DOI article:
Miodońska, Barbara: Rex regum i rex Poloniae w dekoracji malarskiej Graduału Jana Olbrachta i Pontyfikału Erazma Ciołka: z zagadnień ikonografii władzy królewskiej w sztuce polskiej wieku XVI
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26594#0234
REX RECUM I REX POLOMAE
pears in robes similar to the liturgical robes of a bishop, in accordance with the in-
formation handed down by the Polish Afteenth-century orJmas corowaTKi: and
a chronicler's description of a coronation (Jan Długosz). It follows from these that the
Polish kings wore such a costume from 1438 onwards, i. e. from the coronation of
Vladyslas III Jagiellon, the son and heir of the founder of the dynasty, Vlady-
slas Jagiełło. This costume emphasized the semi-sacral character of the person of the
ruler, most fully expressed in the old conception of re% et .sacer&M, echoed in the Ro-
man-German PontiAcal, and gaining new actuality in the reign of the Emperor Char-
les IV of Luxemburg in the fourteenth century.
The form of the closed royal crown (corcrnn. clatMa) as shown in the scene of the
Enthronement was modelled on the imperial crown and symbolized the full outward
sovereignty of the ruler. It is the harbinger of its actual introduction into the royal
ceremonial. As previous studies have shown, it was only c. 1530 that this form was
given to the coronation crown of the Polish kings, the coroaa privilegiata, as it was
called, although court circles had become aware of its symbolic meaning much earlier.
This is evident in the many iconographic transmissions from the beginning of the
sixteenth century.
The function of the youths with the three swords standing immediately before the
king's throne is not quite clear. This motif may be connected either with the ceremony
of knighting, which the king carried out immediately after the coronation, or it may
possibly give evidence that in the early sixteenth century three swords were already
used in the coronation ceremonies: the "Szczerbiec" (the Sword of State) and two other
ceremonial swords symbolizing the king's sovereignty over the Crowns of Poland and
Lithuania.
Those taking part in the coronation are divided into clearly distinguished groups,
the representatives of the spiritual and temporal estates. The bishops and prelates sit
round the throne, in accordance with the evidence of the Ordo coroncMdi; the tem-
poral magnates, the principes, Iwcmas et priynores regw snecM-laras, stand in the stalls
near the throne. The accurate costumological characterization of the people crowded
together in the foreground brings out the differences in condition (statHs) and na-
tionality, in accordance with the multinational character of the Jagiellonian territories
and their geographical situation as the boundary between West and East. Under the
veneer of realism in the depiction there are perhaps hidden certain elements of the
"moralizing" interpretation so characteristic of the decline of the Middle Ages (the
motifs of the court jester and the mendicant friar or the beggar). The white dog clipped
like a lion lying in the middle of the cathedral pavement has certainly a symbolical
signiAcance (ills. 121—123). This motif is repeated in the PontiAcal in the scenes of
the King's Coronation and the PontiAcal Blessing (folio 1). In accordance with the
symbolism of the dog, as it appears in medieval and renaissance written and icono-
graphical sources, the dog denotes the king himself as the "good shepherd" and "guar-
dian of justice" (cH-stos mstitiżMe).
The clue to the full understanding of the multistratiAed ideological content con-
tained in the scene of the Enthronement of the King of Poland is to be found, in the
author's opinion, in the words of the hymn "Te Deum", of which the Arst words are
seen on the scroll held aloft by the angels under the cathedral vault. Approached in
this manner, the text of the hymn complements the picture by playing a fundamental
role both in the stratum of theological liturgical signiAcances and in that of history
and customs.
This solemn hymn of praise and gratitude, of which the oldest part has a distinct
laudatory character, expresses the homage paid to God by the whole hierarchy of
pears in robes similar to the liturgical robes of a bishop, in accordance with the in-
formation handed down by the Polish Afteenth-century orJmas corowaTKi: and
a chronicler's description of a coronation (Jan Długosz). It follows from these that the
Polish kings wore such a costume from 1438 onwards, i. e. from the coronation of
Vladyslas III Jagiellon, the son and heir of the founder of the dynasty, Vlady-
slas Jagiełło. This costume emphasized the semi-sacral character of the person of the
ruler, most fully expressed in the old conception of re% et .sacer&M, echoed in the Ro-
man-German PontiAcal, and gaining new actuality in the reign of the Emperor Char-
les IV of Luxemburg in the fourteenth century.
The form of the closed royal crown (corcrnn. clatMa) as shown in the scene of the
Enthronement was modelled on the imperial crown and symbolized the full outward
sovereignty of the ruler. It is the harbinger of its actual introduction into the royal
ceremonial. As previous studies have shown, it was only c. 1530 that this form was
given to the coronation crown of the Polish kings, the coroaa privilegiata, as it was
called, although court circles had become aware of its symbolic meaning much earlier.
This is evident in the many iconographic transmissions from the beginning of the
sixteenth century.
The function of the youths with the three swords standing immediately before the
king's throne is not quite clear. This motif may be connected either with the ceremony
of knighting, which the king carried out immediately after the coronation, or it may
possibly give evidence that in the early sixteenth century three swords were already
used in the coronation ceremonies: the "Szczerbiec" (the Sword of State) and two other
ceremonial swords symbolizing the king's sovereignty over the Crowns of Poland and
Lithuania.
Those taking part in the coronation are divided into clearly distinguished groups,
the representatives of the spiritual and temporal estates. The bishops and prelates sit
round the throne, in accordance with the evidence of the Ordo coroncMdi; the tem-
poral magnates, the principes, Iwcmas et priynores regw snecM-laras, stand in the stalls
near the throne. The accurate costumological characterization of the people crowded
together in the foreground brings out the differences in condition (statHs) and na-
tionality, in accordance with the multinational character of the Jagiellonian territories
and their geographical situation as the boundary between West and East. Under the
veneer of realism in the depiction there are perhaps hidden certain elements of the
"moralizing" interpretation so characteristic of the decline of the Middle Ages (the
motifs of the court jester and the mendicant friar or the beggar). The white dog clipped
like a lion lying in the middle of the cathedral pavement has certainly a symbolical
signiAcance (ills. 121—123). This motif is repeated in the PontiAcal in the scenes of
the King's Coronation and the PontiAcal Blessing (folio 1). In accordance with the
symbolism of the dog, as it appears in medieval and renaissance written and icono-
graphical sources, the dog denotes the king himself as the "good shepherd" and "guar-
dian of justice" (cH-stos mstitiżMe).
The clue to the full understanding of the multistratiAed ideological content con-
tained in the scene of the Enthronement of the King of Poland is to be found, in the
author's opinion, in the words of the hymn "Te Deum", of which the Arst words are
seen on the scroll held aloft by the angels under the cathedral vault. Approached in
this manner, the text of the hymn complements the picture by playing a fundamental
role both in the stratum of theological liturgical signiAcances and in that of history
and customs.
This solemn hymn of praise and gratitude, of which the oldest part has a distinct
laudatory character, expresses the homage paid to God by the whole hierarchy of