THE CROWN OF CHARLEMAGNE
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It is the general opinion that the so-called
Imperial Crown (Weltliche & Geistliche Schatzkammer Wien, Inv. Nr. XIII 1) or Crown of Charlemagne, dates
from the reign of Otto the Great, reason why it is sometimes called ‘The
Ottonian Crown’. Recently there are new publications ascribing the crown to
the Salians [1] |
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Fresco in the Catacomb of S. Ermete in Rome A woman
in Byzantine imperial dress is represented with a child on her lap. She wears
a crown with pendilia of strings of
pearls. By her side are two angels. To her right a warrior and a woman and to
her left a prelate in monk’s habit. [2] According
to Matthiae the fresco dates from the last years of the pontificate of
Hadrian I (772-795) who also restored the catacomb. [3]. He ruled in the time that
Empress Irene was a regent for her son Constantine VI. The fresco most
probably dates from the period around the coronation of mother and son in
776, taking into account that the boy is still on his mother’s lap. The
warrior on her right may be Charlemagne, king of the Franks (768-814). In this
period, it is said of Charlemagne: “Charlemagne and
his uncle Bernard crossed the Alps in 773 and chased the Lombards back to
Pavia, which they then besieged. Charlemagne temporarily left the siege to
deal with Adelchis, son of Desiderius, who was raising an army at Verona. The
young prince was chased to the Adriatic littoral and he fled to
Constantinople to plead for assistance from Constantine V Copronymus, who was
waging war with the Bulgars. The siege lasted until the
spring of 774, when Charlemagne visited the pope in Rome. There he confirmed
his father's grants of land, with some later chronicles claiming - falsely -
that he also expanded them, granting Tuscany, Emilia, Venice, and Corsica.
The pope granted him the title patrician. He then returned to Pavia,
where the Lombards were on the verge of surrendering.” The
correct dating is after 774 in any case, the year that Charlemagne visited
Rome during his siege of Pavia. The persons represented in that case are
Irene (between angels), Constantine, then at the age of three, seated on her
lap, Charlemagne, his wife Hildegard and pope Hadrian. Charlemagne, born
between 742 and 747, is is then between 27 and 32 years old here. On the other hand the missing of a cross on the crown indicates that the empress was crowned but still had no executive power. This dates the fresco between 776-780. Æ Irene
Charlemagne at the age of ~54 On
the Triclinio Leoniniano, Rome (betw. 795 &797) |
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Portrait of Charlemagne In the Charles the Bald
psalter. The scheme
of the crown of Irene when a regent, was copied by Charlemagne when a regent
in the West. The circlet here a cylinder set with fleurs de lys (symbols of
armed authority) The regalia
of the Carolingian empire had been divided by Louis the Pious on his deathbed
between his two faithful sons, Charles the Bald and Lothair. Louis the
German, then in rebellion, received nothing of the crown jewels or liturgical
books associated with Carolingian kingship. Thus the symbols and rituals of
East Frankish kingship were created from scratch. From an
early date the East Frankish kingdom had a more formalised notion of royal
election than West Francia. Around 900, a liturgy (ordo) for the coronation
of a king, called the early German ordo, was written for a private audience.
It required the coronator to ask the "designated prince" (princeps
designatus) whether he was willing to defend the church and the people and
then to turn and ask the people whether they were willing to be subject to
the prince and obey his laws. The latter then shouted, "Fiat, fiat!" (Let it be done!),
an act that later became known as "Recognition". This is the
earliest known coronation ordo with a Recognition in it, and it was
subsequently incorporated in the influential Pontificale Romano-Germanicum. In June
888, King Arnulf convened a council at Mainz. In attendance were the three archbishops of
the East Frankish kingdom—Wilbert
of Cologne, Liutbert
of Mainz and Ratbod of Trier—and the West Frankish archbishops
of Reims (Fulk) and
Rouen (John I) along with the bishops of Beauvais
and Noyon.
According to Walter
Ullmann, the
presence of the West Franks was on account of the "barren ecclesiastical
thought" of the East, and the council proceeded to adopt West Frankish
ideas of royal sacrality and anointing. It was "the first phase in the
process of assimilation of the two halves of the Carolingian inheritance".
In another church council at Tribur in 895, the prelates declared that Arnulf
was chosen by God and not by men and Arnulf in turn swore to defend the
church and its privileges from all its enemies. When Arnulf died in 899, his
minor son, Louis
IV, was crowned,
but not anointed, and placed under the tutelage of Archbishop Hatto I of Mainz. Louis's coronation was the first in German history. When Louis died
in late September 911, Duke Conrad
of Franconia was
elected to replace him on 10 November and he became the first German king to
receive unction. List of kings of Germany
Louis the German, king of East Francia (843-876)
wearing a crown mounted with three pieces Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. lat.
