Crowning The King of England

Coronation during the Norman Conquest

Brooke Hansen, Monica Meldrum, and Kasey Weiland

The Crown
-Not king until the coronation and
crowning (Cannon).
-Authority came from the King and he
gained authority from
the coronation (Bartlett 123).
-Physical embodiment

The Crown
William The Conqueror
[The King had] great dignity and wore his crown three times a
year when he was in England. At Easter he wore it at Winchester,
at Whitsun at Westminster and at Christmas at Gloucester, and
on all those occasions all the great men of the whole of England
were with him, abbots and earls, thegns and knights (Anglo Saxon
Chronicle, pp. 219-20, s.a. 1086 (recte 1087)).

The Interregnal Period

Time of Unrest vs. Time of Peace
The King was dead but Kingless England did
Not lack peaceYou, Henry, are the first in the world to have
Performed this wonder.
Not yet king, not yet present, you
Nevertheless can do
What a king was unable to do when present
(H. Hunt. 10 40 (p. 776) (RS edn., p. 291)).

Monarchs Depicted on the Tapestry

Edward the Confessor (r. 1043-1066)
-Founded Westminster Cathedral in 1045
-Dedication of Westminster Abbey December 28, 1065
-Died January 5, 1066 and is buried at Westminster
Harold Godwineson (r. Jan. 1066-Oct. 1066)
-Coronated January 6, 1066 at Westminster
- Harolds coronation at Westminster is important
because it begins the tradition of coronation at
Westminster Abbey.

Coronation Ceremony
-Took place at Westminster Abbey, on a
Sunday
- Significance of coronation in the Church
- 973, the coronation of Edgar, was the first account
(beginning of coronation rituals). His coronation took place
in the church to symbolize the churchs support of the
government.

Westminster
Abbey

Coronation Ceremony
-The king-to-be is conducted into the church by the bishops and
prostrated before the altar
-The king swears a three-fold coronation oath
(Audience: *wait for bishop to ask acceptance of the monarch*
then reply, we wish it and grant it.)
the Te Deum Laudamus is sung by the congregation and
the clergy while the king is invested with a series of consecration
rites and then enthroned
-Next,

Te Deum Laudamus
TE DEUM laudamus: te Dominum
confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi Caeli et universae
Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce
proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus
Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae
tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.

O GOD, we praise Thee: we acknowledge

Thee to be the Lord.
Everlasting Father, all the earth doth
worship Thee.
To Thee all the Angels, the Heavens and
all the Powers,
all the Cherubim and Seraphim,
unceasingly proclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty
of Thy glory.
The glorious choir of the Apostles,
the wonderful company of Prophets,
the white-robed army of Martyrs, praise
Thee

Coronation Ceremony
-Anointing with the holy oil, and
Chrism.
-This was done to symbolize the
granting of divine favor to the monarch.

Coronation Ceremony
-Girding of the sword to symbolize the protection of the weak
-Investment with the ring, orb and sceptre
-Ring: symbol of the monarchs marriage to the nation.
-Orb: held in the monarchs left hand and
is symbolic of the sovereign's role as the
Defender of Faith
-Sceptre: held in the right hand and is
symbolic of the monarchs temporal
power as the head of state.

Coronation Ceremony
-The kiss of peace
- The reading of the coronation liturgy
-The Laudes Regiae is sung
- Christ Commands, Christ Reigns, Christ Conquers

Coronation Ceremony
After the coronation, a mass followed and then, THE FEAST

Bibliography
(Anglo Saxon Chronicle, pp. 219-20, s.a. 1086 (recte 1087).
Bartlett, Robert. "Chapter 3." England under the Norman and Angevin Kings: 1075-1225. Oxford:
Clarendon, 2000. 123-30. Print.
Cannon, J. A., and Griffiths, R., The Oxford Illustrated History of the Monarchy (Oxford, 1988)
H. Hunt. 10 40 (p. 776) (RS edn., p. 291).
Morris, Marc. "Chapter 8." The Norman Conquest: The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon
England. New York: Pegasus LLC, 2012. 131. Print.