History glossary
Kingship
the institution and ideas surrounding rule by a king.
- Category
- Political institution
What it means
Kingship is more than one person being king. It includes the rules, rituals, expectations, symbols, succession practices, religious claims, military duties, and public responsibilities that make royal authority seem legitimate.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Roman Republic
From the expulsion of Rome’s kings to the rise of Augustus, the Roman Republic built a powerful mixed constitution, expanded across the Mediterranean, and ultimately collapsed into civil war and one-man rule.
The American Revolution and Early Republic
From colonial tensions to independence, this traces the birth and early struggles of the United States of America.
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The English Civil War
Civil war between king and Parliament led to regicide, a republic, and lasting constitutional change.
The Norman Conquest of England
From Viking settlers to conquerors, the Normans reshaped England, Italy, and the medieval Mediterranean.
The Tudor Dynasty
The Tudors strengthened royal power, drove religious change, and shaped early modern England.
The Viking Age
From raiders to traders, Vikings built kingdoms and networks that reshaped Europe and beyond.
