Gone Medieval - Medieval Coronations: Jewels & After Parties

Episode Date: April 25, 2023

All this month, Gone Medieval has been your perfect companion to the forthcoming coronation of King Charles III. In this final special episode, Matt Lewis takes a look at the use and meaning of coronation regalia and what happens after the ceremonial aspects - the coronation banquet. He is joined by Lucinda Gosling of the Mary Evans Picture Library and the author of more than 12 books including Royal Coronations, published by Shire Books.This episode was produced by Rob Weinberg. If you’re enjoying this podcast and are looking for more fascinating Medieval content then subscribe to our Medieval Monday newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download, go to Android or Apple store Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From long-loss Viking ships and kings buried in unexpected places to tales of murder, power, faith, and the lives of ordinary people across medieval Europe and beyond. Join me, Matt Lewis, Dr. Eleanor Jarniger, and some of the world's leading historians as we bring history's most fascinating stories to life, only on history hit. With your subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries

with a brand-new release every week exploring everything from the ancient world, to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. Welcome to this episode of Gone Medieval. I'm Matt Lewis. This is the final episode in our specials on coronations and we're going to take a close look at the regalia that's used in coronation ceremonies to work out what it is and what it all means. And then we're going to look at the coronation banquet to the after party. I'm delighted to welcome Lucinda Gosling of Mary Evans Picture Library and the author of more than 12 books including Royal

coronations published by Shire Books. A regular writer on Royal History, Lucinda has contributed to various publications including Majesty, Illustrated London News, Tatler and History Today. Welcome to Gone Medieval, Lucy. Hello, Matt. Hi. So to start off with, we've kind of covered elements of the coronation through this series, and we've steered clear of the regalia and the banquet. We've been saving that for you. So why is the regalia an important part of the coronation ceremony? Is it something that's evolved over time or has it generally stayed the same throughout the history of coronations? It has evolved, but I think most people would be quite surprised to learn that most elements, most regalia do go back a thousand years and beyond that, actually.

And obviously the form that they take has changed rather over the time, but essentially items like swords and staffs or sceptres and crowns have really been part of the coronation ceremony since before William the Conqueror. I think their importance is that they are the tangible objects which help the coronation ceremony, the ritual along. And it's maybe not perhaps the objects themselves, those physical objects, but it's what they symbolise that's so important. Wonderful.

And we'll hopefully take a look through those individual items and what each of them mean in a little bit too to try and get a clear understanding of what that is. But I guess one thing that we should acknowledge, I try on gone medieval to say that everything in the world, everything that's important is medieval. But we're going to have to acknowledge that the regalia that we're going to see at Charles's coronation isn't the medieval regalia. So can you just run us through kind of what happened to the medieval regalia, please? Yes, after Charles I first was executed and during the Commonwealth,

Oliver Cromwell ordered that the crown jewels be seized and basically melted down. We're going to talk all the time about how symbolic the regalia is, and I suppose it was very symbolic of Cromwell to destroy them. I think that's probably why I've just said before that it's not so much the objects themselves, but what they represent that's so important. And actually, even before this happened, we know that through the medieval period

that there were different types of regalia used. There was very much a sort of patchwork of information about this, but there wasn't just one single crown used by each king. They changed over time. Apparently, Edward II had ten crowns, he would, wouldn't he? but which one did he wear for his coronation? Who knows? But I think the point of this is they were melted down and when the restoration happened when Charles II came to the throne, then new ones were commissioned. It took more than destroying those physical objects to get rid of the idea of kingship and the ritual of coronation. Some of the items which will be used in the present day coronation date from that period, but also later as well. The imperial state crown was made for Queen Victoria's coronation. for instance, but St. Edward's Crown, which is the crown which is used for actually crowning the King, that was made for Charles II and includes some very interesting storied gemstones

in there. The one item that does date back to the medieval period is the anointing spoon, and that is thought to be 12th century, a silver gilt, and it's very interesting, and it's got a sort of double-lobed spoon bit, and the point of that is so that, so that, that oil is poured into the spoon, the archbishop can put two fingers and then anoint the king with it that way. So that is a survival. I can't remember who bought it. Somebody with a very complicated title, bought it, kept it, and when Charles II was restored to the throne, he gave it back, and it became part of the regalia again. Obviously, the anointing spoon that the oil is in is a massively important part of the ceremony in many ways.

