Coronations

Mультимедийная лекция, посвященная 1000-летию памяти Владимира Святого – Крестителя Руси († 1015),  в Международном мультимедийном пресс-центре МИА «Россия сегодня» (Президентский зал) 4 Марта 2015 г. (17:00) в рамках нового мультимедийного проекта «Sputnik. Чтения»: http://1000vladimir.ru/2015/03/15/v-moskve-proshla-multimedijnaya-lekciya-istorika-professora-o-g-ulyanova-kreshhenie-vladimira-svyatogo-i-nachalo-rusi/

The origin and function of the Bohemian coronation robe is explained on the basis of extensive archive research. The robe was originally sewn for king Ferdinand IV of Habsburg in 1653 to be used during the coronation festivities in Regensburg.

This article examines three sites of elite and royal power in the early second millennium AD in the Thames valley: Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, Westminster in the City of London, and Runnymede in Surrey. Using a backdrop of comparative material from medieval Scandinavia, these sites are examined in terms of their landscape qualities, particularly their liminal nature. On this basis, it is shown that they demonstrate attributes and features that are frequently connected to assembly sites. It is therefore argued that these sites may well, earlier in time, have been assembly locations that were consciously adopted and developed as royal ritual sites as part of the legitimising process of power.

This article argues that the local appropriation of Christian liturgy in 'Polonia' facilitated the early-medieval state formation of the first Piast realm. ‘Polish’ political identity was shaped by original liturgical phenomena by mostly two means. First, the hitherto unprecedented name of the territory, 'Polonia', was firstly attested in writing in the liturgical sequence 'Annua recolamus' (Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Ms. Lit. 5, fol. 97v). The name was promoted mostly by sources used during Christian worship (the sequence mentioned above and the hagiography of Saint Adalbert). Second, liturgical phenomena interiorized the new identities of the political community and the theology of rulership. For instance, the invocations of rulers’ names in the disputed territories, repetitive intercessions for monarchs, developed liturgy of war have been shaping and, subsequently, expressing the identities of the Piast dynasty and of those who participated in the Christian worship. Political liturgy functioned as the tool in the identification processes of the early-medieval 'Polonia'.

The Earliest Portrayals of the Flags of Croatia from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries: Extraordinary Sources for the History of Croatian National Symbols

The essay undertakes to enrich significant new research results concerning Croatian national symbols in connection with the less extensively researched sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: it introduces the earliest „copies” of the Croatian flag to the Croatian scholarly audience. Not only had the flag of Croatia an important role at the inaugurations (installatio) of Croatian-Slavonian bans (banus) but it was also present at Hungarian coronations and funerals of common Hungarian-Croatian rulers from the Habsburg dynasty after 1526, since the Kingdom of Croatia was one of the Hungarian Crown’s countries. The author has found several flags of Croatia represented on manuscript and printed documents from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries – among others in Emperor Maximilian I’s (1493–1519) lately restored Triumphzug (1512–1515, Figure 1), in a colored, printed volume about the funeral ceremony of Emperor Ferdinand I (1556–1564) and King of Hungary and Croatia in Vienna in August, 1565 (Figures 6–7) and in the manuscript of the ordinance of Hungarian King Ferdinand II’s (1619–1637) coronation (Ordo coronationis) in Pozsony (today Bratislava, Slovakia) on July 1, 1618 (Figures 2–4). The flag portrayals of the latter served as models to the coronation flags made for the ceremony of the last Hungarian ruler, Charles IV (1916–1918) in late December, 1916 (Figures 11–13). Along with these instances lately the Hungarian historian successfully discovered the earliest remaining original flag of the Kingdom of Croatia so far (Figures 9–10). This was carried by a young Hungarian aristocrat, Count László Esterházy (1626–1652) at the Hungarian coronation of Ferdinand IV Habsburg in Pozsony on June 16, 1647. That is why it was preserved in the famous treasury of the family, which is nowadays kept and owned by Esterházy Privatstiftung in Forchtenstein Castle, Burgenland in Austria. Hopefully the essay also proves that a joint exploration and interpretation of the eight-century-old Hungarian-Croatian common history is only possible by close professional cooperation and by introducing the subsisting common Central European cultural heritage to each other.

Artykuł prezentuje stan badań nad papieskimi koronacjami i jest wprowadzeniem do wydania oficjalnych publikacji przygotowanych dla uczestników koronacji Jana XXIII (1958) i Pawła VI (1963) przez Kongregację Ceremoniału (łac. ordo, wł. libretto della celebrazione).

