An
interregnum (plural
interregna
or
interregnums) is a period of discontinuity of a
government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the
period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next
(coming from Latin
inter-, "between" +
rēgnum,
"reign" [from
rex, rēgis, "king"]), and the concepts of
interregnum and
regency therefore overlap. An
interregnum can simplistically be thought of as a "gap", although
the idea of an interregnum emphasizes the relationship to what
comes before and to what comes after in a sequence. This contrasts
with a near synonym like
gap, which may be random,
encompassing neither connotation of interjacency in a sequence nor
formal interrelation.
Examples of interregna are periods between
monarchs, between
popes,
between
emperors of the
Holy Roman Empire, between kings in an
elective monarchy, or between
consul of the
Roman Republic. The term can also refer to
the period between the pastorates of ministers in some
Protestant churches.
In
Roman law,
interregnum was
usually accompanied by the proclamation of
justitium (or
state of exception, as
Giorgio Agamben demonstrated in his 2005
book of this name). This is not surprising, as when a
sovereign died - or when the
Pope died -
tumultus (upheavals) usually
followed upon the news being made public. Progressively,
justitium came to signify the public mourning of the
sovereign, and not anymore
justitium,
auctoritas being (mythically) attached to
the physical body of the sovereign.
The term is also applied to the period of time between the election
of a new
President of the
United States and his or her inauguration, during which the
outgoing president remains in power, but as a
lame duck.
Historical periods of interregnum
Particular historical periods known as interregna include:
In some
monarchies, such as the United Kingdom
, an interregnum is usually avoided due to
a rule described as "the king is dead, long live
the King", i.e. the heir to the
throne becomes a new monarch immediately on his predecessor's
death or abdication. This famous
phrase signifies the continuity of
sovereignty, attached to a personal form of
power named
Auctoritas. This is
not so in other monarchies where the new monarch's reign begins
only with
coronation or some other formal
or traditional event. In the
Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth for instance, kings were elected, which often led
to relatively long interregna. During that time it was the Polish
primate who served as an
interrex (ruler between kings).
Pope's interregnum (or sede vacante)
An
interregnum occurs also upon the death of the Pope,
though this is generally known as a
sede vacante (vacant seat). The
interregnum ends immediately upon
election of the new Pope by the
College of Cardinals.
Japanese era names
The
Japanese era name or
nengō system which was introduced in
reign of
Emperor
Kōtoku was abandoned at the end of his reign; and the nengō was
not updated for a quite some time, except for very brief
re-occurrence near the close of
Emperor
Temmu's reign.
During the nearly half-century after Emperor Kōtoku, the reigning
sovereigns were
The first year of Emperor Mommu's rule (文武天皇元年;
686) could be arguably abbreviated as "the first year of
Mommu" (文武元年; 686), but this is nowhere understood as a true nengō.
The reigns of Japanese emperors and empresses are not nengō, nor
were the two considered to be the same until
Meiji came on the scene.
References to the
emperors of
Japan who ruled during this period are properly written as, for
example, "the 3rd year of Emperor Mommu" (文武天皇３年), and not "the 3rd
year of Mommu" (文武３年).
Nengō were abolished during the
interregnum years between
Hakuchi and Shuchō, and again between Shuchō and Taihō. Near the
mid-point of his reign, Emperor Mommu caused the now-conventional
nengō chronologic system to be reinstated, and it has continued
uninterrupted through today.
- The two interregnum periods in the pre-Tahiō years
are:
The broader utility of the Japanese nengō system is demonstrated by
the use of a congruent device to parse non-nengō periods, including
these late 7th century
interregnum years between Taika and
Taihō.
As an
illustration: In the initial paragraph of its web page introduction
to the history of Japanese
calendars, the Japanese National Diet Library
explains that "Japan organized its first calendar
in the 12th year of Suiko (604)." See web site of the
National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" -- link to
historical overview plus illustrative images from library's
collection.
See also
Notes
References
, between the death of Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill
and the accession of Toirdhealbhach Ua Briain, is
sometimes regarded as an interregnum, as the High Kingship of Ireland was disputed
throughout these decades. The interregnum may even have
extended to 1121, when Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair
acceded to the title.
when The male line of the Árpáds ended.
when the country was mortgaged to a few German
counts.
and the Compromise
of Caspe
, Indonesia
)
(1598–1613)
between the Rurikid and Romanov dynasties
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