King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen,[1] which title is also given to the consort of a king, although in some cases, the title of King is given to females to show that the woman in question rules in her own right, such as in the case of Jadwiga of Poland.
In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the title may refer to tribal kingship. Germanic kingship is cognate with Indo-European traditions of tribal rulership (c.f. Indic rājan, Gothic reiks, and Old Irish rí, etc.).
In the context of classical antiquity, king may translate in Latin as rex and in Greek as archon or basileus.
In classical European feudalism, the title of king as the ruler of a kingdom is understood to be the highest rank in the feudal order, potentially subject, at least nominally, only to an emperor (harking back to the client kings of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire).[2]
In a modern context, the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies (either absolute or constitutional). The title of king is used alongside other titles for monarchs: in the West, emperor, grand prince, prince, archduke, duke or grand duke, and in the Islamic world, malik, sultan, emir or hakim, etc.[3]
The term king may also refer to a king consort, a title that is sometimes given to the husband of a ruling queen, but the title of prince consort is more common.
The English term king is derived from the Anglo-Saxoncyning, which in turn is derived from the Common Germanic *kuningaz. The Common Germanic term was borrowed into Estonian and Finnish at an early time, surviving in these languages as kuningas. It is a derivation from the term *kunjom "kin" (Old Englishcynn) by the -inga- suffix. The literal meaning is that of a "scion of the [noble] kin", or perhaps "son or descendant of one of noble birth" (OED).
The English term translates, and is considered equivalent to, Latin rēx and its equivalents in the various European languages. The Germanic term is notably different from the word for "King" in other Indo-European languages (*rēks "ruler"; Latinrēx, Sanskritrājan and Irishríg; however, see Gothic reiks and, e.g., modern German Reich and modern Dutch rijk).
With the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, the system of feudalism places kings at the head of a pyramid of relationships between liege lords and vassals, dependent on the regional rule of barons, and the intermediate positions of counts (or earls) and dukes. The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the former Carolingian Empire, i.e. the kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire (centered on the nominal kingdoms of Germany and Italy).[5]
In the course of the European Middle Ages, the European kingdoms underwent a general trend of centralisation of power, so that by the Late Middle Ages there were a number of large and powerful kingdoms in Europe, which would develop into the great powers of Europe in the Early Modern period.
Currently (as of 2022[update]), fifteen kings are recognized as the heads of state of sovereign states (i.e. English king is used as official translation of the respective native titles held by the monarchs).
^There have been rare exceptions, most notably Jadwiga of Poland and Mary, Queen of Hungary, who were crowned as King of Poland and King of Hungary respectively during the 1380s.
^History Crunch Writers. "Aztec Emperors (Huey Tlatoani)". History Crunch - History Articles, Summaries, Biographies, Resources and More. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
^ see e.g. M. Mitterauer, Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path, University of Chicago Press (2010), p. 28.
king, other, uses, disambiguation, title, given, male, monarch, variety, contexts, female, equivalent, queen, which, title, also, given, consort, king, although, some, cases, title, given, females, show, that, woman, question, rules, right, such, case, jadwiga. For other uses see King disambiguation King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts The female equivalent is queen 1 which title is also given to the consort of a king although in some cases the title of King is given to females to show that the woman in question rules in her own right such as in the case of Jadwiga of Poland In the context of prehistory antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples the title may refer to tribal kingship Germanic kingship is cognate with Indo European traditions of tribal rulership c f Indic rajan Gothic reiks and Old Irish ri etc In the context of classical antiquity king may translate in Latin as rex and in Greek as archon or basileus In classical European feudalism the title of king as the ruler of a kingdom is understood to be the highest rank in the feudal order potentially subject at least nominally only to an emperor harking back to the client kings of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire 2 In a modern context the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies either absolute or constitutional The title of king is used alongside other titles for monarchs in the West emperor grand