But you'd imagine Charles the second being slightly disappointed that the only bit of the old medieval regalia, that turns up is a spoon. All the crowns are missing. Scepters and orbs are missing and he's got a spoon. Yes, I suppose it was the least of his worries. It was a nice opportunity to get a nice shiny set of crowns and scepters. Sir Robert Viner, who was the goldsmith to the crown. He designed and produced the crown and other items. So I don't know what Charles II's 's thoughts were on it. But I mean, a lot of that regalia, which was destroyed, was thought to have come from Edward the Confessor. And this was particularly for the medieval kings, certain of whom, you know, really felt very close to the confessor and almost encourage a cult of him.

The fact that regalia was thought to have come from Edward the Confessor gave it a real sort of sacredness. And I think over time that probably had been lost a little bit by the time we got to the stewards who were probably just glad to be back on the throne with an opportunity to restore this wonderful ritual of kingship and monarchy. It's one of those frustrating things that I guess probably divides people because you can understand where Cromwell was coming from. I mean, what he's trying to achieve, you can understand the destruction of the royal regalia, but at the same time he is destroying 600 years of historical artefacts, which is also, you know, such an act of cultural vandalism. It's so frustrating that we can't see them now because he decided to do that.

It's really frustrating. And there's very little official pictorial evidence of what crowns look like. We have to go on descriptions from chroniclers, and we have to go on one of the first visualisations of a crown was on the Bayer tapestry. So you can see Edward the Confessor is wearing a circlet with the flurons, the sort of leaf type shapes, and then Harold is also wearing that as well. So we know that was part of the regalia at that point in the 11th century. There's also a very interesting account from Guy of Amiens, who describes William the Conqueror wore a crown, which was Greece-inspired by that. I suppose they're showing us mimicking the Byzantine emperors. And of course they wore the crowns with the pearls hanging down by the ears, which seems like

a very un-British type of crown. It's not what we think of when we think of crowns. But of course, the symbolic act of wearing a crown was very much imported from the Byzantine emperors. So there will have been elements of that style in there. So whether they were wearing these circlets with the fluorons or whether they were a little bit more elaborate with archers and everything, we are not completely sure. Because I guess what you see with William the Conqueror, he's Duke of Normandy, he's not a king, he was never going to be a king.

He's just conquered a kingdom, but he doesn't know how to be a king. So perhaps he's reaching for various aspects of French kingship, Anglo-Saxon kingship, but maybe looking as far as Byzantium for inspiration, how do I make myself into a king? And it has to do with what you put on your head and everything else that you used. Yes, this is how coronations came about. They were taking a mish-mash from all these different elements which had come before them, the Byzantines. The Vikings obviously introduced enthronement, which is sitting above both physically and symbolically your subjects. And then I suppose as Duke of Normandy, he would have been invested as Duke of Normandy, and swords would have been

included in that ceremony as well. And they, of course, form an important part of the coronation ceremony. Several different swords symbolising different aspects of kingship were used. So, yes, he would have been really trying to pack in all those elements. And obviously he got crowned at Westminster Abbey, which was the Confessor's Church, which again validated his position. So I think we always look to William the Conqueror and the fact he chose to get coronated on Christian. Christmas Day, that is the kind of blueprint for coronations to come. And if we can turn to the actual regalia now and maybe work our way through some of the items that were used and what they were meant to symbolise, what would an audience watching these things being handed to the king understand that they meant? And so there are some pretty famous ones, things like the scepter, for example.

