Архитектурные шедевры Великобритании. Рябцева Е.В. - 26 стр.

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Chair. Thirdly, the Sovereign is invested with the royal robes and insignia, and then crowned with St Edward's
crown. The final ceremony consists of the enthronement of the Sovereign on a throne placed on a raised plat-
form, bringing him or her into full view of the assembled company for the first time, and there he or she re-
ceives the homage of the Lords Spiritual (the bishops and archbishops), the Lords Temporal (Dukes, Marquises,
Earls, Viscounts and Barons) and the congregation, representing the people of the realm.
It was the Recognition Question, in the first part of the service – the Introduction – which led to a riot at
William the Conqueror's coronation. The population of London was hostile to him, and therefore Norman
troops had been stationed around the Abbey to prevent any attempt to stop the ceremony. When they heard the
response of the congregation – some answering in French and some in English – the confused shout led the sol-
diers to think that a rebellion was breaking out. They immediately lashed out at those people gathered outside
the Abbey and set fire to nearby houses. In the ensuing mayhem, the congregation, panicked by the smoke,
rushed out of the church leaving only the clergy and the Conqueror to complete the service in terror and at
speed.
Although the ceremony had been so disrupted, William's coronation set a precedent which all subsequent
sovereigns have fol-lowed down the centuries, excepting only Edward V and Edward VIII. Indeed, when Henry
III decided to build a new abbey, he specifically ordered space to be included for a 'theatre’ where coronations
could be performed. The service has changed little – English replaced Latin as the main language used during
the ceremony following Elizabeth I's coronation; and from 1689 onwards the coronation ceremony has been set
within a service of Holy Communion (although indeed this was a return to ancient custom rather than the crea-
tion of a new precedent).
An addition to the ritual was made by Edward I. In 1296 he captured the historic and greatly venerated
Stone of Scone on which Scottish kings were said to have been crowned for centuries before, and brought it to
Westminster Abbey. It is still contained within the now somewhat battered oak Coronation Chair which he or-
dered Master Walter of Durham to make for it, at a cost of 100 shillings. The stone has only left the Abbey
twice since then: in 1657 the chair and stone were taken to Westminster Hall for Oliver Cromwell's installation
as Lord Protector; and in 1950 a group of young Scottish nationalists hid in the Abbey one night, removed the
stone and took it back to Scotland, finally laying it before the High Altar of Arbroath Abbey some weeks later.
From there it was at length once again taken to Westminster.
Another survivor from medieval times, though no longer used at the Coronation Service itself, is the beau-
tiful Liber Regalis – the King’s Book. This contains the Order of Service for a coronation and dates from c.
1382, being probably prepared for the coronation of Anne of Bohemia, Queen of Richard II. It was at Richard
II’s own coronation, in 1377, that a Dymoke first appeared as King's Champion at a coronation banquet –
dressed in full armour, mounted on horseback and prepared to fight anyone who challenged the King's right to
the throne. The Dymokes, Lords of the Manor of Scrivelsby, Lincolnshire, still hold the office today, though the
custom of holding a banquet ceased 150 years ago and the Champion is no longer required to appear armed and
on horseback. At the last coronation he carried the Union Standard.
Richard II was reburied in West–minster Abbey (having been first buried at Langley) by his successor
Henry IV's son, Henry V – who did much to promote the rebuilding of the Abbey's nave and whose coronation
is the only one to be depicted in sculpture in the Abbey – on the Chantry Chapel above his own tomb.
Coronations have not always followed an identical pattern. Edward VI, for example, was crowned no less
than three times, with three different crowns placed in turn upon his head; while at Charles I’s coronation there
was a misunderstanding and, instead of the congregational assent following the Recognition Question, there
was dead silence, the congregation having finally to be told to respond – an ill omen for the future, as it turned
out. Charles I’s coronation, following on the greyness of the puritan Commonwealth, was a scene of brilliant
colour and great splendour. As the old regalia had been destroyed, replacements were made for the ceremony,
and the clergy were robed in rich red copes – the same copes are still used in the Abbey.
The coronation of William III and Mary II, following the flight of James II in 1688, was very unusual, as
each had an equal claim to the throne. An extra chair had to be made (still to be seen. in the Treasures Exhibi-
tion) and the two sovereigns walked either side of the Sword of State in procession, Mary II's coronation fol-
lowing immediately after that of William III.
Eighteenth-century coronations gradually degenerated into magnificent pageants, rather than being seen as
spiritually significant and solemn occasions. At George III's coronation in 1761, the congregation actually be-
gan eating a meal when the sermon was being preached; according to William Hickey (a former pupil of West-
minster School) 'the general clattering of knives, forks, plates and glasses that ensued produced a most ridicu-
lous effect, and a universal burst of laughter followed’.

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