[1] He was later killed for deception, and confessed that the Pecos
Indians induced him to lure Coronado to destruction.
CORONATION (Lat. _corona_, crown), a solemnity whereby sovereigns are
inaugurated in office. In pre-Christian times in Europe the king or
ruler, upon his election, was raised on a shield, and, standing upon it,
was borne on the shoulders of certain of the chief men of the tribe, or
nation, round the assembled people. This was called the _gyratio_, and
it was usually performed three times. At its conclusion a spear was
placed in the king's hand, and the diadem, a richly wrought band of silk
or linen, which must not be confused with the crown (see CROWN AND
CORONET), was bound round his forehead, as a token of regal authority.
When Europe became Christian, a religious service of benediction was
added to the older form, which, however, was not abandoned. Derived from
the Teutons, the Franks continued the _gyratio_, and Clovis, Sigebert,
Pippin and others were thus elevated to the royal estate. From a
combination of the old custom with the religious service, the later
coronation ceremonies were gradually developed. In the ceremonial
procession of the English king from the Tower to Westminster (first
abandoned at the coronation of James II.), in the subsequent elevation
of the king into what was known as the marble chair in Westminster Hall,
and in the showing of the king of France to the people, as also in the
universal practice of delivering a sceptre to the new ruler, traces, it
is thought, may be detected of the influence of the original function.
The added religious service was naturally derived from the Bible, where
mention is frequently made, in the Old Testament, of the anointing and
crowning of kings. The anointing of the king soon came to be regarded as
the most important, if not essential, feature of the service. By virtue
of the unction which he received, the sovereign was regarded, in the
middle ages, as a _mixta persona_, in part a priest, and in part a
layman. It was a strange theory, and Lyndwode, the great English
canonist, is cautious as to it, and was content to say that it was the
opinion of some people. It gained very wide acceptance, and the anointed
sovereign was generally regarded as, in some degree, possessed of the
priestly character. By virtue of the unction he had received, the
emperor was made a canon of St John Lateran and of St Peter at Rome, and
also of the collegiate church of Aachen, while the king of France was
_premier chanoine_ of the primatial church of Lyons, and held canonries
at Embrun, Le Mans, Montpellier, St Pol-de-Leon, Lodeve, and other
cathedral churches in France. There are, moreover, trustworthy records
that, on more than one occasion, a king of France, habited in a surplice
and choir robes, took part with the clergy in the services of some of
those churches. Martene 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; but the king of
England is not, and never was personally, a canon of St David's, nor did
he ever perform any quasi-clerical function.
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. The last, a compound
of olive oil and balsam, is only used for the most sacred purposes, and
the oil of the catechumens was that used for the unction of kings. In
France, however, a legend gained credence that, as a special sign of
divine favour, the Holy Dove had miraculously descended from heaven,
bearing a vessel (afterwards called the Sainte Ampoule), containing holy
oil, and had placed it on the altar for the coronation of Clovis. A drop
of oil from the Sainte Ampoule mixed with chrism was afterwards used for
anointing the kings of France. Similarly the chrism was introduced into
English coronations, for the first time probably at the coronation of
Edward II. To rival the French story another miracle was related that
the Virgin Mary had appeared to Thomas Becket, and had given him a
vessel with holy oil, which at some future period was to be used for the
sacring of the English king. A full account of this miracle, and the
subsequent finding of the vessel, is contained in a letter written in
1318 by Pope John XXII. to Edward II. The chrism was used in addition to
the holy oil. The king was first anointed with the oil, and then signed
on the head with the chrism. In all other countries the oil of the
catechumens was alone used. In consequence of the use of chrism the
kings of England and France were thought to be able to cure scrofula by
the imposition of their hands, and hence arose the practice in those
countries of touching for the king's evil, as it was called. In England
the chrism disappeared at the Reformation, but touching for the evil was
continued till the accession of the house of Hanover in 1714.
The oldest of all existing rituals for the coronation of a king is
contained in what is known as the Pontifical of Egbert, who was
archbishop of York in the middle of the 8th century. The coronation
service in it is entitled _Missa pro rege in die benedictionis ejus_,
and the coronation ceremony is interpolated in the middle of the mass.
