Establishment of royal power Ivan IV the Terrible - the first Russian Tsar (from 1547). 1533–1584. - reign of Ivan Vasilyevich IV the Terrible. 1547 - coronation of Ivan IV in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. The Moscow principality becomes a kingdom. Title: Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia. 1547, June -

A crown, scepter, orb are regalia, signs of royal, royal and imperial power, generally accepted in all states where such power exists. The origin of the regalia owes mainly to the ancient world.

Thus, the crown originates from a wreath, which in the ancient world was placed on the head of the winner in competitions. Then it turned into a sign of honor given to a military leader or official who distinguished himself in war, thus becoming a sign of service distinction (imperial crown). From it the crown (headdress) was formed, which became widespread in European countries as an attribute of power back in the early Middle Ages.

In Russian literature, there has long been a version that among the Russian royal regalia belongs one of the oldest medieval crowns, allegedly sent as a gift to the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir Monomakh by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh. Along with the “Monomakh’s cap,” a scepter was allegedly sent from the Byzantine emperor.

Coat of arms of Russia. 2nd half XVII century

The origins of this attribute of power and dignity of European monarchs also lie in antiquity. The scepter was considered a necessary accessory of Zeus (Jupiter) and his wife Hera (Juno). As an indispensable sign of dignity, the scepter was used by ancient rulers and officials (except emperors), for example, Roman consuls. The scepter, as an obligatory regalia of power, was present at the coronation of sovereigns throughout Europe. In the 16th century it is also mentioned in the wedding ceremony of Russian tsars

There is a well-known story from the Englishman Horsey, an eyewitness to the coronation of Fyodor Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible: “On the king’s head there was a precious crown, and in his right hand there was a royal staff, made of one-horned bone, three feet and a half long, set with expensive stones, which was bought by the former king from the Augsburg merchants in 1581 for seven thousand pounds sterling." Other sources report that the crowning of Fyodor Ivanovich was in every way similar to the “seating on the table” of Ivan the Terrible, with the only difference being that the Metropolitan handed the scepter into the hands of the new tsar.

However, the image of a scepter on the seals of this time was not accepted, as were the powers (otherwise - “apple”, “sovereign apple”, “autocratic apple”, “apple of the royal rank”, “power of the Russian kingdom”), although as an attribute of power it was known to Russian sovereigns from the 16th century. During the crowning of Boris Godunov on September 1, 1598, Patriarch Job presented the Tsar, along with the usual regalia,

lias also a power. At the same time, he said: “As we hold this apple in our hands, so hold the whole kingdom given to you by God, keeping them from external enemies.”

Monomakh's hat

The crowning of the founder of the Romanov house, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, took place according to a clearly drawn up “scenario”, which did not change until the 18th century: along with the cross, barms and royal crown, the metropolitan (or patriarch) handed over the scepter to the king in his right hand, and the orb to his left . At the crowning of Mikhail Fedorovich, before handing over the regalia to the Metropolitan, the scepter was held by Prince Dmitry Timofeevich Trubetskoy, and the orb was held by Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky.

“Big outfit” by Mikhail Fedorovich (hat, scepter, orb). 1627-1628

The tsar’s letter of honor to Bohdan Khmelnytsky dated March 27, 1654 was accompanied by a “new type” seal: a double-headed eagle with open wings (on the chest in the shield there is a horseman slaying a dragon), in the right paw of the eagle there is a scepter, in the left there is an orb, above the heads of the eagle - three crowns almost on the same line, the middle one with a cross. The shape of the crowns is the same, Western European. Under the eagle is a symbolic image of the reunification of Left Bank Ukraine with Russia. A seal with a similar design was used in the Little Russian Order.

Seal of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. 1667

After the Truce of Andrusovo, which ended the Russian-Polish War of 1654-1667 and recognized the annexation of the lands of Left Bank Ukraine to Russia, a new large state seal was “created” in the Russian state. It is famous for the fact that its official description, included in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire, is also the first resolution of Russian legislation on the form and meaning of the State Emblem.

