List of coronations of French monarchs
The list of coronations of French monarchs includes all the first coronations of kings and emperors of France from the partition of the Frankish Empire in the Treaty of Verdun in 843 to the last coronation of a monarch in 1825.
Remarks
Karl the bald
Following the traditional custom of the Frankish division of power, Charles the Bald was raised to the rank of king in September 832 by his father, King of the Franks and Roman Emperor Louis the Pious , and given the sub-kingdom of Aquitaine. However, this king's elevation took place without the consecration, which had already become common among the Carolingians , through the sacred acts of anointing and coronation . Since the reign of King Pippin the Younger , however, these two components have been indispensable for attaining the salvation of kings through which a person was enabled to rule. After a few years, Charles the Bald was withdrawn from Aquitaine until he finally received the land between the Meuse and Loire , the western / neustrian Francia, in 839 . After the subsequent fratricidal wars among the Carolingians, he was finally granted the western regnum including the sovereignty over Aquitaine in the division of power in the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the West Franconian greats recognized him as their king.
It was not until the year 848 that Charles the Bald received full royal consecration through anointing and coronation in Orléans , although it is a matter of dispute for what purpose. The note from Bishop Prudentius of Troyes suggests that Charles only allowed himself to be crowned King of Aquitaine because, following this act, he proceeded to disempower his nephew, King Pippin II of Aquitaine , in order to place Aquitaine under his direct rule . In 869, after the death of his nephew Lothar II , he proceeded in a similar way by occupying Lotharingia and having himself crowned its king in Metz . However, a proclamation document of the Archbishop Wenilo von Sens , who was executing in Orléans, allows the conclusion that Charles the Bald was extensively installed in the lordly dignity of a Frankish king according to Carolingian custom in 848 and that this act was valid for his entire regnum.
Multiple coronations
The list given here names all the first coronations of the West Franconian and French kings and emperors, i.e. those dates on which the monarchs received their ordinations and thus their ability to exercise power. In the Middle Ages in particular, however, it was common for kings to be crowned several times. Often this happened on special festive occasions of a religious as well as political nature. Mostly, however, the kings were crowned again on the occasion of the coronations of their wives.
Particularly noteworthy second coronations was that of King Charles the Bald , who was crowned King of Lotharingia by Archbishop Hinkmar of Reims on September 9, 869 in Saint-Étienne in Metz . Furthermore, he was crowned Roman emperor on December 25, 875 in Rome by Pope John VIII . King Ludwig II the Stammler was again crowned by Pope John VIII in Troyes on September 7, 878, and King Odo affirmed his kingship on November 13, 888 with a second coronation in Reims.
place
Under the Carolingians and the first Capetians , the locations for the coronation varied, mostly due to the political circumstances. Since the 11th century, however, the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Reims has become a permanent place for the bestowing of royal orders. At the site of the baptism of the first Frankish king Clovis I , the Capetian kingship found an ideal and spiritual point of contact with the rulers' traditions of the Merovingians . The anointing oil kept in the Abbey of Saint-Remi , with which Clovis was anointed according to legend, has since been used for the ordinations of the Capetian monarchs. The Archbishop of Reims as successor of the Apostle francs Remigius deserved since the privilege to issue the orders and despite being in the French church hierarchy behind the Archbishop of Sens back stand.
If queens were already married to them at the time of their spouses' coronations, they were usually crowned with them in Reims. In the case of queens who were married to an already reigning king, however, the orders were given in a different place. Mostly this was the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris, which was consecrated to the patron saint of the dynasty Dionysius and therefore had a close religious relationship with royalty. The royal private chapel ( Sainte-Chapelle ), which was owned by the family saint Louis IX , was also often used . (Saint-Louis) was built.
Queens
If queens were married to an already reigning king, their coronation usually took place at the wedding location one or a few days later. The first queen whose coronation was recorded in writing is Emma , King Rudolf's wife . She was not crowned alone in Reims until a few months after her husband, while the king was fighting his enemies. That was a circumstance which chroniclers of their day thought worth mentioning. To what extent the wives of the previous rulers were crowned cannot be determined.
Under the house of the Bourbons, the queens were not crowned at all. The only exception is Mary of Medici , who had herself crowned the day before her husband, King Henry IV , was murdered . She was also the last crowned queen.