After the Gospel the officiant recites some prayers of benediction, and
then pours oil from a horn on the king's head, while the anthem "Zadok
the priest," &c., is sung. After this the assembled bishops and nobles
place a sceptre in the king's hands, while a form of intercessory
benediction is recited. Then the staff (_baculus_) is delivered to him,
and finally a helmet (_galea_) is set upon his head, the whole assembly
repeating thrice "May King N. live for ever. Amen. Amen. Amen." The
enthronement follows, with the kisses of homage and of fealty, and the
mass, with special prayers, is concluded.
Another coronation service of Anglo-Saxon date bearing, but with no good
reason, the name of AEthelred II., has also been preserved, and is of
importance as it spread from England to the continent, and was used for
the coronations of the kings of France. It differs from the Egbert form
as the coronation precedes the mass, while the use of a ring, and the
definite allusion to a crown (_corona_ not _galea_) occur in it. Joined
to it is the form for the coronation of a queen consort. It may have
been used for the crowning of Harold and of William the Conqueror.
A third English coronation form, of the 12th century, bears the name of
Henry I., but also without good reason. The ceremonial is more fully
developed, and the king is anointed on the head, breast, shoulders and
elbows. The royal mantle appears for the first time, as does the
sceptre. The queen consort is to be crowned _secundum ordinem Romanum_,
and the whole function precedes the mass.
The fourth and most important of all English coronation services is that
of the _Liber Regalis_, a manuscript still in the keeping of the dean of
Westminster. It was introduced in 1307, and continued in use till the
Reformation, and, in an English translation and with the Communion
service substituted for the Latin mass, it was used for the coronation
of James I. In it the English coronation ceremonies reached their
fullest development. The following is a bare outline of its main
features:--
The ceremonies began the day before the coronation, the king being
ceremonially conducted in a procession from the Tower of London to
Westminster. There he reposed for the night, and was instructed by the
abbot as to the solemn obligations of the kingly office. Early next
morning he went to Westminster Hall, and there, among other ceremonies,
as _rex regnaturus_ was elevated into a richly adorned seat on the
king's bench, called the Marble Chair. Then a procession with the
regalia was marshalled, and led into the abbey church, the king wearing
a cap of estate on his head, and supported by the bishops of Bath and
Durham. A platform with thrones, &c., having been previously prepared
under the crossing, the king ascended it, and all being in order, the
archbishop of Canterbury called for the Recognition, after which the
king, approaching the high altar, offered a pall to cover it, and a
pound of gold. Then a sermon appropriate to the occasion was preached by
one of the bishops, the oath was administered by the archbishop, and the
_Veni Creator_ and a litany were sung. Then the king was anointed with
oil on his hands, breast, between the shoulders, on the shoulders, on
the elbows, and on the head; finally he was anointed with the chrism on
his head. Thus blessed and anointed, the king was vested, first with a
silk dalmatic, called the _colobium sindonis_, then a long tunic,
reaching to the ankles and woven with great golden images before and
behind, was put upon him. He then received the buskins (_caligae_), the
sandals (_sandalia_), and spurs (_calcaria_), then the sword and its
girdle; after this the stole, and finally the royal mantle, four-square
in shape and woven throughout with golden eagles. Thus vested, the crown
of St Edward was set on his head, the ring placed on his wedding finger,
the gloves drawn over his hands, and the golden sceptre, in form of an
orb and cross, delivered to him. Lastly, the golden rod with the dove at
the top was placed in the king's left hand. Thus consecrated, vested and
crowned, the king kissed the bishops who, assisted by the nobles,
enthroned him, while the _Te Deum_ was sung. When a queen consort was
also crowned, that ceremony immediately followed, and the mass with
special collect, epistle, gospel and preface was said, and during it
both king and queen received the sacrament in one kind. At the
conclusion the king retired to a convenient place, surrounded with
curtains, where the great chamberlain took off certain of the robes, and
substituted others for them, and the archbishop, still wearing his mass
vestments, set other crowns on the heads of the king and queen, and with
these they left the church.
This service, in English, was used at the coronation of James I.,
Elizabeth having been crowned with the Latin service. Little change was
made till 1685, when it was considerably altered for the coronation of
James II. The Communion was necessarily omitted in the case of a Roman
Catholic, but other changes were introduced quite needlessly by
Archbishop Sancroft, and four years later the old order was still more
seriously changed, with the result that the revisions of 1685 and 1689
have grievously mutilated the service, by confusing the order of its
different sections, while the meaning of the prayers has been completely
changed for no apparent reason. Alterations since then have been verbal
rather than essential, but at each subsequent coronation some feature
has disappeared, the proper preface having been abandoned at the
coronation of Edward VII.
