Lethaby, William Richard: Westminster Abbey and the antiquities of the coronation (London: Duckworth & Co., 1911)

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EARLY CORONATION
RECORDS
Remarkably full records of the rites
of the Coronation have been preserved,
and have been admirably edited by Dr.
Wickham Legg. The earliest of these
is of the eighth century, and from this
time to the present the continuity has
been unbroken, although there have been
additions and alterations in several
recensions of the Order. From the first
it included the Coronation oath, which
remained unaltered for many centuries.
The Communion formed part of the rite ;
indeed, the Order is entitled “ The Mass
for the Kings on the day of their hallow-
ing.” The Gospel passage then read has
continued in use ever since. The King
was blessed and anointed on the head,
the bishops and nobles delivered to him
the sceptre and the staff, and the bishops
placed the helmet on his head.* The
• The coins of Athelstan show a helmet with a
coronet making a closed crown.
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