Thomas Macall Fallow

“ The confusion between them has, perhaps, come about from the fact that the modern crown seems to be rather an evolution from the diadem than the lineal descendant of the older crowns. The linen or silk diadem was eventually exchanged for a flexible band of gold, which was worn in its place round the forehead. The further development of the crown from this was readily effected by the addition of an upper row of ornament. Thus the medieval and modern crowns may be considered as radiated diadems, and so the diadem and crown have become, as it were, merged in one another. ”

“ In Spain the coronation ceremony never assumed the fullness, or magnificence, that might have been expected. It was usually performed at Toledo, or in the church of St Jerome at Madrid, the king being anointed by the archbishop of Toledo. The royal ornaments were the sword, sceptre, crown of gold and the apple of gold, which the king himself assumed after the unction. In recent years the unction and coronation have been disused. ”

“ The crown of St Edward, with which the sovereigns were crowned, had a narrow circlet from which rose alternately four crosses and four fleurs-de-lys, and from the crosses sprang two arches, which at their crossing supported an orb and cross. These arches must have been a later addition, and possibly were first added for the coronation of Henry IV. (vide supra) . Queen Edith’s crown had a plain circlet with, so far as can be determined, four crosses of pearls or gems on it, and a large cross patée rising from it in front, and arches of jewels or pearls terminating in a large pearl at the top. ”

“ In Russia the coronation is celebrated at Moscow, and is full of religious significance. The tsar is anointed by the metropolitan, but places the crown on his head himself. He receives the sacrament among the clergy, the priestly theory of his office being recognized. In some other European countries the coronation ceremony, as in Austria and Hungary, is also performed with much significant ritual. ”

“ Although the observance of Easter was at a very early period the practice of the Christian church, a serious difference as to the day for its observance soon arose between the Christians of Jewish and those of Gentile descent, which led to a long and bitter controversy. ”

“ Martène quotes an order, which directs that at the imperial coronation at Rome, the pope ought to sing the mass, the emperor read the gospel, and the king of Sicily, or if present the king of France, the epistle. Nothing like this was known in England, and a theory, which has prevailed of late, that the English sovereign is, in a personal sense, canon of St David’s, is based on a misconception. The canonry in question was attached to St Mary’s College at St David’s before the Reformation, and, at the dissolution of the college, became crown property, which it has remained ever since ”

“ If the coronation was performed, as it most commonly was, at Aix-la-Chapelle, then the archbishop of Cologne, as diocesan, was the chief officiant, and the emperor was presented to him by the two other clerical electors, the archbishops of Mainz and Trier. The emperor was anointed on the head, the nape of the neck, the breast, the right arm between the wrist and the elbow, and on the palms of both hands. ”

“ With the Jewish Christians, whose leading thought was the death of Christ as the Paschal Lamb, the fast ended at the same time as that of the Jews, on the fourteenth day of the moon at evening, and the Easter festival immediately followed, without regard to the day of the week. The Gentile Christians, on the other hand, unfettered by Jewish traditions, identified the first day of the week with the Resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month. ”

“ The largest and most magnificent is the crown of Reccesvinto, king of the Visigoths from 653 to 675. It is composed of a circlet of pure gold set with pearls and precious stones in great profusion, which gives it a most sumptuous appearance. It is 9 in. in diameter and more than 1⁄2 in. in thickness, the width of the circlet being 4 in. It has also been given as a votive offering to a church, and has the chains to hang it by attached to the upper rim, while from the lower rim depend pearls, sapphires and a series of richly jewelled letters 2 in. ”

“ The papal tiara (a Greek word, of Persian origin, for a form of ancient Persian popular head-dress, standing high erect, and worn encircled by a diadem by the kings) , the triple crown worn by the popes, has taken various forms since the 9th century. It is important to remember that the tiaras in old Italian pictures are inventions of the artists and not copied from actual examples. ”

“ These latter unfairly attempted to fix the stigma of the Quartodeciman observance on the British and Celtic churches, and they are even now sometimes ignorantly spoken of as having followed the Asiatic practice as to Easter. This, however, is quite erroneous. The British and Celtic churches always kept Easter according to the Nicene decree on a Sunday. The difference between them and the Roman Church, at this period, was that they still followed the 84 years’ cycle in computing Easter, which had been abandoned at Rome for the more accurate cycle of 532 years. ”

“ The most striking of all these services is that of the challenge made by the king’s champion, an office which has been hereditary in the Dymoke family for many centuries. Immediately following the service in the church a banquet was held in Westminster Hall, during the first course of which the champion entered the hall on horseback, armed cap-à-pie, with red, white and blue feathers in his helmet. ”

“ At first an eight years’ cycle was adopted, but it was found to be faulty, then the Jewish cycle of 84 years was used, and remained in force at Rome till the year 457, when a more accurate calculation of a cycle of 532 years, invented by Victorius of Acquitaine, took its place. Ultimately a cycle of 19 years was accepted, and it is the use of this cycle which makes the Golden Number and Sunday Letter, explained in the preface to the Book of Common Prayer, necessary. ”

“ An erroneous derivation of the word pascha from the Greek πάσχειν, “to suffer,” thus connected with the sufferings or passion of the Lord, is given by some of the Fathers of the Church, as Irenaeus, Tertullian and others, who were ignorant of Hebrew. ”

“ At first a single anointing on the head was the practice, but afterwards other parts of the body, as the breast, arms, shoulders and hands received the unction. From a very early period in the West three kinds of oil have been blessed each year on Maundy Thursday, the oil of the catechumens, the oil of the sick, and the chrism. ”

“ That province was the only portion of Christendom which still adhered to the Jewish usage, and Victor demanded that all should adopt the usage prevailing at Rome. This Polycrates firmly refused to agree to, and urged many weighty reasons to the contrary, whereupon Victor proceeded to excommunicate Polycrates and the Christians who continued the Eastern usage. ”

“ The pope then delivered the sceptre to the emperor, and placed the crown on his head. The ceremony was concluded by the coronation mass said by the pope. The custom of the emperors going to Rome to be crowned was last observed by Frederick III. in 1440, and after that the German coronation was alone celebrated. The form followed was mainly thus: the electors first met at Frankfort, under the presidency of the elector-archbishop of Mainz, and, the election having been made, the emperor was led to the high altar of the cathedral and seated at it. ”

“ The coronet of an earl (fig. 23) differs again by having eight tall rays on each of which is set a pearl, the intervening spaces being occupied by strawberry leaves one-fourth of the height of the rays. ”

“ It is composed of a series of four larger and four smaller plaques of gold, rounded at the tops and set together alternately. The larger plaques are richly ornamented with emeralds and sapphires, and the smaller plaques have each an enamelled figure of Our Lord, David, Solomon, and Hezekiah respectively. ”

“ Sunday is believed to be derived; (4) Eastertide proper, or the paschal season beginning at Easter and lasting till Whit Sunday, during the whole of which time the festival character of the Easter season was maintained in the services of the church. ”