CORONATION ( from Lat. co•onare, to crown, from corona, crown). The net or cere mony of crowning the sovereign of a monarchical country. The use of crowns in antiquity, as a mark either of honor or of rejoicing, will be ex plained under CROWN. It was, no doubt, as an adaptation of this general custom to a special use that the practice of placing a crown on the head of a monarch at the commencement of his reign was introduced. The practice is very an cient, as we may learn from the fact that Solo mon and Ahaziah were crowned, and it has been followed in one form or another in most civilized monarchies. The ceremony is religious as well as political, and is usually performed by a high ecclesiastic, as a recognition that "the powers that be are ordained of God." Generally it has been accompanied by what was regarded as the still more solemn rite of anointing with oil, a ceremony which, from the time of the ancient Hebrews to our own, has been peculiarly signifi cant of consecration or devotion to the service of God. The term employed for 'crowned' in the Saxon chronicle is `gehalgod,' hallowed or con secrated; and it would seem that the ceremony as then performed at Kingston-on-Thames or Winchester was in all essentials the same as that which now takes place in Westminster Abbey.
Coronation in the early days of the European monarchies was an indispensable rite, without which no accession to a throne would be recog nized by the people; but in our day, the line of succession being clearly established, the ceremony is often deferred without prejudice to the loyalty of the subject.
As a generally indispensable preliminary to coronation, a solemn pledge is in most countries exacted from the new sovereign, called the coro nation oath. There are very early traces of this, both among the Jews and among the rulers who established themselves upon the ruins of the Roman Empire. Before the principle of he reditary succession was firmly established, the consent of the people was an important factor in a transfer of sovereignty, and was purchased by this solemn undertaking to rule justly and to preserve every man's rights. The English coronation oath, as at present existing, is the most definite and carefully considered agreement of the kind. After the Revolution of 1688 it was made more explicit than ever, including an ex press engagement on the part of the sovereign to maintain "the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed reli gion as it is established by law." The oaths of other countries are less elaborate and specific than that of England.
For a learned treatment of coronation usages in general, as well as of a typical modern in stance, consult Pascoe, The Pageant and Cere mony of the Coronation of their Majesties Icing Edward the Seventh and Queen Alexandra (New York, 1902).