The Crystal Sceptre (occasionally described as a mace) is part of the

regalia Regalia is a Latin plurale tantum word that has different definitions. In one rare definition, it refers to the exclusive privileges of a sovereign. The word originally referred to the elaborate formal dress and dress accessories of a sovereig ...

of the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

. It was presented to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

by King

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

in return for having provided the king with 10,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

( £6,666) to fund a war in France in 1415, when his army captured Harfleur and then won the Battle of Agincourt.

Description

The

sceptre A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

measures long, with a

rock crystal Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

shaft incised with helical grooves, in two parts, mounted with gold and pearls. At the top is a gold crown with alternating fleur-de-lys and cross embellishments, mounted with jewels including Afghan red spinel, Ceylon blue

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

s, and

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s from the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

. Within the circlet of the crown is a painting on parchment of the

Royal Arms of England The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...

adopted in 1406, quartering three fleurs-de-lys for France with three lions for England. The crown may have been adapted from a religious sculpture of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. The other end has a large glass boss.

History

The sceptre was probably made in Paris, c.1380–1420, and presented to the City of London between 1415 and 1421: it was depicted being held by the Lord Mayor of London in a painting of the coronation of Queen

Catherine of Valois Catherine of Valois or Catherine of France (27 October 1401 – 3 January 1437) was Queen of England from 1420 until 1422. A daughter of Charles VI of France, she was married to Henry V of England and gave birth to his heir Henry VI of Englan ...

In February 1421. A rare object of medieval gold to have survived to the modern day, it was hidden during the Commonwealth and kept safe by the Lord Mayor Sir Thomas Bloodworth during the Great Fire of London in 1666. The glass boss was replaced by the jewellers Rundell, Bridge & Rundell in the 1830s. The sceptre is kept in the City's vaults, and usually only seen in public at the coronation of a monarch. It is one of the symbolic items – sceptre, sword, purse, seal – that are touched during the annual Silent Ceremony to install a new Lord Mayor each November, but remains in its protective box throughout. The sceptre went on public display for the first time in 2015, at the

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guil ...

References

The greatest thank you gift in English history goes on show
''The Telegraph'', 11 October 2015
Henry V's 'Crystal Sceptre' displayed at Guildhall Art Gallery
cityoflondon.gov.uk, 12 October 2015
Unveiling the Crystal Sceptre: Henry V's Gift to the City
cityoflondon.gov.uk, 24 October – 3 December 2015

External links

Hedon Mace – Links with Mayors, Lord Mayors and King Henry!
27 May 2015
Unveiling the Crystal Sceptre: Henry V's Gift to the City, London Guildhall Art Gallery, October 24 - December 3
agincourt600.com
Postcard of the Lord Mayor carrying the Crystal Sceptre, at the Coronation of Edward VII, 1902

Henry V's 'Crystal Sceptre' on display for the first time
ianvisits.co.uk, 8 November 2015
Sceptre gifted by Henry V to City of London after Battle of Agincourt goes on display
royalcentral.co.uk
This Sceptred Isle
Guy the London Guide, 1 November 2015
Henry V's Crystal Sceptre gift after Agincourt victory
BBC, 23 October 2015 History of London Regalia

Description

History

References

Further reading

External links