438, fol. 1v
Louis II the German
(855-876) wearing a crown of a circlet and three leaves or fleurs de
lys
Crown of Charles the Bald Sacra mentary of Charles the Bald Paris Bibliothèque nationale
de France MSS Latin 1141 At the renovatio imperii of Otto I the scheme
of the crown of Irene was imitated, the circlet V-shaped and set with points.
The crowns of Otto II and Otto III As on the seal and portraits This crown is modelled after the
first crown of Empress Irene as on the
Fresco in the Catacomb of S. Ermete in
Rome
Imperial seal of Otto III Obv.: Portrait of the crowned emperor. Legend: OTTO IMPERATOR AVGVSTVS. Date: 998. München
Bayrisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, KS 179 (Hochstift Passau) The
Emperor, here of the age of 17, wears a short curly beard. On his head is a
cap crested with three leaves of laurel and surrounded by a diadem set with
groups of three leaves of laurel As Otto
III is always represented beardless we may suppose that the stamp of his
father, who had a short (curly) beard, was used. |
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Henry II *06.05.973-†1024 Duke of Bavaria
995-1004 King of Germany 1002-1024 crowned Würzburg
06.06.1002 crowned Mainz
09.07.1002 King of Italy,
crowned Pavia 1004 Duke of Bavaria 2nd
time 1009-1017 Emperor
14.02.1014-1024 |
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In 1001,
Emperor Otto III experienced a revolt against his reign in Italy. He sent
word for Henry II to join him with reinforcements from Germany, but then died
unexpectedly in January 1002. Otto was only 21 at the time of death and had
left no children and no instructions for the Imperial succession. In the
Ottonian dynasty, succession to the throne had belonged to the Saxon branch,
not the Bavarian line of which Henry was a member. Rival candidates for the
throne, including Ezzo of Lotharingia, Margrave Eckard I of Meissen, and Duke
Herman II of Swabia, strongly contested Henry's right to succeed Otto III. As the
funeral procession moved through the Duchy of Bavaria in February 1002, Henry
met the procession in Polling, just north of the Alps. To legitimize his
claims, Henry demanded Archbishop Heribert of Cologne to give him the
Imperial Regalia, chief among them being the Holy Lance. Heribert, however,
had sent these ahead of the procession, possibly out of distrust of Henry and
possibly because he favored the succession of his relative Duke Herman II of
Swabia as the next king. In order to force Herman II to relinquish the Holy
Lance to him, Henry imprisoned the Archbishop and his brother the Bishop of
Würzburg. With neither the symbols of imperial authority, the crown jewels,
nor the cooperation of Heribert, Henry was unable to convince the nobles
attending Otto III's funeral procession to elect him as king. A few weeks
later, at Otto III's funeral in Aachen Cathedral, Henry again attempted to
gain the support of the Kingdom's nobles and was again rejected. So it was
without the support of the Kingdom's nobility that Henry took the radical
action of having himself anointed and crowned King of Germany (“Rex
Romanorum”) by Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz on 9 July 1002 at Mainz. Henry's
action marked the first time a German king was not crowned in Aachen
Cathedral since Emperor Otto I began the tradition in 936 and the first time
a German king assumed the throne without election by the German nobility.
Under the regal name of “King Henry II”, he appeared before the Saxons in
mid-July in full regal apparel. There, Henry convinced Bernard I, Duke of
Saxony to support his claims to the throne. In return for his support, Henry
guaranteed Bernard's right to rule the Saxons and to represent their
interests before him. Henri II (1002-1024) on
his portraits |
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Emperor Henry II sitting enthroned In the Sacramentary of Henry II
today in the Bayerischen
Staatsbibliothek in München (Clm 4456, Fol. 11v) |
Miniature from the Sacramentary of Henry II., today in the Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek in München
(Clm 4456, Fol. 11r) |
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The
emperor crowned with a diadem set with leaves and with a diadem set with
fleurs de lys and a hoop. This crown is modelled after the crown of Charles
the Bald. |
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It is
supposed that the socalled Imperial crown (Reichkrone), today in the Weltliche
Schatzkammer in Vienna, was a creation of Konrad II. [4] A profound study of Mechthild
Schülze Dörlamm of 1990 has demonstrated that the crown was doubtlessly made
in the first half of the 11th century, which was the time of the rule of King
and Emperor Henry II but also of Konrad II. [5] |
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On the portraits of Henry II there appears a
crown of a new design compared with
the Ottonian crowns. The reason may have been the troubles about the
coronation of Henry which probably made it necessary to order a new crown for
his coronation in Mainz, the Ottonian crown still being in Aachen at the
time. For making this crown there has been a span of four or five months
(February-July 1002).
