Are there any examples of two medieval kingdoms trying to unify but eventually failing to do so?
Upvote:1
Think that in tipical medieval, feudal times, the King was just the primum inter pares (first among equals). He would not have direct control but over his own personal fiefdoms, for the rest of the country he would rely on the loyalty of other nobles that were his vassals (but, if those were powerful enough, could decide to ignore or even oppose him).
In this situation, usually the King would be unable to change the institutions, and the mobility would have wanted to keep their power.
So, the concept of "merging" kingdoms (or duchies, principalities, whatever) would be alien to those people. What you would have would be the same king holding simultaneously the titles to several entities, but each of them would remain separated. Spain it is a good example, after Isabel and Fernando the kings were always common, but the kingdoms of Castille and Aragon did exist, did have different institutions and laws, and each new king would need to be confirmed as king of each kingdom. And we are talking here about the Modern Age (with formal unification coming only after the Spanish War of Succession, 1714), when the power of kings was considerably increased in relation to the nobility.
As a result, kings and other nobles would amass long lists of titles covering all of their rights to the land they held (and some that they did not held but that they did claim), and that they had got through inheritance or conquest.
That does not mean that the nobility of a country would be uninterested in their king becoming king of other country, but it was... complicated. On one hand, it could mean that these nobles maybe could use the king's influence to get holdings in the new country. In the other hand, it could mean that the king could try to drag them into supporting his campaigns to defend his new kingdom. Or that the king could develop a new support base in the other country and use it to be less dependent on local nobility.
As a side note, perhaps the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a better study case, since as stated elsewhere, the "Spanish" personal union was too late to be considered medieval.
Upvote:6
The Rough Wooing (Wikipedia) might be an example of what you are looking for. Mary had inherited the Scottish Throne as she was just 6 days old. While she was still a toddler, the plan was hatched to marry her to the English crown prince Edward (about 5 years older than Mary) and thereby unify England and Scotland. This was the Treaty of Greenwich (Wikipedia).
The Scottish Parliament ultimately decided against it, and did not ratify the treaty. The English tried to make them. It got ugly, very ugly. It didn't work.
More post
- 📝 What is the origin of this coin? Willem WRL
- 📝 Why did manuscript production increase rapidly?
- 📝 How would an early Medieval German market have looked?
- 📝 How frequently were homing pigeons used in the World Wars?
- 📝 Did the British Army burn any capitals other than Washington?
- 📝 What is the earliest known "one arrow is easily broken but a bundle of arrows is not" story?
- 📝 Short or long Roman numerals?
- 📝 Why was the Battle of Noryang fought?
- 📝 How did British people cope with damp/mould without central heating in the past?
- 📝 Is there a correlation or causation between generalized economic crises and world wars?
- 📝 Were Jefferson and Madison Jacksonians?
- 📝 Why did the US not move to crush the Haitian Revolt after the 1804 massacre?
- 📝 What lead some nationalities to be the butt of be*t**lity jokes?
- 📝 What were the reasons for the Federal Art Project?
- 📝 Did a German plane really land in Moscow in May 1941?
- 📝 Has a government ever been elected with the full 100% of the votes?
- 📝 What politics were implemented to accomplish the Christian tradition and try to keep what is written in the Holy Bible?
- 📝 What caused the decline of Buddhism in Japan?
- 📝 Did the Soviets cooperate with the Americans in catching criminals in post-war Vienna?
- 📝 Have Germans expelled from Eastern Europe been re-enfranchised?
- 📝 What was the social status of a man who failed the civil service exams in Imperial China ( 1200 - 1800 AD )?
- 📝 For whom would this priest write a long geographical report on his parish?
- 📝 What surface area per person is required for hunter-gatherers?
- 📝 Did barbarians capture monks or priest of civilized kingdoms to teach them?
- 📝 Historical examples of advanced societies that abruptly abandoned or changed religions?
- 📝 Who is responsible for the oldest known calendar?
- 📝 Why was there relatively little use of land mines in WW1?
- 📝 Were 12 prisoners used to demonstrate the first steam locomotive?
- 📝 Why is the world composed of 55% Muslims and Christians?
- 📝 Who was Balavignus?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Are there any examples of two medieval kingdoms trying to unify but eventually failing to do so?
- 📝 Are there any good examples in earth history of two religions co-existing?
- 📝 Are there any examples of technologies have been lost over time?
- 📝 Are there any documented examples of wooden ships which were in active service for 100 years or more? If not, what is the longest?
- 📝 Are there any medieval manuals relating to castle building?
- 📝 Are there examples of well known medieval battles with very little archaeological evidence?
- 📝 Are there any historical examples of successful price ceilings (aka price gouging laws)?
- 📝 Are there any examples of single combat between kings/generals ending a war?
- 📝 Are there any examples of California gold rush prospectors becoming exceedingly wealthy due to their claim(s)?
- 📝 Are there any remaining existant texts that describe the styles and techniques of Medieval European swordsmanship?
- 📝 In Dutch history two people are referred to as "William III"; are there any more cases where this happens?
- 📝 Are there any examples of balistas, scorpions, or other catapult-like weapons being used in field battles
- 📝 Are there any examples of overpopulation?
- 📝 Are there any examples of people being able to predict the consequences of communication revolutions?
- 📝 Are there any examples of recurring payments in ancient times?
- 📝 Are there any documented cases from ancient or medieval times of someone escaping captivity by cross-dressing?
- 📝 Are there any examples of soldiers faking their death a combat before the modern era?
- 📝 Are there any examples of European rulers with a rank lower than king to utilize a "throne" and a "throne room"?
- 📝 Are there any historical examples of (non government-approved) fake news having a strong effect?
- 📝 Are there any examples of localized micro-conflicts in Mexican history?
- 📝 Are there any modern history examples of large scale conflicts where warfare technology provides a great advantage to the defender, except WWI?
- 📝 Are there any examples of civilians competing with, or hindering, a military?
- 📝 Are there any important biographies of nobodies?
- 📝 Are there historical examples of audiences drawn to a work that was "so bad it's good"?
- 📝 (Why) are there two different versions of the photograph of inmates at the Buchenwald concentration camp?
- 📝 Are there any accounts of everyday life during the Black Death?
- 📝 Are there any accounts written by torturers on their actions?
- 📝 Is there any documentation that indicates the Aztecs were as violent as they are made out?
- 📝 Are there any underground cities known except those found in Cappadocia?
- 📝 Are there any records that indicate a submarine vs submarine battle?
