The Prince's Stone (german: Fürstenstein, sl, knežji kamen) is the reversed base of an ancient Ionic column that played an important role in the ceremony surrounding the installation of the princes of Carantania in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. After the incorporation into the

Frankish Empire Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

, the procedure, held in Slovene, was continued as the first part of the coronation of the Dukes of Carinthia. It was followed by a

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

at Maria Saal cathedral and the installation at the Duke's chair, where he swore an oath in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and received the homage of the estates.

The stone

The column probably originates from the nearby

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

city of Virunum, established as capital of the

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the nor ...

province under the reign of Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

(AD 41–54). During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the coat of arms of the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...

was engraved on its top surface. Until 1862, when it was transferred to the ''Landhaus'' provincial assembly at

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, it stood northwest of the '' Kaiserpfalz'' of Karnburg (Slovene: ) in the Zollfeld plain, built by Emperor

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from ...

Democratic notion

The ceremony involving this notion has been confirmed by several sources, including the medieval reports and the writing of

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 Augu ...

in 1509. It was also described by

Jean Bodin Jean Bodin (; c. 1530 – 1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is known for his theory of sovereignty. He was also an influential writer on demonology. Bo ...

in his ''Treatise on Republican Government'' (1576) as "unrivaled in the entire world", although there is evidence that the Stone of Scone in Scotland and the Lia Fáil in Ireland were used in a similar fashion. Angelique van Engelen (2005
Ancient Slavic Democracy Amounted To Some Magnificent Drama
Global Politician. An echo of the notion of a stone of kingship is present in European literature in the form of the Arthurian motif of the Siege Perilous – itself derived, ultimately, from ancient Irish conceptions of kingship.

Democratic procedure

The peasant, sitting on the Stone, was representing the people during the ceremony and he had to ask in Slovene: "Who is he, that comes forward?" Those sitting around him would reply: "He is the prince of the land". "Is he an upright judge seeking the well-being of the country; is he freeborn and deserving? Is he a foster and defender of the Christian faith?" the representative of the people had to ask them. "He is and he will be", they would reply. "By what right can he displace me from this my seat?" he had to ask them and they would reply: "He will pay you sixty

denarii The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...

and he will give you your home free and without tribute". The peasant then had to give the

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

a gentle blow on the cheek (''un petit soufflet''), after which the duke was allowed to draw his

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

, mount the Stone and turn full circle, so as to face ritually in all directions. While this was being done, all had to sing the

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

Kyrie and praise God for the gift of a new ruler, in accordance with His divine will. Finally, the ruler had to be placed on horseback and conducted around the Stone three times.

Later allusions and influences

The first mention of a ''sedes Karinthani ducatus'' in the course of the installation of Herman II of Sponheim in 1161 possibly referred to the Prince's Stone. The ceremony was explicitly described about 1341 by the chronicler John of Viktring in his ''liber certarum historiarum'' on the occasion of the coronation of Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol in 1286: when the duke-to-be approached, he found a free peasant sitting on the stone. Not before Meinhard had assured him he was worthy to accede to the throne and would be a just ruler would the peasant vacate his position. In

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

's personal copy of Bodin's book, Jefferson's initials appear next to the description of the ceremony. A myth has developed that the description inspired Jefferson during the creation of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. However, there is no direct evidence for this theory and it has been dismissed by mainstream scholars.Vodopivec, Peter. 2009. Politics of History Education in Slovenia and Slovene History Textbooks since 1990. In: Augusta Dimou (ed.), ''Transition and the Politics of History Education in Southeast Europe'', pp. 47–70. Göttingen: V&R unipress, p. 65. The partition of Carinthia after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

made the Prince's Stone a part of the common and therefore disputed Carantanian heritage. When in 2005 the

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

n government of prime minister Janez Janša decided to depict the Prince's Stone on the national side of the Slovenian 2-cent coin, it caused some consternation in Austria. In 2006,

Carinthian Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carint ...

governor Jörg Haider (Austria) had the stone that since 1905 had been displayed at the Carinthian State Museum, transferred again to the Heraldic Hall at the Klagenfurt ''Landhaus''.

References

{{coord, 46.6249, N, 14.3057, E, source:wikidata, display=title Duchy of Carinthia Medieval Slovenia Coronation stones Individual thrones Political history of Slovenia

The stone

Democratic notion

Democratic procedure

Later allusions and influences

See also

References