Talk:Coronations in Europe

Orphaned references in Coronations in Europe
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Coronations in Europe's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "britannica1": From Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor:  From Coronation:  

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 01:25, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

England
There should a section made for England. England had it's own ceremonies prior to the unification of the crown and during Anglo-Saxon times.--Queen Elizabeth II&#39;s Little Spy (talk) 19:17, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
 * That should be very interesting to see. I'll see what I can do in the next week or two, or if you or some other editor wishes, please feel free to create one if you have some info on the subject! - Ecjmartin (talk) 21:11, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

The point about the coronation occurring in Westminster Abbey because the Sovereign is Supreme Governor of the Church of England is incorrect. The Abbey has been used since the 11th century and was only very briefly a cathedral - for most of its history it has been an abbey or collegiate church.Ncox (talk) 23:35, 6 December 2014 (UTC)

yugoslavia. how can it be true that peter ii was not crowned? according to the picture http://www.czipm.org/Grafika/Foto/miropomazanje-vladara-17.jpg on this site: http://www.czipm.org/miropomazanje-vladara.html he was. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.27.211.111 (talk) 13:33, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Coronations in Europe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20101123025744/http://gardnermuseum.org/press_releases/2008/luxury/luxury_for_export_catalogue_entries.pdf to http://www.gardnermuseum.org/press_releases/2008/luxury/luxury_for_export_catalogue_entries.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true to let others know.

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 00:05, 26 February 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 1 one external link on Coronations in Europe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110608090548/http://www.chivalricorders.org/nobility/holyroman/ to http://www.chivalricorders.org/nobility/holyroman/

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 02:12, 1 December 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Coronations in Europe. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080905061158/http://www.cheetah.net/~ccoulomb/coronations.html to http://www.cheetah.net/~ccoulomb/coronations.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110611045319/http://www.crownminiatures.com/European%20Crowns/Russia/russia-imperialc.html to http://www.crownminiatures.com/European%20Crowns/Russia/russia-imperialc.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 08:19, 13 August 2017 (UTC)

Acclamation or Coronation for Portugal?
This is in response to recent edits by User:Walrasiad. Pay attention to pages 179-180 about information regarding the Roman Pontifical of Braga and Coimbra dioceses from 12th and 13th centuries (why bother including a coronation rite if it's never performed?): https://repositorio.ucp.pt/bitstream/10400.14/17362/1/V02402-173-194.pdf The entire Latin ceremony is described from page 185 onwards. Pay attention to section 14 (pages 189-190). The metropolitan bishop alone crowns the King's head, intoning the words: "Accipe coronam regni..."

Here's also a video of a professor from the University of Coimbra discussing the Coronation of Sebastian of Portugal: https://youtube.com/watch?v=MG0dcJ9ZiOg
 * It has always been my understanding that prior to the Iberian Union, all kings were crowned, and that after the Restoration War, all king's forfeited that right after King John IV of Portugal solemnly crowned the Virgin Mary as Queen of Portugal. That's what I learned as a child and have read many times, but if someone has evidence to the opposite I would love to see it. Cristiano Tomás (talk) 17:36, 25 August 2021 (UTC)

(Bit long, apologies for the length):

It is worth reading the article on Portuguese Wikipedia, if you haven't already done so. It asserts categorically that Portuguese kings were acclaimed, not crowned. (see: pt:Aclamação do Rei de Portugal)

There is no iconographic or documentary evidence of coronation ceremonies for any Kings of Portugal. There are no images, no paintings nor illuminations of coronation ceremonies. Coronations are not mentioned by any royal chroniclers (or any other writers or presumed eyewitnesses), and there are no liturgical texts for it. Like in neighboring Iberian kingdoms, Portuguese kings generally ascended by acclamation - initially by elevation by his vassals in the Germanic Visigothic fashion, later by the people or Cortes. There was no fixed ritual of how acclamations were done, nor any fixed location. Kings of Portugal were acclaimed wherever they were, upon hearing the news of the death of the predecessor (usually the day after).

This has been the general consensus, and remains the majority opinion, of historians, both in Portugal and Spain.

