(Redirected from Reign name)A 'regnal name', or 'reign name', is a formal name used by some
popes and
monarchs during their
reigns. Since
medieval times, monarchs have frequently chosen to use a name different from their own personal name (and therefore the regnal name is technically a
pseudonym) when they inherit a
throne.
The new name (or sometimes the old one, confirmed) is followed by an
ordinal to give a unique name for the period when the monarch is on the throne. However, in the case of a personal union, the same ruler may carry different ordinals in each state, as they are each assigned chronologically; but some may have more precursors of the same Christian name (usually from a different dynasty).
In parts of Asia, monarchs take
era names. Even where that is not the case, rulers may — instead of a whole dynasty, as is the case with
Georgian, referring to several Georges of the Hanoverian dynasty — become eponymous of their age, e.g. in Britain:
Victorian (even applied to the rest of the world, and less correctly to its
alleged prudish mentality) or
Edwardian.
Ancient rulers
Ancient rulers in many parts of the world took regnal names or throne names which were different from their personal name. This is known to be true, for instance, of several kings of
Assyria, and appears to be the case for several Kings of
Judah. In
Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs took a number of names. Although their personal name was usually among those used, another name, the
Praenomen, was the most commonly used.
East Asia
In parts of Asia, it is more a rule than an exception that monarchs take additional names when ascending, and quite often discard the name they were known by as princes. Often the assumed name is different from his childhood name, and a new
temple name could be assumed. A
posthumous name is sometimes accorded to a deceased monarch. See, for example, the
list of Emperors of Japan.
Roman Catholic Church
Immediately after a new pope is elected, and accepts the election, he is asked by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, "By what name shall you be called?" The Pope-elect chooses the name by which he will be known from that point on. The senior Cardinal Deacon, or Cardinal Protodeacon, then appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's to proclaim the new Pope, informing the world of the man elected Pope, and under which name he would be known during his reign.
''Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum:''
''Habemus Papam!''
''Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum,''
''Dominum [forename],''
''Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem [surname],''
''qui sibi nomen imposuit [papal name].''
|
''("I announce to you a great joy:''
''We have a Pope!''
''The Most Eminent and Most Reverend Lord,''
''Lord [forename],''
''Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church [surname],''
''who takes to himself the name [papal name].")''
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Although the apostle Simon was given a new name, Peter, when Jesus declared that he would be the rock (original greek in which the Gospels were written-''petros'') on which He would build His Church, the Pope choosing a regnal name as a matter of course would not come until later. During the first centuries of the church, men elected
Bishop of Rome continued to use their baptismal names after their elections. The custom of choosing a new name began in AD
533 with the election of Mercurius. Mercurius had been named after the Roman god
Mercury, and decided that it would not be appropriate for a pope to be named after a Roman god. Mercurius subsequently decreed that he would be known as
John II. Since the end of the tenth century the pope has customarily chosen a new name for himself during his Pontificate; however, until the 16th century some men used their
baptismal names.
The last pope to use his baptismal name was
Pope Marcellus II in 1555. The names chosen by popes are not based on any system other than general honorifics. They have been based on immediate predecessors, mentors, political similarity, or even after family members—as was the case with
Pope John XXIII. The practice of a man using his baptismal name as pope has not been ruled out and future popes could elect to continue using their baptismal names after being elected pope.
Often the man's choice of name upon being elected to the papacy is seen as a signal to the world of who the new pope will emulate, what policies he will seek to enact, or even the length of his reign. Such is the case with
Benedict XVI - it was speculated that he chose the name because he wished to emulate the
last Pope Benedict, and to also call attention to the fact that at 7.5 years that Benedict XV's reign was a relatively short one.
There has never been a
Pope Peter II. Even though there is no specific prohibition against doing so, men elected to the Papacy have refrained from doing so. This is because of a tradition that only
Saint Peter should have that honor. In the
10th century John XIV used the regnal name ''John'' because his given name was Peter. While some
antipopes did take the name Peter II, their claims are not recognized by the mainstream Roman Catholic Church, and each of these men only either has or had a miniscule following which recognized their claims.
Probably because of the controversial
Antipope John XXIII, men avoided taking the regnal name John for over 600 years until the election of John XXIII. Immediately after John's election as Pope in 1959, there was some confusion as to whether he would be known as John XXIII or John XXIV. John put the issue to rest by stating that he would be known as John XXIII.
In
1978,
Albino Luciani became the first pope to use two names for his regnal name when he took the name
John Paul I. He did this to honor both John XXIII and
Paul VI. With the unexpected death of John Paul I a little over a month later,
Karol Wojtyła took the name John Paul II to honor his immediate predecessors.
Antipopes also have regnal names, and also use the ordinal to show their position in the line of previous pontiffs with their names. For example,
Lucian Pulvermacher took the name Pius XIII when he had been named pope by the
True Catholic Church sect. If a future legitimate pope takes the name that the antipope used, the antipope would have no bearing on what ordinal the new pope used. Such would be the case if a future pope took the name Pius, as he would then be known as ''Pius XIII''.
