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The Royal Orbs

The Origin of the Orb-Signifies the Domination of the Christian Religion-An Emblem of Sovereignty-Edward the Confessor-William the Conqueror-Henry I.-Richard Cœur de Lion-Henry III. - Henry VII.- Henry VIII.-Charles II. to George V.-The King's Orb described-The Queen's Orb-Made for Mary II. wife of William III. - The Queen's Orb described. over Roman HE orb with the cross above it is a very ancient Christian emblem; it signifies the domination of the Christian religion the world. It was used us by the Byzantine or emperors of the Eastern Empire, from whom it was borrowed by our Saxon kings. An instance of its early use exists in the British Museum on a magnificent carved ivory diptych of about the fifth century, representing an archangel holding in his left hand an orb with cross, very closely resembling that which is found on the Great Seal of Queen Elizabeth; in fact, we may say that the orb and the cross has been of the emblems of independent Christian sovereignty longer than any other actual forms now used either here or on the Continent. one The orb is first found on English coins of Edward the Confessor, and shows as a sphere with a cross upon it. It does not occur often on coins, but may be seen upon some of those of the Tudor kings and the finer coins of James I.; but on none of these is there any variation in its form, and the cross is always a short one. 1 On the Great Seals of England, of which there is a complete series in the British Museum, there is a certain degree of difference in the forms of the orb. It first appeared on the Great Seal of Edward the Confessor, and is a simple sphere held in his left hand. William I. used a cross above the sphere (Fig. 36), and this cross in some form or other has invariably been used since. On Henry I.'s fourth Great Seal a dove is shown above the cross-patée (Fig. 37), and Stephen and Henry II. used the same design. Richard I. (Fig. 38) and John both used a tall, thin cross with leaves issuing from its stem; and Henry III. (Fig. 39) carries a beautiful orb with a very tall ornamented stem bearing a cross above it, and on his second Great Seal an orb with a tall plain stem, and a smaller orb with cross-patée at the top (Fig. 40). From Edward I. to Richard III. the stems of the crosses above the orb were very tall, and the crosses themselves small. Henry VII. carries an orb with a tall stem (Fig. 41), a CROSS-PATÉE ON SHORT STEM. FROM GREAT SEAL OF WILLIAM I. + DOVE AND CROSS-PATÉE ON SHORT STEM. FROM THE FOURTH GREAT SEAL OF HENRY I. +++ ORNAMENTAL CROSS.