Yes. And there are two sceptors and also there's a staff and they were St. Edward's staff, which was a long rod. and that was intended to symbolise the king finding a pathway through life. You would see people like saints and pilgrims using staffs in that way. And then there would be the sceptre with the cross, which symbolised the king's authority over his subjects. But there was also the sceptre with a dove. And that was a reflection of the king's mercy and protection of his people as well. It was a peaceful symbol.

So you've got those two different elements there. And actually in later coronations beyond medieval times, the queen will have two sceptors as well, minor versions of the king's scepters. So, yep, they are important aspects, and people would have understood those symbols, definitely. And then the sword would be girded to him, the sword of state, and then taken off again.

This is what happens. The regalia is sort of handed, it's held, and then it's passed back to whoever has borne that, certain piece of regalia in the procession, and then he's given the next bit. And then there's also the orb, obviously, which is a very famous symbol of monarchy, which is supposed to symbolise the cross as dominion over the earth. So it's another religious object. There are also the spurs, which are, if it's a king, they're touched on the ankles.

If it's a queen, she simply just touches them with her hands. And golden spurs are very much part of the age of chivalry and are a, a sense. symbol of leadership and of knights and all that sort of stuff. So that would have meant a lot to people as well. Another thing which has come back into the modern coronation, the queen wore them at her coronation, are the armills, which are bracelets, which would go on each arm. And they weren't used for a number of years. And I'm not actually sure what they date from, but they were reintroduced into the 1953 coronation ceremony. And we know what they're meant to symbolise. Is that a military thing or is that more of a secular thing?

No, I think that these probably go with the coronation ring, also known as a wedding ring of England, which has a blue sapphire with rubies and a cross. And I think all those items are supposed to signify the wearer's commitment to her country and the service that they will give. And that's something that can continue to be worn. And I'm not sure whether that's taken off again. But I think that is continued to be worn. Obviously, you can't hold all the sceptors and the orbs.

and the sword at once. So that's why these items are passed, they are touched, and then they are taken back. So it is very much, particularly in the more modern era, a very symbolic thing, which perhaps doesn't mean so much to us in the modern era, but what it does do is it links the coronation of today with those medieval rituals, which meant so much to people. And you mentioned that the king or the queen is kind of girded with a sword during the ceremony, but there are other swords that appear as well. Can you tell us a little bit about those, please? Yes, there are other swords, the sword of justice to the spirituality, and then there's the sword of justice to the temporality. So the one of spirituality is a symbol that the king will protect the church and its rights.

And the one to the temporality is the acknowledgement of the barons, the nobles, and that symbolizes a good relationship between the king and his barons or the nobility. And then there's also the katana, which is a sort of mercy. It was blunted. So the point of that was that it wasn't supposed to necessarily symbolise military might, but it was supposed to symbolise justice and mercy, and that the king would be just and righteous. It's such a mixture of pastoral symbols of things like staffs with ecclesiastical symbols of crosses and orbs,

also mixed with the military elements of spurs and swords. And I guess all of this talks to what people expected the king to be, that kind of mix of all things. A bit of everything. And the other thing it's doing is all these elements in one way or another were used by Saxon kings. These are sometimes pagan symbols which can be very easily adapted to become religious symbols as well. You're wanting to carry on this thread that runs through from the dark ages really right up through to modern times, these are items that go into a box, they're shaken up and out comes the perfect idea of kingship. Just to linger on, because it's the medieval part of the regalia that remains,

to linger on the spoon and the eagle ampula, can you just tell us a little bit about those and how they're used, please? Yes, so the ampula supposedly dates from the early Stuart Kings. So that is another item that survived Cromwell's melting down of everything, and that was to hold the holy oil, the special-centred holy oil, and it would be poured through its beak into the anointing spoon, and then the monarch would be anointed by the Archbishop Canterbury, on head, on breast, on about four different parts of your body.

And this previously was the most sacred moment of the ceremony. So even though earlier you said, oh, maybe Charles' second was a bit disappointed that all that was left was one spoon. This humble spoon is actually the kind of conduit to the most important aspect of the whole coronation, the most sacred part. And anointing with holy oil, with chrism, dates back to the Old Testament.

