Chapter VII 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 Hittorp104, 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 century105.
(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 order106 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 metropolitan107 then anoints the king on the right arm108 and between the shoulders with the prayers Deus Dei filius and (alia in the Munich order) Omn. semp. Deus qui Azahel109. 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.