From the Diet of Worms to the Augsburg Confession - James Aitken Wylie

anniversary of his birth, and also of the victory of
Pavia, the turning-point of his greatness. The
coronation was a histrionic sermon upon the
theological and political doctrines of the age, and
as such it merits our attention.
Charles received his crown at the foot of the
altar. The sovereignity thus gifted was not however
absolute; it was conditioned and limited in the
manner indicated by the ceremonies that
accompanied the investiture, each of which had its
meaning. In the great Cathedral of San Petronio–
the scene of the august ceremony–were erected two
thrones. That destined for the Pope rose half-a-foot
higher than the one which the emperor was to
occupy. The Pontiff was the first to take his seat;
next came the emperor, advancing by a foot-bridge
thrown across the piazza which separated the
palace in which he was lodged from the cathedral
where he was to be crowned. The erection was not
strong enough to sustain the weight of the
numerous and magnificent suite that attended him.
It broke down immediately behind the emperor,
precipitating part of his train on the floor of the
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