We go way, way back. It's the absolute fundamental moment of the coronation. So those items are pretty important. And I think in medieval times, the oil would have come from somewhere like Mediterranean, the southern lands. So that was exactly. exotic and it was very special. It wasn't just St. Sainsbury's basics, olive oil or anything. It was

really quite special and infused. And this will be the case in today's coronation. It will be infused with various different special scented oils. So the king should emerge from it smelling very nice. And there are rumours that the canopy, which is usually held over the monarch to afford some privacy during the anointing ceremony is going to be transparent. So it might be that people can actually get much more of a sense of that moment when the king is anointed. I think if that does happen, that might be the most exciting moment, as a historian at least, of watching the coronation, because this is a moment that when the coronation was televised in 1953, that bit wasn't televised. But even before that, people who were within the abbey didn't get to see this. You know,

took place under a canopy, out of view, with just, The archbishop and the king there, this is a moment that nobody really has seen, and we might actually get to see it happen. Yeah, and this is how coronations evolve, isn't it? And this is the modern version. We will see if this happens, and I think it will be very interesting to see the most ancient aspects of the coronation ritual to be seen by millions around the world. I took the Mickey out of Charles II, perhaps not being impressed,

that a spoon was what had survived, but as you said, it represents the most transformational part of the coronation ceremony, so perhaps I'm doing the spoon a disservice there? Yeah, we don't know exactly when this came in, but we are certain that Henry II, Richard and John were all anointed from that spoon. That's quite special, I think. And so how important, if we bring all of these items together as a collection, the royal regalia, does it somehow reflect on or enhance the monarch's status? I think most people watching it will just be curious. This is very anachronistic, isn't it? None of it really has much meaning in the modern day. But I think it's part of the sort of mysticism of monarchy, which is obviously what kings in medieval times really wanted

to emphasise. So I think it's just going to be interesting and curious and whether it's still important and relevant is perhaps not the point. Some people go, oh, this is medieval coronation cosplay, but it's with a lot of pretty priceless and original artifacts. I think it gives the coronation some gravitas, and I think your opinions on it might depend on what your opinions on the monarchy is in general. I'm a spy doing whatever spies do. But what am I going to whip out of my pocket next? careful. In this special month of Patented, we're celebrating the 70th anniversary of James Bond by having a look at some of the inventions that have changed espionage. From gadgets and their

creators to the cars and cocktails that make Bond look oh so effortlessly cool. Join me, Campbell, Dallas Campbell, on Patented, a history of inventions where I will have my can on a string up against the walls of some of the best historians in this field. Look forward to your company. Right, we're going to change up the mood here. We're going to switch on the disco lights, and we're going to head to the after party. So traditionally, in the medieval period, at least it doesn't happen anymore.

After the coronation, there was the coronation feast, a huge banquet in Westminster Hall afterwards. So what was the significance of the coronation feast taking place after the main event? Like any type of ceremony, it's usually followed by something a little bit more informal and a chance for everybody to kick off. This actually was a chance for the king to show his largesse, to show his magnificence, because a coronation, yes, it showed magnificence, but that was within the constraints of the coronation ceremony. This was a chance to really show the luxury and the magnificence of being king.

I was just looking at several books about coronations from the time of Edward I 7th and George V when there was such interest in this. I was reading one chapter on coronation feasts and just let me give you a rundown of what was on the menu at Edward I first's coronation banquet. 380 head of cattle, 430 sheep, 450 pigs, 18 wild boars, 278 flitchers of bacon, 20,000 K-pons and fowls. Now, that was all eaten by people who were literally wedged into Westminster Hall. Now, that's a vast space. It was created as a ceremonial venue for festivals like this, but even the immense amount of food and the number of dishes at Coronation Banquets

