The bonds of blood

Suitors were offered a choice of sisters, and if one died, a younger sibling would be substituted

“In this kingdom, as is well known, a king is constituted not by the wishes of the people or by election or by the right of war but by the propagation of blood.” So wrote Margaret of Burgundy, the sister of Edward IV and Richard III of England, in the 15th century – and it’s hard to argue with her logic.

Few European countries have kings or queens today, only seven in all. But in the long span of European history, this is only a recent development. In 1900, every European state – barring France and Switzerland – was a monarchy. As for medieval Europe, it was, almost without exception, ruled by a patchwork of royal and imperial families. As a result, politics at the highest level was dynastic, revolving around the births, marriages and deaths of these families – not to mention their conflicts and alliances. Transmission of power was not a matter of elections but of biology.

Some of these dynasties were extremely successful at propagating their blood. Hugh Capet, who became king of the Franks in 987, was the ancestor in the direct male line of every French king down to 1848, nearly nine centuries later. Other medieval dynasties could not compete with this, but often held on to their thrones for several centuries.

But there are also examples of medieval kings – sometimes highly successful ones – who were the only members of their family to hold the throne. Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary from 1458–90, was a great patron of