King Theoderic then adopted the diadem gemmis insignitum, quas pretiosior ferro innexa(s)crucis redemptoris divinae gemma connecteretas (Ambrose De obitu Theosdosii) as his crown. The Byzantines then sent him the diadem, holding the helmet (which was exposed in the cathedral of Hagia Sophia) until it was looted and lost following the sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Then, as the bit remained in Milan (where it is currently preserved in the cathedral), the helm with the diadem was transferred to Constantinople, until Theoderic the Great, who had previously threatened Constantinople itself, claimed it as part of his right as the king of Italy. Īccording to another tradition reported by the historian Valeriana Maspero, the helm and the bit of Constantine were brought to Milan by the emperor Theodosius I, who resided there, and were exposed at his funeral, as described by Ambrose in his funeral oration De obitu Theosdosii. Theodelinda donated the crown to the church at Monza in 628. Pope Gregory the Great passed this crown to Theodelinda, princess of the Lombards, as a diplomatic gift, although he made no mention of it among his recorded donations. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, had the crown forged for her son around a beaten nail from the True Cross, which she had discovered.
According to early modern scholars such as Bartolomeo Zucchi and Ludovico Antonio Muratori, the small size is due to a readjustment after the loss of two segments.įurther information: True Cross Drawing of the Iron Crown in 1858Īccording to tradition, St. Its small size and hinged construction have suggested to some that it was originally a large armlet or, most probably, a votive crown. It is set with 22 gemstones that stand out in relief, in the form of crosses and flowers. The outer circlet of the crown is made of six segments of beaten gold, partly enameled, joined together by hinges. The Iron Crown is so called because it contains a one-centimetre-wide band within it, that is said to have been beaten out of a nail used at the crucifixion of Jesus. In the later Middle Ages, the crown came to be seen as a heritage from the Kingdom of the Lombards and was used as regalia for the coronation of some Holy Roman Emperors as kings of Italy. It was made in the Middle Ages, consisting of a circlet of gold and jewels fitted around a central silver band, which tradition held to be made of iron beaten out of a nail of the True Cross. The Iron Crown (in Italian, Latin, and Lombard: Corona Ferrea German: Eiserne Krone) is a reliquary votive crown, traditionally considered one of the oldest royal insignia of Christendom. Nail purportedly used at the Crucifixion of Jesus The Iron Crown, kept in the Cathedral of Monza
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