ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the history of personal unions and composite monarchies from the High Middle Ages to the early nineteenth century. It explores definitions used by historians over the last decades to show the development of the field of studies, which has been especially notable since the late 1980s. The chapter analyses the origins and endings of personal unions as well as the forces that foster both integration and separation by looking at historical examples from European history. The kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland and their intertwined history led first to the creation of personal unions and then composite monarchies between, first, England – since the Middle Ages a combined realm of England and Wales – and Ireland, and of England and Scotland in 1603. The most common origin of personal unions lay in dynastic politics; they were principally the result of marriage policies.
