The occasion of Holy or Maundy Thursday reminds me of a curious custom of the former Crown Lands where I have traveled so widely and spent seven years of my life. The usual tradition is for a priest to wash the feet of parishioners in imitation of Christ washing His disciples’ feet before the Last Supper. It reminds all present of Christ's wisdom that all who lead should serve.
In the Austrian monarchical tradition, the Emperor would wash the feet of twelve of Vienna’s poorest in the Hofburg palace. In the ceremony—separate from the day's Mass—the paupers would sit on a dais. The Emperor would also serve them a meal, and archdukes would take away the dishes.
The accompanying illustration was made around 1910, when Franz Joseph was nearly eighty. His nephew Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, is in the foreground, wearing the light-blue hussar jacket.
Here is another post on the pageantry of Austria-Hungary, about the coronation of Emperor Charles I in 1916.
Also, while browsing Getty Images prints from the old Danubian Monarchy, I ran into the one below, which is related to my blog entry on Franz Joseph’s reign from the centenary of his death last November. That article is here.
In the Austrian monarchical tradition, the Emperor would wash the feet of twelve of Vienna’s poorest in the Hofburg palace. In the ceremony—separate from the day's Mass—the paupers would sit on a dais. The Emperor would also serve them a meal, and archdukes would take away the dishes.
The accompanying illustration was made around 1910, when Franz Joseph was nearly eighty. His nephew Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne, is in the foreground, wearing the light-blue hussar jacket.
Here is another post on the pageantry of Austria-Hungary, about the coronation of Emperor Charles I in 1916.
Also, while browsing Getty Images prints from the old Danubian Monarchy, I ran into the one below, which is related to my blog entry on Franz Joseph’s reign from the centenary of his death last November. That article is here.
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