[66]
WIKIPEDIA
KING’S CHAMPION
[67]
WIKIPEDIA
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
[68]
When William, the Conqueror — who was also Duke of Normandy — seized the English throne in 1066, he asked his friend Robert Marmion to act as his Champion. Marmion’s role was to literally throw down the gauntlet, openly challenging anyone doubting the new king’s legitimacy, to prove their case through armed combat. In return for putting his life on the line, Marmion was given an estate at Scrivelsby, in Lincolnshire. The grant for this sets out that:
“The manor of Scrivelsby is holden … the service of finding on the day of Coronation, an armed knight who shall prove by his body, if need be, that the King is true and rightful heir to the kingdom.”
MUSEUM OF LONDON
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: A CORONATION
TRADITION NO MORE
3 MAY 2023
Up until 1821, the King’s Champion would openly challenge anyone who doubted the new king’s legitimacy at the Coronation banquet.
Back in the medieval age, knights could and did settle disputes through trial by combat. This formal process began by throwing onto the ground an armoured glove, or gauntlet. If the other person picked it up, the challenge was accepted, and the duel commenced. The victor won not only the fight, but the argument.
The Dukes of Normandy employed selected knights to fight such duels on their behalf, particularly when their right to rule was questioned. So came about one of the more arcane and romantic rituals surrounding the coronation of British monarchs.
When William, the Conqueror — who was also Duke of Normandy — seized the English throne in 1066, he asked his friend Robert Marmion to act as his Champion. Marmion’s role was to literally throw down the gauntlet, openly challenging anyone doubting the new king’s legitimacy, to prove their case through armed combat. In return for putting his life on the line, Marmion was given an estate at Scrivelsby, in Lincolnshire. The grant for this sets out that:
“The manor of Scrivelsby is holden … the service of finding on the day of Coronation, an armed knight who shall prove by his body, if need be, that the King is true and rightful heir to the kingdom.”
Over the centuries, Scrivelsby, and with it the role of Champion, has remained with Marmion’s descendants who, since 1350, have been the Dymoke family. Their family motto is the Latin phrase Pro Rege Dimico, a play on their name, meaning “I contend for the King”.
Traditionally, the challenge took place during the Coronation banquet, held in Westminster Hall. A painting in the Museum of London’s collection shows the scene at George IV’s banquet in 1821. At the centre of events, amidst the medieval splendour of the hall rides, in full armour, Henry Dymoke (acting on behalf of his clergyman father). He is accompanied by Lord Howard of Effingham (the Deputy Earl Marshal), and the Duke of Wellington (the Lord High Constable), both of whom wear ceremonial robes and coronets.
At the far end of the hall, beneath an elaborate canopy, facing the Champion and his entourage, sits King George. Stretching the length of the chamber are rows of tables, at which grandees such as the dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and barons sit. Above these are two-tiered galleries for the lords’ wives and the landed gentry. Lady Caroline Greville, whose admission ticket to George’s banquet is in the museum’s collection, would have been seated in one these. Lucky though she may have been to witness the Champion’s challenge, Greville probably left hungry, for those in the galleries did not, apparently, get to eat.
Nevertheless, George IV’s banquet was amongst the most lavish on record, costing around £250,000, or over £14 million in today’s money. The dishes were prepared from 23 kitchens, producing 160 tureens of soup, courses of fish, roast venison, beef, mutton, veal and vegetables, moistened with sauce from 480 gravy boats. Attendees washed all of this down with 9,840 bottles of wine and 100 gallons of iced punch. Anyone not satisfied by all of that could help themselves to any of the 3,721 cold dishes provided, which included hams, pasties, seafood and jellies.
George IV’s coronation was the last time the Champion actually performed the ceremony of throwing down the gauntlet. Ten years later, William IV made significant cuts to expenditure, when he assumed the throne, and the Champion was reduced to more modest duties. At the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1951, the role of then Champion, John Dymoke, was simply to carry the Royal Standard.
The banquet no longer takes place in Westminster Hall and, in any case, it is unlikely that King Charles III will provide so extravagant a menu for his guests on 6 May. John Dymoke’s son, Francis, will be King’s Champion on this occasion. Buckingham Palace announced on 27 April that he would, like his father, carry the Royal Standard at the coronation. In this way, he will continue a duty performed by his family for the monarch for close to a thousand years.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[69]
“The manor of Scrivelsby is holden … the service of finding on the day of Coronation, an armed knight who shall prove by his body, if need be, that the King is true and rightful heir to the kingdom.”
