[howley] the old royal COAT OF ARMS AT PLACENTIA 39 



Arch-Tbeasurer of The Holy Roman Empire. 



It was in view of this last fictitious title that he marshalled on his 

 Arms the (also fictitious) " Crown of Charlemagne." This title was 

 doubly or quadruply fictitious. In the first place the Empire itself was 

 fictitious ; his claim to the Treasurership was fictitious ; the treasurership 

 itself was fictitious, and the emblem, the so-called Crown of Charlemagne, 

 is fictitious. 



A few words here concerning the 



Holy Eoman Empire 



may not be considered out of place. The old Eoman Empire, founded 

 by Julius and Augustus Cœsar, was divided at the close of the 4th 

 century (A. D. 395) between Arcadius and Honorius, sons of Theo- 

 dosius the Great, into the Eastern and Western Empires. The capital 

 of the Eastern was Constantinople, of the Western, Rome. In the year 

 476 the Western Empire was overthrown by Odoacer. In the following 

 (Gth) century Justinian became Emperor of the whole Empire, and 

 though retaining Rome, he still kept his Court at Constantinople. This 

 state of things lasted until the year 800, when Cha,rlemagne, King of 

 the Franks, was crowned at Rome by Pope Leo III. as Emperor of the 

 New Roman Empire, called the Holy Roman Empire. The imperial 

 title had fallen very low under succeeding Emperors till the time 

 of Otto the Great (962) who revived some of its glory. From his 

 time down the German Emperors kept the title, until the year 1806, 

 when Francis II., Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia and Hungary, 

 etc., resigned the imperial title and assumed the title of Emperor of 

 Austria : with him the " Holy Roman Empire " ended. ^ 



George's claim to the office of Archtreasurer, etc., was based upon an 

 intricate chain of consanguinial descent, from the House of Guelf, son 

 of Isembert, Count of Aldtdorf, and Irmintrude, sister of Charlemagne. 

 The Crown which he marshalled on his arms, and which is erroneously 

 called " the Crown of Charlemagne," is in reality a Southern Italian 

 piece of workmanship of the 11th century. Until the year 1796 it was 

 preserved in the Church of the Holy Ghost at i^uremberg ; at the present 

 time it is in the Treasure Chamber at Vienna. The letters S. R. I. A. 

 T. on the Coin (Fig. 18) apply to this rather nebulous claim of the Elec- 

 tors of Hanover. The full reading is Sancti Romani Imperii Archi- 



1 It is on this account that the prayer formerly said in the Liturgy of the 

 Catholic Church on Good Friday, " Pro Christianissitno Impcratorc Nostro.'^ has 

 been suppressed ; not, as has been stated by some, because the Church of Rome 

 refuses to pay due honor to temporal Sovereigns. 



