tagenets recorded in Norman French, that it binds the king to make no new laws without the consent of the people. But those who prepared the formularies for the coronation of James I., anxious to secure to the king a negative power of making new laws, restricted the clause to laws and customs already in existence; and the form stood thus:

Sir, Will you grant to hold and keep the laws and rightful customs which the commonalty of your kingdom have, and to defend and uphold them to the honour of God so far as in you lye?

Archbishop Laud was falsely blamed for having made this alteration when Charles I. was crowned, and the charge was introduced in the articles of his impeachment. His defence was conclusive, for he showed that he followed the forms used in the time of James I. But Laud was guilty of another omission which escaped detection. In the first clause of the oath he left out three words which we have enclosed in brackets:

Sir, Will you grant and keep, and by your oath confirm to the people of England, the laws and customs to them granted by the kings of England, your lawful and religious predecessors; and, namely, the laws, customs, and franchises granted to the clergy [and to the people] by the glorious king St. Edward, your predecessor?

This omission was not detected until after the coronation of James II., when the whole blame of it was cast upon that unfortunate monarch.

The present form of the oath is substantially the same as that which was established by Act of Parliament immediately after the Revolution; some verbal alterations, however, have been made in consequence of the subsequent unions between England and Scotland, and Great Britain and Ireland.

When Charles I. was crowned in Scotland, the form of his coronation oath was as follows:

Archbishop. Sir, Will you promise to serve Almighty God, and

as every good king in his kingdom ought to do, maintain the gospel of Jesus Christ in this your kingdom, against all atheism, profaneness, heresy, schism, or superstition whatsoever ?

King. I promise faithfully so to do.

Archb. Sir, Will you promise to rule this people subject to you, and committed to your charge, according to the laws, constitutions, and customs of this your kingdom, causing (as much as in you lyeth) justice and equity to be ministered without partiality? And to endeavour the peace of the church of Christ and all Christians?

King. I grant and promise so to do.

Archb. Sir, Will you likewise promise to preserve the rights and privileges of the crown of Scotland?

King. I promise so to do.

Archb. Sir, We do also beseech you to grant unto us of the clergy, and to the churches committed to our charge, all canonical privileges, and that you will defend and protect us as every good king ought in his kingdom to defend his bishops and the churches that be under their government.

King. With a willing heart I grant the same, and promise to maintain you, and every one of you, with all the churches committed to your charge, in your whole rights and privileges, according to law and justice.

In the form of coronation prescribed to all Christian kings by Pope Clement VIII., the sovereign is directed to pronounce the following oath, kneeling before the metropolitan:

of

I,

by Divine permission about to become sovereign -, promise before God and his angels that I will for the future make and keep the law, justice, and peace of the church of God for the people subject to me, according to my power and knowledge, with a due regard to the mercy of God, as I shall best receive instruction from my faithful counsellors. I also promise to pay due and canonical honour to the prelates of the churches, and to maintain inviolate the privileges and possessions ceded to the churches by kings and emperors; and that I will give due honour to the abbots, counts, and vassals of my dominion, according to the best advice of my faithful councillors.

In France, the king makes a solemn promise of protection to the ecclesiastical authorities, on the demand of the archbishop, which form was called Ammonitio and Responsio, and was held distinct from the coronation oath:

Ammonitio. We beseech of you to permit and grant to each

of us, and to the churches under our charge, maintenance and defence of our canonical privileges and just rights, such as a king owes to every bishop in his realm, and to the church under his

care.

Responsio. I promise and grant you severally that I will preserve your canonical privileges and just rights, and those of the churches committed to your care; and I will defend them to the utmost of my power, God being my helper, as a king is bound to behave to every bishop in his realm, and to the church under his

care.

Then follows the oath, of which there are two forms, the important words enclosed between brackets not being found in the more ancient copy. They are supposed to have been introduced at the coronation of Louis XI.

CORONATION OATH OF THE FRENCH KINGS.

In the name of Christ I make the following promise to the Christian people subject to my sway:-First, so far as depends upon me, all Christian people of God's church shall enjoy true peace during my reign. [I will inviolably maintain the superiorities, rights, and dignities of the French crown, and I will neither transfer nor alienate them.] Secondly, I will prohibit every kind of injustice and iniquity in every rank of life. Thirdly, I will execute justice and mercy in all my judgments, as I look for mercy from God. Fourthly, I will endeavour, to the utmost of my power, and with good faith, to exterminate all heretics, marked by the Church, from my land, and the jurisdiction subject to me. And I confirm the aforesaid promises by oath.

