The Rex renitens and the Medieval Idea of Kingship, ca. 900-ca. 1250

Abstract

"The rex renitens and the Medieval Idea of Kingship, ca. 90O-ca. 1250." Reluctant kings-that is, monarchs who are unwilling to accept the throne and are only persuaded by the continuing entreaties of their subjects, or those who then refuse to adorn themselves with the insignia of royal office-are a common phenomenon in medieval Europe. Such accounts have often been dismissed as mere pieces of propaganda without any inherent value warranting further research. This impression has been strengthened by the fact that many of these rulers had assumed the crown under fraught circumstances. Once investigated in detail, however, these stories reveal themselves as key sources for our understanding of medieval kingship. The topos of the rex renitens enables us to consider the interrelation between representations of secular and ecclesiastical lordship, between royal ritual and its depiction, as well as its contemporary political and intellectual framework.

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