Coronations in Poland explained

Coronations in Poland officially began in 1025 and continued until 1764, when the final king of an independent Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, was crowned at St. John's Cathedral in Warsaw. Most Polish coronations took place at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, but crownings also occurred in Poznań and at Gniezno Cathedral. Whenever practical, Polish coronations were conducted as close as possible as to the date of the previous sovereign's funeral. This was explained by Joachim Bielski in the sixteenth century as osoba umiera, korona nie umiera, or "the person dies, the crown dies not".^[1] With the emergence of an independent, republican Poland after World War I, coronations in the Polish state have been rendered obsolete.

Though many of the Polish Crown Jewels were stolen and destroyed by King Frederick William III of Prussia in March 1809 after the Third Partition of Poland, remaining pieces are exhibited at the Wawel Royal Castle National Art Collection and National Museum in Warsaw.^[2] ^[3]

The ceremony

During the period when coronations were held in Kraków, the following order was observed: on the eve of his coronation, the new monarch fasted, gave alms, and partook of the Catholic sacrament of confession. He then walked on foot from the royal Wawel Castle to the Basilica of St. Stanisław, patron saint of Poland. Unlike the remainder of the service, the royal procession was opened to the Polish masses. On the morning of the ceremony, the king was met in his bedchamber by a procession consisting of the local Metropolitan Archbishop and other notables. Wearing Episcopal clothing, the monarch was blessed with holy water and incensed. Following this, king, metropolitan and the others made their way in procession to the cathedral.^[4]

Inside the church, the Polish regalia were laid on the high altar, while the king was seated on a low chair nearby. The royal oath was administered, and the new monarch then knelt before the altar. Two mitred abbots next entered from a side chapel, carrying a mixture of holy oils, with which the ruler was then anointed. Following this, the king was handed a sword, which he used to trace a cross in the air. Next he was crowned by the Archbishop, assisted by two other bishops, following which he received his orb and scepter. The high mass continued, with the newly crowned sovereign receiving Holy Communion, then kissing a crucifix and mounting his throne. Following this, the king created several new knights, then attended a coronation feast and rode into the public square on horseback, where he received the homage of his subjects while seated in a large chair.^[4]

