The Funeral Crown ( pl, Korona Pogrzebowa), also known under its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name as the ''Corona Funebris'' or ''Funebralis'', was a part of the

Polish Crown Jewels The only surviving original piece of the Polish Crown Jewels ( pl, Polskie Klejnoty Koronne) from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial sword – Szczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items at the W ...

. It was probably lost before 1669.

History

The crown was executed around 1586 for funeral ceremonies to Stephen Báthory of Poland and was bequeathed to the State Treasury of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

at the end of the 16th century. It was described in an inventory from the early seventeenth century as ''silver gilded funeral crown with an orb and sceptrum and an inscription of King Stephen''. The crown was intended for funeral ceremonies of the Polish monarchs and was placed on the corpse of the deceased, lying in the ''

Castrum doloris Castrum doloris (Latin for ''castle of grief'') is a name for the structure and decorations sheltering or accompanying the catafalque or bier that signify the prestige or high estate of the deceased. A ''castrum doloris'' might feature an elabora ...

''. When the last of the

Jagiellons The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler ...

, died in

Knyszyn Knyszyn ( be, Кнышин, yi, קנישין, translit=Knishin, lt, Knišinas) is a town in north-eastern Poland, northwest of Białystok. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999), and was formerly in the Białystok Voivodeshi ...

and transport of the Crown Jewels from the treasury in Kraków to

Podlaskie Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest ci ...

was impossible, the ''

Hungarian Crown The Hungarian Crown ( pl, Korona Węgierska) was a part of the Polish Crown Jewels. It was made in the 16th century, resembling the Crown of Saint Stephen, as a private crown of John II Sigismund Zápolya. History The original Hungarian Regali ...

History

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading