THE ROMAN RITE OF THE CORONATION OF A KING
I
The Roman rite of the coronation of kings is based on the imperial rite,
but at the same time owes much to the various national rites which had
been in existence some time before the genesis of the Roman. The earliest
known Roman rite of the coronation of a king is that contained in the
Ordo Romanus of Hittorp[104], and is probably of the tenth or eleventh
century.
It begins with the preliminary prayer _Omn. semp. Deus qui famulum_ and
the responsory _Ecce mitto angelum_ and the prayer _Deus qui scis humanum
genus_ as the king enters the church. This is all purely Roman. The order
begins with the prayer _Omn. semp. Deus caelestium terrestriumque_,
which is first found here, after which is said the Litany, another Roman
feature. The oath is put to the king in interrogatory form, _Vis sanctam
fidem_, etc., _Vis sanctis ecclesiis_, etc., _Vis regnum_, etc., and the
king answers _Volo_. The people are then asked whether they will accept
the king, and they answer _Fiat, fiat_.
The consecration of the king is preceded by a benediction, _Benedic
Domine hunc regem_, and two alternative forms of consecration are given.
(1) _Omn. aeterne Deus creator omnium_, which is found in the rite by
which Louis II was crowned in 877, and after this is said by another
bishop _Deus inenarrabilis_, after which the king is anointed on head,
breast, shoulders, and bends of arms with the form _Ungo te in regem de
oleo sanctificato in nomine_, etc., and finally on the hands, _Unguantur
manus_. Then is said _Prospice Omnipotens_, which appears in the
earliest form of the imperial rite and in the Milanese rite of the ninth
century[105].
(2) The alternative consecration consists of the prayers _Deus qui es
iustorum gloria_, a Roman prayer, and _Sursum corda_, _Preface_, and the
_Deus creator omnium_ of the first alternative.
The investitures follow; the Sword with the form _Accipe gladium per
manus episcoporum_; the Ring with the form _Accipe regiae dignitatis
anulum_, both these forms occurring here for the first time; the Verge
with the form, found in all orders but that of ‘Egbert,’ _Accipe virgam
virtutis_; and lastly the Crown with the form, here first occurring,
_Accipe coronam regni_. The three benedictions which follow the
investitures, _Benedicat tibi_, _Clerum ac populum_, and _Quatenus
divinis_, also appear for the first time in this order. After the
responsory _Desiderium animae_ the king is enthroned with the _Sta et
retine_, which is found with variations in all orders except that of
‘Egbert,’ the metropolitan gives the king the kiss of peace, and finally
_Te Deum_ is sung.
At the consecration of the queen, after the prayers _Omn. aet. Deus fons
et origo_, and _Deus qui solus habes immortalitatem_, she is anointed
with the form _Spiritus Sancti gratia_, and she is then crowned with the
form _Officio indignitatis_.
The Mass prayers are not specified.
There is a large number of Roman orders varying in places, but in general
agreement with the Ordo of Hittorp.
II
The Roman rite does not seem to have undergone the number of revisions to
which the national rites were subjected, and what revision it did undergo
was all in the direction of simplicity.
The rite of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is very close to that
which is found in the present Pontificale Romanum. An order[106] of this
period is as follows. The king is led by bishops to the metropolitan
with the request that he be crowned, and in answer to the metropolitan’s
question they declare that he is worthy. The king then takes the oath,
which has become direct, _Ego N. profiteor coram Deo et angelis_. The
oath is rather shorter in the Pontifical of 1520. After the prayer _Omn.
aeterne Deus Creator_ (a variant form of _Omn. semp. Deus caelestium
terrestriumque_) the Litany is said, the king lying prostrate before
the altar. The metropolitan[107] then anoints the king on the right
arm[108] and between the shoulders with the prayers _Deus Dei filius_ and
(_alia_ in the Munich order) _Omn. semp. Deus qui Azahel_[109]. Mass is
then begun, the Mass for the day being said with a second collect _Deus
regnorum omnium_. In the present Pontifical of Clement VIII, the special
collect is that of the ‘Missa pro rege.’ The king is invested with Sword,
Verge, and Crown; in the Pontifical of 1520, and that at present in use,
after he has been invested with the sword the king brandishes it thrice,
and in the present Roman order the form of the investiture with the sword
is the old form with which it was girded on, _Accingere gladium tuum_.
The king is then enthroned with _Sta et amodo retine_, _Te Deum_ is
sung, and finally after the responsory _Firmetur manus_, the two prayers
_Deus qui victrices Moysi_ and _Deus inenarrabilis_ (this latter under
an _alia_ in the Munich order) are said. The Secret and Postcommunion
are the same as in ‘Egbert,’ except that in the present rite the
Postcommunion is that of the ‘Missa pro rege.’
The later forms of the queen’s coronation have changed considerably. In
the Pontifical of 1520, followed by that in use at present, the king
presents his consort to be crowned, and a short Litany is said. Then
comes a benediction and _Sursum corda_, _Preface_, and _Deus honorum
cunctorum auctor_. She is anointed in the same way as the king with the
prayer _Deus pater aeternae gloriae_, and then comes the crowning and, a
new feature, investiture with the Sceptre.