The Coronation Ceremony of the Kings of France:
An ancient ritual in continual evolution

As we know from the ordo, the coronation ritual evolved during the Middle Ages and underwent further modifications during the Ancient Regime.

Before 816, it consisted of a simple unction on the forehead of the sovereign, to which was added the crowning, presentation of the sceptre , and the oath of the Church (ordo Hincmar). In the 10th century the ring and sword appeared, followed by the dubbing of knighthood (for Philippe Auguste, 1179), and the oath against heretics (early 13th century).

The rituals of the waking of the King and the procession from the Archbishop's palace to the Cathedral were introduced for Charles V in 1364.

Crown of Louis XV, by Augustin Duflos (1715-1774)

Paris, musée du Louvre.

© Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2000

The ceremony took place on a Sunday or on an important religious holiday (Ascension, Assumption, All Saints' Day).

The King would arrive the evening before and prepare himself by spending part of the night in prayer, before going to sleep in the palace of the Archbishop (now the Palace of Tau).

It was there at sunrise that two ecclesiastical Peers, the Bishop of Laon and the Bishop of Beauvais, would come for him.

A dialogue would then begin between the Cantor of the Cathedral and the Grand Chamberlain. The former would knock on the door of the royal chamber with his staff. "Who do you seek?" asked the Grand Chamberlain from inside. "The King," answered the Cantor. "The King is sleeping," responded the Grand Chamberlain.
This ritual, permanently established under Louis XIII, was repeated three times. Then the Bishop of Laon would announce "We seek Louis (or Charles) whom God has given us as King".
At last the door would open and, to the intonation of Veni Creator, the King was conducted by procession to the Cathedral where the consecrating Prelate awaited.

Sceptre of Charles V (detail) :
Statuette of Charlemagne (c.1365-1380)
Paris, musée du Louvre © Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2000

The vial was placed on the altar next to the Regalia, the symbols of royalty usually kept at the Abbey of Saint Denis, the necropolis of the Kings of France.

The King then took several oaths. Standing before the main altar, on which rested the Gospels and a reliquary of the True Cross, he promised to defend the Church, to preserve its canonical privileges, to uphold peace and justice for his people and to drive out heretics.

Simply clothed in a tunic and chemise with openings at the places where he would receive unction, the King was given the insignia of knighthood: the sword and golden spurs which made him the secular arm of the Church. Prostrate before the Archbishop, he was anointed with the oil of the Holy Flask on the head, the chest, between the shoulders and then on each one, on the elbows and the hands.

Lastly, the King received the ring, the sceptre, and the hand of justice.

Coronation Sword (detail), Ile de France (10th to 14th centuries)
Paris, musée du Louvre.

© Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2000

Sitting on a throne which dominated the jube, the King received homage from the Archbishop and the eleven other Peers, with the crowd cheering "Vivat rex in aeternum!". Birds were released and all the church bells in the city rang out.

Few queens were crowned in Reims, as the new kings were often too young to be married at the time of their accession to the throne. When they later married, the Queen's coronation ceremony was usually held at the Abbey of Saint Denis. If, however, the new Sovereign was married at the time of his coronation, it was at this moment that the coronation of the Queen took place. She also received unction on the head and chest, and was presented with a lesser regalia: crown, ring, sceptre, and hand of justice.

Mass was then celebrated with the King sitting on his throne. During the offertory, he brought the bread and wine to the Archbishop, along with his offering of thirteen pieces of gold symbolising his union with the people. He then took communion of the two species at the altar, drinking from the so-called "chalice of Saint Remi".

Coronation Chalice, known as the Saint Remi Chalice (12th century)

Reims, Musée du Palais du Tau

© Palais du Tau, Reims, 2007

A feast at the Palace of Tau followed the Mass. In the image of Christ at the Last Supper, the King, with his ornaments and wearing his crown, took his place in the middle of the twelve Peers, the Connétable brandishing the sword before him.

Several guests, carefully chosen according to etiquette, attended the meal: the blood princes, ambassadors, lords, and grand officials of the realm. Attending women were relegated to the gallery.

Considered King thaumaturgist since the miracles attributed to Louis VI (1108-1137), the Capetian sovereign acquired the habit, two days after his coronation, of touching the sick affected by scrofula, (a form of tuberculosis affecting the lymph nodes). This ceremony, which Jean de Joinville reported as practiced weekly by Louis IX, consisted of making the sign of the cross on the lesions, while repeating, "The King touches you, God cures you."

Banquet room of the Palace of Tau

© Reims, Musée du Palais du Tau, 2007