Subject
Pale Fire coronation throne
From
Date
Body
[EDNOTE. D. Barton Johnson sends this gloss on the reference to a
"coronation chair" in Pale Fire. Please see attached image. -- SES]
Kinbote Commentary to Line 894: a king
We happened to start speaking of the general present-day nebulation of
the notion of "sin," of its confusion with the much more carnally
colored idea of "crime," and I alluded briefly to my childhood contacts
with certain rituals of our church. Confession with us is auricular and
conducted in a richly ornamented recess, the confessionist holding a
lighted taper and standing with it beside the priest's high-backed seat
which is shaped almost exactly as the coronation chair of a Scottish
king.
The Coronation Chair
The Coronation Chair and the Stone of Scone
The Coronation Chair was made for King Edward I to enclose the famous
Stone of Scone, which he brought from Scotland to the Abbey in 1296,
where he placed it in the care of the Abbot of Westminster. The King had
a magnificent oaken chair made to contain the Stone in 1300-l, painted
by Master Walter and decorated with patterns of birds, foliage and
animals on a gilt ground. The figure of a king, either Edward the
Confessor or Edward I, his feet resting on a lion, was painted on the
back. The four gilt lions below were made in 1727 to replace the
originals, which were themselves not added to the Chair until the early
16th century. The Stone was originally totally enclosed under the seat
but over the centuries the wooden decoration has been torn away from the
front. At coronations the Chair with the Stone stands facing the High
Altar. Every monarch has been crowned in this chair since Edward II in
1308, except Edward V and Edward VIII, who were not crowned.
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"coronation chair" in Pale Fire. Please see attached image. -- SES]
Kinbote Commentary to Line 894: a king
We happened to start speaking of the general present-day nebulation of
the notion of "sin," of its confusion with the much more carnally
colored idea of "crime," and I alluded briefly to my childhood contacts
with certain rituals of our church. Confession with us is auricular and
conducted in a richly ornamented recess, the confessionist holding a
lighted taper and standing with it beside the priest's high-backed seat
which is shaped almost exactly as the coronation chair of a Scottish
king.
The Coronation Chair
The Coronation Chair and the Stone of Scone
The Coronation Chair was made for King Edward I to enclose the famous
Stone of Scone, which he brought from Scotland to the Abbey in 1296,
where he placed it in the care of the Abbot of Westminster. The King had
a magnificent oaken chair made to contain the Stone in 1300-l, painted
by Master Walter and decorated with patterns of birds, foliage and
animals on a gilt ground. The figure of a king, either Edward the
Confessor or Edward I, his feet resting on a lion, was painted on the
back. The four gilt lions below were made in 1727 to replace the
originals, which were themselves not added to the Chair until the early
16th century. The Stone was originally totally enclosed under the seat
but over the centuries the wooden decoration has been torn away from the
front. At coronations the Chair with the Stone stands facing the High
Altar. Every monarch has been crowned in this chair since Edward II in
1308, except Edward V and Edward VIII, who were not crowned.
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
