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A high king is a
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
who holds a position of
seniority
Seniority is the state of being older or placed in a higher position of status relative to another individual, group, or organization. For example, one employee may be senior to another either by role or rank (such as a CEO vice a manager), or by ...
over a group of other kings, without the title of
emperor
The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
. Similar titles include
great king and
king of kings
King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...
. The high kings of history usually ruled over lands of cultural unity; thus high kings differentiate from emperors who control culturally different lands, and feudal monarchs, where subordinates assume lesser positions. High kings can be chosen by lesser rulers through elections, or be put into power by force through conquest of weaker kingdoms.
High kingship
In history and literature, high kings may be found where there is a high degree of cultural unity, along with sufficient political fragmentation that the high king's subordinates style themselves kings. In this respect, high kingships frequently differ from
empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
s, which are culturally as well as politically heterogeneous, as well as from
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
monarchies, where the subordinate rulers take lesser titles (such as
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
or
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
) and may be, at least in theory, subject to appointment and dismissal by the sovereign.
In this model, a high king might be chosen from among a group of kings in his personal capacity, for instance by
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
or on the basis of genealogical superiority. Alternatively, the high kingship might be attached to the kingship of one of the constituent kingdoms, either permanently or when one kingdom is able to assert supremacy over the others. The high king's authority over other kings is usually limited, and in some high
kingships his duties are largely ceremonial or restricted to occasions such as war that create a need for a unified command structure.
Historical high kings
Rulers who have been termed ''high king'' (by their contemporaries or by modern observers) include:
*Various rulers of the ancient and early medieval kingdoms in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
have been called ''High King'';
**the
High King of Ireland
High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
('), such as
Brian Boru
Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...
.
**the
High King of Scotland ('), like
Macbeth
''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
.
**the King of the
Britons, such as
Cassivellaunus,
, and possibly Vortigern, have been termed ''High King of Britain''.
**the ruler of the Picts">Vortigern">ymbeline/nowiki> (d. ''c''. AD 40), king in ...
, and possibly Vortigern, have been termed ''High King of Britain''.
**the ruler of the Picts.
**the ''Bretwalda'' was essentially the high king of the Anglo-Saxons, though the name is rarely translated as such.
*some Ancient Greece, ancient Greek rulers, such as Agamemnon (see ''Anax (Greek), anax'')
*the most powerful king of the various
Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city-states
*''Mepe-Umaglesi'' (most high king) was a predicate of the
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
n Orthodox ''
Mepe-Mepeta'' (king of kings)
*in Lithuania, the title of ''Didysis Kunigaikštis'' is more accurately translated as ''high king'', although it is traditionally rendered as ''grand duke''.
*in ancient
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. ...
, the rulers of all Sumer held the title of ''
Nam-Lugal'' (high king).
[Dawson, Doyne. ''The First Armies''. London: Cassell & Co. 2001, p. 80.]
''Adhiraja'' or ''Adiraja'' is the comparable term of high king in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
.
''
Taewang
Imperial titles were used in various History of Korea, historical Korean states before the 14th century and at the turn of the 20th century: Early Korean states used ''Daewang'' (대왕; 大王, "great king"), ''Taewang'' (태왕; 太王, "gr ...
'', meaning ''greatest of kings'', was used by the later rulers of the Korean kingdom of
Koguryo
Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...
(and
Silla
Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
, albeit to a rarer extent) to rank themselves as equals to the
Chinese emperors or to express suzerainty over surrounding states, particularly during the
Three Kingdoms Era. ''Daewang'' (great king) was used by rulers of other kingdoms and subsequent dynasties, including
Baekje
Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...
, whose king assumed the style of ''Daewang Pyeha'' (''his imperial majesty the great king'') by the reign of
King Mu (600–640 AD at the latest). However, after the
Mongol Invasions of Korea
A series of campaigns were conducted between 1231 and 1270 by the Mongol Empire against the Korean kingdom of Goryeo. The last campaign concluded with a peace treaty with Goryeo becoming Korea under Yuan rule, a vassal state of the Yuan dynast ...
, these rulers remained technically subordinate to the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...
and later China until
King Gojong declared the
Korean Empire
The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910.
Dur ...
in 1897 and assumed the title of ''Hwangje'', or ''emperor'' (the Korean rendition of the
Chinese 'huang di').
Originally, the rulers of (), an ancient name of Japan, was known as the ''Grand King of
Yamato
was originally the area around today's Sakurai, Nara, Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a Names of Japan, name for the whole of Japan.
Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial ...