Acclamation (initially elevation on the shield) was the common tradition of Germanic kingdoms in the west. Unction & coronation ceremonies were an Oriental tradition, brought to the West by Pope Stephen II for the Frankish king Pepin the Short in 754 at Saint-Denis. It became thereafter a Frankish tradition, in Frankish successor states (France, Germany, Italy) and exported to areas of Frankish influence (e.g. England). But it did not seem to make inroads on the Iberian peninsula, where kingship continued to operate under Visigothic tradition.

Coronation ceremonies were, with a few exceptions, uncommon on the Iberian Peninsula. Only the Kings of Aragon (an area of Frankish influence) were crowned with any kind of regularity (after 1204). Those of Castile and Leon, like those of Portugal, rested their kingship on acclamation, rather than sacred unction or coronation ceremonies. (Ruiz, 1985; Lienahan, 1993; Branco 2010: p.249). The imperial coronation of Alfonso VII of Leon as "Emperor of Spain" in 1135 was one of the exceptions.

There is no evidence of any Portuguese king being crowned. There is a bull from Pope Eugenius IV, dated 1428, requested by Peter of Coimbra, explicitly authorizing the Kings of Portugal to be anointed and crowned in solemn ceremonies, "like in France and England" but no indication that it was made use of. Royal chronicler Ruy de Pina, writing c.1510, notes that he "never saw or heard of" coronation ceremonies of Portuguese kings before (See Pina, Cronica d'El Rei D. Duarte, p.47).

Coronations of Portuguese kings have been denied categorically by many historians (e.g. Brasio, 1962; Merea, 1962). I have the entire "Circulo de Leitores" collection of biographies of Portuguese kings, written by their top scholars, that was put out in the 2000s (of which Mattoso's & Branco's are volumes of that series). Just quickly thumbing through their chronologies and indexes, all indicate "acclamation", none indicate coronation. There seems to be a strong consensus that Portuguese kings were acclaimed, not crowned.

However, there have been some recent historians (most notably José Mattoso (1993)) who have speculated that there may have been some sort of quiet religious sacramental-oriented ceremony among some of the earlier Medieval kings, which in some cases might have amounted to a kind of private subdued coronation. This remains very speculative, and rests on some very thin evidence, as Mattoso himself admits.

In Mattoso's own great work on D. Afonso Henriques (2007), Mattoso explains how Afonso I was elevated by his men in the field and hailed as king, in the aftermath of the Battle of Ourique (July 25, 1139). This was followed up by an triumphal march through the streets of Coimbra in August, where the population also acclaimed him "king". Mattoso (2007: p.175-78) conjectures the acclamation may have been partly organized by João Peculiar (Afonso's old ally, and the new Archbishop of Braga), who had returned from his investiture trip to Rome around this time, where he would have likely witnessed elaborate Papal ceremonies, and may have tried to do some imitation sacrament-oriented magic in Santa Cruz church during the festivities. But this is entirely speculative - none of the existing chronicles of Afonso Henriques report any coronation ceremony. And in his own chronology, Mattoso (2007: p.381) himself sticks with "acclamation" and "triumph", and makes no mention of coronation.

And whatever may be said of one or two early Medieval kings, Mattoso himself categorically denies coronations for the later House of Aviz. The legal claim of Aviz on the throne, after all, rested entirely on popular recognition, the acclamation of John I in the Cortes of Coimbra of 1385. Philip II Hapsburg of Spain's claim on Portugal was similarly dependent on the acclamation of the Cortes of Tomar of 1581. The two papers our IP editor links to above go basically over the same ground as Mattoso, focusing on the speculative possibility that some early Medieval Portuguese kings may have had some kind of quiet & subdued sacramental ceremony, stringing together basically the same hints here and there. Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking. It is curious, but remains speculative.

But let us be clear what they do NOT state: (1) They do not claim that Portuguese kings were crowned before 1640, (2) they do not make any statement about some kind of Hapsburg transitional period. Which our IP editor wants to claim as fact. This is not supported by the documents he himself cites. (I am not sure at all where all this speculation about "Hapsburg exception" comes from - never heard of it before.)

