A second example of the Frankish rite may be seen in that by which Louis II (the Stammerer) of France was crowned at Compiègne in 877[89]. First of all the bishops ask that the rights of their churches shall be maintained, A vobis perdonari nobis petimus, and the king grants their petition Promitto et perdono vobis, a section which is found henceforward regularly in the French orders. Next is said the prayer Deus qui populis, and then follows the anointing, the king being anointed during the prayer Omnipotens sempiterne Deus creator et gubernator, which occurs in the second English order and in Hittorp’s Roman order. The crowning then takes place with the form Coronet te Deus, and the sceptre is given with the form used in the second English order and henceforward, Accipe sceptrum regiae potestatis. The order ends with a benediction consisting of fourteen prayers, among which occur all those used in the order of Charles the Bald.
These two orders are very simple, and while the former is manifestly in an unfixed stage, the latter is the first recension of the definite French rite. It is noticeable that it presents many points of similarity with the second English rite, and this is probably due to the influence of the Roman rite.
Louis II was crowned a second time in 877 at Troyes by Pope John VIII. The order used on this occasion[90] is quite different from that used at Compiègne, and is, as might be expected under the circumstances, somewhat Roman in character, but otherwise it is rather puzzling; perhaps it was specially composed for the occasion, or else it belongs to the unfixed stage and may be classed with the order of Charles the Bald.
The first prayer Deus cui omnis potestas et dignitas famulatur (an early form of the familiar Deus cuius est omnis potestas) occurs here for the first time and is found later in most French orders and in the English second and fourth recensions. Then follows Omnium, Domine, fons bonorum, also found in the second English recension, after which come the first ten of the benedictions which accompany the delivery of the Sceptre in ‘Egbert.’ Then comes the prayer Deus inenarrabilis, which here first occurs; and finally a prayer, evidently composed for the occasion, Oratio qua benedixit Apostolicus Johannes regem nostrum, and Spiritum sanctificationis quaesumus Domine, Hludowico regi nostro propitiatus infunde, which does not occur elsewhere.
There are two examples of the coronation of queens in Frankish lands at this time, the earliest examples of the rite in the case of queens in the West.
In 856 Judith[91], the daughter of the Emperor Charles II, was married to Ethelwulf, king of England, and was crowned at the time of her marriage. The actual coronation prayers, which are inserted in the marriage rite, are as follows: Te invocamus, and then, preceded by Sursum corda and Preface, Deus electorum fortitudo, in which however are inserted a few lines proper to the occasion. The queen is then crowned with the form Gloria et honore coronet te Dominus, etc.
The coronation of Queen Hermintrude[92] at Soissons in 866 is still more a special adaptation of the nuptial ceremony. There is first of all a very long allocution made by two bishops, after which follows the marriage prayer containing allusions to the royal position and duties of the bride, and then the queen is crowned with the words Coronet te Dominus gloria et honore et sempiterna protectione, qui vivit et regnat.
In England there was no coronation of the queen consort at this time, and the same was probably the case ordinarily in France. It will be remembered that in the Eastern Empire if an emperor was married after his accession his bride was crowned at the time of her wedding not only with the nuptial crown but also as empress. It is noticeable that both these coronations of Frankish queens took place at the time of their marriage, and it is most probable that there was some such adaptation of the nuptial coronation (which was at this time used in the West) to the special circumstances of the royal bride. The occurrence of Sursum corda and Preface before the consecration prayer in the case of Judith is the first occasion of their use in this connection, but probably this too is due to the influence of the special Preface of the nuptial rite with which it is combined.
II
In the tenth century there appears a definite French rite. This is represented by the orders contained in the codex of Ratold of Corbey[93] and Martène’s Ordo VII[94], which are very close to the almost contemporary second English recension, and manifestly derived from an English source.