In connexion with the English coronation a number of claims to do
certain services have sprung up, and before each coronation a court of
claims is constituted, which investigates and adjudicates on the claims
that are made. 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-a-pie_, with red, white and blue feathers in his
helmet. He was supported by the high constable on his right, and the
earl marshal on his left, both of whom were also mounted. On his
appearance in the hall a herald in front of him read the challenge, the
words of which have not materially varied at any period, as follows: "If
any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay
our sovereign lord ..., king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, defender of the faith (son and), next heir unto our sovereign
lord the last king deceased, to be the right heir to the imperial crown
of this realm of Great Britain and Ireland, or that he ought not to
enjoy the same; here is his champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a
false traitor, being ready in person to combat with him; and in this
quarrel will adventure his life against him, on what day soever he shall
be appointed." The champion then threw down the gauntlet. The challenge
was again made in the centre of the hall, and a third time before the
high table, at which the king was seated. The king then drank to the
champion out of a silver-gilt cup, with a cover, which he handed to him
as his fee. The banquet was last held, and the challenge made, at the
coronation of George IV. in 1821. The champion's claim was admitted in
1902, but as there was no banquet the duty of bearing the standard of
England was assigned to him. There is no record of the challenge having
been ever accepted.
The revival of the western empire under Charlemagne was marked by his
coronation by the pope at Rome in the year 800. His successors, for
several centuries, went to Rome, where they received the imperial crown
in St Peter's from the pope, the crown of Lombardy being conferred in
the church of St Ambrose (Sant' Ambrogio) at Milan, that of Burgundy at
Arles, and the German crown, which came to be the most important of all,
most commonly at Aix-la-Chapelle. It must suffice to speak of the
coronations at Rome and Aix-la-Chapelle. From Martene we learn the early
form of the ceremony at Rome. The emperor was met at the silver door of
St Peter's, where the first coronation prayer was recited over him by
the bishop of Albano. He was then conducted within the church, where in
_medio rotae majoris_, the bishop Of Porto said the second prayer.
Thence the emperor went to the confessio of St Peter, where the litany
was said, and there, or before the altar of St Maurice, the bishop of
Ostia anointed him on the right arm and between the shoulders. Then he
ascended to the high altar, where the pope delivered the naked sword to
him. This he flourished, and then sheathed in its scabbard. 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. He was then conducted to a
gallery over the entrance to the choir, where, seating himself with the
electors, proclamation was made of the election, and on a subsequent day
the coronation took place. 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. After this, he was vested in what were called the imperial and
pontifical robes, which included the buskins, a long alb, the stole
crossed priest-wise over the breast, and the mantle. The regalia were
then delivered to him, and the crown was set on his head conjointly by
the three archbishop-electors. Mass was then said, during which the
emperor communicated in one kind. When the coronation was performed at
Aix-la-Chapelle, the emperor was at once made, at its conclusion, a
canon of the church.
The coronation form in France bore much resemblance, in its general
features, to the English coronation, and was, it is believed originally
based on the English form. The unction was given, first on the top of
the head in the form of a cross, on the breast, between the shoulders,
and at the bending and joints of both arms. Then, standing up, the king
was vested in the dalmatic, tunic and royal robe, all of purple velvet
sprinkled with fleurs-de-lys of gold, and representing, it was said, the
three orders of subdeacon, deacon and priest. Then, kneeling again, he
was anointed in the palms of the hands, after which the gloves, ring and
sceptre were delivered. Then the peers were summoned by name to come
near and assist, and the archbishop of Reims, taking the crown of
Charlemagne from the altar, set it on the king's head. After which the
enthronement, and showing of the king to the people, took place. All the
unctions were made with the chrism, mixed with a drop of oil from the
Sainte Ampoule. After the enthronement, mass was said, and at its
conclusion the king communicated in both kinds. The third day after the
coronation, the king touched for the evil.
On the "11 Frimaire an 13" Napoleon and Josephine were jointly crowned
at Paris, by the pope. Napoleon entered Notre-Dame wearing a crown, and
before him were carried the imperial ornaments, to wit: _"la couronne de
l'empereur, l'epee, la main de justice, le sceptre, le manteau de
l'empereur, son anneau, son collier, le globe imperial, la couronne de
l'imperatrice, son manteau, son anneau."_ Each of these was blessed, and
delivered with a benediction to the emperor and empress, kneeling, side
by side, to receive them, both having previously received the unction on
the head and on each hand. Napoleon placed the crown on his head
himself. Mass with special prayers followed.
