Jeroen Duindam is professor of history and Chair for Early Modern History at the University of Leiden. He has published extensively on the history of courts and rulers, and is the editor for the series Rulers and Elites.
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For thousands of years bloodlines have been held as virtually unassailable credentials for leadership. At the heart of royal dynasties, kings were inflated to superhuman proportions, yet their status came at a price: while they may have reigned, they were... SEE MORE