Supposed original of the circlet with pendilia Reconstruction of the royal
crown of 100 1.The crown in its original shape consisted of a circlet of eight
enameled plates set with jewels with a round upper side. On top of the four
larger plates ar mounted sets of three
laurel leaves. This circlet may be dated in the 11th century. [6]
The
crown is an imitation of the imperial crown of Empress Irene (†803) as
represented on an Icon in S. Maria in Trastevere, but lacks now the long pendilia of strings of pearls, which
originally hung from the lower rim. Also, the pearls making a square cross,
mounted on the front plate of the Irene crown, has been replaced by a latin cross. The crown
originally consisted of eight golden plates, enameled and set with precious
stones. On the back plate and both side plates three laurel leaves were
mounted. Pendilia hung from the sides. (Compare the contemporary imperial
crowns in the East, consisting of a diadem set with precious stones, with a
frontal plate and pendilia). The
side-plates are enameled with the figures of the kings Salomon, David and
Ezechias each crowned with crowns of 11th century model of a circlet and a
hoop which make the crown be dated of that century. Such crowns became
obsolete under the House of Hohenstaufen. Shortly
after gaining the support of the Saxons, Henry arranged for Archbishop
Willigis to crown his wife, Kunigunde of Luxembourg on 10 August 1002 in
Paderborn as a Queen of Germany.
Crown of Queen Cunigunde Treasure of the
Munich Residence. Formerly Treasure of Bamberg Cathedral This circlet is thought to have been made in
the same time as the royal crown of Henry II. The little holes in the rim
probably for hanging prependoulia |
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The Imperial Crown |
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The
Imperial crown is represented, however poorly drawn, in the Sacramentary of Henry II fol 11 r. It looks
almost the same there as the first crown on
fol 11 v° but a hoop is added. The hoop seems to have been of a simple
form, set with large pearls. A consequence of this argumentation is that the
crown was in fact made for Henry II at the occasion of his coronation as an
emperor. The only
crown known of the same program, is
the crown of the reliquiary of St. Foy
in Conques (Fr). which, as an extra. crowns a head strongly resembling a
beardless Henry II.
Reliquiary of St. Foy at Conques (Rodez County, Dept. Aveyron).
Present state of the crown St Foy
was a twelve-year old girl who was tortured and martyred during the
persecutions of Christians in 303. In 866 her relics were transported to
Conques and buried in the Abbey. The adoration of the relics was a great
financial success for the monks. The reliquiary is thought to have been made
ca. 985 having the head of a roman emperor from the 4th or 5th century
(probably Honorius (395-425)), crowned with a cilindrical crown of two hoops
and four fleurs de lys. [7]
The crown of
Conques in its original shape After J. Taralon, 1997
How the crown was reduced in size According to a reconstruction of the original crown
by the French scholar J. Taralon however, the original crown consisted of sixteen
golden plates set with precious stones, and one single hoop. At the junctions
of the hoop and the circlet two golden fleurs de lis were applied. The hoop
makes the crown an imperial crown. [8] Therefore, we may propose
that the crown was made for Emperor Henri II, probably for his coronation in
Pavia in 1004 at the age of 31 Remains
the question how the crown came to Conques. |
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Konrad II *990 ca-† 04.06.1039 ∞ 1016 Gisela von Schwaben *989-†1043 King of Germany 1024
– 1039 King of Italy 1026 Emperor 1027 King of Burgundy
1033 |
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Emperor
Henry II died in 1024. Childless, Henry's death brought the Ottonian dynasty,
which had ruled Germany since 919, to an end. Without a clear successor
as King of Germany, Henry’s widow Cunigunde of Luxembourg served as
regent while the German dukes gathered to elect a new king. Cunigunde was
assisted by her brothers Bishop Dietrich I of Metz and Duke Henry V of
Bavaria. Archbiship Aribo of Mainz, the Primate of Germany, also assisted
Cunigunde. On 4
September 1024, the German princes gathered at Kamba, an historical name for
an area on the east banks of the Rhine opposite the German town of Oppenheim.
