Maundy set
As Royal Maundy or Maundy Money referred to specially embossed silver coins , the British rulers for centuries for Holy Thursday (English: "Set") as set distribute to poor citizens. This tradition has its origins in the medieval church ritual of the washing of the feet of the poor, which happened in memory of the Lord's Supper and the washing of the feet of Jesus among his disciples, combined with the commandment he pronounced afterwards that “you should love one another”; the name Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum , the first word for washing feet.
It is likely that members of the royal family had attended this ceremony since the 13th century . They distributed money and gifts and, by washing the feet of the poor, reminded of Christ's act of humility . Maundy Money first appeared in 1662. The coins are minted in denominations of 1, 2, 3 and 4 pence, and more recently the age of the sovereign has played a role in the ceremony . In 1992, when she was 66 years old , Queen Elizabeth II gave 66 men and 66 women a set of coins with a nominal value of 66 pence. In the meantime, such coins have become popular collector's coins .
literature
- Heinz Fengler, Gerhard Gierow, Willy Unger: Transpress Lexicon Numismatics. 4th revised edition. VEB Transpress Verlag for Transport, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-344-00220-1 .
- Bamber Gascoigne: Encyclopedia of Britain. Macmillan, Basingstoke et al. 1993, ISBN 0-333-54764-0 , p. 411.