MUSEUM OF LONDON
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: A CORONATION
TRADITION NO MORE
3 MAY 2023
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT, NOTE 68
[70]
Over the centuries, Scrivelsby, and with it the role of Champion, has remained with Marmion’s descendants who, since 1350, have been the Dymoke family. Their family motto is the Latin phrase Pro Rege Dimico, a play on their name, meaning “I contend for the King”.
MUSEUM OF LONDON
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: A CORONATION
TRADITION NO MORE
3 MAY 2023
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT, NOTE 68
WIKIPEDIA
DYMOKE/HISTORY
ORIGINAL SOURCE
”The Dymoke family of the Manor of Scrivelsby in the parish of Horncastle in Lincolnshire holds the feudal hereditary office of King’s Champion. The functions of the Champion are to ride into Westminster Hall at the coronation banquet and challenge all comers who might impugn the King’s title.”
WIKIPEDIA
DYMOKE
[71]
MUSEUM OF LONDON
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: A CORONATION
TRADITION NO MORE
3 MAY 2023
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT, NOTE 68
[72]
”After the coronation ceremony, there was the traditional banquet where “Sir Thomas Dymoke, the hereditary King’s champion, rode into the hall in full armour, flung down his mail gauntlet, and challenged anyone who disputed Edward’s right to do battle with him.””
THE TUDOR SOCIETY
28 JUNE 1461-CORONATION OF EDWARD IV
On Sunday 28th June 1461, Edward IV was crowned king at Westminster Abbey. Edward had been declared king after defeating the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Towton in March 1461. Edward had made his triumphal state entry into London on Friday 26th June, riding from Lambeth to the Tower of London. Michael D. Miller writes:
“At the gates of the City, he was received by the Lord Mayor and the Aldermen, clad in scarlet robes, accompanied by 400 from the Court of Common Council and the most prominent of the citizens. The solemn and gorgeous procession wound it way slowly through the City streets whilst the people cheered the God-like figure of Edward, so very different from the drab and vacant-eyed creature they had previously seen as their King. Edward looked every inch a King, and a King who would give them a lasting
peace. In him they saw an end to the troubles which had afflicted the Realm in recent years.”1
At the Tower of London, Edward dubbed 32 Knights of the Bath, men who processed before their new king when he made his way to the Abbey to be crowned. The Croyland Chronicle records:
“King Edward, after the festivities of Easter, which he celebrated with great splendour at York, having placed garrisons throughout the whole country in whom he could fully rely, returned, as conqueror, to London. Here he immediately assembled the Parliament, and was crowned at Westminster by the venerable father Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, and solemnly graced with the diadem of sovereignty.”2
As the Chronicle records, Edward was crowned by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, and he was assisted by William Booth, Archbishop of York. After the coronation ceremony, there was the traditional banquet where “Sir Thomas Dymoke, the hereditary King’s champion, rode into the hall in full armour, flung down his mail gauntlet, and challenged anyone who disputed Edward’s right to do battle with him.”3
A beautiful manuscript roll measuring nearly 20 feet in length was produced to celebrated Edward IV’s coronation and you can see photos of it and find out more about it at http://libwww.library.phila.gov/medievalman/Detail.cfm?imagetoZoom=mca2010001.
Here is an extract from my book Illustrated Kings and Queens of England on Edward IV:
Edward IV was born on 28 April 1442 at Rouen and was the son of Richard, Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and was descended from Edward III through Edward’s second son, Lionel, Duke of Clarence. He became King of England after deposing the Lancastrian king Henry VI twice with the support of his cousin Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who was known as “The Kingmaker”.
Edward angered the Earl of Warwick by marrying Elizabeth Woodville, widow of Sir John Grey of Groby, in secret in 1464, ruining Warwick’s plans for a marriage alliance with France. He alienated Warwick further by advancing members of Elizabeth’s family and Warwick turned to Edward’s brother, George, Duke of Clarence, for support. In 1469, Warwick and Clarence led an army against Edward and defeated him at the Battle of Edgecote Moor on 26 July. The Queen’s father and one of her brothers were captured and executed, and Edward was captured at Olney. Warwick lacked support to rule as king and was forced to release Edward. Warwick and Clarence fled to France where they made an alliance with Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI, agreeing to invade England and restore Henry VI to the throne. Henry was restored as king in October 1470, but Edward was able to gain the support of his brother-in-law Charles, Duke of Burgundy, and returned to England with his brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and an army. He was able to win support in England and he marched to London, where he took Henry VI captive. He defeated and killed the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet and the Lancastrian forces at the Battle of Tewkesbury. Clarence was accused of plotting against Edward in 1477 and was put to death, allegedly by being drowned in a butt of malmsey wine, in 1478.
