Development of the Coronation Ceremony of TRM Edward II & Thyra

In response to several inquiries, this is an explanation of the development of the Ordo of Edward II and Thyra (which I choose to call the “Ordo Concordiae”, because of the site as well as the treaty which appears in the ceremony). The Ordo may be read at http://tinyurl.com/clzhrjn

The general theme of the Ordo originated in the service used for the previous coronation, that of Kenric and Avelina (the “Ordo Saecularis Anglo-Saxonicus”). A report on that Ordo appears at http://tinyurl.com/7et7rrn.

There were several requirements and assumptions which drove the development of the Ordo.

First, in a preliminary meeting with their then-Highnesses, they expressed a vision for a ceremony evocative of the Union of Kalmar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmar_Union), wherein their two sister-households, Lochleven and Darostur, would unite to rule the Kingdom after the successional strife of the previous reign, and the death of King Kenric, which left the realm in the hands of his grieving widow, and a shaky succession to his minor daughter. This required a double coronation ceremony with a treaty ceremony in the middle.

Secondly, the period of the particular ordo as well as the physical site strongly called for music, and a good deal of period music was provided, coordinated by the royal Performance Coordinator, Mistress Aife, and a large number of musical luminaries from all corners of the Realm.

Her Highness desired a Danish flavor to her portion, and several means toward this were considered. Unfortunately, we have no period Danish ordines, and although descriptions of Danish coronations do exist, they are in German, and not very accessible (see Hoffman, “Coronation and Coronation Ordines in Medieval Scandinavia” http://tinyurl.com/8f9gr73, in Bak, “Coronations: Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual”, http://tinyurl.com/9xhv69d). We considered that she might answer her “Scrutinium” (oath) in Danish, and got that translated, but we abandoned the idea for several reasons. Ultimately, her entrance was signaled by the period Danish song “Dromte Mig en Drom”, and her formal investiture by an instrumental reprise.

The model for the ceremony was the Liber Regalis version of the so-called “Fourth Recension of the English Ordo” (in Legg, “English Coronation Records“, p. 112: http://tinyurl.com/co7pre8). As in the prior Ordo, the goal was to retain as much as possible of the texts of the “formulae” — the oaths and the passages where ritual objects were transferred. Prayers were eliminated, and references to Divinity were re-directed to the Sovereigns themselves. (A prime example of this was the re writing of the Te Deum, which was done for the previous Ordo, changing it to the Te Regem: “Thou, O Lord, we praise” to “Thou, O King, we praise / Thou, O Queen, we revere….”).

The scenario for Last Court, before the Ordo proper, had long been planned by their previous Majesties. His Late Majesty was brought in to “Pange Melos Lacrimosum”, and he was brought out of Court to a reprise. Queen Avelina continued to settle her own affairs, and retired to “Firmetur Manus Tua” (”Strengthen Thy Hand“). As she had just placed the realm in the capable hands of the Prince, this hymn — specified in the original Ordo — seemed appropriate here.

The Prince entered the Cathedral to “Gaudete Heres Optatus”, a somewhat reworded version of “Gaudete”: “Rejoice, the Chosen Heir, King Edward, has arrived!”.

As in the prior Ordo, we called upon the emotional weight of our own internal history and mythology to stand for real-world sanctity. The Oaths were taken upon a reliquary containing earth from the listfield of the First Tournament, in Diana Listmaker’s back yard, May 1, AS 1. In the French ordines, attention is called to the fact that French kings, unlike all other kings, are anointed with sacred chrism (kept by the Abbey of Reims) sent to King Clovis by the Blessed Virgin Herself: a minute amount is extracted on the tip of a golden pin. We (again) used water from San Francisco Bay: “the Bay of the Mistlands, whereat the World was born”.

