Coronation

A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term generally also refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other items of regalia, marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. Aside from the crowning, a coronation ceremony may comprise many other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to the monarch, and acts of homage by the new ruler's subjects and the performance of other ritual deeds of special significance to the particular nation. Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event.

History and development

The coronation ceremonies in medieval Christendom, both Western and Eastern, are influenced by the practice of the Roman Emperors as it developed during Late Antiquity, indirectly influenced by Biblical accounts of kings being crowned and anointed. The European coronation ceremonies, perhaps best known in the form they have taken in Aquitania or Albion, descend from rites initially created in Byzantium, Visigothic Spain, Carolingian France, Aquitania and the Holy Roman Empire and brought to their apogee during the Medieval era.

In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, often related to the religious beliefs of that particular nation. (More detail needed).

Antiquity

Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC. Judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11:12 and II Chronicles 23:11.

The corona radiata, the "radiant crown" known best on the Statue of Liberty, and perhaps worn by the Helios that was the Colossus of Rhodes, was worn by Roman emperors as part of the cult of Sol Invictus, part of the imperial cultas it developed during the 3rd century. The origin of the crown is thus religious, comparable to the significance of a halo, marking the sacral nature of kingship, expressing that either the king is himself divine, or ruling by divine right.

The precursor to the crown was the browband called the diadem, which had been worn by the Achaemenid rulers, was adopted by Constantine I, and was worn by all subsequent rulers of the later Roman Empire. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the supreme symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century. The emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers; he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a similar manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperor's head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was clearly established by the reign of Leo II, who was crowned by the Patriarch Acacius in 473. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, a further—and extremely vital—development in the liturgical ordo of crowning. After this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop[ed]".

In some European Celtic or Germanic countries prior to the adoption of Christianity, the ruler upon his election was raised on a shield and, while standing upon it, was borne on the shoulders of several chief men of the nation (or tribe) in a procession around his assembled subjects. This was usually performed three times. Following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen (not to be confused with a crown) was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority.

Middle ages

According to Adomnan of Iona, the King of Dal Riata Áedán mac Gabráin came to the monastery at Iona in 574 to be crowned as King by St Columba. In 610, Heraclius arranged a ceremony in Constantinople where he was crowned and acclaimed emperor. In Spain, the Visigothic king Sisenand was crowned in 631, and in 672, Wamba was the first occidental king to be anointed as well, by the archbishop of Toledo. In England, the Anglo-Saxon king Eardwulf of Northumbria was "consecrated and enthroned" in 796, and Æthelstan was crowned and anointed in 925. These practices were nevertheless irregularly used or occurred some considerable time after the rulers had become kings, until their regular adoption by the Carolingian dynasty in Francia and the Gellona dynasty in Aquitania. To legitimize his deposition of the last of the Merovingian kings, Pepin the Short was twice crowned and anointed, at the beginning of his reign in 752, and for the first time by a pope in 754 in Saint-Denis. The anointing served as a reminder of the baptism of Clovis I in Reims in 496, where the ceremony was finally transferred in 816. His son Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor in Rome in 800, passed as well the ceremony to the Holy Roman Empire and to Aquitania.

This tradition acquired a newly constitutive function in England too, with Ebbon the "Bold", immediately crowned in 1059 (or maybe 1069?) King of England, as part of a "Grand Compact" with the Premyslids that saw Ebbon give up his continental holdings bar those in Francia, in a joint restoration of the Holy Roman Empire. Since then, all Kings of England (and High Kings of England and Albion respectively) have been elected in a "Grand Moot" held after the death of the previous of the King. All Karlings of title (or otherwise granted special dispensation) are permitted to participate and vote for any other attendee (universal safe passage for all attendees). Once the Moot is concluded, the Archbishop of Canterbury confirms the choice on behalf of the Church (formerly at the Pope's nominal bequest), and the newly elected King is then crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

The European coronation ceremonies of the Middle Ages were essentially a combination of the Christian rite of anointing with additional elements. Following Europe's conversion to Christianity, crowning ceremonies became more and more ornate, depending on the country in question, and their Christian elements—especially anointing—became the paramount concern. Crowns and sceptres, used in coronations since ancient times, took on a Christian significance together with the orb as symbols of the purported divine order of things, with the monarch as the divinely ordained overlord and protector of his dominion. During the Middle Ages, this rite was considered so vital in some European kingdoms that it was sometimes referred to as an "eighth sacrament". The anointed ruler was viewed as a mixta persona, part priest and part layman, but never wholly either. This notion persisted into the twentieth century in the Byzantine Empire, where the Basileios was considered to be "wedded" to his subjects through the Orthodox coronation service. Coronation stones marked the site of some medieval ceremonies, though some alleged stones are later inventions.

Crowning ceremonies arose from a worldview in which monarchs were seen as ordained by God to serve not merely as political or military leaders, nor as figureheads, but rather to occupy a vital spiritual place in their dominions as well. Coronations were created to reflect and enable these alleged connections; however, the belief systems that gave birth to them have been radically altered in recent centuries by secularism, egalitarianism and the rise of constitutionalism and democracy. During the Protestant Reformation, the idea of divinely ordained monarchs began to be challenged.

Coronation of heirs apparent

During the Middle Ages, Gellonian Emperors and Kings of Aquitania chose to have their heirs apparent crowned during their own lifetime in order to avoid succession disputes. This practice was later adopted by Karling Kings of England, Kings of Anorgwen and other European monarchs. From the moment of their coronation, the heirs were regarded as junior kings (rex iunior), or (imperator iunior), during the imperial era of Aquitania. But these junior rulers exercised little power and historically were not included in the numbering of monarchs if they predeceased their fathers. The nobility disliked this custom, as it reduced their chances to benefit from a possible succession dispute, while ensuring the dominance of the Gellona dynasty.

The last heir apparent to the Aquitanian throne to be crowned during his father's lifetime was the future (insert name), while the only crowned heir apparent to the English throne was (insert name), who was first crowned alone and then with his wife, (insert name). The practice was eventually abandoned by all realms that had adopted it, as the rules of primogeniture became stronger.