Coronation of Bohemian kings

Ferdinand I was crowned King of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral in 1836

The coronation of the Bohemian kings was a state-religious ceremony in which the new Bohemian king was crowned by the Prague archbishop in a solemn coronation mass. In a solemn procession, accompanied by cannon shots, bells and music, and with the homage of the population, the new king moved from Prague's old town along the so-called Royal Route to St. Vitus Cathedral (Katedrála svatého Víta) at Prague Castle . During the solemn mass in St. Vitus Cathedral, the King was anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Prague and received the Wenceslas Crown (Svatováclavská koruna) and other coronation insignia . Together with the king, his wife was crowned queen. If the king did not marry until after his coronation, the queen was crowned in a separate ceremony.

The coronation was the symbolic confirmation of the new king and his bond with the country. The solemn mass expressed that he was given this office by God and should answer to God. The course of the coronation ceremony was laid down in the coronation order by the Bohemian King and Emperor Charles IV .

History and meaning of the coronation

Vitus Cathedral at the coronation of Ferdinand I in 1836, painting by Eduard Gurk

The first crowned Bohemian ruler was Vratislav I. For his military support, he was awarded the royal dignity by Emperor Heinrich IV. In 1085 and was crowned by him at the Reichstag in Mainz . On June 15, 1086 he and his wife Svatava were solemnly crowned again in St. Vitus Cathedral by Archbishop Egilbert of Trier . This title was only given to him personally (ad personam) . It was not hereditary and it had no meaning for Bohemia as a country. As the second Vladislav I got the title of king from Emperor Friedrich. I. Barbarossa awarded in 1158 for his participation in the campaigns against the northern Italian cities, also only ad personam . He was crowned by the emperor at the imperial assembly in Regensburg and then again in the same year in conquered Milan .

The Kingdom of Bohemia was only founded in 1198 by Ottokar I. Přemysl (Přemysl Otakar I) . He inherited the royal crown from King Philip of Swabia as a reward for his allegiance. Ottokar took the side of the later victorious Hohenstaufen in the dispute between the Staufers and the Guelphs over the imperial title. The title of king was then confirmed by the Pope in 1204 as the highest spiritual authority. The Bohemian kingship was confirmed in 1212 by the Sicilian Golden Bull (Zlatá bula sicilská) , which also regulated the relationship of the Bohemian Crown to the Holy Roman Empire .

Coronation of Maria Theresa in St. Vitus Cathedral in 1743

The Archbishop of Mainz , under whom the Prague diocese fell, had the right to crown the Bohemian King (and Queen) ; he was the so-called consecrator . Since the elevation of the Prague diocese to an archbishopric under Charles IV in 1344, this right has been transferred to the Prague archbishop.

The coronation of the Bohemian king was very important in the Middle Ages. Ottokar II. Přemysl (Přemysl Otakar II.) And Wenceslaus II. (Václav II.) Did not use the title king until after their coronation, before they called themselves heirs and rulers of the Kingdom of Bohemia. The coronation order of Charles IV speaks of the person of the new sovereign as a prince, who becomes king after the coronation. For this reason alone, the kings were usually crowned soon after taking over the reign.

With the Renewed State Order of 1627, the Bohemian crown hereditary fell to the Habsburgs , which reduced the need for an early coronation. Even so, the act of coronation remained important. It expressed that the new ruler received his office not only on the basis of the succession, but also received his legitimation through the estates and the people. The coronation should also confirm the integrity and state sovereignty of the countries of the Bohemian Crown. The coronation ceremony was prepared well in advance. The houses, palaces and churches along the Royal Route, the route taken by the solemn procession through Prague, were richly decorated.

The last monarch to be crowned as the Bohemian King was the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I (crowned as the Bohemian King Ferdinand V in 1836) and his wife Queen Maria Anna .

Although in Bohemia the coronation was not a necessary prerequisite for exercising royal rule (as e.g. in neighboring Hungary ), all Bohemian kings except the following five were crowned:

Wenceslaus III ( Václav III. ), Ruled from 1305 to 1306, was murdered
Joseph I ( Josef I ), ruled from 1705 to 1711, died before the coronation
Joseph II. ( Josef II. ), Ruled from 1780 to 1790, was not crowned in Hungary either
Franz Joseph I ( František Josef I ) ruled from 1848 to 1916 and did not want to be crowned
Charles III ( Karel III. ) Ruled from 1916 to 1918, was deposed

The anti-king Karl VII (Karel VII. Bavorský) was proclaimed king by Prague Archbishop Johann Moritz Gustav von Manderscheid-Blankenheim in December 1741 during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740 to 1744) , while the coronation insignia was in the hands of the legitimate Queen Maria Theresa found. In contrast, Ferdinand IV , who was crowned during his father's reign, never ruled. He died before taking the throne.

