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REGALIA (Lat. regalis, royal, from re...

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 36 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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REGALIA (See also:Lat. regalis, royal, from rex, See also:king)  , the ensigns of See also:royalty . The See also:crown (see CROWN and CORONET) and See also:sceptre (see SCEPTRE) are dealt with separately . Other See also:ancient symbols of royal authority are bracelets, the See also:sword, a robe or See also:mantle, and, in See also:Christian times, a See also:ring . Bracelets, as royal emblems, are mentioned in the See also:Bible in connexion. with See also:Saul (2 Sam. i. so), and they have been commonly used by Eastern monarchs . In See also:Europe their later use seems to have been fitfully confined to See also:England, although they were a very ancient See also:ornament for See also:kings among the See also:Teutonic races . Two See also:coronation bracelets are mentioned among the articles of the See also:regalia ordered to be destroyed at the See also:time of the See also:Commonwealth, and two new ones 'were made at the Restoration . These are of See also:gold, i i in. in width, and ornamented with the See also:rose, See also:thistle, See also:harp and fleur-de-lis in See also:enamel See also:round them . They have not been used for See also:modern coronations . The sword is one of the usual regalia of most countries, and is girded on to the See also:sovereign during the coronation . In England the one sword has been See also:developed into five . The Sword of See also:State is See also:borne before the sovereign on certain state occasions, and at the coronation is exchanged for a smaller sword, with which the See also:king is ceremonially girded . The three other swords of the regalia are the " See also:Curtana," the Sword of See also:Justice to the Spirituality, and the Sword of Justice to the Temporality .

The Curtana has a blade cut off See also:

short and square, indicating thereby the quality of See also:mercy . The mantle, as a See also:symbol of royalty, is almost universal, but in the See also:middle ages other quasi-priestly See also:robes were added to it (see CORONATION) . The See also:English mantle was formerly made of See also:silk; latterly See also:cloth of gold has been used . The ring, by which the sovereign is wedded to his See also:kingdom, is not of so wide a range of usage . That of the English kings held a large See also:ruby with a See also:cross engraved on it . Recently a See also:sapphire has been substituted for the ruby . See also:Golden spurs, though included among the regalia, are merely used to See also:touch the king's feet, and are not worn . The See also:orb and cross was not anciently placed in the king's hands during the coronation ceremony, but was carried by him in the See also:left See also:hand on leaving the See also:church . It is emblematical of monarchical See also:rule, and is only used by a reigning sovereign . The See also:idea is undoubtedly derived from the globe with the figure of Victory with which the See also:Roman emperors are depicted . The larger orb of the English regalia is a magnificent See also:ball of gold, 6 in. in See also:diameter, with a See also:band round the centre edged with gems and pearls . A similar band See also:arches the globe, on the See also:top of which is a remarkably See also:fine See also:amethyst r z in. in height, upon which rests the cross of gold outlined with diamonds .

There is a smaller orb made for See also:

Mary II., who reigned jointly with King See also:William III . The English regalia, with one or two exceptions, were made for the coronation of See also:Charles II. by See also:Sir See also:Robert Vyner . The Scottish regalia preserved at See also:Edinburgh comprise the crown, dating, in See also:part, from Robert the See also:Bruce, the sword of state given to See also:James IV. by See also:Pope See also:Julius II., and two sceptres . Besides regalia proper, certain other articles are sometimes included under the name, such as the See also:ampulla for the See also:holy oil, and the coronation See also:spoon . The ampulla is of solid gold in the See also:form of an See also:eagle with outspread wings . It weighs 10 oz., and holds 6 oz. of oil . The spoon was not originally used for its See also:present purpose . It is of the 12th or 13th See also:century, with a See also:long handle and See also:egg-shaped bowl . Its See also:history is quite unknown . See See also:Cyril See also:Davenport, The English Regalia, with illustrations in See also:colour of all the regalia; See also:Leopold Wickham Legg, English Coronation Records; The Ancestor, Nos . 1 and 2 (1902); See also:Menin, The Form, &c., of Coronations (translated from See also:French, 1727) .

End of Article: REGALIA (Lat. regalis, royal, from rex, king)
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