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Royal Maundy is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. At the service, the British Monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver coins known as "Maundy money" (legally, "the Queen's Maundy money") as symbolic alms to elderly recipients. The coins are legal tender but do not circulate because of their silver content and numismatic value. A small sum of ordinary money is also given in lieu of gifts of clothing and food that the sovereign once bestowed on Maundy recipients. The name "Maundy" and the ceremony itself derive from an instruction, or ''mandatum'', of Jesus Christ at the Last Supper that his followers should love one another. In the Middle Ages, English monarchs washed the feet of beggars in imitation of Jesus, and presented gifts and money to the poor. Over time, additional money was substituted for the clothing and other items that had once been distributed. Beginning in 1699 the monarch did not attend the service, sending an official in his place. The custom of washing the feet did not survive the 18th century. In 1931 Princess Marie Louise was at Royal Maundy, and afterwards suggested that her cousin, King George V, make the distributions the following year, which he did, beginning a new royal custom. Traditionally, the service was held in or near London, in most years in the early 20th century at Westminster Abbey. Today, Queen Elizabeth II almost always attends (she has been absent only four times in her reign), and the service is held in a different church (usually a cathedral) every year. Recipients were once chosen for their poverty and were entitled to remain as Maundy recipients for life; today new recipients are chosen every year for service to their churches or communities, on the recommendation of clergymen of various Christian denominations. Generally, recipients live in the diocese where the service is held, although this was altered for the 2011 and 2012 services. Maundy money is struck in denominations of one penny, two pence, three pence, and four pence. Until the 18th century the coins given were from the circulating coinage, and it was not until the latter half of the century that the four Maundy coins developed as distinct, noncirculating pieces. The obverse design of the coins features the reigning monarch. The reverse, with a crowned numeral enclosed by a wreath, derives from a design first used during the reign of William and Mary, and which has been virtually unaltered since 1822. In most years there are fewer than 2,000 complete sets of Maundy money; they are highly sought after by collectors. == Origins; early and medieval history == The word ''Maundy'' derives from the command or ''mandatum'' by Christ at the Last Supper, to love one another. The Gospels relate that on the eve of his Crucifixion, Jesus Christ ate a meal with his disciples. After the meal, it is recorded that Jesus washed their feet, and gave them the following ''mandatum'' or command: "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you." ''Mandatum'' is the derivation of the word "Maundy", and the Royal Maundy service evolved from Jesus' command to his disciples. By the fourth or fifth century a ceremony had been developed following Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday, in which high Church leaders washed the feet of the poor. The ceremony, known as the ''pedilavium'', was performed daily in some monasteries; in 992, Bishop Oswald of Worcester died during its performance. The first English monarch to be recorded as distributing alms at a Maundy service was on 15 April 1210, when John donated garments, forks, food, and other gifts to the poor of Knaresborough, Yorkshire. John is also the first English monarch to be recorded as giving gifts of small silver coins to the poor when in 1213 he gave 13 pence to each of 13 poor men at a ceremony in Rochester—the number being symbolic of the Twelve Apostles together with either Jesus or an angel. Few details of the 13th century Maundy survive; they are known to have existed from records which show the spending necessary for the gifts to the poor. The monarch was not alone in performing the rituals of the Maundy service; Henry III's children assisted him as part of their political and religious training. Henry's son, Edward I, was the first monarch to keep the Maundy only on or about Maundy Thursday; before Edward, additional Maundys might be kept during the year. According to Virginia Cole in her study of royal children's role in the 13th century Maundy, the service had a political purpose as well, as needing to humble himself by doing the ''pedilavium'' proclaimed the monarch's greatness. Attendance at a Maundy service became an obligation for all major European ruling houses. By 1363 the British monarch performed the ''pedilavium'' and also gave gifts: that year, fifty-year-old Edward III gave fifty pence to each of fifty poor men. It is not known, however, whether it was as yet the practice each year to have the number of pence and the number of recipients track the monarch's age: Henry IV was the first monarch to decree that the number of pence given be determined by the monarch's age. The ceremony was not always performed on Maundy Thursday; it could be postponed a day to Good Friday by royal command, as it was in 1510. Nobles could hold their own Maundy distributions, as did Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland in the early 16th century, according to a contemporary record: "My Lord useth and accustomyth yerly uppon the said Maundy Thursday when his Lordshipe is at home to gyf yerly as manny Pursses of Lether ... with as manny Penys in every purse to as many poore men as his Lordshipe is Yeres of Aige and one for the Yere of my Lords Aige to come." Although Mary I and Elizabeth I differed religiously, both performed elaborate Maundy ceremonies. Records from 1556 show that Mary washed the feet of forty-one poor women (reflecting her age) while "ever on her knees", and gave them forty-one pence each, as well as gifts of bread, fish, and clothing, donating her own gown to the woman said to be poorest of all. In 1572 disliking the scenes as each woman tried to secure a piece of the royal gown, Queen Elizabeth granted a sum of £1 to each recipient in lieu of the gown, giving it in a red purse. Contemporary writer William Lambarde noted that the money was substituted for the gown "to avoid trouble of suite, which accustomabile was made for that perferment". In years in which plague was rife, the monarch did not attend, sending an official, usually the Lord High Almoner, to make the distributions and perform the ''pedilavium''. Even though scented water was used to disguise any unpleasant odours from the poor, the feet were washed three times before the monarch performed the ''pedilavium'', once by a menial and twice by Court officials. In later years, sweet-smelling nosegays were used to disguise odours—the nosegays are still carried today. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal Maundy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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