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12 - Early Modern Dramatisation

The Road to Napoleon

from Part III - Convention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2020

Jaume Aurell
Affiliation:
Universidad de Navarra, Spain
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Summary

This last chapter traces a general vision of the survival of some self-coronations during early modernity, focusing on the self-coronations of Frederick I of Prussia (1701) and Napoleon (1804), and the most recent examples in the twentieth century, as the practice is globalised, dramatised and formalised. The traditional anointment performed by medieval kings progressively turned into a secular gesture in early modern Northern Europe. In three decades, Europe witnessed three solemn self-coronations: Christian V of Denmark (1671), Charles XII of Sweden (1697) and Frederick I of Prussia (1701). After Napoleon’s self-coronation, this ritual became an opportunity for pomp and spectacle, as in the cases of Shah Reza Pahlavi (1926) and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1967), Jean-Bédel Bokassa (1977) and Tupou VI of Tonga (2015). The crucial question here is to what extent early modern and modern self-coronations have lost the actual content carried by their medieval precursors, even if they maintain the same ritual forms, in a secularised context.

Type
Chapter
Information
Medieval Self-Coronations
The History and Symbolism of a Ritual
, pp. 296 - 301
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Early Modern Dramatisation
  • Jaume Aurell, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Book: Medieval Self-Coronations
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108879279.014
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  • Early Modern Dramatisation
  • Jaume Aurell, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Book: Medieval Self-Coronations
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108879279.014
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Early Modern Dramatisation
  • Jaume Aurell, Universidad de Navarra, Spain
  • Book: Medieval Self-Coronations
  • Online publication: 20 May 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108879279.014
Available formats
×