King of the Slavs explained

King of the Slavs (Latin: rex Sclavorum, Sclavorum rex) was a title denoting some Slavic rulers, as well as Germanic rulers that conquered Slavs, in the Middle Ages in European sources, such as Papal correspondence.

Papal use is bolded.

Slavic

• Samo, ruler of Samo's Empire and the "Slavs" (623–658); in the Frankish Annals
• Drogoviz, ruler of the Veleti (789); in Annales Mettenses priores in 805^[1]
• Trpimir I, ruler of Duchy of Croatia (845–864); erroneously by Gottschalk in the 840s^[2]
• Svatopluk I of Moravia, ruler of Great Moravia (870–894); by Pope Stephen V in 885^[3]
• Michael, ruler of Zachlumia (913–926); erroneously in the Annales Barenses^[4]
• Mihailo Vojislavljević, ruler of Duklja (1050–1081); by Pope Gregory VII in 1077
• Constantine Bodin (Bodin Vojislavljević), ruler of Duklja (1081–1101); by the chronicle of Orderic Vitalis, relating to events of 1096
• Stefan Dragutin, ruler of Kingdom of Serbia (1276–1282) and Syrmia (Realm of Stefan Dragutin; 1282–1316); by Pope Nicholas IV in 1288^[5]

Non-Slavic

• Canute Lavard, Danish prince (1120–1131); by Abbott Wilhelm after 1129^[6]
• Canute VI, King of Denmark; by himself in 1185, after a conquest of Pomerania^[7]

See also

• King of the Wends

Sources

• Book: Ćirković, Sima. Sima Ćirković. 2004. The Serbs. Malden. Blackwell Publishing. 9781405142915.
• Book: Jireček, Constantin. Konstantin Jireček. Geschichte der Serben. 1911. 1. Gotha. Perthes.

Notes and References

1. Book: Adalbert-Stifter-Verein (Munich, Germany). Veröffentlichungen der Wissenschaftlichen Abteilung. 1961. Edmund Gans Verlag. 26.
2. Book: John V. A. Fine. When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods. 5 February 2010. University of Michigan Press. 978-0-472-02560-2. 36–.
3. Book: Maddalena Betti. The Making of Christian Moravia (858-882): Papal Power and Political Reality. 24 October 2013. BRILL. 978-90-04-26008-5. 189–.
4. Book: Armin Pavić. Postanje Gundulićeva Osmana i glávâ 29-36 u Porfirogenitovoj De adm. imp. 1906. Tisak Kr. zemaljske tiskare. 62.
5. Book: Concise Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante. 1968. Ardent Media. 566–. GGKEY:P53U8KC8WZR. Addressed (in 1288) by Pope Nicholas IV as 'Rex Sclavorum'; he signed himself (in 1305 or 1307) in a document still extant in the Venetian archives as ' Stephanus Urosch Rex Serbicarum terrarum et maritimarum '. a [Stefano Urosio.] ....
6. Book: Christian Raffensperger. Reimagining Europe: Kievan Rus' in the Medieval World. 12 March 2012. Harvard University Press. 978-0-674-06546-8. 103–.
7. News: Canute VI | Viking ruler, Danish monarch | Britannica . Encyclopedia Britannica . 20 February 2024 .