Maria Theresa was the only female monarch to be crowned Queen of Bohemia.

Coronation insignia

Wenceslas crown, with which the Bohemian kings have been crowned since Charles IV .

The most important and oldest part of the coronation insignia is the Wenceslas crown . It was only lent to the kings from the cathedral treasury on the day of the coronation and was supposed to be brought back that evening. Since the coronation of Charles IV in 1347, the kings have been crowned with the Wenceslas crown. Previously, the kings were crowned with different crowns that have not been preserved.

Further components of the crown jewels are the royal apple and the royal scepter, which are now in the Viennese treasury . They were made during the Renaissance, the apple in 1527 and the scepter in 1533. The latest component is the ermine royal mantle. It was made for the coronation of Ferdinand II in 1617, and has been used for all coronation ceremonies since then. The Prague Cathedral Treasure contains other items that were used for coronation ceremonies. Among them are the coronation ring and the sword of St. Wenceslas , the oldest part of the crown jewels. The most valuable part is the golden relic cross, a shrine for the most valuable relics of the Bohemian kingdom.

Coronation of the Queen

According to the original coronation order, the king's wife should be crowned with her husband. After the Hussite Wars , this was no longer observed and the wife's coronation was only carried out a few days later. If the mother of the new king, i.e. the wife of the predecessor, has not yet been crowned queen, she was crowned a few days before her son. The right to crown the queen (together with the Archbishop of Prague and the Prague Burgrave ) had been held by the abbesses of the St. George Monastery at Prague Castle since early modern times . After the abolition of the monastery in 1782, the rights were transferred to the abbesses of the neighboring women's monastery. This office was always held by an Archduchess of Austria.

