coronet

[kawr-uh-nit, -net, kor-, kawr-uh-net, kor-]

coronet, head attire of a noble of high rank, worn on state occasions. It is inferior to the crown. British peers wear their coronets at the coronation of their sovereign. Although dukes wore coronets to mark their rank by the 14th cent., it was in the reign of Elizabeth I that individual patterns were adopted for other peers, and barons received distinguishing insignia in 1661. The coronet of a duke is bordered by 8 strawberry leaves; that of a marquess, by 4 strawberry leaves alternating with 4 silver balls (sometimes called pearls) on low points; that of an earl, by 8 strawberry leaves alternating with 8 silver balls on high points; that of a viscount, by 16 silver balls on the rim; that of a baron, by 6 silver balls on the gold rim.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Coronet

A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. Unlike a crown, a coronet never has arches.

The word stems from the Old French coronete, a diminutive of co(u)ronne ("crown"), itself from the Latin corona (also "wreath").

Traditionally, such headgear is – as indicated by the German equivalent Adelskrone (literally "crown of nobility") – used by nobles and by princes and princesses in their coats of arms, rather than by monarchs, for whom the word crown is customarily reserved in formal English, while many languages have no such terminological distinction. Other than a crown, a coronet shows the rank of the respective noble. Hence, in German language there is also the term Rangkrone.

For equivalents, both physical and emblematic, in other languages and cultures, see under crown (headgear).

Commonwealth usage

The main use is now actually not on the head (indeed, many people entitled to a coronet never have one made; the same even applies to some monarchs' crowns, as in Belgium) but as a rank symbol in heraldry, adorning a coat of arms.

In the United Kingdom, a peer wears his or her coronet on one occasion only: for a royal coronation, when it is worn along with coronation robes, equally standardised as a luxurious uniform.

In the peerage of the United Kingdom, the design of a coronet shows the rank of its owner, as in German, French and various other heraldic traditions.

The coronet of a duke (a silver-gilt circlet, chased as jewelled but not actually gemmed) has eight strawberry leaves of which five are seen in two-dimensional representations;
that of a marquess has four strawberry leaves and four silver balls (known as "pearls", but not actually pearls), slightly raised on points above the rim, of which three leaves and two balls are seen;
that of an earl has eight strawberry leaves (four visible) and eight "pearls" raised on stalks, of which five are visible;
that of a viscount has sixteen "pearls" touching one another, nine being seen in representation; and
that of a baron (a plain silver-gilt circlet) has six "pearls" of which four are visible.

Since a person entitled to wear a coronet customarily displays it in his or her coat of arms above the shield and below the helm and crest, this can provide a useful clue as to the owner of a given coat of arms. In Canadian heraldry, descendants of the United Empire Loyalists are entitled to use a Loyalist military coronet (for descendants of members of Loyalist regiments) or Loyalist civil coronet (for others) in their arms.

Members of the British Royal Family have coronets on their coats of arms and may wear them at coronations. They were made, according to regulations made by King Charles II in 1661, shortly after his return from exile in France (getting a taste for its lavish court style; Louis XIV started monumental work at Versailles that year) during the Restoration. They vary depending upon the prince's relationship to the monarch. Occasionally, additional royal warrants vary the designs for individuals.

There is evidence to support the wearing of coronets amongst the Welsh royalty and nobility, particularly in the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Llywelyn's coronet was for a while kept with the English crown jewels.

Continental usages

The Holy Roman Empire, and consequently its successor states – Austria, Germany and others – had a system very similar to that of the British, although the design varied.

The normal Adelskrone for lower nobility ("Laubkrone") is a golden ring with pearls and precious stones that features eight tines of which typically only five are visible. Out of those, the central and the outer tines are normally leaves, whereas the others are headed by pearls. In the southern states of Bavaria and Württemberg quite often all tines are headed by pearls.
The Freiherrnkrone (baron's coronet) shows seven tines with pearls.
The Grafenkrone (count's coronet) shows nine tines with pearls. Some of the senior houses used coronets showing five leaves and four pearls (Some mediatized counties and minor principalities had other types of coronets that distinguished them from normal counts).
The Fürstenkrone (coronet of a prince; similar in rank to a marchess) is a golden ring with precious stones and five leaves and a crimson cap, that is surrounded by three visible arches with an imperial globe on top.
The Herzogskrone (duke's coronet) has five arches, but only four tines. Crimson cloth is visible between the arches.

Considering the highly religious nature of the Holy Roman Empire, one can say that, except for the short-lived Napoleonic states, no continental secular system of heraldry historically was so neatly regulated as under the British crown. Still, there are often traditions (often connected to the Holy Roman Empire, e.g., those in Sweden, Denmark or Russia) that include the use of crown and coronets. While most languages do not have a specific term for coronets, but simply use the word meaning crown, it is possible to determine which of those crowns are for peerage or lower-level use, and thus can by analogy be called coronets.

Precisely because there are many traditions and more variation within some of these, there is a plethora of continental coronet types. Indeed there are also some coronets for positions that do not exist or entitle one to a coronet in the Commonwealth tradition.

Such a case in French ("old", i.e., royal era) heraldry, where coronets of rank did not come into use before the 16th century, is the vidame, whose coronet (illustrated) is a metal circle mounted with three visible crosses (no physical headgear of this type known).

Often, coronets are substituted by helmets, or only worn on a helmet.