'' (, ) or the ''
Kings of Wa'' (, ) prior to the 7th century. It was later changed to become the
Emperor of Japan
The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...
(, ).
The title ''
king of kings
King of Kings, ''Mepet mepe''; , group="n" was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Commonly associated with History of Iran, Iran (historically known as name of Iran, Persia ...
'' also expresses much the same concept as ''high king'' – it was used at various times by the
Emperor of Persia (') and the
Emperor of Ethiopia
The emperor of Ethiopia (, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse (, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century until the abolition of the monarchy in 1975. The emperor w ...
. Similarly, the
Imperial Mongolian title
Khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...
is sometimes translated as
Khan of Khans.
In fiction
* In
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...
's epic fantasy, ''
The Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...
'',
Peter Pevensie
Peter Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' book series. Peter appears in three of the seven books; as a child and a principal character in ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and '' Prince Caspian ...
was the High King of
Narnia while his younger brother
Edmund Pevensie
Edmund Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. He is a principal character in three of the seven books (''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', '' Prince Caspian'', and '' The Voyage of the Dawn T ...
was the King and his sisters
Susan Pevensie
Susan Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Susan is the elder sister and the second eldest Pevensie child. She appears in three of the seven books—as a child in ''The Lion, the Witch and the ...
and
Lucy Pevensie
Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to The Chronicles of Narnia, Narnia in ''The Lion, the Witc ...
were the Queens. He was also the high king over all kings of Narnia, from the first to the last.
Aslan
Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character in the Narnian series, Aslan appears in all seven chronicles. Aslan is depicted as a Talking animals in fiction, talking lion and is ...
, the deity and the Great Lion of Narnia, is described as being "the High King above all High Kings", meaning he is the highest king over all rulers of Narnia.
* In
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...
's works, mainly ''
The Silmarillion
''The Silmarillion'' () is a book consisting of a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited, partly written, and published posthumously by his son Christopher in 1977, assisted by G ...
'', there was a succession of
high kings of the
Noldor exiled in
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the Setting (narrative), setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Midgard, Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf'' ...
, beginning with
Fingolfin and culminating in Gil-galad's reign. Ingwë, leader of the
Vanyar, is also called the High King of the
Eldar, while
Manwë is also sometimes titled High King of
Arda.
Thingol is acknowledged as high-king of
Beleriand by Fingolfin. In the Third Age, the rulers of Arnor were known as "high kings", including
Aragorn, as King Elessar, ruling the reunited kingdoms of
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', '' The Return of the King'', is largel ...
and Arnor at the beginning of the Fourth Age.
* In
George R. R. Martin
George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...
's ''
A Song of Ice and Fire
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...
'', the first human king ruling in Westeros was called the High King of the First Men.
* In
Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Chudley Alexander (January 30, 1924 – May 17, 2007) was an American author of more than 40 books, primarily fantasy novels for children's literature, children and young adults. Over his seven-decade career, Alexander wrote 48 books, and ...
's ''
Chronicles of Prydain'', there is a line of High Kings of Prydain (a fictionalized version of
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
) who are descendants of a royal family who came from the Summer Country in order to oppose Arawn. The high king throughout the series is Gwydion's father Math, who is then succeeded by Gwydion and later Taran in the final novel of the series, ''
The High King''.
* In
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
' ''
The Elder Scrolls
''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of action role-playing games, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...
,'' the high king is the highest authority in the Province of Skyrim and theoretically the high king of Alinor is also the highest authority of the Summerset Isle (later renamed Alinor).
* In
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Irvine, California, and a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Originally founded in 1991, the company is best known for producing the h ...
's ''
Warcraft
''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of six core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...
'', the High King is the leader of the Alliance who has military control over the Alliance forces.
*In Holly Black's ''The Folk of the Air'' series'','' there is a high king who rules over the land of faeries, Elfhame.
* is also the name of a
J-pop
J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...
group created in 2008 featuring
Ai Takahashi,
Reina Tanaka,
Saki Shimizu,
Maimi Yajima and
Yuuka Maeda.
* In the
Sega AM2
previously known as is a video game development team within the Japanese multinational video game developer Sega. Yu Suzuki, who had previously developed arcade games for Sega including ''Hang-On'' and ''Out Run'', was the first manager of th ...
videogame
Virtua Fighter 4, the title of High King (along with Emperor) is the highest rank attainable by playing the Kumite mode
See also
* ''
Capo dei capi''
*
Paramount chief
A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...
* ''
Primus inter pares
is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office.
H ...
''
References
{{Imperial and royal styles
Heads of state
Royal titles
Noble titles
Titles of national or ethnic leadership