise so ordred, the Kinge's Highnes (attendyng vppon hym on
ifote alwaies Ix Knights, an c*'' sqwiers wering his lieury, and yomen of
* From Anstis's " History of the Knights of the Bath," it appears that
*' upon Symon and Jude's eveyn, the King proceeded to the Tower, and
the following day created several Knights of the Bath, each of whom
wex*e preceded when they went to the Sovereign, by a king-of.arms,
When the Knights were all dubbed, the King created a pursuivant, and
named him Rouge-Dragon, and then departed to his chamber." The
creation of this office upon the vigil of the king's coronation was in
memory of the banner, bearing the device upon it which he had at
Bosworth, painted upon white-and-green silk. This he had offered, with
other trophies of his victory, at St. Paul's. It is notable, in regard to this
coronation, hat in the archers that attended him aj^pear the yeomen of
the guard.
148 CROJVXS AND CORONATIONS.
the corone, and of his chamber, in great and huge nowmbcr,) shall ride
from the said Tour by open stretes of London in to the Chepe, from
thens to Fletc Strete, and so directly to the Kinges graytc haull in his
palace of Wcstmynstcr."
The "Device" next gives the order of the queen's pro-
cession from the Tower ; bat as the manuscript was evidently
drawn up as a formula of tlie coronation ceremonies, and not
a relation of the circumstances as they occurred, it is to be
remarked that Queen Elizabeth of York was not crowned
until November 25, 1487.
" Soon after the King is passed cute of the Tour, the Quene shall
folowe vppon quysshons of white damaske cloth of gold, bareheded,
wering a round cercle of gold set with perles and precious stones araid&
in a kirtill of white damaske dale cloth of gold furred with raenyver
pure, garnished with anletts of gold. Item, a mantelle furred with
naenyver pure garnished, a trayne of the same with damaske cloth of
gold furred with ermyns, Avith a greit lase and ij botons and taxselles
of white silk and gold at the brest above, sittyng in a litter, withoute
any bayles or couering aboue her hed, coiitrid with white damaske cloth
of gold, with out sides and within to be perfourmed with white damask, of
silke, garnished with frenge of silke and gold with riband of gold, and
gilt nailes, with iiij pomellis chased and gilt lyned in the botom with
lynon cloth, ij greit coursers, bering the said littar vppon ij saddels,
couered in white damaske cloth of gold, garnished with frenge of whitt^
silke and gold ryband of the same, ij dorsers of ledder coverid in white
damaske of silke, ij bridels, ij cropers, ij colors, ij petrelles, with ij
trapers, and otheir thair apparcll, in white damaske of silke. Alwaies
iiij noble knights bering a cele of M'hite damaske lyned with white
tarteran vppon shaftes burnished with sylver, with iiij bellys of lateu
fasted to them, ouer the Quene ; thei to be chaunged as is above said
of the Eling, the lords Graies Powis leding the horses of the littar.
*' Ther shall folowe the Quene v henxmen, all clothed in doblettes,
crymesyn saten, and gounes of blew velwet, riding in wymmen saddels,
couered with crymesyn cloth of gold ; next after them a palfray ■\A'ith a
saddell of estate courid with crymesyn cloth of gold to be lad spare by the-
yoman of the Quenys horses; after them, iij chares with xij ladies in
them ; the furst char couered with crymesyn cloth of gold, the second
with crymesyn velwet, the third with crymesyn damaske ; after them
vij ladies, all clothed in gounes of blew velwet purfold with crymesyn
saten, sittyng on vij palfraies all of oon colour, with saddels couered
with crymesyn cloth of gold, horse hames of the same, in maner of demy
trappers cutte flawe wise, furred with ermyns poudred.
"Next bcfor the Queene shall ride her chamberlayn; afor him ij
sqwiers vsshers of her chamber, either of them bering in bawdorik wise
a mantell furred with ermyns, and couered with ermyns, and ij hattes
of estate of crymesyn cloth of gold, bek on bek, turned vpp bo hynd,
and furred with ermyns.
"Also, ther shall ride afor the Queue many lords of all estates.
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 149
•Knights, sqwiers, and noble men in grete noamber, and aboute her persoue,
on fote, many knights, sqwiers, vsshers, and yomen of her chamber.
" In this wise the Quene shall ride folowing the King till they both
come to Westmynster hall, wher they bothe, vnder clothes of estate at
the oon end of Westminster hall, shalbe serned of the voide, and that
done to be brought into their chambers, and for the King shalbe araied
a bayn, and he therin to be bayned, which done the King and the Quene
may take tlier rest, and so endeth thobseraunce of the eve, or the vigill
of the coronacion."
In the beginning of June, 1509, the marriage of Henry YIII.
with his first wife, Cathaiine of Arragon, was solemnized at
Greenwich, and thence the royal pair afterwards removed, wdth
a numerous and splendid court, to the Tower, preparatory to
their coronation. On the 23rd of that month the king, being-
then with the queen in the Tower, made twenty-four new
knights of the Bath, and the next day their Majesties pro-
ceeded through the city to Westminster, surrounded with a
display of all that gorgeous and costly pageantry which soon
became the prevailing taste and fashion of the age. Hall
informs us that the —
''streates where his grace should passe were hanged with tapesterie
and clothe of arras, and the greate parte of the Southe side of Chepe
with clothe of golde, and some part of Cornhill also ; and the streates
railed and barred on the one side from over against Bred streate in
Chepeside, where every occupation rode in their liveries in ordre,
beginning with base and meane occupations, and so ascending to the
worshipfull craftes. Highest and lastly, stode the maior, with the
aldermen; the goldsmithes stalles unto the ende of the Olde Chaunge
being replenished with virgins in white, with braunches of white waxe.
"His Grace wared a robe of crymsyn velvet, with diamonds, rubies,
emaraudes, greate pearles, and other riche stones; a great bauderike
about his necke, of large balasses ; the trapper of his horse damaske
gold, with a depe purfell of armyns [ermines].
"The Queen sittyng in her litter borne by two white palfries, the
litter covered and richely appareled, and the palfries trapped in whyte
cloth of gold : her persone appareled in whyte satyn embroidered; her haire
hanging downe to her backe, of a very great length, bewtef al and goodly
to behold, and on her hedde a coronall set with many riche orient stones."
Lady Anne Boleyn, the second queen of Henry VIIL, was
crow^ned June 1, 1533, and her procession through the city
from the Towner is thus described in a manuscript of the
time : —
" In the month of May, the King's Highnesse addressed his letters to
the maior and communalitie of London, signifying unto them, that his
pleasure was to solemnize the coronation of his most deare and wel-
beloved wife, Queen Anne, at Westminster, on Whitson-daie next
150 CROJVNS AXD CORONATIONS.
cnsuinf^, willing them to make preparation, as well to fetch her Grace
from Greenewich to the Tower by water, as to sec the city garnished
with pageants in places accustomed, for the honour of her Grace, when
shee should be couveyed from the Tower to Westminster. Whereupon a
common councell was called, and commandement given to the Haber-
dashers, of which craft the maior was, that they should prepare a barge
for the bachelors, with a master and a foyste, garnished with banners,,
like as they use when the maior is presented at Westminster on the
morrowe after the feast of Saint Simon and Jude. Also all other crafts
were commaunded to prepare barges, and to garnish them, not onely with
their banners accustomed, but also to decke them with targets, by the
sides of the barges, and to set up all such seemely banners and ban-
nerets, as they had in their hallos, or could get to furnish their said
barges ; and every barge to have minstrels. According to which com-
mandement great preparation was made for all things necessarie for
such a noble triumph.
" The 29th day of Maie, being Thursdaie, the maior and his brethren,
all in scarlet, and such as were Knights, had collars of esses, and the
residue having great chaines, and the councell of the citie assembled with
them at St. Marie Hill ; and at one of the clocke descended to the newe
staire to their barge, which was garnished with manie goodlie banners and
streamers, and richly covered, in which barge was shalmes, shage-bushes,
and divers other instrumentes of niusicke which played continually.
"After that the maior and his brethren were in their barge, seeing
that the companies, to the number of fiftie barges, were readie to wayte
uppon them, they gave commandement to the companies, that no barge
should row neerer to another than t'5\'ice the length of the barge ; and to
see the order kept, there were three whirries prepared, and in every part
two officers to call upon them to keepe their order.
" After which commaundement given, they set forth in order, as here-
after is described. First, before the maior's barge was a foyste, for a
wafter full of ordinance, in which foyste was a great red dragon, con-
tinually mooving and casting wild fire; and round about the said foyste
stoode terrible monstrous and wilde men casting fire, and making hideous
noyse : next after the foyste a good distance came the maior's barge, in
the which were trumpets, and divers other melodious instruments ; the
deckes of the saide barge, and saile yardes, and the top castles, were
hanged with rich cloth of gold and silke ; at the foreship and the sterno
were two great banners, rich beaten with the armes of the King and the
Queen ; and on the top castle also was a long streamer newly beaten with
the sayd armes : the sides of the barge were set full of flags and banners
of the devices of the companies of Haberdashers and Merchant Avcn-
turers, and the lassiters or cords, were hanged with innumerable penscls,
having little bells at the endes, which made a goodlie noise, and Avas a
goodlie sight, wavei'ing with the wind : on the outside of the bai'gc were
li dozen scutcheons, in metall, of the armes of the King and Queenc,
which were beaten u})pon square buckeram divided, so that the right
side had the King's colours, and the left side the Quoenes; which
scutclicons were fastened on the clothes of goldo and silver hanging on
the deckes : on the left hand of the maior was an other foyste, in the
which was a mount, and on the mount stoode a white faulcon, crowned
upon a roote of golde, environed with white roses and red, which was the
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 151
Queenes device; about which mount sate virgins singing and playing
melodiously. Next after the maior followed his fellowship, the Haber-
dashers ; next after them the Mercers ; then the Grocers ; and so every
companie in his order ; and last of all the maior's and sheriflfes officers ;
every company having melodie in their barge by themselves, and goodlie
garnished with banners, and some covered with silke, and some with
arras or such like, which was a goodlie sight to behold ; and in this order
they rowed by Greenwich to the point beyond Greenwich, and there they
turned backward in another order, that is, to wit, the maior's and
sheriff e's officers first, and the meanest craft next, and so ascending to
the uppermost craft in order, and the maior last, as they go to Paules at
Christmas ; and in that order they rode downeward to Greenewich towne,
and there cast anchor, making great melodie. At three of the clocke,
the Queene, apparrelled in rich cloth of golde, entered into her barge,
accompanied with divers ladies and gentlewomen ; and incontinent the
cittizens sette forward in their order, their minstrels continually playing ;
and the batcheler's barge going on to the Queenes right hande, which
shea tooke great pleasure to beholde. About the Queenes barge were
manie noblemen, as the duke of Suffolke, the marquesse Dorset, the earlc
of Wilshire her father, the earles of Arundale, Darbie, Rutland, Wor-
cester, Huntington, Sussex, Oxford, and manie bishops and noblemen,
every one in his barge, which was a goodlie sight to beholde ; shee thus
being accompanied rowed towards the Tower : and in the meane way the
ships which were commanded to lie on the shoare for letting of the
barges, shotte diverse peales of guns, and ere shee landed, there was a
marvellous shot out of the Tower, I never heard the like : and at her
landing, there mette with her the lord chamberleine, with the officers of
armes, and brought her to the King, which received her with loving
countenance at the Posterne by the water-side, and kissed her, and then
shee turned backe againe, and thanked the maior and the cittizens with
manie goodlie wordes, and so entred into the Tower.
"After which entrie the cittizens all this while hovered before the
Tower, making great melodie, and went not a land, for none were
assigned to lande but the maior, the recorder, and two aldermen : but to
speake of the people that stoode on everie shoare to beeholde this
sight, he that saw it not will not beleeve it.
" On Fridaie at dinner served the King all such as were appoynted
by his Highnesse to bee Knights of the Bathe, which after dinner were
brought to their chambers, and the night were bathed, and shriven
according to the old usage of England, and the next dale in the morning
the King dubbed them according to the ceremonies thereto belonging,
whose names hereafter ensue, nineteen in number : the marquesse
Dorsett ; the earle of Darby ; the lord Clifford, sonne and heire to the
earle of Cumberland ; the lord Fitz-Walter, sonne and heire to the earle
of Sussex; the lord Hastings, sonne and heire to the earle of Hun-
tington ; the lord Montague ; the lord Vaux ; Sir Henry Parker, sonne
and heire to the lord Morley ; Sir William Winsore, sonne and heire to
lord Winsore ; Sir John Mordant, sonne and heire to the lord Mordant ;
Sir Francis Weston ; Sir Thomas Arondale ; Sir John Hudlestone ; Sir
Thomas Poynings ; Sir Henry Savell ; Sir George Fitzwilliam of Lin-
colnshire ; Sir John Tindale ; Sir Thomas Jemey.
152 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" On Satiirdaic the one and thirtieth daie of Maie, the Queene was
conveyed through London in order as followeth : to the intent that the
liorses shonlde not slide on the pavement, nor that the people shoulde
l)ee hnrt by hoi'ses, the high etreetes wherethrough the Queene shonlde
passe, were all gravelled from the Tower unto Temple-barre, and rayled
on each side ; within which rayles stood the crafts along in their order
from Grace Church, where the merchants of the Stil-yard stoode untill
the little Conduit in Cheape, where the aldermen stoode, and on the other
side of the streete stood the constables of thecittie, apparelled in velvet
and silke, with great staves in their hands, to cause the people to give
roome, and keepe good order ; and when the streets were somewhat
ordered, the maior in a gowne of crimosin velvet, and a rich collar of
esses, with two footemen clothed in white and red damaske, rode to the
Tower, to give his attendance on the Queene, on whom the SherifFes,
with their officers, did awaite untill they came to the Tower Hill, where
they, taking their leave, rode down the high streets, commanding the
constables to see roome and good order kept, and so went and stood
by the aldermen in Cheape ; and before the Queene with her traine
shoulde come, Grace Streete and Cornhill were hanged with fine
scarlet, crimosin, and other grained clothes, and in some places with
rich arras ; and the most parte of Cheape was hanged with cloth of
tissue, golde, velvet, and manie rich hangings which did make a goodlie
shewe ; and all the windowes were replenished with ladies and gentle-
women, to beholde the Queene and her traine as they should passe by.
" The first of the Queene's companie that set forward were twelve
Frenchmen, belonging unto the French ambassador, clothed in coats of
blew velvet, with sleeves of yellow and blew velvet, their horses trapped
with close trappers of blcwe sarsenet poudred with white crosses; after
them marched gentlemen, esquires. Knights, two and two ; after them
the judges ; after them the Knights of the Bathe in violet gownes with
hoodes purfled with miniver like doctors ; after them abbots ; then
barons ; after them bishops, the earles and the marquesses ; then the
Lord Chancelor of England ; after him the archbishoppe of York, and
the ambassador of Venice ; after them the archbishoppe of Canter-
burie, and the ambassadour of France ; after rode two esquires of
honor, with robes of estate rolled and worne bauldrike-wise about their
iieckcs, with caps of estate, repi*esenting the Dukes of Normandy and
Aquitaine ; after them rode the maior of London with his mace, and
Garter in his coate of armos, which bare also his mace of Westminster-
Hall ; after them rode the lord William Howard with the marshal's rod,
deputy to his brother the Duke of Norfolk, marshall of England, which
was ambassador then in France ; and on his right hande rode Charles,
duke of Suffolke, for that daie high constable of Englande, bearing
the warder cf silver appertaining to the office of constabloship ; and all
the lordes for the most part wore clothed in crimson velvet ; and all the
Queene's servants or officers of armes in scarlet; next bofoi'e the Queene
rode her chancelor bare headed ; the Serjeants and officers at armes
rode on both sides of the lordes ; then came the Queene iji a white litter
of white clotli of golde, not covered or vailled, which was led by two
palfreis clad in white damaske downe to the ground, head and all, led
by her footmen : she had on a kirtlo of white cloth of tissue, and a
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 153
mantle of the same furred with ermine, her haire hanging downe ; but
on her head she had a coife with a circlet about it full of rich stones ;
over her was borne a canapie of cloth of golde with foure gilte staves
and foure silver belles; for bearing of the which canapie were appoynted
.sixteene knights ; foure to beare it one space on foote, and foure another
space, according to their own appoyntment ; next after the Queene rode
the lord Browgh her chamberlain ; next after him William Cofl&n, master
of the horses, leading a spare horse with a side saddle, trapped downe
with cloth of tissue ; after him rode seaven ladies in crimosin velvet,
turned up with cloth of golde and of tissue, and their horses trapped
with golde ; after them two chariots covered with red cloth of golde ; in
the first chariot were two ladies, which were the olde dutchesse of
Xorfolke, and the olde marchionesse of Dorset ; in the second chariot
were foure ladies all in crimosin velvet ; after them rode seven ladies in
the same suit, their horses trapped and all ; after them came the third
chariot all in white, with sixe ladies in crimosin velvet ; next to them
came the fourth chariot all red, with eyght ladies also in crimosin;
af tr whom followed thirty gentlewomen all in velvet and silke, in the
iiverie of their ladies, on whome they gave their attendance ; after them
followed the guarde in coates of goldsmith's worke, in which order they
rode forth till they came to Fan- church, where was made a pageant all
of children apparelled like marchants, which well-coumed her to the
cittie, with two proper propositions both in French and in English ; and
from thence shee rode unto Grace-church Corner, where was a costlie
and marvellous cunning pageant made by the marchants of the Stil-
yard, wherein was the Mount Pernassus, with the Fountaine of Helicon,
which was of white marble, and four streames without pipe did rise an ell
high, which fountaine ranne abundantly with rackt Eeynish wine till
night ; on the mountain sat Apollo, and at his feete sat Caliope ; and on
every side of the mountaine sate foure Muses playing on severall sweete
instruments, and at their feete epigrams and poesies were written in
golden letters, in the which every Muse, according to her property,
praysed the Queene.
" From thence the Queene with her traine passed to Leaden-hall, where
was a goodly pageant, with a tippe and heavenly rose ; and under the
tippe was a goodlie roote of gold set on a little mountain, environed
with red roses and white ; out of the tippe came downe a faulcon all
white, and set uppon the roote, and incontinent came downe an angell
with great melodie, and set a close crowneof golde on the faulken's head:
and in the same pageant sate Saint Ann, with all her issue beneath her;
and under Mary Oleophe sate her foure children ; of the which children
one made a goodlie oration to the Queene of the fruitfulness of Saint
Anne, and of her generation, trusting that like fruit should come of her.
Then shee passed to the Conduit in Cornhill, where were the three
Oraces sette in a throne, afore whome was the spring of grace, con-
tinuallie running wine ; afore the fountaine sate a poet, declaring the
property of every Grace ; that done, every ladie by herself, according to
her propertie, gave to the Queene a severall gift of grace.
" That done, shee passed by the great conduit in Cheape, which was
newlie paynted with armes and devises, out of the which Conduit (by a
goodlie fountaine set at the end) ranne continuallie wine, both white
154 CROJVXS AND COROXATIOXS.
and claret, all that aftei'noon; and so sliee rode to the Standarfc which
was richly payntcd with images of Kinges and Quoeues, and hanged
with banners of armes ; and in the toppe was marvellous sweet harmonie,
both of songs and instruments.
"Then she went forward by the Crosse, which was newlie gilte, till
shee came where the aldermen stood; and then maister Baker, the
recorder, came to her with lowe reverence, making a proper and briefe
proposition, and gave to her, in the name of the cittie, a thousande markes
in golde, in a purse of goldc, which shee thankfully accepted with manie
good words, and so rode to the little Conduite, where was a rich pageant
full of melody and songs, in which pageant were Pallas, Juno, and
Venus, and afore them stood Mercuric, which in the name of the thre&
goddesses gave unto her a ball of gold, divided into three, signifying
three gifts which these three goddesses gave to her, that is to say,
Wisedom, Riches, and Felicitie.
"As shee cntred into Paule's gate there was a pretie pageant, in
which sate three ladies I'ichly clothed ; and in a circle on their heade
was written ' Regina Anna, prosper, proceede, and raigne.' The lady
in the middest had a tablet, in the which was ^a-itten, ' Veni, amiccij
Coronaberis' and under the tablet sate an angell, with a close crowne»
And the ladie sitting on the right hand had a tablet of silver, in which
was written, * Domine, dirige gressus meos.' And the third ladie had
a tablet of golde, with letters of azure written, ' Confido in Domino,'
and under their feete was written,
* Bogina Anna paris regis de sanguine nata,
Et paries populis aiu-ea soeclai tuis.' .
And these ladies cast downe wafers on which the said two verses were
written.
*' From thence shee passed to the easte end of St. Paul's Church
against the schoole, where stoode a scaffoldc, and children well appa-
relled, which said to her divers goodlie verses of poets translated into
English, to the honor of the King and her; which shee highly com-
mended. And then she came to Ludgatc, which newe gate was newe
garnished with golde and bisse ; and on the leades of St. Martin's
Church stoode a goodlie queero of singing men and children, which sang
newe ballets made in prayse of her Grace.
"After that shee was past Ludgate, shee proceeded toward Fleet-
street, where the Conduit was newly paynted, and all tho armes and
angels refreshed, and tho shalmes melodiouslie sounding. Upon tho
Conduit was made a tower with fouro turrets, and in every turret stood
one of the cardinal vertues, with their tokens and properties, which had
severall speeches, promising tho Queene never to leave her, but to ho
aiding and comforting her ; and in the middest of the tower itself was
such severall solemn(; instruments, that it seemed to bee an heavenly
noyse, and was much regarded and praysed ; and besides this tho Con-
duit ranne wine, claret and red, all the afternoone ; so shee with all h(>r
companie, and the maior, rodo forth to Temple-bar, which was newly
paynted and repaired, where stood also divers singing men and childi'cn,
till shoo came to \V(^stminster-hall, which Avas richly hanged with cloth
of arras, and newly glaseil ; and in the middest of the hall shoo was
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 155
taken out of her litter ; and so ledde up to the high deske under the
cloth of estate, on whose left hand was a cupboord of ten stages high,
marveylous rich and beautifuU to beholde ; and within a little season
was brought to the Queene, with a solemne service in great standing,
spice plates, a voido of spice, and subtleties, with ipocrasse, and other
Avines, which shee sent downe to her ladies, and when the ladies had
drunke, shee gave hearty thanks to the lords and ladies and to the maiory
find other that had given their attendance on her ; and so withdrewo
herselfe with a fewe ladies to the White-hall, and so to her chamber,
and there shifted her ; and after went in her barge secretly to the King-
to his manner of Westminster, where she rested all night." *
On the 19tli of February, 1547, Edward VI. proceeded
from the Tower, and passed through the City to Westminster,
in a manner not inferior in magnificence and pomp to
preceding processions. Valentine and Orson were exhibited
"in Cheap," at due distance from whom stood "Sapience"
and the " Seven Liberal Sciences," who " declared certaine
goodly speeches " for the instruction of the young king.
Various other allegorical personages harangued him by the
w^ay ; but the most singular spectacle was that whereby
" Paul's steple laie at anchor," as Holinshed expresses it.
An Arragosen made fast a rope to the battlements of St.
Paul's, which was also attached to an anchor at the gate of
the dean's house, and descended upon it in the sight of the
king and assembled populace, to the no small gratification of
both. A similar feat of dexterity was performed by one
Peter, a Dutchman, during the procession of Queen Mary from
the Tower (September 30, 1553). This man stood on the
weather-cock of St. Paul's steeple, holding a streamer in his
hand five yards long, and wa^v^ng it ; he stood for some time
on one foot, shaking the other, and then knelt down, to the
astonishment of the spectators. He had two scaffolds under
him, one above the cross having torches and streamers set
on it.
" ' The Queen's coronation,' says Strype, * was now all the care
which was resolved to be very splendid and glorious, being to be
performed on the 1** Oct. 1553 ; against which day her Majesty having
to pass through London, it was the citizens province, according to old
custom to adorn the city.' Mary removed from St. James' to White-
* At the beheading of this unfortunate victim of tyranny, only three
years afterwards, on the Tower green, the mayor, aldermen, and sheriffs,
" and certaine of the principall companies of the cittie," are described
as being among the mournful spectators of one whose elevation they had
so recently been taught to reverence and honour.
1-56 CRO]VXS AXD COROXATIOXS.
hall, where she went on board her barge accompanied by the Lady
Klizabeth her sister, and other ladies, and proceeded by water to the
Tower, attended by the lord mayor and aldermen, and all the companies
in their bai'ges, with streamers, and trumpets and waits, shawmes, and
regals, together with great volley shots of gnns, until her Grace came
into the Tower and some time after. On the moiTow the Earl of
Arundel, by commission from the Queen, made fifteen new Knights of
the Bath. The next day Mary made her solemn procession through the
city to Westminster, the streets, as usual, being adorned with magnificent
drapery, 'and in many places were goodly pageants, and devices
therein, with music and elegant speeches.' Mary was drawn in a
sumptuous litter, and apparelled in ' a mantle and kirtle of cloth of
gold, furred with mynever pure, and powdered ermins,' and her head
was adorned with a circlet of gold, enriched with pearls and precious
stones. Next to the queen, followed the Princess Elizabeth and the
Lady Anne of Cleves in a chariot ; and after them came the Duchess
of Norfolk, the Marchionesses of Exeter and Winchester, the Countess
of Ai'undel, and a gorgeous train of other ladies on horseback or in
chariots, chiefly attired in crimson velvet, and their horses caparisoned
with the same; and this splendid cavalcade passed through the city,
wanting nothing but the hearty rejoicings of the people to render it
equal to any of those splendid shews, which custom had now established
as a necessary accompaniment to the ceremonies of a coronation. The
Lady Elizabeth, who was soon to eclipse her sister in splendour, and
far exceed her in popular demonstrations of good-will, 'sat,' we are
told, 'in her litter, clad in a gowne of purple velvet, furred with
powdered ermins, having on her head a kail [caul] of cloth of tinsel],
beeset with pearle and stone, and above the same, uppon her head, a
round circlet of gold, bccset so ricblie Avith pretius stones, that the
value thereof was inestimable ; the same kail and circle being so massie
and ponderous, that she was fain to beare up her head with her hand.'
In this state Queen Mary, rode through the city, passing in Fenchurch
»Sti*ect a costly pageant made by the Genoese, consisting of a triumphal
arch, with complimentary Latin inscriptions and guarded by four great
giants, who, also, accosted her Majesty with goodly speeches. At
(iracechurch coi'ner, another pageant, erected by the Easterlings; and
at the upper end of Gracechurch Street, a triumphal arch erected by
the riorentincs, with three thoroughfares, or gates, and on the top of
Avhich ' stood,' says Stowe, ' an Angel all in green, with a trumpet in
his hand, and when the trumpeter, Avho stood secretly in the Pageant,
did sound his trump, the Angel put his trump to his mouth, as though
it had been the same that had sounded, to the great marveling of many
ignorant persons.' The Conduit in Cornhill, and the Great Conduit in
Cheap ran wine. By the side of each was a pageant, made at the charge
of the city. The Standard in Cheap was newly painted, and the City
AVaits played on the top of it. The Cross in Cheap was new washed and
burnished ; and there was a third pageant at the city's cost at the little
Conduit in Cheap, next to St. Paul's where the aldermen stood. Hero
the Queen was addressed by the Eecorder, and then the Chamberlain
presented to her a purse of cloth of gold, with a thousand marks of
gold in it. At the School in St. Paul's Churchyard, one Master Hay-
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 157
wood, sat in a pageant, nnder a vine, and delivered an oration in Latin,
and in English. Against the Dean of Paul's Gate, there was another
pageant, where the choristers of St. Paul's played upon viols and sang.
Ludgate was newly repaired, painted, and adorned with rich hangings,
and minstrels playing and singing there. The last pageant was at the
Conduit in Fleet Street, and then passing through Temple Bar, which
was newly painted and hung with tapestry, her Majesty at length
reached Whitehall, where she took her leave of the Lord Mayor, giving
him great thanks for his pains, and the city for their cost."
The procession from the Tower of Queen Elizabeth, who
was particularly partial to magnificent displays, was one of
the most striking that had ever been exhibited. The pompous
habits of the age, in which the citizens of London vied with
each other in costly shows, were illustrated to their fullest
extent in this ceremony. With the reign of this monarch ,
the grand old ci^-ic pageants had reached their culminating
point, and seem to have subsided, at least, in much of their
old-fashioned and quaint peculiarities. I have therefore
extracted from Nichols's " Progresses " the account of the
procession of the queen from the Tower, given in a tract
printed by Richard Tottell, and in which I have preserved the
original style and manner of spelling, omitting only, from a
regard to space, the Latin version of the several speeches
made on that occasion. As a curious relic of the manners-
and habits of our ancestors in the reign of the Virgin Queen,
it is well worthy of reproduction.
*' Ulie Passage of our onost drad soveraigne Lady Queue Elizaheth
through the citie of London to Westminster, the daye before her Coronation^
Anno 1558. (Imprinted at London in Flete-strete, within Temple-barre,
at the signe of the Hand and Starre, by Richard Tottell, the xxiii day of
January. Cu7n privilegio.)
"Upon Saturday, which was the 13th day of January, in the yere of
our Lord God 1558, about two of the clocke at aftemoone, the moste noble
and Christian Princesse, our moste dradde Soveraigne Ladye Elizabeth ^
by the grace of God, Queue of Englande, Fraunce, and Irelande,
Defendour of the Faith &c. marched from the Towre, to passe through
the citie of London towarde Westminster, richely furnished, and most
honourably accompanied, as well with gentlemen, barons, and other the
nobilitie of this realme, as also with a notable trayne of goodly and
beawtifuU ladies, richly appoynted. And entryng the citie was of the
people received marveylous entirely, as appeared by the assemblie,
prayers, wishes, welcomminges, cryes, tender woordes and all other
signes, which argue a wonderfull earnest love of most obedient subjectes
towarde theyr soveraigne. And on thother side, her Grace, by holding
up her handes, and merie countenance to such as stode farre of, and
most tender and gentle language to those that stode nigh to her Grace,
did declare herselfe no lesse thankfullye to receive her people's good
1 58 CROIVXS AXD COROXATIOXS.
wyll than they lovingly offered it unto her. To all that wyahed her
Grace well, she gave heartie thaukcs, and to such as bade God save her
Grace, she sayde agayi^e God save them all, and thanked them with all
her heart : So that on eyther syde there Avas nothing but gladnes,
nothing biit prayer, nothing but comfort. The Quenes Majestic rejoysed
marveilously to see that so exccadingly shewed towarde her Grace,
which all good princes have ever desyred. I meane so earnest love of
subjectes, so evidently declared even to her Grace's owne person being
carried in the middest of them. Tlie people again were wonderfully
rauished with the louing answers and gestures of theyi" Princesse, like
to the which they had before tryed at her first comming to the Towre
from Hatfield. This her Grace's loving behaviour preconceived in the
people's heades upon these considerations was then throughly confirmed,
and indeed emplauted a wonderfull hope in them touchy ng her woorthy
governement in the reste of her rcygne. For in all her passage, she
did not only shew her most gracious love toward the people in generall,
but also privately, if the baser personages had offered her Grace any
flowers or such like as a signification of their good wyll, or moved to her
any sute, she most gently to the common rejoysing of all the lookers on,
and private comfort of the partio, staid her chariot, and heard theyr
requostes. So that if a man shoulde say well, he could not better
tearnae the citie of London that time, than a stage wherein was shewed
the wonderfull spectacle, of a noble hearted Princesse toward her most
loving people, and the people's cxccding comfort in beholding so worthy
a Soveraigne, and hearing so princclike a voice, which could not but
have set the encmic on fyro, since the vertue is in the enemie alway
commended, much more could not but cnflame her naturall, obedient,
and moste loving people, whose weale leaneth onely uppon her Grace, and
her governement. Thus therefore the Queue's majcstie passed from the
Towre till she came to Fanchurche, the people on eche side joyously
l)eholdyng the viewe of so gracious a ladye theyr Queue, and her Grace
no lesse gladly notyng and observing the same. Nere unto Fanchurch
was erected a scaffolde richely furnished, whereon stode a noyse of
instrumentes, and a chyldo ia costly apparell, whiche was appojiited to
welcome the Quenes majestic in the hole cities behalfe. Against which
])lace, when her Grace came, of her owne wyll, she conimaunded the
chariot to be stayde, and that the noyse might be appeased till the
chylde had uttered his welcomming oration, which he spake in English
meter, as here followeth : —
*0 poreles soveraygne queue, behold what this thy town
Hatli thee presented with at tliy fyrst entraunce here ;
Behold with how rich hope she Icdeth thee to thy crown,
Beliolde with what two gyftes she coiuforteth thy chere.
* The first is blessing tongos, which many a welcome say,
Which pray thou niaist do wel, wliich praise thee to tlie skj- ;
Wliicli wisli to do thee long lyfe, which blesse tliis happy day,
Which to thy kingdome heapes, all that in tonges can lye.
Tlie second is true hertes, which love thee from their rootc.
Whose sute is tryuraphc now, and ruletli all tlie game :
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 159
Wliicli faithfulnes have -woue, and all untruthc driven o\it,
Which skip for joy, wlien as tliey lieare thy happy name.
* Welcome therefore, 0 Qnene, as much as herte can thiukc ;
Welcome ajj-ayn, 0 Quene, as much as tong can tell ;
Welcome to joyous tono-es, and hartes that will not shrink :
God thee preserve we praye, and wish thee ever well.'
At which wordes of the last line the hole people gave a great shout,
wishing with one assent, as the chylde had said. And the Queues
majestic thanked most hartely both the citie for this her gentle
receiving at the first, and also the people for confirming the same.
Here was noted in the Queues majesties countenance, during the time
that the cliildc spake, besides a perpetuall attentiveness in her face, a
marvelous change in loke, as the childes wordes touched either her
person, or the peoples tonges or hertes. So that she with rejoysing
visage did evidently declare that the wordes tooke no lesse place in her
minde, than they were moste heartely pronounced by the chylde, as
from all the heartes of her most heartie citizeins. The same verses
were fastned up in a table upon the scaffolde, and the Latine thereof
likewise in Latine verses.
Now when the childe had pronounced his oration, and the Queues
Highnes so thankefully had received it, she marched forwarde towarde
Gracious Streate, where, at the upper ende, before the signe of the Egle,
the citie had erected a gorgeous and sumptuous arke, as here followeth: —
" A stage was made whiche extended from thone syde of the streate
^to thother, richely vawted with battlements, conteining three portes,
md over the middlemost was avaunced three severall stages in degrees!
{Upon the lowest stage was made one seate royall, wherein were placed
bwo personages representyng Kyng Henrie the seventh, and Elyzabeth
[his wyfe, doughter of Kyng Edward the fourth, eyther of these two
fpi'inces sitting under one cloth of estate in their seates, no otherwyse
fclivided, but that thone of them, which was Kyng Henrie the seventh,
H'oceeding out of the house of Lancaster, was enclosed in a read rose,
md thother which was Quene Elizabeth, being heire to the house of
[Yorke, enclosed with a whyte rose, eche of them royally crowned, and
'decently apparailled as apperteineth to princes, with sceptours on their
Leades, and one vawt surmounting their heades, wherein aptly were
placed two tables, eche containing the title of those two princes. And
these personages were set, that the one of them joined hands with
thother, with the ring of matrimonie perceived on the finger. Out of
the which two roses sprang two branches gathered into one, which were
directed upward to the second stage or degree, wherein was placed one
representing the valiant and noble prynce King Henry the eight, which
sprong out of the former stock, crowned with a crown imperial, and by
him sate one representing the right worthy ladie quene Ann, wyfe to
the said King Henrie the eight, and mother to our most sovereign ladie,
quene Elizabeth that now is, both apparelled with sceptours and
iliademes, and other furniture due to the state of a king and quene, and
two tables surmounting their heades, wherein were written their names
and titles. From their seate also proceaded upwardes one braunche
directed to the thirde and uppermost stage or degree, wherein lykewyse
i6o CROJVXS AXD COROXATIOXS.
was planted a scate royall, in the whiche was sette one representing the
queene's most excellent raajestie Elizabeth nowe our most draddo
soveraignc ladle, crowned and apparalled as thother prynccs were. Out
of the foreparte of this pageaunt was made a standyng for a chylde,
whiche at the quencs majesties comeing declared unto her the hole
meaning of the said pageaunt. The two sides of the same were filled
with loudc noyses of musicke. And all emptie places thereof were
furnished with sentences concerning unitie. And the hole pageant
garnished with redde roses and white, and in the forefront of the same
pageant, in a faire wreathe, was written the name and title of the same,
which was, ' The uniting of the two howses of Lancastre and Yorke.'
Thys pageant was grounded upon the Queues majesties name. For
like as the long warre between the two houses of Yorke and Lancastre
then ended, when Elizabeth doughter to Edward the fourth matched in
mariage with Henry the seventhe, heyre to the howse of Lancastre ; so
since that the Queues majesties name was Elizabeth, and forsomuch as
she is the onelye heire of Henrye the eighth, which came of botho the
howses, as the knitting up of Concorde, it was devised, that like as
Elizabeth was the first occasion of concordc, so she, another Elizabeth,
myght maintaine the same among her subjectes, so that unitie was the
ende whereat the whole devise shotte, as the Queues majesties names
moved the first grounde. Thys pageant nowe agaynst the Queues
majesties comniing was addressed with children representing the fore-
named personages, with all furniture dewe unto the setting forth of
such a matter well meant, as the argument declared, costly and
sumptuously e set forth as the beholders can beare witnes. Kow the
Queue's majestic drewe nearc unto the sayde pageant, and forsomuch
as the noyse was greate by reason of the prease of people, so that she
could scarce heare the childe which did interprete the said pageant, and
her chariot was passed so farre forwarde that she coulde not well view
the personages representing the kynges and queenes abovenamed ; she
required to have the matter opened unto her, and what they signified,
with the ende of unitie, and ground of her name, according as is before
expressed. For the sight whereof, her Grace caused her chariot to be
i-emoved back, and yet hardly could she see, because the children were
set somewhat Avith the farthest in.
" But after that her Grace had understode the meaning thereof, she
thanked the citie, pi-aysed the faircnes of the worke, and promised that
she would doe her whole endeavour for the coutinuall preservation of
Concorde, as the pageant did cmport. The childe appoyuted in the
standing above named to open the meaning of the said pageant, spake
these wordes unto her Grace : —
The two Princes that sit under one cloth of state.
The man in the rcddo rose, the woman in the white,
llenry the VII. and Queue Elizabeth his mate,
By ring of mariage as man and wife unite.
Both heires to both their bloodes, to Lancastre the Kyng,
The Qucene to Yorke, in one the two howses did knit ;
Of whom as heire to botli, Heniy the eighth did spring,
In whose seat, his true heire, thou Queue Elizabeth dost sit.
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 16 1
' Therfore as civill warre, and fuede of blood did cease,
When these two houses were united into one,
So now that jarrs shall stint, and quietnes encrease,
We trust, O noble Quene, thou wilt be cause alone.'
The which also were written in Latin verses, and both drawn in two
tables upon the forefront of the saide pageant.
*' These verses, and other pretie sentences, were drawen in voide
places of thys pageant, all tending to one ende, that quietnes might be
rnainteyned, and all dissention displaced, and that by the queues majestie,
heire to agrement, and agreeing in name with her which tofore had
joyned these houses, which had ben thoccasyon of much debate and
civill warre within thys realme, as may appere to such as will searche
cronicles, but be not to be touched in thys treatise only declaring her
Graces passage through the citie, and what provisyon the citie made
therfore. And ere the Queue's majestie came within hearing of thys
pageaunt, she sent certaine, as also at all the other pageauntes to require
the people to be silent. For her Majestie was disposed to heare all that
Bhoulde be sayde unto her.
" When the Queues majestie had hearde the chyldes oration, and
understoode the meanyng of the pageant at large, she marched forward
toward Cornehill, alway received with lyke rejoysing of the people ; and
there, as her Grace passed by the conduit which was curiously trimmed
agaynst that tyme with riche banners adourned, and a noyse of loude
instrnmentes upon the top therof, she espyed the second pageant, and
because she feared for the peoples noyse, that she should not heare the
child which dyd expour^de the same, she enquired what that pageant
was ere that she came to it : and there understoode that there was a
chylde representing her Majesties person, placed in a seate of governe-
ment, supported by certayne vertues which suppressed their contrarie
vyces under their feete, and so forthe, as in the description of the sayd
pageant shall hereafter appear.
" This pageant standynge in the nether ende of Cornehill, was ex-
tended from thone syde of the streate to the other, and in the same
pageant was devysed three gates, all open ; and over the middle parte
thereof was erected one chayre, or seate royal, with clothe of estate to
the same apperteynyng, wherein was placed a chylde representinge the
Queues highnesse, with consideracion had for place convenient for a
table, whiche conteyned her name and tytle. And in a comely wreathe,
artificiallie and well devised, with perfite light and understanding to the
people, in the front of the same pageant was written the name and title
thereof ; which is, * The seate of worthic Govei'nance ' whych seate was
made in such artificiall manor, as to the apperance of the lookers on,
the forparte seemed to have no staye, and therfore of force was stayed
by lively personages, which personages were in nuinbre foure, standing
and staieng the foref route of the same seate royall, echo having his
face to the Quene and people, wherof every one had a table to expresse
their effectes, which are Vertues ; namely, Pure Religion, Love of
Subjectes, Wisdom, and Justice : which did treade their contrarie vyces
under their feete; that is to witte, Pure Religion did treade upon Super-
stition and Ignoraunce, Love of Subjectes did treade upon Rebellion and
Inaolencie, Wisdome did treado upon FoUie andVaine Glorie, Justice did
M
i62 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS. ^
treade upon Adnlacion and Bribery. Eche of these personages, accord-
ing to their proper names and properties, had not onely their names in
plaine and perfit writing set upon their breastes easely to be read of all,
but also every of them was aptly and properly apparelled, so that
hys apparell and name did agre to expresse the same person that in
title he represented. This part of the pageant was thus appoynted and
furnished. The two sydes over the two side portes had in them placed
a noyse of instrumentes whych immedyatlye after the chyldes speache
gave an heavenlie melodie. Upon the top or uppermost part of the
said pageant stode the armes of England, totally portratured with the
proper beastes to upholde the same. One representing the Queues
liiglmes sate in this seate, crovmed with an imperial crowne : and before
her seate was a convenient place appointed for one childe which did
interpret and appl^e the saide pageant as herafter shall be declared.
Every voyde place was furnished with proper sentences, commendyng
the seate supported by Vertues, and defacing the Vyces, to the utter
extirpation of rebellion, and to everlasting continuance of quyetnes
and peace. The Queues majestic approaching nyghe unto thys pageaunt
thus beawtifyed and fumyshed in all poyntes, caused her chariot to bee
drawen nyghe thereunto, that her Grace mighte hears the chylde'a
oration, whiche was this :
' Whyle that Eeligion true shall Ignorance suppresse,
And with her weightie foote, breake Superstition's head,
Whyle Love of Subjectes shall Rebellion distresse
And, with zoale to the Prince, Insolency down treade:
' While Justice can Flattering tonges and Bribery deface,
While Folie and Vaineglorie to Wisdome yeld their handes
So long shal Government not swerve from her right race,
But Wrong decayeth still, and Eightwisenes up standes.
* Now all thy subjectes hertea, 0 Prince of pereles fame
Do trust these Vertues shall maintayn up thy throne,
And Vice be kept dowe still, the wicked put to shame,
That good with good may joy, and naught with naught may
move.'
Which verses were painted upon the right sydo of the same pageant, '
and the Latin thereof on the left side.
" Beside these verses, there were placed in every voide part of the
pageant, both in Englishe and Latin, such sentences as advaunced the
seate of govcrnaunce upholden by Vertue. The gromid of thys pageant]
was, that lykc as by Vertues (whych doe abundantly appere in heVJ
Grace) the Qucne's majcstie was established in the seate of governe-
inent ; so she should sctte fast in the same, so long as she embraced!
Vortue and hrldo Vice under foote. For if Vice once gotte up the]
head, it would put the seate of govcrnemcnt in poryll of falling.
" The Queues majcstie, when she had heard the childe, and under J
stode the pageant at full, gave the citio also thankes there, and inoe
gracionslio promised her good endeavour for the maintenance of thd
aaydo Vertues, and suppression of Vyces, and so marched on till sbtj
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER, 163
came againste the Great Conduite, in Cheape, which was bewtified with
pictures and sentences accordinglye against her Graces coming thether.
" Against Soper-lanes ende was extended from thone side of the
streate to thother a pageant, which had three gates, all open. Over the
middlemoste wherof wer erected three severall stages, whereon sate
eight children, as hereafter foloeth : On the uppermost one childe, on
the middle three, on the lowest fonre, echo having the proper name of
the blessing that they did represent written in a table, and placed above
their heades. In the forefront of this pageant, before the children
which did represent these blessings, was a convenient standing, cast
out for a chylde to stande, which did expownd the sayd pageant unto
the Quenes majestic as was done in thother tofore. Everie of these
children wer appointed and apparelled according unto the blessing
which he did represent. And on the forepart of the sayde pageant was
written, in fayre letters, the name of the said pageant, in this maner
folowing : —
" ' The eigiit beatitudes expressed in the V. chapter of the Gospel of
St. Matheus, applyed to our Soveraigne Lady Quene Elizabeth.'
" Over the two syde portes was placed a noyse of instrumentes*
And all voyde places in the pageant were furnished with pretie sayinges,
commending and touching the meaning of the said pageant, which was
the promises and blessynges of Almightie God made to his people.
Before that the Quenes hignes came unto this pageant, she requited the
matter somewhat to be opened unto her, that her Grace might the
better understand what should afterward by the childe be sayd unto
her. Which so was, that the citie had there erected the pageant with
eight children, representing theyght blessinges touched in the fifth
chapiter of St. Mathew. Wherof every one, upon just consideracions,
was applyed unto her Highnes ; and that the people thet-by put her
Grace in mind, that as her good doinges before had geven just occasion
why that these blessinges might fall upon her ; that so, if her Grace
did continue in her goodnes as she had entered, she should hope for the
fruite of these promises due unto them that doe exercise themselves in
the blessinges; whiche her Grace heard marvellous graciously, and
required that the chariot might be removed towardes the pageaunt, that
she might perceyve the chyldes woordes, which were these ; the Quenes
majestic giving most attentive care, and requiring that the people's
noyse might be stayde :
'Thou hast been viii times blest, 0 Quene of worthy fame.
By mekenes of thy spirite, when care did thee besette.
By mourning in thy griefe, by mildnes in thy blame.
By hunger and by thyrst, and j ustice couldst none gette.
* By mercy shewed, not felt, by cleanes of thyne harte,
By seking peace alwayes, by perSecucion wrong.
Therfore trust thou in God, since he hath helpt thy smart,
That as his promis is, so he will make thee strong.'
When these woordes were spoken, all the people wished, that as the
child had spoken, so God woulde strengthen her Grace against all her
adversaries j whom the Quenes majestic did most gently thanke for
,64 CROIVNS AND CORONATIONS.
their 8o louing wishe. These verses wer painted on the left syde of the
said pao-eant, and other in Latin on thother syde.
"Besides these, every voide place in the pageant was furnished with
sentence touching the matter and ground of the said pageant. When
Tthat wastobe said in this pageant was ended, the Queues majestie
pissed on forward in Chepesyde. At the Standard - Cheape w,.eh^^^^^^
dressed fayre agaynste the tyme, was placed a noyseof trumpettes, witu
brnners and otheJf urniture.' The Crosse lykewyse was also xnade fayre
and well trimmed. And neare unto the same, uppon ^be porche of Samt
Peter church dove, stode the waites of the citie, which did geve a
pleasant noyse with'their instrumentes as the Queues majestic did pas^e
bv whiche on every syde cast her countenaunce, and wished well to all
he^ most lovinc. people. Sone after that her Grace passed the Crosse
she Td espyed°tLp'ageant erected at the Little Conduit mCheape, and
incontinent required to know what it might sigmfye. And^t was tolde
her Grace that there was placed Tyme. ' Tyme ? quoth she, and Tyme
hZhhrought me hether.' And so furth the hole matter ^^^^«P^-f .^^
her Grace, as hereafter shalbe declared in the descnpcion of the
m-eaunt But in the opening, when her Grace understode that the
Bylle^n Englyshe shoulde be d^elivered unto her by Trueth whiche was
fherin represented by a chylde ; she thanked the citie for tbat g^ft and
sayde that she woulde oftentymes reade over that booke, commanding
Sir John Parrat, one of the Knyghtes which helde up her ^/^^^PJ' to goe
before, and to receive the booke. But learning that it should be delivered
to her Grace downe by a silken lace, she caused hym to staye, and so
passed forward till she came agaynste the aldermen in the ^yghe ende ot
Cheape, tofore the Little Conduite, where the companies of the citie
ended;'whiche beganne at Fanchurche, and stoode along tbe streate .
one b^ another, enclosed with rayles, hanged with clothes, and them,
selves^well apparelled with many riche furres, and their l^^erj -hodes
nppon their shoulders, in comely and semely maner, ^^^^^f ^^^f^^^^^^P^
sondry persones well apparelled in silkes and chaines of gold e, asjvyfle™
and garders of the sayd companies, beside a number of riche hangings,
as well of tapistrie, arras, clothes of golde, silver, velvet damaske, sa^tm
and other silkes plentifullye hanged all the way as the Queues hgnea
passed from the Towre through the citie. Out at the windowes and pent- .
houses of every house did hang a number of ryche and costlye banners M
and streamers, tyll her Grace came to the upper ende of Cheapo Ana
there, by appointment, the right worshipf ull niaister Ranu ph Cholmeley
recorder of the citie, presented to the Quones majestic a purse of
crimosinsattinrichcly wrought with gold,wherin the ctie gave unto the
Queues majestic a thousand markes in gold, as "^'^'f^'J^Z.^,^'^^
declare brieflie unto the Queues majestic ; whose woordes tended to this
ende, that the lorde maior, his brethren and commmaltie ot the citie, to
declare their gladnes and good-wille towardes the Queues majostie. dyd
present her Grace with thJt golde, desyring her Grace t" ««"tumf^^ .^^J' '
good and gracious Queue, and not to estcme the value of the gift, but the
mind of the gevers" The Queues majestic with both her handes tooke
the purse, and aunswercd to hym againe merveylous pithdie; and BO
pithilie, that the standcrs by as they embraced entierly her grac.ons|
aunswer, so they mervailcd at the cowch.ng thereof ; which was in,
wordcs truely reported these: ' I thanke my lord maior, his brethien,j
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 165
and you all. And wheras your request is tbat I should continue your
good Ladie and Quene, be ye ensured that I will be as goodunto you as
ever quene was to her people. No wille in me can lacke, neither doe I
trust shall ther lacke any power. And perswade your selves that for the
safetie and quietues of you all, I will not spare, if need be, to spend my
blood. God thanke you all.'
" Which aunswere of so noble an hearted pryneesse, if it moved a
mervaylous showte and rejoysing, it is nothyog to be mervayled at,
since both the heartines thereof was so wonderf ull, and the woordes so
joyntly knytte. When her Grace hadde thus aunswered the Recorder,
she marched toward the Little Conduit, where was erected a pageaunt
with square proporcion, standynge directlye before the same conduite,
with battlementes accordynglie. And in the same pageaunt was advaunced
two hylles, or mountaynes of convenient heyghte. The one of them
beyng on the North syde of the same pageaunt, was made cragged,
barreyn, and stonye; in the whiche was erected one tree, artificiallye
made, all withered and deadde, with braunches accordinglye. And
under the same tree, at the foote thereof, sate one in homely and rude
apparell, crokedlye, and in mournyng maner, havyuge over his headde,
in a table, written in Laten and Englyshe, hys name, which was,
* Euinosa Kespublica,' ' A decayed Commonweale.' And uppon the same
"withered tree were fixed certayne tables, wherein were written proper
sentences, expressing the causes of the decaye of a common weale. The
other hylle on the south syde, was made fayre, freshe grene, and beaw-
tifull, the grounde thereof full of flowers and beawtie : and on the same
,was erected also one tree very freshe and fayre, under the whiche stoode
uprighte one freshe personage, well apparaylled and appoynted, whose
name also was written bothe in Englyshe and Laten, whiche was * Ees-
publica bene instituta.' ' A flourishyng Commonweale.' And uppou the
Bame tree also were fixed certayne tables, conteyning sentences which
expressed the causes of a flourishing commonweale. In the middle,
betwene the sayde hylles, was made artificiallye one hoUowe place or
cave, with doore and locke enclosed ; oute of the whiche, a lyttle before
the Queues hyghnes commynge thither, issued one personage, whose
name was Tyme, apparaylled as an old mane, with a sythe in his hande,
havynge wynges artificiallye made, leadinge a personage of lesser stature
then himselfe, whiche was fynely and well apparaylled, all cladde in
whyte silke, and directlye over her head was set her name and tytle in
Latin and Englyshe, ' Temporis filia,' ' The daughter of Tyme.' Which
two so appoynted, went forwarde toward the south syde of the pageant.
And on her brest was written her proper name, which was 'Veritas,'
Truth, who helde a booke in her hande, upon the which was written
' Verbum veritatis,' the woorde of trueth. And out of the south syde
of the pageaunt was cast a standynge for a childe which shoulde enter-
prete the same pageant. Against whom when the Queues majestie
camBj he spake unto her Grace these woordes :
' This olde man with the sythe, olde father Tyme they call,
And her his daughter Truth, which holdeth yonder boke ;
Whom he out of his rocke hath brought forth to us all,
From whence this many yerea she durst not once out loke.
i66 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
' The ruthfnl wight that sitteth under the bairen tree,
Reseniblcth to us the fonrme, when common wealea decay;
But when they be in state tryumphant, you may see
By him in freshe attyre that setteth under the baye.
' Now since that Time again his daughter Truth hath brought,
We trust, 0 worthy Queue, thou wilt this truth embrace ;
And since thou understandste the good estate and nought,
We trust wealth thou wilt plant, and barrennes displace.
* But for to heale the sore, and cure that is not scene,
Which thing the boke of truth doth teache in writing playn ;
She doth present to thee the sauie, O worthy Queue,
For that, that wordes doe flye, but wryting doth remayn.'
•When the childe had thus ended his speache, he reached his bookc
towardes the Queues majestic, whiche, a little before, Trueth had let downe
unto hym from the hill; whiche by Sir John Parrat was received, and
delivered unto the Queue. But she, as soone as she had receyved the
booke, kissed it, and with both her handes held up the same, and so
laid it upon her brest, with great thankes to the citie therfore. And
so went forward toward Paules Churchyarde. The former matter which
was rehersed unto the Queues majestic was written in two tables, on
either side the pageant eight verses. The sentences written in Latin
and Englishe upon both the trees, declaring the causes of Ijoth estates,
we;re these :
" Causes of a ruinous Commonweale are these :
Want of the feare of God. Civill disagrement.
Disobedience to rulers. Flattring of princes.
Bl indues of guides. Unmercifullness in rulers.
Briberie in majcstrats. Unthankfullness in subjects.
liebellion in subjectes.
" Causes of a florishing common weale.
Feare of God. Obedient subjectes.
A wise prince. Lovers of the commonweale.
Learned rulers. Vertue rewarded.
Obedience to officers. Vice chastened.
The matter of this pageant dependeth of them that went before. For
as the first declared her Grace to come out of the house, of uuitie, the
second that she is placed in the seat of government, staied with Vertue,
to the suppression of Vice, and therfore in the third the eight blessinges
of Almighty God might well be applyed unto her : for this fourth now
is to put her Grace in remembrance of the state of the commonweale,
which Time, with Truth his daughter, doth rovole, which Truth also her
Grace hath received, and therfore cannot but be mercifull and careful
for tlie good government therof. From tlience the Queues majestic
Panics Scol(\ a chiltle appointed by the scolemaster therof pronounced
passed towarde Paules Churchyard ; and when she came over against a
certein oration in Latin, and certein verses. Which the Queue's majestic
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM. THE TOWER. 167
most attentivlye barkened unto : and when the childe had pronounced,
he did kisse the oration, which he had there fayre written in paper, and
delivered it unto the Quenes majestic, which most gently received the
same. And when the Quenes majestie had heard all that was there
offred to be spoken, then her Grace marched toward Ludgate, where she
was received with a noyse of instrumentes, the fore front of the gate
being finelie trimmed up against her Majesties comming. From thence
by the way as she went down toward Fletebridge, one about her Grace
noted the cities charge, that there was no cost spared : Her Grace
answered, that she did well consyder the same, and that it should be
remembred. An honourable aunswere, worthie a noble prince, which
may comfort all her subjectes, considering there can be no point of
gentlenes, or obedient love shewed towarde her Grace, whych she doth
not most tenderlie accepte, and graciously waye. In this manor, the
people on either side re joy sing, her Grace wente forwarde, towarde the
Conduite in Fleetestrete, where was the fift and last pageaunt erected
in forme folowing : From the Conduite, which was bewtiiied with
painting, unto the Northside of the strete, was erected a stage, em-
battelled with foure towres, and in the same a square platte rising
with degrees, and uppon the uppermost degree was placed a chaire,
or seate royall, and behynde the same seate, in curious and artficiall
maner, was erected a tree of reasonable height, and so farre advaunced
above the seate as it did well and semelye shadow the same, without
endomaging the syght of any part of the pageant ; and the same
tree was bewtiiied with leaves as greene as arte could devise, being of a
convenient greatnes, and conteining therupon the fruit of the date, and
on the toppe of the same tree, in a table, was set the name thereof,
which was ' A palme tree ; ' and in the af oresaide seate, or chaire, was
placed a semelie and mete personage, richelie apparalled in parliament
robes, with a sceptre in her hand, as a Queue, crowned with an open
crowne, whose name and title was in a table fixed over her head in this
sort : ' Debora the judge and restorer of the house of Israel, Judic. iv.'
And the other degrees, on either side were furnished with vi personages ;
two representing the nobilitie, two the clergie, and two the comminaltye.
And before these personages was written, in a table, ' Debora with her
estates, consulting for the good governement of Israel.' At the feete of
these, and the lowest part of the pageant, was ordeined a convenient
rome for a childe to open the meaning of the pageant. When the
Quenes majestie drew nere unto this pageant, and perceived, as in the
other, the childe readie to speake, her Grace requested silence, that she
myghte plainlie heare the childe speake, whych said as hereafter
fploweth :
' Jaban of Canaan king had long, by force of armes,
Opprest the Isralites, which for God's people went :
But God minding at last for to redresse their harmes^
The worthy Debora as judge among them sent.
* In war she, through God's aide, did put her foes to fright.
And with the dint of sworde the hand^ of bondage brast.
In peace, she through God's aide, did alway mainteine right ;
And judged Israeli till f ourty yeres were past.
i68 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
* A worthie president, O worthie Qaene thou bast,
A worthie woman judge, a woman sent for staie.
And that the like to us endure alway thou maist
Thy loving subjectes will with true hearts and tongas praie.*
Which verses were written upon the pageant ; and the same in Latin
also.
" The voide places of the pageant were filled with pretie sentences
concerning the same matter. Thys ground of this last pageant was,
that forsomuch, as the next pageant before had set before her Grace's
eyes the florishing and desolate states of a commonweale, she might by
this be put in remembrance to consult for the worthy government of her
people ; considering God oftimes sent women nobly to rule among men ;
as Debora, whych governed Israeli in peas the space of XL years : and
that it behoved both men and women so ruling to use advise of good
oounsell. When the Quenes majestic had passed this pageant, she
inarched towarde Temple bari'e ; but at St. Dunstones church, where the
children of thospitall wer 'appointed to stand with their governours, her
Grace perceiving a childe offred to make an oration unto her, stayed
her chariot, and did caste up her eyes to heaven, as w4io should saye, ' I
here see thys mcrcyfuU worke towarde the poore, whom I must in the
middest of my royaltie nedes remembre ! ' and so turned her face towarde
the childe, which, in Latin, pronounced an oracion to this effecte : ' That
after the Quenes hyghnes had passed through the citie, and had sene
so sumptuous, rich, and notable spectacles of the citizens, which declared
their most hartie receiving and joyous welcomming of her Grace into the
same : thys one spectacle yet rested and remained, which was the ever-
lasting spectacle unto the poore membres of Almighty God, furthered by
that most famous and noble prince, King Henry the eight, her gracious
father, erected by the citie of London, and advaunced by the most
godly verteous and gracious prince Kyng Edwarde the vi., her Graces
dero aijd loving brother, doubting nothing of the mercy of the Quenes
most gracious clemencie, by the which they may not onely be releved
and helped, but also stayed and defended ; and therfore incessaunUy
they would pray and crie unto Almighty God for the long life
and raigne of her highnes with most prosperous victory against her
enemies.'
" The childe, after he had endei his oracion, kissed the paper wherein
the same was written, and reached it to the Quenes majestic, whych
received it graciouslye both with woordes and countenance, declaring
her gracious raynde towarde thej'r reliefe. From thence her Grace came
to Temple Harre, which was dressed fynely with the two ymages Got-
magot the Albione, and Corinuus the Briton, twogyantes bigge in stature,
furnished accordingly ; which helde in their handos, even above the gate,
a table, whorin was writen in Latin verses, theffect o| all the pageantos
which the citie before had erected ;
' Behold here in one view thou mayst see all that playne,
O Princesso, to this thy people the onely stay;
Whatechowhore thou hast seen in this wide town, again
It ia one arohe whatsoovor the rest conteyued doth eay.
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 169
* The first arche, as trae heyre unto thy father dere,
Did set thee in the throne where thy pfraundfather satte :
The second did confirine thy seate as Princesse here,
Vertues now bearing swaye, and vyces bet down flatte.
' The third, if that thou wouldst goe on as thou began,
Declared thee to be blessed on every syde,
The fourth did open Trueth, and also taught thee whan
The commonweale stoode well, and when ic did thence slide.
' The fifth, as Debora, declared thee to be sent
From Heaven, a long comfort to us thy subjectes all :
Therefore goe on, O Queue, on whom our hope is bent,
And take with thee this wishe of thy town as finall :
' Live long, and as long raygne, adourning thy countrie
With vertues, and maintayne thy peoples hope of thee ;
For thus, thus Heaven is won ; thus must you pearce the skye.
This is by Vertue wrought, all other must nodes dye.'
On the south syde was appoynted by the citie, a noyse of singing children;
and one childe richely atbyred as a poet, which gave the Queues majestie
her farewell, in the name of the hole citie, by these wordes :
' As at thyne entraunce first, O Prince of high renown
Thou wast presented with tonges and harts for thy fayre ;
So now, sith thou must needes depart out of this towne,
This citie sendeth thee firme hope and earnest prayer.
' For all men hope in thee, that all vertues shall reygne,
For all men hope that thou none errour wilt support,
For all men hope that thou wilt trueth restore agayne,
And mend that is amisse, to all good mennes comfort.
* And for this hope they pray, thou mayst continue long,
Our Queue amongst us here, all vyce for to supplant ;
And for this hope they pray, that God may make thee strong.
As by his grace puissant, so in his trueth constant.
' Farewell, O worthy Queue, and as our hope is sure,
That into errours place thou wilt now truth restore ;
So trust we that thou wilt our Soveraigne Queue endure.
And loving Lady stand, from henceforth evermore.'
Whyle these woordes were in saying, and certeine wishes therein
repeted for maintenaunce of trueth and rooting out of errour, she now
and then helde up her handes to heavenwarde, and willed the people to
say, Amen.
" When the childe had ended, she said, ' Be ye well assured I will
staude your good Queue.'
" At whiche saying, her Grace departed forth through Temple Barre
towarde Westminster, with no lease shoutyng and crying of the people,
I70 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
then she entred the citie, with a noyse of ordinance whiche the Towrc
shot of at her Graces entraunce first into Towre Streate.
" The childcs saying was also in Latin verses, wrytten in a table,
which was hanged up there.
" Thus the Quenes hyghnesse passed throughe the citie, whiche,
without any forreyne persone, of itselfe beawtifyed itselfe, and receyved
her Grace at all places, as hath been before mentioned, with most tender
obedience and love, due to so gracious a Quene and soveraigne ladie.
And her Grace lykewise of her side, in all her Graces passage shewed
herselfe generally an ymage of a woorthye ladie and governour ; but
privately these especiall poyntes wer noted in her Grace as sygnes of a
most princely courage, whereby her loving subjectes maye ground a sure
hope for the rest of her gracious doinges hereafter."
This was the last queenly progress through the city in
connection with the coronation.
" James T.," says Stowe, " rode not through the city in
royal manner as hath been accustomed " by reason of the
plague, which was then so spreading its ravages through
the capital that eight hundred and fifty-seven persons died
that week in the city and its suburbs.* For the same reason
the accustomed ceremony of proceeding in state from the
Tower to Westminster was omitted at the coronation of
Charles I. This affliction had visited London with all its
horrors, and was daily carrying off hundreds of the popu-
lation.
The austere habits which prevailed during the time of the
Commonwealth had their influence on the festal habits of
the citizens of London ; but at the Restoration the ancient
style of receiving and welcoming the monarch was revived,
if not in equal splendour, yet with changes which mai-ked
the character of the times ; and with the coronation pro-
cession of Charles II., a pageant which had been regarded
* Henry Petowe, in his poem on the coronation called " England's
Caesar" (a rare tract reprinted inNichols's "Progresses of King James "),
thus alludes to the disappointment felt in London at there being no pro-
cession from the Tower : —
" Thousands of treasure had her bounty wasted,
In honour of her king to welcome him :
But, woe is she ! that honour is not tasted.
For royal James on silver Thames doth swim.
The water hath that glory — for he glides
Upon those pearly streams unto his crown,
Looking with pity on her as he rides,
Saying, ' Alas, she should have this renown! '
So well ho knew that woful London loved him,
That her distress unto compassion movd him."
CORONATION PROCESSIONS FROM THE TOWER. 171
for many ages as an essential solemnity, the custom subsided,
and has never been renewed.
Heath, in his " Chronicle," records the procession of the
"merry" monarch through the City, on the 23rd of April,
1661 :—
" There attended upon his Majesty at the Tower, all the nobility,
and the principal gentry of the kingdom. The ceremonial began in the
afternoon with all the law and other oflficers of the crown, the judges,
the master of the rolls ; the knights of the bath in the habits of their
order, ' a brave sight of itself ' remarks Pepys in his Diary, the great
officers of the royal household ; the sons of peers according to their
rank, and the pfters in their different degrees, attended by heralds and
officers at arms : after these and the lord treasurer, the lord chancellor,
the lord chamberlain, rode two persons representing the Dukes of
Normandy and Aquitaine, ' remarkable ' observes Pepys ' were these two
men.' Then the gentleman usher ; garter king-at-arms, and the Lord
Mayor of London ; next to them was the Duke of York; Lord Monk
rode bareheaded after the king, and led in his hand a spare horse as
being master of the horse. ' The king ' says Pepys ' in a most rich
embroidered suit and cloak looked most noble.' Before his Majesty,
rode the Earls of Northumberland and Lindsay, as lord high constable
and lord high steward of England, and the Duke of Richmond, bearing
the sword : next about the king were his equerries and footmen, and
then the gentlemen and pensioners.
" ' Wadlow the vintner, at the Devil, in Fleet Street,' says Pepys,
* did lead a fine company of soldiers, all young, comely men in white
doublets. There followed the Yice-chamberlain, Sir G. Carteret, a com-
pany of men all like Turkes ; but I know not yet what they are for.
The streets all gravelled, and the houses hung with carpets before them,
made brave shew, and the ladies out of the windows. So glorious was
the shew with gold and silver, that we were not able to look at it ; our
eyes at last being so overcome. Both the king and the Duke of York
took notice of us, as they saw us at the window.'
" To increase the splendour of these ceremonies there were created
five earls and six barons; and sixty eight gentlemen, many of whom
were sons of the nobility, were made knights of the bath. These
attended upon the king in the Tower, and rode before him with their
esquires and pages in the procession to Westminster, clad in ' mantles
and surcoats of red taffeta, lined and edged with white sarcenet, and
thereto fastened two long strings of white silk, with buttons and tassels
of red silk and gold, and a pair of white gloves fastened to them ; white
hats and feathers.'
" The streets were, as usual, lined with the different companies of
the city in their liveries, attended with their banners and music. Four
triumphal arches were erected in different parts of the city ; the first
of which represented the happy event of the king's landing at Dover ;
and the three others, which stood in Cornhill, Cheapside, and Fleet
Street, were emblematical of commerce, concord, and plenty. Evelyn
notes in his Diary [April 22, 1661], ' I spent the rest of the evening in
seeing the severall arch-triumphals, built in the streetes at severall
172 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
eminent places thro' -which his Majesty was next day to passe, some of
which, the' temporary, and to stand but one yeare, were of good inven-
tion and architecture, with inscriptions."
" The kin<j was everywhere received with the strongest demonstra-
tions of loyalty ; and the magnificence of the procession was no less the
joy than amazement of all spectators : * indeed ' says Heath ' it were
in vain to attempt to describe this solemnity : it was so far from being
utterable, that it was almost inconceivable ; and much wonder it caused
to outlandish persons, who were acquainted with our late troubles and
confusions, how it was possible for the English to appear in so rich and
stately a manner; for it is incredible to think what costly clothes were
worn that day : the cloaks could hardly be seen what silk or satin they
were made of, for the gold and silver laces and embroidery that were
laid upon them ; besides the inestimable value and treasure of diamonds,
pearls, and other jewels, worn upon their backs and in their hats ;
to omit the sumptuous and rich liveries of their pages and footmen; the
numerousness of these liveries, and their orderly march ; as also the
stately equipage of the esquires attending each earl, by his horse's side :
so that all the world that saw it, could not but confess, that what they
had seen before, was but solemn mummeiy to the most august, noble,
and true glories of this great day : even the vaunting French confessed
their pomps of the late marriage with the Infanta of Spain, at their
majesties' entrance into Paris, to be inferior in state, gallantry, and
riches, to this most glorious [and, sic transit^ LAST coitoNATiON] caval-
cade KliOM THE TOWEU.' "
"James II.," remarks Lord Macaulay, "ordered an esti-
mate to be made of the cost of such a procession, and found
it vv^ould amount to about half as much as he proposed to
expend in covering his wife with trinkets. He accordingly-
determined to be profuse where he ought to have been frugal,
and niggardly where he might pardonably have been profuse.
More than a hundred thousand pounds were laid out in
dressing the queen, and the procession from the Tower was
omitted."
" At length," adds Lord Macaulay, " the old practice was
partially revived. On the day of the coronation of Queen
Victoria there was a procession in which many deficiencies
might be noted, but which was seen with interest and delight
by half a million of her subjects, and which undoubtedly
gave far greater pleasure, and called forth far greater enthu-
siasm, than the more costly display which was witnessed by a
select circle within the abbey."
( 173 )
CHAPTER VII.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS.
" First Gent. God save you, sir ! Where have you been broiling ?
Third Gent. Among the crowd i' the abbey ; where a finger
Could not be wedg'd in more. . . .
Second Gent. You saw the ceremony ?
Third Gent That I did.
First Gent. How was it ?
Third Gent. Well worth the seeing.
Second Gent. Good sir, speak it to us.
Third Gent. As well as I am able."
Shakspere, Henry VIIL, Act iv. sc. 1.
HAT is the finest sight in the
world ? A Coronation. What
do people most talk about ? A
Coronation. What is the thing
most delightful to have passed ?
A Coronation." So pleasantly
and flippantly remarks that
genteel flaneur in literature,
Horace Walpole. There may
be some truth in this, hov^-
ever, and the august cere-
monial of a royal inauguration
must appear to the mere novelty-seeker " a fine sight ; " but
a deep seriousness would rather seem to be the prevailing
feeling of those who see, beyond the gorgeous display and
formalities of crowning a monarch, the eifect that may be
produced in the destinies of a nation ; and every celebration
of coronation rites must bring with it a forecast of events,
which may result in the benefit or misfortune of a country.
We have only to search the annals of our own rulers to find
instances how soon, after the glitter and parade of the in-
vestiture of sovereigns have passed away, royal oaths have
174 CROIVXS A. YD COROXATIOXS,
been broken, promises forgt^tten. and the rights of the people
— which would seem to be entitled to receive protection from
the solemnity of a sacred institution — have been violently
and impiously disregarded.*
If there is any faith to be placed in symbols of honour
and disrnity. the coronation ceremonial, handed down to us
through so many ages, would seem to insure it. It is the
type of that which spiritually binds our afEections, and secures
our devotion to a far higher Power than the mightiest of
the earth can boast, '* the King of kinsrs " and ** the Lord of
lords."
Loyalty attaches us to the throne, from the possessor of
which we expect, in return, the wise adm.inistration of justice
and a patenud regard for the happiness and social security
of the people. ** The life of a sovereicrn." remarks Cardinal
Wiseman, ** generally dates from his accession to the throne.
It is bj reigns that the world's history is written. The man
is nothing to mankind, the king everythins' to the nation.
What he was before the commencement of his royal career.
is scarcely recorded or faintly remembered, for it is not taught
to children. To have a place for anterior honoui^ in his
Goiuitry^s annals, he mnst die before reaching that throne
which will eclipse them all. A Black Prince, or a Princess
Charlotte, had the best friend to their early fame, in death.
A royal crown will cover over and hide an immense quantity
of laurels,"
The ceremony of the coronation is a religious ceremonv —
a eolemn compact between the king and his people. In a
free country like this, mnch of authority depended on the
recollections which the people entertained of their sovereigns,
and their predecessors in the kingly dignity. The recollec-
tion constituted a part of the pride and property of the
subject, who felt there was a just dismity in seeing these
rights upheld in all the splendour of their antiquity. Every
government must suffer a proportionate, and no small loss, as
it pocsooBod less of the sacrod protecting influence of this
principle.
The coronation rites may be traced to the earliest periods
of the world's history. They have a sacred origin in the
* A angle "»«**■»'*> aBMO? manj : Bidiaxd IL BMiA'jai. the laws. -
ther were in his bnath, and he ooold make or uninVte tbem a:
pleasure. He said of the memben of the Hooae of Commons, " slaves
they were, and slavw they daoold be."
COROXATIO.VS OF EXGLISH SOVEREIGXS, 175
holy writings, and the sanction of Grod is there bestowed in
the transmission of sovereign jK)wer to His chosen people.
The ceremonies of the consecration, the anointing, the in-
vestiture and enthroning, the crowning, and the benediction,
are chiefly Jewish, bnt the divine spirit of Christianity now
-heds its influence over the rites of the royal inaagnration.
There is a solemn meaning in every part of the coronation
service ; the regal ornaments, the symbols of power, and also
the instruments of legal conveyance, are formally placed on
the communion table, before they are conveyed to the sovereign,
to express to him the grounds on which the power is con-
veyed, and the end to which it shoald be directed. The
i^oronation ceremony mast be regarded as the origin and
source of those powers which are attributed to the consti-
tution, and as the key-stone of the political arch, which all
the parties sharing it then contract to form.
The investiture of the king is of two characters, and
relates to his two distinct powers in the Church and State.
The pastoral staff and ring, and the vests used at the same
time, are sacerdotal — are such as are delivered to bishops —
and communicate a sacred authority. It is from these
investitures that the term vested rights is derived.
" The solemn rites of corona Hon,'* said Archbishop
Cranmer, in his address to Edward YL on his inauguration,
'' have their ends and utility, yet neither dii*ect force nor
necessity ; they be good admonirions to put kings in mind
of their datv to God, but no increasement of their dicrnitv :
for they be God's anointed — not in respect of the oil which
the bishop useth. but in consideration of their power, which
is ordained ; of the sword, which is authorized : of their
persons which are elected of God, and endured with the gifts
of His spirit for the better ruHng and guiding of His people."
As the place of consecration of our British sovereigns.
Westminster Abbey — "the head, crown, and diadem of the
kincrdom," as it has been called — in addition to its elorioua
architecture and antiquity, and as the resting-place of the
greatest and noblest names in onr country's history, possesses
absorbing interest. As Dart writes —
*' To monnt their throne here monarchs bend their way,
O'er pavements where their predecessors lav.
Ye sons of empire who, in pompous hoar.
Attend to wear the ctunbrous robe of pow'r,
176 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
When ye proceed along the shouting way,
Think, there's a second visit yet to pay.
And, when in state, on buried kings you tread,
And swelling robes sweep o'er th' imperial dead ;
While, like a god, your worshipp'd eyes move round,
Think, then, oh, think, you walk on treach'rous ground.
Though firm the chequer'd pavement seems to be,
'Twill surely open and give way for thee !
While crowding lords address their duty near,
Th' anointing prelate, and the kneeling peer ;
While with obsequious diligence they bow.
And spread the careful honours o'er thy brow
While the high-raised spectators shout around,
And the long aisles and vaulted roofs resound,
Then snatch a sudden thought and turn thine head,
From the loud-living to the silent dead !
With conscious eye the neighb'ring tombs survey.
These will instruct thee better far than they !
What noxo thou art, in yon gay homage see,
But these best show what thou art sure to be."
The words of Jeremy Taylor, on the same subject, are
strikingly beautiful : " Where our kings are crowned, their
ancestors lie interred, and they must walk over their grand-
sire's head to take his crown. There is an acre sown with
royal seed ; the copy of the greatest change from rich and
naked, from ceiled roofs and arched coffins, from living like
gods to die like men. There is enough to cool the flames of
lust ; to abate the height of pride ; to appease the itch of
covetous desires ; to sully and dash out the dissembling
colours of a lustful, artificial, and imaginary beauty. There
the warlike and the peaceful, the fortunate and the miserable,
the beloved and the despised princes mingle their dust, and
pay down their symbol of mortality ; and tell all the world,
that when we die, our ashes shall be equal to kings, and
our accounts easier, and our pains or our crowns shall be
less." Jeremy Taylor founded this — one of his finest
bursts of oratory — upon the lines of Beaumont, written ou
the spot : —
" Here's an acre sown indeed
With the richest, royallist seed
That the earth could o'er suck in
Since the first man died for sin."
So Waller :—
" That antique pile behold
Whore royal heads receive the sacred gold ;
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 177
It gives them crowns, and does their ashes keep ;
There, made like gods — like mortals, there they sleep.
Making the circle of their reign complete,
These suns of empire, where they rise, they set."
*' The Anglo-Saxon kings," remarks Dean Stanley,
'* had, for the most part, been buried at Winchester, where
they were crowned, and where they lived. The English
kings, as soon as they became truly English, were crowned,
and lived, and died, for many generations at Westminster,
and even since they have been interred elsewhere, it is still
under the shadow of their grandest royal residence ; in
St, George's Chapel, or the precincts of Windsor Castle.
Their graves, like their thrones, were in the midst of their
own life, and of the life of their people."
" Pageants on pageants in long order drawn ;
Peers, heralds, bishops, ermine, gold, and lawn."
The FIRST SOVEREIGN RULERS OP THE Anglo-S AXONS appear
to have been their war-kings, continued for life, and the
distinction was partly hereditary and partly elective ; that
is to say, the kings were taken from certain qualified families,
but the Witan, the great council of the Anglo-Saxons
(resembling more our present House of Lords than House
of Commons), claimed the right of choosing the person whom
they would have to reign. On every fresh occasion the
great compact between the king and the people was literally
as well as symbolically renewed, and the technical expression
for ascending the throne is being " elected,* and raised to be
* That part of the coronation ceremony which is now called the
"recognition" is, in the older formularies, termed "election." The
latter was never in our country made to extend beyond the family of
the king, but the succession was not regulated according to the rules
now observed. But as the Christian religion led men to establish the
right of primogeniture, that right adhered to the crown, and the term
"recognition" was substituted in the place of the word "election."
Recognition, according to the feudal law, is the acknowledgment of the
heir to his landed possession, and of his right to his inheritance. It is
the act of the vassal acknowledging the right of his lord according to
lawful succession ; and in the succession of a private patrimony this
form conveys a full title. In the form for the coronation of Henry VIII.,
according to a device drawn up by that prince himself, the hereditary
doctrine is set forth in the strongest language, but the principle of
"election" is put forth in language equally strong. Prince Henry is
spoken of as "rightful and undoubted enheritour by the lawes of God
178 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
king " — the word raised referring to the old Teutonic custom
of beinof elevated on shields.
We have the earliest particulars extant of the coronation
service in the " Pontificale " of Egbert, Archbishop of York
(a.d. 732-767), the title being " Missa pro regibus in die
Benedictionis ejus." The " Pontificale," or volume of episcopal
jffices, was printed for the first time by the Surtees Society
(vol. xxvii.), from a manuscript in the National Library at
Paris, formerly belonging to the church of Evreux.*
and man ; " but he is also " elected, chosen, and required by all the three
estates of this lande to take uppon hym the seid coronne and royal
dignitie." The assent of the people is asked in this form. : " Well ye
serve at this tyme, and geve your wills and assents to the same consecra-
tion, enunction, and coronacion ? Whereunto the people shall say with
a grete voyce Ye, ye ye : So be it ; King Henry, King Henry." This is
perhaps the last very distinct case of " election."
It has been remarked by Dean Stanley that the right of coronation
represents two opposite aspects of European monarchy. It was (1) a
symbol of the ancient usage of the choice of the leaders by popular
election, and of the emperor by the imperial guard, derived from the
practice of the Gaulish and Teutonic nations ; and (2) a solemn consecra-
tion of the new sovereign to his office, by unction with holy oil, and the
placing of a crown or diadem on his head by one of the chief ministers
of religion, after the example of the ancient Jewish Church.
* The service is thus epitomized in Smith's " Dictionary of Biblical
Antiquities." It commences with the antiphon " Justus es Domine,"
etc. (Ps. cxix. 137), and the Psalm " Beati immaculati" (Ps. cxix. 1).
Then succeeds a lesson from Leviticus, " Ha3c dicit Dominus" (Lev. xxvi.
6, 9); the gradual, " Salvum fac," etc., and the verse " Auribus percipe,"
and " Alleluia ; " the Psalm " Magnus Dominus " (Ps. xlviii.) or " Domine
in virtute" (xxi.), and a sequence from St. Matthew, '* In illo tempore"
(Matt, xxvii. 15). Then follows the " Benedictio super regem novitur
electum," and three collects, " Te invocamus Domine Sanctse," " Deus
qui populis tuis" (both of which are found in the " Liber Regalis "), and
" In diebus ejus oriatur omnibus acquitas." The unction follows. After
the collect " Deus electorum fortitude," succeeds the delivery of the
sceptre. The rubric is, " Hie omnes pontifices cum principibus dant ei
sceptrum in manu." Fifteen Preces, follow. After this is the delivery of
the staff (" Hie datur ei baculum in manu sua ") , with the prayer, " Omni-
potons det tibi Deus de rore cceli," etc., and imposition of the crown
(the rubric is, "Hie omnes pontifices sumant galerum et ponant super
caput ipsius"), with the prayer, " Bonedic Domine fortitudinem regis
principis, etc. " This is succeeded by the recognition of the people and
the kiss. The rubric runs, " Et dicat omnis populis tribus vicibus cum
episcopis et prosbyteris, Vivat rex N. in sempiternum. Tunc confirma-
bitur cum benodictione omnis populus " (Lcofric missal, " omni populo
in solio regni") " et osculandum principem in sempiternum dicit, Amen^
Amen, Amen." The seventh "oratio" is said over the king, and the
mass follows, with appropriate Offertory , Preface, etc. The whole termi-
i
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 179
In the Cottonian MSS. (Britisli Museum, Claudius A.
iii.) we have a detailed account of the installation cere-
monial of Ethelred II. (a.d. 978), remarkable as showing the
little diiference which has occurred in the coronation of our
sovereigns thi*ough successive ages to the present time, a
period of nearly a thousand years.
" Two bishops with the Witan, shall lead him [the king] to the
Church, and the clergy with the bishops shall sing the anthem,
* Firmetur manus tua,' and the ' Gloria Patri.'
" When the King arrives at the church, he shall prostrate himself
before the altar, and the ' Te Deum ' shall be chaunted. When this is
finished the King shall be raised from the ground, and, having heen chosen
by the bishops and people, shall, with a clear voice before God and all
the people, promise that he will observe these three rules. The
Coronation Oath. In the name of Christ, I promise three things, to the
Christian people, my subjects : first ; — that the church of God, and all
the Christian people, shall always preserve true peace under our auspices :
second : — that I will interdict rapacity, and all iniquities to every con-
dition : third : — that I v^ill command equity and mercy in all judgments,
that to me and to you the great and merciful God may extend his mercy.
" All shall say Amen. These prayers shall follow, which the bishops
are separately to repeat. We invoke thee, Oh Lord, Holy Father,
Almighty and Eternal God, that this thy servant, (whom by the wisdom,
of thy divine dispensations from the beginning of his formation to this
present day, thou hast permitted to increase, rejoicing in the flower of
youth) enriched with the gift of thy piety, and full of the grace of truth
thou mayest cause to be always advancing, day by day, to better things
before God and men. That, rejoicing in the bounty of supernal grace) *i9
may receive the throne of supreme power, and defended on all ^h-'t-i
from his enemies by the wall of thy mercy, he may deserve to gov« .
happily the people committed to him with the peace of propitiation, ■ '
the strength of victory.
" Second Prayer. Oh God, who directest thy people in strength
governest them with love, give this thy servant such a spirit of wv
with the rule of discipline, that devoted to thee with his whole hef r , ^e
may remain in his government always fit, and that by thy favo { ,he
security of this church may be preserved in his time, and C^ r-an
devotion may remain in tranquillity, so that, persevering in goof o rks,
lie may attain under thy guidance to thine everlasting kingdom.
"After a third prsbjer, the consecration of the King bv the bit^ihop
takes place, who holds the crown over him, saying, Almighty Cvf ator.
Everlasting Lord, Governor of heaven and earth, the maker and disposer
of angels and men. King of kings, and Lord of lords, who mudte thy
faithful servant Abraham to triumph over his enemies, and /^vest
manifold victories to Moses and Joshua, the prelates of thy peop](e, and
ji nates with the three royal precepts, to preserve the peace of the Church,
to restrain all rapacity and injustice, and to maintain justice and mercy
in all judicial proceedings.
\
1 80 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
didst raise David, thy lowly child, to the summit of the kinpjdom,
and didst free him from the mouth of the lion, and the paws of the
beast, and from Goliah, and from the malignant sword of Saul and his
enemies ; who didst endow Solomon with the ineffable gift of wisdom
and peace : look down propitiously on our humble prayers, and
multiply the gifts of thy blessing on this thy servant, whom, with
humble devotion, we have chosen to be King of the Angles and the
Saxons. Surround him everywhere with the right hand of thy power,
that, strengthened with the faithfulness of Abraham, the meekness of
Moses, the courage of Joshua, the humility of David, and the wisdom
of Solomon, he may be well. pleasing to thee in all things, and may
always advance in the way of justice with inoffensive progress. May he
BO nourish, teach, defend and instruct the church of all the kingdom
of the Anglo-Saxons, with the people annexed to it, and so potently and
royally rule against all visible and invisible enemies, that the royal
throne of the Angles and Saxons may not desert his sceptre, but that he
may keep their minds in the harmony of pristine faith and peace ! May
he, supported by the due subjection of the people, and glorified by
worthy love, through a long life, descend to govern and establish it with
the united mercy of thy glory ! Defended with the helmet and
invincible shield of thy protection, and surrounded with celestial arms,
may he obtain the triumph of victory over all his enemies, and bring
the terror of his power on all the unfaithful, and shed peace on those
joyfully fighting for thee ! Adorn him with the virtues with which thou
hast decorated thy faithful servants ; place him high in his dominion, and
anoint him with the oil of the grace of thy Holy Spirit!
" Here ho shall be anointed with oil ; and this anthem shall be sung :
" ' And Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, anointed Solomon
King in Siou, and, approaching him they said : May the King live for
over. '
"After two appropriate prayers, the sword was given to him, with
\ this invocation : —
Nt " ' God, who governest all things both in heaven and in earth, by thy
IProvidence, bo pro])itious to our most Christian King, that all the
st^.rength of his enemies may be broken by the virtue of the spiritual
aWord ; and that thou combating for him, they may be utterly de-
sfcroyed ! '
" The king shall here be crowned, and shall be thus addressed: —
V ** * May God crown thee with the crown of glory, and with the honour
of ,instice, and the labour of fortitude; that by the virtue of our
ben^ediction, and by a right faith, and the various fruit of good works,
tho ■! mayCst attain to the crown of the everlasting kingdom, through
hie bounty whose kingdom endures for over.'
" After the crown shall bo put on his head, this prayer shall be
said : —
" " God of eternity commander of the virtues, the conqueror of all
enemiGB, bless this thy servant, now humbly bending his head before
tlieo, .and preserve him long in health, prosperity, and happiness.
Whonc vor he shall invoke thine aid, bo speedily iireaent to him, and
prf)tert, and defend him. nestow on him the riches of thy grace ; fulfil
his desii^cH with cvriy good thing, and crown him v\i1h thy mercy.'
" The aceptro shall bo here given to him, with this address : —
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. i8i
" * Take the illustrions sceptre of royal power, the rod of thy dominion,
the rod of justice, by which may est thon govern thyself well, and the
holy church and Christian people, committed by the Lord to thee !
Mayest thou with royal virtue, defend from the wicked ; correct the
bad, and pacify the upright ; and that they may hold the right way, direct
them with thine aid, so that from the temporal kingdom thou mayest
attain to that which is eternal, by his aid whose endless dominion will
remain through every age.'
" After the sceptre has been given, this prayer follows : —
" ' Lord of all ! fountain of good ! God of all ! Governor of governors !
bestow on thy servant the dignity to govern well, and strengthen him
that he become the honour granted him by thee. Make him illustrious
above every other King in Britain ! Enrich him with thine aflfluent
benediction, and establish him firmly in the throne of his kingdom !
Visit him in his offspring, and grant him length of life ! In his day, may
justice be pre-eminent, so that with all joy and felicity, he may be
glorified in thine everlasting kingdom.'
" The Rod shall here be given to him, with this address : —
" ' Take the rod of justice and equity, by which thou mayest under-
stand how to soothe the pious, and terrify the bad ; teach the way to
the erring ; stretch out thine hand to the faltering ; abase the proud ;
exalt the humble ; that Christ our Lord may open to thee the door, who
says of himself, "I am the door, if any enter through me he shall be
saved." And HE who is the Key of David, and the Sceptre of the house
of Israel, who opens, and no one can shut ; who shuts and no one can
open ; may he be thy helper ! HE who bringeth the bounden from the
prison-house, and the one sitting in darkness and the shadow of Death !
That in all things thou mayest deserve to follow him of whom David
sang : " Thy seat, oh God, endureth for ever ; the sceptre of thy
kingdom is a right sceptre." Imitate him who says, " Thou hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity ; therefore God, even thy God, has
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." '
" The benedictions follow.
" * May the Almighty Lord extend the right hand of his blessing, and
pour upon thee the gift of his protection, and surround thee with a wall
of happiness, and with the guardianship of his care ; the merits of the
Holy Mary ; of Saint Peter, the prince of the apostles ; and of Saint
Gregory, the apostle of the English ; and of all the Saints, interceding
for thee ! May the Lord forgive thee all the evil thou hast done, and
bestow on thee the grace and mercy which thou humbly askest of him ;
that he may free thee from all adversity, and from the assaults of all
visible and invisible enemies. May he place his good angels to watch
over thee, that they always and everywhere may precede, accompany,
and follow thee; and by his power may he preserve thee from sin, from
the sword, and every accident and danger. May he convert these
enemies to the benignity of peace and love, and make thee gracious and
amiable in every good thing ; and may he cover those that persecute
and hate thee with salutary confusion; and may everlasting sanctifica-
tion flourish upon thee. May he always make thee victorious and
triumphant over thine enemies, visible or invisible; and pour upon thv
heart both the fear and the continual love of his holy name, and make
thee persevere in the right faith and in good works ; granting thee
1 82 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
peace in thy days, and with the palm of victory may he bring thee to
an endless reign. And may he make thee happy in this world and the
partaker of his everlasting' felicity, who will to make thee King over
his people. Bless, Lord, this elected prince, thou who rulest for ever
the kingdom of all kings. And so glorify him with thy blessing, that
he may liold the sceptre of Solomon, with the sublimity of a David, etc.
Grant him by thy inspiration, so to govern thy people, as thou didst
permit Solomon to obtain a peaceful kingdom.'
" ' Designation of the state of the kingdom.
" ' Stand and retain now the state which you have hitherto held by
paternal succession, with hereditary right, delegated to thee by the
authority of Almighty God, and our present delivery, that is, of all the
bishops and other servants of God ; and in so much as thou hast beheld
the clergy nearer the sacred altars, so much more remember to pay
them the honour due, in suitable places. So may the Mediator of God
and men confirm thee the mediator of the clergy and the common
people, on the throne of this kingdom, and make thee reign with him
in his eternal kingdom.'
" This prayer follows :
*' * May the Almighty Lord give thee, from the dew of heaven, and
the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn, wine, and oil ! May the
people serve thee, and the tribes adore thee ! Be the lord of thy
brothers, and let the sons of thy mother bow before thee : He who
blesses thee shall be filled with blessings, and God will be thy helper :
May the Almighty bless thee with the blessings of the heaven above,
and in the mountains, and in the vallies ; with the blessing of deep
below ; with the blessing of the suckling and the womb ; with the
blessings of grapes and apples ; and may the blessing of the ancient
fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, bo heaped upon thee ! Bless,
Lord, the courage of this prince, and prosper the works of his hands ;
and by thy blessing may his land be filled with apples, with the fruits,
and the dew of heaven, and of the deep below ; with the fruit of the
sun and moon ; from the top of the ancient mountains, from the apples
of the eternal hills, and from the fruits of the earth and its fulness.
May the blessing of Uim who appeared in the bush come upon his head,
and may the full blessing of the Lord be upon his sons, and may he
steep his feet in oil. With his horn, as the horn of the rhinoceros,
may he blow the nati(ms to the extremities of the earth ; and may He
who has ascended to the skies, be his auxiliary for ever.'
" Hero the coronation ends."
Such are the interesting particulars wliich have been pre-
served of the consecration of our earliest Enj^lish rulers.
The notices of previous inaugurations consist of only a few
allusions to the assum])tion of sovereign power. The assem-
blnge of states, commonly called the Heptarchy, were con-
stantly at war with one another, and of the existence of any-
general controlHug authority except such as one king was
occasionally enabled to maintain over the rest by his sword,
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 183
their history affords no trace. To certain of the kings,
however, by whom, this temporary supremacy appears to
have been asserted in the most marked manner, Bede, and
after him the Saxon Chronicle, has attributed the title of
" Bretwalda," Wielder, or Emperor of Britain ; and it is
probable that a species of superior honour and dignity,
such as this title would imply, may have been claimed by
the princes in question. The title of Bretwalda can only
be considered an ostentatious and empty assumption of some
of the Saxon kings, and did not carry with it a real or legal
authority.
Egbert of Wessex, although not strictly entitled to be
called the first King of all England, certainly laid the foun-
dation of what afterwards became the English monarchy.
The royal house of Wessex never lost the ascendency, which
he acquired for it, so long as the Anglo-Saxons remained
masters of England. Only one charter is known to exist in
which Egbert is styled Bjex Anglorum. In general both he
and his successors, down to Alfred inclusive, call themselves
"Kings of the West Saxons." In 886 Alfred the Great,
grandson of Egbert, became by common consent sovereign
of all England, excepting those parts of the north and east
which were still in foreign hands. There is no record of any
solemn formality gone through, or universal homage done to
Alfred on this occasion, and probably such did not take
place ; his title was stronger and better than what could
have been thus conferred. Neither are there any particulars
of the coronation of the king in 871, except that it took place
at Winchester, the capital of Wessex. The crown worn on
this occasion was, in all probability, that to which I have
alluded in the chapter on the " Crowns of England." The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 853 " King Ethelwulf
sent his son Alfred " (then five years old) " to Rome ; at that
time, Leo was pope in Rome, and he consecrated him king."
Malmesbury says that the pope gave him " the regal unction
and the crown," and Robert of Gloucester has —
" Erst he adde at Rome ybe, and vor is gret wisdome
The pope Leon hym blessede, tho he thuder come,
And the king is croune of this lond, y* in this lond yat is ;
And elede him to be king, ere he were king ywis.
And he was king of Engelond, of all that there come
That verst thus yeled was of the Pope of Rome,
And sutthe other after him, of the erchebissop echon,
So that biuore him thur king was ther non.'
1 84 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
It may be observed that no one of his brothers, Ethelbert,
Ethelbald, or Ethelred, appear to have received a regal
consecration. In the will of King Alfred there is a clause
which shows that he did not consider his crown as conferred
either by inheritance from his royal forefathers, or by the
pope's consecration, but that he held it as a gift.
Edward, the eldest surviving son of King Alfred, was
recognized by the Witenagemot as his successor, and was
crowned (according to some writers) in 901 at Kingston-
upon-Thames, but Langtoft states "at London, at Saynt
Poules took he ye croune."
Athelstan, or Etherstan, said to have been a natural son
of the last monarch, was elected king by the Witan, and was
the first sovereign who called himself " King of t}ie English^
He was crowned at Kingston-upon-Thames in 925. " The
monarch," says Dean Hook, in his " Lives of the Archbishops
of Canterbury," " stood before the people ; a thin spare man,
thirty years of age, with his yellow hair beautifully inwoven
with threads of gold. He was arrayed in a purple vestment,
with a Saxon sword in a golden sheath, hanging from a
jewelled belt.
On an elevated platform in the market-place, and on
a stone seat, he took his place, to be better seen of the
multitude. He was received with shouts of loyalty, and as
*' One eminent among the rest for strength,
For stratagem, or courage, or for all,
Was chosen leader."
Then, elevated on a stage or target, he was carried on the
shoulders of his men,* being from time to time, in their
* The " lifting " of a chief or sovereign (see frontispiece) was
a practice from the earliest times. It was a custom among the tribes
of ancient Germany. Tacitus alludes to the ceremonial in the case of
Brinno, chief of the Batavian tribe of Canninefutes, " impositus scuto,
more gentis, et sustinentium huraerisvibratus,dux dcligitur" (" Uist.," iv.
15). The German soldiers of the imperial guard introduced this custom
to the Romans. The elected emperor was raised on a shield and carried
round the camp three times. This practice was a recognized portion of
the ritual of a coronation in the Eastern empire. At the inauguration
of Justin the Younger in St. Sophia, a shield was held up by four young
men. On this the emperor stood erect, like the letter I, with which his
name, and that of his two immediate predecessors, commenced. Subse-
quently the emperors adopted the securer position of sitting, instead of
standing, on the buckler. Gregory of Tours states that the " chairing"
of Uunbald, King of Burgundy (a.d. 500), was performed with rather
more zeal than caution, for being carried for the third time around the
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 185
enthusiasm, tossed into the air, until they arrived at the
doors of the church. Here the archbishop (Aldhelm) was
standing to receive him, and the king, supported by two
prelates on either side, proceeded to the steps of the altar,
and, prostrating himself, remained some time in private
prayer, after which the archbishop proceeded to the coronation.
William of Malmesbury remarks, " To celebrate such
splendid events, and the joy of that illustrious day, the poet
justly exclaims —
" ' The nobles meet, the crown present,
On I'ebels, prelates curses vent ;
The people light the festive fires,
And show by turns their kind desires.
Their deeds their loyalty declare,
Though hopes and fears their bosoms share.
With festive treat, the court abounds ;
Foams the brisk wine, the hall resounds :
The pages run, the servants haste,
And food and verse regale the taste.
The minstrels sing, the guests commend,
Whilst all in praise to Christ contend.
The king with pleasure all things sees,
And all his kind attentions please.' "
After King Edmund I. (a.d. 941) and King Edrrd (a.d.
946), Edwy, or Edwin, the eldest son of Edmund I., was
crowned by Archbishop Odo in the year 955 — a coronation
remarkable for the outrage on the monarch by Dunstan, to
which I have alluded in the chapter on " Omens and Incidents
in connection with Coronations." In 973 Edgar and his
consort Elflida, or Elfrida, were solemnly crowned at St.
Peter's, Bath ; the coronation ceremony being performed by
Archbishop Dunstan, on the 11th of May, the feast of Pente-
cost. St. Oswald assisted in the ceremonies of consecrating
assembled people, the sovereign fell from his high estate, and was, with
diflBculty, kept from descending to the earth. In the East it was the
rule that the shield should be supported in front by the emperor (when
the choice of a successor was made in his lifetime), the father of the
new created monarch if alive, and the patriarch; the other highest
dignitaries of the state supporting it behind.
Clevis was inaugurated as king with the old Prankish custom of
being raised on a shield ; Pepin was lifted on a target, from which time
the custom was but casually observed in France. The Emperor Otho
was raised on a shield at Milan (a.d. 961). From a passage in Constan-
tino Porphyrogenitus this custom appears to have prevailed among the
Turks. It was in use in the kingdom of Arragon, in Spain, and traces
of it are found in the annals of Castile.
1 86 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and anointing Edgar and his queen. This event was com-
memorated in a poem preserved in the Saxon Chronicle : —
" Here Edgar was
(of Angles wielder)
With mickle pomp
to kyng yhallowed
in the old borough
Acheman's-chester,
but those that dwell
in other word
Bath name it.
There was bliss mickle
on that happy day
caused to all
which sons of men
name and call
Pentecost Day."
Edgar, on the day of his coronation, resumed the insignia
of royalty (which had been interdicted by Dunstan for his
crime in carrying off the nun Wulfreda, of Wilton), and he
was surrounded by his nobles, to whom he gave the custo-
mary gifts. The royal robes worn by Edgar at his coronation
are described as of great value, on which account the king
afterwards bestowed them on the Abbey of Glastonbury, as
a decoration for the altar.
Edgar, in his will, had declared that the crown should
devolve on Edward, the son of his first wife, Ethelflede " the
Fair," or the " White," an amiable prince then in his thir-
teenth year ; but Elfrida, the second wife of Edgar, wished
to secure the succession to her son Ethelred, then a child of
seven years, on the plea that his mother had not been law-
fully wedded to Edgar, or that the young prince was born
before their coronation ; besides which, the queen alleged
that he was of a cruel and harsh disposition. Elfrida had
many partisans, but Dunstan, fearing a diminution of his
power if Ethelred became king under the regency of his
mother, convened an assembly of nobles at Kingston for the
purpose of crowning and anointing Edward II. The faction
of Elfrida, among whom was Alfer, Duke of Mercia, formally
declared against the ceremony taking place. The queen
herself, who was present, objected on account of the prince's
illegitimacy. At this crisis Dunstan appeared, bearing in his
hands the banner of the crucifix, accompanied by young
Edward, whom he presented to the nobles as their rightful
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 187
sovereign, declaring- that lie himself would be responsible for
the prince's conduct, whom he would regulate, as his father's
tutor and prime minister. This promise of Dunstan united
the wavering minds of the assembled nobles, "and Edward,"
says Holinshed, " was received with universal joy."
Taking the youth by the hand, Dunstan marched directly
to the church, accompanied by the other bishops, followed by
a great crowd of people, where he anointed him king (a.d.
975), in spite of the opposition of Elfrida and her party, who
were overwhelmed with grief at the archbishop's triumph.
The young king, however, had but a short-lived reign of
three years, for it is said that whilst drinking a cup of wine
at Corfe Castle, whither he had gone to pay his respects to
his mother-in-law Elfrida, he was stabbed to the heart, either
by the queen or by one of her attendants.
Edward, who on account of his barbarous murder was
surnamed the " Martyr," was succeeded on the throne (978)
by his half-brother, Etheleed II., or the " Unready," con-
secrated at Kingston, and the particulars of which ceremony
have been mentioned. This sovereign abdicated the throne
in 1012, and Swain or Swegn, King of Denmark, usurped the
crown, and was proclaimed king in the autumn of 1014, in
which year he died, and Ethelred was restored. " Under
Ethelred [the Unready]," says Freeman, " nothing was done,
or more truly, throughout his whole reign he left undone
those things he ought to have done, and he did those things
which he ought not to have done." On his death, Edmund
Ironside, said to have been the natural son of Ethelred, was
elected by the Witan in London and the citizens, as his suc-
cessor, and crowned April, 1016. He was, however, defeated
by Canute, with whom, it is said on debatable authority, he
divided the realm, and on his death the latter became sole
monarch of England (1017).
Haeold L, the son of King Canute, succeeded to the throne
by election of the Witan (1036) ; and three years afterwards
Hardicanute, his half-brother, became king over all England
for two years, all but ten days.
In 1041 Edward the " Confessor," son of Ethelred II.,
was elected to the throne (before the funeral of Hardicanute),
and was crowned at Winchester, "with great worship," as
stated in the Saxon chronicles, on Easter Day, 1043. The
ceremony of the consecration was performed by the Arch-
bishops of Canterbury and Tork. We are expressly told
1 88 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
that the metropolitan, Archbisliop Eadsige, gave much ex-
hortation, both to the newly made king and to his people.
It seems that this coronation was attended bj an apparently
unusual assemblage of the ambassadors of foreign princes.
From Edward's third, charter to Westminster Abbey, dated
1066, the year of his death, it appears that the king had
expressly applied to Pope Nicholas 11. on the subject of
Westminster Abbey being the established place for crowning
the monarchs of England. The answer of the pope is in the
form of a rescript, making the abbey the future place of in-
auguration, from which time the custom has been recognized.
(It may be mentioned that the use of the great seal was
first introduced in this reign.) In the interesting series of
relievi in the chapel of Edward the Confessor in Westminster
Abbey, the third subject (one of fourteen) represents the
coronation of this monarch. He is seated under a canopy of
state, and the crown is being placed on his head by the Arch-
bishops of Canterbury and York. There is a large assemblage
of nobles and courtiers. Owing to the dilapidation of this
work, it is impossible to ascertain correctly the minor details
of the subject.
A curious picture of the coronation of Harold II. (1066)
is given in the famous Bayeux Tapestry, from which it appears
that neither the story of the king being crowned by Ealdred,
Archbishop of York, during the suspension of Stigand, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury (in consequence of a quarrel with the
court of Rome), nor that of Harold having with his own
hands put on the " golden round " in the absence of Stigand,
are true, for in the tapestry Stigand is represented, " duly
labelled," to prevent mistakes. In this wonderful specimen
of ancient art,* Harold appears on his throne, in St. Paul's,
with the globe and cross in his left hand, and a sceptre in his
right. Two men on his right-hand side present him with a
sword, and Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is standing
* Dr. Freeman considers the Bayenx Tapestry as a contcnipoi'ary
work of art ; there is no reason to connect it with Matilda, the consort
of Williain the Conqueror, but thei'e is every reason to connect it with
Odo, half-brother of William. " It was probably, but I cannot say cer-
tainly, made in En<]^land." The tapestry is now carefully preserved in
its iNlorman home. It was formerly wound round a sort of windlass, and
was unwound and handled whenever anybody looked at it. It is
now kept under f^lass in the public library at Bayeux, where it is stretched
out round the room.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 189
on his left. The inscriptions are: "Here they give the crown
to King Harold ; " " Here sits Harold, King of the English,"
" Stigand, Archbishop."
Dr. Freeman, in his "History of the Norman Conquest,"
considers that there is no doubt whatever of Harold having
been consecrated king with all the usual ecclesiastical rites.
That the ceremony was performed by Eldred may be thought
in one degree to be less certain, but that seems to be a point
in which scepticism is unreasonable. With regard to the 'place
of the ceremony, the balance between the minister of St. Paul's
and Westminster seems to be in favour of the latter. Dr.
Freeman thus graphically describes the coronation ceremony :
" The rite began. Earl Harold, the King-Elect, was led by two
bishops, with hymns and processions, up to the high altar of the
minster. The anthem sung by the choir in that great procession, prayed
that the hand of Harold might be strengthened and exalted, that justice
and judgment might be the preparation of his seat, that mercy and
truth might go before his face. Before the high altar the earl of the
West Saxons bowed himself to the ground, and while he lay grovelling,
the song of Ambrose, the song of faith and victory, was sung over one
whose sin at Porlock, whose atonement at Waltham, might well make
him another Theodosius. The Earl then rose from the pavement, and
for the last time he looked on the crowd around him, the Prelates and
Thegns, and the whole people of England, as still one of their number.
Their voice had already hailed him as their King, but a still more solemn
election before the altar of God was needed before the Chui-ch admitted
him to the sacramental unction. Once more the voice of Ealdred
(primate of Northumberland) demanded of the English people, in ancient
form, whether they would that Earl Harold should be crowned as their
Lord and King. A loud shout of assent rung through the minster.
Chosen thus by Prelates and people, the King-Elect swore with a loud
voice his three-fold oath to God and to all his folk. Kings swore in after
days that they would observe all the rights and liberties which the
glorious Eadward had granted to his clergy and his people. The oath of
the prince who had so lately renewed the Laws of Cnut was of a simpler
form. Earl Harold swore to preserve peace to the Church of God, and
to all Christian people. He swore to forbid wrong and robbery to men
of every rank within his realm. He swore to enforce justice and mercy
in all his judgments, as he would that God should have mercy upon him.
And all the people said Amen. The Bishops then prayed for the Ruler
whom they had chosen, for his guidance by the Spirit of Wisdom in the
government of his realm, for peace to his Church and people, for his
welfare in this world and in the next. Then a yet more solemn prayer
from the lips of Ealdred followed. In that ancient English form which
other nations have been fain to borrow of us, the God who had wrought
His mighty works by the hands of Abraham and Moses and Joshua and
David and Solomon, was implored to shower down all the gifts and
graces of those famous worthies, upon him who was that day chosen to
IQO CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
be King of the Angles and Saxons. Ealdred prayed that Harold, faithful
as Abraham, gentle as Moses, brave as Joshua, humble as David, wise as
Solomon, might teach and rule and guard the Church and realm of the
Angles and Saxons against all visible and invisible foos. With feelings
too deep for words must that prayer have risen from the hearts of those
who could already see the gathering storm, which was still but like a
little cloud out of the sea. The Primate prayed that their chosen King
might never fail the throne and sceptre of the Angles and Saxons, that
for long years of his life he might reign over a faithful people in peace
and concord, and if need be, in victory. Christ himself was prayed to
raise him to the throne of His Kingdom, and to pour down upon him the
unction of the Holy One.
" The oaths were said, the pi-ayers were prayed. And now came the
sacramental rite itself, which changed an Earl into a King, and which
gave him, so men deemed, grace from on high to discharge the duties
which it laid upon him. The holy oil was poured upon the head of
Earl Harold, by the hand of Ealdred. And while the symbolic act was
in doing, the choir raised their voices in that glorious strain to which the
noblest music of later times has given a still higher majesty. The walls
of the West Minster echoed to the anthem, which told how Zadok the
Priest, and Nathan the Prophet, anointed Solomon King, and which
added the prayer of England that Harold might live for ever. Again
the Primate prayed, that as of old Kings and Priests and Prophets were
anointed with oil, so now the oil poured on the head of God's servant,
might be a true sign of the inner unction of the heart, a means of grace
for his glory, and the welfare of his people. And now King Harold, the
Lord's Anointed, the chosen of the people, the consecrn ted of the Church,
vested in the robe of royalty and priesthood, received in due order, the
insignia of the kingly office. The sword was placed in his hand, with the
prayer that he might therewith defend his realm, and smite his enemies,
and the enemies of the Church of God. The King then bowed his head,
and the Imperial diadem of Britain was placed by the hand of Ealdred
on the head of the King of the Angles and Saxons, the Emperor of the
Isle of Albion. God was again implored to crown His Anointed with
glory, and justice, and might, and to give him a yet brighter Crown in a
more enduring Kingdom. Then the sceptre, crowned with the cross, and
the rod crowned with the holy dove, were placed, one after the other, in
the royal hands. Prayer was again made that the sceptre of Harold's
Kingdom might be a sceptre of righteousness and strength, that he, who
had been anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows, might
through all his days be a lover of righteousness, and a hater of iniquity.
Further prayers, further blessings followed ; the prayers and merits of
all the saints, of the Virgin mother of God, of the Prince of the Apostles,
and of his successor the special Apostle of the English nation, were
implored on behalf of the anointed King. And now King Harold sat on
his royal throne, the crown upon his brow, in his right hand the sceptre,
in his left the orb of Empire, the proud badge which belonged of right
to the Caosar of another world. Two chiefs, pcrha])s his faithful brothers,
bore the sword at his side ; his people stood and gazed upon him with
wonder and delight. The day, at last, liad come, for whicli Harold and
Englatid had looked so long.
" On the Coronation followed the mass, and afterwards the banquet,
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS,
191
and then, on the' last day of the Christmas festival, we cannot doubt that
King Harold, in all the glory of his new digAity, wore his Crown with all
kingly state in what was now his palace at Westminster. The old dynasty
had passed away; the new dynasty had taken possession."
Harold liad a brief reign, being* crowned January 6, 1066,
and slain at the battle of Hastings, October 14 of tbe same
year.
The victorious rival of this unfortunate monarch, William,
Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England at West-
Death of Harold. From the Bayeux Tapestry.
minster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066, by Ealdred, Arch-
bishop of York.* The ceremony was one of great splendour.
* The circumstance of Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury, not per-
forming this duty is mentioned by Langtoft : —
" The Pope reft him the state.
The abbot and prioure, men of religion
The oder men of honoure, archedecane and person
Wer prived of thar office, of woulfes had renoun
For lechorie that vice wer many als don doun.
The Archbishope of York, com with devocioun,
Though William praiere, come to London toun ;
Bifor the barons brouht, he*gaf William the coroun
To chalange was he nouht, Sir Stigand was don doun."
192 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
According to the Saxqn Chronicle, William entered the city
on the preceding afternoon, and took np his abode at the
palace of Blackfriars. On Christmas morning he took boat
to London Bridge, repaired to a house near London Stone,
and thence proceeded to the abbey at the head of a splendid
cavalcade, surrounded with all the trappings of royalty.