List of crowned kings and queens

status	Ruler	date	place	Consecrator
king	Vratislav I.	April 20, 1085 June 15, 1086	Mainz Prague	Emperor Heinrich IV. Egilbert Archbishop of Trier
queen	Swatawa of Poland wife of Vratislav. I.	June 15, 1086	Prague	Egilbert Archbishop of Trier
king	Vladislav I.	January 11, 1158 September 8, 1158	Regensburg Milan	Emperor Friedrich. I. Barbarossa
king	Ottokar I. Přemysl	September 8, 1198 August 24, 1203	Boppard Merseburg	Guidem from Praeneste papal legacy
king	Wenceslaus I.	February 6, 1228	Vitus Cathedral , Prague	Siegfried II of Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
queen	Kunigunde von Staufen wife of Wenceslaus I.	February 6, 1228	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Siegfried II of Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
king	Ottokar II Přemysl	December 25, 1261	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Werner von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
queen	Kunigunde von Halitsch wife of Přemysl Otakar II.	December 25, 1261	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Werner von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
king	Wenceslas II	June 2, 1297	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Gerhard II of Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
queen	Guta von Habsburg wife of Wenceslaus II.	June 2, 1297	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Gerhard II of Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
queen	Elisabeth Richza of Poland wife of Wenceslaus II.	May 26, 1303	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Gerhard II of Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz
king	Johann of Luxembourg	February 7, 1311	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Peter von Aspelt Archbishop of Mainz
queen	Eliška Přemyslovna wife of John of Luxembourg	February 7, 1311	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Peter von Aspelt Archbishop of Mainz
queen	Beatrice de Bourbon wife of Johann von Luxemburg	May 18, 1337	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Henry III. von Virneburg Archbishop of Mainz
king	Karl I. Kaiser Karl IV.	September 2, 1347	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst von Pardubitz Archbishop of Prague
queen	Blanca Margarete von Valois wife of Charles I.	September 2, 1347	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst von Pardubitz Archbishop of Prague
queen	Anna of the Palatinate wife of Karl I.	September 1, 1349	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst von Pardubitz Archbishop of Prague
queen	Anna von Schweidnitz wife of Karl I.	July 28, 1353	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst von Pardubitz Archbishop of Prague
queen	Elisabeth of Pomerania wife of Karl I.	June 18, 1363	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst von Pardubitz Archbishop of Prague
king	Wenceslas IV	June 15, 1363	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst von Pardubitz Archbishop of Prague
queen	Johanna von Bayern wife of Wenceslaus IV.	November 17, 1370	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Johann Očko von Wlašim Archbishop of Prague
queen	Sophie of Bavaria wife of Wenceslaus IV.	March 13, 1400	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Olbram von Škvorec Archbishop of Prague
king	Sigismund of Luxembourg	July 28, 1420	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Konrad von Vechta Archbishop of Prague
queen	Barbara von Cilli wife of Sigismund	February 11, 1437	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedisvakanz , Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese: Filibert, Bishop of Constance
king	Albrecht II.	June 29, 1438	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedisvakanz, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese: Filibert, Bishop of Constance
king	Ladislaus Postumus	October 28, 1453	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedis vacancy, administrator of the Archdiocese: Václav Hněvsín from Krumlov, Dean in Prague
king	George of Podebrady	May 7, 1458	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedis vacancy, administrator of the archdiocese: Mikuláš from Krumlov, archdeacon in Bechyně
queen	Johanna von Rosental wife of Georg von Podiebrad	May 7, 1458	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedis vacancy, administrator of the archdiocese: Mikuláš from Krumlov, archdeacon in Bechyně
king	Vladislav II.	August 22, 1471	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedis vacancy, administrator of the archdiocese: Mikuláš from Krumlov, archdeacon in Bechyně
king	Ludwig II.	March 11, 1509	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedis vacancy, administrators of the archdiocese: Ambrož Chrt from Pilsen, dean in Prague Blažej Kremer from Pilsen, archdeacon in Litoměřice
queen	Mary of Hungary wife of Ludwig II.	June 1, 1522	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Sedis vacancy, administrator of the archdiocese: Jan Žák, dean and provost in Prague
king	Ferdinand I.	February 24, 1526	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Bernard of Cles Cardinal and Bishop of Trent
queen	Anna Jagiello wife of Ferdinand I.	February 24, 1526	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Bernard of Cles Cardinal and Bishop of Trent
king	Maxmilian	November 20, 1562	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Brus von Müglitz Archbishop of Prague
queen	Mary of Spain wife of Maxmilian	November 20, 1562	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Brus von Müglitz Archbishop of Prague
king	Rudolf II.	September 25, 1575	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Brus von Müglitz Archbishop of Prague
king	Matthias II	May 11, 1611	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Franz Seraph von Dietrichstein Bishop of Olomouc
queen	Anna of Austria-Tyrol wife of Matthias II.	January 10, 1616	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Jan Lohelius Archbishop of Prague
king	Ferdinand II.	June 29, 1617	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Jan Lohelius Archbishop of Prague
king	Friedrich V.	November 4, 1619	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Jiří Dikast Mirkovský Jan Cyril Třebíčský
queen	Elisabeth Stuart wife of Friedrich V.	November 4, 1619	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Jiří Dikast Mirkovský Jan Cyril Třebíčský
queen	Eleonora Gonzaga wife of Ferdinand II.	November 21, 1627	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
king	Ferdinand III.	November 24, 1627	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
king	Ferdinand IV. Crowned during his father's reign, did not take office	August 5, 1646	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
queen	Eleonora Magdalena Gonzaga wife of Ferdinand III.	September 11, 1656	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
king	Leopold I.	November 14, 1656	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
king	Charles II	September 5, 1723	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Franz Ferdinand von Kuenburg Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
queen	Elisabeth Christine von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel wife of Karl II.	September 8, 1723	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Franz Ferdinand von Kuenburg Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
king	Karl Albrecht of Bavaria	December 19, 1741	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Opposite king , not crowned with the Wenceslas crown, only declared king by the estates and the archbishop
queen	Maria Theresa	May 12, 1743	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Jakob Ernst von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn Bishop of Olomouc
king	Leopold II.	September 6, 1791	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Peter Graf Przichowsky von Przichowitz Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
queen	Maria Ludovica of Spain wife of Leopold II.	September 12, 1791	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Peter Graf Przichowsky von Przichowitz Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate Maria Anna Josepha Antonia of Austria Archduchess-Abbess
king	Franz I.	August 9, 1793	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Peter Graf Przichowsky von Przichowitz Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate
queen	Maria Theresa of Naples-Sicily wife of Francis I.	August 11, 1793	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Anton Peter Graf Przichowsky von Przichowitz Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate Maria Anna Josepha Antonia of Austria Archduchess-Abbess
king	Ferdinand V.	September 7, 1836	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Andreas Alois Ankwicz von Skarbek-Poslawice Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian primate
queen	Maria Anna of Savoy wife of Ferdinand V.	September 12, 1836	Vitus Cathedral, Prague	Andreas Alois Ankwicz von Skarbek-Poslawice Archbishop of Prague, Bohemian Primate Maria Theresia Isabella Archduchess-Abbess

