 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in German. (November 2017)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
pano2.jpg)
TheImperial Regalia, also calledImperial Insignia[citation needed] (in GermanReichskleinodien,Reichsinsignien orReichsschatz), areregalia of theHoly Roman Emperor. The most important parts are theCrown, theImperial orb, theImperial sceptre, theHoly Lance and theImperial Sword. Today they are kept at theImperial Treasury in theHofburg palace inVienna, Austria.
The Imperial Regalia are the only completely preserved regalia from theMiddle Ages.During the late Middle Ages, the word Imperial Regalia (Reichskleinodien) had many variations in the Latin language. The regalia were named inLatin:insignia imperialia, regalia insignia, insignia imperalis capellae quae regalia dicuntur and other similar words.
The regalia is composed of two different parts. The greater group are the so-calledNürnberger Kleinodien (roughly translatedNuremberg jewels), named after the town ofNuremberg, where the regalia were kept from 1424 to 1796. This part comprised theImperial Crown, parts of thecoronation vestments, the ImperialOrb, the ImperialSceptre, theImperial Sword, the Ceremonial Sword, theImperial Cross, theHoly Lance, and all other reliquaries exceptSt. Stephen's Purse.
St. Stephen's Purse, theImperial Bible, and the so-calledSabre of Charlemagne were kept inAachen until 1794, which gave them the nameAachener Kleinodien (Aachen jewels). It is not known how long they have been considered among the Imperial Regalia, nor how long they had been in Aachen.
| Present inventory in Vienna: | |
| Aachen regalia (Aachener Kleinodien) | Probable place of origin, and date of production |
|---|---|
| Imperial Bible (Reichsevangeliar orKrönungsevangeliar) | Aachen, end of 8th century |
| St. Stephen's Purse (Stephansbursa) | Carolingian, 1st third of 9th century |
| Sabre of Charlemagne (Säbel Karl des Großen) | Eastern Europe, 2nd half of 9th century |
| Nuremberg regalia (Nürnberger Kleinodien) | Probable place of origin, and date of production |
|---|---|
| Imperial Crown (Reichskrone) | Western Germany, 2nd half of 10th century |
| Imperial Cross (Reichskreuz) | Western Germany, around 1024/1025 |
| Holy Lance (Heilige Lanze) | Langobardian, 8th/9th century |
| Relics of theTrue Cross (Kreuzpartikel) | |
| Imperial Sword (Reichsschwert) | Sheath from Germany, 2nd third-part of 11th century |
| ImperialOrb (Reichsapfel) | Western Germany, around end of 12th century |
| Coronation Mantle (Krönungsmantel) (Pluviale) | Palermo, 1133/34 |
| Alb | Palermo, 1181 |
| Dalmatic (Dalmatica orTunicella) | Palermo, around 1140 |
| Stockings | Palermo, around 1170 |
| Shoes | Palermo, around 1130 or around 1220 |
| Gloves | Palermo, 1220 |
| Ceremonial Sword (Zeremonienschwert) | Palermo, 1220 |
| Stole (Stola) | Central Italy, before 1338 |
| Eagle-dalmatic (Adlerdalmatica) | Upper Germany, before 1350 |
| ImperialSceptre (Zepter) | Germany, 1st half of 14th century |
| Aspergille | Germany, 1st. half of 14th century |
| Reliquary with chains | Rome orPrague, around 1368 |
| Reliquary with a piece of vestment of theJohn the Evangelist | Rome or Prague, around 1368 |
| Reliquary with a shaving of theCrib ofChrist | Rome or Prague, around 1368 |
| Reliquary with an arm-bone ofSt. Anne | probably Prague after 1350 |
| Reliquary with a tooth ofJohn the Baptist | Bohemia, after 1350 |
| Case (Futteral) of the Imperial Crown | Prague, after 1350 |
| Reliquary with a piece of the tablecloth used duringthe Last Supper |
-3-2.jpg)
The inventory of the regalia during the late Middle Ages normally consisted only of five to six items.Goffredo da Viterbo counted following items: the Imperial Cross, the Holy Lance, the crown, the sceptre, the orb, and the sword. On other lists, however, the sword is not mentioned.