Near to his person, next to the Norman banners, rode the
English nobles and officers of state. The archbishop pro-
nounced an address, and, in compliance with the Anglo-Saxon
laws, asked the English whether they chose to accept William
as their king. Geoffrey, Bishop of Coutances, also demanded
of the Normans in their own language whether they con-
sidered that their sovereign should take the dignity of King
of England. William then took the oath of the Saxon kings,
and solemnly promised that he would treat the English
people as well as the best of their monarchs had done, to
preserve the privileges of his new subjects, and administer
true justice — a mere mockery in this case, as events very
soon afterwards proved.
The coronation of William II., " Ruf us " (September 26,
1087), took place seventeen days after his father's death.
Peter Langtof t says —
" To William y" rede kyng
Is f?yvon ye coroun
At Westmyiistere tok he ryng
In ye abbay of Londoun."
Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated.
Stained with the most odious tyranny was the thirteen
years' reign of the second William, and the inauguration of
his brother, Henry I. (August 5, 1100), was made the occasion
of a solemn condemnation of the acts committed under the
previous sovereign. He was chosen on condition of restoring
the laws of St. Edward and the old liberties of the kinsfdom.
which he conferred by a charter immediately after his con-
secration.* The ceremonial of this consecration is preserved
* The compact between Henry and the electors Avas more marked
than in any previous Norman coronation, lie promised everything
excepting the one thins^ which he declared that ho could not do, namely,
to give up the forests of game which he had received from his father.
A yet more important coronation than his own, in the eyes of the
Saxon population, was that of his wife Matilda (November 10, 1100).
Never since the battle of Hastings had there been such a joyous day
as when Queen Maude, (he descendant of Alfred, was crowned in the
abbey and feasted in the great hall.
\(
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS, 193
among the Cottonian MSS. (Claudius A. iii. and Tiberius
B. viii.) in the British Museum. "In those days," observes
Lord Campbell in his " Lives of the Lord Chancellors,"
*' anointment by a prelate was supposed to ^vjq a divine right
to kings, and the commencement of a reign was dated from
the day of the coronation, not from the death of a predecessor.
The privilege of crowning the kings of England has always
been considered to belong to the Archbishop of Canterbury
as primate, but Anselm, the archbishop, from his quarrel
with the late king, was still in exile. Henry, in this ex-
tremity, applied to Maurice, the ex-lord chancellor, and over-
came his scruples as to the law of primogeniture by a share
of the royal treasure, which he had secured to himself as he
passed through Winchester, and by which history records
that his usurpation was accomplished. On the third day
from the tragical end of Rufus, Maurice placed the crown on
the head of the new sovereign in Westminster Abbey." At
that time, says Fuller, the present providing of good swords
was accounted more essential to a king's coronation than the
long preparing of gay clothes. Such preparatory pomp as was
used in after ages for the ceremony was now conceived not
only useless, but dangerous ; speed being safest to supply the
vacancy of the throne.
Stephen was crowned December 26, 1135, the day of his
patron saint Stephen. The Saxon Chronicle thus describes
his accession, after noticing the death of Henry I. : " Mean-
while was his nephew come to London, Stephen de Blois.
He came to London, and the people of London received him,
and sent after the Archbishop, William Corboil, and hallowed
him to king on mid- winter day." At this ceremony, says
William of Malmesbury, " there were no abbots, and scarcely
any of the nobility."
Henry II., grandson of Henry I., succeeded to the crown
on the death of Stephen, and was consecrated, together with
Queen Eleanora, December 19, 1154. Henry of Huntingdon
says that on proceeding to London he was received with the
:greatest gladness, and " blessed as king " with much splendour.
This monarch caused his eldest son and heir-apparent. Prince
Henry, to be crowned king in his lifetime (June 14, 1170),
being most probably desirous to engage the nobles and great
men of the realm to swear to preserve the regular succession
.in his family, his own hereditary right having, in the person
of his mother, Maude the empress, been interrupted by the
0
194 CROIVXS AXD CORONATION'S.
reign of Stephen. In the case o£ Heniy II. the ceremony of
consecration had been repeated several times. The corona-
tion of his son as Henry III. took place during the height of
the king's quarrel with Becket. Accordingly, as the primate
was necessarily absent, the Archbishop of York took his
place.
The coronation ceremonial of Henry and Eleanora was
magnificent. Here were seen in profusion mantles of silk
and brocade, of a new fashion and splendid texture, brought
by Queen Eleanora from Constantinople. Henry wore a
doublet and short Angevin cloak, which gave him the sov.-
hriquet of " Court-mantle." His dalmatica was of the richest
brocade, with gold embroidery. At this coronation ecclesi-
astics were first seen in England dressed in sumptuous robes
of silk and velvet, worked with gold in imitation of the Greek
Church.
Of Richard I., "that robbed the lion of his heart," Peter
Langtof t writes —
" In a moneth mirie
September y^ gynnyng',
Bauclwyn of Canterbiric
Com to coroune y® king."
The ceremonial took place at Westminster, September 3,
1189. In Hoveden we find some particulars of this corona-
tion which are very interesting :
" The Archbishops of Canterbury, Koan [Rouen], Triei"s [Tours], and
Dublin, with all the otlier bishops, abbots and clergy, apparelled in rich
copes, and having the cross, holy water, and censers carried before
them, came to fetch the king at the door of his privy -chamber; where
receiving him, they led him to the church of Westminster in solemn
procession, until they came before the high altar. In the middle of tho
bishops and clergy, Avent four barons bearing candlesticks with tapers
— after whom came Geffrey de Lucy, bearing the cap of maintenance,
and next to him, John Marshall, bearing a massy ])air of gold spurs;
then followed William Marshall, Earl of Striguil (alias Pembroke) who
bare the royal sceptre, in the top whereof was a cross of gold ; and next
to him William Fitz-Patrick, Earl of Salisbury, who bare the warder or
rod, having on the top thereof a dove; — then came three earls, viz. r
David, Earl of Huntingdon, brother to the King of Scots ; John, Earl of
Mortaigno, and Robert, Earl of Leicester ; each of which carls bare a
sword upright in his hand, the scabbards being richly adorned with
gold.
"After these followed six earls and barons, bearing a checker table*
upon which were set tho king's scutcheons of arms : — then camo
William Mandeville, Earl of Albemarle, bearing a crown of gold a great
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 195
height, before the king, who followed, having the bishop of Durham on
his right hand, and Eeynold, bishop of Bath, on the left, over whom a
canopy was borne.
" In this order Richard came into the church at Westminster, where
before the high altar, in the presence of the clergy and the people,
laying his hand upon the holy evangelists and the reliques of certain
saints, he took a solemn oath that he should observe j)eace, honour and
reverence to Almighty God, to his church and to his ministers, all the
days of his life ; also, that he should exercise upright justice to the
people committed to his charge ; and that he should abrogate and dis-
annul all evil laws, and wrongful customs, if any were to be found in
the precinct of his realm, and maintain those which were good and
laudable. This done, the king put off all his garments from his middle
upwards, but only his shirt, which was open in the shoulders, that he
might be anointed, — then the Archbishop anointed him in three places ;
on the head, on the shoulder, and on the right arm, with prayers in
such cases accustomed. After this he covered his head with a linen
cloth, hallowed, and set his cap thereon, and then, after he had put on
his royal garment, and his uppermost robe, the Archbishop delivered
him the sword with which he should beat down the enemies of the
church ; which done, two earls put his shoes upon his feet, and having-
his mantle put upon him, the Archbishop forbade him, on the behalf of
Almighty God, to presume to take upon him this dignity, except he
faithfully meant to perform those things which he had there sworn
to perform. Whereunto the king made answer, that by God's grace he
would perform them.
'* Then the king took the crown beside the altar, and delivered it to
the Archbishop, which he set upon the king's head, delivering him the
sceptre to hold in his right hand, and the rod royal in his left hand, and
thus being crowned, he was brought back by the bishops and barons,
with the cross and candlesticks, and three swords, passing forth before
him unto his seat.*
" When the bishop who sang mass came to the offertory, the two
bishops that brought him to the church, led him to the altar, and
brought him back again. The mass ended, the king was brought with
solemn procession into his chamber, and so the whole ceremony was
concluded."
On his return from captivity Richard was crowned again
at Winchester, as if to reassure his subjects. This was the
last trace of the old Saxon regal character of Winchester.
He submitted very reluctantly to this repetition, but the
reinvestiture in the coronation robes was considered so
important, that in these he was ultimately buried.t
"■ On the effigy of Richard I. in the Abbey of Fontevraud are seen the
royal gloves, with a large jewel on the back of the hands, characteristic
of dignity. These are also represented on the figure of Henry II.
t In 1191 Richard I., who had overcome the Cypriots, "in the
joyous month of May," says an ancient writer, "in the flourishing and
spacious isle of Cyprus, celebrated as the very abode of the goddess of
196 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
John, tlie brother of Richard I., succeeded to the crown
by the nomination of his brother, with the consent and
election of the states of the realm, and was inaugurated at
Westminster Abbey, May 27, 1199. Various circumstances
tend to prove that he was indebted for the crown to the
election of his subjects, rather than to hereditary right. In
one of his charters he seems to admit that his title to the
throne was founded, partly at least, on the consent and
approbation of his subjects. This coronation is memorable
for the oration of Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury,
as related by Matthew Paris (" Historia Major"), in which
the declaration of the elective principle of our early sovereigns
is made : " It is well known to you all that no man hath
right of succession to this crown, except that by unanimous
consent of the kingdom, with invocation of the Holy Ghost,
he be elected for his own deserts. If, indeed, of the family
of the deceased monarch, there be one then supereminently
endowed, he should have our preference." Thus John, the
sixth and youngest son of Henry II., succeeded to the crown,
although Arthur, then in his twelfth year, and the son of
Geoffrey, King Henry's fourth son, was living.*
The archbishop, adds Matthew Paris, was a man of bold
character, and a support to the kingdom by his steadiness and
love, solemnly took to wife his beloved Lady Berengaria." By the
advice of tlie allied cnisaders, who came to assist at his nuptials,
Jli chard was crowned King of Cyprus, and his bride Queen of England
and Cyprus.
" To Limoussa the lady was led, his feast the King did cry
Berengere will he wed, and sojourn thereby,
The third day of the feast, bishop Bernard of Bayonne
Kenewed oft the gcste, to the Queen he gave the crown."
* On the death of Richard I. the right to the throne devolved,
iiccording to modern usage, upon Arthur of Brittany, son and heir of
Geoffrey ]?lantagenet, next brother of that monarch; but John pretended
to have a superior right, as nearer of kin to Richard, being his next sur-
viving brother, whereas Arthur was one degree further removed, being
])is brother's son.
"The infamy of John's reign in no way affects his right to the
crown, which was perfectly good. It does not appear that Arthur of
Brittany, who is commonly spoken of as having a better right, had any
partisans in England iit all." — Freeman.
Sir Harris Nicolas mentions as a remarkable fact, and one which has
liithorto escaped notice, that all the Anglo-Noi'man kings, from William
ilic Conqiioror to Richard I. inclusive, styled themselves kings, dukes,
or counts of tJicir people, and not of their dominions.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 197
incomparable wisdom ; no one, therefore, dared to dispute
what he said, as knowing that he had good cause for what he
did. John, and all who were present, acquiesced, and he
was unanimously elected with cries of " God save the king ! "
King John bound himself by a triple oath at this corona-
tion, says Roger of Wendover, to love the holy Church and
its ordained priests, to jDreserve it harmless from the attacks
of evil designers, to do away with bad laws, substituting good
ones in their stead, and to see justice rightly administered
throughout England.*
Henry III. of Winchester, had just completed his tenth
year when he succeeded his father, and was crowned twice :
first at Gloucester (October 28, 1216), by the Bishop of
Winchester (Westminster being in the hands of Prince Louis
of France) ; and afterwards (Whit-sunday, May 17, 1220)
at Westminster Abbey, " to the end," as Holinshed ob-
serves, " it might be said that now, after the extinguishment
of all seditious factions, he was crowned by the general
consent of all the estates and subjects of his realm."
Of the coronation at Gloucester, Roger of Wendover
relates " that the legate, in company with the bishops and
nobles, conducted the king in solemn procession to the conven-
tual church to be crowned ; and there, standing before the
great altar, in the presence of the clergy and people, he swore
on the holy Gospels and reliques of the saints, that he would
preserve honour, peace, and reverence, towards God, and
the holy Church, and its ordained ministers all the days of his
life ; he also swore that he would show justice to the people
I entrusted to his care, and would abolish all bad laws and cus-
I toms, if there were any in the kingdom, and would observe those
|i that were good, and cause them to be observed by all. He
J then did homage to the holy Church of Rome, and to the
Pope, for the kingdoms of England and Ireland, and
swore, that as long as he held those kingdoms, he would
faithfully pay the thousand marks which his father had
given to the Roman Church ; after this Peter, bishop of
* John had been previously (April 25, 1199) inaugurated as Duke of
Normandy. He was girt at Eome, says Eoger of Wendover, with the
sword of the duchy in the mother church, by Walter, Archbishop of
^ Kouen, "and the same archbishop before the great altar placed on his
head the golden circle with rosettes of gold artificially worked in a circle
1 on the top of it." The duke then, in the presence of the clergy and
i people, swore on the relics of saints and by the holy Gospels, a similar
• oath to that taken at his English coronation.
198
CROIVXS A.VD COKOXATIONS.
Winchester, placed the crown on his head, and anointed him
king, with the usual ceremonies of prayer and chanting
observed at coronations. After mass had been performed, the
bishops and knights clothed the king in royal robes, and
conducted him to the table, where they all took their seats
accoi'ding to their rank, and feasted amidst mirth and
rejoicing."
On the restoration of Westminster to the king he was
crowned by Stephen Langton, having the day before laid the
Coronation of King Edward I. Initial letter from illuminated manuscript.
foundation of the new Lady Chapel, the germ of his
magniiiccnt church. The royal banquet was so splendid
that the oldest man present could remember nothing like it
at a previous coronation. The young king, says Dean
Stanley, impressed probably by his double coronation,
asked the great theologian of that time, Grossetete, Bishop
of Lincoln, the difficult question," What was the precise grace
wrought in a king by the unction ? " The bishop answered
witli some hesitation that it was the sign of the king's special
reception of the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit, "as in
conlirmation."
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 199
At the close of the long reign of Henry III., his son
Edward was in the Holy Land, from whence he sent orders
for his coronation on his return. Some idea may be formed of
the royal banquet on this occasion from a passage in the
directions given for the ceremony (Rymer's ' ' FcBdera ") . These
were — to provide three hundred and eighty head of cattle, four
hundred and thirty sheep, four hundred and fifty pigs,
eighteen wild boars, two hundred and seventy-eight flitches
)f bacon, and nearly twenty thousand capons and fowls.
The coronation of Edward I. and Queen Eleanor took
)lace at Westminster Abbey (August 19, 1274). There was
labundant cheer ; a kitchen of extraordinary size was built at
'Westminster, and from the builder's account we learn that
the boiled meats placed before the king's guests were pre-
pared in leaden vessels.
Archbishop Kilwarby crowned the king and Eleanor, his
l-queen. There were present Alexander, King of Scotland, and
[John, Count of Bretagne, with their ladies, the sisters of the
Iking. " The King of Scots," we are told by Holinshed,
r' did homage to King Edward for the realme of Scotland, in
like manner as other the kings of Scotland before him had done
to other kings of England ancestours to this King Edward." *
Edward II., and his queen, Isabella, received the crown on
i February 25, 1308. They were consecrated by the Bishop
I of Winchester, the primate being out of the realm. We read
I that during the ceremony the king offered first a pound of
[gold made like a king' holding a ring in his hand, and after-
wards a mark, or eight ounces of gold, formed into a pilgrim
\ putting forth his hand to receive the ring — a conceit suggested
by the legend of Edward the Confessor.
" At the coronation of the king and queen," says Speed,
^' (which the lords would have impeached had hee not promised
reasonably to satisfiethem about Gaveston) none was neare to
[Piers in bravery of apparell or delicacie of fashion."
* Edward I. is sometimes called Edward IV., the three Saxon
monarchs who bore the name of Edward being reckoned. The
copy of the Chronicle of Lanercost, written in the fourteenth century,
is headed, ' in some pages, " Edwardus, 1, post conquest ; " in others,
" Edwardus, Eex 1 ; " and in another page, " Edwardus, Eex iiij*"*."
Among the manuscripts belonging to Eichard Orlebar, Esq., of Hinwick
House, Bedford, is an " Account of the opening of the tomb of Edward I.
in Westminster Abbey," dated May 30, 1774. The body was in cerecloth,
a sceptre in each hand ; the stones in the belt supposed to be glass, etc.
He measured six feet two inches.
200 CROWXS AA'D CORONATIONS.
On the deposition of Edward II., whicli event occurred
January 20, 1327, his son, Prince Edward, was brought to a
general assembly of the nobles and clergy in the abbey
church of Westminster, and the Archbishoji of Canterbury,,
taking for his text the old aphorism, "Vox populi, vox Dei,"
exhorted all present to choose the young prince for their
sovereign. They were asked whom they preferred to reign
as their king, the father or the son ? They replied unani-
mously that the son should be made king. Prince Edward
was, consequently, immediately proclaimed king in West-
minster Hall, by the name of Edward III., but he refused to
accept the dignity, and swore he would never do so during
his father's lifetime without his consent. Commissioners
Avere therefore appointed to go to Edward II., and on their
arrival at Kenilworth they communicated the resolution of
Parliament to the king, who then formally renounced the
royal dignity by delivering to them the crown, sceptre, and
other ensigns of sovereignty.
Edwakd III., having been previously knighted by the Earl
of Lancaster, assisted by the Count of Hainault, received the
crown from the Archbishop of Canterbury, February 1, 1827,
and was proclaimed king.
The sword of state and shield of state Avere, for the first
time, carried before the sovereign at this coronation.
A remarkable coronation medal was struck on this occasion :
on one side the young prince was represented crowned, laying
his sceptre on a heap of hearts, with the motto, " Populo dat
JURA VOLONTES " (He GIVES LAWS TO A WILLING PEOPLE), and On the
other was a hand held out to save a falling crown, with the
motto, "NON EAPIT SED EECIPIT" (He SEIZES A-OT, BUT RECEIVES).
RiCHAED II., on the death of his grandfather, Edward III.,
was declared by Parliament next heir to the throne. He Avas
crowned, July 16, 1377, at Westminster, by Simon, Arch-
bishop of Canterbury. The proceedings on this occasion,
including the progress through the city of London, Avere full
of pomp and magnificence (see chapter on " Coronation
Processions from the Tower"). On St. Swithin's Day, after
dinner, the mayor and citizens assembled near the Tower,
Avhen the young king, clad in Avhite garments, came forth
with a great multitude in his suite. They proceeded through
the street called La Chepe, and into the ])alace of Westminster.
On the morroAV, the king, arrayed in the fairest A'estments,
and with buskins only on his feet, came down into the hall.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 201
He was then conducted to the church, where the usual
ceremonial was performed ; and returning again to his palace,
was carried on the shoulders of knights, being oppressed with
fatigue and long fasting. The coronation feast was splendid
and profuse. Walsingham says in the midst of the palace
a hollow marble pillow was set up, surmounted by a large
gilt eagle, from under the feet of which, through the four
sides of the capital, flowed wine of different kinds throughout
the day ; nor was any one forbidden to partake of it. After
dinner the king retired with a number of nobility to his
chamber, and was entertained till the fcime of supper with
dancing and minstrelsy.
The profuse extravagance of this coronation was made
the excuse for the immense demands on Parliament after-
wards.
This coronation is remarkable as affording the first detailed
record of the proceedings of the Court of Claims (as mentioned
in the chapter on that subject). The "Liber Regalis "
describes the rights and ceremonies attending this august
event, and was intended as a precedent for future coronations.
The form commences thus : —
'' Imprimis. — Tlie king to be newly crowned, the day before his
coronation, shall be brought forth in royal robes, and shall ride from
the Tower of London to his Palace of Westminster, with his head un-
covered, being accompanied on horseback by his temporal lords, his
nobles, the commons of London, and other his servants.
" The seat of Estate.
" Item. — Let there be appointed against the day of coronation in the
king's great hall of Westminster a chair of estate, fittingly provided
with hangings of embroidery, with cushions and carpets on all parts,
and likewise on the floor.
" The Scaffold.
" Item. — Let there be provided, that a stage or scaffold be erected iu
the church at Westminster, with steps on either side ; let it be orderly
suited with clothes and carpets on all parts, and likewise on the floor.
" The Royal Throne.
'\Item. — Let it be provided that upon the said scaffold there be erected
a throne or chair, wherein the king is to sit ; let it be accordingly suited
with rich furniture and cushions of cloth of gold.
" The Ahhot of Westminster.
" Item. — It is to be observed, that the abbot of Westminster for the
time being, by the space of two or three days before the coronation of
the king or queen, shall instruct them what duties they are to perform
in the celebration of their coronation, as also to prepare their consciences
before the receiving the sacred unction. And if the abbot be dead or
202 CJWWXS AXD COROXATIONS.
sick, or absent in somo remote country, or lawfully liindered, then shall
one of the monks of the said monaster}^ (nominated by the convent of
tlie same churcli) supply the office of tlie said abbot in this case.
" 0/ tlxe Eirtle and Surcoat.
" Item. — Upon the day of the coronation, the king that is to be
crowned shall be placed in the said chair of estate in the aforesaid hall
(but being first bathed), and after his bathing, a kirtle and surcoat of
velvet shall be prepared for him, open on the breast between the shoulders
and blades of his arms : let his open kirtle and surcoat be fastened
together with loops of silver ; and upon the kirtle let him be clothed
with other royal robes, and let him be shod with sandals.
" Procession.
" Item. — Let a solemn procession be provided by the abbot and
convent of Westminster, from the aforesaid church to the king's seat in
the aforesaid hall ; in wliich procession there shall be archbishops, and
other prelates ; then the king shall descend and follow the procession
into the church at Westminster ; and he shall go upon blue cloth spread
upon the ground from the aforesaid chair to the stage erected in the
aforesaid church; and in the said procession shall be sung such like
hymns as are accustomed to be sung in the reception of kings and
queens.
''The Cross, ^c.
" Item. — The cross, sword, sceptre, and royal mace (ensigns of honour)
shall be borne in the procession by the abbot, prior, and senior naonks of
Westminster, into the palace, and there shall they be surrendered to
divers of the lords, to be borne before the king in the church.
" The Barons of the Five (cinque) Ports.
'"'Item. — The barons of the five (cinque) ports shall carry a rich
canopy upon silvered staves over the king or queen's head, in the afore-
said procession to the church.
" The AUbot of Westminster.
Item. — '* The abbot (or the monk supplying his place) ought always
to be near about the king or queen to give instructions.
" Tlie Archhishop ought to demand the good liking of the people.
" After the king hath a little reposed himself in the chair, or throne
erected upon the scaffold, the Archbishop of Canterbury shall go unto
the four squares of the scaffold, and with aloud voice ask the good liking
of the people concerning the coronation of the king ; meanwhile the king
sliall stand upon his throne and turn himself unto tlio four squares in
like manner as the archbishop speaketh unto the people, and after the
said demand the anthem ' firmetur manus tua,' &c., shall be sung.
" The Offertory of the King.
" The anthem being ended, tlie king shall descend from the scaffold,
up to the altar, tlie bishops leading him ; whereupon he is bound to offer
a mantle, and one pound of gold, therein fulfilling his commandment
who said * non apparebis vacuus in conspectu dei tui.'
" The King prostrateth liimself.
" The offering being finished, the king bowed himself upon the pave»
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 203
ment before the altar, being before prepared by the king's officers, with
clothes and suitable cushions of velvet, until the archbishop hath said •
over him the prayer ' Deus fidelinni,' and then ought a sermon to be
preached unto the people.
" T/ie King tahetli an Oath.
" The sermon being ended, tlie king approaches the altar to take his
oath, which he ought to perform upon the sacrament of our Lord's body ;
then let the hymn * Veni creator, spiritus ' be solemnly sung ; which I
being begun, the king shall prostrate himself before the high altar, until «
the litany and preface be wholly sung over him ; which being finished,
let the king arise, and sit in his chair, therein reposing himself awhile.
" The Anointing of the King.
" After this, let the king arise from his chair and go unto the altar,
and there shall be put off his robes (except his kirtle and surcoat),,and
there let him receive unction, the choir meanwhile singing ' Unxerunt ■
Solomonem ' with the prayer following. Then let him be anointed in
live places, viz. in the palms of his hands, on his breast, between his '
shoulders, on the blades of his arms, and on his head, with holy oil, in
form of a cross ; and afterwards making the sign of the cross upon his
head with the chrism, the fastenings and mantle being first opened.
Item. After the aforesaid unction, and wiping with linen cloths (which
ought afterwards to be burnt), let the opened places for the anointing
be closed again by the abbot of Westminster or his deputy.
" The abbot of Westminster shall take off the King^s cap.
" After anointing of the king's head, let it be covered with a linen
cap,'because of the holy unction, and so let it remain until the eighth day
after the unction; upon which day the abbot of Westminster or his
deputy shall come unto the king and take off the said linen cap, and
shall wash and mundify the king's head; after the said washing
the abbot of Westminster or his assigns shall put upon the king royal ,
liabiliments ; viz. a sindon, fashioned after the Dalmatian fashion, with I
liose and sandals ; and then let these royal robes be made sacred by the
Archbishop as ' patet in libro.'
" The King shall be clothed in a long robe by the abbot.
" These offices being finished, the aforesaid king shall be arrayed by
the abbot of Westminster or his assigns with a long cloak, or mantle, |
woven with fair imagery of gold, before and behind, with his buskins,
pantofles, and spurs fitted to his leg. i
" The setting of the crown upon the King's head.
" After the king is thus arrayed, then let the crown be placed upon
the king's head by the Archbishop, and afterwards let a ring be put on
the king's hand by a bishop.
'' Of the Sword.
" After this, let the royal sword be blessed, and the said king shall
receive it from the bishop, and shall gird himself with the same sword,
and receive the bracelets ; afterwards let him be clothed with a royal
cloak.
" The offering of the Sword.
" After this, let the king offer the said sword upon the altar to God ;
204 CROWNS AXD COROXATIOKS.
•vvhicli the wortliicst earl then present is to redcom for one hundred
shillings, and to carry it naked before the king, the price whereof per-
taineth to the said altar.
" The receiving of the Sceptre.
•^' After this, let the king receive a pair of linen gloves, and after that
the sceptre, with the cross in his right hand, and the mace in his left ;
then being blessed, he shall kiss the bishop, by whom (as also by the
residue of the nobility) he shall be honourably conducted to his royal
seat, the choir singing, * te Deum laudamus.'
" The prelates and the residue shall make their homage.
" After this, let the prelates and lords make their fealty and liege
homage to the king, and then let mass begin. Itein. — While ' Gloria in
excelsis ' is singing, the king shall be censed by a deacon, and at
* Credo ' he shall kiss the book.
*' The offering of hread and vjine.
" While the offertory is singing, let the king approach to the altar,
and make his offering of bread and wine ; and after that let him also
offer a mark of gold ; which being done, the king shall a little bow down
his head, while the archbishop shall bless him with two orisons, which
being finished, let the king be brought back to his throne or estate.
" The Mssing of the Pax after the Agnus Dei.
'' The kiss of the ^?aaj after the Agnus Dei being received, let the king-
descend from his estate, and humbly approach the altar, and there
receive the body and blood of our Lord ; which being received, the abbot
of Westminster shall minister unto him wine out of a stone chalice per-
taining to the king, and then immediately the king shall return to his
estate.
"Mass being finished, let the king descend from his throne, and go
unto the high altar j and let the archbishops, bishops, and nobility go
before him to the shi'ine of St. Edward, where the king shall bo arrayed
in other robes, all of which shall be offered upon the altar of St. Edward.
" Tlie taking of the robes.
" The great chamberlain, viz. the earl of Oxford, shall unclothe the
king of the aforesaid robes in a withdrawing place near unto the shrine ;
which robes as they are particularly taken from the king, so they shall
be laid upon the said altar by the abbot.
" Another croivn.
*' The king, attired in other honoui-able apparel, shall approach unto
the altar of St. Edward, where the archbishop shall put another crown
upon his head.
" The King returneih to the palace.
" The king being thus crowned, and carrying in his hand the royal
sceptre from the shrine to the high altar, and from thence to the scaffold,
then shall he descend through tlio midst of the quiro by tho same way
as lie came into the church, the aforesaid carls carrying the sword
before him, I'cturning with great glory unto the king's palace to
dinner. •
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 205
" r/ie deliveri/ oftlie sceptre.
" Dinner being ended, and the king withdrawn into liis chamber, the
sceptre shall be delivered to the abbot of Westminster, or his deputy by
the king's own hands, to be kept in the said church of Westminster.
" The coronation of the queen.
" And note, that in the coronation of the queen procession shall be
celebrated, and if she be crowned with the king, then ought she to be
anointed upon the crown of her head, and on her breast ; and if she
be crowned alone, then ought she to be anointed upon the crown only,
crossways, with the chrism.
" The King's oath upon the day of his coronation.
" The archbishop of Canterbury shall demand of the king, saying,
* Pleaseth it you to confirm and observe the laws of ancient times,
granted from God by just and devout kings unto the English nation,
by oath, unto the said people, especially the laws, customs, and liberties
granted unto the church and laity by the famous King Edward ? '
"The king answering that he will perform and observe all the
promises, then shall the archbishop read unto him the articles, where-
unto he shall swear thus, saying, —
" * Thou shalt procure unto the church of God, unto the clergy, and
people, firm peace and unity in God, according to thy power.'
" He shall answer ' I will perform it.'
" * Art thou pleased to be administered in all thy judgements, in-
different and upright justice, and to use discretion with mercy and verity.'
" He shall answer, * I will do it.'
" 'Art thou pleased, that our upright laws and customs be observed;
and dost thou promise, that those shall be protected, and maintained by
thee, to the honour of God, according to thy strength.'
" He shall answer: ' I grant and promise.'
" The petition of the bishops.
" The admonition of the bishops unto the king follows, and must be
read by one (the bishop of Lincoln), viz. ' We desire your pardon, that
you would vouchsafe to defend to every one of us, our canonical
privileges, with equity and justice, as a king in his kingdom ought to do
unto every bishop, abbot, and churches committed unto him.' He shall
answer thus : —
" The King^s answer.
" ' With a willing and devout heart, I promise it unto you, and I
pardon every one of you, and the churches committed unto you. I will
confirm the canonical privileges, minister equity and justice, and will
defend them, by God's favour, as far as I am able ; even as a bishop
ought with uprightness to do unto every bishop, abbot, and the churches
committed to him.'
The oath of homage made to the King.
" * I become your man liege of life and limb and troth, and yearly
honour to you shall bear against all men that now live, so help me God
and holy doom.* Item. — That the archbishop of Canterbury shall first
make his fealty, then the bishops, and afterwards all the nobles of the
kingdom."
2o6 CROJVyS AXD CORONATIONS.
Froissart has given a vivid account of the coronation of
Henry IV., wliich took place October 13, 1399, the anni-
versary of the day on which Richard had sent BoHngbroke
into exile : —
" The prelates and clergy having accompanied the king from the
palace, went to the church in procession, and all the lords with him in
their robes of scarlet furred with minever, barred of [on] their shoulders,
according to their degrees ; and over the king was borne a cloth of
estate of blue, with four bolls of gold, and it was borne by four burgesses
of the port at Dover, and other [of the cinque ports]. And on every
[each] side of him he had a sword borne, the one the sword of tho
church, and the other, the sword of justice. The sword of the church
his son, the Prince, did bear, and the sword of justice the Earl of
Northumberland, and the Earl of Westmoreland bore the sceptre. Thus
they entered into the church about nine of the clock, and in the midst
of the church there was a high scaffold all covered with red, and in tho
midst thereof there was a chair royal covered with cloth of gold. Then
the king sat down in the chair, and so sate in estate royal, saving he
had not on the crown, but sate bareheaded. Then at four corners of
the scaffold the Archbishop of Canterbury shewed unto the people how
God had sent unto them a man to be their king, and demanded if they
were content ho should be consecrated and crowned as their king ; and
they all with one voice said Yea ! and held up their hands promising
obedience. Then the king rose and went down to the high altar to be
sacred [consecrated], at which conseci'ation there were two archbishops,
and ten bishops ; and before the altar there he was despoiled out of all
vestures of estate, and there he was anointed in six places — on the head,
the breast, and on the two shoulders behind, and on the hands. Then a
bonnet Avas set on his head, and while he was anointing the clergy sang
the litany, and such service as they eing at the hallowing of tlie font.
Then the king was apparelled like a prelate of the church, with a copo
of red silk, and a pair of spurs with a point without a rowel ; then the
sword of justice was drawn out of the sheath and hallowed, and then it
was taken to the king, who did put it again into the sheath ; then the
Archbishop of Canterbury did gird the sword about him ; then St.
Edward's crown was brought forth (which is close above) and blessed,
and then the archbishop did sot it on the king's head. After mass the
king departed out of the church, in the same estate, and wont to his
palace ; and there was a fountain that ran by diverse branches white
wine and red."
From the abbey the king passed through the hall into>
the palace, and then back into the hall, to the sumptuous
entertainment that there awaited him.
"At tho first table," continues Froissart, "sato the king, at the
second the five peers of the realm, at tho third the valiant men of
London, at the fourth the new-made knights, at the fifth the knights
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 207
and squires of honour, and by the king* stood the Prince, holding the
sword of the church, and on the other side the constable with the
sword of justice, and a little above, the marshall with the sceptre.
And at the king's board sat two archbishops, and seventeen bishops;
and in the midst of the dinner there came in Dymoke, all armed,
upon a good horse, richly apparelled.'*
This coronation is the first in which the creation of
knights of the Bath is particularly noticed by historians,
though there is no doubt of the observance of this formality
in much earlier times. Forty-six gentlemen (among whom
were three of the king's sons) watched on the vigil of the
coronation at the Tower of London, and received knighthood
there on the day before the festival.
In the curious French metrical history, by a contemporary,
of the deposition of Richard II.,* translated in the
" Archseologia" (vol. xxi.), some particulars are given of the
coronation of Henry IV. : —
"To grace, and the higher to honour the said coronation, four dukes
with ceremony and pomp supported over [the king's] head a rich pall
of cloth of gold (a or bastu). The Duke of York was the first, and next
the good Duke of Surrey, who did it not with a good will ; for he loved
King Richard, and so was always on his side, let them do what they
* Froissart thus describes the scene of Richard II.'s abdication in.
favour of Henry IV., which took place in the council chamber of the
Tower : " King Richard was released from his prison, and entered
the hall which had been prepared for the occasion, royally dressed,
the sceptre in his hand, and the crown on his head, but without sup-
porters on either side. He addressed the company as follows : — ' I
have reigned king of England, duke of Aquitaine, and lord of Ireland
about twenty-two years, which royalty, lordship, and crown, I now
freely and willingly resign to my cousin, Henry of Lancaster, and
entreat of him, in the presence of you all, to accept this scejjtre.' He
then tendered the sceptre to the duke of Lancaster, who took it and
gave it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. King Richard next raised
the crown with his two hands from his head, and placing it before him,
said, * Henry, fair cousin, and duke of Lancaster, I present and give
to you this crown, with which I was crowned king of England, and all
the rights dependent on it.' The duke of Lancaster received it, and
delivered it over to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was at hand to
take it. These two things being done, and the resignation accepted,
the duke of Lancaster called in a public notary, that an authentic act
should be drawn up of this proceeding, and witnessed by the lords and
prelates then present. Soon after, the king was conducted to where
he had come from, and the duke and other lords mounted their horses
to return home."
2o8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
would to liim. The Duke of Aumarlc was the third in performing the
c'oremony ; lie did the business willingly for he was not right loyal, as
yoix will learn hereafter. The fourth knew well how to behave himself,
:ind was named the Duke of Gloucester. These four dukes, right or
wrong, with one accord supported the pall over their king who made a
very fair shew. And when he was crowned king, they returned to the
court, where dinner was most sumptuously provided. This was the
manner of it. The Archbishop of Canterbury was seated first at
tlie royal table. Duke Heni'y then took possession of the middle of the
table, which, in notable state, was raised two feet and a half higher
than both ends ; so he that was present told me ; according to his
account it was two ells long or more. He also told me that many new
bishops, who were neither true nor loyal, but made without right or
reason, were seated at the king's table. His eldest son, who was made
Prince of Wales, held in his hand a sword for tourney [the principal
sword called Cxtrtana], but I never heard what this ceremony signi-
fieth. He was at the right hand of his father, and close to him
was a knight who held the sceptre of the cross. On his left, I believe
was the new constable bearing before the table the sword [the
Lancaster sword, the first introduced at the coronation by Henry IV.,
being that which he wore at his landing] of his office for the establish,
jncnt of justice ; but at that season they wrought it not ; for without
measure or rule, like people full of iniquity, evil, and disloyalty, they
pcrscvei'ed in their work. There stood the new marshall, the Earl of
Westmoreland, holding the royal sceptre before Henry; next to him
the Earl of Warwick, Avhom they highly esteem ; one who was the Earl
of Arundel, young and active was baker and grand butler on that day.
The marquess carved at dinner; such was the order of it. The Duke
of Aumarle served him with wine, but before he had done, there came
on horseback into the hall, the seneschal, the marshal and the
constable ; they placed themselves before the table as long as their
services were required. And a knight named Thomas de Noth [Sir
Thomas Dymock] well armed for combat in battle, entered the hall
ii])on a mailed horse saying; 'if there were any one, little or great,
who would maintain or affirm that King Henry was not Lord and right-
ful king of all England, he Avould challenge him at all arms to the
utterance.' No man ])resent made the least I'eply ; so he rode three or
four turns round the hall, seeking the combat, as he proved by what he
declared.
"After dinner all the greatest lords of England, without exception,
did homage to Duke Henry ; but some of them did it not heartily and
truly; for they had already in secret plotted his death, since he had on
this day forcibly and wrongfully caused himself to be crowned."
That tlio accession of Henry IV. was an act of conquest
and nsnrpation is clear. He was at tlie liead of an unresisted
army, the master of tlie Parliament. The election had been
in Westminster Hall. The texts of the three inauQ^uration
sermons were all sig-nificant : "Jacob" (a snpplanter indeed)
"received the blessing;" "This man" (in contrast to
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS.
209
Richard) " shall rule over ns." " We " (the Parliament)
"must take care that our kingdom be quiet."
Henry Y. was consecrated by Archbishop Fitz-Alan on
the 9th of April (being Passion Sunday), 1413, his father
having died on the '20th of March preceding. Some of the
peers are said to have shown an unusual forwardness of zeal
Henry V. From Arundel MS., No. 38.
in favour of this prince, by offering him their homage before
his coronation ; a thing, as Hall observes, " not before
5 experimented." This solemn event was celebrated at West-
minster Hall, with a splendour proportioned to the lustre of
those great achievements which afterwards distinguished the
2IO CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
annals of that victorious monarch. By way of preserving
order, and adding to the magnificence of the spectacle, many
of the nobility were arranged along the sides of the table on
large war horses, at a festival " which," says Thomas de
Elmham, "was a second feast of Ahasuerus."
On the shrine of Henry V., in Westminster Abbey, is
represented the coronation, the nobles attending, in lines of
figures on each side. On the south face of the arch, the
central object is the king on horseback, armed cap-a-pie.
Over the canopies which surmount the figures are the
alternate badges of the antelope and swan (from the king's
mother, co-heiress of the Bohuns), and the same animals
appear on the cornices, chained to a tree, on which is a
flaming cresset, a badge which was borne by Henry Y. alone,
as typical of the light " to guide his people to follow him in
all honour and virtue." Thomas de Elmham, in his life of
this monarch, gives a glowing account of the coronation
festivities. Of the banquet he says —
"What feast can be thought more splendid than one that was
honoured with so royal a presence, and graced by such a company of
nobles and of ladies; where the ear was filled with the tumultuous
noise of trumpets, or soothed with the sweeter melody of the harp ;
and where the countenance was gladdened by the liberal gifts of
Bacchus and of Ceres ? — in sooth, whatever, nourisht in the lap of
earth, the bosom of the deep, or the regions of serene air, could serve
to increase the general joy, was brought to swell the glory of this feast."
Henry YI. was only eight months old when his father
died, and was crowned, in scarcely his ninth year (November 6,
1422), at Westminster by Archbishop Chicheley, A manu-
script in the Cotton Library thus relates the event : —
"And now shall ye heere of the solempnyte of the coronacion of
the kynge. All the prelattes wento on procession berynge echo of
them a relyk of dyuerse sayntes. And the prior of the same place bare
a rodde called virga regia. And the abbot bare the kyng's sopture, and
my lord of Warwyk bare the kynge to chyrchc in <a cloko of scarlet
furred right as the ncwo knyghtos wento with furred hoodes with
menover. And than he was loyde vpon the high scaffold, and that was
covered all with red say between the higli autero and the qucre. And
lie was set in his astato in the myddes of the scaffold there, beholdynge
tlie people all abowte sadly and wyscly. Then made the archebisshopr
of Caunterbery a proclamacion on the iiij quarters of the scaffolde.
And thanno tlio archebysshop, and all other bysshoppes with all the
prelattes stondynge rowndo aboute hym, reddo exorcious ouyr hym,
and many antemes songo with note."
J
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 211
After the ceremonies of the eoronation were ended he
" rose up ayen and went to the shryne. And there was he dyspoyled
of all his bysshopp's gere, and arayd as a kynge in riche cloth of gold,
with a crowne on his hede ; which crowne the kyng dyd doo make for hym
self. And so the kyng was led thrugh the paleys in to the halle ; and
the newe knyghtes before hym, in their aray of scarlet ; and all the other
Iprdes f olowying hym. And than cam the channceler with his crosse and
his abyte like a chanon in a garment of red chamlet furred with whyte
menyvere ; and than folowed the kynge. And he was led betwene
the byshoppe of Durham, and the bysshop of Bathe, and my
lord of Warwyk bare up his trayne. And before hym rode the erle of
Salysbery as constable of Engelond in stedo of the duke of Bedford,
a^nd thanne the Duke of Glowcestre, as styward of Engelond ; and aftyr,
the duke of Norfolke as m'chall of Engelonde ; and before the kynge
iiij lordes berynge iiij swerdes, ij shethed and ij naked. And oon of the
iiij was withoute poynte, &c. Sittynge at the mete the kyng kept his
astate ; and on the right hand sat the cardynall with a lower astate,
And on the left hande satt the chaunceler and a bysshop of France, and
no moo at that table. And on the right hand of the table at that
boord sat the barons of the v. portes. And so forth the clerkes of the
same chauncery. And on the left hande of the hall sat the mayre of
London with the aldyrmen. And so forth worthy cominers : and
in the myddis of the hall sat the bisshoppes, justices, and worthy
knyghts and equyers. And so they fylled bothe the mydde boordes of
the hall. And upon a scaffold stoode the kynges herawdes of armes
all the tyme with crownes on theyr hedes ; and at the fyrst cours they
came down from the scaffold, and they went before the kynges
chaumpyon Syr Phelip Dymok that rode in the hall bright as seynt
George. And he proclaimed in the iiij quarters of the hall that the
kyng was a rightfull kyng and heyre to the crowne of Engelond ; and
what maner man that wyll say the contrary he was redy to defende it as
his knyght and his chaumpion, for by that offyce he holdith his lande."
The particnlars of the coronation banquet are curious, as
preserved in Fabyan's Chronicle : —
" Now the first course : — The bore's hede enarmed in a castell royall,
frumenty with venysown, viaunde ryall gylt, groce, char, swan, capon
Btewed, heron, grete pyke; reed leche with a whyght lyon crowned
ther-inne; custardys ryall, with a riall lybbard of old set ther-in,
holdygnge a floure delyce ; fritour like a sonne, a floure delyce therinne.
A Sotyltye : * — Seynt Edward and seynt Lowes armed, in their coote of
armes bryngyng inne the yonge kynge bytwene them in his cote
armure, &c."
* Subtleties, or sotilties, signified paste moulded into the form of
•figures, animals, etc., and grouped so as to represent some scriptural or
political allusion. At the coronation banquet here mentioned, at the
third course was exhibited a sotiltie of the Virgin with her Child in her
lap, and holding a crown in her hand ; St. George and St. Denis kneeling
on either side, presenting to her King Henry with a ballad in his hand.
212 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The victorious sword of Henry Y. having gained anothe]
sceptre for his son — that of France — this monarch made hil
progress to receive it in the year 1431. He was then in his
eleventh year. On entering Paris from St. Denis, he was
met by the national and municipal authorities, who, in tlie
true spirit of the time, were accompanied by the nine
worthies, "sytting richely on horseback, armed with the
armes to them apperteyning." * On the 7th of December,
" he was honourable accompany ed to the church of our Lady
in Paris, where he was anointed and crowned by the Cardinal
bishop of Winchester, after which he departed to the palace,
having one crown on his head, and another borne before
him."
" But," continues Grafton, " what should I speak of the
honourable service, the dayntie dishes, the pleasant conceytes,
the costly wynes, the sweet armony, the musicall instruments
which were seene and shewed at that feast, sithe all men may
conjecture that nothing was omitted that might be bought
for golde, nor nothing was forgotten, that by man's wyt
could be invented."
Monstrelet, in his " Chronicles," has given a vivid picture
of the ceremonies of this French installation.f
King Henry brought back his queen, Margaret, to be
crowned in Westminster Abbey.
Edward IV., son of Richard, Duke of York, and a descen-
* The " nine worthies " were famous personages, often alluded to by
the old writers, and classed together, rather in an arbitrary manner, like
the seven wonders of the world, etc. In an old poem, "The Paradise of
Dainty Devices," they are thus alluded to : —
" The worthies nine that were of might,
By travaile won immortal praise ;
If they had liv'd like carpet knights,
Consuming idly all their dayes,
Their praises had been with them dead,
Where now abroad their fame is spread.'*
t In the " Astley Book " in the possession of Lord Hastings, there is
a poem on the coronation of Henry VI., commencing —
" Holde up oure yonge Kyngo, Ave benigna
And send us pecs in oure londe, Ave regina.
The manner and forme of the coronacioun of Kyngis and Queeneff
in Englond."
This valuable work, the table-book of the accomplished English
goTitl(MHan of tlio times of Henry VI., comprises subjects of a very
miscoUancous character.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 213
dant of Edward III., obtained the regal power on tlie deposi-
tion of Henry VI. in 1461. Fabyan states that " he was
elected and chosen for King of England," in a great council of
the lords spiritual and temporal, with the agreement of the
commons there present ; and that after this parliamentary
election he was brought to Westminster, " and sitting on his
estate royall, in the great hall of the same, a question was asked
of the people then presente if they would admitte hym for
their kyng and soveraigne lorde, the which with one voice
cried, Yea ! Yea ! " This coronation was celebrated June 29,
1461, Archbishop (afterwards Cardinal) Bourchier officiating.
On the death of Edward I.V., at Westminster, his eldest
son was proclaimed king by the title of Edward Y., and pro-
vision was made for his coronation, but the estates of the
realm having resolved that the ofPspring of Lady Grey should
not inherit the crown, it was given to Kichard, Duke of
Gloucester, the late king's brother.*
" On July 6th, 1483," Grafton tells us—
" The King [Richard III.] with Queen Anne his wife, came downe
out of the white hall into the great hall of Westminster, and went
directly to the Kinges Benche. And from thence the King and Queene
goying upon raye cloth barefooted, went unto Saint Edward's shrine,
and all his nobilitie goying with him euery lorde in his degree. And
first went the trompets and then the heraultes of armes in their rich
cotes, and next folowed the crosse with a solempne procession, the
priestes hauyng fine surplesses and gray amysses upon them. The
abbottes and bishops my tred and in riche copes and euery of them caryed
their crosiers in their handes ; the bishop of Rochester bare the crosse
before the cardinall."
Being now come into the church,
" forthwith there came up before the king and the queene both priests
and clarkes, that song most delectable and excellent musick."
The usual ceremonies were then performed,
"and in so order as they came they departed to Westminster Hall,-
* Edward V. was only in his thirteenth year when his father died.
His reign is reckoned from April 9, 1483, the day of his father's decease,
but during the few weeks it lasted he never was a king in more than
name. The public transactions of his reign all belong properly to the
history of his uncle, Richard III. Edward was at Ludlow, Shropshire,
at the time of his father's death, and possession of his person was
obtained at Northampton, by Richard (then Duke of Gloucester), as he
was on his way to London in charge of his maternal uncle, Anthony,
Earl Rivers.
214 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and so to their chambers for a season ; during which time the Duke of
NorfPolke came into the hall, his horse being trapped to the ground, in
clothe of golde, as high marshall, and voyded the hall.
"About foure of the clock, the king and the queene entred the hall,
and the king sate in the middle, and the queene on the left hande of
the table, and on every side of her stoode a countesse holding a cloth
of pleasaunce when she list to drinke. At the ende of dynner, the
maier of London served the king and queen with ipocras, and had of
echo of them a cup of golde with a cover of golde. And by that tyme
all was done it was darke night ; and so the king and queene returned
to their chambers, and every man to his lodging."
The concourse of nobility at this coronation was, as
Walpole observes, extraordinarily great ; it is remarkable
that three duchesses of Norfolk were present. But of the
circumstances attending it, that which more particularly
claims notice relates to the unfortunate young prince, whose
pretensions to the throne had just been set aside. Arrange-
ments were certainly made for Edward himself and his
attendants to appear in the procession : whether or no he
really attended the ceremony we have not the means of
learning, but the official record of his "apparel and array,"
as delivered from the great wardrobe, is no unimportant part
of the mysterious history of his life.*
Ifc is asserted by Sir Greorge Buck, in his biography of
* Walpole, in his " Historic Doubts," says, " In the coronation roll
itself is this amazing entry : ' to Lord Edward, son of the late King
Edward IV. for his apparel and array, that is to say a short gowne
made of two yards and three quarters of crymsyn clothe of gold, lined
with two yards and three quarters of blue velvet ; a long go^^me made
of six yards of crymsyn cloth of gold, lynned with six yards of green
damask ; a shorte gowne made of two yards and three quarters of
purpell velvet,' etc. Let nobody tell me that these robes, this magnifi-
cence, these trappings for a cavalcade were made for the use of a
prisoner."
In the " ArchaBologia " (vol. i. p. 361), however, it is argued that,
■from the wardrobe accounts of deliveries from the day of Edwaid
IV.'s death to the month of February in the following year, including
the time of the intended coronation of Edward V. and the actual
coronation of llichard III., the number and similitude of the robes
delivered for each of these kings justifies the conclusion (arrived at in
consequence of the discussion that ensued when piiblic attention was
directed to the above-mentioned coronation roll) that the robes ordered
for " Lord Edward, son of Edward IV.," wore designed for the apparel
of this young ])rinco at his own contemplated coronation. Thus, they
wore not, as Lord Orfortl was first led to imagine, used by him to grace
the procession of his uncle, llichard III.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 215
Ricliard, that the king, having made a progress to York
shortly after his accession to the throne, was there
"a second tyme crowned, by Dr. Rotheram, Archbishop of York, in
the cathedral church, with great solempnity."
That nothing might be wanting to throw splendour on
this ceremonial, the king directed the keeper of his wardrobe
to send him a variety of rich clothes, spurs, banners of Our
Lady, the Trinity, St. George, St. Edward, St. Cuthbert, and
his own arms, all of sarcenet; three coats of arms beaten
with fine gold for his own person,*
" five coat armes of heralds lined with buokram, forty trumpet banners
of sarsenet, 740 pensils of buckram, 350 pensils of tartar, 4 standards of
sarsenet with boars, 30,000 quinysans of fustian with boars," etc.
The king's secretary, John Kendale, was to acquaint
" the gude maisters, the mair, recorder, and aldermen, and
sheri:ffs of the citie of York," of his intentions, that they
might properly entertain His Highness, and the Queen, at
their coming, as laudably as their wisdom could devise,
with pageants and good speeches, allowing for the shortness
of the warning. They were desired to hang the streets
through which the king's grace should come, with cloth of
arras, tapestry work and other, assigning as a reason because
" there would be many southern lords, and men of worship,
who would greatly mark their city's manner of receiving
their graces."
Hall states that King Richard was received at York with
great pomp and triumph by the citizens ; that on the day of
his coronation (September 8, 1483), to which the whole
country had been invited, the clergy of the church, in their
richest copes, and with a reverend ceremony, went about the
streets in procession, after whom followed the king, with his
crown and sceptre, apparelled in his surcoat robe royal.
Then followed Queen Anne, his wife, crowned likewise, lead-
ing in her left hand Prince Edward, her son, having on his
head a demy crown appointed for the degree of a prince. In
this manner they marched to the cathedral, where the king
was crowned in the chapter-house. On the same day was
Edward, his son, a youth of ten years of age, invested with
* Richard appears to have had an excessive love of finery. In the
" Antiquarian Repertory " is a detailed description of the magnificent
dresses worn by the king, queen, and court at the Westminster
coronation. He was more splendid in his establishment than even his
brother Edward IV.
2i6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
the principality of Wales by a golden rod and a coronet of
gold, and other ensigns. The king now knighted Gaufridns
de Sasiola, ambassador from the Queen of Spain, who was
present at this solemnity, by putting a collar of gold about
his neck, and striking three times upon his shoulders with
his sword, and by other marks of honour, according to the
English custom, with agreeable words added. He also
knighted Kichard of Gloucester, his natural son, and many
gentlemen of the country .< The lords spiritual and temporal
of the realm were present on this solemn occasion; and
"indeed it was a day of great state," says Polydore
Vergil, " there being then three princes in York wearing
crowns, the King, the Queen, and the Prince of Wales." Tilts
and tournaments followed, with masques, revels, and stage
plays, and other triumphant sports, with prodigal feasting.
Henry YII., the leader of a successful rebellion,* obtained
the crown, literally, after the battle of Bosworth Field, being
that worn by the miserable Richard during the conflict. It
was brought by Sir Reginald Bray from the hawthorn bush
in which it was found, and given to Lord Stanley, who
placed it on Henry's head at the place still called from that
circumstance "Crown Hill."t
* Henry VII. has left evidence that he considered himself indebted
for the throne to his sword. In his will the following passage occurs :
— " Also, we will that our executors cause to be made an image of a
King, representing our o^^^l person, the same to be of timber, covered
and wrought with plate of fine gold, in manner of an armed man ; and
upon the same armour a coat-armour of our amis of England and
France, enamelled, with a sword and spurs accordingly ; and the said
image to kneel upon a table of silver and gilt, and holding betwixt his
hands the Croivn which it pleased Ood to give us, with the victory of our
enemy at our first field, the which image and crown we bequeath to
Almighty God, our blessed Lady," etc.
t This incident is illustrated in the stained glass of the chapel built
for the monument of Sir Reginald Bray, in Westminster Abbey. The
knight in his will enjoined that his imago on the tomb should be
represented as holding the crown.
Shakspere makes no allusion to the incident of the hawthorn
bush. Stanley, bearing the crown, addresses Richmond —
'* Lo, liero, these long usurped royalties
From the dead temples of this bloody wretch
Have I plucked off, to grace thy brows withal :
Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it."
The old cavalier, Wyndham, in addressing his sons before his death,
said, " I charge you never to forsake the crown, though it hang upon a
bush."
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS, 217
The coronation ceremonial took place at Westminster
Abbey, October 30, 1485; tbe officiating prelate was Cardinal
Bourcbier, Henry being the third monarch who had been
consecrated at his hands. There are but scanty particulars
of the installation ; contemporary chroniclers, though they
delight in extolling the glory of the reign, have not left any
lengthened account of this transaction. Lord Bacon admits
that Henry's marriage was celebrated with greater triumph
and demonstrations (especially on the people's part) of joy
and gladness, than the days either of his entry or coronation ;
and it may fairly be presumed that the conduct and attend-
ance of the solemnity could not be recorded with advantage.
Among the "Rutland Papers" published by the Camden
Society, is one on the coronation of King Henry YIL, or
rather " a device for that ceremony, prepared probably by
some officer of the College of Arms, and intended to be
submitted to the correction of the King and his advisers.
Several copies of this device got abroad, from which cir-
cumstance we may infer that it was adopted and acted upon ;
one copy is at the Heralds' College, another- in the Harleian
MSS. (No. 5111, art. S), and another was in the possession
of Ives, the Suffolk antiquary. All these differ in many
respects from the one now printed [in the Rutland Papers],
and especially from Ives's copy, which he printed in a little
work entitled ' Select Papers relating to English antiquities,
published from the originals in the possession of John Ives,
Esq., 4to, 1774.' This volume is so scarce and so little
known, and the device is printed in it so inaccurately, that
it has been thought advisable not to lose the opportunity
which is afforded by the liberality of his Grace the Duke of
Rutland, of furnishing antiquaries with a more accurate and
more easily accessible copy of a paper, which, apart from its
historical value, presents a striking picture of the state
costume and ceremonial of the period. It will be observed
that the device w^as prepared ais for the coronation of the
intended Queen, as well as for that of the King. In that
respect it was certainly not acted upon. Henry VII. was
crowned October 30, 1485, but his marriage to Elizabeth of
York did not take place until the 18th of January, 1486, and
the Queen was not crowned until November 25, 1487 "
(Preface to the "Rutland Papers," by W. Jerdan).
The title of this tract is, " Here foloweth undre
co[rrecc]ion a litle deuyse for the coronacion of the most
2i8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
high, myghtj, and cristen prince, Henry the vij'** rightfull
and undoubted enheritour of the Corones of England and of
Fraunce, with their appurtenaunces, and by the hole assente
of all the lordes spirituellis and temporellis, and also of all
the comons of this land, electe, chosen, and required, the
XXX** daye of October, the yer of our lord MHiij^^'v. to be king
of the same. Also of the moost noble princes, Dame
his wiff. Queue of England and of Fraunce, etc. to be
solempnysed at Westmynster." A few extracts from this
work will show the peculiarities of coronation rites at this
period. We have the king's dress on the morning of the
coronation.
" On Sunday, the day of the Coronacion, the xxx*-^ day of Octobre,
the King, arraied by Sir Guyles Dawbeney, deputio for that daie, his
chamberlayn, in fourme that foloweth, fFurst with ij sherts, that oon of
lawne, that other of crymesyn tarteron, bothe largely open before and
behynd and in the shuldres, and lased with aunlettes of siluer and gilt,
a greite large brech to the middell thigh pynched togeidr befor and
behynd, a brech belt of velwet to gadre the same to gedr, a pair of
hosyn of crymesyn sarcenet vampeis, and [over] all a cote of ci'jTiaesyn
saten largely openyd as the sherte be, to which cote his hosen shalbe
lased with riband of silke, a surcote closed fiirred witli menyvcr pure,
whereof the colar, handes, and the speres shalbe garnished with riband
of gold, a hode of estate furred with menyver pure and perfiled with
ermyns, a grete mantell of crymesyn saten furred also with menyver
pure with a greite lace of silke with ij tarcellis, also in colour crymesyn,
a litle cap of estate of crymesyn saten ermyned and garnished with
ryband of gold, and accompanyed with his lords temporelles in their
robes, and noble men, shall come yerly, and it is foundcn by presidents
by vj of the clokke, from his chambre into Westminster Hall, where he
shall sitt vndre cloth of estate in the marble chair apparelled with clothes
and quisshons of cloth of gold bawdekyn, as it apperteyneth."
The queen's dress is also minutely described, and the order
of procession from Westminster Hall to the abbey. The
recognition is thus mentioned : —
" The Cardinall, as Archbisshoppe of Caunterburc, showing the King
to the peple at the iiij parties of tho said puli)itt, shall say in this wise.
* Sirs, I here present Henry [true] and rightfull, and vndoubted, en-
heritour by the lawcs of God and man to the coroune and roiall dignite
of England, with all things therunto ennexed and apporteyning, electe,
chosen, and required by all three estats of the same land to take yppon
hym the said coroune and roiall dignite, whcruppon ye shall vndrestand
that this daie is prefixed and np])oyntod by all tho piers of this laiul for
the consecracion, onvnccion, and coronacion of the said most excellent
Prince Henry; will ye, sirs, at this tyme geve your willes and assentes
to the sumo consecracion, onvnccion, aud coronacion?' Wherunto the
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 219
pepie shall saie, with a greate voice, ' Ye. Ye. Ye. So be hit. King
Henry ! King Henry ! ' "
The king and tlie queen proceed to the altar, and the
offering is made.
"At the which aulter the King anght to offer a pall, and a pound of
gold xxiiij'^ in coigne, whiche shalbe deliuered unto hym by the Cham-
berlayn ; and, forthwith, the paveament afore the high aulter worship-
fully arraied with carpetts and quisshens, the King shall ther lye downe
groveling, whils the said Cardinall as archbisshoppe saye yppon hym,
Deus huynilium, which done, the said Cardinall may, at his pleasur,
commaund some short sermon to be said, during the which the said
Cardinall shall sitt before the high aulter, his back towards the same, as
is the custome."
The oath was next administered (see chapter on " The
Coronation Oath "), the Litany chanted, and the ceremony of
anointing performed. The king is arrayed with the " tabard,"
the " coif," the long coat, hose, sandals, and spurs. The
delivery of the sword follows : —
" After this his sword shalbe blessid of the Cardinall, saying this
orison, Exaudi Doniine preces nostras, which orison ended, all the Bushoppes
shall delyaer to hym and seyase hym, standing, with a swerd, they all
leaning their hands on the same, and the Cardinall saying unto hym,
Accipe gladium, and with the same swerd shall gyrd hymself."
The armill is next presented, and afterwards St. Edward's
crown, which is first blessed by the cardinal, " castyng holy
water, and sensyng the same." The ring, called the "regall,"
is placed upon the fourth finger of the king's right hand,
with these words, ''^ Acci2)e regie dignitatis, etc., with this
orison, Deus cujus, etc."
The king offered his sword on the altar, and, taking it
again, delivered it to
" som grete Erie to be redeemed of thabbot for an c^ ; the whiche Erie
shall afterward bere the said swerd naked before the King. After that
the Cardinall shall geve to the King in his right hand the septour of
gold with the dove in the toppe, the King having furst put on his hands,
roiall gloves by the said Cardynall."
The king received in his left hand the golden rod with
the cross on the top. Seated on his chair before the high
altar the sovereign received the kiss from the bishops, and
the act of homage was performed ; *
* Concerning the Kiss of Homage, Selden observes that "kissing the
feet hath been used in Europe at the doing of homage upon investitures
received from great princes, as we see in that of Eollo, or Robert, first
220 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" the King to sitt in his sege roiall accompanyed with all the peris of
this realm, all the said peris to hym shall make feaute and homage, vndre
such wourds and fourme as foloweth ; tharchbishoppes and bishoppes
vndrc this fourme, *Ye shall swere that ye shalbe faithfull and true, and
faith and trowthe ber vnto the King, our souerayn lord, and to his heures,
Kinges of England, and truly ye shall do, and truly knoledge, the seruice
due of the lands the which ye clayme to hold of hym as in the right of
your church, as God shall helpe youe and the saynts.' And all the
temperall lords vnder this ffourme, ' I, N., become your ligeman, of lif
and lymme and of erthly worshipp ; and fcith and trouthe I shalbere vnto
you, to lyue and die ayenst all manner of folke ; so God me help and his
halowes.' "
The anointing of the queen (see chapter on " Anointing "),
the blessing of her ring and crown, followed, with the de-
livery of the sceptre and the rod : —
" The Queue thus corowned shalbe led of the abouesaid Bisshoppes of
Excetour and Ely vnto her seage of astate nere to the Kinges seage
roiall, obeying herself afore the Kinges maieste in her commyng ther
vnto, the noble ladies folowing her, esspeceally the greate lady as aboue
beyng nigh vnto her for her instruccion and comfort, and in the same
Beage the Queue shall sitt till the offrctory shalbe begon."
The mass performed, the book of the Gospel w^as kissed
by the King and Queen, and the Oblation followed : —
" The King shall offre an obley of bred laid vppon the patent of saynt
Edward, his chalice, with the which obley after consecrate the King
shalbe houselled [receive the Euchfirist], also he shall offre, in a cruet
of gold, wyne, which he shall vse in the said chalice after he is housilled,
and aswell the said patent with the obley as the cruet with wyne, shalbe
Duke of Normandy, receiving the dutchy from Charles the Simple ; and
such more ; though in later ages and at this day, the kiss in homage be
on the cheek or lips." Selden deduces the several customs of kissing
the hands, feet, and lips from the Roman empire and the Eastern
nations, and connects them with. the " kiss in homage." The custom, pro-
bably, is not of heathen antiquity, but mny be I'cferred to the practice
of the Christian Church, intended as a token of union and agreement
rather than of reverence or submission. Selden remarks that the kis>
of homage is so essential " that the homage hath not enough it seems oi
what is legal without it, for in the time of llenry VI., a great plague
being about London, a bill was put up in Parliament to ordain and grant
by the authoritie of this present pnrliament that evoiiche of your said
lieges in the doing of their said homage may omit the said kissing of
you and be excust^d thereof (at your will the homage being of the same
force as though they kissed you), and have their letters of doing their
homage, the kissing of you omitted notwithstanding. — And the bill
having ])assed both Uouses, the subscription is Lc Roy le voet as the usual
words of his consent are."
M
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 221
delyuered vnto hym by the gospellar at tyme of his offering ; the King
also shall then ofire a inarke of golde and xvj H in coyne to hym to be
delyuerid by the Chamberlayn, and the King kneling, and bowing his
hed, the Cardinall shall blesse hym, saying ouer hym thise orisons :
Omnipotens sempiferne Deus and, Benedic, Domine ; after the King the
Quene shall offre her offeryng accustomed."
The celebration of the Holy Communion followed, after
which the crowns were taken off the heads of the king and
queen, and the various objects of the regalia being placed on
the altar, the royal pair were arrayed in other robes of state,
and going to the altar before the shrine of St. Edward, received
two other crowns, and seated themselves while the procession
was being reformed from the abbey to the palace.
Henry VIII. and Catharine of Arragon were crowned at
Westminster, June 24, 1509, by Archbishop Warham. Hall
has given a glowing account of this ceremonial, which was
as magnificent as taste and boundless expenditure could
render it.
" Their Highnesses went to Westminster Abbey, upon cloth vulgarly
called cloth of ray, the whiche cloth was cut and spoyled by the rude
and common people, immediately after their repaire into the abbey,
where, according to the sacred observaunce and auncient custome, his
grace with the quene were anoynted and crowned by the archebusshopp
of Canterbory with a great multitude of commons of the same. After
the whiche solempnitie and coronacion finished, the lordes spirituall and.
temporall did to hym homage, and returned to Westminster hall, with
the queue's grace every one under their canabies, where by the lorde
marshall and his tipped staves was made rome and office that daie, to
execute their services accordingly."
Of the coronation banquet Hall says —
" What should I speake or write of the sumpteous, fine and delicate
meates prepared for this high and honorable coronacion, provided for
aswel in the parties beyond the se as in many and sundery places
within this realme, where God so abundantly hath sent suche plentie
and foyson : or of the honorable ordre of the services, the clean
handelyng and breaking of meates, the ordryng of the dishes, with the
plentifull abundaunce. So that none of any estate beeing there did
lacke, nor no honorable or worshipfull persone went unfeasted."
The customary largesse and the serving with ipocras are
then detailed in the conclusion of the feast, and the solemni-
ties of this " triumphant coronacion " w^ere followed by joust
and tourney, worthy of this golden age of pageants.
The coronation of the boy-king, Edward VI., occurred
(within a month of his father's decease) at Westminster
Abbey, February 20, 1547. The proceedings of the cere-
222 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
monial were shortened, according to the programme of the
inauguration, " for the tedious length of the same, which
should weary and be hurtsome peradventure to the king's
majesty, being yet of tender age [ten years], fully to endure
and bide out ; and also for that many points of the same were
such as by the laws of the realm at this present were not
allowed," in allusion, probably, to the change in religious
opinions consequent on the Reformation. The office of the
mass was, however, said by Cranmer. One alteration in the
ceremonial from the usual routine was that of reversing
the order of first administering the coronation oath to the
king, and then presenting him to the people for acceptation.*
In other respects the ceremony presented many minute but
interesting points of difference from the general practices.
The way from York Place to the palace, and thence into the
choir of the abbey, was covered with blue cloth ; in the choir
was erected a stage of unusual height, ascended by a flight on
one side of twenty-two steps, which with the floor at the top
were covered with carpets, and the sides hung with cloth of
gold. Besides the general rich decorations of the altar, a
splendid valance was now hung upon it, enriched with
precious gems, while the neighbouring tombs were covered
with curtains of golden arras. On the stage stood a lofty
throne, ascended by seven steps. The procession commenced
at nine in the morning, when the choir of the abbey in their
copes, with crosses borne before and after them, the gentle-
men and children of the royal chapel with surplices and
* The consent of the people to the assumption of the crown was
changed into a dutiful recognition by Cranmer, under King Edward VI.
The former seems to have been until that time the constant practice.
Tindal (speaking of its use at the coronation of Richard II.) says, " Tliia
ceremony, though not mentioned in any of our historians, was no inno-
vation, but seems to bo a remainder of the old English custom of electing
the king, as may bo observed by comparing the manner of the corona-
tion and election of King Edward the Confessor, and William I., with
this action, and which has been observed ever since." Upon the altera-
tion to the present form Hallam remarks, " This alteration in the form
is a curious proof of the solicitude displayed by the Tudors, as it was
much more by the next family, to suppress every recollection that could
mako their sovereignty appear to bo of popular origin." Up to that
time tlie Church, while claiming a divine independence, defended
popular i-ights against the crown, which then, for the first time, asserted
a supremacy over botli.
At this coronation, for the first and last time, kissing the royal
sandal formed j)art of the ceremonial.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 223
copes all in scarlet, ten mitred bisliops in garb of the same
colour, and tlie Ai'chbisliop of Canterbury, received the king
at the palace, and conducted him to the stage in the choir.
Here he was placed in a chair of crimson velvet, which two
noblemen carried whilst he was presented to the people.*
Then, descending to the altar, he was censed and blessed.
The anointing was not the least curious part of the ceremony.
" Then anon," quotes Malcolm from an authority which he
does not mention, " after a goodly care, cloth of red tinsel
gold was holden over his head ; and my Lord of Canterbury,
kneeling on his knees, his Grace lay prostrate before the altar,
and anointed his back." The archbishop then took the crown
into his hands, and commenced the " Te Deum." Whilst the
choir sang and trumpets sounded from above, the Lord Pro-
tector Somerset and the archbishop placed the crown on the
king's head, and subsequently two other crowns were worn
by him. After the enthronization he was reconducted to the
throne, when "the lords in order kneeled down and kissed
his Grace's right foot, and after, held their hands between
his Grace's hands, and kissed his Grace's left cheek, and so
did their homage a pretty time. Then after this began a
goodly mass by my Lord of Canterbury, and goodly singing
in the choir, with the organs going. At offering time his
Grace offered to the altar a pound of gold, a loaf of bread,
and a chalice of wine."
At this coronation the Bible was, for the first time, pre-
sented to the sovereign — an act, says Dean Stanley, which
may, perhaps, have suggested to the young king the substitu-
tion, which he had all but effected, of the Bible for St, George
in the insignia of the Order of the Garter.
At the royal banquet the king sat under his estate, and
on the right hand of the same table sat the Protector and the
archbishop. After the feast " it was ordeyned that there
should be made a certain number of knights " (the king had
been knighted previously to the coronation by the Duke of
Somerset, Protector) " instead of the Bathe, because the time
* The recognition of Edward YI. was — " Sirs, Here I present King
Edward rightful! and undoubted inheritor by the lawes of God and man
to the crown and royal dignity of this realme ; whereupon ye shall
understand that this day is prefixed and appointed by all the peers of
[[ this realme for his consecration, enunction and coronation. Will you
serve at this time, and give your good wills and assent to the same
consecration, enunction, and coronation ? Whereunto the people an-
swered all in one voice, Yea, yea, yea, God save King Edward ! "
224 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
was so short that they could not be made of the Bathe
according to the ceremonies thereunto apperteyning." On
the morrow after the coronation there were holden "royall
justes against all comers."
Holinshed's account of this coronation is curions. He
informs us that the king "rode through London into West-
minster with as great roialtie as might be. . . . As he passed
on the south side of Panic's churchyard, an Argosine came
from the battlements of Panic's Church upon a cable, being
made fast to an anchor by the Deane's gate, lieing on his
breast, aiding himself neither with hand nor foot, and after
ascended to the middest of the cable, where he tumbled and
plaied many pretty toies, whereat the king and the nobles
had great pastime."
When, at the coronation, the three swords typical of the
three kingdoms were brought to be borne before him, Edward
remarked that there was yet one wanting, and called for the
Bible. "That," said he, "is the sword of the Spirit, and
ought in all right to govern us, who use these for the people's
safety by God's appointment. Without that sword we are
nothing ; we can do nothing. From that we are what we
are this day . . . we receive whatsoever it is that we at this
present do assume. Under that we ought to live, to fight,
to govern the people, and to perform all our affairs. From
that alone we obtain all power, virtue, grace, salvation, and
whatsoever we have of Divine strength."
The unfortunate liady Jane Grey^ the unwilling usurper of
the throne on the death of the young King Edward, and the
victim of atrocious deceit and ambition, although proclaimed
queen, was ungraced by the ceremony of a coronation.*
* Though a usurper, observes Sir Harris Nicholas, the date of the
assumption of the regal title by this personage merits attention, because
a few documents, both public and private, arc dated " in the first year
of the reign of Jane, Queen of England." Having reluctantly consented
to assume the royal dignity immediately on the death of Edward VI.,
she was proclaimed queen on the 10th of July, four days after that
monarch's decease. The proclamation recited her title to the throne,
and stated " that the Imperial Crown and other promises to the same
belonging, or in any wise appertaining, now be and remain to us in
actual and royal possession." It appears, however, that Jane's succes-
sion took place before the date of her proclamation ; and her reign was
most probably considered to have commenced on the Gth of July. On
the Dth of that jnonth, the Privy Council, in reply to a letter from Mary
claiming the throne, and expressing hor surpi-iso that the death of
Edward VI. had not been notified to her, informed her that " our
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 225
Mary, the elder daughter of Henry VIII., and the first
reigning female sovereign of England, was crowned October 1,
1553. Planche, in his " Regal Records," has published an
account of this ceremonial from the original records in the
College of Arms, and a manuscript in the library of the
Society of Antiquaries, a programme drawn up immediately
previous to the event. A few brief notices will be interesting.
The preparations for the inauguration in Westminster Abbey
are stated to have been —
''first) the Quire very richly hung with cloth of arras, well strewed with
rushes, and the place between the high altar and the chair. There was
there ordained a mounting scaffold, with stairs up to the same and down
to the altar, and thereupon a throne of seven stairs, whereof the four
uppermost covered with fine baudekin, and the other stairs covered with
carpet. And in the middle of the throne set a great royal chair, covered
with baudekin damask gold, with two cushions; one black velvet em-
broidered with gold very richly, and the others of cloth of tissue ; the
said chair having pillars at the back, whereon stood two lions of gold,
and in the midst a turret with a flower de lice of gold, the said place to
be always guarded by four gentlemen ushers daily waiters, viz. — besides
other gentlemen ushers to assist them.
" And thus the Queen's Majesty, between x and xi of the clock, was
conducted by two noblemen to her throne to King Edward's chair as is
aforesaid ; wherein, after her Gi'ace had reposed a little time, she was
removed by the said lords into the four parts of the mount into the sight
of the people, beside whom the Bishop of Winchester, standing, declared
to the people in the aforesaid parts the Queen's Majesty's free election.*
. . . And then her Grace was brought unto the said throne again, and
immediately removed into a rich chair by the gentleman ushers before
the high altar, upon which altar her Grace offered her pall of baudekin
and XX6-., verifying the words of Scripture, ' Thou shalt not appear void
before the Lord God.'
sovereign lady Queen Jane is, after the death of our sovereign lord
Edward VI., invested and possessed with the just and right title in the
Imperial Crown of this realm, not only by good order of old ancient
good laws of this 1 ealm, but also by our late sovereign lord's letters
patent, signed with his own hand, and sealed with the great seal of
England, in presence of the most part of the nobles, counsellors, judges,
with divers other grave and sage personages, assenting and subscribing
to the same."
* The recognition ran thus, being fuller and more comprehensive
than any similar address : — " Sirs, — Here present is Mary, rightful and
undoubted inheritrix, by the laws of God and man of the crown and
royal dignity of this realm of England, France, and Ireland ; and you
shall understand, that this day is appointed bj^ all the peers of this land
for the consecration, unction, and coronation of the s:iid most excellent
princess Mary. Will you serve at this time, and give your wills and
assent to the same consecration, unction, and coronation ?"
Q
226 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" Then a little after her Grace returned to her chair, a cushion of
velvet was laid before the altar, upon the which her Grace lay prostrate
while certain oraisons were said over her." [The sermon was preached
by the Bishop of Chichester, the subject being, according to Noailles, the
obedience due to kings. The oath was then taken, the Litany chanted,
and the queen prepared for the anointing ; having a pall holden over
her by four knights of the Garter, the Bishop of Winchester applying
the holy oil and chism and] " saying unto her certain words, with divers
oraisons and prayers, which thereunto appertaineth. Then after the
inunction the Bishop of Winchester did dry every place of the same with
cotton or linen cloth, and after Mrs. Walgrave did lace again her
Highnesse's apparel, putting on her hands a pair of linen gloves." The
queen's rich robe of crimson velvet was then again put on. " And after
her Grace was brought to the altar, whereat she offered up the sword
that she was girt withal by the Bishop of Winchester, and after to
redeem the same was given by the Earl of Arundel, Lord Steward, who did
bear the same sword before her Grace naked on the left hand of the
sword in the scabbard from the church to Westminster Hall."
" This done her Grace was brought again to the chair, before the
high altar where the Bishop of Winchester and the Duke of Norfolk brought
unto her Highness three crowns ; — to wit, one King Edward's crown ;
the other the imperial crown of the realm of England ; the third, a very
rich crown purposely made for her Grace. Then the crowns were set
one after another upon the Queen's head by the Bishop of Winchester ;
and betwixt the putting on of every crown the trumpets did blow.
"Then immediately after, the quire sung and the organs did play
* Te Deum.' And in the mean season the same was singing, a ring of
gold was put on her Grace's marrying finger by the Bishop of Win-
chester.
" Then the Master of her Grace's jewel-house brought her Grace's
bracelets of gold and precious stones. Then divers other things were
delivered to her Grace, as the sceptre, by the Earl of Arundel : Saint
Edward's Staff, by the Earl of Bath : the spurs, by the Earl of Pem-
broke ; the ball of gold, by the Marquis of Winchester ; the regal of
gold, by the Bishop of Winchester.
"And the Queen thus sitting in her chair apparelled in her royal
robes of crimson velvet, containing a mantle with a train, a surcoat with
a kirtle furred with the wombs of miniver, pure, a riband of Venice
gold, a mantle lace of silk and gold, with buttons and tassels of the
same, having her crown imperial on her head, her sceptre in her right
hand, and the ball in her loft hand, was conveyed again to the throne to
St. Edward's chair ; having a pair of sabatons on her feet, covered with
crimson cloth of gold, lined with crimson satin, garnished with a ribbon
of Venice gold, delivered by the master of her great guard-robe.
" And during the space of the homage doing, tho Lord Chancellor
having first done, departed into tho four parts of the said mount, and
declared a goodly large and ample pardon for all manner of offences
exc(>pt certain pi^rsons and conditions contained in the same not worthy to
be panUmed. This done, the office of the mass began by the Bishop of
Winchester, and at the time of the Gospel, the book was brought by
a Bishop to the Queen, who kissed the same.
" Then at the time of the otii'ering, her Grace was brought down to
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 227
make her offering, — viz. an oble of bread laid upon the paten of Kin^
Edward's chalice, a cruet of wine, and a pound of gold. Then, bowing
her head, the Bishop of Winchester said a prayer over her. Then her
Grace was conveyed again to her siege royal, and there sat till ' Agnus
Dei.' Then the pax was brought to her to kiss by a Bishop. Then the
Queen was conducted down to the said altar, and the Bishop of Win-
chester took the crown from her head and set it on the said altar.
Then she was conveyed again into her traverse, and the Lord Great
Chamberlain received of her all the regalia, and delivered them to the
Dean of Westminster, to be laid upon the said altar. Then her Grace
was unclad of her apparel, and other royal apparel given to her by the
said Great Chamberlain, viz. a robe of purple velvet with the kirtle and
surcoat overte, and a mantle with a train furred with miniver and
powdered ermine, and a mantle lace of silk and gold, with buttons
and tassels of the same, and riband of Venice gold, the crown set upon
her head, and a goodly canopy borne over her by the barons of the cinque
ports. And so was conveyed in goodly order with all her train unto
Westminster Hall to dinner, in like manner as her Grace's coming thither
was in all thinges saving procession."
The coronation banquet was most sumptuous : —
" At the first course there came riding in on two goodly coursers the
Lord High Steward of England, and the Earl Marshal, both richly
apparelled, and their horses trapped according to their estate. On the
Queen's right hand sat the Bishop of Winchester, and the Lady Elizabeth,
her Grace, and the Lady Anne of Cleves, on the left hand. Four swords
were held before the Queen during the dinner. At the end of the second
course, the Queen's Champion appeared upon a courser richly trapped
with cloth of gold, holding in his hand a mace, and on the other side
of him a page, one holding his spear, another his target with a herald
before him. The usual challenge having been made, and repeated thrice,
the champion received the cup as his fee from which her Majesty had
drunk to him. The Queen's style was then proclaimed by Garter with
the rest of the oflficers of arms, in Latin, French, and English, concluding
with ' larges, larges, larges.'
" Her Majesty having dined arose, and stood in the ' hault place '
with the Lady Elizabeth her Grace, and the Lady Anne of Cleves, and
all the nobility, according to their degrees and estates. Then the Mayor
of London brought a goodly standing cup of gold to the Queen's Majesty,
and after her Highness had drunk so, gave the Mayor the cup. Then
after, her Highness withdrew to her Parliament chamber, she shifted
her there in her Privy Chamber, where she was first apparelled before
her going to church. The Queen was then conveyed by water to the
palace, where there was that night feasting and cheer."
Of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, the particulars are
not ample. The tract published by Tottill, and represented
in Nicholls's "Royal Progresses," gives a detailed account of
the queen's procession through the city, previous to her coro-
nation (see chapter on " Coronation Processions from the
238 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Tower "), and concludes witli that portion of the solemnity.
Strype Las briefly noticed the coronation thus: "On tho
15th day of January [1559], she was crowned with the usual
ceremonies at Westminster Abbey. She first came to West-
minster Hall. There went before her trumpets, knights, and
lords, heralds of arms in their rich coats. Then the nobles
in their scarlet, and all the bishops in scarlet ; then the Queen
and all her footmen waiting upon her to the hall. There hei-
Grace's apparel was changed. In the hall they met the
bishop that was to perform the ceremony,* and all the chappel,
with three crosses borne before them, in their copes, the
bishop mitred ; and singing as they passed ' Salvae festa dies.'
All the streets new laid with gravel and blue cloth, and railed
in on each side. And so to the abbey to mass. And there
her Grace was crowned. Thence, the ceremony ended, the
Queen and her retinue went to Westminster Hall to dinner;
and every officer took his place at service upon their lands ;
and so did the lord mayor of London and the aldermen."
Some particulars are also given in Ashmole's collections
at Oxford (8G3, p. 211) of the " cerymonies of the coronacon
of the moost excellent Queene Elysabeth : " —
"Item, fyrst her Grace sett in a chayre of estate, in the middle of
the church before the high aulter; and iiTiediately hir Grace was con-
ducted from the said cha3're and lede between two lords to be proclaimed
by a byshop Queene of Inglande. And imediately the Queenes Majestic
"was brought to the chayre of estate and imediately hir Grace was lede
byfore tlie high avilter and there sittinge a bysshop the Qoeenes Maj"''
kneeling byfore the bysshop and kissed the patyn her Grace offered
money and the bisshop laid it in the basjne and immediately ofFerid a
))art of red sylke wherein the paten was covered. And immediately hir
Highnes sat in a chayre byfore the aulter there being a bisshop in the
pulpitt preacliing a sermon byfore tho Queenes Maj''" and all the lords
spirituall and tempitll. And after the sermon done, the bysshop 'bade
the beads' her Grace voyde out of the chayre knelynge and said the
Lords Prayer. And aftir that hir Grace satt in hir chayre, and the
* " The see of Canterbury," says Rapin, " being vacant, by tho death
of Cardinal Pole, the office of tho coroTiation devolved on the Archbishop
of York [Michael Heath], but that i)rclnte, and all the rest having, with
one voice, refused to assist in the office, because Elizabeth, both by
proclamation, and the admission of men into her counsel, who had not
the character of good catholics, had sufficiently declared her aver-
sion to tho church of Rome. Only Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle, was
at last brought to do the office, notwithstanding the complaints of hia
brothcrcn." This prelate, it is said by Burnet, afterwards died of
romorso.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 229
bysshop gave hir a booke which shee had takeing hir oathe. And after
that, the bysshop knelynge byfore the aulter red in two bookes and hir
Grace gave a little booke to a lord to deliver unto the bysshop. And
he received the booke. The bysshop retomyed the booke to the lorde,
not reading the saide booke, and red other bookes. And iniediately y*
bysshop tooke the Queenes booke and red it byfore the Queene her Grace.
And after that hir Grace kneeled byfore the aulter. And the bysshop
red a booke byfore hir Grace. And immediately her Grace went to
shift her apparell. And the bysshop sang the ... of the masse in
a booke which was brought in byfore the Queene and than and there
was a carpet with knssyns of golde spread before the aulter. And '
secretaiy Cycill delivered a booke to the busshop, and there was a
bysshop standing at the left hand of the aulter.
" Item, the Queenes Maj''^ being new apparrelled came byfore the
aulter and leand upon the kussene and over her was spread a reed silken
cloth. And than and there the bysshop annoy n ted her Grace. And
y*done changing apparell her Grace retorned, and satt in her chayre.
And there was a sword with a girdele putt over her & upon one of her
shoulders and under the other : And soe the sword hangeing by her
side. And after that two gartares uppon her hands ; and than one
crowne put the bysshop uppon her heade, and than trompetts sounding,
and the bysshopp put a ringe upon her finger and delivered the sceptre
in her hand, and then aftir the bysshopp satt a crowne upon her heed
and the ti-ompetts sounding. And aftir that hir Grace offerid the sword
and laid it uppon the aulter and retorned kneelinge. And the bysshop
readeinge upon a booke and shee haveing the scepter and a crosse in
her hand and aftir that hir Grace retorned to the chayer of estate. And
then the bysshop put his hand to the Queenes hand and read certaine
wordes to her Grace. And then the lords went up to her Grace kneel-
ing uppon their knees and kissed her Grace. And after the lords had
done the bysshopps came one after another kneeling and kissing her
Grace. And after that the bisshop began the masse the Queenes Maj*®
haveinge the septer in the right hand, and the world [orb] in the left
hand the Epystel red fyrst in Latyn and after that in English. And
after that the bysshop brought her Grace the Gospell which also was
read first in Latyn and after in Englishe : and shee kyssed the words of
the Gospell. And iniediately after her Maj"'' went to the offering and
byfore hir Grace was borne iii naked swordes and a sword in the
scabbard, and her Grace kneelyng byfore the aulter and kissed the
patyn and offeryd certain money into the bassyn & than and there was
rede to her Grace certaine wordes. And then her Grace retorned into
her closett hearing the consecration of the masse and hir Grace kissed
the pax.* And when masse was done her Grace removed behinde the
high aulter and than and there her Maj*'" changed her apparell and so
her Maj"*' was conducted from the abby to Westminster hall and there
dyaed."
* The 'pax is a piece of board having the image of Christ upon the
cross on it, which the people, before the Reformation, used to kiss after
the service was ended, that ceremony being considered the kiss of
peace.
230 CROIVXS AND CORONATIONS.
In the Harloian MSS. (No. 1386) the queen's title is thus
mentioned : " Of the most high and mightye Princeses our
dread Sovereigne Lady Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queene
of England, France, and Irelande, defender of the trewe
auncient and Catholic faithe, most worthy Empresse from the
Orcade Isles to the Mountaynes Pyrenei."
Aikin, in his memoirs of Elizabeth, remarks that the in-
creased seriousness of the time is shovsrn in the contrast
between the grave Biblical figures and the light classical
imagery of the pageants that witnessed the passage of her
mother.
The arrangements for the coronation of James I. were
intended to be of the most splendid character, but the plague
was then raging, and, in consequence, the people were for-
bidden to come to Westminster to see the pageant. This
event occurred February 25, 1603, the day of his namesake,
the Apostle, Archbishop Whitgift performing the consecra-
tion service. An account of the proceedings is published in
Nichols's " Royal Progresses," and in its principal features
follows pretty closely the installation ceremonies of Queen
Elizabeth, whose coronation, like that of James I., took place
nearly a year after her accession.
A letter from Sir Simonds D'Ewes to Sir Martin Stute-
ville, from his " Autobiography and Correspondence," gives
some interesting particulars of the coronation of Charles I. : —
" About eight of the clocke [February 2, 162G], His Majestie was
expected to have landed at Sir Robert Cotton's stairs, my Lord Marshall
having himselfe given order for carpets 'to bee laied. Sir Robert stoode
readic thcr to receave him, with a booke of Athelstane's, being the fouer
Evangelists in Lattine, that King's Saxon Epistle prefixed, upon which
for divers hundred yeares together, the Kings of England had solemlie
taken the coronation oath.
" But the royall barge bawked these step]ies soe filtie accomodated,
and being put forward was ran on ground at Parliament stairs, by which
both His Majestie and the Lordes were faine to use the neighbour boates
for ther landing.
" Sir Robert told me, and I believe it, that this act might have brought
a customc of setting ther, and so was glad it missed ; but I conceived
the Duke had ])rovoTited that act of grace to bee done him by reason of
that peice I showed you which begann — ' soe long as those attended our
master now with God &c.' framed by him. You may remember how I
told you that 1 doubted him the author by reason of the style and
gravitic thereof.
** Yet I think a little while after the booke was delivered, His
Majestie and the Peeres being receaved ther first, came into West-
minster Hall, a high stage and throne being ther erected for that end.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 231
I saw the Duke [of Buckingham] Lord Constable for this day, taking
the right hand of him going upp the stairs, and putting foorth his left
to beare upp the King ; — he, putting it foorth by which his right hand
helped upp the Duke, and with a smiling countenance tolde him, ' I have
as much needs to assist you, as you to assist me.' I dare say he meant
it plainlie, yet searching brains might pick much from it. Upon a table
placed on the left hande of the estate, weere the Regalia laide ; which
the Duke upon his bringing to the King, here delivered them to several
noblemen ; the first sworde to Marquesse Hambledon, the seconde to
the Earle of Kent, the crowne to the Earle of Pembroke, the ball with
the crosse to the Earle of Sussex, the long scepter to the Earle of Essex,
St. Edward's Rodd to the Earle of Hartforde, and onlie the Lorde Mayor
carried the short scepter.
" These weere thinges ad placitu and noe claims allowed for this
time. Then proceeded His Majestic bare (for after the deliverie of his
crowne, having laied offe his hat, he continued soe till crowned) on foote,
under a canopie to the churche : first went the Knights of the Bath,
then the Kinges Serjeants, then Masters of Requests, then Judges, then
Peeres, then carriers of the Regalia, and, lastlie, His Majesty.
" I was thinking to see his passage, and soe to go home, having in
the morning, without colour of secresse, endeavoured to gett into the
churche ; in my passage spying a doore guarded by one, and thronged
at by few, I went, and with little trouble found an easie entrance, — the
good genius of that guardman guiding his gentler thoughts.
" Being in, I instantlie settled myself at the stage on which stoode
Ithe royall seate. My expectation was soon answered with His Majestie's
[approach, who, presenting himself bare-headed to the people, (all the
idoores being then opened for ther entrance) the Archbishopp on his
jright hand, and Earle Marshall on his left, the Bishopp said in my articu-
|late hearing to this purpose : — ' My masters and freinds ; I am here
3ome to present unto you your King, King Charles, to whome the crowne
[of his auncestors and predecessors is now devolved by lineall right, and
[hee himselfe come hither to bee settled in that throne, which God and
[his birth have appointed for him ; and therefore I desire you by your
[generall acclamations to testifie your content and willingness therunto.'
" Upon which, whether some expected hee should have spoken moore,
[others hearing not well what hee saied, hindered those by questioning
[which might have heard, or that the newnes and greatnes of the action
)asied men's thoughts, or the presence of so deare a King drew
[admiring silence, so that those which weere nearest doubted what to
[doe, but not one worde followed till my Lorde of Arundel tolde them
[they should crie out * God save King Charles ! ' Upon which, as ashamed
lof ther first oversight, a little shouting followed. At the other side,
jwheere he presented himselfe, ther was not the like failing. Then going
[from this erected stage downe into St. Edward's chappell, Dr. Senhouse,
[Bishop of Carlisle preached, before which the organs and quire answeered
[to two Bishopps, whoe upon ther knees sang the letanie. Then followed
{His Majestie's Coronation, wheere because the putting on of his crimson
Ishirte, the anointing of his naked shoulders, armes, hands, and head
[weere arcana, a traverse was drawen, and I dare say boldlie few moore
[single lessons, than ther weere thousands within the church saw it ; yet
[might we guesse when the anointed glories and quoife, and robes, and
[crowne, weere brought then those weere to bee put on.
232 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" The archbisshopp [Abbot], performed the unction, which I doubted
hee should not, by reason of suspicion of irregularitie, upon the unfor-
tunate killing of a man, som few yearea since : then receaved his
Majestic the communion, and after crowned in his purple robes, ascending
the stage, and throne, tooko homage of all the Peres — they putting ther
handes into his, and being kissed by him did him both homage and
foaltie. Then returned hee into an inner chappell, and ther putt on
blacke velvett robes, lined with ermine, and soe ci'owned went backe to
Westminster Hall, in the same manner hee had come thither wheere
everie Lorde delivered backe againe his regalia. The crowne hee wore
was narrower and higher than that my Lorde of Pembroke carried, yet
both incomparablie rich. After the Kinges crowning all the Earles and
Viscounts putt on their coronets, and capps ; the Bishopps ther capps ;
the Barons continued bare. Before this, the Lorde Keeper gave his
Majestie's free pardon to all that would take it out, which was followed
by an exceeding acclamation. The Lorde Conway tooke place of all
barons, being a baron and principall secretarie ; else he goeth below
them. The Queen was neither crowned, nor at the church, yet saw
their going. Other newes there is, much which my little time suffring
mee not to write."
In 1633 Charles T. proceeded to Scotland, to be crowned.
He arrived at Edinburgh, June 15,
" accompanied by the Duke of Lennox, the Marquis of Hamilton, and
divers other Scotch and English lords and gentlemen, to the number of
about five hundred. His furniture and plate were carried about with
him, in princely form. He, riding on horseback, was received at the
West Port, in a theatrical manner, after the fashion of the allegorical
entertainments with which Ben Jonson has made us familiar. There
was a kind of theatre under an arch, where a nymph representing
Edinburgh, appeared on a mountain, which was so arranged as to move
at the approach of majesty. The nymph was attired in a sea-green
velvet mantle, with sleeves and under-robe of blue tissue, and blue
buskins on her feet ; about her neck she wore a chain of diamonds ; her
head-dress represented a castle with turrets, and her locks dangled
about her shoulders.
" A speech of welcome was delivered by this fair lady, together with
the keys of the city. Meanwhile, the provost, Alexander Clark, and
the bailies in furred red robes, with about threescore councillors and
others, in black velvet gowns, had taken up a position on a wooden stand
at the other side of the gate. Thence the provost addressed the king
in a brief speech, presenting him at the same time with a gold basin,
worth five thousand merks, into which were shaken out of an em-
broidered purse a thousand golden double angels, as a token of the
town's love and service. ' The king looked gladly upon the speech and
gifts both ; but the Marquis of Hamilton, master of his Majesty's horse,
hard beside, meddled with the gift, as due to him by virtue of his office.'
" The provost then mounted his own horse, which was sumptuously
attired, and, followed by the couiu;illois and others on foot, attended his
Majesty along the (irassmarket. Here appeanMl 'a bravo company of
town's soldiers all clad in white satiu doublets, black velvet breeches,
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS, 233
and silk stockings, with hats, feathers, scarfs, bands, and the rest cor-
respondent. These gallants had dainty muskets, pikes, and gilded
partisans, and such like,' and attended his Majesty as a guard. At the
gate in the middle of the West Bow, there was another theatre, pre-
senting a Highland scene, labelled with the word Grampius. and from
which a female, representing the genius of Caledonia, welcomed his
Majesty in verse. Coming to the west end of the Tolbooth, he there
found an arch across the narrowed street, sui'mounted by a crown;
Mars, as the protecting deity of the country, on one side, and Minerva
on the other. Here, on the withdrawal of a curtain, Mercury appeared,
as if just arrived from the Elysian fields, with his Majesty's deceased
progenitors. This was a part of the spectacle really interesting to the
King, for the portraits struck his faithful eye, as well executed ; and so
they were, being the work of George Jameson, of Aberdeen. Here there
was a fourth speech.
" ' At the Mercat Cross, he had a fifth speech, where his Majestye's
health was drunk by Bacchus on the cross, and the haill stroups [spouts]
thereof running over with wine in abundance. At the Tron, Parnassus
hill was erected curiously, all green with birks, where nine pretty boys,
representing the nine nymphs or muses, were nymph-like clad [in varying
taffetas, cloth of silver, and purple].' Amidst the trees appeared Endy-
raion, like a shepherd, in a long coat of crimson velvet, with gilt leather
buskins, telling the King in William Drummond's verse that he had
been despatched by Cynthia to celebrate the day.
" At the Nether Bow, where he made his exit from the city, another
speech was addressed to him. ' Whilk haill orations, his Majesty, with
threat pleasure and delight, sitting on horseback, as his company did,
heard pleasantly ; syne rode down the Canongate to his own palace of
Holyrood house, where he stayed that night.'
" On the Monday following, the King was conducted by his nobility
in state, in his royal robes, to the Abbey Kirk of Holyrood, and there was
solemnly crowned by the Bishop of Brechin."
Of the coronation of Charles II. (April 23, 1661), in
Westminster Abbey, we have ample details in the " Circum-
stantial Account " of Sir Edward Walker, Garter principal-
at-arms at that period ; in the " Entertainment of Charles II.,
in his passage through London to his Coronation, with a
narrative of the ceremony at the Coronation by John Ogilby,"
with plates by Hollar, folio, London, 1662, and the " Cere-
monial and Proceedings " as set forth by Elias Ashmole,
Windsor Herald ; also notices in the diaries of Samuel Pepys
and John Evelyn, spectators on that occasion.*
* Among the manuscripts of the Duke of Sutherland is a letter dated
from Drury Lane, April 13, 1661, from William Smith to John Langley: —
"The chiefest affairs now in hand are his Majesty's Coronation and
marriage, the first of which now draws near, the four stately standing
pageants being now almost finished. The first his Majesty shall encounter
is in Leadenhall Street, and it presenteth Anarchy, and the confusion
which that government brings : the second is erected at the Eoyal
234 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Exchange, and it holds forth Presbetery, and with it the decay of Trade ;
the third, which is the most sumptuous, stands in Cheapside, relating
the honours due to the Hierarchy, and showeth the restoration of Epis-
copacy. In this maignificent building his Majesty is to be treated to a
stately banquet, and to show the power which Episcopacy hath over
Presbetery, just at his Majesty's departure will arise the form of the old
Crosse whicla anciently stood at the same place, at whose appearance
Presbetery vanisheth. The last, which is also very glorious, stands in
Fleet Street, and represents Monarchy, whereby the former disorders
are brought into their first conformities : — and these are to be the works
of Monday, the 22. of this instant April . . . — For the Coronation, the
Lord Wharton's furnitures for his horse, (as it is said) will amount to
£8000 ; the bit of his bridle being valued at £500. The Duke of
Buckingham has written to some friends (as they say) that, notwith-
standing the malice of cards and dice, he has bestowed £30,000 upon a
suit to attend his Majesty at his Coronation."
*' Upon Tuesday," says Walker, " the 23rd of April, being St. George's
Day, about half-past seven in the morning, the King entered his rich
barge at Whitehall and landed at the parliament stairs, from whence he
proceeded up to the room behind the lords house called the Prince's
lodgings, where after he had reposed himself for a while, he was arrayed
in his robes of crimson velvet, furred with ermine ; by which time the
nobility being assembled, robed themselves in the lords house and painted
chamber. The judges also, with those of the long robe, the knights of
the Bath, and gentlemen of the privy chamber, met in the court of
requests.
" After some space the King's heralds and pursuivants, began to set
the proceeding in order, each of them taking his share assigned in
chapter, (held at the heralds' office the evening before,) and thence
directed all the above-mentioned degrees (except the nobility) down into
Westminster Hall, where the rest of the proceeding attended, and from
whence the march began. About half an hour after nine, the nobility,
in their robes and coronets, before the King, ascended up to the estate,
which was raised at the west end, and placed themselves upon each side
thereof.
" His Majesty, having taken his chair, under a rich cloth of estate,
first. Sir Gilbert Talbot, the master of the jewel-house, presented the
sword of state, as also the sword called curtana, and two other swords
to the Lord High-Constable, who took and delivered them to the
Lord High-Chamberlain, and he (having drawn the last) laid them upon
the table before the King. Then the said master of the jewel-house
delivered likewise the s})urs to the Lord High-Constable, and he, again,
to the Lord High-Clianiberlain, who also placed them upon the table.
" Immediately after, the Dean and j)rebends of Westminster (by
whom the regalia had been brought in procession from the Abbey
church into Westminster Hall), being invested in rich copes, proceeded
from the lower end thereof in manner following : —
" The Serjeant of the vestry in a scarlet mantle. The children of
the King's chaj)el, being twelve in number, in scarlet mantles. The
pursuivants, heralds, and provincial kings, the Dean, carrying St.
Edward's crown, Doctor Helyn, the Sceptre with the Cross, Doctor
Hey wood, the Sceptre with the Dove, Doctor Nicholas, the Orb with the
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 235
Cross, Doctor Killigrew, St. Edward's Staff, Doctor Jones, the Chalice
and Patena, Doctor Dowty, the Spoon, Doctor Busby, the Ampulla.
" All standing towards the lower end of the hall, ready to proceed,
they made their first reverence together ; then coming to the middle of
the said hall, they made there a second ; and thence going a little further,
both the quires fell off, and stood on either side, through which lane,
the pursuivants, heralds, and kings passing, fell likewise off on either
side, the seniors still placing themselves uppermost towards the throne ;
after whom the Dean and prebends proceeded, and arrived at the foot
of the stone steps, and approaching near to the table before the King,
made their last reverence.
" The Dean first presented the crown, which was by the Lord High-
Constable, and Lord Groat-Chamberlain set upon the table ; who after-
wards took from each of the prebends that part of the regalia, which
they carried, and laid them also by the crown : which done, they
retired.
" Then the Lord Great- Chamberlain presenting the regalia severally
to the King, his Majesty thereupon disposed of them unto the noble-
men hereafter named, to be carried by them in the proceeding of the
Abbey-church.
** All thinges being thus prepared, and it being about ten o'clock, the
proceeding began from out the said hall into the palace yard, through
the gate-house, and the end of King Street, thence along the great
sanctuary, and so to the west-end of the Abbey-church, all upon blue
cloth, which was spread upon the ground, from the throne in West-
minster Hall, to the great steps in the Abbey-church, by Sir George
Carteret, knight, vice-chamberlain, appointed by the King to be his
almoner for this day." [The order of the procession is described : the
King having entered the west door of the Abbey-church, was received
with an anthem, and on arriving at the fald-stool, kneeled down, and
used some private ejaculations, which being finished, he proceeded to
the great theatre upon which the throne was placed, at the entrance
of which was placed a chair, foot-stool and cushion, covered with cloth
of gold, on which he reposed himself. The proceedings of the corona-
tion thereupon commenced, the Bishop of London officiating in part
(the Archbishop of Canterbury by age and infirmity not being able to
sustain the whole duty), presenting the King to the people at three
sides of the theatre, as the rightful inheritor of the crown, the King
rising from his chair, and turning his face in each direction, and
being received with loud shouts and acclamations.]
" The Bishop of London afterwards proceeded to the altar followed
by the King and his suite, the regalia being carried before him. Being
arrived at the altar, he kneeled down, having first offered the pall [of
cloth of gold], as also a wedge of gold of a pound weight, which were
received by the Bishop of London and laid reverently on the altar.
The regalia were laid upon the altar, and the Bishop of Worcester
preached a sermon from a pulpit placed on the north side of the altar,
opposite to the King, the texts being the second verse of the twenty-
eighth chapter of Proverbs, the King having put on his cap of crimson
velvet, turned up with ermine, during the discourse.
" Sermon being ended the King took the oath as administered by
the Bishop of London. The ceremony of anointing took place on the
236 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Kini^'s breast, between liis shoulders, on both his shoulders, the two
bowinc^s of his arms, and on the crown of his liead ; during which a
rich pall of g()ld was hold over the King's head. After certain prayers,
the Lord Great- Chamberlain delivered the coif to tlie Archbishop of
Canterbury, who put it on the King's head, and immediately afterwards
the Dean of Westminster put the coif with the colobium sindonis, or
surplice, upon the King, and after a short prayer took the tissue-hose
and sandals from the altar, with which he arrayed the King ; as also
with the super-tunica, or close pall of cloth of gold, and girded the
same about him. The spurs were then delivered by the Dean to the
Lord Great-Chamberlain, who touched the King's heels with them, and
then returned them to the altar. The girding with the sword of state
next occurred, and the arrail, made of cloth of tissue, was placed about
the King's neck, and tied to the bowing of his arms, the Archbishop
standing before the King, with the Bishop of London on his right hand,
and saying : — 'receive the armil of sincerity and wisdom, as a token of
God's embracing, whereby all thy works may be defended against thine
enemies, both bodily and ghostly, through Christ our Lord. Amen.*
"The mantle, or open pall, of cloth of gold and lined with red
taffety was next put upon the King by the Dean of Westminster, with a
prayer by the Archbishop, who afterwards took St. Edward's crown
and blessed it, saying; — ' God, the crown of the faithful, re-bless and
sanctify this crown, that as the same is adorned with divers precious
stones, so this thy servant that weareth it, may be filled with thy
manifold graces of all precious virtues, through the King eternal, thy
Son our Lord. Amen,'
" In the meantime St. Edward's Chair was removed into the middle
of the aisle, and sat right over against the altar, whither the King went
and sat down in it, and then the Archbishop brought St. Edward's crown
from the altar, and put it upon his head. Whereupon, all the people
with loud and repeated shouts cried, ' God save the King.' And by a
signal then given the great ordnance from the Tower were also shot off.
" After the customary prayers, and an anthem, the master of the
jewel-house delivered to the Archbishop a King, who alter consecrating
it, placed it on the fourth finger of the right hand with the address and
prayer. The delivery of the sceptres was then made, after which the
Archbishops and Bishops present kneeled before the King, and were
kissed by him. In the meantime the chair of state was set above the
upper steps at the entrance upon the theatre, whither the King went
preceded by the bearers of the four swords, and attended by the Arch-
bishop, the Bishops, and great officers. ' Te Deum ' having been sung,
the King ascended his thione placed in the middle of the theatre
and the act of homage took place. During the performance of this
ceremony, the Lord High-Chancellor proclaimed the King's general
l)ardon, and medals of gold and silver, prepared for the Coronation,
were flung al)out by the treasurer of the Kings household. The Holy
Communion was next administered, after which the King descended
from his throne crowned with both the sceptres in his hands. The rest
of the regalia (which lay all this while on the altar) being de-
livered to the noblemen that brought them to the church were carried
before him to St. Edward's Chapel, where, on arrival, the King took off
St. Edward's crown, and delivered it to the liishop of Loudon, who laid
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 237
it on St. Edward's altar : all the rest of the regalia were given into th(t
hands of the Dean of Westminster, and laid there also. The King
entering the traverse erected in the middle of the wall at the back of
the high altar was disrobed of St. Edward's robes, which were after-
wards delivered to the Dean of Westminster to lay up with the regalia.
" The King was then arrayed in his purple robes, and then came
near to St. Edward's altar, where the Bishop of London stood ready
with the imperial crown in his hands, and set that upon the King's
head ; thereupon the King took the sceptre with the cross in his right
hand, with the globe in his left, and immediately the procession moved
into Westminster Hall.
" The Coronation banquet was of the most splendid character. The
King came forth from the Inner Court of Wards, in his royal robes,
with the crown on his head, and sceptre in his hand, having the three
swords borne naked before him, and went directly to his chair at the
royal table. The Bishop of London said grace. The first course was
carried in with great state, the Earl-Marshall, the Lord High-Steward,
and the Lord High-Constable escorting the service on horseback in
their robes, and wearing their coronets, their horses richly caparisoned ;
the dishes wei*e set on the table by the Earl of Lincoln, Carver, assisted
Lby the Earl Sewers. The usual feudal services were performed. A
flittle before the second course was served, Sir Edward Dymoke, the
King's Champion, entered the Hall. ' Largess' was proclaimed thrice
by Garter, principal king-of-arms, and the King's style in Latin,
[French, and English.
"The banquet having been prolonged, 'the day being far spent,'
bhe King washed and rose from dinner before the third course was
)rought in, and after disrobing in the Inner Court of Wards, went
[privately to his barge, and landed at Whitehall, ' where,' says Evelyn in
ihis brief narrative of the Coronation, ' was extraordinary feasting.'
Charles had been previously crowned (January 1, 1651)
[by the Scots, at Scone, the southern part of the country
being occupied at the time by Cromwell with a hostile army.
Charles, who was then only twenty, being anxious to get a
[footing in his father's lost dominions, consented, much
against his will, to accept the famous Solemn League and
Covenant, which inferred an active persecution of both popery
and prelacy, and the Scots accordingly received him amongst
I them, fought a battle for him against Cromwell, at Dunbar,
and now inaugurated him as sovereign. The crown was
placed upon the young king's head by the Marquis of
lArgyle, whom, ten years after, he sent to the scaffold for
I compliances with Cromwell. The Earl of Crawford carried
the sceptre, and after the crown had been placed on his
*^Majesty's head, delivered it into his hand with an exhorta-
tion, saying, " Sir, resave this sceptere, the sign of the royal
[power of the kingdom, that you may govern yourself right,
238 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and defend all Christian people committed by God to jour
charge, punishing the wicked, and protecting the just."
The rule, as settled by repeated orders of the Privy
Council of Scotland, was that the crown, the sceptre, and
the sword, constituting collectively the " honours " of the
Scottish kingdom, should be carried at the coronations and
"ridings" of the Parliament by the three peers respectively
in rank present.
At this coronation a very extraordinary sermon was
preached by " Master Robert Douglas," minister at Edin-
burgh, moderator of the General Assembly (from 2 Kings
xi. 12, 17). He delivered a bitter philippic against the
young king, and went so far as to compare his mother to
the wicked Athaliah. After the ceremony was concluded,
" the minister spoke to him a word of exhortation," being
in fact, an oration of considerable length.*
The coronation of James II. took place on St. George's
Day, April 23, 1685. " He was the last of our monarchs," says
Pegge, " to keep up the regal state in its full splendour.
His Majesty was extremely desirous of having his coronation
magnificent, and took such care that it should be recorded
by posterity as to command Sandford, Lancaster Herald, to
minute down the ceremonial, and have the whole procession
engraved." Noble, in his " History of the College of Arras,"
speaks of this work as a monument of the munificence of
King James and the costume of the period. f
The following is an abridged notice of the coronation
procession from Westminster Hall to the abbey, which com-
menced at twelve o'clock in the forenoon : —
"The Dean's Beadle of WestTriinster with his staff. The High Con-
stable of Westminster and his staff. Fifes, drums and trumpets. The
* Several editions of the " Form and Order of the Coronation of
Charles II. at Scone " were published in Aberdeen at the time, and were
reprinted in London (IGOO).
t Noble says, " The Earl Marshal " (who had a pique against Sand-
ford), "at the suggestion of some of the h(>ralds, suspended him, under
pretence tliat he liad not finislied the liistory of the coronation ; but
submitting, the suspension was soon taken off."' The book did not
answer expectation, for the engravings being many, and taking a long
time to execute, it was not Unished \intil Christmas, 1687, and the
Revolution being in the following year, tliere was no time to dispose of
the copies, so that the expenses were only just saved, which amounted
to nearly £000.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 239
six Clerks ili Chancery in gowns of black flowered satin. The closet-
keeper of the Chapel Royal. His Majesty's Chaplains in scarlet habits
as doctors, and wearing black silk tippets. The aldermen of London
in their scarlet gowns furred with foyns, and those who had passed the
chair wearing their gold chains. Masters in Chancery in their gowns
of black figured silk. The King's Serjeants at Law in their scarlet
gowns wearing their coifs. The King's Solicitor and Attorney in gowns
of black velvet. The King's Ancient Serjeants in scarlet gowns.
Esquires of the body in rich habits. Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber.
Parous of the Exchequer, and Justices of both Benches, in their judges'
robes. The Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and Lord Chief
Justice of the King's Bench in judges' robes, wearing their collars of
S.S. Children of the choir at Westminster, in surplices. Serjeant of
his Majesty's Vestry, in scarlet robe, with his gilt verge. Serjeant
Porter of his Majesty's palace, in scarlet robe, and with black ebony
staff. The children of the Chapel Royal in surplices. Gentlemen of
the Chapel Royal in surplices and mantles. Prebendaries of West-
minster in their surplices and rich copes. Dean of Westminster in a
rich cope of purple velvet, embroidered in gold and silver. Master of
the Jewel-house in a scarlet robe. Privy Councillors, not being peers,
in rich habits. Two Pursuivants-of-Arms, in coats of his Majesty's
arms, richly embroidered with gold and silver upon damask and satin,
and lined with crimson taffeta. Baronesses in their robes of estate,
with their coronets in their hands. Barons in their robes of estate,
with their coronets in their hands. Bishops in their rochets, with their
square caps in their hands. Two Pursuivants-of-Arms. Viscountesses
in their robes of estate. Two Heralds-of-Arms. Countesses in their
robes of estate. Earls in their robes of estate. Two Heralds-of-Arms.
