Motif family
Royal Legitimacy and Sacred Kingship
The establishment, maintenance, or transfer of legitimate rule through divine sanction, lineage, ordeal, or sacred objects. Includes coronation, succession, regency, and the king as axis mundi figure.
98 traditions
11,915 occurrences
606 mapped motifs
- african akan
- african bantu
- afro caribbean
- ainu
- akan
- armenian
- arthurian
- australian aboriginal
- basque
- bavili
- biblical
- buddhist
- burmese
- buryat mongol
- caucasian
- celtic
- celtic irish
- celtic welsh
- chaco amerindian
- christian apocrypha
- comparative
- confucian
- daoist
- egyptian
- ekoi
- estonian
- ethiopian christian
- fijian
- filipino
- finnic
- finnish karelian
- fjort
- ganda
- georgian
- germanic
- gnostic
- greek
- greek roman
- guiana amerindian
- hausa
- hawaiian
- hermetic
- hindu
- hopi
- inca
- indigenous australian
- inuit
- islamic
- islamicate folklore
- jain
- japanese
- jewish christian
- jewish pseudepigrapha
- khoisan south african
- kimbundu
- korean
- malagasy
- malay
- mangaian
- maori
- maya
- maya quiche
- melanesian
- mesopotamian
- micronesian
- mongol
- nahua
- nahua maya inca
- native american california
- native american great lakes
- native american northeast woodlands
- native american northwest coast
- native american plains
- native american plateau
- native american southeast
- native american southwest
- navajo
- norse
- oceanic
- persian
- roman
- romanian
- samoan
- shan
- shinto
- siberian
- sikh
- slavic
- sufi
- taoist
- temne
- tibetan buddhist
- tongan
- vietnamese
- xhosa
- yoruba
- zoroastrian
- zulu
Conserved neighbors: covenant · divine judgment · axis mundi · prophecy divination
This family has not yet been binned into sub-families; its mapped motifs are listed directly, most widespread first.
Mapped motifs
606 motifs, showing the 60 most attested
- Royal Legitimacy 11,306 occurrences · 97 traditions
- african akan
- african bantu
- afro caribbean
- ainu
- akan
- armenian
- arthurian
- australian aboriginal
- +89 more
- Ruler as parent of the people 3 occurrences · 1 traditions
- confucian
- Deceptive liberator becomes tyrant 2 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- threefold tribal settlement and land division 2 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- absent ruler made present by image 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- biblical
- Absent ruler represented by emissaries 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- confucian
- abundant land under divine rule 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- nahua maya inca
- aging ruler petitions for heir's protection 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- celtic welsh
- all-seeing divine high-seat 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- norse
- Ancestor tablets ordered by rank and descent 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- confucian
- ancestral and dynastic obligation 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- roman
- ancestral exemplar and son’s reputation 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- animal-associated king 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- slavic
- animal court mimicking human kingship 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- animal messenger bringing distant royal news 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
- Animal subjects investigated by their ruler 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- japanese
- apostolic hierarchy and manifest signs 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
- Apotheosis of heroic or royal figures 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- roman
- appeal for inclusion of old heroes in a new divine order 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- celtic irish
- appeal to a powerful external king for advice and aid 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- celtic irish
- appeal to royal authority after conflicting counsel 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- buddhist
- appointment of twelve authorized representatives 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
- archaic simplicity of rulers and heroes 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- architectural post as marker of office and rank 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- melanesian
- Armed champion vows to restore or defend a claimant 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hindu
- Auspicious creatures appearing with good government 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- confucian
- Auspicious dynastic marriage produces a royal successor 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- confucian
- Auspiciously timed royal rite 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hindu
- authority as steersman, refuge, and rescuer 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- egyptian
- avoidance of looking down upon the king 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- comparative
- bad rule through wealth replacing skill 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Beloved ruler as life-root of the people 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hindu
- Beneficent servant elevated with heirship 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- christian apocrypha
- benevolent divine council and cosmic-political ordering 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- besieged camp protected by obedience to absent leader 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- roman
- betrayal of the fugitive heir by a kinsman 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- binding boon or promise redirects royal destiny 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hindu
- bloodless execution of sacred royalty 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- comparative
- boast of noble ancestry where proof is impossible 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- Body politic as a single organism 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
- boons satisfied before formal homage 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- celtic welsh
- Bound defeated kings die unreleased 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- celtic irish
- bound ruler after failure to provide necessities 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- comparative
- Bráhman spiritual power surpasses royal military power 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- hindu
- brief peace after royal death 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- germanic
- broken royal arm and transferred martial power 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- biblical
- Brotherly reconciliation after succession tension 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- slavic
- Captive heirs liberated by public appeal 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- sufi
- captive herd enclosed for royal hunting 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- buddhist
- Captive royal woman preserves dignity before death 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- roman
- Cascade of submissions after a principal tribe submits 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
- census and martial muster 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- jewish christian
- central solar-rayed sceptre bearer with flanking winged suppliants 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- nahua maya inca
- ceremonial reception of royal arrivals 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- germanic
- ceremonial royal movement and ranked hierarchy 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- confucian
- Challenge to prophetic legitimacy through sexual or familial conduct 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- islamic
- Champion's service magnifies a king's court 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- arthurian
- Chiefly status displayed through monumental house and house pole 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- native american northwest coast
- chieftainship recognized through repeated public speech 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- navajo
- Civic myth legitimating social ranks 1 occurrences · 1 traditions
- greek
Each motif link opens its evidence page: every tagged passage with its quote, and a path into the book where the passage lives.