Archbishop Aribo served as the assembly's president. Konrad presented himself
before the assembly as a candidate for election, as did his younger cousin
Konrad the Younger. Both were descendants from Emperor Otto I by their common
grandfather Otto of Worms, son of Liutgarde, one of Otto’s daughters. Although
other extended members of the Ottonian dynasty existed, none were seriously
considered for election. The chronicler Wipo of Burgundy, Conrad's chaplain,
attended the meeting and recorded the election. The Duchy of Saxony adopted a neutral strategy while
the Duchy of Lorraine favored the younger Konrad. A majority of the assembled
princes favored the elder Konrad, whose seven-year-old son ensured a stable
dynasty for the kingdom. As president of the assembly, Archbishop Aribo cast
the first vote and supported the elder Conrad. He was joined by the other
clergy in supporting the elder Conrad. The secular dukes then cast their
votes for the elder Conrad as well. Only Archbishop Pilgrim of Cologne, Duke
Gothelo I of Lower Lorraine, and Duke Frederick II of Upper Lorraine refused
to support him. Konrad
was crowned King of Germany by Archbishop
Aribo in Mainz Cathedral on 8 September 1024 at the age of 34. To mark his
election, Konrad commissioned the construction of the Speyer Cathedral,
near his ancestral home of Worms. Construction began in 1030. Archbishop
Aribo, as archbishop of Mainz, was already the chancellor of Germany. Konrad
wanted to reward the archbishop for his electoral support, so he made Aribo
chancellor of Italy as well, making him the second most powerful man in
the Frankish Empire as the imperial chancellor. Aribo
refused to crown Konrad's wife Gisela as queen due to a violation of canon
law. Konrad refused to accept Archbishop Aribo's position. Archbishop Pilgrim
of Cologne saw the situation as an opportunity to restore his relationship
with the king, after refusing to support Konrad's election, and he crowned
Gisela queen on 21 September 1024. The political reorientation of Pilgrim
also weakened the opposition towards the new king.
Coronation of
Konrad II by Archbishop Aribo 1024 Miniature from Mainzer Pontifikale, Schaffhausen, Stadtbibliothek: Ministerialbibliothek Cod. 94. Circlet with four
points. This crown is inspired by the crown of the Empresses Zoe in
Constantinople and of Irene of the
Oratory of Pope John VII (705-707) the square cross missing.
Byzantine Empress Zoe (r.1028-1050) at an older age On a mosaic in
the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople |
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Henry III |
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Henry
III |
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Henry IV King of
Germany, 1056-1084 |
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Henry IV |
HenryIV |
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Henry IV |
Henry IV |
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Henry V
Henry V
Henry V |
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Rudolph of Swabia, Roman King (1077- †1080) |
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Tombstone
of Rudolph of Swabia, Roman
King (†1080) Merseburg Cathedral |
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Conrad of
Lower Lorraine *1074-†1101 |
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2. An arch or hoop consisting of eight little plates inscribed chvonradvs dei gratia / romanorv imperator avg. This hoop may be dated in the 11th
century and the Emperor referred to may be Emperor Konrad of Lower
Lorraine
Reconstruction of the crown of King Conrad †1101 Supposed shape of the crown of Conrad of
Italy for his coronation as a Roman emperor in 1095
Sinister side
of the inscribed hoop of the
present Imperial Crown. [9] On the front and back plate a hoop is mounted
with a text reading chvonradvs dei gratia /
roma-norv imperator avg. This title corresponds with the title of
Conrad II on his
imperial seal: X cvnradVs dei gratia romanor imp ac avg but is spelled as on a picture of
Roman King Conrad of Lower Lorraine (†1101) This part of the crown is thought
to have been added at its earliest at the coronation of Konrad II in 1027. [10] However, the spelling of the name CHVONRADVS is only
known from a manuscript now in Kraków representing King Henry IV and his
sons.
Emperor Henry IV and his sons Henry (V) and Conrad Miniature in the Regensburg Gospels of Henry V
(1106-1111) Kraków. Library of the Chapter of the Cathedral, Ms.
