Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
This is an item from the French medieval royal regalia – known as the ‘Sceptre of Charlemagne’ it is believed to have been made in 1379 by King Charles V and was first used in 1380 at the coronation of his son Charles VI. Originally a staff three foot nine inches long – you can see it in use in the coronation portraits of the Bourbon kings.
The top of a sceptre has a monde decorated with sapphires and rubies, with three repousse panels of the life of Charlemagne. From this grows a fleur-de-lys on which is very large image of Charlemagne crowned and enthroned.
The sceptre has been repaired and altered over the centuries. Considerable work was undertaken in the 19th century, and the fleur-de-lys once enamelled white, was stripped back to bare gold. When it was seized in 1793 during the revolution, part of the shaft was then melted down, and the sceptre was reduced in length by two feet.
This is an item from the French medieval royal regalia – known as the ‘Sceptre of Charlemagne’ it is believed to have been made in 1379 by King Charles V and was first used in 1380 at the coronation of his son Charles VI. Originally a staff three foot nine inches long – you can see it in use in the coronation portraits of the Bourbon kings.
The top of a sceptre has a monde decorated with sapphires and rubies, with three repousse panels of the life of Charlemagne. From this grows a fleur-de-lys on which is very large image of Charlemagne crowned and enthroned.
The sceptre has been repaired and altered over the centuries. Considerable work was undertaken in the 19th century, and the fleur-de-lys once enamelled white, was stripped back to bare gold. When it was seized in 1793 during the revolution, part of the shaft was then melted down, and the sceptre was reduced in length by two feet.