literature

Josef Cibulka : Korunovační řády středověké a Karla IV. Korunovační řád králů českých . In: ČKD . No. 4 , 1935, pp. 357-384 (Czech).
Milada Sekyrová: September 7, 1836 Ferdinand V. - Poslední pražská korunovace . Havran sro, Praha 2004, ISBN 80-86515-37-0 (Czech, 264 pages).
Jan Boněk, Tomáš Boněk: České korunovační klenoty . Eminent, Praha 2006, ISBN 80-7281-219-X (Czech, 184 pages).
Benita Berning: According to the laudable usage, the Bohemian royal coronations of the early modern period (1526–1743) . Böhlau Verlag, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-412-20082-4 (264 pages).
Jiří Hrbek: České barokní korunovace . Lidové noviny publishing house, Prague 2010, ISBN 978-80-7422-011-1 (Czech, 231 pages).

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c January Boněk, Tomáš Boněk: České korunovační klenoty . Eminent, Praha 2006, ISBN 80-7281-219-X (Czech, 184 pages).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Milada Sekyrová: September 7, 1836 Ferdinand V. - Poslední pražská korunovace . Havran sro, Praha 2004, ISBN 80-86515-37-0 (Czech, 192 pages).
↑ Jiří Hrbek: České barokní korunovace . Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Prague 2010, ISBN 978-80-7422-011-1 , p. 98-99 (Czech, 231 pages).
↑ Karel Pacovský: Úloha svatojiřských abatyší při královen korunovacích českých . In: Folia Historica Bohemica . tape 35 , no. 1–2 , 2017, pp. 177-178 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Martin Wihoda: První česká království . Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Praha 2015, ISBN 978-80-7422-278-8 (Czech, 440 pages).
↑ Karel Albrecht - druhý zimní král at České Noviny (Czech) from September 9, 2003, accessed December 16, 2017
^ Z. Míka: Dějiny Prahy v datech . Panorama, Praha 1988, p. 140 (Czech).
^ Eduard Maur: May 12, 1743 Marie Terezie - Korunovace na usmířenou . Havran sro, Prague 2003, ISBN 80-86515-22-2 (Czech, 200 pages).

Web links

Commons : Coronations in Bohemia - collection of images, videos and audio files

Kings and Dukes of Bohemia at Tacitus, Retrieved December 18, 2017
The Royal Route , accessed December 18, 2017
Královská Korunovace on PragueCityLine (Czech), Retrieved December 18, 2017

[Bonek-1] January Boněk, Tomáš Boněk: České korunovační klenoty . Eminent, Praha 2006, ISBN 80-7281-219-X (Czech, 184 pages).

[sekyrova-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Milada Sekyrová: September 7, 1836 Ferdinand V. - Poslední pražská korunovace . Havran sro, Praha 2004, ISBN 80-86515-37-0 (Czech, 192 pages).

[Hrbek-3] Jiří Hrbek: České barokní korunovace . Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Prague 2010, ISBN 978-80-7422-011-1 , p. 98-99 (Czech, 231 pages).

[Georg-4] Karel Pacovský: Úloha svatojiřských abatyší při královen korunovacích českých . In: Folia Historica Bohemica . tape 35 , no. 1–2 , 2017, pp. 177-178 .

[wihoda-5] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Martin Wihoda: První česká království . Nakladatelství Lidové noviny, Praha 2015, ISBN 978-80-7422-278-8 (Czech, 440 pages).

[6] Karel Albrecht - druhý zimní král at České Noviny (Czech) from September 9, 2003, accessed December 16, 2017

[7] Z. Míka: Dějiny Prahy v datech . Panorama, Praha 1988, p. 140 (Czech).

[maur-8] Eduard Maur: May 12, 1743 Marie Terezie - Korunovace na usmířenou . Havran sro, Prague 2003, ISBN 80-86515-22-2 (Czech, 200 pages).