page_title: French Crown Jewels
section_title: Coronation sword
hierarchical_section_title: French Crown Jewels / Regalia and jewels at the Louvre / Coronation sword
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Epée du sacre des rois de France, dite "Joyeuse" ou "épée de Charlemagne" Différentes parties du Xème au XIXème siècles - Longeur 1,05 m. - Trésor de la Basilique de Saint-Denis, puis Musée du Louvre. Inv. n° MS 84
context_page_description: The French Crown Jewels comprise the crowns, orb, sceptres, diadems and jewels that were symbols of Royal power between 752 and 1825. These were worn by many Kings and Queens of France. The set was finally broken up, with most of it sold off in 1885 by the Third French Republic. The surviving French Crown Jewels, principally a set of historic crowns, diadems and parures, are mainly on display in the Galerie d'Apollon of the Louvre, France's premier museum and former royal palace, together with the Regent Diamond, the Sancy Diamond and the 105-carat Côte-de-Bretagne red spinel, carved into the form of a dragon. In addition, some gemstones and jewels are on display in the Treasury vault of the Mineralogy gallery in the National Museum of Natural History.
context_section_description: The sword used during the coronation of the kings of France is displayed at the Louvre museum with its 13th-century scabbard, apart from the crown jewels. In the first part of the celebration, the king received the insignia of knighthood, consisting of spurs and the sword. Throughout the rest of the ceremony, the sword was entrusted to the "Connétable", who held it with the blade pointing upwards. The treasury of Saint-Denis possessed several medieval swords including the one of Saint Louis.  According to legend the coronation sword is "Joyeuse",  Charlemagne's sword.  Its unusual build and ornamentation makes it difficult to date, but the parts probably date back from the 10th to 13th centuries.  Some believe it might be much older, even manufactured before Charlemagne's reign.
  The coronation swords of Napoleon I and Charles X also were preserved in the Louvre museum, although the first was transferred to the Palace of Fontainebleau with most of the preserved liturgical instruments and robes of the imperial ceremony and the latter stolen in 1976.
caption: Joyeuse, the sword of Charlemagne, Louvre.
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