Was the insanity of kings used as an argument against monarchy?
score:37
Mental illness wasn't perceived as a medical condition until recent centuries. It became notional that it might be during the Enlightenment, and it only captured the popular imagination that it was with Freud.
There were still hereditary autocratic monarchies around then, but I'd stick my neck out and suggest that the main argument against them until that point and later revolved around their legitimacy and representativity rather than the off chance a monarch might be mentally unfit.
To the best of my knowledge, when past monarchs were mentally ill, some kind of regent or successor would often step in. Or they'd get deposed or killed, and replaced by someone more fit to reign. Or they'd simply be kept out of sight (TaishΕ of Japan), sidelined (Charles VI of France), or jailed (Joanna of Castile), while others filled the power vacuum.
The example of Ludwig II of Bavaria, for instance, is instructive. He was an eccentric with extravagant spending habits. This led conspirators to get him certified as mentally unfit to rule -- this was very controversial because they did so without even examining him. His heir was his younger brother Otto. He was considered insane and unfit to rule at the time. So his uncle and cousin ended up reigning instead, until the latter deposed him outright.
The commonality here is that a mad king is temporary state of affairs, perhaps even one that can be exploited by opportunists, rather than a problem that prompts observers to question whether there should be a monarchy to begin with.
More post
- π How many troops died on D-day?
- π Why did Japan not withdraw from China as its pacific front was crumbling and the threat of US invasion imminent?
- π Was there someone popularly labeled by public as "Lord Mum"?
- π Is it true that Austrians who refused to help SS in catching Soviet POWs would not face any negative consequences?
- π When did the French Revolution end?
- π What was the wage of the soldiers serving in the CEF compared to the soldiers serving in the British army?
- π How much did Pan Am tickets to the moon cost?
- π How powerful and influential was the "last caliph" Abdul Mejid?
- π Typology and the cause of difference between European medieval kingship?
- π How are dates in BCE ordered?
- π River transportation before steam- did it always require beasts of burden?
- π What are the markings on this shell casing? (Dubrovnik)
- π What's the reason for wider streets in East Germany?
- π When was this photo of Mission Dolores *actually* taken?
- π Where can I find pictures of clothing of poor or common male European musicians between 1500 and 1700
- π What was the Carthaginian (Punic) term for elephant
- π Is there truth to the Dynastic Race Theory regarding Ancient Egyptians?
- π Is there a word for this aesthetic from the late 80s and early 90s?
- π Dunkirk little ships collection
- π Is it fair to say that the USSR has technical parity over NATO on land and air over much of the cold war?
- π Was Sofia really demolished by Bulgarians after 1878 and why?
- π If SS Californian were within 5 miles of Titanic, could she have saved more passengers?
- π How do Friedman and Bernanke's explanations about the causes of the Great Depression compare?
- π What was the source of the idea of a republic?
- π Aryanization in Nazi Germany. What did it mean in reality?
- π Why is physical skeuomorphism so prevalent and when did it become popular?
- π Why can't people on the back of the phalanx "reorient" their shield?
- π Are the Carolingian and Frankish Empire the same?
- π Was the London Times available in 1861 in villages?
- π Why did Germany request compensation after the Agadir (2nd Moroccan) crisis?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π Was the insanity of kings used as an argument against monarchy?
- π Was the Flakpanzer IV used against infantry? If not, what was?
- π Was there an assassination attempt against Xerxes in the battle of Thermopylae?
- π Why were troops with bayonets often effective against enemy cavalry even though the bayonet was a "secondary" weapon?
- π Who was the most successful German spy against Great Britain in WWII, from the contemporary German perspective?
- π Why was the Red Army successful against the Japanese in 1939 but perform poorly against Finland 1939-40 and early part of WW2?
- π What kind of labor was used to build the Egyptian pyramids?
- π What was used instead of toilet paper in the US and the UK prior to 1900?
- π Was the Napoleonic era cavalry armour effective against firearms?
- π After the fall of the Roman Empire, where did their armor go? Was it used by any dark ages forces?
- π Was slave labor used in rebuilding the White House?
- π When was the tactic of chaining ships together last used in a major naval battle?
- π Was there a rule against non-Muslims wearing the colour green in the Ottoman empire?
- π Before entering WW II, why was the US so against Japanese aggression in China but did nothing about Germany in Europe?
- π What was the official language used across European monarchies in the XII century?
- π When was "diablo" first used to refer to the Devil?
- π What was the primary method the Jews used to make a fire at the time of Jesus?
- π What was the official currency used in North Carolina in 1814?
- π When was the testudo / tortoise formation first used by the Romans?
- π When was King John of England given the name 'Dollheart', and who first used it?
- π What was the source of "presidium" as used by the Soviets?
- π Was the name 'Valerie' used during the Regency Era (1811-1836)?
- π What was the argument for the Japanese pursuing the Northern Expansion Doctrine during WWII?
- π What calendar was used by the kingdom of Ireland?
- π Which tax year was used to identify former Confederates belonging to the $20,000 exception of the 1865 Amnesty Proclamation?
- π What was the primary source Brugsch used to argue for Egyptian monotheism?
- π When the term "president" was used the first time?
- π Was the Seven Yearsβ War the first time dogs were used to carry messages?
- π Why was the massive Human Wave attack used in WWI?
- π Was there discrimination against Jewish people at the entrance exams to the most prestigious universities in the USSR?