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
- 📝 How is it possible to be ambushed twice at the same place?
- 📝 How much time would it take to mobilize an army during WW2?
- 📝 When was the first full length book sent over telegraph?
- 📝 Did RAF fighter pilots wear ties while flying in WW2?
- 📝 Is there any evidence that the Catholic Church slowed innovation during the Middle Ages?
- 📝 What titles did early Welsh rulers hold?
- 📝 Did Peter the Great promote rights for women? If so, how?
- 📝 What is this hallmark on silverware?
- 📝 Is it true that Mussolini agreed to implement anti-Jewish laws in exchange for expulsion of Germans from Northern Italy?
- 📝 Did Napoleon ever say «On s'engage et puis… on voit»?
- 📝 What is the secret behind the economic success of Republic of China (Taiwan)?
- 📝 What did the Romans call Cardigan the town in West Wales, UK?
- 📝 Meaning and usage of "Child of State"?
- 📝 Is there any good reason to call the German Emperor "the Kaiser", implying something uniquely German about him?
- 📝 How did lay people understand logic in the Greco-Roman world?
- 📝 Was Carausius the grandfather of Magnus Maximus?
- 📝 What is the historical significance of spoilt votes?
- 📝 How and why did limerence come to be idolized as it is in modern Western society?
- 📝 Historical assessments of the effectiveness of torture
- 📝 Were there any rewards for going on a crusade aside from being forgiven for one's biblical sins?
- 📝 Why did France just give up without a major fight in WW2?
- 📝 Could the Russians Have Done Better at the Battle of Tsushima Straits Than They Actually Did?
- 📝 Was Leo II of Armenia poisoned?
- 📝 Did Truman really believe that Hiroshima was a military base?
- 📝 What had caused Northumbrian to become similar to Old Danish before the Viking invasions?
- 📝 What uniform does PewDiePie wear in this picture?
- 📝 When did the tilt of the tower of Pisa become seen as a feature instead of a defect?
- 📝 Was there ever a male-equivalent to a harem in the Ottoman Empire?
- 📝 How much faster were the printing presses than hand writing?
- 📝 What's the advantage of the infantry column formation in the Napoleonic Wars?
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?