208 Both kings with and orb crested with a silver eagle
with golden wings, the emperor himseld with a golden eagle with silver wings. The name of King Conrad (being Conrad of Lower Lorraine 1074-1101) spelled CHVONRAD REX The adding of the inscribed hoop may be explained
by the following episode in the life of this Conrad: In March
1095 Conrad attended the Council of Piacenza and confirmed his stepmother
Eupraxia's accusations that Henry IV was a member of a Nicolaitan sect,
participated in orgies and had offered Eupraxia to Conrad, stating that this
was the reason for his turning against his father. Shortly after the council,
he swore an oath of loyalty to Pope Urban II on 10 April at Cremona and
served as the Pope's strator
(groom), leading the Pope's horse as a symbolic gesture of humility first
performed, according to tradition, by Constantine I. The duty of the strator had not been performed for a
pope since the ninth century, and was revived specifically for Conrad. On 15
April, in a second meeting at Cremona, Conrad swore an oath, either of
“security” or of “loyalty”, to the pope, guaranteeing the “life, limb and
Roman papacy” to Urban. This oath was customary for kings who would be
crowned emperor, but Conrad went further and promised to forsake lay
investiture. Urban in turn promised Conrad “his advice and aid in obtaining
the kingship and the crown of the empire”, probably a promise to crown him in
the future, after he had control of the kingdom. By these actions Conrad
transformed himself from a rebellious son to a papally-sponsored anti-king and
supporter of the Reform movement. Therefore the adding of the hoop may have been part
of the preparations for the imperial coronation of Conrad. The crown itself
disappeared for a long time and seems to have been preserved in Rome and came
only to light for the coronation of Frederick III in 1452. |
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Konrad of Lower Lorraine, Roman King, 1187-1098 Gravestone, sandstone.
Former collegiate church in Enger (Westfalen) ca. 1101. Height 1,88 m Here Conrad is crowned with a crown similar to the
crown of Rudolph of Swabia, which is
the crown of a Roman King. |
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Lothair |
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Lothair †1137
Photo
H.d.V. Head of a prophet Fragment of a statue on a
column From the right entrance of
the façade of St Denis Abbey, about 1137-‘40 Musée de Cluny, Paris, acquired
1992. Inv. n° Cl. 23415 Æ Lothair |
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Konrad III |
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Konrad III |
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Frederick
Barbarossa |
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The first
crowns of Frederik I Barbarossa followed the scheme of the earlier crowns but
in particular that of his predecessor Konrad III in that they consist of a
diadem with a hoop and pendilia. In
later representations of Frederik I, however, he always wears a plate crown
of which three plates can be seen. They have a rounded or parabolic shape and
there is a pearl or pearl group on the top of each plate. This crown is best
depicted on the frescoes in the SS. Quattro Coronati in Rome on which the events
surrounding the coronation of Frederick in 1155 are depicted. You can always
see a plate crown on it, even though it has different shapes. Both the cross,
the hoop and the pendilia are always missing. It can be
seen from the drawings that the artists did not usually see the crowns
themselves, and this is especially the case with the crowns with which
Frederik Barbarossa was crowned, although a certain similarity can be noted
between the different images. On the other hand, the crowns may be orally transmitted
because they comply with the description of a 'plate crown with rounded
plates with pearls'. |
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Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa with a crown Fresco
in the SS. Quattro Coronati,
Rome.
Frederick Barbarossa On a
stained glass in Straatsburg Cathedral |
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Henry VI Æ Henry VI |
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Philip of Swabia |
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Philip of Swabia at the age of 21 Seal of Majesty 1198 The king
on his throne with crown, cross-sceptre and orb. L.: PHILIPP(US) • DEI • GR(ATI)A • ROMANOR(UM) •
REX • ET SEMP(ER) • AVG(US)T(US). (Die
Zeit, cat. n° 35)
Statue of Philip of Swabiaat
the age of ~ 30 Originating
from the bridge at Regensburg ~ 1207 The
crown completed. Museen der Stadt Regensburg, Inv.Nr. AB 25 |
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Frederick II |
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Frederick II, 1199 1199 The 5-year old king in byzantine coronation robes, sitting on his throne, crowned and with sceptre and orb. L.: X FREDER(ICUS) . D(E)I GR(ATI)A REX SICIL(IE) . DVC(ATVS) . APVL(IE ET) P(RI)NC(IPATVS) . CAPVE. D: 1199. 4 Î 3,5 cm. (Die Zeit cat n° 43)
So-called Essener Krone Domschatz
Essen This is a small
crown of a diameter of 12,5 cm and fit for a small child. The shape is
completely new for the time and shows four fleurs de lys cut out from a
narrow circlet. It resembles the crown worn by little Frederick II on his
seal of 1199 when he was 5 years old. The craftmanship resembles the crown of
Otto IV who was elected a counter king in 1198, in particular the use of
pearls. |
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Otto IV |
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So-called Crown of Otto II from
Berge Monastery. Watercolor
in the Halleschen Heiltumsbuch. Aschaffenburg,
Hofbibliothek, Ms. 14. fol 1730 Æ Otto IV |
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Henry
VII |
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Henry
VII Æ HenryVII |
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Conrad
IV |
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Conrad IV |
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Henry Raspe |
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Henry
Raspe |
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William of
Holland |
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William of Holland |
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Richard of
Cornwall |
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Richard of
Cornwall †1272
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Alfonso |
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Alfonso †1284 Seal of majesty. The king with a crown of three leaves, a
sceptre crested with an eagle and an orb Legend: X ALFONSVS DEI GRACIA
ROMANORVM REX SEMPER AVGVSTVS |
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Rudolph |
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Rudolph †1291 |
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Adolf |
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After
Rudolph of Habsburg a long time the royal crown was of three fleurs de lys.
