she could only be cited by a peer. The absence of the two remaining peers in the documents of this era can be explained thus: the bishop of Laon had only been recently elected at the time the other ecclesiastical peers were mentioned, in 1216, and probably not yet consecrated; the Count of Toulouse, on the other hand, is a heretic. Thus, though there had been differences in the dates of the identification of the twelve peers, they were probably instituted simultaneously and their identities were known to their contemporaries. These twelve peerages are known as the 'ancient peerage' or , and the number twelve is sometimes said to have been chosen to mirror the twelve paladins of Charlemagne in the (see below). Parallels may also be seen with the mythical Knights of the Round Table under King Arthur. So popular was this notion that, for a long time, people thought that peerages had originated in the reign of Charlemagne, who was considered a model king and a shining example for knighthood and nobility. The dozen played a role in the royal or consecration, during the liturgy of the coronation of the king, attested to as early as 1179, symbolically upholding his crown, and each original peer had a specific role, often with an attribute. Since the peers were never twelve during the coronation in early periods, due to the fact that most lay peerages were forfeited to or merged in the crown, delegates were chosen by the king, mainly from the princes of the blood. In later periods peers also held up by poles a baldaquin or cloth of honour over the king during much of the ceremony. This paralleled the arch-offices attached to the electorates, the even more prestigious and powerful first college in the Holy Roman Empire, the other heir of Charlemagne's Frankish empire. The twelve original peers were divided in two classes, six clerical peers hierarchically above the six lay peers, which were themselves divided in two, three dukes above three counts: {| class="wikitable" |- ! Rank ! Bishops ! Lay |- | width="10%" rowspan="3" align="center" | Dukes | width="33%" align="center" | Reims, archbishop, premier peer, anoints and crowns the king | width="33%" align="center" | Burgundy, premier lay peer, bears the crown and fastens the belt |- | width="33%" align="center" | Laon, bears the containing the sacred ointment | width="33%" align="center" | Normandy, holds the first