Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons^™

The Eighth Sacrament? The Evidence Of Hincmar Of Rheims, Doyle M.B. Baxter

Honors Bachelor of Arts

The Catholic Church did not dogmatically define the list of seven sacraments until the Council of Trent in the 16th century, marking the culmination of hundreds of years of theological study and reflection upon sacraments. After the definition of seven, French theologians argued that the coronation of their king was an eighth sacrament. In this paper, I contend that Hincmar of Rheims, his theology of kingship, and the coronation rites that he compiled are likely responsible for the French claim. Hincmar was the Archbishop of Rheims from 845 until his death in 882. During his time as archbishop, he compiled …