Crown of Sancho IV facts for kids
The Crown of Sancho IV is a special royal crown that belonged to King Sancho IV of Castile. It's also called the "imperial crown" or "crown of the cameos." This crown is very old and important because it's one of the few medieval royal crowns that still exists today, exactly as it was made.
King Alfonso X of Castile first mentioned the crown in his will in 1284. We know that kings Fernando III, Alfonso X, and Sancho IV wore this crown. It was buried with King Sancho IV in the Cathedral of Toledo. It was found by accident in 1948 when people were looking for the tomb of Sancho II of Portugal.
What the Crown Looks Like
This crown is about 57 centimeters (about 22 inches) around and 8 centimeters (about 3 inches) tall. It is made from eight gilded silver plates, which are joined together with hinges. Each plate is about 7 by 4.5 centimeters.
At the top of each plate, there is a castle symbol with three towers. In the middle of each plate, there is either a beautiful stone or a cameo. A cameo is a small carving, often on a gemstone, that sticks out from the background.
Four of the plates have uncut sapphires. The other four plates have cameos. Two of these cameos are very old, from the Roman Empire (around the 1st century CE). They show portraits of Drusus the Younger and Queen Omphale. The other two cameos were made in the Middle Ages in Italy. They look like the ancient Roman cameos but show two unknown men.
History of the Crown
The will of King Alfonso X mentions crowns, meaning there might have been more than one. It seems that using cameos in royal crowns was common in Castile. Royal crowns and jewels were often treated like family treasures, passed down from a father to his children.
When King Sancho IV died in 1295, he was buried in a chapel he had built in the Cathedral of Toledo. He had moved the bodies of other kings to this chapel too. His tomb was first a simple stone box. Later, his wife, María de Molina, ordered a nicer tomb. His body was moved to this new tomb in 1308. This might be the tomb you can see today near the main altar.
The body was moved again in the 1500s by Cardinal Cisneros. He placed the body in its current spot, which is where the crown was later found.
How the Crown Was Found
The Crown of Sancho IV was discovered in 1948. This happened during a search for the tomb of Sancho II of Portugal in the main altar area of Toledo Cathedral. During this search, four sarcophagi (stone coffins) were found. These belonged to King Alfonso VI of Castile, his son Sancho III of Castile, King Sancho IV, and Prince Pedro, son of Alfonso XI of Castile.
It was amazing that these sarcophagi had not been robbed during the Comuneros revolt or by Napoleonic troops. King Sancho IV's body was found wrapped in a quilt, and the crown was with him.
Today, the Crown of Sancho IV is kept safely in the cathedral of Toledo.
See also
In Spanish: Corona de Sancho IV para niños