List of coronations
Carolingians and Robertians
Capetians
House Valois
House of Bourbon
| image | King and queen | date | place | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Henry IV (1589–1610) |
February 27, 1594 | Notre-Dame in Chartres | Nicolas de Thou , Bishop of Chartres |
| Margaret of Valois | --- | --- | --- | |
| Mary of Medici | May 13, 1610 | Saint-Denis | ||
|
Louis XIII (1610-1643) |
October 17, 1610 | Notre-Dame in Reims | François de Joyeuse , Archbishop of Rouen | |
| Anna of Austria | --- | --- | --- | |
 |
Louis XIV (1643–1715) |
June 7, 1654 | Notre-Dame in Reims | Simon Legras , Bishop of Soissons |
| Maria Teresa of Spain | --- | --- | --- | |
 |
Louis XV (1715–1774) |
October 25, 1722 | Notre-Dame in Reims | Armand Jules de Rohan-Gémené , Archbishop of Reims |
| Maria Leszczyńska | --- | --- | --- | |
|
Louis XVI (1774–1792) |
June 11, 1775 | Notre-Dame in Reims | Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aymon , Archbishop of Reims | |
| Marie Antoinette of Austria | --- | --- | --- |
First empire
| image | Emperor and Empress | date | place | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Napoleon I (1804-1814) |
December 2, 1804 | Notre-Dame in Paris | Self-coronation |
| Joséphine de Beauharnais | December 2, 1804 | Notre-Dame in Paris | Emperor Napoleon I. | |
| Marie-Louise of Austria | --- | --- | --- |
restoration
| image | King and queen | date | place | Executive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Charles X (1824-1830) |
May 29, 1825 | Notre-Dame in Reims | Jean Baptiste de Latil , Archbishop of Reims |
Other special features
- In addition to the imperial coronation of Charles the Bald, Ludwig II the Stammler and Ludwig VII the Younger were crowned by popes, the latter even at his first coronation. Pope Pius VII was present at the self-coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of the French .
- The kings Charlemagne , John I , Louis XVIII. and Ludwig Philipp I , as well as Emperor Napoleon III. were not crowned. Charlemagne was only recognized by the West Franconian greats, Johann I was an infant who died after a few days and Louis XVIII. waived for health reasons. Ludwig Philipp I (1830) and Napoleon III. (1852) were proclaimed their office.
- Guido von Spoleto was elected and crowned King of West Franconia by the leading Burgundian greats in March 888 as a counter-pretender to King Odo . After his inferiority to Odo was quickly revealed, Guido retired to Italy that same year and renounced the West Franconian kingship.
- King Henry VI. of England was crowned (against) king of France during the Hundred Years War in 1431 in Paris. Only English lords were present at the ceremony; the young king received the crown from his uncle. The French nobility stayed away and instead recognized Charles VII , who had been crowned in Reims in 1429.
- The coronation of the first Bourbon, Henry IV, is an exception, as, according to the already established tradition, it did not take place in Reims, but in Chartres. During the still ongoing religious war, he was refused entry into Reims by the Catholic League. This is also why the anointing oil of Clovis could not be used, which is why one fell back on that of St. Martin of Tours , which is kept in the Marmoutier Abbey .
- The only coronation south of the Loire took place in Bourges , on the occasion of the coronation of Eleanor of Aquitaine with her husband King Louis VII in 1137.
- Queen Ingeborg of Denmark was cast out by her husband, King Philip II August , on the day of her coronation , just one day after she married him.
- Anne of Brittany was the only queen to be crowned twice as the wife of two kings.
- The greatest time lag between taking office and coronation was eleven years, as long as the Sun King Louis XIV had to wait. Only after seven years was Charles VII. Of Joan of Arc to Reims are run, Henry IV. Committed his coronation only after five years.
literature
- Joachim Ehlers (ed.): The French kings of the Middle Ages. From Odo to Charles VIII. 888–1498. 1st edition Beck, Munich 1996. ISBN 3-406-40446-4
- Peter Claus Hartmann (ed.): French kings and emperors of the modern age. From Louis XII. until Napoleon III. 1498-1870. 2nd edition Beck, Munich 2006. ISBN 3-406-54740-0
- Leon Levillain: Le sacre de Charles le Chauve à Orléans , in: Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Chartes LXIV (1903), pp. 31-53
- Guy Lanoë: L'ordo de couronnement de Charles le Chauve à Sainte-Croix d'Orléans (June 6, 848) , in: Kings and Kingship in Medieval Europe (1993), pp. 41-68
- Richard A. Jackson: Ordines Coronationis Franciae: Texts and Ordines for the Coronation of Frankish and French Kings and Queens in the Middle Ages. Philadelphia 1995-2000
- Jean-Baptiste Lebigue: L'ordo du sacre d'Henri VI à Notre-Dame de Paris ( December 16, 1431) , in: Notre-Dame de Paris 1163-2013 (2013), pp. 319–363
Individual evidence
- ↑ Prudentius of Troyes, Annales Bertiniani , ed. by Georg Waitz in Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) SS rer. Germ. 5 (1883), p. 36
- ↑ Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) Capitularia regnum Francorum II , No. 300, p. 451, cap. 3
- ↑ Flodoard von Reims , Annales, chronica et historiae aevi Saxonici , ed. by Georg Heinrich Pertz in Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH) SS 3, (1839), p. 372
- ↑ Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini , ed. by B. de Simson in Monumenta Germaniae Historica SS rer. Germ. 12 (1909), pp. 64-65