On the Unity of De Regno 1-4 of the 'Hibernensis'.

The Collectio Canonum Hibernensis (CCH) has been insufficiently studied and that is also true of its LiberXXV entitled De Regno which is potentially important for understanding aspects of royal initiation in Ireland and Francia during the eighth century. For De Regno's neglect, two reasons are notable. One is that the first two chapters dealing with royal unction and lot-casting can be interpreted as being contradictory and, for the second, that chapters 3 and 4 present only a shortened version of the well-known De Duodecim Abusivis Saeculi, and thus seem inherently less interesting than the original text itself. But these four chapters of CCH appear to present a connected and coherent whole, and that requires explanation. The present study argues four points: first, that chapters 1 and 2 simply follow the OT model of king-making; second, that the principles expressed in chapters 3 and 4 are mainly also drawn from the OT and are keyed to respond to the anointing directive in 1; third, that they are shortened from the 'Twelve Abuses' text in order that they be more easily used in practice, that is delivered as admonitions at an actual royal inauguration. That being the case, chapters 1-4 of De Regno would then constitute the earliest surviving royal anointing ordo of the West. Furthermore, the text was known in Francia by the 740s where it is unique because it is the only work then existent and probably known to the Pippinids that recommends an unction ritual for a new king in combination with a biblical rationale for deposing an earlier incompetent one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]