Within Jacque Rivette’s film Joan of Arc: The Battles, we are able to see a rather unique scene
depicting the coronation of Charles VII at Reims. Within this nearly twelve
minute long scene, one of the most humbling moments occurs at holy oil is
placed upon Charles’ forehead and chest, following the French tradition of
coronation. This oil, however, has an interesting history of itself, and is
central to the identity of French kings.
Dating back to Saint Remi and Clovis I of the sixth century,
the holy oil (also known as the Holy Ampulla) of France is said to have been
delivered to Saint Remi (the Bishop of Reims) by a dove and was used in the
baptism of Clovis I upon his conversion to Christianity. The Holy Ampulla was
first used in the coronation of Louis VII in 1131 at Reims, where the anointing
oil would then be kept in Reims for centuries, only once being taken to
Plessis-les-Tours in 1483 when Louis XI was sick.
The Ampulla itself was a small vial consisting of a balm.
This balm, or oil, was thus used for anointing purposes in coronations. However,
the term Holy Ampulla refers to the vial itself, apparently two-thirds full of
balm according to medieval sources. Alongside the ampulla was a golden needle
used for mixing the balm, as well as a silver paten. This silver paten was a
small and shallow metal plate upon which the mixed balm was placed before being
anointed upon a king. In the coronation scene, Rivette illustrated the silver
paten as the Bishop dabbed his finger in the balm on the paten before anointing
Charles.
This Holy Ampulla was central to the French royal identity
and Reims as a whole, seen as the only acceptable location for the rightful
French king to be crowned. Thus, Joan’s insistence upon Reims as the location
for Charles to be crowned was likely not only simple geography, but also seen
as important considering the Holy Ampulla which was housed in Reims.
This illuminated manuscript dated 1335 from Flanders depicts the legend of the ampulla being delivered to St. Remi at the baptism of Clovis I on Christmas Day 496. Note the gold vial which contained the balm or oil.
Sources:
Artwork:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Ampulla
Rachel, this is a really interesting history of the holy oil. The importance of Reims is even more clear in light of this element of coronation and admittedly, the fact that the ampulla was supposedly delivered by a dove is just intriguing. Regarding the specifics of the balm, did you happen to come across if in mixing the balm beforehand, something else was mixed with it? Also was Reims already a central place of power when Clovis was baptized there or did the arrival of the holy oil ramp up the importance of Reims as a city?
ReplyDeleteGreat image--I believe the ritual coincided with the growth of the monarchy in the thirteenth century, though the legend harkens back earlier. The dove is the holy spirit, so it's like saying the monarchy has some extra "stuff" to justify their rule.
ReplyDeleteGreat post,
ReplyDeleteThis answered a question that was lying in the back of my head of where the holy oil was coming from. I originally just pictured them dropping a cross within the oil and saying a religious text in Latin like they do for holy water in Supernatural. Where it actually comes from is an interesting fact.