Ampullae were small nearly globular flasks or bottles with 2 handles but later became flatter and often without handles. They were often used for holy water or holy oil. In 496, 10 years after king Hlōdowig (Clovis) of the Salian Franks defeated the military commander of Soissons and ended Roman rule beyond Italia, he was beptized by St. Remigius (Rémi), the bishop of Reims, with the oil of a sacred phial brought from heaven by a dove, leading to the conversion of the Franks, a seminal event in European history. When it was found that there was no available oil of the catechumens or sacred chrism for the proper administration of the baptismal ceremony, Remigius placed 2 empty vials on an altar, which miraculously filled respectively with the necessary ingredients. During the 9th-century reign of Holy Roman emperor Charles II the Bald the sepulcher containing the body of St. Rémi was opened and 2 small vials were found which gave off an aromatic scent. These were probably unguents used to cover the scent of decay of during the funeral. Charles' adviser archbishop Hincmar of Reims adroitly combined the 2 accounts to strengthen his claim that Reims should be recognized as the divinely chosen site for all anointings of French kings. The ampulla that held the chrism was used by pope Innocentius II to anoint Louis VII in 1131 and continued to be used until the coronation of Louis XVI in 1774, while the one containing the oil of catechumens was used to anoint the French queens. In 1793, shortly before becoming president of the Convention nationale (the 1st government of the French Revolution) Philippe Rühl publicly used a hammer to smash the Sainte Ampoule on the pedestal of the statue of Louis XV, but 2 pieces of the glass vial were clandestinely preserved and put in a new reliquary for the coronation of Charles X in 1825.
Ampullae were small nearly globular flasks or bottles with 2 handles but later became flatter and often without handles. They were often used for holy water or holy oil. In 496, 10 years after king Hlōdowig (Clovis) of the Salian Franks defeated the military commander of Soissons and ended Roman rule beyond Italia, he was beptized by St. Remigius (Rémi), the bishop of Reims, with the oil of a sacred phial brought from heaven by a dove, leading to the conversion of the Franks, a seminal event in European history. When it was found that there was no available oil of the catechumens or sacred chrism for the proper administration of the baptismal ceremony, Remigius placed 2 empty vials on an altar, which miraculously filled respectively with the necessary ingredients. During the 9th-century reign of Holy Roman emperor Charles II the Bald the sepulcher containing the body of St. Rémi was opened and 2 small vials were found which gave off an aromatic scent. These were probably unguents used to cover the scent of decay of during the funeral. Charles' adviser
ReplyDeletearchbishop Hincmar of Reims adroitly combined the 2 accounts to strengthen his claim that Reims should be recognized as the divinely chosen site for all anointings of French kings. The ampulla that held the chrism was used by pope Innocentius II to anoint Louis VII in 1131 and continued to be used until the coronation of Louis XVI in 1774, while the one containing the oil of catechumens was used to anoint the French queens. In 1793, shortly before becoming president of the Convention nationale (the 1st government of the French Revolution) Philippe Rühl publicly used a hammer to smash the Sainte Ampoule on the pedestal of the statue of Louis XV, but 2 pieces of the glass vial were clandestinely preserved and put in a new reliquary for the coronation of Charles X in 1825.