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A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant- monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under the generic meaning of the term prince.
- Kingdoms
- Principalities
- Communes
- Leagues
The kingdom or regnumwas a territorial political community bound together by common customs, laws and (imagined) descent and ruled by a king or emperor who recognized no superior temporal authority. While kingdoms had existed prior to the late medieval era, of course, during the feudal or high medieval era they had been hollowed out or broken up as...
Closely related to the kingdom was the principality. The principality was a territorial political community ruled not by a king, but by a “prince” – that is, a great magnate, typically a count or duke, though sometimes an actual prince, who was the “first magistrate” of the political community. Examples of principalities include the Duchy of Burgun...
In addition to kingdoms and principalities, the late medieval international order was populated with urban communes. Generically speaking, a commune was a sworn association with common interests and some form of self-regulation. While such an association could take a variety of forms – guilds, fraternities, etc. – for the purposes of this article, ...
A final type of polity populating the late medieval international order was the “league”. In much of the existing literature, leagues have either been ignored or portrayed as a form of political unit qualitatively different from the state. In actual fact, although leagues were quite diverse, those relevant to the study of medieval geopolitics are m...
Sep 16, 2024 · The most successful rulers of the 12th and 13th centuries were, first, individual lords who created compact and more intensely governed principalities and, second and most important and enduring, kings who successfully asserted their authority over the princes, often with princely cooperation.
After World War I, however, most European monarchies were abolished. There remain, as of 2024, twelve sovereign monarchies in Europe. Seven are kingdoms: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Three are principalities: Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Monaco.
- Andorra. The largest of Europe's microstates in terms of size is nestled in a high valley of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. The Principality of Andorra is unique in that it is headed by two co-princes who are not members of the nobility: Spain's Bishop of Urgell, the only prince-bishop in the world, and the French President, who is considered the legal successor of the former French kings.
- Belgium. King Philippe has been the Belgian head of state since 2013. He is not called King of Belgium, but King of the Belgians. The Belgians are not his subjects but simply his fellow countrymen.
- Denmark. Founded in 980 A.D., the Danish royal house is one of the oldest monarchies in the world. In addition to the small country in northern Europe, the national territory includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
- Liechtenstein. The Principality of Liechtenstein is unique because the prince and the people share state power. For 300 years, the prince regnant's family has ruled over the small realm, which lies between western Austria and Switzerland.
Sep 27, 2024 · Flanders, medieval principality in the southwest of the Low Countries, now included in the French département of Nord (q.v.), the Belgian provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders (qq.v.), and the Dutch province of Zeeland (q.v.).
Jun 23, 2020 · Photo by British Library on Unsplash. Photo: All three remaining Principalities are in Continental Europe. It’s the year 2020. There are about 200 countries in the World, and one-fifth of them...
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