Crown (headgear)
A
crown is a
symbolic form of
headgear worn by a
monarch or by a
god, for whom the crown is traditionally one of the symbols of power and legitimacy (See
Regalia for a broader treatment).
Three distinct categories of
crowns exist in those
monarchies that use crowns or state regalia.
#
Coronation crowns - only worn by
monarchs at the point of
coronation, i.e. installaton by taking possession of the crown; #
state or
Imperial crowns - crowns worn by monarchs on other state occasions. #*Similar headgear, worn by
nobility and other high ranking people below the ruler, is in English called a
coronet. However in many languages the same word is used, e.g. French
couronne, German
Krone, Dutch
kroon; #
Consort crowns - crowns worn by
Queens consort; these are however not signifying any power vested in her, just of protocollary rank that is, constitutionally, just a courtesy
In
Classical antiquity the crown (
corona) that was sometimes awarded to people other than rulers, such as triumphal
military generals or
athletes, was actually a
wreath or chaplet, or ribbonlike
diadem.
The precursor to the crown was the browband called the diadem (see
Diadem), which had been worn by the
Achaemenid Persian emperors, was adopted by
Constantine the Great, and was worn by all subsequent rulers of the later Roman Empire.
In the Christian tradition of
Byzantine and
European cultures, where ecclesiastical sanction authenticates monarchic power, when a new monarch assumes the throne in a
coronation ceremony, the crown is placed on the new monarch's head by a religious official. Some, though not all early
Holy Roman Emperors travelled to Rome at some point in their careers to be crowned by the pope.
Napoleon, according to legend, surprised
Pius VII when he reached out and crowned himself, although in reality this order of ceremony had been pre-arranged: see
Coronation.
The
corona radiata, the "radiant crown" known best on the
Statue of Liberty, and perhaps worn by the
Helios that was the
Colossus of Rhodes, was worn by pagan Roman emperors, part of the cult of
Sol Invictus. It was referred to as "the chaplet studded with sunbeams" by
Lucian, about 180 AD (in
Alexander the false prophet).
|
Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the lightweight Imperial State Crown manufactured for her father King George VI's coronation in 1937. |
Today, only the
British Monarchy continues this tradition as the sole remaining anointed and crowned monarch, though many monarchies retain a crown as a national symbol in heraldry. The
French Crown Jewels were sold in
1885 on the orders of the
Third French Republic, with only a token number, with their precious stones replaced by glass, held on to for historic reasons and displayed by the
Louvre. The
Spanish Crown Jewels were destroyed in a major fire in the
eighteenth century while the
Irish Crown Jewels (actually merely the Sovereign's insignia of the
Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick) were stolen from
Dublin Castle in 1907.
Special headgear to designate rulers dates back to pre-history, and is found in many separate civilizations around the globe. Commonly, rare and precious materials are incorporated into the crown, but that is only essential for the notion of crown jewels.
Gold and precious
jewels are common in western and oriental crowns. In the
Native American civilizations of the
Pre-Columbian New World, rare
feathers, such as that of the
quetzal, often decorated crowns; so too in Polynesia (e.g. Hawaii).
*
Coronation is often combined with other rituals, such as enthronement (the throne is as much a symbol of monarchy as the crown) and anointing (again religious sanction, the only defining act in the Biblical tradition of Israel).
In other cultures no crown is used in the equivalent of coronation, but the head may still be otherwise symbolically adorned, as a royal
tikka in the Hindu tradition of India.
|
Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) wearing his own Triple Tiara, given to him on his election as pope. |
|
Crown of Flowers, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1884 |
A
Crown is often an
emblem of the monarchy, a monarch's government, or items endorsed by it; see
The Crown. A specific type of crown (or
coronet for lower ranks of peerage) is employed in
heraldry under strict rules. Indeed some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium, where no coronation ever took place; the royal installation is done by a solemn oath in parliament, wearing a military uniform: the King is not acknowledged as by divine right, but assumes the only hereditary public office in the service of the law; so he in turn will swear in all members of "his" federal government.
*
Costume headgear imitating a monarch's crown is also called a crown. Such costume crowns may be worn by
actors portraying a monarch, people at costume parties, or ritual "monarchs" such as the king of a
Carnival krewe, or the person who found the trinket in a
king cake.
*The
Eastern Orthodox marriage service has a section called the crowning, wherein the bride and groom are crowned as "king" and "queen" of their future household. In Greek weddings, the crowns are usually made of flowers (synthetic or real) and are kept by the couple as a reminder of their special day. In Slavic weddings, the crowns are usually made of metal and designed to resemble a monarch's crown, and a parish usually owns one set to use for all the couples that are married there since these are much more expensive than Greek-style crowns.
*Children, mainly girls, sometimes connect flowers together in a chain, and wear the
wreath as if it were a crown (
illustration, left).
* Crowns are also often used as symbols of religious status or veneration, by divinities (or their representation such as a statue) or by their representatives, e.g. the
black crown of the Karmapa Lama, sometimes used a model for wider use by devotees.
*A
Crown of thorns is believed to have been placed on the head of
Jesus before his
crucifixion and has become a common symbol of martyrdom. Rapper
Kanye West raised controversy when he appeared on the February
2006 cover of
Rolling Stone wearing a crown of thorns. So did Madonna when she wore one on the opening night of her World Tour in May 2006[
1]
The heraldic symbol of three crowns, referring to the three evangelical
Magi (wise men), traditionally called kings, is believed thus to have become the symbol of the Swedish kingdom, but is also fits the historical (personal, dynastic) Kalmar Union (1397-1520) with Denmark (actually the senior partner) and Norway.
Because one or more crown, alone or as part of a more elaborate design, often appear on coins, several monetary denominations came to be known as 'a crown' or the equivalent word in the local language.
This persists in the case of the national currencies of the Scandinavian currencies.
*
Coronet*
Diadem*
Helmet*
Tiara*
Papal tiara*
Crown jewels*
List of Royal Crowns