The paper analyzes the coronations of the queens of Bohemia, putting emphasis on the presence of abbesses of St. George’s Convent of Benedictine nuns in Prague Castle. The aim of this study is to clarify the origins, development and changes of the task of the St. George’s abbesses during the coronation ceremonies in Prague. It follows this phenomenon throughout its whole history, from its medieval origins to the dissolution of the convent in 1782, using primarily the testimonies of original sources of various types, such as chronicles, coronation ordines, descriptions of the coronations, charters, diaries, and iconographic sources. The first part of this essay is dedicated to the developement of the task of the abbesses in chronological order, the second part provides a general picture of the role of the abbesses during the coronations in the early modern period.

The halo of mystery that surrounds the knight's sword in the Middle Ages corresponds to an ancient mythology echoed in the chansons de geste, Arthurian novels and Scandinavian sagas, as well as in iconography and archaeology. The sword is certainly a functional tool, a technical prowess and an object of art, but it is also an animated artefact which, by giving off a supernatural force, makes the knight invincible.
The fighter, the smith and the loving fairies who pass on their swords are at the heart of this book, which explores the mentalities of a bygone era whose stories continue to inspire heroic fantasy today. The sword is also the sign of the knight's social preponderance and the symbol of war, which he reserves exclusively for himself. It embodies all the intellectual abstractions surrounding the use of legitimate violence in society.

Throughout her life, both as princess and queen of England, Elizabeth of York (1466-1503) abided by the prescriptive texts of the English royal house.  Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII and Elizabeth’s mother-in-law, wrote several specific, highly detailed essays concerning the ordinance, conduct, and apparel of women, but hers were merely the latest in a series of documents going back to the thirteenth century.  These texts dictated protocol during various ceremonies and other elite activities for both men and women.  The royal prescriptive texts universally expressed the need for differentiation among the king, the royal house, and the ranks of nobility.  Conspicuous consumption was required, most of all from the king and queen.  Using the texts, narrative accounts, and financial information, this paper will examine key events in the life of Elizabeth of York and the ceremonial opulence that she would have been required to display as an elite and as a female.  These activities expressed both her status and the power she wielded by virtue of that status.  Notably, Henry VII chose to venerate Elizabeth’s death in childbirth at her exequies.  By dying in a manner that could not be experienced by any king or prince, Elizabeth of York’s gender became a celebrated element in her procession and funeral.

Pour accéder à la royauté, Arthur tire miraculeusement l’épée du perron. C’est en accomplissant un geste identique que Galaad découvre sa vocation de quêteur du Graal. Dans les années 1200-1230, le Merlin et la Quête racontent ces deux épisodes dans une perspective théocratique, où le clergé s’érige en guide de la royauté et de la chevalerie célestielle. Ces romans intègrent ainsi un thème issu de la mythologie païenne dans la théorie la plus savante et ecclésiastique des deux glaives. À l’époque, cette théologie politique se concrétise dans des rites et les prières du sacre royal, de l’adoubement et de la conversion monastique où l’épée part de l’autel et revient vers lui. L’article entend prouver que bien des lecteurs et auditeurs de la légende arthurienne ont pu identifier le perron et l’autel. À la fin du Moyen Age, quelques miniatures donnent même au roc d’Excalibur la forme de l’autel chrétien.

The Monomachos Crown and the Coronation of King Andrew I of Hungary

The Monomachos Crown is one of the most valuable pieces of the collection of the Hungarian National Museum. The diadem, which was found at Nyitraivánka (now Ivanka pri Nitre, Slovakia) in the 1860s, because of its unique characteristics, is a very important source of Byzantine iconography and research on medieval royal representation. Consequently, the crown was subject of several academic debates in the previous century. These included the question of credibility, the circumstances of its creation, the reconstruction of the enamel plaques and the meaning of the figures depicted by them.
The arrival of the crown in the Kingdom of Hungary is also controversial. According to the most widespread theory, the Byzantine Emperor, Constantine IX sent it to King Andrew I in 1046 or 1047 similarly to the lower part of the Holy Crown of Hungary, which was given to Géza I by Michael VII Doukas a few decades later. In my treatise, based mostly on the related secondary sources, I examined the place of occurrence, the reconstruction and symbolism of the diadem. Furthermore, I analyzed the sources related to the coronation ceremonies of the Hungarian Kings in the 11th century. The conclusion of the research was, based mostly on the very plausible appearance of The Order of the so-called Pontifical of Egbert in the discussed period, that the Monomachos Crown cannot be identical with the one which was placed on the head of Andrew I in 1047.

