The Life of King Henry the Eight • Paragraph 871
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Various typical or symbolic functions were then performed. The Lord Great Chamberlain touched the King's feet with a pair of golden spurs as constituting the ancient emblems of Knighthood; a Sword of State, with scabbard of purple velvet, was then handed with elaborate ceremony to the Archbishop who, after placing it upon the Altar and delivering a short prayer proffered it to His Majesty about whom it was girt by the Lord Great Chamberlain, His Grace of Canterbury giving the following injunction: "With this sword do justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the Holy Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, restore the things that are going to decay, maintain the things that are restored, furnish and reform what is amiss and confirm what is in good order; that by doing these things you may be glorious in all virtue; and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this life that you may reign for ever with him in the life that is to come." The King then placed the Sword upon the Altar from which it was presently taken and held drawn from the scabbard before him during the rest of the ceremony. The Dean of Westminster then invested His Majesty with the Armilla, or gold bracelets, and with the Imperial mantle of cloth of gold, while the Archbishop presented the Orb of Empire--a golden ball, made originally for Charles II. with a band covered with gems and a cross set in brilliants. As he did so His Grace said: "Receive this Imperial Robe and Orb; and the Lord your God endow you with knowledge and wisdom, with majesty and with power from on high; the Lord clothe you with the robe of righteousness and with the garments of salvation."