Already on June 4, 1667, in the article of the order given to the translator of the Ambassadorial Order Vasily Boush, who was going with the royal letters to the Elector of Brandenburg and the Duke of Courland, it is emphasized: “If he is in the Kurlyan land Yakubus Prince or his close persons, also in the Brandenburg land Elector or his close people or their bailiffs will begin to say why now His Royal Majesty has three crowns with other images in the seal above the eagle? And Vasily tell them: the double-headed eagle is the coat of arms of the power of our great sovereign, His Royal Majesty, above which three crowns are depicted, signifying three great: Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian glorious kingdoms, submitting to the God-protected and highest of His Royal Majesty, our most merciful sovereign power and command "

What follows is a description that a few months later was announced not only “to the surrounding states,” but also to Russian subjects. On December 14, 1667, in the personal decree “On the royal title and on the state seal” we read “Description of the seal of the Russian state: “The double-headed eagle is the coat of arms of the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich of all Great and Lesser and White Russia, the Autocrat, His Tsar's Majesty the Russian Kingdom, on which three crowns are depicted, signifying the three great, Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian, glorious Kingdoms, repenting to the God-preserved and highest power and command of His Royal Majesty, the most merciful Sovereign; on the right side of the eagle there are three cities, and according to the description in the title, Great and Little and White Russia, on the left side of the eagle three cities with their writings form the Eastern, Western and Northern; under the eagle is the sign of the father and grandfather (father and grandfather - N.S); on the perseh (on the chest - N.S.) there is an image of the heir; in the paznoktekh (in the claws. - N.S.) the scepter and the apple (orb. - N.S.), represent the most gracious Sovereign of His Royal Majesty, the Autocrat and Possessor.”

The most experienced codifier and jurist Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky, a luminary of the Russian bureaucracy, based on the text of the decree, subsequently unambiguously qualified this image as a “sovereign coat of arms.” A similar seal with the corresponding new name was used by Tsars Fyodor Alekseevich, Ivan Alekseevich in a joint reign with Peter Alekseevich, and Peter Alekseevich himself - Peter I.

Circle to the great state seal of Tsars John and Peter Alekseevich.

Master Vasily Kononov. 1683

Antiquities of the Russian State. Section I: Holy icons, crosses, temple utensils and vestments of clergy. - M., 1849. - 175 p.

Image of Our Lady of Joasaph

Under the name of the Mother of God of Joasaph, a layered osmyleous image of the Mother of God, painted in Greek style [style] on a linden board with a notch, is known in the Moscow Archangel Cathedral. Judging by the design and color, it was written in Russia and with the hardness of one and the fluidity of the other it comes close to the style of Rublev’s school. The Mother of God's face is more round than oblong, without bonyness [subwhiteness], but with shading [shine, movements, shades]; his expression is more gloomy than touching; the nose is small, thin, the eyes are without teardrops, which have appeared on icons since the 16th century. The dolichnoe is of a swirly color, without iconography [inlaid with dissolved gold], while the dolichnoe is that of the Savior with golden gwents [features, folds on the clothes, whose folded flaps are called. cards]. On the forehead and on the breasts of the Mother of God there are three stars, signifying her virginity before Christmas, at Christmas and after Christmas.
The dyeing icons are remarkable for their art and richness. Its fields, or lights, are covered with a gold filigree frame with enamel; a golden crown on the Mother of God with towns, a hryvnia and three tsats hanging from it. Both are strewn with precious stones, mostly uncut. The Savior wears the same crown with small towns.

On the gold pellets along the margins of the image, the faces of the Holy Trinity, St. John the Baptist, Archangel Gabriel, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, St. Basil of Paria, Theodore Stratilates, John Climacus, Ven. Sergius and Anastasia the Romans.
Since, according to ancient custom in Rus', on St. icons often depicted Saints named after members of some family; then in the Saints on the icon of the Mother of God of Joasaph, the names of the family of its owner are probably immortalized; for here we find saints John the Baptist, Theodore Stratelates and Anastasia the Roman, the same names as Tsar John Vasilyevich, Tsarina Anastasia Romanovna and Tsarevich Feodor. If the icon had been created by Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, to whom this image was assigned by the inventory, then probably the saints named after his parent and one of his spouses, Agathia or Martha, would have been depicted on the stones. More likely, this icon was a prayer service, a room one, and was given to him as a blessing from his parent, and entered the Cathedral, perhaps, after his death, as a tombstone, taken out.
The same applies to the name of the Joasaph icon: this is not found among the appearances from the icons of the Mother of God. And how the Patriarchs of Moscow, upon their accession to the Holy Throne, used to present the Tsar with St. icons as a blessing: either Joasaph I presented it to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, or Joasaph II presented it to Tsar Alexy Mikhailovich, from whom it could be inherited by his son and successor Fedor under the name of Joasaph. (P. 8-9)

Image of the Position of the Robe of the Lord

Similar in style to the Capponi calendar and the icons painted in the 17th century by the Stroganov Society of Zoographers, this image is also remarkable in its content.
The Persian Shah Abbas, as evidence of his friendly disposition towards Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, sent to him, among other gifts, with the Georgian Urusambek, 1625, March 11, part of the Lord's robe in a golden ark decorated with precious stones. In his letter, the Shah announced that, after the conquest of Georgia, he found this shrine in the Metropolitan sacristy.

