On December 2, 1804, the most powerful man in Europe made it official.
Napoleon Bonaparte had, by age 35, climbed through the ranks of the revolutionary French military, fought off the threat of invasion, carried out a coup to make himself “consul,” and then established a dictatorship by becoming a consul for life. After surviving a couple of attempts on his life, Napoleon decided to do away with any lingering revolutionary pretense and claim the title that best fit the nature of his power. He would become emperor, which would both match his stature and make it clear to his enemies that, even if they killed him, power would remain in his family.
Napoleon wanted his emperorship to begin with a moment full of pomp and symbolism, so he planned a religious ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He and his wife Josephine were decked out in clothing that carried a message — Napoleon wore royal purple, a laurel wreath, and, around his neck, the symbols of the Legion of Honor, an organization he had created to replace of the chivalric nobility. He carried a scepter and a special sword.
But none of this regalia mattered as much as the piece of apparel that Napoleon was in the cathedral to obtain on that day. Because he, like leaders throughout world history, wanted to make his kingship official by wearing a silly little hat. His looked like this:
The story of Napoleon’s coronation is a famous one. In a power move, Napoleon summoned Pope Pius VII from Rome. Bishops usually crowned kings, and Pius’ presence was meant to remind people of the last crowning of a true emperor of Europe, that of Charlemagne a thousand years earlier (in fact, Napoleon called his crown the “Crown of Charlemagne” to make the comparison obvious). But Pius was there as a passive participant; Napoleon took the crown out of the his hands (this was probably pre-arranged) and put it on his own head. It was clear: no authority, not even the church, stood above Napoleon.
The most famous depiction of Napoleon’s coronation is Jacques-Louis David’s “The Coronation of Napoleon,” which actually shows the emperor crowning Josephine. David originally painted Napoleon crowning himself, but later changed the painting; it’s unclear whether he did this at Napoleon’s request or of his own accord. Nevertheless, the painting captures something of the symbolism of the moment, the way that putting a fancy hat on somebody’s head can be a turning point in history:
Napoleon’s coronation was part of a tradition that reaches back through the millennia. Leaders throughout history, in cultures all over the globe, have symbolized their position with special headwear. So let’s take a little tour of the history of the crown.
Egyptian pharaohs had a wide variety of crowns to choose from. This was partially because pharaohs ruled over what had once been two kingdoms — Lower and Upper Egypt. Lower Egyptian rulers wore the “white crown,” or hedjet. It looked kind of like a bowling pin. Here’s the early pharaoh Narmer wearing it:
The pharaohs of Upper Egypt had a cooler crown, the “red crown,” or deshret. It had a nifty swoop at the back, and sometimes a little curlicue sticking up from it. Here’s a version from a New Kingdom painting:
Some pharaohs combined the two into a crown called the pschent, as you can see in this relief of Ptolemy VIII being crowned by two goddesses, each symbolizing one part of the Egyptian kingdom:
Later, during the New Kingdom, pharaohs often wore a blue crown called the khepresh, especially when going into battle. Here’s a bust of Akhenaten wearing a khepresh:
None of these Egyptian crowns actually survive outside of artistic depictions. This is probably because they weren’t made of metal or precious jewels; instead, they contained fabric or plant material and have long since decomposed.
Another early type of crown is the diadem, which is perhaps the simplest type of royal headgear. Diadems are relatively minimalist. They started out as a simple headband, probably made from fabric, that was worn by a leader.
Diadems may have been influenced by the headwear of the Achaemenid Persian kings. Darius the Great, the emperor who invaded Greece and initiated the Battle of Marathon, apparently wore a small headband, as indicated in his monument at Behistun:
Diadems were especially popular in the Hellenistic world, reflecting a preference for understated symbols of power. We can see one of the simplest versions — a simple headband — in this coin depicting Antiochus the Great, Greek ruler of the Seleucid Empire around 200 BCE:
Diadems weren’t just for kings; they could be found on lots of noble people. Many of them were fancier than Antiochus’, like this one made for a woman in Hellenistic Egypt:
Or this one, also from Egypt, but made about a hundred years later:
Another popular form of crown in the Greco-Roman world was meant to emulate the rays of the sun — in particular, the sun gods Helios and, in later Roman times, Sol Invictus.
Helios was often shown with sunbeams emanating from his head, as on this 4th-century BCE Trojan relief:
Some Greek kings, like Ptolemy IV, who ruled Egypt in the 200s BCE, emulated this style:
So did Roman emperors like Aurelian, who ruled almost 500 years later (on the back of the coin, you can see Sol defeating an enemy):
So far, we’ve been looking at royal traditions that likely had some influence on each other. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans may have been adapting each other’s royal symbols because they were in regular contact with one another. But some of the most remarkable ancient crowns come from a place quite isolated from the Mediterranean world: Korea.
The Kingdom of Silla ruled parts of Korea for most of the first millennium CE. At its height, around the year 500, it dominated the peninsula. The rulers of Silla during this time commemorated their power by wearing stunning gold-and-jade crowns. You may have noticed that we don’t have many ancient crowns from other parts of the world. Remarkably, the crowns of Silla survived in rulers’ tombs in Geumseong, the “city of gold,” until they were rediscovered in the 1920s.
These crowns are far more elaborate than anything else we have from the ancient world. They have intricate details, many of which mimic nature. This one has elements meant to look like trees and antlers:
Some of them are adorned with complex patterns made up of precious stones:
And this one is incredibly complex. It has an inner cap with winglike protrusions, tree and antler elements that soar above the wearer’s head, and leafy chains that dangle down onto his shoulders:
The crown Napoleon used was based on what may be the longest and most consistent tradition of crown-wearing, which occurred in medieval and early modern Europe. One of the oldest crowns we have from that period is the “Iron Crown of Lombardy,” which gets its name from the story that it contains a nail from Jesus’ cross, beaten into the band that you can see around the inside of the crown:
There are a lot of legends around the Iron Crown, many of which may not really be true. It supposedly dates back to the Roman Emperor Constantine, although that may be wishful thinking from medieval rulers who liked to compare themselves to the first Christian emperor. Historians estimate, however, that elements of the crown do date back to the late Roman Empire, so who knows?
Charlemagne may have worn the iron crown, along with other early-medieval kings, but we know that it was in regular use for coronations after about 1300. The crown is really small; some historians guess that it was originally an armlet; others think that some sections of it got lost or damaged. Nevertheless, it became an important symbol of power in Europe — a symbolic link between the glory of the Roman Empire, the unity of Charlemagne’s rule, and the later days of Christendom.
So it’s no surprise that Napoleon wanted to wear the Iron Crown for himself. Since he ruled so much territory, Napoleon actually had several coronations. He used the Iron Crown to declare himself King of Italy in 1805, in a ceremony that was said to be an even grander occasion than his coronation in Paris the year before. After placing the crown on his head, Napoleon famously declared: “God has given it to me; beware he who touches it.” He issued medallions showing himself wearing the relic:
Napoleon was one of the greatest users of the symbols of power in the history of the world. And it seems he understood what lots of rulers throughout history have known: everybody will respect you more if you’re wearing a fancy little hat.
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Delightful. Fancy indeed!
Thanks, really interesting. Amazing what self belief or, possibly delusion, will do for a man!