The Prussian Rite of 1701
In 1701, on the transformation of Frederick Elector of Brandenburg into the first King of Prussia, a consecration rite was provided for the occasion[138]. The ceremony took place at Königsberg, and two court-preachers, one Lutheran and the other Evangelical, were appointed to act as Consecrator and assistant-Consecrator. On the morning of January 18th, the king, already vested in his royal robes, betakes himself to the Hall of Audience and there crowns himself with his own hands, and then proceeding to her apartments crowns the queen. A procession then sets out to the Lutheran Schloss-Kirche, at the entrance of which they are met by the Consecrator and blessed by him, and they proceed to their thrones. A psalm (67) is sung and the Consecrator says a prayer at the altar, praying that the king and queen may receive by the anointing the gift of the Holy Spirit. A hymn is then sung, after which comes the sermon. After the sermon Veni Creator is sung, and the Grand-Chamberlain hands to the assistant-Consecrator a vessel containing the oil of unction, from which the Consecrator anoints the king (who has in the meantime laid aside his Crown and Sceptre) on the forehead and on both wrists, saying: Let your royal Majesty receive this unction as a divine sign and token whereby God formerly by His priests and prophets did testify to the Kings of His people that He Himself alone is the most high God: and that He makes, sets up, and appoints Kings; and let the Lord our God Himself herewith anoint your royal Majesty with the Holy Ghost, that you, as an anointed of the Lord, with a resolute, courageous and willing heart may rule and govern this your people and Kingdom; and in good health and prosperity for many years and times to come may serve the counsel and will of your God: through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The anointing is not in the form of a cross, but of a circle as being the most perfect figure known to mathematicians! Then the choir sings Amen, Amen. Prosperity to the king. Prosperity to the king. God grant him length of days. After this anthem the queen is anointed in the same way as the king with the form: Let your royal Majesty receive this unction as a divine sign and token that your Majesty has this anointing and appointment to your royal Dignity and Majesty from God; who espoused you to your King, that he should have from you both joy and comfort: and the Lord our God anoint you more and more with His Holy Ghost, that you may be courageous and willing to glorify God and serve Him, for Jesus Christ our Lord. After which the anthem Amen, Amen. Prosperity to the Queen, etc., is sung. A fanfare is then blown on the trumpets, and the ministers make a deep reverence to the king and queen, and then the Consecrator blesses the king saying: Prosperity to the King, King Frederick, King of Prussia, and the Lord the God of our Lord the King say so: as the Lord hath been with him hithertowards, so let Him be with him for the time to come: that his royal throne may daily be greater and greater. Amen. The anthem is then once more sung. The Consecrator then blesses the queen in similar terms, and the anthem is once more sung. Then the choir sings Glory be to God on high, and the Consecrator addresses the people, saying, Fear God, honour your King and Queen, and blesses the king and queen. An anthem follows, then a hymn, and then the assistant-Consecrator makes a prayer of thanksgiving for the erection of the kingdom and the anointing of the king. The usual blessing is given and the ceremony ends with the Te Deum.
Denmark
There is no evidence as to the coronation rite in the Scandinavian kingdoms before the reformation, but as these nations only obtained the privilege of a coronation ceremony comparatively late and at a time when the Roman rite had become predominant, it is fairly certain that the rite, when introduced, was Roman, with perhaps a few national peculiarities.
In Denmark a coronation ritual continued to be used until the year 1840, since which date it has been entirely given up. Until then each Danish monarch was crowned on his accession.
We have an account of an early post-reformation rite in the case of Frederick II in 1559. The description is unfortunately written in verse by the Poet Laureate, Hieronymus Hosius[139], and of course no forms are given. The description given by Hosius is as follows. The king goes in procession to church, accompanied by the nobles by whom the regalia are carried. The church is decorated with red hangings for the occasion, and a throne set up in front of the altar. The king enters the church and proceeds to his throne, and the regalia are deposited on the altar. The king having made his private devotions, the officiating minister delivers an admonition to him, and then is sung Veni Creator or Veni Sancte Spiritus[140]. After the hymn, the king and nobles standing before the minister who remains seated, the Lord Chancellor presents the king as lawful inheritor of the throne, and demands that he be crowned, and the minister replies that in response to their demand he will proceed with the coronation. He then once more addresses an admonition to the king on his kingly duties, and the king then takes the oath, in which he swears to preserve the peace of the Church, to defend the realm, and to maintain justice. An anthem is then sung praying for the king’s prosperity. The minister then anoints Frederick between the shoulders and on both wrists, using a form which expresses the signification of the unction. After the anointing during the singing of Te Deum[141] (?) the king is arrayed in his regal vestments. The minister delivers the Sword, with an admonitory form which contains something of the ideas of the old form of the Church, and girds it on the king. He then addresses the people, warning them of the king’s power and authority to punish, and the king draws the Sword and brandishes it towards the four corners of the compass. The king is then crowned, the minister and as many of the nobles as conveniently may setting the Crown on the king’s head together, and the minister delivers the Sceptre into the king’s right hand, charging him to rule well, and the Orb and Cross into his left, with a long address, in which he explains the meaning of the ornament. The singing is then resumed, and the king delivers the regalia to the nobles appointed, and returns to his throne. Homage is done, and the king, according to custom, creates eight knights.
It will be noticed that this order is based on the Roman rite. The presentation of the king by the Chancellor has taken the place of the presentation by bishops; the king is anointed as in the Roman rite; the brandishing of the Sword is Roman, and there is no Ring.
There is no mention of the Communion, nor is there any reference to the queen.
The later history of the rite is somewhat obscure, and by the nineteenth century it had been subjected to considerable alterations and omissions. As used (for the last time) at the accession of Christian VIII in 1840[142] it is very similar to the Prussian rite of 1702.