was quite something to behold. Catherine of Valois, Henry V's Queen, She was crowned on St. Matthews' day during Lent. So everything on the banquet memory was fish. But again, you get this list of fish, eels, lampreys, pike, halibut, gurnard. Apparently there was even a pelican sitting on her nest. One of really interesting aspect is that there were a lot of food sculptures as well. So again, these weren't necessarily things that you could eat,

but were things to look at and admire. So the king would have the very best cooks and bakers making these incredible things. So it was a chance to show the greatness of the king. And the other thing that a coronation banquet underlined was the social hierarchy. Now, the way that the hall was arranged during a banquet, it had to be organised pretty quickly because the coronation procession would depart from West Hall and go into the Abbey, and that would leave some time for everything, all the tables to be brought out, all the plate, the gold and silver plate, which would be on display, wonderful things

like salt sellers, really magnificent items. But you would have the king, so if you're going to Westminster Hall today, you've got the steps at one end, which are apparently a later Victorian edition or something. But back in the medieval period, you would have about six or seven steps up to a days and on that would sit the king and the queen along with the bishops and the archbishops. So the most important people in the kingdom. And apparently there used to be a marble table and a marble chair which the king would sit on and nobody knows what's happened to that, which is a great shame. And then further down, you would get things like the barons of the sank port who held the canopy.

They would sit next down. So it was very much a hierarchy and you would see this happening. And you would get selected people of London and people of Winchester. serving the wine and serving the food. And everybody who was involved in this banquet had a part to play. And it really did signify your status, your place in how things were structured at the time. I was going to ask next whether it was anything more than a party, you know, whether it had ceremonial and cultural significance to it, or it was just an excuse to get drunk and eat a lot. No, it was. And I think gradually, as the banquets went on and people were starving and waiting,

I think it did sometimes descend into a bit of an orgy of chaos. But certainly the point of it was the king would wear a lighter crown. If we think about today, the imperial state crown is the crown that is used for your everyday ceremonies because it's lighter to wear. And again, medieval kings would have a lighter crown to wear, but they would also sit with the sceptors on this throne. And what they would have is there would be nobles to one side of them who might hold those items for them, presumably, so they could, I don't know,

nor on a piece of steak or something. So the ritual continues in the banquet, basically. And then the highlight of it is obviously the king's champion, who after the first course comes into the hall on horseback, looking magnificent, wearing a suit of armour, and throws down the gauntlet several times to challenge anybody who questions the king's right to be king. And this was obviously very symbolic.

Nobody ever questioned the king's champion. But that happened between the first and the second course. That's an interesting aspect as well that fits with the kind of the recognition that we still have this element of, the recognition is asking for approval for everybody in the Abbey and it ends with another opportunity for anyone to say, are you sure? Yeah, I know. I think it's actually interesting that nobody ever did question it. Yeah, not that I'd want it to happen at Charles III's coronation, but you wonder what would happen if someone had ever been brave enough to say, what one in our challenge?

Could have been quite a bloody end to the coronation banquet, I think. I think even back then, people realised this was ceremonial and symbolic rather than actual, and nobody expected anybody to question a king who had just been through a coronation. You wonder whether it's a bit of theatre to play into that idea of the kingdom is coming together now. No one challenges because we're all behind this new king. We've just watched them being crowned. It's a new beginning for the country. We're all united.

you know, there is no need to challenge because we're all together. Yeah, every box has been ticked and everything is nicely, neatly tied up, and now the king can get on with the business of ruling the country. I think you're right. It's a rather nice underlining, isn't it, of everything that has come before? In terms of practicalities with the feast, do we know who would put the feast on? Did the king pay for this, or did the city of London pay for it? Was the king showing his wealth, or was the city displaying its wealth to the king?

The king would show his wealth by the plate that was put out, so the gold and the silver. And also all the people who were involved in the banquet serving would be paid in food. But that food actually would come from around the country and messages would go out to the sheriffs of certain counties, for instance, and you're going to provide us with 40 sheep and 10 cattle pleas. So they would be obliged to donate that for the coronation banquet.