Substituting for the two bishops in the original, the king was escorted by a Knight (in armor) and a Master of the Pelican, representing the King’s role as First Defender of the Realm, and Chief Source and Executor of the Law. He was preceded by two of his squires, performing their quintessential duty of carrying his shield and helm, and he was followed by a Companion of the Golden Rapier, symbolizing his appreciation of the Art of Defense, who presented him the Reliquary. The Sword of State was presented by the King’s Champion, Baron Brennan mac Fearghus. He was presented the Ring by his wife, Baroness Cassandra Grey, and the Scepter was presented by the Honourable Lord Lachlann Graeme.

At this point, the Seneschal asked to speak on a point of law. It was not in accordance with law or custom, she said, that an Eastern king should rule alone. She therefore asked if he would agree to a certain treaty previously negotiated. He assented, and Princess Thyra was called forward. Her procession was stopped by the new King, and she was asked if she, also, would agree to the treaty, which she did. The treaty specified that Edward was recognized as the undoubted King; that Thyra was the true heiress of the Queenship and should be crowned immediately; that Edward and Thyra would jointly rule Tir Mara until a Prince and Princess could be invested according to law and  custom; that the Lady Aethelthryth — sometime Princess Royal — renounced her claim to the throne; and that the dowager Queen, Avelina, would renounce her royal station and be granted suitable lands.

The Queen’s coronation followed immediately. This, again, was taken largely from the Liber Regalis. In that document, both scepters and rods are bestowed upon the king and the queen, but the texts are similar. In our version, to avoid repetition, we only bestowed scepters, but we used the Rod text (“Accipe Baculum”) for the King, and the Scepter text (“Accipe Sceptrum”) for the Queen. The queen was escorted by a Lady of the Rose (Countess Marguerite inghean Lachlainn) carrying a yellow rose, and a Mistress of the Laurel (Mistress Eva Woderose) carrying a sprig of laurel, representing Her Majesty’s patronage of courtesy and the arts. The Reliquary was presented by Mistress Ygraine of Kellswood, a Companion of the Sagittarius, representing Her Majesty’s appreciation of the discipline of Archery. The ring was presented by Lady Ellisif Veymundardottir, the queen’s sister,  and the Scepter by Lord Maurin Lessault, a Companion of the Order of Terpsichore, in token of Her Majesty’s love of Dance.

The Seneschal, Mistress Hedewigis, then pronounced the formula “Sta et Retine” — Stand and Retain — signifying that the monarchs had been duly and lawfully invested. They then stood while the hymn Te Regem Laudamus was sung.

The Great Officers were then called upon to affirm that they would continue to serve faithfully. They were followed by the Baronage, and then by the People. Their Majesties then recessed to the Album Regum Orientis, the Roll of Kings and Queens of the East, sung in Latinized form.

The organization of the music for the ceremony was coordinated by Mistress Aife ingen Conchobhor an Derthaige and performed by the following musicians:

Lord Lucien de Pontivy, Lady Aildreda de Tamwurthe, Baroness Sabine de Kerbriant & the Bhakaili Branslers, Lady Marion Quyn, Mistress Linette de Gallardon, Mistress Deonna von Aachen, Baroness Aneleda Faulconbridge, Lord Rufus Bowie & Fracta Modi, Lady Isabeau d’Orleans,  Lady Siobhan inghean ui Dhonnabhain , Lord Martyn de Halliwell,  Master Arden of Icomb, Lord Tristan le Chanticler de Champagne, Lady Ysmay de Lynn, Katrin of Caer Adamant,  Mistress Gwendolyn of Middlemarche, Lady Agnes Seymour, Master Arden of Icomb, Lady Barry the White, Orlaithe, Jamilia al-Suba al-Hadid al-Bhakailia al-Sayyida, Lady Ana Ximenez, Mistress Pagan Graeme, Boiarynia Katrusha Skomorokh, Lady Alysoun Carpenter. (My apologies to anyone left out).

Thanks to Baron Steffan ap Kennydd, Firebrand Herald Extraordinary for providing this article on TRM’s Coronation Ceremony.

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