Crown (headgear) 95353 225825235 2008-07-15T16:01:30Z Xenocidic 1795359 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/Pink!Teen|Pink!Teen]] ([[User talk:Pink!Teen|talk]]) to last version by JAnDbot [[Image:Denmark crown.jpg|right|thumb|The crown of King [[Christian IV of Denmark]], currently located in [[Rosenborg Castle]], [[Copenhagen]].]] A '''crown''' is the traditional [[symbol]]ic form of [[headgear]] worn by a [[monarch]] or by a [[deity]], for whom the crown traditionally represents [[Political power|power]], [[legitimacy]], [[Crown of Immortality|immortality]], [[righteousness]], victory, [[Roman triumph|triumph]], [[resurrection]], [[honour]] and [[glory]] of [[life after death]]. In [[art]] the crown may be shown being offered to those on Earth by [[angels]]. Apart from the traditional form, crowns also may be made of for example flowers, [[Crown of Immortality|stars]], [[Civic Crown|oak leaves]] or [[Crown of Thorns|thorns]] and be worn by others, representing what the [[coronation]] part aims to symbolize with the specific crown. They often contain [[Crown jewels|jewels]]. ==Terminology== Three distinct categories of crowns exist in those [[monarchy|monarchies]] that use crowns or state regalia. # [[Coronation crown]]s - only worn by monarchs at the point of coronation, i.e., installation by taking possession of the crown' # [[State crown|State]] or [[Imperial crown]]s - worn by monarchs on other state occasions. (Note that similar headgear, worn by [[nobility]] and other high ranking people below the ruler, is in English called a [[coronet]], however in many languages the same word is used, e.g., French ''couronne'', German ''Krone'', Dutch ''kroon''); # [[Consort crown]]s - worn by [[Queen consort|Queens consort]], signifying rank granted as a [[constitution]]al courtesy [[Protocol (diplomacy)|protocol]]. In [[Classical antiquity]] the crown (''corona'') that was sometimes awarded to people other than rulers, such as triumphal [[military]] [[general]]s or [[sportsperson|athlete]]s, was actually a [[wreath]] or chaplet, or ribbonlike [[Diadem (personal wear)|diadem]]. ==History== [[Image:ShisanLing.k.Pekinu-grobowce.cesarzy.dynastii.Ming-korona.cesarza.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A [[Emperor of China|Chinese emperor's]] golden crown from the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368–1644) period of [[China]].]] The precursor to the crown was the browband called the [[diadem (personal wear)|diadem]], which had been worn by the [[Achaemenid|Achaemenid Persian emperors]], was adopted by [[Constantine I]], and was worn by all subsequent rulers of the later Roman Empire. Numerous crowns of various forms were used in Antiquity, such as the [[White crown]], [[Red Crown]], combined [[Pschent]] crown and [[khepresh|blue crown]] of Pharaonic Egypt. The ''corona radiata'', the "radiant crown" known best on the [[Statue of Liberty]], and perhaps worn by the [[Helios]] that was the [[Colossus of Rhodes]], was worn by pagan Roman emperors, part of the cult of [[Sol Invictus]]. It was referred to as "the chaplet studded with sunbeams” by [[Lucian]], about 180 AD (in [http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/lucian/lucian_alexander.htm ''Alexander the false prophet'']). Perhaps the oldest Christian crown in Europe is the [[Iron Crown of Lombardy]], of Roman and [[Longobard]] age, later again used to crown modern Kings of Napoleonic, Austrian and reunited Italy. In the Christian tradition of European cultures, where ecclesiastical sanction authenticates monarchic power, when a new monarch assumes the throne in a coronation ceremony, the crown is placed on the new monarch's head by a religious official. Some, though not all early [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s travelled to Rome at some point in their careers to be crowned by the pope. [[Napoleon]], according to legend, surprised [[Pius VII]] when he reached out and crowned himself, although in reality this order of ceremony had been pre-arranged: see [[coronation]]. Today, only the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|British Monarchy]] continues this tradition as the sole remaining anointed and crowned monarch, though many monarchies retain a crown as a national symbol in heraldry. The [[French Crown Jewels]] were sold in 1885 on the orders of the [[Third French Republic]], with only a token number, with their precious stones replaced by glass, held on to for historic reasons and displayed by the [[Louvre]]. The [[Spanish Crown Jewels]] were destroyed in a major fire in the eighteenth century while the [[Irish Crown Jewels]] (actually merely the Sovereign's insignia of the [[Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick]]) were stolen from [[Dublin Castle]] in 1907. Special headgear to designate rulers dates back to pre-history, and is found in many separate civilizations around the globe. Commonly, rare and precious materials are incorporated into the crown, but that is only essential for the notion of crown jewels. [[Gold]] and precious [[gemstone|jewel]]s are common in western and oriental crowns. In