Adolf of Nassau † 1298 |
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Albrecht |
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Albrecht of Habsburg †1308 |
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Henry |
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Henry VII Luxemburg † 1313
Crown from the tomb of Henry VII Luxemburg
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Louis |
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Louis IV the Bavarian † 1347 |
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Günther |
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Günther
von Schwarzburg †1349 |
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Charles IV |
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Charles IV †1378 This is the so-called Bust of Charlemagne of the
Treasury in Aachen. The hoop
of the crown removed. |
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Wenceslas |
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Wenceslas †1419 The king on his throne , crowned and with sceptre
and orb. L.: WENCESLA : DEI GRACIA
ROMANORUM REX SEMPER AVGVSTVS ET BOEMIE REX The crown of three leaves.
Wenceslas after his
deposition, 1400 Laurentius Bust, treasury,
Burtscheid abbey In view
of his troubles in Bohemia, Wenceslaus did not seek a coronation ceremony as
Holy Roman Emperor and was long absent from the German lands. Consequently,
he faced anger at the diets of Nuremberg (1397) and Frankfurt (1398). The
four Rhenish electors, Count Palatine Rupert III and the Archbishops of
Mainz, Cologne and Trier, accused him of failing to maintain the public peace
or to resolve the Schism. They demanded that Wenceslaus appear before them to
answer to the charges in June 1400. Wenceslaus demurred, in large part
because of renewed hostilities in Bohemia. When he failed to appear, the
electors meeting at Lahneck Castle declared him deposed on 20 August 1400 on
account of "futility, idleness, negligence and ignobility". The
next day they chose Rupert as their king at Rhens, though Wenceslaus refused
to acknowledge this successor's decade-long reign. Wenceslas
is represented here at the age of 39 without his crown which can be found on
the head of his brother Sigismund in the same treasury. |
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Ruprecht |
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Ruprecht
†1410 His tomb in Heidelberg |
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Jobst of Moravia †1411 |
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After the
death of King Rupert of Germany in 1410, Jobst was elected successor by four
of the seven prince-electors on 1 October, opposing his cousin Sigismund who
had already been elected by three electors on 10 September. The deciding vote
came from his cousin Wenceslaus in his capacity as King of Bohemia, however,
though Jobst had the greater support among the electors he died on 18 January
1411 - possibly poisoned -, clearing the way for Sigismund's election as King
of the Romans and his later coronation as Holy Roman Emperor.
The Olomouc Law Book or Commemorative Book of Olomouc
(shelfmark
SOk AO, cod. Knihy, 1540) is an illuminated manuscript created for the city of Olomouc around 1430 and currently in the municipal
archives. Although in the past attributed to the local copyist Václav of
Jihlava (1398–1477) or to the illustrator Vanèk, a town councilor in 1435–39,
the illumination is more likely the masterwork of a foreign artist. It is in
the style of International
Gothic with clear
Austrian influence In this
manuscript there is a picture of Wenceslas, Sigismund and Jobst (also thought
to be Wenceslas, Charles IV and Jobst) Wenceslas with a short beard,
Sigismund with a forked beard and Jobst also with a forked beard. Wenceslas
has a royal crown and Sigimund an imperial crown whilst Jobst has a ducal
hat. |
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Sigismund |
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Crown on the Bust of St. John, Burtscheid
Abbey (Near Aachen, NRW) This crown is on the crowned bust of Roman King Sigismund (1411-1433) †1437. On his imperial seal (1433) this crown has two
arches or hoops spanning a mitre
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Albrecht |
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Seal of majesty of Albrecht II Habsburg †1439 On this seal King Albrecht is crowned with a closed
crown, crested with a latin cross.