Duchesses in their robes of estate. George Villiers, Duke of Bucking-
ham, in his robes of estate, with his coronet in his hand, and wearing
his collar of the order of the Garter. The two provincial Kings-of-
Arms. The great officers in their robes of estate. Two persons repre-
senting the Dukes of Aquitaine and Normandy, in robes of estate of
crimson velvet, lined with white sarcenet, with deep capes and broad
facings, all richly powdered with ermine, and with hats or caps of
estate, of crimson and gold podesway, furred with ermine, etc. The
Queen's Vice-Chamberlain. Two gentlemen ushers. The Queen's Lord
Chamberlain. The Queen's regalia, all borne by noblemen in their
robes of estate, with their coronets in their hands. The Queen, in
royal robes of purple velvet, richly furred with ermine, and bordered
with gold lace, with a circle of gold on her head, under a canopy
of cloth of gold.* Assistants to the Queen's train, four in number.
* Lord Fountainhall, in his " Diary," remarks that "the Queen was
not crowned with the imperial crown of England, but there was a new
one of gold, valued at £300,000 sterling, and the jewels she had on her
were reckoned at a million, which made her shine like ane angel."
According to Evelyn, however, the price of the diamonds, pearls,
and other jewels in the queen's crown amounted to £100,658 sterling.
He mentions having seen the bills attested by the goldsmith and jeweller
who set them. When completed, however, it was valued at £111,900.
240 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The Duchess of Norfolk in her robes of estate, bearing the Queen's
train. Two ladies of the bed-chamber. Two of her Majesty's
women. His Majesty's regalia, borne by noblemen in their robes oP
estate, according to their respective dignities, with their coronets in
their hands. St. Edward's Staff, borne by Kobert Bruce, Earl of Ayles-
bury. The Golden Spurs, by Henry Yelverton, Lord Grey. The Sceptre
with the Cross, called St. Edwards Sceptre, by Henry Mordaunt,
Earl of Peterborough. Curtana, by Charles Talbot, Earl of Shrews-
bury. The second Sword, by the Earl of Derby. The third Sword,
by the Earl of Pembroke. Garter, pnncipal King-of-Arms, wearing
the collar of S.S. and badge, or jewel, belonging to Garter, and carry-
ing his coronet of pure gold in his hand. The Lord Mayor of London
in a ciimson velvet gown, wearing a collar of S.S. of gold, and the city
jewel thereto appendant, and bearing the city mace, or sceptre. The
Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, in very rich habit, wearing his
badge in a gold chain, and bearing the black rod in his hand. The
Lord Great Chamberlain of England, in his robes of estate, with his'
coronet and white staff in his hand. The Sword of State in the
scabbard, borne by the Earl of Oxford, premier Earl of England, in his
robes of estate, and collar of the order. The Earl Marshal of England,
in his robes of estate, with his coronet and marshal's staff in his hand.
The Lord High Constable of England, with his coronet, and Constable's
staff or mace. St. Edward's Crown, with which his Majesty was
crowned, borne by the Duke of Ormond, Lord High Steward, in his
collar of the order, and with his white staff. The Sceptre with the
Dove, borne by the Duke of Albemarle, in his collar of the order. The
Orb w'ith the Cross, borne by the Duke of Somerset, in his collar of the
order. The King, in his royal robes of crimson velvet, furred with
ermine, and bordered with gold lace, with his cap of estate of crimson
velvet, turned up with ermine, under a canopy of cloth of gold. 'I'he
King's train supported by four noblemen's eldest sons. The captain of
the troop of horse-guards. The captain of the yeomen of the guard.
The captain of the band of gentlemen-pensioners. A gentleman of the
King's bed-chamber. The groom of the bed-chamber. The yeomen of
his Majesty's body-guard, in number one hundred, with partizans on
their shoulders (for many of them carried carabines that day), their
coats of red broad-cloth, with large breeches of the same.
The coronation robes of the queen were of purple velvet, furred with
ermine, and looped with ropes and tassels of pearls. Her kirtle, of rich
white and silver brocade, was ornamented with pearls and precious
stones, with a stomacher very elaborately set with jewels. On her head
was a cap of purple velvet, turned up with ermine, powdered with
gems, and a circlet of gold very richly adorned with large diamonds,
curiously set, with a row of pearls round the upper edge.
In the days of her sorrowful exile and widowhood she declared tliat
she had never taken any pleasure in the envied name of a queen, "yet
she sometimes spoke of the glories of her coronation, and descanted
with true feminine delight on the magnificence of the regalia prepared
for lier." She told the nuns of Chaillot " tliat no coronation of any
])receding King of England had been so well conducted."
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 241
" In this order," says Sandford, " did this glorious proceeding move
from Westminster Hall through the new Palace Yard, into King Street,
and so through the Great Sanctuary unto the west door of the collegiate
church of St. Peter, the passage being railed in on both sides, from the
north door of the hall to the entrance into the choir, and guarded by
his Majesty's horse and foot guards."
The incidents of the coronation service are most circum-
stantially related in Sandford's work. After the recognition
an anthem composed by Dr. Blow, organist to the king, was
sung, and the first oblation, consisting of a pall of cloth of
gold and an ingot, or wedge, of gold of a pound weight, were
offered. After the reading of the Litany, a sermon was
preached by the Bishop of Ely, who took his text from
1 Chron. xxix. 23 : " Then Solomon sat on the throne of the
Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered :
and all Israel obeyed him." The oath was next administered,
the king, with his hand on the Gospels, swearing to observe it.
The anointing oil * was applied to the palms of his Majesty's
hands, the breast, on both shoulders and between the
shoulders, on the bowings of both arms, and on the crown
of the head, with the customary invocations by the arch-
bishop. An anthem succeeded ; after which the investiture
with the colobium sindonis, the supertunica, buskins and
sandals, the spurs, the sword, the armil, the mantle or open
pall, and orb took place.
At the moment the king was crowned. Lord Dartmouth,
master-general of the ordnance, having ordered a signal to
be given from the battlements of the north cross of the
church, by two gunners, one of them took his station on the
inner roof over the area to observe the exact minute of
the event, and thereupon hastening to the battlements, com-
* This was, by the king's order, prepared by James St. Armand, Esq.,
the court apothecary, and was solemnly consecrated on the morning of
the coronation by the Dean of Westminster. It was exceedingly rich
and fragrant, and was so highly approved by their Majesties that the
fortunate preparer of it was afterwards rewarded with a fee of £200,
paid to him by a warrant from the lord chamberlain.
Messrs. Child, the famous bankers of Temple Bar, appear to have
done some business as jewellers, for in the private account of " the
King's and Queen's Majesties," under date 1687, May 17, we find the
following entries on the debtor side : — '' For loan of jewels for the Core-
nation to the Queen, £222 ; " " For diamond earrings to the Queen,
£300 ; " " For a ring for his Majesty's own hand, £215." On the same
page'fand the following are similar entries of rings given by James to
the ambassadors from France, Savoy, and other countries.
242 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
manded his companion to fire a musket, and lighted a port-
fire. Upon this the twenty-one great guns in St. James's
Park were fired, and upon the same signal, the ordnance of
the Tower being discharged by the master-gunner of Eng-
land, were echoed by several peals of cannon from the ships
and other vessels in the river.
The investiture with the ring and sceptres succeeded, and
the second oblation was made, consisting of a mark weight
of gold. During the enthroning and homage, gold and silver
medals of two sorts, commemorative of the king's and the
queen's coronation, were thrown amongst the people. A
verse-anthem, composed by Dr. Blow, concluded the king's
part of the coronation, after which the ceremony of anointing,
crowning, and enthroning the queen was proceeded with.
The return of the splendid procession to the hall was in
much the same order as its arrival at the abbey. The
banquet was of the most sumptuous character. Their
Majesties' table was furnished by Patrick Lamb, Esq., the
king's master-cook, with an ambigue of ninety-nine dishes.
The six other tables in the hall were supplied with a like
ambigue of twelve hundred and seventy dishes, which with
others made a total of twelve hundred and forty-five dishes.
Before the second course was brought in, the king's champion
entered the hall, completely armed, in one of his Majesty's
best suits of white armour, mounted on a white horse, richly
caparisoned, and performed the usual formalities, receiving
as his fee the bowl from which the king had drunk to him.
Their Majesties withdrew from the banquet at seven
o'clock, departing in the same manner as they came, " ex-
tremely well satisfied with the great order and magnificence
that appeared in every part of this glorious solemnity." *
The coronation of William III. and Queen Mary II. took
place at Westminster, April 11, 1G89. The ceremony did
not materially differ from preceding solemnities, except in
the alteration of the royal oath, which is mentioned in the
chapter on " The Coronation Oath." Evelyn, who was an
eye-witness of the solemnity, observes that "much of the
* Thrco relics, says Dean Stanley, of .Tames's coronation remain :
1. Tlio music, then lirst used, of Pnrcell and Blow (Planche, p. 52) ; 2.
Tlie tapestry, ])rescrved in Westminster School and in the Jerusalem
(/hamher, of which two of the i)ieces, those of the Circumcision and of
(Joliatli, can bo identified in Sandford's cn2:ravings; 3. The attendance
of the Westminster scholars (.Sundford, 83).
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 243
splendour of the proceeding was abated by the absence of
divers who should have contributed to it, there being but
five bishops, four judges (no more being yet sworn), and
several noblemen and great ladies wanting."
The Archbishop of Canterbury excused himself from
officiating at the coronation,* which was performed by the
Bishop of London, assisted by the Archbishop of York. Dr.
Barnet, Bishop of Salisbury, preached the sermon.
The coronation of Queen Anne was solemnized on St,
Greorge's Day, April 23, 1702, O.S. An account of the
ceremony is preserved in the official records of the College of
Arms and manuscripts in the British Museum. The account
in the London Gazette is ver}'- brief. Blanche, in " E/Cgal
Records," has given the whole of the proceedings. Anne,
although only thirty-eight years of age when she ascended
the throne, had suffered much from gout and corpulence, and
in consequence occasionally lost the use of her feet. This
happened at the time of her coronation, and she was obliged
to be carried in some of the processions in a low arm-chair,
instead of walking.
The ceremonial of the installation was, in most respects,
similar to former precedents, and was conducted with great
state. The Archbishop of York preached the coronation sermon
from Isaiah xlix. 23, " Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and
their queens thy nursing mothers," In the London Gazette
the act of homage is thus mentioned : " Then the Holy Bible
was presented to her Majesty, and she vouchsafed to kiss the
Bishops, and being enthroned, first, his Royal Highness
Prince George, and then the Archbishop and Bishops, and
lastly, the temporal lords did then homage, and seemingly
kissed her Majesty's left cheek, and afterwards touched the
crown, whilst tlie treasurer of the household threw about the
coronation medals."
The banquet in the hall was of the usual sumptuous
character. Prince George of Denmark sat at the queen's left
hand, two of her Majesty's women sitting at her feet. " The
Lord the Sewer, with the Lord his assistant, went to the
* Evelyn, in his " Diary " (June 8, 1688), says, " This day the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, with the Bishops of Ely, Chichester, St. Asaph,
Bristol, Peterborough, and Bath and Wells, were sent from the Privy
Council prisoners to the Tower, for refusing to give baile for their
appearance, on their not reading the Declaration for liberty of con-
science ; they refused to give baile as it would have prejudiced their
jpeerage."
244 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
dresser of the Kitchen, where the Master of the Horse to her
Majesty, as Serjeant of the Silver-scullery, called for a dish
of meat, wiped the bottom of the dish, and likewise the cover
within and without, took assay of that dish, and covered it,
then delivered that dish and the rest of the hot meat to the
Gentlemen Pensioners, who carried it to the Queen's table,"
and " placed it was thereon by the Lord Carver, with the
help of the Lord the Sewer, and his assistant."
The queen's champion had his challenge proclaimed
against any who should deny or gainsay the Sovereign Lady
Queen Anne of England, Scotland, France, and L^eland, De-
fender of the Faith, etc. ; and the other usual formalities
were strictly observed.
'' Dinner being ended" (London Gazette)^ "and all things
performed with great splendour and magnificence, about half
an hour past eight in the evening, her Majesty returned
to St. James's ; the day concluding with bonfires, illumina-
tions, ringing of bells, and other demonstrations of a general
satisfaction and joy."
The accession to the throne of the house of Hanover in
the person of George L was inaugurated by a splendid
coronation ceremonial (October 20, 1714), at which it was
remarked that no such appearance of lords, spiritual and
temporal, had ever been seen since the Conquest.
His Majesty came to Westminster about nine in the
morning, and retired into the Court of Wards, until the
nobility, and those who performed the first part of the pro-
ceeding, being put into order by the heralds, came in solemn
procession to Westminster Hall, where his Majesty being
seated under a canopy of state, the swords and spurs were
presented to him, and laid upon the table at the upper end of
the hall. Then the dean and prebendaries of Westminster
having brought the crown and other regalia, with the Bible,
chalice, and patena, they were presented severally to his
Majesty, and shortly after were, together with the swords and
spurs, delivered to the lords appointed to carry them.
The procession to the abbey was in the usual order. His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales followed the Lord Great
Chamberlain of England, wearing his robes of estate of
crimson velvet, furred with ermine, his coronet set with*
precious stones, and cap borne by the Earl of Hertford on
a crimson velvet cushion, his train sup]iorted by two grooms
of the bed-chamber. After the officials bearing the regalia,
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 245
the king appeared in liis royal robes of crimson velvet, furred
with ermine and bordered with a rich broad gold lace, wearing
the collar of St. George, and on his head a cap of estate of
crimson velvet, turned up with ermine, adorned with a circle
of gold, enriched with diamonds, supported by the Bishops of
Durham and Bath and Wells, under a canopy borne by the
Barons of the Cinque Ports. On arriving at the abbey, the
Archbishop of Canterbury began the coronation proceedings
with the recognition, which ended with a great shout from
each side of the theatre ; then his Majesty made his first
oblation, and the lords who bore the regalia presented them
at the altar; the Litany was sung, and after the Epistle, Gospel,
and Nicene Creed, the Bishop of Oxford preached a sermon
fi'om the text. Psalm cxviii. 24, " This is the day which the
Lord hath made ; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
After sermon, his Majesty repeated and signed the de-
claration or test, made in the reigns of William and Mary
and Queen Anne, and took the oath, which he subscribed ;
and in King Edward's chair, placed in the middle of the
area before the altar, was anointed, then presented with the
spurs, girt with the sword, then vested with his purple robes,
and having received the ring, the orb, and the sceptres, was
solemnly crowned about two o'clock, the people expressing
their joy with loud and repeated acclamations, the drums
beating, trumpets sounding, and the great guns being dis-
charged; whereupon the Prince of Wales, and the peers put
on their coronets, and the bishops their caps, the Dukes of
Aquitaine and Normandy, or their representatives, their
hats,* and the kings-of-arms their coronets.
* " King George was crowned King of France, as well as of Great
Britain and Ireland. In proof of his right, two persons representing the
Dukes of Aquitaine and Normandy consorted with peers of more sterling
coinage. These persons were, on this occasion, a couple of players.
They wore crimson velvet mantles, with white sarcenet, furred with
miniver, and powdered with ermine. Each of these held in his hand a
cap of cloth of gold, also furred and powdered with ermine. They did
homage to the king, as the English peers did, and when these put on
their coronets in the royal presence, the sham dukes clapped their caps
jauntily on their heads.
** This part of the spectacle was the only part that afforded amuse-
jnent to the Jacobite party " (Doran's " London in the Jacobite
Times").
The absurd assumption of King of France was renounced by George
III. on the occasion of the Peace of Amiens, in 1802, although such
renunciation was not one of the stipulations of the treaty.
246 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Then the Holy Bible was presented to his Majesty by
the archbishop ; and his Majesty having received the bene-
diction, sat down in his chair, and then kissed the archbishops
and bishops, and being enthroned, the Prince of Wales, and
the lords spiritual and temporal, performed homage, seemingly
kissing the king's left cheek, and afterwards touching the
crown. The second oblation being made, the king received
the Holy Communion, and, after the final prayers, retired into
King Edward's chapel ; and being vested in his robes of
velvet, and the procession being again put in order, his
Majesty returned to Westminster Hall, wearing his crown of
state, and the peers and kings-of-arms their coronets.
A.t the coronation banquet the king had on his left
hand the Prince of Wales, and the various services were per-
formed with great splendour, his Majesty's champion doing
his part with grace and dignity. About seven o'clock the
king returned to St. James's.
George II. was crowned, with his consort. Queen Caroline,
October 11, 1727. The circumstances attending this corona-
tion present but little change from those of the preceding
ceremonial. " His Majesty," remarks Lord Hervey, "despite
his low stature and fair hair, which heightened the weakness
of his expression at this period, was, on this occasion, every
inch a king."
The national enthusiasm for a sovereign was, perhaps,
never more fully displayed than at the coronation of George
III. and Queen Charlotte, September 22, 1761, the august
pair having been united in marriage only a fortnight before.
"Never," remarks Mr. Jesse (in his Life of George HI.),
" shone a more beautiful morn on seas of heads, on tapestried
balconies, on glittering troops, on waving plumes, and blazoned
heraldry. Thousands of persons slept all night in the open
air, and all London poured forth to greet their young King
and his gentle consort. That part of the ceremony which
took place in Westminster Abbey, passed ofE with its usual
solemnity, and more than its usual tediousness. But when
later in the day the King and Queen entered the great hall
of William Ruf us, — when, at their entrance, a thousand lights,
as if by enchantment, suddenly illuminated the colossal ban-
queting room of the Norman kings, — when the eye fell upon
long galleries filled with gorgeous beauty, on peers and
peeresses robed in velvet and ermine, on the plumed hats of
the knights of the Bath, — on the judges in their scarlet robes,
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 247
and on prelates in their vestments, — on pursuivants and
heralds, — then, indeed, was presented as magnificent a
spectacle as the mind can well imagine." Gray, the poet,
writes, " The instant the Queen's canopy entered, fire was
given to all the lustres at once by trains of prepared flax
that reached from one to the other. To me it seemed an
interval of not half a minute before the whole was in a blaze
of splendour. It is true that for that half minute it rained
fire upon the heads of all the spectators, the flax falling in
large flakes ; and the ladies. Queen and all, were in no small
terror, but no mischief ensued. It was out as soon as it fell,
and the most magnificent spectacle I ever beheld, remained.
The King bowing to the lords as he passed, with the crown
on his head, and the sceptre and orb in his hands, took his
place with great majesty and g-race. So did the Queen with
her crown, sceptre, and rod. Then supper was served in gold
plate. The Earl Talbot, Duke of Bedford, and the Earl of
Effingham in their robes, all three on horseback prancing and
curveting like the hobby horses in the ' Rehearsal,' ushered
in the courses to the foot of the Jiaut-pas. Between the
courses the Champion performed his part with applause. The
Earl of Denbigh carved for the King ; the Earl of Holder-
ness for the Queen."
" The King's whole behaviour at the coronation," writes
Bishop Newton, " was justly admired and commended by
every one, and, particularly, his manner of ascending and
seating himself on the throne after his coronation. No actor
in the character of Pyrrhus, in the ' Distressed Mother ' (a
tragedy of Ambrose Philips), not even Booth himself, who
was celebrated for it in the Spectator, ever ascended the
throne with so much grace and dignity."
Horace Walpole, who was a spectator at the coronation,
has also described the scene in one of the most graphic of his
charming letters : " For the Coronation, if a puppet show
could be worth a million, that is : the multitudes, balconies,
guards, and processions, made Palace Yard the liveliest
spectacle in the world. The Hall was the most glorious. The
blaze of lights, the richness and variety of habits, the cere-
monial, the benches of peers and peeresses, frequent and full,
was as awful as a pageant can be, and yet, for the King's
sake, and my own, I never wish to see another. My Lady
Harrington covered with all the jewels she could borrow,
hire, or seize, and with the air of Roxana, was the finest
248 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
figure in the distance. She complained to George Selwyn
that she was to walk with Lady Portsmouth, who would have
a wig and a stick. ' Pooh,' said he, ' you would only look as
if you were taken up by the constable.' She told this every-
where, thinking that the reflection was only on my Lady
Portsmouth. Lady Pembroke, alone at the head of the coun-
tesses, was the picture of majestic modesty. The Duchess of
Kichmond, as pretty as nature and dress, with no pains of
her own, could make her ; Lady Spencer, Lady Sutherland,
and Lady Northampton very pretty figures ; Lady Kildare,
still beauty itself, if not a little too large. The ancient peeresses
were, by no means, the worst party. Lady Westmoreland still
handsome, and with more dignity than all ; the Duchess of
Queensbury looked well, though her locks milkwhite. Lady
Albemarle, very genteel ; nay, the middle age had some
good representatives in Lady Holderness, Lady Rochfort, and
Lady Strafford, the perfectest little figure of all. My Lady
Suffolk ordered her robes, and I dressed part of her head, as
I made some of my Lord Hertford's dress, for, you know, no
profession comes amiss to me, from a tribune of the people to
a habit maker. Do not imagine that there were not figures
as excellent on the other side : old Exeter who told the Queen
he was the handsomest man she ever saw ; old Effingham,
and a Lady Say and Scale with her hair powdered, and her
tresses black, were an excellent contrast to the handsome.
Lord B put rouge npon his wdfe and the Duchess of
Bedford, in the Painted Chamber ; the Duchess of Queens-
bury told me of the latter that she looked like an orange
peach, half red and half yellow. The coronets of the peers
and their robes disguised them strangely. It required all
the beauty of the Dukes of Richmond and Marlborough to
make them noticed. One there was, though of another
species, the noblest figure I ever saw, the High Constable of
Scotland, the Lord Errol. As one saw him in a space capable
of containing him, one admired him. At the royal wedding,
dressed in tissue, he looked like one of the giants at Guild-
hall, newly gilt. It added to the energy of his person that
he was then acting so considerable a part in that very Hall,
where, so few years ago, one saw his father. Lord Kil-
marnock, condemned to the block.* The Champion acted his
* Lord Errol was accounted tlio handsomest niAn in Britain. At
the coronation ho neglected, by accident, to take off liis cap when the
king entered. He a])ologized for his negligence in the most respectful
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGN^. 249
part admirably, and dashed down his gauntlet with proud
defiance. His associates, Lord Effingham, Lord Talbot, and
the Duke of Bedford, were woeful."
Amongst many anecdotes connected with the coronation
of George III., it has been noticed of Archbishop Seeker that
he had baptized the king, confirming him when Prince of
Wales, marrying him at St. James's, and crowning him at
Westminster.
The account of the coronation of George lY., an event of
the greatest splendour and cost in modern times, has been,
in part, published, but not completed; two portions only having
appeared.* Of course, the details of the ceremonial are most
ample, derived from contemporary sources, for no pains were
spared to render this event illustrious in every respect. But
still, notwithstanding the enormous expense incurred (amount-
ing to £238,238), there was a lack of the enthusiasm and
earnest good-will shown at the installation of his august
father. The character of the monarch as Prince of Wales
was highly exceptionable ; his intrigues at court, his entire
disregard of filial respect and obedience, and his treatment
of his unfortunate and weak-minded consort had alienated
from him the good-will and devotion of many of his subjects.
Nevertheless, as a pageant from its commencement to the end,
as a mere matter of ceremonial and lavish display, the
coronation of George lY. (July 19, 1821) is, so far, remarkable.
" During the arrangements for the assembling of the peers and officials
for the procession from Westminster Hall to the Abbey, the King was
in his chamber, near the south entrance to the Hall. The peers were
then called over in the House of Lords by deputy Garter, and proceeded
to the Hall, where the other persons appointed 'to walk in the procession
manner, but his Majesty, with great complacency, entreated him to be
covered, as he looked upon his presence at that solemnity as a very par-
ticular honour. As hereditary High Constable of Scotland, his family
charter to this office dated from 1316.
* The " Illustrated History of the Coronation of George IV." contained
forty-five splendidly coloured plates, atlas folio, at the price of fifty
guineas per copy. Sir George Naylor lost a considerable sum by the
publication, though Government voted £5000 towards the expenses.
Sir George also undertook a much more costly memorial of this
coronation for George IV., but it was never completed. The portion
executed contains seventy-three coloured drawings, finished like
enamels, on velvet and white satin. The portraits are very accurate
likenesses, and many of the coronets have rubies, pearls, and brilliants,
set in gold; each portrait costing fifty guineas, first hand.
250 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
had been previonsly marshalled on the right and loft by the officers of
arms ; leaving an open passage in the middle, so that the procession
with the regalia might pass uninterruptedly up the hall.
'* His Majesty, preceded by the great officers of state, entered the Hall
a few minutes after ten, and took his seat in the chair of state at the
table, when a gun was fired. The deputy Lord Great Chamberlain, the
Lord High Constable, and the deputy Earl Marshal, ascended the steps,
and placed themselves at the outer side of the table. The Lord High
Steward, the great officers, deputy Garter, and Black Rod, arranged
themselves near the chair of state ; the royal tx'ain-bearers on each side
of the throne.
"The Lord Chamberlain, assisted by officers of the jewel-house, then
brought the Sword of State to the Lord High Constable, who delivered
it to the deputy Lord Great Chamberlain, by whom it was laid upon the
table; then Cnrtana, or the sword of mercy, with the two Swords of
Justice, being in like manner presented, were drawn from their scab-
bards by the deputy Lord Great Chamberlain, and laid on the table
befoi'e his Majesty; after which the gold Spurs were delivei'cd, and also
placed on the table. Immediately after, a procession, consisting of the
Dean and prebendaries of Westminster, in their surplices and rich copes,
proceeded up the hall from the upper end thereof, in manner follow-
ing: — Serjeant of the Vestry in a scarlet mantle. Children of the
King's Chapel, in scarlet mantles, four abreast. Children of the choir
of Westminster, in surplices, four abreast. Gentlemen of the King's
Chapel, in scai'let mautlcs, four abreast. Choir of Westminster, in
surplices, four abreast. Sub-dean of the Chapel Royal. Two pnrsni-
vants-of-Arms. Two heralds. The two provincial Kings-of-Arms.
The Dean of Westminster, earring St. Edward's Crown, on a cushion of
cloth of gold. First prebendary of Westminster, carrying the Orb.
Second prebendary, carrying the Sceptre with the Dove. Third pre-
bendary, carrying the Sceptre with the Cross. Fourth prebendary,
carrying St. Edward's Staff. Fifth prebendary, carrying the Chalice
and Patina. Sixth prebendary, carrying the Bible.
" In this procession they made their reverences, first at the lower end
of the Hall, secondly about the middle, where both the choirs opening
to the right and left a passage, through which the officers of arms
passing opened likewise on each side, the seniors placing themselves
nearest towards the steps : then the Dean and prebendaries having come to
the front of the steps made their third reverence. This being done the
Dean and |)rebendaries being come to the foot of the steps, deputy Garter
preceding them (he having waited their coming there), ascended the
steps, and approaching near the table before the King, made their last
reverence. The Dean then presented the crown to the Lord High
Constable, who delivered it to the deputy Lord High Chamberlain, and
it was by him placed on the table before the King. The rest of the
regalia was severally delivered by each prebendary, on his knee, to
the Dean, by him to the Lord High Constable, by him to the deputy
Lord Great Chamberlain, and by him laid on the table. The regalia
being thus delivered, the prebendaries and Doan returned to the middle
of the hall. His Majesty having commaiKhHl d(^puty Garter to snmmon
the noblemen and Bishops who were to bear the regalia, the deputy
Lord Great Chamberlain, then taking up the several swords, sceptres,
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 251
the orb, and crown, placed them in the hands of those by whom they were
to be carried. St. Edward's Staff, by the Marqais of Salisbury. The
Spurs, by Lord Calthorpe, as deputy to the Baroness Grey de Ruthyn.
The Sceptre with the cross, by the Marquis Wellesley. The pointed
Sword of temporal justice, by the Earl of Galloway. The pointed Sword
of spiritual justice, by thogDuke of Northumberland. Curtana, or sword
of mercy, by the Duke of T^ewcastle. The Sword of State, by the Duke
of Dorset. The Sceptre with the dove, by the Duke of Rutland. The
Orb, by the Duke of Devonshire. St. Edward's Crown, by the Mar-
quis of Anglesey, as Lord High Steward. The Patina, by the Bishop of
Gloucestei-. The Chalice, by the Bishop of Chester. The Bible, by the
Bishop of Ely.
"The procession to the Abbey then commenced ; the second gun was
fired ; blue cloth had been spread from the throne in the Hall to the
great steps in the church. An anthem ' Oh Lord, grant the King in
long life, &c.,' was sung, with his Majesty's band playing, the sounding
of trumpets, and the beating of drums. The Kir.g entered the west
door of the Abbey church at eleven o'clock, taking his place on a chair
placed below the throne, when the Recognition was made, and the first
oblation offered, consisting of an altar-cloth of gold, and a wedge of
gold of a pound weight. The litany and communion service followed,
succeeded by the sermon, preached by the Archbishop of York from the
text of 2 Sam. xxiii. 3, 4 : ' He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling
in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when
the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.' The Oath was next
administered, the King advancing to the altar, uncovered, and laying
his right hand on the Holy Gospel in the great Bible, kneeling upon
the steps, promising to perform the same. After the anointing, the
presentation of the Spurs and Sword, and the girding and oblation of
the latter, took place ; then the investing with the Armil and royal robe,
and the delivery of the Orb. After the investiture with the Ring and
Sceptre, the King was crowned amidst the acclamations of the people,
the sounding of trumpets, and the firing of the great guns at the Tower.
The presentation of the Holy Bible, the benediction, and the singing of
' Te Deum ' succeeded, and the homage was performed, the treasurer
of the household throwing amoiig the people medals of gold and silver
as largess. With the Holy Communion and final prayers the ceremony
of the installation concluded, the return of the procession to the Hall
being more irregular than on its arrival at the Abbey, owing probably
to the great fatigue which all the parties had undergone, and their
anxiety to get to their seats; in this latter respect the aldermen shewed
an undue haste, breaking the line of the procession, and taking by
storm one of the tables, an irregularity which was corrected by the
heralds, and the civic magistrates were re-conducted to their former
station in the procession.
" The entrance of the King into the banquet-hall was announced soon
after five o'clock by one of the principal heralds. His Majesty was
followed by the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Dukes of York, Clarence,
Cambridge, Sussex, and Gloucester, and Prince Leopold, who appeared
in the full dress of the Order of the Garter. The King wore the same
robes as those with which he had been invested in the Abbey, and the
same crown. In his right hand he carried the sceptre, and in his left the
252 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
orb, which, on taking his seat on the throne, he delivered to two peers
stationed at his side for the purpose of receiving thera. The first course
consisted of twenty-four gold covers and dishes, carried by as many
gentlemen pensioners. Before the dishes were placed on the table,
the great doors at the bottom of the Hall were thrown open to the sound
of trumpets and clarionets, and the Duke o^Wellington, as Lord High
Constable, the Marquis of Anglesey, as Lord High Steward, and Lord
Howard of Effingham, as deputy Earl Marshal, entered on horseback.
The two former were mounted on beautiful white horses gorgeously
ti'apped, and the latter on his favourite dun-coloured Arabian.
" Before the second course the deputy appointed to officiate as King's
Champion entered the Hall with his supporters and attendants, and the
usual challenge was given, no ' false traitor ' being present to answer the
defiance. The proclamation of the royal style, and the services in pur-
suance of claims, were next performed, and the sumptuous banquet
concluded with the King's health being drank by all present in the Hall,
with three times three, and the singing of the national anthem. The
Duke of Norfolk then said, ' The King thanks his peers for drinking his
health ; he does them the honour to drink their health and that of his
good people.' His Majesty rose, and bowing three times to vai'ious
parts of the immense concourse, he drank the health of all present.
The King quitted the Hall at a quarter before eight o'clock ; after-
wards the company was indiscriminately admitted to partake of such
refreshments as remained on the table of the peers."
The coronation of William IV. and Qujsen Adelaide
(September 8, 1831), although by no means approaching
the gorgeous character of the preceding ceremony, was dis-
tinguished by a due regard to the public purse, costing
only one-fifth of the money lavished at the installation of
George IV. It was this sensible plea that furnished Earl
Grey, in the House of Lords (in the preceding August), with
an answer to Viscount Strangford's accusations of " un-
seemly mutilations " of the intended coronation ceremonial :
" It was the hope of the king and his ministers to prevent a
heavy burden from falling on the people : to preserve all
necessary forms, to dispense with many that were unsuited
to the age, and yet not to do anything inconsistent wath due
respect to the peerage, or the dignity of the crown." A vote
of £50,000 was granted to cover the whole expense of the
coronation.
" At daybreak on the day of the ceremonial the bells were rung, at
five o'clock a royal salute was fired in the Green Park, and at si.x all the
household troops were in attendance. In the whole lino of route, tem-
])()rary balconies had been erected in every part where a view of the
]>ageant could be obtained. In front of the grand west entrance of the
Abbey, a temporary building had been erected as a robing. room for
their Majesties j it was a structure of wood and canvas painted in the
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 253
style of Henry III., the architectural design and ornaments being appro-
priate, and the painting excellent. The central doorway of the building
led into a passage, on each side of which were elegantly furnished
apartments for their Majesties and their immediate attendants. In the
interior of the Abbey, the ornaments of the throne, platform, &c., were
in the best taste, and every arrangement had been made for the accom-
modation of those who had assembled to witness the ceremony.
"At ten o'clock the military and carriages appointed to form the
procession from the palace, moved on under a royal salute — his Majesty's
being the only carriage that entered the quadrangle, all the others
stopping to take up at the outer gate. The procession passed through
Pall Mall, Charing Cross, Parliament Street, and King Street in the
following order : — -A squadron of Life Guards. The Duke and Duchess
of Gloucester and attendants, in their Royal Highnesses' two carriages,
each drawn by six horses, and escorted by Life Guards. The Duchess
of Cambridge and attendants, in her Royal Highness's two carriages,
each drawn by six horses, and escorted by Life Guards. The Duke of
Sussex and attendants, and the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland and
attendants, in their carriages, escorted by Life Guards. The King's
Barge-Master, and the King's forty-eight watermen in scarlet clothes
and wearing badges. Their Majesties' Carriages, ten in number, each
drawn by six horses, and containing oflBcials and royal attendants. A
squadron of Life Guards. His Majesty's equerries and aides-de-camp on
horseback; other officials, yeomen of the guard, grooms, footmen, &c.
The State Coach, drawn by eight cream-coloured horses, conveying the
King and the Queen, the mistress of the robes, and lady of the bed-
chamber.
" On the first appearance of the state carriage, a simultaneous cheer
arose from all present, with every demonstration of loyalty, which con-
tinued throughout the whole progress, but nothing could surpass the
enthusiasm displayed in the grand area in front of the western entrance
of the Abbey. It was nearly eleven o'clock when their Majesties arrived,
and they retired with their suite to the apartments before mentioned,
while the Regalia were distributed in the Jerusalem Chamber to the
persons whose ofiice it was to bear them, and the procession formed at
the great west entrance. It being announced to their Majesties that all
was prepared, the procession moved into the church : — Officers of Arms.
Prebendaries and Dean of Westminster. His Majesty's Vice-Chamber-
lain. Comptroller of his Majesty's Household. The Lord Chamberlain
and Lord Privy Seal. Treasurer of his Majesty's Household, bearing
the crimson bag with the medals. The Lord Steward and Lord Presi-
dent of the Council. The Lord Chancellor of Ireland and the Lord High
Chancellor. The Archbishop of Canterbury. The Princesses of the
Blood Royal. The Queen's Vice Chamberlain. The Queen's Regalia. The
Queen, attended on either side by the Archbishop of Armagh and the
Bishop of Winchester. The King's Regalia : St Edward's Staff borne
by the Duke of Grafton; the Golden Spurs, by the Marquis of Hastings ;
the Sceptre with the Cross, by the Duke of St. Albans ; Curtana, by the
Marquis of Salisbury ; the second Sword, by the Marquis of Downshire ;
the third Sword, by the Marquis of Cleveland. Black Rod, and Garter,
and Deputy Lord Great Chamberlain of England. The Princes of the
Blood Royal. The High Constable of Ireland, the Duke of Leinster ;
254 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
the Hi>h Constable of Scotland, the Earl of Errol. The Earl Marshal
of England ; tlie Sword of State borne by Earl Grey. The Lord High
Constable of England, the Duke of Wellington. The Sceptre with the
Dove, borne by the Duke of Richmond. St. Edward's Crown, borne by
the Lord High Steward, the Duke of Hamilton. The Orb, borne by the
Duke of Somerset. The Bible, by the Bishop of Chichester; the Patina,
by the Bishop of Carlisle; the Chalice, by the Bishop of Rochester.
The King, in his royal crimson robe of State ; his Majesty's train borne
by six eldest sons of Dukes. The Bishop of Bath and Wells and the
Archhishop of York on either side of the King. Master and Groom of
the robes ; Gold-stick of the Life Guards ; Groom of the Stole ; Master
of the Horse ; Captain of the yeoman of the guard ; Captain of the band
of gentlemen-pensioners; Lords of the bed-chamber j Yeomen of the
guard ; Exons of yeomen of the gnards.
" When the King and Queen had reached the smaller chairs of state,
on the east side of the choir, the ceremony of the recognition took place,
the King standing up in his chair and shewing himself to the people,
who cried, as with one voice, ' God save King William ! ' The trumpets
then sounded, the oblation next took place, the litany was read, the
Archbishop entered on the communion service, after which the Bishop
of London preached the sermon. The ceremonies of the oath ; the
anointing ; the investing with the supertunica ; the spurs ; the sword ;
offering the sword; investing with the mantle; the orb; St. Edward's
crown; the investiture with the ring and sceptre; the gloves (presented
by the Duke of Norfolk); the putting on of the crown ; the presenting
of the Holy Bible ; the benediction, enthronement, and homage, then
followed, which was succeeded by a general scramble for the medals.
" The ceremony of anointing, crowning, and enthroning the Queen
next took place, great cheering attending the whole of the ceremony.
Their Majesties then received the sacrament ; appropriate anthems
were performed, and when the ceremony was concluded the trumpets
again sounded. Their Majesties entered St. Edward's Chapel, where
the King delivered the sceptre with the dove, to the Archbishop, and
was disrobed of his robe of state, and arrayed in his royal robe of purple
velvet. At three o'clock the King and the Queen left the chapel, when,
all being in readiness, their Majesties and the Princes and Princesses
proceeded out of the choir, attended as before, their Majesties wearing
their crowns ; the King bearing the Sceptre with the Cross in his right
hand, and in his left the orb ; the Queen bearing in her right hand her
Sceptre with the Cross, and in her left the ivory rod with the dove;
the peeresses wearing their coronets ; the Archbishops and Bishops
supporting their Majesties wearing their caps, and the kings-of-arms
their crowns. The Dean, prebendaries, and Bishops, who carried the
Bible, the chalice and patina, remained in the choir. On arriving at the
west door of the Abbey, Garter king-of-arms proclaimed the King's
stylo, and the sword and the regalia were received by the officers of the
Jewel office. After reinaining a short time in the robing-room, their
Majest'es, the Princes, and Princesses, returned to St. James's in the
same order in which tliey came, the King and Queen continuing to
wear their crowns and robes,
" There was a grand dinner given at St. James's. In the evening
the illuminations in the metropolis were splendid and general. The
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 255
royal banquet in Westminster Hall, with its attendant ceremonies, par-
ticularly that of the King's Champion, and other feudal services hitherto
performed on that occasion, were dispensed with: it may be 'sic transit'
for ever." *
The coronation of Queen Victoria on June 28, 1838, was
of a peculiarly interesting character ; the youth and amiable
character of the young monarch securing the universal
homage of the nation. Perhaps no coronation, excepting
that of George III., excited so greatly the enthusiasm and
devotion of the people, and however the august ceremonial
"' Macaulay, in one of his letters to his sister (September 9, 1831),
gives a brief and lively account of the impression made upon him by
the coronation ceremonial : " Our gallery [that for the House of Com-
mons] was immediately over the great altar. The whole vast avenue of
lofty pillars was directly in front of us. At eleven the guns fired, the
organ struck up, and the procession entered. All down that immense
vista of gloomy arches, there was one blaze of scarlet and gold. First
came heralds in coats stiff with embroidered lions, unicorns, and harps ;
then nobles bearing the regalia, with pages in rich dresses, carrying
their coronets on cushions ; then the Dean and Prebendaries of West-
minster in splendid copes ; then a crowd of beautiful girls and women,
who at a distance looked altogether beautiful, attending on the Queen.
Her train of purple velvet and ermine was borne by six of these fair
creatures. All the great ofiicers of state in full robes, the Duke of
Wellington with his Marshal's staff, the Duke of Devonshire with his
white rod. Lord Grey with the Sword of State, and the Chancellor with
his Seals, came in procession. Then all the royal Dukes with their trains
borne behind them, and at last the King, leaning on two Bishops. . . .
The whole Abbey was one blaze of gorgeous dresses, mingled with lovely
faces.
" The Queen behaved admirably, with wonderful grace and dignity.
The King very awkwardly. The Duke of Devonshire looked as if he
came to be crowned instead of his master. I never saw so princely a
manner and air. The Chancellor looked like Mephistopheles behind
Margaret in the church. The ceremony was much too long, and some
parts of it were carelessly performed. The Archbishop mumbled. The
Bishop of London preached, well enough, indeed, but not so effectively
as the occasion required ; and above all, the bearing of the King made
the foolish parts of the ritual appear monstrously ridiculous, and
deprived many of the better parts of their proper effect. Persons who
were at a distance did not, perhaps, feel this, but I was near enough to
see every turn of his finger, and every glance of his eye. The moment
of the crowning was extremely fine. When the Archbishop placed the
crown on the head of the King, the trumpets sounded, and the whole
audience cried out ' God save the King ! ' All the Peers and Peeresses
put on their coronets, and the blaze of splendour through the Abbey
seemed to be doubled. The King was then conducted to the raised
throne, where the Peers successively did him homage, each of them
kissing his cheek, and touching the crown."
256 CKOWXS AND CORONATIONS.
may have been eclipsed in lavish display and grandeur by
that attending the installation of George IV., the pageant —
for such it always must be — received its best illustration in
the aiiection and good-will of the people to a most refined,
accomplished, and virtuous sovereign. This coronation was
especially distinguished by the number and distinction of the
persons officiating. The representatives of foreign potentates
(so we read in the journals of that time), never made such
a display of magnificence as at this event. Mai-shal Soult,
Duke of Dalmatia, represented the court of France, and
received the most popular ovation; the representatives of the
Sultan being the next thus distinguished.
" Soon after nine o'clock the procession left the palace, the discharge
of a gun announcing that the Queen had entered the state-carriage.
The equipages of the foreign ambassadors formed the first part of the
line. The Duchess of Kent was the first of the royal family who passed
through the gateway, and she was received with loud cheering by the
multitude, as were also the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge, but the
popular feeling was roused to the utmost when the young Queen
appeared. The route to. Westminster through Piccadilly, St. James's
Street, Pall Mall, and Charing Cross was thronged by a dense mass of
spectators of the most jubilant character. The scene at the entrance
into the Abbey was most striking, where arrangements had been made
for receiving her Majesty. At ten o'clock the great officers of State had
assembled : about eleven o'clock the Duke de Nemours arrived at the
Abbey. The ambassadors then came, and met with a warm reception.
Prince Estcrhazy excited admiration from his incompai'able display of
diamonds, but the most enthusiastic reception was reserved for the
Duke of Wellington. At half -past eleven the officers of the army, and
the Dean and prebendaries of Westminster clothed in full canonicals,
marshalled themselves in order to receive her Majesty, who at length
arrived, attended by the Mistress of the Eobes (the Duchess of Suther-
land), and the Master of the Ilorse (the Earl of Albemarle). The Queen
bowed repeatedly to the enthusiastic multitude, and the deepest satis-
faction was manifested, not only by her graceful and courteous manner,
but by the kindly expression of her animated features.
" XJpon her Majesty entering tlio Abbey, the procession was
formed : — The prebendaries and Dean of Westminster. Officers of
arms. Comptroller of the Queen's Household. Treasurer of the
Queen's Household. Her Majesty's Vico-Chambei'lain and Lord Steward
of the Household. Lord Privy Seal. Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Lord
President of the Council. Archbishop of Armagh. Archbishop of York.
Lord High Chancellor. Archbishop of Canterbury. Her ]?oyal High-
ness the Duchess of Cambridge, in a robe of estate of purple velvet ;
and wearing a circlet of gold on her head. Her Koyal Highness the
l)iu-!i(>ss of Kent, and Her Poyal lliglmess the Duchess of Gloucester,
siniihirly attired. St. Edward's Staff, borne by the Duke of Roxburghe ;
tho goldcu Spurs, by Lord Byron j the Sceptro with the Cross, by the
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 257
Dake of Cleveland ; Curtana, by the Duke of Devonshire ; the second
Sword, by the Duke of Sutherland ; the third Sword, by the Marquis
of Westminster. Black Hod and deputy Garter. Lord Willoughby
d'Eresby, as Lord Great Chamberlain of England. His Royal Highness
the Duke of Cambridge, in his robes of estate, with baton as Field-
Marshal. His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, in his robes of estate.
High Constable of Ireland, Duke of Leinster. High Constable of
Scotland, Earl of Errol. The Earl-Marshal of England, the Duke of
Norfolk, with his staff ; the Sword of State borne by Viscount Mel-
bourne ; the Lord High-Constable of England, the Duke of Wellington,
with his staff and baton as Field- Marshal. The Sceptre with the Dove,
borne by the Duke of Richmond ; St. Edward's Crown, by the Duke of
Hamilton ; the Orb, by the Duke of Somerset ; the Patina, by the
Bishop of Bangor ; the Bible, by the Bishop of Winchester ; the Chalice,
by the Bishop of Lincoln. The Queen, in her robe of crimson velvet,
furred with ermine, and bordered with gold lace, wearing the collars of
her Orders : a circlet of gold on her head : attended on either side by
ten gentlemen-at-arms, with their standard-bearer, and supported by the
Bishop of Bath and Wells and the Bishop of Durham. Her Majesty's
train borne by eight noble ladies. The Lord Chamberlain of the House-
hold. The Groom of the Robes. The Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress
of the Robes ; the Marchioness of Lansdowne, first Lady of the bed-
chamber. Ladies of the bed-chamber ; Maids of honour ; women of
the bed-chamber. Gold-stick of the Life Guards in waiting ; the Master
of the Horse. Captain-general of the royal archer-guard of Scotland.
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard ; Captain of the band of the
Gentlemen-at-Arms. Keeper of her Majesty's privy -purse. Ensign of
the Yeomen of the Guard, and Lieutenant of the same. Exons, clerk
of the cheque, and twenty yeomen of the guard.
" The Queen, ascending the theatre, passed on the south side of her
throne to her chair of state (being the Recognition Chair), and after
her private devotions (kneeling on her f aid-stool), took her seat, the
Bishops, her supporters, standing on each side ; the noblemen bear-
ing the four swords on her Majesty's right hand, the Lord Great
Chamberlain and the Lord High Constable on her left : the other great
officers of State, the noblemen bearing the regalia, the Dean of West-
minster, deputy Garter, and Black Rod, standing near the Queen's
chair.
"After the singing of the anthem, the Recognition took place,
and the first oblation made, consisting of an altar cloth of gold, and
a wedge of gold of a pound weight ; the Litany followed, read by the
Bishops of Worcester and St. David's, and the sermon, pi-eached by the
Bishop of London, from the second of Chronicles (chap, xxxiv. verse
31) : ' And the King stood in his place, and made a covenant before
the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments, and
His testimonies, and His statutes, with all his heart, and with all his
soul, to perform the words of the covenant, which are written in this
book.'
" The sermon being concluded, the Oai/i was administered by the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, the Queen proceeding to the altar, and kneeling
on a cushion placed on the steps, laying her right hand on the Holy
S
258 ' CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Gospel in the gfreat Bible, and saying : — * The things which I have here-
before promised, I will perform and keep ; so help me God ! ' *
" The Anointing was preceded by the singing of the hymn Veni Creator
Spiritus, by the choir, the Archbishop of Canterbury reading the first
line. At the commencement of the anthem, the Queen, rising from her
devotions, went before the altar, attended by her supporters, and assisted
by the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Sword of State being carried before
her, where her Majesty was divested of her crimson robe, and then pro-
ceeded to St. Edward's chair, and sat down to be anointed. Four
Knights of the Garter held over the Queen a rich pall of silk or cloth
of gold. The Dean of Westminster taking the Ampulla and Spoon from
the altar, poured some of the consecrating oil into the spoon, with which
the Archbishop then anointed the Queen, in the forui of a cross, on the
crown of the head, and on the palms of both the hands, pronouncing the
usual formulary.
" The Spttrs were then brought from the altar by the Dean of West-
minster, and delivered to the Lord Great Chamberlain, who, kneel-
ing down, presented them to the Queen, who forthwith returned them
to be laid upon the altar. Lord Viscount Melbourne, who carried the
Sword of State, now delivered it to the Lord Chamberlain, and received
in lieu thereof, another sword in a scabbard of purple velvet, and this,
after a short prayer, was placed by the Archbishop in the Queen's right
hand, with the usual injunction. Then the Queen rising up and going
to the altar ofPered the sword there in the scabbard, and delivered it to
the Archbishop, who placed it upon the altar. The sword was then
redeemed for one hundred shillings by Viscount Melbourne, who carried
it, unsheathed, before her Majesty during the remainder of the
Bolemnity.
" The Investiture with the royal robe, of cloth of gold, and the delivery
of the Orh with the cross, succeeded, the Ai'chbishop pronouncing a
blessing and exhortation, as also with the Ring and Sceptre. The cere-
mony of Croicning then took place ; the Queen still sitting in King
Edward's chair, the Archbishop placed the crown reverently on her
Majesty's head ; on which the peers and peeresses put on their coronets,
the Bishops their caps, and Kings-of-Arms their crowns, amidst the
most enthusiastic cheering of all present : —
" ' Soon as the royal brow received the crown,
And Majesty put all her glories on,
Straiglft on a thousand coronets we gaze —
Straight all around was one imperial blaze.'
" The great guns at the Tower fired a royal salute. The scene at this
moment was intensely exciting. To this succeeded the presentation of
the Holy Bible, the benediction and Te Deum, during the singing of
which, a gleam of sunshine, breaking through the south gi-eat rose-
window of the Abbey, liglited direct on the Queen's crown, the dazzling
effect of which was remarkable.
• The Bible on whicb Queen Victoria took the coronation oath is in
tho possession of the llev. J. H. Sumner, Rector of Buriton, Hants.
This interesting relic came to him from his fatlior, tho Bishop of Win-
chester, to whom it was given after the coronation.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 259
" The Te Deum being ended, her Majesty ascended the theatre, and was
supported to her throne by the Archbishops, Bishops, and Peers, with the
great officers of the state around her, and after a preparatory admo-
nition and benediction by the Archbishop, the ceremony of Homage
commenced. The performance of this was peculiarly affecting,
especially when the Duke of Sussex embraced her Majesty, and was so
overcome with emotion, that he was obliged to be led from the theatre
by the peers around him ; the warmest indication of popular feeling was,
however, shown when the Duke of Wellington presented himself to do
homage for the dukes, when a shout of enthusiastic recognition was
raised, and prolonged after his grace had descended from the theatre.
" The peers having performed their homage stood near the Queen, and
each degree, in order, putting off their coronets, stretching forth their
hands, touched the crown on her Majesty's head, and then kissed the
Queen's hand. Lord Rolle, in attempting to ascend the theatre,
stumbled, and fell back from the second step to the floor. He was
immediately raised and supported by two noble lords in the area. The
Queen seemed to view the occurrence with emotion, and on the noble
Baron again presenting himself, she rose from the throne, and advancing
several paces, took him by the hand, a graceful condescension which
elicited hearty acclamations. The Holy Communion followed the homage,
and the Coronation ceremonial was closed by the benediction of the
Archbishop.
" Hei Majesty then proceeded through the choir to the west door of the
Abbey, in the same manner in which she came, wearing her Crown, and
bearing in her right hand the Sceptre with the Cross, and in her left the
Orb ; all peers wearing their coronets, and the Archbishops and Bishops
their copes.
** ' When to St, Peter's dome the lords repair,
Their robes are splendid, but their heads are bare ;
When back, the Monarch crowned, the train proceeds,
Their coronets adorned their noble heads.
Homage performed, reflected glory brings,
They march like nobles, they return as kings,' "
The richness and variety of this grand spectacle rendered
it one of the most interesting that could possibly be con-
ceived. It almost justified the hyperbolical language in
which " Old Decker " makes Fortunatus describe the wonders
which he saw at the court of Cyprus : —
" Here you shall see faces angelical
Whose star-like eyes have power, might they still shine,
To make night day, and day more crystalline.
Near them shall you behold great heroes,
White-headed counsellors, and gallant spirits,
Standing like fiery cherubims to guard
The monarch who in god-like glory sits,
In midst of these, as if this deity
Had with a Icok erected a new world.
The standers-by being the fair workmanship."
26o CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
On May 24th, 1883, Queen Victoria attained her sixty-
fourth birthday, and completed the forty-sixth year of her
reign. Her Majesty has already worn the crown one year
longer than our famous Queen Elizabeth, and there are but
three English monarchs whose tenure of the sovereignty has
exceeded these limits.
Brilliant, indeed, has been the reign of her Majesty — the
model of a patriot monarch —
SSai^Dm ma» (Sotr \^xi% jprriStr&e !
The earliest details we have respecting the coronation of
A Queen Consort * in our country are those which have been
* The Queen. Consort has been regarded in all countries as a person
of eminent dignity. A peculiar protection is thrown over her person.
It is as much treason to compass or imagine the death of the king's
consort as of the king himself.
The coronation of the Queen-Consort has been pronounced to be, " as
an acknowledgment of the right of succession in her issue " and " as a
recognition of her constitutional character, as essential as that of the
monarch himself," but the coronation of a Queen-Consort proceeds, in
fact, from the king, and is granted to his consort for the honour of the
kingly oflBce.
The q.ueen consort has also many exemptions and minute preroga-
tives, but, in general, unless where the law has expressly declared her
exempted, she is on the same footing as other subjects ; being to all
intents and pui-poses the king's subject, and not his equal. The queen
consort of England has also separate courts and officers distinct from
the king's, not only in matters of ceremony, but even of law ; and her
attorney and solicitor-general are entitled to a place within the bar of
his Majesty's courts, together with the king's counsel.
The original revenue of our ancient queen's consort seems to have
consisted of certain reservations or rents out of the demesne lands of
the Crown, which were expressly appi'opriated to her Majesty, distinct
from the king. It is frequent in Domesday Book, after specifying the
rent due to the crown, to add likewise the quantity of gold or other
renders reserved to the queen, and which were frequently appropriated
to particular purposes ; as, to buy wool for her IMajesty's use, to pur-
chase oil for her lamps, — or to furnish her attire from head to foot ; which
was frequently very costly, as one single robe in the fifth year of Henry
II. stood the city of London in upwards of fourscore pounds. She had
a further addition to her income in that ancient perquisite called queen-
gold, or Aurnm Rcgince, which is supposed to have been originally granted
in consequence of tliose matters of grace .and favour, out of which it
arose, being frequently obtained from the Crown by the powerful inter-
cession of the queen. No attempt, however, has been made to force
this claim since Chai'les I., at the petition of his queen, Henrietta
Maria, issued out his writ for levying it, but afterwards purchased it of
his consort for ton thousand pounds, finding it, porliap.s, too trifling and
troublesome to levy.
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 261
preserved by Du Chesne, of the inauguration of Judith
(daughter of Charles the Bald, King of France), who was
united to Ethelwulf, King of Wessex, in 856. It is the only
record extant of the phi'aseology used at these solemnities.
Amid the general dissatisfaction at the infringement of the
West Saxon law, which pronounced it illegal for a queen of
England to w^ear a crown of state, Ethelwulf convened the
three estates of his kingdom to sanction the ceremony of
Judith's coronation. The ceremony was performed with all
possible pomp. A rather long and elegant prayer was offered
on anointing the head of the young and beautiful queen, in
which it was supplicated that she might possess " the sim-
plicity and meekness of the dove," after which the corona-
tion took place in the following words : — "May the Lord crown
thee with glory and honour, and place upon thy head a crown
of spiritual precious stones, that whatever may be typified
by the brightness of gold, or the changeful splendour of gems,
may ever shine forth in thy life and conduct, which may He
grant, to whom be honour and glory, world without end."
Then follows the blessing thus : — " Bless, O Lord, this
thine handmaiden. Thou who rulest the kingdom of kings
through all generations. Accept the offerings of her hands,
and may she be replenished with the blessings of the fruits
of the earth, of the heavens, of the dews of the depths, from
the heights of the ancient mountains, and from the eternal
hills. May the blessing of Him who dwelt in the bush come
upon her head. Grant to her showers from heaven, the
fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine, that their
people and their posterity may obey them, and this nation
bring honour to her and to her children." The service con-
cludes with a short prayer, probably the same still said after
the communion, and, truly beautiful and simple as it is,
Another ancient perquisite belonging to the queen consort, men-
tioned by all our old writers, is that on the taking of a whale on the
coasts, which is a royal fish, it shall be divided between the king and
the queen ; the head only being the king's property, the tail of it the
queen's. The reason of this whimsical division was, according to ancient
records, that the queen's wardi'obe might be furnished with whalebone !
Before the Conquest the queens consort were anointed and crowned,
and sate with the kings in seats of state. The time when these honours
were first allowed to them is uncertain ; the earliest evidence is the
ritual assigned to the age of Ethelred II., who was elected in 978. The
Anglo-Saxon queens were deprived of the right in the ninth century,
from the crimes of Eadburga, but Judith, queen of Ethelwulf, regained it.
262 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
claims no small interest from the fact of its having been in
use among our ancestors no less than a thousand years ago.
The coronation of Matilda, the consort of William the
Conqueror, took place at Winchester in April (Whit-
Sunday), 1068. William, who had been exceedingly anxious
to share his newly acquired honours with Matilda, chose to
be re-crowned at the same time, to render the pageant of her
consecration more imposing. This coronation was far more
splendid than that which had preceded it in Westminster
Abbey, at William's first inauguration. The company was
exceedingly numerous and noble, and the Conqueror was in
one of his most gracious moods, conferring favours liberally.
The graceful and majestic person of Queen Matilda charmed
the beholders. The nobles of Normandy attended their
duchess to the church, but after the crown was placed on her
head by Ealdred, Archbishop of York, she was served by her
new subjects, the English. The ceremonial of Matilda's
inauguration banquet afforded precedents for most of the
grand feudal offices at subsequent coronations.*
* The ceremonies attending the coronation of a Queen consort op
Sicily in 1177 — tliat of Joanna, third daug:hter of Henry II. of England,
married to William the Good, King of Sicily — are detailed by Inveges.
Two couches were prepared, on one of which sat the king, attired in his
regal robes, while the other was occupied by the Archbishop of Palermo,
surrounded by his prelates. The service commenced by the performance
of the mass, and at the chanting of the " Hallelujah," the king, wearing
his crown, and the sword of state carried before him, advanced to the
altar, and standing before the footstool of the archbishop, who sat,
mitred, on his throne of state, he took off his crown and thus addressed
him : " We entreat, 0 reverend father, that you will deign to bless
and adorn with the crown royal our consort united to us by God, to the
praise and glory of our Saviour Jesus Christ." He then returned to his
couch, and the queen, her hair loosely flowing down her shoulders, and
her head veiled, was conducted by two prelates to the archbishop, who
still remained seated, and lowly kneeling before him, and kissing his
hand, seemed silently to urge the petition. On this he rose, and
wearing his mitre, knelt on his footstool, while the queen, on his left
hand, prostrated herself to the ground. A short litany was then said,
after which the archbishop stood up, and uncovering himself, pro-
nounced a prayer over the kneeling queen, and then anointed her with
the holy oil, making the sign of the cross on the wrist and elbow of her
right arm, and between lier shoulders, saying, '* God the Father," etc.
She tlien withdrew to a pavilion, where she assumed the royal robes ;
aft'jr which she was recondnct(Hl to the archbishop, and again kneeling
before him, he })laced the diadem on her head, saying, " lleceive the
crown of glory, that thou mayst know thyself to bo the consort of a
king," and giving her the sceptre, said, " licn-oive the rod of equity
and virtue, and bo merciful and condescending to the poor." After
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 263
In Banks's MSS. in the British Museum, (No. 9297 of
Additional MSS.), we are told that "Queens [of England]
formerly proceeded from the Tower to their coronation in
litters of cloth and gold, or white tissue without cover or
baytes ; their hair dishevelled about their shoulders, with a
circlet of gold on their heads, richly set with precious stones.
Their kirtells of cloth and tissue, and mantells of the same,
furred with ermine, and two palfreys clad in white damask,
head and all over, down to the ground, or with some other
rich covertures suitable in colour to the litter, and they bear
the same. Over the Queen was carried a cloth of gold or
tissue, with gilt curtains, and sometimes silver bells at the
end, borne by sixteen knights, disposed four and four by
turns. A palfrey of state with a side-saddle, trapped with
cloth of tissue, was led after her by the Master of the Horse.
Queens have had three, and, at other times, four chariots
following them ; the first two of red cloth of gold, the third
of white, and the fourth of red satin ; every chariot being
drawn by six horses longways, and open in all ways except
the top. Betwixt the Queen's litter and every of these
chariots, rode six or seven ladies richly apparelled in crimson
velvet, &c., and last of all, the ladies' women, all clad in the
liveries of their ladies."
One of the most magnificent coronations in early times
appears to have been that of Eleanor, the beautiful young
queen of Henry III., which took place on her marriage
(January 20, 1236). Matthew Paris, speaking of this
solemnity, says, " To this nuptial entertainment there came
such a multitude of the nobility of both sexes, — such hosts of
religious persons, — such crowds of people, and such a variety
of jugglers and buffoons, that London could scarcely contain
them in her capacious bosom." He further says, " Why need
I recount the train of those who performed the sacred offices
of the church ; why describe the profusion of dishes which
furnished the table, — the abundance of venison, — the variety
of fish, — the diversity of wine, — the gaiety of jugglers, — the
readiness of the attendants, — whatever the world could pro-
duce for glory or delight was there conspicuous."
this the bishops and the maids of honour led her back to her seat.
When the offertory was finished the king and queen came to<^ether to
the altar, and presented as much gold as they thought proper, and at
mass they both communicated. On the conclusion of these ceremonies,
Joanna was proclaimed throughout Palermo, as Queen of Sicily.
264 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
In a Cottonian MS. we read that the queen of Henry "V.,
Katherine of Valois, was crowned with all royalty at West
minster, and the rich English diadem was placed upon her
head. The feast was great with all princely services, and
the state such as deserved the report, for the queen sitting
at table, at the right side of her chair kneeled the Earl of
March, holding a sceptre in his hand ; the Earl Marshal,
kneeling on the left side, held another, and the Countess
of Kent sat under the table at her right foot. Upon her
right hand at table sat the Archbishop of Canterbury and
Bishop of Winchester, and upon the left the King of Scots,
the Duchess of York, and the Countess of Huntingdon ; the
nobles giving their attendance, each man according to his
office and place.
Alluding to the coronation banquet, " Ye shall under-
stand," says Fabyan, " that this feast was all of fish, for
being February 24th Lent was entered upon, and nothing
of meat was there, saving brawn served with mustard."
Among the fish dishes of the first course, Fabyan mentions
especially dead eels stewed.
To the coronation of the queen of Henry VII. I have
alluded in the account of the ceremonial.
The account of the Coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn,
given by contemporary writers, has so many picturesque
details that it is printed in extenso : —
" On Whitsondaie, the 1st. of June [1533] the maior, clad in crimosin
velvet, with his coller, and all the aldermen and sherifPes in scarlet, and
the counsell of the citty, took their barge at the Crane by seven of the
clocke, and came to Westminster, where they were welcommed and
brought into the hall by M. Treasurer, and other of the King's house,
and so gave their attendance till the Queene should come forth :
betweene eight and nine of the clocke shoe came into the hall, and
stood under the cloth of estate, and then came in the King's chappell ;
and the monks of Westminster, all in rich coapes, and many bishops
and abbots in coapes and miters, which went into the middcst of the
hall, and there stood a season ; then there was a ray cloth spread from
the Queene's standing in the hall, through the pallace and sanctuarie,
which was railed on both sides, to the high altar of Westminster; after
that the ray cloth was cast, the officers of arms appoynted the order
accustomed. First went gentlemen, then esquires, then knights, then
aldermen of London in their cloaks of scarlet cast over their gownes of
scarlet. After them the judges in their mantles of scarlet and coifes;
then followed the knights of the Bath being no lords, every man having
a white lace on his left sleeve ; then foUowc^d barons and viscounts in
their parliament robes of scarlet; after them came carles, marquesses
and dukes, in their robes of estate, of crimosin velvet, furred with
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 265
ermin, poudred according to their degrees ; after them came the lord
chancellor in a robe of scarlet, open before, bordered with lettice;
after him came the King's chappell, and the monks solemnely singing,
with procession. Then came abbots and byshops mitered ; then
Serjeants and officers at armes, then the maior of London with his mace,
and Garter in his coate of armes ; then the marques Dorset in his
robe of estate, which bare the scepter of golde, and the earle of
Arundcll, which bare the rod of ivori& with the dove, both together ;
then alone, the earle of Oxford, high chamberlaine of England, which
bare the crowne ; after him the duke of Suffolke, in his robe of estate ;
for that dale being high stewarde of England, having a long white rod
in his hande, and the lord William Howard with the rod of the
marshal' s-ship, and everie knight of the Garter had on his collar of the
order. Then proceeded forth the Queeiie, in a circote and robe of
purple velvet, furred with ermine in her hayre, coife, and circlet, as
shee had the Saturdaie ; and over her was borne the canapie, by foure
of the Cinque Fortes, all in crimosin, with points of blew and redde
hanging on their sleeves ; and the byshops of London and Winchester
bare up the laps of the Queenes robe ; and her traine, which was verie
long, was borne by the olde dutchesse of Norf olke ; after her followed
ladies being lordes wives, which hadde circotes of scarlet, with narrow
sleeves, the breast all lettice, with barres of ponders according to their
degrees, and over that they had mantles of scarlet furred, and every
mantle had lettice about the necke like a neckerchiefe, likewise
pondered, so that by the pouderings their degrees might bee known ;
then followed ladies being knights' wives, in gownes of scarlet, with
narrow sleeves, without traines, onelie edged with lettice, likewise had
all the Queenes gentlewomen.
" When shee was thus brought to the high place made in the middest
of the church, betweene the queere and the high altar, she was set in
a rich chaire ; and after that shee had rested a while, shee descended
downe unto the high altar, and there prostrated herself e, while the arch-
byshop of Canterburie said certain collects over her. Then shee rose,
and the byshop annointed her on the head and on the breast, and then
shee was led uppe againe to her chaire, where, after divers orisons
saide, the archbyshop set the crowne of St. Edward on her head, and
then delivered her the scepter of golde in her right hand, and the rod
of ivor}'^ with the dove, in her left hand ; and then all the queere sung
Te Deum &c. ; which done, the bishop tooke oflf the crowne of St.
Edward, being heavie, and set on her heade the crowne made for her,*
and so went to masse; and when the offering was begunne, she descended
* Alas ! within that crown
" Kept death his court, and there the antick sate,
Scoffing her state, and grinning at her pomp.
Allowing her a little breath, a little scene
To monarchize, be feared, and kill with looks.
Infusing her with self and vain conceit,
As if the flesh which walled about her life
Were brass impregnable, and honoured thus
Bored through her castle walls ; and, farewell, Queen."
266 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
downe and offered, being crowned, and so ascended up againe, and sate
in her chaire till Acjnus was sayd, and then shee went downe and
kneeled before the high altar, where shee received of the archbishop
the holy sacrament, and then went up to the place againe. After that
masse was done, she went to St. Edward's shrine, and there offered ;
after which offering doone, she withdrewe into a little place made for the
purpose on the one side of the queere. Now in the meane season every
dutchesse put on her bonet a,coronell of golde wrought with flowers;
and every marchioness put on a demy coronell of golde ; and every coun-
tesse a plain circle of golde without flowers ; and every king-at-armes
put on a crown of copper and gilte; all which were worne till night.
" When the Queene had a little reposed her, the companie returned
in the same order that they set forth, and the Queene went crowned, and
so did the ladies aforesaid ; her right hand was sustained by the earle
of Wilshire her father, and her left hand by the lord Talbot, deputy
for the earle of Shrewsbury, and lord Fnrnivall his father. And when
she was out of the sanctuarie within the pallace, the trumpets played
marveylous freshly, and so shee was brought to Westminster-hall, and
so to her withdrawing chamber : during which time the lords, judges,
maior, and aldermen, put off their robes, mantles, and cloakes, and
tooke their hoodes from their neckes, and cast them about their
shoulders ; and the lordes sate onely in their circotes ; and the judges
and aldermen in their gownes ; and all the lordes that served that day
served in their circotes, and their hoods about their shoulders ; also
diverse officers of the Kinges house, being no lords, had circotes and
hoods of scarlet, edged with miniver, as treasurer, controller, and
master of the jewell-house, but their circotes were not gilt. While the
Queen was in her chamber, every lord and other that ought to doe
service at the coronation, did prepare them according to their dutie ;
as the duke of Siiffolke high steward of Englande, which was richly
apparelled, his dublet and jacket set with orient pearle, his gowne
crimosin velvet embrothcred, his courser trapped with a close trapper,
head and all to the ground of crimosin velvet, set full of letters of golde
of goldsmithes worke, having a long white rod in his hand ; on his left
hand rode the lord William, deputy for his brother, as earle marshall,
with the marshal's rod, whose gowne was crimosin velvet, and his horse
trapper purple velvet cutte on white sattin, embrothcred with white
lions; the earle of Oxforde was high chamberlaine; the earle of Essex
carver ; the earle of Sussex sewer ; the carle of Arundell chiefo butler,
on whom 12 citizens of London did give their attendance at the
cupboord ; the earle of Darby cupbearer; the viscount Lisle panter ;
the lord Burgeiny chiefe larder ; the lord Bray almoner for him and his
copartners; and the maior of Oxford kept the buttery-bar; and Thomas
Wyatt was chosen ewerer for Sir Henry Wyatt his father.
" When all thinges were ready and ordered, the Queen under her
canapie came into the hall and washed, and sate dowjjo in the middest of
the table under her cloth of estate ; on the right side of her chaire stoode
the countesse of Oxford, widdow, and on her left hand stoode the
countesse of Worcester all the dinner season, which divers times in the
dinner time did hold a fine cloth before the Quoenos face when she list
to spit, or doe otherwise at her pleasure : and at the table's end sate the
archbishop of Cauterburio; on the right hando of the Queene, and in the
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 267
niiddest between the archbislioppe, and the conntesse of Oxford, stoode
the earle of Oxford with a white staffe all dinner time ; and at the
Queenes feet under the table sate two gentlewomen all dinner time.
When all these things were thus ordered, came in the duke of Suffolke
and the lord William Howard on horsebacke, and the Serjeants of armes
before them, and after them the sewer, and then the Knights of the
Bathe, bringing in the first course, which was eyght and twentie dishes,
besides subtleties, and shippes made of ware, marveylous gorgeous to
beholde ; al which time of service the trumpets, standing in the window
at the neather end of the hall, played.
" When shee was served of two dishes, then the archbishop's service
was set downe, whose sewer came equall with the third dish of the
Queenes service on his left hand. After that the Queene and the arch-
bishoppe were served, the barons of the ports began the table on the
right hand next the wall ; then at the table sate the maisters and clearkes
of the Chancerie ; and beneath them other doctors and gentlemen. The
table next the wall on the left hande by the cupboorde was begunne by
the maior and aldermen, the chamberlaine and councell of the citty of
London ; and beneath them sate substantiall merchants, and so downe-
warde other worshipful! persons. At the table on the right hand, in the
middest of the hall, sate the lord chancellor, and other temporall lordes,
on the right side of the table in their circotes ; and on the left side of
the same table sate bishops and abbots in their parliament robes ;
beneath them sate the judges, Serjeants and the Kiiige's councell;
beneath them the knights of the Bath. At the table on the left hande
in the middle part sate duchesses, marquesses, countesses, baronesses in
their robes, and other ladies in circotes, and gentlewomen in gownes, all
which gentlewomen and ladies sate on the left side of the table along,
and none on the right side ; and when all were thus set, they were in-
continent served so quicklie that it was marvellous ; for the servitors
gave so good attendance, that meat, nor drinke, nor anything else needed
to be called for, which in so great a multitude was marvell. As touching
the fare, there could be devised no more costlie dishes nor subtleties.
The maior of London was served with foure and thirtie dishes at two
courses, and so were all his brethren, and such as sate at his table. The
Queene had at her second course foure and twentie dishes, and thirtie at
the third course ; and betweene the last courses, the kinges of armes
crowned, and other officers of armes, cryed ' Larges ' in three partes of
the hall, and after stood in their place, which was in the bekens of the
Kinges Bench ; and on the right hand, out of the cloyster of St. Stephen's
Chappell, was made a little closet, in which the King with divers ambas-
sadours, stoode to beholde the service. The duke of Suffolke and the
lord William rode oftentimes about the hall, cheering the lords, ladies,
and the maior and his brethren.
" After they in the hall had dined, they had wafers and ipocrase, and
then they washed, and were commanded to rise and stand still in their
places before the tables, or on the fourmes, till the Queene had washed.
When shee had taken wafers and ipocrase, the table was taken up, and
the earle of Rutland brought up the surnape, and laid it at the boord's
end, which immediately was drawne and cast by Mr. Reade, marshall of
the hall, and the Queene washed and after the archbishoppe ; and after
the surnape was withdrawn. Then shee rose, and stoode in the middest
26S CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
of the hall.place, to whome the earle of Sussex, in a goodlie spice plate,
brought a void of spice and confections. After him the maior of London
brought a standing cup of golde, set in a cup of assay of golde ; and after
that shoe had drunke she gave the maior the cuppe, with the cup of
assay, because there vras no cover, according to the claime of the cittie,
thanking him and all his brethren of their paine.
" Then shee under her canapy departed to her chamber ; and at the
entry of her chamber, she gave the canapie, with bels and all to the
barons of the ports according to their claime, with great thanks ; then
the maior of London, bearing his cuppe in his hande, with his brethren,
went through the hall to their barge, and so did all other noblemen and
gentlemen, for it was sixe of the clocke."
Shakspere gives a description of the ceremonies attend-
ins: this coronation : —
I
*o
"At length her grace rose, and with modest paces
Came to the altar ; where she kneel'd, and, saint-like,
Cast her fair eyes to heaven, and pray'd devoutly :
Then rose again and bow'd her to the people ;
When by the Archbishop of Canterbury,
She had all the royal makings of a queen,
As holy oil, Edward Confessor's crowoi,
The rod, and bird of peace, and all such emblems,
Laid nobly on her ; which perform'd, the choir,
With all the choicest music of the kingdom,
Together sung ' Te Deum.' So she parted,
And with the same full state pac'd back again
To York-place, where the feast is held."
Catharine of Arragon and Anne Boleyn were the only
consorts of Henry VIII. who were honoured with a corona-
tion. Jane Seymour would have been thus distinguished, but
for the plague, which raged in the precincts of the abbey.
We have some curious notices from the papers of con-
temporary writers of the coronation of Anne of Denmark,
consort of James VI., as Queen of Scotland. This event took
place on Sunday, May 17, 1590, within the abbey-church of
Holy rood ; Miss Strickland, from whom I quote the par-
ticulars, having collated them from the Bannatyne Papers
and the chroniclers, Melville, Majoribanks, and Moysie.
" Twa high places were appointed there ; one for the King and the
other for the Queen. The King's procession having entered the Abbey,
that of the Queen followed, preceded by several Danish nobles magnifi-
cently dressed, with diamond chains about their necks ; then came the
Scottish nobles and the heralds. Lord Lyon, King-at-arnis, ushered Lord
Thirlosraino 'bearing twixt his twa hands' the Queen's crown. Then
followed tho Queen herself in her royal robes, supported on the right
hand by Thomas Bowes, ambassador from England ; on the left by Peter
CORONATIONS OF ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 269
Munch, the Danish admiral, and Stene Brahe and Bredou Kanzou,
ambassadors of Denmark. Mrs. Bowes and dame Annable, Countess of
Mar, ' quha (who) had brought up the King's majesty from his birth and
minority,' followed directly after the Queen. After them the Countesses
of Bothwell and Orkney, Lady Seaton and Lady Thirlestaine, the Chan-
cellor's wife, and other Scottish ladies. Next to them followed certain
noble Danish virgins, as Katrine Skinkell and Anna Kraas, and after
them other noble ladies and virgins, which accompanied the Queen to
the place where she was to sit in the church ; quhilk (which) all being
set down, Maister Paitrik Galloway, the King's minister, goes up into
the pulpit, and after prayers made, chooses his text out of the 45th
Psalm.
" The preaching being ended the Duke of Lennox and the Lord
Hamilton, maister Kobert Bruce, and maister David Lindsay, go, all four
together to the King's majesty that he might publicly order them to pro-
ceed to the act of coronation. Maister Robert Bruce then declared to the
assembled people ' that he was directed by his Majesty to crown the
Queen.' The Countess of Mar immediately canae to her Majesty, and
took her right arm, and opened the craig (neck) of her gown, and laid
bare part of the arm and neck ; Maister Robert Bruce then poured on
her breast and arm a bonny quantity of oil, and then covered them with
white silk. The Duke of Lennox, Lord Hamilton and the virgins of
Denmark then convoyed the Queen to her retiring room, where she put
on another princely robe, and came and sat in her former high place.
Silence being demanded, the King commanded the Queen's crown to be
brought to him ; which being done he gave it to the Duke of Lennox,
Lord Hamilton, and the Chancellor, who placed it on the Queen's head.
The crown being ^rmi?/ linit on her head, the King sent immediately the
sceptre which maister Robert delivered to her. Thus the Coronation
of a Queen-consort of Scotland was ostensibly and publicly shewn to be
entirely an act of grace of her royal lord, who, by the hands of his
chamberlain and chancellor, actually crowned her himself. The offi-
ciating religious minister addressed the following words to her : ' We, by
the authority of the King's Majesty, with the consent of his states,
representing the whole body of his country, place the crown on your
Majesty's head ; and we deliver this sceptre to your Highness, acknow-
ledging you to be our Sovereign Qiieen and Lady, to whom we promise
all points of office and obedience, dutiful in those things that concern
the glory of God, the comfort of the Kirk, and the preservation of his
Majesty ; and we crave from your Majesty the confession of the faith
and religion we profess.'
" This request Mr. David Lindsay, who had resided in Denmark for
the preceding seven months, expounded in her Majesty's language, who
agreed, and by touching the Bible with her right hand, made oath to
the following tenor : — ' I, Anne, Queen of Scotland, profess, and before
God and his angels wholly promise, that during the whole course of my
life, as far as I can, I shall sincerely worship the sauie eternal God
according to His will revealed in the Holy Scriptures. That I withstand
and despise all papistical superstitions, and ceremonies, and rites, con-
trary to the word of God, and I will procure peace to the Kirk of God
within this kingdom. So, God, the Father of all mercies, have mercy
on me ! '
270 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" When the whole prayers were ended, the heralds (the Lord Lyon and
his brethren) cried with loud voices ' God save the Queen! ' and the
whole people echoed the exclamation, and the trumpets sounded. 'Then
her Majesty was raised ofif the seat where she was sitting and brought to
a higher place; and silence being made, Mr. Andrew Melvin, principal
of the college of Theologians, made ane oration in twa hunder Latin
verses,' which, it will be owned, was an unreasonable number. Maister
Robert Bruce then addressed the people ' on the subject of the great
benefit that would accrue to Scotland, by God having given their King
a helpmate of the same religion,' after which the nobility knelt before
the Queen, and holding up their hands, offered her the oath of homage
as Queen and spouse of their most clement sovereign.' Maister Paitrik
Galloway then pronounced a blessing on the coronation from the pulpit,
and the royal procession retired from the Abbey of Holyrood, the Queen
still wearing the crown on her head, and the Chancellor going directly
before her Majesty. The remainder of the day was spent in princely
revelry at Holyrood Palace."
At this coronation the reh"gious rites were performed by
the Presbyterian clergy, who, at first, demurred upon the point
of the unction, and, strange to say, the objection to it was its
being a Jewish ceremony. In this simple matter these con-
scientious men forgot their apostle Knox's application of
Samuel's hewing Agag in pieces. James knew how to manage
them ; a threat to employ the bishops in the coronation was
sufficient to remove their scruples.
( 271 )
CHAPTER YIII.
THE CORONATION OATH.
" 'Tis not the many oaths that make the truth,
But the plain simple vow, that is vow'd true."
Shakspere.
EGARDIIS'G the coronation
OATH," observes Dr. Lingard
in his " History of the Anglo-
Saxon Church," " it may be
traced in its origin to Anthe-
mius, the patriarch of Con-
stantinople,* whose zeal re-
fused to place the crown of
Anastasius, a prince of sus-
pected orthodoxy, till he had
sworn to make no innovation
in the established religion.
But the oath of the Anglo-
Saxons was more comprehensive ; it was a species of com-
pact between the monarch and the people, which the bishop,
as the representative of Heaven, ratified with his benediction."
The following is the oath which St. Dunstan administered
to King Ethelred, at his coronation at Kingston, in 978, with
an admonition that he should give no other pledge whatever.
The original manuscript from which it is transcribed is in
the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum (Claud. A. 3).
(See chapter on " Coronations of English Sovereigns.") " In
the name of Christ, I promise three things to the Christian
people, my subjects : first, that the Church of God and all
* In the history of the Jewish kings, there are informal traces of
the king pledging or binding himself to observe the laws. It was still
more the case among the tribal chiefs who broke up the western Roman
empire, and established themselves upon its ruins.
272 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
the Christian people shall always preserve true peace under
onr auspices ; second, that I will interdict rapacity, and all
iniquities to every condition ; third, that I will command
equity and mercy in all judgments, that to me, and to you,
the gracious and merciful God may extend His mercy."
flThis oath the king pronounced from a written copy, which
he then laid for a memorial upon the altar.
The next copy of the oath on record is that of Henry I.,
which agrees exactly with that of the former — a proof that,
in this respect, no change was made by the Norman Con-
quest. Lord Lyttleton thus notices their identity : " I agree
entirely with Mr. Carte in the opinion that the old office used
at King Ethelred's coronation, and, after him, by all our
Kings of the Anglo-Saxon race, was made use of by William
I., as we know it was by his successors."
The oath of Henry II., though not preserved by itself, or
in any account of his coronation, is recorded as it was cited
in a Parliament during his reign ; from the report of this
citation it appears to have been the same as his predecessors.
John Lackland, when he wrongfully assumed the crown,
took an oath " to love the Catholic Church and Ordinances
thereof : to keep and defend the same harmless from all
invasion of evil-disposed persons ; to disannul perverse laws,
and erect good laws ; and according to the same, to minister
true judgment throughout the kingdom."
His son and successor, Henry III., at nine years of
age, swore " to bear Reverence and Honour to God, and to
His Holy Church, and to do right and justice to all the
people."
The oath made by Edward I. is thus recorded : " 1,
Edward, son and heir of King Henry, do profess, protest, and
promise, before God and his holy Angels, from this time
forward, to maintain without partiality the Law, Justice, and
Peace, of the Church of God, and the People subject unto
me ; so far as we can devise by the counsel of our liege and
legal Ministers ; as, also, to exliibit due and canonical honour
to the Bishops of God's Church ; to preserve unto them,
inviolably, whatsoever has been granted by former Emperors
and Kings to the Church of God ; and to pay due honour to
the Abbots and the Lord's Ministers, according to the advice
of our Lieges, &c. So help me God, and the Holy Gospels of
the Lord."
On examining the oath of Edward II., we see that some
THE CORONATION OATH. 273
important changes had been made in the intervening period.
This oath, which is in the French language, agrees with the
old one ia the number, but not in the contents of its clauses ;
it further differs in being arranged interrogatively, and not in
the manner of a promissory engagement.
The laws of Edward the Confessor were justly regarded by
our forefathers with the greatest respect, and it appears that
the Conqueror himself had been more than once obliged to
promise that they should be kept inviolate — a promise repeated
with great solemnity by Henry I., and ratified in his great
charter. It is probable, however, that their restoration by this
king was far from complete, and that a disposition was mani-
fested by all the Norman kings to depart from the strict obser-
vance of the English code. Such a disposition did not lessen
the nation's zeal for the attainment of their favourite object ;
they made the keeping of their old laws a primary condition
in their acceptance of a candidate for the crown. This, with
the Norman princes, and some of their immediate successors,
was the subject of previous treaty and compact ; but after-
wards, when the public right was rather to be preserved than
acquired, the condition was proposed at the time of the coro-
nation, and hence it became a permanent custom that every
king, before he received the crown, and before he took the
regular official oath, should renew the pledge which had been
thus exacted.
The oath of King Edward II. recites : —
" Archbishoj). Sir, will you grant to keep, and by your oath
confirm to the people of England, the laws and customs
to them granted by the Kings of England, your lawful and
religious predecessors ; and, namely, the laws, customs, and
franchises, granted by the glorious King, St. Edward, your
predecessor, according to the laws of God, the true profession
of the Gospel established in this kingdom, and agreeing to
the prerogatives of the Kings thereof, and the ancient cus-
toms of this realm ? King. 1 grant and promise to keep
them. Archbishop. Sir, will you keep peace and godly agree-
ment entirely, according to your power, to the holy Church,
the Clergy, and the People ? King. I will keep it. Arch-
bishop. Sir, will you, to your power, cause law, justice, and
discretion, in mercy and truth, to be executed in all your
judgments? King. I will. Archbishop. Sir, will you grant
to hold and keep the rightful customs which the commonalty
of this your kingdom have ? And will you defend and
T
274 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
uphold them to the honour of God, as much as in you lieth ?
King. I grant and promise so to do." *
A petition of the bishops to the king follows, the Latin
of which is in the " Liber Regalis " in the coronation of
Richard II.
The oath of Edward III. is in the same words as bis prede-
cessors, and agrees in substance with the form continued
during the reigns of Henry IV,, Henry Y., and Henry VI.
Of the latter king we find a " Serement en Fraunceys " like
that of Edward II., except in orthography.
The oath of Henry VII. was as follows : — " The cardi-
nall shall ask the king under this form, with an open and
distinct voyce : Will ye graunte and keepe to the people of
Englande, the lavves and customes to them as old rightful!
and devoute kings graunted ; and the same ratifie and con-
firme by your othe ? and specially lawes, customes, and liber-
ties, graunted to the clergie and people by your predecessor
and glorious king Saynct Edward ? The king shall answer,
I graunt and permit. Then shall the said cardinall open unto
him the speciall articles wherunto the king shall be swome ;
the same cardinall saying as followeth : Ye shall keepe,
after your strenght and power [to] the church of God, to the
* A pamphlet published against Charles I., during the time of the
Rebellion, entitled, "A Remonstrance of the Lords and Commons
assembled in Parliament," etc., informs us that the oath taken by
Edward If. and till after the reign of Henry VIII., as found in the
record in Latin and French (in which language it used to be taken by
the king), and translated into English (not correctly, however), is in
an old book in the Heralds' Office, belonging to Clarencieux Hanley, who
lived in Henry VIII. 's time. The French is as follows : —
" Sire, volez vous graunter et garder, et par vostre serment confirmer,
an poeple d'Engleterro les leys et les custumes a eux grauntees par les
auntienes rois d'Englcterre vos predecessours, droitures et devotz k Dieu,
et nomement les lois, les custumes, et les franchises grauntez au clergie
et au poeple par le gloriens roi Soint Edward vostre predecessour ?
'^ liespons. Jeo les graunte et iiromette.
" Sire, garderez vous a Dieu et seint Eglise, et au clerge et au poeple,
paeis et accord en Dieu entierment, soleno vostre poer ?
" Eespnns. Jeo les garderai.
" Sire, freez vous faire en touz voiz jugemens ovele et droit justice et
discretion, en miscricordo et verite, a vostre poor ?
" Rtispnns. Jeo le frai.
" Siro, grauntez vous a tcnir et gardor lea loya et les custumes
droiturolcs los quic^ls la communaute do vostre roiauine aura eslcu, et les
defendrez et afTortcrez al hotmr do Dion, a vostre poer ?
" liespons. Jeo les grauuto et promette."
THE CORONATION OATH. 275
clergle, and the people, hoole peace and godlie concord ? The
king shall answer, I shall keepe. Ye shall make to be done,
after your strenght and power [equal and] rightfull justice
in all your domes and judgements, and discrecion, with mercie
and trowthe ? The king shall answer, I shall do. Do ye
graunt the rightfull lawes and customes to be holden ; and
permitte you, after your strenght and power, such lawes as to
the worship of God shall be chosen by your people, by yow to
be strenghtenid and defendid ? The king shall answer, I
graunte and permitte."
In the first volume of Sir Henry Ellis's " Letters Illustra-
tive of English History," we have a facsimile of the coro-
nation oath of Henry VIII., altered and interlined hy Ids own
hand. One of such interlineations, namely, of the words
" nott prejudyciall to hys jurysdyction and dygnite royall " —
after the promise to maintain the rights and privileges of the
Holy Church — is very curious, as showing that Henry looked
to something like supremacy in the Church of England at
the very outset of his reign.
The oath in its original form was : — " This is the Othe
that the King shall swere at his Coronation ; that he shall
kepe and mayntene the right and the liberties of Holie
Churche of old tyme graunted by the rightuous Cristen
Kings of England ; and that he shall kepe all the londs,
honours, and dignytees rightuous and fre of the Crowne of
England in all manor hole, without any manor of mynysshe-
ment ; and the rights of the Crowne, hurte, decayed, or lost,
to his power shall call agayn into the auncyent astate ; and
that he shall kepe the peax of the Holie Churche, and of the
Clergie, and of the People, with good accorde ; and that he
shall do in his judgements equytee and right justice, with
discretion and mercye ; and that he shall graunte to holde
the Lawes and Customes of the Realme ; and to his power
kepe them and affirm e them which the folk and people have
made and chosen ; and the evill Lawes and Customes hoUie
to put out ; and stedfaste and stable peax to the people of his
Realme kepe, and cause to be kept to his power."
The oath as altered stands thus: —
" The Othe of the King's Highness at every Coronation.
" The King shall then swere that he shall kepe and mayn-
tene the lawfull right and the libertees of old tyme graunted
by the rycrhtuous Cristen Kings of England to the Holy
Chirche off England nott prejudyciall to hys Jurysdyction and
276 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Dignife ryall, and that he sliall kepe all the londs, tonours,
and dignytees rightuous, and fredomraes of the Crowne of
Englond in all maner hole, without any maner of mynysshe-
ment and the rights of the Crowne hui-te, decayed, or lost,
to his power shall call agayn into the auncyent astate ; and
that he shall indevore hymselfe TO Keep Unite in his CLERGYE,
and temporell subjects ; and that he shall, accordyng to his con-
siens in all his judgements mynystere equytie, right, and jus-
tice, shewyng wher is to he shewyd nnercy ; and that he shall
graunte to bolde the lawes and approvyd customes of the
Realme, and lawfull and not prejudiciall to hys Crowne or
Imperial duty, to his power kepe them and affirme them which
the nohlys and people have made and chosen with his consent;
and the evill Lawes and Customes hoUie to put out ; and
stedfaste and stable peax to the people of his realme kepe
and cause to be kept to his power, in that whych honour and
equite do require.''^
The coronation oath of King Edward VI. was altered by
the Lord Protector and king's council in words, but not in
sense, in consequence of the Reformation : — " Doe you grant
to make no new lawes, but such as shall be to the honour and
glory of God, and to the good of the Commonwealth, and
that the same shall bee made by consent of your people
as hath been accustomed ? " This part of the oath, observes
Prynne ("Signal Loyalty," ii. 251), " referres wholly and
onely to future new lawes, to be chosen, and made, by the
people's consent, not to lawes formerly enacted."
For the disputes which arose respecting this clause, " per-
haps," says Taylor, " we may agree with Johnson that the
controversy upon the words was of little value ; for if the
laws were anciently made by the people, as the oath asserts,
and the kings were bound to confirm and keep tiiem when
made, then must they still be bound to do so, whether the
terms of the obligation be past or future."
With regard to Queen Elizabeth's coronation oath. Arch-
bishop Whitgift, in a sermon before her Majesty, thus
addresses her : " As all your predecessors were at this coro-
nation, so you also were sworn before all the nobility and
bishops then present, and in the presence of God, and in
His stead to one of them that anointed yon, 'to maintain
the church lands, and the rit^hts belont^in": to it,' and this
testified openly at the Holy Altar, by laying your hands on
the Bible then lying upon it."
THE CORONATION OATH. 277
The form of coronation oath seems to liave been adhered to
with but little alteration until the reign of James L, at whose
inauguration the following was read to him by the arch-
bishop, and sworn to by him at the altar : — " Sir, will you grant
and keep, and by your oath confirm to the ])eople of England,
the laws and customs to them granted by the kings of Eng-
land, your lawful and religious predecessors ; and, namely,
the laws, customs, and franchises granted to the clergy by the
glorious King Edward the Third, your predecessor, according
to the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel estab-
lished in this kingdom, agreeable to the prerogative of the
kings thereof, and the ancient customs of this realm? Answer.
I grant and promise to keep them. Will you keep peace and
godly agreement entirely, according to your power, both to
God, the Holy Church, the Clergy, and the People ? Answer.
I will keep it. Will you, to your power, cause Law, Justice,
/and Discretion in mercy and truth to be executed to your
judgment? I will. Will you grant to hold and keep the
laws and rightful customs, which the Commonalty of this,
your kingdom, have ; and will you defend and uphold them
to the honour of God, so much, as in you lieth ? Answer. I
grant and promise so to do." Then one of the bishops read
this passage to the king, before the people, with a loud voice : —
" Our Lord and king, we beseech you to pardon, and to
grant and preserve unto us, and to the churches committed
to our charge, all canonical laws and privileges, and due law
and justice, and that you would protect and defend us as
every good king in his kingdom ought to be protector and
defender of the bishops, and the churches under their govern-
ment."
The King answered, " With a willing and devout heart,
I promise and grant my pardon, and that I will preserve and
maintain to you and the churches committed to your charge
all canonical privileges, and due law and justice; and that I
will be your protector and defender to my power by the
assistance of God, as every good king in his dominion, in
right ought to protect and defend the bishops and churches
under his government."
Then the king arose, and was led to the communion
table, where he took a solemn oath, in sight of all people, to
observe all the promises, and laying his hand upon the Bible,
said, "The things which I have here promised, I shall perform
and keep ; so help me God, and the contents of this book."
278 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
In the reign of Charles I., Archbishop Laud was accused
of making both a serious interpolation and an impor-
tant omission in the coronation oath — a circumstance which,
on his trial, brought its introductory clauses into warm
discussion. Our forefathers had ever been jealous of all
encroachments on what some copies of the old oath call " the
lawes and custumes of the people," by " old, rightfuU and
devoute kings graunted to the clergy, and to the people by
the glorious King St. Edward, according and conformable to
the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel established
in this kingdom," etc. They had even compelled the Con-
queror to engage repeatedly that these ancient statutes of
the kingdom should not be violated — a stipulation renewed
expressly in the great charter of his son, Henry I. Laud
was charged with adding after the clause last quoted these
words, " which the people have chosen or shall choose." Of
the latter charge he soon disposed by proving there were
no such words in the oath of James I., and of the former
he stated, " First, I humbly conceive this clause takes off
none of the people's assurance. Secondly, that alteration,
whatever it be, was not made by me — 'tis not altogether
improbable it was added to the oath in Edward the Sixth, or
Queen Elizabeth's time, and hath no relation at all to the
laws of this kingdom absolutely mentioned before in the begin-
ning of this oath ; but only to the words ' the profession of
the Gospel established in this kingdom ; ' and then imme-
diately follows, ' and agreeing to the prerogative of the
kings thereof.' If this be the meaning he that made the
alteration, whoever it were, for I did not, deserves thanks for
it, and not the reward of a traitor."
When Charles I. was crowned in Scotland, the form of
his coronation oath was as follows : —
^^ Archbishop. Sir, Avill you promise to serve Almighty
God, and as every good king in his kingdom ought to do,
maintain the gospel of Jesus Christ in this your kingdom,
against all atheism, profaneness, heresy, schism, or super-
stition whatsoever ? King. I promise faithfully so to do. —
Archbishop. Sir, will you promise to rule this people subject
to you, and committed to your charge, according to the laws,
constitutions, and customs of this your kingdom, causing (as
much as in you lieth) justice and equity to be ministered
without partiality? And to endeavour the peace of the
church of Christ and all Christians ? King. I grant and
THE CORONATION OATH, 2.7^
promise so to do. — ArchhisJiop. Sir, will you likewise promise
to preserve the rights and privileges of the crown of Scot-
land ? King. I promise so to do. — ArcJibisJiop. Sir, we do
also beseech you to grant unto us of the clergy, and to the
churches committed to our charge, all canonical privileges,
and that you will defend and protect us as every good king
ought in his kingdom, to defend his bishops and the churches
that be under their government. King. With a willing* heart
I grant the same, and promise to maintain you, and every
one of you, with all the churches committed to your charge, in
your old rights and privileges, according to law and justice." *
In the oath of James II., in which the precedent of
Charles II.'s coronation was followed, both these alleged
alterations are found.
The present coronation oath dates only from the acces-
sion of William and Mary. Immediately upon that event
"An Act for Establishing the Coronation Oath" (1 Will, and
Mary, c. 6) was passed, which recites that —
" Whereas, by the Law and ancient Usage of this Realm,
the Kings and Queens thereof have taken solemn Oath upon
the Evangelists at their respective Coronations, to maintain
the Statutes, Laws, and Customs of the said Realm, and
all the People and Inhabitants thereof in their Spiritual and
Civil Rights and Properties ; but forasmuch as the Oath
itself, on such occasion administered, hath heretofore been
framed in doubtful Words and Expressions, with relation to
ancient Laws and Constitutions at this time unknown. To
* In the debates of Parliament in 1657, it was resolved that a form
of oath should be submitted to the Lord Protector, to be solemnly taken
by him : — " I do, in the presence and by the name of God Almighty,
promise and swear, that, to the utmost of my power, I will uphold and
maintain the true reformed, Protestant, Christian religion, in the purity
thereof, as it is contained in the Holy Scripture of the Old and New
Testament ; and encourage the profession and the professors of the
same : and that, to the utmost of my power, I will endeavour as Chief
Magistrate of these three nations, the maintenance and preservation of
the just rights and privileges of the people thereof; and shall, in all
things, according to my best knowledge and power, govern the people of
these nations, according to law."
From the journals of the House it appears " that his Highness
was well satisfied with the form of the oath; only, he desires these
words may be inserted, * to the utmost of my power and understanding/
next after the word ' Testament," and that these words, ' of the peace
and safety, and' may be added to the oath, next after the word
* preservation.' "
aSo CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
f
the end, therefore, that One uniform Oath may be in all Times
to come taken by the Kings and Queens of this Realm, and
to them respectively administered at the times of their and
every of their Coronations.
" That the Oath herein mentioned, and hereafter ex-
pressed, shall and may be administered to Their Most Excel-
lent Majesties King William and Queen Mary (whom God
long preserve) at the time of their Coronation, in the presence
of all persons that shall be then and there present at the
solemnising thereof, by the Archbishop of Canterbury or
the Archbishop of York, or either of them, or by any other
Bishop of this Realm whom the King's Majesty shall there-
unto appoint, and who shall be hereby thereunto respectively
authorized ; which Oath followeth, and shall be administered
in this manner ; that is to say,
" The Archbishop, or Bishop shall say — 'Will you solemnly
promise to govern the people of this kingdom of England and
Dominions thereunto belonging, according to the Statutes in
Parliament agreed on, ^nd the Laws and customs of the same ?
" The King and Queen shall say — I solemnly promise so
to do.
" Archbishop or Bishop — Will you to your power cause
Law and Justice in Mercy to be executed, in all your judg-
ments ?
" King and Queen — I will,"
The Coronation Oath is as follows : —
''^Archbishop or Bishop — Will you, to the utmost of your
power, maintain the Laws of God, the true profession of the
Gospel, and the Protestant Reformed Religion established by
Law? And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of
this realm, and to the Churches committed to their Charge,
all such Rights and Privileges as by Law do or shall appertain
unto them or any of them ?
" King and Queen — All this I promise to do.
"After this the King and Queen, laying his and her hand
upon the Holy Gospels, shall say,
^^ King and Queen — The things which I have herebefore
promised, 1 will perform and keep. So help nie, God/
" Then the King and the Queen shall kiss the Book.
" And be it further enacted, That the said Oath shall be
in like manner administered to every King or Queen who
shall succeed to the Imperial Crown of this Realm at their
respective Coronations," etc.
THE CORONATION OATH. 281
Previous to Queen Anne taking the oatb, the Archbishop
of Canterbury inquired, " Is your Majesty willing to make
the Declaration ? " The queen answered, " I am willing."
The arclibishop having provided himself with the required
declaration, written on a roll of parchment, read it as
follows : —
" I, Anne, by the grace of God, Queen of England,
Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. do
solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare,
that I do believe that in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
there is not any transubstantiation of tlie elements of bread
and wine into the body and blood of Christ, at or after the
consecration thereof by any person whatsoever. 2ndly, that
the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary, or any other
saint, and the sacrifice of the mass, as they are now used in
the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. 3rdly,
and I do solemnly in, the presence of God, profess, testify, and
declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part
thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read to
me, as they are commonly understood by English Protestants,
without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation
whatsoever, and without any dispensation already granted to
me for this purpose, by the Pope, or any other authority or
person, or without any hope of such dispensation from any
person or authority whatsoever, or without thinking I am,
or can be, acquitted before God or man, or absolved of this
declaration, or of any part thereof, although the Pope, or any
other person or power whatsoever, should dispense with, or
annul the same, or declare that it was null and void from the
beginning."
The queen audibly made and repeated the same, and
afterw^ards subscribed it.
In 1706, twenty years after the declaration of Parliament,
an Act (6 Anne, c. 8) was passed "for securing the Church
of England as by law established," and by this Act, which
was inserted bodily in the Act of Union with Scotland, in
which it forms the twenty-fifth article, it was enacted: —
" That after the Demise of Her Majesty (whom God long
preserve) the Sovereign next succeeding to Her Majesty in
the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and
so for ever hereafter, every King or Queen succeeding, and
coming to the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Great
Britain, at his or her Coronation, shall, in the pi^sence of all
282 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
persons who shall be attending, assisting, or otherwise then
and there present, take and subscribe an Oath, to maintain
and preserve inviolably the said Settlement of the Church of
England, and the Doctrine, Worship, Discipline, and Govern-
ment thereof, as by Law established within the Kingdoms of
England and Ireland, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of
Berwick-npon-Tweed, and the Territories thereunto belong-
ing." The two latter places having been included in all
English Acts by 20 George II., cc. 42 and 43, these words were
afterwards omitted from the oath.*
The oath taken by George IV. was altered so far only as
to meet the requirements of the Act of Union with Ireland : —
^'' Arclibishop. Will you, to the utmost of your powder,
maintain the Laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel,
and the Protestant Reformed Religion established by Law ?
And will you maintain and preserve inviolably the Settle-
ment of the United Church of England and Ireland, and the
Doctrine, Worship, Discipline, and Government thereof, as
by Law established within England and Ii-eland, and the
Territories thereunto belonging ? And will you preserve
to the Bishops and Clergy of England and Ireland, and the
United Church committed to their charge, all such Rights
and Privileges as by Law do or shall appertain to them, or
any of them ?
" King. All this I promise to do."
This was the oath taken by King William TV. and Queen
Victoria — the coronation oath as it now exists, except that
in these two later cases the words " the Churches there " have
been substituted for " the United Church."
The following is an accurate copy of the oath taken by
Queen Victoria, as preserved in the Record Office : —
^^ Archbishop ; Madam, is Your Majesty willing to take the
* Goorgo III. attached peculiar sanctity to the coronation oath.
Lord Eldon relates that when the king was pressed to give his consent
to Roman Catholic emancipation, ho said, " I can give np my crown and
retire from power ; I can quit my palace and live in a cottage ; I can
lay ir\y liead on a block and lose my life ; but I cannot break my corona-
tion oath." The king told the Duke of Portland that were he to consent
to Catholic oniancipation, h(i would not only betray his trust and forfeit
his crown, but, in all probability, the framers of the measure would be
brought to tlie scaffold. [See " Letters from his late Majesty to the
late liord Kenyon on the Coronation Oath, with his Lordship's Answers,
also letters of the Right Hon. W. Pitt to his late Majesty (George III.)."
THE CORONATION OATH. 285
Oath? Queen; I am willing. ArchbisJiop; Will you solemnly
promise and swear to govern the People of this United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Dominions
thereto belonging, according to the Statutes in Parliament,
agreed, on, and. the respective laws and customs of the same ?
Queen : I solemnly promise so to do. Archbishop : Will you
to Your Power cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be exe-
cuted in all your Jud<>-ments ? Queen: I will. Archbishop:
Will You to the utmost of Yotur Power maintain the Laws
of God, the true Profession of the Gospel, and the Protes-
tant Reformed Rehgion established by Law ? And will You
maintain and preserve inviolably the Settlement of the United
Church of England and Ireland, and the Doctrine, Worship,
Discipline, and Government thereof, as by Law established
within England and Ireland, and the Territories thereunto
belonging ? And will you preserve unto the Bisho^ps and
Clergy of England and Ireland, and to the Churches there
committed to their charge, all such Rights and Privileges, as
by Law, do, and shall, appertain to them, or any of them ?
Queen: All this I promise to do. The things which I have
herebefore promised, I will perform and keep. So help me
God."
The oath, of which the foregoing is a copy, is vn:*itten on
vellum, and attached to that part of the coronation roll which
describes the mode in which the oath is administered. On
the accession of a sovereign to the throne of these realms, a
commission is issued under the great seal, constituting certain
members of the Privy Council a court for adjudicating on the
claims of persons who desire to render certain services, or to
receive certain fees and perquisites at the coronation. The
clerk of the Crown for the time being is always the clerk to
such court of claims, and as such it afterwards becomes his
duty to prepare the coronation roll, on which is recorded the
whole particulars of the ceremony, with the names of those
who did homage.
This roll is afterwards deposited with great ceremony
among the records of the Court of Chancery — a fact which
is duly recorded on the roll itself.
The original oath, as already stated, taken by the sovereign
is always attached to the coronation roll ; an exception must
be made in the case of the coronation roll of George IV.
At the coronation of that sovereign, when the time came
for him to subscribe the oath, it was found that by some over-
284 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
sight the vellum copy of the oath, which the sovereign was
to°subscribe, was not upon the altar. In this dilemma the
king, with great presence of mind, suggested that he should
subscribe the oath printed in the book oF the form and order
of the service ; and the fact that he did so is recorded m a
certificate from the Archbishop of Canterbury, which is
attached to the roll, and where, after certifying the admini-
stration of the oath in the manner prescribed, is added
as a " memorandum : " " The above mentioned Oaths not
being in this instance prepared upon Vellum, His Majesty
placed his signature to the said Oaths in a book containing
the form and order of the Service to be performed, and of
the Ceremonies to be observed in the Coronation of his said
Majesty, which book having the signature of His Majesty
to the said Oaths therein, remains deposited in the manuscript
library of the Archiepiscopal Palace at Lambeth.— C.
CanTUAR." 1 • 1, J.-U
The following is a record of the mode m which the
coronation roll was delivered : — i • i j
" Be it remembered that on Friday, the twenty-third day
of January, in the fourth year of the Reign of the said most
Serene Lord Kin<r George the Fourth, the before-named the
Right Honorable'' Sir Charles Abbott, Knight, Chief Justice
of ''the King's Bench, brought this Process into the open
Court of Chancery, in Lincoln's Inn Hall. And the said
Sir Charles Abbott with his own proper hand delivered the
same Process into the hands of the Right Honorable John,
Earl of Eldon, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain,
sitting the Court there, which same Lord Chancellor, then
and there likewise delivered the same into the hands of the
Right Honorable Sir Thomas Plumer, Knight, Master, or
Keeper of the Rolls of the said Court of Chancery, to remain
of Record amongst the Records and Rolls of the Court of
Chancery aforesaid, as well as in the presence of the said Sir
Charles Abbott, as of the whole court aforesaid."
The coronation rolls contain the commission and proceed^
ings of the commissioners appointed to hear and declare
claims of service to be performed at coronations, as well as
the oaths taken by the king or queen when crowned— the
collection of which, with the exception of the coronation rolls
of Charles T. and George III., which are wanting, is perfect
from James 1. to Queen Victoria.
( 285 )
CHAPTER IX.
THE ANOINTING.
" Not all the water in the rough, rude sea
Can wash the balm from an anointed king."
Shakspere, Richard III.
" Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven ! "
King John.
,N a rare and curious old book in
the British Museum, " The royal
Charter granted unto Kings by
God himself, and collected out of
his Holy Word in both Testa-
ments, by T. B., D"" in Divinitie,"
are the following observations : —
^^ Anointing is a sacred signature,
betokening sovereignty, obedience
to the throne, submission to the
scepter, allegiance to the crown ;
and, supremacy to the oyle must
needs be given, for oyle will have
it ; pour oyle, and wine, and
water, and vinegar, or what other
liqueur you please, together oyle
will be sure to be the uttermost. Kings are the Lord's
anointed, because they are anointed with his own oyle,
oleo sancto meo, with my holy oyl have I anointed him.
Psal. Lxxxix. 20, It is not with any common or vulgar oyl,
or oyl that any laies claim to but himself ; but it is oleo meo,
my oyl : neither is it oyl that was fetched out of any common
shop or warehouse ; but it is oleo sancto, with holy oyl, oyl
out of the sanctuary : and no question but that this is a main
reason (if they would speak out) why some have such an
aking tooth at the sanctuaries ; because they maintain in
them oyl for the anointing of kings : but if the alabaster
box were broken, the ointment w'^ soon be lost ; if they c**
persuade the king out of the cburch into the barne, they
286 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
w** soon pul] a reed out of the thatch, to put into his hand
instead of a scepter ; or if they c** get him to hear sermons
under a hedge, there w*^ not be materials wanting to make
a crown of thorns to pleat it on his head."
In another chapter the author endeavours to prove that
bad kings as well as good are to be held sacred and divine :
" When in the cave of Engidi, David m* have cut off Saul's
head ; like precious oyntment ! he descends only to the skirts
of his garment ; and with a quid feci ? checks himself and
beshrews his heart that he had done so much," etc. After
adducing many such cases from Holy Writ, the author comes
to the conclusion "that no faults or pretences whatsoever
can make it lawful to depose, or so much as to touch, the
Lord's anointed."
In the Holy Scriptures we have the first detailed mention
of the inauguration of a sovereign by anointing. The Israelites
having assembled and urged Samuel — who was di*awing near
to his end — to name a king to reign over them, he at first
refused, but in obedience to the command of Grod he did so, and
Saul, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, was elected.
" Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his
head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord
hath anointed thee to be captain over His inheritance ? "
(1 Sam. X. 1). The consecration was repeated at Gilgal,
after the slaughter of the Ammonites (b.c. 1095).*
The reign of Saul was of short duration ; David was
elected in his place, and as soon as Samuel had anointed
him, " the spirit of the Lord left Saul, and filled David."
* The anointing of rvilcrs previous to the time of Saul, however,
must have been usual from the words in Judges ix. 8 : " The trees went
forth on a time to anoint a king over them ; and they said nnto the
olive tree, Keign thou over us."
" Though," observes Mcnin in his "Histoire du Sacre," " the anointing
of kings was only practised among the Hebrews, and not introduced
into any other kingdoms before Christianity ; yet, God, who has a
particular care for monarchs, whom He makes the delegates of His
supreme authority here below, has always inspired the most barbarous
])eople, plunged in the darkness of paganism and idolatry, with senti-
ments of love and veneration for their kings; so that all nations of the
world, from their first origin, have observed, and still keep up, some
cenMuonies of show and splendour in the election and coronation of
their kings, or governors; which, though they differ according to the
manners, laws, and customs of such people in })arrictilar, yet all tend
to the same purpose, which is, to stamp a singulai- character upon the
prince, that points out Ids greatness, and the autliority he lias over his
people ; and creates a duo fear and respect to his government."
THE ANOINTING. 287
The Scriptures tell us that when a certain Amalekite
brought to David the news of the death of Saul, and repre-
sented himself as the person who had slain him, expecting
without doubt a splendid reward for the presumed service,
David said to him, " How wast thou not afraid to stretch,
forth thine band against the Lord's anointed ? " After a
glorious reign, when old and infirm, the royal Psalmist
delegated the affairs of sovereignty to his son Solomon,
whom he caused to be proclaimed king, after having placed
him upon his throne ; for he feared that after his death the
succession might be disputed, and bring heavy troubles upon
the people. Solomon, mounted upon the mule of his father,
was conducted by the high priest Zadok and the prophet
Nathan to Gihon, where the king was anointed with, the oil
taken from the tabernacle, where it had been deposited ; for
it was regarded with peculiar sanctity. Zadok the priest
and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king. And they
blew the trumpets, and "piped with pipes, and rejoiced with,
great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them."
And they said, " God save King Solomon ! Long live the king !
May the king live for ever ! "
We have also in the Scriptures some particulars of the
crowning and anointing of Joash, the eight king of Judah,
in his seventh year (b.c. 878). By the contrivance of the high,
priest Jehoiada, to elude the vigilance of the usurper Athaliah,
the child — the only surviving scion of David's illustrious
house — was brought forth secretly on an appointed day, and.
appeared in the place of the kings, by a particular pillar in
the Temple court ; the book of the law was placed in his hands,
and he was crowned and anointed with the usual ceremonies,
and amidst the cries of " Long live the king ! " from the people.
