The Iron Crown of Lombardy and Charlemagne

The Iron Crown of Lombardy and Charlemagne

One important figure who made a huge contribution to the Middle Ages was the ruler Charlemagne. Between his heroic acts in uniting the lands to being a very charitable, and family oriented man, Charlemagne was a man of the century. Prior to being crowned emperor of the Romans, he also obtained one great artifact that has been found by researchers, the iron crown of Lombardy. This crown was crafted with six plates of gold that were hinged together on the outside and is held together by an iron ring on the underneath side. This iron ring has originally of been stated to have came from the True Cross which is the cross of Jesus's crucifixion. For more information on the legend of this iron ring the Holy Roman Empire Association goes into great detail, http://www.holyromanempireassociation.com/iron-crown-of-lombardy.html. According to another source due to its smaller size they believe it was originally to be an armlet and not a true crown (Britannica, Iron Crown of Lombardy). Another theory is that since due to its small size after the passing of Charlemagne women used it onto of their heads and placed a vein under it. This was a theory due to the small holes which are affixed on the rim (Holy Roman Empire Association). 

Researchers have found that the crown was crafted by the metal workers of the Byzantine, and is a piece of historic art with green accents, jewels, and translucent enamel. These jewels were held in place with a mixture of clay and beeswax which in this era was a common adhesive used (Lineages).The current location and display of the crown is held at the Cathedral of Monza near Milan, Italy. Through the use of an ANSTO machine they were able to look back at the carbon atoms and date the crown back between 700-780 AD. One fact that I find interesting to tie into the idea of history and times changing is that gold never loses its value and has always been around. Currency changes through time but the value and quality of metal and gold/silver always has worth.

“The Iron Crown of Lombardy.” Iron Crown of Lombardy, http://www.holyromanempireassociation.com/iron-crown-of-lombardy.html. Accessed 12 Sept. 2019.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Iron Crown of Lombardy.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Aug. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Iron-Crown-of-Lombardy. Accessed 12 Sept. 2019.

Lineages, https://www.charlemagne.org/ic.html. Accessed 12 Sept. 2019.