I've decided to make a coronation scene for my old model of the imperial crown.
▬ Historical Background ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
The story behind it fascinates me... for the entirety of the medieval period of the Holy Roman Empire there had been multiple coronations. First, the most prominent German lords (and later electoral princes) would elect the future king, then he would typically go to Aachen to be crowned king of Germany (officially styled as "king of the Romans"). This act was typically performed by the Archbishop of Cologne in whose jurisdiction Aachen fell.
After that the newly crowned king would typically prepare for a while until he would travel to Northern Italy to be crowned king of Italy ("king of the Lombards") mostly in Pavia by the Archbishop of Milan. If at all possible he would also travel to the kingdom of Burgundy/Arles and crowned king there by the Archbishop of Besançon. This wasn't done by most kings though as their kingship was implied via the title of "king of the Romans".
Lastly a deal would need to be struck with the Papacy in Rome who would crown the monarch as "emperor of the Romans" and thus fully fledged ruler of the Holy Roman Empire and by extension secular head of Christendom. This was the most prestigious and sought-after title any ruler in Catholic Europe could hold which gave the pope (who was not a vassal of the emperor) a lot of power within imperial politics.
After 1508, only a single coronation would need to be performed as the papal coronation was deemed unnecessary and the newly crowned German king would style himself as "emperor-elect" upon his predecessor's death by the votes of the electoral princes. To further demonstrate the increased importance of the German princes, all three ecclesiastical electors (the Archbishop of Mainz, Trier and Cologne) would be involved in the coronation ritual, simultaneously holding up the crown with one hand each before placing it on the emperor's head.
This ritual was performed up until the last coronation of a Holy Roman Emperor in 1792.
▬ Project ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
This is a still rendering of a short animation yet to come.
Modeling was done in 3ds Max and Zbrush, texturing in Adobe Substance Painter, rendered in V-Ray and postproduction in Adobe Photoshop.
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