Anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (German: Gegenkönig; French: antiroi; Czech: protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch.[1] The term is usually used in a European historical context where it relates to elective monarchies rather than hereditary ones. In hereditary monarchies such figures are more frequently referred to as pretenders or claimants.
Anti-kings are most commonly referred to in the politics of the
Several anti-kings succeeded in vindicating their claims to power, and were recognized as rightful kings: for example, King Conrad III of Germany, Emperor Frederick II, and Emperor Charles IV (see table below). The status of others as anti-kings is still disputed: e.g. in the case of Duke Henry II of Bavaria and Margrave Egbert II of Meissen.
List of anti-kings
 |
Germany
| Name | Dates | In opposition to: |
|---|---|---|
| Arnulf the Bad | 919–921 | Henry the Fowler |
| Henry the Wrangler | 984–985 | Otto III |
| Rudolf of Rheinfelden | 1077–1080 | Henry IV |
| Hermann of Salm | 1081–1088 | |
| Conrad III | 1127–1135 | Lothair III
|
| Frederick II | 1212–1215 | Otto IV |
| Henry Raspe | 1246–1247 | Frederick II |
| William II of Holland | 1248–1250 | |
| 1250–1254 | Conrad IV | |
| Alfonso X of Castile | 1257–1275 | Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
|
| Frederick the Fair | 1314–1330 | Louis IV |
| Charles IV | 1346–1347 | |
| 1349 | Günther of Schwarzburg | |
Frederick of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
1400 | Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
|
German double elections
| Date | King | King |
|---|---|---|
| 1198 | Philip of Swabia 1198–1208 | Otto IV 1198–1215 |
| 1257 | Richard of Cornwall 1257–1272 |
Alfonso of Castile 1257–1273 |
| 1314 | Frederick the Fair 1314–1330 | Louis the Bavarian 1314–1346 |
| 1410 | Sigismund of Luxembourg 1410–1437 | Jobst of Moravia 1410–1411 |
Bohemia
| Name | Dates | In opposition to: |
|---|---|---|
| Matthias Corvinus | 1469–1471 | George of Poděbrady |
| 1471–1490 | Vladislaus II | |
Frederick of the Palatinate |
1619–1620 | Ferdinand II |
| Charles Albert of Bavaria | 1741–1743 | Maria Theresa |
Hungary
| Name | Dates | In opposition to: |
|---|---|---|
| Ladislaus II | 1162–1163 | Stephen III |
| Stephen IV | 1163–1165 |
Japan
Korea
| Name | Dates | In opposition to: |
|---|---|---|
Yeongjong of Goryeo |
1269 | Wonjong of Goryeo (deposed by dictator Im Yon) |
Wang Go |
1320–1323 | Chungsuk of Goryeo |
| 1339–1340 | Chunghye of Goryeo |
Scotland
| Name | Dates | In opposition to: |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Balliol | 1332–1356 | David II |
References
- OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry, unlike "antipope", but includes it in a list of political "anti-" formations, such as "anti-emperor" and "anti-caesar". The earliest example of anti-king cited is from 1619 (and the next by Dr Pusey). Only the hyphenated form is cited or mentioned.
Sources
- Heinrich Mitteis: Die deutsche Königswahl. Ihre Rechtsgrundlagen bis zur goldenen Bulle, 2nd expanded edition, Rohrer, Brünn, Munich, Vienna, 1944, pp. 113 ff.
- Dietmar Willoweit: Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte. Vom Frankenreich bis zur Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands, 5th revised edition, expanded with a table of chronology and an attached map, Beck, Munich, 2005, pp. 71 f., 94 ff., ISBN 3-406-52637-3
- Gerhard Theuerkauf: Gegenkönig. In: Handwörterbuch zur deutschen Rechtsgeschichte, 2nd, fully revised and expanded edition. Published by Albrecht Cordes, Heiner Lück, Dieter Werkmüller and Ruth Schmidt-Wiegand as philological advisor. Edited by: Falk Hess and Andreas Karg, Vol. I: Aachen-Geistliche Bank, Erich Schmidt Verlag, Berlin. 2008, Sp. 1995–1996, ISBN 978-3-503-07912-4