ABSTRACT

The Routledge History of Monarchy draws together current research across the field of royal studies, providing a rich understanding of the history of monarchy from a variety of geographical, cultural and temporal contexts.

Divided into four parts, this book presents a wide range of case studies relating to different aspects of monarchy throughout a variety of times and places, and uses these case studies to highlight different perspectives of monarchy and enhance understanding of rulership and sovereignty in terms of both concept and practice. Including case studies chosen by specialists in a diverse array of subjects, such as history, art, literature, and gender studies, it offers an extensive global and interdisciplinary approach to the history of monarchy, providing a thorough insight into the workings of monarchies within Europe and beyond, and comparing different cultural concepts of monarchy within a variety of frameworks, including social and religious contexts.

Opening up the discussion of important questions surrounding fundamental issues of monarchy and rulership, The Routledge History of Monarchy is the ideal book for students and academics of royal studies, monarchy, or political history.

part I|159 pages

Models and concepts of rulership

chapter |15 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|16 pages

The ‘wise king’ topos in context

Royal literacy and political theology in medieval western Europe (c.1000–1200)

chapter 5|18 pages

Dynastic succession in an elective monarchy

The Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire

chapter 6|16 pages

Dei gratia and the ‘divine right of kings’

Divine legitimization or human humility?

chapter 7|19 pages

A case study of pre-modern Islamic monarchy

The Almohad caliphate of the Maghreb and al-Andalus in the 12th–13th centuries ∗

part II|227 pages

Ritual and representation

chapter |13 pages

Introduction

chapter 9|17 pages

Faith, power and charity

Personal religion and kingship in medieval England

chapter 10|16 pages

The nation as a ritual community

Royal nation-building in imperial Japan and post-war Thailand

chapter 11|20 pages

The nationalization and mediatization of European monarchies in times of sorrow

Royal deaths and funerals in the second half of the nineteenth century 1

chapter 12|16 pages

A useless ceremony of some use

A comparative study of attitudes to coronations in Norway and Sweden in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

chapter 13|17 pages

Negotiating with the neighbours

Kingship and diplomacy in Munhumutapa

chapter 17|22 pages

Chasing St Louis

The English monarchy’s pursuit of sainthood

chapter 18|22 pages

Raising royal bodies

Stuart authority and the monumental image

chapter 19|16 pages

In pursuit of social allies

Royal residences and political legitimacy in post-revolutionary Europe, 1804–30 1

chapter 20|18 pages

Clothing royal bodies

Changing attitudes to royal dress and appearance from the Middle Ages to modernity

part III|186 pages

Dynasty and succession

chapter |9 pages

Introduction

chapter 21|23 pages

Anticipatory association of the heir in early modern Russia

Primogeniture and succession in Russia’s ruling dynasties

chapter 22|22 pages

From a Salic law to the Salic law

The creation and re-creation of the royal succession system of France 1

chapter 23|14 pages

A family affair

Cultural anxiety, political debate and the nature of monarchy in seventeenth-century France and Britain

chapter 24|22 pages

What’s in a name?

Dynasty, succession and England’s queens regnant (1553–2016)

chapter 25|17 pages

Female pharaohs in ancient Egypt

chapter 26|16 pages

Neither heir nor spare

Childless queens and the practice of monarchy in pre-modern Europe 1

chapter 27|17 pages

Harem politics

Royal women and succession crises in the ancient Near East (c.1400–300 bce)

chapter 29|15 pages

Creating chiefs and queen mothers in Ghana

Obstacles and opportunities

part IV|123 pages

Exercising authority and exerting influence

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

chapter 32|14 pages

Kings and nobles on the fringes of Christendom

A comparative perspective on monarchy and aristocracy in the European Middle Ages 1

chapter 33|19 pages

For better or for worse

Royal marital sexuality as political critique in late medieval Europe

chapter 35|17 pages

Ruling emotions

Affective and emotional strategies of power and authority among early modern European monarchies*

chapter 36|15 pages

From galanterie to scandal

The sexuality of the king from Louis XIV to Louis XVI