WikiDwarf: Creating Sceptre

2023-05-26T06:01:36Z

Creating Sceptre

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{{Short description|Staff held by a ruler to symbolize authority}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Darius the Great.jpg|thumb|upright|Relief carving of [[Darius the Great]] of [[Persia]] on his throne, holding a sceptre and lotus]]
A '''sceptre''' is a [[Staff of office|staff]] or [[wand]] held in the hand by a ruling [[monarch]] as an item of [[regalia|royal or imperial insignia]], signifying [[Sovereignty|sovereign]] authority.

==Antiquity==
{{anchor|Egypt}}
{{Further|Pharaoh#Scepters and staves}}

=== Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia ===
[[File:Codice di hammurabi 03.JPG|thumb|The [[Code of Hammurabi]] stela depicts the god Shamash holding a staff.]]
The ''[[Was (sceptre)|Was]]'' and other types of staves were signs of authority in [[Ancient Egypt]]. For this reason they are often described as "sceptres", even if they are full-length staffs. One of the earliest royal sceptres was discovered in the [[Second dynasty of Egypt|2nd Dynasty]] tomb of [[Khasekhemwy]] in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]]. Kings were also known to carry a staff, and [[Pharaoh]] [[Anedjib]] is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called ''mks''-staff.
The staff with the longest history seems{{clarify|date=November 2017}} to be the ''heqa''-sceptre (the "shepherd's crook").

The sceptre also assumed a central role in the [[Mesopotamia]]n world, and was in most cases part of the royal insignia of sovereigns and gods. This continued throughout [[History of Mesopotamia|Mesopotamian history]], as illustrated in literary and administrative texts and iconography. The Mesopotamian sceptre was mostly called ''ĝidru'' in [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and ''ḫaṭṭum'' in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bramanti|first1=Armando|title=The Scepter (ĝidru) in Early Mesopotamian Written Sources|journal=KASKAL. Rivista di storia, ambienti e culture del Vicino Oriente Antico|date=2017|volume=2017|issue=14|url=https://www.academia.edu/36557491 | isbn = 978-88-94926-03-3}}</ref>

The Biblical [[Book of Genesis]] refers to the sceptre of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]].
{{blockquote|“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”|Genesis 49:10 KJV<ref>{{bibleref|Genesis|49:10}}</ref>}}

In the [[First Persian Empire]], the Biblical [[Book of Esther]] mentions the sceptre of the [[King of Persia]].
{{blockquote|"When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter."|Esther 5:2}}

=== Greco-Roman world ===
[[File:Zeus Hermitage St. Petersburg 20021009.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] in the [[Hermitage Museum|Hermitage]], holding the sceptre and orb.]]
Among the early [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], the sceptre ({{lang-grc|σκῆπτρον}}, ''skeptron'', "staff, stick, baton") was a long staff, such as [[Agamemnon]] wielded (''Iliad'', i) or was used by respected elders (''Iliad'', xviii. 46; [[Herodotus]] 1. 196), and came to be used by judges, military leaders, priests, and others in authority. It is represented on painted vases as a long staff tipped with a metal ornament. When the sceptre is borne by [[Zeus]] or [[Hades]], it is headed by a bird. It was this symbol of Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]], that gave their inviolable status to the ''kerykes'', the heralds, who were thus protected by the precursor of modern [[diplomatic immunity]]. When, in the ''Iliad'', [[Agamemnon]] sends [[Odysseus]] to parley with the leaders of the [[Achaeans (tribe)|Achaeans]], he lends him his sceptre.

Among the [[Etruria|Etruscans]], sceptres of great magnificence were used by kings and high priests. Many representations of such sceptres occur on the walls of the painted tombs of Etruria. The [[British Museum]], the Vatican, and the Louvre possess Etruscan sceptres of gold, elaborately and minutely ornamented.

The Roman sceptre probably derived from the Etruscan. Under the [[Roman Republic|Republic]], an ivory sceptre (''sceptrum eburneum'') was a mark of [[consul]]ar rank. It was also used by victorious generals who received the title of ''[[imperator]]'', and its use as a symbol of delegated authority to [[legatus|legate]]s apparently was revived in the marshal's [[Baton (symbol)|baton]].

Under the [[Roman Empire]], the ''sceptrum Augusti'' was specially used by the emperors, and was often of ivory tipped with a golden [[eagle]]. It is frequently shown on medallions of the later empire, which have on the obverse a half-length figure of the [[Roman Emperor|emperor]], holding in one hand the ''sceptrum Augusti'', and in the other the [[globus cruciger|orb]] surmounted by a small figure of [[Victoria (mythology)|Victory]].

=== India ===
The codes of the right and the cruel sceptre are found in the ancient [[Tamil language|Tamil]] work of ''[[Tirukkural]]'', dated before 5th century [[Common Era|CE]]. In its chapters 55 and 56, the text deals with the right and the cruel sceptre, respectively, furthering the thought on the ethical behaviour of the ruler discussed in many of the preceding and the following chapters.<ref>[http://ebooks.gutenberg.us/HimalayanAcademy/SacredHinduLiterature/weaver/content.htm Tirukkuṛaḷ] verses 541–560</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Pope | first = George Uglow | title = The Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva Nayanar | publisher = Asian Educational Services | edition = First | date = 1886 | location = New Delhi | url = http://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/pdf/pm0153.pdf | isbn = 8120600223 }}</ref> The ancient treatise says it was not the king's spear but the right sceptre, known as "Sengol" in Tamil,<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Sengol, symbol of Chola legacy set to stand tall in India's new parliament? |url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/what-is-sengol-symbol-of-chola-legacy-set-to-stand-tall-in-indias-new-parliament-595984 |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=WION |language=en-us}}</ref> that bound him to his people—and to the extent that he guarded them, his own good rule would guard him.<ref name="PSSundaram_Kural">{{cite book
| last = Sundaram
| first = P. S.
| title = Tiruvalluvar: The Kural
| publisher = Penguin Books
| edition = First
| date = 1990
| location = Gurgaon
| pages = 12
| isbn = 978-01-44000-09-8
}}</ref> It was a practice of ancient Indian kingdoms and dynasties, such as the [[Chola]] kings, to use a symbolic sceptre during coronations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Sengol, symbol of Chola legacy set to stand tall in India's new parliament? |url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/what-is-sengol-symbol-of-chola-legacy-set-to-stand-tall-in-indias-new-parliament-595984 |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=WION |language=en-us}}</ref>

