AMPULLA, a Latin word denoting a small jar or flask for holding liquids. In medimval church Latin it usually signifies the vessels that contained the consecrated oils, of which the three principal - for the catechumens, for the sick, and for confirmation - were hallowed by the bishop on the Thursday before Easter. The word has passed into our language in connection with the coronation of the kings of England, and occurs repeatedly in the coronation service. Thus, in that used for Queen Victoria, we read : - " The anthem being concluded, the Dean of Westminster, taking the ampulla and spoon from off the altar, holdeth them ready, pouring some of the holy oil into the spoon, and with it the archbishop anointeth the Queen in the form of a cross. . . . Then the Dean of Westminster layeth the ampulla and spoon upon the altar." Gildas mentions its use as established among the Britons in his time, and St Columba is said to have employed it in the coronation of King Aidan. The most celebrated ampulla in history is that known as la sainte ampoule at Rheims, from which the kings of France were anointed. According to the legend, which gained for itself a secure place in the national belief, it had been brought from heaven by an angel for the coronation of Clovis, and at one period the kings of France claimed precedence over all other sovereigns on account of it. It seems, however, that Pepin in the 8th century was the first French king who was anointed, and this in connection with his baptism rather than his coronation. (See the preface to the 3d volume of Maskcll's lfonume-nta Ritualia and the authorities there referred to.)