The last years of his reign were once of peace and prosperity, but Edward died suddenly on 9 April 1483 at Westminster but was able to name his brother, Richard of Gloucester, Protector of England while his son was too young to reign in his own right. He was buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[73]
”The Roger Mortimer case had a direct connection with
Richard, Duke of York , who would fight a bitter fight
with the House of Lancaster for the English throne.
Because through his mother, Anne Mortimer , daughter
of Roger Mortimer, he had
a superior claim to the English throne.
He, his mother and Roger Mortimer were
descendants of Lionel of Antwerp , second son of King Edward III.”
THE WARS OF THE ROSES/CAUSES OF THE WARS OF THE
ROSES/A TRAVEL TO THE PAST
ASTRID ESSED
3 FEBRUARY 2015
[74]
”George IV’s coronation was the last time the Champion actually performed the ceremony of throwing down the gauntlet.”
MUSEUM OF LONDON
THROWING DOWN THE GAUNTLET: A CORONATION
TRADITION NO MORE
3 MAY 2023
SEE FOR THE WHOLE ARTICLE, NOTE 68
WIKIPEDIA
GEORGE IV
[75]
””LONDON – Francis Dymoke won’t ride into King Charles III’s coronation on horseback and challenge any pretender to the throne to single combat as his ancestor did in 1066, but he will carry the Royal Standard into Westminster Abbey.”
”LONDON – Francis Dymoke won’t ride into King Charles III’s coronation on horseback and challenge any pretender to the throne to single combat as his ancestor did in 1066, but he will carry the Royal Standard into Westminster Abbey.
Dymoke, a 67-year-old farmer from eastern England, will be the King’s Champion at the coronation, fulfilling a role performed by members of his family since William the Conqueror was crowned nearly 1,000 years ago. His was one of more than two dozen ceremonial roles announced Thursday by Buckingham Palace as organizers seek to ground the coronation in tradition while also ensuring that it reflects modern Britain.”
KING’S CHAMPION, ORB-BEARER:
PALACE UNVEILS CORONATION ROLES
LONDON – Francis Dymoke won’t ride into King Charles III’s coronation on horseback and challenge any pretender to the throne to single combat as his ancestor did in 1066, but he will carry the Royal Standard into Westminster Abbey.
Dymoke, a 67-year-old farmer from eastern England, will be the King’s Champion at the coronation, fulfilling a role performed by members of his family since William the Conqueror was crowned nearly 1,000 years ago. His was one of more than two dozen ceremonial roles announced Thursday by Buckingham Palace as organizers seek to ground the coronation in tradition while also ensuring that it reflects modern Britain.
While the first Champion earned his role through long service to the king, Dymoke filled out an online form, explaining his family’s historic role in the coronation, then waited for government bureaucrats to review his claim. Thursday’s announcement means he will be the 34th member of his family to take part in a coronation.
“This is the one moment in my life that really matters,” he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper earlier this year.
Other roles announced Thursday include those who will carry the king’s regalia — including the crown, scepters, orb, swords and spurs — to the altar on May 6.
Some of the jobs went to those with historic claims, like Dymoke, but others will be carried out by senior military officers, bishops and politicians.
For instance, Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, will carry the Sword of State due to her role as Lord President of the Privy Council, which advises the monarch.
Others were awarded to relatively unknown individuals.
Petty Officer Amy Taylor will be the first woman to carry the Sword of Offering into the Abbey after she was chosen to represent service men and women across the country.
“Those undertaking these historic roles in the service have been chosen to recognize, thank and represent the nation due to their significant service, and include representatives from Orders of Chivalry, the military and wider public life,” the palace said.
The King’s Champion originally rode into the coronation banquet on horseback, threw down a gauntlet and challenged anyone who doubted the king or queen’s right to rule.
But there hasn’t been a coronation banquet since 1821, so Champions now perform other roles, usually bearing a flag or standard, the palace said.
The Dymoke family’s traditional claim to the role was linked to the land in Lincolnshire they were awarded at the time of the Norman conquest of England, Dymoke told The Telegraph. But in the modern world, his invitation to the coronation wasn’t guaranteed.
“All I can do is request to take part,” he told the newspaper.
“I wrote along the lines that … my family has done it since William the Conqueror, and though I appreciate it’s not a right any more … it would be a good thing to be involved.”
The palace agreed.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[76]
”“This is the one moment in my life that really matters,” he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper earlier this year.”
KING’S CHAMPION, ORB-BEARER:
PALACE UNVEILS CORONATION ROLES
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT, NOTE 75
[77]
KING’S CHAMPION, ORB-BEARER:
PALACE UNVEILS CORONATION ROLES
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT, NOTE 75
