Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 August 1875 — Famous Crowns. [ARTICLE]

Famous Crowns.

The oldest of the crowns of. Europe is the Iron Crown of Lombardy, now restored to its resting-place of centuries in the cathedral of Monza, the sunny little town which, from the Alpine slopes, looks down upon imperial Milan, whither many a time its treasure was borne to be placed on the brows of a German Kaiser at his second coronation. His first was at Achen, by the tomb of Charlemagne, where he received the silver crown of Germany; his second at Milan; his third at Rome, where the Pope conferred on him the golden crown of the Empire. But the Iron Crown was the most venerable of all. For 1,300 years the Iron Crotvn has held the foremost place among the diadems of Europe, for it was formed by the skillful hands of Roman goldsmiths in the sixth century, and sent by Pope Gregory the Great to the Gothic Queen Theodolinda, when she had freed Lombardy from the Arian heresy. Its form is simple, as one might expect from its ancient date. It is a broad flat ring or diadem of gold, adorned with enameled flowers and precious stones; stones not cut into facets, as in modem jewelry, but emeralds, sapphires and rubies in their rough, uncut form as they came from the mine. But inside this circle of gold and jewels is a thin band of iron, from which the crown takes its name, and this iron, tradition asserts, is one of the nails of the cross hammered out into a ring. Long and angry have been the battles fought by antiquaries on this point. Those who deny its authenticity, headed by Muratori, certainly bring weighty arguments to the support of their view; but the tradition has survived all their learned folios, gallant champions have fought, pen in hand, in its defense, and still, in the language of the people, the crown of Monza is called il sacro chiodo, “ the holy nail.” It graced the imperial front of Charlemagne and a long succession of German Emperors, ending with Charles V. But the last sovereign who wore it was Napoleon I. In May, 1805, he assembled at Milan the dignitaries of the Empire, the representatives of his royal and imperial allies, and a splendid circle of Marshals and Generals, and in their presence he placed it on his head, repeating the proud motto of the Iron Crown: “ God has given it to me; woe to him who touches it!” In 1859 the Austrians, retreating from Lombardy, took the Iron Crown with them to Mantua, and subsequently to Vienna. There it remained until, by the treaty which ceded Venetia to Italy, in 1866, it was restored to its old home in the sacristy of the cathedral at Monza, and there it rests to-day, amid the other treasures of Theodolinda —her jeweled comb, her golden hen and seven chickens (the symbols of Lombardy and its seven provinces), and the crown of her husband Agilulph. Next in age to the Iron Crown, but far exceeding it in value and beauty of workmanship, are the crowns of the old Gothic Kings of Spain, discovered seventeen years ago near Toledo. They were found m some excavations which were made in an ancient cemetery at Fuente di Guerrazar, two leagues from that city. They are eight in number, and their intrinsic value is estimated at £2,000 sterling. The largest, a splendid circle of gold one foot in diameter, bears the name of King Receswinthus, who reigned in the middle of the seventh century. The diadem is adorned with fine rubies, pearls and sapphires, and round it runs a row of little crosses of carnelian and gold. Of the modem crowns of continental Europe perhaps the most remarkable is the well-known triple crown or papal tiara, or perhaps we should say tiaras,' for there are four of them. The tiara is seldom worn by the Pope; it is carried before him in S recession, but, except on rare occasions, e wears a mitre like an ordinary Bishop. Of the existing tiaras, the most beautiful is that which was given by Napoleon I. to Pius VII. in 1805 X It is said to be worth upwards of £9,000. Its three are almost incrusted with sapphires, emeralds, rubies, pearls and diamonds; and the great emerald at its apex, said to be the most beautiful in the world, is alone valued at 16,000 francs.— Chamber*' Journal. —At Atlanta, Ga., last autumn a negro built a coop six feet by seven, into which he put a dozen partridges, the ground being first covered with grass. During the winter they thrived, in the spring they mated, laid eggs and hatched out several broods of young, and the negro now has about sixty young partridges, all doing well. They are tame, healthy and seem to beacontented. —The Supreme Court holds that indiarubber tipped pencils are not patentable.