kingship & succession

• a medieval monarch was a powerful ruler with complete responsibility for governing his kingdom, which meant that the character and abilities of the king were of great importance
• the king needed to be a strong ruler to control his kingdom, to enforce justice and to keep the kingdom safe from attack, and the whole nation depended upon him to do this effectively
• in the 11th century the normans introduced the principle of primogeniture, which stated that the eldest son inherits his father's title and all his lands
• in the case of a king, primogeniture meant that the eldest legitimate son would inherit the throne
• by the late 12th century, the principle of primogeniture had not been fully established for the succession of kings
• richard I was the first english king for more than 100 years to inherit the throne from his father
• in that time, kings had been nominated by the previous king, or had been chosen by the leading barons in the kingdom
• the succession was important because if it was unclear who would be the next monarch then there could be a civil war
• succession


  the sequence by which one person follows another to inherit the throne, title or lands
• from the moment a king was anointed with holy oils at his coronation, he took the title of rex, or king, and was given divine authority, meaning he was chosen by god to be king and his subjects could not question his authority
• it was not until the reign of king john and the issuing of magna carta that subjects attempted to place some controls on the king
• the king was the greatest authority in the kingdom as he was the chief decision-maker, and both foreign and domestic policy were decided by him
• a king could not do exactly as he pleased, as during the coronation the king had to make an oath where he promised to perform certain duties, alongside protecting his people by punishing excessive greed of feudal lords, and to maintain justice
• the king was the supreme law maker, and he had a duty to show fairness and mercy on his judgements
• in order to fulfil his oath, the king, or his agents, needed to travel around the country, hearing cases and making judgements, helping him to build relationships with his most important nobles by meeting with them and staying in their castles
• itinerant kingship


  the practice of the king and his court travelling from place to place around the country
• one of the king's most important duties was to protect his kingdom and its people from foreign attack and civil wars, therefore a king needed to have effective military skills
• a king needed to be able to plan campaigns, direct his armies and to chose capable military leaders
• the king often led the army himself as a warrior, and richard I is one of the greatest examples of a warrior-king
• a medieval king needed to e seen by his subjects to reinforce his authority, so formal occasions and rituals were arranged to enable the king to do this
• the greatest ritual was the coronation, where the king was anointed with holy oils and crowned in front of the most important nobles and clerics
• more regular displays of the king's majesty were also needed, and the system of itinerant kingship helped with this as the king was seen by his subjects when he held his courts across the country
• since the reign of william the conqueror, kings had taken part in a ritual of 'corwn-wearings'
• when he was present in england, the king wore his crown in 3 different places at 3 important times in the year
• the king wore his crown in winchester at easter, gloucester at christmas, and in westminster at witsun (7th sunday after easter)
• the crown-wearings were important occasions and were accompained by pageants and feasts
• rituals and public displays encouraged loyalty to the monarch as they reminded people of his power an authority
• richard I, known was lionheart, is perhaps the most famous english medieval king
• richard I was the 3rd son of henry II and eleanor of aquitaine and developed a reputation as an outstanding warrior and king while he was alive, and this reputation has been enhanced in myth and legend ever since
• in 1189, when henry II died, richard was his eldest surviving legitimate son
• while the principle of primogeniture had not yet been established as the sole reason for the succession of a king, richard had an excellent claim to the throne
• richard was the favourite son of his mother, eleanor, and he had been made duke of aquitaine in 1172
• aquitaine was a vast territory in southern france and brought richard both wealth and power
• richard's younger brother, john, who was the favourite of his father, possessed no lands at all at the time of henry's death
• although richard had a good claim to the throne, he feared that henry intended to make john the king of england after his death, which led him to fight alongside philip II, against his father in 1187-89 and capture land in the angevin empire
• angevin empire


  the lands that henry II and his family held in england, wales and france, and stretched from northumbria in england to the pyrenees on the border of spain. the name angevin comes from anjou, the county henry inherited from his father
• richard may have betrayed his father, but there was no other realistic successor to the throne in 1189, even john realised that he had no chance of claming the throne while richard lived
• john had joined richard in his rebellion in the last months before henry III's death as he realised it was important to win the favour of the soon-to-be king
• richard had a glorious coronation on 3 september 1189
• at his coronation, richard appeared dressed in gold from head to toe and he took the coronation oath, swearing to protect his kingdom