                                                 

A Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum gyűjteményének egyik legértékesebb darabja az 1860-as években, Nyitraivánkáról előkerült rekeszzománc lemezekből összeállított, Monomakhos-korona néven ismert leletegyüttes. A diadém egyedi mivolta révén megkerülhetetlen forrása mind a bizánci ikonográfia, mind a középkori uralkodói reprezentáció kutatásának. Ennek megfelelően az elmúlt évszázadban számos tudományos vita bontakozott ki körülötte a készítésének körülményeivel, a lemezek egymáshoz illesztésének módjával, a rajtuk szereplő alakok jelentésével, a korona programjának meghatározásával, valamint a lelet egészének hitelességével kapcsolatban. Dolgozatom első részében ezen kérdések beható ismertetésével foglalkozom.
Ugyancsak problémaként merült fel, hogy hogyan került a korona a Magyar Királyság területére. Ezzel kapcsolatban egy, a magyar szakirodalomban széles körben elterjedt elmélet szerint, a fejdísz I. András idején érkezett az országba egy hasonló koronaküldés eredményeképpen, mint amelynek során I. Géza jutott hozzá a Corona Greacához néhány évtizeddel később. Kutatásom célja annak meghatározása volt, hogy mennyiben tartható egy esetlegesen ily módon 1046-47 során Bizáncból Magyarországra érkező királyi koronának, illetve a Monomakhos-koronának az azonossága. Munkám második részében ezért, elsősorban a vonatkozó szakirodalom felhasználásával, vizsgálat alá vonom a fejdísz lelőhelyét, a lemezek rekonstrukcióját és szimbolikáját, illetve a 11. századi magyar királykoronázások szertartásrendjéről rendelkezésünkre álló forrásanyagot. Elemzéseim során, főként az angolszász koronázási ordónak a korszakban valószínűsíthető alkalmazása alapján, arra a következtetésre jutottam, hogy nagy bizonyossággal kizárható annak lehetősége, hogy I. Andrást a Nyitraivánkán talált koronával avatták volna fel.

В данной статье на материалах архивных документов и малоизвестных первичных источников анализируется проблема рецепции и интерпретации российскими буддистами смысла российских коронационных торжеств. Торжественная церемония восшествия российских императоров на престол была призвана
поражать воображение подвластных народов и внушать им мысль о превосходстве империи и православной религии, с которой тесным образом был связан коронационный обряд. Тибетоязычная поэма бурятского буддийского монаха, являвшегося членом бурятской депутации на коронацию Николая II в 1896 г., выразительно иллюстрирует идею о том, что коронация как политическое
и культурное явление обладала большей сложностью, чем можно было предполагать ранее. “Иноверцы” могли не просто разделять со своими православными соотечественниками торжественный пафос и “верноподданнический экстаз” венчания на власть императора России, но и придавать ему свой смысл в рамках собственного религиозного мировоззрения.

Инаугурационное миропомазание, благодаря которому особа правителя «производилась» (от греч. προχείρησις - избрание) из сферы мирского в область сакрального, уже в раннее средневековье считалось необходимым условием легитимности интронизации монарха. Между тем проблема появления инаугурационного миропомазания остается одной из наиболее трудноразрешимых в современной византинистике. По мнению ряда ученых, инвеститура византийских императоров до начала XIII в., как и интронизация великих князей на Руси, не сопровождалась официальным (т.е. богослужебным) миропомазанием; другая же группа византинистов предполагает, что обряд миропомазания (библейский по происхождению) существовал значительно раннее - со времени императора Маркиана (450-457).
В настоящей работе впервые в науке подробно исследованы распространение и кодификация миропомазания в качестве правовой основы легитимной интронизации как в Византии, так и на Западе. На основе огромного фактического материала впервые сделан научный вывод, что лишь инаугурационное миропомазание могло стать единственной легитимной причиной для введения царского этикета при дворе русского самодержца св. равноап. Владимира. На равных правах с василевсами Византии Владимир Святой приступил к собственной чеканке золотых и серебряных монет, где исключительные прерогативы русского самодержца были обозначены одним выражением - «На столе (престоле)». На всех этих монетах русский государь представлен с такими же, как у византийского императора, регалиями: византийская императорская корона с крестом, в правой руке - скипетр с крестом, а одежда полностью повторяет императорское облачение (лор). Изображение нимба вокруг головы Владимира Святого несомненно указывает на декларирование полного равенства с правителем Византийской империи. Породнившись с императорским Македонским домом, династия Рюриковичей на Руси смогла сразу же войти в европейскую монархическую семью и занять одно из самых привилегированных мест в ее монолитной иерархии. Проблему легитимности русской монархии при Владимире I Святославиче следует рассматривать, таким образом, в контексте общеевропейской практики инаугурационного миропомазания.

