The monarch then retired, in company with the archbishops of May ence and Treves, to the sacristy, where the anointed spots were wiped dry by chaplains, and where he laid aside the costly costumes (which became the perquisite of the church in which the ceremony was held) and donned the festive robes proper for the occasion, which we shall sub sequently describe. Returning to the altar, he received from the cele brant a naked sword, which was then returned to its sheath and buckled about him. The ring was put upon his finger, the gloves were drawn on, the sceptre and globe were handed to him, while a special prayer was offered; and then, at length, the imperial mantle was placed upon him. Finally, while the prescribed prayers were recited, the three archbishops, taking the crown, performed the main act of the ceremony. The em peror then advanced to the altar and took the oath on the book contain ing the Gospels.
When the coronation took place at Aix-la-Chapelle the emperor was at this stage of the proceedings conducted by the archbishops to the gal lery of the octagonal tower of the cathedral, where he seated himself in the marble chair of Charlemagne. He was then saluted as sovereign of the empire, first by the elector of Mayence, and then by the provost and canons of the cathedral, who admitted him to membership in their body, whereupon he took their special oath. During the singing of the Te Deum he conferred knighthood upon those he had chosen for that honor.
All returned to the altar, where the mass was continued, and after several hymns the emperor handed his sword to the marshal of the empire and his globe to the count palatine of the Rhine. Retaining the sceptre, he approached the altar and laid upon it a piece of money, being followed by the electors and canons, who did the same. After several intervening ceremonies the emperor finally partook of the communion. Afterward, seated upon the altar platform, he again conferred knighthood upon deserving individuals.
After the three electors spiritual had exchanged their pontifical robes for the secular purple, the entire company proceeded, by way of a specially built gallery constructed of wood and covered with cloths, to the city hall, where the coronation banquet was prepared. The ceremony, as
above described, was very tedious, and, as in accordance with the ritual of the Catholic Church the monarch had to accomplish it fasting, it can readily be understood why the last German emperor of the house of Aus tria fainted tinder the weight of his gold- and jewel-decked robes on the occasion of his coronation.
The emperor made his first appearance among the people in great pomp (pl. 48, fig. 3). The elector of Treves headed the procession, those of Cologne and Mayence accompanied the emperor, and the electors of the Palatinate, Saxony, and Brandenburg immediately followed him, while behind them came another escort, as every elector surrounded him self with a pomp befitting the occasion. The military guard was formed by the various guilds of marksmen. Money was thrown among the peo ple, the public fountains ran wine instead of water, and the popular feast culminated in the roasting and eating of an entire ox stuffed with game (aV. _fig. 4).
Other coronation ceremonies differed little from the one just described, although they were somewhat less ostentatious. This was especially true of the coronation of queens, which concerned the ruling house rather than the entire country. We give in Figure 5 a view of the coronation of the empress Eleanor at Ratisbon iu 1630 in presence of the entire electoral college.
The coronation of the Polish kings was, on the whole, like that of the German emperor, though the Polish college long resembled, except in the costume of its members, the mediaeval electoral assembly of Ger many. The principal event, celebrated in the open field near the village of Nola, not far from Warsaw, is represented in Figure 6, which is copied from a large copper-plate engraving of the eighteenth century: a certain wildness in the surroundings indicates vividly the real character of the proceedings.