Tertullian mentions that the sacred oil * was always
used in the coronation ceremonials of the Hebrew monarchs —
* Of the composition of the unguents for the pui^poses of consecration,
the most ancient of which we have any knowledge is the ointment
prepared at the Divine command by Moses, and particularly described
in the Book of Exodus (xxx. 23, 25). This unguent, which is dis-
tinguished from consecrated oil, was, however, a fluid ; it is said —
though perhaps figuratively — to have run down upon Aaron's beard,
and descended to the skirts of his garment.
The oil spoken of in Holy Scripture is always pure olive oil, or the
holy oil, which contained other ingredients besides. And it is to be
noted that the olive was in many ways a sacred tree, and always
associated with peace and blessedness, fruitfulness and prosperity.
288 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
which included a period of nine ages — to the destruction
of the Temple of Solomon, in which it was kept and regarded
with peculiar sanctity. At this time the holy chrism of
the Jews was lost, and, as it was deemed unlawful to attempt
renovation of it, the practice of anointing was laid aside.
The Jews probably derived the practices of crowning and
anointing from the Egyptians, " whose temples," as Sir
Gardiner Wilkinson informs us ("Ancient Egyptians," vol. v.
p. 277, et seq^., edit. 1847), "and more particularly those of
Memnoniem, or Reraesseum, and Medenet Haboo, contain
to this day pictorial representations of the pomp and cere-
monies common to such occasions, and which agree in the
most remarkable particulars with the several descriptions of
similar institutions contained in Holy Writ."
Dr. Kitto supports this presumption, from the circum-
stance that the custom of inaugural anointing first occurs
among the Israelites immediately after they left Egypt, and
no example of the same kind is met with previously ; thus it
is fair to conclude that the practice and the motives con-
nected with it were acquired in that country. As the Jewish
lawgiver mentions the ceremony of pouring oil upon the head
of the high priest after he had put on his entire dress, with
the mitre and crown, the Egyptians represent the anointing of
their priests and kings after they were attired in their full
robes, with the cap and crown upon their heads.
Cyrus, King of Persia, is called the " Lord's anointed,"
which is a frequent expression of kings in the Scriptures.
Sri d'liamasauka, King of Birmah (289 years B.C.), is
described in Birmese story as having received the " sacred
effusion," the Hindoo coronation equivalent to our anointment.
From the East is, therefore, derived the custom of anoint-
ing the sovereigns of Christendom.*
" The many instances," remarks Lingard, " of royal
* The chief of the closcriptive names and oflRcial titles of the Saviour
and Redeemer of mankind is the Messiah, wliich in Greek has been
rendered Christ, and in our own langua^jfc Anointed. At a very early-
period, oil appears to have been a divinely instituted symbol of the Holy
Spirit, the Sauctifier ; not merely a type, but a sacramental sign and
m(>ans of consecration. By it, inanimate objects were made sacred.
Thus Jacob poured oil on a memorial or dedication stone at Bethel, and
thus the tabernacle and its furniture wore consecrated. Moreover,
oil entered largely into the ritual of offerings and sacrifices. By it,
prophets, ])riests, and kings w(»re consecrated, and were thereby endued
with the gifts of the lloly Spirit.
^ THE ANOINTING. 289
nnction in the Scriptures offer a sufficient reason why every
Christian nation should, at a very early period, have initiated
the practice." Gildas, doubtless more oratorical than historical,
states that the kings who reigned in Britain about the close of
the fifth century were accustomed to receive the royal nnction.
The earliest authentic instances of the ceremony of
unction, as an essential element in Christian coronations in
Europe, appear in the annals of the Spanish kingdoms. The
rite is mentioned in the Acts of the Sixth Council of Toledo
(a.d. 636). The unction, it appears, was an established
custom, and took place at Toledo.
From \^Q " Pontiticale " of Archbishop Egbert (732-767)
it may be concluded that the Northumbrian princes in our
country were anointed in his time.
The ritual, together with other ceremonies, expressly in-
cludes the anointing of the king's head with oil : " Bene-
dictio super regem noviter electum. Hie verget oleum cum
cornu super caput ipsius cum antiphone ' unxerunt Salomo-
nem'et Psalmo ' Domine in virtute tua.' Unus ex ponti-
ficibus dicat orationem et alii unguant."
The twelfth Canon of the Council of Celchyth (a.d. 787)
contains a valuable incidental mention of unction, as an
essential element of the kingly office, in the words " Nee
Christus Domini esse valet nee rex totius regni qui ex legi-
timo non fuerit connubis generatus." Of Egferth, son of
Offa, who was crowned at this council as his father's col-
league, the language of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, in which
this is the earliest coronation mentioned, " hallowed to king,"
can only be interpreted of unction, and so William of Malms-
bury has understood it "in regem inunctum." Eardwulf,
King of Northumberland, is recorded to have been conse-
crated and elevated to his throne by Archbishop Eanbald
and three bishops ; and, finally, of Alfred the same chronicle
says (a.d. 854) that when Pope Leo IV. heard of the death
of Ethel wulf, he consecrated him king. The rhyming
chronicle of Robert of Gloucester, in describing this corona-
tion, uses the remarkable phrase " he oiled him to be king."
Pepin, the successor of Charles Martel, was, according to
strict historical evidence,* the first anointed sovereign in
* Le Noble, in his " Histoire du Sacre, etc., des rois do France "
(Paris, 1825), observes, with reijfard to the Sainte Ampoule, that the early
annalists, in alluding to the consecration of Pepin, state that it was done
" according to ancient usage." D'Yves de Chartres says that Goutran,
U
290 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
France. He was twice consecrated, once at Soissons, by
Saint Boniface, the papal legate, in the year 750, and in 755
in the abbey of St. Denis by Pope Stephen III., who poured
the sacred oil upon his head, his breast, and under the
shoulders, with the words, " With this holy oil I consecrate
thee king, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost." Charlemagne, King of the Franks, who obtained
the empire of the West, was anointed Emperor of the Romans
(November 24, 800), at St. Peter's, by Pope Leo III. On
this occasion, says Constantin Manasses, the monarch re-
ceived the oil from the head to the feet, " according to the
custom prescribed by the Jewish law."
In the earliest detailed particulars of the coronation ser-
vice of our English monarchs, that of Ethelred II. (a.d. 978),
preserved among the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum,
after the consecrating prayer by the bishops, concluding
with the words that " God would anoint thee king with the
grace of His Holy Spirit," the unction was performed, but in
what manner is not mentioned. This differed considerably
in succeeding consecrations.* Richard I. was stripped to
his shirt and drawers to receive the anointment. In some
ordinals. the king was anointed in three places, in some five,
others seven. So much sanctity was attached to this cere-
monial, that, formerly, the piece of fine linen with which the
oil was wiped off was religiously burnt, from a dread of
pollution ; the king's head was to be covered with a thin
small cap, which was to be worn for eight days, when the
Abbot of Westminster was to take it off and wash the part.
In the " Device for the Coronation of King Henry VII."
(Rutland Papers, " Camden Society ") is given the formula
connected with the anointing of the monarch, " who shall go to
King of Orleans, and Caribort, or Cherebert, King of Paris, were con-
secrated in the sixtli century with the holy unction.
* " With regard to the unction, it strikes me," says Dr. Freeman,
" that according to the ancient English rite, the king was simply
anointed on the head. The rubric in Ethelred's office, copied in the
French office, is simply ' hie unguatur olco.' In the later offices, the
king is anointed on the hands, breasts, shoulders, and elbows, and on
the head last of all. In the very ancient office printed by Maskell (p. 76)
from the ' Tontifical ' of Archbishop Ecgberht, the rubric is ' hie verget
oloum cum cornu super caput ipsius,' but another rubric follows, * unus
ex j)ontificibus dicat orationem et alii unguaut." This may possibly
mean such a manifold unction as we find in the later offices, but at any
rate the order is different."
THE ANOINTING. 291
the liigli aulter susteynged with the said Busshoppes, as aboue
said, wher as the Bling shalbe vnraied and vnclothed by his
Chamber lay n, vnto his cote of crymesyn saten largely opened
as the sherts be, which all iij coots and ij sherts shall be
opend afor, behinde, on the shuldres, and the elbowes, by
the said Cardinall, to thentent that in those places he be
annoynted.
" And whiles he is anoynted, Sir Thomas Mongomery and
Sir Thomas Borough ben appoynted for to hold a pall oner
hym, and, fiirst, the said Cardinall, sitting, shall anoyiit the
King, kneling on quisshons, with holy oile, in the palmes of
his hands, saying thise words, Vngatur onanus &c., with this
colet Bespice OTnnipotens Deus, the quere synging in the
meanetym, and contynuelly whiles the Kinge is anoynted,
Vnxerunt Uegem, and the salme, Domine, in vertute tua letabitur
Rex, &c., he shall anoynte the King with the same oile on the
brest, in the myddes of his bak, on his ij shuldres, on his ij
elbowes, and on his hed, with the said oile making a crosse,
and afterward making an other crosse with the holy creme on
his said hed, after the end of that colet, the Cardynall seying
to eury place to be anoynted, wordes conveniently, as is in
example, to the hed these wordes Vngatur caput, and to the
shuldres Vngafitur scapule.
" And it is to be remembered, that the abbot of West-
mynster, after the Kinges inunccion, shall drye all the places
of his body wher he was anoynted, with som coton or som
lynon cloth, which is to be brend, and forthwith close and
luse ayen the openyngs of the Kinges said shurte and cote,
puttyng on the Kinges hands a pair of lynon gloves, to be
brought thidre by his said Chamberlayn."
The king's head is afterwards to be " washed, dryed, and
kymbed." In the " Liber Regalis " St. Edward's ivory comb
is to be used if the king's hair, after the anointing, lie not
smooth. In Sporley's catalogue of the regalia (see chapter
on the " Regalia of England and Scotland ") there is also
mention of a golden comb, but Mr. Planche states that the
Parliament Commissioners in 1649 found neither a gold nor
an ivory comb, but " one old comb of home, worth nothing."
The ceremony of the queen's anointing is thus related :
" Then the Queue, lad as aboue, shall go to the aulter, the
greces afor it honorably arraied with carpetts and quisshons,
by thusshers of the queue's chambre, wher yppon the
Queue shall lie prostrat as the King dud afor, the Cardinal
292 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
seing oner this orison, Deus qui solus hahes ; that ended she
shall arise and knele and by (her) the great ladye that shalbe
alwaies attending vppon her, the cercle of gold taken from,
her brest by the cardynall opjned, the same Cardinall shall
anoynt her twoo tymes ; furst, in her forhed, with hole oyle,
making a crosse, saying thise words, In nomine Patris et Filii
et Spiritus sancti, amen, prosit tibi hec unctio ; secondly, with
the same oile in her brest, with the same words and maner
folowingly, the Cardinall shall say this orison, Omnipotens
sempiterne Deus, which ended the said grete lady shall close
her brest."
The mediaeval rite of royal nnction is peculiar in anoint-
ing the head, breast, and arms, denoting glory, sanctity, and
strength.
The chrism (such as was used in baptisms, confirmations,
and consecrations) was an unguent of oil mingled with balm,
which was prepared at a particular season, and always conse-
crated by a bishop, by whom only it could be used, except in
case of necessity, in the rites of baptism. This, says Taylor,
was the chrism of our coronations, such as was used in the
unction of Edward VI., and in that of Mary. The latter
monarch would not be anointed, it is said, with the same
chrism that had been consecrated on the previous occasion by
the ministers of the reformed religion, but the sacred unction
was sent from Brussels by the Emperor Charles V., at her
request.
A legendary interest is attached to the consecrated oil
used at the corcmation of our earlier monarchs. It is stated
that Thomas a Becket was in banishment at Lyons, and was
praying one night in a church, when the Virgin appeared to
him with a golden eagle and a small vial of stone or glass,
which she delivered to the archbishop, assuring him of the
happiest effects on those kings who should be anointed with
it, and commanded him to deliver it to a monk of Poitiers,
who w^oald conceal it in a large stone in the church of St.
Gregory. In this place the ampulla with the eagle, and an
account of the vision written by St. Thomas, were preserved
until the reign of Edward III., when they were discovered in
consequence of a dream by a holy man, who brought the
sacred vessel to the Duke of Lancaster, and by him it was
delivered to the Black Prince, who sent it to the Tower, where
it was kept iu a strong chest. Here it was found by Richard
THE ANOINTING. - 293
II., who wished to be anointed with it; but he was told it was
enough for him to have received the holy unction, and that it
ought not to be repeated ; nor was it used until the accession
of Henry IV., who was anointed with it at his coronation in
1399.
One of the accusations against Richard II. was, says
Walsingham, " that he had carried with him towards Ireland,
without the consent of the states of the kingdom, the treasures,
relics, and jewels of the Crown." The holy oil of anointing
used at coronations, he kept about him during the remainder
of his difficulties, till it was " wrested from him at Chester by
the Duke, who entertained, or affected to entertain, the same
superstitious value for it."
A still greater legendary interest, in point of antiquity, is
attached to the Sainte Ampoule, which occupied a very pro-
minent position in French coronations from the ninth century
to the consecration of Charles X. in 1824. Hincmar, Arch-
bishop of Rheims in the ninth century, relates, in his " Life of
St. Remi," that the vial containing the celestial unction was
brought from heaven by a white dove for the coronation of
King Clovis. " And, behold," says the legend, " a dove fairer
than snow, suddenly brought down a vial in his mouth, full
of holy oil. All present were delighted with the fragrance of
it, and when the Archbishop received it, the dove vanished." *
Solemn ceremonies attended the removal of the holy vial
to Notre Dame de Rheims from the abbey of St. Remi, where
it was preserved within the founder's tomb. Before the relic
* " Guillermtis Brifco," observes Selden, in his " Titles of Honour,"
Bpeaking of the coronation of Philip I., " describes the consecrating oil as
having been derived from heaven. ' And for the manner how it came,
he says that the Devil broke the viol of oil which St. Remigius held in
his hand ready to use it in the baptism of King Clovis, and that the oil
being so spilt, he obtained by prayer a supply from heaven. ' "
In Flodoard, who wrote in the first half of the tenth century, we find
the legend fully developed. He tells us that at the baptism of Clovis the
clerk who bore the chrism was prevented by the crowd from reaching his
proper station ; and that when the moment of unction arrived, St. Remi
raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, when " ecce subito columba ceu
nix advolat Candida rostro deferens ampullam ccelestis doni chrismate
repletam."
But, alas ! for poetry and legend, the miracle of the Sancta Ampulla,
it must be added, was not heard of till four hundred years after the date
of the supposed event, and then in connection with the baptism and
confirmation of Clovis !
294 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
was removed, hostages, consisting of fonr noblemen, selected
by the king, were sent to the abbey as a guarantee of its safe
restoration, and a guard of honour, consisting of fifty in-
habitants of Chene-le-Pouilleux (a town six leagues from
Rheims), who claimed this privilege from time immemorial,
was appointed to watch over it during its transfer. Upon
these occasions it was transported in a richly chased reliquary
in the form of a dove suspended to the neck of the grand
prior (by a silver chain), who rode on a beautiful white
palfrey, which, with its embroidered trappings and the costly
canopy borne over the prior's head, were gifts from the
ki :g to the chapter of St. Remi. First in the procession
appeared a long train of priests, monks, and choristers ; then
came a deputy master of the ceremonies, and a field officer of
the king's guards, attired in rich mantles ; the grand prior
followed, with the Sainte Ampoule, the four poles of the
canopy over him being borne by the knights barons of the
Sainte Ampoule. The guard of honour and military closed the
procession, which, upon reaching the door of the metropolitan
church, was met by the archbishop and clergy.
The prior, having dismounted, requested the archbishop to
engage, on oath, to restore the precious I'elic, and the latter
having given the required assurance, " on the faith of a pre-
late," the former delivered the Sainte Ampoule into his hands,
and it was then placed on the altar. In the ceremony of
anointing, the archbishop, having dipped the tip of his right
thumb in the ointment, proceeded to apply it to the king —
first, on the summit of the head ; secondly, on the breast ;
thirdly, on the back ; then on the right and left shoulder, and
on the joints of the right and left arm. Two officiating
bishops opened the king's camisole at the appointed places,
whilst the archbishop crossed himself, and accompanied each
unction with the following words : — " I anoint thee king with
the holy oil, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Ghost."
The ceremony of the first seven nnctions being completed,
the bishops closed the openings in the royal camisole with
the gold laces attached to them, and the grand chamberlain
placed the tunic and dalmatic — which the kings of France
assumed as lay canons — and royal mantle on the king, who
again knelt down and was anointed twice more on the
hands.
The anointing in nine places was a later development of
THE ANOINTING, 295
the rite of unction. When Charles the Bald was crowned by
Hincmar (a.d. 869), the head alone was anointed, in three
places — the right ear, the forehead round to the left ear, and
the crown on the head.
Monstrelet mentions that in 1483 Louis XI. determined,
in consequence of his illness, to have the holy ampulla
brought to him from Rheims, Monfaucon, Governor of
Auvergne, was specially commissioned for this purpose. It
was brought to Paris, and was carried with much reverence
in a solemn procession, and afterwards conveyed to the king
at Plessis-le-Parc. It was accompanied by the rods of Moses
and Aaron, and the cross of victory, which had been sent to
Charlemagne that he might vanquish the infidels.
In Menestrier's " Histoire du Roy Louis le Grrand," on the
reverse of a medal of Louis XIV., above the view of the city
of Rheims, is a dove descending, holding a flask in its beak,
and surrounded by rays of light. The explanation given is
(" Sacrat. ac. salut. Rhemis."), " Sacre et salue a Rheims le
7 Juin 1654. — le revers est la Sainte Ampoule qui descend du
ciel, avec la ville de Rheims, oil se fit le Sacre, et ou il fut
salue Roy par les princes, etc." The vial called the Sainte
Ampoule was about an inch in diameter at the bottom, and
not more than two inches high. It contained a balsam of a
reddish-brown colour, and used to be enclosed in a shrine of
gold, surrounded with precious stones, and kept in a bag of
crimson velvet. At a coronation a small portion of congealed
balsam was taken out by the Archbishop of Rheims with a
golden pin, and mixed with holy chrism, to which it gave a
reddish colour. When the Revolution broke out the sacred
vial was taken from the tomb of St. Rrcmigius and concealed ;
but Philip Ruhl, a deputy of the Convention, had it brought
forth, on October 6, 1793, into the public square at Rheims, and
broke the vial to pieces with a hammer. The officer, how-
ever, who brought the vial is said to have dipped a needle
into it, and thus obtained a small portion of its contents ; and
some persons who stood near, particularly a M. L. Champagne
Prevoteau, picked up and preserved some fragments of the
glass, with some of the holy balsam adhering to them. On May
22, previous to the coronation of Charles X., which took place
May 29, 1825, the Archbishop of Rheims took the depositions
of those persons who had preserved any portions of the Sainte
Ampoule, and collected the remains of the balsam which
adhered to the fragments. These were deposited in a new
296 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
vial, and from this the archbishop took a little to mix with
the holy chrism with which he anointed King Charles X. The
new vial was deposited, like the former, in the tomb of St.
Remigius.
France can boast of a double legend in connection with the
Sainte Ampoule — that of St. Martin of Marmoutier-les-Tours —
with which Henry IV. was consecrated. A celestial origin is
ascribed to it, according to which St. Martin, having fallen
from a ladder, was so injured that his life was despaired
of. An angel appeared to him, carrying a small vial, full of
fragrant oil, with which he anointed his wounds, and he was
immediately relieved. This legend is related in the life of the
saint by St. Paulin.*
At the coronation of Henry IV., the precious oil was con-
veyed in a chariot made for the purpose, amidst great pomp.
A white horse was sent for the sacristan of the abbey of
Marmoutier, who carried the sacred vial under a damask
covering.
The emperors of Austria, being Catholics, are crowned
according to the order of coronation in the Roman pontifical,
which prescribes anointing with the Oleum Catechumentorum,
— the right arm at the wrist, at the elbow, and between the
shoulders. Charlemagne, when crowned in Rome as Emperor
of the West by Pope Leo. I., was anointed with oil from, head
to foot ; but this was exceptional. According to Goar (quoted
by Selden),the emperors of the East were not anointed "before
that Charles the Great was crowned in the West."
The anointing of the Russian emperors is the most essential
distinction between the ceremonials of that country and' other
European coronations. There the coronation takes prece-
dence of the anointing ; whereas in Germany and England,
and during the monarchy of France, the sovereigns are, and
were, first anointed and then crowned. The metropolitan
* Among the relics of the treasury of the cathedral of Monza in
Italy, is an ampulla for sacred oil said to have been presented by
Gregory the Great to Theodelinda, wife of Antharis, King of Lombardy,
probably some time soon after a.d. 590. It is circular, and the head of
our Lord, with a cruciform nimbus, is placed at the top. Below, to right
and left, are tlio two thieves with extended arms, but without crosses;
and below them two figures are kr .-eling by a crosS which seems to be
budding into leaves. Two saint"^., or angels, are on the extreme right
and left, and the usual holy sepulchre below, with an angel watching it
on the right in the act of Vcnediction, while St. John and St. Mary
Magdalene are (apparently'', approaching it on the other side.
THE ANOINTING. 297
immerses a golden branch into the vessel containing the
chrism, and with it anoints the emperor's forehead, eyelids,
nostrils, ears, and lips, and the backs and palms of his hands,
saying, " This is a token of the gift of the Holy Ghost."
The empress receives the nnction only on the forehead.
298
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
CHAPTER X.
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS.
*"Tis thought the king is dead; "sve ■will not stay.
The bay -trees in our country are all withered,
And meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven ;
The pale-faced moon looks bloody on the earth,
And lean-looked prophets whisper fearful change ;
Rich men look sad, and ruffians dance and leap,
(The one in fear to lose what they enjoy,
The other to enjoy by rage and war) :
These signs forerun the death or fall of kings."
Shakspeee, Richard II., Act ii. Sc. 4.
MEN is a word representing a
sign, good or bad, as a pro-
gnostic. It may be defined as
that indication of sometbing
future which we get, as it
were, by accident, and without
our seeking for. In this sense
I have now to enter upon the
present chapter, as regards
the coronations of the sove-
reigns of our country. By our
forefathers, the least untoward
incident or event on these
solemn occasions was magnified by superstitious tendencies
into a forecast of the future ; and although, ha]ipily, we are
released at the present day from the heaviest trammels of a
diseased imagination, yet a lingeriug feeling of the old leaven
exists, and will probably remain, until education and refine-
ment eradicate these remnants of weakness and folly.*
* Referring to omous at a groat national crisis, a writer in the
Times (September 22, 1863) says, "Every throb in the political
ground is acutely felt, every tremor in the air is caught by the ear
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 299
It is curious to observe tlie strength, and vitality of super-
stition in the Middle Ages, and in regard to the august cere-
mony of the consecration of sovereigns, the slightest circum-
stance of remissness or accident furnished matter for pro-
gnostics, good or evil, the latter, of course, predominating.
An untoward event is said to have disturbed the coro-
nation festivities of Edwy, or King Edwin the Fair, son of
King Edmund, in 955. An extraordinary outrage was prac-
tised upon the person of this sovereign, giving rise to a
prognostic that the power of the Church would predominate
over the monarchy. It seems that King Edwin had retired
from the coronation banquet to enjoy the society of his wife,
to whom he was related in the prohilaited degree. The guests
at the feast were displeased at his absence, and incited by the
provocative words of Archbishop Odo, who had just crowned
the monarch, deputed the famous Dunstan and Cynesius,
Bishop of Lichfield, to recall the king to his place at the
table. The commission was performed with an amount of
brutality which can only be ascribed to the licence of the age.
Ethelgiva was in the royal chamber with King Edwin and
her daughter, when the two priests entered rudely and unan-
nounced. The king was in a gay mood, and had taken off
his crown, which he had placed on the ground, and probably
thought irksome, because he had not been able to share it
with the woman he loved. He refused to go, and Dunstan
dragged him rudely from his seat, and forced the crown again
upon his head. Ethelgiva upbraided the abbot for his inso-
lence, who retorted with violence. The young king, however,
recovered his dignity, and one of his first acts was to deprive
Dunstan of all the ofiices he held, and to sentence him to
banishment. Retaliation, however, ensued, and the miserable
fate of Ethelgiva is well known.
The coronation of King Ethelred, in 979, was clouded
by the ominous denunciations of Dunstan against the
monarch, for wearing a crown bought with the price of
blood (the murder of Edward by Edgar's first wife, but
of which crime Ethelred, being very young at the period,
instantly, and every motion on the surface of things is observed with
anxiety ; it is made an ornen on one side or the other, it speaks to the
whole nation, it prophesies an issue. The air of a troubled state
becomes soon thick with signs and prognostics, and everybody becomes
an augur, a soothsayer, an interpreter of dreams, and every event is hailed
as a bright, or a black one."
300 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
was innocent).* Dunstan, on this occasion, moved as by a
prophetic spirit, declared to the young monarch all the
calamities to which the kingdom would be exposed in his
reign : " Because thou hast aspired to the crown by the
death of thy brother, whom thy mother hath murdered,
therefore hear the word of the Lord. The sword shall not
depart from thine house, but shall furiously rage all the days
of thy life, killing thy seed, until such time as thy kingdom
shall be given to a people whose customs and language the
nation thou governest know not ; neither shall thy sin, the
sin of thy mother, and the sins of those men who were par-
takers of her counsels and executors of her wicked designs,
be expiated, but by a long and most severe vengeance."
Harold's assumption of the crown was inaugurated by an
ominous incident : Edward the Confessor lay on his death-
bed (January 5, 1066). It is traditionally stated that Harold
and his kinsmen forced their way into the apartment of the
dying monarch, and exhorted him to name a successor. " Ye
know full well, my lords," said Edw^ard, "that I have
bequeathed my kingdom to the Duke of Normandy, and are
there not those here whose oaths have been given to secure
his succession ? " Harold stepped nearer, and interrupted
the king. He asked of Edward upon whom the crown
should be bestowed. The king answered, " Harold, take it,
if such be thy wish, but the gift will be thy ruin. Against
the duke and his baronage, no power can avail thee." Harold
replied " that he did not fear the Norman nor any other
enemy." The dying king, wearied, turned himself upon the
couch, and faintly intimated that the English nation might
name a king, Harold or whom they liked, and then expired.
The coronation of William the Conqueror was ominously
marked by the absence (it is said by some writers) of Stigand,
Archbishop of Canterbury, who, according to William of
Newbury, " manfully refused to crown one who was covered
with the blood of men, and the invader of others' rights." |
* Ethelred had, on the contrary, tenderly loved his brother, and was
inconsolable on hearing the news of his death, which so excited his
mother p]lfrida, " that," relates Holinshed, " she furiously assaulted
him with a huge wax taper, and beat the boy so severely that she had
almost made an end of him also. So impressed upon the memory of
Ethelred was this cruelty that he could not bear afterwards to have these
candles lighted before him."
t The biography of William tlio Conqueror from the first sailing of
his fleet from Normandy to England, to the battle of Hastings, is
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 301
At the moment when the crown was placed on the king's
head, the Norman guards, mistaking the acclamations of the
spectators for some tumult, fell upon the people outside, and
began to set fire to the neighbouring houses, until the king
showed himself to them in his state robes, when the fears of
his followers were allayed, and the riots ceased. The spec-
tators in the abbey, noticing the glare of the burning houses,
fled from the church precipitately. William alone, with a few
marked by superstitious incidents, to which, however, we must add that
the duke rose superior to his followers. After being detained in the Dive
by contrary winds, the invading fleet succeeded in reaching the harbour
of St. Valery. Still it could not make sail, and so many obstacles
occurred, in addition to the adverse elements, that the bravest began to
doubt, and the duke was compelled to have recourse to his old expedient
of reassuring the minds of the weak and wavering by a fresh appeal
to their ignorance and superstition. He proclaimed a religious cere-
mony, at which the entire armament was to attend, to invoke the aid of
all their tutelary saints. The desired success followed. Some of his
vessels had already been beaten back, others lost, and in this dilemma
he was accosted by a holy man, who inquired why he looked so down-
cast. " I want a fair wind," was the duke's reply. " Then why,"
answered the stranger, " do you not address your prayers to Saint
Valery, and he will send you a fair wind and all you need." At this
comfortable assurance the duke instantly ordered a public procession to
take place in honour of the saint, accompanied by all his relics, and his
body itself, which was conveyed from the adjacent abbey.
On arriving at Pevensey (September 28, 1086), so great was the
duke's impatience to effect a landing unopposed, that, advancing first, he
leaped upon the shore, and his foot slipping, he fell ; but, observing his
followers disconcerted at this bad augury, he grasped the earth with
both hands, exclaiming, " By the splendour of the earth, I have seized
England with both hands."
A similar story to this is related by Froissart of Edward III. : " When
the fleet of England were all safely arrived at La Hogue, the King
leaped on shore first, but by accident he fell, and with such violence
that the blood gushed out of his nose. The knights that were near him
said, ' Dear sir, let us entreat you to return to your ship, ard not to think
of landing to-day, for this is an unfortunate omen.' The King instantly
replied, * For why ? I look upon it as very favourable, and a sign that
the land is desirous of me.' "
It is recorded of Julius Caesar that, on alighting from shipboard in
Africa, his foot slipped, and he fell. He also averted the omen, and
turned it to good account by exclaiming, " Africa, I hold thee fast ! "
In arming for the battle at Hastings, Duke William called for his
harness. His coat of mail was brought forth ; but in putting it on, by
some accident, the forepart was turned hindmost. It was an evil omen
to some of his followers ; but (said the duke) the sign was a good one,
for as the hauberk had been turned about, so he who bore it would be
turned from a duke into a king.
302 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
priests, remained, and althougli lie is said to have " trembled
violently," he refused to postpone the coronation, and, amidst
a scene of confusion, the ceremony was proceeded with,
" The deeds of wrong," remarks Dr. Freeman, " of that
mid-winter day were not forgotten. Men saw in them an
omen of what the rule of the Norman would be. There can
be no doubt that they did much to set the minds of English-
men against the new king and his government. And in truth
the deeds of wrong of that day were, in every way, a presage
of what the reign of William was to be."
When Henry I. came to the throne, Becket was not yet
Archbishop of Canterbury, That title was then in the
keeping of Ralph of Escures, a bold divine who could
insist upon a seemly bearing at church which he did not
himself observe. Archbishop Ralph had the right to " fix
the crowns " on the heads of the king and his queen Ade-
licia, but the prelate was stricken with palsy, and Roger,
Bishop of Salisbury, was appointed to actually crown the
sovereign. Ralph knew nothing of this arrangement until
he saw Roger take up the crown to place it on the king's
brow, and then the palsied man stretched forth his shaking
hands to arrest it from Roger, who was ill inclined to let it
go. In the struggle they held it together, for a moment,
above the king's head, but rage gave strength to the palsied
Ralph, and he got the object for which they were struggling
out of his rival's grasp. Overhaste nearly made shipwreck
of the solemnity, for Ralph's shaking hand overturned the
crown from Henry's head as soon as he had placed it there,
and it would have fallen to the ground, but for the inter-
ference of officials, who saved the august memorial from being
marred by a gloomy omen.
Stephen, a grandson of the Conqueror, was elected king
on the death of his uncle Henry I., and was crowned on St.
Stephen's Day. The superstitious spectators of the cere-
monial regarded as an evil omen that, by some mistake, the
benediction, or, according to some writers, the kiss of peace,
was omitted in the performance of the sacrament. It was
also remarked afterwards, that the Archbishop of Canterbury, .
whose consent to Stephen's usurpation was directly opposed
to his oath to Maud, died within the same year as that in which
the coronation took place, and that the greatest personage who
assisted at the ceremony perished miserably. It was noticed,
also, that the host given at the Communion suddenly disap-
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 303
peared. In the twelfth year of Stephen's reign, remarks
William of Huntingdon, he wore his crown during Christ-
mas at Lincoln, which no king, from some superstitious feel-
ing, had before ventured to do.*
In 1170 Henry II. adopted a measure not common in
England — that of associating his eldest son in the royal
dignity as a titular king. The prince was crowned in that
year, at Westminster, by the Archbishop of York, the primate,
Thomas a Becket, being in exile. This violation of the rights
of the see of Canterbury led to the suspension of the offici-
ating prelates, and contributed to the subsequent misfortunes
of the king. Even at the coronation feast the arrogant spirit
of the young prince appeared, in his answer to those who
complimented him when his royal father waited upon him at
the table. "It was," he said, ironically, "such great con-
descension for the son of an earl to wait npon the son of a
king.''' f
The coronation of Richard I. was ominously and dis-
gracefully tarnished by the massacre of the Jews on that
occasion. The circumstance is quaintly related by Hichard
of Devizes : "' Now in the year of our Lord's incarnation 1189
Richard the son of King Henry the Second, by Eleanor, —
brother of Henry the Third, was consecrated King of the
* Prodigies and omens of every kind were rampant at this period.
At Wallingford, when Henry, Duke of Normandy, and Stephen were
contesting for the crown, an accidental circumstance prevented the
deadly effusion of kindred blood from staining the snows of the wintry
plain of Egilaw. " That day," says Matthew Paris, " Stephen's horse
reared furiously thrice, as he advanced to the front to array his battle,
and thrice fell with his fore-feet flat to the earth, and threw his royal
rider. The nobles exclaimed it was a portent of evil, and the men
murmnred among themselves." Advantage was taken of this pause by
William de Albini to address the king on the horrors of civil war, and
to urge an amicable arrangement with Henry Plantagenet.
t As a reverse to this unfilial conduct, we read, in Sir Walter Scott's
"Letter on the Coronation Banquet of George IV.," "The duties of
service at the banquet and of attendance in general were performed by
pages, dressed very elegantly in Henri Quatre coats of scarlet, etc. There
were also Marshal's-men for keeping order. Both departments were
filled up almost entirely by young gentlemen, many of them of the very
first condition, who took these menial characters to gain admission to
the show. When I saw many of my young acquaintance thus attending
upon their fathers and kinsmen, the peers, knights, and so forth, I could
not help thinking of Crabbe's lines, with a little alteration —
" ' 'Twas schooling pride to see the menial wait,
Smile on his father, and receive his plate.' "
304 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
English, by Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westmin-
ster, on the third of the nones of September [3rd September].
On the very day of the coronation, about that solemn hoar in
which the Son was immolated to the Father, a Sacrifice of
the Jews to their father, the Devil, was commenced in the
city of London, and so long was the duration of this famous
mystery, that the holocaust could scarcely be accomplished
the ensuing day. The other cities and towns of the kingdom
emulated the faith of the Londoners, and with a like devotion
despatched their blood-suckers [the Jews] with blood to
hell."
Besides the evil presage derived from the massacre of the
Jews, much alarm was caused during the coronation cere-
monial, says Richard of Devizes, by the appearance of a bat
" in the middle of the bright part of the day, fluttering about
the church, inconveniently circling in the same tracks,
especially around the king's throne."
Another evil augury was the peal of bells, rung without
any agreement or knowledge of the ministers of the abbey ;
" of such portentous omen as then was hardly allowable to
be related even in a whisper. At Complin, the last hour
of the day, the first peal happened to be rung, neither by
any agreement, nor even by the ministers of the church
themselves being aware of it, until after it was done, for
prime, tierce, sext, nones, and the solemn service of vespers,
and two masses were celebrated without any ringing of
peals." Astrologers also noticed that it was an Egyptian
day.*
It was significant, however, of the self-reliance and de-
termination of the lion-hearted monarch to uphold his power,
when he took the crown from the altar on the day of con-
* A Saxon manuscript among the Cottonian MSS. in the British
Museiim (Vitell. C. viii. fo. 20) gives the following account of these
unlucky days : — " Three days there arc in the year, which we call Egyptian
days ; that is in our language, dangerous days, on any occasion whatever,
to the blood of man or beast. In the month which wo call April, the
last Monday ; and then is tlie second at the coining in of the month we
call August; then is the third, which is the first monday of the going
out of the month of December {i.e. the last fifteen days of any month).
He who on any of these three days reduces blood, bo it of man, be it of
beast, this we have heard say, that speedily in the first or seventh day,
his life he will end. Or, if liis life bo longer, bo that he come not to the
Boventh day, or if he drink some time in these throe days, ho will end
his life ; and ho that tastes of gooso-ilesh within forty days' space his life
he will end."
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 305
secration to crown himself, signifying that he only held it
from God ; after which the archbishop accomplished the
other ceremonies.
John was crowned on Ascension Day, the same fatal
festival as astrologers predicted would close his reign. It
was also remarked as an evil omen that the king hurried
away without receiving the Holy Sacrament. At the religious
ceremony which was to have hallowed his investiture as
Duke of Normandy, he laughed most irreverently, from no
other reason, however, than seeing his young lawless asso-
ciates amusing themselves. He was so little master of him-
self that, when as a part of the ceremony a spear was placed
in his hand, he was so shaking with laughter that he let it
fall. This circumstance was severely commented upon at the
time, and it was remembered afterwards when John lost that
ducal sovereignty of which the spear was the outward
sign.*
The name " John," which comes from lona^ a remote femi-
nine root, has been reckoned unfortunate for the king's name
both in England and in France. The reason of this does not
appear to be anywhere stated.
The sacred unction was not administered at the coronation
of Henry III., nor was there an imposition of hands, lest the
rights of the see of Canterbury to those sacred offices should
be infringed. The king was crowned with a golden fillet or
garland rather than a crown, owing to the loss of the regalia
by King John when crossing the Wash, near Wisbeach
(October 14, 1216). At the same time an edict was issued
that for a month no person, male or female, should appear in
public without a chaplet, in order to testify that the king was
really crowned.
As a picture of the times it is recorded that, at the coro-
nation of the queen of Henry III., an incident occurred
which marred the splendour of the royal banquet. Its pre-
siding officer, the hereditary chief butler, Hugh de Albini,
was absent, having been excommunicated by the Archbishop
* Witli that union of superstition and profaneness so common in the
religious belief of the Middle Ages, King John was anxious, after death,
to elude the demons whom he had so faithfully served in life. For this
purpose he not only gave orders to disguise his body in a monk's cowl'
but to bury it between two saints. The royal cathedral of Worcester,
which John had specially favoured in life, possessed two Saxon saints
in close juxtaposition, and between these two (Wulfstan and Oswald) the
wicked king was laid.
X
3o6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
of Canterbury for refusing to let the primate hunt in his
Sussex forest !
The coronation of Edward I. was remarkable for several
incidents of a peculiar character. Alexander, King of Scot-
land, was present " to doe homage," says Holinshed, " to
King Edward for the realm of Scotland, and," he adds, "at
the solemnite of this coronation, there were let goe at libertie
(catch them that catch might), five hundred great horses of
the King of Scots, the Earles of Cornwall, Glocester, Pem-
broke, Warren, and others, as they alighted from their
backs."
The coronation of Edward II. was marked by an in-
auspicious circumstance ; an omen of the evil fortunes which
befell the unhappy king, in the fact of Piers Gaveston, the
unworthy favourite, "carrying St. Edward's Crowne in that
pompe," as to excite the indignation of the jealous barons
who had reason to mistrust him. " None," says Speed, " was
near to Piers in bravery of apparell, or delicacie of fashion."
These, no doubt, were additional reasons for increasing the
dislike to him.
The selection of Woodcock, Bishop of Winchester, to
crown the king and queen was also an evidence of the weak
and unworthy character of the monarch, that prelate having
conspired against his sovereign, Edward I.
Gaveston had either taken on himself the whole manage-
ment of the coronation ceremonial or made his arrangements
with want of judgment ; but, as it was, from beginning to
end it was a scene of confusion and disorder. It was three
o'clock before the consecration of the king and queen was
over, and the short wintry days protracted the banquet till
dark. This lateness appears to have excited the w^rath of
the hungry nobles more than any other of Gaveston's mis-
deeds that day. The food also was badly cooked, and was
ill served, with a total want of ceremony. The queen ex-
perienced many slights, but whether intentional on the part
of Gaveston or otherwise is not known; but Queon Isabella
sent a letter to the King of France, her father, complaining
bitterly of Gaveston.
At this coronation, so great was the pressure of the crowd
tViat a knight. Sir John Bakewell, was trodden to death.
A noteworthy feature at the coronation of Edward III.
was the hypocritical demeanour of the queen-mother, Isa-
bella, who, although she had been the principal cause of her
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 307
husband's deposition, affected to weep during the whole of
the ceremony.
At the coronation of Richakd II., which was remarkable
for its profuse extravagance, the Bishop of Rochester in his
sermon, as if with a prescience of Wat Tyler, uttered a
warning against excessive taxation. After the ceremonial,
on returning to his palace, the king was carried on the
shoulders of knights, " being oppressed with fatigue and.long
fasting." * Other omens were mentioned, and served to
prognosticate that the splendours of the opening reign were
destined, as in the case of Edward II., to be clouded at its
end with sorrow.
In the chapter on " Anointing " I have alluded to the
ampulla containing the sacred oil, discovered in the Tower
in the last year of his reign, having been carried to Ireland
by Richard II. On his return he delivered it to the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury at Chester, who had refused to anoint
him with it, on the plea that the regal unction could not
be repeated, the king observing, as a melancholy presage,
" that it was meant for some more fortunate king."
At the coronation of Henry Y. a terrible thunderstorm
occurred, which was supposed to predict the conflagration of
Norwich, Gloucester, and other cities during the ensuing
summer, the snow and rain during the winter, and the wars
and tumults during the rest of the king's reign.
A somewhat similar occurrence to that at the consecration
of Richard II. is recorded at the coronation of another
juvenile king, Henry Yl.f It was observed that, young as
* In the coronation offices of different ages, mention is often made of
the weariness of the king, caused, according to Maskell, by his obligation
to receive the Communion fasting. It was therefore necessary to begin
the ceremony early in the day.
t " The Duke of Gloucester, his uncle, having been named Eegent of
England by the late king, was allowed to assume the government under
that title. At the end of a month from the death of Henry V. a council
was held at Windsor, at which the^ baby monarch was present in his
nurse's arms, and was supposed to preside. Longley, Lord Chancellor to
the late king, put the great seal into the royal lap, and placed upon it
the hands of the child, who was too young even to be amused with it
as a toy " (Campbell's " Lives of the Lord Chancellors ").
In April, 1425, at the opening of Parliament, the royal infant was
carried on a great horse from the Tower of London through the City to
Westminster. Having taken a peep at the palace, he was from thence
conducted to the House of Lords, and sat on his mother's knee on the
throne. '* It was a strange sight," says Speed, " and the first time it
3o8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
he was (nine years), "he sat on the platform beholding the
people about him, sadly and wisely, as with a prescient glance
at the evils before him."
The coronation of Henry VI. was on the 6th of November,
corresponding, as was fancifully thought, to the 6th of
December, his birthday, and to the perfection of the number
six in the sixth Henry.
There was a difficulty in deciding the day for the corona-
tion of Edward IV. It was to have taken place early in
March, 1461. In consequence, however, of the siege of
Carlisle, it was put off until the 28th of June in that year,
the Sunday after midsummer. The coronation, however, was
again deferred until the 29th, in consequence of the singular
superstition which prevailed regarding the 28th of any month
to be a repetition of Childermas Day — always considered
unlucky.
It seems natural that inauspicious circumstances would
mark the coronation of the brutal and usurping Richard III.
It w^as remarked that Bourchier, Cardinal Archbishop of
Canterbury, served the Holy Sacrament to the king and
queen, and yet had pledged " his own body and soul " to the
widowed queen, mother of the murdered infant Duke of York,
when receiving him from sanctuary, scarcely three weeks
before the coronation, not only for his " surety," but also for
his estate.
The monks of Westminster, we are told, " sung the Te
Deum with a faint courage."
The absence from the ceremony of Richard's heir, the
youthful Earl of Salisbury, for whom no place had been
apportioned, was also noticed. In Rymer we find a pro-
clamation respecting the precautionary measures taken by
Richard — distrusting the peaceable recognition of his claims
to the throne — at his coronation. Amongst other matters, it
was commanded that no man, under pain of imprisonment,
should take any lodging in the city or suburbs of London,
except by appointment of the king's harbingers. Buck, who
wrote a panegyrical account of Richard's reign, relates that
four thousand gentlemen of the north came up to assist at
his coronation. Hall and Grafton say there were five thou-
sand, but speak opprobriously of them, " as evil apparelled
ever was Koon in England ; an infant sitting on his mother's lap, and
before it could tell wliat Knglish irjcant, to exercise the place of sovereign
direction in open parliament."
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 309
and worse harnessed, which, when mustered, were the con-
tempt of the beholders." Fabian, who Hved at the time, has
left this account of them: " Kichard, not daring to trust the
Londoners, for fear of the Qaeene's Blood, an othere of which
he had jealousie, sent for a strength of men from the North.
The which came shortly to London, a little before his corona-
tion, and mustered in the Morefeelds, well upon four thousand
men in their best jacks, and rusty salletts, with a few in
white harnesse, but not burnished, to the Sale, and shortly
after his coronation were counterman nded home with sufficient
rewardes for their travaile."
Bishop Burnet mentions that at the coronation of
Edward YI., Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, left
out the usual address to the people to ask them whether they
chose Edward for their king.
An incident at this coronation is peculiar, as showing the
solemn recognition of the young monarch as the head of the
Reformed Church. There was no sermon, but Archbishop
Cranmer delivered an address, perhaps, says Dean Stanley,
the boldest and most pregnant utterance ever delivered in the
abbey : " The promises your Highness hath made here, at
your Coronation, to forsake the devil and all his works,
are not to he taken in the Bishop of Rome's sense, when you
commit anything distasteful to that see, to hit your Majesty
in the teeth, as Pope Paul the Third, late Bishop of Rome,
sent to your royal father, saying, ' Didst thou not promise,
at our permission of thy Coronation, to forsake the devil
and all his works, and dost thou run to heresv ? For the
breach of this thy promise, knowest thou not that it is
in our power to dispose of thy sword and sceptre to whom
we please ? • We, your Majesty's clergy, do humbly conceive
that this promise reacheth not at your Highness's sword,
spiritual or temporal, or in the least at your Highness
swaying the sceptre of this your dominion, as you and your
predecessors have had them from God. Neither could your
ancestors lawfully resign up their crowns to the Bishop of
Rome, or his legates, according to their ancient oaths then
taken upon that ceremony. The Bishops of Canterbury, for
the most part, have crowned your predecessors, and anointed
them kings of this land ; yet it was not in their power to
receive or reject them, neither did it give them authority to
prescribe them conditions to take or to leave their crowns,
although the Bishops of Rome would encroach upon your
3IO CROWXS AND COROXATIONS.
predecessors by their act and oil, that in the end they might
possess those bishops with an interest to dispose of their
crowns at their pleasure. But the wiser sort will look to their
claws and clip them."
In Strjpe's account of the coronation of Queen Mary in
1553, he describes the jewels worn on the royal head-dress,
during the procession, as so numerous and ponderous, that
her Majesty was fain to bear up her head with her hand, an
omen, probably considered, of the cares and troubles which
beset her reign. At the enthroiiization, as an evil augury for
Protestantism, it was noticed that the queen avoided being
crowned in the same chair as that once occupied by her
deceased brother, but sat in one which had been blessed by
the Pope, and sent to her for that purpose. (This chair is
now said to be in the cathedral of Winchester.)
At the act of homage, which was performed by the pre-
lates and nobles kissing the queen's left cheek, it was observed
that " every one of them held both their hands together, in
manner of lamenting^
The queen had been alarmed lest Henry IV. 's holy oil
should have lost its efficacy through the interdict, and,
accordingly, a fresh supply was sent through the imperial
ambassador, blessed by the Bishop of Arras.
The coronation day of Queen Elizabeth was fixed in
deference to her astrologer, the famous charlatan. Dr. Dee,
who pronounced it a day of " good luck." It was long
observed as an anniversary at Westminster Abbey.*
* Henry IV. of France, contemporary with Queen Elizabeth, had a
similar superstition with regard to lucky or sinister days. He put off
the coronation of his queen as long as he could, owing to a prediction
that he would not survive the event one day. Sully, the great states-
man, was quite as credulous in this respect as his royal master. The
coronation took place May 13, 1610, and on the next day Henry was
pierced to the heart by the maniac regicide llavaillac. A few nights
before this fatal event, his queen dreamed that all the jewels in her
crown were changed into pearls, and she was told that pearls were
significant of tears.
At the coronation of Henry III., King of France, at Rheims, in 1575,
when the crown was placed on his head, he exclaimed that it hurt him,
and it looked as if it would fall from his head — " co qui fut remarque et
interprete h. mauvais presage." The same monarch, assassinated by
Jacques Clement, in 1589, three days before that event had a dream, in
which he saw all the royal ornaments of the coronation, the large and
small crown, the sceptre, and the hand of justice, the gold spurs and
sword, all covered with blood, and trodden under feet by monks and the
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 311
Some incidents are mentioned in connection with, this
coronation — that of the refusal of the bishops, excepting one,
Oglethorpe, to assist at the ceremony. The coronation mass
was celebrated, and the Abbot of Westminster took his part
in the service for the last time. The queen observed to her
maids after the unction, that the anointing oil was " grease,
and smelt ill ;" but, notwithstanding the e:fforts of the papists
to draw evil omens of the queen's reign, her coronation
went off brilliantly, and she attained the height of royal
popularity.
The coronation of James I. was remarkable as being the
first celebrated by the Anglican Reformed Church. When
the king was seated on the " stone of Scone," the first king
of Great Britain, the Scots believed the ancient prediction to
have been at last fulfilled. The queen, Anne, refused to
take the sacrament, saying " she had changed her religion
once before " for the Presbyterian forms of Scotland, and
that was enough. The weather at the coronation was un-
usually stormy, and the plague raged so violently that the
people were forbidden to go to Westminster to see the shows
and pageants.
Perhaps no coronation has occurred from which so many
prognostics of evil were derived as that of Charles L, whose
unfortunate career afforded ample opportunities for super-
stitious conclusions. Sir Simonds d'Ewes records in his
autobiography that, in company with Sir Robert Cotton, he
went on the day of the coronation to see the arrival of the
royal barge in which the king proceeded to the palace. A
landing-place had been prepared, the steps being covered
with carpets, but the barge passed on unaccountably to the
stairs belonging to the backyard of the palace, where the
landing was dirty and inconvenient ; the barge, dashing into
the ground, stuck fast a little before it reached the causeway.
" This was taken to be an evil and ominous presage."
It is said that Sir Edward Zouch, when proclaiming the
king at the " court-gate "at Theobald's, instead of "indubi-
table," said " dubitable heir to the throne."
people. He was so terrified that he gave orders to the sacristan of
. St. Denis, where the regalia was kept, to look after it.
Among the numerous devices made for Mary, Queen of Scots, was
one which prognosticated her misfortune. This was three crowns, two
opposite, and one above in the sky; the motto "aliamque moratnr " (And
awaits another), implying that the Queen of France and Scotland awaited
a crown celestial in the heavens.
3 [2 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The coronation ceremony had been deferred to the ■2nd
of February on account of the plague, and the procession
from the Tower was omitted for the same reason. The
king chose to be clothed in wliite^ rather than purple,, as his
predecessors usually were, and this was regarded, when he
was afterwards led out as a victim, as having drawn upon
him the misfortunes, predicted in ancient days, for the
" white " king.* When Laud presented the king to the
* In "A Prophecy of the White King and Dreadf ull Dead-man
explaned," etc., by William Lilly, Student in Astrology (1614), we find, in
relation to Charles I., " The occasion of the Prophets calling him White
King was thi^, the Kings of England antiently did weare the day of their
Coronation purple clothes, being colour onely fit for Kings, bothe Queen
Elizaheth, King James, and all their Ancestors did weare that colour the
day of their Coronation, as any may perceive by the Recordes of the
Wardrobe ; contrary unto this custome, and led unto it by the indirect
and fatall advise of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, hee was
perswaded to apparoU himself the day of his Coronation in a White
Garment ; there were some dehorted him from wearing the white
apparell, but hee obstinately refused their Counsell. Canterbury would
have it as an apparell representing the King's innocency, or I know not
what other superstitious devise of his. And of this there is no question
to bee made, myselfe though not occnlarly seeing him that day, yet have
had it related verbally by above twenty whose eyes beheld it, one or two
were workmen that cai-ried his Majestic apparell that day, so that I
challenge al the men upon earth living to deuy his wearing White
apparell that day of his Coronation," etc.
" It is a very old idea," remarks Jennings in his " Rosicrucians,"
"derived from the highest antiquity, that the colour 'white' — which,
considered in the mystic and occult sense, is feminine in its origin — is
fateful in its effects sometimes ; and that as a particular instance of its
unfortunate character, it is an unlucky colour for the royal throne of
England — at all events, for the king or queen of England personally —
singular as the notion would appear to be. We are not aware whether
this unfortunate effect of the ominous colour xchite is suppovsed to extend
to the nation generally. It is limitcfl, we believe, to the prince or
sovereign of England, and to his immediate belongings.
"The origin of the dangerous colour of v:hite to England is unknown,
but it is imagined to be at least as old as the time of Merlin. Thomas do
Quincey, who takes notice of the prophecy of the ' While King,' says of
Charles the First that the foreboding of the misfortunes of this ^ white
King' were 8U])posed to have been fulfilled in his instance, because he
was by accident clothed in white at his coronation; it being remembered
afterwards that white was the ancient colour for a victim. This, in
itself, was sufliciently formidable as an omen. Do Quincey's particular
expressions are, ' That when King Charles the First came to bo crowned,
it was found, that, by some oversight, all tho store in JiOiulon was insuf.
ficient to furnish the purple velvet necessary for tho robes of the king,
and for tho furniture of the throne. It was too late to send to Genoa
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 313
people, he said in an audible voice, " My masters and friends,
I am here come to present unto you your king, King
Charles, to whom the crown of his ancestors and predeces-
sors is DOW devolved by lineal right ; and therefore I desire
you, by your general acclamation, to testify your consent
and willingness thereunto." Strange and unaccountable as
it seems, not a voice nor a cheer answered; there was a
death-like silence. At length the earl marshal told the
spectators they should cry, " God save King Charles ! " and
they then did so.
An omen of the Civil Wars was deduced from an accident
to the sceptre with the dove : " The left wing of the dove,
the mark of the Confessor's halcyon days, was broken on the
sceptre staff — by what casualty God Himself knows. The
king sent for Mr. Acton, then his goldsmith, commanding
him that the ring-stone should be set in again. The gold-
smith replied that it was impossible to be done so fairly but
that some mark would remain thereof. The king in some
passion said, ' If you will not do it another shall.' There-
upon Mr. Acton returned, and got another dove of gold to
be artificially set in ; whereat his Majesty was well con-
tented, as making no discovery thereof."
An unlucky text is numbered among the omens which
coincided with the doom of the unhappy monarch. The
preacher of the sermon was Senhouse, Bishop of Carlisle,
who chose for his subject, " I will give thee a crown of life."
"This," says Echard, "was rather thought to put the new
king in mind of his death than his duty in government, and
for a supply, and through this accidental deficiency it happened that the
King was attired in white velvet at the solemnity of his coronation, and
not in red or purple robes, as consisted with the proper usage.' . . .
The consummation in the fatalities of the colour ivhiteto English royalty,
seemed to be in the execution of King Charles the First, who was brought
out to suffer before his own palace of ' Whitehall,' where, again, we find
* white ' introduced in connection with royalty and tragical events."
Herbert, in his account of the funeral of Charles I. in Wood's
*' Athenae," remarks, " It was observed that at such time as the King's
body was brought out from St. George's Hall, the sky was serene and
clear, but presently it began to snow, and the snow fell so fast, that by
the time the corpse came to the west end of the royal chapel, the black
velvet pall was all white (the colour of innocency), being thick covered
over with snow. Thus went the White King to his grave."
At the trial of the Earl of Strafford, at which Charles was present, in
Westminster Hall, Lilly, the astrologer, who was also there, saw the
silver top fall from the king's staff.
314 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
to have been his funeral sermon when alive, as if he was to
have none when he was buried." During the solemnity an
earthquake was felt.
It is also said that the unction, in order that it raif^-ht not
be seen, was performed behind a traverse by Archbishop
Abbot ; " which I doubted hee should not," remarks Sir
Simonds d'Evves in a letter to Sir Martin Stuteville on the
king's coronation, " by reason of suspicion of irregularitie
upon the unfortunate killing of a man." The prelate had
shot a gamekeeper by accident.
A charge of altering the coronation oath was afterwards
one of the articles of impeachment against Archbishop Laud,
to which I have referred in the chapter on the "Coronation
Oath."
The queen's absence at the ceremonial in the abbey, and
refusal to be crowned, on account of her religious opinions,
was also commented upon. Meade says, " She took a place at
the palace-gate, where she might behold the procession going
and returning, her ladies frisking and dancing in the room."
The queen's absence from the coronation caused, likewise,
the absence of the French ambassador, the Count de Blain-
ville.
The king's coronation at Holyrood House, three days
after his arrival in Scotland, was marked by evil prognostics.
" Dr. Lindsay, Bishop of Brechin," says Row, " taught a
sermon wherein he had some good exhortations to his Majesty,
for the well of this kirk and kingdom, but uttered in so
general and ambiguous a way, that they might have been
applied divers ways." It was remarked that there was " ane
four-nooked tafle [table], in manner of an altar, standing
within the kirk, having standing thereupon two books, at
least resembling clasped books, called ' blind books,' with
two chandlers [candelabra], and two wax candles, whilk were
unlight, and ane bason wherein there was nothing ; at the
back of this altar, (covered with tapestry,) there was ane rich
tapestry, wherein the crucifix was curiously wrought ; and
as thir bishops who were in service passed by this crucifix,
they were seen to bow their knee and beck, which, with their
habit, was noted, and bred great fear of inbringing of popery.
The Archbishop of Glasgow, aud remanent of the bishops
there present, who was not in service, changed not their
habit, but v/are their black gowns, without rochets or white
sleeves" (Spalding, tom. i. pp. 17, 18). "It was observed,"
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS.
315
w
3i6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
says Mr. Laing (" History of Scotland," torn. iii. p. 110), " at
the coronation that Laud (who had accompanied King Charles
to Scotland) displaced the Archbishop of Glasgow with the
most indecent violence from the king's side, because that
moderate prelate scrupled to officiate in the embroidered
habits prescribed for his order."
" Could any one have foretold," remarks Robert Cham-
bers (" Annals of Scotland," vol. i. p. ^1^, "that in the course
of a series of circumstances flowing from these matters of
dress and ceremonial, the youthful king now present in such
grandeur would perish on a scaffold ? " *
Even the coronation of Charles II., the " merry " monarch,
the successor of the " sad " king, was not without its evil
prognostics. Pepys, giving an account in his " Diary " of
what he saw on that occasion, remarks, " Strange it is to
think that these two days have held up fair, till now that all
is done, and the king gone out of the Hall, and then it fell
a-raining, and thundering, and lightening, as I have not
seen it to do for some years, which people did take great
notice of."
Aubrey observes : " King Charles was crowned at the
very conjunction of the sun and Mercury; Mercury being
then in corde solis. As the king was at dinner at Westminster
Hall, it thundered and lightened exceedingly. The cannons
and the thunder played together." Baxter in his " Life,"
makes mention of the storm on Charles II.'s coronation day,
with reference to a potent of earlier date : " There was very
terrible thunders when none expected it, which made me
remember his father's coronation, on which, being a boy at
school, and having leave to play for the solemnity ; an earth-
quake about two o'clock in the afternoon, did affright the
boys and all the neighbourhood. I intend no commentary
on them, but only to relate the matter of fact."
The coronation of Charles II. was marked also by an
• On the king's return to Edinburgh from Perth, ho crossed the
Frith of B\)rth in fair weather; nevertheless a boat perished in his sight
containing thirty-five of liis domestics, all of" whom, excepting two,
were drowned. " His Majesty's silver plate and household stuff," says
Spalding, " perished with the rest ; a pitiful sight, no doubt, to the king
and the haill beholders . . . betokening great troubles to fall betwixt
the king and his subjects, as after does appear."
"I was told at Dunfermline," says Dr. Whittaker, "that when
Charles 1st was in his cradle there, an Image (by which was meant an
Angel) descended from lleaven, and covered him with a bloody mantle."
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 317
unseemly quarrel between the royal footmen and the barons
of the Cinque Ports for the possession of the canopy which
was borne by the latter over the king's head. The alterca-
tion attracted his Majesty's notice, and one of the equerries
was despatched, by his command, for the footmen to be
imprisoned and dismissed from his service.
There were also quarrels as to precedency ; the Earls of
Northumberland and Ossory had words as to the right of
carrying the insignia, as they sat at table in the hall.
Dr. Hickes, in a letter to Dr. Charlett, Master of Uni-
versity College, Oxford, dated January 23, VI \\^ and pre-
served in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, mentions the omens
that happened at the coronation of James II., " which I saw,
viz. the tottering of the crown upon his head ; the broken
canopy over it; and the rent flag hanging upon the white
Tower when I came home from the coronation. It was torn
by the wind at the same time the signal was given to the
Tower that he was crowned. I put no great stress upon these
omens, but I cannot despise them ; most of them, I believe,
come by chance, hut some from superior intellectual agents,
especially those which regard the fate of kings and nations. ^^
Aubrey, also, in his " Remaines of Gentilisme," notices
the tearing of the canopy at King James's coronation* in
returning from the abbey ; adding, " 'Twas of cloth of gold
(and my strength could not, I am confident, have rent it),
and it was not a windy day."
It was, curiously enough, Henry Sidney, brother of the
great patriot Algernon Sidney, who prevented the tottering
crown of King James from falling, saying as he did so,
" This is not the first time, your Majesty, that my family
have supported the crown ! " — an irony the more trenchant,
inasmuch as he was at that very time engaged in a treason-
able correspondence with the Prince of Orange for the purpose
of undermining the throne of his unsuspecting sovereign.
" It is well known," observes Miss Strickland, " that this
trifling incident, which a little foresight on the part of King
James might have prevented, was regarded by the super-
* Of this unfortunate monarch, his brother, Charles, is said to have
spoken prophetically to Sir Richard Balstrode : " I am weary of
travelling, I am resolved to go abroad no more ; but when I am dead
and gone, I know not what my brother will do : I am much afraid when
he comes to the throne he will be ohl'ged to travel again" (" Supple-
ment to Seward's Anecdotes ").
3i8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
stition of many present, as an evil omen. Few are aware
that the circumstance was noted with dismay by the anxious
queen of James, who was, of course, the most deeply interested
person there. She mentioned it herself, many years after
the Revolution, in these words : — ' There was a presage that
struck us, and every one who observed it : they could not
make the crown keep firm on the king's head ; it appeared
always on the point of falling, and it required some care to
hold it steady.' "
Echard, in his " History of England," notices that on the
day of the coronation the royal arms, beautifully stained in
glass, fell, without any ascertainable cause, from the windows
of one of the principal London churches.
Other circumstances in connection with the coronation
of James II. were considered ominous. " James," observes
Macaulay, "had ordered Sancroft to abridge the ritual. The
reason publicly assigned was that the day was too short for
all that was to be done. But whoever examines the chancres
that were made will see that the real object was to remove
some things highly offensive to the religious feelings of a
zealous Roman Catholic. The Communion Service was not
read. The ceremony of presenting the sovereign with a
richly bound copy of the English Bible, and exhorting him
to prize, above all earthly treasures, a volume "which he had
been taught to regard as adulterated with false doctrine, was
omitted. What remained, however, after all this curtailment,
might well have raised scruples in the mind of a man who
sincerely believed the Church of England to be a heretical
society, within the pale of which salvation was not to be
found. The king made no oblation on the altar. He ap-
peared to join in the petitions of the Litany which was chaunted
by the bishops. He received from those false prophets the
unction typical of a. divine influence, and knelt with the
semblance of devotion while they called down upon him that
Holy Spirit of which they were, in his estimation, the
malignant and obdurate foes. Such are the inconsistencies
of human nature that this man, who, from a fanatical zeal
for his religion, threw away three kingdoms, yet chose to
commit what was little short of an act of apostacy, rather
than forego the cliildisli ])leasure of being invested with the
gew-gaws symbolical of kingly power." *
* Prymo, in his " Epliomcria Vita)," mcntiona the following anec-
dote : — "When Cliampion Dimock let of his horse to kiss K[ingJ
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 319
The procession at the coronation of William and Mart
from Whitehall (1689) was delayed more than two hours, in
consequence of the intelligence received that very morning-
of the landing of James II. in Ireland.* There were many
peculiarities, remarks Dean Stanley, in the spectacle. The
short king and tall queen walked side by side, not as king
and consort, but as joint sovereigns, with the sword between
them. For the first time a second chair of state was pro-
vided, which has since been habitually used by the queens-
consort. Into this chair Mary was lifted, and, like her
husband, girt with the sword and invested with the symbols
of authority. The Princess Anne, who stood near, said,
" Madam, I pity your fatigue." The queen turned sharply
with the words, " A crown, sister, is not so heavy as it
seems."
James II.'s hand, after that he had challenged any one that durst
question the King's rights to the crown, as the custome is, the
Champion in moving towards the King, fell down all his length in the
hall, when as there was nothing in his way that could visibly cause
the same ; whereupon the Queen sayde, ' See you, love, what a weak
champion you have.' To which the K[ing] sayd nothing, but laught,
and the Champion excused himself, pretending his armour was heavy,
and that he himself was weak with sickness, which was false, for he
was very well, and had had none.' "
In Menin's brief notice of the anointing and coronation of the
kings of England (inserted in his " Description of the Coronation of
the Kings and Queens of France,", he remarks that *' if (at the coronation
ceremonial) the king's champion, after making several rounds and
flourishes with his horse, does so without falling, the English take it for
a very good omen, for if the champion be dismounted, or the horse
makes a trip, they reckon it an ill presage to that reign."
* At the same moment Lord Nottingham delivered to Queen Mary
the first letter her father had written to her since her accession. It
was an awful one, and the time of its reception was awful. King James
wrote to his daughter, " that hitherto, he had made all fatherly excuses
for what had been done, and had wholly attributed her part in the
revolution to obedience to her husband ; but the act of being crowned
was in her own power, and if she were crowned while he and the
Prince of Wales were living, the curse of an outraged father would light
upon her, as well as of that God who has commanded duty to parents."
Lord Nottingham declares that King William forthwith thought fit
to enter into a vindication of himself from having, by harsh authority,
enforced the course of conduct, which had brought on his wife her
father's malediction, and he took the opportunity of declaring " that he
had done nothing but by her advice and with her approbation." It was
on this memorable occasion that the queen exclaimed, " that if her
father regained his authority, her husband might thank himself for
letting him go as he did."
320 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Bad omens were remarked bj the Jacobites, The day-
was neither a Sunday nor a holiday. The king had no money
for the offertory (his purse having been stolen from his side),
and Lord Danby had to produce twenty guineas for the
purpose. The champion's glove was reported to have been
carried off by an old woman on crutches. Among other
incidents,* the Commons were excluded at the banquet from
any specific seats, which gave great offence.
Amongst the gifts was the presentation of the Bible,
revived from the coronation of Edward VI. and the instal-
lation of Cromwell, and continued from that time.
At the coronation of Queen Anne, she required the actual
aid of sustaining hands to support her person in a standing
position. Singularly, she was the only infirm person ever
crowned monarch of England, either before or since, and yet
she had only completed her thirty-seventh year. She had
again lost the use of her feet from gout and corpulency.
The queen fixed the day for the ceremonial on St. George's
Day, the anniversary of that of her unfortunate father, de-
claring, at the same time, that the very deep mourning was
to cease after the coronation. Contrary to every precedent
in British history, Prince George of Denmark, the consort of
the queen, was excluded from all participation in her dignities.
It is said that the " kiss of peace " was only given to the
archbishops and the other prelates.
The whole of the plate used at the coronation banquet in
Westminster Hall, together with a vast quantity of pewter
and valuable table linen, were carried off by thieves, a
" licence " unsanctioned by royalty.
In the final prayers at the coronation a blessing was
invoked for the queen, Catharine the queen dowager, and
the whole royal family. Catharine of Braganza was then
reigning as queen-regent in her native country. It seems
singular that she should be remembered in the prayers at the
coronation, and that Queen Anne's Protestant consort should
* " The most dismal weather in winter and summer," says Miss
Strickland, " liad plagued the British empire, since the accession of
William the Third, and greatly added to his unpopularity with * the
honest, peaceable and obedient commonalty,' who laid the whole blame
upon his Majesty ; insomuch, it is traditionary in the Highlands, ' that
on the 8th of March, a cottager going out to trench his kail-yard, and
seeing the first fine day he had beheld for twelve or fourteen years,
threw down his spade, gave a Highland tling in the air, and au exclama-
tion in Gaelic, " The wicked king is dead to a certainty." ' ''
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 321
not be named in the first Protestant coronation that had
occurred in this country of a queen acknowledged as entirely
sovereign-regnant, which her sister and predecessor could
scarcely be considered, unless at times when she was formally
invested with the regency.
Lady Cowper, in her " Diary," gives an amusing account
of the feelings and deportment of the different parties at the
coronation of George I. : " One may easily conclude that this
was not a day of realizing to the Jacobites ; however, they
were all looking as well as they could, but very peevish with
everybody that spoke to them. My Lady Dorchester stood
underneath me, and when the Archbishop went round the
throne demanding the consent of the people, she turned about
to me and said : ' Does the old fool think that anybody here
will say 'No to his question, v^hen there are so many drawn
swords ? ' There was no remedy but patience, so everybody
was pleased, or pretended to be so."
The coronation day was celebrated at Oxford by Jacobite
degrees, and at Bristol by Jacobite riots.
George I. was not acquainted with the English language,
and very few of those near him knew anything of German ;
the ceremonies attending his coronation had, therefore, to be
explained to him through the medium of such Latin as those
around him could muster. This circumstance gave rise to
a jest, which was very popular for some time afterwards,
to the effect that much had language had passed between the
king and his ministers on the day of the coronation. It is
said that thfe king at his coronation rudely repulsed Dean
Atterbury's ceremonious offer of the canopy.
At the coronation of George II. and Queen Caroline, the
dean and prebendaries of Westminster brought the Bible
and the regalia, but forgot the chalice and paten.
Ominous signs, not unmingled, however, with favourable
prescients, were not wanting at the coronation of even the
1 " good " King George III. The ceremonial had wellnigh been
• delayed by the sudden and unexpected strike of the workmen
at Westminster Hall. It seems that these worthies had been
I accustomed to receive gratuities from visitors, and, no doubt,
imade a good harvest of their predatory custom. A com-
promise was effected in the shape of an increase of wages,
jso this difficulty was overcome. Other matters impeded
the procession. The earl-marshal forgot some very indis-
ijpensable items ; among others, the sword of state, the state
T
322 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
banquet chairs for the king and queen, and the canopy.
They were obliged to borrow the ceremonial sword of the
Lord Mayor, and a hasty canopy was raised ; thus the pro-
cession was delayed until noon. When the king complained
of these omissions to the deputy earl-marshal, the Earl of
Effingham, " It is true, sir," was his lordship's blundering
reply, " that there has been some neglect, but I have taken
care that the next coronation shall be regulated in the exactest
manner possible." Instead of being offended at this remark,
the king insisted upon his repeating it several times for his
amusement.*
As the king was moving with the crown on his head,
the great diamond in the upper portion of it fell to the
ground, and was not found again without some trouble.
This awakened some alarm in the superstitious :
" When first, portentous, it was known
Great George had jostled from his crown
The brightest diamond there,
The omen-mongers, one and all,
Foretold some mischief must befall,
Some loss beyond compare."
And—
" When Pitt reign' d, a nation's tears will own,
Then fell the brightest jewel of the crown."
This incident was, observes Banks, as if it were a presage,
or figurative foreboding, of that loss which subsequently took
place in the separation of the American colonies from the
mother country.
Gray, in his letter to Mason, writes: " I must tell you that
the Barons of the Cinque Ports, who, by ancient right, should
dine at a table on the haut-pas at the right hand of the
sovereign, found that no provision at all had been made for
them, and representing their case to Lord Talbot (Lord
Steward of the Household), he said to them, ' Gentlemen,
if you speak to me as High Steward, I must tell you that
there was no room for you, but if as Lord Talbot, I am ready
to give you satisfaction in any way you think fit.' They are,
"■ " A similar awkward observation had," says Mr. Jesse in his
"Memoirs of George the Third," "been formerly made by the beautiful
Lady Coventry to George the Second : * The only sight,' she said, ' which
she was eager to see was a coronation.' The king laughed heartily,
and at isujipcr, repeated the story in good humour to the royal family."
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 323
several of them, gentlemen of the best families, so this has
bred ill-blood. In the next place, the city of London found
they had no table neither, but Beckford bullied my Lord
High Steward till he was forced to give them that intended
for the knights of the Bath, and instead of it, they dined at
the entertainment prepared for the great officers."
Lord Talbot, so conspicuous on this august occasion, was
the hero of a scene which excited the amusement of the by-
standers, at the coronation banquet. It was part of his office
to ride on horseback up to the dais, and having made his
obeisance to the sovereign, to back his horse, in the manner
of the champion, out of the hall. The animal persisted in.
entering backwards, nor was it without much difficulty it was
prevented advancing with its hind quarters turned towards
their Majesties. This incident afterwards led to a duel with
the famous John Wilkes, who had made some unpalatable
jokes on the subject ; but, fortunately, the event did not turn
out serious to either party.
The most pleasing incident of the coronation, and which
shows George III. to have been actuated by sincere religious
feelings, was the fact of the king taking off his crown previous
to the celebration of the Holy Sacrament. The king inquired
of the Archbishop of Canterbury whether he should not lay
aside his crown, before receiving the Communion. The arch-
bishop asked the Dean of Westminster, but neither knew nor
could say what was the usual form. The king took off the
crown, saying, " There ought to be one." A similar wish was
expressed by Queen Charlotte, but it was found that the
little crown fastened on her head was so secured, to keep it
from falling off, that this very appropriate wish could not be
accomplished, and it was dispensed with. The king quieted
his scruples by observing that it might be considered simply
as a part of her dress, not as indicating any power or great-
ness residing in a person humbly kneeling in the presence
of God.
Among other " good " omens that attended this coronation
V was the remembrance of the circumstance that the king's
I accession to the throne had taken place on the anniversary of
-. the glorious battle of Agincourt.
The concluding part of the coronation sermon (by the
- Bishop of Salisbury) time has since shown to have been
;'i almost a prophecy, alluding, as it did, to the length of years
ji that the king wore the crown.
324 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The coronation of George IV., sumptuous as it was, as far
as externals were concerned,* was marked by a singularly
inauspicious event — the unsuccessful attempts of his re-
pudiated consort to joint coronation with her royal husband.
In the Courier newspaper of the day, there is an account of
her Majesty's reception on the day of the coronation at the
door of Westminster Abbey : —
" Lord Hood (by whom the Queen was attended) having desired
admission for her Majesty, the door-keepers drew across the entrance,
and requested to see tlae tickets.
" Lord Hood. I present you your Queen ; surely it is not necessary
for her to have a ticket.
" Door-lceeper. Our orders are to admit no person without a peer's
ticket.
" Lord Hood. This is your Queen ; she is entitled to admission without
such a form.
" The Queen, smiling, but still in some agitation. Yes, I am your Queen,
will you admit me ?
" Door-keeper. My orders are specific, and I feel myself bound to
obey them.
" The Queen laughed.
"Lord Hood. I have a ticket.
" Boor-keeper. Then, my Lord, we will let you pass upon producing it.
" Lord Hood now drew from his pocket a peer's ticket for one person ;
the name in whose favour it was drawn, was erased, and the name of
* Wellington ' substituted.
" Door-keeper. This will let one person pass, but no more.
"Lord Hood (addressing the Queen). Will your Majesty go in
alone ?
" Her Majesty at first assented, but did not persevere.
" Lord Hood. Am I to understand that you refuse her Majesty's
admission ?
" Door-keeper. We only act in conformity with our orders.
" Her Majesty again laughed.
" Lord Hood. Then you refuse the Queen admission ?
" A door-keeper of the superior order tlien came forward, and was
asked by Lord Hood whether any preparations had been made for her
Majesty. He was answered respectfully in the negative.
" Lord Hood, to the Queen. Will your Majesty enter the Abbey with-
* "Never," says Dr. Doran, "did sovereign labour as George the
Fourth to give i^clat to the whole ceremony. He passed days and nights
with his familiar friends, discussing questions of dress, colours, fashions,
and effects. His own costume was to him a subject of intense anxiety,
and when his costly habits were com])leted, so desirous was he to witness
their ettects, that according to the gossip of the day, his Majesty had
one of his own servants attired in the royal garments, and the king
contemplated with considerable satisfaction the sight of a menial pacing
up and down the room in the monarch's garb."
OMENS AND INCIDENTS AT CORONATIONS. 325
out your ladies ? this the Queen declined. Lord Hood then said that it
was clear no provision had been made for the accommodation of her
Majesty, and she had better retire to her carriage.
*' Some persons within the porch of the Abbey laughed, and uttered
some exclamations of disrespect.
I " Lord Hood. We expected, at least, to have met with the conduct
of gentlemen. Such conduct is neither manly or mannerly.
" Her Majesty then retired, leaning on Lord Hood's arm, and
followed by Lady Hood and Lady Hamilton. She was preceded by
constables back to the platform, over which she returned, entered her
carriage, and was driven off amidst reiterated shouts of mingled
applause and disapprobation."
Among otlier incidents at the coronation, which would
have been considered ominous in former times, was one re-
lating to the crown itself. The late Marquis of Anglesea was
lord high steward on this occasion, and it was part of his office
to carry the crown to the altar, before the Archbishop of
Canterbury placed it on the king's head. It was heavier
than he reckoned upon, and the glittering " bauble," pon-
derous with gold and precious stones, slipped from his hands.
He dexterously recovered it, however, before it reached the
ground.
Some immaterial incidents are mentioned in connection
with the coronation of Queen Victoria, but none that might
be considered of ill portent. The coronation service was
abridged ; the day was changed from June 26 to June 28, to
avoid the anniversary of George IV. 's death. A story,
scarcely worth notice, is told that a large bird had been
seen for some time flying backwards and forwards in St.
James's Park, and then hovered over the palace so frequently
as to excite the attention of some credulous spectators, among
whom was an old lady who declared it to be a goose. To
describe the instant expression of horror that possessed her
hearers is impossible ; sighs of commiseration for the young
queen at this portentous omen escaped from many : " Poor,
dear soul ! Well, there's no saying anything for a certainty
beforehand. Who would have thought it, that a nasty, ugly,
long-necked goose should have been fated to mar the happy
events of this day ? There will surely be some accident, or
the poor dear soul — God bless her ! — will not long survive
the ceremony." To this prediction many assented, one of the
< spectators adding, however, that probably so lamentable a
;' result might be averted if any one would only shoot the
k wretch.
326 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
On the coronation day the weather became the subject of
many portents, both for evil and good : —
" The dawn was overcast, the morning lour'd,
And heavily in clouds brought on the day."
Fortunately all forebodings vanished, when, just as the royal
procession was passing through St. James's Street, the sun
shed its genial ray, and lent additional splendour to the
gorgeous spectacle. Queen's weather has become a popular
saying, and if not always to be depended upon, yet, as Shak-
spere has it —
" It never yet did hurt, to lay down likelihoods, and forms of hope."
The newspapers of the day, in alluding to this circumstance,
did not follow the profane hyperbole of the French press at
a similar occurrence, when Napoleon ,>vas married to Maria
Louisa, Archduchess of Austria, in 1810. " The star of the
Emperor," says one paper, " once more prevailed over the
equinoctial gales, and at the moment that the cannon an-
nounced the departure of his Majesty for Paris, the sun
dispersed the clouds ! "
( 327 )
CHAPTER XT.
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES.
" Who, among millions, would not be the mightiest
To sit in god-like state ; to have all eyes
Dazzled with admiration, and all tongues
Shouting loud prayers ; to rob every heart
Of love ; to have the strength of every arm.
A sovereign's name ! Why, 'tis a sovereign's charm ! "
Marlowe's Lust's Dominion.
CRIPTURE history affords
the earliest information on
the CORONATION OF SOVEREIGNS.
In the chapter on " Anoint-
ing" I have briefly alluded
to that special rite of the
ancient consecration service.
I may mention, however, that
we do not find in the Bible
any statement of anointing
the kings of Israel, when
that kingdom was separated
from the kingdom of Judah,
which arose from the rulers
of the former not having any of the sacred oil in their
possession.
Whether the king was girded with a sword at the time of
his accession to the throne, is not certain ; although by some
it is supposed that such a custom is alluded to in the forty-
fifth Psalm.
It appears that a sceptre was presented to the monarch
on his inauguration, and that a diadem was placed on his
head.
The covenant which defined and fixed the principles on
which the government was to be conducted, and likewise the
328 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
laws of Moses^ were presented to him ; and he took an oath
that he would rule in accordance with the covenant and the
Mosaic law. The principal men of the kingdom, the princes,
elders, etc., promised obedience on their part ; and as a pledge
of their determination to perform what they had promised,
they hissed, it appears, either the feet or the knees of the
person inaugurated.
After the ceremonies were completed, the new monarch
was conducted into the city with great pomp, amidst the accla-
mations and. the applause of the people, and the cries of
" Long live the king ! " accompanied with music and songs of
joy. Sacrifices were offered up, and were intended probably
as a confirmation of the oath which had been taken. In the
later ages these sacrifices were converted into feasts.
There are allusions in many passages of Scripture to the
public entrance into cities, which took place at the time of
the coronation, and to the rejoicings and acclamations on that
occasion.
Finally, the king took his seat on the throne, and received
the congratulations of the assembled people. At the acces-
sion of Saul to the .monarchy, when there was neither
diadem, throne, nor sceptre, many of these ceremonies were
necessarily omitted. Most of them were also omitted in the
case of conquests, when the conqueror himself, without con-
sulting the people or the principal men, designated the king
for the nation which he had subdued ; merely gave him
another name, in token of his new dignity, exacted the oath
of fidelity, and signalized the event by a feast.
It was a perpetual custom of the ancient Egyptians that,
after the old traditional manner, every king on the day of his
solemn coronation — which was distinct from the day of his
receiving the kingdom in his father's lifetime, or on the
death of his predecessor — received as his insignia two crowns,
of which the upper one symbolized his sovereignty over the
south (special]}'' committed to the god Set), the red lower
one, on the contrary, his dominion over the north (com-
mitted to the god Hor, the son of Osiris), of the Egyptian
kingdom.
In the " Great Harris Papyrus," a translation of which is
given in the " Records of the Past " (vols. vi. and viii.). King
Ramesos III. (twentieth dynasty of Thebes, n.c. 1200), in a
summary of events immediately before liis accession to the
throne, relates : " My father Anion, the lord of the gods, and
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 329
Ra, and Ptali witli the beautiful face, caused me to be
crowned as lord of the land on the throne of my parent. I
received the dignities of my father amidst shouts of joy.
The people were content and delighted because of the peace.
They rejoiced in my countenance as king of the land, for I
was like Horus, who was king over the land on the, throne of
Osiris. Thus was I crowned with the Atef-crown, together
with the Urseus-serpents ; I put on the ornament of the
double plumes, like the god Tatanen ; thus I reposed myself
on the throne-seat of Hormakhu ; thus was I clothed with the
robes of state, like Tum."*
* By the kindness of Mr. W. St. Chad Boscawen, the eminent Egypt-
ologist, I am able to give the translations of four Assyrian inscriptions
relating to the kings of Assyria and their coronations. That marked
A contains several beautiful similes, such as in line 5, " Honey and milk
may they flow," and in line 9. The text also points to patriarchal times,
when the king (as in the case of Saul) had absolute control over the
revenues of the people. In the second hymn, B, reference is made to the
warrior king and his protection. Hymn C is in honour of Esarhaddon,
on his accession, which was chanted by one of the priestesses of Istar
Astarte of Arbela, and contains many fine expressions (lines 4, 5, 11, 17).
Hymn D is a list of royal titles of very ancient date. Hymn E contains
an account of the coronation ceremony of Assarbanipal or Sar-
danapalus.
A. 1. " The crown." 2. " Of the princedom of mankind." 3. " On.
the holy throne." 4. " Of the princedom of mankind." 5. " Honey and
milk may they flow." 6. " The mountains bring tribute (to thee)."
7. " The desert the field bear tribute (to thee)." 8. " The plantations
of grapes (vineyards) bear tribute (to thee)." 9. " The noble over-
shadowing power of the Moon God (protect thee)." 10. " Of the King
the extent of his land on his right hand." 11. "The Sun God." 12.
" On his left hand the Moon God. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Giant, for
lordship and sovereignty." 13. "In the land. In his body maybe
established." 14. " So be it of the crown."
B. (A second hymn on the same tablet.) 1. " The weapon which is the
brightness of the firmament The restorer of his royalty he points.'*
2. " A weapon of defence he raises which the defence of his royalty he
takes." 3. "His powerful protection he establishes to his power
None dare face." 4. " To hostile land sweeping the foes Those are
drawn away."
C. (Extracts from a coronation hymn of Esarhaddon,*King of Assyria.)
1. "Do not thou fear oh Esarhaddon." 2. " I Am Bed thy support."
3. "The strength of thy heart." 4. "I was zealous for thee as thy
mother." 5. " Thou wast brought forth by me." 6. " Sixty great Gods
were my keepers." 7. " With they protect thee." 8. " The Moon
on thy right hand the Sun on thy left." 9. " Sixty great gods the
organs of thy body." 10. " Placed in the interior they fixed." 11.
" Upon mankind do not thou trust." 12. " Rest thy eyes." 13. " On
me trust thou me." 14. " I am Istar of Arbela." 15. " Thy strength
330 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
"Very scanty are the materials afforded us of the rites and
ceremonies attending the coronation of the ancient monarchs ;
that they were minute and characteristic, we cannot doubt.
The paintings of the Thebaid prove that wheat and barley
were grown extensively in Lower Egypt long before the time
of Herodotus. The king at his coronation, cutting some ears
of wheat, afterwards offered them to the gods, which shews
the value set on them. The custom of a king, at his coro-
nation, partaking of a cake of figs, some of the fruit of the
terebinth tree, and a cup of acidulated milk, was probably a
memorial of the time when these things formed the food of
the nation,"
The kings of ancient Egypt had a troublous life. Strabo
tells us that the influence of the priests at Meroe, through
the belief that they spoke the commands of the deity, was
such, that it was their custom to send to the king, when it
pleased them, an order that he should put an end to himself,
in obedience to the will of the oracle imparted to them ; and
to such a degree had they contrived to enslave the under-
standing of those princes by superstitious fears, that they
were obeyed without opposition. At length a king called
Ergamenes, a contemporary of Ptolemy Philadelphus, dared
to disobey their orders, and having entered the " golden
chapel " with his soldiers, caused the priest to be put to death
in his stead, and abolished the custom. Ergamenes had
studied the philosophy of Greece, and had the sense to dis-
tinguish between priestly rule and religion, knowing that
blind obedience to the priests did not signify obedience to the
Divine Will. But these vested rights on man's credulity
I make perfect." 16. " Thy beauty Thou art purified." 17. " Do not
thou fear Glorify thou me."
D. As in Chinese, the king had numerous official epithets : " The man
on thy right hand," i.e. the fortunate one ; " Great Man," " Lord of
Destiny," " Heart ruler," " Law maker," " Wise one," " the Eenowned '*
or hero.
E. (Coronation of Sardanapalus.) " In the month lyar, the month of
Hea, the Lord of Mankind, the twelfth day, the holy feast day of Gula.
In performance of the expressed commands Istar Bel Nebo and Istar of
Nineveh, the Queen of Love, Istar of Arbela. He gathered the men of
Assyria, small and groat, from the Upper sea to the Lower. For the
substantiation of my royalty the sovereignty of Assyria made. The
gods I offered them. I confirmed the decrees. With joy in the conio
moncemont, I entered on to Bit Keduti, Of Nadurab the father of my
father, my begotten of the royal race, and sovereignty he had made
within it."
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 331
seem, afterwards, to liave been revived among the Ethiopians,
and the expedition sent by Mohammed Ali up the White
Nile learnt that the same custom of ordering the king to die
still existed among some of their barbarous descendants.
In ancient Egiy'pt no woman, except the queen, attended
in the grand procession of a king's coronation,
Ptolemy Philadelphus, after his father Ptolemy Soter,
King of Egypt (283 B.C.), had abdicated the crown in his
favour, ascended the throne, and celebrated his accession by
a magnificent coronation procession. Atheneeus has left a
long description of this pageant, transcribed from Callixenes,
the Hhodian.
This pompous solemnity continued a whole day, and was
conducted through the extent of the city of Alexandria. It
was divided into several parts, and formed a variety of
separate processions. Besides those of the king's father and
mother, the gods had each of them a distinct cavalcade, the
decorations of which were descriptive of their history.
Athenseus has related only the particulars of that of Bacchus,
by which an idea may be formed of the magnificence of the
rest.
Three thousand two hundred crowns of gold were like-
wise carried in this procession, together with a consecrated
crown of a hundred and twenty feet, most probably, in cir-
cumference ; it was likewise adorned with a profusion of
gems, and surrounded the entrance into the temple of
Berenice. There was another golden aegis. Several large
crowns of gold were also supported by young virgins richly
habited. One of these crowns was three feet in height, and
twenty-four in circumference. In this procession were also
carried a golden cuirass, eighteen feet in height, and another,
of silver, twenty-seven feet high, on which latter was the
representation of two thunderbolts of gold, eighteen feet in
length ; an oaken crown embellished with jewels ; twenty
golden bucklers ; sixty-four complete suits of golden armour;
two boots of the same metal, four feet and a half in length ;
twelve golden basins ; a great number of flagons ; ten large
vases of perfumes for the baths ; twelve ewers, fifty dishes,
and a large number of tables. All these were of gold. There
were likewise five tables, covered with golden goblets, and a
horn of solid gold, forty-five feet in length. All these gold
} vessels and other ornaments were in a separate procession
from that of Bacchus. There were likewise four hundred
332 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
chariots laden with vessels and other works of silver, twenty
others filled with gold vessels, and eight hundred appro-
priated to the carriage of aromatic spices.
The troops that guarded this procession were composed of
67,500 foot and 23,200 horse, all dressed and armed in a
magnificent manner. During the games and public combats,
which continued for some days after this pompous ceremony,
the victors were presented with twenty crowns of gold, and
they received twenty-three from Queen Berenice. It appeared
by the registers of the palace that these last crowns were
valued at 2230 talents and 50 minoe — about £334,400. From
this some judgment may be formed of the immense sums
to which all the gold and silver employed in this splendid
ceremonial amounted.
The inauguration of a monarch by the ancient Persians
took place at Persepolis, in the temple of Pallas, erected by
Cyrus (died 529 B.C.), and called Pasigardis. The splendour
of the ceremony was great. The high priest, or pontiff,
clothed in magnificent vestments, received the newly elected
monarch at the door of the temple. He presented to him
cakes and a mixture of milk and vinegar, signifying that
the kingly office was sweet, but sorrow and bitterness would
mingle with its pleasures. The priest placed his hand on the
head of the king, invoking the protection of Mithi'a. He was
then crowned with the diadem, and amidst the most sumptuous
state was conducted to the throne of Cyrus,* which was sur-
mounted by a canopy of azure, on which were represented the
starry host, supported by golden columns garnished with
precious gems. The high priest and the princes prostrated
themselves, and paid the monarch divine honours, while he
♦ *• From Galicia it is reported " (Times, September 13, 1879) " that,
about three weeks ago, a peasant woman, while working in the fields in
the neighbourhood ot Michalkov, on the Dneister, dug up several golden
objects, including goblets, a staff, brooches with dragons' heads, and a
crown. The well-known historical investigator. Dr. Praglovski, and other
archicologists of Lemberg have come to the conclusion that these orna-
ments belong to the regalia of the elder Cyrus, who fell in a campaign
against the Massagetco, about 529 years B.C. In his report on these
objects Dr. Praglovski declares that any one who examines the details
and style of the ornaments, and then compares the place where they
were found with the reports in Greek historians concerning Cyrus's
expeditions against the Scythians, will at once agree with his con-
clusion. The intrinsic value of the objects is set down at 100,000
florins at least, or about £10,000."
CROWNS, ETd, IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 333
was proclaimed "king of kings and brother of the sun and
moon."
It was in the year 33 B.C. that Mark Antony, after the
conquest of Armenia, returned to Alexandria, and, to give a
new proof of his devotion to Cleopatra, resolved to solemnize
the coronation of her and her children. A throne of massy-
gold was erected for that purpose in the palace, the ascent to
which was by several steps of silver. Antony was seated
upon this throne, dressed in a purple robe embroidered with
gold, and with diamond buttons. At his side he wore a
scymetar after the Persian fashion, the hilt and scabbard of
which were loaded with precious stones. He had a diadem.
on his brow and a sceptre of gold in his hand, in order, as he
said, that, thus equipped, he might deserve to be the husband
of a queen. Cleopatra sat on his right hand, in a brilliant
robe made of the precious linen which was appropriated to
the use of the goddess Isis, whose name and habit she had
the vanity to assume. Upon the same throne, but a little
lower, sat Caesarion, the son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra,
and the two other children, Alexander and Ptolemy, whom
she had by Antony.
Every one having taken the place assigned him, the
heralds, by the command of Antony and in the presence of
all the people, to whom the gates of the palace had been
thrown open, proclaimed Cleopatra Queen of Egypt, Cyprus,
Libya, and Coele- Syria, in conjunction with her son Caesarion.
They afterwards proclaimed the other princes kings of kings,
and declared that, until they should possess a more ample
inheritance, Antony gave Alexander, the eldest, the kingdoms
of Armenia and Media, with that of Parthia, when he should
have conquered it, and to the youngest, Ptolemy, the king-
doms of Syria, Phoenicia, and Cilicia. These two young
princes were dressed after the mode of the several countries
over which they were to reign. After the proclamation, the
three princes, rising from their seats, approached the throne
and, putting one knee to the ground kissed the hands of
Antony and Cleopatra.
Antony led forth Alexander dressed in a Median vest, with
a tiara and cittaris upright, and Ptolemy in boots and a
chlamys and a causia with a diadem attached to it. The
cittaris seems to be the higher part of the tiara. The causia
was a Macedonian hat with a broad brim.
334 CJ^OWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Titus Livius informs us how Numa Ponipilius was created
King of Rome (b.c. 714). After some brief particulars of the
ceremony he adds, " The augur predicted the future gi^eatness
of the Romans ; * then, taking his wand in the left hand, he
placed his right on the head of Numa, invoking the protection
of Jupiter on Rome and the king."
Under the imperial domination the inauguration of a new
sovereign varied according to circumstances. If he was elected
by the senate, he received investiture at their hands. When
the emperor designated his succcessor, the act was sufficient
to confer the dignity. Thus Tiberius chose Caligula, to
w^hom he sent his ring, after having left him the empire
by will.
Taking the purple was the mark of empire until Aurelian,
and when, aftei'wards, the diadem or fillet came to be so,
both were assumed at the commencement of a reign, and
consequently did not admit of that ceremony which after
times introduced, where a distinction was made between being
possessed of a throne and inaugurated into it.
Among the Romans the wife of the emperor had the title
of Augusta, which was always conferred with some ceremonies,
and latterly by that of coronation.
The title of emperor, however, originally designated the
commander of an army, and was regarded as inferior to that
of king. Thus Mark Antony, in his oration over Caesar's
body, says —
" You all did see that on the Lnperal
1 thrice presented liiin a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse."
The Emperor Julian, the Apostate, elected to that dignity
* In the chapter on " Omens and Incidents in connection with
Crowns and Coronations" I have alluded to the superstitious fancies
engendered by peculiar circumstances that occurred in our own country.
Diodox'us relates the effect produced upon Alexander the Great by
various events that happened before his death, and which probably may
have hastened it. During his visit to the great lake of Babylon, the
boats that caiTicd his friends having separated, his own was left unaided
for three days, and in some peril. Arriving in a narrow passage, his
diadem was caught by the branch of a tree, and fell into the water. One
of the rowers dived immediately after it, and getting the crown, placed
it on his own head, so as to have more freedom in swimming. At this
act Alexander was troubled, and consulted the augurs, who advised him to
propitiate the gods by pompous sacrifices, and to put to death the finder
of the diadem for his involuntary impiety !
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 335
in Paris by a tumultuous assemblage of bis troops (a.d. 361),
was raised on a buckler, and crowned with the military collar
of a pikeman ; for he refused to make use for this purpose of
a woman's collar or a portion of horse-trappings which were
brought to him by some soldiers, considering them unlucky.
Roman emperor, armed.
Roman emperor, in a military tunic,
unarmed.
On a coin of the Emperor Maxentius he is represented in
a triumphant chariot, drawn by four elephants, with the
legend, "Felix processus consularis Augusti nostri."
When the immense extent of the Roman dominions became
divided into east and west, the inauguration of the respective
336 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
emperors took place in the capitals of each empire. The
Sovereigns of the East received investiture at Constantinople,
on their accession to the throne, with more formalities than
had been hitherto observed. It has been erroneously asserted
that Theodosius II. (a.d. 439) is the first whom we know to
have been crowned by a bishop. Leo I. (a.d. 457) received
the patriarchal benediction of Anatolius, who was permitted
to express by this ceremony the suffrage of the Deity. " This,"
observes Gibbon, " appears to be the first origin of a ceremony,
which all the Christian princes of the world have since
adopted, and from which the clergy have deduced the most
formidable consequences." The assertion, however, is by no
means proved, as there are allusions to previous sacerdotal
services at coronations, although it is uncertain when the
custom of episcopal consecration originated. The first hint
of such a practice that we meet with is in the dream of Theo-
dosius I., before his admission to a share of the imperial
dignity (about 379), in which he saw Meletius, Bishop of
Antioch, putting on him a crown and royal robe. The next
recorded instance of episcopal coronation is that of Justin I.
This emperor was crowned twice — first by John II., Patriarch
of Constantinople (a.d. 518), and secondly by Pope John II.,
on his visit to Constantinople (a.d. 525).
Episcopal consecration became the custom at the coronation
of the successors to the throne until the epoch when the
Ottoman princes assumed the sovereign power.* In the time
* About two centuries ago lived and died in an obscure part of the
kingdom Theodore Paleologus, the immediate descendant of the Con-"
Btantine family, and in all probability the lineal heir to the empire of
Greece. In the parish church of Landulph, in the eastern extremity
of Cornwall, is a small brass tablet fixed against the wall, with the fol-
lowing inscri{)tion : — "Here lyeth the body of Theodore Paleologus, of
Pesaro, in ttalye, descended from the Imperial lyne of the last Christian
Emperors of Greece, being the sonne of Camilio, the sonne of Prosper,
the sonne of Theodore, the sonne of John, the sonne of Thomas, second
brother of Constantino Paleologus, the 8'^ of the name, and last of that
lyne that rayned in Constantinople until subdued by the Turks; who
married with Mary, the dangliter of William Balls, of Hadlye, in Souf-
folko, gent, and had issue 5 children, Theodore, John, Ferdinando, Maria,
and Dorothy ; and departed this life at Clyftou, the 21** of Jan>'. 1036."
Above the inscription are the iin})orial arms ])ropor of the emjure of
Greece — an eagle displayed with two heads, the two legs resting apon
two gates ; tlui imperial crown over the whole, and between the gates a
crescent for difference as second son.
Clyfton was an ancient mansion of the Arundel family, in the parisli
of Lundul])h.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 337
of the Emperor Justin II. (a.d. 565) tlie ceremonial of conse-
cration seems to have received the form and religious sanction
it maintained to the end. The ritual is elaborately described
by Corippus. The ceremony took place at break of day. After
the emperor's elevation on a shield he was carried into St.
Sophia's, where he received the patriarch's benediction, and
the imperial diadem was imposed by his hands. He was then
recognized as emperor by acclamation, first of the " patres,"
and then of the " clientes." Wearing his diadem, he took his
seat on the throne, and, after making the sign of the cross,
he made an harangue to his assembled subjects.
With the addition of the important ceremony of unction,
and a considerable elaboration of ritual, the coronation office,
as given by Joannes Cantacuzenus, afterwards emperor
{circa 1330), and a century later by Georgius Codinus (died
1453), corresponds with that described by Corippus in all
essential particulars.
Leontius (" Yita Sancti Joan. Alex. Episc," c. 17) men-
tions a remarkable custom prevailing in the coronations of
the Eastern empire in the sixth century, as an admonition
of the transitoriness of all earthly greatness. After his coro-
nation the architects of the imperial monuments approached
the emperor, and presented specimens of four or five marbles
of different colours, with the inquiry which he would choose
for the construction of his own monument. The analogous
ceremony described by Peter Damianus, though belonging to
a later period, was this : The emperor, having taken his seat
on the throne with his diadem on his head and the sceptre in
his hand, and his nobles standing around, was approached by
a man carrying a box full of dead men's bones and dust
in one hand, and in the other a wisp of flax, which, as in
the papal enthronization, was lighted and burnt before his
eyes.
Among the Visigoths, when the election of a chief was to
be made, the whole ceremony consisted in making the suc-
cessful candidate promise that he would behave valiantly in
war and rule with justice during peace, and in raising him on
a buckler above the heads of the surrounding multitudes, who
hailed him as their leader. But from the time of Leovigild
(a.d. 570-587), and especially when the elective power rested
as much in the hands of the clergy as in the warlike chiefs,
there was more "pomp and circumstance" attending the
z
338 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
inauguration.* According to Isidore this monarch was the
first of the sovereigns to assume the crown, sceptre, and royal
robe : " Nam ante eum et habitus et consessus communis ut
genti ita et regibus erat." Both the secular and spiritual
chiefs being assembled for the purpose, the candidate was
nominated. He swore to observe the laws, to administer
justice without partiality, and to permit the exercise of no
other religion than the Catholic. He then received the oaths
of fidelity and obedience from all assembled, and was pro-
bably raised on the buckler, as in former ages, and as we
know was afterwards practised in regard to the Austrian
kings. Before the same assembly, in the metropolitan church
of Toledo, he was solemnly consecrated by the prelate of that
see, and his head anointed with oil. His titles were high-
sounding. " Your glory " was the most usual, though the
epithets of Pious, Conquering, etc., were often added. Recared
was the first of the Visigothic kings distinguished by the
name of Flavius. Whether he assumed it after the imperial
family of that name or from its reputed Gothic signi6cation
is unknown, but it continued to adorn the titles of his suc-
cessors. His father was the first who surrounded the throne
with regal state, and whose effigy bore the impress of a
crowned head. The successors of that monarch improved
on his magnificence ; robes of purple, thrones of silver,
sceptres and crowns of gold distinguished them still more
from the time of Chindaswind (a.d. 642).
Charlemagne, King of the Franks, who obtained the
Empire of the West, was crowned at Rome under peculiar
circumstances. Pope Leo III. sought protection from the
revolted Romans at the hands of that great monarch, who
received him in solemn state at Paderborn in 799. Charle-
magne promised to march against the disaffected subjects of
the pontiff, and effectually quelled the insurrection. Charles
was present in the church of St. Peter's at Rome on Christ-
mas Day, 800. On this grand occasion individuals had
come from almost every nation of the West. After high
Mass, when the monarch was kneeling before the altar, the
*
*' Whoro was tho rubied crown, the sceptre where,
And where tho gokien porno, tho proud array
Of orniinos, aureate vests, and jcwohy,
With all which Leovigild for after kings
Left, ostentatious of his power ? "
Southey's " Roderic."
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 339
pope brought an imperial crown and placed it on his head,
while the people shouted, " Charles Augustus, crowned by the
Almighty, the great and peace-bringing Emperor of the
Romans ! Hail ! all hail ! and victory ! " At the same time
the pope knelt down before him, and rendered him homage.
Beyond a few brief notices of this remarkable event there
are no details of the ceremony. Constantino Manasses men-
tions the anointment from head to feet, " according to the
custom prescribed by Jewish law," and there is a notice of
the oath taken on that occasion.*
M. Planche, in the " Cyclopasdia of Costume," remarks
that on state occasions Charlemagne is said to have worn a
jewelled diadem, a tunic interwoven with gold, a mantle
fastened with a brooch of gold ; his shoes were adorned with
gems ; his belt was of gold or silver, and the hilt of his sword
of gold, ornamented with jewels. M. Quicherat observes
that one is so accustomed to see Charlemagne arrayed in
imperial vestments that he would not be recognized if a
painter or sculptor were to represent him in any other
costume, and yet it is historically true that he never wore
them in his life. Once, on the occasion of his inauguration
in St. Peter's at Rome, he appeared in the dress of a Roman
patrician, at the urgent solicitation of the pope, who only
succeeded in persuading him to do so by recalling to him
that, sixteen years previously, at the request of Adrian, he
had presented himself one day to the people in the long tunic,
or chlamys, and the calcei of a Roman senator.
* In the treasury of St. Peter's, at Rome, is the famous sacerdotal
robe called the " Dalmatica di Papa San Leone," said to have been em-
broidered at Constantinople for the coronation of Charlemagne as
Emperor of the West, but fixed by German criticism as a production
of the twelfth or the early part of the thirteenth century. The emperors,
at least, have worn it ever since while serving as deacons at the pope's
altar during their coi'onation mass.
It is a large robe of stiff brocade, falling in broad and unbroken folds
in front and behind, broad and deep enough for the Goliath-like stature
I and the Herculean chest of Charlemagne himself. On the breast the
1 Saviour is represented in glory ; on the back, the Transfiguration ; and
on the two shoulders, Christ administering the Eucharist to the apostles.
In each of these last compositions our Saviour, a stiff but majestic figure,
I stands behind the altar, on which are deposited a chalice and a paten, or
I basket, containing crossed wafers. He gives, in the one case, the cup to
St. Paul ; in the other, the bread to St. Peter. They do not kneel, but
bend reverently to receive it. Five other disciples await their turn in
each instance ; all are standing.
..o CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The figure of Charlemagne in the mosaic in the chnrch of
St John de Lateran, at Rome, is probably the most rehable
one as far as his cos-
tume is concerned. He
is represented in a
short tunic, terminat-
ing above the knees,
with a mantle appa-
rently fastened on the
right shoulder (though
by what means is not
visible), and which, if
not borne up, as it is,
by his arm on the left
side, would hang down
to his feet. It has an
ornamental border, the
studs in which may be
meant either for gold
or jewels. Over his
shoulders is a coHar of
flat plates studded, it
may be, with jewels,
and of the same pat-
tern as the bands or
borders of the leggings.
On his head is a cap
rising to a low peak
atop, with a border of
indented pattern, and
having a circular orna-
ment in front.
M. Planche haB
minutely described this
dress, because it has
been the custom of ])aintcrs and sculptors for so many
years past to portray Charlemagne in the gorgeous robes ol
an emperor of the tifteenth century, and crowned with the
remarkable diadem which is erroneously appropriated to him,
and which is still reverently preserved in the imperial
treasury at Vienna. i • i 4. *«•
When Charlemagne felt his end approaching, he sent tor
his son Louis to come to him, in the year 813, to Aix-la-
Charlemagne. From a mosaic in the church of
St. John de Lateran.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 341
Chapelle, and there, on a Sunday, wlien in the cathedral
together, he reminded him of all the duties of a good
monarch, and he then caused Louis to place the golden
crown (which lay upon the altar) upon his head, and, thus
crowned, his venerable father presented him to the assembly
as the future king of all the Franks. By this act Charles
wished to show that his crown was independent of the
papal chair.
When the tomb of Charlemagne at Aix-la- Chapelle was
opened by the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa in 1165,* he
found, it is said, the body not reclining in the coffin, as is the
usual fashion of the dead, but seated on a throne, as one
alive, clothed in the imperial robes, bearing the sceptre in its
hand, and on its knees a copy of the Gospels. The throne
in which the body was seated, the sarcophagus (of Parian
marble, the work of Roman or Greek artists, ornamented
with a fine bas-relief of the " Rape of Proserpine ") in which
the feet of the dead emperor were placed, are still pre-
served in the cathedral. The throne is placed in the gal-
lery (Hoch Mllnster), running round the octagon, facing
the choir. It is an armchair, in shape somewhat like that
of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey, but made
of slabs of white marble, which during the coronation were
covered with plates of gold. It is protected by wooden
boards, which the sacristan will remove to gratify a stranger's
curiosity.
* Under the dome of the cathedral of Aix-la- Chapelle, suspended
over the tomb of Charlemagne, is a gigantic crown of enamelled copper,
an offering of the Emperor Barbarossa, inscribed with the Greek
characters " I am." In the centre of the crown the archangel Michael
is seen, enclosed in an aureole of quatrefoils. He is descending from
heaven to combat the enemies of peace, for in singular contrast to the
warlike spirit of Charlemagne and Barbarossa, the legend on the crown
proclaims the blessedness of the peaceful : " Beati Pacifici, quoniam
fiUi Dei vocabuntur," taken from the sermon on the mount. The
" Catholic Caesar of the Eomans," as Barbarossa styles himself, caused
the eight beatitudes to be engraven below eight great lamps, by which
the crown is supported.
The " Talisman " of Charlemagne was, according to tradition, a
fragment of the true cross, in an emerald case on a gold chain, given to
him by the Empress Irene. It was taken from his neck when his tomb
was opened. The town of Aix-la-Chapelle gave it to the Emperor
Napoleon, who presented it to Queen Hortense, who much prized it in
the later years of her life. It afterwards came into the possession of the
late Emperor Napoleon III.
342 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The formalities and the solemn pomp attending the
INAUGURATIONS OF THE EMPERORS OF Germ-any in various ages
were characteristic of the period.
In Heiss's " History of the Empire " we have a few
particulars of the " election " and coronation of Otho the
Great (of the house of Saxony), in 936, as Emperor of
Germany. The election took place at Aix-la-Chapelle.*
Hildebert, Archbishop of Mentz, with the bishops and
clergy, clothed in sumptuous habits, met the monarch at the
church door, where, having proclaimed him with the usual
ceremonies, the archbishop conducted him to a place where
he could be seen by all the people, and theu said, " I here
present you. Otho, chosen by God, appointed emperor by
Henry, his father, and justly elected to that dignity by all
the princes. If you approve this election, give a sign of it by
lifting up your hands." This being done by the people, with
loud acclamations, the clergy conducted the emperor to the
high altar, whereon the sword, the belt, the mantle, the hand
of justice, the sceptre, the crown, and all the imperial orna-
ments were placed. The sword was girded to his side, the
archbishop saying, " Receive this sword, and use it to drive
away the enemies of Jesus Christ, and employ the power and
authority of the empire, conferred on you by God, to secure
the peace of the Church." The prelate then put on the
mantle, the sleeves whereof hung to the ground, saying,
" Remember with what resolution and fidelity you are obliged
to maintain peace to the end of your life." The sceptre and
the hand of justice were then given, with these words: " These
marks of power are yours, and engage you to keep your
subjects in their duty to repress and punish vice and disorders
severely, but yet with humanity ; to become the protector of
the Church, its ministers, widows, and orphans; and to use all
with the tenderness and goodness of a father, that you may
(in eternity) receive the reward you will deserve by so
prudent and Christian a conduct."
The Archbishop of Mentz having finished these words, the
bishops anointed the emperor's head with holy oil, which
done, the former crowned him. These ceremonies being over,
the emperor ascended a throne, where he remained while
• A very ancient manuscript of the ceremonial of crowning the
German cmperorH at Aix-la-Chapclle, was purchased at the last of the
Hales of Prince Talleyrand's libraries, by the late Mr. Banks, and is now
among tho additional manuscripts in the British Museum.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 343
psalms were sung and prayers were offered. He tlien returned
to the palace and dined in public, the bishops sitting at his
table ; the dukes and other great lords serving him.
Charles lY. was the first to establish the regulations con-
cerning the coronation ceremonials, and these were announced
to the Imperial Diet at
Nuremberg in 1356.
This deed, to which was
attached a gold seal, was
then called the Bulle
dJor. According to this,
when the emperor died,
the Archbishop of May-
ence was to summon the
princes to the election at
Frankfort ; the corona-
tion was to take place at
Aix - la - Chapelle. From
this circumstance origi-
nated the custom of de-
spatching from Frankfort
a princely deputation to
Aix-la- Chapelle, to bring
from that city a chest of
earth, on which the em-
peror stood when he was
crowned.*
* Six cities contended for
the inauguration of the new
kaiserdom. First in antiquity
was Worms, the residence of
the earliest recorded con-
querors of Rhineland, the
Burgundian dynasty (434),
Frankish line of sovereigns,
then Charlemagne. Next,
Aaachen, Aix - la - Chapelle.
Thirty-one emperors were crowned here, and until 1793 the regalia and
robes belonging to the coronation were preserved in this city.
Charles V. received the imperial crown at the hand of Pope Clement,
at Bologna, 1530, and at the same time with the Lombard or Italian
crown. There were, besides the imperial crown, three other distinct
crowns, some or all of which were assumed by each emperor according
to his respective rights.
The German crown, which by the time of Charles V. had become
Elector of Germany in state dress.
344 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The electors were to be present, escorted by their vassals
and attendants ; they were to be seven in number, " in
honour," as recorded in the deed, "of the seven candlesticks
of the Apocalypse." The prince who was elected bore, at first,
the title of King of the Romans.* To attain full possession of
imperial dignity, it was necessary that he should be conse-
crated and crowned. The regalia, consisting of the crown
(en'oneously called that of Charlemagne), the sceptre, the
hand of justicCjf the sword, and the orb, are still preserved
at Vienna.
the most important of the four, was taken at Aix-la-Chapelle ; the
Lombard, or Italian crown, generally at Milan ; and the Burgundian
crown, of less importance than the others, at Aries. Charlemagne took
them all four. Charles V. took the first German crown at Aix-la-
Chapelle. It was not until 1530 that he took his other two crowns
at Bologna.
* The ceremonies observed on the coronation of emperors of Eome
were of an august character. On the day preceding the event, the
Koman citizens met the emperor-elect at the gates of their city, had
their charters confirmed by him, and received the oath that he would
preserve the good customs. On the next day the emperor proceeded to
St. Peter's, where he was received by the pope and his clergy, and was
solemnly blessed and crowned.
