CROWN (Lat. corona, We). cmcn, and Gael. cruinn, round). Crowns were originally garlands of leaves; and in this form they have probably been used as an ornament for the bead by almost every people. They were much used by both the classical nations on joyous and on solemn occasions. Among the Greeks, the C. (stephanos) was some times used as an emblem of office, as in the case of the archons; sometimes as an orna ment for the heads of the victors in the public games: and sometimes as a mark of distinction for citizens who had merited well of their country. Crowns of the latter class were made at first of twigs of laurel, but latterly of gold. The Romans made use of crowns to a greater extent than the' Greeks, chiefly as rewards for valor. The most highly prized was the corona obsidionalis, which was bestowed by a beleaguered garrison or army on the general who rescued them. It was made of grass or wild-flowers, gathered from the place which had been inclosed by the enemy. Next in order was the civic it garland of oak-leaves and acorns, which was given as a reward to any soldier who had saved the life of a Roman citizen in battle. given the soldier who wore it, a place next to the senators was reserved at the public spectacles, and both the senate and the assemblage rose up on his entrance. Not only he, but his father and paternal grandfather were free from all public burdens; and the person whose life he had saved was bound ever after to show him the duty which a son owes to a father. The civic C. is sometimes used in heraldry. • Another of the Roman crowns was the corona muralis, which was bestowed on him who first scaled the wall of a besieged city. It was a golden ring surmounted with turrets or battlements. 1t is often used in modern heraldry.
The corona triumphalis, which was of three kinds, was bestowed upon a general when he obtained a triumph.
But there was a totally different class of crowns, which were not honorary, but emblematical, and which were not regulated by law, like the former ones, but by custom.
Of these, the most important were: 1. The corona seteerdolalis, worn by the priests and bystanders when engaged in sacrifice, with the exception of the pontifex It was sometimes of olive leaves, sometimes of ears of corn, and sometimes of gold. 2.
Corona funebris or sepulchralis, with which the dead was crowned, a custom which prevailed both among the Greeks and Romans. A law of the twelve tables provided that if any one had been crowned while living, the C. should be placed on his head when carried out to burial. Crowns were also placed on the bier, and scattered from the windows under which the procession passed. In Greece, these crowns were commonly of parsley. 3. Corona convirialis. The custom of wearing wreaths on festive occasions, which, like most of the Roman customs, was derived from Greece, is supposed to have originated in the habit of tying a woolen fillet round the head, to mitigate the effects of intoxication. As luxury increased, they were made of such flowers and shrubs as were supposed to prevent intoxication, roses, violets, myrtle, ivy, and even parsley. 4. Corona nuptialis, or bridal-wreath, made of flowers plucked by the bride herself, and not bought, which was of bad omen. Amongst the Romans, it was made of verbena. 5. Corona natalitia, a chaplet suspended over the door of the vestibule in which a child was born.
Several other classical crowns are mentioned in the very elaborate article on the sub ject in Smith's Dictionary, to which we have been indebted for much of the preceding information.
As the emblem of sovereignty in modern Europe, the C. was borrowed rather from the diadem (q.v.) than the crowns of antiquity. This decoration was originally oriental. Alexander the great adopted it from the kings of Persia; and Antony assumed it during his luxurious intercouse with Cleopatra. According to some, its adoption for the gods originated in the fillet, which was assigned to Bacchus for the purpose mentioned as that which led to the use of the convivial crown. In modern states, crowns were of very various forms, till heralds devised a regular series of them to mark the various gradations of sovereignty, from that of the emperor down to what are now called the coronets of counts and barons. The pope also had his triple crown. See TIARA. So entirely was the C. regarded as the symbol of sovereignty, that the word came often to be used as synonymous with the monarchy—a sense in which we still speak of the C. of England, and the domains and possessions of the crown.