Although Patriarch Filaret accepted this sacred treasure with joy; but since it came from the unfaithful king, he consulted with his sovereign son about whether the word of the unfaithful could be accepted without true testimony. Then Filaret and the consecrated cathedral began to examine it. In the ark, as stated in the district charter, “a part of a robe, in length and across a span, was found in the ark, the linen, if reddish, looked like shallows, or would have changed its face in ancient years, “and the fabric was in linen.” Patriarch Theophan of Jerusalem, who installed Philaret as Patriarch, was in Moscow at that time, and with him the Greek elders Nektarios and Ioannikios: the Moscow High Hierarch and addressed them with questions about the robe of the Lord. Nektary answered that he himself saw this shrine in Georgia in a church called Ileta and heard from the local clergy that it was once brought there by a soldier who was in Jerusalem at the crucifixion of I. Christ, and was marked by many miracles. The words of Nektarios were confirmed by Ioannikios, and other residents of the East confirmed the truth of the traditions of Palestinian and Greek Christians about the robe of the Lord. The judicious Filaret did not stop at human testimony, no matter how reliable it may seem; but he used a spiritual remedy. After his consultation with the Bishops and spiritual authorities, a seven-day fast and prayer service was established, and in order to find out the will of God and to discover the truth, it was commanded to place this shrine on the sick and sick. Many miracles justified the authenticity of the shrine and the faith of those who accepted it.
After that, the Robe of the Lord was solemnly laid in the large Assumption Cathedral and the annual holiday of the Laying of the Robe of the Lord was established, which is still celebrated on July 10. To store the shrine, the Patriarch built a majestic copper tent on September 30, 7133, which occupies a place near Philaret’s tomb in the southwestern corner of the Cathedral.

N and the image, apparently from a contemporary event, in the interior of this tent shows the Tsar with three Saints, standing in prayer before the throne, on which the honorable and multi-healing robe of the Lord is placed. The tent is surrounded by spiritual authorities, monks, boyars and people. In the foreground, Mikhail Fedorovich, then 20 years old, is depicted as braless, in all the royal utensils; on the other side is the Patriarch, probably of Jerusalem, and behind him is the Moscow Patriarch and Bishop in miters. The five-domed cathedral, where all this action takes place, is presented in cross-section.
There is noticeable symmetry in the arrangement or composition of faces, so that in the foreground the figures are brighter and more prominent; but, due to a lack of knowledge of perspective, his faces in the second and third plans are the same size as in the first. However, they do not have the uniformity that we find on many ancient icons; for the turns of heads and faces are varied. For Russian Archeology, it is important to see the prehistoric, or the costumes of the spiritual authorities, monks, laymen of different classes - men and women. In general and in parts, decency is strictly observed, so that if there is no grace in this image, then there is no ugliness.
The coloring, if coloring can be called coloring, is distinguished by hardness, brightness, bonyness in high places and fluidity, which foreign artists are rightly surprised by in the Capponian Saints, where we meet the names of royal icon painters in Moscow in the 17th century.<…>
Unfortunately, we do not know the name of the zoographer who painted this image, which is memorable in historical, archaeological and artistic terms; but, by comparing it with the works of the Royal and Patriarchal icon painters, who formed the family of the Academy of Arts at the courts of the Sovereign and Saint, we can reliably conclude that it is the work of their brushes. The copy from this icon, large in size, is among the local images of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergei Lavra. (pp. 29-31)

Charles II (1630-1685) on the throne

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of Britain from 1653 to 1658, who executed King Charles I, did not play the most plausible role in the history of his country. He not only undermined the foundations of the absolute monarchy, but also, out of hatred for monarchs, destroyed all the most valuable historical symbols of royal power: crowns, sceptres, orbs, thrones, robes. Some of them were melted into coins, some were stolen. And today in museums in London, including the Tower, royal treasures that were created after 1660 are kept.