Probably this was the crown of King Charles IV augmented with a hoop (still
transversal) and a cross. The arms of (clockwise) Arpad; Dalmatia,
Luxemburg; Cumenia (= barry of six Or
and Sable); Austria ancient; Bohemia and Germany. Legend: ALBERT • DEI • GRA • ROMANOR • REX • SEMP • AVGTS • AC • HVNGARIE
• BOEMIE • DALMACIE • CROACIE •
GALICIE • LODOMERIE / COMANIE •
BVLGARIE • Q • REX AVSTRIE ET LVCEMBGEN DVX. [11] Perhaps the introduction of the latin cross has
something to do with the Council of Basel (1431-1449) which split up in 1437
between a papal party, being for the primacy of the Pope, and a Baseler party
being for the primacy of the council. As a result the Baseler party was
excommunicated by the Pope and, somewhat later, in 1439, the Pope was deposed
by the council party Albrecht had taken the side of the Baseler party in
this conflict but nothing came of it because of his campaigns in Hungary and
his premature death. |
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In 1452, at the age of 37, Frederick III travelled
to Italy to receive his bride and to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. As per
tradition, Frederick spent a night outside the walls of Rome before entering the
city on 9 March, where he and Pope Nicholas V exchanged friendly greetings.
Because the emperor had been unable to retrieve the Iron Crown of Lombardy
from the cathedral of Monza where it was kept, nor be crowned King of Italy
by the archbishop of Milan (on account of Frederick's dispute with Francesco
Sforza, lord of Milan), he convinced the pope to crown him as such with the German crown, which had been brought
for the purpose. This coronation took place on the morning of 16 March, in
spite of the protests of the Milanese ambassadors, and in the afternoon
Frederick and Eleanor were married by the pope. Finally, on 19 March,
Frederick and Eleanor were anointed in St Peter's Basilica by the
Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Francesco Condulmer, and
Frederick was then crowned with the Imperial
Crown by the pope. Frederick was the last Emperor to be crowned in Rome;
his great-grandson Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned, but this was
done in Bologna.
The Imperial Crown and several attires, orbs, 1487 (Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek) [12] This crown has two crosses: a square cross on the
front plate and a latin as a crest. These emblems symbolize administrative
and religious authority.
The Imperial Crown, 1487 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek)
[13] |
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Maximilian I |
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Woodcut with the crowned arms of the German
Nation of the Holy Roman Empire, 1507 On this woodcut the crown is of a circlet set with fleurons and spanned
with two hoops crested with a square or a latin cross The Salian crown of the Holy Roman Empire is represented for the first
time by Albrecht Dürer: Initially his imperial crown was drawn by Albrecht
Dürer and consisted of of eight plates, spanned with two hoops and lined with
a cap, the latin cross in front
missing. |
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3. A pectoral-cross or
a golden latin cross. also set with precious stones
Mounted on the front plate is a golden latin
cross, set with precious stones. This cross may be a pectoral cross, dating from
the Salian era but mounted on the crown of Henry II. [14] It
poses a problem because it is a latin
cross which is the emblem of religious authority and therefore an emblem to
be used by religious officials like the pope, archbihops and so on but not by
a secular ruler. Latin crosses mounted on crowns are only known from the 15th
century when the emperors claimed supreme religious power in their realms.
Examples of these are the crowns of King Albert on his seal, and of Frederick
III on his portrait. Therefore in the 15th century when the Salian crown was
used for the coronation of Frederick III in 1452 there was a cross mounted on
the crown. Æ Frederick III.
Even then however, the cross mounted on the front plate was a square cross, symbol of secular or
administrative power. When the
cross has been added to this crown is not certain. There is no picture of any
mediaeval emperor wearing a crown with a latin cross which would mean that
the Emperor was the head of the church (Pontifex
Maximus) a position always held by the Pope. At the secession of Germany
of the Holy Roman Empire in the 15th century the situation changed because
Frederick III could pretend to be the head of the German Church after the
Treaty of Vienna (1449), leaving the position of the Pope untouched. In that
configuration not only a mitre was added, symbolizing his clerical office of
a bishop, but also a latin cross, symbolizing religious authority. The idea
was introduced by King Albrecht in 1438 and imitated by Frederick III, which
is visible on his portraits The latin cross only appeared on the crown on
the portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer of 1515. This, maybe, shows the
ambition of Emperor Maximilian I for the religious supremacy in the German
Nation of the Roman Empire. Soon, the latin cross on imperial crowns was
abandoned and the imperial crown of the Habsburgers have the shape of a mitre
symbolizing the office of an (arch-) bishop, but have no latin cross thus
leaving the supreme religious power to the pope. |
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A few years after the
recognition of the title Electus
Romanorum Imperator, by the pope the salian crown was drawn by
Albrecht Dürer. Then, the latin cross was already mounted on the front plate
Portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer, 1511-1513 Oil
on lime-wood © Stiftung Deutsches
Historisches Museum, Berlin. |
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Design for the Imperial Crown by Albrecht Dürer ca 1515 Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Nürnberg Shows the ultimate design of te Imperial crown
spanned with a hoop inscribed
chvonradvs dei gratia / romanorv imperator avg, a
pectoral cross added in front but no mitre This crown was actually made from parts found in the
imperial treasury and has been preserved in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna.
