Richard II / Makers of History

by Jacob Abbott

A bishop then ascended to a pulpit built against one of the vast Gothic columns of the church, and preached a sermon. The sermon was on the subject of the duty of a king; explaining how a king ought to conduct himself in the government of his people, and enjoining upon the people, too, the duty of being faithful and obedient to their king.

Bewildering scene.
Oath administered to the people.

Richard paid little attention to this sermon, being already tired of the scene. He was, moreover, bewildered by the multitude of people crowded into the church, and all gazing intently and continually upon him. There were bishops and priests in their sacerdotal robes of crimson and gold, and knights and nobles brilliant with nodding plumes and glittering armor of steel. When the sermon was finished, the oath was administered to Richard. It was read by the archbishop, Richard assenting to it when it was read. As soon as the oath had thus been administered, the archbishop, turning in succession to each quarter of the church, repeated the oath in a loud voice to the people, four times in all, and called upon those whom he successively addressed to ask whether they would submit to Richard as their king. The people on each side, as he thus addressed them in turn, answered, with a loud voice, that they would obey him. This ceremony being ended, the archbishop turned again toward Richard, pronounced certain additional prayers, and then gave him his benediction.

Ceremony of anointing.
Richard clothed in his royal robes.

The ceremony of anointing came next. The archbishop advanced to Richard and began to take off the robes in which he was attired. At the same time, four earls held over and around him, as a sort of screen, a coverture, as it was called, of cloth of gold. Richard remained under this coverture while he was anointed. The archbishop took off nearly all his clothes, and then anointed him with the holy oil. He applied the oil to his head, his breast, his shoulders, and the joints of his arms, repeating, as he did so, certain prayers. The choir, in the mean time, chanted a portion of the Scriptures relating to the anointing of King Solomon. When the oil had been applied, the archbishop put upon the king a long robe, and directed him to kneel. Richard accordingly kneeled again upon the tapestry which covered the floor, the archbishop and the bishops kneeling around him. While in this position the archbishop offered more prayers, and more hymns were sung, and then he assisted Richard to rise from his kneeling posture, and proceeded to dress and equip him with the various garments, and arms, and emblems appropriate to the kingly power. In putting on each separate article the archbishop made a speech in Latin, according to a form provided for such occasions, beginning with, Receive this cloak, receive this stole, receive this sword, and the like.[F]

In this manner and with these ceremonies Richard was invested with a splendidly-embroidered coat and cloak, a stole, a sword, a pair of spurs, a pair of bracelets, and, finally, with a garment over all called the pallium. All these things, of course, had been made expressly for the occasion, and were adapted to the size and shape of a boy like Richard. The archbishop was assisted in putting these things on by certain nobles of the court, who had been designated for this purpose, and who considered themselves highly honored by the part that was assigned them in the ceremony.

The crown.

When the dressing had been completed, the archbishop took the crown, and after having invoked a blessing upon it by his prayers and benedictions, all in the Latin tongue, he placed it upon Richard's head, repeating, at the same time, a Latin form, the meaning of which was that he received the crown from God Almighty, and that to God alone he was responsible for the exercise of his royal power.

The globe.
The sceptre.

Then came a certain grand officer of the court with a red globe, an emblem of royalty which has long been used in England. This globe the archbishop blessed, and then the officer put it into Richard's hands. In the same manner the sceptre was brought, and, after being blessed by means of the same ceremonies and prayers, was also put into Richard's hands.