Ideology, Imagery and Ritual of Rulership in the Angevin and Song Enthroning Ceremonies

This thesis concerns rulers and rulership in the twelfth century through a comparison of Angevin England and Song China. It examines how the legitimacy of rulership was constructed through the ruling monarchs’ inauguration ceremonies in these two distant, unconnected and distinguished realms. The examination concentrates primarily on the inauguration ceremonies of two contemporaneous monarchs – King Henry II (r.1154–89) and Emperor Gaozong (r.1127–1162). By adopting the approach of comparative history, this research aims to investigate rulers and rulership from a fresh perspective. As described in Chapter One, two questions have driven this endeavour: methodologically, can medieval European history be compared with the history of the same period in other parts of the world – for instance, China? And epistemologically, what can we learn about medieval rulership from such a comparison? The comparison is undertaken from three main perspectives: the inauguration documents, the inauguration locations, and the inauguration rituals. Chapter Two analyses Henry II’s Inauguration Charter and early charters as well as Emperor Gaozong’s inauguration Patent/Ceshu and Amnesty/Sheshu. It focuses on the titles, protocols, and relationships between the monarch, divinity and subjects shown explicitly and implicitly within these documents. The analysis suggests that in both cases, rulers drew legitimacy from the past, from divinity and from their subjects. Chapter Three explores the critical features that made Westminster and Yingtian the two rulers’ chosen inauguration places. It addresses the concepts of ‘capital’, ‘central place’, and ‘the site of king-making,’ and attempts to clarify the relationships between them. The examination of the features of the locations together with the concepts of rulership adds further understanding. The inauguration place participated in the legitimation of rulership due to it connecting the new rulership with the established old authorities. Chapters Four and Five address inauguration rituals. Chapter Four examines the procession, the acts of reluctance, and the verbalisation of the ritual that was aimed at displaying the ruler. Chapter Five examines the promise-making, the ritual objects, and the divine recognition of the new rulership – the rituals that aimed at empowering the rulers. Either way, the rituals were vital to the legitimation of the ruler’s inauguration. Looking beyond the practical similarities and differences of the Angevin and Song enthroning ceremonies, this research reveals that uniqueness and continuity were the consequential imagery of rulership; legitimacy came from the acceptance of this imagery by the ruled; power was derived from connections.