The coronation of the German emperors of Eome, more especially in
the eleventh century, is best represented from the original monuments by
Muratori (" Antiquitat. Italiae medii iEvi," tom. i. diss. 2, p. 99, etc.)
and Cenni (" Monument. Domin. Pontif," tom. ii. diss. 6, p. 261).
The last coronation of a German emperor at Rome was that of
Frederic III. of Austria (1452). After drawing his military force to the
metropolis and imposing the best security of oaths and treaties, Pope
Nicolas received, with a smiling countenance, the faithful advocate and
vassal of the Church. So tame, says Gibbon, were the times, so feeble
was the Austrian, that the })omp of his coronation was accomplished with
order and harmony ; but the superfluous honour was so disgraceful to an
independent nation, that his successors have excused themselves from
tho toilsome pilgrimage to the Vatican, and rest their imperial title on
the choice of the electors of Germany.
t Tho *' hand of justice," which formed a part of the regalia alluded
to, is a very ancient symbol. Hands were dedicated by tho ancient
Egyptians to the two or three divinities in whose temples the cure of the
sick was practised. In Montfaucon, we find mystic fingers which appear
to have had the same signification. The fingers represented are of
bronze, and end in a long nail, showing that they were fastened to a
wall, or that they ■wore borne on a stafi in tho festivals of Isis.
The " hand " reappears in tho coronation ceremonies of Europe, and
after a time wo begin to recognize it as the symbol of the royal gift of
healing by touch. This, however, is not understood under its earlier
forms described by Montfaucon. A hand, for example, is represented as
descending from heaven in a picture of Charlemagne, and in two
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 345
The ceremonies of the coronation were grand and im-
posing. The Archbishop of Cologne officiated at the altar,
and placed the crown on the emperor's head, whose titles were
then proclaimed as "Caesar; Very Sacred Majesty; Always
August ; Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and the
German nation." On leaving the church of St. Bartholomew,
at Frankfort, the imperial cortege proceeded through the
town to the Rath-haus, or town-hall, called the Romer (from
Rome), and there in the kaiser-saal a banquet was prepared
for the principal actors in this ceremony. At the moment
when the emperor entered, the Elector of Saxony spurred
his horse at full speed toward a heap of oats which had been
placed there, holding in one hand a silver measure, and in the
other a scraper of the same metal, both of them weighing
twelve marks. Filling the measure with oats, he ground
them with the scraper, and delivered it to the hereditary
marshal ; the rest of the oats were then pounced upon by the
people who witnessed this spectacle. Then the count
palatine performed service by placing before the emperor,
portraits of Charles the Bald, pointing with four fingers to his head, to
illuminate him in his duties and justice towards his subjects. From the
fingers of these hands proceed rays. On a monument of Dagobert, at
\^s. — rrir-^gKcijaiit:
Ivory sceptre of Louis XII. (XIII. ?).
, Details of the ivory sceptre of Louis XII. (XIII. ?).
St. Denis, a similar hand was represented, with three fingers extended,
while the king, naked, with a crown on his head, was raised over some
drapery by two bishops with two angels near hira. According to
Montfaucon, similar hands are common to the emperors of Constantinople
about the period of Charlemagne. From these and many similar doca-
nients of antiquity, a divine origin has been ascribed to this symbol.
The "hand" was a symbol of Providence, as well as of the five
fundamental tenets of Islam. A talismanic power was ascribed to it.
346 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
seated at the imperial table, four silver dishes, each of three
marks, bearing meats. The King of Bohemia, as archbutler,
offered wine and water to the emperor in a silver cup. The
walls of the banqueting room, or kaiser-saal, where the
emperors were entertained and waited on at table by kings
and princes, are covered with their portraits in the order of
succession from Conrad I. to Francis II.
In the market-place, called the Romerberg, in front of the
building, upon the occasion of an imperial coronation, an ox
was roasted whole, from which the arch-steward cut a slice
for the emperor. A fountain flowed with wine, from which
the arch-cupbearer filled his glass ; the arch-marshal dis-
tributed corn from a silver measure, and the populace enjoyed
the privilege of appropriating the scarlet cloth upon which
the emperor walked from the cathedral. So greedily was it
cut away behind him as he passed onwards, that he ran the
risk of having his heels cut also.
Leopold II., Emperor of Germany, was crowned Sep-
tember I, 1790, at Frankfort. Everything connected with
the election of an emperor — his coronation, the banquet in the
Romer, and other national festivities by which the great event
was celebrated — was fixed by the " Golden Bulle " already.men-
tioned. That ancient document is to this day preserved in the
Romer, as the town-hall of Frankfort is still called, although
the remains of the Germanic- Roman empire, fi'om which
that public building derives its name, were swept away by
Napoleon I,
The three ecclesiastical electors met in the cathedral
before eight o'clock, robed and mitred in full state, ready to
receive the ensigns of imperial power — the jewels, the sword
(said to be) of Charlemagne, and the Gospel, printed in
golden characters, on which the coronation oaths were taken.
These treasures were sent from the ancient towns of Aix-la-
Chapelle and Niirnberg, which claimed the right of holding
them in charge. The venerated objects and their noble
attendants travelled, exposed to the public view, in state
carriages diawn by six horses. They were pompously re-
ceived by the three ecclesiastical electors, and placed in a
small chapel of the cathedral, near the high altar, called the
Electoral Chapel, in which the emperor was to put on his
robes. When all these preparations were completed, the door
of the chapel was closed by the hereditary door-keeper to the
Holy Roman Empire.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 347
While the ecclesiastical electors were thus occupied, the
secular electors went to the palace, where they were formally
received by his Majesty, and where they waited while the long
procession was forming.
The " Golden Bulle " decreed that the emperor should ride
to the cathedral, habited in the robes and wearing the crown
of his own house. The Hapsburgg of Austria, being the
strongest and most influential of the empire, had been the
chosen family for many generations.
At ten o'clock Leopold mounted his richly caparisoned
horse. His dalmatic robe — the ancient Roman purple —
glistened with diamonds and pearls, . and the crown of
Austria, a heavy relic of early feudal times, pressed his brow.
Over his head was upheld a splendid crimson canopy, em-
broidered with the double-headed eagle, which widely spread
its wings to cover the royal head. This baldachin, upheld on
poles, was supported by twelve senators of Frankfort, who
rode on each side of the emperor as he slowly moved in
grand procession to the cathedral. Before him were borne
by the hereditary officers of the empire the crown on a
cushion of cloth of gold, the sceptre, the orb, and the drawn
sword of St. Maurice.
Within the sacred edifice, while high mass was being
performed, the emperor on the steps of the altar took the
oaths on the gilded copy of the New Testament. The Elector
of Mainz, the highest of the ecclesiastical electors, as the
chief pastor, anointed the sovereign with consecrated oil, and
administered to him the Holy Communion. This done,
Leopold mounted the throne. The coronation was announced
to the nation by the firing of cannons and ringing of bells.
The procession, on leaving the cathedral, turned towards
the river, and crossed it by the old red-stone bridge, the only
one then in existence, to show itself in Saxonhausen before
it proceeded to the Romer, where the banquet was prepared.
The bridge was carpeted with red, black, and yellow cloth,
which, as soon as the emperor had passed over it, belonged
to the people, who lost not a moment in dragging it up and
cutting it into fragments.
The arch-treasurer acted an important part in the corona-
tion. He rode into the Romerberg on a noble horse. To its
sides, instead of holsters, several bags were suspended, em-
broidered with the arms of the elector palatine, grand
seneschal of the Holy Roman Empire. From these bags the
348 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
arch-treasurer took handfuls of coins. A bright shower of
silver and gold glittered in the air, innumerable hands were
held up, and the next instant the people were all tumbling
one over another, scrambling for the money.
At the banquet the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt had the
honour of carving for his Majesty in the kaiser-saal, and the
Duke of Mecklenburg, who held a superior appointment of a
similar character, was posted at the door of the Romer with
a white napkin over his breast, and the badge of his office, a
huge knife, in his hand. The grand chamberlain kindled the
fire at which the ox was roasted whole, under a wooden booth
in the market-place. In front of the Romer, but bearing
towards St. Nicholas's Church, four rough paving-stones, with
the letters " 0. K.," for ox-kitchen, rudely cut on them, may
be seen to this day.
Ritter Heinrich von Lang has given an amusing account
of this part of the proceedings. The truchsess, or trencher-
man, was in Spanish costume, with loose hair and a cloth-of-
gold mantle. Sitting his horse with becoming dignity, and
followed by a suite of attendants in grand liveries, he rode in
state to the roasting ox, on which his work was to be done.
"Four gentilhommes, of whom I was one," says Von Lang,
"rode on each side of the Trencherman. I had to wear a
Spanish hat, with blue and white feathers, and to carry a
silver dish. While the Trencherman remained seated on his
horse outside the kitchen, we waited inside close to the in-
fernal fire at which the entire ox was roasting, and emitting
a most disgusting stench. It was our duty to cut a slice and
to carry it on a plate before the count, who was the honorary
bearer of the slice of beef. Just as we turned to go off with
it, a fight began among the roughs in the market-place;
they fought for the gilded horns of the ox, and in the
struggle down came the whole wooden kitchen with a crash,
probably as a symbol of what was to befall the Holy Roman
empire."
The immutable laws and traditions of the empire decreed
that on these grand occasions the dishes should be carried bv
representatives of four states of the empire, to whom tha'
service was assigned, to be held throughout all generations
The states thus honoured were Swabia, Wetheran (a Hessian
province), Franconia, and Westphalia. Each of these states
sent a count to be a dish-bearer at the coronation. Nim
times they passed from kitchen to kaiser-saal, and thus
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 349
thirty-six dishes were placed ; but then appeared a thirty-
seventh dish, and this odd dish caused a disagreement which
seemed likely to end in bloodshed. It had naturally come
round to Swabia, but the Swabian count could not degrade
himself and the state which he represented by placing the last
dish on the emperor's table. He contended that it ought to be
carried by a Westphalian, and in the dispute he was sup-
ported by a number of his fellow-countrymen, who had come
to Frankfort to be the bearers of St. George's shield at the
coronation. The grand chamberlain, who referred to records
which went back to the days of Charlemagne, produced a list
of the dishes which had been set before the Emperor Rodolph.
Then it appeared that this particular dish was one of them,
and could not be left out.
A pleasant and full account of the coronation of Joseph II.,
Emperor of Germany, is given in the " Autobiography of
Goethe," who was present on that occasion.
The CORONATION OF KiNG WiLLIAM I. OF PRUSSIA (nOW GER-
MAN Emperor) took place at Konigsberg, October 18, 1861.*
* The name of Prussia was unknown in Europe before the end of the
tenth century. The rise to power of the present imperial and , royal
family of Prussia dates from the comparatively recent period of the
fifteenth century; but the crumbling walls of the crag-built castle in
Swabia, whence they take their name, " Hohen (lofty) Zollern," seems to
imply that they are sprung from a family as ancient as any in the
Fatherland.
The true foundation of the greatness and power of the reigning
dynasty of Prussia was laid by Frederick, usually called the sixth Count
of Hohenzollern and Markgraf of Nuremberg, who purchased of the
Emperor Sigismund, for the sum of four hundred thousand florins, the
margi'avate of Brandenburg, with the rank and title of elector, for which
he received homage (April 18, 1417).
The title of King of Prussia was first assumed by his son Frederick.
The province of Preussen has given its name to the entire kingdom of
Prussia, and its capital, Konigsberg, was the original seat of government
before it was transferred to Berlin.
Frederick, the twelfth Elector of Brandenburg, was crowued first
King of Prussia January 18, 1701. The ceremony took place at Konigs-
berg. Great magnificence was displayed on this occasion. The king
put the crown on his own head, and a smaller crown on the head of his
wife, Sophia Charlotte, in token of his independence, to show that he was
no vassal of the emperor and no subject of the pope. The action was
symbolical, and the sign was more fully understood by posterity than by
those who witnessed it, or even by the king himself, although he per-
ceived the wisdom of " sowing for the future " — one of his favourite
expressions.
3SO CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
About half -past ten in the morning, the king in one pro-
cession, and the queen in another following, left the royal
apartments for the church adjoining the castle, preceded by
heralds in blue costumes and numerous state dignitaries,
including the grand master of the wardrobe bearing the
royal mantle on a velvet cushion, the bearers of the great
seal, the globe, the sword of state (naked, and borne upright) ,
the sceptre, on a cushion. Immediately after followed Prince
Radziwill carrying the crown, and next came the king in a
general's uniform, covered with the mantle of the Order of
the Black Eagle, his plumed helm in his hand. He was fol-
lowed by other dignitaries, and General Wrangel bearing the
state banner. The queen, attired in white silk with ermine,
came next, accompanied by her entourage.
The king and queen took their places at the foot of the
two pillars in front of their thrones, facing the altar. After
the usual liturgy of the Lutheran Church and sermon, the
coronation service commenced. Whilst the Salvum fac JRegem
was sung the bearers of the crown, sceptre, and globe
approached the altar, and laid the regalia on it and retired.
The high officials also who bore the sword of state and the great
seal stood near the altar, which the king ascended, knelt, and
prayed. On his rising, the crown prince approached the king
and took oil the Black Eagle mantle and collar, while the court
officials placed on his Majesty the coronation robes.
The king then went forward and, taking the crown from
the altar with both hands, placed it on his head. He then
took the sceptre and globe, and, turning towards the spec-
tators, waved the latter twice or thrice, and then laid it down
on the altar, and passing the sceptre from the left hand to
the right, he grasped the sword of justice.
The queen, after being arrayed in her coronation robes,
approached the altar, and the king placed the crown on her
head. Their Majesties both knelt and prayed, after which
the procession left the church, and on entering the palace
the queen retired.
The king, in coronation robes, with crown and sceptre,
appeared on the platform in the great hall, and received the
three addresses from the Upper House, the Chamber of
Deputies, and from the witnesses to the coronation. His
Majesty replied, and waved his sceptre thrice. The list of
decorations to be given away was then read by the Minister
of the Interior. The chief herald and four others advanced,
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 351
and exclaimed in a lond voice, " Long live King William the
First ! " and whilst the grand chorale, " Nunc danket alle
Gott " was being sung by thousands of voices, the king
re-entered the palace, and the ceremony, which lasted about
four hours, terminated.
The royal crown of Prussia, which was in use for State
ceremonies until 1871, is of compara-
tively modern workmanship. It is
without a cap ; the arches and the
diadem are set with diamonds and
other precious stones.
On the 18th of January, 1871, King
William I. of Prussia was proclaimed
German Emperor, at the palace of Ver-
sailles, the war still raefino: between the
r^ J i 1 -rT< 1 Royal crown of Prussia.
Germans and the Jb rench.
About noon the king drove to the palace, and was re-
ceived by the Crown Prince of Prussia, at the eastern portal,
at VEscalier des Princes. Immediately on his arrival the
king reviewed the troops drawn up in the courtyard, after
which he was conducted by his son to the Salle des Glaces.
As he entered he bowed towards the altar, which had been
erected at the end of the gallery, and on which stood a cruci-
fix and lighted candles, and then took his place in front of
the dais, facing the altar. He was dressed in the uniform of
a general.
After the military liturgy, sermon, and the Te Deum had
been given, the king walked to where the colours of all the
regiments were displayed, and stood before them, while the
document proclaiming the re-establishment of the German
Empire was read by Bismarck. The Grand Duke of Baden
then stepped forward, and exclaimed, " Long live his Majesty
the emperor ! " The bands struck up amidst the cheers of
the assembly. The emperor embraced his son and relatives.
The officers, of whom there were representatives from nearly
every part of the army who could be possibly spared, then
filed past and saluted. Later, a magnificent banquet was
served.
A writer on this eventful subject says that after the
1 proclamation of the empire, the crown prince, as if seized
by an irresistible impulse, rushed forward, and flung him-
self at the feet of the newly-made emperor. The latter,
352
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
deeply moved, raised him from, that reverential attitude,
and, with tears, father and son kissed each other on both
cheeks.
It was just one hundred and seventy years ago that the
world first heard of a King of Prussia, in the person of
Frederick I., and the anniversary is always kept at Berlin
with a certain amount of splendour. But Berlin cannot
compete with Versailles in such matters, and what occurred
on January 18, 1871, will ever be remembered by the German
people as one of their greatest triumphs.
To spare the feelings of minor sovereigns, the new title is
not really " Emperor of Germany," but " German Emperor."
Crown of the Gennan Empire.
The former title would imply that the territories of other
sovereigns are situate in a land belonging to the owners of
the title ; the other means simply the head of the Germai
nationality.
The Grown of the German Empire takes its principal
features from the old crown of tlie Koman-German Empire.]
Four of the shields are ornamented with diamond crosses, the|i
other four with the imperial eagle. Four hoops, richly
studded with diamonds, support the imperial globe and cross!
on the top. The inside cap is embroidered with a network]
of gold.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 353
The Crown of the German Empress is similar in character
to that of the emperor; interlaced Gothic arches springing
from a jewelled circlet, and terminating in rosettes, takes the
place of the shields. The inner cap is of gold brocade, and
the arrangements of the jewels are executed in a more
modern stjle.
The Coronet of the Prince Imperial of Germany is executed
in a style similar to that of the crown of the German
Emperor, and consists of four crosses from which the arches
rise, the intervals between the crosses being filled up by
imperial eagles. The rich ornamentation is effected with
diamonds, precious stones, and pearls.
The King of Saxony's palace at Dresden contains the
Crown of the Empress of Germany.
Coronet of the Prince Imperial of
Germany.
" Griine Gewolbe," in which are deposited the regalia of
Saxony.
These celebrated " Green Vaults," a range of apartments
on the ground floor of the palace, contain, probably, the
richest collection of valuables possessed by any sovereign in
Europe. Indeed, the treasures remind one rather of the
gorgeous, dazzling magnificence of Oriental despots, or the
magic production of Aladdin's lamp in the Eastern tale. The
value of the whole must amount to several millions.
The Saxon princes, besides being far more powerful and
important in former times than at present, were also among
the richest sovereigns in Europe. One mode by which they
showed their magnificence and expended their money, was in
the accumulation of all kinds of rare objects, such as jewels
2 a
354 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
and exquisite carvings, in the precious metals and in other
costly materials, which were deposited in a secret strong
room under the palace.
' There is in this collection a glass case filled with splendid
precious suites of the most costly jewels. The first division
contains sapphires ; the largest of them, an ancient specimen,
was a gift of Peter the Great. The second, emeralds. The
third, rubies ; the two largest spinels weigh forty-eight and
fifty-nine carats. The fourth, pearls. Among sixty-three rings
there are two which belonged to Martin Luther — one a
cornelian bearing a rose, and in its centre a cross ; the other,
his enamelled seal-ring, bears a death's head and the m.otto,
" Mori saepe cogita."
The fifth division is devoted to diamonds. The diamond
decorations of the gala dress of the elector consist of
buttons, collar, sword hilt and scabbard, all of diamonds ;
the three brilliants in the epaulette weigh nearly fifty carats
each. But the most remarkable stone of all, which is con-
sidered unique, is a green brilliant, weighing one hundred
and sixty grains = forty carats.
The CROWN OF Bavaria is hereditary in the male line.
The constitution dates no further back than 1818, when the
country was declared a part of confederated Germany.
King Maximilian II. died March 10, 1864, and on the
same day the royal herald, accompanied by a detachment of
cuirassiers and trumpeters, proclaimed in all the chief
squares and streets of Munich, Ludwig II., King of Bavaria
and Count Palatine of the Rhine. The young monarch (then
eighteen years of age) took the oath of fidelity to the con-
stitution before the assembled royal princes and state mini-
sters. Afterwards, the soldiers took the oath of allegiance,
and the king issued the first state notice convening the
ministers to a state council.
In 1870 Bavaria, by treaty, recognized the King of
Prussia as the head of a new German empire.
Some scanty particuhirs are given by old writers of the
baptism, anointing, and coronation of Clovis, the first Chris-
tian King op France. This took place at Rheims, in the
clmrch of St. Renii, on the night of Christmas Eve, A.D. 496.
The solemnities were conducted witli great j)onip ; the houses
were covered with tapestry, the churches with white linen,
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 355
and tlie baptistery, near the gate, was magnificentlj adorned.
The air was filled with rich perfumes, and the light of
flambeaux and tapers dispelled the gloom of tbe night from
that august place. St. Remi, who led the king by the hand
to the font, gave him a short exhortation, " Humble thyself,
0 Slcamhrian! Burn what thou hast worshipped, and
worship that which thou hast burnt ! " After this the king
professed his belief in one God and three Persons ; and St.
Remi baptised him in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, while the bishops who were
present, holding him by his arms, immersed him in the holy
laver, into which three thousand French descended after him.
Afterwards the king entered the church for his confirmation,
anointing, and consecration as a Christian king. Sicamhria
was the name of the country from which Clovis came.
A great similarity subsisted between the coronation
CEREMONIES of our own country and that of France. Some
curious details of the latter are given in a manuscript in the
Cotton Library, written in French (Tiberius B viii.), the
illuminations in which are exceedingly beautiful. They once
represented the different stages of the whole ceremonial of a
French coronation. Unfortunately the manuscript has been
mutilated, many of the illuminations having been cut out.
It is headed, " This is the order of anointing and crowning
the King." The following inscription, in the handwriting of
Charles Y. of France, gives its origin : — " Ce livre du sacre
des Rois de France, est a nous Charles, Y. de notre nom, roy
de France, et le fimes corriger, ordiner, escrire et istorier I'an
1365.* The manuscript acquaints us with the following
particulars preparatory to the ceremony, and furnishes us
also with a ritual of the consecration : —
" First, a stage somewhat elevated must be prepared, adjoining the
choir of the church, on which the King and the peers of the realm shall
be placed. On the day that the King comes to be crowned, he should be
received in procession by the canons of the mother church, and the
members of the other conventual churches."
' Some other arrangements are mentioned in the preparation.
On the day of coronation —
:" between prime and tierce, the monks of St. Eemi should come in proces-
1 * At a sale of the books of M. Ruggieri, the pyrotechnist, at Paris,
in 1873, a copy of this work was sold for £1600.
156
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
sion with the holv ampulla, which the Abbot should bear with great rever
once under a canopy of silk supported by four ^^a^s, borne by rnonks
attired in auhes [white garments], and when they shall f^^^^^^^^^^^.^^^^
of St. Remi, the Archbishop should proceed to meet them, and with him
the other Archbishops and Bishops ; . . . the Archbishop --*> P--^
the Abbot, in good faith, that he will return it to him. and then the
Archbishop must carry the ampulla to the altar with great reverence of
Charles V. of France. 1370.
the people. The Abbot with some of the monks accompanying him, th
rest^waitiug behind until all be completed; and then the holy ampul
hall be carried back either to the church of St. 1 -- «^,\^«,«^^^^^^^^^
St. Nicholas. These things being performed, the Ajchb hop shaU
attire himself for the mass in his most noble vestments, >^>th the pall
after the Deacons and Subdeacons, and attired in this manner mu
come to the altar in procession, according to custom. The King must
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 357
rise with reverence, and repair thither ; and when the Archbishop shall
have arrived at the altar, he, or any of the Bishops, for their whole
body, and for the churches submitted to them, must ask the King if he
will swear to maintain the rights of the Bishops and their churches, as
it befits the King to do in his kingdom, to preserve the dignity and
jurisdiction of the crown, to administer justice in all his judgments ;
and if he will subscribe, moreover, to the oath of the new constitution of
the Council of Lateran, viz. to expel heresies from his kingdom.
" These things being promised by the King, and ratified by his vow
on the Holy Evangelists, Te Deum Laudamus is sung. In the mean time
must be placed on the altar the King's crown, the sword in its scabbard,
his golden spurs, his golden sceptre, and his rod of the measure of a
cubit or more, which shall have on it a hand of ivory. Also the stock-
ings of silk, of a violet colour, embroidered or tissued with golden fleurs-
de-lys, and a coat of that colour, and of the same workmanship, made in
manner of the tunic with which the Subdeacons are attired for the
mass ; and with this the surcoat, which should be entirely of the same
colour, made nearly like a cope of silk without the hood ; all which
things the Abbot of St. Kemi should bring from his custody, and
should be at the altar and keep them.
'* The King shall repair to the altar, and shall undress himself with
the exception of his silk coat and his shirt, which are to be open between
the breast and shoulders ; there are also to be openings in the sides,
which shall be joined by silver clasps. Then first, the Great Chamber-
lain of France shall put on the King the stockings which the Abbot of
St. Remi shall give him, after which the Duke of Burgundy shall put
on the spurs given him by the same, and immediately afterwards, these
shall be removed.
" Afterwards, the Archbishop alone shall gird on his sword with the
scabbard, which sword being girt, the Archbishop shall draw it out of
the scabbard, and the scabbard shall then be placed on the altar, and the
Archbishop shall put the sword in the hand of the King, who is humbly
to offer it on the altar; and he shall immediately receive it back by the
hand of the Archbishop, and forthwith commit it to the Seneschal of
France to support before him in the church to the end of the mass, and
afterwards when he shall return to the palace.
" These things accomplished and the chrism placed upon the altar,
on a consecrated paten, the Archbishop is to prepare the holy ampulla
on the altar, and take from it, on the point of a gold needle, a little
of the oil sent from heaven, and mix it very carefully with the chrism
which is prepared for anointing the King. This glorious privilege of
being anointed with oil from heaven is peculiar to the Kings of France
above all others in the world. Then the openings before and behind
must be undone, and the King anointed ; first, on the top of the head, next
on the breast ; thirdly, between the shoulders ; fourthly, on the shoulders ;
fifthly and lastly, on the joints of the arms. While the anointing is
going on, they shall sing the anthem ' Innnxerunt regem Salomonem,' etc.
The openings in his garments are then to be closed ; the coat before
mentioned is then to be put on by the Chamberlain of France, the
Abbot of St. E,emi handing it to him for the purpose ; the Chamberlain
is also to invest him with the surcoat. The Archbishop is then to put
the sceptre in his right hand, the rod in his left, and calling all the
358 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Peers of France who are standing round, the Archbishop takes the royal
crown, and he alone puts it on the head of the King.
" The crown being thus placed, all the Peers, both clerical and lay,
must put their hands to it and support it on all sides. The Archbishop
and Peers who support the crown must conduct the King to the chair
prepared for him, ornamented with silken cloths, and place him therein.
This must be elevated within full view of all. The Archbishop must
then kiss the King, and after him the Bishops and the lay peers.
The CORONATION OF Louis XVI. (June 11, 1775) took
place in the cathedral church of Notre Dame, at Rheims.*
On reaching the principal entrance (June 9), the king de-
scended from his carriage, and knelt down to receive the
holy water from the cardinal archbishop. His Majesty then
kissed the Evangile, and, having been complimented by the
clergy, was conducted to a splendid prie-BieKj placed in the
chancel, where he remained during the celebration of the Te
Deum, whose effects were rendered more imposing by the
volleys of cannon and musketry fired from the i-amparts.
The first gentleman of the chamber handed a beautifully
chased gold cup (ciboire) to the king, who placed it on the
altar as an offering, and having received the benediction,
retired to the archiepiscopal palace, where the ecclesiastical
and civil authorities did homage to him.
In the afternoon of the lOtli the king, attended by the
princes of his family, proceeded in state to the metropolitan
church, to hear vespers. The service was chanted by the
archbishop, Duke of Rheims, accompanied by the most
exquisite music, and a sermon preached by the Archbishop
of Aix, after which his Majesty returned to the palace.
" On the 11th the canons and clergy of Notre Dame took their places
in the stalls beneath the galleries. Shortly afterwards the prior, with
three ecclesiastics from the Abbey of St. Denis (near Paris), entered
and stationed themselves near the altar in order to be ready with the
* " Every King of the French crowned at Rheims has been at once a
Frenchman by birth, and the undisputed heir of the founder of the
dynasty, liheims alone preserved her proud prerogative as the crowning
])lnce of kings, whoso right was never so niuch as called in question.
Paris, the scat of temporal dominion, has never bocome the ecclesiastical
home of tho nation, the crowning place of lawful kings. None but
strangers and usurpers have ever taken tho diadem of France in the
capital of France. While Rheims has beheld the coronation of so many
generations of native Frenchmen, Paris has beheld only the coronation
of a single English king and a single Corsican tyrant" (Freeman's
" History of Normandy ").
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 359
regalia required for the coronation.* These regalia consisted of
Charlemagne's crown of solid gold, sparkling with rubies and sapphires,
lined with crimson satin, beautifully embroidered, and surmounted by a
golden fleur-de-lys, studded with pearls ; the sceptre of massive gold,
enamelled and crusted with pearls ; the sceptre called the * hand of
justice,' consisting of a gold wand, ornamented with rubies and pearls,
and terminated by an ivory hand ; Charlemagn£'s sword, the handle
and guard of molten gold, and the scabbard of purple velvet, powdered
with fleurs-de-lys; the lozenge-shaped aigrette or clasp, intended to fasten
the royal mantle, studded with precious stones ; the golden spurs, enriched
with rubies ; and, lastly, the book of prayers used at the coronation,
richly bound and clasped with silver.
'' The ecclesiastics, secretaries of state, great crown officers, court
functionaries, and marshals of France, including those selected to bear
the regalia, were introduced and conducted to their places by the master
of the ceremonies, whilst the Queen, Princesses, and foreign ambassadors
proceeded to their respective galleries. Last of all appeared the lay
peers, whose dress consisted of a long mantle of purple lined with ermine,
capes of the same fur, encircled with the collars of St. Louis and the
St. Esprit ; robes of gold cloth ; violet-coloured silk sashes, and coronets
upon their heads. The whole being seated, the Bishops, Duke of Laon
and Count of Beauvais, were deputed, according to custom, by the Arch-
bishop, to proceed to the King's apartments in order to escort his Majesty
to the church. Upon the arrival of the two prelates at the door of the
King's chamber, the head beadle knocked with his staff, and the following
dialogue took place between the Bishop of Laon and the Grand
Chamberlain.
" The Grand Chamberlain (from icithiyi) — * Whom do vou demand ? '
" The Bishop—' The King.'
*' The Grand Chamberlain (ivithout opening the door) — ' The King
sleeps.'
" Thereupon the beadle struck the door a second time, and the
Bishop again exclaimed — * The King.'
* The regalia and ornaments were preserved at St. Denis, whence
they were transported to Kheims by the prior, escorted by a detachment
of Gardes du Corps.
In former times the monarchs of France were buried with theii:
crowns, sceptres, rings, etc. Thus, at the destruction of the royal tombs
at St. Denis, in 1793, in the coffin of Charles Y. were a crown and
sceptre of gold, and a hand of justice beautifully carved in silver. In
the coffin of Jeanne de Bourbon, his wife, were the remains of a crown
and a gold ring. Part of a crown and a gilt sceptre were also found in
the coffins of Charles YII. and his wife, ^[arie d'Anjou. In that of
Louis X. were part of a sceptre and brass crown, much rusted. Beside
the body of Louis VIII. were part of a wooden sceptre and a diadem of
gold tissue. In the coffin of Philippe le Bel was a gold ring, a diadem
of gold tissue, and a brass gilt sceptre. The skeleton of Philippe le Long
was clothed in royal robes ; on his head was a gold crown, enriched by
precious stones.
36o CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" Thp- Grand Chamberlain — ' I tell you the King sleeps.'
" Upon this the beadle knocked at the door a third time, and the
same questions and answers being repeated, the Bishop added, — ' We
demand Louis the Sixteenth whom God has given us as our King.'
" The door was now opened, and the Grand Master of the Ceremonies,
Buperbly dressed in a blue coat with red facings, richly embroidered,
waistcoat, breeches, and stockings of red silk, and a mantle of purple
velvet trimmed with lace, conducted the Bishops to the King, whom
they found reclining (pro fornm) upon the splendid couch, which was
made by order of Francis I. for the coronation of himself and successors.
The dress worn by the King was composed of a long crimson silk
camisole, or inner vest laced with gold, open as well as the skirt
beneath, at the different parts of the body destined to be anointed.
Over the vest was a long robe of silver tissue, and upon his head he
wore a black velvet toque, ornamented with a string of diamonds, and
shaded with a plume of black and white herons' feathers. As soon
as the Bishops had presented the holy water, they raised the monarch
from the couch, and a procession was formed to the church, where
the King, after kneeling before the altar, took his seat on a chair of
state.
" An usher announced the arrival of the Sainte Ampoulle from
St. Remi. The Archbishop advanced to meet the prior who bore it, and
placed it upon the altar. He then respectfully solicited the King to
maintain the canonical rights and privileges of the Church of Rheims.
Ilis Majesty having promised with ' God's aid ' to ' protect and defend
the Church,' the Bishops of Laon and Beauvais lifted him from his chair,
and then turning to the spectators exclaimed loudly, — ' Do you accept
Louis the Sixteenth for your liege King and Sovereign ? ' A silent and
respectful assent being returned, the Archbishop requested the King to
take the usual oaths of fidelity to certain obligations. Upon this, his
Majesty seated himself, and taking the Testament between his hands,
replied in Latin, that he promised to ' preserve peace in the Church — to
prevent j)lunder and robbery in his dominions — to enforce and dispense
justice — and to endeavour with all his might to extirpate heresy.'
Having made this oath, his Majesty took those required of him as
Sovereign Grand Master of the Orders of the St. Esprit and St. Louis,
and then swore to maintain inviolate the edicts against duelling, first
promulgated by Louis the Fourteenth in 1651, and sworn to by that
monarch at his coronation.
"Whilst the King was engaged in repeating these oaths, the robes
and regalia recjuired for the coronation were placed upon the altar.
These, in addition to the ornaments brought from St. Denis, consisted of
a crimson satin camisole, a richly embroidered tunic and dalmatic, a
pair of velvet sandals sprigged with fleurs-de-lys, and a royal mantle
of purple velvet, junvdered with fleurs-de-lys and lined with ermine.
Besides these, were two crowns, one of which was of marvellous splendour,
being comjxised of a circular gold band or diadem, surinounted with
eight diamond ll(>urs-de-ly8 8ej)aratcd by an equal number of fleurons,
couiposed of diamonds and precious stones. From the former rose eight
gold branches uniting at the top of the crown, which was terniinatod by
u ninth fleur-de-lys, composed of the famous ' Sanci ' diamond, and six-
teen others of wonderful size and lustre, all mounted with such skill
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 361
as to appear like one stone. In front of the fleur-de-lys was the famous
' Pitt ' or ' Regent " diamond. The band or diadem was bordered bv two
rows of pearls interspersed with twenty-four large diamonds and eight
coloured stones. Among the first were the celebrated ' Miroir de
Portugal,' aud another called ' le plus gros de Mazarins.' Amongst
the second were a ruby, emerald, sapphire, and Oriental topaz of pro-
digious size and brilliancy. The total height of the crown from the
lower edge of the diadem to the point where the branches united was
nine French inches.
" The King, seated in his chair of state, received the investiture of
the sandals and the golden spurs. The Archbishop then blessed
Charlemagne's sword, and girded it round the King's waist ; then
drawing forth the blade, he delivered it into the monarch's hands,
who kissed it, and offered it to God, by placing it on the altar ; upon
this the Archbishop returned it to the King, who delivered it to the
Constable.
" The prayers required to be recited upon this occasion being ended,
the Grand Prior of St. Rerai approached the altar, and opening the
reliquary containing the Sainie Ampoulle delivered it to the Archbishop,
who extracted a drop of its sacred contents with the point of a golden
needle, and then taking a little consecrated chrisra {sainte creme) he
mixed it with the precious oil upon a richly embossed patena. The
ointment being ready, the King and Archbishop prostrated themselves
at the foot of the altar, whilst four Bishops, kneeling at their sides, sang
litanies, which were responded to by the choir and music. These being
finished, the Archbishop rose, and placed himself with his back to the
altar, the King also rising and placing himself on his knees. The former
then dipped the tip of his right thumb in the ointment' and proceeded
to anoint the King, first, upon the summit of the head ; secondly, on the
stomach ; third, on the back ; fourth, on the right ; fifth, on the left
shoulder; sixth, on the joints of the right; and, lastly, on those of the
left arm. Two officiating Bishops opened the King's camisole at the
appointed places, whilst the Archbishop repeatedly crossed himself, and
accompanied each unction with the following words, — ' Ungo te in regem
de oleo sanctificato, in nomine Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.'
" After the ceremony of the first seven unctions, the Grand Chamber-
lain placed the tunic and dalmatic of subdeacon and royal mantle upon
the shoulders of the King, who again kneeled down, and was anointed
twice more on the palms of his hands. The Archbishop then blessed
the gloves and the ring, sprinkled them with holy water, and placed the
former on the King's hands, and the latter on the fourth finger. The
prelate then delivered the sceptre into his right, and the hand of justice
into his left hand, and thus terminated that portion of the ceremony
called the consecration.
" After a short pause, during which the King continued kneeling, the
Chancellor of France ascended the steps of the altar, and addressing
each of the lay and ecclesiastical peers in succession, exclaimed,
' Approach, and be present at this act.' The Archbishop then took
Charlemagne's crown from the altar, and held it above the sovereign's
head, the assisting peers touching it the while with the forefinger of
their right hands; having uttered a short prayer, the Archbishop
then placed the crown upon the King's head, and gave him and his
362
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
assistants the usual benediction. This part of the ceremony was
announced by a flourish of trumpets and a royal salute.
"The Archbishop, substitutinpj the crown of diamonds for that of
Charlemagne, raised the King and conducted him towards the throne.
The procession was opened by the heralds and peers, followed by the
Constable with the sword. Then came the King holding the sceptre
and hand of justice, followed by the peers, &c., and took his seat on the
throne. The Archbishop recited a prayer, and then taking off his
mitre, bowed to the Sovereign, kissed him, and exclaimed three times,
* Vivat rex in etemum ! ' The peers having performed the same cere-
mony in rotation resumed their seats, and the heralds mounted the
platform and proclaimed the name and titles of the King, the publio
being admitted to gaze upon the glorious splendour of the monarch, whose
miserable destiny was so soon to be written in letters of blood.* A
number of birds were let loose in the church, emblematical of the liberal
intentions of the young monarch. The heralds descended into the nave,
and with shouts of Largess ! distributed gold and silver medals. After
a Te Deum Mass was performed, during which the King and the peers
were uncovered ; the Evangile was brought to the monarch, who kissed it.
The king-at-arms and the heralds brought the offerings and handed
them to the four knights of the St. Esprit, who presented them to the
King : these consisted of a silver-gilt vase of beautiful form and execu-
tion, fifteen inches high and six wide, with a rich saucer ; a loaf of gold ;
a purse of red velvet embroidered in gold, containing thirteen gold
coronation medals ; a loaf of silver. The knights then mounted to the
throne, where they made their obeisance to the King, who rose and
descended into the chancel, followed by the peers and great officers of
State. Having arrived opposite the altar, his Majesty knelt down, and
taking the offerings presented them to the Archbishop, for the Church.
The Benediction followed, after which the Cardinal Grand Almoner
mounted the steps of the throne, and offered the kiss of peace to the King.
The peers received the same from the monarch. Mass being ended, the
royal party again descended to the altar, and the crown being removed
from the King's head, he entered a small pavillion, where he confessed.
On his return the communion was celebrated, and the procession was
again formed for the palace, the crown of Charlemagne being placed on a
cushion and borne before the King. Having reached liis apartments,
his Majesty undressed, and gave his gloves and shirt, which had been
touched by the ointment, to the Cardinal Grand Almoner, to be burntj
to prevent pollution.
" After a brief repose the King dressed himself in a third costume of]
great splendour, consisting of the royal mantle lined and caped witl
ermine. Under this was a tunic and dalmatic of violet satin, powderec
with golden flcurs-de-lys, and bordered with a deep gold fringe, Th«
boots or sandals were of purple velvet, sprigged with gold, the cravatil
and ruffles of the richest lace, and he wore Charlemagne's crown, from
* Louis XVI., at his coronation, touched the croAvn uneasily as it waij
placed ou his broad sl()])ing brow, nnd Faid, " Kile nie gene." It was the|
opening word of the drama in which ho was the unfortunate victim.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 363
beneath which his long hair fell in ringlets over his shoulders. In this
attire he proceeded to the banqueting room.
" In the mean time the Lord Steward went to the buttery, and shortly
returned with the first course, which was escorted by twenty trumpeters
and drummers, six heralds, fourteen maitres d'hotel holding their wands.
The Grand Pannetier carried the first, and twelve gentlemen ushered the
other dishes, which the Grand Ecuyer tranchant arranged upon the
table, and then uncovered and tasted them. The King took off his crown,
and laid down his two sceptres, and the Archbishop having uttered the
Benedicife, his Majesty seated himself. The Master of the Horse with
the three Marshals who had carried the regalia, and other functionaries,
then ranged themselves near the royal chair, in readiness to perform
the requisite services. That of the Grand Master of the Household was
to offer the napkins presented to him by one of the King's almoners
having charge of the Nef d'or [a casket or portable case in the form of a
ship, used for the napkins]. That of the Grand Pannetier was to change
the plates, knives, and forks. That of the Grand Echanson was to fill
the royal cup and to taste its contents. That of the Grand Ecuyer
tranchant was to present and remove the dishes and services.
" The King having dined, the Archbishop rose and pronounced a final
grace, after which the procession returned to the palace.
" On the 13th June, the King was installed as Grand Master of the
Order of the Holy Ghost, with splendid ceremonies, and in the morning
following proceeded in state to the abbey of St. Remi, to pay his
devotions, according to kingly custom, at the shrine of the saint."
The COEONATION OF THE Empeeor Napoleon * presented
some peculiarities whicb. distinguish it from the kingly in-
augurations. This great man did not suffer his elevation to
the imperial dignity (by the vote of the Tribunate) to pass
as a civil ceremony, but strove to give it all the effect he
could from the aid of the religious institutions. His elevation
was announced to the French bishops in a letter, which con-
cluded by desiring the "Yeni Creator " and the " Te Deum"
to be sung in all their churches ; a new form of prayer was also
to be used ; regulations were laid down for the coronation,
and many of the public functionaries and detachments of the
different military corps were ordered to attend at Paris on
* A sumptuous work on this ceremonial was published in Paris,
" Sacre de Napoleon dans I'Eglise de Notre Dame, 1804," atlas folio, con-
taining thirty-two exquisitely beautiful engravings of portraits, costumes,
processions and ceremonies, after the designs of Isabey. Few works
have ever been published, in any country, upon which so much anxiety
and expense have been bestowed. The drawings by the celebrated
Isabey were accurate portraits of all the court. It was not completed
till the moment of the fall of Napoleon, when the whole impression was
carefully destroyed, and only those few escaped which were allowed to
some of the members of the imperial cabinet.
364
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
that occasions Pope Pius YII. was also summoned to officiate
on the important day ; and on October 25, 1804, he arrived at
Fontainebleau, to the great gratification of the Parisian public.
He was met by the emperor, who was hunting at the time ;
they both alighted, and embraced each other in the French
fashion.*
The coronation took place December 2, 1804. The whole
of the streets through which the procession had to pass were
strewed with sand, and the cathedral of Notre Dame, in
which the ceremony was to be performed, was decorated on
this occasion with all the sumptuousness and frippery for
which the French taste has always been so remarkable. The
military escort was numerous, and the procession consisted of
an immense train of carriages, of the most brilliant and showy
kind, with all the people of consequence belonging to the
late consular court, in the midst of which Napoleon and
Josephine proceeded, accompanied by the pope, through
immense lines of spectators, until they reached the cathedral.
The emperor bore a silver sceptre, around which was twisted
a golden serpent, and surmounted with a globe, sustaining a
figure of Charlemagne.
An English authoress observes that much has been said
about Napoleon placing the crown on his head, and not
waiting to receive it from the hands of the pope, besides his
having been represented to have snatched it impatiently from
the pontiff ; but the crowns of Josephine and himself were
laid upon the altar, and the pope, having anointed the emperor
and empress, proceeded to bless the crowns, and replaced them
on the altar, retiring to his seat. Napoleon then advanced, and
taking the crown intended for himself, which was a simple
wreath of laurel made of gold, he pronounced the oath to the
nation which had been decreed by the senate, and then
repeated a declaration, importing that he acknowledged to
hold the crown by the favour of God and the will of the
French people, after which he placed the crown on his own
head. He then took that of the empress, and placed it on her:
head, her Majesty receiving it kneeling. During this cere-
* The followini? epiji^rara was afTixod to tho statue of Pasquino at
Rome, when tlie Tope proceeded to Fiiiucc to crown Napoleon : —
" Romani vi diro un bel quadro,
D' lino santo padre che fii coronar nn 'ladro —
Un Pio per conservar la fede hvscia la sede —
Un altro per conservar la eede lascia la fede."
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 365
mony the pope recited the coronation prayer, " Coronet vos
Deus," etc.
The imperial regalia, which was consecrated by the pope,
who repeated a prayer for each, consisted of the emperor's
crown, the sword, the hand of justice, the sceptre, the
emperor's robe,* the ring, collar, and globe ; the crown of
the empress, the robe, and the ring. The offerings to the
altar consisted of a wax taper decorated with thirty pieces of
gold, and another with thirty pieces of silver, the 'pahi
d^ argent., the 'pain cfor, and the cup.
Never before had a pope been obliged to leave his own
dominions for the purpose of crowning an emperor or a king.
It was reserved for Napoleon to outdo all other crowned
heads by this action.
The imperial crown made for Napoleon was an exquisite
piece of goldsmith's work. Ornamented feathers rose from a
* The late Sir Salar Jung, on his visit to Paris (August, 1867), went
to see, among other wonders of the capital, the cathedral of Notre Dame,
where he was much struck by one of the persons charged with exhibit-
ing what is called the " Treasure " showing him the coronation robe of
the first emperor, and adding, "This is the robe that Napoleon I.
wore at his coronation, and which the Emperor Napoleon IV., at
present in England, will wear when he comes over to his coronation."
Sir Salar Jung replied, philosophically, " One must never say this or
that will occur, nor call any one king, who cannot dwell in his own
country" — an almost prophetic saying in connection with the fate of the
unfortunate young Prince Imperial.
The models of the bees adopted by Napoleon I. on his coronation
robes are stated to have been found in the tomb of Childeric, when
opened in 1653, "of the
purest gold, their wings
being inlaid with a red
atone like a cornelian."
These ornaments were only
what are called in French
" flearons " (supposed to
have been attached to the
harness of Childeric's war-
horse). Handfuls of them
were found when the tomb
was opened at Tournay,
and sent to Louis XIV.
They were deposited on a
green ground at Versailles.
Gold ornaments supposed to represent bees.
Napoleon, wishing to have some regal emblems more ancient than the
fleur-de-lys, adopted the fleurons as bees, and the green ground as the
original Merovingian colour. This is given on the authority of the
late Augustin Thierry.
366
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Crown of Napoleon I.
jewelled band as supporters of the globe and cross on the top,
with imperial eagles placed in the intervals.
Napoleon was crowned with the Italian diadem at
Milan, May 26, 1805, with splendid ceremonies. Seated on a
superb throne, he was
invested with the usual
insignia of royalty by
the cardinal archbishop,
and ascending the altar,
he took the Iron Crown,*
and placing it on his
head, exclaimed (being
part of the ceremony used
at the enthronement of
the Lombard kings),
" Dieu me I'a donnee, gare
a qui la touche " (Grod
gave it to me, beware those
who touch it), which Sir
Walter Scott designates
as a " haughty motto."
Napoleon, however, may have been thus inspired by the
example of the great object of his hero-worship, Chai'le-
magne, whose custom it was to affix to the treaties he con-
sented to, a waxen seal impressed by the pommel of his sword :
"And with the point," added the emperor, "I will support it."
* When Napoleon resolved on crowning himself with the iron
diadem, he gave to the ceremony all the splendour of which it was sus-
ceptible. His journey to Milan was like the triumph of a Roman
emperor, and the forms, processions, etc., ari'anged for the occasion, fill,
in their description, a tolerably thick volume. The decorations, from
the royal palace to the cathedral of Milan, occup}' many pages. The
procession which convej^ed the crown from Monza was singular. It was
led by a guard of honour on horseback, a corps of the Italian guard ; a
carriage contained the municipality of Monza ; another followed witli the
assistants employed to remove the crown ; the canons, the syndic, and
the arciprete of the Cathedral of Monza succeeded ; and last came a
carriage with the master of tlie ceremonies of the imperial court, bearing
tlie crown on a velvet cushion. Twenty-five of Napoleon's old guard
surrounded the honoured vehicle. The crown was received in Milan
with a salvo of artillery aiid the ringing of bells, and at the jiortal
of the cathedral by the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, who bore it
through the church, and deposited it on the altar. Tlio guards watched
around it during the night.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 367
The LATEST {as yet) coronation of French monarchs took
place in 1825. Louis XVIII. having died without being
crowned, his successor, Charles X. (who had figured at the
consecration of Louis XVI. as Comte d'Artois, representative
of the Duke of Normandy) resolved to revive the ceremonies
and re-establish nearly all the obsolete usages that had been
adhered to at the coronations of his legitimate predecessors.
Rheims was re-endowed with its ancient privileges. Therefore,
in the month of May, 1825, that ancient city saw itself once
more transported to the most brilliant days of regal splendour
and ecclesiastical majesty.
The magnificence displayed at the coronation of Charles X.
was unrivalled. The inaugural ceremonies were similar in most
respects to those performed on the coronation of Louis XVL,
but there was little inward veneration for the imposing rites of
the Church, and still less respect for those ancient customs that
were revived for the occasion. Every part of the ceremony
that brought before men's eyes the forgotten privileges of the
hereditary nobility, was looked upon with jealousy by that of
recent creation, and was considered as an attempt to restore
those feudal exactions which had been anathematized by the
Republic, and left in abeyance by the emperor. In short, the
volcano that was destined to burst forth before the echo of
the hosannas of consecration had died away, was smouldering
beneath the royal feet ; so that the king and his venerable
adherents stood there as memorials of what Prance had
struggled to abolish, not as models of what she was desirous
to reinstate.
The gorgeous splendour of Charles X.'s coronation, and the
apparent unction and sincerity with which the dignitaries of
the kingdom pressed around him, serve but to render more
striking the contrast between that pageant and the misguided
monarch's expulsion in 1830.*
* Strange has been the destiny of the sovereigns who have ruled
France during one brief century. With the exception of Louis XVIII.,
not one of the monarchs has ended his life tranquilly at the Tuileries :
Louis XVI. guillotined ; Napoleon I. died in exile, also Napoleon II.,
Charles X., Louis Philippe, Napoleon III. — The Place de la Revolution :
St. Helena, Reichstadt, Holyrood, Claremont, Chislehurst. When Louis
XV. heard the first murmur of the storm, he said gaily, " Royalty will last
my time." He was right ; when the day came that he died, royalty really
died with him. Afterwards there were kings in France, but little that
s was royal. Truly did Beranger sing, *' Jamais I'exil n'a corrige les rois! "
In Voltaire's " Candide, or the Optimiste," there is a satire connected
368
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Louis Philippe, elected King of the French after this
revolution of 18'30, was not crowned. A throne was prepared
at the Palais Bourbon, surrounded with tricoloured flags,
and the Duke of Orleans seated himself to the sound of the
"Marseillaise" and the firing of cannon from the Invalides.
M. Casimir Perier read the declaration of the 7th of Ausrust,
the last article of which called to the throne " S. A. R. Philippe
d'Orleans, Due d'Orleans." Amidst cries of " Vive le Roi,"
Louis Philippe signed the charter and the declaration of his
oath, which were to be placed in the archives of the kingdom.
At this moment, four marshals displayed the attributes of
royalty, the sceptre, the crown, the sword, and the hand of
justice. Instead of the title of " King of France " was sub-
stituted that of " King of the French."
In 1791 an inventory of the CROWN jewels of France was
made by M. Delattre, from which it appeared that the quantity
of diamonds enumerated in the list of 1774 amounted to 74-82.
From that period until 1791, some had been sold at different
times, to the number of 1471, but the purchase made to com-
plete a diamond set of buttons, and to enrich the sword of
Louis XVL, raised the number to 9547.
Four remarkable objects have disappeared from the
treasury : the Sanci diamond ; the magnificent opal known
under the name of the " Burning of Troy," which belonged to
the Empress Josephine ; a remarkably fine brilliant of thirty-
four carats that Napoleon I. wore at his marriage, and which,
it is said, he lost at Waterloo; a blue diamond of the rarest
perfection, weighing sixty-seven carats. It was stolen in 1792.
The French* suppose the blue diamond in the Hope collection,
weighing 44| carats, to be this jewel, which was reduced to
make it less known as such.
The great treasures which were stolen on the 17th of
September, 1792, and not recovered, contained about one
thousand carats of brilliants and roses of various sizes
and qualities.
Lamartine, in his " History of the Girondins," mentions
with the changeful tlcstinies of sovereip;ns. Eij^ht travellers meet in an
obscure inn, and some of them without sufficient money to pay for a
misomble dinner. In the course of conversation tliey are discovered to
be cirjht monarchs in Europe, who had been deprived of tlieir crowns.
What added to this satire was the fact that there were eight living
monarchs at that time wanderers upon the earth.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 369
in several places that Danton and Roland were accused of
having made away with the greater portion of the diamonds
belonging to the crown of France, and the wardrobe. Accord-
ing to him they have never been traced.
In 1810 Napoleon, after purchasing over the continent all
the diamonds and jewels which were detected to have formed
a portion of the robbery of the treasury, had an inventory
made of them, the number amounting to 37,393.
It has never been shown that Charles X. directed the
removal of the crown jewels from St. Cloud, but on his
abdication and flight the insufficiency of funds might, very
naturally, have suggested to the steward of the royal house-
hold the wisdom of packing up these valuables ; they would
either remain with the abdicated monarch, or be ransomed by
the country. As soon, however, as their removal was ascer-
tained, the municipal commission at Paris appointed three
deputies to proceed without delay to Rambouillet and demand
their restoration. Charles refused to surrender the crown
diamonds, but a body of six thousand men being directed
towards Rambouillet, the king yielded to necessity, and
reluctantly surrendered the diamonds.
In 1848, during the transport of the crown diamonds to
the treasury, a case was stolen containing jewels to the value
of 300,000 francs. During the Franco- German' war the
crown jewels were removed for security to a military ocean port.
The crown jewels of France, displayed at the Paris
Exhibition of 1878, were divided into eight cases. The first
contained the seven Mazarine diamonds, purchased by the
celebrated cardinal ; the second, a diadem in pearls and
brilliants, of which a single pearl alone is valued at 500,000
francs ; the third case, regal ornaments in turquoises and
brilliants ; the fourth, the same in sapphires and brilliants ;
the fifth, pearl necklace, earrings, etc. ; the sixth, ornaments
1 in brilliants and rubies ; the seventh, diamond stars, and other
1 insignia, received by Napoleon III. from different sovereigns,
conspicuous among them all being the Order of the " Elephant
of Siam," a diamond sword-handle executed for Charles X.,
I and a watch, studded with diamonds, originally designed for
the Dey of Algiers ; the eighth and last case contained several
1 magnificent parures in brilliants, one of which can be trans-
formed into a necklace.
It seems that after much parliamentary discussion the
t French Government has resolved that the crown jewels
2 b
370
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
should be sold by public auction in Paris, a deed entirely
without parallel in the history of any country. From the
general sale the following- objects are to be reserved, by
reason of their exceptional interest : — 1. The " Regent," or Pitt
diamond, bought from Pitt, Governor of Madras, by Philippe
d'Orleans in 1717. This is reckoned the second largest
diamond in the world, being surpassed only by the OrlofP stone
in the imperial sceptre of Russia. 2. A sword with a hilt of
brilliants and magnificent goldsmith's work, made in 1824.
8. A reliquary, mounted with brilliants set in a triangle,
that dates from 1479. 4, The Mazarine diamonds (before
mentioned). 5. The watch (also before mentioned). 6. A
ruby engraved with a chimera, which is said to be the largest
engraved ruby known. 7. A " Dragon and Elephant of Den-
Crowns of the Bourbons in France.
mark " marvellously wrought in enamel. 8. The celebrated
ring known as the " Regale of France," which was placed by
Louis VII. upon the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canter-
bury, and which, after being worn as a thumb-ring by
Henry VIII., to whom nothing was sacred, and passing j
through various vicissitudes, afterwards found its way bacl^J
to France.
It was usual for the kings of France to give their crowns!
'used at the consecration in keeping to the treasury of St.
Denis. Among these, previous to the Revolution of l792i:J
was the crown of St. Louis, of massive gold, adorned with
precious stones, remarkable for their size and beauty. Among
the most conspicuous of the jewels was a large ruby which.
St. Louis had set in such a manner as to show one of tlie\
CROWNS, ETC, IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 371
thorns from the crown of our Lord, which was placed within
its socket.
With regard to the crowns of France, Louis XIV. intro-
duced fleurs-de-lys as the principal ornament of the French
crown for the diadem, as well as for the top. A crown made
in the eighteenth century contains 273 diamonds, interspersed
with 64 coloured precious stones of great beauty and value.
In 1831 King Louis Philippe adopted a new arrangement
for the crown of France,
modifying the shape of the
fleurs-de-lys, and adding a
wreath of oak leaves 'to the
diadem ; at the same time re-
instating the imperial globe
with a jewelled zone on the
top.
In Belgium the king is not
crowned, but, stretching forth
bis right hand at his installa- Crowns of France (Orleans branch).
tion, he says, " I swear to
observe the constitution and the laws of the Belgian people ;
to maintain the national independence and integrity of the
territory,"
A crown has been lately made for the Queen of the
Belgians by the court jeweller. It is an incredibly elaborate
work of art, composed of forty pearls, twenty being pear-
shaped and of enormous size ; forty large brilliants, and nearly
five thousand small ones, the whole set in gold and wrought
in open work. This crown resembles a coronal of flame,
simple in form, but of great elegance. It weighs less than
half a pound.
The INAUGURATION OF THE DuKE OF AnJOU AS DuKE OP
Brabant, in 1582, presents some curious features of interest.
The name is familiar to English readers as that of a suitor
for the hand of Queen Elizabeth, but whose revolting appear-
1 ance was the principal reason for the rupture of the marriage.
' On February 17 the duke set sail for Antwerp, where he was
received with distinguished honour. A large platform had
f been erected for the ceremony of the inauguration, com-
manding a view of the stately city. A throne covered with
velvet and gold was prepared, and here the duke took his
372 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
seat, surrounded by a brilliant throng, including many of the
most distinguished persons in Europe. Andrew Hessels,
doctor utriusque juris, delivered a salutatory oration, and then
read aloud the articles of the "Joyous Entry" (hlyde inhomst^
or blithe entrance), the ancient constitution of Brabant, a
barrier against tyranny, and highly esteemed in the Nether-
lands. The duke having notified his acquiescence, the oaths,
according to ancient custom, were administered. Afterv^ards
the ducal hat and the velvet mantle, lined with ermine, were
brought, the Prince of Orange assisting his Highness to
assume this historical costume of the Brabant dukes, and
saying to him as he fastened the button at the throat, " I
must secure this robe so firmly, my lord, that no man can
ever tear it from your shoulders." Thus arrayed in his
garment of sovereignty, Anjou listened to another oration
from the Pensionary of Antwerp, John van der Werken.
He then exchanged oaths vv^ith the magistrates of the city,
and received the keys, which he returned to the burgomaster.
Meanwhile the trumpets sounded, largess of gold and silver
coins was scattered among the people, and the heralds cried
aloud, " Long live the Duke of Brabant ! "
In the ANCIENT GOVERNMENT OF THE SCANDINAVIANS the
people seem always to have made it a law to choose the
nearest relation of the deceased king, or at least some one of
the royal family, whom they respected as issued from the
gods. The places where these elections were made are still
shown ; and as Denmark was for a long time divided into
three kingdoms, we find, accordingly, three principal monu-
ments of this custom — the one near Lunden, in Scania, the
other at Leyr.i, or Lethra, in Zealand, and the third near
Viburg, in Jutland. These monuments, whose rude bulk has
preserved them from the ravages of time, are only vast
unhewn stones, commonly twelve in number, set upright and
placed in form of a circle. In the middle is erected a stone
much larger than the rest, on which they made a seat foi
their king. The other stones served as a barrier to keep o
the populace, and marked the place of those whom the people
had appointed to make the election. They treated also in
the same place on the most important affairs ; but if the kingf]
chanced to die in war or at a distance from home, they formed
upon tlie spot a place after the same model by bringingj
together the largest stones they could find. The principal
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 373
chiefs got on these stones and with a loud voice delivered their
opinions ; then the soldiers, who stood in crowds about them,
signified their approbation or assent by clashing their swords
together in a kind of cadence, or by raising certain shouts.
We know that this custom of electing their kings in the
open field prevailed among all the northern nations, and was
for a long time necessary, because they had no cities.
In Sweden they joined to the other ceremonies described,
an oath, reciprocally taken by the king and his subjects.
One of the judges of the provinces convoked an assembly to
make a new election immediately after the death of the king,
and demanded with a loud voice of the people if they would
accept for king the person he named, who was always one of
the royal family. When they had all given their consent the
new king was lifted up on the shoulders of the chiefs, in order
that all the people might see and know him. Then he took
Odin to witness that he would observe all the laws, defend
his country, extend its boundaries, revenge whatever injuries
his predecessors had received from their enemies, and would
strike some signal stroke which should render him and his
people famous. This oath he renewed at the funeral of his
predecessor, which was usually celebrated with great pomp,
and also on occasion of the progress which he was obliged to
make through the chief provinces of the kingdom, in order
to receive the homage of his subjects.
The exact conformity which we find between the manners
of the Danes and Swedes, during the ages of paganism, leave
no doubt that the kings of Denmark were elected after the
same manner. This supposition is confirmed by what we can
discover of the ancient constitution of the kingdom of Norway.
There was an identity of government in the three principal
kingdoms of the North.
With regard to the coeonation of the kings of Sweden
\\. AND Norway, though the union between the two countries is,
i in fact, what international law calls a "real" union, it pre-
■^ Bents a pre-eminently personal character. It is the sovereign's
person that ties most intimately together the two realms. In
everything else dualism is strictly enforced. As there are two
courts — one Swedish and one Norwegian — so there are also
two coronations. So highly do the Norwegians value the
performance of this ceremony that it has been formally
enacted that " the coronation shall take place in the cathedral
374 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
of Drontheim, with the ceremonies it may please his Majesty
to ordain."
This is an article of the constitution of 1814. The Bishop
of Drontheim performs the consecration rites. In this cathedral
Bernadotte was crowned King of Norway, February 5, 1818.
Norway is proud of its independence and jealous of the
predilections of its sovereigns ; hence the great price attached
to their presence in Norway, and, above all, to their being
crowned separately with the crown of St. Olaf. One of the
kings of this century, however, never went to Drontheim.
Oscar I. would not consent to be separated at such a solemn
occasion from his spouse, who, being a Roman Catholic,
could not take a part in the ceremonies of an ultra- Protestant
Church. On the 5th of August, 1860, Charles XV. and Queen
Louisa were crowned in the old cathedral, and July 19, 1873,
Oscar II. and Queen Sophia received, at the same place, the
crown of Norway and the oath of the people.
The ceremony of the inauguration began by the singing of
a cantata of Jonas Live, after which the Bishop of Bergen
ascended the chair to preach the sermon. The king then
rose, and, surrounded by his ministers, seated himself on the
throne, opposite the gi-and altar, where the Bishop of Dron-
theim officiated. The coronet and ermine cloak which his
Majesty had worn until then were deposited on the altar, and
the Bishop of Drontheim then solemnly put on the royal
head the crown of Norway, after which the king received
from the ministers the royal insignia — the sceptre, sword,
apple, and key. His Majesty then resumed his place in the
body of the church, while the queen was crowned in a similar
manner, and the royal sceptre and apple presented to her.
This concluded the ceremonial in the church.
In the grand church at Stockholm (also called St. Nicholas,
from its former patron saint), situated near to the castle, is
the silver armchair, surmounted by a royal crown, the gift
of the French court to Queen Christina, daughter of Gustavua
Adolphus, at her coronation. This is still used, at these
august ceremonies.
In Upsala Cathedral was celebrated the coronation of
Aiiii Swedish kings. A crown on the i^oof marks the spot
beneath which the cii'clet was placed upon the monarch's
head,
Erik XIV. first boi*e the closed crown, as king by nght of
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 375
inheritance. He caused to be made a complete regalia by a
skilful jeweller of Antwerp. When, in 1542, the grand chan-
cellor was sent on an embassy to Paris, the King of France
transmitted a crown, sceptre, and orb as a proof of friend-
ship.
The coronation of Eric XIY. (1560) was splendidly cele-
brated. At the anointing the king was stripped to the waist
and then " smored " (anointed) by the Archbishop of Upsala,
kneeling on one knee beneath the canopy. The prelate first
anointed him on the chest, praying " God to grant him a holy
heart;" then on each shoulder; next between the blades,
" that he might have strength to defend his people," The
" smoring " over, they passed on him a white petticoat, the
ceremony ending with a sumptuous banquet, which lasted
nine hours.
At the coronation the chancellor, Nils Gyllenstjerna,
fainted away, letting fall the crown. Erik's life was made up
of omens. He was the first sovereign who received the key
of the Eskil chamber instead of the ring, by which the Roman
Catholic kings of Sweden were invested.
Gustaf Wasa exchanged the ring for a key, which became
the fourth emblem of the kings of Sweden.
The King of Sweden is crowned as King of the Swedes,
Goths, and Vandals; hence the assumption of the three,
crowns, which appear on coins as early as the reign of
Magnus Ladulas.
In pagan days the royal succession went by inheritance,
until the " Ynglingers " died out. With Christianity came
election to the throne for virtue, station, or strength. The
old Upland law has it (Birger, 1296) : "Now if it be necessary
to take a king, the Upland lagman shall first decide who he
shall be ; and every lagman shall come and invest him with
authority to rule the country, maintain the law, and preserve
peace ; after which he shall ride his eriksgata. They shall
follow him and take the oaths of allegiance from his subjects ;
then he shall be crowned in Upsala church by the archbishop ;
and if he be a good king, God grant him a long life ! " (See
chapter iv., " Coronation Chair," etc.)
In the royal vaults of Strengnas Cathedral, Sweden, it
was the custom to bury the dead with insignia of regalia.
In 1693 this practice was abolished on the death of Ulrika
Eleanora, the gentle queen of Charles XI.
Marryat, in " One Year in Sweden," relates an inspection
376
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
he had of the royal tombs. In one was the skull of
Charles IX., side by side with his regalia — a covered crown
of rich workmanship, gold, and enamelled, the points tipped
with pearls fumees, the jewels chrysolites ; orb and sceptre
en suite, the stones cut in brilliants and table.
Christina of Holstein's regalia is that of a widowed queen,
a regalia of " dule " unjewelled ; the crown, of pretty design,
ornamented with roses, pansies, and a small star-shaped flower
— the whole of black enamel and gold ; the globe and sceptre
of similar workmanship. Queen Christina's head is missing ;
she requires a crown no longer.
Charles IX. 's coffin was of tin, enclosed within a second
of wood, covered with black velvet, and so studded with gold
nails that a knife could not be passed between them. Before
the closing of the coffin, says the chronicler, the queen " patted
his hands."
Gustaf III., King of Sweden, 1771, caused the crown and
sceptre to be removed from the tomb of John II. (brother of
Erik XIV.), and suspended over the sarcophagus he erected
to his ancestor Erik at Westeras, saying, " This crown and
sceptre which you wrenched from your brother when alive,
I now restore to him."
The CORONATION OF THE KINGS OF DENMARK is solemnized
in the royal chapel of the castle of Fredericksborg.
Owing to the political disturbances of the period, on the
accession of the present king there was no ceremonial beyond
the proclamation and taking the oath. The President of
the Council of Ministers (Hall) proclaimed Prince Christian
as King Christian IX., of Denmark, from the palace of
Christiansborg (November 16, 1863). On the appearance
of the king on the balcony enthusiastic cheers were given for
" Denmark and Schleswig."
The castle of Rosenborg contains the regalia of Denmark,
among which appear, brilliant and dazzling, the jewels of
Queen Madalena. She bequeathed them to the country, with
whose money they had been purchased.
The crown of Christian IV., by Thomas Fiuren, of
Odense, of gold enamel and jewels, is, perhaps, the finest
specimen of the goldsmith's art now extant. It is no longer
used, being that of an elected sovereign, open.
"J^he crown of Christian V., first hereditary monarch, very
inferior as a work of art, is closed. His queen, not being of
the Lutheran persuasion, could not by law be crowned Queen
I
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 377
of Denmark. The queen's crown is of Madalena's time. The
sceptre is of exquisite workmanship.
Arranged around stand, or rather crawl, the three colossal
silver lions of Denmark. These form a part of all regal
ceremonies, joyous or lugubrious. They emigrate to the
cathedral church of Roeskilde, and accompany the deceased
sovereign to his last resting-place, and again appear at
Fredericksborg at the coronation of his successor. In an
illuminated manuscript of about the middle of the eleventh
century, the Danish queen is represented with a circlet of
gold and jewels round her head. The kings are often shown
with a regal helmet.
It seems probable that amongst other forms and cere-
monies which Russia owed to the marriage and conversion of
Vladimir, the idolatrous prince of Kiew, towards the end of
the tenth century, was that of coronation. It is certain,
at least, that among the gifts sent on this occasion by the two
emperors of the East, Basil II. and Constantino XI., to their
brother-in-law, was a cap or crown of gold, enriched with
precious stones. This crown, called the " Cap of Monomakh,"
or Monomachus (but not to be confounded with that of the
same name in the museum of Pesth), is still preserved in
the treasury at Moscow, although no longer used for the
coronation of Russia's sovereigns. With the death of
Vladimir, Russia was divided into a dozen principalities,
which wasted their strength in internecine warfare, until,
towards the close of the sixteenth century, the princes of
Moscow succeeded in uniting the greater part of Russia under
their sway. These petty princes, whose descendants form
the staple of the high Russian nobility of to-day, had their
own crowns;* but in those days coronation seems to have
formed part of the ceremony by which the reigning sovereign
before death transferred all authority to his successor. It
took the place of the Biblical imposition of hands, and, like
* The mao^nificence of the early Muscovite czars was of a splendid
character. When foreign ambassadors arrived, they were received with
great pomp in the imperial palace. The walls of the hall were hung
with magnificent tapestries ; gold and silver vessels, of Asiatic form,
shone on the da'is. The czar received them, crown on head, sceptre in
hand, seated on the throne of Solomon, supported by the mechanical
lions, which roared loudly, surrounded by his body-guards in long white
caftans and armed with the great silver axe, by his sumptuously dressed
boyards, and by his clergy.
3/8
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
it, was accompanied by a blessing, but beyond this does not
seem to have had any special religious character. Ivan the
Great, in 1472, having married Sophia Palaeologus, niece of
the last emperor of the East, and assumed for the arms
of Russia the double-headed eagle, in token of his succession
to the empty inheritance of the Roman Caesars and Byzantine
emperors, solemnly crowned his grandson Dmitry, in 1498,
with the " Cap of Monomachus," and invested him with the
harma, a short mantle inherited from his imperial ancestors.
But it was Ivan IV. the Terrible, vrho gave to the ceremony
that essentially religious character which it has ever since
possessed. He it was who, first of Russia's sovereigns, was
anointed at his coronation on forehead, mouth, and chin,
with the sacred oil, and partook of the Holy Sacrament. At
this period the clergy played a very important part in the
ceremony. The metropolitan, or patriarch, sat on a raised
seat beside the throne, and it was from him that the czar
received the symbols of sovereignty. But with the accession
of Peter, the supremacy of the Church in Russia tottered to its
fall. The supreme authority over Church and State, hitherto
divided between patriarch and czar, was united in the person
of the emperor, and thenceforward the part assigned to the
clergy in the coronation became purely ministerial.
The first strictly imperial coronation was that of Catherine,
wife of Peter the Great, afterwards Catherine I., which took
place on May 7, 1724. The croivn, specially ordered for that
occasion, and preserved with the " Cap of Monomachus "
and many others in the Kremlin treasury, was of pure gold,
and adorned with 2564 precious stones, many of them taken
from Peter's orh, and surmounted by the great ruby,
bought for the Czar Alexis in Pekin. The emperor and
empress left St. Petersburg in February, and reached Moscow
on the 22nd of March, 1724, but entered the Kremlin only
on the eve of the coronation. The ceremonial was that which
has ever since, in all but minor details, been observed on like
occasions. In the Ouspensky Cathedral, which was sumptously
decorated, two ancient chairs of curious workmanship were
placed upon a platform, raised twelve steps above the iloor of
the church, and enclosed by a richly ornamented railing.
On the chairs was a rich baldachin, like the covering of
the dais, of velvet and galoon ; in front of them a table, on
whic;h lay the glittering regalia. Persian carpets covered
the floor from throne to altar, and in front of the choir were
CRO WNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 379
the places to be occupied by the imperial couple during the
service immediately following the coronation. Benches,
covered with crimson cloth, were arranged on either side for
the dignitaries of the Church, and places were likewise assigned
for the Duke of Holstein and the ladies of the imperial family.
When the procession approached the cathedral the clergy
sallied out to meet it, and the Archbishop of Novgorod ex-
tended the cross for the emperor and empress to kiss, while
the Archbishop of Pskoff sprinkled them with holy water.
Then Peter and Catherine* entered the sacred building, and
took their seats under the baldachin ; and when all who were
to be present had found their places, the emperor, taking
the sceptre in his right hand, rose, and turning to the clergy,
said in a loud voice, " You are already aware of our intention
of crowning our beloved consort ; wherefore be pleased now
to execute it, in accordance with the ceremony appointed by
the Church." Hereupon the clergy rose and approached the
throne ; the Archbishop of Novgorod ascended the steps
of the dais, and addressing the empress in a short speech,
requested her, in accordance with the custom of the ancient
Christian sovereigns, to profess the orthodox Catholic faith
in the hearing of her faithful subjects. This being duly
accomplished, the archbishop handed to the emperor the
imperial mantle, with which Peter then invested his wife,
and after another prayer the crown was in the same way
given to the emperor, and by him placed on the head of his
kneeling consort. Finally, Catherine received from her
husband the imperial orb. This concluded the actual in-
vestiture, and a signal being given, the bells rung out, the
cannons thundered, and the troops fired a jeu de joie. The
rest of the ceremony was essentially religious. The emperor
and empress having taken their places next the choir, the
Liturgy was read and chanted in the ordinary form. When
the doors in the monasteries were thrown open, Peter led
his consort up to, but not through them (women may not
enter the " Holy of Holies ") ; there kneeling, she took off
the crown from her head, and the Archbishop of Novgorod
anointed her on forehead, cheeks, and hands with the sacred
oil, after which his brother of Pskoff, a noted preacher,
delivered a suitable address.
The coronation of Peter's successor, Anne, Duchess of
Courland, is remarkable as the last in which the sovereign
was crowned by the primate or metropolitan.
38o CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The CORONATION OF THE EMPERORS OF RussiA takes place
in the Kremlin at Moscow, the ancient capital of the hnge
dominions of the czars. It is one of the grandest solemnities
of this character in the world, and conducted with a profusion
that no country but that, ruled by an autocrat over eighty
millions of subjects, with the vast resources he can command,
could possibly effect.
The pomp that heralded the coronation of the late
emperor, Alexander II., in September, 1856, could not have
been surpassed for its magniticence, and was for its joyous
celebration in striking contrast with that of his father, the
Emperor Nicholas, in 1826.* In the latter case the czar had
been within an ace of being murdered in the insurrection
which exploded in St. Petersburg. The mutiny having been
quelled, a reign of terror set in, and there were no festivities
at court, or in any of the palaces of the nobility. When, at
length, Nicholas went to Moscow to be crowned, his progress
was not meant to gladden the people, but to make them
quake. When the czar left the Cathedral of the Assumption
with his crown on his head, " his face," wrote Alexandre
Herzen, " looked hard as Siberian ice." The people were too
frightened to cheer ; they dropped on their knees, with their
faces in the dust, " and this," said De Custine, with his light
French sneer, a few years later, " has been their customary
posture ever since." f
Alexander II. had nothing to fear from his subjects at the
time of his accession, and he expressly desired that his coro-
nation might not be graced by military displays only. "It
must be a national feast ; my loving subjects of all ranks
and professions must have their share in the rejoicing," he
said to Prince Worenzow, who arranged the programme.
* The ceremonies attending the coronation of the Emperor
Nicholas and the Empress Alexandra (of Prussia) are depicted in the
account of that event, at Moscow, by M. Graf, and was published in
Paris in 1828.
t At the coronation of the Emperor Nicholas there were, however,
gome striking and affecting incidents. After the czar was crowned, the
empress-mother, then at the age of sixty-seven, went to him, and taking
him in her arms, she pressed him fondly to her heart. Like this mother
and son, once on a time, the first Romanow, with the crown on his head,
bowed down before his fatlier the metropolitan, who acknowledged in
him his son and czar. On this occasion the elder brother, Constantine,
bent low before his younger brother, who embraced him with tears,
while their reverend mother rose once more in order to bless the
harmony between her Kons, and the thousands from the Caspian to the
Tajo looked on in emotion and surprise at this unprecedented spectacle.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 381
The Kremlin is to the Russians what the Tower, St. Paul's,
Westminster Abbey, the cathedrals, the universities (all in
one), would be to an Englishman. It is the heart and soul of
Moscow, and Moscow is the heart and soul of Russia. It is
her historical monument and the temple of her faith.
Against these walls have been broken the hordes which, for
so many centuries, sought to destroy in its cradle the
Hercules which was born to crush them, and within them
have passed most of the great events which are the land-
marks in Russian history. Here is all that is most precious
and sacred to the Russian race — the tombs of the kings,
dukes, and czars, the palaces, the cathedrals, the treasures,
the tribunals, the holy images, the miraculous relics, so dear
to this giant of the Sclavonic race.
The pilgrimage to the Kremlin relics forms part of the
regular ceremonial of every coronation. These images and
relics are bewildering in number. At the Sjparlwi Warota, or
Saviour's Gate, may be seen a portrait of our Lord, which is
popularly believed to have defied all the efforts of French,
looters to take possession of it in 1812. Ladders which were
propped against the wall, where it is encased, broke ; carbines
fired at it exploded, killing the marksmen, and so on.
Among the other noteworthy relics are the " Portrait of Our
Lady" * and " Our Lord's vesture without seam," a duplicate
of which, by the way, is preserved at Treves, and brings
* " Our Lady of Vladimir" is the most sacred image in all Eussia,
the only one in the czar's dominions which the Church allows to have
been painted by St, Luke. It was brought from Khei'son by Vladimir
some nine centuries ago. It is painted on wax. The face is very dark,
nearly black, and of the Byzantine type. The drawing is good, which
Lis rare. Contrary to custom, the infant's face nestles to the cheek of the
[mother, both being enclosed in the same horseshoe-shaped glory ; and
Jpart of the body drapery is visible. The highly wrought nimbus is
[ornamented with four irregularly placed stars, each star having four
points tipped with a large pearl. One centre is missing, but the
remaining three consist of a ruby, an emerald, and a sapphire. An
under glory, forming a kind of cap, is made of a net of pearls, with a
single diamond in the centre. Connecting the ends of the outer
[glory, and passing under the chin, is a broad band of gold, encrusted
with pearls, curiously placed in groups. This slants across the breast ;
and to it is fixed a richly wrought crescent, decorated with alternate
gold bosses and large pearls, with a precious stone in the centre. The
general outline of the drapery is sketched in pearls, and the whole is set
in a richly designed frame, in which the honeysuckle pattern is much
employed. Some of these jewels are very fine — one emerald is valued
at ten thousand roubles, and the whole at two hundred thousand.
382 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
much profit to that city every five and twenty years, when it
is publicly exhibited,
Another customary observance is the retirement of the
sovereign for fasting and prayer during. the five days before
the coronation.
I will mention some of the essential details of the coro-
nation of the late Alexander II., which particularly belong to
the ceremonial observed at all such solemnities.
The thrones used by the emperor and empress were those
of John III. and Michael Feodorowitch, which have served
at all coronations since the time of Peter the Great. The
officiating prelates were the archbishops of Moscow and
Novgorod, who commenced the ceremony by blessing the
holy banner of Russia, that of Our Lady of Kiew, the spear-
head of which is made out of a piece of the " true cross."
The banner having been sprinkled with holy water was pre-
sented to the emperor, who waved it thrice before the
congregation, and then restored it to the primate. His
Majesty then knelt, while the imperial mantle of silver and
ermine was adjusted to his shoulders. Next he rose and
stood upright, while the sword of John III. was being girt
round his waist, and the scepti'e with its orb was placed in
his right hand. Finally he sat down to have the massive
crown set upon his brow. After this, the empress knelt
before her husband, who removed the crown from his own
head and laid it for an instant on hers.* Another and
smaller crown was then put on her Majesty's brow by her
ladies, who at the same time covered her with a mantle like
the czar's. Throughout these ceremonies prayers were said
and canticles sung by the clergy and a choir of three hundred
voices ; but there were no acclamations from the people, for
the czar was not yet anointed. The making of the czar the
" Lord's anointed " is the more important part of the service.
The Archbishop of Moscow, holding a silver bowl full of holy
oil, in which a fragment of the " crown of thorns " has been
immersed, took a golden palm branch, and, dipping it into
* In the early history of the world we find that the qneon received
her crown from the kinj^^; tluis, in the Book of Esther (ii. 17),
" the kinf^ loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained prace
and favour in his sij^lit more than all the virs^iiis ; so that he set the
royal crown upon })er head, and made hor qucH'n instead of Vashti."
Till! ompressos of Constantinople*, like the queens of Persia, received
the crown matrimonial from the hands of the emperor.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 383
tlie oil, touclied with it the czar's brow, his eyelids, ears, lips,
and the palms of his hands, after which attendants opened
the monarch's vestments, so as to lay an inch of his breast
bare, and the archbishop traced a cross on the skin with the
oil, pronouncing the solemn words — " Impressis doni Spiritus
Sancti." The act was done, and Russian eyes looked with
awe upon the anointed of Grod, the delegate of His power, the
high priest of His Church, at once emperor and patriarch,
consecrated and installed in his high temporal and spiritual
office.* A salvo of cannon, the bray of trumpets, the roll of
drums, announced the completion of the sacred act to those
who were without the church and could not witness it.
Meanwhile the empress came forward and was anointed by
the archbishop on the forehead only.
Then the emperor and empress, the one on the right and
* " The religious or ecclesiastical position of the Emperor of Eussia
transpires throughout the whole history of his Church. He is the
father of the whole patriarchal community, the keeper of the keys, and
the body- servant of God. His coronation, even at the present time, is
not a mere ceremony, but an historical event and solemn consecration.
It is preceded by fasting and seclusion, and takes place in the most
sacred church in Russia ; the emperor not, as in the corresponding
forms of European investiture, a passive recipient, but himself the
principal figure in the whole scene ; himself reciting aloud the confession
of the orthodox faith ; himself alone on his knees, amidst the assembled
multitude, offering up the prayer of intercession for the empire ; himself
placing his own crown with his own hands on his own head ; himself
entering through the sacred doors of the innermost sanctuary, and taking
from the altar the elements of bread and wine, of which then and
there, in virtue of his consecration, he communicates with bishops,
priests, and deacons. In every considerable church is placed a throne
in front of the altar, as if in constant expectation of the sudden appa-
rition of the sovereign" (Dean Stanley's " Lectures on the History of
the Eastern Church")-
Traces of the confusion of political and religious power, so united
from the earliest times, remain to this day in our own coronation rites,
so the emperors of Germany are vested on their day of coronation in a
cassock and white alb.
The kings of France, in the Middle Ages, wore at the coronation
nearly all the vestments proper to a priest. The kings of Poland were
buried in a sacerdotal garb.
The kings of Assyria seem to have united the priestly with the
regal character ; and in the religious scenes representing their acts of
worship, no priests ever intervene between them and the god, or appear
to assume any but a very subordinate position. The king himself
stands and worships in close proximity to the holy tree ; and with his
own hand he pours libations, and it is not unlikely that he was entitled
with his own hands to sacrifice victims.
3^4
C/aOlVNS AND CORONATIONS.
the other on the left of the presiding archbishops, received
the Holy Sacrament ; to the emperor, as the chosen servant
privileged by Heaven, it is ministered in the two kinds, the
empress receiving only the sacramental bread. Once more
the choir burst out in full jubilant chorus, and their Majesties
again mounted the platform of the throne,
"and stood erect, while the mass was intoned by the priests, and the
responses were chaunted by the choir.
" The holy service being concluded, the Emperor stepped from the
throne, bowed right and left to the great dignitai'ies of state, to the pre-
lates, to the representatives of the foreign powers, and then left the
church, accompanied by his splendid retinue, and followed, at a short
distance, by the Empress.
*' At the moment when the Emperor took back the sceptre and globe,
the priest proclaimed the Imperial title, and then chaunted, * Domine
salvum fac Imperatorem, et Domine, salvam fac Imperatricera,' to which
the choristers added, 'Ad multos annos,' and, at the same instant, the
bells, which had been silent, burst forth once more with tremendous
clamour, and the guns of the batteries fired 101 rounds. It was at half-
past ten, that the mouth of the cannon announced the prayers, which
His Majesty, kneeling, addressed before all his people to the King of kings,
to sanctify his reign. All this tumult suddenly ceased. There was a
murmur of voices for a moment in the court, which was hushed at once,
as a bell tinkled once or twice from the cathedral, and there was a pro-
found silence while Empress, Metropolitan, and people inside, all knelt
down and addressed their prayers to Heaven for the Emperor, who alone
stood upright as they prayed. At forty-five minutes after ten, the bells
broke out again, and the ' Te Deum,' which heralded the high mass,
was chaunted.
" The brilliant procession left the church, and the Czar stood with
globe and sceptre in his hands, before his people. In a few minutes the
cortege entered the Cathedral of St. Michael. The priests in golden stole
and surplice were waiting at the gates, and sprinkled the Emperor and
Empress with holy water, and gave them the cross to kiss. Their
Majesties also kissed the holy relics in the church, and knelt down to
pray before the tombs of their ancestors, after which the ' Domine salvum
fac' was chaunted, and the Imperial party continued their short march
for a few yards to the Church of the Annunciation, where the same ritual
was observed."
The coronation of the Czar Alexander III. and thb
Czarina, at Moscow, on May 27 (May 15, Russian), 1883 —
which had been long delayed in consequence of the assassina-
tion of the late emperor, and owing also to intestine troubles
in the country — was one of the most magnificent spectacles
that have been seen in modern times. The procession to the
Cathedral of the Assumption was extremely impressive and
brilliant. Immediately preceding the arrival, the almoner of
CROWA'S, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 385
the empress, assisted by two priests carrying boly water,
blessed the path which their Majesties were about to tread.
The baldachin, or canopy, under which they walked, was of
cloth of gold, surrounded with six eagles in gilt bronze, and
as many bouquets of ostrich feathers of the imperial colours,
white, blue, and red, and eagles embroidered on the festoons.
The arms of the empire appeared in rich embroidery in the
inner surface. The sixteen columns supporting the canopy
were of silver, and were borne on either side by sixteen
generals, an office filled at English coronations by the barons
of the Cinque Ports. In the cathedral all was glitter and
gold. The imperial thrones, the gold balustrade, the rich
carpets, the gold canopy surmounting the thrones and de-
scending from the cupola with its crown of ostrich feathers,
were fitting additions to the hosts of saints, moulded in gold
and silver, covering the walls.
The formula of the rites attending the coronation of the
emperor and empress was similar to that which inaugurated
the preceding reign.
One feature of peculiar interest on this august occasion
was the illumination of Moscow. In the glowing language
of the Times' correspondent, "the city was again burning-,
that is the only expression for it. Every private house, every
public building, looks like a frame of rainbow fireworks.
Never was anything of the kind so complete, so fairy-like.
Viewed from the walls of the Kremlin, the aspect of the city
is grand, and viewed from the city the Kremlin itself, illumi-
nated by electricity, looks more than magnificent with its
towers, and domes, and steeples standing out, not like struc-
tures of stone, but like balls, and pillars, and crowns, and
pyramids of variegated fire."
In accordance with the usages of czars of the olden day,
the coronation banquet is held in Russia at G7'anovitaja
Palata, a building of the fifteenth century, in the purest
Byzantine style. The hall is not so spacious as that in the
Winter Palace, but the largest in the Kremlin, and remark-
able for its singular old-fashioned aspect. It seems as if it
i belonged to a far-back century. The vaulted roof rests on
columns, round which is placed the magnificent silver plate.
At the coronation banquet of the Emperor Nicholas some
changes of the old usages were made. Beside the emperor's
throne were two armchairs, one for the empress, the other
2g
386
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
for the empress-mothei' ; Avhcreas in former days, durinfi' the
czars' banquets, the princesses were only allowed to look on
through a secret window. There was an orchestra, unknown
in the days of old. Before the banquet the emperor received
in the hall the congratulations of the priesthood, the digni-
taries, and the Gorps Diplomatique. Grace was said at the
banquet by the metropolitan. The imperial family were
waited upon by the highest court officials, and the dishes are
offered kneeling,
Alexander II. began his reign as a people's darling*.
He was so well aware of this that he conceived the grandiose
idea of giving' a banquet to two hundred thousand of his
poorer subjects from Moscow and the adjacent villages in the
plains round Petrowski. Preparations were made for this
amazing feast by covering a square mile Avith tables, and the
tables with hunks of beef, bread, and casks of Icwass. Un-
luckily, the impatience of the guests did not allow them to
wait till the hour of the dinner. A flagstalf had been erected
in the middle of the plain, and it had been arranged that the
signal to " fall to " should be given by the hoisting of the flag.
On the evening before the day of the feast, while some twenty
thousand mujiks wei'C loitering round the plain sniffing th(^
food, an engineer officei-, named JMinakoff, wishing to try if
the ropes of the flagstaff Avorked Avell, gave them a tug and
sent the bunting flying aloft. In the twinkling of an eye
the mnjiJiS swooped ui)on the tables and made a clearance.
No horde of famished Avolves could have done the work
better. ]3eef, bread, beer, everything went; and Avhen these
were gone, the wooden dishes Avere carried off' also. The
czar laughed when he was told of the matter. " Well, well,
so long as they enjoyed themselves, that is all that I Avanted ;
but Ave must giA'e something to poor Minakoff. I am sure
he must have feared that they were going to eat him also."
The ]}eo2)lc\'i fete Jit the coronation of the Emperor Alex-
ander III., in the park of the Petrowski Palace. Avas of the
most enthusiastic charactei-, the estimate of the numbers
present varying from half a million to a million, although it
is doubtful whether any one could form an approximate
idea of such a mass of peo])le. On entering the ground they
passed between little rows of huts, where the food was dis-
tributed, each person receiving a little basket Avith a meat-pie,
a cake, and some sweets, together with an earthenAvare mug.
CROWiVS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 387
stamped with the double-headed eagle and the date, as a
souvenir of the fete. The mead and beer were distributed from
barrels, and a whole train laden with these occupied one side
of the park. An idea of the quantity required may be
gleaned from the fact that there were about one hundred and
fifty waggon loads of barrels of beer which were emptied
during the day. The emperor and empress Avere present for
a short time in the imperial
pavilion, and witnessed the
shows and other amusements
prepared for the people.
The KEGALii OF Russia in-
cludes a mass of precious gems,
which no other country could
surpass. The iiwperial croivn
resembles in outline the dome
shape of a patriarchal mitre.
On its summit is a cross formed
of five magnificent diamonds,
supported by a large uncut
but polished ruby. Eleven
diamonds in the shape of a
foliated arch rising from the
front and back of the crown support the ruby and the cross,
and on either side of the central arch a hoop, consisting of
thirty-eight perfect pearls, imparts to the whole structure the
appearance of a mitre. The formation is emblematical of
the exaltation of the czar into
the ancient patriarch, and, more-
over, of the fact that he is nomi-
nally the father of his people.
The spaces on either side of the
arches are filled with ornamental
silver work, studded with dia-
monds, and are underlaid with
purple velvet. The band on which
the arches rest, and which en-
circles the head of the czar, con-
tains twenty-eight diamonds.
The orb is surmounted by an
immense sapphire, together with
a diamond of the first water, but elongated in form. The
wii of the Ihiiiiei'ur uf lUissia.
Crown of tlie Empress of Russia.
388 CROJVXS A. YD CORONATIONS.
coronet of the empress is a mass of diamonds ; more than a
hundred of exquisite bi'illianey are blended with much artistic
taste. Both these crowns are similar in arrangement to the
crown of Austria. The ornamentation of the emperor's
crown shows a somewhat more elaborate design than the
crown of the empress, having an ornament of laurel leaves
and palm branches in front. This crown was made in the
time of Catherine IT., and used, for the first time, at the
coronation of her son, the Emperor Paul I.
The imperial sceptre is surmounted by the great Orloft'
diamond, which became the property of the Crown in the
reign of Catherine II. Several stories, more or less contra-
dictory, are related of this magnificent jewel. It has been
asserted that the Koh-i-noor and the Orloff at one time
formed part of the same stone, and that a slab now at Kokan
is a remnant of the same jewel, which was in the possession
of Shah Jehan, and which is said to have weighed no less
than seven hundred and ninety-three carats. This supposi-
tion is not likely to be true, as to a well-practised eye the
OrlofF has a tinge of jxdlow in its substance, whilst the
Koh-i-noor is perfectly colourless. Mr. Michell, consul-
general at St. Petersburg, says that the great diamond in
question once formed the eye of an idol in a temple at
Seringham, near Trichinopoly, and that a deserter from the
French army, which then occupied the latter fortress, ob-
tained some menial post in attendance on the priests. An
opportunity at length arrived, and the Frenchman robbed
the god of his valuable eye. The spoiler escaped with his
loot to Malabar, and sold it to the captain of a ship for two
thousand guineas. The sailor was craftier than the soldier,
and resold it to a Jew for twelve thousand. The Jew passed
it on to an Armenian merchant named Lazareif, who offered
it foi" sale at the Russian court. The Empress Catherine
would not accede to the termS; so he carried it to Amsterdam.
In this town Count Orloff purchased it, and presented it as a
gift to the czai'ina. The price paid for it is stated to have
been four hundred and fifty thousand silver roubles and a
patent of nobility. Tlic stone weighs upwards of one
hundred and ninety- three carats. Jt lias, however, a small
flaw, a little way from one of its edges, and a slight black
stain in anotlier ])art. In other respects it is a magnificent
jewel. The authoress of " Througli Russia" expresses her
disappointment at the sceptre, "which resembles a gold
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 389
poker, and the Mountain of Light which we had pictured
to ourselves as big as a wahiut, was no larger than a hazel
nut."
In the imperial treasury are several crowns and sceptres
of remarkable richness and of historical
celebrity. The crown styled (erroneously)
that of Vladimir Monomachus is, perhaps,
the most interesting in the latter sense.
It was sent by Alexis Comnenns as a
present, and is of Greek workmanship,
in gold filagree, surmounted by a cross
of the same material ornamented Avitli
precious stones. It was nsed at the coro-
nations of the Russian sovereigns to the
reigns of the Czars John and Peter Alex- Crown of Kiew
ievitch. Another crown is of polished
gold, but less enriched than the other.*
The number of crowns in the Russian regalia show the
great development and extension of the empire since the
days of Peter the Great. The fortified city of Kasan was
captured in 1552 by Ivan the Terrible, and the kingdom of
which it was the capital was annexed to the Russian empire.
The kingdom of Astrachan shared the fa,te of Kasan soon
after.
It was during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, also, that
Western Siberia was conquered for Russia by the Cossack
Yermak, an absconded criminal.
Russia subjected the Crimea, 1703, in the reign of Cathe-
rine II., who proved herself the greatest sovereign of Russia
after Peter I.
The crown of Poland was made for the Empress Anne, and
* Yladiniir Monomaclius, King of Kiew at the commencement of the
twelfth century, according to tradition, made war on the Emjieror
Alexis Comnenns. A Kussian army invaded Thrace, and the Bishop of
Ephesus is said to have brought gifts to Kiew ; amongst others, a cup
■ of cornelian that had belonged to Augustus, besides the crown and \hv
throne still preserved in the museum at Moscow, under the name of
I the crown and throne of Monomachus. It is now ascertained that they
!i never belonged to Vladimir ; but it was the policy of his descendants,
!i the czars of Moscow, to propagate this legend. It was of consequence
to them to prove that these ensigns of their poAvcr were ti-aceable to
their Kievian ancestor and that the Russian Monomachus, grandson
it of the Greek Monomachus, had been solemnly crowned by the Bishop of
II Ephesus as sovereign of Russia.
390
CKOIVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
('rowu of K;i<an.
Crown of Astrachaii.
( row II iif Sil)cri;i.
Ciiiwii ot the Ciimra.
(hown of Poland.
Crown of Fiulaiiu.
is a copy of the iiiipcM-Ial crown of Russia, with some modifi-
( -at ion in the _u;or<;'eous diamond studding.
The crown of Finland was added to the imperial regalia
after tlie Peace of Frederickshaven, in 1809.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 391
The crown of Catherine I. differs in its form from all
those mentioned. It is surmounted by a cross, and open, and
enriched with two thousand five hundred and thirty-six
diamonds and numerous other precious stones, amongst which
are some that adorned the sceptre of Peter the Great. The
crown of Georgia is somewhat similar to the last.
The crowns taken from Tartar princes have the form of a
dome-shaped cap, with a jewel or a cross at the top, and are
lavishly ornamented with gold plates, diamonds, and precious
stones in Byzantine style, and bordered with a velvet band,
or fur. The crown of Peter the Great is similar in design to
that of the Czar John Alexievitch, and has eight hundred and
forty-seven diamonds and a gi'eat ruby.
The Imperial Orb of Vladimir Monomachus is ornamented
with figures in gold, enamelled, surmounted with a cross, and
garnished with a great number of precious stones. The im-
])erial orb of the Czar John Alexievitch is also richly orna-
mented. That of Peter the Great is of gold, crowned with a
silver cross.
The Sceptre of Vladimir Monomachus is of Greek work-
manship, dating from the commencement of the twelfth
century, and has two hundred and sixty-eight diamonds,
three hundred and sixty rubies, and fifteen emeralds. Upon
it are enamels representing the Annunciation, the Nativity,
the Adoration of the Wise Men, the Purification, the Trans-
figuration, the Resurrection of Lazarus, the Crucifixion, the
Entry into Jerusalem, the Incredulity of Thomas, the Resur-
rection, the Ascension, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost.
The Sceptre of the Czar John Alexievitch resembles in shape
the last ; it is surmounted by an eagle with two heads, and
with a cross, and is enriched with many precious stones. It
was made in 1682, at the same time as the crown of that
monarch. The Sceptre of the last King of Poland is of ultra-
marine, mounted in gold, and was deposited in the treasury
in 1799, on the death of King Stanislaus. The Sceptre of
Georges, Prince of Georgia, is of gold, green enamelled, enriched
with precious stones, and surmounted by an eagle.
The crosses, which form a remarkable feature in the
Russian regalia, are of singular richness and historical in-
terest. One of amber, sculptured, was presented to the
Patriarch Philaretes, by John, Duke of Courland, in 1621.
The cross given to the Czar Michael Romanoff by the city of
Kostroma, and another cross given to the same prince, are
392 CROWXS AND COROXATIOXS.
enriched with precious stones and enamels. The grand cross
called " Grreek " is thus mentioned in the registers of the
Russian treasury: "In the year 1G58, the 11th of June, in
the golden hall of the Grand Seignior, Czar, and Grand Prince,
Alexis Michaelovitch was introduced to the Greek of Czargrad
(Constantinople), Ivan Anastaskov, who offered him a large
golden cross enriched with diamonds, emeralds, and rubies,
valued at nine hundi'cd and forty-nine i-oubles. The gold
cross, said to be Greek, is enriched with enamels and diamonds ;
also with three pearls of Hoormuz, and three emeralds pierced.
Under the cross are two pierced emeralds."
Three crosses of Indian wood are adorned with emeralds
51 nd precious stones, dating from the time of the Czar Michael.
The cross called the " Living," sent in 988 to St. Vladimir by
Basil and Constantine, has remained since the seventeenth
century in the Cathedral of the Annunciation at Moscow, but
the gold chain that was attached to it is in the treasury.
Connected with the regalia, there is a very considerable
amount of costly gold chains of great richness and beauty,
adorned with precious stones and enamels. One of them that
belonged to the Czar Michael Feodorovitch has eighty-eight
flat golden rings, on which are engraved the titles of the
prince and a prayer to the Holy Trinity. Of two chains of
the Czar Feodor Alexievitch, one has twenty-four enamels,
bordered with seven hundred fine pearls. The banqueting
dishes and plates in the treasury exceed sixteen hundred, in
gold, silver, jaspei-, rock crystal, etc. ; many are of exquisite
workmanship, adorned Avitli enamels and precious stones.
Tlie hratina, or "loving cup," makes the round of the table at
the imperial banquets. This cup beai-s the inscription, "Drink
to health." The treasury contains upwards of four hundred
vases, chiefly of olden date, most of which are mounted in
gold and enriched witli {)recious stones. (See description of
Russian thrones in chapter on " Fragmenta Regalia.")
Such are some of the riches of the Russian i-egalia ; but
to enumerate tlie whole of tlie objects, curious and of intrinsic
value, which are inclosed in the treasury of the Kremlin,
would fill a volume of vcvj ;nn])le dimensions.
Thkrk is no imi'i;uial cokonatiox of tuk Austk'iax km-
I'KK'Oi:. His title is rather personal than t(>rritorial. The
crown of the Western empire (the sacred Roman empire),
had, (luring the latter centuries of its existence, degenemted
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 393
into an almost hereditary heirloom of the house of Hapsburg,
when it was rudely rent from the brow of Francis by
Napoleon.
Although Bonaparte created a ncAv Western empire, the
successor of old Rome was extinguished, never to be reA'ived.
Yet Francis, who had been the representative of the CaBsars,
was not to be cheated of his imperial dignity. He continued
to be an emperor, but his empire was Austrian instead of
Roman. Austria had never been more than a duchy, to which,
by way of eminence, the affix " arch " had been added.
The Archduke of Austria had no coronation, but on his
accession was accustomed to receive the homage (liuldigung)
of his states. But as the Austrian emperor was the possessor
of many crowns, such as those of Hungary, Bohemia, and
Lombardy, it was decided that he should henceforth undergo
the ceremony of coronation at Presburg for the kingdom of
Hungary, at Milan (until its incorporation with the kingdom
of Italy) and at Prague for that of Bohemia.
The Emperor Charles Francis Joseph I. of Austria is
King Apostolic of Hungary ; * King of Bohemia, of Dalmatia, •
of Croatia, of Esclavonia, of Galicia, Lodomerie and Illyria ;
King of Jerusalem, etc. He succeeded his father, the Em-
peror Ferdinand I., as King of Hungary and Bohemia, on his
abdication (December 2, 1848) and the renunciation of his
father, the Archduke Francis Charles, of the succession to
the throne.
The constitution of the German empire, which attained
such vast extension under Charlemagne, underwent a sensible
change when Rodolph of Hapsburg inherited the Grand Duchy
of Austria, the insignificant state that has given its name to
the Empire of Austria. The ancient dukes of Austria, of the
house of Bamberg, having become extinct, Ottocar, son of
* The title of Apostolic Majesty was granted to St. Stephen, the first
King of Hungary. He was tlie son of Geisa, Duke of Hungary, and was
born 979. He proved such a zealous defender of the Church, that on
sending an embassy to Eome, to have his dukedom changed into a
kingdom, Pope Sylvester II. observed to the ambassadors, *' I am called
the Apostolic, but your prince, who, through Christ, has gained a great
I people, is truly an apostle." The pope not only granted the kingdom
I to Stephen and his heirs, but gave him permission to have the patri-
; archal cross borne before him, as a sign of his apostolic mission. With
t the cross, Pope Sylvester sent him the crown of gold mentioned in the
,; chapter of this work on *' Ancient Crowns." The arches of King Stephen's
!: crown are, however, of a much later period.
394
CROW.YS AND CORONATIONS.
Wtnice.slans, King of Bohemia, seized their possessions ; but
Count Koclolph of Hapsburg, treating him as a usurper, slew
liim at i\\Q battle of Marchfeld, 126G. This important con-
quest secured to Rodolph and his successors the duchies of
Austria, Stjria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and thus laid the
foundation of the greatness of the house of Hapsburg.
The bird of prey from which this family derives its name
— Ilablclit (hawk) — seems typical of its destiny, for in
tracing its history we find the domains of the house of
Austria increasing through each successive reign until that
of Charles V., who divided his immense possessions between
his son Philip and his brother Ferdinand, the Austrian
dominions falling to the share of the latter, who obtained
possession of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage.
The male line of the Hapsburgs became extinct with
Charles VI., and his daughter, Maria Theresa, found herself
involved in the Avell-known War of Succession.
Frederick III., Emperor of Germany, son of Ernest, Duke
of Austria, died 1493, leaving to his son to realize the device
A. E. I. O. U., by which he is generally supposed to have meant
Austria est imiicrare Orhi J^nivcrs.
The ('i{OW.\ OF Tin; nousi: of Hai'sbuug dates from t]io
time of ilio Emperor llodolph II. (died IG12), and is made of
gold, in two integral parts — the
head-band, from which rise at inter-
vals eight lily-shaped ornaments of
two sizes, jewelled all over, and
topped with large pearls; and the
globular cap, divided in two sec-
tions. Each section is bordered by
an enamelled band and a row of
])earls, and its surface again divided
in two triangles, which are orna-
mented with re])resentations of
coronation ceremonials in bas-relief.
Between the two sections of the cap
is placed the jewc^lled hoop, with a
large sapphire on the top. The
crown is lined with ruby velvet.
The im])erial eagle of Austria claims to be the successor
of the eagle of the German Emperors, which, in its tarn,
succeeded to the eagle of ancient Rome, and it still beai-s the
Crown of the Austrian Empire.
I
1
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 395
two heads symbolical of the eastern and western Roman
om23ires, though not particularly happy in their symbolism
when associated with the Austrian Kaiser.*
Some singular ceremonies are connected with the corona-
nON OF THE KINGS OF HuNGART. Rodolph II., who disgraced
the imperial dignity by his sloth, and the neglect of the
]iublic interests, in 1608 signed a treaty giving Hungary and
Austria to his brother Matthias (who became emperor in
1612). The regal ornaments were sent to him, consisting of
the gold crown of Ladislaus, King of Hungary, vSt. Stephen's
sword, the globe, the sceptre, two pair of antique shoes, an
antique habit, and the crown jewels and titles.
The CORONATION OF Matthias, as King of Hungary, took
place at Presburg (November 19, 1608), and is described by
Heiss in his "History of the Empire, 1730." The king, in a
rich Hungarian habit, on horseback, was conducted by the
whole body of nobility to the portal of'Hhe great church,
accompanied by the Cardinal Archbishop of Strigonia and
the clergy. At his side was the Archduke Maximilian, his
brother, and before him went several lords carrying the
crown, the sceptre, the sword, the globe, and ten banners
with the arms of the ten provinces of the kingdom. On
arriving at the church, Matthias dismounted and placed him-
self in the choir, near the high altar, where the Cardinal
Forgatz, who was to perform the ceremony, was seated. The
king was presented to him by the principal nobles and officers
of the crown, who addressed the cardinal thus : " We have
brought here a hero, whom we desire for our king, and to
Avear the crown of Hungary." The cardinal inquired if he
was a person qualifled for such a station. They answered,
*'Yes," and gave a detail of his great qualities and merit.
Some prayers were then said and the Mass of the Holy Ghost
chanted. The palatine, lifting up the crown, asked thrice of
all present, if they chose the Archduke Matthias for their
king ; to which the assent Avas unanimous. The crown was
then placed on the head of the monarch, and the sword of St.
* The Czar of " All the Eussias " considers himself entitled to bear
the double-headed eagle, as an imaginary successor to the Roman
CEesars ; the two heads of his eagle might, however, denote European
and Asiatic Russia — his Western and Eastern empires. The Russian
arms differ from the Austrian in the eagle holding only a sceptre in its
dexter claw, and being charged with a shield (/it., bearing a figure of St.
George mounted and piercing the dragon.
396 CROIVXS AXD COROXATIOXS.
Steplicn o'iven to him with a benediction. With this sword,
the king then created twenty-eight knights, and being seated
on his throne, the palatine exclaimed, " Long live Matthias II.,
our king ! " which was followed by the acclamations of the
spectators, the ringing of bells, trumpets sounding, organs,
and the thanksgiving canticle. This ceremony over, the
king- left the church, mounted on horseback, and with the
crown on his head rode out of the city to a theatre which
had been raised, and on which was a magnificent thi'one, and
here he took and received the usual oaths, the hands being
held up at the same time, and this ended the coronation.
On the 8th of June, 18G7, Avas definitely sealed at
Buda-Pesth, by the coronation of the King of Hungary, the
I'econciliation of the Magyar people with the house of Austria.
This ceremony took place in the parish church of Buda with
all the forms consecrated by ancient usages. The presentation
of the inaugural d'Iploma was first made. This was written
on parchment made of dog's skin, as a symbol of the fidelity
with which the fundamental compact ought to be observed on
both sides. This impoi'tant document contains an introductory
paragraph and five ai-ticles. In the introduction his Majesty
declares that " he ascended the throne in 1848, after the
abdication of Ferdinand and Francis Charles, his uncle and
father, but that, his coronation having been delaj^ed by the
grave events wliich have arisen since that time, the ceremony
has been rendered possible by the restoration of the constitu-
tion." Then follow the articles.
The emperor and empress quitted the castle of Ofen in a
State cai'riage of the time of Mai'ia Theressi. It was built at
the time when the house of Austria possessed the Low
Countries, and is ornamented with paintings by the first
Flemish artists.
The ceremony of the coronation, which did not last less
than six hours, comprehended four principal parts. First,
the procession went to the sacristy of the church, where the
king put on the coronation costume and the traditional
mantle, embroidered by the Queen of Hungary in the twelfth
century-; then it retui'ued to the interior of the church, to the
grand altar. The chanting of litanies then commenced, dui'in^
which the king and queen i-emained kneeling, and the royal
crown was placed on the altar. The emperor, then, assisted
by the gi^eat dignitaries of the kingdom, rose, and advanced
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 397
to the foot of the altar, where he prostrated himself while he
was anointed with the holy oil on the forehead and breast.
Count Andrassy, acting- as palatine, took the crown from the
altar, and gave it to the archbishop, and both placed it on the
head of his Majesty ; they then removed it, and held it upon
his right shoulder for a short time, then replaced it. The
archbishop placed the royal sceptre in the right hand
of the king, and the globe in his left, and when the king,
ornamented with these insignia, took his place again on the
throne, a " Te Deuni " was sung, and a salvo of artillery
announced the solemn moment to the people, who shoated,
^' Eljen Kiraly ! "
The crowning of the queen was attended with somewhat
similar ceremonies. During the rest of the day, her Majesty
wore a silver crown studded with diamonds and pearls. This
had been made for Maria Theresa, who never used it, being
entitled to wear the ancient one as queen-regnant.
The coronation of the king and queen having been per-
formed, mass commenced, and was concluded by the apostolic
benediction. A procession was then formed to the square in
front of the church, where, ascending the steps of a platform
in the open aii-, the king pronounced in Hungarian, with a
loud voice, his oath to maintain the liberties and constitution
of the kingdom. This finished, his Majesty, with the crown
on his head, the old mantle on his shoulders, and a huge
.sword in his hand, mounted a noble cream-coloured charger,
and rode alone up the " Kronungshilgel " — an artificial
mound, composed of soil brought from every province in the
kingdom. A stroke Avith the sword was dealt by the king
towards each of the foui* points of the compass, and managing
his steed with a dexterity that elicited bursts of applause from
his Hungarian subjects, who are noted for horsemanship, he
rode down the hill.
The banquet followed this part of the coronation cere-
monies, and the king must have experienced considerable
relief when the holy, sacred, apostolic, but heavy crown of
St. Stephen was, at length, lifted from his head, having
worn it the greater part of the day.*
The arms of Hungary symbolize the country : one-half of
* An interesting circumstance is related in connection with the
■crown of Hungary. At the coronation of the infant son of King
Ladislaus, in the cathedral of Prague, in 1509, Anne, then six years old,
the sister of the child-monarch, burst into tears because she was not
398 CKOIVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
the shield sliows the fonr principal rivers, the Danube, the
Theiss, Drave, and Save ; the other half, three mountains, the
Tatra, Fatra, and Matra, surmounted by the double cross,
the emblem of tlie Apostolic King of Hungaiy.
The Emperor of Austria as Kfng of Bohemia. — In 1526,
Ferdinand I., brother of Charles V., was elected king, and
with him commenced definitely the rule of the house of
Austria over Bohemia, elective until 1627, and hereditary
from that period, but subject to changes in 1619 and 1629.
In the former year, Frederic Y, (one of the electors palatine),
surnamed the " Winter King," was elected sovereign of
Bohemia, in the place of Ferdinand II. Some brief notices of
his coronation may be given, as illustrative of the royal
ceremonies of that period. On the day appointed, the king,
accompanied by his consort and escorted by the nobles of
the country, Avent to the church of the castle of Prague, and
stopped before the chapel of St. Wenceslaus to be invested
with the royal robes, and to receive the homage of the clergy,
who accompanied him to the altar. The great officers of the
household followed, bearing the regalia. Among these was
the grand pannetier, who carried two loaves, one of gold and
the other of silver. Thx: king knelt before the altar, and then
took the oath administered by the vicar of the ai-chbishop.
