Römische Historische Mitteilungen 63/2021, pp. 51-68, 2021/11/02
On March 16th 1452, on the Thursday before Mid-Lent Sunday, the Romans and their guests witnessed a ‘double’ ceremony, which was exceptional in more than one respect. On the occasion of a solemn papal mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Nicholas V celebrated the marriage of the future imperial couple, Frederick III Habsburg and the Portuguese Infanta Eleonore. Furthermore, Frederick III was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. This ritual was usually performed in Milan. There are almost thirty reports, in different languages, about these events and ceremonies, which also deliver their own description of the complex procedures taking place at that time. The aim of this article is to reconstruct the ceremony on the basis of these reports and then to analyse it through a comparative approach. Some important objects that were used during both ceremonies will then be examined: two gold rings for the imperial couple and the Iron Crown of Lombardy, the descriptions of which differ greatly in the reports. These ceremonies are then to be seen in a broader context. The article also focuses on the controversial aspect concerning the coronation with the Iron Crown of Lombardy being moved to the Eternal city.
