Imperial Regalia
The Imperial Regalia, insignia, or crown jewels are the
regalia of the
Emperors and Kings of the
Holy Roman Empire. The most important parts are the
Imperial Crown, the
Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword. Today they are kept at the
Schatzkammer Treasury in the
Hofburg palace in
Vienna, Austria.
The Imperial Regalia is the only completely still preserved royal regalia from the
Middle Ages.
During the late Middle Ages, the word Imperial Regalia had many variations in the Latin language. The regalia were either named in
Latin:
insignia imperialia, regalia insignia, insignia imperalis capellae quae regalia dicuntur and other similar words.
Encyclopedia
The
Imperial Regalia, insignia, or crown jewels are the
regalia of the
Emperors and Kings of the
Holy Roman Empire. The most important parts are the
Imperial Crown, the
Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword. Today they are kept at the
Schatzkammer Treasury in the
Hofburg palace in
Vienna, Austria.
The Imperial Regalia is the only completely still preserved royal regalia from the
Middle Ages.
During the late Middle Ages, the word Imperial Regalia had many variations in the Latin language. The regalia were either named in
Latin:
insignia imperialia, regalia insignia, insignia imperalis capellae quae regalia dicuntur and other similar words.
Components
The regalia is made out of two different parts. The greater group are the so-called
Nürnberger Kleinodien , named after the town of
Nuremberg where the regalia where kept from 1424 to 1796. This part comprised the
Imperial Crown, parts of the coronation vestments, the
Imperial Orb , the
Imperial Sceptre, the Imperial Sword, the Ceremonial Sword , the Imperial Cross, the
Holy Lance, and all other reliquiaries except St. Stephen's Purse.
St. Stephen's Purse, the Imperial Bible, and the so-called
Saber of Charlemagne were kept in
Aachen until 1794. That is why the lesser part is called
Aachener Kleinodien . It is neither known since when this part is counted amongst the Imperial Regalia nor since when these regalia have been kept in Aachen.
| Present inventory in Vienna: |
Aachen regalia | Probable place of origin, and date of production | Imperial Bible | Aachen, end of 8th century | St. Stephen's Purse | Carolingian, 1st third of 9th century | Saber of Charlemagne | Eastern Europe, 2nd half of 9th century |
| Nuremberg regalia | Probable place of origin, and date of production | Imperial Crown | Western Germany, 2nd half of 10th century | Imperial Cross | Western Germany, around 1024/1025 | Holy Lance | Langobardian, 8th/9th century | Relics of the True Cross | | Imperial Sword | Sheath from Germany, 2nd third-part of 11th century | Imperial Orb | Western Germany, around end of 12th century | Coronation Mantle | Palermo, 1133/24 | Alb | Palermo, 1181 | Dalmatic | Palermo, around 1140 | Stockings | Palermo, around 1170 | Shoes | Palermo, around 1130 or around 1220 | Gloves | Palermo, 1220 | Ceremonial Sword | Palermo, 1220 | Stole | Central Italy, before 1338 | Eagle-dalmatic | Upper Germany, before 1350 | Imperial Sceptre | Germany, 1st half of 14th century | Aspergille | Germany, 1st. half of 14th century | Reliquary with chains | Rome or Prague, around 1368 | Reliquary with a piece of vestment of the John the Evangelist | Rome or Prague, around 1368 | Reliquary with a shaving of the Crib of Christ | Rome or Prague, around 1368 | Reliquary with an arm-bone of St. Anne | probably Prague after 1350 | Reliquary with a tooth of John the Baptist | Bohemia, after 1350 | Case of the Imperial Crown | Prague, after 1350 | Reliquary with a piece of the tablecloth used during the Last Supper | |
History
Middle Ages
The inventory of the regalia during the late Middle Ages normally consisted only of five to six items. Gottfried von Viterbo counted following items: the Imperial Cross, the Holy Lance, the crown, the sceptre, the orb, and the sword. On other lists however, the sword is not mentioned.
If the medieval chronicles really do refer to the regalia, which are kept in Vienna today, depends on a variety of factors. Descriptions of the emperors only spoke of them being “clothed in imperial regalia” without exactly describing which ones they were.
The crown can only be dated back to the
13th century, when it is described in a medieval poem. The poem speaks of the
Waise stone, which was a big and prominent jewel on the crowns. The first definite pictorial image of the crown can only be found later in a mural in the
Karlštejn castle close to
Prague.
It is also difficult to define for how long the Imperial and Ceremonial Swords have belonged to the regalia.
Literature
- Weltliche und Geistliche Schatzkammer. Bildführer. Kunsthistorischen Museum, Vienna. 1987. ISBN 3-7017-0499-6
- Fillitz, Hermann. Die Schatzkammer in Wien: Symbole abendländischen Kaisertums. Vienna, 1986. ISBN 3-7017-0443-0
- Fillitz, Hermann. Die Insignien und Kleinodien des Heiligen Römischen Reiches, 1954.