He was afterwards anointed on the head, the celebrant saying,
" Thus, as the kings of the Old Testament were anointed, as
a symbol of a just vocation. I anoint you," etc. The royal
insignia were then given to the monarch. With the sword,
the pi'elate said, " May your Majesty, as king-elect of
Bohemia, use the swoi'd, bestowed by God, to strike the
criminal and protect the innocent." With the ring, " This
ring should be for your Majesty a new sign and a new
warrant of the divine vocation, as the seal above promises the
inheritance of heaven." With the sceptre, " This Avill remind
you that it is not only by arms that you reign, but with the
sceptre of good laws." Willi tlie golden apple, " This is not
crowned. To appoaso her, liadislaus look the diadom and placed it on
her head. This circumstaiu-o bcMUfj considorpd aiisjiicious, a sudden
exclaiiialion burst forth from the nobles and deputies ; they instantly
decUired her .suceessor to her brother, sliouhl he die without issue, and
the kint^, on his part, ))romised not to prive her in marriage without the
approbation of tlie states. This trivial ineident greatly contributed to
secure the election of lier husband Ferdinand, whom she married in 1521.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 399
only from its roundness tlie sign of sovereign power upon
earth, but it should also remind you that power is as perish-
able as all that is earthly." With the croAvn, " This is placed
upon your head in the name of the Holy Trinity, and in proof
of the free choice of the states, to show that you are the
image of God upon the earth. May yon, one day, exchange it
for an eternal crown ! "
The king was then conducted to the throne, and the oath
of allegiance was taken by those present ; afterwards, amidst
the acclamations of the people, he proceeded to the palace,
where a magnificent banquet w\as served.
The ancient crown of Bohemia, also called the " Crown of
St. Wenceslans," consists of four lily-shaped gold plates, joined
by hinges, and studded with uncut
precious stones. Two arches with a
cross form the top, with a cap of
crimson velvet. The workmanship is
Byzantine ; but how far this historical
ci'own of the old Bohemian kings is
connected with St. Wenceslans, the
patron saint of Bohemia, who was
murdered by his brother in 936, has
not yet been satisfactorily ascertained. ^^^^^^^ ^^ Bohumia.
Bertrandon de la Brocquiere, in his
"Travels" (1438), mentions, when in Austria, that he saw
the crown of Bohemia, " which has some very fine diamonds,
and the largest ruby I ever sa^v. It seemed bigger than a
full-sized date ; but it is not clear, and there are some
cavities towards the bottom that show' a few black spots."
^neas Sylvius (Pius II., died 1464) is the first writer
who mentions a curious form of ceremonies used at the
INAUGURATION OF THE ANCIENT DUKES OF CaRINTHIA, a province
of the Austrian empire. ISTear the city of St. Veit is a plain
where the vestiges of a former town are still to be seen, and
in a meadow just by, is a large stone raised about two cubits
from the ground. On this stone was placed a peasant, who
\ enjoyed by descent the right of presiding at the inauguration
t of the dukes, having near him, on his I'ight hand, a black
{ cow with a calf, and on his left a lean and hungry mare ; the
j people of St. Veit and a crowd of peasants assem bled around
i him. The duke, in a countryman's bonnet and shoes, with a
400 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
shepherd's crook in his hand, drew near to the assembly,
accompanied by the senators clad in scarlet, and the great
officers bearing the insignia. The man upon the stone, seeing
the train coming nigh, cried out, " Who is this that comes
Avith so much magnificence ? " The people answered, " It is
the prince of the country." "Is he a just judge?" asked
the peasant. " Does he seek the Avelfare of the state ? Is he
of free condition, worthy of honour, obedient to the laws, and
a defender of the Christian religion ? " They cried, " He is,
and will be such."
The peasant then demanded by w^hat right he would
remove him from his seat. The master of the duke's court
answered, " This place is bought for sixty deniers ; these
beasts are thine," pointing to the cow and the mare. " Thou
shalt be clothed in the garments which the duke will take
off, and thy house shall be free and exempt from tribute."
The peasant then came doAvn from the stone, gave the
duke a gentle slap on the cheek, and, exhorting him to be
a good judge, went away with his cattle. The prince then
took his place on the stone, brandished his naked sword,
turning to every side, and promised to judge the people with
e((uity. A peasant's cu)) was then presented, filled with
water, from which he was obliged to drink, as a mark of his
futui-e sobriety. He was then conducted to the church,
where he assisted at divine service, and changed the peasant's
dress for the ducal habit. After the feast which followed,
he returned to the meadow, in which a throne had been set
up, and here he gave judgment and confirmed fiefs.
Concerning the jnauguuatiox of the popes of RoxME, it
was only in 1275 that Gregory X., at the second Council of
Lyons, obliged the cardinals to sign and seal a statute which
was to regulate irrevocably the proceedings of a conclave on
the death of a pope. This statute enacts that on the tenth
(lay after the decease, the cardinals are to be shut up, with-
out waiting for absent members of the college, in a single
chamber of the pope's palace, where they are to live in
common. All access to them is strictly prohibited, as well as
any writing or message. Each is only to have one domestic,
and theii* meals ai'(^ to be received through a window too
narrow to admit a man. If they do not agree in three days,
their repast is to be limited for five days to a single dish;
after that, they are only to have bread and wine. Such
CROWNS, ETC., IX VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 401
was the arrangement settled by Gregory X. to prevent the
scandals which preceded his election.*
An account of this part of the celebration of the pope's
election is given in a letter from Francis Parry, of Christ
•Church College, dated from Rome, June 11, 1667, and pre-
served in that college. The pope chosen on that occasion was
Clement IX. " The 2. of June the cardinalls were shutt into
the conclave, Avhere they lye like hospitall men, nay, in this
worse, that all the doors are walled up, and the windows
almost to the top, there being left noe more than to give
light ; they have three wheels like nuns to give in their
meat, which is diligently searcht least a letter should be con-
veyed in it. They have only a chappell and one hall to walke
in ; every cardinall hath two men with him, and he that is
once shut in can't goe out but in case of sicknesse ; and he is
not to returne noe more unlesse he sweare that he hath had
* All writers on papal conclaves agree in describing the interregnum
between the death of the pope and the election of liis successor, down
even to comparatively recent times, as "a period of riot and brawl
which made Kome a perfect bear-garden, in which criminals let out of
gaol enjoyed themselves mightily at the expense of peaceful folks." We
read that it was an established thing to rifle the pope's palace. There
were instances in which " the conclave itself had to be hurriedly pro-
tected from invasion and sack by a reinforced guard." We read that
the death -beds of many popes " have witnessed shocking cases of desti-
tution and abandonment, coupled with outrageously indecent treatment
of the corpse." Aimon, in his "Tableau de la Cour de Kome," relates
that " when the pope is in his last extremity, his nephews and his
servants carry from the palace all they can find. Immediately after his
death the oflicers of the Apostolic Chamber strip the body of everything
valuable, but the relations of the pope generally forestall them, and with
such promptitude, that nothing remains but bare walls and the body,
placed on a wretched mattress, with an old wooden candlestick, and a
wax-end in it." In the " Journal " of Burcai'd, master of the ceremonies
at the pa])al court, we are told that when Sixtus IV. lay in state, guards
were placed to prevent the pontifical ornaments (including a sapphire
ring of great value) from being stolen by those who came to see the
body.
Even Gregory XVI., the immediate predecessor of Pius IX., " died in
u manner unattended," the cardinal penitentiary, whose duty it was to
read over him the appointed prayer for the dying, " not having been
summoned in time." Up to recent times, also, " it was an established
iibuse that the cell of the newly elected pope should be sacked by the
conclavists " (secretaries, confessors, and other clerical attendants of the
cardinals), " each man carrying off what booty he was lucky enough to
secure." The contents of that cell " are now the perquisites of the new
pope's cameriere, an individual who stands in the position of familiar
menial,"
2 D
402 CROWXS AA'D CORCKVATIOXS.
noe conversation with ;mv man coacirnlng' aiijtliing relating*
to the eonehi\e. . . . it' they stay any time in the conchivey
they Avill make many vaeaneies for the next Pope to fill up,
for the heate ninst of necessity destroy many of them whosi-
aoe and weaknesse makes them litter for tlieir grave than the
chair."
There were, at one period, four different methods of
electing a pope. That called by inspiration Avas when the-
cardinals simultaneously cried out the name of their choice.
\\y cohipromwe, where, in case of difficulty in coming to a
decision, one or more members of a college might he nomi-
)iated to make the selection. By scrutiny was the practice of
each cardinal to write his name, with that of the individujil
for whom he voted, and one of the body was appointed to
examine the billets and state the result. EJcctimj hy e.rcess
was a mode by which each cardinal could alter his billet.
'^riiis continued until the proper majority was reached. When
the election was declared. tlu> written papers were burnt, to
prevent disputes.
The pontiff,* on election, receives tlie adoration, or
homiage, of each member of the conclave; all end^race and
kiss him, then in(|uire the name he would choose to assume.
The windows of the apartment are closed up during the
election to prevent any communicati(m, but when the ponti-
fical appellation has been fixed, one of the cardinals breaks
open 51 window, and announces the result to the crowd
without.
On account of the political differences between the
Vatican and the Court of Italy, the coronation of thk
riv'KSKNT ui:ai> of Tin: Ko.Misn Cnuucii, his Homxiiss Povk Lk(^
XIII. (Perr/*), was performed in the Sistine Chapel (March o,
1878) with sonu' of the ])omp and circumstance formerly
* It soonis probiibl(> that tlic -word /)0}(f/,f is formed from j>f^^>^ ^^^^^
fdrcrc (ill the signification of th(^ CircH^k, to perforin a sacrifice), and that.
<'onsc(|uentIy, it signifies the priests who otTered sacrifices on the bridge.
The coHege of i)onti(l's instituted l)y Nnnia liad the supreme supcrin-
reudeuce of all matters of religion, and continued to exist until the over-
throw of i)aganiHin. [iOngfellow, in the " Holdou Legend,'' refers to the
derivation of the wortl from pnvs nudfacrre : —
"Well has the name of Pontifex been given
Unto the Cliurch's lu'ad, as the chief builder
And architect of the invisible bridge
That lends from earth to heaven."
CROIVXS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 403
attending the ceremonial in St. Peter's, only it was not
public, inasmuch as the limited space did not permit general
admission ; and for the same reason no tickets were issued.
The names of those allowed to enter were inscribed before-
hand on a list kept by the master of the ceremonies. All
traces of the conclave had disappeared, and the chapel was, in
every respect, restored to its ancient splendour. The Sala
Ducale was fitted up as a chapel, and the Pauline Chapel
arranged for those preliminary jiortions of the ceremonial
formerly performed in the Clementine and other chapels in.
St. Peter's, before the pope went up to the high altar to be
crowned.
At half-past nine his Holiness, attended by the pontifical
court, the College of Cardinals, with a large number of bishops
and other ecclesiastical dignitaries, entei'ed the Sala Ducale,
wearing a gold mitre. Having taken his seat on the throne
erected there, he received homage from the cardinals, and
rising, pronounced the words, " \^it nomen Domini benedic-
funi,^' giving the first benediction. The preliminary cere-
monial being completed, the procession formed in the
following order, and passed out into the Sala Regia to the
Pauline Chapel, and thence again through the Sala Regia
into the Sistine : — the Swiss Guards, the Bussolante, the clerks
of the chapel carrying the bishop's mitre and tiara, the head
auditors of the Rota, and other pontifical officials ; the bishops
two and two ; the cardinals in like manner, attended by their
chaplains ; and lastly the pope, wearing a gold mitre, carried
aloft on the sedia gestatoria, borne by l^allafrenieri dressed in
scarlet, the jiabelli, the great fans of ostrich and peacocks'
feathers, carried on each side, the sih'er damask baldacchino
supported above his head, surrounded by the Noble Guards,
with drawn swords. As the pope and his cortege came
through the great door from the Sala Ducale into the Sala
Regia. they formed a group far exceeding in magnificent
effect anything of the same kind seen in St. Peter's in past
times. As the pope passed on, he was stopped three times by
one of the clerks of the chapel, Avho, kneeling, set fire to some
flax carried on the points of a three-pronged stick, and said
in a loud and mournful voice, " Pater sancte, sic transit
gloria niundi.^' Having descended from the sedia gestatoria,
in the middle Sistine Chapel, the pope, after a brief prayer,
commenced the introit of the Mass, which on this occasion is
celebrated by him. At the end of the confession, the first
404 CKOWNS AXD COROXATIONS.
cardinal deacon placed a oold mitre on the pope's head, and
lie ascended the throne, Avhicli stood as of old on a dais on
the left side, where so many may have seen Pius IX. sitting.
M'he first cardinal bishop then recited the customary three
prayers over him; after Avhich he rose, and going to the foot
of the altar, knelt on the step, while the first cardinal deacon
removed his tiara, and the second invested him with a ponti-
fical pallium, saying, " Accipe pallium sanctum, plenitiidiueni
pontificalis offtcii^ ad lionorem omnipotentis Deiet gloriosissmw
Vlrginis Maria', ejus omitris, et heatornm Aposfolorum, Petri et
Faulli, et sanctce Eomane Ecdesia\'* This done, the pope
reascended the throne, when the Sacred College and all the
ecclesiastics present went up to pay him homage, the
cardinals kissing his foot and his hand, and receiving from
him the double embrace. The bishops kissed his foot and
right knee, and others his foot only. The Mass then pro-
ceeded with such dilferences as were required for the corona-
tion, the music being splendidly sung by the old Sistine
choir, and particularly the motet, '' In diademate capiti.<
Aao'on,'" and Palestrina's " Corona anrca super capnt ejus.'''
At the conclusion of the Mass, the pope gave the benediction
in front of the altar with great majesty and a most remark-
able sweep of the right arm. He then returned to the throne
to receive the tiara. The act of crowning him was com-
paratively simple. Cardinal Borromeo, assisting as deacon at
Mass, first ])ronounced over him the prayer, " Omnipotens,
sempiterne Dens, dignltas sacerdotis et auctor regni, da gratiam
famulo iiio, Leoni Vontirfid nostro, ecclesiam tuam friictiwse
regentij ut qui fud cleinenfid pater regum et rector omniuvi
Jideliuin cou.stituitur et coronatur, salnhritiid dispositione cuncta.
bene guhernentur per Ghrisfum,^^ etc. The second cardinal
deacon then removed the mitre from his head, and the first
placed the tiara upon it, saying, " Accipe tiarnni tribiis coronis
ornatum, et scias te esse patrem, principum et regum, rectorem
orhis, in terra vlcarium Salratoris nostri Jesu Christ'i, ctti est
honor et gloria in so'cnUi sa'culorum. Amen^ Leo XIII. then
rose, and, wearing the tiara on his head, raised his hands aloft,
and gave that benediction which was given in former times
from the external balcony of St. Peter's. After the benediction
he left the throne for \\\v, scdia. gestaforia, and carried aloft
upon it, still wearing the tiara, he blessed with his hand,
waving it first to the one side and then to the other, those
kneeling around as he was borne from the chapel.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 405
The TiAKA is traditionally said to owe its origin to Clovis,
ilie first Christian King- of France, who is reported to have
sent one to Pope Herraisdas, to show him that he did not owe
his crown to his sword, but to God. However, both the papal
head-dress and the mitre are of Oriental extraction.* It is
Tiara of the popt'j
g'enerally admitted that most of the external symbols,
Avhether of dress or of ceremonial, in the Romish Church origi-
nated from the pagans, under the plea of being indifferent in
themselves, and applicable, as being symbolized in their own
* It was not unusual in ancient times for the crowns of princes
to have inscriptions on them, probably derived from that written on
the plate, or crown of gold, which the high priest of the Jews wore in
front of his mitre. So the word " Mysterluni " was formerly engraven on
the papal crown. But when the Protestants began to mark its eongruity
to the passage in " Eevelations " (xvii. 5), Pope Julius III. ordered a
new crown to be made, on which, instead of the former motto, was
engraved " Julius, Pontifcx Maximus.''
4o6
CROWNS AND COROXATIONS.
rights
and visages.
cc.. ..- ^»- riie ticini and the episcopal mitre are
tlre"copies each Sf a distinct head-dress originally worn by the
kings of Persia and the conterminous countries, and by the
<lress of their priesthood, the Magi.
M. Planche, in the " History of Costume," observes tliat
it is in the ninth century tliat the figure of a pope first
appears with his head covei-ed. In the " Chartularum
I 'ope Nicholas I. From tho " Cliartulanuu
rrunueiise."
Pope Clciuoiit 1\'
Prumiense," a manuscript partly of the nintli century, partly
of later date, in the S<a(ltl)il)liotek, at Treves, is a drawing of
Pope Ni(^holas I. (a.d. S:)8-S(;7) and the Emperor Louis II.
(a.d. 813-87C)). The pope is attired in alb, dalmatic, stole.
CROWNS, ETC., I.V VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 407
iind chasuble or planeta, and wears the pallium. On his he.id
is a cap called a camelaitciiirii, according" to Florovantes.
The first change of head-dress on the coins is early in the
tenth century, by the same author, who, describing a coin of
iSergius III. (905-911), mentions the " mitra ornatum.''
A statue of Pope Gregory the Great, in the grand poi'tal
of the cathedral of Chartres,
executed about the middle of
the twelfth century, represents
that pontifP as wearing a conical
bonnet, terminating in a small
knob, and surrounded by a fillet
with a Vandyke pattern, but no
orown.
The Rev. E. B. Elliott ('' Hora)
Apocalypticas," iii. 154) has the
following note on the tiara : —
" As to the three crowns of the
papal tiara, though said by some,
Avith'Sir Isaac Newton, to repre-
sent the three States of the
Church, yet the circumstance of
the first being not assumed on
the episcopal mitre till about
1160 by Alexander III., the se-
•cond by Boniface VIII. as late
iis the year 1300, and the third
soon after by Benedict XII. or
Urban V. (see JJucange and his
Supplement, on Hegnum, also
Perrario, ii. 428), it seems to me
very questionable whether the
third might not have been added,
jis other Avriters liave said, in
token of the papal projplietic
character, as well as that of
priest and king ; or else, very
possibly, of the papal authority in heaven, earth, and hell, oi-
purgatory. It signified (says the ' Ceremon. Roman ') the
* sacerdo talis et imperialis sunima dignitas atque potestas.' "
Monstrelet, relating the installation of Balthazar, Cardinal
of Bologna, as Pope John XXIII. (1410), states that after his
election he was conducted to St. Peter's, where the cardinals
I'ope Gregory the Great.
4o8
CROWiVS AND CORONATIOXS.
placed the crown on liis head— a triple one ; the first of gold,
which encircled the forehead within the mitre, the second of
gold and silver, about the middle of the mitre, and the third,
of very fine gold, surmounted it.
As soon as the pope is dead, his arms are represented with
the tiara alone, without the keys.
In the stained-glass windows of St. Martin cs Yignes, at
Ti'oyes (dating from the end of the sixteenth century), there-
is a I'epresentation of the Almighty, robed in an alb, a tunic,
and scarf, wearing a tiara like the pope, but with five crowns
instead of three.
Paul II. was the first to ornament the triple crown with
precious stones. He had such a
passion for jewels that he pur-
chased the rarest to be found, to
decorate the tiara.
Four tiaras of immense price-
and beautiful workmanship (one-
was of the golden period of Ju-
lius II.) were stripped of their
jewels to pay the ruinous contri-
bution of six millions of dollars.
im])osed by the treaty of Tolentino.
in 1796.
In the treasury of the Vatican
are preserved the following tiaras^
or papal crowns : —r One embroi-
dered in gokl and silver, adorned
with imitations of precious stones,
given by the ladies of Lyons to
Pius VII., on his return from Fon-
tainebleau. A tiara, made for
Gregory XVI., having, besides
Oriental pearls, one hundred and
forty-six precious stones, also eleven
diamonds. A tiara given in I8G0
by the palatine guard to Pius IX.,
and another presented to the same
))ope by the ex-Queen of Spain.
T]u> latter was used for the first
tinu' at the pi'oi-lanuition of the
dogma of the ImmMculate Conce])tion ; the tiara weighs three
pounds, and is adorned with nineteen thousaiul precious
Pope.
From Cotton. MSS., r.riti^li
IMiisoum.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 409
stones, of whicli eighteen tliousaiid are diamonds ; the whole
valued at £20,000. A tiara gi\-en by Napoleon I. in 1805 to
Pius VII. It Aveighs eight pounds, and is too heavy to be
worn ; it is covered Avith sapphires, emeralds, rubies, pearls,
and diamonds ; the emerald on the summit, which bears a
cross enriched with diamonds, is the largest known.
At the opening of the CEcumenical Council at Rome
(December 8, 1869), a grand and solemn ceremony, the late
pope, Pius IX., did not Avear the tiara, but a very precious
mitre Avhich had been made for tlie occasion, the use of
Avhich, instead of the " triregno," was adopted to signify the
equality of all bishops as such.
The Papal Keys. — The keys of St. Peter on the papal
arms are, ordinarily, tAvo : one is in gold, representing the
poAA'er of absolution ; the other in sih^er, denoting the
authority of excommunication, the latter being inferior to the
other in dignity. Where three keys have been represented,
the first is symbolical of science, or the poAA er of teaching ;
the second, the authority for binding and loosening ; the
third, the rule OA'er the Church.
The KINGDOM OF Italy was consolidated under the crown
of the late Victor Emmanuel II. Early in 1860 the A^arious
states Avhose soA^ereigns Avere in flight from the Lombard
campaign, voluntarily declared in faA'Our of annexation to
the kingdom of Piedmont. On the 18th of March, Parma,
Modena, and the Emilian proA'inces were incorporated Avith
Sardinia, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany a few days
after. On March 17, 1861, the official gazette published at
Rome the law by which the soA'ereign assumed for himself
and his successors the title of King of Italy. The Bill
empowering this assumption Avas voted in the House of
Deputies by 296 to 2. Of the two negative A'otes, one was
declared positively, and the other Avas plausibly supposed t(»
have been given by mistake.
King Victor Emmanuel IT., thi; first sovereign of
United Italy, died at Rome, January 9, 1878. The body,
embalmed, was laid in state in the chapel of the royal
palace, dressed in purple robes, Avitli the Iron Crown beside.
A gold croAvn of exquisite Avorkmanship, presented by Cas-
telani, the famous jeAveller, Avith a request that it might be
buried with his sovereign, lay beside a sceptre at his feet.
4IO
CROWNS AXD COROXATIONS.
The eldest son ot! tlie late monarch, succeeded to tlic
ilii'one uiidei" the title of King' Humbert I., and on the 19th of
January, 1878, took the oath, with the usual ceremonies in thr
Parliament House. The keeper of the seals presented the
king with three parchnnaits, containing the formula of the
oath, for his Majesty's signature, one copy of which to
be preserved in the archives of the court, the remain-
ing two destined for the archives of the senate and the
Chamber of Deputies respectively.*
In the sacristy of the cathedral of Monza is the cross or
'pectoral employed in the (Corona-
tion of the kings of Italy, and
which it was the custom to hang
around the neck of the sovereign.
It is massive and richly decorated,
not merely with uncut stones, but
with ancient gems; amongst others
there is ajjpended to it an ame-
thyst exhibiting a
"Diana "of excel-
lent Greek work-
manshi]).
Venctiiui (logo. From
mosaic in St. Mark's
Oatliedral.
\'onetian dogo.
St. Maik>
From mosaic in
Catheilral.
The INAlJdUr.A-
TION OF rUJO DOGK,
orDuKE,OFVEXlCK
was celebrated
with gr(»at cere-
mony in ihe olden
times. To the
commencement of
the twelfth century (tlu^ first doge was elected in ()97) the
<'hoice of the ruler had been vested, either ostensibly or
■"^ Tho German name l)orne hv tbo present King of Italy is an oUl
one in the family of Savoy, being that of Humbert, surnamtHl "White
Uantl," who is licld to bo the ioimder of tlieir liouse. lie lived at the
IJurgundiau court in the year 1000, and received from the Emperor
(Conrad the districts of Savoy and Aosta. Ihunbert II. had the duchy,
which he consideraijly increased between 1091 and 1103. Humbert
III. reigned at the tinu> of Barharossu's campaign against the Lombard
<'ities, died a monk, and was placi'd by \\w j)redeccssor of the late
l*ius IX. among lh(^ saints. After liim no scion of the house of Savoy
bore the. name mitil tht? late Victor liUimanuel II. gave it to his son, the
present king, thus connecting tJio lofty position the house now holds
with its modest origin.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 411
virtually, in the suffrages o£ the whole assembled people.
In many instances it is plain that the prince was elected
by acclamation ; and even if superior wealth, or secret influ-
ence of any other kind, enabled a candidate to dispense with
the strict form of soliciting votes at a general assembly, it
was not until he had been presented before the people, had
solemnly sworn to govei-n them discreetly and justly, and had
been carried in the seat of honour (il pozzo) round the Flazza
do San Marco to receive their congratulations of assent, that
he was conveyed to the palace and circled with the ducal
cnrno, oi* hiretta,^ at the head of the Giant's Stairs.
" Hollow bauble !
Beset Avith all the thorns that line a crowu
Without investing the insulted brow
With the all-swaying majesty of kings."
The investiture of the Doge of Venice, besides the
^' bonnet " and the robe of crimson and ermiiie, was with
the ring, emblematic of that with which the prince was
"' wedded " to the Adriatic — an imposing spectacle of annual
celebration. Byron, in his " Two Foscari," alludes to this.
When the Council of Ten demanded of the Doge Foscari —
" The resignation of the ducal ring
Which he had worn so long and venerably,"
he laid aside the ducal bonnet and robes, surrendered his ring
of office, and exclaimed —
" There's the ducal ring,
And there's the ducal diadem. And so
The Adriatic's free to wed another."
* The ducal bonnet is probably of Eastern origin. The ball with
which it terminated Avas a diamond of great price ; in the centre was an
inestimable ruby, and it was bordered with a rich edging of pearls and
other jewels. Everything connected Avith Venetian etiquette was emble-
Biretta, or corno, of the J)oge <jf N'cuicc.
niatical of some mystery ; thus the corno was not placed on the head of
the newly elected doge until he had ascended the last step of the Giant's
Staircase, in order to show that he could not arrive at the highest dignity
without having passed step by step through all the lower charges of the
state.
412
CROWNS AXD CORONATIONS.
So Rogers : —
" Ho -was deposed,
He -vvho liad reigned so lon<^ and gloriously.
His ducal bonnet taken from his brow,
His robes stript ofl", bis seal and signet-ring
Broken before him."
In i-eturn for the Aahiable services rendered by the Doge-
Ziani to Alexander III., the pontift" accorded to him certain
envied symbols of sovereign
power, and henceforward a
liglited taper, a sword, a
canopy (ninhrella), a chaii*
of state, a footstool covered
with cloth of gold (both of
which last he was privileged
to use even in the pontifical
chapel at Rome), silver trum-
[)ets, and embroidered ban-
ners, announced the presence
of the doge.
The admiral of the ar-
senal bore the red standard
before the new doge on his
inauguration, for which ser-
vice his perquisites were the
// ^.r:^^"/'''^ ducal mantle and the two
>^ ^'^ silver basins from which the
Venetian doge. From m^^^^^ ^j^,^.^. Scattered thl> mOUCV
tlirowu to the people.
Howell, in his '" Survey of the Signorie of Venice " (Lon-
don, 1651), after telling us that the doge always goes clad in
silk and purple, observes that '" sometimes he shewes himself
to the ]uiblic in a robe of cloth of gold and a white mantle : he
liath his head covered with a thin coif, and on his forehead
he wears a crimsoii kind of mitre with a gold border, and be-
hind, it turns up in the form of a horn ; on his shoulders
he carries ermine skins to the mi(hlh', which is still a badge
of the C^)nsuirs liabit ; on his feet he wears endn-oidered san-
dals, tied with gold buttons, and about his middle a most rich
belt embroidered with costly Jewells, so much so that the
habit of the Duke, Avh(>n at festivales he shews himself in the
highest state, is Aalued at above 100,000 crowns."
It appears that on the election of ^larino (belonging to
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 413
the Grimani family) as doge in 1595, liis duchess, a lady of
the Morosini family, was inaugurated with great splendour,
according to the custom of Venice in the case of a married
• logo. She was conducted from her palace to San Marco,
clad in cloth of gold, weorbuj a golden croicn, and stepping
into the " Bucentoro," she was thus brought to the Piazza,
J)oge of Venice in armour, late fourteenth century.
where she landed amidst the strains of martial music and
peals of artillery. In the ducal palace she was enthroned
amidst her ladies, and the balls and festivals of rejoicing-
lasted for Aveeks afterwards. Pope Clement VIII. presented
her with the golden rose, blessed by the pontiff every year.
According to the etiquette of the court of Rome, this rose is
given only to sovereign princes, and the gift awakened, if
414
CROWXS AXD CORONATIONS.
not tlie suspicion, iit leiist tli(^ caution, of the senate. It
liad liitliert(» escaped notice that, altliough tlie doge wore
only the biretta, the
crown of his con-
sort Avas closed or
arched, which was
considered the pe-
culiar privilege of
sovereign princes
not owning any su-
perior, and hence-
denied to the dukes
of Milan or the elec-
tors of the empire.
The rose was, by the
order of the senate,
taken from the do-
garessa, and de-
posited in the trea-
sury of St. Mark :
and the coronatum
of her successors
was afterwards dis-
used.
It is remarkable,
as far as regai-ds
S])ain, that among
this people, one of
the earliest con-
verted to C Christi-
anity, no vestiges
are found of the
CORONATION OF THE IK'
Of Wamba, King of
He was consecrated
J)()gaivssii of Vfuk'c ill onliiiaiy >tatc' lUcss.
MONARCHs before the seventh century.
Toledo, historv makes earliest mention
at Toledo, in the CMiurcli of St. Peter and 8t. Paul, in ()7:i by
(^uiriac, who Avas archbishop at the time. Since Wamba, the
kings of Spain have been crowned mostly at 'i'oledo, and
sometimes in the church of St, Jerome at Madrid, since the
sovereigns resided there ; for before Ferdinand II., King of
Arragon, Spain was divided into fourteen small kingdoms,
which that monarch united in one (1474).
CA'OIV.VS, ETC., IK VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 415
The cereraonies on these au^i'iist occasions were usually as
follows: — On the day fixed for the ceremony, the king, accom-
panied by a brilliant cortege, proceeded to the Church of St.
Peter and St. Paul, where the archbishop and clergy received
hira and conducted him. to the thi'one, while liynins were
])layed and sung. The oath was administered to observe
justice, and maintain the laws of the kingdom, the rights and
privileges of the clergy and the nobility. The anointing
succeeded, and the regalia presented. These consisted of
the crown, the sword, the sceptre, and the orb. The king,
taking the crown from the archbishop. ])laced it on his head,
Mud holding the sceptre in his right hand, and the orb in the
other hand, he presented himself to the people, and was
afterwards conducted to the throne, where he received the
homage of the clergy and nobles.
It was the custom in Navari-e that both the king and
queen, after being anointed, should set their feet on a shield
emblazoned with the arms of the kingdom, and supported on
six staves, each end being held by a nobleman. In this
manner they were thrice lifted up before the high altar of
tlie cathedral church.
In an ancient law of Don Pela^o, one of the Gothic kings
of Spain, are the folloAving directions for the creation of
their kings ; " Let the king be chosen and admitted in the
rnetropc^litan city of this kingdom, or at least in some cathe-
dral church, and the night before he is exalted, let him
watch all night in the churcli, and the next day Avhen they
come to lift him up let him step upon a buckler or target,
and the chief and principal men there present, hold the
taiget, and so lifting him up, let the people cry Avith a loud
A^oice, Real ! Real ! Real ! "
A few simple forms attended the coronation of the mon-
ARCHS of Castile, preA-iously to the sixteenth centurA'. Pres-
eott, in his "History of the Reigft of Ferdinand and Isabella."
giA'es a brief account of the coronation of the latter at
Segovia (December 13, 1474). A numerous assembly, con-
sisting of the nobles, clergy, and magistrates in their robes
of office, Avaited on Isabella at the Alcazar, or castle, and
receiAang her under a canopy of rich brocade, escorted her in
solemn procession to the principal square of the city, Avhere a
broad platform or scaffold had been erected for the perfor-
mance of the ceremony. Isabella, royally attired, rode on a
Spanish jennet, whose bridle Avas held by two of the ciA^ic
4i6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
functionaries, while an officer of her court preceded her on
liorseback, hearing aloft a naked sword, the symbol of
sovereignty. On arriving- at the square slie alighted fnnii
her palfrey, and, asc;ending the platform, seated herself on ji.
throne which had been prepared for her. A herald with a
loud voice proclaimed, '* Castile, Castile for the King Don
Ferdinand and his consort, DoSa Isabella, Queen Proprietor "
(reuia propretaria) "of these kingdoms!" The royal standards
were then unfurled, while the peal of bells and the discharge
of ordnance from the castle publicly announced the accession
of the new sovereign. Isabella, after receiving the homage of
her subjects, and swearing to maintain inviolate the liberties
of the realm, descended from the platform, and, attended by
the same cortege, moved sloAvly towards the cathedral church,
where, after the Te DeitDi had been chanted, she prostrated
herself before the principal altar, and, returning thanks to
the Almighty for the protection hitherto vouchsafed her,
implored Him to enlighten her future counsels, so that she
might discharge the high trust ivposed in her with equity
and wisdom.
The Spanish crown was a circle of gold, richly decoi-ated
with jewels and precious stones, and adorned Avith eight
leaves. It was not closed with arches until the marriage of
Philip II. with Queen ]Mary of England, when four arches
were added, being double the number of those in the English
crown.
In Spain there is no coronation ceremony. The royal
oath and the oath of alleofiance are taken on the accession of
a sovereign. The present king, Alfonso XII., was married
to his cousin, the Princess Mercedes, who died a few months
afterwards. A crown had been pre})ared for her, ornamented
with five thousand brilliants, several weighing as much as
sixteen carats each, besides other precious stones of great
value; but her (juec^nly life was brief, and her death so
young was deeply dei)lored.*
* Tlu' jewels of tho (>\'.Qaoou Jsabolla of Spain Avcro sold at tlio
Hotel Druot, at Paris, in Jaly, 1.S7S, realizing more than a million autl
a half of francs. The objects that reached tho hijifhcst prices were — a
batterfly brooch (t4777), a diamond necklace (nearly £8000). a brooch
in the form of a flower (.C^i2l)0), thirty. one emerald balls, with as many
in brilliants (C:{0() I), and thi; celebrated ear-pendent (£12,000). Con-
siderable discussions had taken place in the Cortes as to tho jewels
biiini; considered belont^ini^ to tho Crown, but the ex-queen established
her right to them as personal property.
CROWXS, ETC., LV VARIOUS AGES A. YD COUNTRIES. 417
At one period, impossible to define, the one sovereign of
Teneriffe, in the Canaries, named Tinei-fe, having nine sons,
tJiese sons shared the island at his death, yielding by common
consent to the chief, or viencey of Taoro, supremacy over the
rest. Besides the title of mencey, he also bore that of quehebi,
which meant " majesty " or " very great." On the accession
of a prince, the place before the royal palace was strewn
with flowers and palm-leaves, and all the people crowded to
see the ceremonies. The new sovereign was seated on a
consecrated stone, which was covered with sheepskins, dyed
scarlet. A deputation presented to him in a leather case the
sacred bone, the insignia of royalty, the thigh-bone of a ram,
Ihe royal femur. The prince respectfully kissed this emblem
of sovereignty, and said, " I swear to make every one happy,
and to follow the example of him who bore before me this
sacred bone." Then the chiefs in turn took the royal femur,
and said, " I swear from this thy coronation day to defend
thee and thy race."
Viana says that the oaths were taken on the skull of an
ancient king ; but there is nothing to support this assertion,
while, on the contrary, all agree in mentioning the oath on
the sacred bone.
The oaths terminated, the inencey was crowned with,
flowers, and a great banquet followed.
About 1342, Luis de la Cerda, grandson of Alphonso X.,
King of Castile, of the blood royal of France, made a voyage
to the Fortunate Isles, and on his return went to Pope
Clement VI. at Avignon, and received from him the title of
king of the islands to be conquered; but war had just been
declared by England, and Don Luis was forced to resign his
enterprise and follow the King^ of France, whose vassal he
was. Here are one or two details of his investiture: "In
order to extend the fame of the Church to the ends of the
earth, Clement YI. erected the Fortunate Islands into a
monarchy dependent on the Holy See, and the Pope gave to
the new king, princeps fortuna\ in full court, a sceptre and a
crown of gold."
Somewhat similar formalities to those of Spain were
observed at the coronations of the kings of Portugal, who
received on their accession the orders of Christ, d'Aves, and
St. James, of which they were grand-masters bv birth.
2 E
4i8 CROIVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
Portugal, long time in possession of the Moors, was con-
quered l)y Hcniy of Burgundy, Count of Portugal, and
afterwards ruled by Alphonso Henriquez I., in 1112, since
which time all the sovereigns have been consecrated.
On December 3, 18G1, under the presidency of the sup-
plementary president of the hereditary Chamber, DoM Luis I.,
bearing in his hand the royal sceptre, took his seat on the
throne. His Majesty, placing his right hand on the Holy
Gospels with a cross, renewed the oath he had previously
taken on his accession, and addressed a few words to the
clergy and nobles present. The president replied, and then
in a loud voice pi'oclaimed i}\Q yq.vj high, the very powerful,
etc., King of Portugal, Dom Luis I. His Majesty then
quitted the Chamber.
The election of a sovereign of Mexico in former times
was attended with some curious ceremonies, as we learn from
Lopez de Gomara. The king was conducted in great state to
the temple, where he prostrated himself before the idol, and
afterwards kissed it. The chief priest, and those connected
with the temple, clothed in long i-obes like the priests of
ancient Egypt, then came to anoint the monarch with a kind
of black juice over the l)ody, and placed on him a mantle
on which were representations of skulls and bones ; a second
mantle of black was afterwards thrown over the other, and a
third of a blue colour, all of Avhich had figures of skulls on
them. A red collar, to which was appended small symbolic or-
naments, was placed round his neck, and on his shoulders was
a bag full of a powder, the effect of which Avas to preserve him
from enchantments and ill fortune. Some incense was placed
in the hand of the king, with which he worshipped the idol
and then sat down. The chief priest, after a long discourse,
bn.de him take the oath to maintain the religion of the
country, and to protect the laws and liberties of his subjects.
The king was then conducted to an apartment in the temple
in which was a bed, and he was left alone. He passed four
days in this solitude, occupied in prayers and sacrifices, in
the latter of which he mixed some drops of his own blood,
ilrawn from different parts of the body. It was lu^cessary,
before bcMug crowned, that he undertook some enterprise
against the enemies of the state. On his return, the people
welcometl him with loud (;ries, and a procession was formed
of the priests and high dignitaries, who attended liira to the
CRO WNS, E TC, IN VARIO US A GES AND CO UNTRIES. 419
temple, where lie received tlie emblems of sovereignty. He
was clothed in sumptuous dresses ; jewels were attached to
his ears, and a gold rod, having at the end a precious stone,
emblematic of justice, was placed in his right hand, and in his
left a bow and arrows, to signify that he was the arbiter of
peace and war. On his head was placed an ornament which
was neither crown nor diadem, but a species of mitre. After
this he seated himself on the throne, and received the homage
of his subjects.
A tragical history is that of the late Empeuor of Mexico.
There were, in 1863, two Grovernments in Mexico — that of
President Juarez, whose seat was at San Luis Potosi, and that
of the Provisional Regency of the Mexican empire, whose seat
was at Mexico. The latter was appointed by the Junta
Hwpevior del Gohierno, which was itself constituted (16th of
June, 1863) by a decree of Marshal Forey, leader of the
French army of invasion. It was composed of thirty-five
members. This Junta at the same time established, under
French influence, a Society of Notables, whom it charged with
deciding in the name of the people what form of government
Mexico should adopt. On the 10th of Jul}^, 1863, this body,
by an overwhelming majority, decided in favour of a con-
stitutional hereditary monarchy, and that the new ruler
should bear the title of Emperor of Mexico.
The personage selected for this new dignity was the
Archduke Maximilian of Austria, brother of the Emperor of
Austria, and son-in-law of the late King Leopold I. of
Belgium.
On the 9th of April, 1864, the Emperor of Austria and
his brothers paid a visit to Miramar to see their brother and
finally settle about the agnatenreclit — the giving up by Maxi-
milian of his title to the Austrian throne (about which there
had been some difficulty) .
On the following day the castle of Miramar, near Trieste,
in the Adriatic, was the scene of the acceptance of the crown
of Mexico by the Archduke Maximilian. At 10 a.m. the
deputation from Mexico and the president, Gutierez de
Estrada, accompanied by Count Bonibelles, General Woll,
etc., proceeded to the castle, and were introduced by the
master of the ceremonies to Count Zichy and Admiral Zadeck.
who led the way to the grand reception-room. A circle was
formed, the president in the centre. The archduke and
420 CROWXS AND CORONATIONS.
archcUichess, accompanied by tlie ricncli delegates and repre-
sentatives of the Kin])eror of the French, then entered. The
president of the Mexican deputation, as mnndaiv.r dcs reiches
(proxy of the empire of Mexico), read a speech offering the
imperial crown to the archduke, who replied " that he, with
the help of God, would take the crown offered bjthe Mexican
nation." At this moment the Austrian banner, which had
been floating over the castle, was lowered, and the imperial
flag of Mexico (red, green, and white colours) was hoisted.
Guns were fired from the ships of war, and a salute of
twenty-four guns from the castle of Trieste.
The new Emperor of Mexico then took the oath to uphold
the integrity of the empire. The president, in the name of
the nation, swore allegiance to the sovereign ; after which'
Maximilian, taking the great cross of the Mexican ordei-
from his own breast, fixed it on that of the president with
a few kind words, and kissed him twice as representative of
the Mexican nation.*
Peduo I., Empeeoi; of Brazil, abdicated the throne in
favour of his son, and left the country, after appointing a
guardian to his successor, who was under age.
The coHONATiox OF Pf.dko II. took place July 18, 1841.
The pai'ticulars of this august ceremony are given in a work
entitled " Synopsis dos factos mais notaveio da Historia do
Brazil pelo General Jose Ignacio dcAbreu e Lima" (Pernam-
buco, 1845). Fi-om this a few extracts are now given. The
balcony erected for the c(n-onation extended from the porch
of the imperial chapel to the pavement in front, in the centre
of which was a temple Avitli a peristyle of six Corinthian
colunms, having a prominent semi-circular stand for the pro-
clamation of the emperor. From the temple extended two
galleries, which terminated in two pavilions, one named after
the river Plate (or of silver, literally), the other after the
* The unhappy fate of this unfortmiatf princo is woll known. A
viclim to insnrroctionaiy violence, ho was barbaroiisly ninrdered.
Ho was born Juno 6, 1832, and died June 19, 1877, at tho early
age of forty-five years. His name was Ferdinand Maximilian, but
ho was always caUed in his family l)y tho seeontl name, which ho also
exclusively bore as Emperor of IMexico. We may ho{)o that his spirit at
the last trying moment of his life was comforted by a kind of vision, for
wlien his eyes were; about to bo bound, ho exclaimed, "No, no; for then
r could not see my mother." With his glance towards heaven he-
received the fatal shot.
CROWNS, ETC, IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 421
river Amazon. The side galleries were of the Doric order,
and the pavilion of the same general appearance. The
imperial throne was of great richness and beauty. At eleven
o'clock a.m. a procession was formed to the imperial chapel,
and a few minntes afterwards the emperor arrived, and was
received hy the diplomatic corps. The state robes of the
founder of the empire and the imperial sword of Ypyranga
were placed on the balcony, along which the emperor pro-
ceeded to the door of the church, where he was received by
the grand chaplain and chapter, clothed in the robes of the
order of the Cruzeiro.
After praying in the Chapel of the Sacrament, the
<3mperor was conducted by a deputation of six bishops to
the throne, and thence to the chancel, where he was received
^by the archbishop metropolitan, and was anointed on the
'right arm and on the shoulders. He was then clothed in the
imperial robes, and ascended the throne, where he heard Mass,
and afterwards proceeded to the altar, where he received from
the hands of the celebrant the imperial insignia. He then
returned to the throne, where he remained seated during the
Te Detim.
After a short sermon, a procession was then formed, and
proceeded to the balcony. As soon as the emperor reached
the porch, he was greeted with loud acclamations from the
crowd assembled in the palace square. On arriving at the
temple he ascended the throne and received the homage of
the ecclesiastics, after which he presented himself to the
people in front of the columns of the temple. The king-at-
arms {rei de annas), elevating his right hand, exclaimed,
"Listen ! listen ! give attention ! " and repeated thrice, '* Now
is consecrated the most high and powerful prince, the Lord
Dom Pedro II., by the grace of God and the unanimous desire
of the people constitutional emperor and perpetual defender
of Brazil. Long live the emperor ! " waving at the same
time the imperial standard from side to side.
After the acclamations which accompanied these words
had subsided, and the usual salutes w^ere fired, the emperor
received in state all those who were in the galleries and
pavilions.
His Imperial Majesty afterwards withdrew to the throne-
room in the palace, where he received the congratulations of
the ladies of the court, and then retired to his apartments.
The crown of the Emperor of Brazil has a jewelled and
422
CROWXS AXD CORONATIONS.
Crown of the Kmpcror of Jlrazil.
l)earl-bordered band, w itli alternate lily-shaped and pearl-
topped points. From the lilj-shaped points rise triangular
tapering hoops, studded with pearls, and forming a high
dome with a globe and a diamond
cross on the top.
A few particulars are recorded
of the INAUGURATION OF A TuRKISH.
SOVEREIGN at the commencement of
the eleventh century. Togrul Begv
the first Sultan of the Seljukian
Turks, reigned from Bokhara to
Syria, from the vicinity of the Indus
to the Black Sea. The sultan em-
barked on the Tigris, landed at the
gate of Baca, and made his public
entr}- on horseback. At the ]ialace
gate he respectfully dismounted^
and walked on foot, preceded by his emirs without arms. The
caliph was seated behind his black veil ; the black garment of
the Abbassides was thrown over his shoulders, and he held
in his hand the staff of the Apostle of God. Togrul, the con-
cjueror of the East, kissed the ground, stood some time in a
modest postuie, and was led towards the throne by the vizier
and an interpreter. After he was seated, his commission was
publicly read, declaring him the temporal lieutenant of the
vicar of the Prophet. He was successively invested Avitli
seven robes of honour, and presented with seven slaves,
natives of the seven climates of the Arabian empire. His
mystic veil was perfumed with musk; two crowns were
placed on his head, and two scymetars Avere girded, one on
each thigh, as the symbols of a double reign over the East
and West.
The last attribute of sovereignty was demonstrated by
Moez, of the Fatimite dynasty, who in 972 made himself master
of Egypt. Having been addressed on the subject of his
lineage, he drew forth his scymetar, and exclaimed, " Behold
my genealogy!" So Seb'm, Sultan of Turkey, in the begin-
ning of the sixteenth century, when reviewing his army for the
invasion of Pei-sia, addressed a sort of sermon to his soldiers,
taking for his text tlie magnificent orientalism attributed
to Mohammed, 'In the shade of the sabres Paradise is
prefigured."
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 423
The INVESTITURE OF THE SABKK Corresponds in Turkey to
the coronation, or consecration o£ Western sovereigns, and is
intended to confer on the sultan the command of the land
and sea forces of the empire.
The mosque of Eyoob, where the ceremony is held, rises in
the centre of the village of the same name, which is situated
on the left hand, or Stamboul side of the Golden Horn.
Dr. Dethier, a most competent authority on the antiquities
and history of Constantinople, sa^'s : " It is at Eyoob that the
sultans on their accession to the throne gird themselves with
the sword of Otliman * [born a.d. 1259], and it is from thence
they go forth in a long procession, and make their solemn
entry into the city. This ceremony is older than the Turkish
conquest, but when Mahomet, the conqueror, adopted it, he
gave it a Mahometan signification, for on the terrace behin^
Eyoob was the ancient drill-ground of the Greek soldiers,
I where they were wont to raise the emperor on their shields.
The coronation of the Greek new emperors took place in the
hall of the Hebdomon, or palace. There, on a grand balcony
looking into the hall, the new emperor was wont to present
himself to the ecclesiastical and civil dignitaries of the empire,
after which, from the tower of the adjacent tribunal, he
showed himself to the soldiers, Avho were drawn up on the
drill-ground, and then he descended, and together wdth the
civil, religious, and military authorities, made a solemn.
])rocession through the city.
"Some days after the taking of Constantinople, the Sheikh
Ak-Chemseddin came to the sultan to tell him that Abu
* Native historians of Tarkey relate a dream of Othman, or Osman
(from whom the designation of Ottoman Tm-ks is derived), wliich pre-
figured the future greatness of his race. He fancied that he saw a tree
sprouting from his own person, which rapidly grew in size and foliage
till it covered with its branches the three continents of Europe, Asia,
and Africa. Beneath the tree four enormous mountains raised their
snowy summits — Caucasus, Atlas, Taurus, and Hsemus — apparently
supporting, like four columns, the vast leafy tent. From the sides of these
mountains issued four rivers — the Tigris, the Euphi-ates, the Danube,
and the Nile. Suddenly the branches and leaves of the tree assumed a
glittering SABRE-like aspect, and, moved together by the breeze, they
turned towards Constantinople. That capital, placed at the junction of
two seas and two continents, seemed like a noble diamond set in a ring-
between two sapphires and emeralds. Othman was about to celebrate
his nuptials with the Byzantine city, the capital of the world, by placing
the ring on his finger, when he woke. By dint of the Koran and the
sword the dream of Othman was realized by his successors.
424 CROWNS AND CORONA TIOXS.
Ejoob Khalidansai'i, one of the companions of the Prophet,
had predicted that a Turkisli sultan should accomplish the
conquest of Constantinople ; that this holy man, in the
caliphate of Mouawiah, had joined the army of the caliph's sou,
Yazid, and had been killed in the siege of Constantinople, in
the year 672, and that his tomb was at the end of the Golden
Horn. This tomb, Tc-discovered by the sheikh, became the
link which bound the Ottoman empire of Staraboul to the
founder of Islamism, and came to be regarded as the most
sacred place in Stamboul — a place where a Christian hardly
dares' to place his foot, and where every wealthy Moslem
desires to be buried. Mahomet, the conqueror, built on the
site of the tomb the elegant white marble mosque of Eyoob.
A beautiful and lofty cupola, flanked by demi-cupolas, towers
Qver a number of smaller domes, and from the lovely groves
of trees which surround the mosque, there spring two
minarets with double galleries, which are richly ornamented.
Under a kiosque around the tomb of Eyoob, a large number
of lamps continually burn."
The famous ceremony of the sAiun: occurred September T,
1876, on the inauguration of Sultan Abdul Hamid II., the
thirty-fourth reigning sovereign of the dynast}' of Othman or
Osman. The sultan arrived at the landing-place of Eyoob
about midday, in his caique, attended by five others, rowed by
white-clad crews of stalwart Albanians. Two of the caiques
were surmounted by a gorgeous golden canopy, from the last
of which the sultan alighted, and was soon in the saddle on
his way to the mosque. He had on a rich mantle, between the
folds of which shone the gold of his uniform, sparkling with
diamonds. On his head he wore the plainest fez, ^Wthout
aigrette or any other ornament. He came on, gazing to right
and left, lifting his I'ight hand to his beardless chin and
stroking it for composure, and avoiding all acknowledgment
of the cheers with which the soldiers and the pashas greeted
him, ]Ie rode on all alon(> in the multitude, which pressed on
his horse's heels and followed him to the nioscpie.
The inauguration ceremony in the mosque was brief,
Mollali Hunkiar, who is the rightful representative of the
sultans of Iconium, pres(>nted tlie sabre of Othman to the
rightful ruler of the Ottoman empire, and addressed to the reci-
])ient the solemn words, '' Tak(^ it with faith, for it is God who
sends it to thee." This and a ])rayer completed the short
ceremony, after which the procession to the city was formed.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 425
The leading ranks of the cavalcade consisted of a squad of
mounted zaptiehs, then companies of blue, grey, and green
ulemas. Church dignitaries were mixed with these at various
intervals. To these succeeded the pashas of all ranks, minis-
ters, marshals, under secretaries, etc., all riding two by two,
well mounted, conspicuous for much gold lace on their coats,
for the orders on their breasts, and for the gorgeousness and
variety of the trappings and caparisons of the steeds.
The man who elicited the greatest outburst of applause,
both by his grand costume, all w^hite, and by his skilful
horsemanship, was the Sheikh-ul-Islam,* Hassan Kairoullagh
Elfendi. A squadron of mounted halberdiers, a kind of body-
guard, preceded the sultan, who had doifed his cloak and
rode alone, his gold and jewellery glittering in the sun.
.Vfter the sultan came more halberdiers, then other troops of
all arms, and Turkish ladies' carriages, pressed all round by
the mob, which invaded all space, like an overwhelming tide.
All those people w^ere following the padishah to Constanti-
nople, where he had still to visit the mosque of Mahomet II.,
and the sepulchral monument of Abdul Medjid, his father,
before returning to his palace of Dolmabatsche.
The imperial hatt proclaiming the accession of the Sultan
Abdul Hamid II. declares " that his Majesty ascended the
throne in conformity with the prescriptions of Ottoman
law," etc.
The crown jewels of the late Sultan Abdul- Aziz were of
immense richness and value. At the Exhibition at Vienna,
many of these were exhibited in a building erected specially
for the purposes of display and protection. They were in five
compartments, in what may be termed five impregnable fire-
proof safes of a peculiar construction ; five golden lamps,
studded with precious stones, suspended from the cupola,
shed their lustre upon the treasures. Among other interesting
objects Avas the armour of Sultan Mourad I., the founder of
the Ottoman empire in Europe. This armour is of the most
delicate Oriental workmanship. Diamonds, pearls, and rubies
are worked broad-cast over it, with exquisite taste.
The sultan possessed the largest emeralds known. The
* The Sheikh-ul-Islam, or grand mufti, combines the supreme power
of the law, as well as the highest office of religion. The sultan has the
power of life and death over the expounders of the Koran, who, however,
can only receive capital punishment by being pounded in a mortar I
426 CROJVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
pearls in tlie treasury at Constantinople are, many of them,
nnique in form ; one, in tlie form of a pear and white as
snow, is of immense size.
The sword Avas announced by Mahomet, in the early part
of liis career, as the " instrument of faith." It is, he said,
" the key of heaven and hell ; all who draw it in the cause of
the faith will be rewarded Avith temporal ad\-antages ; every
drop shed of their blood, every peril and hardship endured by
them, will be registered on high as more meritorious than even
fasting and praying. If they fall in battle, their sins will at
once be blotted out, and they will be transported to paradise,
there to reA'el in eternal pleasures in the arms of black-
eyed houris."
With regard to the crescent on the Turkish arms, there is
a great diversity of opinion as to its origin. It is cei'tain that
the Moslems had early appropriated the old Byzantine half-
moon, and Richard Cci'ur- de-Lion, on returning from his
w^ars in Palestine, added it as a Saracenic trophy to his royal
seal. The moon and stars appear on the Irish coins of John.
It had been chosen of old — so the story goes — by Byzantium,
because she had been saved from a night attack of Philip,
by the moon coming out and revealing the approach of the
enemy. Tlie Osnianlis must have borrowed the device from
their Saracenic predecessors.
" The crescent," observes Dr. Schliemann, in his " My-
cenoe," " which was in all anti([uity and throughout the middle
ages the symbol of Byzantium, and which is now the symbol of
the Turkish empire, is a direct inheritance from Byzantium's
mythical foundress, Keroessa, the daughter of the moon-
goddess lo (Hera) ; for it is certain that the Turks did not
bring it with them from Asia, but found it already an emblem
of Byzantium."
The origin of the name Siihlime Porte is to be referred
to the ancient Oriental custom of making the grates of cities,
and of king's palaces, places of assembly in connection with
the affairs of government, and of the administration of justice.
The Sublime Porte (" lofty gate "), or principal outer gate of
the seraglio, is the ])la('e whence the hatti-scherift's, or imperial
edicts, are usually issued.
The Turkish words Jiattl liumayoun (the former an
Arabic word meaning '• writing " or " edict ") have a peculiar
history attached to the latter word. There is a bird in
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 427
Persia, called the huma, whicli is remarkable for only feeding-
on bones, and consequentlj called by the Persians " the bone-
eater." On this account, that it does no harm to any other
animal, the bird is considered good of augury, and thus the
Persian adjective humayoun came to be afterwards applied,
among other titles, to emperors, and in process of time has
become synonymous with "imperial," in which sense it is now
used in Turkish. Thus, Jiafti humayoun means simply the
imperial writing.
From the time of the annexation of Egypt and Syria by
Selim the Inflexible, the title of " caliph," or idcar of God, was
assumed by the Turkish sultan ; but although this title gives
him the power of a complete autocrat, no sultan can be
invested with the imperial dignity unless the Mollah of
Konia, a descendant of the Osmanjiks, and by right of his
descent considered holy, comes to Constantinople and girds
the future sovereign w^ith the sw ord of Otliman.
RouMANiA, which achieved its independence of Ottoman
rule during the late war between Russia and Turkey, has
entered the list of monarchies — it is to be hoped with a propi-
rtious future before it.
The CORONATION OF Prince Charles, the King of Rou-
MANIA, took place at Bucharest (May 23, 1881), and was a
striking ceremony. The royal cortege., consisting of the
sovereign on horseback, Queen Elizabeth, with Prince Leopold
lof Hohenzollern and his two sons, Princes Ferdinand and
Charles, escorted by a numerous and brilliant host of atten-
jdants, arrived at 1 p.m. on the metropolitan hills, which
overlook the capital, amid salvos of artillery, to which a
[passing cloud %.dded two loud peals of thunder. The weather
jwas splendid. The king and queen ascended to a richly
j canopied dais erected in the courtyard, on the summit of the
hill, between the Chamber of Deputies and the metropolitan
ichurch. The coronation hymn having been sung, prayers
[were read by the Archbishop Primate of Roumania, and
bhen the crowns were brought out of the church, and were
[placed before their Majesties. The king's crown is of steel,
(Wrought out of a cannon captured at Plevna ; the queen's
[crown is of gold, and executed with exquisite taste. The
[ceremony over, their Majesties returned to the town, followed
by a long procession. The crowns were taken to the palace^
and there presented by the Senate and the Chamber.
428 CROIVXS AND COROXATIONS.
Servia was advanced to a kiiigdom in March, 1882. Ai
the unanimous invitation of tlic Skuptschina, the Gmnd
Council of State, the prince accepted the royal dignity with
the style and title of King Milan I. of Servia. The event
was celebrated by a solemn Te Deum in the cathedral of
Belgrade, at which the king, queen, and all the court officials
assisted. The Servian military took the oath to the king,
and great enthusiasm prevailed.
The ruler of Servia is, no doubt, the only sovereign who
has been twice proclaimed king without ever having vacated
the throne of his country. In 1876 Greneral TcherniefP pro-
claimed him king of the Servians, and the action was followed
by a general jui)ilation of the troops then facing the Turks
on the Servian frontier. This act was, however, disavowed
by M. Ristich's Government.
The CEREMONfES ATTENDING THE CORONATION OF A HiNDOO
RAJAH appear to have been of a curious and interesting cha-
racter. The account given is from " Asiatic Researches '"
(published in Calcutta, 1820). The writer of the notices was
present at the coronation of the Rajah of Colastri. The
Brahmins had fixed on an auspicious day in December.
1778—79, for the celebration at a place which immemorial
custom had prescribed for such events, a fort named Maday,
situated between the rivers Balliapatam and Cavay, in a
spacious open spot. Here, on an elevation, under a canopy,
a kind of throne, but not higher than a common chair, was
placed, on which the rajah, attended by many Brahnuns,
seated himself. He was concealed from the spectators bv
pcrdas held U}) before him, while the people, an immense
concourse, were made to fall back. The aus|flcious moment
having arrived, the 'perdas Avere withdrawn, and the i-ajah
exposed to view with the crown on his head. Various rites
were then performed by the Brahmins, whilst others recited
invocations, jiud chanted stanzas ap]iropriate to the occa-
sion. This continued for about half an hour, when the chief
Brahmin, or ])riest of the rajah, advanced, having a flai
silver dish in his left hand, containing a little fine unboiled
rice. He approached so close to the rajah as to be able to
reach the crown with his hand, stopped, and recited a prayer
or invocation. He then took a liltle of the rice in his right
hand and dropped it on the crown. This he repeated three
times, letting the rice fall slowly, whilst he proclaimed in a
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 429
Teiy loud voice the new titles of the rajah, with invocations
and prayers.
The silence of the multitude during* this part of the cere-
mony was impressive. The awe and reverence Avith which
they beheld the rites and listened to the Brahmins was so
<>Teat that scarce a breath could be heard ; but the moment
for adoration, which was that when the last rite with the
rice was completed, was no sooner come than a simultaneous
shout rose in the air. The adoration continued as long as
the rajah remained exposed, which was above an hour,
during which offerings were presented and received by the
attendants ; at the same time gifts of clothes and money
were distributed among the Brahmins and their women, the
number of whom alone was immense. A great feast was also
given to these, which continued three days, twice each day.
The gestures made use of to express their adoration by the
people were remarkable : the person, standing erect, lifted
his hands to his face, and joined them open, the fingers
stretched and reaching a little above the eyes ; the fingers
then drawn down to the palm, and the hands drawn back
from each other to the distance of eight or ten inches, then
replaced as before, and the same motions repeated.
The crown was of gold, and resembled in form that of the
Roman tiara before it was formed into a triple crown. When
we consider with what minuteness the Hindoos adhere, even
in matters of minor importance, to the practices of their
ancestors, Ave may conclude that the form of this crown is
very ancient, and is therefore worthy of remark as being-
different from that of any diadem worn by princes either now
or at former periods.
Two subjects in this coronation are worth consideration :
first, the rite of sprinkling rice over the crown whilst on the
head of the rajah; secondly, the circumstance of its being a
ceremony arising out of a feudal system of government, at
Avhich all the vassals Avere obliged to appear, and to contri-
bute to the expense of it, each according to his rank.
The CORONATION OF THE SOVEREIGNS OF Persia was at-
tended Avith some peculiar ceremonials. As soon as the
death of a monarch was announced, his successor made his
entrance into Ispahan through an opening made in the walls
of the city, thus proclaiming the rights of the conqueror over
the vanquished, and his poAver OA'er the life and goods of his
430 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
subjects. The sovereign then directed his steps to the
mosque, wliere he offered prayers for the soul of his prede-
cessor, and for his own guidance in the affairs of state. In
the palace immense preparations were made for his recep-
tion. A throne, enriched with gold and precious stones, was
placed in the midst of a vast hall, on which the monarch
seated himself, previously reciting some prayers. The mufti
then placed the diadem on his head, and kissed his feet, in
which latter proceeding he was followed by all present.
Sir John Chardin, the traveller in Persia, the East
Indies, etc., gives a long and circumstantial account of the
coronation of Solyman III., sovereign of Persia, in 1666, and
mentions '' the four principal pieces which are in a manner
consecrated to this ceremony." The first is the seat which
served instead of a throne, '' being a little square cushion
stool, three feet in height, the feet of the pillars that sup-
ported the coi'ners being fashioned like so many great apples;
... it was of massy gold very thick, the four pillars and the
feet being plated with gold, and set with little rubies and
emeralds. This same stool at other times is kept very care-
fully in the royal treasury, which is a dungeon in the foi--
tress of Is})ahan, and so weighty that two men could hardlv
carry it."
The Persian crown, or bonnet, is described as flat,
somewhat like the moi'tar-caps of the presidents of the
French Parliaments. It carried in the middle a point, rising
np about a finger's length, and lessening towards the end,
though at the top it seemed to grow^ bigger again. The
materials of the bonnet were of cloth of gold, bound about
after the manner of a turban. The outside Avas covered all
over with an embroidery of diamonds, from whence hung
down several chains of precious stones that shaded all the
rest of the circumference, and dangled down upon the bonnet,
which was no less sumptuously embellished with all the
richest jewels of the crown ; round about stood little tufts
resembling herons' feathers, all of jeweller's work. In other
parts of the bonnet Avere erected little i)lunies of herons'
feathers and birds of Paradise. The turban was huno" about
... . ~
with strings of precious stones, diamonds, rubies, emeralds,
and topazes, fastened to the heron ]ilnines. .lust over the
forehead shone another heron-tuft much more glorious than
all the rest, fi'om the top of which lose up tlnve sockets of
precious stones.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 431
The third piece (of the reo^alia) was a sword, of which
the hilt and scabbard were all covered over with precious
stones.
The fonrth piece was a Persian dagge]', Avith an infinite
number of precious stones.
About ten o'clock at night the chief of the astrologers
and his companion, having been long observing the position
•of the stars, the conjunctions of the planets, returned at
length to give notice that the fortunate hour for the corona-
tion of the king would be Avithin twenty minutes. After the
blessing of the regalia by the ancient of the law, he took
the sword and girded it on the king's left side, and hung the
dagger upon his right. The bonnet was then taken from the
king's head, and the diadem placed thereon witli a repetition
of verses from the Koran. An oration was then delivered.
'•' By an ancient custom, time out of mind, these prayers were
always to be divided into four hea.ds, to last half an hour,
and to contain always the same form." The first ovation or
prayer was called " The Praise of God ; " the second, " The
Praise, Remembrance, Acknowledgment of the Prophet, and
of the Twelve Descendants and Lieutenants;" the third,
"Royalty is a Divine Institution;" the fourth, "A Prayer
for the King." At the conclusion of these prayers all the
grandees of the country paid their obeisance to the monarch,
and the ceremony ended.
The great national standard of the ancient Persians was
the sacred and famous diorufsh-Kaivcuii, or leathern apron of
the blacksmith Kawah, which w^as richly adorned with silk
and gems, and is said to have measured eighteen feet long by
twelve feet broad.
The Shah op Persia's strong box of crown jewels consists
of a small room, twenty feet by fourteen, reached by a steep
flight of stairs, and entered through a very small door. Here,
spread upon carpets, lie jewels valued at seven millions ster-
ling. Chief among the group is the Kaianian crown, shaped
like a flower-pot, and surmounted by an uncut ruby as large
as a hen's egg, supposed to have come from Siam. Near the
crown are two lambskin caps, adorned with splendid aigrettes
of diamonds, and before them lie trays of pearl, ruby, and
emerald necklaces, and hundreds of rings. The late Mr.
Eastwick, who examined the whole, states that, in addition to
432 CROWxXS AND CORONATIONS.
these, there are !L»-auntlets and belts covered with pearls aii([
(hamonds, and eonspicnous among- them the Kaianian belt,
about a foot deep, weighing perhaps eighteen pounds, and
one complete mass of pearls, diamonds, emeralds, and rubies.
One or two scabbai'ds of swords are said to be Avoi'th a
quarter of a million each. There is also the finest turquoise
in the world, three or four inches long, without a flaw, and
" I remarked a smaller one of unique beauty, three-quarters
of an inch long, and three-eighths of an inch broad ; the
colour was lovely, and almost as refreshing to the eyes as
Persian poets pretend. There are also many sapphires as
big as marbles, and rubies and pearls the size of nuts ; and I
am certain I counted nearly a hundred emeralds from half an
inch square to one and three-quarter inches long^ and an
inch broad. In the swoi-d scabbard, which is covered with
diamonds, there is not, perhaps, a single stone smaller than
the nail of a man's little finger. Lastly, there is an emerald
as big as a walnut, covered with the names of kings who-
have possessed it."
"The Persian stone ^a/- excellence^'''' remarks Mr. Piggott.
in his "Persia — Ancient and Modern," "is the turquoise.
From the most ancient times the finest examples came fi'om
this country. The ancient Greeks admired the gold armour
of the Persians, sumptuously decorated with this gem. Per-
sian lapidaries are now very expert in inlaying the stone
with designs and inscriptions, with very good effect. They
often, howevei", employ the method to hide the defects of an
otherwise fine stcme. The best specimens come from Xisha-
pour, in Khorassan, and the mines there have been worked
from the remotest antiquity.
" The stones that astonished Chardin in the Treasury at
Ispahan came from that place. He saw ' in each chambei-
the stones in the rough, piled high on the floor like heaps of
grain, and the polished, filling innumerable leather bags,
weighing forty-five to fifty pounds each.' "
The elevation of a Cht\i:si; ^[ON.\kch to the throne was
formerly accompanied with more pomp and ceremony than
at present. On the death of an enqieror the soldiers and
peoph^ assembled in large numbers before the royal palace,
to await the arrival of his successor. According to ancient
custom, the new monarch declared himself unworthy fo-
reign, refusing three times the emblems of sovereignty
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 433
offered to him by one of the highest functionaries. At
length an affected unwilling assent was given, and the astro-
logers selected a propitious day for the installation. At that
time a splendid throne was placed npon nine steps (corre-
sponding to the nine heavens of Chinese belief, and the nine
orders of magistrates that governed the nation) in the great
hall of the palace, in which all the high officers of the state
were assembled on the left of the throne, and the relations of
the emperor on the female side on the right. The relations
on the male side were interdicted from assisting at the cere-
monial, and were not allowed to be in the city on that
occasion, from a motive of security from unjust pretensions
or ambition that might interfere with the public order. The
grand master of the ceremonies, standing in front of the
throne, gave various orders, which were speedily executed by
the other functionaries. The first was to render funeral
honours to the deceased monarch, and the emperor himself,
clothed in a white robe, performed this pious duty. Sacrifices
were then offered to the manes of the departed. After this
the emperor, putting aside the mourning robe, was arrayed
in the imperial vestments, and received the attributes of
sovereignty on his throne, which was resplendent with gold
and precious stones. The book containing the privileges and
rights of the head of the empire was brought by the master
of the ceremonies and placed upon a table before the throne.
The emperor took the book and gave it into the hands of the
professors of the royal college, who passed it, in their turn,
to the president of the tribunal of rites, who read it with a
loud voice. This book contained also a confirmation of the
last wishes of the deceased sovereign, with a remission of
debts due to the imperial treasury, and a general pardon to
all malefactors except those who had been condemned to death.
At the present time no crown is used in the coronation of
an emperor ; but he mounts the dragon-throne, and sits facing
the south. There are the ceremony of the Kow-tow% or nine
knockings, the sealing of a proclamation, and apparently
certain separate rites to inform severally the imperial an-
cestors, the heavens above, and the earth beneath.
It was announced, in connection with the installation of
the present emperor, that in consequence of the death of his
late Majesty the empress-regent ordered the usual ceremonies
on New Year's Day to be curtailed of their proportions, so that
the enthronement of his juvenile successor and the state
2f
434 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
banquet be dispensed with. The musicians were to assemble,
but not to perform.
The present King of BuR,:\iAn succeeded to the throne in
1853, but, in compliance with a prophecy, he was crowned a
second time in 1874, at Mandalay.
The actual coronation ceremony is a mere form now, but
is intended to mark the claim of the Lord of the Golden
Palace to be the representative of the universal monarchy.
It consists principally in incantations and sprinkling with
holy water from the Ganges, performed by the polmnas, the
Brahmin astrologers, the Burman yalians having nothing what-
ever to do Avith it. Besides the pohnnas, only a few of the
chief ministers are present. The really national part of
the ceremony is the royal progress round the city moat, made
seven days after the consecration as king. The monarch
leaves the city by the eastern gate, the precise moment being
notified by a discharge of cannon. He then enters the state
barge, a most gorgeously gilt and carved construction, sur-
passing even the traditional coach of the Lord Mayor of
London. This boat is then rowed slowly round the moat,
with music clashing all around and bands of dancers sup-
plying the place of a rejoicing populace. Then, when the
circuit is completed, the newly crowned monarch enters again
l)etwecn the guardian ogres of the Eastern Gate, a fresh salvo
of artillery announcing the arrival at the palace.
The white umbrella* appears to be the distinguishing
* It would astonish most people if they were told what a prominent
part the homely word umbrella has played in the world. God and His
eternal heaven have been called after it, man's temple and his religion,
the monarch and his army. To this day the rulers of Russia, Persia,
India, and perhaps Germany and Austria, are called by titles that have
the root-word "umbrella." The visitor to the Indian Museum laughs at
the huge umbrella, with its seven silken sunshades, presented by the
King of Burmah to our sovereign, little thinking that the deepest
questions of metaphysics and theology are intimately connected with
that grotesque parasol. In point of fact, an umbrella better than any
other object, represented the hemispherical canopy that was the Indian
idea of heaven. Its stick was God, the sustainer of this canopy. And
in Vedic days the number of the lieaveus was seven; hence the seven
silken tops of the umbrella of the King of Burmah.
In the Bhagavad Gita the great spiritual enlightenment which it is
the object of all devout Asiatics to obtain, is called knowledge of the
symbol umbrella — knowledge of God and His seven eternal heavens.
In the representations at Koyuujik (city of Nineveh) may be seen the
CROWNS, ETC., IN- VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 435
emblem of regal power in Burmah. The father of King Jaya
Sing'ha, in 573, haying placed this emblem of sovereignty in
the midst of his five sons, prayed that it might fall towards
the rightful heir, and, according to his Avish, it inclined
towards Jaya Sing'ha.
The throne of the King of Burmab is painted over with
representations of the peacock and the hare, typifying the
descent of the monarch from the solar and human races,
which is also directly laid claim to in the title nay-twet
huyin, "sovereign of the rising sun."
The ceremonials connected with the coronation op the
KINGS OF SiAM are given by Bishop Pallegoix. On the death
'parasol, which exactly resembles that still in use throughout the East,
and which was reserved exclusively for the monarch. It had a tall and
thick pole, which the bearer grasped with both his hands, and in the
early times a somewhat small circular top. Under the later kings the
size of the head was considerably enlarged, and at the same time a
curtain or flap was attached, which, falling from the edge of the parasol,
more effectually protected the monarch from the sun's rays. The head
of the royal parasol was fringed with tassels, and the upper extremity
of the pole commonly terminated in a flower or other ornament. In the
later times both the head and the curtain which depended from it were
richly patterned.
The parasol, as a mark of kingly dignity, seems in Persia as in
Assyria to have been confined, either by law or usage, to the monarch.
The Persian implement resembled the later Assyrian, except that it was
not tasselled and had no curtain or flap. It had the same tent-like
shape, the same long thick stem, and the same ornament at the top.
It only differed in being somewhat shallower and in having the supports
which kept it open, curved instead of straight. It was held over the
king's head on state occasions by an attendant, who walked immediately
behind him.
There were certain regulations respecting the umbrella in Java. The
sovereign alone was entitled to the golden one ; the queen and members
of the royal family to the yellow ; the family of the king by his con-
cubines to the white.
State umbrellas are a conspicuous feature of Chinese processions.
In other Eastern countries they have their place among the insignia
of high rank. They were, and are still, one of the emblems of royalty
and power throughout India, Persia, Arabia, and other Asiatic countries,
and in that portion of the great continent of Africa which is inhabited
by the followers of the false prophet of Mecca. At the time when Rome
was giving laws to the world, it was used by the sovereigns of Egypt,
since Mark Antony is censured for having united the eagles of Rome
with the state umbrellas of the unfortunate Cleopatra : —
" Interque signa (turpe!) militaria
Sol aspicit cornopeum."
436 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
of tlie king the cleclaied successor is escorted, with great
pomp, to the palace. He then washes the corpse of the
deceased sovereign, and all the princes and nobles take the
oath of fidelity. The oath contains most terrible impreca-
tions against traitors, and is read in the name of all by the
prime minister, after which all present drink, from a large
vessel of gold, Avater, over which the bonzes have pronounced
imprecatory denunciations, and into which the king's scymetar
has been dipped.
On the day of the coronation, all the houses of the
capital are illuminated by lanterns ; and at the door of each
an altar is raised, which is adorned with rich silks, flowers,
wax-lights, mirrors, and perfume-bearing boxes, while every-
body is busy with sports and amusements. The chief of the
astrologers Avrites the name of the new king on a sheet of
gold, which is washed with perfumes, rolled up, and placed
in a golden tube, which is again enclosed in a gold-enamelled
silver box. Nine mandarins, each holding a chandelier with
three wax-lights, promenade nine times i-ound the box,
keeping their chandeliers in a state of vibration; after
which the priests or astrologers sound their conch-shells,
and beat their gongs and drums. At this moment the king
enters the hall, gives new yellow robes to about a hundred
of the bonzes, and places a lighted wax-candle in the hands
of the principal priests. An idol, called the Idol of
Victory, is brought in, before which the king performs
an act of homage. He then guards himself with a langouti
of white silk, and ascends to a throne, where tAvo princes
scatter over him lustral water, and the Brahmins present
shells with lustral water, with Avhicli he washes himself, and
changes his langouti for one of yellow silk with gold em-
bi'oidery. Conches are sounded, with other musical instru-
ments, during the whole of these proceedings ; after which the
king Avalks into another hall, where he ascends an octagonal
throne, surmounted by a seven-storied pagoda-like umbrella.
Kight Brahmins are seated at a distance, around the king,
Avhose face is turned towards the east. The first Brahmin,
who is opposite the king, pronounces a benediction in the
Pali language, })Ours into <he king's hand some lustral water,
of which his Majesty drinks a few drops, and washes his
lace witli what remains. He then turns to the south, per-
lorming the same ceremonies, wliicli are repeated at the
eight points of the comjiass. The king then proceeds to a
CROWNS, ETC., ly VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 437
third (quadrilateral) throne, where he seats himself on a
golden lion, turns to the north, while an old Brahmin sings
a benedictory hymn, and,- prostrating himself, delivers the
kingdom to the king's keeping. A page comes forward and
presents to the king the seven-storiecl umbrella, — the save-
traxat, or primary symbol of royalty ; another presents the
golden tube which contains the king's name ; others bring
the crown, the royal collar decorated with diamonds, the
royal staff, which the king places on his right side, and the
royal scymetar, which he places on the left.
Eight species of warlike weapons are then presented —
the javelin, the lance, the bow, the sword, the poniard, the
sabre, the sword-stick, and the musket. His Majesty then,
in a loud voice, gives permission to his subjects to use the
trees, the plants, and waters, and stones in his kingdom.
Then one of the great mandarins responds, " Your servants
receive the excellent orders of our lord, whose voice is majestic
as a lion's roar." The king then scatters flowers of gold and
silver among the people, and pours out water on the ground
for the benediction of all that the earth produces of animal
and vegetable life. During all this, a tremendous noise of
gongs, drums, and conch-shells is kept up by the priests, of
whom the principal dignitaries are assembled in another hall,
to which the king proceeds, and having selected a chief, or
bishop, among them, distributes alms and receives their
blessings. He then goes to the great hall of audience, where
a costly carpet is spread, adorned with diamonds and precious
stones. Loud prayers are uttered, the sound of which is
sometimes quite lost in the noise of the musical instruments.
One of the chief nobles then advances, crawling, and thus
addresses the king : " Your Majesty is directed, on behalf of
all the dignified nobles here present, to receive our united
homage, bending our heads at the sacred feet of your
glorious Majesty, our refuge, who is mounted on the diamond-
adorned throne, invested with the sovereign power ; seated
under the seven-storied umbrella ; the terror of your enemies,
whose august name is written on the plate of gold. We ask
leave to deposit at the sacred feet of your Majesty every-
thing we possess, and all the treasures of the kingdom."
The king answers, " All the dignified nobles shall have the
privilege of appearing in my presence, as they desire, to
offer their services, according to their several functions. So
let each, without fear, come and present his service." Then
43S CKOWXS AXD COROXATIONS.
the FJiaja Phra Klanrj (the minister for foreign affairs)
prostrates himself, and presents to the king the royal barges^
ships of Avar, arsenals, soldiers, and military appurtenances.
The Phaja Suphavadi offers the elephants, horses, and the
capitals of provinces, of the first, second, third, and fourth
order, with all their inhabitants. The master of the palace
presents the palace and all its contents. The minister of
justice presents the city of Bangkok. The minister of
agriculture offers the produce of the fields and the gardens.
The treasurer gives the twelve departments of the royal
exchequer. Being thus richly endowed, the monarch with-
draws to the interior of the palace, where two ladies wash
his feet. The princesses then present the articles required
in the palace, and among the tributes a golden nosegay
weighing a pound. They invite him to eat sweetmeats
which they have prepared ; after which he mounts his
palanquin, and, throwing in his way handfuls of money to-
the right and the left, is conducted to the temple of the
Emerald Buddha, where he performs his adorations in the
midst of lighted wax tapers and perfumed joss-sticks. The
golden urns containing the ashes of his ancestors are then
brought ; he offers them incense, light, and flowers, and
having called upon the priests for an address on death,
enters his palace, and the formalities of the coronation are
considered to be closed.*
[The institution of a second k'IN(! is one of the pecu-
liarities of the Siamese usages. He is not charged, as was
the case of Japan, with the religious, as distinguished from
the civil functions of government, but exercises a species of
secondary, or reflected authority, which is not clearly deflned.
His title was formerly TJimraf, but it is now Wancjna, literally
meaning the junior king. He is generally a brother or near
relation of the king.
The name of the supreme king is not to be pronounced,
or his person refei-red to, except under certain designations,
among which the most usual are, " Master of the World,"
* On the death of a King of Slam (according to Bishop Pallegoix)
a quantity of quicksilver is introduced by the month into the body, a
golden mask is placed on the face, and ho is seated on a pierced throne,
beneath which is a large golden vase ; the mercury drains the body, and
with great ceremonials the depositions from the golden vase are con-
veyed to the river. When the corpse is sutliciently dried, the hands
are joined, and it is ])laced in a sitting ]iosturo within an urn of gold,
where it is kept for a year, until all the funeral prei)arations are made.
CEOWiVS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 439
"Sovereign of Life," "August Great Emperor," "Excellent
divine Feet," " August perfectly sublime," " Descendant of
Angels," "The Great Emperor," " Perfect Justice," "August
and commanding Summit," etc. The king boasts that, next
to the Mongul, he can deduce his descent from more kings
than any in the Indies.]
In Sir John Bo wring's " People and Kingdom of Siam,"
he mentions that in an interview he had with the first king,
he was shown the royal crown jewels, and his Majesty sent
one of his nobles for the crown in which he had been
crowned, and which, he said, had been that of his royal
grandfather. It is of pyramidal shape, and weighs about
four pounds. It is covered with beautiful diamonds, the one
at the top being of enormous size and extraordinary splen-
dour ; two flaps, or wings, of gold with diamonds descended
by the side of the ears, and the crown is tied under the chin.
His Majesty put it on, and said the sovereigns of Siam were
crowned by the highest Brahminical priest. He then ex-
hibited the sword of state, whose gold scabbard is richly
embossed, and covered with diamonds and jewels ; and his
Majesty unsheathed it, and showed two swords, one within
the other — the inner of steel, the outer of metal. The handle
was partly made of " sacred wood," covered by a succession
of ornamented and jewelled rings.
Sir John Bowring, in another interview with the king,
describes him seated on an elevated and gorgeous throne,
like the curtained box of a theatre. He was clad in golden
garments, his crown at his side, but he wore on his head a
cap decorated with large diamonds, and enormous diamond
rings were on his fingers.
Since 1868 there has been no Tycoon of JapAx. Before
the twelfth century the mikado reigned alone in Japan,
though his sway was considerably modified by the daimios.
During the latter period, Vorilomo, the general of the
mikado (Xoniei), raised himself into an antagonistic position
to his lord, under the title of shiognn. His successors were
so powerful that the mikado had little real jDower, though
the shiosrun had to render him homao^e. Since 1853 the
shiogun has been called tycoon, or taicoon, by Europeans.
In the recent wonderful revolution in Japan, the reform
party, which had long been growing in importance, were
powerful enough to enforce the resignation of the shiogun.
440 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
This, followed by the voluntary surrendering by the daimios
of their vast estates, left the field to the mikado. The
history of no other country can show such an example of
patriotism. The oldest hereditary nobility in the world gave
up their rights and their property for the good of their
country ! One of these daimios had an income of two
millions of our money. The Government allowed them all
a tenth.
The Times (August 14, 1872) says that " tycoon " is
Japanese for " great prince," while " shiogun " simply means
" commander-in-chief."
The ancient Japanese used to make their prince sit
crowned on his throne for some hours every morning, without
suffering him to move his hands or feet, his head or eyes,
or, indeed, any part of his body, believing that by this means
alone could peace be preserved ; and if, unfortunately, he
turned himself on one side or the other, or if he looked a
good while towards any part of his dominions, it was appre-
hended that war, famine, fire, or some other great misfortune
was near at hand to desolate the country.
Among the regalia which were always carried in pi'o-
cession when the Sultan of Java moved abroad, and Avere
arranged behind him while seated on the ddmj^ar (a large
stool or bench of gold or silver, with a velvet cushion), were
the following golden figures : — an elephant, a serpent, a bull,
a deer, a cock- fowl ; each of a size to be borne in the hand.
These, with the golden box for tobacco, and the golden
spitting-pot, and a variety of golden salvers, bowls, etc.,
distinguished by the respective names applicable to their
different purposes, have descended as heirlooms in the royal
family, and are esteemed with the greatest veneration.
When the sovereign moved abroad, he was attended by
numerous spearmen, the duty of eight of whom was to attend
the figures of the sacred elephant and bull. The royal state
umbrella was carried in front of the ro^al procession.
The ceremonies of state, however, lost much of their
character from the admission of European customs, introduced
by the Dutch after the Javan war.
The ornaments of state, or regalia, were well wrought in
gold; the ro3'al sliield was richly inlaid with precious stones,
and tlie royal kris liung in a belt, which, with its sheath,
was one blaze of diamonds.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 441
On the success of tlie DutcTi against tlie Sultan of Java,
Mangkilrat Mas, at the commencement of the eighteenth
century, the celebrated makota, or crown of MajapclMt, was
lost. The regalia of the sovereigns of Java, with the
exception of this important article, were delivered, by order
of the Dutch, to the acknowledged sovereign, Pakahiiana ;
but nothing more was ever heard of the crown, and since that
time the princes wore a cap. As the Dutch had now become
supreme at Java, a crown, perhaps, was an empty pageant.
It is suspected that the jewels were abstracted and the gold
melted down.
In the embassies from the Pope of Rome to the East, in
the thirteenth century, prior to the travels of Marco Polo, a
description is given, in the narrative of Carpini, of the manner
of electing and installing the Emperor of the Tartars. After
an account of the splendour of the imperial court, the friars
composing the embassy relate that the grand ceremony was
delayed a few days by a tempest of hail, but on August 24
(1246) the whole multitude assembled, and, turning their
faces to the south, performed various genuflexions. The spot
selected for the ceremony was beautifully situated on a river
between mountains, where a golden tent had been pitched,
supported by pillars richly gilded, and covered with the finest
Bagdad cloth. A gilt chair was brought out, upon which
Cuyne (Kuyuk Khan) was seated. The Tartar chiefs said,
" We wish, we pray and command, that you have power and
dominion over us all." Cuyne replied, " If you wish that I
be your king', are you resolved and disposed, each of you, to do
all that I shall command — to come when I call, to go whither
I send, and to kill whom I shall order to be killed ? " The
chiefs replied, "Yes." "Then," said he, "henceforth my
word alone shall be my sword." Immediately after, he was
seated on a chair of felt, and addressed as follows — " Look on
high and see God, and look down on the felt whereon thou
sittest. If thou dost govern well thou shalt reign in power
and magnificence, and the whole earth shall be subject to
thee ; but if ill, thou shalt be poor, miserable, vile, and con-
temptible, and shalt not have power even over the felt whereon
thou sittest."
His principal wife was then placed on the same seat, and
both were lifted up into the air and proclaimed, with loud
shouts, emperor and empress of all the Tartars.
442 CROIVXS AXD COROXATIOXS.
The CORONATION OF A KiNG OF Kandy WES a curious cere-
mony. Before the successor of a deceased monarch could be
considered completely king, it was necessary that he should
choose a name and be girt with the regal sword. It was the
duty of the royal astrologers to ascertain a fortunate period
for the ceremony, and invent fortunate names, each individual
being required to write a name on a plate of gold set with
precious stones. On the day fixed, Avhich was sometimes a
year or two after the election, the prince went in great state
to the temple, where he presented oiferings and made prosti^a-
tions to the gods. Thence he passed to the place of meeting,
and having gone through the same religious ceremony, in-
spected the plate that pleased him, and read it to the first
priest, who proclaimed aloud, " This is the name that the gods
have chosen for the king to bear." Then the gold plate on
which the name was inscribed was tied to the prince's fore-
head, and the regal sword was attached to his belt. A pot of
sandal-powder was next presented to the king, in which he
dipped his fingers and touched the sword. From the temple,
mounted on his elephant, the king went round the great
square, and paraded through the illuminated streets of his
capital, preceded by dancers, singers, and musicians, and
attended by his Avhole court in great splendour.
Though a crown wa^ not among the essential regalia
(which were the white umbrella of pearl, the brush made of
the tail of the Thibet cow, the gold sword, the gold forehead
plate, and the golden slippers), a crown Avas assumed by the
last monarchs — a handsome one of gold, set with diamonds,
rubies, and emeralds. It was seldom worn, and a cap, from
superstitious motives, was substituted for it, a king imagining
that in wearing a crown he placed himself on a level with the
gods, who are supposed to wear crowns. An assemblage of
all the dignitaries in Church and State having been made, the
royal masdappa, or canop}', was brought forth, richly orna-
mented, amidst much reverence. Beneath this the monarch's
throne (described in the chapter on '' Fragmenta Regalia")
was placed, and on occupying it a royal virgin, adorned with
costly ornaments and holding a shell full of the purest sea-
water, approached him. Then, elevating the shell above the
king's head, she poured water on it as a libation, saying,
"Your INIajesty is hereb}^ anointed to rule over tlie whole
assembly of Rohatrias ; therefore, may it please your Majesty
to perform the duties of a sovci-eign, and to exercise your
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 443
swaj with benignity and justice." The ceremony ended by
the king assuming his title of " king of kings."
The following curious particulars relating to the crown
AND REGALIA OF Kandy are from the 'Edinbiirgli Advertiser
(1820) : — "A chest recently brought from India, containing the
regalia and other articles taken in 1815 from the palace of
the deposed King of Kandy, has been opened at the Bank
of England. Among the curious and costly articles disclosed
to "^aew were a regal crown of pure gold, an entire suite of
golden armour, together with a number of tiaras, bracelets,
amulets, and other ornaments, for the most part studded
with precious stones, and many of them suspended by
massive gold chains of ingenious workmanship. The whole
collection, which is of considerable value, has been given up by
his Majesty for the benefit of the captors, and will shortly,
it is understood, be offered for sale."
In former times the coronation of a King of Abyssinia
(one of the oldest monarchies in the world) was celebrated
with curious and splendid ceremonies, which, by keeping the
subjects in respectful condition, excited also for the person of
their sovereign a veneration approaching to worship. The
monarch was richly attired in crimson damask, and a chain
of gold about his neck. With uncovered head he mounted a
horse, splendidly caparisoned, and advanced, at the head of
the nobility, to the area in front of the church. A number
of young girls, daughters of the ambares, or supreme judges,
with many other noble virgins, ranged themselves on each
side of the court. Two of them held in their hands a cord of
crimson silk, stretched across from row to row and drawn
tight, about breast high. The king then entered at a moderate
pace, displaying his skill in horsemanship as he went along.
When he advanced to the cord the damsels cried, " Who are
you ? " He answered, " I am your king, the King of Sion."
"You shall not pass," they replied ; "you are not our king."
E-etiring a few paces, he again presented himself, and the
question w^as repeated as before. " I am your king," he
replied, "the King of Israel." But this answer was again
rejected. Returning a third time, and being asked again,
" Who are you P " he said, " I am your king, the King of
Sion ; " and, unsheathing his sabre, he cut the cord. The
virgins chanted hallelujahs, and the air rang with the accla-
444 CROWNS AXD COROXATIONS.
mations of the army and the royal attendants. A.mldst these
expressions of joy he rode up to the stair of the church, and
there dismounting, sat upon a throne resembling an altar of
Anubis, or the Dog-star. A number of priests followed in
procession. The king was first anointed and then crowned.
Singing priests attended him halfway up the steps. He
then stopped at an aperture made on purpose in the stair,
Avhere he was fumigated Avith myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
Divine service was celebrated, and on his return to the camp,
fourteen days were spent in feasting and rejoicing.
The modern ceremonies of the coronation in Abyssinia
are of a less imposing character. In 1855 Theodores, or
Theodore, was crowned King of Ethiopia by the ahuna, the
bishop or metropolitan of Abyssinia. The original name
of this sovereign was Kassa-Kuaranga, but he adopted the
designation of Theodores after his accession from the name
of a negus (king of kings) who reigned in the twelfth century.
About forty years ago the legitimate sovereign of Abyssinia
was reduced to manufacture cloaks as a means of sub-
sistence. A boy, tAvelve years of age, being asked his name,
said, '' My name by baptism is Oulda-Salassie " (son of the
Trinity). " I am Negus."
After the defeat of Theodore, in 1868, he shot himself in
despair. In 1872 Prince Kassai was crowned King of Abys-
sinia at Axan, under the title of King Johannes.
Odd mischances befall crowns. At the close of the war
in Abyssinia the true crown of King Theodore was bought,
at the capture of Magdala, from a common soldier by a
Prussian officer attached to the expedition. It was by him
presented to liis sovereign. His Majesty had his attention
drawn to Lord Napier's order forbidding the sale of articles
taken by the army, and the crown was forwai-ded to the
Government, and is now in the South Kensington Museum.
The workmanship dates from about a hundred and fifty years,
a copy of European work of the sixteenth century. The
material is of pure gold, of which there is but little in the
country. This crown is thirteen inches and three-quarters
high and eleven inches in diameter.
Among the " loot " at the taking of Magdala were the
ahnna's mitre, three hundred years old, of pure gold, pro-
bably weighing six or seven pounds iro}' weight, and four
royal crowns, two of which were very fine specimens of work-
manship and very valuable, including that already mentioned.
I
CROWNS, ETC, IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 445
It is a Manansa (Soiitli African) custom, after the death
of a king, for the men to meet together and conduct the heir
to the royal residence. Then they brought a handful of sand
and small stones from the Zambesi and a hammer. These
they give him as tokens of his sovereignty over the land,
and over water and iron, symbolizing industry and labour.
At the same time they remind him of the obligation that rests
upon him, that from the day of his accession to the throne he
was not to eat the flesh of the rhinoceros nor the hijopopo-
tamus, as these, being "mischievous" animals, would be
likely to impart their own evil qualities to him.
The STATE UMBRELLA OF THE KiNG OF ASHANTEE is said
to have cost from three to four thousand dollars. It is
made of alternate pieces of crimson and black velvet, while
hundreds of gold pendicles form a fringe round it, and a large
boss of pure gold surmounts it above. It is borne over the
king, by a chief, wherever he moves, and is the emblem of
sovereignty.
The Bautammah, which is the Tower or the Louvre of
Coomassie, is the treasure-house of the kings of Ashantee,
including the costly presents received by them from the
British, the Dutch, and the French Governments, and splen-
did objects collected from time to time. Here lie the specie,
and the gold dust, ingots and bars of solid gold, and many a
chestful of rings and chains of gold, besides a vast amount of
jewels and dresses, etc. In the Bautammah, side by side
with the crown of the kings, is laid the gold decorated cup
fashioned oat of the skull of the unfortunate governor of
Cape Coast Castle, Sir Charles McCarthy. It is only on
days of state and festival that this ghastly cup is used.
The GOLD AXE OF AsHANTEE, the barbarous emblem of
sovereignty in that country, and sent as the highest tribute
of royalty to the Queen of England, in 1881, is in its origin
involved in some obscurity on account of its very great age,
and also because there exists no record concerning it. It is
believed by the Ashantees themselves to have been used as
a battle-axe in war by a former King of Ashantee, who
reigned at a very remote period, and before the introduction
of guns and gunpowder. It is much reverenced by the
Ashantees, and by them is regarded as so precious an object,
that it was deposited for safety in the Bautammah, on the
right of the royal state stool of Ashantee, and in the cere-
446 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
monial processions "vvliicli take place periodically at Coo-
massie, it took precedence of the royal stool. It is covered
with leopard-skin, as symbolical of courage — the Ashantees
believing the leopard to have more courage than any other
animal, the lion not excepted. The gold upon it is significant
of wealta. Thus, by the leopard-skin and the gold, the
Ashantees themselves interpret that they possess the highest
amount of courage, and unlimited amount of wealth with
which to support their wars. At first the King of Ashantee
refused to give it up, but the successive messengers who
were despatched to him for it, pointing out how essential
it was for him to yield up something great to prove the
sincerity of his words, as delivered by his great ambassador
to the governor, he assembled his chiefs and people in
council at Coomassie, when it was resolved that the axe
should be given up. "But," said the king, "this axe is an
emblem of such high sovereignty, that if I yield it up, and it
is kept on the coast, I shall yield all the power I possess, and
my neighbours and the Fantees will laugh at me." Then
it was suggested, " Send it to your good friend (Captain
Barrow), bidding him ask the governor not to keep it in
one of the castles on the coast, where, if seen, your Majesty
would be laughed at by the Fantees and others, but to send
it to the Queen of England." Then said the king to his
great chief, Acampong, " On that condition I will give it up
to you to carry to my good fi-iend ; " and on these terms
Acampong in person handed it to Captain Barrow, who, in
turn, delivered it to the governor, and by his Excellency's
instructions Captain Barrow brought it to England.
The INSTALLATION OF CeTEWAYO AS KiNG OF THE ZuLUS is
the subject of an interesting Parliamentary report (Febi'uary
C, 1875) of the expedition sent for that purpose by the
Government of Natal. The reasons for this ceremony appear
to be important, Mr. (now Sir Theophilus) Slicpstone, the
chief of the commission, having succeeded in inducing the
king to alter some of the fundamental laws of his kingdom,
so as to check cruelty and the capricicuis niid arbitrary exer-
cise of the power of shedding human V)lood ; also obtaining,
otherwise, a political influence tending, it was hoped, to civili-
zation. A few remarks on the ccremouv itself are given.
On September 1, 1874, the preparations for the installation
commenced. The spot selected was in front of the Amahla-
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 447
batani Valley, a few miles from Umgungundhlovu. A large
marquee had been brought for the purpose, which was deco-
rated with shawls, blankets, and other showy articles which
had been brought as presents. In the middle of one side
stood a table covered with drapery, with a mirror, in front
of which had been placed the head-dress, the design of which
was taken from the Zulu war head-dress. There also stood
the king's chair of state, with the scarlet-and-gold mantle
upon it.
Cetewayo had not in any way interfered with or sug-
gested any portion of the programme ; but he Avas anxious,
in accordance with the theory acted upon, that Mr. Shep-
stone should, at some part of the ceremony, take possession
of him, and so transform him that his people would not know
him : it should not be done in public. The Zulus had givpn
him over to Mr. Shepstone, who must take him from their
sight a minor, and present him to them a man ; he was to be
taken as a prince, and restored to his people as a king. To
save time and avoid accidents — always the danger in such
cases — the complimentary entrance of the Zulu regiments
was dispensed with.
A procession was then organized. The brilliant uniform
of the officers formed a contrast with the costumes of the
clergy and the miscellaneous dresses of the others, and added
much to the appearance of the procession. The artillery,
mounted volunteers, and the band of the Maritzburg Rifles
formed on the right of the marquee, the native attendants of
Mr. Shepstone on the left ; Cetewayo with his councillors,
and Mr. Shepstone and suite, formed a group in front.
The Zulu people described three-fourths of a circle about
fifty yards off, and might be estimated at from eight thousand
to ten thousand, mostly young men. Mr. Shepstone then
rose, and explained in the native language the nature and
importance of the cei'emony he had come to perform. The
points which he wished to establish and impress were pre-
sented in the form of questions, which he required should
have an audible assent from all the brothers of Cetewayo and
the rulers and councillors of the country, the common people
being too far off to hear him speak. He ended by proclaim-
ing that the indiscriminate shedding of blood should cease in
the land ; that no Zulu should be condemned without an
open trial, and the public examination of witnesses, both for
and against, and that he should have a right to appeal to the
448 CROIVXS AND CORONATIONS.
king ; that no Zulu's life should be taken without the pre-
vious knowledge and consent of the king, after such trial
should take place, and the right of appeal had been allowed
to be exercised ; that for minor crimes the loss of property,
all or a portion, should be substituted for the punishment of
death,
Cetewayo was then led by Mr. Shepstone to the tent, fol-
lowed by the Europeans. The door was closed, and guarded
by two sentries. The prince had only one body-servant. He
was then invested Avith the head-dress and scarlet mantle.
He was afterwards conducted to a chair of state, placed
facing the people. He was then presented to his brothers
and councillors as their king, and the heralds Avent round
and made a proclamation to that effect in the face of the
people. Thus he, who had a few moments before been but a
minor and a prince, had now become a man and a king, and
as if to suit the humour, one or two of his warriors pi'etended
to doubt his identity. After the proclamation a salute of
seventeen guns was fired, the volunteers saluted, and the
band struck up. The thousands of Zulus present lifted their
shields, and struck them sharply with sticks in token of
applause, Avhich frightened the horses, but these were soon
controlled. The marquee Avas handed over to the king, Avho
took immediate possession of it.*
A curious mode of kingly inauguration is reported from
the Wi:sT Coast of Africa, as liaA'ing occurred in Jul}-, 1879,
Avhen Prince Duke Avas elected as successor to Kin": Arclii-
bong, the soA'creign of Old Calabar. The scene appears to
haA'e been of an animated descrij^tion, an immense number
of spectators crowding the space set apart for important
celebrations. The festiA'al proper began in the afternoon, the
morning being occupied Avith the firing of guns and the
shouting of the people. The dancing was carried on entirely
by the men, the music being supplied by the spectators, who
kept up a continuous and most hideous noise by tapping their
mouths with the palms of their hands, yelling and shouting
* The calamities of the Zulu War arc too recent to need more thau
an allusion. It nuiy bo eonsiderod a sin^nilar coincidence, that the day
on which the d(>featcd Zulu kin<if was niarchc^d away as a prisoner
(September 1, 1S70) — passiuj^ throuufh his ruiiuMl capital into captivity
— was the anniversary oF his installation (with certain restrictions of
territory) by Sir Theophilus Shepstone in January, 1883.
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 449
all the time. The dancers advanced and retired with imita-
tion spears in their hands, at the same time bending their
toes so as to bring them completely beneath the soles of the
feet. After this the chiefs rose and went through a some-
what similar performance. Prince Duke then joined the
chiefs, and they all advanced to the seat occupied by Consul
Hopkins, who, with his wife and some few Europeans, were
present as the representatives of the queen. The " music "
ceased, and perfect quietness remained, Avhile the chiefs pre-
sented the prince to Mr. Hopkins as the future King of Old
Calabar. This was the signal for a demonstration of an
extraordinary character. The whole company rose en masse,
shouted, screamed, jumped, and yelled as only Africans can,
and then the dancing recommenced and became general.
The king-elect was attired in a robe of bright-coloured cloth ;
an admiral's worn-out hat, with a white feather sticking in
it, covering his head. He carried a silver spear, and a live
fowl, tied by the leg to a long string, which his Majesty held,
fluttered on the ground before him. A brush of peacocks'
feathers, some five or six feet long, was suspended from his
back to represent a tail. Some of the native costumes were
ludicrous in the extreme. Discarded naval and military
uniforms were the favourites on account of their bright
colours. Big negroes wore little coats, the sleeves of which
did not reach further than their elbows, and they were tied
with string in front to draw them closer to the body ; others,
again, of small stature, wore large coats, and the result often
was that, when the collars were turned up, very little of the
wearers inside could be seen. During the dancing a good
deal of commotion was caused by the sudden appearance of
one of the members of a secret society, known as " Egboe
men," amongst whom only two white men are known to
belong ; the chief object of organization is understood to be
to obtain justice in their dealings with others. When this
man appeared in the dance, the upper portion of his body
Avas encased in armour, and his legs were covered with
elaborate beadwork. He wore a mask to conceal his features,
and had a bunch of feathers behind him as a tail, to which
Avas attached his bell, the sound of Avhich, when he makes
his nightly journeys, is terrifying to the inhabitants. After
his disappearance from the scene the natives resumed their
dancing, which was kept up until nightfall, when they all
retired to another enclosed space, where the ceremony of
2g
450 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
hiiniinri an offifjy of Satan broiiglit the day's rejoicing to
an end.
On the 17fcli of April, 1880, was celebrated the crowning
by Acting Consul Easton of the successor to the late King
Archibong III., of Old Calabar. The title of the new mon-
arch is Duke Ephraini Eyaniba IX. The coronation passed
off successfully. All the Europeans on the river and the
native chiefs were present. Before placing the crown on
Eyamba's head, the consul addressed the assembly, showing
the necessity for a new king, and pointing out to his Majesty
the work he had before him in the maintenance of peace and
encouragement of trade.
" At the installation of a native King of Hawaii, over the
throne," observes Mr. Bodham Whetham in his *' Pearls of
the Pacific," " was spread one of the royal mantles, entirely
Avoven out of the feathers taken from a species of birds
found only on these islands. The oo, or royal bird, as it is
called, is a plain black little fellow of the tribe of honey-
suckers, having under each wing two or three bright yellow
feathers. Ages ago these feathers were amassed, the birds
beino- cauo'ht with lime and set free after the abstraction of
the coveted treasures, which, when a sufficient number had
been collected, were woven with wonderful skill into mantles
and helmets. Centuries, however, were required in order to
obtain the necessary quantity of them, and nine or ten
generations of chiefs were occupied in making the cloak
above mentioned. At the present time the art of Aveaving
these feathers is lost, and there is no one in the island capable
of weaving: such a mantle. It is about four and a half feet
long, and, when spread out, eleven feet at the bottom. The
i-ed feathei'S of another bii-d, called the mo-mo, are inter-
woven with the yellow, giving a speckled appearance to the
royal cloak. These yellow mantles and a Grecian-shaped
helmet, of exquisite workmanship, are the richest treasures
in the regalia of Hawaii.
"While every one was regarding with interest this Avar-
mantle of the Kamehameha, the attention of the assembly
was drawn to four natives, who entered the hall, dressed in
short yellow crapes, in appearance A'ery like the royal robi',
but Avhich I afterAvards heard were merely imitations, and
tall black hats. '^Phese men bore the l-ahilis^ or emblems
of royalty. These are long staffs, the tops of Avhich are
CROWNS, ETC., AV VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 451
ornamented with a clruni-sliaped structure, about four feet in
depth and two in diameter, and made entirely of feathers
fixed at right angles. Some of them are composed of the
most brilliant coloured feathers, while others are completely
black, and look well adapted to adorn a hearse.
" The four men, who apparently possessed the privilege of
wearing their hats in the presence of royalty, took up their
position at the corners of the dais, and the king entered,
surrounded by his staff, all glittering with gold cords, gilt
bands, and decorations.
" The audience rose, and the king, after ascending the
throne, read his speech from a manuscript, enclosed in a
crimson velvet folio, first in his own tongue, and then in
English, and on his return to the palace was heartily greeted."
On February 12, 1883, King Kalakana ("Day of
Battle ") and Queen Kapuolani wei-e crowned, in presence
of the chief personages of the realm and several thousand
spectators, at Honolulu, the capital of the Sandwich Islands
(kingdom of Hawaii). These found accommodation in a
grand stand, erected in front of the royal palace, which
is a stately edifice supported by Corinthian pillars ; in the
centre of the space Avas a domed pavilion, of octagonal shape,
open at the sides, and decorated with heraldic shields in
colours, and with small flags of different nations. The
soldiers forming the guard of honour stood close along the
front wall of the palace. Among the privileged spectators in
the verandah of the palace w^ere the British commissioner
and consul-general, Mr. J, H. Wodehouse, with his wife and
daughter, the American, French, and other diplomatic and
consular agents, and the commanders and officers of the ships
on the station. The king and queen, with their three young
daughters, were accompanied by the marshals and chaplains
of the household, the chancellor, the Hon. Francis Judd,
the president of the legislative assembly (Hon. Godfrey
Rhodes), and the principal native officials of the court. The
Hon. J. M. Kapena, master of the household, made proclama-
tion of the style and titles of his Majesty, who thereupon
swore to maintain the constitution. He received first the
symbols of the ancient native chieftainship, afterwards the
sword and sceptre, the ring and mantle of feathers, pre-
sented respectively by the premier and nobles thereto
•appointed, the chancellor, Mr. Judd, conducting these pro-
452 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
ccedings in due form. The crown was presented by Mr.
Godfrey Rhodes on behalf of the legislative assembly, with a
similar crown (of gold lined with crimson velvet) for Queen
Kapuolani. The king took the first crown and placed it on his
head, and he next put the second crown on the head of his
wife. A prayer and benediction having been pronounced by
the chaplain, the Rev. A. Macintosh, the guns and ships fired
a I'oyal salute, which ended the proceedings for the day.
Ellis, in his " Polynesian Researches," gives a lengthened
account of the installation of koyalty in Tahiti : " The
inauguration ceremony, answering to coronation among other
nations, consists in girding the king with the '^naro ura^ or
Sacred srirdle of red feathers ; which not onlv raised him. to
the highest earthlj' station, but identified him with their
gods. The girdle Avas made of the beaten fibres of the aoa ;
the feathers were taken from the images of their deities^
A human victim Avas sacrificed when the girdle was manu-
factured. Prior to the coronation, when the king bathed,
another human creature Avas killed. The pageant ju'oceeded
by land and Avater. The image of Oro, decoi-ated Avith all
the emblems of his divinity, w^as conA'eyed to the large court
of the temple, and the great bed of Oro, a large curiously
formed bench or sofa, was brought out, for the throne on
which the king Avas to sit. In the procession from the
temple, a priest carried the image ; the king followed ; and
behind them the large bed of Oro Avas borne by four chiefs.
Then came priests with the great drum of the temple,
trumpets, and other instruments ; they thus proceeded to the
sea-shore, Avhere a fleet of canoes awaited them. The sacred
canoe, or state barge of Oro, Avas distinguished from the rest
by the sacred leaA'cs of platted cocoa-nut by Avhicli it was
surrounded, and Avhich Avere worn by CAcry individual on
board.
" As soon as the ]irocession i-eached the beach, Oro Avas
cari'ied on board, and followed by the priests and instruments
of music, Avhile the king took his seat on the sacred sleeping-
place of Oro, Avhich Avas fixed on the shore. The chiefs stood
ai-(mnd the king, and the priests around the god, until, upon
a signal giA'en, the king arose from his seat, advanced into the
scji, and bathed his person. The ])riest of Oro then descended
jnto the Avater, bearing in his hand a branch of the sacred
mcro, plucked from the tree Avhich grcAv in the precincts of
CROWNS, ETC., IN VARIOUS AGES AND COUNTRIES. 453
the temple. While the king was bathing', the priest struck
him on the back with the sacred branch, and offered up the
prescribed uhu, or invocation to Taaroa. The design of this
part of the ceremony was to purify the king from all defile-
ment or guilt he had contracted, according to their own
expression, by his having seized any land, banished any
people, committed murder, etc. When these ablutions were
completed, the king and the priest ascended the sacred
canoe. Here, in the presence of Oro, he was invested with
the sacred girdle. The priest, while employed in girding the
king, pronounced the words, ' Extend or spread the influence
of the king over the sea to the sacred island,' describing also
the nature of his girdle, and addressing the king at the close,
' Parent this, of you, O king,' indicating that from the gods
all his power was derived. At this, the multitude on the
beach, and in the surrounding canoes, lifted up the right
hand, and greeted the new monarch with loud acclamations.
The steersman in the sacred canoe struck his paddle against
the side of the vessel, which was a signal to the rowers, who
instantly started from the shore towards the reef, having the
god and the king, girded as it were with the deity, on board ;
the priests beating their large drum, and sounding their
trumpets, which were beautiful large turbo, or trumpet shells.
The spectators followed in their canoes. Having proceeded
in this manner a considerable distance, to indicate the
dominion of the king on the sea, and receive the homage of
the powers of the deep, they returned towards the shore.
" During this excursion, Tuumao and Tahui, two deified
sharks, a sort of demi-gods of the sea, were influenced by
Oro to come and congratulate the new king. If the monarch
was a legitimate ruler, and one elevated to the office with the
sanction of the superior powers, these sharks, it Avas said,
always came to pay their respects to him, either whilst he
Avas bathing in the sea, or during the excursion in the sacred
■canoe. But it is probable that when they approached while
his Majesty was in the water, some of his attendants were
stationed round to prevent their coming too near, lest their
salutations should have been more direct and personal than
Avould have proved agreeable. Yet it is said that the parents
of the present rulers of some of the islands, at the time of
their inauguration, actually played with these sharks, with-
out receiving any injury.
" The fleet reaching the shore, the parties landed, when the
454 CKOWiVS AND CORONATIONS.
king was placed on tlio sacred coucli of Oro, as his throne ;
but instead of a footstool, the ordinary appendage to a throne,
he reclined his head on the sacred pillow of Tafeii. This was
also cut out of a solid piece of wood, and ornamented with
cai'ving. The procession was now formed as before, and
moving towards Tabutabuatea, the great national temple,
Tairimoa, bearing the image of Oro, led the way. The king,
reclining on his throne, followed. He was borne on the
shoulders of four principal nobles connected with the reign-
ing family. The chiefs and priests followed in his train, the
latter sounding their trumpets and beating the lai-ge sacred
drum, while the spectators shouted as they proceeded to the
temple. The multitude followed into the court of the
temple, Avhere the king's thi-onc was fixed upon an elevated
stone platform, in the midst of the carved ornaments of wood,
erected in honour of the departed chiefs whose bones had
been deposited there. The principal idol Oro, and his son
Hiro, were placed by the side of the king, and the gods and
the king here received the homage and allegiance of the
people. A veil must be thrown over the vices with which
the ceremonies were concluded.
" Although the ceremony was one of the least ofPensive
festivities among them, the murderous cruelty with which it
commenced, and the Avickedness with which it terminated,
were adapted to impress the mind with acutest anguish and
deepest commiseration. A banquet or feast closed the
coronation."
( 455 )
CHAPTER XII.
FRAGMENTA EEGALIA.
'Tis a brave sight ; the regal trappings,
The pomp of power, the attributes of rule,
Pregnant with meaning. Surely the earth's elect
Should feel the weight of high distinction
And shrine rare virtues in its glory.
The Empeess of India.
^^E proclamation of
our beloved sove-
reign as Empress
OF India was made
at Delhi, January
1, 1877, amidst a
splendour whicli
those who were
present on that
august occasion
could never forget.
