being chanted by the choir in poliphony. After finishing his quiet reading of the hymn at the altar and while the choir was still singing the same hymn, the presiding prelate left the altar and returned to the emperor's throne, standing at one of the steps of the throne at the emperor's right hand side. There the officiating prelate waited the conclusion of the singing of the Te Deum by the choir. While all the guests and participants of the coronation remained standing, the emperor remained seated in his throne, crowned and holding the sceptre. Once the singing of the Te Deum was concluded, the celebrating archbishop or bishop recited a few verses over the emperor, while the clergy and people present recited the responses. The first exchange was: V. Let your hand be strengthened and your right hand be exalted; R. Let justice and judgment be the foundations of your throne. Those exchanges being finished, the officiating prelate recited two solemn prayers. During those prayers the emperor stood from the throne chair, and the archbishop remained next to him and to his right, at the steps of the throne, looking towards the Altar. The first of those two prayers was the prayer God who gave Moses victory... (Deus qui victrices Moysi...); and the second was the prayer, God, inexplicable author of the world... (Deus, inenarrabilis auctor mundi...). While the first prayer was for the whole people, the second prayer was an additional petition of God's blessings specifically for the newly crowned emperor, and while reciting it twice the presiding prelate produced the sign of the cross towards the monarch as an act of benediction. This prayer for the emperor had the following form of words: Let us pray. God, inexplicable author of the world, creator of the humankind, confirmer of kingdoms, Who from the descendants of Your faithful friend, our Patriarch Abraham, pre-ordained the future King of the centuries to come, may You deign to enrich this illustrious emperor here present, together with his army, with an abundant blessing (here the sign of the cross was made towards the emperor), by the intercession of the blessed ever Virgin Mary, and of all the saints, and unite him in firm stability to the imperial throne; visit him, as you visited Moses in the [burning] bush, Joshua in battle, Gideon in the field and Samuel in the Temple; bestow upon him