Positions of authority and power often are enhanced by costume and accessories that distinguish the wearer’s bearing among other people and set him/her apart visually. A crown, diadem, or tiara is one such accessory that has been a display of authority throughout history and one that is particularly notable in the history of Western European monarchies is the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

This crown was said to have been made with an iron nail from the True Cross (the cross upon which Christ was crucified, according to Christian tradition) that was hammered out to form the band of its circumference, hence its name, the Iron Crown. Its outer paneling is of six gold and enameled plates joined with hinges and onto these plates are embedded jewels and stones in the forms of crosses and flowers.

It was first worn by Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards from 588 to 628, who was influential in promoting a branch of Christianity throughout Italy that would later prevail as the dominant tradition. The Iron Crown of Lombardy thus became a symbol of Christian faith tied to monarchy and rights to rule. Queen Theodelinda donated the Iron Crown to the Italian church in Monza in 628 and it remained there as a religious relic and as one of the oldest crowns of monarchy in preservation.

Significantly, the crown of the Kingdom of Lombards was used in the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus in 800 by Pope Leo III, as he came to symbolize the re-embodiment of the Holy Roman Empire and its backing by the Papacy. Subsequent emperors between the 9th and 18th centuries were also crowned with the Iron Cross and in 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, following this pattern of authentication of rule, took the crown for himself as well. He claimed himself King of Italy at Milan and took the Iron Crown, with the pronouncement, “Dieu me la donne, gare à qui la touche” (”God gives it to me, beware those who touch it”.) The Iron Crown later fell into the hands of the Austrian Emperor and was kept in Vienna until 1866, when it was returned to Italy and the church at Monza.

Medieval Store Celtic Cross of Duplin Classic Medieval Sword North Italian Sallet

*image–Iron Crown of Lombardy from church at Monza, Italy. *image–Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards. Illustration from the Nuremberg Chronicle, by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514) The Medieval Store offers a product selection of interest to medieval reenactors or medieval collectors of medieval mementos and replicas. Visit our Medieval Store today.

Tags: 1805, 1866, 628, 800, Celtic Cross of Duplin, Charlemagne, Church of Monza, Classic Medieval Sword, crown of Lombardy, crown of the True Cross, Fashion History, history of the crown, history of the diadem, history of the tiara, Holy Roman Empire, Imperator Augustus, Iron Crown, King of Italy, Medieval Store, Monarchy, Napoleon Bonaparte, North Italian Sallet, oldest crown, Pope Leo III, Queen of the Lombards, Religion, religious relic, The Iron Crown, Theodelinda, True Cross