The preparations
for the solemnity
were on a colossal scale. The canvas city which sprung up
around Delhi covered an extent of seven or eight miles. The
native princes vied with each other in prodigal display.
Nowhere out of India could there have been witnessed such
a display of gold and silver brocade, of pearls, diamonds,
emeralds, and rubies, and sapphires sewn into the stiff fabrics
which constitute the beau -ideal of Oriental dandyism. When
perchance a straggling ray of sunshine lighted up this or
that costume, it was flashed back in myriad hues. There
were in all sixty-three ruling princes who were present, and
the money yalue of their outer man miist have been enormous.
456
CROIVNS AND CORONATIONS.
One cbieftain remarked to ihe political officer wlio was sliowiiii^
him to his seat, "I have sixty-three thousand rupees' worth
of pearls on my dress, and I am dropping them at every step
I take ; but I clon't care."
The imperial da'is where the ceremony was held was on
the Daheerpore Plain, about three miles from the viceroy's
camp. In the centre of the arena an exceedingly graceful
kiosk was erected, surmounted by the imperial crown on a
cushion, and decorated with coloured pennons. The gilt
railing round the platform of the kiosk looked airy and bright
in the clear sunshine, and the panels beneath were exceedingly
Indian comnu'nioration medal.
pretty, being decorated with the imperial crown between the
letters " V. I." in gold appliq^tc work upon a groundwork of
green leaves in needlework. A silver chair of state was
placed on the platform facing the amphitheatre. Behind
the kiosk had been erected two long blocks of raised seats,
forming a semicircle, intersected by a broad passage leading
from the plain to the throne, carpeted with red cloth fringed
with gold lace. Each block was calculated to hold tw(»
thousand persons. The great point of attraction, however,
lay on the opposite side of the arena, where the ruling princes
and the chief members of the British Government were seated
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 457
in a semicircular amphitheatre facing the kiosk. Nothing
could be more picturesque than the extraordinary combination
of rich colours under a bright sun that was here presented
to the eye. The roof, of delicate blue and white colours, was
supported by ninety gilt pillars in front, and by a hundred in
the outer line, each decorated with fasces of banners of the
most gorgeous hues, surmounted by two censor's axes, the
dread emblems of justice. Between every two pillars there
gleamed in the radiant sunlight the rich satin banners,
worked w4th heraldic devices, bestowed by her Majesty on
all the ruling princes, etc.
His Excellency the viceroy, accompanied by Lady Lytton,
arrived (his carriage passing by a double hedge of British
soldiers) and ascended the steps of the dais, his blue mantle
upheld from the ground by tw^o pages. The massed bands
played a grand anthem, the heralds sounded a flourish of
trumpets, and the vast assemblage remained standing until
the viceroy took his seat. A few bars of the National
Anthem preluded the reading aloud by the chief herald,
Major Barnes, who was appropriately arrayed in a tabard
valued at £300. This officer, who is said to be the tallest
man in the army, was attended by twelve trumpeters — six
Europeans and six natives — who wore dresses on the same
model as that of the chief herald, but, of course, far inferior
in splendour. He read the proclamation, " Given at our
Court, at Windsor, the 28th day of April, 1876, in the thirty-
ninth year of our reign." This document, which merely gave
force to the Act of Parliament that enabled her Majesty to
*' make an addition to the Royal style and titles appertaining
to the Imperial Crown of the United Kingdom and its
dependencies," was translated into Hindu and recited by
Mr. Thornton, officiating secretary in the Foreign Depart-
ment. A salvo of artillery was then fired by half-batteries,
that is, by three guns as one. When thirty-four salvos had
been fired to the eastward, the infantry, thirteen thousand
six hundred and eighty in number, drawn up in two lines,
extending over a mile and a half, fired a feu de joie that ran
from east to west and back again with extraordinary rapidity
and precision. The effect was astounding, as the elephants
attested by breaking loose and tearing wildly over the plain.
Fortunately, only two coolies were killed, though three stam-
pedes took place, and numbers of people were knocked over.
The batteries to the westward then took up the firing, thirty-
458
CA'OirXS AXD CORONATIONS.
three times, succeeded by anotliei'/('?t de jole, the fire seemin,f>*
to run along the line. After this the eastern batteries com-
pleted the number of one hundred and one, or, rather, of
three hundred and three guns, and a third crisp rattle and
roar of musketry terminated the gunpowder contribution to
the ceremony. The royal standard Avas now hoisted, and
the massed bands again played a verse of the National
Anthem. That being over, the viceroy advanced to the front
of the canopied dais and read his speech, and at the con-
clusion the National Anthem once more greeted the ear,
followed by three cheers. The vicero}- was then about to
dissolve the assemblage, when Scindia rose to his feet and
Reverse of liuliau loinmomoration mciUil.
exclaimed, "Padshah, Shah-au-Shah, be hap]>y." In a few
more vigorous ]ihrases his Highness Avished her Majesty
every blessing from on high, and expressed his own inviolabk^
loyalty. Similar declarations were made by other high
princes, and the assemblage was aftei- that declared to be
dissolved, and the viceroy took his leave with the same
honours that had greeted his arrival.
Iii the evening his Excellency entertained the governors
and the lieutenant-governors at a grand bancpu't in tho
durbar tent. In proposing the health of her Majesty, the
FRAGMENTA REGALIA.
459
tjueen-empress, the viceroy made a speech in keepiug with
the occasion.
In the Gazette Extraordinary, which was issued on the
1st of January, it is stated that the salute for her Majesty in
India is now one hundred and one guns, and for the viceroy
thirty-one. While the old salutes for chiefships remained
unchanged, additional personal salutes have been granted to
several rulers. The title of " coun-
sellor of the empress " was con-
ferred ex officio on several of the
^' native princes, also titles of
honour.
The inscnption " Victoria, Em-
press " is substituted for " Vic-
toria, Queen " on the coinage of
j^_a^^j<;i^^^ -(-jje realm.
The Imperial Order of the Crown of
India, recently instituted, consists of a
jewelled badge, composed of the impe-
Imperial Order of the Crown of India.
Coronet of the Pnnce of Wales.
rial cypher " V. R. I." in diamonds, pearls, and turquoises, within
a border of pearls, and surmounted by the imperial crown, worn on
the shoulder pendent from a bow of pale blue-watered silk ribbon,
edged with white.
The Peince of Wales. — The coronet placed on the head of the heir-
apparent of England when created Prince of Wales is of gold, and con-
sists of crosses pa^ee and fleurs-dc-lys , with the addition of one arch ;
and in the midst a ball and cross, like that in the royal diadem, which
was ordered to be used by Charles II. in 1661. The cap is of crimson
velvet, and turned up with ermine.
The Prince of Wales's plume is an ornament peculiar to himself; it
consists of an ancient coronet encircling three ostrich feathers, under-
46o CROWXS AND CORONATIONS.
neath wliich is a scroll with the words "/c/i dien" ("I serve"). Tliis is
said to have been assumed tirst by luhvard, the Black Prince, after the
battle of Crccy, where John, King of Bohemia was slain, and from the
head of that monarch, who was in the ranks of the Frencli king, he
took the i)lume and motto, which has since been used by the princes
of Wales.*
The eldest son and heir of the King or Queen of England is born
Duke of Cornwall, and immediately entitled to all the rights, revenues^
etc., belonging thereto, as being deemed in law at full age on his birth-
day. He has also been, since the time of James I., Duke of Eothsay
* With regard to the ostrich feathers, the badge of the Prince of
Wales, it should bo observed that M. Planche considers this story of its
origin untrue. The late Mr. John Gough Nichols was of the same
opinion : "The crest of John, King of Bohemia, is copied from a seal in
the woodcut ('British Costiime,' 1846), and described by Planche
(page 50) as an entire wing or pinion of an eagle; and I myself, in
a paper in the Archceologia (xxix. 50), had pi-evionsly, in 1840, more
exactly described it as ' two Avings of a vulture besprinkled with linden
leaves of gold,' on the authority of Barante's ' History of the Dukes of
Burgundy ; ' but in the same paper I showed that Anno of Bohemia, the
queen of Kichard II., and granddaughter of the same King of Bohemia,
used an entire ostrich for her badge, and that, therefore, there might
be some truth that the ostrich feather referred to Bohemia. Howcvei',
in the form which is now popularly called a plume, or a group of three
feathers — the present badge of the Prince of Wales — it does not occur
earlier than the monument of Prince Arthur, in AVorcester Cathedml, in
the reign of Henry Vll. For a long period the ostrich feather was
borne single, generally with its quill inserted into a scroll. Tlic Black
Prince indeed has three ostrich feathers on his ' coat of peace,' placed
on his tomb at Canterbury, but they arc not grouped as a ' plume.'
They are arranged ' two and one,' as customary with the charges of an
annorial shield."
Sir H. Nicolas (ArcJuvohujia, xxxi. 350) concludes his valuable
observations on the badge and mottoes of the Prince of Wales, by his
belief that both the former, namely, the feathers and the mottoes "/<•/(
(lieri-" and ^' ]{oumont," were derived from the house of Hainault, pos-
sibly from the Comte of Ostrevant, which formed the appanage of the
oldest sons of the counts of that province.
The various statements on this subject will bo found condensed in
D<n-an's "Princes of AValcs " (pp. 150, 151). The sum of it is that the
physician John do Adorn ((!Oiitemporary witli the Black Priuce) dis-
tinctly states (Sloanc Collection, 7(», fol. Gl) that the Prince of Wales
tlerived the ostrich feathers from the King of Bohemia. It would appear
that ho assumed the motto " Ich dien" as a mark of humilitv, just as
Elizfibeth of York took that of " humble and reverent."
IJeu Jonson, in tho " ^Masque," says —
*' From the Bohemian crown tho plume he wears
Which aftci', for his crest, he did preserve,
To his father's use, Avith the lit word — * I serve.' "
FR A OMENTA REGALIA. 461
and Seneschal of Scotland from his birth. He is, at the pleasure of
the sovereign, created by patent and other ceremonies Prince of Wales,
Earl of Chester and Flint, etc.
Before the reign of Edward I. the eldest son was called the Lord
l*rince. The title of Prince of Wales originally distinguished the
native princes of that country. Henry III., in the thirty-ninth year
of his reign, gave to his son Edward (afterwards Edward I.) the princi-
pality of Wales and earldom of Chester, but rather as an office of
trust and government than as a special title to the heir-apparent to his
crown. When Edward afterwards became king, he conquered in 1277
Llewellyn and David, the last native princes of Wales, and united the
kingdom of Wales with the crown of England. There is a tradition
that Edward, to satisfy the national feeling of the Welsh people,
promised to give a prince without blemish on his honour, a Welshman
by birth, and one who could not speak a word of English. In order
to fulfil his promise literally he had sent Queen Eleanor to be con-
lined at Caernarvon Castle, and he invested with the principality her
son, Edward of Caernarvon, then an infant, and caused the barons and
great men to do him homage. Edward was not at that time the king's
eldest son, but on the death of his brother Alphonso he became heir-
apparent, and from that time the title of Prince of Wales has been
borne by the eldest son of the sovereign. The title is not inherited,
but is conferred by special creation and investiture,'^ and was not
* The following preparation for the creation of a prince is from a
" MS. account of the Conveyance of Great Estates into the King's
presence at the time of their creation " (British Museum, Additional
MSS., No. 6297) :—
" First, his robes of estate, viz. a mantell or robe of crimson velvet,
containing eighteen yards, edged with gold lace, and furred with ermine.
Item, a kirtle or riccote, containing fourteen yards, and furred as before,
and of the same stuff. Item, the laces, tassels, and buttons, of silk and
gold, for the same robes, and a girdle of silk for the nether garment.
Item, a hood and a cap of estate of the same velvet, with the edging and
the furring as afore, with button, laces, and tassels of Venice gold for
the said cap. Item, a sword, the scabbard covered with crimson cloth of
gold, plain, and a girdle agreeable to the same. Item, a coronet. Item,
a verge of gold. Item, a ring of gold to be put on the third finger."
In the London Gazette (November 15, 1783) is the '' Ceremonial of
the Introduction of his Royal Highness, George Augustus Frederick,
Prince of Wales into the House of Peers, at the Meeting of Parliament,
on Tuesday, November 11, 1783."
" His Royal Highness having been, by letters patent, dated the 19th
day of August, in the Second Year of His Majesty's reign, created Prince
of Wales and Earl of Chester, was in his robes, which, with the Collar
of the Order of the Garter, he had put on in the Earl Marshall's room,
introduced into the House of Peers in the following order : —
" Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod with his staff of office. Earl of
Surrey, Deputy Earl Marshall of England. Earl of Carlisle, Lord Privy
Seal. Garter, Principal king of arms, in his robes, with his sceptre,
462 CROWDS AA'D CORONATIONS.
always given immediately on the birth of the heir-apparent. Echvard
II. did not create his son Prince of Wales till he was ten years old,
and Edward, the Black Prince, was not created until he was thirteen.
The titles now borne by the Prince of Wales are : Prince of Wales
and Earl of Chester, Duke of Saxony (by right of his father, the late
Prince Consort), Duke of Cornwall and llothsay, Earl of Carrick,
Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Great Steward of Scotland.
The prince bears the royal arms, differenced by a label of three
points, and over all an escutcheon of pretence for Saxony — viz. harry
of ten, or and sa., a bend, trefle^ vert.
The patent for the creation of the Prince of Wales and Earl of
Chester is dated December 8, 1841. The arch was not added to the
Prince of Wales's coronet until after the restoration of Charles II.
Coronets of the Royal Family. — The coronets of all the sons,
brothers, or uncles of the sovereign con-
sist of a circle of gold, bordered with
ermine, heightened with four jieurs-de-
Jys, and as many crosses patees alter-
nately, agreeably to the grant made by
Charles II. in the thirteenth year of his
reign.
The coronets of the princesses of
^^__^ Great Britain consist of a circle of gold,
Con.ii(i..i tiic Engiisii Piimcsses. bordered with ermine, and heightened
with crosses patctSy Jieurs-de-Iys, and
strawberry leaves alternately ; whereas a prince's coronet has only
fleurs-de-lys and crosses.
bearing his Eoyal Highness' patent. Sir Peter Bnrrell, Deputy Great
Chamberlain of England. Viscount Stormont, Lord President of the
Council. The couonkt on a crimson velvet cushion, borne by Viscount
Lewisliam, one of the Gentlemen of his Royal Iligliness' Bod-chamber.
His Royal Highness the Prince of AValks, can-jing his writ of Sum-
mons, supported by his uncle, his Ro3'al Highness tlic Doke of Cumber-
land, and tlie Dukes of Richmond and Portland. And proceeding up
the House Avith the usual reverences, the writ and patent were delivered
to the Earl of Mansfield, Speaker, on the Avoolsack, and read by the
Clerk of tho Parliament at the table ; his Royal Highness and the rest
of the procession standing near : after Avhich, Ids Royal Highness was
conducted to his chair on tlu; right hand of tho throne, the coronet and
cushion having been laid on a stool before the chair ; and his Royal
Highness being covered as usual, tho ceremony ended.
*' Some time afterwards his Majesty entered tho House of Peers, ami
was seated on the throno with the usual solemnities, and having delivered
his most gracious speech, retired out of tho House.
"Then his Royal Highness at tho table, took tho oaths of allegiance
and supremacy, and made and subscribed the declaration ; and also
took and subscribed the oath of abjuration."
FRAGMENTA REGALIA.
463
The coronets of the royal cousins of the queen have the circlet
heightened with crosses patees and strawberry leaves only.
Coronets. Temp. Henry VI
Coronet of Arthur, Prince of Wales,
son of Henry VII.
Coronets appear to have been originally a circlet or garland, worn
merely as an ornament. In this form, when enriched with precious
stones, it was termed a circle. It was
not used by knights before the time of
Edward III., and then indiscriminately
by princes, dukes, earls, and knights.
Chaucer, in the "Knight's Tale,"
says : —
"A wreath of gold arm grct of huge
weight
Upon his head he set, full of stones
bright,
Of fine rubys and clcro diamants."
And in the " Romance of the Eose " : —
" For round environ her coronet
Was full of rich stones afret."
The Royal Style and Title. — On
the 5th of November, 1800, it was
settled by the Privy Council that in
consequence of the Irish Union, the
royal style and title should be changed ^^^^'^'^^'^ "^ ^^^i;^^.^i'i^^^^^
on the 1st of January following —
namely, " from George III., by the grace of God, of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith," to " George III.,
by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith." Thus the title of King of
France, which has been borne by the monarchs of this country for
four hundred and thirty-two years — since the forty-third year of the
reign of Edward III. — was ultimately abandoned. It was the Salic
law which excluded Edward from the inheritance of France; but
Queen Elizabeth, nevertheless, claimed the title, asserting, as it is
said, that if she could not be Queen, she would be King of France. It
js more singular that Elizabeth should have retained the title, for in
464 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
the second year of her rei<2;n it Avas agreed, in a treaty made between
France and England, that the King and Queen of France (Francis IL
and his consort, Mary of Scotland) should not for the future assume
the title of King or Queen of England and Ireland.
The abandonment of the title of " King of France " led to our
foreign oflicial correspondence being carried on in the English language,
instead of in French, as had been the custom.
One of the minor titles held b}^ the kings of England, who were
also electors of Hanover, was very enigmatical to Englishmen, par-
ticularly when expressed by the following initials : — S. 11. 1. A. T. Nor
even when it was extended thus, Sacri Romani Im^perii Archi-
ThesauruSi and translated into English as "Arch-Treasurer of the
Holy Roman Empire," was it less puzzling to the uninitiated. The
arch-treasurership of the German empire was an office settled upon the
electors of Hanover, in virtue of their descent from Frederic, elector
palatine, but its duties were always performed by deputy.
King, Queen, and Majesty. — The word kii/g is derived from the
German konnen, " to be able." In the Anglo-Saxon the word king
occurs as cyniny, cynig, cyng^ cine, cing, cinge, cining, cininc. In
Swedish it is konung ; Danish, konge ; Finnish, kuningas. Queen in
Anglo-Saxon is cvaen, even ; the Gothic, quino ; and in old German
times queno, chena, kona. The word queen, with a slight difference in
the spelling, has still that original meaning in English where quean
implies " woman " in the spirit with which it is used in the vulgar
tongue. I'he Tartar khan is probably another form of the word king.
The Latin form rex is from the Hebrew rosch, a " chief," from which
is derived rajah.
With regard to the assertion of the imperial character of English
royalty in later times, it was declared- in the reign of Edward 111.
(1330), " Quod regnum Anglia? ab omni subjectione Imperiali sit
liberrimum," and in 141G a renunciation of all supremacy was required
from Sigismund, King of the Eomans, before he was allowed to land
in England. In the time of Henry VIll. the words "empire" and
"imperial crown" arc constantly used in a way which cannot fail to
be of set purpose. Selden says, "The Crown of England in other
Parliaments of later times is titled the Imperial Crown." At the
coronation of Elizabeth her herald formally i)roclaimed her as " most
worthy Empress from the Orcade Isles to the Mountains Pyrene." In
Camden's " Annals," the title of the book is given as " The true
and lloyall history of the famous Empresse Elizabeth, Queen ol"
England."
A pamphlet was published in 170G, when the union with Scotland
was under debate, headed " The Queen an Empress, and her Three
Kingdoms an Emi)ire," ]-»ro])()sing a curious scheme for a British
empire, with subordinate kings, princes, and a patriarch of I^ondon.
In England it would seem that Canute, and Canute alone, before the
Norman Con([uest, called himself *' King of England." After the
Concpiest " Ilex Anglia) " begins to creep in, but at first very rarely.
William himself is all but invariably " ivex Anglorum." Pichard is
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 465
the first king who is systematically styled " Rex Anglia3 " in his charters,
and even he is " Rex Anglorum " on his seal. During his reign his
mother clung to the old style, " Regina Anglorum." The final innova-
tion of " Rex Anglice " on the seal is due to King John.
Robertson says that the title of Majesty was first assumed by
Charles I. of Spain, on his election to the imperial crown in 1519, as
Charles V. " A trivial circumstance discovered the effects of this great
elevation upon the mind of Charles. In all the public writs which he
now issued as King of Spain, he assumed the title of Majesty." But
we have (pace Robertson) evidence of the use of the appellation by an
English monarch, a generation earlier than its assumption by Charles
V. In the record of Cardinal Adrian's oath (Burnet's " History of the
Reformation ") of fidelity on being invested by the king with the
bishopric of Bath and Wells, Henry VII. is three or four times styled
" his Majesty," " your Majesty." In Leo X's. bull, granting Henry
VIII. the title of " Defender of the Faith," dated " quinto id. Octobris
1521," the king is frequently addressed as "majestatem tuam,'*
" majestatis tna3," " majestas tua." Henry VIII. and Edward VI.
were usually styled " Majesty " in official documents ; Queens Mary
(of England and Scotland) and Elizabeth as generally " Highness "
and " Grace."
Pope Sylvester II. bestowed the title of Apostolical Majesty on
Stephen, Duke of Hungary (temp. 1000), a title borne by the Empress
Queen Maria Theresa in 1760, upon whom it had been formally re-
conferred by the reigning pontiff.
The title of Defender of the Faith appears to have been given
to Henry VII. An interesting note on this subject by Christopher
Wren, Dean of Windsor, is preserved by Peck, in " A Collection of
Divers Curious Historical Pieces," etc., appended to his " Memoirs of
Cromwell" (4to, 1740): "That King Henry VII. had the title
formerly of Defender of tlie Faith appears by the Register of the
Order of the Garter in the black book (sic diet, a tegmine ; now in my
hands by office), which having showed to K. Charles I., he received
with much joy ; nothing more pleasing him then that the right of
that title was fixed in the Crown, long before the Pope's pretended
Donation."
There is no date to this memorandum, but Dean Wren was made
registrar of the order in 1635, and died in 1658.
The bull of Pope Leo X., conferring the title on Henry VIII., is in
Rymer's *' Fcedera" (torn. xiii. p. 756), with a fac-simile of the original,
which expressly mentions that the title was conferred on the king on
account of his booj^ against Luther.
Great Britain. — Queen Elizabeth first used the name " Great
Britain" as the prospective appellation of England, Scotland, and
Ireland, when they should be united in one realm. James I. had
sufficient wisdom to adopt it. As early in his English reign as October
23, Lord Cranbourne wrote thus to Mr. Winwood from the court at
Whitehall : " I do send you here a proclamation published this day of
his Majesty changing his title and taking upon him the name and
2h
466 CROWXS AXD CORONATIONS.
style of King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, by which he
henceforward desires to be acknowledged both at home and abroad, and
that his former titles shall be extinct."
Dei gratia. — The use of this st3'le by tlie kings of England is
older than is generally supposed. Edward III. was the first to use it
on his coins, but only on the gold coins and the groat. But the
employment of it on the great seal of England goes back to William
Rufus. The publication of the Anglo-Saxon charters has shown that
the use of this style by our kings is al)ove a thousand years old, since
it is found in the genuine charters of Ethelbert of Kent, a.d. 605 ; Offa,
King of Mercia, a.d. 780 ; Coenwelf, a.d. 814 ; Egbert, a.d. 828, and
of many later Saxon kings. The " 13ei Gratia," however, was not in-
variable, for down to the tenth century the words " Dei dono,"
" divina providentia," " Christo donante," and other equivalents were
common in the ro3^al charters.
In Brequigny's collection of French charters we find that the
formula " Dei gratia " was not used by any of the Frankish monarchs
before King Pepin the Short, a.d. 752.
The Royal " We."— Coke, in his " Institutes " (2, p. 2), makes
these observations on the Magna Charta of Henry III : " Here, in this
Charta, both in the title and in divers parts of the body of the Charta,
the King speaketh in the plural number concessiimis ; the first King
that I read of before him that in his graunts wrote in the plural num-
l)er, was King John, father of our Henry 3 ; other Kings before him
wrote in the singular number ; they used J^fjo, and King John, and all
the Kings after him, nos." ft appears, liowever, from a charter of
Richard Coeur de Lion, that he was the Jirst monarch to assume this
style.
DiEU ET MON DROIT. — Tliis Avas thc parole of the day given by
Richard I. of England to his army at the battle of Gisors, in France.
In this battle tlie French were defeated, and in I'emcmbrauce of this
signal victory, he made it the motto of the roj'al arms of England, and
it has ever since been retained.
The Arms of England. — As the kingly office exalts a sovereign
prince above all other ranks of men, so are the royal arms of a
sovereign distinguished in a ])eculiar manner from all other heraldic
insignia. The distinction is clearly conveyed by the term " Arms of
Dominion." These arms thus symbolize thc royalty of a prince
regnant, as well as declare his personal individuality. Accordingly
these royal arms are inseparable from the rank and ofiice of royalty,
and they caiinot be borne without some differenge by any person
whatever except thc sovereign. The arms attributed to the Saxon
monarchs arc not sufiiciently authenticated, and even the authority
for ascribing distinctive arms to the Anglo-Norman kings rests
entirely on tradition. Space will not permit me to enter into details
of the various changes in the royal arms, which are fully described in
works on heraldry.
On thc accession of Queen Victoria thc royal arms of England were
FRAGMENT A REGALIA.
467
simply a combination of the insignia of tlie three realms of the
United Kingdom : England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Royal arms of England from the
tenth year of the reign of Edward
III. until the seventh year of the
reign of Henry IV.
Arms of England from the seventh
3'ear of Henry IV. until the ac-
cession of James I,
The lions of England are found to be habitually blazoned in
heraldry as leopards until the fifteenth century was far advanced ;
then, at length, the lion, whatever his attitude or his action, received
his true name, which he has retained
under all circumstances until our own
times. The earliest royal shield for
which we have contemporary authority
is that of Richard Coeur de Lion, bearing
three lions passant gardant (leopards in
jpale). Henry 11. on his marriage with
Eleanor of Aquitaine assumed a third
lion. It has been remarked that the lions
in the royal arms are all the insignia of
territories now lost to us ; the first be-
longs to Normandy, the second to Poictou
or Maine, the third to Aquitaine. Since
the time of Henry II. the three golden
lions upon a field of red have always
been held to be the royal arras of Eng-
land. They have been associated with other devices, but still, in a
peculiar sense, the three lions, passant gardant or, have been, as they
still are, the three lions of England.
The Unicorn, as a royal supporter, was introduced by James VI.
of Scotland, when he ascended the throne of England, on account of
the Scottish royal supporters being two unicorns rampant argent,
crowned with imperial, and gorged with antique crowns, with chains
afSxed to the latter, passing between their forelegs, and reflexed over
their backs, unguled, armed, and crined, all or ; the dexter one
embracing and bearing up a banner of gold charged with the royal
Royal arms from the accession of
James I. mitil the year 1707.
468
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
arms; the sinister, another banner azure, charged with the cross of
St. Andrew, argent. Queen Elizabeth had used as supporters, dexter,
a lion rampant gardant, crowned; and sinister, dragon rampant, both
or. IShe also used a ramjxuit gardant^ crowned, and a greyhound, both
or. James adopted as supporters, dexter, a lion rampant gardant,
crowned with the imperial crown, or ; sinister, a unicorn argent,
armed, crined, imgtded, gorged with a coronet composed of crosses
patees and fleurs-de-lys, a chain affixed thereto, passing between its
forelegs, and reflexed over the back, all or. These have been used
as the royal sup]wrters ever since their first adoption, with but one
exception, and that is in the seal of the Exchequer, time of Charles I.,
star of the Thistle.
where the supporters are an antelope and stag, both ducally collared
and chained.
The origin of the thistlk as the national badge of Scotland is
thus given on tradition. When the ]Xancs invaded Scotland, it was
deemed unwarlike to attack an enemy in the darkness of night,
instead of a pitched battle by day ; but on one occasion the invaders
resolved to avail themselves of stratagem ; and, in order to prevent
their tramp being heard, they marched barefooted. They had thus
neared the Scottish force unobserved, when a Dane imluckily stepped
on a thistle, and uttered a cry of pain, which discovered the assailants
to the Scots, who ran to their arms, and defeated the foe with
great slaughter. The thistle was then adopted as the insignia of
Scotland.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 469
[In Switzerland the Carduus Marianis, or blessed thistle, is said
to have obtained its white marks from the droppings of the Virgin's
milk.]
The Harp in the Arms of Ireland. — In the "Numismatic
Chronicle " (vol. iv. p. 205), it is suggested that Henry VIII., on being
presented by the pope with the harp of Brian Borhu, was induced to
change the arms of Ireland, by placing on her coins a representation
of the relic of her most celebrated native king.
The three crowns (found on the Irish coinage of Edward IV.,
Eichard III. and Henry VII.) were the armorial bearings of Ireland
from the reign of Kichard II. to that of Henry VIII.
In the " Polycronycon " we find, ** Though Scotlonde, the doughter
of Irlonde, use harpe, tymbre, and tabour, nethelesse Irysshe men be
counyng in two maner instrumentis of musyke, in harpe and tymbre
that is armed with wyre and strenges of bras. In whyche instrumentes
thoughe they playe hastely and swyftely, they make ryght mery
armonye and melodye with thycke tewnes, werbles, and notes."
The origin of the shamrock as the national emblem of Ireland
is thus related : One day St. Patrick was preaching at Tara. He was
anxious to explain the doctrines of the Holy Trinty. The people
failed to understand, and refused to believe that there could be three
Gods, and yet but one. The holy man paused a moment, absorbed in
thought, and seeing a shamrock peeping from the green turf exclaimed,
" Do you not see in this simple little wild flower how three leaves arc
united in one stalk ? " His audience understood without difficulty
this simple but yet striking illustration, to the inexpressible delight of
St. Patrick.
The Koses of England. — "The fatal colours of our striving houses."
According to historic tradition, those fatal badges of the contending
houses of York and Lancaster, " the pale and purple rose," were first
chosen during the momentous dispute, about 1450, between Somerset
and the Earl of Warwick, in the Temple Gardens, when Somerset, to
collect the suffrages of the bystanders, plucked a red rose, and
Warwick a white rose, and each called upon every man present to
declare his party by taking a rose of the colour chosen by him whose
cause he favoured.
The great national tragedy which ended in the extinction of the
royal line and name of Plantagenet was called from their badges, the
" War of the Roses." Thus, Shakspere, in " King Henry VI." —
*' This brawl to-day,
Grown to this faction, in the Temple Garden,
Shall send between the red rose and the white,
A thousand souls to death and deadly night."
When Henry VII. married Elizabeth of York, the rival houses
were blended, and the rose became the emblem of England.
The Royal Standard of England. — What is now called the
470 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
royal standard contains the royal arms, and is, properly speaking, ii
hanner, and not a standard. The national ensign, or Union Jack, is,
properly, the national hanner, and retains the ancient charge of the red
cross of St. George, though, unfortunately, not in its ancient sim-
plicity ; for, in violation of all heraldic principles, it has been so amalga-
mated with the saltire of St. Andrew for Scotland, and with that of
St. Patrick for Ireland, that the integrity of each has been entirely
destroyed.
The ORiFLAMME, enseif/ne de France, or, as it is called by some
\vriters, the " Banner of St. Denis," was, in olden times, the great standard
of France — the palladium of the country. It derived its name from
being made of scarlet silk, almost entirely covered with flames of gold.
It was about twelve feet in length, terminating in a point, divided
below, and affixed to the head of a long lance. This banner was
deposited in the abbey of St. Denis, and never taken from thence but
on the most important ex])editions, or on occasions of the greatest
national danger. Charles VI. raised the oriflamme no less than seven
times against his enemies. When on such exigencies recourse was had
to St. Denis, the custom was, first, to offer up prayers to the Virgin in
the church of Notre Dame at Paris ; from thence a procession was
formed to the abbey of St. Denis, where, after a solemn reception by
the abbot and monks, the chief persons in the procession descended,
bareheaded and Avithout girdles, into the subterranean vaults, where the
bodies of the holy martyrs lay interred and where the oriflamme was
also kept, Avhich being delivered by the Abbot of St. Denis into the king's
own hand, he presented it to the Count de Vexin, as the first vassal of
St. Denis, who carried it to the altar, where the king usually laid it him-
self. This ceremony was accompanied by many prayers and benedic-
tions. The standard-bearer appointed on this occasion was always a
knight of undoubted loyalty, courage, and discretion. Previously to
receiving this important charge, according to an invariable custom, he
confessed his sins,[obtained absolution, received the Eucharist, and took
a solemn oath at the altar to be faithful to his trust, and never suffer
it to be torn from his hands but with the loss of life. It was lost,
however, during the reign of Ciiarles VI. at the battle of Eosbec, or, as
tradition says, was burnt with Joan of Arc at the funeral pyre.
The legendary history of the fleurs-de-lys relates to the days of
King Clovis of France, whose wife, the pious Clotilda, having by her
l)rayers secured victory to her husband at the critical point of a great
battle, he became a Christian, and was baptized by St. Ixemi. Ou
this occasion, owing to a vision of Clotilda, the lilies were substituted
in the arms of France for the three frogs, or toads (crapaiids), which
Clovis had formerly borne on his shield. In the famous Bedford
IMissal, presented to Henry VI. when he was crowned Iving of France,
lliis legend, with appropriate and significant flattery, is introduced in
a beautiful miniature. An angel receives in heaven the celestial lilies,
descends to earth, and presents them to St. Remi, who receives them
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 471
reverently in a napkin, and delivers them to Clotilda. Lower down in
the picture she bestows the emblazoned shield on her husband.
Similar tales have been related as to the origin of the fleur-de-lys
in connection with the French royal family. The emblem was dis-
carded by Napoleon, and finally discontinued by Louis Philippe.
It has been suggested whether the fieur-de-lys, the origin of which
Montfaucon even ascribes to the time of Theodosius the Great, in the
fifth century or before, is not of much higher antiquity, and that the
figure, very perfectly sculptured, was a common ornament in the head-
dresses of the Egyptian sphinxes. Planche mentions that this decora-
tion is seen on Roman monuments, and also on the top of a sceptre or
sword-hilt from the earliest periods of the French monarchy. Montagu
•considers the iris as the type.
The introduction of the fleur-de-lys by our English monarchs, and
the alteration from f,emee, or of an indefinite number, to three, extends
from Edward IIL, who did this in right of his mother, a daughter of
the King of France, as well for the purpose of showing his claim to the
throne of that kingdom, as to that of Henry V., who, in
imitation of his contemporary, Charles VL, reduced the
fleurs-de-lys to three, as they were afterw^ards borne on
the accession of the house of Hanover.
The fleur-de-lys, as a national badge of England,
was very properly discontinued by royal proclamation,
January 1, 1801.
The Royal Touch. — Stow, in his " Annals," gives Fieur^e-iys.
the origin of the miraculous virtues of the royal touch
from the Latin account by Alfred, Abbot of Rievaulx : '' A certain
woman, married, but without children, had a disease about her jawes,
iind under her cheeke, like imto kernels, which they termed akornes,
and this disease so corrupted her face with stench, that shee coulde
scarce without shame speake to any man. This woman was ad-
monished in her sleepe, to goe to King Edwarde, and get him to washe
her face with water, and shee shoulde bee whole. To the Court
shee came ; and the King hearing of this matter, disdained not to doe
it ; having a basin of water brought unto him, hee dipped his hand
therein, and washed the womanne's face, and touched the diseased
place ; and this hee did often times, sometimes also signing it with
the signe of the Crosse, which after hee hadde thus washed it, the
hard crust or skinne was softened, and dissolved; and drawing his
hand \)y divers of the holes, out of the kernels came little wormes,
whereof they were full with corrupt matter and blood, the King still
pressed it with his handes to bring forth the corruption, and disdained
not to suffer the stench of the disease, untill hee hadde brought forth
all the corruption with pressing : this done hee commanded her a
sufficient allowance every day for all things necessary, untill she hadd
received perfect health, which was within a weeke after. . . . Although
this thing seeme strange yet the Normans saj^ed that hee often did the
like in his youth, when he was in Normandy."
472 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
It does not appear that Edward the Confessor knew of this gift
before, but he continued to use it ever after, and his successors followed
him in the practice. Dr. Plot, in his " Natural History of Oxford-
shire," gives a drawing of the touch-piece supposed to have been given
by Edward the Confessor. The ribbon, he says, was white.
Voltaire says that William the Conqueror was affirmed to have
this gift of Heaven, but it does not appear that he ever exercised it.
Probably it did not extend to usurpers, so that it must have slept durinj;
all the wars between the houses of York and Lancaster, till resumed by
Henry VII. This king touched for the evil, as the religious ceremonials
used upon these occasions, such as prayers, benedictions, suffrages, etc.,
during his reign, are to be found, not only in manuscripts in the
British Museum, but were afterwards printed by order of James 11.
(1686). Another proof arises from charges made for pieces of money
delivered for this purpose in that reign. In the eighteenth year of
Henry VII. we find a disbursement of 20s. made by John Heron " for
heling 3 seke folks," and again, " 13s. 4f?. for heling 2 seke folks."
From these sums it is evident that the touch-pieces given were nobles,
or 6s. 8c?. in value. In the ceremonial the king crossed the sore of
the sick person with an angel-nohJe. Fabian Philips (" Treatise on
Purveyance ") states that the angels issued by the kings of England
on these occasions amounted to a charge of three thousand pounds
per annum. That Queen Elizabeth exercised the healing touch is
acknowledged, but it is as evident she had no high opinion of its
efficacy. Being on a progress in Gloucestershire, she was so pestered
with applications from diseased people, who pressed about her person
in hopes of obtaining the royal touch, that she ill-humouredly ex-
claimed, " Alas, poor people, I cannot cure you ; it is God alone who
can do it!" The queen, however, afterwards admitted a general
resort to her for the pur^wsc of being touched. James I. claimed
the royal privilege. In " Macbeth," answering a question of Macduff,
Malcolm says —
" 'Tis called the evil ;
A most miraculous work in this good king,
Which often, since my here-remain in England,
I've seen him do. How ho solicits Heaven,
Himself best knows; but strangely visited people,
All swoH'n and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye,
Tlio more despair of surgery, he cures ;
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks,
Put on with holy prayers."
Holinshed's Chronicle is Shakspere's authority, but by referring to the
]>assage it will be seen that the poet has mixed up in his description
the practice of his own times.
In the State Paper Office there are preserved no less than eleven
proclamations issued in the reign of Charles I. respecting the touching
for tiie king's evil. In the troubled times of his reign lie had not
always gold to bestow, for which reason silver was substituted. Mr.
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 473
Wiseman, who was principal surgeon to Charles II. after the Eestora-
tion, says, " I myself have been a frequent eye-witness of many
hundreds of cures performed by his Majesty's touch alone, without
any assistance from chirurgery." The number of cases seem to have
increased after the Restoration, as many as six hundred at a time
having been touched, the days appointed for it being sometimes thrice
a week. In the first four years of his restoration he touched nearly
twenty-four thousand persons.
Evelyn, in his " Diary," March 28, 1684, says, " There was so great
a concourse of people with their children to be touched for the evil,
that six or seven were crushed to death by pressing at the chirurgeon's
door for tickets."
The ceremony of touching was continued by James II. In the
" Diary " of Bishop Cartwright, date August 27, 1687, Ave read, " I was
at his Majesty's levee ; from whence at nine o'clock I attended him
into the closet, where he healed three hundred and fifty persons.'*
James touched for the evil while at the French court. William III.
never performed the ceremony.
Queen Anne seems to have been the last of the English sovereigns
who actually performed the ceremony of touching. l)r. Dicken, her
Majesty's sergeant-surgeon, examined all the persons who were brought
to her, and bore witness to the certainty of some of the cures. Dr.
Johnson, in Lent, 1712, was amongst the persons touched by the
queen. He was but thirty months old when he was thus treated.
Carte (" History of England," vol. i. p. 367, note) appears to have been
not only a believer in the eEBciency of the royal touch, but in its
transmission in the hereditary royal line ; and to prove that the virtue
of the touch was not owing to the consecrated oil used at the corona-
tion, as some thought, he relates an instance of a person who had
been cured by the Pretender.
A form of prayer to be used at the ceremony was originally printed
on a separate sheet, but was introduced into the Book of Common
Prayer as early as 1684. It appears in the editions of 1707 and 1709.
It was altered in the folio edition at Oxford, in 1715, by Baskett.
Previous to the time of Charles II. no particular coin appears to
have been executed for the purpose of being given at the touching.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the small gold coin called the angel
seems to have been used. The touch-pieces of Charles II. are not
imcommon, and specimens belonging to his reign, and of the reigns of
James II. and Queen Anne, may be seen at the British Museum. They
have figures of St. Michael and the dragon on one side and a ship on
the other. A piece in the British Museum has on one side a hand
descending from a cloud towards four heads, with " He touched them "
round the margin, and on the other side a rose and a thistle, with
" And they were healed."
The French claim a more ancient exercise of the royal touch than
our English antiquaries. Laurentius, first physician to Henry IV., in
his work " De Mirabili Strumas Sanando " (Paris, 1609), derives the
practice of touching for the king's evil from Clovis (a.d. 481), and says
474 CROW.VS AND COROXATIONS.
that Louis I., in 814, also performed the ceremony with success.
Philip de Comines, speaking of Louis XL when he was ill at Forges,
near Chignon, in 1480, says, " He had not much to say, for he was
shriven not long before, because the kings of France used always to
confess themselves when they touch those that are sick of the king's
evil, which he never failed to do once a week."
If, as asserted, the French kings possessed the divine gift sooner
than our English sovereigns, it certainly lasted longer, for George I.
liad the good sense not to pretend to it, whilst the French kings kept
up the farce at least until 1775, though with some address in the
words spoken by the king : " Le roi te touche, Dieu te guerisse." The
French kings gave alms on the occasion, but there is no mention of
particular pieces. The practice of the royal touch appears to have
been confined to coronations in France.
CRAMr-RiNCxS. — The blessing of cramp-rings by the sovereigns of
England is believed to have taken its rise in the efficacy for that disease
supposed to reside in a ring of Edward the Confessor, which used to
be kept in "Westminster Abbey. There can be no doubt that the
belief in the medical power of the cramp-ring was once as faithfully
held as any medical maxim whatever. The ceremonies of blessing
the cramp-rings on Good Friday were of a solemn and important
character. The late Cardinal Wiseman possessed a manuscript con-
taining the service on this occasion, as also that for the royal touch.
At the commencement of the manuscript are emblazoned the arms of
Philip and Mary. The first ceremony is headed, " Certain prayers to
be used by the Queue's Ileighnes in the Consecration of the Cramp-
rynges." Accompanying it is an illumination, representing the queen
kneeling, with a dish, containing the rings to be blessed, on each side
of her. In Burnet (vol. ii. p. 2GG of " Records ") there is the whole
Latin formula of the consecration of the cramp-rings. The king went
through the ceremony of blessing the rings on Good Friday. Coming
in state to his chapel, he found a crucifix laid upon a cushion, and a
carpet spread on the ground before it. The monarch crei)t along the
carpet to the crucifix, as a token of his humility, and there blessed the
rings in a silver basin, kneeling all the time, with his almoner kneeling
also beside him. After this was done tlie queen and her ladies came
in, and likewise crept to the cross.
Tlie rings were blessed with an invocation to the God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, and signed frequently with the cross. In the last
benediction the prayer was made " that the rings might restore con-
tracted nerves." A psalm of benediction followed, and a prayer against
the frauds of devils. This ceremonial was ])ractised by previous
sovereigns, and discontinued by Edward YI. Queen Mary intended
to revive it, and in all probability did so, from the manuscript to
which I have alluded as having belonged to the late Cardinal Wiseman.
The superstitious belief in the efficacy of crami)-riugs was by no
means confined to the ignorant and uneducated classes; even Lord
Pernors, ambassador to the Emperor Charles V., writing to " my Lord
FRAGMENTA REGALIA,
475
Chancellor's Grace'" from Saragossa (June 30, 1518), says, "If your
Orace remember me with some crampe-ryngs, ye shall doe a thing
muche looked for, and I trust to bestowe theyme
<-' ^YLl^^'^*^ well, with Goddes grace, who evermore preserve
and increase your most reverent estate."
Bishop Gardiner in 1529 received a number
of cramp-rings to be dis-
tributed among the English
embassage to the pope, " the
royal fingers pouring such
JiiiTHn:---i^iiJiji>^ virtue into the metal that
no disorder could resist it."
Silver cramp-riug.
Lead cramp-ring.
Crowns of various materials. — Crowns have been composed of
almost every substance, from the first simple bandage of vine, oak, and
other leaves, such as we see upon the medals of the Ptolemies and the
kings of Syria, to the gold, jewels, helmet, and ermine which, in more
modern times, have been employed in their composition. When
vegetable crowns were in use among the ancients, Timoleon was nearly
causing a mutiny in his army, because he took it into his head to
cover the outside of it with leaves of parsley ; his soldiers having a
predilection for those of the pine or pitch tree. Dean Swift, in his
IDarallel between ancient extravagance and modern parsimony, values
the laurel crown at three halfpence.
The Greek princes sometimes appear on their coins crowned with
the laurel, crowns of which were presented as a token of victory by the
Greeks to the victorious athletce, or those who contended in the
Olympic games.
The highest and most honourable reward among the Romans was
the corona civica, composed of oaken boughs, and given to him who
had saved the life of a Roman citizen, whence it had the inscription,
" Ob ciueni servatum" It was presented by the person who had been
saved, to his deliverer, except in the time of the empire, when the
emperors presented it themselves. The possession of the civic crown
was attended with particular honours. The recipients had the
privilege of wearing it at all the public spectacles, as a mark of
distinction.
There were other crowns of honourable dignity. The corona
obsidionalis was made of the grass growing in a besieged place, and
presented by the soldiers to the general who relieved them by raising
the siege.
The corona triumplialis was originally the crown of laurel, but in
after aoes it was made of gold.*
* Petrarch was crowned with the laurel crown at Rome (April 8,
1341). The poet and the senators of Rome were ignorant that the
laurel was not the Capitoline, but the Delphic crown.
The ceremony was performed by his friend and patron, the supreme
476 CROIVXS AXD COROAATIOXS.
This crown designated the possession of distinguished merit and
bravery. Thus, it was the custom of the allies of the Eoman
republic, who ascribed their safety or deliverance to the success of
Roman arms, and even the cities of Italy, who admired the virtues of
magistrate of the I'epublic. Twelve patrician youths were an-ayed in
scarlet'; six representatives of the most illustrious families, in green robes,
■with garlands of flowers, accompanied the procession ; in the midst of
princes and nobles, the senator, Count Orso, of Anguillara, a kinsman
of Colonna, assumed his throne ; and at the voice of a herald, Petrarch
arose. After discoui'sing on a text of Virgil, and thrice repeating his
vows for the prosperity of Rome, he knelt before the throne, and received
from the senator a laurel crown, with a more precious declaration,
" This is the i-eward of merit." The people shouted " Long life to the
Capitol and the ])oet ! " A sonnet in praise of Rome was accepted as
the effusion of genius and gratitude, and after the whole procession had
visited the Vatican, the wreath -was suspended before the shrine of St.
Peter. In the act or diploma presented to Petrarch, among other
privileges was that of wearing at his choice a crown of holly, ivy, or
myrtle.
The belief that Virgil and Horace had been crowned at the Capitol
inflamed the emulation of Petrarch, and the laurel was endeared to him
by a verbal resemblance to the name of his mistress.
The curious formida used at the coronation of Petrarch has been
preserved : " We, Count and Senator, for us and our college, declare
Francis Petrarch great poet and historian ; and for a special mark of his
quality of poet, we have placed with our hands on his head a crown of
laurel, granting to him by the tenor of these presents, and by the authority
of King Robert, of the senate and the people of Rome, in the poetic as
the historic art, and generally whatsoever relates to the said arts, as
well in this holy city as elsewhere, our free and entire power of reading,
disputing, and interpreting all ancient books, to make now ones, and
compose poems, icliich, God assistincj, shall endure from age to age."
Very difiierent to the well-merited ovation to Petrarch was the gift
of the laurel crown to Voltaire, a desecration that ought never to have
occurred. At the entrance of the cynic into the theatre, where it was
intended by the Parisians to surprise him, ho was seated betweeix
Madame Denis and Madame de Villetto. Brisard, an actor, approached
to place the crown on his head. Voltaire exclaimed affectedly, "Ah
Dieu ! vous voulez done me faire mourir," at the same time weeping
with joy. An actress, holding a paper, repeated with an emphasis pro-
portionate to the extravagance of tho whole scene, some silly verses, one
of which was : —
" Voltaire, receive the crown
That has just been offered ;
It is glorious to merit such distinction
When it is France that gives it."
When ho returned homo, ho protested that ho had not the slightest
idea that such honours would have boon conferred upon him, or he would
not havo gone to the play. He died in the month following.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 477
their victorious general, to adorn the pomp of his triumph by their
voluntary gifts of crown of gold, which, after the ceremony, were con-
secrated in the temple of Jupiter, to remain a lasting monument of his
glory to future ages. Thus, the triumph of Caesar was enriched with
2822 massive crowns, whose weight amounted to 20,414 pounds of
gold. This treasure, however, was immediately melted down by the
prudent dictator, as more serviceable to the soldiers than the gods — an
example imitated by his successors.
This custom was derived from the Greeks. The oration of Demo-
sthenes is well known, the subject of which is the golden crown decreed
to him by his fellow-citizens and opposed by vEschines.
Virgil represents the Emperor Antonine saying —
" Tarchon, the Tuscan chief, to mo has sent
The crown and every regal ornament."
The corona castrensis or vallaris was a gold crown given to the
soldier who first mounted a rampart or entered the camp of the enemy.
The corona muralis, also of gold, was given to him who first scaled
the walls of a city in an assault, and therefore it bore some resem-
blance to a wall. The corona navalis or rostrata was adorned with
figures similar to the beaks of ships. It was given to the first boarder
of an enemy's ship, or to one who otherwise distinguished himself in
a naval engagement.
It was a custom, as it is in some Northern nations at present, for
new-married people to wear crowns at their wedding. Crowns were
likewise worn at feasts, and were composed of herbs that had the
quality of refreshing and strengthening the brain.
These crowns were not regulated by law but by usage, as also the
corona sacerdotalis, worn by the priests and bystanders when engaged
in sacrifice, with the exception of the ponUfex maximus. It was
sometimes of olive leaves or ears of corn, or of gold. The corona
funebris or sepulchralis, with which the dead was crowned, was a
custom that prevailed both among the Greeks and Komans. A law
of the Twelve Tables provided that if any one had been crowned while
living, the crown should be placed on his head when carried out for
burial. Crowns were also placed on the bier and scattered from the
windows under which the procession passed. The corona nuptialis, or
bridal wreath, was made of flowers plucked by the bride herself, and
not bought, which was considered a bad omen. Amongst the Romans
it was made of verbena. The corona natalitia was a chaplet sus-
pended over the door of the vestibule of the house in whi(;h a child
was born. At Athens, when the infant was male, the crown was made
of olive ; when female, of wool. At Rome it was of laurel, ivy, or
parsley.
The corona ovalis was given to a commander who obtained only
an ovation. It was made of myrtle.
According to Pliny ('• Nat. Hist.," xxi. 8, 10) the Romans scarcely
used any flowers for crowns but violets and roses, and these crowns
478 CROWXS AXD C0R0XA710NS.
were not onlj^ for the honour of the gods and the JareSy public and
private, but also sepulcrorum et manium.
Bridal Crowns. — A diadem, circle, or fillet of gold and precious
stones was worn by the Jewish bridegroom at his marriage. This
custom is of high antiquity. In Canticles we read, " Go forth, 0 ye
daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown where-
with his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals."
In the Greek Church the marriage crowns ^were formerly of
flowers and shrubs, but silver ones are now kept for the purpose in the
churches.
In the marriages of the Maronites, in Sj'ria, the bishop puts a
crown first on the bridegroom's head, after which on the bride;
the bridesman and the bridesmaid are crowned in the same manner.
Crowns form a distinguishing feature in the Russian Imperial
marriage usages. At the marriage of the Princess Dagmar of Denmark
to the present Czar of Russia, in 1866, in a certain part of the service
the bride and bridegroom stepped forward from the circle of the
imperial family, and having been conducted by the emperor to a raised
dais, joined in the prayer of the metropolitan, after which two younger
princes of the blood approached, and held above the heads of the
bridal pair the marriage crowns peculiar to the ortliodox ritual. They
resemble in shape and size the episcopal tiaras, and are of silver wire,
or some such material, interwoven with silk. '
At the marriage of his Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh to
the Czarevna in 1874, the crowns were held by Prince Arthur (Duke
of Connaught) and the Grand Duke Vladimir. The metropolitan pre-
sented the crown to the bride to be kissed, and for an instant touched
her brow with the royal emblem. After an appeal to the Almighty to
crown the pair with His honour and glory, the priest said, " Thou hast
put crowns of precious stones upon their heads ; they asked life of
Thee and Thou gavest them long life; Thou shalt give them the
blessing of eternal life, and make them glad with the joy of Thy
countenance."
In imperial weddings, and indeed in those of the higher classes,
the marriage couples do not wear the crowns until the end of the
ceremony.
In the Museum of Antiquities at Copenhagen are exhibited the
crowns of the Northern brides, ancient Icelamlic, modern Icelandic,
ancient and modern Norwegian and Swedish ; all of silver gilt and of
very curious workmanshi[). These crowns are usually heirlooms in
wealthy families or the property of the parish. Each crown has its
history. This bridal ornament, however, is not always required. Pure
and si)otless must be the reputation of the maiden who durst appear
and challenge the scandals of her village neighbours, and reckless is
the girl who would clothe herself in unmerited plumage ; the bridal
crown and veil may be torn from her head by the indignant
bystanders.
Chaucer, in his "Clerke of Oxenfordcs Prologue," introduces
FRAGMENT A REGALIA.
479
I
Grisyld, a " verray faithful mayde, dressed out for her wedding." The
wreath or " coroun " is mentioned : —
" Hir heeres han they kemjDt, that lay untressed
Ful rudely, and with hire fyngres smale
A coroun on hir heed they bani-dressed,
And set hir ful of nowches gret and smale."
Crowns used by brides are mentioned by Leland (vol. v. p. 332),
Polydore Virgil, and in Brand's " Popular Antiquities " (vol. ii. p. 123).
The KiNGS-OF-ARMS in our country enjoy the privilege in court
ceremonials of wearing, for
distinction of their high office,
a croiun, with other official
badges. They were formerly
created by the sovereign, with
great solemnity, upon the
occasion of some high festi-
val ; but since the ceremonies
used, at the creation of peers
have been laid aside, the
king-of-arms has been cre-
ated by the earl marshal, by
virtue of the sovereign's war-
rants. Upon this occasion he
takes his oath ; wine is poured
upon his head out of a gilt cup
with a cover ; his title is pro-
nounced, and he is invested
with a tabart of the royal
arms richly embroidered upon
velvet, a collar of SS. with
two portcullises of silver gilt,
a gold chain with a badge of
his office, and the earl mar-
shal places on his head a
crown of a king-of-arms, which
formerly resembled a ducal
bonnet, but since the Eesto-
ration it has been adorned
with sixteen leaves, resem-
bling those of the oak, and
inscribed, according to an-
cient customs, with the words,
"Miserere mei Deus secun-
dum magnam misericordiam
tuam." Garter has also a
Earliest portrait of a king-of-arms,
WiUiam Bruges, created in 1420.
mantle of crimson satin, as an officer of the order, with a white rod, or
sceptre, with the sovereign's arms on the top, which he bears in the
48o
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
presence of the sovereign,* and he is sworn in a chapter of the Garter,
the sovereign investing him with the ensigns of his office. Garter
Crown of Sir William Dugdale,
Garter principal king-of-arms.
Modern crown of king-of-
arms.
was instituted by Henry V. in 1417, for the service of the most noble
order of tlie Garter, and for the dignity of that order he was made
sovereign within the office of arms, over all the other officers, subject
star of the Garter.
to the crown of England, by the name of Garter king-of-arms of
England. It is his duty to go next before the sword in solemn proces-
* It may fairly bo presumed, says Plaiiche, that the sceptre of the
kinf^-of-arms in its modern form dates from tlic accession of James I.,
as it first ap})ears in a i)rint cn<j^ravc(l circa KUO ; and it is probable, also,
tliat tho form of the crown or coronet of tlio kinf^s-of-arms was altered,
and deliuitively settled, subsequeut to that period.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 481
sions, none interposing except the marshal. He bears his white rod,
with a banner of the ensign of the order tliereon, before the sovereign.
The others are called provincial kings, and their provinces together
comprise the whole kingdom of England, that of Clarencieux (named
from the Duke of Clarence, the third son of King Edward III.) com-
prehending all to the south of the river Trent, and that of Norroy (or
North Roy, i.e. north king) all to the north of that river. The kings-
of-arms are distinguished from each other by their respective badges.
Garter's being blue, and the provincials purple.*
The crowns were, anciently, of gold, or silver, or copper gilt, but
no jewels were allowed in them, except rubies, expressive, as it is
thought, of faithfulness.
The crown has a cap turned up ermine, and is surmounted by a
golden tassel.
Kings-of-arms of Ireland had been as early as the reign of
Richard II.
In Scotland the king-of-arms was held in special honour. Sir
Walter Scott in " Marmion " alludes to the cliief Scottish herald. Lord
Lyon, king-of-arms, in the mission sent by James IV. to greet
Marmion on his entering that country : —
" So bright the king's armorial coat,
That scarce the dazzled eye could note
In living colours blazoned brave
The Lyon which his title gave.
* * * * *
Sir David Lindesay of the Mount,
Lord Lyon, King-of-Arms."
Sir Walter Scott says that the inauguration of a king-of-arms was
the mimicry of a royal coronation, except that the unction was made
with wine instead of oil. In Scotland a namesake and kinsman of Sir
David Lindesay was crowned by King James with the ancient crown
of Scotland, which was used before the Scottish kings assumed a close
crown, and, on occasion of the same solemnity, dined at the king's
table, wearing the crown. It is probable that the coronation of his
predecessor was not less solemn. This was down to the middle of the
sixteenth century.
* The wand or rod borne by the ancient heralds appears to have
signified their office as marshals, and the collar of SS. their status as
members of the sovereign's household. Those of the three kings-of-
arms are of silver gilt. The badges appended to them originally dis-
played only the armorial bearings of their respective offices, but in the
seventeenth century permission was granted to impale with them their
family arms. Various alterations took place in the collar, which was
composed of SS. only. The portcullis was introduced into those worn
by judges, etc., in the time of the Tudors, of whom it was a family
badge, but not into those of the heralds. The pendant of the combined
rose, thistle, and shamrock was added subsequently to the union of the
three kingdoms.
2i
482 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Chamberlayne, in his " Magnec Britannije Notitia " (1726), states that
the College of Akms received the first charter of incorporation from
Richard III., who gave them for the residence and assenibHno; of the
heralds, Fonlteney's Inn, "a righte faire and stately house in Cold-
harbour. 'J'hey were dispossessed of this property by Henry VII.,
when the}'^ removed to the Hospital of Our Lady of Rounceval, at
('haring Cross, where now stands \lately stoocV] Northumberland
House. They next removed to Derby or Stanley House, on St. Benet's
Hill, granted by Queen Mary, July 18, 1555, to Sir Gilbert Dethick,
Garter Kinii-of-Arms, and to the other Heralds and Pursuivants-at-
Arms, and their successors. The service of the Pursuivants, and of the
Heralds, and of the whole College is used in marshalHn<j; and ordering
Coronations, Marriages, Christenings, Funerals, Interviews, Feasts of
Kings and Princes, Cavalcades, Shows, Justs, Tournaments, Combats,
before the Constable and Marshal, &c. Also the}'- take care of the
coats of Arms, and the Genealogies of the Nobility and Gentry."*
Belonging to the Barber-Surgeons' Company are four garlandsy with
which the master and wardens are crowned on election day. The
master's crown is a cap of crimson velvet, mounted in a hoop of foliage
of oak branches and acorns, of silver parcel gilt, and in which are
shields bearing the arms with the supporters of the company, also the
Tudor rose crowned. The wardens' garlands are two of crimson, and
one of green satin, but on the mountings of silver are shields bearing
the arms only, without supporters, and on one garland is the motto,
" De PiiiEsciENTiA Dei."
The master and wardens of the Carpenters' Company have also
fom' garlands. The cap of the master is dated 1561.
TimoNES. — The allusions to thrones in the Holy Scriptures are
numerous. That of Solomon is fully described : " Moreover the king
made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The
throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind ; and
there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions
stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side
* In the gallciy over the library in the Heralds' College are to be
seen the sword and dagger which belonged to the unfortunate James V.
of Scotland, who died at Flodden. The sword-hilt lias been enamelled,
and still shows traces of gilding, wliich has once been red-wet witli the
Southron's blood ; and the dagger is a strong and serviceable weapon, as
no doubt many an English archer and billman that day felt. The
heralds show also the plain torquoiso ring, which, tradition says, the
French queen sent James, begging him to ride a foray in Eugland.
Scott, in his *' Marmion," says —
" The fair Queen of Franco
Sent him a torquoisc ring and glove,
And charged him, as lier knight and love.
For her to break a lauee."
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 483
and on the other upon the 'six steps ; there was not the like made in
any kingdom." * Archelaus addressed the multitude from " an elevate-d
seat and a throne of gold." A throne became the emblem of regal
power.
Layard, in his account of the Assyrian bas-reliefs at Nineveh,
describes the king's throne and footstool in the north-west palace, Nim-
roud : *' The throne, or rather stool, for it had neither back nor arms, was
tastefully carved, and adorned with the heads of rams ; the legs of the
footstool terminated in lions' paws. They may have been of wood, or
copper, inlaid with ivory and other precious materials, or of solid gold
like the tables and couches in the temple of Belus at Babylon."
The late Mr. George Smith, in his " Assyrian Discoveries," mentions
that during his excavations in Sennacherib's palace, he discovered
several portions of a throne in rock crystal. This, so far as preserved,
was similar in shape to the bronze throne found by Layard at Nimroud.
The throne is beautifully turned and polished.
"Assyrian thrones and chairs," observes the Rev. Mr. Rawlinson,
" were very elaborate. The throne of Sennacherib exhibited on its sides
and arms three rows of carved figures, one above another, supporting
the bars with their hands. The bars, the arms, and the back were
patterned. The legs ended in a pine-shaped ornament, very common
in Assyrian furniture. Over the back was thrown an embroidered
cloth, frineed at the end, which hung down nearly to the floor. A
throne of Sargon's was adorned on its sides with three human fiiiures,
apparently representations of the king, below which was the war-horse
of the monarch, comparisoned as for battle. Another throne of the
same monarch had two large and four small figures of men at the side,
while the back was supported on either side by a human figure of
superior dimensions."
The throne of the monarchs of ancient Persia was an elevated seat
with a high back, but without arms, cushioned and ornamented with
a fringe, and with mouldings and carvings about the legs. The
ornamentation consisted, chiefly, of balls and broad rings, and contained
little that was artistic or elaborate. The legs, however, terminated in
* In the Book of Esther (Talmud) we read : " And it came to pass
in the days of Ahasaerus, that jhe desired to sit upon the throne of
Solomon, the magnificent throne of Solomon, which had been carried
from Jerusalem to Egypt by Sheshak, the King of Egypt. From his
hands it passed to Sennacherib, the King of Assyria ; from him was it
returned to Hezekiah, and again carried away by Pharaoh Nechoh of
Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babel, wrenched it from the
possession of Pharaoh, and when Cyrus, the King of Media, con-
quered the land of Persia, the throne was brought to Shushan, and
passed into the possession of Aliasuerus. But he had a new throne
made for himself. He sent artisans to Alexandria, and they were two
years making for him his throne.
" In the third year of his reign, the King Ahasuerus sat on his own
tlu'one, and Solomon's throne was not used any more."
484 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
lions' feet, resting upon half balls, which were ribbed or fluted. The
sides of the chair, below the seat, appeared to have been panelled, like
the thrones of the Assyrians, but were not adorned with any carving.
The seat of the throne was very high from the ground, and without a
rest the legs would have dangled ; a footstool, consequently, was
provided, which was plain like the throne, but was supported by legs
terminating in the feet of bulls. Thus the lion and the bull, sa
frequent in the symbolism of the East, were here again brought
together, being represented as the sui:)ports of the throne.
With regard to the material of which the throne was composed,
there can be no doubt it was something splendid and costly. Late
writers describe it as made of pure gold, but as we hear of its having
silver feet, we may presume that parts, at least, were of the less precious
metal. Ivory is not said to have been used in its composition. We
may, ])erhaps, conjecture that the frame of the throne was wood, and
that this was overlaid with plates of gold and silver. The throne of
Cyrus the Younger is said to have been in part gold, and in part silver.
The golden throne of the monarch stood under an embroidered canopy,
or awning, supported by four pillars of gold, inlaid with precious stones.
The court of the Sassanian kings, especially in the later part of
the empire, was arranged upon a scale of almost unexampled grandeur
and magnificence. The robes worn by the great king were beautifully
embroidered, and covered with gems and pearls, which in some
representations may be counted by hundreds. The royal crov\'n, which
could not be worn, but Avas hung from the ceiling by a gold chain,
exactly over the head of the king when he took his seat in the throne-
room, is said to have been adorned with a thousand pearls, each as
large as an egg. The throne itself was of gold, and was supported on
four feet, each formed of a single enormous ruby. The great throne-
room was ornamented with enormous columns of silver, between which
were hangings of rich silk or brocade. The vaulted roof presented to
the eye rei)resentations of the heavenly bodies — the sun, the moon,
and the stars; while globes, probably of crystal or of burnished metal,
hung suspended from it at various heights, lighting up the dark space
as with a thousand lustres.
llepresentatious of the Persian throne are found on the Persepolitan
monuments. In general character it seems to have resembled the
Assyrian ; but it was less elaborate, and further distinguished from the
Assyrian by a marked difference in almost all the details.
(Sitting upon the king's throne is said to have been an offence
punishable with death in Persia.
^ir liobert Ker Porter, in the account of his travels in the East,
describes the throne of the shahs of Persia (a work of the seventeenth
century, constructed for Abbas the Great, who held his court at
Ispahan) as of pure white marble carpeted with shawls and cloth of
gold, on which the king sat in the fashion of his country, his back
suj)] oited by a large cushic>n, encased in a network of pearls. The
spacious apartment in which it was erected was oj^en in front, and
supported by two twisted columns of while marble, iluted with gold.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA, 485
The interior was profusely decorated with carving, gilding, arabesque
paintings, and looking-glass, which latter material was interwoven with
all other ornaments, gleaming and glittering in every part from the
vaulted roof to the floor.
The throne, towards the close of the last century, when Teheran
became the capital, was removed there with other treasures, and
appears to be kept rather as a relic of past magnificence than for actual
use at the present time. The throne of the sovereign now ruling in
Persia is described as very spacious, with a splendid carpet fringed
with tens of thousands of pearls ; the bolster on which the shah rests
his back or arm also being richly embroidered with pearls. Behind
his head is a sun glittering with jewels, supported at the two corners
by birds in plumage of the same costly material.
The thrones of some Eastern potentates were of extraordinary
richness. We are told of Guatama Buddha, that on his first visit to
Ceylon he converted the Nagas, and settled a dispute between two of
their princes, wlio made an offering to him of the throne composed
of gold, inlaid with precious stones, which had been the original cause
of their quarrel.
Benjamin of Tudela (a.d. 1161) mentions the throne of the Emperor
Manuel in his palace at Constantinople, *'as of gold and ornamented with
precious stones ; a golden crown hangs over it, suspended on a chain
of the same material, the length of which exactly admits the Emperor
to sit under it. This crown is ornamented with precious stones of
inestimable value. Such is the lustre of these diamonds, that even
without any other light, they illumine the room in which they are
kept."
The throne of the ancient Kandian monarclis resembled an old
armchair. It was about five feet high in the back, three in
breadth, and two in depth. The frame was of wood, covered with
gold sheeting, studded with jewels. The most prominent features in
this curious relic were two golden lions or sphinxes, forming the arms
of the throne, of uncouth appearance, but beautifully wrought, the
heads of the animals being turned outwards in a peculiarly graceful
manner. The eyes were formed of entire amethysts, each rather larger
than a musket-ball. Inside the back, near the top, was a large golden
sun, from which the founder of the Kandian monarchy was supposed
to have derived his origin. Beneath, about the centre of the chair,
and in the midst of some sunflowers, was an immense amethyst about
the size of a large walnut.
The department of antiquities in the Bibliotheque Nationale of
France has lately received an interesting addition of what is known as
the throne or chair of Dagoherty King of the Franks (died 638). All the
Carlovingian kings of France were seated in this chair when they
received the oaths of their vassals. This curious historic relic
remained for many years in the abbey of St. Denis, but after the
suppression of that abbey in 1793, it passed to the Palais Royal.
Napoleon I. borrowed it for the purpose of distributing the first
<lecorations of the Legion of Honour at his camp at Boulogne in 1804,
486 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
bat it does not appear to have been used by any of the later French
sovereigns. It is of bronze, gilt, and artistically ornamented. In the
twelfth century it was considered the work of the fomous 8t. Eloi, the
friend and minister of King Dagobert, but modern archaeologists are
inclined to think that some portions of the chair, probably in the shape
of repairs, are of later date.
In the Kremlin at Moscow, with other gorgeous paraphernalia of
imperial regalia, are four objects of remarkable archaeological interest —
the ancient throne of the czars, and three other chairs. The oldest of
these is more properly a stool, presented by Shah Abbas, of Persia, to
the Czar Boris Godunow, in the year 1605. It is so covered with gold
in sheets as to appear to be of massive gold, and it is also decorated
with pearls and precious stones ; it has no back to it, and it has all
the appearance of an ancient stool. The second seat is called the
" Golden Throne," and is in the form of a high-backed armchair. It is
decorated with no less than fifteen hundred rubies, eight thousand
turquoises, two large topazes, and four rare amethysts. This costl}'
seat dates from the time of the grandfather of Peter the Great, Czar
Michael Feodorovitch. The third, which is, properly speaking, the
emperor's throne, is popularly called the " Diamond Throne." It is
richly decorated with pearls and precious stones, and was presented to
the Czar Alexis Michaelovitz, father of Peter the Great, in 1660. On
the back of the chair is the following inscription : — " For the
powerful and most invincible Alexis, Emperor of the Muscovites, that
reigns prospeiously on earth. May this throne, which is built with the
greatest art and most refined skill, be a pledge to him of heavenl}'
and earthly bliss."
In Mr. Crawfurd's mission to the King of Siam in 1822, the throne
of that monarch is thus described : " The throne and its appendages
occupied the whole of the upper end of the hall. The first was gilded
all over, and about fifteen feet high ; it had much the shape and look
of a handsome pulpit. A pair of curtains of gold tissue upon a yellow
ground concealed the whole of the upper part of the room except the
throne ; and they were intended to be drawn over this also, except
when used. In front of the throne and rising from the fioor, were
to be seen a number of gilded umbrellas of vai'ious sizes. These
consisted of a series of canopies decreasing in size upwards, and some-
times amounting to as many as seventeen tiers. The king, as he
appeared seated on his throne, had more the appearance of a statue
in a niche, than of a living being. His head was bare, for he wore
neither crown nor any other ornament on it. Close to him was a
golden baton, or sceptre."
The liumma was one of the ornaments of Tippoo Sahib's famous
throne. It was placed on the top of the canopy, and fluttered over the
sultan's head. This bird, the most beautiful and magnificent
ornament of the throne, was sent by the Mar(pns of Wellesley to the
Court of Directors of the East India Company. It was about the size
and shaj)e of a small j)igeon, and intended to represent the fabulous
bird of antiquity well known to all Persian scholars; a bird peculiar
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 487
to the East, supposed to fly constantly in the air, and never to touch
the ground. It is looked upon as a bird of happy omen, and every
head it overshades will wear a crown. The tail of the humma
on Tippoo's throne, and its wings, were in the attitude of fluttering.
It was formed of gold, entirely covered with diamonds, rubies, and
emeralds. At the plunder of Delhi by NacUr Shah in 1739, (when
the amount of riches he carried off exceeded seventy millions sterling),
the most superb article of imperial spoil was the Fucht Taoos, or
"Peacock Throne," in which the expanded tails of two peacocks, in their
natural size, were imitated in jewellery, composed of the most costly
diamonds, rubies,emeralds, sapphires, topazes, and amethysts, producing
a wonderful effect. This throiie was valued at upwards of twelve
millions sterling. It was six feet long, and four wide, standing on six
massive feet, which were of solid gold, inlaid with rubies, emeralds,
and diamonds. The throne was ascended by silver steps, and
surmounted by a canopy of gold, fringed with pearls, supported by
twelve pillars richly ornamented with precious stones. Between the
peacocks once stood the figure of a parrot of the ordinary size, which,
tradition says, was carved out of a single emerald ! On each side of
the throne was placed a chattar, or umbrella, of richly embroidered
crimson velvet, fringed with pearls. The handles, of solid gold and
studded with diamonds, were eight feet long.
This throne was one of the glories illustrated in the days of Shah
Jehan and Aurungzebe.
The designer of the " Peacock Throne " of the palace in Delhi, was
Austin de Bordeaux, the designer also of the magnificent palace-tomb
Taj Mahal, who was named by Shah Jehan the " Jewel-Handed," and
received a salary of two thousand rupees a month.
At Koolburga, an important town in the nizam's dominions, was,
in the seventeenth century, the Cerulean Throne of the House of
Bhamenee, a rival of the " Peacock Throne." Ferishta, the Persian
historian, describes it as nine feet long and three wide, made of ebony,
covered with plates of pure gold, and set with precious stones.
In the " Private Life of an Eastern King " the throne of Nussur-o-
deen, who occupied the throne of Oude, is described as a structure of
great value, a platform of two yards square, raised several feet above
the floor, and approached in front by six steps. Upon three sides of
it a gold railing extended. The sides of the platform were of solid
silver, richly ornamented with jewels. A square canopy supported by
poles — the whole of wood, covered with beaten gold — hung over the
throne. Precious stones ornamented this canopy in great numbers.
A magnificent emerald, said to be the largest in the world, was con-
spicuous in the front of the canopy above.
At the late Vienna Exhibition were displayed some of the magni-
ficent objects belonging to the TiirJcish regalia. Among these, the
most precious, and, historically, the most interesting, was the cele-
brated throne of the last really great monarch of Persia, whose defeat
by Sidtan Achmed III. was expiated by an enormous tribute in money
and jewels. The Shah Nadir, whose property it was, had evidently
4S8 CROWNS AXD CORONATIOXS.
spared no pains nor expense to surround himself with the richest
piece of furniture that could be seen. Its feet, arms, and sides are
resplendent with precious stones, some of which are of an unusually-
large size, 'iliey principally consist of emeralds, rubies, and pearls.
This throne is adorned with upwards of ten thousand gems, the value
being estimated at two millions of pounds sterling. In point of shape
and workmanship it is a clumsy and barbarous specimen of cabinet
work, wholly unlike the throne of the present sultan in the Seraglio
at Constantinople. It is in the form of a divan, or couch, with a
canopy supported by hexagonal columns of gilded brass, sprinkled
with garnets, amethysts, turquoises, topazes, emeralds, and other
precious stones in the rough state ; for, formerly, the Turks did not cut
their gems. Horse-tails hang at the four corners from large golden
balls, surmounted by crescents.
Sceptres. — The sceptre as a special ensign of sovereignty dates
from the earliest period. " It is most clear," remarks Selden, " that
both in prophane and early writers, the Sceptre is much ancienter, as
it was attributed to a King, than either crown or diadem . . . the
word denoting a King or supreme governor." There are frequent
allusions to the sceptre in the Holy Scriptures. The Hebrew word
thus rendered in its primary signification denotes a staif of wood
(Ezek. xix. 11), about the height of a man, which the ancient kings
and chiefs bore as an ensign of honour. As such it appears to have
originated in the shepherd's staff, since the first kings were mostly-
nomad princes. A golden sceptre, that is, one washed or plated
Avitli gold, is mentioned in Ezekiel. Inclining the sceptre was a mark
of kingly favour, and the kissing it a token of submission. Saul
appears to have carried his javelin as a mark of superiority.
The golden sceptre of the ancient Persians was a plain rod,
ornamented with a ball or apjile at its upper end, and at its lower
tapering nearly to a point. The king held it in his right hand,
grasping it near, but not at the thick end, and rested the thin end
on the ground. When he walked he planted it upright before him,
as a spearman would j^lant his spear. When he sat he sloi)ed it
outwards, still, however, touching the ground with its point.
'J'he kings of Kgypt carried a sceptre, on whose top was the figure
of a stork, and on the other side, towards the handle, another of the
hippopotamus ; besides this was the cumbent sceptre, or war instru-
ment, nearly in the form of the modern, and the sceptre with an eye
upon it, Osiris, or the sun.
Dr. Schliemann, in liis account of discoveries at ISTycentT, describes
two objects (represented in an engraving, p. 201, "Mycenae") which
appear to be sceptres. The silver staff of each has been plated with
gold, as we see on that part of it which sticks in the beautifully
turned knobs of rock crystal. The crystal ball of one is ornamented
with small vertical furrows, and quite perforated; and there are
evident signs that another object, ])robably of gold, has been attached
to its lower end ; and such a piece of gold was found lying separately,
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 489
the more so as its upper end had evidently been broken off; it is
ornamented on both sides with repousse work, representing lions.
Dr. Schliemann further observes that the enormous gold-plated silver
rods were doubtless stuck in wooden staves, covered with gold plate.
The Greek tragic and other poets put sceptres in the hands of
the most ancient kings they introduce. In most remote antiquity,
Justin says, the sceptre was an hasta, and men adored the hastse as
immortal gods.*
The Greek slceptron^ " staff," from shepto^ " to send or thrust,"
is thus mentioned in the "Iliad" (i. 246), 962-927 B.C., Achilles
swearing by his staff. In the course of time, the sceptre was also
a weapon of assault and defence : Cyrus, according to Zenophon, was
always attended by three hundred '^ sceptre-bearers." Homer also
speaks of the sceptre as an attribute of kings, princes, and leaders of
tribes, and according to him it descended from father to son, and
might be committed to any one to denote the transfer of authority.
Among the Persians whole classes of persons vested with authority,
including eunuchs, were distinguished as the " sceptre-bearing "
classes. It is said to have been first assumed among the Romans by
Tarquin (died 496 B.C.). Ovid speaks of the sceptre as enriched with
gems, and made of precious metals or ivor3^ The sceptre of the kings
of Rome, which was afterwards borne by the consuls, was of ivory, and
surmounted by an eagle. There has been considerable variety in its
form ; that of the Merovingian kings of France was a golden rod of the
height of the king himself.
The senate of Rome alone had the power of conferring the sceptre
on the consuls elect, and sent it as a present to friendly kings and
allies. The consulars also carried it as a token of their ancient
dignity or wand of command. Phocas was the first who added a
cross to the sceptre without a globe.f
* Among the Frankish and Lombard nations an additional ceremony
was the delivery of a spear to the newly made monarch. Such is in
the case of Hildebrand (a.d. 744), Child eric (a.d. 456), Childebert II.
(a.d. 585). Martene writes of the Prankish kings, " Tradita in manum
hasta pro sceptro, excelso in solio honorifice imponunt."
The delivery of the sceptre and staff in the English ritual of corona-
tion of the "Pontificale" of Egbert is evidently derived from this custom.
It may be worthy to notice that the spear or lance was a symbol of
authority among the Anglo-Saxons. In the laws of Edward the Con-
fessor, regarding the wapentake, or, more properly, the weapon-touch,
it is stated that when any one was appointed head of wapentake, on a
fixed day, at the usual place of meeting, all the eldest born {majores
natu) rose up to meet him, and he, descending from his horse, received
their homage with his lance. He kept his lance erect, whilst all touched
it with theirs. These were the thanes and barons of the court baron,
who formed the feudal militia, the manor, the hundred, and the county
courts, and who succeeded to their landed estates by right of primo-
geniture.
t At the exhibition of antiquities at the Norwich meeting of the
490
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The Ancilo-Snxon sceptres are surmounted with crosses, a fleur-de-
lys, or a bird. That of Ethelred II. seems to have beeu terminated
by three pearls, or small globes,
forming a cross, and that of
Canute by a fleur-de-Iys. The
Confessor has the cross, and also
the dove, which is not observed
before his reign. William the
Conqueror is represented on his
coins as having a sceptre with
the cross 'patee in his right
hand, and in the left, one like
that of Ethelred. The most
remarkable deviation from the
common forms is in the verge,
or mace, of Edward III. and
Richard II., which are sur-
mounted by a very beautiful
turret, or pinnacle, of rich Gothic
tracery, with crockets on the
edges. A nearly similar orna-
ment may be seen on the seals
of Edward IV., Richard III., and
Henry VII., but in these the
top is not so pointed as in those
mentioned.
The sceptre of Charlemagne,
with which the sovereigns of
France were invested at their
coronations, was six feet high,
with the figure of that great
monarch in relief on it, seated
on a throne ornamented with
two lions and two eagles ; the
mound, or globe, is in his hand
in the manner in which he is
represented in old illumina-
tions. The whole of solid gold.
Sceptres. From ^ISS. of the thirteenth
century.
enamelled, and enriched with Oriental pearls.
ArchoDological Institxitc in 18i7, a curious sceptre was exhibited by
Viscount Achoson. It consisted of four pieces of Oriental onyx, a
portion of tlxo original length being apparently deficient ; they were
mounted at both ends with silver gilt, and on the extremity was fixed
a bronzo eagle. This curious object was purchased at the sale of
Ur. Mead's collection in 1755 by Sir Franci.^i St. John, who has left
a note tliat it was " said to have been found in the ruins of Augustus
Ca3sar's palace at Rome, and therefore supposed to bo his consular
sceptre."
FRAGMENT A REGALIA.
.491
The ordinary mode of conveying investitures, botli lay and clerical,
in Sicily and elsewhere, is proved by ancient charters to have been by
a touch of the royal sceptre. Thus William the Good, King of Sicily,
in 1181 conferred upon his son Boemond the dukedom of Apulia by
a touch of the golden sceptre. ^
The Emperor Louis of Ba- -^ t^p]
varia elevated Castruccio to i^ /si^ /OD
the dukedom of Lucca by the
sceptre he held in his hand.
CORONATIOX EOBES. — ■
Tlie royal vestments of sove-
reigns have in all times
been distinctive for their
sumptuousness, and, in
many cases, by peculiarities
of colour. In the Book of
Esther we read that Mor-
decai went out from the
presence of the king in royal
apparel of blue and white,
with a great crown of gold,
and also a garment of fine
linen and purple. This
accords with the early cus-
tom of the Persian mon-
archs, which is still prac-
tised, of investing their
ministers and favourites
with splendid robes and
ornaments.
From Zenophon's repre-
sentation that death would
be the punishment of any
noble, however illustrious,
assuming to himself the
royal mixture of purple and
white, we may gather the
peculiar honour, bestowed
on Mordecai.
Josephus says that King Solomon was usually clothed in white,
the colour of the priestly garments, the difference consisting, probably,
in the richness of the material.
" The King of Babylon," says Eawlinson, " wore a long gown, some-
what scantily made, but reaching down to the ankles, elaborately
patterned and fringed. Over this, apparentlj", he had a close-fitting
sleeved vest, which came down to the knees, and terminated in a set
of heavy tassels. The girdle was worn outside the outer vest, and in
war the monarch carried also two cross-belts, which, perhaps, sup-
¥<!
Sceptres.
From Sandford's " Coronation of
James II."
492 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
ported his quiver. The upper vest was, like tlie under one, richly
adorned with embroidery. From it, or from the girdle, depended in
front a single heavy tassel attached by a cord, similar to that worn by
the early kings of Assyria."
The dress of the Assyrian kings appears to have been similar to
that of their successors in the empire of the East. Zenophon describes
Astyarges as clothed in a purple coat and rich habit. Darius wore
a tunic of white and purple. According to Plutarch, the entire dress
of a Persian king was worth twelve thousand talents (£2,925,000).
The description of Darius, King of Persia, when marching to the
conflict with Alexander the Great, affords an instance of the splendour
of the regal state. The monarch was clothed in a vest of purple
striped with silver, and over it a long robe glittering all over with gold
and precious stones, on which were represented two falcons rushing
from the clouds and pecking one another. Around his waist he wore
a golden girdle, whence his scymetar hung, the scabbard of which
flamed all over with gems.
In his chariot he appeared seated as on a high throne. The
carriage was enriched on other sides with images of the gods in
gold and silver, and from the middle of the yoke, which was covered
with jewels, rose two statues a cubit in height, the one representing
War, and the other Peace, having a golden eagle between them, with
wings extended.
Kepresentatious on the bas-reliefs discovered in Assyria show that
the royal garments were of a magnificence it is difficult to describe.
The draperies of Asshur-idauni-pul (Sardanapalus I.) in the north-
west palace at Nimroud are more minutely laboured and more
tasteful than those of any later time. Besides elegant and unmeaning
patterns, they exhibit human and animal forms, sacred trees, sphinxes,
griffins, winged horses, and occasionally bull-hunts and lion-hunts.
The upper part of the king's dress is, in one instance, almost covered
with figures which range themselves in a circular breast ornament.
Among the discoveries atKouyunjik is a reiDresentation of an Assyrian
queen eeated in a chair of state. She wears upon her head a band or
fillet, having something of the appearance of a crown of towers, such
as encircles the brow of Cybele on Greek coins and statues. Her dress
was a long-sleeved gown reaching from the neck to the feet, flounced
and trimmed at the bottom in an elaborate way, and elsewhere
patterned with rosettes, over which she wore a fringed tunic or frock
descending half way between the knees and the feet. Her ornaments,
besides the crown upon her head, were ear-rings, a necklace, and
bracelets. Her hair was cushioned, and adorned with drapery which
liung over the back.
The chief wife, or queen-consort, of the ancient kings of Persia
was privileged to wear on her head a royal tiara or crown.
From the time of Augustus to that of Diocletian, the principal
distinction of the ]loman princes was the imperial or military robe of
])urple. The pride, or rather policy, of Diocletian led to the intro-
duction of the stately magnificence of the court of Persia. The robes
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 493
were of silk and gold, and, it is remarked by ancient writers, even the
shoes of the emperor and his successors were studded with the most
precious gems.
In the Anglo-Saxon documents we read of a king's coronation
garment as of silk woven with gold flowers, and his cloak is mentioned
as distinguished by its costly workmanship and its gold and gems.
The royal robes were of a purple colour.
The coronation mantle was in colour purple. " I give," said
Witlaf, Fing of Mercia, in his charter to the abbey of Croyland, " to
the secretary of the said abbey, my purple mantle which I wore at
my coronation, to be made into a cope, to be used by those who
minister at the holy altar ; and also, my golden veil, embroidered
with the history of the siege of Troy, to be hung up in the church on
my anniversary."
So William the Conqueror gave to Battle Abbey the sword and
royal robe which he wore at his coronation. The monks kept these
until the " Suppression," and used to exhibit them as great curiosities.
The state mantles of the Norman kings were very valuable, being
made of the finest cloth, embroidered with gold and silver, and lined
with the most costly furs.
The order is extant for making the coronation robes of Henry III.,
one of which was commanded to be of " the best purple samite [a rich
silk], embroidered with three little leopards in front and three behind."
His sandals also were to be fretted with gold, each square of the
feet containing a lion or a leopard.
On opening the tomb of Edward I. in Westminster Abbey (1774),
his corpse was discovered arrayed in a dalmatica, of red silk damask,
and a mantle of crimson satin, fastened on the shoulder with a gilt
buckle, or clasp, four inches in length, and decorated with imitative
jewels and pearls. The sceptre was in his hand, and crossed over his
breast was a stole of rich white tissue, studded with gilt quatrefoils in
filagree work, and embroidered with pearls in the shape of what are
called true " lover's-knots."
In a manuscript of the Cottonian Library, Edward II, is represented
on a light red throne, dressed in a blue robe lined with ermine ; his
arms and his hose are red, and his shoes are of a darkish brown.
The effigy of Edward III. in Westminster Abbey represents that
monarch in his robes of state. The number of the royal vestments
does not exceed that of his predecessors, but their form is rather
different. The dalmatica is lower in the neck and shorter in the sleeves
than the under tunic, and the sleeves of the latter come lower down
than the wrist. His shoes or buskins are richly embroidered, and he
bears the remains of a sceptre in each hand.
From a representation of the coronation of Eichard II. in the
" Liber Kegalis," we find that the king's robe was gold, his close
garment pink and gold flowers; the garment of his queen Avas blue,
the gold robe lined with ermine. The curious portrait of Richard,
preserved in the Jerusalem Chamber at Westminster Abbey, represents
him in a robe embroidered all over with roses and the initial letter of
494 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
his name. The king was extravagant in dress, and had a coat valued
at thirty thousand marks, probably from the precious stones with which
it was embroidered.
It was usual in early times to bear in the procession at coronations,
with the regalia, the royal vestments upon a checker-table, which
was carried by six noblemen.
In the chapter on " Coronations of English Sovereigns" I have
alluded to the royal vestments of Richard III., and also to the orbes
ordered for Edward V. At Richard's coronation at York, he was
dressed with vmusual magnificence.
In the " Device " for the coronation of King Henry VII. (see chapter
on " Coronations of Eughsh Sovereigns ") a description is given of the
royal robes in Avhich the king and queen were arrayed after receiving
the communion : *' The King, unaraied by his Chamberlayn of all his
said regalles to his coote and sliurte, shalbe by the said Chamberlayn
new arraied with hosen, sandallis, and other robes of state, that is to
say, a surcote of purpill velwet close or open, furred with mynever
pure, bordered with armyns, and ribbanded with gold at the colar, hands,
and speris ; a hode of estate furred with armyns poudred with armyns,
with a greit lace of silke, and ij tarcellis purpill, and the King at his
pleasur may were moo of his robes vndre his said mantell as a taberd,
a kirtell or eny of them.
" The Queene shalbe chaunged by her jentilwomen of her chambre,
in to newe garments, that is to say, a surcote roiall of purpill velwet,
a mantell with a trayn of the same," etc.
The coronation robes of Henry VII. are described in the chapter
on " Coronations of English Sovereigns."
" Mary [Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII.,] proceeded from West-
minster Hall to the abbey for her coronation ** in her parliamentary
robes of crimson velvet . . . containing a mantle with a train, a
surcoat with a kirtle furred with wombs of minever, a riband of Venice
gold, the mantle of crimson velvet powdered with ermines, with a lace
of silk and gold, and buttons and tassels of the same. Such,"
observes Planche, " is the account of two contemporary documents in
a MS. containing the official records of the coronation of Queen
Mary, in the College of Arms, marked I. 7 and W. Y. the French
ambassador, Mons. de Noailles, corrects a confusion in these accounts,
and says that at a certain part of the ceremony the Queen retired to a
private chamber, and having taken oft' her mantle returned in a corset
of purple velvet, and after being anointed was chid in a robe of white
taileta, and a mantle of purple velvet furred with ermine, and without
a band, — ' sans rabat.' "
The coronation robes of Queen Elizabeth are mentioned in the list
of her Majesty's wardrobe (IGOO): — " Firste, one mantle of clothe of
golde, tissued with gold and silver, furred with powdered armyons
[ermines], with a mantle lace of silke and golde, with buttons and
tassels to the same. Item,— one kirtle of the san^e tissue, the trainc
and skirts fnrred with powdered armyons, the rest lined with sarceonit,
with a iiaire of bodies and sleeves to the same."
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 495
The Parliamentary robes (whicli the sovereign exchanges in the
abbey at the close of the coronation) of the same queen are thus
mentioned in the list of her wardrobe : — " Item. One mantle of crimson
vellat [velvet] furred throughoute with powdered armyons, the
mantle lace of silke and golde with buttons and tassels to the same.
Item. One kirtle and surcoate of the same crimson vellat, the traine
and skirts furred with powdered armyons, the rest lined with arconet
[sarcenet] with a cap of maintenance to the same stryped downright
with passamaine lace of gold with a tassel of gold to the same furred
with powdered armyons, with a whood [hood] of crimson vellat furred
with powdered armyons, with a paire of bodies and sleeves to the
same." *
A precise account of the coronation robes of Charles II. is given by
Sir Edward Walker in his relation of the ceremony. He states thai^
" because through the rapine of the late unhappy times, all the royal
ornaments and regalia heretofore preserved from age to age in the
treasury of the church at Westminster were taken away, sold and
destroyed,! the Committee met divers times not only to direct the
re-making such royal ornaments and regalia, but even to settle the
form and fashi(m of each particular."
I have mentioned the robes of estate of James II., as described by
Sandford in his account of the coronation of that monarch ; besides
these, were provided from the great wardrobe on that occasion, a shirt
of fine linen, to be open at the places of anointing, another shirt of red
sarcenet over it, and a surcoat of crimson satin made with a collar; a
pair of under trousers and breeches over them, with stockings fastened to
the trousers, all of crimson silk; a pair of linen gloves; a linen coif, etc.
* Horace Walpole, alluding to the profusion of ornaments in Queen
Elizabeth's dresses, thus describes her Majesty : " A pale Roman nose,
a head of hair loaded with crowns and powdered with diamonds, a vast
ruff, a vaster f ardingale, and a bushel of pearls are the features by which
everybody knows at once the pictures of Queen Elizabeth."
t The ancient coronation robes, which were destroyed in 1649, were
thus valued by the Parliamentary commissioners : —
*' One common taffaty robe, very old, valued at ...
One robe laced with goulde lace
One silver cullered silk robe, very old, and worth nothing
One robe of crimson taffaty sarcenet, valued at
One paire of buskins, cloth of silver and gold stockings, \
very old, and valued at \
One paire of shoes of cloth of gold at . . .
One paire of gloves embroidered with gold at ...
Three swords with scabbards of cloth of gold at
One old comb of home, worth nothing
Totall in the chest
The comb was used in coronations for smoothing the hair after the
anointinof.
£ s.
d.
0 10
0
0 10
0
0 0
0
0 5
0
0 2
6
0 2
0
0 1
0
3 0
0
0 0
0
4 10
6"
496
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The coronation dress of his royal consort, Queen Mar}-, consisted of
a mantle of purple velvet, eighteen feet long ; the cape of ermine
powdered. The surcoat was fifteen and a half inches in the shape,
edged with ermine, and the forepart edged with seven large breast
jewels, edged with ermine, in which were small lockets of precious
stones. The petticoat was cloth of silver.
A few brief notices may be given of the more particular vestments
used in the coronation ceremonials.
The dalmatic, a long robe or su]-)er-tunic, partly open at the sides.
Coronation robes of James II. Fiuia Saiidford. TUe dalmatic.
derives its name from being of Dalmatian origin. It was usually com-
posed of white silk with purple stripes, but the colour does not appear
to have been arbitrary. Besides being a jiortion of the coronation
vestments, it gives a meaning for its use in its ccclesinstical character,
the monarch representing the Church and the protector of its privi-
leges.
In connection with the stole (an embroidered band or scarf), it is
mentioned from very early times among the coronation robes of the
FRAGMENTA REGALIA.
497
sovereigns of England. In the account of the enthronement of
Richard I. we have " primo tunica deinde dalmatica." Walsingham
states that Richard II. was invested first with the tunic of St.
Edward, and tlien with the dahiiatic. Henry VI. was attired " as
a bishop that should sing Mass, with a dalmatic like a hrnic, and
a stole about his neck." Being worn over the tunic, it is frequentl}'
called a super-tunic.
Sandford, in his account of the coronation of James If., observes
that " the mantle had been heretofore a rich embroidery with golden
Coronation robes of James II. From Sandford. The surcoat, or super-tunic,
eagles, but this was stolen during the civil wars, and another was
made for the ceremony of very rich gold and purple brocaded tissue,
the outside being shot with gold thread, brocaded with gold and silver
threads, with large flowers of gold frosted, heightened with some little
silver flowers, all edged about with purple. The lining was a rich
crimson Florence taffeta, and the fastening a broad gold clasp."
The stole (erroneously called the armilla) is made of the same
cloth of tissue as the dalmatica, or super-tunica, lined with crimson
2 K
498
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
sarcenet, and was formerly embroidered with eagles, roses, fleurs-de-
lys, and crowns. The length of it is about an ell, and the breadth
three inches, with two double ribbons at each end of crimson taffeta.
Coronation robes of James II. From Sandford. The mantle.
two at the corners of the ends to tie it below the elbows, and two a
little higher for tying it above them.*
* Tlie regal stole, from some inexplicable circumstance, obtained as
early as the reign of Henry VII. the name of armil, whereby it has been
subsequently confounded with the bracelets, armillas, which form a
portion of the regal ornaments.
In the " Device " for the coronation of Henry VII. (Rutland Papers,
Camden Society) we read, " The King thus gird with his swerd and
standing, shall take armyll of the Cardinall, saying tliese words, Accipe
armillam ; and it is to wetc that armyll is made iu maner of a stole
FRAGMENT A REGALIA.
499
To the sitrcoat belongs a belt or girdle, made of cloth of tissue,
with a gold buckle, to which clasps of the same are affixed for the
sword with Avhich the sove-
reign is girded. The sur-
coat is a straight one, with
plain sleeves, of a thick
and rich cloth of gold tis-
sue, ornamented with gold
flowers, brocaded and
frosted, without either silk
or velvet. The colohium
sindonis, or surplice, an an-
cient dress of bishops and
priests, is without sleeves,
and is the last garment put
upon the sovereign after
the anointing. It is made
of very fine white cambric,
and is in length somewhat
deeper than the super-
tunica. It is laced about
the neck, round the arm-
holes, down the breast, up
tlie sides, and round the
lower part with fine white
lace.
Both its names signify-
short linen garments ; and
sindonis is sometimes used
to denote the shroud for wrapping the dead. The lace used for trim-
ming the colobium of Charles II. cost (" Accounts of the Earl of
Sandwich," 28th April, 1661) eighteen shillings the yard.
The ornaments appropriated to the legs of the king are the caligce,
•or hushins^ and the sandals^ the former made of the same cloth of
tissue as the super-tunica, and lined with crimson sarcenet; the
sandals are of cloth tissue, lined with crimson taffeta, with bands.
Sandford, in his " Coronation of James II.," has given a representation
of the sandals made for that ceremony. In the "particulars " ordered
to be provided for the coronation of Mary, queen of William III.,
are a pair of sandals of crimson satin, garnished the same as the
king's.*
Coronation robes of James II.
The stole.
From Sandford.
wovyn with gold and set with stones, to be put by the Cardinal! abonte
the King's necke, and commyng from both shuldres to the King's both
elbowes wher it shalbe fastened by the said Abbot [of Westminster]
-with laces of silke on evry elbow in twoo places, that is to saye, aboue
the elbowes and byneth."
* The royal sandals of the Assyrian kings (time of Sargon) were of
two kinds. The simplest sort had a very thin sole and a small cap for
500
CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
At the coronation of a female sovereign the mistress of the
ROBES performs important services. The duties of the office on such
occasions were, formerly,
very precise, as will be
seen from a memoran-
dum made by Henrietta,
Countess of Sufiblk, mis-
tress of the robes to Caro-
line, queen of George II.
It is supposed to have
been drawn up as a guide
to the coronation of Queen
Charlotte. "At the late
(Queen's coronation, the
I'uchess of Dorset was
Mistress of the Robes, but
Mrs. Howard, Bed-chamber
Woman, having had all
things belonging to that
office for many years under
her care, received her
Majesty's commands to
provide everything proper
for her Majesty's dress for
the coronation, and to en-
quire into all particulars
necessary for the Queen
to know. Upon enquiry
into the difterent offices,
she received information
that the Mistress of the
Robes was the only person
in whose name demands
were to be made, and all
answers were to be directed
to her ; upon which Mrs.
Howard told this to the
Duchess of Dorset, who
desired her to write in her (the Duchess's) name, and to receive all
Colobium b.iiiduiiii3.
the heel, made apparently of a number of strips of leather sewn together.
It was held in place by a loop over the great too, attached to the fore-
part of the sole, and by a string which was lacod backwards and for-
wards across the instep, and then tied in a bow.
Gibbon relates that the Emperor Alexins, after the capture of Con-
stantinople by the Venetians and French in 1201. was taken prisoner by
the King ox Thessalcnica, who sent the inip(>rial robes, the cahjptra,
and the jno-jj/c hxiskins, as otierings to the newly elected Emperor of
"lioumania," Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Hainault.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA, 501
answers. All that follows may be taken as done by the Mistress of
the Robes. Upon enquiry where her Majesty should be dressed, it was
answered at Westminster. Immediately the Earl Marshal delivered
lip a room of his, very convenient for the purpose, and on the
morning before the coronation,
all her Majesty's robes and
jewels were carried to that
room under a guard. The Page
of the Robes stayed there all
night with a proper guard,
^vhich was asked of the officer
on duty there.
" The night before the
coronation, the Queen's order ^^"^'-^l- From Sandford's" Coronation
to all her servants, except
the Bed-Chamber Woman, was to be at Westminster in the places
assigned them, at the hour appointed for their summons, and at
a little after seven o'clock the next morning, her Majesty, being
in an undress, but everything new, went into her chair (not a state
one) with the curtains drawn ; her Lord Chamberlain in a hackney
chair before her Majesty, and Mrs. Howard in hers, behind, and par-
ticular care was taken that it should not be suspected when her
Majesty passed the park. As soon as her Majesty got to Westminster,
Mrs. Howard dressed her, assisted only by those who belonged to the
office. As soon as the Queen came into the room where the peeresses
were assembled, from that time the Duchess of Dorset assisted as
Mistress of the Robes. She walked alone immediately after the Queen,
and when the service was over, and the Queen was to be crowned and
anointed, the four ladies were called to the pall, and the Mistress of
the Robes then advanced on the right side of the pall, the Bed-Chamber
Woman on the left, to be ready to take off the circle and open the
Queen's tucker, that the Bishop might crown and anoint her Majesty,
and to be ready to close the tucker and pin on the crown.
" There is a little handkerchief, which the Bed-Chamber Woman
in waiting gives to the Mistress of the Robes, to wipe off any oil
that might fall on the face. The Queen retires to St. Edward's Chapel
to offer her crown, and then the Mistress of the Robes, assisted
by the Chamber Woman, pin on the fine crown appointed for her
Majest}'.
" After dinner the Queen retired into the room in which she had
been dressed, and there was undressed, and everything was left there
for the night, guarded, as they had been the night before. Her
Majesty went back to St. James's in private " (" Suffolk Correspond-
ence," vol. i. pp. 202-265).
In September, 1556, Queen Elizabeth was entertained at Oxford
with an English play called " Palamon and Arcite," which gave her
great satisfaction. The theatrical wardrobe for these performances
was actually furnished from the garments of deceased kings and
502 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
queens of England, however inconsistent with the costume of
Athens; for we find that the heads and fellows of Trinity College,
Cambridge, wrote to Lord Burleigh, stating that " they were going to
perform certain comedies and one tragedy ; and as there were in that
tragedy sundry personages of the highest rank to be represented in
ancient princely attire," which was nowhere to be had but in the office
of the robes in the Tower, they humbly supplicated to be indulged
with the loan of some of these, on their depositing a sufficient pledge for
their security. The following item is in one of the wardrobe books of
Queen Elizabeth : — " There was occupied and wore at Oxford in a play
before her Majesty certain of the apparel that was the late Queen
Mary's ; at what time there was lost one fore-quarter of a gown with-
out sleeves, of purple velvet with satin ground," etc. At a much later
time there was borrowing from the stores of the Tower for the decora-
tion of the stage. As Pope writes —
" Back fly the scenes, and enter foot and horse,
Pageant on pageants in long order drawn,
Peers, heralds, bishops, ermine, gold and lawn ;
The champion, too! And to complete the jest,
Old Edward's armour beams on Gibber's breast."
By way of reflecting the glories of the coronation of George II.,
"Henry VIII.," with a grand spectacle of a coronation,* had been
presented at the theatres, the armour of one of the kings of England
having been brought from the Tower for the due accoutrement of the
champion. And here we may note a curious gravitation of royal
finery towards the theatre. Downes, in his " Roscius Anglicanus,"
describes Sir William Davenant's play of " Love and Honour," pro-
duced in 1662, as "richly clothed, the King giving Mr. Betterton his
coronation suit, in which he acted the part of Prince Alvaro ; the
Duke of York giving Mr. Harris his, who did Prince Prospero ; and
my Lord of Oxford gave Mr. Joseph Price his, who did Lionel, the
Duke of Parma's son." Presently we find the famous Mrs. Barry
acting Queen Elizabeth in the coronation robes of James II.'s queen,
* At the period of the royal nuptials and coronation of George III.,
Rich, the whimsical stage manager, revived the scenic representation of
the " Coronation." It was forced on the public for nearly forty nights
successively, sometimes at the end of a play, and sometimes after a
farce. But then he surprised the audience with opening the back of the
stage into Drury Lane, where a I'eal bonfire was exhibited, with the
populace huzzaing and drinking porter to the health of Anne Boleyn;
whilst the stage was paraded by dukes, duchesses, archbishops, heralds,
etc., but nearly hid from view, being covered with a thick fog from the
effects of the weather and the smoke of the fire.
Rich went to such expenses for this pageant that the account for
velvets alone came to £4000. The success of it, however, fully repaid
him.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 503
who had "before presented the actress with her wedding suit. Mrs.
Barry is said to have given her audience a strong idea of Queen
Ehzabeth. Mrs. Bellamy played Cleopatra in a silver tissue ''birth-
day " dress that had belonged to the Princess of Wales ; and a suit
of straw-coloured satin, from the wardrobe of the same illustrious
lady, was worn by the famous Mrs. WofRngton in her performance
of Roxana.
The robes worn by EUiston, when he personated George IV., and
represented the coronation of that monarch upon the stage of Drury
Lane, were probably not the originals.
Among other royal robes that have descended to the stage,
mention may also be made of the coronation dress of the late Queen
Adelaide, of which Mrs. Mowatt, the American actress, became the
ultimate possessor.
At the coronation, the mantle which has usually been worn by a
Prince of Wales, when such a member of the royal family existed, is
doubled below the elbow with ermine, spotted diamond-wise. His
Parliamentary robes are adorned with five guards of ermine at equal
distances, and gold lace above each guard.*
A house in the Blackfriars, built by Sir John Beauchamp (died
1359), was sold to Edward III., and subsequently converted into the
office of the master of the wardrobe, and the repository for the royal
clothes. In Fuller's " Worthies " we find that " this wardrobe was in
effect a Library for Antiquaries, therein to read the mode and fashion
of garments in all ages. These King James, in the beginning of his
reign, gave to the Earl of Dunbar, by whom they were sold and re-sold
at as many hands almost as Briareus had, some gaining vast estates
thereby."
An extraordinary coronation dress was invented for King Friedrich
* The wardrobe of that royal sybarite George lY., " who spent
£10,000 a year for the coats on his back," was sold by auction in June,
1831, and among the lots was "a superb and costly robe of rose-colour
satin, with the stars, etc., worn at the coronation by the chief object of
the pageant ; " also three crimson velvet waistcoats worn at the same
time. The whole for £21 19s., and (.sic transit) to adorn the waxwork
representation of royalty in Madame Tussaiid's Exhibition ! Amongst a
very large variety of clothing, were the coronation ruff of Mechlin lace,
£2 ; the crimson velvet mantle embroidered with gold worn on the same
occasion, forty-seven guineas; a crimson coat to match with the robe,
£14; a richly embroidered silver-tissue coronation waistcoat and trunk
hose, £13 ; the splendid purple velvet coronation mantle, embroidered
with two hundred ounces of gold, £55 ; an elegant and costly green
velvet mantle, lined with ermine of the finest quality, presented by the
Emperor Alexander, and which had cost upwards of one thousand
guineas, £125.
504 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
August of Saxony (crowned September 5, 1697, at Cracow), The
cliamberlain's powers were strained to the uttermost, for the costume
was to be antique, at the same time Polish, and also fashionable and suit-
able for a cavalier. Therefore the king wore on his well-powdered head
a Polish cap with a heron's plume ; on his body a strong golden breast-
plate ; over his short French breeches a short Roman tunic ; on his
feet sandals ; over all a blue ermine cloak : the whole dress covered
with splendid precious stones. He became faint at the coronation,
and it was doubtfid whether it was owing to the uncomfortable
costume or to shame.
CoROXATiox Banquets. — TAc banquet on the occasion of a corona-
tion has been a usage in all ages and countries. That it was observed
in ancient Persia we know from Holy Writ. Thus, on the royal
inauguration of Esther, " the king made a great feast unto all
his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast ; and he made a
release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the
king."
A manuscript in the British Museum gives the particulars of the
coronation banquet of Henry VI. (1429). After mentioning the
entrance of the king's chami)ion, we have the first course of dishes : —
" A bore's head enarmed in a castell royall ; frumenty with venysoun
(vyaunde ryall) ; gylt groce [grouse] ; char, swan, capon stewed,
heron, grete pyke; red leclic [soup], with a whyght lyon crowned
therinne ; custardys ryall [royal], with a ryall lybbard of gold set
therin, holding a floure de lyce ; fritour like a sonne, a floure de lyce
therinne ; a sotyltye [device], Seynt Edward and Seynt Lowes
[Lewis], armed in their cootes of amies, &;c., &c. The second course, —
Viaundc blakely wreten [inscribed with the black-letter character], and
noted with Tc Denni hiudamus ; pyg endored [gilt], crane, bytore
[bittern], cony, chykyns endored, partrich, pecock, grete breme leche,
with an antelope shynynge as gold, flampayne powered with lybards
and flowre de lyce of gold [the arms of England and France], fritour,
custard, and a lybbardis [leopard's] head, with estrych [ostrich]
feathers ; a sotyltie, the Emperor and King, &c. The thirde course, —
quynces in compost, blaundishere, ven^^son rosted, egrete, curlewys,
and cokks, plovers, quaylcs, snytes [snipes], grete byrdes, larkes, grete
carpe, leche made with a vyolet colour, bake metes, chekyns powdered
with losynges gylt with ilowers of borage, fritours gryspc [crisp] ; a
sotyltie, our Lady syttyng and hyr chyld in hyr armcs, holding in every
hand a crownc, and St. George knelying on that oon syde, and St.
Denyse on that oder syde, ju'esentyng the King to our Lady with this
reasoun, ' 0 blyssed Lady Christis Modyr deere,' " etc. (Bibl. Cotton,
Nero, C. ix. fol. 173).
The detail of red sou]i in which white lions are swimming, golden
lco])ards inunersed in custards, roast pigs, gilt like gingerbread, fritters
like the sun, the head of a jtard crowned with ostrich feathers, and a
Launch of venison inscribed with " Te Deum laudamus," is sufliciently
amusins.
FRAG ME NT A REGALIA.
505
It appears to have been the practice in old times to provide for the
coronation banquet by sending precepts to the sheriffs of the several
counties, enjoining them, to assist the royal purvej'ors in procuring
oxen, sheep, fowls, etc., in quantities proportioned to the extent and
means of their respective districts. Some of these letters are in
Rymer's " Foedera." Thus on the coronation of Edward I. the following
orders were issued : —
Oxen.
Swine.
Sheep.
Fowls.
Sheriff of Gloucester
60
101
60
3,000
Bucks and Bedford
40
66
10
2,100
Oxford ...
40
67
40
2,100
Kent
40
67
40
2,100
Surrey and Sussex
40
67
40
2,100
Warwick and Leicester
60
98
40
3,000
Somerset and Dorset ...
100
176
40
5,000
Essex ...
60
101
60
330
3,160
440
743
22,560
In the year 1307 Edward II. issued an order, dated at Clipston,
September 25, to the Senechal of Gascony and Constable of Bordeaux,
to provide a thousand pipes of good wine, and send them to London,
there to be delivered to the king's butler before Christmas, to be used
at the approaching coronation. The purchase and freight of the wine
was to be i)aid for out of the revenues of Gascony by a company of
Florentine merchants, who farmed these revenues.
A similar condescension was observed towards their subjects by
the French kings, in allowing them to provide for the coronation
banquet, in which the good people of Ilheims were conspicuous for
their liberality. The feast was held in the hall of the archiepis-
copal palace in that city. The king being seated, grace was said
by the Archbishop of Rheims ; the great crown of Charlemagne, the
sceptre, and the hand of justice were laid upon the table, and the
constable with his drawn sword stood at the upper end of it. His
Majesty's table was served by his own officers to the sound of
drums and trumpets. The great master of the pantry of France car-
ried the great dish. The king sat alone at his table, unless he
had a brother, in which case the prince sat on the left of the king.
When there was a queen, a kind of balcony, or raised gallery,
was fitted up in the hall for a commodious view of the king at
table.
When the king had dined, the archbishop said grace, and his
Majesty, taking again the sceptre and hand of justice, withdrew to his
apartment.*
* In an old roll in the Chamber of Accounts at Paris is a state-
5o6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
The coronation banquet of Richard II., at Westminster, appears to
have been splendid and profuse. The historian AValsingham forbears
cjiving a description of it, as it might exceed the belief of the reader.
He, however, mentions one circumstance worthy of being recorded.
In the midst of the palace a hollow marble pillar was set up, sur-
mounted by a large gilt eagle, from under the feet of which, through
the four sides of the capital, flowed wine of different kinds during the
day, nor was any one forbidden to partake of it. After the banquet the
king retired with a number of the nobility to his chamber, and was
entertained until the time of supper with dancing and minstrelsy.
There is a singularity attached to the coronation banquet of
Katherine of Yalois, consort of Henry Y. (February 24, 142^), that
may be mentioned — that it was a feast of fish. Lent having been
entered upon, and, observes Fabyan, " there being nothing of meat
there, saving brawn served with mustard." Among the dishes we have
bream of the sea, conger, soles; clieVen, or chub; barbel, with roach ;
smelt, fried ; crayfish or lobster ; lamprey, fresh baked ; sturgeon with
whelks ; porpoise roasted (which Fabyan calls " porporus "), prawns,
eels, etc., and a multitude of confectionery served up with ingenious
devices or subtleties.
At the coronation banquet of George III., we are told, there were
no less than sixty haunches of venison, with a large quantity of all
sorts of game. The king's table was covered with one hundred and
twenty dishes at three several times, but what chiefly attracted notice
was the dessert, abounding with rockwork and emblematical devices.