Inspired by the traditions of Tamil monarchies,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=‘Sengol’ to be installed in the new parliament: Significance of the sceptre, first given to Nehru |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/sengol-new-parliament-significance-nehru-8626977/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> a gold-plated sceptre (called ''[[The Sengol|Sengol]]'' in Tamil) was ceremonially handed over from [[Lord Mountbatten]] to [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] to mark the transfer of power from the British to independent India in 1947.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transfer of Power to India in 1947: A little known foundational event |url=https://sengol1947ignca.in/contents/sengol-the-event/en}}</ref> After independence, the ''sengol'' was displayed at [[Allahabad Museum|Allahabad Musuem]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQs on Sengol |url=https://sengol1947ignca.in/faq |website=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts}}</ref> In 2023, [[Indian government|Government of India]] announced that this ''sengol'' will be installed near the [[Speaker of the Lok Sabha|Lok Sabha Speaker]]’s chair on the occasion of inauguration of the [[New Parliament House, New Delhi|New Parliament House]] in New Delhi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-24 |title=Inspired by Cholas, handed over to Nehru: historic ‘Sengol’ to be installed in new Parliament building |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/inspired-by-cholas-handed-over-by-british-to-nehru-historic-sengol-to-be-installed-in-new-parliament-building/article66888185.ece |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=The Hindu |language=en}}</ref>

==Christendom==
[[File:Scepter of Tsar Boris III.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|The Royal Sceptre of [[Boris III]] of [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]]]]
[[File:Pedro Américo - D. Pedro II na abertura da Assembléia Geral.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|An 1872 portrait of Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil]], holding the very large Imperial Sceptre and invested with other items of the [[Brazilian Imperial Regalia|Brazilian Crown Jewels]]]]

With the advent of [[Christianity]], the sceptre was often tipped with a [[cross]] instead of with an eagle. However, during the [[Middle Ages]], the [[finial]]s on the top of the sceptre varied considerably.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

In [[England]], from a very early period, two sceptres have been concurrently used, and from the time of [[Richard I of England|Richard I]], they have been distinguished as being tipped with a cross and a dove respectively. In France, the royal sceptre was tipped with a ''[[fleur de lys]]'', and the other, known as the ''main de justice'', had an open hand of benediction on the top.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Sceptres with small shrines on the top are sometimes represented on royal seals, as on the great seal of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], where the king, enthroned, bears such a sceptre, but it was an unusual form; and it is of interest to note that one of the sceptres of [[Scotland]], preserved at [[Edinburgh]], has such a shrine at the top, with little images of [[Mary, the mother of Jesus|the Virgin Mary]], [[Saint Andrew]], and [[Saint James the Great]] in it. This sceptre was, it is believed, made in France around 1536 for [[James V of Scotland|James V]]. Great seals usually represent the sovereign enthroned, holding a sceptre (often the second in dignity) in the right hand, and the orb and cross in the left. [[Harold Godwinson]] appears thus in the [[Bayeux Tapestry]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The earliest English coronation form of the 9th century mentions a sceptre (''sceptrum''), and a staff (''baculum''). In the so-called coronation form of [[Æthelred the Unready]], a sceptre (''sceptrum''), and a rod (''virga'') appear, as they do also in the case of a coronation order of the 12th century. In a contemporary account of [[Richard I of England|Richard I]]’s [[Coronation of the British monarch|coronation]], the [[Sceptre with the Cross|royal sceptre of gold with a gold cross]] (''sceptrum''), and the [[Sceptre with the Dove|gold rod with a gold dove on the top]] (''virga''), enter the historical record for the first time. About 1450, Sporley, a monk of [[Westminster Abbey|Westminster]], compiled a list of the relics there. These included the articles used at the coronation of Saint [[Edward the Confessor]], and left by him for the coronations of his successors. A golden sceptre, a wooden rod gilt, and an iron rod are named. These survived until the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth]], and are minutely described in an inventory of the [[British Crown Jewels|regalia]] drawn up in 1649, when everything was destroyed.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

For the coronation of [[Charles II of England]], new sceptres with the Cross and the Dove were made, and though slightly altered, they are still in use today. Two sceptres for the [[queen consort]], one with a cross, and the other with a dove, have been subsequently added.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The flags of [[Flag of Moldova|Moldova]] and [[Flag of Montenegro|Montenegro]] have sceptres on them, clasped by eagles.

==See also==
{{columnslist|colwidth=30em|
*[[Axis mundi]]
*[[Baton (military)|Baton]]
*[[Black Rod]]
*[[Bulawa]]
*[[Ceremonial weapon]]
*[[Crown jewels]]
*[[Marotte|Fool's sceptre]]
*[[Globus cruciger|Orb]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{1911|wstitle=Sceptre|volume=24|page=309}}

{{Coronation}}

[[Category:Formal insignia]]
[[Category:Regalia]]
[[Category:Heraldic charges]]
[[Category:Byzantine regalia]]
[[Category:Walking sticks]]
[[Category:Wands]]

Sceptre - Revision history

WikiDwarf: Creating Sceptre