Orb, the legacy of our ancestors

The “cross-bearing orb”, also known as simply the orb or the orb and cross, has been a Christian symbol of authority since the Middle Ages, used on coins, in iconography, and with the sceptre as royal regalia. What does the cross represent and when did Hungarian kings start using the orb? The Őseink Hagyatékai, Örökségünk Facebook page tells the story of the orb.

The wise men of ancient Greece already knew that the most perfect geometric form was the globe. They figured that the cosmos was made up of layered, etheric spheres – with planet Earth in the centre – that moved from time to time and held celestial bodies. This theory fell into oblivion, however, the globe became one of the ensigns of Roman emperors as it symbolised the perfect entirety of their dignity and their power over the world. According to Christian tradition, Constantine the Great avowed the power of Christ over himself and the whole of his empire after defeating his enemies with the help of God. Thus formulating a cross being put on the orb.

The rulers of the Holy Roman Empire took up the orb and the cross as their ensigns since they were desiring the glory of the onetime Rome. They accepted the explanations of Christian theologists, according to which, the orb symbolised three things. Firstly, the eternal divine mercy that is without beginning and without end, received by rulers during the anointing. Secondly, it warns that kings can also laugh on Friday, cry on Sunday and this is why it lastly reminds monarchs that they are mortal and earthly, just like everyone else, and that they can only hope for salvation brought by the cross. Ulterior Christian rulers took over the ensign with the same meanings.

And this was the case with Hungary as well. Our royal mantle is the evidence of this with Saint Stephen holding the orb in his left hand. The iron mounting of coins, stamp prints and pictorial depictions attest that the use of the orb was continuous throughout the years of kingship in Hungary. However, not all is well in the case of the orb.

According to the page, the orb we know today is a simple, undecked, a bit flatted, gilded silver globe. It is topped with a double-dagger made from metal plate with the same height as the diameter of the globe. There are small, triangular shaped enamelled coat of arms in the front part, back part and middle of the globe. What do these coat of arms tell us?

To start off, it is widely known that their original designation was the protection of fighters. The Hungarian coat of arms in particular joins the lily armour of the Anjou dynasty and the red-silver striped armour of the Árpád dynasty, which was already depicted on King Róbert Károly’s 1301 denarius. It seems like our orb is not older than this currency. But didn’t former kings have orbs?