At the coronation banquet of George IV., the first course consisted
of 24 gold covers and dishes, carried bj' as many gentlemen-pensioners.
Of hot dishes there were 160 tureens of soup ; 160 dishes of fish ; 160
hot joints ; 160 dishes of vegetables ; 480 sauce boats. Of cold dishes,
80 of braised ham ; 80 savoury pies ; 80 of daubed geese ; 80 of savoury
Gates ; 80 pieces of beef braised ; 80 of capons braised ; 1190 side
dishes of various sorts ; 220 of mounted pastry ; 320 of small pastry ;
400 of jellies and creams ; 160 of shell-fish ; 161 of cold roast fowls ;
80 of cold house-lamb. Total quantities, 7442 lbs. of beef; 7133 lbs.
ment of the expenses attending the coronation of Louis IX. of France
(December 1, 1226). It is entitled, " Expensao pro Coronatio llegum."
Livrcs. Sols»
Bread
Bread for the king, pies, and making
Wine
Kitchen cxiioiiscs
Wax and fruit
Tlio king's chamber
The queen's expenses
Wages and deliveries for the king's household, and for
the king when beyond sea
Total ... 5053 14
896
0
38
0
991
0
1356
4
138
0
914
10
320
0
400
0
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 507
of veal ; 2474 lbs. of mutton ; 20 quarters of house-lamb ; 20 legs of
house-lamb ; 5 saddles of lamb ; 55 quarters of grass-lamb ; 160 lambs'
sweetbreads ; 389 cow-heels ; 400 calves' feet ; 250 lbs. of suet ; IGO
geese; 720 pullets and capons; 1010 chickens ; 520 hens; 1730 lbs.
of bacon ; 550 lbs. of lard ; 912 lbs. of butter ; 8400 eggs.
In the description of this banquet, the " scramble " that took place
after the king's departure, by the visitors, appears to have been most
unseemly. A gathering crowd of spoliators, by a simultaneous rush,
in a moment surrounded the royal table. A rude hand having been
thrust through the first ranks and a golden fork having been seized,
this operated as a signal to all, and was followed by a general snatch.
In a short time all the small portable articles were transferred into the
pockets of the multitude. The lord great chamberlain, being alarmed
by the confusion, returned to the hall, and by the greatest personal
exertion succeeded in preventing the extension of the supposed
*' licensed plunder " to the more costly parts of the coronation plate.
Thus the spoil which was seized was confined mainly to a few knives
and forks, some gold plates, the glasses, a few spoons, and two or three
of the gilt figures by which the plateau in the centre of the table had
been ornamented. With great difficulty all the remainder of the plate
was removed to a place of safety, and the marauders were left to the
undisturbed exercise of their coronation privileges in the body of the
hall. The scene which was now presented scarce admits of parallel in
modern times. Those in the gallery poured down the different stairs
and passages to the festive board, which was vigorously attacked.
In a few moments every bottle was emptied of its contents, and fresh
supplies obtained. In solids the work of devastation was equally
fierce ; sweetmeats, pastry, and confectionery of every kind vanished
like lightning. Arms were everywhere seen stretched forward, break-
ing and destroying the table ornaments as trophies; thus baskets,
flower-pots, vases, and figures were everywhere disappearing, and
these were followed by spoons, plates, dishes, etc. These last were of
pewter, engraved with the royal arms and the letters " Geo. IV.,"
and were therefore greatly coveted.*
* The late Mr. Edmund Lenthall Swifte, writing to the editor of
Notes and Queries, observes, " The appearance of Queen Caroline at
his coronation was forbidden by George IV. I was told by Sir Thomas
Mash that the report of her object having been partly accomplished
had so agitated his Majesty that, had not a glass of brandy been at hand,
he could not have gone through the royal solemnity. My own respon-
sible office gave me occasion to know that certain articles of plate, and
accessories of the coronation banquet, had been appropriated by persons
whose loyal feelings had made them desirous to possess memorials of that
event ; one lady had been seen pocketing a spoon, and declined its re-
storation, which being insisted on, she exclaimed — compulsion being also
hinted at — ' Man, lay a finger on me, and I will scream my heart out ! '
Aware of the consequence of any alarm, the attendant suffered her to
carry off her booty."
5o8 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
A similarly disgraceful scene occurred at the coronation banquet
of George I. When the waiters came to collect the various objects of
the feast, plates, knives, forks, viands, table-cloths, had all nearly
disappeared. A great outcry arose, and the rogues were " commanded,"
in public advertisements, to make restitution, or dreadful penalties
would follow : but they seem to have kept all they had purloined,
and to have escaped detection.
CoROXATiox Cup. — An interesting relic of the past is in the posses-
sion of Mr. J. L. Bonython, of Adelaide, South Australia, a lineal
descendant of the De Bonythons, an ancient family formerly flourishing
in Cornwall. The flagon, which has been out of the family for twenty
years, and at length recovered, is in good preservation, and the quaint
designs, arabesques, and armorial devices upon it are clearly defined.
The date 1598 is in raised figures over the central compartment. It is
of brown stoneware, probably of Dutch manufacture, and on the body
of the cup are three oval medallions, filled Mith armorial devices. On
the central medallion the double imperial eagle is displayed, sur-
mounted by a crown, the shield having as supporters, on either side,
coroneted lions in arabesque ; the neck band is ornamented with scroll-
work in relief, and lower down, on the shoulders of the jug, are scroll
patterns in compartments. A label is attached to the handles of the
flagon, with the following inscription : " Date of this jug, 1598. It
was used at the coronation banquet of James I. and VI. of Scotland,
by one of the Bouython family, who officiated at the banquet."
It is believed to have been the property of John Bonython, who
was elected a member of Parliament several years before the date of
the jug, and had evidently been carefully treasured by its former
possessors.
Pkices of Seats at Coronations. — From the works of Stow, Speed,
and others, it appears that the price of a good place at the coronation of
the Conqueror was a hlanh, and probably the same as that of his son and
successor, William Bufus; at that of Henry I. it was a crocard, and at
King Stephen's and Henry Il.'s a pollard; at King Bichard's and
King John's it was a, fit skin, and rose at Henry III. to a dodkui. In
the reign of Edward I., the coins begin to be more intelligible,* and
we find that for seeing his coronation, a Q was given, or the half of a
ferling, or farthing, which was the fourth part of a sfcrling, or penny.
At the coronation of Edward II. it was a farthing, and at that of Edward
ill. a half-penny, which was very generally given. In the reign of
Bichard 11. it was a penny, and continued the same at that of Henry
IV. At the coronation of Henry V. it was two pennies, or the half of
a grossus, or groat, and the same at that of Henry VI., and of Edward
* The coins here meutioued were a sort of base money of the lowest
value, wliich was, at one time, imported into England, with many other
pieces (equally rude in their names. Most of them, however, were
prohibited by statute 3 Henry V.
FRAG ME NT A REGALIA. 509
IV., nor do we find it raised at the coronation of Richard III. or of
Henry VII. At that of Henry VIII. it was the whole groat, or grossiis,
nor was the price altered at those of Edward VI. and Queen Mary ;
but at Queen Elizabeth's it was a ieston, or fester, sixpence. At those
of James I. and Charles I. a shilling was given, which sum was
advanced to half a crown at the coronation of Charles II. and James
II. At King William and Queen Anne's it was a crown, and at
George I.'s the show was seen by many at that price. At George II.'s
some gave half a guinea. Large sums were given at the coronation of
George III. In a letter from a gentleman in London (Bonnell Thornton)
to his friend in the country, he mentions " having had a fine view of the
procession out of doors from a one pair of stairs room, which your
neighbour, Sir Edward, had hired at the small price of one hundred
guineas." The front seats in the galleries of Westminster Abbey
were let at ten guineas each, and those in houses along the procession
at no less prices. The terms in ordinary houses were from one guinea
to five, so that a small house in Coronation Eow, after the scaffolding
was paid for, cleared £700, and some large houses upwards of £1000.
In the " Coronation Theatres," as they were called, which were large
temporary erections, containing twelve hundred to fifteen hundred
seats, the prices asked were enormous.
Among some curious advertisements which appeared in the
public prints of 1761, relative to the coronation of George IIL, is
the following : — " To be Lett, for the Coronation, a whole House in
New-Palace Yard, which has a full view of the Champion and Proces-
sion, with Beds in it, and all other conveniences, to bring their own
servants for their attendance ; or it may be divided for separate com-
panies ; not less than twelve in each, all to be within doors."
At the coronation of George IV. a great number of pavilions were
erected along the whole line of the procession ; the prices varied from
two to five guineas for a single seat.
The inauguration of William IV. and Queen Adelaide was of a far
more simple character, unattended with the pomp and display of the
preceding coronation, but the prices to view the procession were high.
The arrangements for spectators at the coronation of Queen Victoria
were admirably made, especially the erections on the vacant ground
contiguous to the abbey, where an immense number of persons were
seated at from ten to thirty shillings each. In the galleries erected in
front of Westminster Hospital, seven hundred seats were let at one
guinea each, and many of these were afterwards disposed of at two
guineas premium.
PiOYAL Effigies ix Wax. — The waxwork exhibition in Westminster
Abbey, or the " Play of the Dead Volks," as the com.mon people called
it, was discontinued in 1839. The exhibition originated in the old
custom of making a lively effigy in wax of the deceased — a part of the
funeral procession of every great person — and of leaving the effigy over
the grave, as a kind of temporary monument. Some of these effigies
were executed at great cost and with considerable skill. The effigy of
5IO CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
La Belle Stuart, one of the last that was set up, was the work of a
Mrs. Goldsmith. This kind of exhibition was found so profitable to
the dean and chapter, that they manufactured effigies to add to the
popularity of their series.
From a passage in a rhyming account of the tombs in "Westminster
Abbey in " The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence " (1658), it would
appear that, at that time, the following were the waxen figures ex-
hibited in the presses: —
" Henry the Seventh, and his fair Queen,
Edward the First and his Queen ;
Henry the Fifth here stands upright,
And his fair Queen was this Queen.
" The noble Prince, Prince Henry
King James's eldest sou ;
King Jantes, Queen Anne, Queen Elizabeth
And so this Chapel's done."
Peacham, in his " Worth of a Penny," enumerating what the simple
value of a penny will effect, says, " For a penny j'ou may hear a
most eloquent oration upon our English kings and queens, if keeping
your hands off, you seriously listen to him who keeps the monuments
at Westminster."
In Tom Brown's " W^alk through London and Westminster "
(1708) we have an amusing notice of the royal waxen figures : " And
so we went to see the ruins of majesty in the women \_sic : waxen ?]
figures placed there by authority. As soon as we had ascended half a
score stone steps in a dirty cobweb hole, and in old wormeaten presses,
whose doors llew open at our approach, here stood Edward the Third
as they told us ; which was a broken piece of waxwork, a batter'd head,
and a straw-stuflTd body, not one quarter covered with rags ; his beau-
tiful Queen stood by, not better in repair ; and so to the number of
half a score Kings and Queens, not near so good figures as the King
of the Beggars make, and all the begging crew would be ashamed of
the company. Their rear was brought up with good Queen Bess, with
the remnants of an old dirtj'" ruff", and nothing else to cover her."
It was customary, after the exhibition of the figures, to send round
what was called the " cap of General Monk " fDr contributions. 'J'he
reader will remember the " Ingoldsby Legends " : —
*'I thouglit on Nascby, Mjirston Moor, and Worcester's crowning fight.
When on my ear a sound there fell, it iill'd mc with aft'right j
As thus, in low unearthly tones, I heai'd a voice begin —
* This here's the cap of General Monk ! Sir, please put summut in.' "
In Goldsmith's "Citizen of the World " the cap is thus alluded to :
" Our conductor led us through several dark walks and winding ways,
littering lies, talking to himself, and flourishing a wand which he held
in his hand. He reminded me of tlie black magicians of Kobi. After
we had been almost fatigued with a variety of objects, he, at last,
desired mc to consider attentively a certain suit of armour which
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 511
seemed to shew nothing remarkable. ' This armour,' said he, ' belonged
to General Monk/ — Very surprising that a general should wear armour !
— * And, pray,' added he, ' observe this cap ; this is General Monk's
cap.' — Very strange, indeed, very strange that a general should have a
cap also! — 'Pray, friend, what might this cap have cost originally?'
* That, sir,' says he, * I don't know ; but this cap is all the wages I have
lor my trouble."
In Pope's " Life of Seth Ward " (1697) we read : " Another time
lie [Dr. Barrow] preached at the Abbey on a holiday. Here I must
inform the Reader that it is a custom for the 'servants of the church,
upon all Holidays, Sundays excepted, betwixt the Sermon and
Evening prayers, to shew the Tombs and Effigies of the Kings and
Queens in Wax, to the meaner sort of people, who then flock thither
from all the corners of the town, and pay their two pence to see The
Play of the Dead Volks, as I have heard a Devonshire Clown most
improperly call it. These perceiving Dr. Barrow in the pulpit after
the hour was past, and fearing to lose that time in hearing which
they thought they could more profitably employ in receiving — these,
I say, became impatient, and caused the organ to be struck up against
him, and would not give over playing till they had blow'd him up."
In the " Historical Account of the Curiosities of London and
Westminster " (1763) we have a statement of the condition of these
effigies, which were then kept (as they are now) in the Chapel of
Islip, or St. John the Baptist, in Westminster Abbey. These were
in two large wainscot presses, but were in a sad, mangled condition ;
some stripped, and others in tattered robes, but all maimed and
broken. The most ancient were the least injured. The robes of
Edward VL, which were of crimson velvet, and appeared like leather,
Avere left entire ; but those of Queen Elizabeth and James I. were
entirely stripped, as were all the rest, of everything of value.
Horace Walpole observes that in his time the mangled and worn-
out effigies were called the " ragged regiment."
Donne, in his " Satires," alludes to the kingly " shows " at West-
minster : —
" He, like to a liigh-stretcht lute-string squeak'd, ' 0, Sir,
*Tis sweet to talk of Kings ' At Westminster,'
Said I, ' the man that keepe's the Abbey tombes
And for his price doth, with whoever conies,
Of all our Harries and our Edwards talke
From King to King and all their Kin can walke :
Your ears shall hear nought but Kings ; your eyes meet
Kings only ; the way to it is King Street.' "
The most interesting of the eleven existing figures is that of Eliza-
beth, a restoration by the chapter in 1760 of the original figure
carried at her funeral, which had fallen to pieces a few years before.
She looks half-witch and half-ghoul. Her weird old head is crowned
by a diadem, and she wears the huge ruff, laden with a century of
dust, the long stomacher covered with jewels, the velvet robe em-
512 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
"broidered with gold' and supported on paniers, and the pointed
high-heeled shoes with rosettes, familiar from her pictures.
Next in point of date of the royal effigies is that of Charles II.,
robed in red velvet, with lace collars and ruffles. It long stood over
his grave in Henry VII.'s Ciiapel, and served as his monument. By
his side once stood the now ruined effigy of General Monk, dressed in
armour. Mary II. and William III. stand together in an oblong
case on either side of a pedestal. Mary, who died at thirty-two, is a
large woman, nearly six feet high. The effigy was cast from her dead
face. She wears a purple-velvet bodice, three brooches of diamonds
decorate her breast, and she has pearl earrings and a pearl necklace
a la Sevigne. William III. is represented much shorter than his
wife, which was the case.* Next comes the figure of Anne, fat, with
hair flowing on her shoulders, wearing the crown and holding the
orb and sceptre. This figure, which was carried on her coffin, is still
the only sepulchral memorial to this great queen-regnant.
At the ceremony of lying in state in Somerset House, at the
funeral of Oliver Cromwell, a waxen image of the Protector was placed
on a richly adorned bed. The robes were of purple and crimson
velvet, ornamented with ermine and lace of gold. To the side of the
effigy was alfixed a splendid sword, and in one hand was a sceptre,
and in the other a globe. A cap of ermine and purple velvet covered
the head. On a high stool of gold tissue lay an imj^erial crown, and
near it a suit of complete armour. At the feet of the figure was seen
the crest of the deceased. After a few weeks the aspect of the
ceremony was somewhat altered. The effigy was removed to another
and not less splendid apartment, where, instead of being placed in a
recumbent posture as before, the "vvaxen figure was made to stand on
a raised dais, and under a canopy of state. The ornaments and
devices were nearly the same, and, with the exception of the cap
being exchanged for a crown, the tigure Avas robed as before. The
Protector, in this stage of his apotheosis, was intended to be represented
in a state of glory, and the light was so concentrated as to form i*.
celestial halo round his effigy. Ludlow says, " This folly and pro-
fusion so far provoked the people that they threw dirt in the night on
the escutcheon that was i)laced over the great gate of Somerset
House."
On the day 6f the funeral, the waxen figure was carried in pro-
cession, by two gentlemen who had belonged to the household of the
late Protector, to a splendid hearse, or chariot, which had been con-
structed for its reception. The figure was again habited in the robes
* Micholct, in his " Louis XIV.," describes the waxen oflRury of
Williiim 1 IL, more from imnfjination than fact : " La forto bonne tiguro
en circ do Guillanme in., (jui est en Westminst(M-, lo niontro au vrai.
11 est on ])i(Ml commo il fnt, ni(>squin, jauno, nii-Fran(,'ais par I'habit
rabanc do Louis XIV., mi- Anglais do flogmo a-pijarent etre a sang froid,
que i)Ousse certaine fatalite muuvaisc."
FRAGMENT A REGALIA, 513
of royalty, with a crown on its head, and the globe and sceptre in its
hands. The hearse, which was open, was adorned with plnmes and
escutcheons, and drawn by six horses in trappings of black velvet.
At the head and feet of the effigy were j^laced two seats, on each of
which sat a gentleman of the bed-chamber. At the west entrance
to Westminster Abbey, the effigy was carried by ten gentlemen,
under a canopy of state, to the eastern end of the pile, where a
magnificent couch of wax had been prepared to receive it.* Here,
surrounded with plumes, escutcheons, banners, gilded armour, and
other splendid devices — the whole enclosed by gilt railings and
curiously wrought pillars — the waxen effigy remained until the
Restoration.
The dress of the figure itself could hardly have been exceeded by
the fantastic trappings of an Elizabethan fop. " The shirts of fine
Holland laced," " the doublet and breeches of Spanish fashion, with
great skirts/' " the silk stockings, shoe-strings, and gaiters suitable,"
" the black Spanish-leather shoes," " the surcoat of purple velvet,
richly laced with gold lace," " the rich crown," " the stones of various
colours," " the cording and bosses of purple and gold," " the bands
and ruffs of best Holland," and "the royal robe of purple velvet,'*
must have suffered sadly from the damp of the grave.
The kings of France had also their waxen effigies. Mr. Cole, of
Milton, upon his visit to the abbey of St. Denis, near Paris (November
22, 1765), says in his *' Diary," " Mr. Walpole had been informed by
M. Mariette, that in this treasury were several wax figures of some of
the later Kings of France, and asked one of the monks for leave to
see them, as they were not commonly shown, or much known.
Accordingly, in four cupboards, above those in which the jewels,
crosses, busts, and curiosities were kept, were eight rugged figures of
so many monarchs of this country to Louis the Thirteenth, which
must be very like, as their faces were taken off in wax immediately
after their decease. The monk told us that tlie great Louis the Four-
teenth's face was so excessively u-rinldecl that it ivas irajpossihle to tahe
one off from him."
Eegal Monuments. — In the" Report of the Sepulchral Monuments
Committee " (describing the condition, etc., of existing monuments),
presented to the Houses of Parliament by command of her Majesty
(1872), we have, under the head of "Eegal Monuments," the following
list of kings and queens regnant of England and Scotland : —
Edward the Confessor, died 1066, buried in Westminster Abbey :
shrine of marble and mosaic, with upper parts of wood. Erected by
* The term "hearse of wax" is one of continual recurrence in the
accounts of funeral pageants in old times, and is to be understood not
of the material of the hearse itself, but of the candles and tapers with
which it was covered.
2 L
514 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Henry III., 1269. William IL, 1100, Winchester Cathedral: stone
coffin with coped top of Purbeck marble. Authenticity doubted. John,
1216, Worcester Cathedral : altar-tomb of stone, with recumbent effigy.
The tomb not contemporary, though the effigy is nearly so. Henry
III., 1272, AVestminster Abbey : marble and mosaic altar-tomb, with
recumbent effigy, brass gilt. Edward I., 1307, Westminster Abbey :
marble altar-tomb. Edward II., 1327, Gloucester Cathedral: high
tomb, with canopy and recumbent effigy. Edward III., 1377, West-
minster Abbey : on a marble altar-tomb, with wooden canopy, recum-
bent effigy in copper gilt. Eichard II., 1400, Westminster Abbey : on
a marble altar-tomb, with wooden canopy, recumbent effigies of himself
and his queen, Anne. Henry IV., 1413, Canterbury Cathedral :
marble altar-tomb, with recumbent effigies in alabaster, under wooden
tester, with paintings of himself and his queen, Joan of Navarre.
Tester much decayed. Henry V., 1422, Westminster Abbey : marble
altar-tomb, with recumbent effigy in wood, formerly plated with silver,
and with silver head. Head and plates stolen in 1546. Edward IV.,
1483, St. George's Chapel, Windsor. A screen of wrought and stamped
iron is popularly called the tomb of King Edward IV. Edward V.,
1483, Westminster Abbey : marble urn with inscription, erected by
King Charles II., in 1678, on supposed discovery in the Tower of the
remains of the king and of his brother, Kichard, Duke of York.
Henry VII., 1509, Westminster Abbey : marble altar-tomb, with re-
cumbent effigies in copper gilt of himself and his queen, Elizabeth of
York. Mary I., 1558, Westminster Abbey : an inscription on Queen
Elizabeth's monument marks the interment of Mary in the same
tomb with her sister. Mary, Queen of Scots, 1587, Westminster
Abbey : marble altar-tomb, with canopy and recumbent effigy. Eliza-
beth, 1603, AVestminster Abbey : marble altar-tomb, with canopy and
recumbent effigy.
Some of the following royal monuments are of doubtful authenticity.
Sebert, King of the East Angles, and his queen, Ethelgoda {circa
616), buried in Westminster Abbey : Purbeck marble sarcophagus on
the site whither the remains of this king are recorded to have beer,
translated in the reign of Edward II.
Athelstan, King of England, 941, buried in Malmsbury Abbey
Church : brass plate, and inscription of much later date. The plate
very possibly marks the actual site of the interment.
Ethelreel 1 1., King of England, 1016, Wimborne Minster : a brass
half-length incised figure of the fourteenth century, with an in-
scription renewed in the seventeenth century. This plate may also
represent the actual site of the interment.
Alfwold, King of Northumbria, 788, Hexham Abbey : slab of
stone, six feet long, sculptured with vines and fruit.
Monuments of Queens Consort. — Eleanor of Castille, first wife of
King Edward I., 1290, Westminster Abbey : marble altar-tomb, with
recumbent effigy in copper gilt, with fine contemporary ironwork.
Philippa of Hainault, wife of King Edward III., 1369, Westminster
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 515
Abbey : altar-tomb of dark marble, with external arcading and
tabernacle-work in alabaster, and recumbent effigy of the same. Anne
of Bohemia, first wife of King Richard II., 1394, Westminster Abbey :
in one tomb with King Richard II. Joan of Navarre, second wife of
King Henry IV., 1437, Canterbury Cathedral : in one tomb with
King Henry IV. Elizabeth of York, wife of King Henry VIL, 1503,
Westminster Abbey : in one tomb with King Henry VII. Katherine
of Arragon, first wife of King Henry VIIL, 1536, Peterborough
Cathedral ; flat stone with inscription. Anne of Cleves, fourth wife of
King Henry VIIL, 1557, Westminster Abbey : incomplete stone
altar-tomb. Katharine Parr, sixth wife of King Henry VIII., 1548,
Sudeley Castle chapel, Gloucestershire : canopied tomb, with recumbent
effigy in white marble. The castle chapel appears to be private
property ; the monument has latel}'' been erected by the owner.
Princes Coxsoht. — No monument was erected to Prince George of
Denmark, consort of Queen Anne. His Royal Highness was buried,
1708, in Westminster Abbey.
Albert, Prince Consort, died 1861, has a magnificent monument at
Frogmore.
Parents of Kings and Queens of England. — Edward the Black
Prince, father of King Richard II., 1376, Canterbury Cathedral :
marble altar-tomb, with recumbent effigy in brass with wooden tester.
Richard, Duke of York, 1460, and Cecily Neville, his wife, 1456,
parents of King Edward IV. and King Richard III., Fotheringay :
high tomb of stone, erected by Queen Elizabeth in lieu of monument
destroyed with the choir. Edmund^ Tudor, Earl of Richmond, father
of King Henry VII., 1456, St. David's Cathedral : altar-tomb of Pur-
beck marble, inlaid with brasses, removed from Grey Friars at Car-
marthen after Dissolution. Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond
and Derby, mother of King Henry VIL, 1509, Westminster Abbey :
marble altar-tomb, with recumbent effigy in gilt metal. Sir John
Seymour, father of Queen Jane Seymour, 1536, Great Bedwyn, Wilts :
altar-tomb with recumbent effigy in freestone. Sir Thomas Boleyn,
K.G., Earl of Wiltshire and Ormond, father of Queen Anne Boleyn,
1538, Hever, Kent : altar- tomb, with inlaid effigy in brass.
Formularies of Coronations. — Beside^ the coronation rituals
previously mentioned in the chapter on " Coronations of English
Sovereigns," there is the magnificently illuminated missal, or service
book, the " Liber Regalis," prepared in 1373, under the care of Nicolas
Littlington, at that time Abbot of Westminster, and which is now in
excellent preservation in the library of the abbey. It contains, among
other matters, the office for the coronation of the king and queen, and
that for the queen only when not crowned with the king. The " Liber
Regalis " has been the basis of all subsequent ceremonials, and has been
in the custody of the abbots and deans of Westminster from the time
that it was drawn up by Abbot Littlington. A reprint of the
5i6 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
" Liber Kegalis " was made in 1871 for the lloxburgh Society, by the
munificence of Lord Bcauchamp.*
In the library of Westminster Abbey, among many rare and curious
works, are the books used at the coronations. The first two are
histories: those of the coronation and "Entertainment" of King
Charles IL, by John Ogilvy ; the other is Sandford's work on the coro-
nation of James IL We then come to George III.'s reign — a book
handsomely bound in red morocco and gilt, the inner sides of the covers
ornamented with gold and flowers, entitled, " The Form and Order
of the Service that is to be performed, and of the ceremonies that are
to be observed in the Coronation of their Majesties King George the
Third, and Queen Charlotte, in the Abbey Church of St. Peter, West-
minster, on Tuesday, the 22nd of September, 1761 ; printed by Mark
Baskett, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majesty, and by the
assigns of Robert Baskett, 17G1."
In their order are the books of George IV., William IV., and
Queen Victoria. The last one, however, is simplj'" stitched in black
paper covers.
In the Lambeth Library are preserved the coronation services from
Edward VI. to the present time. In Archbishop Seeker's copy of the
service of George III., used as the basis as that of George IV., the
orders for the queen's appearance were significantly erased throughout.
The declaration against transubstantiation was from the time of George
IV. read, not in the abbey, but previously before the two Houses of
Parliament.
In the Bodleian Library there is a manuscript of which it is not
easy to ascertain the date. It contains a complete copj' of the coro-
nation ; as the Saxon oath is in it?, it must be very ancient. •
There is also in the Bodleian a complete copy of the coronation
service of Edward II., very similar to the former, but with some
* An interesting mention is made of the " Liber Regalis " in the pro-
ceedings of Council relative to the right of Queen Charlotte, as consort,
to participate in tho coronation of George IV. Lord (then Mr.)
Brougham requested that the " Liber Regalis," in the possession of the
Dean of Westminster, should be inspected for entries of the coi'onation.
This being allowed, tho dean was then asked by one of the Council if
there were any other books containing any similar entry, to which he
replied tliat there was no other except the great Mass Book, which
contained tho ceremony used on these occasions. The missal was then
sent for.
It seems that a "Collection" out of the "Liber Kegalis" was
printed in 1821, to tho number of twelve copies only, for use at the
coi-ouation of George IV., consisting of eight pages folio.
I have before me "A Collection out of the Book called Liher
IU:nAi,is, remaining in the Treasury of tho Church of Westminstei',
toucldug the Coi'onation of the King and Queen together, according to
the usual form," printed in 10(51. This was for the coronation of
Charles II. Tho pamphlet consists of twelve pages, small 4to, and is
roughly printed.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA, 517
additions. The oath is changed, aud it also implies that the conse-
cration was not considered a mere ceremony, but an act absolutely
necessary to complete the king's authority. It also states that " the
Gospel being properly read, the King shall approach the altar, and
through the hands of the Metropolitan or Bishop, shall make an offer
of bread and wine, in imitation of Melchizedec."
It is stated that in the library founded by Dr. Williams, in lied
Cross Street, Cripplegate, were many manuscripts, which were burnt,
and among them the pompous and curious book of the ceremonies of
the coronation of the kings of England.
Among the valuable manuscripts in the possession of the Duke of
Northumberland are — " Narratives of Coronations, Funerals, and other
Ceremonies and orders of the Eoyal Household and Court. Paper ; folio,
sixteenth century." This manuscript, which was bought at Anstis's
sale, contains several accounts of the royal coronations, funerals, etc.,
and collections of the articles and orders made for the regulation of the
royal household, and for the arrangement of divers ceremonies. It
was injured by fire, but has been restored as far as possible. The con-
tents are as follows : — " Heere followeth the coronation of Kynge
Eichard the Thyrd and Queene Anne, the first yeare of their noble
raigne " — a curious and minute description by an eyewitness.
" 1st June 25 Henry VIII. The order of the ceremonye for the coro-
nation dinner of Henry VIII. and Anna Bolejai. A list of the offices
of carvers, cup-bearers, servers, &c., &c., and of the noblemen who Avere
to fill them, down to the kitchen boilers, marshalls, and ushers ; a list
of the guests, and yeoman ushers."
" The Marshiall's office in the orderinge and drawings of the sur-
nape at the coronation of Q. Anne."
An account of the coronation of Edward IV. " Another account
of the same ceremony." It ends, however, abruptly.
Among the rich manuscripts belonging to the Marquis of Bath is
a folio paper : " Proporcion for the coronacion of Henry VII. at West-
minster. At the palace of the Bishop of London, &c. Claims at the
coronation."
In the possession of Sir Thomas Hare, Bart., at Stow Hall, county
Norfolk, is a vellum roll, eighteen inches long (temj). Henry VIIL),
containing an account of the dinner in Westminster Hall on the coro-
nation of Henry VI.
Among the curious manuscripts belonging to the Marquis of
Lothian, at Blickling Hall, Norfolk, is a folio volume, paper, contain-
ing a miscellaneous collection in writing of the end of the sixteenth
or beginning of the seventeenth century. It contains, amongst other
things, " The Order of the Coronation of our late kynge of famous
memorye, Kynge Henrye the Eyghte, who was crowned the 23. of
June 1509 " (three leaves).
In the possession of W. Bromley-Davenport, Esq., M.P., is a folio
volume, paper, of the seventeenth century, containing amongst other
curious matters, " Forma coronacionis regum et reginarem Anglia3,"
beginning " Imprimis princeps noster coronandus ante diem coro-
5i8 CROWXS AND CORONATIONS.
nationis sua} nobili et decentissimo cultu apparetur, equitando a Turri
Loudonieusi usque ad palatium. regium Westmouasterii," etc. (two
leaves).
Coronation Anthems. — The celebrated anthems of Handel were
produced for the coronation of George II., in 1727. These are, " Let
thy hand be strengthened ; " ^' Zadoc the Priest ; " " The King shall
rejoice ; " " My heart is inditing.^' For the coronation of James II.,
Parcel composed, " I was glad " and " My heart is inditing ; " Dr.
Blow, " Behold, 0 Lord," and " God spake sometimes ; " Dr. Child,
the " Te Deum ; " Henry Lawes, " Zadoc the Priest ; " and Turner,
" The King shall rejoice."
Ancient Coronations and Kegalia. — Geoffrey of Monmouth, who
lived in the early part of the twelfth century, in his " Historia
Britonum " — a work from which nearly all our great vernacular poets
have drawn the materials of some of their noblest works of fiction and
characters of Romance, and a production full of fables — gives the
following fanciful account of the royal pomp at the Coronation of
King Arthur : —
"Upon the approach of the feast of Pentecost, Arthur resolved,
during that season, to hold a magnificent court, to place the crowu upon
his head, and to invite all the Kings and dukes under his subjection to
the solemnity. And when he had communicated his design to his
familiar friends, he pitched upon [the City of Legions as a proper place
for his purpose. For besides its great wealth above the other cities, its
situation, which was in Glamorganshire, upon the river Uske, near the
Severn Sea, was most pleasant, and fit for so great a solemnity.
" When all were assembled together in the city, upon the day of the
solemnity, the Archbishops were conducted to the palace, in oi'der to
place the crown upon the King's head. Therefore Dubricius, inasmuch
as the court was kept in his diocese, made himself ready to celebrate the
oflice, and undertook the order of everything that i-elatod to it. As soon
as the King was invested in his royal habiliments, he was conducted in
great pomp to the metropolitan church, suppoi'ted on each side by two
Archbishops, and having four Kings, viz. of Albania, Cornwall, Demotia,
and Venedotia, whose right it was, bearing four golden swords before
him. He was also attended with a concert of all sorts of music, which
made most excellent liarmony. On another part was the Queen, dressed
out in her richest oi'uamcuts, conducted by the Ai'chbishops and bishops
to the Temple of Virgins; the four Queens, also, of the Kings last
mentioned, Ijcaring before her four white doves according [to ancient
custom ; and after her there followed a I'ctinue of women, making all
imaginable demonstrations of joy. When the whole procession was
ended, so transporting was the harmony of the musical instruments and
voices, whereof there was a vast variety in both churches, that tho
knights who attended wore in doubt which to i)refcr, and therefore
crowded from ono to the other by turns, and were far front being tired
with tho solemnity, though the whole day has been spent in it. At
last, when divine service was over in both churches, the King and Queen
FRAGMENT A REGALIA, 519
put off their crowns, and putting on their lighter ornaments, went to the
banquet ; he to one palace with the men, and she to another with the
women. For the Britons still observed the ancient custom of Troy, by
which the men and Avomen used to celebrate their festivals apart. When
they had all taken their seats according to precedence, Cains, the sewer,
in rich robes of ermine, with a thousand young noblemen, all in like
manner clothed in ermine, served up the dishes. From another part,
Bedver, the butler, was followed with the same number of attendants,
in various habits, who waited with all manner of cups and drinlRng
vessels. In the Queen's palace were innumerable waiters, dressed with
a variety of ornaments, all performing their respective offices ; which, if
I should describe particularly, I should draw out the history to a tedious
length. . . .
" As soon as the banquets were over, they went into the fields without
the city, to divert themselves with various sports. ... In this manner
were the first three days spent, and on the fourth, all who, upon account
of their titles, bore any kind of office at this solemnity, were called
together to receive honours and preferments in reward of their
services, and to fill up the vacancies in the government of cities and
castles, archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbeys, and other posts of honour."
Lydgate, in his '' Fall of Princes/' says —
" He [Arthur] is a King y-crowned in Faerie,
With sceptre and pall, and with his regality
Shalle resort, as lord and sovereigne
Out of Faerie, and reigne in Bretaine
And repair again, the oulde Eounde Table."
The Ancient Sovekeigns of Wales. — From the laws of Howel
the Good, enacted about 950, we learn the duties and privileges of the
twenty-four officers of the king's palace ; sixteen of whom were
attached to the person of the king, and eight to that of the queen.
They were the master of the household, domestic chaplain, steward of
the household, judge of the palace, falconer, chief grooni, chief hunts-
man, steward of the household to the queen, queen's chaplain, domestic
bard, crier, doorkeeper of the hall, doorkeeper of the chamber, page of
the chamber, chambermaid, groom of the rein, torch-bearer, butler,
mead brewer, officers of the palace, cook, foot-holder, physician, groom
of the rein to the queen.
About the year 500 the Welsh were so rude and unpolished that
there was a necessity for making a law " that none of the courtiers
should give the Queen a blow, or snatch anything with violence
out of her hand, under the penalty of forfeiting her Majesty's pro-
tection."
In the year 574, Aidan, the son of Gauran, became, on the death
of Conal, King of the Bkitish Scots, and it is mentioned as a proof
of the general veneration in which St. Colomba was then held, as well
by sovereigns as by the clergy and the people, that he was the person
selected to perform the ceremony of the inauguration on the accession
520 CROWXS AXD COROXATIONS.
of the new king. Colomba, it appears, was unwilling to act on this
occasion, but an angel, as his biographers say, appeared to him during
the night, holding a book, called " The Glass Book of the Ordination of
Kings," which he put into the hands of the saint, and ordered him to
ordain Aidan king, according to the directions of that book. This
"Liber Yitreus" is supposed to have been so called from having its
cover encrusted with glass or crystal.
•It is rather remarkable that Martcne refers to this inauguration of
Aidan by St. Colomba, as the most ancient instance he had met with,
in the course of his reading, of the benediction of kings in Christian
times : " Quorum (regum) benedictio baud minoris antiquatis est
(j^uam imperatorum. Antiquissima omnium quas inter legendum mihi
reperire licuit, ea est quae a Columba Abbate Hiensi facta est, jussu
Angeli, in Aidanum Scotocorum regem " (" De Antiq. Eccles. Kit.,"
lib. ii. cap. 10).
It is stated in the introduction to the Eoxburghe Club edition of the
" Liber llegalis" (1871) that "the earliest coronation of a Christian
prince within the limits of Great Britain and Ireland is generally sup-
posed to be that of Dermot or Diarmid, supreme monarch of Ireland,
by his relative, Columba " {circci 5G0), but this is merely an inference
from the close relation between the two parties, not an ascertained
historical fact.
It is said, on the authority of tradition only, that Donchad, son o1
the Irish king, Brian Borhu (assassinated 1014), went, in the year
10G4, to Rome, carrying with him the crown, harp, and other regalia of
Brian Borhu, which he laid at the feet of the pope. These regalia
were, it is said, deposited in the Vatican till the reign of Henry VIII.,
when the pope sent the harp to that monarch, with the title of
" Defender of the Faith," but kept the crown, which was of massive
gold.* Setting no value on the harp, Henry gave it to the tirst Earl
of Clanrickard, in whose family it remained until the beginning of the
present century, when it came, by a lady of the De Burgh family, into
that of Mac Mahon, of Clenagh, in the county of Clare. In 1782 it
was presented to the Right Hon. William Conynham, who deposited it
in the museum of Trinity College. There is a tolerably full list in the
earlier editions of llaydn of the Irish kings froni Heremon (b.c. 1300)
to Roderick O'Connor (a.d. 1168-1172), the last of the kings before
Ireland was given to the Norman king of England, Henry II., by
Pope Adrian.
* Whether the kings of Ii-claud wore any sort of crown whatever
has been a matter of doubt with antiquarians. In the preface to
Keating's "History" there is an account given of a golden cap,
supi)osed to bo a provincial crown, which was found in 1692 in the
county of Tippcrary. " This cap, or crown, it is said, weighs about five
ounces; tlic l)order and the licad is raised in chased work, and it seems
to bcai* some I'oscinblauce to the close crown of the Eastern Emjiirc.
which was compost>(l of tlie hcbiict, together with the diadem, as Selden
observes in his ' Titles of Honour.' "
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 521
Giraklus Cambrensis (" Topog. Hibern.," iii. 25) has a story which
lias been vehemently denied by writers npon Celtic history, but is
supported by independent testimony from the chronicles of the Pictish
kingdom. The story is generally told as if it must necessarily relate
to the great family of the " Hy Nyall," whose kings were crowned at
Tara. But Giraldus only said that in one part of their dominions was
a nation which practised a barbarous rite in their mode of electing a
king. A white mare, or a cow by another account, was sacrificed in
the midst of the people ; the candidate was forced to crawl in on all-
fours, and to lap the broth and taste the flesh, with several degrading
ceremonies.
That some similar practice long remained among the Picts is
known from the words of a contemporary chronicler ; for David I.
of Scotland, who led the Scottish and Pictish forces to the Battle
of the Standard (a.d. 1153), was said to have been so disgusted
at the customary rites of subservience, that the bishops could hardly
persuade him to accept the kingly office.
Selden remarks that " when King Richard II., in 1395, made a
royal tour in Ireland, he was met in Dublin by the four provincial
kings, Avhom he intended knighting ; but they declined this com-
pliment, each having received that honour from his father at seven
years old."
Some scanty notices are recorded in history regarding the in-
auguration ceremonies of the ancient kings of Scotland. Thus we
read that in 1249 Alexander II., while on his way to chastise Angus,
the Lord of Argyle, for refusing him homage, died, and according to
the customs of the times his son, Alexander III., then a boy only in
his eighth year, was seated on the royal chair, or sacred stone of
Scone, which stood before the cross in the eastern division of the
chapel. Immediately before his inauguration the Bishop of St.
Andrews knighted him by girding him with the belt of knighthood,
and explained to him, first in Latin, then in Norman French, the
nature of the compact he and his subjects were about to enter into.
The crown, after the king had been seated, was placed on his head,
and the sceptre in his hand. He was then covered with the royal
mantle, and received the homage of the nobles on their knees, who,
in token of submission, threw their robes beneath his feet. On this
occasion, agreeably to ancient practice, a Gaelic sennachie, or bard,
clothed in a red mantle, and venerable for his great age and hoary
locks, a])proaclied the king, and in a bended and reverential attitude
recited from memory in his native language the genealogy of all the
Scottish kings, deducing the descent of the youthful monarch from
Gathetus, the fabulous founder of the nation. The bard, after pro-
nouncing a blessing in his native tongue, was dismissed with handsome
presents.
In former times the island of Islay (Western Islands of Scotland)
formed an important part of the ^possessions of the MacDonalds, Lords
of the Isles, who were accustomed to be crowned as independent
522 CROIVXS AND CORONATIONS.
sovereigns by the bishops of Argyle, at a place pointed out in Islay.
On these occasions the insular lords stood upon a large square stone^
in which were hollows to receive their feet, and which still exists for
the gratification of the antiquarian inquirer. The stone was seven
feet square, and the MacDonald was crowned King of the Isles standing
on this stone, and swearing that he would continue his vassals in the
possession of their lands, and do equal justice to all his subjects, and
then his father's sword was put into his hand. The Bishop of Argyle
and seven priests anointed him king in presence of all the heads of
the tribes in the isles and continent, and were his vassals ; at which
time the orator rehearsed a catalogue of his ancestors, etc.
Coronation Medals. — The first medal coined in England distinct
from money was that of Henry VIII., on his taking the title of
*' Head of the Church under Christ ; " Cajjut supremum^ Londini^ 1545,
which is expressed in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Small figures of
a rose, harp, fieiir-de-lys, and portcluse, each crowned, are introduced.
The king is represented in a furred robe or gown ; on his shoulders a
collar of rubies, and on his head the bonnet usually pourtrayed as
worn by him.
This legend was perpetuated in like manner under Edward YI.,.
whose medallion (the first coronation medal) in silver represents the
youthful prince, half length, in armour — ^in his right hand a sword ;
in his left, the orb and cross. The diadem is on his head, and the
legend gives the date of the coronation, and his age, ten. From the
word " Lambhith " above the inscription, on the reverse, it is believed
to have been struck in the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth by his
Grace's coiners, usually employed at his mint in Canterbury. It is of
great rarity, and in some distinguished cabinets the absence of the
original is supplied by casts in silver most delicately tooled and chased.
These chasings, from their beautiful effect, are highly valued.
Mary I. had no coronation medal. The gold sovereigns of this
(|ueen, weighing two hundred and forty grains each, were scattered at
her inauguration. On their obverse Mary is represented in her regalia,
seated on her throne. On the reverse, a full-blown rose ; in the centre
of the expanded flower are the arms of England with motto, A Bno
factvni est istvd z est inira in ocvl nris (" It is the work of the Lord,
and it is marvellous in our eyes ").
There is no coronation medal of Elizabeth. Her successor, James I.,
caused a small silver medal to be thrown among the spectators at his
coronation. On the obverse is his bust clad in armour, the head
laureated, looking to his left, with name and title : Jac: I. Brit: Cce:
A'Kj: Iht: Ccesarum, D.D. ("James the First of Britain, Ccesar
Au(justus, Caesar, heir of Caesars, by the gift of God "). This medalet
is i)rettily enuraved. On the reverse is a lion ramj)ant, crowned, bear-
ing in his right i)aw a beacon with fire, and in his left a wheatsheaf,
with the modest legend, Ecce phaos i^opvUiive salvs (" Behold the
beacon and health of the people").
Charles 1. ordered two medals to be engraved by Briot, firstly, on
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 525
his corouation in England, and secondly, in Scotland. On the former
is seen the bust of the king in his coronation robe, decorated with
the collar of the Garter, his neck encircled with a ruff, and on his head
the diadem ; the face towards his left, surrounded by name and title.
On the reverse an arm with gauntlet and sword issuing from a cloud ;
the legend — Donee pax reddita terris (" Till peace be restored to the
earth "), Charles being , at this time at war with Spain. In the
exergue — coron. Feby. 2, 1626.
The Scottish coronation medal represents the bust of the king,
splendidly habited, with lace collar. The bust is adorned with the
order of the Thistle as well as the Garter, the former taking precedence,
the head surmounted by a crown different in form from the one on the
English medal ; the whole encircled with name, etc., as King of
Scotland and England, in this instance unlike the legend on the other,
where he is styled King of Great Britain. On the reverse is a thistle ;
the inscription — Hinc nostrce creuere rosce (" Hence our roses have
grown"). Some few of these medals were struck in gold found in that
country. In the exergue — Coron. Junii. 18. 1633. B. This medal
was struck at Edinburgh, and is remarkable as being the first made in
Britain with a legend on the edge. Specimens of this medal in gold
are very scarce.*
Charles II.'s medal recording his coronation on New Year's Day,
1652, at Scone, in Scotland, is now very scarce. On the obverse is
the bust robed, and decorated with the collar of the Garter ; the face,
rather youthful, is turned to the left, with name and title, in addition
to which is. Coron. Scon. 1651. On the reverse, a lion rampant, bear-
ing a thistle with three heads ; inscription Nemo : me : impunei lacesset
(" No one shall injure me with impunity.") This piece is of inferior
work.
Ten years afterwards, on his restoration, a small but finely executed
medal was distributed when the same ceremony took place in England ;
it is from the graver of Thomas Simon (to whom also the medals of
the Commonwealth are due). The obverse has his bust in his coro-
nation robe, with the collar of the order of the Garter, the George
pendant, the diadem on his head, and the whole encircled with his
name and style. The portrait of the sovereign is splendid. On the
reverse the king is seated, an angel crowning him ; the legend — Everso :
missus : succurrere seculo ; xxiii. April 1661 (" Sent to restore a fallen
age," 23 April, 1651).
Another medal, rather larger, was struck, the obverse of which
presents a bust of Charles as before, but looking the opposite way,
* Oliver Cromwell would doubtless have been delighted with the
chance of striking a coronation medal, but, however desirable, the
experiment was too hazardous ; still he reigned more feared under
his assumed title of Protector of the Liberties of England, than the
majority of our legitimate monarchs. We find none struck on his
investiture.
524 CJWJVXS AXD CORONATIONS.
Avitli name, etc., and the addition of the Avord Coronatus under the bust.
On the reverse the figure of the king as a shepherd amidst a flock
of sheep ; the legend — Dixl cvstodiam (" I have said that I will keei>
them," 23 April, 1G61).
The coronation medal of James II. was engraved by George Bower.
Obverse, the bust of the sovereign, the head laurcated, and with name,
etc. On the reverse, a splendid antique chair, on which is placed the
British crown ; beside the chair the figure of an angel, bearing in the
right hand a flaming sword, and in the left a branch ; legend —
Tutamen ah alto (" Protection from on high "). This medal is verj-
rare.
The coronation of William III. and Queen Mary was the subject
of many medals, some of which were made to be thrown amongst the
people on the day of the solemnity; others to be given to persons
who assisted in the solemnity ; and, lastly, others were struck, as well
in England, the United Provinces, as elsewhere, either in remembrance
of the day, or to the praise of the king and queen. The first was
<listributed to such persons as by the duties of their offices were
obliged to assist at the coronation. It has on one side the busts of
the king and queen, with this legend : GuHelmus et Maria : Rex et
Begina. On the other. Phaeton struck with thunder by Jupiter, with
this inscription: Nc Tolas Absamatur ("Lest the world should be
destroyed "). The day of the coronation is in the exergue mentioned
according to the old style, Liaugurati 11. ApriUs 1G89.
The second coronation medal has busts of the king and queen
crowned with laurel, with this inscription, Guliehnus et Maria, Bex et
Begina Britannix. The reverse represents England under the figiu'e
of a woman sitting upon the poop of a ship, under the shade of an
orange and a rose tree, whose interwoven trunks go through a crown.
She embraces a horn of plenty ; in her left hand she holds a pike, at
the end of which is a cap of liberty ; and in the right a cross and
balance, the symbols of liberty restored to religion and the laws,
liound it is this verse, Aurea Florigeris Duccrescunt Poma Bosctis
(" And golden fruit with roses grow ") — an allusion to the establishment
of the house of Orange in England, where the white and red roses were
formerly used in the devices of the royal family. 'J'lie legend of the
exergue is, Securitas Britannia' Jiesiituta, 1G89 ("The security of
Great Britain restored, 1089 ").
The third coronation medal has the same busts, with this different
legend: Guilielmus et Mari((, Dei Gratia^ Anglio', FrancicP^ et
Hiherniw, Bex et Begina, Fidei Defensores, tOc. (" William and Mar}',
by the Grace of God, King and Queen of England, France, and
Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, etc"), lleverse, Andromeda fastened
to a rock; the legend taken from Ovid, " Metam.," 1. iv. ver. 739—
Fretiumque et Causa Labor is 1G89 ("The reward and cause of the
enterprise ").
The fourth coronation medal lias the same busts, with this legend :
Guliehnus Et Maria, Dei Gratia, Anglia', Francin, Ft Ilihernia; Bex
Ft Begina, Fidei Defensores. Jtever.se : the statue of the king, dressc<l
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 525
after the Eoman manner, and crowned with laurel, holding a sword in
one hand and a sceptre in the other. It is raised on a pedestal, on
which are these words, ^re Perennius (" More durable than brass ").
On one side of the medal is Time, and on the other History, with
these words round the medal, Coelo DilahiturAlto (" He comes from
heaven ").
The fifth coronation medal has busts crowned with laurel, and the
inscription, GuUehnus Eex, Maria Itegina, Fidel Defensores, Pit.
Augusti (" King William and Queen Mary, Defenders of the Faith :
pious, august." Keverse : a heap of church ornaments used by the
Papists ; a yoke, the symbol of slavery, and some serpents, half hid,
are consumed by the fire of heaven. These words are round the top
of the medal, from Virgil, Hcec Summa Dies (" This is their last day "),
that is, for jiopery and slavery. The date alluded to is in the exergue :
Tnauguratis Majestatibus -^ Aprilis 1689.
The sixth medal has a bust of the king, Gulielmus III., Del
dratia, Magnce Britanriice, Francke, et Illbernice Rex, 1689. Eeverse :
a terrestrial globe floating on the sea, of which the part containing
England is illuminated by the sun ; Ccetera Lustrahit (" He will visit
the rest "), that is, he will diffuse his salutary influence over the rest of
the earth, as he diffused it over England by his coronation. In the
exergue, Coronatione Invicti WUhelml Henrlci, Llhertatis vindicis
("By the coronation of the invaluable William Henry, the asserter of
]il)erty."
'I'he seventh medal has busts of the king and queen, with these
different titles — Gulielmus Et Maria, Del Gratia, Britannorum Rex
Et Reglna, Fidel Defensores. Reverse : an eagle throwing out those
of her young that cannot look fixedly upon the sun, which is seen on
the top of the medal. The words round it are, Non Patltur Supposl-
fitios (" She dares not suffer a spurious issue "). In the exergue.
Jure Regni Vlndlcato MDCLXXXIX. ("The right of the kingdom
asserted, 1689 ")•
The eighth medal has the busts of the king and queen, each upon
a separate circle, or festoon, formed by branches of the orange and rose
trees. They are fastened together by a cordon, and over them are four
sceptres and a crown, above which appears an eye surrounded with
rays of light, the symbol of divine Provide ace. Legend, Aurea Poma
Mixta Rosls (" Golden fruits mixed with roses "). The busts are sup-
ported on the cap of liberty, placed upon the book witli the seven seals,
sustained by another book, upon the leaves of which is this inscription,
Leges Angllce ("The laws of England"). The whole is supported by
two horns of plenty, out of one of which issues crowns and branches of
laurels, and out of the other fruits. A little higher is the legend
Salus Regnl (" The safety of the State "), and Fellcltas Publlca
(" Public happiness "). The latter is in the exergue : Defensores
Fidel Anglic^, Wilhelmus Ilenricus Et Maria, Magnce Rrltannice
Reges (" Defenders of the Faith of England, William Henry and Mary,
King and Queen of Great Britain "). Reverse : an old oak, rooted up
and thrown down, and a flourishing orange-tree planted in its stead ;
526 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
Meliorem Lapsa Locavit (" Its place is filled hy a better "). In the
exergue, Inanguratione Majestatem Peracta Londini 11. Aprilis 1689
(" Their Majesties crowned in London, April 11, 1689 ").
The ninth medal has busts of the king and queen : Gulielmus Et
Maria, Dei Gratia, MagncG Britannice, Francice Et Hihernice, Rex Et
Begina (" William and Mary, by the grace of God, King and Queen of
Great Britain, France, and Ireland "). Reverse : the port of Torbay
seen at a distance. The word " Britannia " is inscribed on the top of the
medal. Below is the Belgic lion crowned, holding a bundle of seven
arrows and a sword passed through a crown. He supports his right
paw behind upon a Bible, and with the left he crushes a serpent.
Beside the lion is a crown thrown down, and round the medal, In
Taitionem Beligionis Protestantium (" For the defence of the Protestant
religion ").
The tenth medal was given to the persons who assisted in the
ceremony of the coronation. The busts of the king and queen are on
one side, with the legend, Gulielmus Et Maria, Dei Gratia, Magnoi
Britannice, Francice, Et Hihernice, Bex Et Begina. Reverse : the
king and queen sitting on a throne, with sceptres in their hands, and
two English bishops supporting a royal crown over their heads ;
legend, Idolatria Servituteq. Projligatis : Beligione, Legihus Liher-
tateque Bestitutis 1689 (" Idolatry and slavery put to flight ; religion,
laws, and liberty restored, 1689 ").
The eleventh medal has busts of the king and queen facing each
other, with these Avords over them : Majns Par Nohile Sceptris
("Sceptres are less great than this illustrious pair"). In the exergue,
Gulielmus Ilenricus Et Maria, Principes Auranicv, Magnce Britannice
Beges. 1689. Reverse : England, under the emblem of a woman
crowned and magnificently dressed, embraces a female warrior, sj'^m-
bolizing the aid of the Dutch. She bears on her shield the arms of
the prince, surrounded with tlie collar and device of the order of the
Garter. On the side of England are her arms and a pillar, on which
is the cap of liberty. The Dutch fleet is seen at a distance. Legend,
Magna Britannia Expeditione Navali Batavorum Liberata, Bestituta,
Asserta (" Great Britain delivered, reinstated, and secured by the
naval expedition of the Dutch").
The twelftli medal has busts of the king and queen. On the
reverse are the arms of both, with a royal crown over them, fastened
to two sceptres across each other, with this legend on the two sides,
Gulielmus Et Maria, Dei Gratia, Magjuv Britannia', Francice Et
Jlihernicc Bex Et Begina, Princejis Auranice Et Nassavice Huicque
Terrce Letltia (" William and Mary, by the grace of God, King and
Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Prince and Princess of
Orange and Nassau, the delight of these realms").
The coronation medal of Queen Anne was the work of John Croker.
On the obverse a bust of her Majesty, with drapery, the hair encircled
with a fillet, and without any ornament, the legend bearing the name
and title. The reverse represents Pallas darting a thunderbolt at a
two-headed monster, the body covered with scales, from which, as at
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 527
her feet, issue serpents; the inscription, Vicem gerit ilia tonantis
{" She bears the office of the thunclerer "). In the exergue, Inaugurat.
XXII April MDCCIL*
Another medal represents a heart crowned in the middle of a
garland, around which is the inscription, " Entirely English." f In
the rim, Atavis Regihufi (" From a race of Kings ") (Hor., lib. i. od. 1).
Exergue, Inaugurat XXII April MDCCIL
The coronation medal of George I. was the work of Croker. On
the obverse is the bust of the sovereign in armour, over which is the
toga, the head laureated, and the hair in long flowing curls. This
medal is of very fine w^ork, the portrait very like, and much higher in
relief than the medals of either of the king's two immediate pre-
decessors. The reverse exhibits the king gorgeously attired, w-ith the
collar of the Garter, and seated in an antique chair, Britannia placing
on his head his newly acquired diadem. There is no legend. On the
exergue is, Inaugurat XX Oct. MDCCXIII.
An extraordinary coronation medal of this monarch, being upwards
of five inches in diameter and of great weight, was engraved in
Hanover by Shelander, having the sovereign's bust on the obverse,
the name and title formed by animals and emblems. The reverse
represents the king at full length, and crowned by an angel from
above. He is accompanied by the figures of Justice, Britannia, etc.
This medal is of white metal and of extreme rarity.
Another, by Hannibal, struck likewise abroad, has the bust of the
king on the obverse. On the reverse he is pourtrayed as attended by
the figure of Liberty, who is crowning him with laurel, while a female
at his feet, intended to represent Britannia, is offering to him the
crown. She is accompanied by Piety, who is on his right hand. The
legend, Princ. opt. religionis et lihertatis custodi. In the exergue,
Puhlica avctoritate proclamato Aug. anno MDCCXIII. (" Our ex-
cellent prince proclaimed by public authority the guardian of religion
and liberty ").
* In the Postman (April 4, 1702) it is stated, " We hear that the
Queen had lately her picture drawn by Sir Godfrey Kneller, in order to
engrave an impress by, for the coronation medals and coin."
This portrait is inserted into the panels of the gallery of St. George
at Windsor Castle. It is a fine specimen of Kneller's genius.
In another paper of the same time (the Posthoy, No. 1077) is the
following news : — " We hear there is struck to the value of £12,000 or
more, in coronation medals of 50s. apiece, to be distributed in West-
minster Hall among those of quality."
t This is derived from the speech of Queen Anne on the first opening
of Parliament, which she thus concluded : '* As I know my own heart to
be entirely English, I can very sincerely assure you that there is not
anything you can expect, or desire from me, which I shall not be ready
to do for the happiness and prosperity of England, and you shall always
find me a strict and religious observer of my word."
528 CROIVXS AND COROXATIOXS.
The coronation medal of George II., also by Croker (the chief
engraver at the Mint), is of high relief, the head laureated, and tho
hair long and flowing ; the bust in armour with the toga, the name,
etc., in the legend. The king is seated in St. Edward's chair, a
female standing before him, who, leaning against what appears to be
intended for the fasces, with her right hand places the diadem on
his head, supporting on her left arm a cornucopia; the inscription,
VoUntes per populos (" By the wishes of the people "). In the exergue,
Coron. XI Octoh. MDCCXXVII.
The medal of Queen Caroline, consort of George II., represents, oq
the obverse, a fine bust of her Majesty, with draper}'', her hair orna-
mented with pearls. On the reverse are three figures; that in the
centre intended for the queen, the figure on her right hand Religion
or riety, and the other on her left Britannia, with legend, Ilic amor,
Juec 2)cUi'ici ("This is my love, this is my country "). In the exergue,
Coron. 11. Octoh. MDCCXXVII.
The inauguration medals of George III. and Queen Charlotte of
Mecklenberg-Strelitz were the work of Lawrence Natter. The king
is represented as clothed in armour, with the ribbon of the Garter,
laureated, and with a very youthful countenance, the legend having
his name, etc. On the reverse Britannia is seen crowning the king,
who is habited as a Boman commander and seated beside the British
lion, with the orb of sovereignty in his paws; the legend, Patriae
ovanti ("To our exulting country"). In the exergue, Coron. 22
Sept. 1761.
The head of Queen Charlotte on her coronation medal partakes of
the same character as the last, fidelity of portrait, but coarse work.
The queen is elegantly attired, with a string of pearls interwoven in
the liair. On the top is an ornament likewise set with pearls, and
surrounded as usual with name and title. The reverse presents a tall,
ungainly figure, intended for her Majesty, standing by an altar, while a
Avingod Victory is crowning lier; the inscription, "■ QiHt^sititrn meritis'*
("Sought for by merit"). In the exergue, " Coron. 22 Sep>t. 1761."
Some are found having the bust of the king on one side, and that of
the queen on the other.
The coronation medal of George IV., by Pistrucci, " has," observes
Till, " its beauties and defects. The laureated head of the king, on
the obverse, has no similitude to that of his late Majesty ; it is with-
out bust, and the hair to one unaccustomed to the frequent observance
of medallic engraving, would look beautiful, but it is too wiry ; each
hair is, as it were, too much defined ; the head is surrounded by the
legend, indicating name and title." On the reverse is pourtrayed a
splendid figure of the king, seated and habited in the Roman costume,
having the baton of command in his right hand ; behind him a
Victory with the imperial diadem, about to place it on his head ;
l)efore him arc three figures, representing England, Scotland, and
I rehmd, placing their right hands on an altar; they are recognized
hy their several emblems of the rose, the thistle, and shamrock^
minutely engraved on their helmets. The inscription is, Froprio
FRAGMENTA REGALIA, 529
jara jure animo paterno (" Now in his own right, with his father's
mind ").*
"William IV. and Queen Adelaide had only one coronation medal
for both, the work of Wyon. The head of the king is pourtrayed true
to nature, while on that of the queen is a splendid tiara, with the rose,
thistle, and shamrock introduced. The legend on the obverse, in plain
English, records, William the Fourth, crowned Sept. 8. 1831, while
the legend on the reverse mentions the same ceremony taking place
with the ([ueen.
The coronation medal of Queen Victoria, by Pistrucci, was subjected
at the time to severe criticism, not only in the public journals, but in
Parliament. The artist himself was sensible of its imperfections, but
two months previous to the completion of the work had been almost
entirely deprived of sight. On the obverse her head is pourtrayed, but
the face is much too old ; the hair, with the exception of the knot
behind, which is of better work, would disgrace the first essay of any
Birmingham die-sinker's apprentice. On the back of the head, and
lower part of the neck, is a kerchief or slight veil, probably in imita-
tion of the consecration veil which appears on the coins of the Koman
empresses. On the forehead is a circlet or band of gold, plain, without
other ornament ; the whole encircled with the legend, Victoria^ D. G.
Britamiiarum regina. F.D.
At the first glance the reverse has a pleasing appearance, but on
looking into it, it will be observed to be very defective. The queen is
seated on an estrade or dais, having in her right hand the orb, and in
her left the sceptre. Behind her, a lion grasps in its right paw the
thunder of Jupiter ; the left leg is defective, having no claw attached
to it. There is something pretty in the appearance of the queen ; the
face is as round as a ball, and the artist has to a certain extent pre-
served the likeness. But what a falling off from the portrait on the
reverse of the coronation medal of George IV. ! Opposite to her Majesty
are three female figures, representatives of the United Kingdom,
ofi'ering to her an imperial diadem. The crown differs from any one
ever worn by a British sovereign. The figures have helmets, and may
have emblems on them, but it is puzzling to make out for what they
are intended. The drapery on the figures is of an unique description,
unlike any engraved before. The sides of the steps of the dais are
badly cut: the whole is altogether most slovenly and unfinished.
The legend is, Erimus tihi nobile regnum (" We will be to thee a
noble kingdom " ). In the exergue is, " Inaugurata die Junil
MDCCCXXXVIII."
* According- to the report of the proceedings for this coronation, the
gold medal was to be of the value of one ounce of fine gold, and, includ-
ing the expenses of workmanship, the total cost of each gold medal was
to be £4 6.S. ; for every hundred medals, £430. The silver medal was
to be of the value of fifteen pennyweights of fine silver, and, including
the expenses of workmanship, the total cost of each silver medal was to
be 4s. 4cZ. ; for every hundred silver medals, £21 13s. 44.
2 M
530 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS.
IsToTABILIA CONNECTED WITH CrOWNS AND CORONATIONS. — A siugukr
event is recorded in ancient history of an unborn infant being pro-
claimed Kin(^ of Persia. On the death of Hormisdas II. (a.d. 309), his
son, Prince Hormisdas, thought to succeed him, but having incurred
the displeasure of the nobles, he was thrown into a dungeon, where it
was intended he should remain for the rest of his life. The nobles
themselves took the direction of affairs, but finding that though their
late king had left behind him no other son, yet that one of his wives
was pregnant, they proclaimed the unborn infant king, and even with
the utmost ceremony proceeded to crown the embryo by suspending
the royal diadem over the womb of the mother. A real interregnum
must have followed, but it did not extend beyond a few months.
The pregnant widow of Hormisdas fortunately gave birth to a boy,
and the difficulties of the succession were thereby ended. All classes
acquiesced in the rule of the infant monarch, who received the name
of Sapor — whether simply to mark the fact that he was believed to be
the late king's son, or in the hope that he would rival the glories of
the first Sapor, is uncertain.
Among the instances of coronations at a very early age, we have
that of Matilda, daughter of our Henry I., who was asked in marriage
at the age of seven by Henry V., Emperor of Germany, a monarch old
enough to be her father, and the alliance being approved, she was sent
in the following year to Germany, escorted by a splendid train of
knights. At Utrecht she was met by her future lord, and the cere-
monies of the betrothal took place. Her coronation was solemnized
almost immediately afterwards at Mayence ; the Archbishop of Treves
" reverently " holding the child in his arms, while the Archbishop of
Cologne, surrounded by all the dignitaries of the empire, placed upon
her brow the imperial diadem of the Ca3sars.
Another instance of infant coronations is that of James V. of
Scotland, who, on the death of his father at Flodden Field, was
crowned at Scone, in Scotland. It was called the " mourning " coro-
nation, for the ancient crown of Scotland being held over the baby
brow of the royal infant, most of the witnesses and attendants at the
ceremony burst into an " infectious passion " of tears. They wept,
not only for their own losses on the battle-field, but for the late
monarch, who was, as Buchanan saj's, " dear to all men while living,
and mightily lamented by his peopl'e." James V. was not eighteen
months old at his father's death.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was crowned in Stirling Church, September
0, 1543. The ceremonies of the coronation were those generally used
at the inauguration of the kings of Scotland, which, according to
Sadler, " were not very great." In her case they were probably cur-
tailed, because, by reason of her tender age, she could not perform all
that was required of the sovereign on such occasions. ISIary had
barely completed her ninth month when she was taken from her
cradle, enveloped in regal robes, and borne from her nursery sanctuary
in Stirling Castle by her lord keeper and ofiicers of state in solemn
FRAG ME NT A REGALIA. 531
procession across the green, into the stately church adjacent, where
she was presented to her people to be publicly recognized by the
three estates as sovereign lady of Scotland and the Isles, and to
receive the investiture of the glittering symbols of her fatal inherit-
ance. The crown was carried in. the procession by the Earl of
Arran, the lord governor, as the first prince of the blood-royal of
Scotland, and acknowledged heir of the realm. The Earl of Lennox,
Mary's future father-in-law, the rival claimant of that dignity, was
induced by his passion for the beautiful queen-mother to waive the
question of his right on that occasion, and condescended to bear the
sceptre as next in degree. Further particulars of the programme have
been lost, perhaps purposely destroyed by the traitors who violated
their oaths to the sovereign, whom on that day they solemnly swore
to defend at the peril of life and limb. It is, however, certain that
some one must have acted as sponsor for the little queen in pro-
nouncing the words of the coronation oath, which her innocent lips
had no power to utter. Some one must have held her on the throne
while the office of consecration was performed by Cardinal Beaton, who
placed the crown on her infant brow, and the sceptre in the tiny hand
which could not grasp it, and girded her with the sword of state, as
the representative of the warlike monarch of Scotland. Touching
sight, that tender, helpless babe, burdened and surrounded with
panoply so ill suited to her sex and age ! And the babe wept. It
was observed with superstitious terror that she ceased not to shed
tears during the whole of the ceremony.
The saddest prognostics attended the career of the unfortunate
Mary, Queen of Scots. Her coronation, with that of Francis II., was
called "black" from the sombre character of the ceremonial, which
took place at Eheims in 1559. Out of respect to his father's memory,
the king issued orders that no lady, save the Queen of Scotland, his
consort, should presume to appear in gold, jewels, or embroidery, or
wear any other dress than black velvet or black silk made very
plainl3^*
* At the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scotland, to the Dauphin
(afterwards Francis II.) o£ France, April 24, 1558, of which the par-
ticulars are given in a contemporary French tract, printed at Rouen
(" Ceremonies du Mariage de M. le Dauphin avec la Eoyne d'Ecosses — ■
Registre de THotel-de-Ville"), Mary, to denote her rank as a sovereign
queen, wore a crown royal far more costly than any previous monarch
of Scotland could boast. The estates of Scotland had positively refused
to allow their regalia to be carried over to France. This crown was
probably made expressly for her, at the expense either of the King of
France, or her wealthy uncle, the Cardinal de Lorraine, and is described
in the Rouen contemporary record of the ceremonial as being composed
of the finest gold, and of most exquisite workmanship, set with diamonds,
pearls, rubies, and emeralds of inestimable worth, having in the centre
a pendent carbuncle, the value of which was computed at five hundred
thousand crowns. About her neck hung a matchless jewel, suspended
532 CROWNS AND CORONATIONS,
To the list of "mouraing" coronations may be added that of
Louis XIII., Kinii; of France. When he entered into llheims on the
eve of his coronation in IGIO (he was not crowned until after the
funeral of his father), he was in mourning, plainly dressed ; his robe
was only a violet-coloured serge, without the least garniture. He
entered mounted on a white horse, with a violet housing and equipage
(the mourning colour of the kings of France). All the princes and
lords were in black, even on the day of the coronation, and only the
heralds appeared in colours and embroidery.
In 1344, soon after the discovery of those islands now known as the
Canaries, but then called by their ancient title, " The Fortunate," Lewis
of Spain, the eldest son of Alfonso, King of Castile, applied to Pope
Clement IV. for the government of the Fortunate Islands. The request
was granted ; and Clement crowned Lewis at Avignon with all possible
magnificence, and placing the sceptre in his hand, ordered him to
walk in procession through the streets of Avignon, bearing his splen-
did regalia, and attended by a most brilliant train. Unfortunately,
this pompous march was disturbed and utterly disarranged by a
tremendous thunderstorm, which deluged all the gay company, and
turned an august ceremony into a jest. The new king, abandoned
by all his court, arrived at his palace wet to the skin — a true prog-
nostic, says Petrarch, who relates the story, that he would reign over
nothing but fogs. In truth, Lewis gained nothing by this election
but the golden crown and the nominal title of the King of the
" Fortunates."
The pope, who was fond of king-making, determined that Don
Sancho of Spain should be a monarch as well as his brother, and accord-
ingly proclaimed him by a messenger King of Egypt! Don Sancho,
who did not understand the Latin tongue, asked the interpreter, who
accompanied him, what was the reason of those shouts of applause.
" Sire," replied he, " the pope has created you King of Egypt." " We
must not be ungrateful," returned the prince. " Go thou and proclaim
the Holy Father Caliph of Bagdad ! "
Henry VL, in one of his capricious moods, crowned with his own
hand the young Duke of Warwick as Kin(} of thk Isle of Wight.
''One cannot easily conceive," observes Wal pole, "a more ridiculous
circumstance than a man who had lost the kingdom of France, amus-
ing himself with bestowing the diadem of the little Isle of Wight."
The " kingdom," however, did not outlive its first sovereign, whose
regal honours died with him. Selden, in his " Titles of Honour,"
by chains of precious stones, which, from its description, must have
l)(>on no other tlian that well known in Scottish records by the familiar
numo of the " Groat Harry." Tliis was not one of the crown jewels, but
lier own personal property, liaviuji; been derived from licr royal Eus^lisli
great-grandfather, Jlenry VII., by whom it was presented to her graud-
niother, Queen Margaret Tudoi'.
FRAGMENT A REGALIA. 533
observes that " the Lords of Man had withal the name of king, and
might use also, a crown of gold."
Many old customs, offices, ceremonies, and words have fallen into
disuse in the Isle of Man. The ceremony once witnessed on Tinwald
Day is no longer to be seen. " You shall come thither," that is, to
the Hill of Tinwald, in the centre of the island, says the old consti-
tution with reference to the sovereign lord, the Earl of Derby — " you
shall come thither in your royal array, as a King ought to do by the
prerogatives and royalties of the Land of Man. And upon the Hiil of
Tynwald sitt in a chaire, covered with a Royall Clooth and Cushions,
and your visage towards the East, and yoiu- sword before you, holden
with the point upward ; your Barrons in the third degree sitting beside
you, and your beneficed men and your Deemsters before you sitting,
and your Clarke, your Knights, Esquires, and Yeomen about you in
the third degree ; and the worthiest men in your Land to be called in
before your Deemsters, if you will ask anything of them, and to hear
the Government of your hand, and your will ; and the Commons to
stand without the Circle of the Hill with three Clearkes in their Sur-
passes. And your Deemsters shall make call in the Coroner of Glen-
faba" (one of the six " sheadings/' or shires, into which the island is
divided), " and he shall call in all the Coroners of Man, and their
yards in their hands, with their weapons upon them, either sword or
axe," etc.
This picturesque ceremony survives only in the pages of Manx
law books. Barons and commons no longer troop to Tinwald Mount
and the Hill of Kineurling to do fealty, and to produce the charters by
which they hold their lands. The coroners are not the powerful
officers they once were. The deemsters no longer administer an
arbitrary form of equity, quaintly described in the old ordinances as
" breast law." The defendants in actions are not now cited to appear
by the delivery of a piece of stone or slate, upon which the deemster
scratches the first letters of their name. No longer does the command
go forth twice a year, enjoining that " all men, both rich and poor,
deaf and dumb, halt, lame, and blind, do come thither, upon horse-
back or on foot, to be drawn thither upon car or cart, that they may
know the King of Man, his pleasure and his officers, and the law of
the country."
The Peruvians believed that there were two birds, spotted with
black and white, who lived by the Lake of Tongasuca, who never
bred, and were themselves immortal. At the coronation of an Inca,
thousands of the people went to the mountains where these two birds
made their abode, and hunted them till they caught them, took a
feather from each, and then let them go. To offer them any other
injury at any time was a capital offence.
The uautu^ one of the distinguishing insignia of the Incas of Peru,
consisted of a band with a fringe, an inch and a half or two inches
long, which passed two or three times round the forehead, the fringe
534 CROWXS AND CORONATIONS.
depending nearly to the eyebrows. The royal ayllos, or families, were
privileged to wear the uautu, but of black colour. The immediate
descendants of the Inca were permitted to wear it of a yellow colour ;
only that of the Inca was red. He also wore a sort of ball of the
same colour on his forehead, surmounted by two of the long wing-
feathers of the coi'Lcauque^ or Andean eagle.
Purchas, in " his Pilgrimage," alluding to Vitzilonitli, the second
King of Mexico, observes that the name signifies a feather : he was
anointed with an ointment, which they called divine, being the same
with which the idol they worshipped was anointed.
" Lopez de Gamaria saith that this coronation was done by the
high priest, attired in his pontificalibus, attended with many others
in surplices; the ointment was as black as ink. They blessed him,
and sprinkled him four times with holy water made at the time of the
consecration of their god. Then they put upon his head a cloth,
painted with the bones and skulls of dead men, clothed him with a
black garment, and upon that a blue, both painted with figures of
skulls and bones. Then did they hang on him laces and bottles of
powders, whereby he was delivered from diseases and witchcraft. Then
did he offer incense to Vitzilonitli, and the high priest took his oath
for the maintenance of their religion, to maintain justice and the laws,
to cause the sun to give his light, and the clouds to rain, and the
earth to be fruitful. Lastly, followed the acclamations of the people,
crying, * God save the king,' with dances, etc."
At the coronation of Montezuma, the fifth King of Mexico, " he
was conducted to the Temple with a great train, where before the
Divine Hearth (so called in regard of the continual fire there kept)
they enthronized him. The King there drew blood from his ears and
legs with a Griffin's talons, as a sacrifice, and was congratulated with
many speeches by the priests, ancients, and captains. And whereas
before they had accustomed in their elections to make feasts and
dances, and wasted many lights, he brought in the custom, personally
to make war in some province, thence to procure sacrifices to feast
their gods and men."
In 1228 Frederick II., Emperor of Germany, constituted himself
King of Jerusalcni. He put the crown on his own head because no
priest would even read Mass, in consequence of his excommunication
by Pope Gregory IX., for having failed in attempting the first crusade
in 1227. In the following year, however, he set out on a fresh crusade,
but the iH)pe, who had not expected this, and considered it improper
for a prince under the ban of excommunication to go to the holy war,
commanded the Patriarch of Jerusalem to oppose him.
A " mock" coronation is mentioned in the annals of Venice (1148),
when the Venetians attacked and burnt the Greek ships. Having
captured the imperial galley itself, they decorated the state cabin with
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 535
drapery of cloth of gold and rich purple tapestries ; and selecting a
vagabond Ethiopian, distinguished for his ugliness and crimes, as a
representative of Manual Comneuus, the occupier of the Greek throne,
they carried him in mock triumph around the fleet, and celebrated
his coronation. The ridicule was chiefly directed against Manual's
fiwarthiiiess of complexion.
A notable instance of a sham coronation is recorded in the case of
Lambert Simnel, the impostor, who was proclaimed king in Dublin,
under the title of Edward VI., by nobles in the York interest. The
lord deputy assisted with the others at his coronation in Christ
€hurch, May 2, 1487, where the ceremony was performed with great
solemnity, the chancellor, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Earl of
Lincoln, Lord Lovel, Jenico Mark, Mayor of Dublin, and several other
jDersons of rank attending. The crown used on this occasion was
borrow^ed fiom an image of the Virgin Mary. John Pain, Bishop of
Meath, preached the coronation sermon, and the pretender was subse-
quently conveyed upon the shoulders of Darcy, of Platen, a person of
■extraordinary height, to the castle of Dublin, amidst the shouts of
the populace. *
In the Middle Ages people saw nothing improper, much less
farcical, in trying a dummy. In 1465 the Castilian nobility, in a great
assembly at Avila, solemnly tried Henry IV., King of Castile, for
misgovernment. A spacious theatre was erected in a plain near the
town ; an image representing the king was seated on a throne, clad in
royal robes, with a crown on its head, a sceptre in its hand, and the
sword of justice by its side. The accusation against the king was
read, and the sentence of deposition pronounced in the presence of a
numerous assembly. At the close of the first article, the Archbishop
of Toledo advanced, and tore the crown from the head of the image ; at
the close of the second, the Conde de Placentia snatched the sword of
justice from its side ; at the close of the third, the Conde de Benevente
•wrested the sceptre from its hand ; at the close of the last, Don Diego
Lopes de Stuniga tumbled it headlong from the throne. At the same
instant Don Alfonso was proclaimed King of Castile and Leon in his
stead.
In 1541 the King of Ceylon, Bhuwaneka Bahoo VII., finding
that the succession of his adopted son and intended successor would
be disputed, determined to place him under the protection of the King
of Portugal, and in furtherance of this object two Cingalese ambassa-
dors were sent to Europe, bearing with them the figure of the young-
prince and a golden crown. With much pomp and ceremony, in the
hall of the palace at Lisbon, the effigy was crowned by the Portuguese
monarch.
A festival among the Persians was that which was called the sack-
feast. Dio Chrysostom introduces Diogenes in conversation with
Alexander : " Have you never noticed the sack-feast which they cele-
brate among the Persians ? On this day they take a malefactor who
has deserved death, and seat him on the kingly throne; in short, they
536 CROWXS AND CORONATIONS.
play the game of king Avitli him. They attired him in kingly rohes,
and suffered him to take his fill of all kinds of pleasures ; he was not
even withheld from taking his pleasure with the king's concubines.
But as soon as this game was finished, they scourged him severely with
rods, and ended by hanging him."
This feast was conducted exactl}' like the saturnalia of tlie Greeks
and Romans.
In the castle of Eosenborg, at Copenhagen, is a small picture com-
memorative of the coronation of Frederick lY., King of Denmark.
xV negro boy is represented holding by a chain a huge mastiff", the
king's favourite dog. It is related that the page had orders to hold the
animal during the ceremony, but dazzled by the splendour of the
scene, he stared around, forgetful of his charge. Suddenly, at the
moment when the primate was going to place the crown upon the brow
of the king, the dog, fancying that some mischief was intended to his
master, sprang from his keeper, and to the consternation of those
present, rushed to the throne, and placing his forepaws on the knees of
the sovereign, growled defiance to all the court, displajMng his sharp
Avhite teeth, read}'' to devour the bishop at the first movement made to
continue the ceremony. It required the authority of the king himself
to pacify the mastiff", and to induce the frightened officials to proceed
with the coronation.
Eleanor Ulfeld was the sister-in-law of Sophia Amelia, consort of
Frederick III. of Denmark. It is related that some days previous to
the coronation, Eleanor, when in the queen's dressing-room, in a gay
mood, took up the crown, which had just arrived from Paris, and placed
it, girl-like, on her own head, admiring herself in the polished mirror
before her. " Be quick ! take it off," exclaimed one of the attendants,,
"the queen! the queen!" Eleanor, in her agitation, let the crown
fall, and unluckily one of 'Ci\Q, ficurons was broken. No one in Copen-
hagen was found capable of mending it, and there was no time to send
it to Paris, so Queen Sophia was compelled to wear it, patched up, and
clumsily too, for the damage was plainly visible to the eyes of the
bystanders.
The romantic circumstances attending the rise and fall of Eienzi,
the tribune of Pome in the fourteenth century, are well known.
Intoxicated with his wonderful accession of power, he assumed the
pomp and splendour of royalty. His dress was of velvet and satin,
lined with furs and embroidered with gold. The rod of justice which
he carried in his hand was a sceptre of polished steel, crowned with
a globe and cross of gold, and enclosing a small fragment of the holy
rood. He rode on a white steed, the sj-mbol of royalty. T^he cere-
mony attending his assunq)tion of knighthood was magnificent. He
received the sword, and having thrice brandished it to tlie three parts.
FRAGMENTA REGALIA. 537
of the world, exclaimed exultingly, ** And this too is mine ! " On the
day of his coronation in 1347, ^even crowns of different leaves, or
metal, were successively placed on his head by the clergy ; these repre-
sented the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost.
I have alluded to the crowns placed by devotees on the figures of
the virgin ; saints have also had these symbols of spiritual authority
conferred upon them. A late instance occurred (July, 1877) in
the crowning of the archangel St. Michael, at Mont St. Michel, in
Normandy. Attended by a multitude of pilgrims, the Bishop of
Coutances placed upon the head of the statue of the saint on the
steeple, a crown given by the late Pope Pius IX., and afterwards
the Cardinal de Bonnechose laid in front of the statue (which was
placed in the church for these purposes) another crown, made from a
public subscription for that purpose. The former consists of an
enormous aqua marina between two large wings of gold, as a typical
trophy of the victory obtained by the archangel Michael over Lucifer.
Above, in the centre of a large topaz, is a cross encrusted with
brilliants, emblematic of the incarnation of the Word and the motive
for the combat. The battle-cry of St. Michael (J^uis ut Deus) is
inscribed on the rim of the crown, which is adorned by nine choirs
of angels, represented by topazes and jacinths, surrounded by a nimhus,
or glory, of brilliants, and surmounted by two outspread wings. The
whole is in a number of rays round the head, interspersed by arches
in amethysts, and nine rainbows bearing the name of each celestial
hierarchy.
To distinguish the St. Michael of the Mont-Tombe from that vene-
rated in Italy as Monte-Gargan, ornaments have been introduced
consisting of fleurs-de-lys and shells, which form the arms of the abbey.
Tradition says that Mont St. Michael, in Normandy, was a temple of
Belenus, served by Druid priestesses, who wore crowns of gold and had
quivers of golden arrows, which last had the power of allaying
tempests, if shot by a youth who had never known the passion of
love. The legends say that sailors went to the mount to purchase these
arrows, and if the result was successful, the youth who had shot the
arrow was sent to the priestesses, laden with gifts ; and if he found
favour in their eyes, was rewarded with the love of the fairest among
them, who sewed golden shells on his garments.
At the commencement of the eleventh century, the Turkmans won
great victories in the East. After the overthrow of the Sultan
Massoud at the battle of Zendecan, the Turkmans immediately
proceeded to the election of a king. A number of arrows were suc-
cessively inscribed with the name of a tribe, a family, and a candi-
date ; they were drawn from the bundle by the hand of a child ; and
the important prize was obtained by Togrul Beg, the son of Michael,
the son of Seljuk, whose surname was immortalized in the greatness
of his posterity.
538 CROlViVS AND CORONATIONS.
The divination by arrows is ancient and famous in the East.
In the heroic age of Scandinavia it was an ancient custom at the
royal inauguration, which always took place at the funeral of the
deceased prince, for the next heir to seat himself on the lowest step of
the vacant throne, in the midst of the grandees, until j^resented with a
huge ox-horn filled with wine. After taking the usual oaths, he drank
off the liquor, mounted the chair of state, and was proclaimed amidst
the shouts of the people.
This initiatory rite a King of Sweden, Ingiald Illrada (died 623
A.C.), accompanied with the additional ceremony of swearing, before
ih'inking the mystic cup, that he would either double the extent of
liis kingdom or perish in the attempt. The fulfilment of his vow led
to. those acts of treachery and murder which procured him the name
of Illrada (" the Deceitful "), and ultimately occasioned his own
destruction.
Eric the Victorious (Segersall) sat at Upsala when the Christian
faith first dawned in Sweden. He was a great wizard, and had learned
from Odin many things no other man could know. Feeling he would
be the last heathen king in Sweden, he sacrificed in old Upsala's
temple to know how many Christian kings would fill the northern
throne. He dreamed a th'cam, and straightway broke open the tomb
of King Sverker, where he found a tablet covered with gold and costly
gems. On one side was an oblong table, encircled by three times nine
crowns marked with the names of kings; on the other, a three-
cornered table with thrice seven crowns. Each crown was painted in
colours, marking the country of the respective owner — blue for the
native Swede, red for the Dane, green for the Norwegian, j^ellow for
the German. This tablet was preserved, with other treasures of the
realm, until Archbishop Trolle carried it to Denmark.
A pleasing and singular instance of a crown purchased from the
proceeds of industry is related of the great and virtuous John Ducas
Vataces, sovereign of the Greek empire of Nica3a (which lasted from
1204 to 1261). The calamities of the times had wasted the numbers
and the substance of the Greeks ; the motives and the means of agri-
culture were extirpated, and the most fertile lands were left without
inhabitants and cultivation. A portion of this vacant proiierty was
occupied and improved by the command and for the benefit of the
cmix3ror. A powerful hand and a vigilant eye su})plied and surpassed,
by a skilful management, the minute diligence of a private larmer ; the
royal domain became the garden and granary of Asia ; and, without
impoverishing the ])eople, the sovereign acquired a fund of innocent
and ])roductive wealth.
Vataces presented to the empress a crown of diamonds and pearls,
and informed her, with a smile, that this jn-ecious ornament arose from
the mle of the eggs of his uimunerahle poultry I
FR A OMENTA REGALIA.
539
The Kingston Coronation Stone. — I must refer the reader for
the particulars relating to one of the most interesting of our English
antiquities, the Kingston Coronation Stone — commemorated in. the
accompanying illustration — to the chapter on the " Coronation Chair
AND THE Kingston Stone," page 103,
In the introduction and other parts of this work I have alluded
to the strange vicissitudes attendant upon royalty at various epochs of
the world's history. No monarch of modern times passed through
so many changes in his eventful career as the late Louis Philippe,
Coronation Stone at Kiugston-upon-Thames.
King of the French. One episode — perhaps the most critical of his
life — was his escape, together with the queen, Marie Amelie, from
France at the outbreak of the Revolution in 1848. The particulars of
the royal flight were given in the Quarterly Revieiu (March, 1850),
by the late John Wilson Croker.
The escape from Honfleur, in which the author of this book had
the melancholy satisfaction of assisting, in conjunction Avith others, is
thus mentioned : —
" Every one who has sailed in front of Honfleur, must have remarked
a little chapel situated on the top of a wooded hill that overhangs the
town. It was dedicated by the piety of the sailors of ancient days to
540 CKOWXS AND CORONATIOXS.
Notre Dame de Grace, as was a similar odc on the opposite shore.
From it, M. de Perthuis's cottage is commonly called La Grace, and we
can easily imagine the satisfaction of the royal guests at finding them-
selves under the shelter of a friendly roof with a name of such good
omen.
" On Thursday, 2nd March [1848], just at daybreak, the inmates
of La Grace were startled by the arrival of a stranger, who, however,
turned out to be Mr. Jones, the English Vice-Consul at Havre, with a
message from the Consul, Mr. Featherstonhaugh, announcing that the
Express steam-packet had returned and was placed entirely at the
King's disposal, and that Mr. Jones would concert with his Majesty
the means of embarkation. He, also, brought news, if possible, more
welcome, — a letter announcing that the Duke de Nemours, his little
daughter the Princess Marguerite, and the Princess Clementine with
her husband and children, were safe in England. This double good
news reanimated the whole party, who were just before very much
exhausted both in body and mind. But the main difficulty still
remained ; how they were to get to the Express.
" Escape became urgent, for not only had the Procureur de la
Eepublique of the district hastened to Trouville with his gendarmes,
to seize the stranger (who, luckily, had left it some hours), but having
ascertained that the stranger was the King, and that M. de Perthuis
Avas in his company, that functionaiy concluded that his Majesty was
at La Grace, and a domiciliary visit to the Pavilion was subsequently
made.
" The evening packet (from Havre to Honfleur) brought back M.
Besson and Mr. Jones, with the result of the council held on the
other side of the water, Avhich was that the whole party should instantly
quit La Grace, and taking advantage of the dusk of the evening,
embark in the same packet by which these gentlemen had arrived (the
Courier) for a passage to Havre, where there were but a few steps to
be walked between leaving the Honfleur boat and getting on board
the Express.
" The Queen was still to be Madame Lebrun, but the King, with an
English passport, had become Mr. William Smith. Not a moment was
to be lost. The King, disguised as before, with the addition of a coarse
greatcoat, passed with ]\IM. de Rumigny and Thuret through one line
of streets; Madame Lebrun, leaning on her nephew's (M. Besson) arm
by another. There was a great crowd on the qnai at Honfleur, and
several gendarmes ; but Mr. Smith soon recognized Mr. Jones, the Vice-
Consul, and after a ju-etty loud salutation in English (which few Mr.
Smiths speak better) took his arm and stepped on board the packet,
where he sat down immediately on board one of the passengers'
benches. Madame Lebrun took a seat on the opixisite side. The
vessel (the Courier) hap])ened to be one that the King had employed
the summer beforp at Treport. M. Lamartine, who mistakes even the
])lace, and all the circimistances of this embarkation, embroiders it with
a statement that the King Avas recognized by the crew, who, with the
honour and generosity inherent in all Frenchmen, would not betra\'
FRAGMENTA REGALIA.
541
him. We are satisfied that there are very few seamen who would have
betrayed him ; but the fact is that he was not recognized ; and when
the steward went about to collect the fares, and some gratuity for the
band, Mr. Smith shook his head as if understanding no French, and his
friend INIr. Jones paid for both.
" On landing at the quai of Havre, amidst a crowd of people and
the crieurs of the several hotels, was Mr. Featherstonhaugh, who
addressing: Mr. Smith as his uncle, whom he was delighted to see, con-
Cottage of La Grace, Honfleur, where King Louis Philippe
and Queen Marie Anielie were concealed, March, 1848.
ducted him a few paces further on, into the Express lying at the quai
with her steam up ; Madame Lebrim following."
I find among my notes taken on this memorable occasion, that the
first words uttered by the king on entering the saloon of the steamer
that was to convey him to Newhaven were, " Thank Gtod, I am under
THE English flag ! " — expressions that have been echoed by many a
grateful heart, kingly or otherwise, seeking a refuge from trouble in our
hospitable country.
INDEX.
PAGR
Abdication of Richard II. ... 207
Abyssinia, coronation of the
King of 433
crown of ... ... 444
Abuna of 444
Adelaide, Queen, crown of ... 252
coronation medal of ... 529
Aidan, King of the British
Scots 519
Aix-la-Chapelle, coronations
at 343
Alexander the Great, omen
relating to 334
II. of Russia, coronation
of 380,382
III. of Russia, corona-
tion of 384
Alfred, King, crown of ... 29
coronation of ... ... 183
Almoner, the Grand, of Eng-
land 118
Ampoulle, la Saintc 289
ceremonies connected
with 294
legend of 293
Ampulla, or golden eagle ... 72
Ancient coronations and re-
galia 518
crowns ... ... ... 1
origin of coronation rites 175
Anglo-Saxon rulers .. . .. 177
kings, head ornament
of 28
kings at Kingston ... 105
royal robes of 493
sceptres 490
Anne, Queen, coronation of
243, 320
medal of 52G
PAGE
Anne, Queen, oath of ... 281
Queen of Denmark ... 268
Anointing, 285, 29G, 327, 338, 342,
378, 382
■ of Anglo-Saxon kings 289
• of the Austrian emperors 296
of King David ... 286
^ofKingJoash 287
of Henry IV. of France 296
mention of, in Holy
Writ 286
oil, composition of the
287, 292
of King Pepin of France 289
of King Richard I. ... 290
of King Richard II. ... 307
of the Russian emperors 296
of King Saul 286
of King Solomon ... 287
Anthems, coronation . . . 518
Antony, Mark, coronation of
Cleopatra 333
" Apostolic Majesty," title of 393
Arms, College of 482
of England 466
of Hungary 397
King-of- 479
of the Champion of
England 137
Arthur, King, coronation of 518
Ashantee, state umbrella of 445
the gold axe of ... 445
Assyrian inscriptions relating
to coronations 329
king, robes of an ... 492
queen, dress of an ... 492
throne 483
Athelstan, King, coronation
of 184
544
INDEX.
PAGE
Athelstan, King, crown of ... 30
Austria, imperial eagle of ... 394
inauguration of the em-
perors of 392
Babylon, robes of the kings
of 491
Barber, the king's 127
Barons of the Cinque Ports
116, 322
Bath, Knights of tlie ... 143
Bavaria, coronations in ... 354
Becket, Tliomas a, legend of 292
Bees, the Napoleonic ... 365
Belgium, crown of the Queen
of ^ ... 371
installation of tlie King
of 371
Bishops at coronations ... 121
Blessing tlie cramp-rings ... 474
Blood's attempt to steal the
crown ... ... ... 61
Bodleian library, formularies
of coronations ... ... 516
Bohemia, coronation of the
King of 398
crown of 399
Boleyn, Anne, coronation of 264
procession from the
Tower of 149
Bonnet of tlie Doge of Venice 411
Brabant, inauguration of the
dukes of 371
Bracelets in the regalia ... 75
Brazil, coronation of the Em-
peror of 420
crown of the Emperor
of 421
Bridal crowns 478
Britain, (jJreat, origin of title 465
/^u//e d'or, the ... 343,347
Buriiiah, inauguration of the
King of 434
'^ throne of 435
Butler, the Chief, of England 115
Caaba stone, the 103
Calabar, King of Old ... 448
Canterbury, metropolitan
chair of * 120
Cariiithia, the dukes of ... 399
Caroline, Queen, crowning of,
refused 324
Catherine, Queen, procession
from Tower of 149
Cetewayo, King of the Zulus 446
Chairs, inaugural, on stones 105
Champion, the, of England
128, 132, 318
Charlemagne, coronation of 338
imperial robes of
sceptre of
talisman of
throne of
Charles I., coronation medal of
oath of
II., procession from
Tower of
V. of France, coronation
339
490
341
341
522
278
of
of
X. of France, coronation
171
355
367
528
Charlotte, Queen
China, inauguration of sover-
eigns 432
Chrism, composition of the 292
Claims, Court of 108, 123, 201
Clement, Pope 407
Clovis, King of France ... 354
Cock-crower, the king's ... 127
College of Arms 482
Colobium sindonis, the ... 500
Commonwealth, regalia dur-
ing the 58,60
Coronation of Alexander II.
of Russia 380
of Alexander III. of
Russia
— G rand Almoner of Eng-
land at the
— of King Arthur
384
118
518
banquets, 193, 206, 211, 221,
227, 236, 242, 251, 266, 320, 346,
385, 504
— of the King of Bohemia
— of the Emperor of Brazil
— Chief Butler at the ...
— of Catherine I. of Russia
— of the kings of Castile
— of King Charles V. of
Franco
— of King Charles of Rou-
398
420
115
378
415
354
mania
427
INDEX.
545
PAGE
Coronation chair and King-
ston stone 94:, 539
of Cleopatra 333
of Clovis, King of France 354
Constable of England
at the
— cup
— cup-bearer at the
— dapifer at the ...
— dresses of the nobility
— Earl Marshal at the . . .
— of English sovereigns
Ethelredll.
Alfred the Great
Athelstan
Edwin
— — — ■ Edgar
Edward the Mar-
tyr
fessor
I
Mary...
Edward the
Harold li*.*
William 1.
William II.
Henry I.
Stephen ...
Henry II.
Richard I.
John
Henry III.
Edward I.
Edward II.
Edward III.
Richard II.
Henry IV.
Henry V.
Henry VI.
Edward IV.
Richard III.
Henry VII.
Henry VIII.
Edward VI.
Mary
Elizabeth...
James I. ...
Charles I.
Charles II.
James II.
William III.
Anne
George I —
111
508
119
118
114
112
173
179
183
184
185
185
... 186
Con-
... 187
... 188
... 191
... 192
... 192
... 193
... 193
... 194
196, 305
197, 305
199, 306
199, 306
200, 306
200, 307
... 206
209, 307
210, 307
212, 308
213, 308
... 216
... 220
221, 309
224, 310
227, 310
229, 311
230, 311
233, 316
2.38, 317
and
242, 319
243, 320
244, 321
Coronation of English Sove-
TAC i:
reigrns
George II.
■ George III.
■ George IV.
• William IV
• Victoria ..
— female tenures at the
— of Frederick IV. of Den-
mark
— herb-strewer at the ...
246, 321
246, 321
248, 324
... 252
255, 325
122
of a Hindoo rajah
of the kings of Hungary
of the kings of Italy ...
of Justin II. ...
of the kings of Kandy
chief lardiner at the ...
of Leopold II. of Ger-
many
of Louis XVI. of France
Lord of the Isle of Man
536
119
429
395
410
337
442
119
346
35S
114
at the
— of Maximilian, Emperor
of Mexico 419
— Mayor of Oxford at the 115
— medals 522
— of Mexican raonarchs .. . 418
— • "Napier," the, at the 119
— of Napoleon I. at Milan 366
— of Napoleon I. at Paris 363
— of Nicholas I. of Russia 380
— of Numa Pompilius . . . 334
— oath 271
— Grand Pannettier at the 119
— of Petrarch ... ... 475
— play of the 502
— of the kings of Portugal 417
— of Ptolemy Philadel-
phus 331
— of queens consort ... 260
— of Rienzi ... ... 536
— ■ ring and James II. ... 78
— ring, legend of the ... 77
— rites, ancient origin of 174
— robes, 239, 260, 264, 268, 491,
495, 501
roll, the
Serjeant
of the Silver
Scullery at the
service, early
notice of
the
sham
of the kings of Siam
2 N
284
123
178
535
435
546
INDEX.
Coronation of the kings of
Spain
of Voltairo
Dean and Chapter of
Westminster at the
— of William I. of Prussia
Coronations, ancient, and re-
galia
Assyrian inscriptions re-
lating to
in Bavaria
of the kings of Denmark
" Diligront " served at
in early ages
Eastern customs at ...
formularies of
of the emperors of Ger-
many
gloves presented at ...
knights created at
French
in Mexico
mourning
omens and incidents at
of the ancient Persians
n32,
in Peru
prices of seats at
processions from the
Tower at
religious character of
Kussian
Scriptural allusions to
285,
of the kings of Sweden
and Norway
" wafers " presented at
Walpole, Horace, on ...
at Westminster Abbey
Coronet of the Prince Imperial
of Germany
of the Prince of Wales 70,
Coronets of nobles
of the Royal family ...
Crami)-rings ...
Crescent, the, in Turkey
Cromwell, wax elligy of
Crosses in the Russian Trea-
sury
Curtana, the sword ...
Crown, Abyssinian ....
of Alfred the Great
414
476
120
^49
518
329
534
37G
115
530
337
515
342
116
144
533
532
298
429
533
508
141
174
377
327
OfTO
OIO
115
173
175
353
459
113
462
474
426
512
391
74
444
29
Crown of Athelstan
Belgian
Blood's attempt to steal
the
Bohemian
of Canute the Great . . .
of Charles I
of Charlemagne
close, of English sover-
eigns
— of
Constantino the
Great
• of King Edgar
of Edward the Confessor
of Edward the Martyr
of Edward II
of Edward IV.
of Edward VI.
of Queen Elizabeth ...
at Gelatr)% in the
Crimea
of George IV
of the German Empire
of the German empress
of the Hapsburgs
of Harold II
"the Harry"
of Hawaii
in a hawthorn bush
of Hcnrv I.
of Henry HI. ...
of Henry IV. ...
of Henry V.
of Henry VI. ...
of Henry VIII.
of Hungary
the Imperial ...
of an Indian rajah
Iron, of Lombardy
of James T,
■ of Japan
jewels, keeper of the
jewels of Franco
of King John ...
of Kandy
of King-of-Arms
of Queen INIary
of St. Michael...
INIonomachus
of Pedro the Cruel
Persian ...
Prus^siau
PAGE
30
371
61
399
31
43
18
40
9
30
31
31
36
39
41
41
17
44
352
353
394
.. 31
.. 38
.. 452
39, 216
.. 34
.. 35
.. 37
.. 37
39, 307
.. 40
.. 24
9
. 429
22, 366
.. 40
.. 440
.. 53
.. 368
.. 34
.. 443
.. 481
41, 310
.. 537
.. 387
.. 38
.. 430
... 351
INDEX.
547
PAGE
PAGE
Crown of RicKard I.
34
Diadem, the 1, 9, 10, 13, 14, 70
■ of Richard II
36
Doge of Venice, bonnet of the
411
of Richard III.
39
inauguration of the
410
of the Holy Roman
ring of the
411
Empire
18
Dogaresse of Venice
413
of Roumania ...
427
Drontheim, coronations at ...
374
of tlie Russian emperor
387
Dunstan, St
185
• of Scotland
81
Dymokes, the, champions of
of Stephen
34
England 129
,318
of Spain
•116
of Vataces, King- of
Eagle, the golden, or ampulla
72
Nicea
538
imperial, of Austria . . .
394
of Queen Victoria
45
East, emperors of the 10
336
White, or Atef
7
Eastern coronation, custom at
337
of William the Con-
potentates, thrones of the
485
queror
32
Edinburgh, visit of George
Crowns, ancient ... 4
,328
IV. to
89
Biblical mention of ...
1
Egbert, Archbishop, pontifi-
bridal
478
cale of
178
and coronations in all
Edward IV., procession from
ages and countries
327
the Tower of
146
of Danish kings
376
VI., procession from the
of England
28
Tower of
155
of the Egyptian Pha-
I., state robes of
493
raohs
4
II., state robes of
493
of France
370
III., state robes of
493
• Hispano-Gothic votive
18
Edwards, Talbot, keeper of
of Ireland
520
the regalia
61
in the Irish coinage . . .
469
Egypt, kings of
330
of the Emperor Napo-
Egyptian days of ill-luck . . .
304
leon I
365
• sceptres
488
pledged ... 37, 52
Election of popes of Rome . . .
402
radiated
7
• of sovereigns ...
177
Russian
389
Elizabeth, Queen, coronation
turreted
9
robes of
494
votive, in France
370
wax effigy of ...
Emanuel, Victor, King of
511
Dagobert, King, throne of . . .
485
Italy
409
Dalmatica, the
496
England, Grand Almoner of
118
Dart, on Westminster Abbey
176
arms of
466
David, King, anointing of ...
286
Chief Butler of
115
"Defender of the Faith,"
Grand Carver of
119
origin of
465
Lord Chamberlain of...
122
" Dei Gratia," origin of
466
Champion of
128
Denmark, coronations in 376
, 536
Constable of ...
111
crowns of
376
coronation medals of ...
522
silver lions of
377
crowns of
28
Derivation of "Hatti huma-
Cup-bearer of
119
youn"
427
Dapifer, or Sewer, of ...
118
of "Ottoman"
423
Chief Lardiner of , ...
119
of "Pontiff"
402
lions, the, of ...
467
of " Sublime Porte "...
426
Earl Marshal of
112
548
INDEX,
England, first medal coined
in
Napier of
Grand Pannettier ol' ...
poets-laureate of
roses of
Eoyal Standard of
Lord High Steward of
Union .Jack of
English, sovereigns, corona-
tion of
Eric the Victorious, dream of
Extraordinary coronation
dress
I'AGE I
I
522 i
119 !
119 I
125
409
469
108
470
173
538
Female tenures at coronations
Fleur-de-lys, legendary his-
tory of the
Formidaries of coronations ...
Fortunate Islands, king of
the
Fragmenta Regalia ...
France, coronation banquets in
coronation of Charles Y.
of
of
coronation of Charles X.
— coronation of Clovis of
— coronation of Eouis
XVI. of
— coronation of Napo-
leon I. of
— liOuis Philippe elected
king in
— • crown jewels of
— crowns of
— the oriflamme of
— the royal touch in
— vicissitudes of the kings
of 307,
— waxen effigies of the
kings of
Carlands
(javeston, Piers
( Jeorge I., coronation medal of
II., coronation medal of
HI., coronation medal of
IV., ^coronation medal of
(jlermany, I'mporors, corona-
tion of
503
122
470
515
532
455
505
354
307
354
358
3G4
368
368
370
470
473
511
513
482
307
527
528
528
528
342
German Empire, crown of the
Glove presented at corona-
tions
Greek sceptre
Green vaults at Dresden ...
Gregory the Great, Pope . . .
352
116
489
353
407
394
Hapsburg, origin of the word
Hawaii, installation of the
King of 450,451
Harp in the arms of Ireland 469
Henrietta jMaria, coronation
robes of 239
Henry IV., procession from
the Tower of 145
VII., procession from the
Tower of
— VIII,, procession from
the Tower of
II. , buried in royal robes
Heralds, wand of the ancient
Hindoo rajah, coronation of a
Homage, the kiss of
Humbert, King of Italy, in-
stallation of
antiquity of the name
Hungary, arms of
coronation of the kings
of
crown of
146
149
51
481
428
219
410
410
397
395
24
Incidents and omens at coro-
nations ... 298, 380,
India, Empress of
imperial Order of the
Crown of ...
Indian commemoration medal
456,
Installation of King Aidan
of the emperors of Aus-
tria
— of the King of Belgium
— of t lie dukes of Brabant
— of the King of Burmali
— of the King of Old Cala-
of the dukes of Carinthia
— of Cetowayo, King of the
Zulus
— of Chinese mouarchs ...
— of the Doge of Venice
bar
397
455
459
45S
519
392
371
371
434
448
399
447
432
410
INDEX.
549
Installation of the sovereigns
of the East 336
of the King of Hawaii 450
oftheancient Irish kings 520
of the King of Italy . . . 409
of the popes of Eome . . . 400
of the Koman emperors 334
in Scandinavia 372, 536
of the kings of Scotland 521
of the King of Servia 428
of the King of Tahiti . . . 432
of the King of Tartary 441
of Tnrkish inonarchs . . . 422
Inventories of the regalia 55, 58
Investiture by the sceptre . . . 491
Ireland, harp in the arms of 469
shamrock, the badge of 469
Irish coinage, crowns in the 469
Iron crown of Lombardy . . . 366
Isle of Man, lord of the ... 114
Italy, kingdom of 409
James II., coronation medal of
coronation robes of
495,498,
Japan, coronations in
r tycoon of
Java, regalia of
Jewel-house in the Tower . . .
Jewels, keeper of the crowu
53,54,60
lent for coronations . . .
of Queen Isabella of
Spain
crown, of Persia
in the Russian Treasury
crown, of Turkey
John, an unlucky no.me
Julian the Apostate . . .
Justice, the hand of . . .
524
499
438
439
440
55
,61
241
416
431
392
425
305
334
344
Katherine, Queen, coronation
of 263,506
Keys, the Papal
King-of-Arms
origin of the title
the "white" ...
King's barber
Bench ...
cock-crower
Kings, Anglo-Saxon, head-
dress of
409
479
464
312
127
102
127
28
PAGE
Kingston stone 103, 106, 539
Kiss of homage 129
Knights of the Bath ... 143
Kremlin, the, at Moscow ... 381
Lambeth Palace 516
Legend of the Sainte Ampoule 293
of tlie coronation chair 96
- of the fleur-de-lys ... 470
■ of the consecrated oil ... 292
- of the oil of St. Martin 296
of the coronation ring 77
Leo, Pope, inauguration of... 402
Liber regalis 201,515
" Lifting " a king 184, 335, 337
Lions of England ... ... 467
silver, of Denmark . . . 377
Lombardy, iron crown of 22, 336
London, Lord Mayor of, at
coronations ... ... 117
Louis Philippe, King of the
French 368,539
Majesty, origin of the word 464
Mantles, royal 493, 495, 498
Mary, Queen, procession from
the Tower of 1 55
Medals, coronation 522
Mitre of the high priest ... 1
Monomachus, crown of ... 389
imperial orb of ... 391
Monuments, regal 513
Mycenai, discoveries at 14, 488
Muscovite Czars, magnifi-
cence of the 379
Nadir, throne of the Shah ... 487
Napoleon I., bees adopted by
the Emperor ... ... 365
coronation at Milan . . . 366
coronation at Paris . . . 363
crown of the Emperor 365
Nine worthies, the 212
Norway and Sweden, corona-
tions in .373
Notabilia 530
Numa Pompilius, coronation
of 334
Oath at coronations 271
Oil, legends of the consecrated 296
^y
INDEX.
Omens and incidents at Coro-
nations 298
Oriflamme of France ... 470
-Orloff" diamond 388
Ostrich feathers ... ... 460
Othmau, dream of ... ... 423
Oude, throne of the King of 487
Paleologus, Theodore, tomb of 336
Pax, the 229
*' Peacock " throne 487
Petrarch, coronation of ... 475
Persia, regalia of ancient
8, 483, 488
Play of the coronation ... .~)02
Poet-laureate of England ... 125
Poland, crown of 389
Pontiff, derivation of the
word 402
Pontificale of Archbishop Eg-
bert 178,289
Priestly character of sove-
reigns 383
Prince consorts, monuments
of 51.">
Processions from the Tower 141
Proclamation of the Empress
of India 455
<Jueen consort, crown of ... 70
origin of the word ... 464
Queens consort, monuments of 514
Uadiated crowns 7
Rajah, coronation of a Hindoo 428
Recognition, the, at corona-
tions 222,225
Regal monuments ... ... 513
Regalia, ancient 518
of Cyrus 332
of England 49
loss of King John's ... 35
of Persia 430
robbery of the 52
of Russia . . . 387, 455
of the King of Saxony 353
of Scotland ... "... 79
in ilie Tower 51
Regal is, the Liber ... 201,515
Rheims, coronations at ... 358
Rienzi, coronation of ... 537
Ring, cramp 474
I'.vr.K
411
174
500
284
469
427
13
509
143
469
471
55
377
387, 389, 390
486
Sandals, the royal . . . 499, 501
Sceptres 71, 89, 388, 391, 488
Scotland, coronations in
232, 237, 314
coronation medals of ...
sovereigns of ...
tliistle, the, a badge of
Ring of the Doge of Venice
Rites, antiquity of coronation
Robes, mistress of the
Roll, the coronation
Roses, the, of England
Roumania, King Charles of
Royal circlets
eflSgies in wax
progresses from the
Tower
Standard of England ...
touch, the
visit to the jewel-house
Russia, coronations in
crowns of
thrones of
536
523
521
468
535
Sham coronation ... ,
Shamrock, the, a badge of
Ireland 469
Siam, coronation of the kings
of 435
throne of the kings of . . . 486
Solomon, robes of 491
throne of 482
Sovereigns of Ireland ... 520
royal vestments of ... 491
of ancient Wales ... 519
Spear, the, a symbol of au-
thority 489
Stone, coronation ... 90, 103, 539
Taylor, Jeremy, on West-
minster Abbey
Teneriffe, sovereign of
Tenures
Thrones
Tiara, Babylonian ...
the papal
176
... 417
109, 128
... 482
3
405, 407
Title of " AiH)stolic INIajesty " 393
Tower, wardmbe in the ... 56
Treasury of England ... 49
Troy, diadems found at ... 13
Turrcted crowns 0
INDEX.
55t
Umbrella, the, a symbol of
sovereignty ... 434, 445
UnicorD, the, a royal sup-
porter 467
Union Jack, the ensign of
England 470
Upsala, coronations at ... 374
royal tombs at 376
Vataces, King of Nicea, crown
of 538
Victoria, Queen, coronation
medal of 529
Visigoths, election of chiefs
by the 327
Voltaire crowned with laurel 476
I'AGK
Wales, creation of a Prince of 461
ancient sovereigns of 519-
Wand of the ancient heralds 481
Wardrobe of George IV. ... 503
master of the 503
Wax, royal eflSgies in ... 509
" We," origin of the royal ... 463
Weather, the queen's . . . 326
Wight, King of the Isle of . . . 532
William III,, coronation
medal of 524
IV., coronation medal
of 529
Zulus, Cetewayo, King of
the 446
THE END.
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
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