United Kingdom
The monarchs in the
United Kingdom have on three occasions used regnal names different from their first baptismal names.
Queen Victoria was christened Alexandrina Victoria, but was styled ''Princess Victoria'' from birth and took the throne under that name.
Prince Albert Edward,
Prince of Wales, her son, took the regnal name
Edward VII when he became King of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in
1901. This was in defiance of the wish of his late mother that her descendants would rule as double-barrelled ''Albert Edward''s, ''Albert Victor''s, etc., indefinitely. The new King declared that he chose the name Edward as an honoured name borne by six of his predecessors, and that he did not wish to diminish the status of his
father with whom alone among royalty the name Albert should be associated. It is likely that personal conflicts with his parents influenced the king's decision.
In 1936, after the
abdication crisis, Prince Albert, Duke of York, assumed the throne as King
George VI. This was an effort to reinforce the stability of the monarchy, by using the name of his father King
George V, as well as to continue Edward VII's tradition of not being King Albert.
However most British monarchs use their first baptismal name as their regnal name. When
Princess Elizabeth as
Heir Presumptive became Queen of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in
1952, she was asked what name she wished to use, and she responded, "Why, my own name; what else?" There had been speculation that she would leave the name Elizabeth as the unique possession of the earlier monarch who, as a consequence of the accession of Elizabeth II, has been since 1952 known as
Elizabeth I of England. However, in Scotland, the title ''Elizabeth II'' caused some controversy, as there has never been an ''Elizabeth I'' in Scotland. In a rare act of sabotage, new
Royal Mail post boxes in Scotland, bearing the initials "E II R", were vandalised. (Prior to Queen Elizabeth, Scottish boxes had borne the monarch's initials, but no crown.) To avoid further problems, post boxes and
Royal Mail vehicles in Scotland now bear only the
Crown of Scotland and no Royal cypher. A legal case, ''
MacCormick v. Lord Advocate'' (1953 SC 396), was taken to contest the right of The Queen to style herself ''Elizabeth II'' within Scotland, arguing that to do so would be a breach of the
Act of Union. The case was lost on the grounds that the pursuers had no title to sue the Crown, and also that the numbering of monarchs was part of the
royal prerogative, and not governed by the Act of Union.
It is rumoured that
Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George
Mountbatten-Windsor) wishes to assume the regnal name of "George VII" upon his accession to the throne, in light of the unpopularity of both previous British kings who reigned using the name Charles.
[1] Charles I was beheaded for treason during the English Civil War (1642-1660) under the orders of
Oliver Cromwell and is not remembered fondly; his son,
Charles II, while in many ways popular, was nonetheless regarded with suspicion for his Catholic sympathies—suspicions borne out by his deathbed conversion—and for allowing the succession of his outwardly Catholic brother,
James II. The regnal name George is dynastically acceptable to the Windsor family.
If
Prince William of Wales assumes the throne using his baptismal name, he would reign as William V. Assuming that he reigns into his mid-80s, there would then be a William reigning over England on the millennial anniversary of
conquest of England by William I, better known as
William the Conqueror, who established the modern state of England. Of course, Prince William might possibly take a regnal name different from his own. Both Charles and William have a middle name "Arthur", leading some to fanciful speculation that a real king might reign some day under that
mythical name.
Regnal names in fiction
★ In ''
Star Wars'', those people of
Naboo who entered into political life adopted a "Name of State." This name of state is used for public occasions and represents the honor and dignity of the office one chooses.
Padmé Naberrie adopted the name of Amidala. The leader of the
Mandalorians traditionally took the name
Mandalore to replace his own, but this practice was discontinued.
★ Ralph Jones (
John Goodman) — the King of the
United Kingdom in the movie ''
King Ralph'' — was asked to consider taking a regnal name by his private secretary. Ralph decided to keep his original name.
★ When Kiril Pablovich Lakota (
Anthony Quinn) is elected pope in the movie ''
The Shoes of the Fisherman'', he breaks with tradition and decides to continue being known by his given name, thus becoming Pope Kiril I. He explains that he was taking the name in honor of
Saint Cyril.
★ Upon ascending to the thrones of
Gondor and
Arnor,
Aragorn of
J. R. R. Tolkien's ''
The Lord of the Rings'' takes the name Elessar (
Quenya; ''Elfstone''), which was given to him by
Galadriel.
★ In the
''Transformers'' universe, leaders of the Autobots often lead under a new name. A3 led as
Alpha Trion, Orion Pax as
Optimus Prime, and Hot Rod as
Rodimus Prime. However, the recipient of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership often displays a marked change in personality as well as their body changing form; as such taking a different name may be due to them being considered separate entities.
★ In ''
Sailor Moon'', the character
Usagi Tsukino was called Princess Serenity in a past life. When she regains her royal status, as the ruler of "
Crystal Tokyo," she changes her name to Neo-Queen Serenity.
References
1. Prince Charles’s May Reign as George VII, http://genealogyblog.com/the-royal-family/prince-charless-may-reign-as-george-vii-4675
See also
★
Posthumous name
★
Religious Name
★
Chinese era name
★
List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs
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