Published in "Francia", vol. 36 (2009).
This study is about the ceremonies of coronation and investiture of the dukes of Aquitaine at Limoges during the 11th and 12th centuries. This ceremony is compared to other royal and ducal coronations and ceremonies of investiture of Western Europe at the same period. With a publication of the text of the "ordo" of the coronation of the dukes of Aquitaine written at Limoges c. 1150 and followed by a translation into French.

This scholarly but popular book summarizes the most recent research on the Holy Crown of Hungary and the history of Hungarian coronations from the founding of the kingdom (St Stephen, 1000–38) to the end of the monarchy (Charles IV, 1916–18). It starts with the issue of succession to the throne, discusses the ecclesiastical and secular ceremonials of accession, their locations and the coronation jewels, and especially the origin of the Holy Crown and its history from the thirteenth to the twenty-first century. It includes as well often overlooked paraphernalia, such as flags and coins. The authors address an intelligent lay readership, but believe that foreign historians and art historians would also peruse the volume with profit. No similar overview of all aspects of the subject has hitherto been published in English.
Price: 15.00 Euro + postage - to order it: terjesztes@btk.mta.hu

Refers to the reliquary of the Holy Cross. in the shape of a two-armed patriarchal cross with the Greek inscription, now stored in the treasury of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris. According to the author, King Władysław II Jagiełło received him from the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Until the mid-17th century it was used, as a coronation pax, to coronate the kings of Poland.

The essay examines the network of relations between the estates of the Kingdom of the Hungary and Gábor Bethlen, prince of Transylvania (1613–1629) and elected king of Hungary (1620–1621), between 1619 and 1622. Because these years in the midst of the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) represented a genuine crisis period for the Central European Habsburg Monarchy, the topic demands particular attention from an international perspective as well. Despite this, until now neither Hungarian nor international scholarship have examined this question. The study attempts to fill this void on the basis of research conducted in archives in Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. First, it will demonstrate how many of the political elite in the Kingdom of Hungary supported the Transylvanian prince in 1619–1621 and in what way. Second, it will draw attention to an almost completely forgotten compromise between Emperor Ferdinand II (1619–1637) and the Hungarian estates reached at the Hungarian diet at Sopron (Ödenburg) in the summer of 1622. Finally, it will present the winners and losers of this new compromise, as well as how Emperor Ferdinand and the monarchy’s political leadership were able to cooperate with the Hungarian estates.

Кафедра истории Средних веков исторического факультета МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова и Отдел западноевропейского Средневековья и раннего Нового времени ИВИ РАН 7-9 октября 2021 г. проводят международную научную конференцию памяти Нины Александровны Хачатурян (1931 – 2020), доктора исторических наук, профессора МГУ им. М.В. Ломоносова, крупнейшего отечественного историка-медиевиста, признанного лидера в области средневековой политической истории, основателя и руководителя Научной группы «Власть и общество», создателя целой школы исследователей по истории Франции в Средние века.

Ever since David Stuart's decipherment of the hand-holding-celt sign as K’AL in the 1990s, epigraphers have grappled with the semantics of the /k’al/ verb. Coupled with Stuart and Houston's demonstrations that the BAAH ‘gopher’ sign often functioned as a rebus for ‘head’, many epigraphers have come to translate a common Classic Mayan coronation phrase as /k’ahlaj sakhuun tu'baah/, literally ‘the white headband is tied (up)on his head’. This paper reconsiders the semantics of this phrase in the light of new evidence drawn from epigraphic, linguistic, iconographic, and ethnohistoric sources. First, a widespread sense of ‘hold’ is also attested in the Ch'olan languages for /k’al/, and perhaps better fits the iconic origins of the hand-holding-celt sign. Second, Mayan languages commonly derive locatives from body parts, strongly suggesting that a form like t-u-baah, although literally meaning ‘(up)on his head’, frequently also signified ‘above him’. Third, occasional depictions of coronation scenes appear to show a priestly attendant literally ‘holding’ a royal crown above the head of the acceding king, rather than tying or placing it on his head. Taken together, the evidence suggests that this phrase may have codified a key moment in the coronation ceremony where a priestly attendant held the crown aloft, perhaps for an adoring public to observe from a distance. As will be seen, intriguing comparisons can be drawn with coronation ceremonies cross-culturally, including those documented for the Late Postclassic Aztecs.