He then places his hands on the Gospels, and kisses the book, after which Te Deum is sung by the choir.

It is generally known that the emperors-elect of Germany were consecrated kings of the Romans; at their consecration the oath was administered in the following form:

At the conclusion of the Litany the king stood up, and the archbishop of Cologne, standing before the altar, having his pastoral staff in his hand, interrogated the king on six points.

OATH OF THE KING OF THE ROMANS.

Archbishop. Will you hold and keep the Catholic faith delivered to you, and preserve it to the utmost of your power? King. I will.

Archb. Will you be a faithful guardian and defender of Holy Church and its ministers?

King. I will.

Archb. Will you rule and defend the kingdom given to you by God, according to the justice of your predecessors?

King. I will.

Archb. Will you preserve the rights of the kingdom and empire, will you recover its properties unjustly dispersed, and will you administer them faithfully, to the use of the kingdom and empire?

King. I will.

Archb. Will you be a just judge and faithful defender of the rich and the poor, the widow and the orphan?

King. I will.

Archb. Will you exhibit due subjection and fidelity, in all reverence, to our most holy Father and Lord in Christ the Roman Pontiff, and to the Holy Roman Church?

Before answering this question the king was conducted to the altar by two prelates, and placing two fingers of his right hand on the altar, said with a loud voice,

I will; and so far as I shall be aided by Divine assistance, and by the prayers of faithful Christians, I will strictly perform all the promises I have now made. So help me God and all his saints.

In the coronation of the kings of the Romans, and also of the kings of Bohemia, the administration of the oath preceded the recognition. In Bohemia the oath is almost of a republican character.

OATH OF THE KINGS OF BOHEMIA.

We swear to God, to the Virgin Mother of God, and to all saints, on this Holy Gospel, that we are willing and bound to preserve inviolate, to our barons, knights, nobles, to the citizens of Prague, to all municipalities, and to the entire community of the kingdom of Bohemia, their institutions, laws, privileges, exemptions, liberties, and rights, as likewise their ancient good and laudable customs; we swear that we will neither alienate nor mortgage any portion of our kingdom of Bohemia, but will, to the utmost of our power, increase and enlarge it, and perform everything which may tend to the honour and profit of this our kingdom. So help us God and all his saints!

All ancient forms were violated at the coronation of Napoleon Buonaparte (December 2d, 1804); for the

oath was not administered until the emperor had actually placed the crown upon his own head; more¬ over, he was sworn seated.

CORONATION OATH OF NAPOLEON.

I swear to maintain the integrity of the territory of the republic; to respect, and cause to be respected, the laws of the Concordat and of freedom of worship; to respect, and cause to be respected, equality of rights, political and civil liberty, and the inviolability of the sales of national property; never to levy any impost, or establish any tax, but by virtue of the law; to maintain the institution of the Legion of Honour; and to govern solely with a view to the interests, the happiness, and the glory of the French people.

Record of the oath was then made by the secretary of state.

THE ANOINTING.

When the sovereign has taken the coronation oath, he returns to his chair of state, and sits down. The archbishop then begins the hymn, Veni Creator, which is sung by the choir. After which the sovereign and consort, if there be one, rise, and kneel on their faldstools before the altar, when the archbishop says the following prayers:

We beseech thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for this thy servant — that as at first thou didst bring him (or her) into the world by thy Divine providence, and in the flower of his (or her) youth hast preserved him (or her) until the present day, so thou wilt evermore enrich him (or her) with the gift of piety, and fulfil him (or her) with grace and truth, and increase him (or her) daily in all goodness, in the sight of God and man; that he (or she) may joyfully receive the seat of supreme government by the gift of thy supernal grace, and being defended from all his (or her) enemies by the wall of thy mercy, he (or she) may happily govern the people committed to his (or her) charge. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

We have taken this prayer from the ceremonial for the coronation of James I.; the language is modernized in later forms, but certainly is not improved. After the collect the archbishop says,

The Lord be with you.