Clearly, these few scholars have shown it is inadequate to absolutely claim (as the current consensus does) that no king of Portugal ever had any kind of sacramental and coronation ceremony, ever at all. But just as clearly, we're talking about a few early exceptions at best. Coronation ceremonies were certainly not a Portuguese tradition, never noted, drawn, painted, recorded or reported by anybody. Acclamations yes, reported many times. Coronations? No.

Wikipedia should certainly not report coronations as a fact. It may be worth noting some possible exceptions as an interesting footnote, but they remain speculations by a few scholars erected on extremely thin evidence, and are not the consensus opinion.

This does not change the fact that John IV did famously arrange for an elaborate acclamation ceremony in 1640 where he ostentatiously placed the crown on a pillow and commended the kingdom to the Virgin Mary. But nothing more should be deduced from that, other than John IV has some theatrical tastes and knows how to work a crowd.

Refs:


 * Brásio, António (1962) "O problema da sagração dos monarcas portugueses", Anais da Academia Portuguesa da História, vol. 12, pp. 21–49.


 * Merêa, Paulo (1962) “Sobre a aclamação dos nossos reis”. Revista Portuguesa de História, No.10, pp. 6–11


 * Branco, Maria João Violante (2010) D. Sancho I: O filho do fundador. Lisbon: Temas e Debates.


 * Linehan, Peter (1993) History and Historians of Medieval Spain. Oxford University Press.


 * Mattoso, José (1993) "A coroação dos primeiros reis de Portugal", in F. Bethencourt and D.R. Curto, editors, A Memoria da Nação. Lisbon: Sá da Costa.


 * Mattoso, José (2007) D. Afonso Henriques. Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores/Temas e Debates.


 * Ruiz, Teofilo F. (1985) "Un-sacred Monarchy: the Kings of Castile in the Late Middle Ages" in S. Wilentz, editor, Rites of Power: Symbolism, ritual, and politics since the Middle Ages, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. p.109-44


 * Thank you for putting this explanation together so eloquently and with the perfect amount of detail! Sounds like there is academic consensus that coronations did not habitually occur for Portuguese monarchs even before the Restoration, save for the small possibility of a few outliers that you mentioned. Upon examining Walrasiad's sources and reasoning, I support his actions to remove references to coronations across the Portuguese monarch articles. On a matter of personal curiosity, I wonder if Walrasiad could explain the significance of the 1640 acclamation in regards to its "break with tradition" from the past. I have always heard stories (and that may be just what they are) that the reasoning no monarch after John IV was crowned was because the "true monarch" in perpetuity was Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, crowned by John IV himself. Is there any truth in this legend? Does it mean no crown was ever worn on the head again after that moment (instead of meaning a coronation ceremony)? I do believe imagery pre-Restoration would occasionally show kings with crowns upon their head but I can't think of such imagery existing after the Restoration. But anyways, your actions removing references to coronations are rather justified regarding this matter based on the evidence and you have my support. Best, Cristiano Tomás (talk) 01:26, 26 August 2021 (UTC)
 * "Coronations are not mentioned by any royal chroniclers (or any other writers or presumed eyewitnesses), and there are no liturgical texts for it."

