Page "Coronation" Paragraph 9

The European coronation ceremonies of the Middle Ages were essentially a combination of the Christian rite of anointing with additional elements.

Following Europe's conversion to Christianity, crowning ceremonies became more and more ornate, depending on the country in question, and their Christian elements — especially anointing — became the paramount concern.

Crowns and sceptres, used in coronations since ancient times, took on a Christian significance together with the orb as symbols of the purported divine order of things, with the monarch as the divinely ordained overlord and protector of his dominion.

During the Middle Ages, this rite was considered so vital in some European kingdoms that it was sometimes referred to as an " eighth sacrament ".

The anointed ruler was viewed as a mixta persona, part priest and part layman, but never wholly either.

This notion persisted into the twentieth century in Imperial Russia, where the Tsar was considered to be " wedded " to his subjects through the Orthodox coronation service.