prince prince archduke duke or grand duke and in the Islamic world malik sultan emir or hakim etc 3 The city states of the Aztec Empire had a Tlatoani which were kings of pre Hispanic Mesoamerica The Huey Tlatoani was the emperor of the Aztecs 4 Charlemagne or Charles the Great 748 814 was King of the Franks King of the Lombards and the first Holy Roman Emperor Due to his military accomplishments and conquests he has been called the Father of Europe Heraldic crown of the King of the Romans variant used in the early modern period The Iron Crown of the Lombards a surviving example of an early medieval royal crown 12th century depiction of Theodoric the Great King of the Ostrogoths Louis XIV of France the Sun King Roi Soleil who ruled at the height of French absolutism painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud 1701 Aztec King Nezahualpiltzintli of Texcoco The term king may also refer to a king consort a title that is sometimes given to the husband of a ruling queen but the title of prince consort is more common Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Contemporary kings 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksEtymologyFurther information Rex title and Knyaz The English term king is derived from the Anglo Saxon cyning which in turn is derived from the Common Germanic kuningaz The Common Germanic term was borrowed into Estonian and Finnish at an early time surviving in these languages as kuningas It is a derivation from the term kunjom kin Old English cynn by the inga suffix The literal meaning is that of a scion of the noble kin or perhaps son or descendant of one of noble birth OED The English term translates and is considered equivalent to Latin rex and its equivalents in the various European languages The Germanic term is notably different from the word for King in other Indo European languages reks ruler Latin rex Sanskrit rajan and Irish rig however see Gothic reiks and e g modern German Reich and modern Dutch rijk HistoryThe English word is of Germanic origin and historically refers to Germanic kingship in the pre Christian period a type of tribal kingship The monarchies of Europe in the Christian Middle Ages derived their claim from Christianisation and the divine right of kings partly influenced by the notion of sacral kingship inherited from Germanic antiquity The Early Middle Ages begin with a fragmentation of the former Western Roman Empire into barbarian kingdoms In Western Europe the kingdom of the Franks developed into the Carolingian Empire by the 8th century and the kingdoms of Anglo Saxon England were unified into the kingdom of England by the 10th century With the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century the system of feudalism places kings at the head of a pyramid of relationships between liege lords and vassals dependent on the regional rule of barons and the intermediate positions of counts or earls and dukes The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the former Carolingian Empire i e the kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire centered on the nominal kingdoms of Germany and Italy 5 In the course of the European Middle Ages the European kingdoms underwent a general trend of centralisation of power so that by the Late Middle Ages there were a number of large and powerful kingdoms in Europe which would develop into the great powers of Europe in the Early Modern period In the Iberian Peninsula the remnants of the Visigothic Kingdom the petty kingdoms of Asturias and Pamplona expanded into the kingdom of Portugal the Crown of Castile and the Crown of Aragon with the ongoing Reconquista In southern Europe the kingdom of Sicily was established following the Norman conquest of southern Italy The Kingdom of Sardinia was claimed as a separate title held by the Crown of Aragon in 1324 In the Balkans the Kingdom of Serbia was established in 1217 In central Europe the Kingdom of Hungary was established in AD 1000 following the Christianisation of the Magyars The kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia were established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1025 and 1198 respectively In eastern Europe the Grand Duchy of Moscow did not technically claim the status of kingdom until the early modern Tsardom of Russia In northern Europe the tribal kingdoms of the Viking Age by the 11th century expanded into the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great king of Denmark England and Norway The Christianization of Scandinavia resulted in consolidated kingdoms of Sweden and Norway and by the end of the medieval period the pan Scandinavian Kalmar Union Contemporary kingsFurther information List of current sovereign monarchs List of current reigning monarchies and List of current constituent monarchs Currently as of 2022 update fifteen kings are recognized as the heads of state of sovereign states i e English king is used as official translation of the respective native titles held by the monarchs Most of these are heads of state of constitutional monarchies kings ruling over absolute monarchies are the King of Saudi Arabia the King of