High king

For other uses, seeHigh King (disambiguation).

Ahigh kingis akingwho holds a position ofseniorityover a group of other kings, without the title ofemperor.Similar titles includegreat kingandking of kings.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 fromempires,which are culturally as well as politically heterogeneous, as well as fromfeudalmonarchies, where the subordinate rulers take lesser titles (such asdukeorcount) 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 byelectionor 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 inGreat BritainandIrelandhave been called "High King";
  • theHigh King of Ireland(Ard Rí Érenn), such asBrian Boru.
    See also:High King of IrelandandMonarchy of Ireland
  • theHigh King of Scotland(Ard Rí Alban), like the legendaryMacbeth.
    See also:Style of the monarchs of ScotlandandFamily tree of Scottish monarchs
  • the King of theBritons,such as the legendaryKing Arthur,Uther Pendragon,and possiblyVortigern,have been termed "High King of Britain."
    See also:King of the Britons
  • the ruler of thePicts.
    See also:List of kings of the Picts
  • the "Bretwalda"was essentially the high king of theAnglo-Saxons,though the name is rarely translated as such.
• someancient Greekrulers, such asAgamemnon(seeanax)
• the most powerful king of the variousEtruscancity-states
• Mepe-Umaglesi(most high king) was a predicate of theGeorgianOrthodoxMepe-Mepeta(king of kings)
• in Lithuania, the title ofDidysis Kunigaikštisis more accurately translated as "high king", although it is traditionally rendered as "grand duke"
• in ancientSumer,the rulers of all Sumer held the title ofNam-Lugal(high king).

InImperial Germany,theGerman Emperor(Deutscher Kaiser), who was also theKing of Prussia,could be considered a contemporary "high king", as he held seniority over the other monarchs of the empire (threekings,sixgrand dukes,five reigningdukesand sevenreigning princes) as "president of the confederation".

TheYang di-Pertuan Agong(literally "supreme lord" ) inMalaysiacould probably be seen as a "high king", as he is elected from among nine Malay rulers of the states (sevensultans,araja,and aYang di-Pertuan Besar-literally "great lord" ) by theConference of Rulers(through informal agreement, on a rotational basis). In practice, however, the term "high king" is rarely applied to theYang di-Pertuan Agong(king).

AdhirajaorAdirajais the comparable term of high king in theIndian subcontinent.Themaharajaandmaharajadhirajacould possibly be rendered as "high king" since it was a result oftitle inflationwhich soon led to most being rather mediocre or even petty in real power, which led to compound titles (among other efforts) being used in an attempt to distinguish some among their ranks.

Taewang,meaning "greatest of kings", was used by the later rulers of the Korean kingdom ofKoguryo(andSilla,albeit to a rarer extent) to rank themselves as equals to theChinese emperorsor to express suzerainty over surrounding states, particularly during theThree Kingdoms Era.Daewang(great king) was used by rulers of other kingdoms and subsequent dynasties, includingBaekje,whose king assumed the style ofDaewang Pyeha( "his imperial majesty the great king" ) by the reign ofKing Mu(600–640 AD at the latest). However, after theMongol Invasions of Korea,these rulers remained technically subordinate to theMongol Empireand later China untilKing Gojongdeclared theKorean Empirein 1897 and assumed the title ofHwangje,or "emperor" (the Korean rendition of theChinese"huang di").

Originally, the rulers ofWa(Uy), an ancient name of Japan, was known as the "Grand King ofYamato"(Đại hòa đại vương,Yamato-ōkimi) or the "Kings of Wa"(Uy quốc vương,Wakoku-ō) prior to the 7th century. It was later changed to become theEmperor of Japan(Thiên hoàng,Tennō).

The title "king of kings"also expresses much the same concept as" high king "– it was used at various times by theEmperor of Persia(shahanshah) and theEmperor of Ethiopia.Similarly, theImperial MongoliantitleKhaganis sometimes translated asKhanof Khans.

In fiction

• InC. S. Lewis's epic fantasy,The Chronicles of Narnia,Peter Pevensiewas the High King ofNarniawhile his younger brotherEdmund Pevensiewas the King and his sistersSusan PevensieandLucy Pevensiewere the Queens. He was also the high king over all kings of Narnia, from the first to the last.Aslan,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.
• InJ. R. R. Tolkien's works, mainlyThe Silmarillion,there was a succession ofhigh kingsof theNoldorexiled inMiddle-earth,beginning withFingolfinand culminating in Gil-galad's reign. Ingwë, leader of theVanyar,is also called the High King of theEldar,whileManwëis also sometimes titled High King ofArda.Thingolis acknowledged as high-king ofBeleriandby Fingolfin. In the Third Age, the rulers of Arnor were known as "high kings", includingAragorn,as King Elessar, ruling the reunited kingdoms ofGondorand Arnor at the beginning of the Fourth Age.
• InGeorge R. R. Martin'sA Song of Ice and Fire,the first human king ruling in Westeros was called the High King of the First Men.
• InLloyd Alexander'sChronicles of Prydain,there is a line of High Kings of Prydain (a fictionalized version ofWales) 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.
• InBethesda Softworks'The Elder Scrolls,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).
• InBlizzard Entertainment'sWarcraft,the high king is the leader of the Alliance who has military control over the Alliance forces.
• In Holly Black'sThe Folk of the Airseries,there is a high king who rules over the land of faeries, Elfhame.
• High-King(ハイ・キング,Hai-Kingu)is also the name of aJ-popgroup created in 2008 featuringAi Takahashi,Reina Tanaka,Saki Shimizu,Maimi YajimaandYuuka Maeda.
• In theSega AM2videogameVirtua Fighter 4,the title of High King (along with Emperor) is the highest rank atteinable by playing the Kumite mode

See also

• Capo dei capi
• Paramount chief
• Primus inter pares