But the linked paper describes there being liturgical texts for coronations found in Roman Pontifical manuscripts of the dioceses of Braga and Coimbra. Both Sebastião (in 1568) and Duarte (in 1433) are also described as having coronations in this latest paper from the University of Coimbra: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carlota-Simoes/publication/331162717_'The_Astrological_Chart_of_the_Coronation_of_King_Sebastiao_of_Portugal'_Culture_and_Cosmos_Vol_22_no_2_AutumnWinter_2018_pp_17-32/links/60b746a292851cde884b235e/The-Astrological-Chart-of-the-Coronation-of-King-Sebastiao-of-Portugal-Culture-and-Cosmos-Vol-22-no-2-Autumn-Winter-2018-pp-17-32.pdf Also,Sancho I of Portugal is described as being crowned: https://estudogeral.sib.uc.pt/bitstream/10316/85021/1/A%20sagrac%CC%A7a%CC%83o%20do%20Reino.pdf
 * The first article says nothing. An astrologer mentions "coronation" without referencing any historical work.  She seems to rely a lot on a 20th Century historical fiction novel. Forgive me if I discount it.  We know Sebastian was enthroned on the date she calls "coronation". And she mis-describes Duarte's ascent in 1433 as well.  She cites Pina, but read yourself what Pina actually says about Duarte's ceremony (Pina Cronica de Dom Duarte, p.24): carried out in the open courtyard of a royal palace in Alcacova (note: not a church), surrounded by his vassals, where he is to be "lifted" ("aleventado").  Pina describes the Bishop of Evora (note: not an archbishop) making a "harangue" (opening speech) then kneeling to kiss his hand, and a brief interchange between the bishop and the king. But no mention of sacred unctions or crowns.  Did he forget?   Pina goes on, how the royal flags were unfurled, the leading cry of acclamation (the customary "Real, Real, Real"), the confirming reply and subsequent hand-kissing by vassals, then marching through the city streets to get the people's acclamation, etc.  Lots of detail for an acclamation ceremony. She calls this "coronation"?  Come on.
 * On the second article, the Roman Pontifical contains many ceremonies for bishops, from the basic sacraments of confirmation & ordination of priests (and other clergy), to consecration of churches, altars, and gazillions of blessings for everything under the sun. I would expect every bishop to have a copy. That said, he finds four early Medieval manuscripts, a couple of which contain a kind of blessing for the king's sword and what seems like a coronation ritual. But these texts are of French origin, from Aquitaine, written before the existence of the Kingdom of Portugal.  He speculatively conjectures that they may have been used as part of some formal sacramental ceremony during enthronement of a couple of early kings, and speculatively imagines how it may have been carried out.  It's interesting, but not really much to go on.  Certainly not enough to make a general statement like that. (ps - your author limits possible use to first dynasty and also denies any coronations of Aviz).
 * The "coronation of Sancho" is one stray line in a manuscript, the only mention in any chronicle in centuries. Again, not enough to build a general statement on. It could be Sancho I was an exception, or it could be just a scribe's euphemism for enthronement after his father's death. Again, very thin gruel. His biographer, Branco (2010:p.366) puts Sancho as solemnly acclaimed (not crowned) on Dec 9, 1185.
 * Coronation ceremonies should not be hidden like this. We should not be hunting for an obscure hint here or there. If you think about this era, in the lands of coronations (France, Germany, Italy, England), where a king had to be crowned by a particular bishop in a particular church, and all hell breaks loose if he failed to get that exactly right. And by hell I mean hell. Coronation was a real serious business, and celebrated and doted on in detail.  We don't see any of this happening in Portugal and Spain.  Even the most basic of information - what bishop and what church? - is completely absent.  This is not the kind of stuff you would hide or even be able to hide. You can't blame laconic chroniclers. Its not only acclamations. We get detailed info about when & where royal princes are knighted, but apparently nobody thought it worthwhile noting when they are crowned? Walrasiad (talk) 16:52, 26 August 2021 (UTC)


 * EDIT: To supplement, you video talks about a "coronation" of Sebastian in 1557. Well, I found a very detailed description of Sebastian's "levantamento" in the Cronica del Rey D. Sebastiao by Manuel de Meneses (c.1627) p.52. Worth reading, as it goes very much into detail. Very clearly an acclamation ceremony, pretty much as before.  Conducted in the courtyard of the Palacio da Ribeira (modern Praca do Comercio in Lisbon, again not a church). Again no sacramental unctions, no coronation. Only vaguely religious part is an oath of service sworn on an open Bible by the regent (his uncle, Cardinal Henry), only object is a scepter handed to him by the treasurer. The rest follows the acclamation ceremony pretty closely as before ("Real, Real, Real" call, response, hand-kissing, flag-unfurling, procession through the streets, etc).  They mention entering a church "to pray", but that is all. Walrasiad (talk) 19:26, 26 August 2021 (UTC)

Imperial Coronations of the Roman Empire
Should the Coronations of Roman Emperors (particularly Byzantine Emperors) be included in this list? 81.151.164.163 (talk) 18:15, 6 May 2023 (UTC)