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.
In Sweden the king was anointed and crowned at Upsala by the archbishop.
The ceremony is now performed in the Storkyrka, at Stockholm, where the
archbishop of Upsala anoints the king on the breast, temples, forehead
and palms of both hands. The crown is placed on the king's head by the
archbishop and the minister of justice jointly, whereupon the state
marshal proclaims: "Now is crowned king of the Swedes, Goths and Wends,
he and no other." When there is a queen consort, she is then anointed,
crowned and proclaimed, in the same manner.
In Norway, according to the law of 1814, the coronation is performed in
the cathedral at Trondhjem, when the Lutheran superintendent, or bishop,
anoints the king. The crown is placed on the king's head jointly by the
bishop and the prime minister.
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. In other
countries, as Prussia, it is retained in a modified form; but in the
remaining states such as Denmark, Belgium, Italy, &c., it has been
abandoned, or never introduced.
AUTHORITIES.--L. G. Wickham Legg, _English Coronation Records_;
Roxburgh Club--_Liber Regalis_; Anon., _A Complete Account of the
Ceremonies observed in the Coronations of the Kings and Queens of
England_ (London, 1727); F. Sandford, _Description of the Coronation
of James II._ (1687); Menin, _The Form, Order and Ceremonies of
Coronations_, trans. from the French (1727); Martene, _De Antiquis
Ecclesiae Ritibus_, lib. ii. (T. M. F.)
CORONER, an ancient officer of the English common law, so called,
according to Coke, because he was a _keeper_ of the pleas of the crown
(_custos placitorum coronae_). At what period the office of coroner was
instituted is a matter of considerable doubt; some modern authorities
(Stubbs, _Select Charters_, 260; Pollock and Maitland, _Hist. Eng. Law_,
i. 519) date its origin from 1194, but C. Gross (_Political Science
Quarterly_, vol. vii.) has shown that it must have existed before that
date. The office was always elective, the appointment being made by the
freeholders of the county assembled in county court. By the Statute of
Westminster the First it was ordered that none but lawful and discreet
knights should be chosen as coroners, and in one instance a person was
actually removed from office for insufficiency of estate. Lands to the
value of L20 per annum (the qualification for knighthood) were
afterwards deemed sufficient to satisfy the requirements as to estate
which ought to be insisted on in the case of a coroner. The complaint of
Blackstone shows the transition of the office from its original
dignified and honorary character to a paid appointment in the public
service, "Now, indeed, through the culpable neglect of gentlemen of
property, this office has been suffered to fall into disrepute, and get
into low and indigent hands; so that, although formerly no coroners
would condescend to be paid for serving their country, and they were by
the aforesaid Statute of Westminster expressly forbidden to take a
reward, under pain of a great forfeiture to the king; yet for many years
past they have only desired to be chosen for their perquisites; being
allowed fees for their attendance by the statute 3 Henry VII. c. 1,
which Sir Edward Coke complains of heavily; though since his time those
fees have been much enlarged." The mercenary character of the office,
thus deprecated by Coke and Blackstone, is now firmly established,
without, however (it need hardly be said), affording the slightest
ground for such reflections as the above. The coroner is in fact a
public officer, and like other public officers receives payment for his
services. The person appointed is almost invariably a qualified legal or
medical practitioner; how far one is a more "fit person" than another
has frequently been a matter of dispute--a Bill of 1879, which, however,
failed to pass, decided in favour of the legal profession. The property
qualification for a county coroner ("having land in fee sufficient in
the same county whereof he may answer to all manner of people," 14 Ed.
III. st. 1, c. 8), although re-enacted in the Coroners Act 1887, is now
virtually dispensed with. The appointment is for life, but is vacated by
the holder being made sheriff. A coroner may be removed by the writ _de
coronatore exonerando_, for sufficient cause assigned, or the lord
chancellor may, if he thinks fit, remove any coroner from his office for
inability or misbehaviour in the discharge of his duty.
