Note
The account given by Robert of Clary[53] of the coronation of the first Latin Emperor of Constantinople, Baldwin of Flanders, in 1204, shews it to have been a purely Western ceremony.
The Emperor accompanied by the clergy and nobles went in procession from the imperial palace to the church of St Sophia. Here he was arrayed in his royal vesture in a chamber specially prepared for him. He was anointed kneeling before the altar, and was then crowned by all the bishops. There is no mention of any other investiture, though the sword, sceptre, and orb are all referred to. Finally he was enthroned holding the sceptre in his right hand and the orb in his left, and Mass was celebrated.
The account given by Robert is very meagre, but the rite described is clearly Western, and apparently one very similar to the third recension of the Roman rite.
IV
The end of the twelfth century is marked by a further developement in the rite contained in the Liber Censuum of Cardinal Cenci[54]. This particular rite was probably used at the coronation of Henry VI and the Empress Constantia by Pope Celestine III in 1191[55].
The Emperor and Empress go in procession to St Mary in Turri, the choir singing Ecce mitto angelum, and there the Emperor takes the oath to defend the Roman Church. The oath has become longer and the Emperor swears fealty to the Pope and to his successors and that he will be a defender of the Roman Church[56], and kisses the Pope’s foot. The Pope gives him the Peace, and the procession sets out to St Peter’s, singing Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel. At the silver door of St Peter’s the Bishop of Albano meets the Emperor and recites the prayer Deus in cuius manu sunt corda regum. As the Pope enters the Responsory Petre amas me is sung. Then under the Rota the Pope puts to the Emperor a series of questions concerning his faith and duty, and while the Pope retires to vest, the Bishop of Porto recites the prayer Deus inenarrabilis auctor mundi. Next the Emperor is vested in the chapel of St Gregory with amice, alb and girdle, and is led to the Pope, who ‘facit eum clericum,’ and he is thereupon vested with tunic, dalmatic, pluviale, mitre, buskins, and sandals. The Bishop of Ostia then proceeds to the silver door, where the Empress has been waiting, and recites the prayer Omnipotens aeterne Deus fons et origo bonitatis, and she is then led to St Gregory’s altar to await the Pope’s procession. The Pope proceeds to the Confessio of St Peter and Mass is begun. After the Kyrie the Litany is said by the archdeacon, the Emperor and Empress lying prostrate the while. The Emperor is then anointed (apparently before the altar of St Maurice)[57] by the Bishop of Ostia with the oil of exorcism on the right arm and between the shoulders with the prayer Dominus Deus Omnipotens cuius est omnis potestas, followed by the prayer (once an alternative) Deus Dei Filius. The benediction of the Empress follows, Deus qui solus habes immortalitatem, and she is anointed on the breast with the form Spiritus Sancti gratia humilitatis nostrae officio copiosa descendat, etc. The Pope, the anointing over, descends to the altar of St Maurice, on which the crowns have been deposited, and delivers a ring to the Emperor with the form Accipe anulum signaculum videlicet sanctae fidei, etc., followed by a short prayer, Deus cuius est omnis potestas, a much shortened form of the prayer already used at the anointing; next the sword is girt on with the form Accipe hunc gladium cum dei benedictione tibi collatum, and the prayer Deus qui providentia; and he crowns the Emperor with the form Accipe signum gloriae, etc. The Empress is then crowned with the form Accipe coronam regalis excellentiae, etc. The Pope delivers the sceptre to the Emperor with the form Accipe sceptrum regiae potestatis, virgam scilicet rectam regni, virgam virtutis, etc., followed by the prayer Omnium Domine fons bonorum. Then at the altar of St Peter the Gloria in excelsis is sung, and the special collect Deus regnorum omnium follows. The Laudes are now sung and then the Mass proceeds, the Emperor offering bread, candles, and gold; and the Emperor offering wine, the Empress the water for the chalice. Both communicate, and on leaving St Peter’s the Emperor swears, at three different places, to maintain the rights and privileges of the Roman people.
The most noticeable thing in this recension is the appearance of the investiture with the ring, which comes from non-Roman sources and disappears again in the next recension.