Heiligtumsschrein Nuremberg, Germanisches
Nationalmuseum The city
of Nuremberg had a silver shrine made for the relicss of the imperial treasury
(1438/40,), as well as several suitcases for various insignia. The shrine
hung in the choir of the Holy Spirit Church. Finally, in 1518, the city
enriched the treasure of the relics by two monstrances with a piece of the
table cloth of the Last Supper and the Shroud of the Foot washing of Christ. |
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Eigentliche
Vorbildung der Heylthumb und des Keyserlichen Ornats, Darstellung der
Reichskleinodien auf einem Flugblatt (True representation of the sanctuary and the
Imperial Robes, picture of the Imperial regalia on a folder) (2nd half 16th
century). F. Die Kayserliche Kron. Diese Kron ist sehr Alt / wie der Augenschein weisset / vnnd ist in dem Bogen der Nahm Conradus zulessen / welcher vermuthlich der erste dieser Nahmens gewesen / weil darbey keine zahl zusehen: Vnnd haben dieses Nahmens vier Römische Kayser regieret / alß Cunradus I. A. C. 1025. biß 1039 Cunradus II. Salicus von 1137. biß 1152. Cunradus Suevus III. 1256. biß 1254. dann Cunradus IV. von 1254 biß 1258 |
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The salian crown with the legend II Corona regalis 1670ca. |
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Sämtliche Reichs Cleinodien, welche von den Löbl. Reichs-Städten
Nürnberg und Aachen verwahret, und jedesmal an den Ort der Kayserlichen
Crönung durch Abgeordnete überbracht werden. [Representation
of the Imperial insignia on the occasion of the Imperial coronation of
Francis I of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresia.] Copperplate of W. C. Mayr after I. G. Funck and I. N. Lentzner from
“Vollständiges Diarium von der höchst-beglückten Erwehlung des … Herrn Franciscus, König zu Jerusalem … zum Römischen
König und Kayser”, Frankfurt, 1746. |
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Design of the crown, present outside, inside and
cross
Imperial
crown, 16th century |
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Some Conclusions |
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The
so-called Crown of Charlemagne or the Crown of the Empire / Reichskrone, was
perhaps made by King Henry II of the Roman Empire to replace the crown of
Otto III, disappeared soon after his death. For a long time the crown seems
to have been stored somewhere, probably in Rome. There it was adapted to be
used for the imperial coronation of anti-king Konrad of Lower Lorraine
(1095). This however never took place, reason why it may have been kept in
the papal treasury. Therefore a new model of royal crown was developed by the
Hohenstaufen and their successors. The Salian crown reappeared in Rome when
needed for the coronation of Frederick III (1452), now with a small orb on
top and a little square cross in front. It was adapted again by adding a
(latin) breast- or pectoral cross by Emperor Maximilian I who engaged the
painter Albrecht Dürer for the design. The result was a pastiche of several
ancient parts joined together into a diadem expressing imperial and religious
authority legitimized by the hereditary succession reaching back to
Charlemagne. In this form it was
preserved to this day, first in Nürnberg and later, after the abolishment of
the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, in Vienna. However,
because of the fact that there is no trace of the crown until the beginning
of the 16th century, we may also assume that the crown is a pastiche of several authentic parts,
made by Albrecht Dürer by order of Emperor Maximilian I to legitimize the his
German Nation of the Roman Holy Empire. It soon became obsolete and was
replaced by other Imperial crowns made for the Emperors from the House of
Habsburg. Therefore the crown should be called “the crown of Maximilian I”
instead of the Carolingian- or Ottonian Crown, let alone the Salian cown. |
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© Hubert de Vries 2019-03-20; Updated
2019-08-21
Heraldry of the World