INSCRIPTIONS ON THE 1604 HENRY IIII MEDAL

The legend "majestas major ab igne" means "majesty greater from the fire" rather than "majesty greater than the fire" (which would be "major quam ignis" or "major igne").

The meaning is rather obscure. One interpretation is "the fire of their love increases the majesty of the throne".

The king and queen joining hands, sunshine dispelling clouds above, the fire rising on the conjugal altar suggest the end of some domestic quarrel, which is Henri-Philippe de Limiers' interpretation: http://books.google.com/books?id=Yfu-mXJdiUMC&pg=RA2-PA31 although his precise story (Henri IV retrieving a promise of marriage he had made in writing to a mistress) does not quite seem worthy of a medal.

I doubt that the cornucopia alludes to Marie's dowry. It would have been rather tacky, and the sum of 600,000 gold écus, while large, only represented about 5% of the French crown's annual revenues. Also, she was the daughter of grand-duke Francesco I, and only distantly related to the Medici bankers, coming from another line of Medici who became dukes (later grand-dukes) of Florence after the extinction of the Medici banker line in 1531.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON THE 1604 HENRY IIII MEDAL (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n43a13.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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