King

==History==
The English word is of Germanic origin, and historically refers to [[Germanic kingship]], in the pre-Christian period a type of [[tribal kingship]]. The [[monarchies of Europe]] in the Christian [[Middle Ages]] derived their claim from [[Christianisation]] and the  [[divine right of kings]], partly influenced by the notion of [[Germanic king|sacral kingship]] inherited from  [[Germanic antiquity]].

The [[Early Middle Ages]] begin with a fragmentation of the former [[Western Roman Empire]] into [[barbarian kingdoms]]. In Western Europe, the kingdom of the [[Franks]] developed into the [[Carolingian Empire]] by the 8th century, and the [[Heptarchy|kingdoms]] of [[Anglo-Saxon England]] were unified into the [[kingdom of England]] by the 10th century.

With the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, the system of [[feudalism]] places kings at the head of a pyramid of relationships between liege lords and vassals, dependent on the regional rule of [[baron]]s, and the intermediate positions of [[counts]] (or [[earl]]s) and [[duke]]s. The core of European feudal [[manorialism]] in the [[High Middle Ages]] were the territories of the former [[Carolingian Empire]], i.e. the [[kingdom of France]] and the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (centered on the nominal kingdoms of [[kingdom of Germany|Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]]).<ref>
see e.g. M. Mitterauer, ''Why Europe?: The Medieval Origins of Its Special Path'',  University of Chicago Press (2010),
[https://books.google.com/books?id=0IU9fduDRIMC&pg=PA28 p. 28].</ref>

In the course of the European Middle Ages, the [[Monarchies in Europe|European kingdoms]] underwent a general trend of centralisation of power, so that by the [[Late Middle Ages]] there were a number of large and powerful kingdoms in Europe, which would develop into the [[great power]]s of Europe in the [[Early Modern period]].
*In the [[Iberian Peninsula]], the remnants  of the [[Visigothic Kingdom]], the petty kingdoms of [[kingdom of Asturias|Asturias]] and [[Kingdom of Pamplona|Pamplona]], expanded into the [[kingdom of Portugal]], the [[Crown of Castile]] and the [[Crown of Aragon]] with the ongoing [[Reconquista]].
*In [[southern Europe]], the [[kingdom of Sicily]] was established following the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy]]. The [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] was claimed as a separate title held by the [[Crown of Aragon]]  in 1324. In the Balkans, the [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Kingdom of Serbia]] was established in 1217.
*In [[central Europe]], the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] was established [[Europe in AD 1000|in AD 1000]] following the Christianisation of the [[Magyars]]. The kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|Poland]] and [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] were established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1025 and 1198, respectively. 
*In [[eastern Europe]], the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]] did not technically claim the status of kingdom until the early modern [[Tsardom of Russia]].
*In [[northern Europe]], the tribal kingdoms of the [[Viking Age]] by the 11th century expanded into the [[North Sea Empire]] under [[Cnut the Great]],  king of Denmark, England and Norway. The [[Christianization of Scandinavia]] resulted in "consolidated" kingdoms of [[Consolidation of Sweden|Sweden]] and [[Norwegian expansion during the Middle Ages|Norway]], and by the end of the medieval period the pan-Scandinavian [[Kalmar Union]].