So that is how I suppose it was paid for. There seemed to be vast quantities of wine as well available at these events. Certainly, I think it was Henry VIII. There were nine fountains along cheapside which were just gushing out red and white wine, which sounds fantastic, doesn't it? Free to anybody. You'd have to hope they had a bank holiday the day after to all recover. This is it.

You've got the coronation, which is the really serious thing. Then you've got the banquet which is semi-serious. And apparently at the end, it was just a free-for-all, and everybody would grab everything they can. and the sort of the Lord Chief Steward, and the people who were in charge of this sort of thing had to make sure that the most valuable stuff wasn't snaffled by people. There are lots of stories through the centuries

of everybody going mad and just taking everything away, tablecloths and all. But after that, you would have a tournament. So the feasting would continue. This is all part of medieval celebration. You talked a little bit about some of the food that was served. Do we have an idea of kind of the menus for lots of the banquets, or is it just odd ones that survive? Odd ones that survive, yeah.

Richard I think is the first banquet that is really well documented. That's a fantastic description of the coronation banquet. And as I said, we've got evidence of Edward I first, but some of them we don't know very much at all. But I think what we can deduce from this is that each banquet was extremely lavish, very extravagant. And what's really interesting is the very last coronation banquet was that of George VIII, who was famously extravagant, and it was right up his street to have a coronation banquet

with thousands of different dishes and a king's champion riding in. He absolutely loved that sort of thing. And then 10 years later, when his brother, William IV, came to the throne, that's when the coronation banquet became a thing of the past, because William IV's coronation was known as the half-penny coronation, because compared to George Vorth's, which cost, I think, $240,000, pounds. I think William the Fourth's cost about 35 or 40,000 pounds. So it was all part of the cutbacks, which of course we're seeing a little bit today, aren't we, with King Charles's coronation. It plays into that thing that the coronation is an evolving thing. It always has to be fit for the

days in which it takes place. It isn't a thousand years of ceremonial, but it can be tweaked to be more reflective of the particular monarch or the particular times. You know, William the fourth didn't want all of that bling and display. Yeah. He didn't even want the coronation. He had to be persuaded to actually have a coronation. It's quite laudable, really. But yeah, and I think when we're looking at today's coronation, all the events that are planned, which are very much community-based and inclusive, that's how the coronation has modernised to reflect today's society. Whereas a medieval coronation banquet, with its very prescriptive organisation of society, and it's no expense spared display of wealth was very much what monarchy was about in that time, showing strength,

wealth and power. Yeah. I guess just to end on, are you looking forward to seeing Charles III's coronation? I am. I think as a historian, most of us would have seen a coronation in our lifetime. I'm really fascinated about every aspect of it. I have to write something on the day about what the king wears, which I think will be interesting. The last male monarch at George VI wore, I think, silk breeches,

and I really hope that poor King Charles won't be wearing anything like that. I'm interested to see how those pieces of regalia are used in the ceremony. I think it will be very much following in the tradition of the past thousand years. I hope so. But I think it's going to be really fascinating to watch. It's a piece of history, isn't it, before our eyes? Absolutely. I'm equally excited to see it happen. And I hope across this series of podcast episodes, we've given people a chance to pick out elements of the coronation ceremony and try and understand them better, understand where they came from, what they mean, and just how long some of these things have been happening. It's been absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for joining us, Lucy.

Pleasure. Thank you. I'll be back on Gone Medieval on Saturday. Don't forget to subscribe or follow us wherever you get your podcast from and to tell all of your friends and family that you've Gone Medieval. If you get a moment, please do drop us a review or rate us. anywhere that you listen to your podcasts. It really does help new listeners to find us out in the forest of podcasts. If you're enjoying this and looking for a bit more medieval goodness in your life, please do subscribe to our Medieval Monday's newsletter. You can follow the links in the show notes below to do that. Anyway, I've better let you go. I've been Matt Lewis and we've just gone medieval with history hits.