A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or having little significance. The term comes from the French 'petit' meaning small.

Its use stands in contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into the Kingdom of England in the 10th century, or the numerous Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland as the Kingdom of Ireland in the 16th century). Alternatively, a petty kingdom would be a minor kingdom in the immediate vicinity of larger kingdoms, such as the medieval Kingdom of Mann and the Isles relative to the kingdoms of Scotland or England or the Viking kingdoms of Scandinavia.

Norway

The petty kingdoms of Norway numbered at least 28:

  • Agder
  • Grenland
  • Gudbrandsdal
  • Hadeland
  • Hålogaland
  • Hardanger
  • Hedmark
  • Hordaland
  • Land
  • Namdalen
  • Nordmøre
  • Oppland
  • Orkdalen
  • Ranrike
  • Raumarike
  • Ringerike
  • Rogaland
  • Romsdal
  • Sogn
  • Solør
  • Sunnmøre
  • Telemark
  • Toten
  • Trøndelag
  • Vestfold
  • Vestmar
  • Vingulmark
  • Voss

Scotland

There were many petty kingdoms in Scotland before its unification. They can be grouped by language:

  • Brittonic/Cumbric (see Hen Ogledd):
  • Gododdin
  • Strathclyde
  • Rheged (also extended into modern England)
  • Pictish:
  • Fortriu
  • Pictavia
  • Cait
  • Ce, situated in modern Mar and Buchan
  • Circinn, perhaps situated in modern Angus and the Mearns
  • Fib, the modern Fife, known to this day as 'the Kingdom of Fife'
  • Fidach, location unknown
  • Fotla, modern Atholl (Ath-Fotla)
  • Anglian/Anglo-Saxon:
  • Bernicia (also extended into modern England; conquered the former Gododdin territory)
  • Northumbria (formed from the union of Bernicia with the more southerly Deira; later controlled territory further west upon the incorporation of Rheged)
  • Gaelic:
  • Dál Riata (mostly modern Argyll and Bute but originated in and initially extended into Ireland)
  • Old Norse/Norse-Gaelic; see also Scandinavian Scotland
  • Kingdom of the Isles (; also the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles)
  • the Northern Isles () and Caithness were also Norse-ruled but were generally subject to Norway and/or Scotland (see Earldom of Orkney).

See also

  • Chiefdom
  • Feudal fragmentation
  • Kleinstaaterei

References