Home › The Lesser Regalia › The Lesser Regalia: England and France

The Lesser Regalia: England and France

There is an ancient legend that a holy cream was given to St. Thomas of Canterbury, by the Virgin Mary, for the anointing of the kings of England. This cream was preserved in a golden eagle, which was also divine. The only Christian kings who used to be anointed were the kings of England, France, Jerusalem and Sicily, and afterwards the kings of Scotland, by special Papal favour. The kings of England and France had a special additional right to be anointed with the holy cream or chrisma-a sacred unguent made chiefly of olive oil and balm, and only used in the more sacred ceremonies of the Church, ordination of priests, consecration of bishops, and a few other functions, in all of which it was considered as conferring a specially sacred character to the persons anointed with it. Elaborate directions are given, in coronation services, for the royal anointing. This usually includes the making of a cross on the king's head with the chrisma; on the other places, the hands, the breast, the shoulders, etc., the anointing was done with holy oil. James II. paid his apothecary, "James St. Armand, Esq.," £200 for the cream for his coronation. The golden eagle itself measures about nine inches in height, with the Plate X THE QUEEN'S IVORY ROD ST. EDWARD'S STAFF THE LESSER REGALIA pedestal. The diameter of the pedestal is three and a half inches. The stretch of the wings is seven inches. It weighs about ten ounces of solid gold, and the cavity of the body is capable of containing about six ounces of oil. The head screws off at the neck for the cavity to be filled, and the oil pours out of the beak. This pouring out of the oil, as well as dipping the fingers in the spoon and anointing the sovereign, is always done by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Mr. W. Jones, in his book on Crowns and Coronations, published in London in 1883, says: "It is said that the eagle now existing is the real original ampulla, which was first used at the coronation of Henry IV." (Oct. 13th, 1399). Few of those who have written about this eagle venture to give any opinion about its antiquity, and, at first sight, the surface does not seem very old. The pedestal is, apparently, of seventeenth century make, and the whole of the outside of the bird, down to the minutest feathers, has been gone over with chased work, very likely at the same period; but probably it will be admitted that the general form of the bird lends itself to the theory that it was made at a much earlier period, especially the body (Fig. 43); indeed this may well be of Byzantine origin. Undoubtedly there is one thing about it that is much earlier than Charles II., and that is the very primitive screw with which the head is screwed on. It seems therefore very probable that Sir Robert Vyner found the body of an ancient eagle at Westminster when he had to remake the regalia for Charles II., that he added pedestal and wings to this body, and then went over the whole surface with a graver. The eagle itself is an emblem of imperial domination. It may be an indication of the ancient claim of the sovereigns of England to be Emperors of Britain and Lords Paramount of all the islands of the West. a Sandford gives an engraving of the ampulla, which appears exactly as it is to-day. He considered it to be an ancient piece of plate, and says that this and the spoon were preserved from destruction by having been kept at Westminster. THE SPOON Two of the articles now existing among the regalia kept in the Tower are possibly, at least in part, of great age. These are the ampulla, or golden eagle, above described, and the anointing spoon. Both of these have marks upon them of considerable antiquity, and of the two the spoon has been less altered than the eagle. Before describing the spoon as it now is, it will be as well to note what antiquaries of authority have already said concerning it. Henry Shaw, in his exquisitely illustrated book on the dresses and decorations of the Middle Ages, published in London in 1843, gives a fine coloured "its style of ornamentation "there can of course be illustration of the spoon. He says: "It has most probably been used in the coronation of our monarchs since the twelfth century," seems to prove that it was made at that period," no doubt of its antiquity." He says it is of gold-a natural mistake; but, as a matter of fact, it is of silver, heavily gilt. He restores the handle itself with blue enamel, and the two circles above and below the pearls with green enamel.

Mr. W. Jones, in his book on Crowns and Coronations, already referred to, says: "The spoon from its extreme thinness appears to be ancient"; and "it seems probable that this spoon may have been used at the coronation of our monarchs since the twelfth century."

Mr. Cripps, in Old English Plate, considers the entry in the lists of the regalia in the time of Charles II. to prove that the coronation spoon was at all events remade for him. Lastly, in 1890, when a most valuable paper on The Spoon and its History was read at the Society of Antiquaries by Mr. C. J. Jackson, F.S.A., and Queen Victoria was graciously pleased to lend this specimen for exhibition, the general opinion was that it might be attributed to the twelfth or thirteenth centuries.

Having examined the spoon very carefully, the conclusion has been arrived at that the handle at all events is undoubtedly old, probably Byzantine. This part of the spoon is about seven and a half inches long, and is divided into three parts, tapering towards the end. The end division is wreathed, and the extreme tip is of a flattened cup-like form. Then comes a boss which may be intended to represent an animal's head. Next is a division that at one time contained enamel; the metal-work on this is not filigree, as described by Mr. Shaw, but "champlevé," a different form of preparation for enamel-work. The lower surface is rough, as might be expected, but no traces now remain of enamel. The pattern is a decorated scroll. Then comes a square boss with rounded corners, having a chased circle on each of its faces, which marks the beginning of the third and most decorative part of the handle, which thickens considerably in the centre. A circular ornament, with traces of chased work upon it, is the chief attempt at decoration. Above and below this are two pearls, none of them ancient, and beyond these two circular ornamental spaces with "champlevé" work, which Mr. Shaw shows filled with green enamel. Then next to the bowl is an ornament which somewhat resembles a fanciful head, and the stem is joined to the bowl by a prolongation downwards, a modification of the "keel and disc" fashion well known to have been used in early Christian spoons. The handle shows no sign whatever of recent workmanship, either on the sides, the front, or the back, except regilding. The patterns on the back are quite simple, and the knot in the thickest part is certainly of an ancient design, all the corners are rounded everywhere, and the forms show wear consistently all over it. The regilding perhaps destroyed small bits of enamel which in Shaw's time may have existed THE LESSER REGALIA in protected corners, and given him some authority for his green and blue restorations.

The bowl, which is about two and a quarter inches long, has work upon it which is more difficult to fix as having been made at any particular time. In the first place, the shape of it does not agree with the generally understood shapes used in mediæval domestic spoons. It is divided by a ridge down the middle into two parts, into which the Archbishop dips his two fingers, and at its junction with the stem there is an engraved leaf pattern, the treatment of which is comparatively modern. The front of the bowl is engraved with a design which has some appearance of antiquity, but the manner of treating it does not appear altogether satisfactory. Indeed, it appears very probable that the bowl was remade by Sir Robert Vyner, and that the ancient bowl may have had the curious ridge down the middle, although it is doubtful whether it had the pattern on the front or the leaf pattern at the back.

It is also noteworthy that in the various accounts where a spoon is mentioned nothing is said about the enamelling, which undoubtedly existed, neither is there any mention of the four pearls.