For the consecration three choices are given as to the forms to be used[99]:
(1) Deus inenarrabilis, during which the king is anointed, the anthem Unxerunt Salomonem being sung at the time of anointing.
(2) Alia Oratio. Deus Dei Filius. Then the anointing of the hands with the form Unguantur manus istae. Then the prayer from the Roman rite Prospice Omnipotens.
(3) Alia. Deus qui es iustorum gloria, and, introduced by Sursum corda and Preface, Deus creator ac gubernator.
The unction of the hands here first occurs and is found henceforward in the French rite. It is first found in the English rite at this same time in the third recension, but in the English rite it always precedes, while in the French it comes after, the unction proper.
The investitures of Sword, Ring, Sceptre, Verge, and Crown follow the order of Hittorp’s rite, and the old forms used at the delivery of Sword, Ring, and Crown give place to the forms of the Roman order. The Sceptre is given at the same time as the Verge and has no special form of its own, here again showing the Roman influence. The investitures are followed by three benedictions derived from the Roman rite, and then follows the enthronisation, Sta et retine. In Martène VI the king takes another oath, Roman in form, at this point and Te Deum is sung, again shewing that there was already a tendency to transfer the latter to this, the Roman position, from its original place at the beginning of the rite.
The consecration of the queen is different from that of the last recension. It begins with the prayer Adesto Domine supplicationibus nostris and follows exactly the ordo of Hittorp, with the exception that the form used at the crowning exhibits slight verbal variations.
Note
There are two orders[100] given by Martène, VIII and XI, which stand quite by themselves, and are not easily placed. Ordo VIII is taken from an Arles pontifical, dated by Martène c. 1200-1300. The rite is short and shews Roman influence. It begins with Te Deum, after which the king takes the oath in the later Roman form Profiteor coram Deo et angelis. The king is then presented to the metropolitan by two bishops and the consecration begins with the prayer Omnipotens sempiterne Deus creator omnium, followed by Deus Dei filius, during which the king is anointed on the head. He is then crowned with the Roman form Accipe igitur coronam regni, invested with the Verge, Accipe virgam, and enthroned with the Sta et retine. After the enthronisation is said either Deus qui victrices Moysi, a Roman form here first appearing, or Deus inenarrabilis. The forms of the coronation of the queen are almost identical with those of the Roman pontifical of 1520.
The Archbishop of Arles had no official part in the coronation of the French monarch. On the other hand, in strict theory, the emperor should be crowned at Arles as King of Burgundy, as well as at Aachen, Milan, and Rome; it is possible therefore that this order may represent the rite used on such an occasion, though but few emperors were actually crowned at Arles.