the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] civilizations of the [[Pre-Columbian]] [[New World]], rare [[feather]]s, such as that of the [[quetzal]], often decorated crowns; so too in Polynesia (e.g. Hawaii). * [[Coronation]] is often combined with other rituals, such as enthronement (the throne is as much a symbol of monarchy as the crown) and anointing (again religious sanction, the only defining act in the Biblical tradition of Israel). In other cultures no crown is used in the equivalent of coronation, but the head may still be otherwise symbolically adorned, as a royal [[tikka]] in the Hindu tradition of India. ==As an emblem== [[Image:Crown.jpg|left|thumb|Crown of Flowers, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1884]] A '''Crown''' is often an [[emblem]] of the monarchy, a monarch's government, or items endorsed by it; see [[The Crown]]. A specific type of crown (or [[coronet]] for lower ranks of peerage) is employed in [[heraldry]] under strict rules. Indeed some monarchies never had a physical crown, just a heraldic representation, as in the constitutional kingdom of Belgium, where no coronation ever took place; the royal installation is done by a solemn oath in parliament, wearing a military uniform: the King is not acknowledged as by divine right, but assumes the only hereditary public office in the service of the law; so he in turn will swear in all members of "his" federal government. *[[Costume]] headgear imitating a monarch's crown is also called a crown. Such costume crowns may be worn by [[actor]]s portraying a monarch, people at costume parties, or ritual "monarchs" such as the king of a [[Carnival]] [[krewe]], or the person who found the trinket in a [[king cake]]. *The [[Eastern Orthodox]] marriage service has a section called the crowning, wherein the bride and groom are crowned as "king" and "queen" of their future household. In Greek weddings, the crowns are [[Diadem_%28personal_wear%29|diadem]]s usually made of white flowers, synthetic or real, often adorned with [[silver]] or [[mother of pearl]]. They are placed on the heads of the newlyweds and are held together by a ribbon of white [[silk]]. They are then kept by the couple as a reminder of their special day. In Slavic weddings, the crowns are usually made of ornate metal, designed to resemble an imperial crown, and are held above the newlyweds heads by their best men. A parish usually owns one set to use for all the couples that are married there since these are much more expensive than Greek-style crowns. *Children, mainly girls, sometimes connect flowers together in a chain, and wear the [[wreath]] as if it were a crown (''illustration, left''). * Crowns are also often used as symbols of religious status or veneration, by divinities (or their representation such as a statue) or by their representatives, e.g. the [[Karmapa Lama#The black crown|black crown]] of the Karmapa Lama, sometimes used a model for wider use by devotees. *A [[Crown of thorns]] is believed to have been placed on the head of [[Jesus]] before his [[crucifixion]] and has become a common symbol of martyrdom. Rapper [[Kanye West]] raised controversy when he appeared on the February 2006 cover of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' wearing a crown of thorns. So did [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] when she wore one on the opening night of her World Tour in May 2006[http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/church-v-madonna--again/2006/05/23/1148150223131.html] *The [[Crown of Immortality]] is also common in historical symbolism. The heraldic symbol of three crowns, referring to the three evangelical [[Biblical Magi|Magi (wise men)]], traditionally called kings, is believed thus to have become the symbol of the Swedish kingdom, but it also fits the historical (personal, dynastic) Kalmar Union (1397-1520) between the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. ==Numismatics== Because one or more crown, alone or as part of a more elaborate design, often appear on coins, several monetary denominations came to be known as 'a crown' or the equivalent word in the local language. This persists in the case of the national currencies of the Scandinavian currencies. ==See also== {{commonscat|Crowns}} *[[Circlet]] *[[Coronet]] *[[Diadem (personal wear)|Diadem]] *[[Helmet]] *[[Tiara]] *[[Beauty Pageant Crowns]] *[[Papal tiara]] *[[Crown jewels]] *[[List of Royal Crowns]] {{Refimprove|date=August 2007}} {{crowns}} [[Category:Crowns| ]] [[Category:Formal insignia]] [[Category:Headgear]] [[Category:Monarchy]] [[Category:State ritual and ceremonies]] [[ar:تاج]] [[bg:Корона (украшение)]] [[cs:Koruna (klenot)]] [[da:Krone (hovedbeklædning)]] [[de:Krone]] [[es:Corona (tocado)]] [[eo:Krono (ĉapelo)]] [[fa:تاج]] [[fr:Couronne (attribut)]] [[fy:Kroan]] [[it:Corona (copricapo)]] [[he:כתר]] [[kw:Kurun]] [[lt:Karūna]] [[nl:Koningskroon]] [[ja:王冠]] [[no:Krone (hodebekledning)]] [[nrm:Couorône]] [[pl:Korona (atrybut)]] [[pt:Coroa (monarquia)]] [[ru:Корона]] [[simple:Crown]] [[sr:Венац]] [[fi:Kruunu (päähine)]] [[sv:Krona (huvudprydnad)]] [[uk:Корона]] [[zh:皇冠]]