The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1871-07-20

| vi
| June 4, 1871.
The Golden Bull of the Emperor Carl w
made in 1856, fixed upon Frankfort as tn
place where the election of the emperor
. should take place; Aachen, or Aix-la. Chapelle
was to be the place of coronation, and Nurem
berg was to preserve the coronation jewels
Aachen was found to be too near the border
and too far away from the centre of the EN-
pire The last emperor crowned there wa
Ferdinand |. in 1881, and all the emperor
since Maximilian ii. were crowned at Frank
i fort; Aachen receiving compensation in tht
shape of good sum of money at every cere
mony.
For almost three centuries Frankfort be
came the coronation city of the einperors, thus
gaining at once great political Importance
That the ceremonies had originally something
magnificent about them is very probable; this
suited the character of the times in which
they 0riginated but towards the last they had
too much the appearance OF vast masquerade
to be pleasing.
THE DAYS OF ELECTION.
The business of eecting the emperor was
arranged to commence on the 25th of August
The hereditary chancellor of the empire, the
archbishop of Mayence had already arrived
and the electors of Mayence aud Treyes, and
of the palatinate, were there in person. The
electors of Saxony, Brandenburg, Bohemia
and Hanover had sent representatives. while
those at Bavaria and Cologne were considered
as allies of France. The hereditary marshal
of the empire opened the ceremonies, after re-
ceiving the customary present of u cask OF
wine from the city, by going out to fetch in
the hereditary chancellor (the archbishop of
Mayence). who arrived amid the ringing OF
bells and the thunder of cannon, with train
of six hundred followers, clerical and worldly,
noble youths with their court, fencing and
dancing masters. chamberlains, lackeys, court
tailors, besides nearly five hundred horses and
vast number of carriages Then followed
the archbishop OF Treves with smaller retinue,
then the elector OF the palatinate, the grandest
of them all.
At last the day of decision came; all stran.
gers were compelled to leave the city on the
day before the election was cumpleted the
Jews dare not show themselves upon the
street; at five O'Clock in the evening the gates
of the city were closed, aud the keys handed
over 10 the hereditary chancellor of the empire:
the black mourning Of the electlng room was
now changed into drapery of red velvet, rich
IN gold ornamcntation; magnificent Neither
lands tapestry was suspended from the walls;
the last day of the election in the Romer was
over; the I2th of October was set apart for
the grand gala procession of the electors, &c.
clssiastical aud secular to the cathedral, where,
in the little electoral chapel, the final act of
election was to be- consunmated. The bells
of the city rang loud, the streets were alive with
the populance. the cquipages aud gay liveries
made the people stare. Finally, the electors
reached the Dom; mass was read, the cleo
tors were then taken into the electoral chap
ell. the door being fastened. and the key hand
ed over to the hereditary marshal of the en-
pire, who, it is said, kept it until the electors
were unanimous. RUmer Buchner says that
originally the custom was to wall in the cleo
tors in this chapel until they were unanimous
in their choice. food being given to them
through openings in the wall. The archbishop
of Mayence now asked his collectors. super
fuous enough. if they had any objections to the
election of King Carl Of Spain. Very natural
ly they answered no, and he was elected, un-
consciously, as the Emperor Carl VI. The re-
suit was quickly made known; trumpets,
drums, church bells. cannon.iring and loud
hurrahing almost deafened the spectators; the
electors then went on horseback from the ca.
thedral tn the Romer, and thence to their res
licences; the closed gates were opened, stran.
gers sped in from all sides, the Jews crept out
of their houses, and couriers sped in hundreds
to take the news to the cities of the empire.
THE CEREMONIES IN THE CATHEDRAL.
Then came the coronation ceremonies. The
king was expected to arrive from Spain about
the middle of December, which interval was
used by the electors. princes and the rest In
amusements of any kind they liked. A multi.
tude of princes, counts and noblemen' came
with their followers to congratulate the new
emperor the deputies from Aix-la- Chapelle
came with the old insignia there preserved; the
deputies from Nuremberg, with the insignia
there preserved; from Aix-la-Chapelle was
brought the sword of Charlemagne, the costly
book of the Evangelsts, being the four gospels
IN golden letters, left on earth by the Evange
lists; and. finally, little casket, with earth
upon which the blood of Stephen had flowed
both from the grave of Charlemagne; from
was brought another sword of
Charlemagne, the sword of st. Mauritius, the
golden sceptre, imperial apple, imperial mantle,
the dalmatica, stola, stockings, sandals, gloves
and two girtlcts. The new emperor arrived
on the 10Th of December with an endless reti- |
nue. cavaliers, horse-gualds, heyducks, lack
eys, eighty-nine six-span carriages, fifteen two.
span carriages with the Frankfort magistrates
and ten with Frankfort citizens, the latter
having gone out to meet the king in order to
present him with the keys of the city and to
bring their congratulations. Amid the firing
Of cannon and the shouts of the people, "Es
ebe Carolus VII" the king approached the
where he attended mass, swearing
to the electoral constitution, and then to his
palace, where audiences, festivities and gala
l.. ..,I g ofI