[Illustration: Fig. 386.--Coronation of Charlemagne.--Fac-simile of a
Miniature in the "Chroniques de Saint-Denis," Manuscript of the Fourteenth
Century (Imperial Library of Paris).]
The consecration of the kings of France always took place on a Sunday. On
the previous day, at the conclusion of evening prayers, the custody of the
cathedral devolved upon certain royal officers, assisted by the ordinary
officials. During the evening the monarch came to the church for devotion,
and "according to his religions feelings, to pass part of the night in
prayer," an act which was called _la veillee des armes_. A large platform,
surmounted by a throne, was erected between the chancel and the great
nave. Upon this assembled, besides the King and his officers of State,
twelve ecclesiastical peers, together with those prelates whom the King
might be pleased to invite, and six lay peers, with other officers or
nobles. At daybreak, the King sent a deputation of barons to the Abbey of
St. Remi for the holy vial, which was a small glass vessel called
_ampoule_, from the Latin word _ampulla_, containing the holy oil to be
used at the royal anointing. According to tradition, this vial was brought
from heaven by a dove at the time of the consecration of Clovis. Four of
the nobles remained as hostages at the abbey during the time that the
Abbot of St. Remi, followed by his monks and escorted by the barons, went
in procession to the cathedral to place the sacred vessel upon the altar.
The abbot of St. Denis in France had in a similar manner to bring from
Rheims with great pomp, and deposit by the side of the holy vial, the
royal insignia, which were kept in the treasury of his monastery, and had
been there since the reign of Charlemagne. They consisted of the crown,
the sword sheathed, the golden spurs, the gilt sceptre, the rod adorned
with an ivory handle in the form of a hand, the sandals of blue silk,
embroidered with fleur de lis, the chasuble or _dalmatique_, and the
_surcot_, or royal mantle, in the shape of a cape without a hood. The
King, immediately on rising from his bed, entered the cathedral, and
forthwith took oath to maintain the Catholio faith and the privileges of
the Church, and to dispense good and impartial justice to his subjects. He
then walked to the foot of the altar, and divested himself of part of his
dress, having his head bare, and wearing a tunic with openings on the
chest, on the shoulders, at the elbows, and in the middle of the back;
these openings were closed by means of silver aigulets. The Archbishop of
Rheims then drew the sword from the scabbard and handed it to the King,
who passed it to the principal officer in attendance. The prelate then
proceeded with the religious part of the ceremony of consecration, and
taking a drop of the miraculous oil out of the holy vial by means of a
gold needle, he mixed it with the holy oil from his own church. This being
done, and sitting in the posture of consecration, he anointed the King,
who was kneeling before him, in five different parts of the body, namely,
on the forehead, on the breast, on the back, on the shoulders, and on the
joints of the arms. After this the King rose up, and with the assistance
of his officers, put on his royal robes. The Archbishop handed to him
successively the ring, the sceptre, and the rod of justice, and lastly
placed the crown on his head. At this moment the twelve peers formed
themselves into a group, the lay peers being in the first rank,
immediately around the sovereign, and raising their hands to the crown,
they held it for a moment, and then they conducted the King to the throne.
The consecrating prelate, putting down his mitre, then knelt at the feet
of the monarch and took the oath of allegiance, his example being followed
by the other peers and their vassals who were in attendance. At the same
time, the cry of "_Vive le Roi_!" uttered by the archbishop, was repeated
three times outside the cathedral by the heralds-at-arms, who shouted it
to the assembled multitude. The latter replied, "_Noel! Noel! Noel!_" and
scrambled for the small pieces of money thrown to them by the officers,
who at the same time cried out, "_Largesse, largesse aux manants_!" Every
part of this ceremony was accompanied by benedictions and prayers, the
form of which was read out of the consecration service as ordered by the
bishop, and the proceedings terminated by the return of the civil and
religious procession which had composed the _cortege_. When the sovereign
was married, his wife participated with him in the honours of the
consecration, the symbolical investiture, and the coronation; but she only
partook of the homage rendered to the King to a limited degree, which was
meant to imply that the Queen had a less extended authority and a less
exalted rank.
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