Bahrain and the King of Eswatini 6 Monarch House Title Kingdom Reign begin Age Monarchy est Harald V King of Norway Glucksburg konge Kingdom of Norway January 17 1991 85 11th c Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden Bernadotte konung Kingdom of Sweden September 15 1973 76 12th c Felipe VI King of Spain Bourbon rey Kingdom of Spain June 19 2014 54 1978 1479Willem Alexander King of the Netherlands Orange Nassau koning Kingdom of the Netherlands April 30 2013 55 1815Philippe King of the Belgians Saxe Coburg and Gotha koning roi Konig Kingdom of Belgium July 21 2013 62 1830Salman King of Saudi Arabia Saud ملك malik Kingdom of Saudi Arabia January 23 2015 87 1932Abdullah II King of Jordan Hashim ملك malik Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan February 7 1999 60 1946Mohammed VI King of Morocco Alaoui ملك malik Kingdom of Morocco July 23 1999 59 1956Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa King of Bahrain Khalifa ملك malik Kingdom of Bahrain February 14 2002 72 1971Vajiralongkorn King of Thailand Chakri kstriy kasat Kingdom of Thailand October 13 2016 70 1782Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck King of Bhutan Wangchuck འབ ག ར ལ པ druk gyalpo Kingdom of Bhutan December 9 2006 42 1907Norodom Sihamoni King of Cambodia Norodom ស ដ ច sdac Kingdom of Cambodia October 14 2004 69 1993 1953Tupou VI King of Tonga Tupou king tu i Kingdom of Tonga March 18 2012 63 1970Letsie III King of Lesotho Moshesh king morena Kingdom of Lesotho February 7 1996 59 1966Mswati III King of Eswatini Dlamini ngwenyama Kingdom of Eswatini April 25 1986 54 1968Charles III King of the United Kingdom Windsor King United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Commonwealth realms September 8 2022 74 927 843See alsoAnointing Big man anthropology Buddhist kingship Client king Coronation Designation Divine right of kings Germanic kingship Great King High King King consort King of Kings Petty king Queen Realm Royal and noble ranks Royal family Sacred king Tribal kingshipTitles translated as king Archon Basileus Lugal Kabaka Mepe title Malik Melekh Mwami Negus Oba Raja Rex king Ri Tlatoani Shah TagavorNotes There have been rare exceptions most notably Jadwiga of Poland and Mary Queen of Hungary who were crowned as King of Poland and King of Hungary respectively during the 1380s The notion of a king being below an emperor in the feudal order just as a duke is the rank below a king is more theoretical than historical The only kingdom title held within the Holy Roman Empire was the Kingdom of Bohemia with the Kingdoms of Germany Italy and Burgundy Arles being nominal realms The titles of King of the Germans and King of the Romans were non landed titles held by the Emperor elect sometimes during the lifetime of the previous Emperor sometimes not although there were anti Kings at various points Arles and Italy were either held directly by the Emperor or not at all The Austrian and Austro Hungarian Empires technically contained various kingdoms Hungary Bohemia Dalmatia Illyria Lombardy Venetia and Galicia and Lodomeria as well as the Kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia which were themselves subordinate titles to the Hungarian Kingdom and which were merged as Croatia Slavonia in 1868 but the emperor and the respective kings were the same person The Russian Empire did not include any kingdoms The short lived First French Empire 1804 1814 5 included a number of client kingdoms under Napoleon I such as the Kingdom of Italy the Kingdom of Westphalia the Kingdom of Etruria the Kingdom of Wurttemberg the Kingdom of Bavaria the Kingdom of Saxony and the Kingdom of Holland The German Empire 1871 1918 included the Kingdoms of Prussia Bavaria Wurttemberg and Saxony with the Prussian king also holding the Imperial title Pine L G 1992 Titles How the King became His Majesty New York Barnes amp Noble p 86 ISBN 978 1 56619 085 5 History Crunch Writers Aztec Emperors Huey Tlatoani History Crunch History Articles Summaries Biographies Resources and More Retrieved 18 April 2021 see e g M Mitterauer Why Europe The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path University of Chicago Press 2010 p 28 The distinction of the title of king from sultan or emir in oriental monarchies is largely stylistics the Sultanate of Oman the State of Qatar the State of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are also categorised as absolute monarchies ReferencesThomas J Craughwell 5 000 Years of Royalty Kings Queens Princes Emperors amp Tsars 2009 David Cannadine Simon Price eds Rituals of Royalty Power and Ceremonial in Traditional Societies 1992 Jean Hani Sacred Royalty From the Pharaoh to the Most Christian King 2011 External links Look up cyning in Wiktionary the free dictionary Media related to Kings at Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote has quotations related to King Phillip Walter Alison 1911 King Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 15 11th ed pp 805 806 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title King amp oldid 1133034811, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