Coroners are of three kinds: (1) coroners by virtue of their office,
e.g. the lord chief justice of the king's bench is the principal coroner
of England; the puisne judges of the king's bench are sovereign
coroners--they may exercise their jurisdiction within any part of the
realm, even in the verge[1] or other exempt liberties or franchises; (2)
coroners by charter or commission, e.g. in certain liberties and
franchises coroners are appointed by the crown or by lords holding a
charter from the crown; (3) coroners by virtue of election, e.g. county
and borough coroners. County coroners in England were, until 1888,
elected by the freeholders, but by the Local Government Act 1888 the
appointment was given to the county council, who may appoint any fit
person, not being a county alderman or county councillor, to fill the
office. By an act of 1860 the system of payment by fees, established by
an act of 1843, was abolished and payment made by salary calculated on
the average amount of the fees, mileage, and allowances usually received
by the coroner for a period of five years, and the calculation revised
every five years. In boroughs having a separate court of quarter
sessions, and whose population exceeds 10,000, the coroner is appointed
by the town council and is paid by fees. A county coroner must reside
within his district or not more than two miles out of it. Deputy
coroners are also appointed in both counties and boroughs, and the law
relating to their appointment is contained in the Coroners Act 1892. The
duties of a coroner were ascertained by 4 Edward I. st. 2:--"A coroner
of our Lord the king ought to inquire of these things, first, when
coroners are commanded by the king's bailiffs or by the honest men of
the county, they shall go to the places where any be slain, or suddenly
dead or wounded, or where houses are broken, or where treasure is said
to be found, and shall forthwith command four of the next towns, or
five, or six, to appear before him in such a place; and when they are
come thither, the coroner upon the oath of them shall inquire in this
manner, that is, to wit, if it concerns a man slain, if they know when
the person was slain, whether it were in any house, field, bed, tavern,
or company, and if any, and who, were there, &c. It shall also be
inquired if the dead person were known, or else a stranger, and where he
lay the night before. And if any person is said to be guilty of the
murder, the coroner shall go to their house and inquire what goods they
have, &c." Similar directions were given for cases of persons found
drowned or suddenly dead, for attachment of criminals in cases of
violence, &c. His functions are now, by the Coroners Act 1887, limited
to an inquiry upon "the dead body of a person lying within his
jurisdiction, where there is reasonable cause to suspect that such
person has died either a violent or an unnatural death, or has died a
sudden death of which the cause is unknown, or that such person has died
in prison, or in such place or under such circumstances as to require an
inquest in pursuance of any act" (S. 3), and upon treasure-trove (S.
36). The inquisition must be _super visum corporis_ (that is, after
"viewing the body"); the evidence is taken on oath; and any party
suspected may tender evidence. The Coroners Act 1887, S. 21, gives power
to the coroner to summon medical witnesses and to direct the performance
of a post-mortem examination. The verdict must be that of twelve at
least of the jury. If any person is found guilty of murder or other
homicide, the coroner shall commit him to prison for trial; he shall
also certify the material evidence to the court, and bind over the
proper persons to prosecute or to give evidence at the trial. He may in
his discretion accept bail for a person found guilty of manslaughter.
Since the abolition of public executions, the coroner is required to
hold an inquest on the body of any criminal on whom sentence of death
has been carried into effect. The duty of coroners to inquire into
treasure-trove (q.v.) is still preserved by the Coroners Act 1887,
which, however, repealed certain other jurisdictions, as,--inquests of
royal fish (whale, sturgeon) thrown ashore or caught near the coast;
inquest of wrecks, and of felonies, except felonies on inquisitions of
death. By the City of London Fire Inquests Act 1888 the duty is imposed
upon the coroner for the city to hold inquests in cases of loss or
injury by fire in the city of London and the liberties thereof situated
in the county of Middlesex. This is a practice which exists in several
European countries.
In Scotland the duties of a coroner are performed by an officer called a
procurator-fiscal.
In the United States and in most of the colonies of Great Britain the
duties of a coroner are substantially the same. In some cases his duties
are more enlarged, his inquisition embracing the origin of fires; in
others they are confined to holding inquests in cases of suspicious
deaths. Unlike a coroner in England, he is elected generally only for a
specified period.
AUTHORITIES.--Jervis, _Office and Duties of Coroners_ (6th ed., 1898);
R. H. Wellington, _The King's Coroner_ (2 vols., 1905-1906). In 1908 a
committee was appointed to inquire into the law relating to coroners
and coroners' inquests and into the practice in coroners' courts.
(T. A. I.)