Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/527

CROWN CROWS 523 tained, was made of weeds and wild flowers gathered from the spot where the troops or citizens had been beleaguered, and was there- fore also called corona graminea. The corona cimca was the reward for a soldier who should save the life of a citizen in battle, by slaying his opponent and maintaining the ground; it was an oak wreath, and was the second of the military crowns in honor. The corona rostrata or navalis was bestowed upon the Roman who in a naval combat had first boarded the ene- my's vessels, or the commander whose skill and courage had gained a signal victory ; it was of gold, and decorated with representations of the beaks of ships. The corona muralis was given by the general to the soldier who first scaled the wall of a besieged town ; it was of gold, and decorated with turrets. The corona castrensis was ornamented with palisades, and was given to the soldier who first surmounted the intrenchments and forced an entrance into the enemy's camp. The corona triumphalis was a wreath of laurel (afterward of gold), given by the soldiers to the victorious general on the day of his triumph. The corona ovalis, of myrtle, and of less estimation than the pre- ceding, was given to generals who enjoyed an ovation instead of a triumph. The corona oleagina was a wreath of olive, and was be- stowed upon victorious soldiers as well as generals. There was a crown of olive or gold peculiar to the priests, which was also regarded as an emblem of peace; radiate crowns attributed to gods and deified he- roes and emperors; and a crown of ver- bena, worn by brides, by whom it was gath- ered and braided. The custom of crowning poets with wreaths of flowers existed both among the Greeks and Romans. The crown under different names, as crown, tiara, mitre, and diadem, has been a badge of civil and ecclesiastical supremacy from remote antiquity. The mitre of the Jewish high priest and the radiate crowns upon coins of ancient Persian kings are examples. The Roman and Byzan- tine emperors wore crowns of various kinds, the diadem, a sort of fillet, becoming common after the time of Constantine. The imperial crown of Charlemagne, imitated from Byzan- tine usage, was closed above like a cap, and terminated in a circle of gold. During the middle ages the emperors of Germany received three crowns : that of Germany, which was of silver, and was assumed at Aix-la-Chapelle ; the crown of iron, which had formerly been peculiar to the Lombard kings, and was as- sumed at Pavia; and the imperial crown, which was received at Rome, and was sur- mounted by a mitre similar to that of bishops, but somewhat smaller. The crown of iron, though chiefly of gold, derived its name from an iron band which encircled it in the interior, and which was said to have been made frdin one of the nails which served in the crucifixion of Christ. It is still preserved in the cathedral of Monza, and was one of the crowns of the Austrian emperors while they were masters of the Lombardo- Venetian kingdom. Napoleon wore it when he was crowned king of Italy at Milan. The kings of France of the first race wore a diadem of pearls in the form of a fillet ; those of the second wore a double row of pearls ; those of the third wore a circular band of gold enriched with precious stones. Philip of Valois introduced the three fleurs de lis about 1330. Francis I. returned to the crown of Charlemagne, arched over the head, in or- der not to leave this mark of superiority to Henry VIII. and Charles V. ; and from that time this has continued to be the crown of France. A fillet of pearls appears from coins to have been the most common crown of the Saxon kings of England. Stephen introduced the open crown with fleur de lis, and Richard III. first placed the arched crown with crosses and fleur de lis upon the great seal. The crown which, with slight variations, has been con- tinued by succeeding sovereigns, was intro- duced by Henry VII. At present it is a circle of gold, adorned with pearls and precious stones, having alternately four crosses pattee and four fleurs de lis ; above these rise four arched dia- dems, which close under a mound and cross. The whole covers a velvet cap trimmed with ermine. About the 10th century, when the feudal lords disputed the royal supremacy, all the ranks of the nobility assumed a sort of crown. (See COKONET.) The popes have for many centuries worn a triple crown, which is designed to signify their ecclesiastical, civil, and judicial supremacy. It consists of a long cap or tiara of golden cloth, encircled by three coronets, one rising above the other, surmount- ed by a mound and cross of gold. CROWN POINT, a town of Essex co., N. Y., on the W. shore of Lake Champlain, about 90 m. N. of Albany ; pop. in 1870, 2,449. It joins the town of Ticonderoga on the south, and is traversed by the S. division of the Whitehall and Plattsburgh railroad. It is principally noted as the site of Fort Frederick, now in ruins, erected by the French in 1731. The fort came into the hands of the British in 1759, and with its garrison of 12 men was taken in May, 1775, by a detachment of Americans under Seth Warner, forming part of the force with which Ethan Allen surprised Fort Ticonderoga. CROWS, a tribe of American Indians, called by themselves Absaroka or Upsaroka, occupy- ing when first known the basins of the Yellow- stone, Big Horn, and Tongue rivers. They belong to the great Dakota family, having separated from the Minetaries or Gros Ventres, but were driven from their territory by the Ogallala Sioux and the Northern Cheyennes. In their turn they pressed on the Flatheads, Blackfeet, and other mountain tribes. They were roughly estimated about 1820 at 3,250. They are divided into three tribes, with as many dialects : the Kikatsa or Crows proper ; the Ahnahaways, near the Mandans; and the Allakaweah. A treaty was made with them in