Regalia - signs of royal, imperial or royal power - have been known since ancient times and are approximately the same in developed countries: a crown, an orb, a scepter, a mantle, a sword or sword, a throne. And if you look closely at the traditional ceremonial images of English kings, they are seated on a throne, with a crown on their head, an orb and a scepter in their hands. You can name other attributes and symbols of royal power that are not so noticeable, for example, a shield, knightly armor.

The most important symbol of royal power is the crown. It is usually made of gold and decorated with precious stones. According to researchers, the prototype for the crown was the Roman crown. It is the coronation that has long been considered a legal, traditional and hereditary procedure for the monarch to assume power and its attributes.

Coronation also meant that the new monarch was allowed to continue the hierarchical hereditary chain of the previous rulers. In addition, coronation is also a very important religious ceremony for the people, during which the sacrament of anointing for the kingdom is carried out. Thus, the entire coronation ritual has the special meaning of God’s blessing on the kingdom.

The first crown of England - the crown of St. Edward - was not preserved; it turned out to be a victim of the very process of destruction of all attributes of royal power undertaken by Cromwell. The crown that can be seen in the Tower is a copy of the destroyed crown of St. Edward. It was created for the coronation of King Charles II in 1661. This crown is decorated with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds and is considered the most valuable in the world. Among the precious stones that adorn it, special mention should be made of the Stuart sapphire and the Black Prince ruby.

The Imperial State Crown, which the current reigning Queen Elizabeth II wears during the opening of the British Parliament or on the occasion of other state occasions, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in 1837. Queen Victoria herself wore this crown during her coronation on January 28, 1838.

Other royal regalia include the orb and the scepter - they are also symbols of royal power, signs of royal dignity. The power with its round shape goes back to the globe. It was held in the left hand and the scepter in the right. The scepter was an attribute of the gods Zeus (Jupiter) and Hera (Juno); it was one of the signs of dignity of Greek and Roman rulers.

The Royal Scepter of Great Britain is decorated with the world's largest diamond, the Star of Africa, which weighs 530 carats and is the largest

The ceremonial state clubs are part of the world famous Cullinan Diamond.

From the collection of the kings of Great Britain, one should also highlight the Great State Sword, which was made at the end of the 17th century. Its scabbard is decorated with diamonds, emeralds and rubies.

Only if he has all the regalia does the king have full supreme power: he is the best of the best, he is the main military leader, his words are the law for all loyal subjects.

Another crown, created for the 1937 coronation of Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, features the Kohinoor diamond, which means “mountain of light.” This is England's most famous jewel.

The Kohinoor diamond was “born” in India over 300 years ago. There is a belief that the Kohinoor diamond brings bad luck to men who own it. It was never sold for money, but was forcibly passed from one ruler to another. Finally, in 1849, he was sent to London in a forged casket, which was placed in a special chest, with guards by sea from Punjab (state of India). And in 1850 it was presented to Queen Victoria. In 1851, the priceless diamond was put on display at the World's Fair in London, and 6 million visitors were able to see it. And in 1937 it was inlaid into the center of the cross of the royal crown.

In 1947, India, a former colony of the British Empire, became independent. And the leaders of this country presented property claims to Great Britain. In particular, they demanded that the Kohinoor Diamond, which was considered a national treasure, be returned to them. This issue was not resolved then, but in 1953 it was again on the agenda. Once again, the British public decisively rejected all claims. The British made it clear to the Indians that they were not going to return the precious stone.

Currently, the coronation of kings occurs only in Great Britain. The current reigning Queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth II, is the only monarch crowned according to all the rules. In all other European countries, coronation is replaced by inauguration, or enthronement, without confirmation and laying on of the crown.

The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on June 2, 1953. Three weeks before the ceremony, Elizabeth, in order to feel confident in her new royal attire, began to wear the Imperial State Crown constantly. She didn't take it off even during breakfast.

For less formal events, Elizabeth also has spare crowns and a diadem, but they are not so majestic. The replacement crown is set with 2,783 diamonds and contains 273 pearls, 16 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies.

They say that without a crown there is nothing royal about Elizabeth II. And if anyone happened to meet her on the street of London or on the subway in a traditional private dress, he would not recognize her as the Queen of Great Britain.