Whether the medieval chronicles really do refer to the same regalia which are kept in Vienna today depends on a variety of factors. Descriptions of the emperors only spoke of them being "clothed in imperial regalia" without exactly describing which items they were.
The crown can only be dated back to the 13th century, when it is described in a medieval poem. The poem speaks of theWaise (i.e.,The Orphan) stone, which was a big and prominent jewel on the front of the crown, probably a whiteopal with an exceptionally brilliant red fire, since replaced by a triangular bluesapphire. The first definite pictorial image of the crown can only be found later in a mural in theKarlstein Castle close toPrague.
It is also difficult to define for how long the Imperial and Ceremonial Swords have belonged to the regalia.
Until the 15th century the Imperial Regalia had no firm depository and sometimes accompanied the ruler on his trips through the empire. Above all, during conflicts over the legitimacy of rule, it was important to possess the insignia. The following imperial castles and seats of reliableministerialis are known to have served as depositories during this time:
Emperor Sigismund transferred the Imperial Regalia "to everlasting preservation" to theFree Imperial City of Nuremberg with a dated document on 29 September 1423. They arrived there on 22 March the following year from Plintenburg, and were kept in the chapel of theHeilig-Geist-Spital. Once a year they were shown to believers in a so-calledHeiltumsweisung (worship show), on the fourteenth day afterGood Friday. For coronations they were brought toAachen orFrankfurt Cathedral.
Since theAge of Enlightenment at least, the imperial regalia had no constitutive or confirming character for the imperial function any more. It served merely as an adornment for the coronation of the emperors, who all belonged to theHouse of Habsburg and since the mid-16th century had ceased to be crowned by the pope.
A youngJohann Wolfgang Goethe on 3 April 1764, was an eyewitness inFrankfurt during the coronation of the 18-year-oldJoseph II asRoman King. He later wrote dismissively about the event in his autobiographyDichtung und Wahrheit (English:From my Life: Poetry and Truth):
The young king, on the contrary, in his monstrous articles of dress, with the crown-jewels of Charlemagne, dragged himself along as if he had been in a disguise; so that he himself, looking at his father from time to time, could not refrain from laughing. The crown, which it had been necessary to line a great deal, stood out from his head like an overhanging roof. The dalmatica, the stole, well as they had been fitted and taken in by sewing, presented by no means an advantageous appearance. The sceptre and imperial orb excited some admiration; but one would, for the sake of a more princely effect, rather have seen a strong form, suited to the dress, invested and adorned with it.
— J. W. Goethe, Truth and Fiction, Book V[1]
While French troops were advancing in 1794 in the direction ofAachen during theWar of the First Coalition, the pieces located there were brought to theCapuchin's monastery inPaderborn. In July 1796, French troops crossed the Rhine and shortly thereafter reachedFranconia. On 23 July the most important parts of the Imperial Regalia (crown, sceptre, orb, eight pieces of the vestments) were hastily evacuated by Nuremberg colonel Johann GeorgHaller von Hallerstein from Nuremberg toRegensburg, where they arrived the next day. On 28 September the remaining parts of the jewels were also delivered to Regensburg. Since this elopement parts of the treasure are missing.
Until 1800 the Imperial Regalia remained in theSaint Emmeram's Abbey in Regensburg, from where their transfer began to Vienna on 30 June. The committal there is verified for 29 October. The pieces from Aachen were brought in 1798 toHildesheim and didn't reach Vienna before 1801.
After theAnschluss of Austria to theNazi Reich in 1938 the imperial regalia were returned on instruction byAdolf Hitler to Nuremberg, where they were exhibited in theKatharinenkirche. In theSecond World War they were stored for protection from air raids in theHistorischer Kunstbunker (English:historical art bunker) beneathNuremberg Castle.
In 1945 the imperial regalia were recovered by American soldiers, based on an investigation by art historianLt. Walter Horn,[2] who had joined the US military after becoming a naturalized citizen. In January 1946 the treasures were returned to theOesterreichische Nationalbank in allied-occupied Austria. They have been kept permanently in Vienna since that date. The Crown and Regalia were again on display at theHofburg, the former imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty, since 1954.[3]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