List of Polish coronations

align=center		width=22%	King or queen Polish name	width=14%	Date	Site	Presiding cleric	Crown used
K	Boleslaus I the Brave Bolesław I Chrobry		Gniezno Cathedral	Emperor Otto III of the Holy Roman Empire	Emperor Otto III's personal diadem
K	Boleslaus I the Brave Bolesław I Chrobry		Gniezno Cathedral	Hipolit, Archbishop of Gniezno	Original Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Mieszko II Lambert		Gniezno Cathedral	Hipolit, Archbishop of Gniezno	Original Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Richeza of Lotharingia Rycheza Lotaryńska		Gniezno Cathedral	Hipolit, Archbishop of Gniezno	Richeza's Crown
K	Boleslaus II the Bold Bolesław II Śmiały		Gniezno Cathedral	Bogumił, Archbishop of Gniezno	Boleslaus the Bold's Crown
K	Premislaus Przemysł		Gniezno Cathedral	Jakub Świnka, Archbishop of Gniezno	Boleslaus the Bold's Crown
align=center	Q	Margaret of Brandenburg Małgorzata Brandenburska		Gniezno Cathedral	Jakub Świnka, Archbishop of Gniezno	Margaret of Brandenburg's Crown
K	Wenceslaus Wacław Czeski		Gniezno Cathedral	Jakub Świnka, Archbishop of Gniezno	Boleslaus the Bold's Crown
align=center	Q	Elisabeth Richeza of Poland Ryksa Elżbieta		Prague Cathedral	Henryk of Wierzbno, Bishop of Wrocław	Margaret of Brandenburg's Crown
K	Ladislaus I the Short Władysław I Łokietek		Kraków Cathedral	Janisław, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Hedwig of Kalisz Jadwiga Kaliska		Kraków Cathedral	Janisław, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Casimir III the Great Kazimierz III Wielki		Kraków Cathedral	Janisław, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Aldona of Lithuania		Kraków Cathedral	Janisław, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Adelaide of Hesse Adelajda Heska		Poznań Cathedral	Janisław, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Louis the Great Ludwik Węgierski		Kraków Cathedral	Jarosław of Bogoria, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Hedwig Jadwiga Andegaweńska		Kraków Cathedral	Bodzanta, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Angevin's Crown
K	Ladislaus II Władysław II Jagiełło		Kraków Cathedral	Bodzanta, Archbishop of Gniezno	Ladislaus II's Crown
align=center	Q	Anna of Celje Anna Cylejska		Kraków Cathedral	Mikołaj Kurowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Anna of Celje's Crown
align=center	Q	Elizabeth Granowska Elżbieta Granowska		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Rzeszowski, Archbishop of Lviv	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Sophia of Halshany Zofia Holszańska		Kraków Cathedral	Wojciech Jastrzębiec, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Ladislaus III Władysław III		Kraków Cathedral	Wojciech Jastrzębiec, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Casimir IV Kazimierz IV		Kraków Cathedral	Wincenty Kot, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Elizabeth of Austria Elżbieta Rakuszanka		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Sprowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	John I Albert Jan I Olbracht		Kraków Cathedral	Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Alexander Aleksander		Kraków Cathedral	Fryderyk Jagiellończyk, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Sigismund I Zygmunt I		Kraków Cathedral	Andrzej Boryszewski, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Barbara Zápolya		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Łaski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Bona Sforza		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Łaski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Sigismund II Augustus Zygmunt II August		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Łaski, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Elizabeth of Austria Elżbieta Habsubrżanka		Kraków Cathedral	Piotr Gamrat, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Barbara Radziwiłłówna		Kraków Cathedral	Mikołaj Dzierzgowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Catherine of Austria Katarzyna Habsburżanka		Kraków Cathedral	Mikołaj Dzierzgowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Henry Henryk Walezy		Kraków Cathedral	Jakub Uchański, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Anna Anna Jagiellonka		Kraków Cathedral	Stanisław Karnkowski, Bishop of Kuyavia	Anna Jagiellonka's Crown
K	Stephen Stefan Batory		Kraków Cathedral	Stanisław Karnkowski, Bishop of Kuyavia	So-called Hungarian Crown
K	Sigismund III Zygmunt III Waza		Kraków Cathedral	Stanisław Karnkowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Anna of Austria Anna Austriaczka		Kraków Cathedral	Stanisław Karnkowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Constance of Austria Konstancja Austriaczka		Kraków Cathedral	Piotr Tylicki, Bishop of Kuyavia	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Ladislaus IV Władysław IV		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Wężyk, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Cecilia Renata Cecylia Renata			Jan Wężyk, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
align=center	Q	Marie Louise Gonzaga Ludwika Maria Gonzaga		Kraków Cathedral	Maciej Łubieński, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	John II Casimir Jan II Kazimierz		Kraków Cathedral	Maciej Łubieński, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Michael Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki		Kraków Cathedral	Mikołaj Prażmowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Eleonora Maria Josefa Eleonora Habsburżanka		St. John's Church in Warsaw	Mikołaj Prażmowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	John III Jan III Sobieski		Kraków Cathedral	Andrzej Olszowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
align=center	Q	Marie Casimire d'Arquien Maria Kazimiera		Kraków Cathedral	Andrzej Olszowski, Archbishop of Gniezno	Hedwig of Kalisz's Crown
K	Augustus II the Strong August II Mocny		Kraków Cathedral	Stanisław Dąbski, Bishop of Kuyavia	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Stanislaus I Stanisław Leszczyński		St. John's Church in Warsaw	Konstanty Zieliński, Archbishop of Lviv	Stanislaus I's Crown
align=center	Q	Katarzyna Opalińska		St. John's Church in Warsaw	Konstanty Zieliński, Archbishop of Lviv	Katarzyna Opalińska's Crown
K	Augustus III August III Sas		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Aleksander Lipski, Bishop of Kraków	Augustus III's Crown
align=center	Q	Maria Josepha of Austria Maria Józefa Austriaczka		Kraków Cathedral	Jan Aleksander Lipski, Bishop of Kraków	Maria Josepha's Crown
K	Stanislaus II Augustus Stanisław August Poniatowski		St. John's Church in Warsaw	Władysław Łubieński, Archbishop of Gniezno	So-called Boleslaus the Brave's Crown
K	Nicholas I Mikołaj I Romanow		Royal Castle in Warsaw	The king crowned himself, assisted by Jan Paweł Woronicz, Archbishop of Warsaw	Empress Anna Ivanovna's Crown

* "K" indicates a king or queen regnant; "Q" indicates a queen consort.

Pretenders and royal consorts not crowned

Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, assassinated before crowning
Wiola of Cieszyn, wife of Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, daughter of Mieszko of Cieszyn, Duke of Cieszyn
Jadwiga of Żagań, wife of Casimir III of Poland, daughter of Henryk Żelazny, Duke of Żagań
Elizabeth of Bosnia, wife of Louis the Great, daughter of Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia
Helena of Moscow, wife of Alexander Jagiellon, daughter of Ivan III, Grand Duke of Moscow, not crowned because of her Orthodox faith
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, wife of August II the Strong, daughter of Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, not crowned because of her Protestant faith

External links

Notes and References

M. Bielski, Kronika polska, 1st ed. (1597, reprinted Sanok, 1856), 3:1207.
Web site: Margaret Odrowaz-Sypniewska . POLAND'S CROWNS . . 2009-02-16. pl.
Web site: Crown Treasury and Armoury . www.wawel.krakow.pl . 2009-02-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090507233428/http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/index.php?op=8,1,5 . 2009-05-07 . dead .
Book: Gieysztor, Aleksander. Aleksander Gieysztor. Coronations: Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual. Bak, János M. University of California Press. Berkeley. 1990. Gesture in the Coronation Ceremonies of Medieval Poland. 2008-09-25.