NationStates Jolt Archive

We all know fairly well that 'royalty' tend to be related to each other. And as any good genetisict (Sp?) will tell you, theres this thing called 'inbreeding', which tends to result in certain disorders, physical and mental.
So, after a few hundred years of bedding with their cousins, the Dark Age monarchy was a bit...odd.
So, the question of the day is:
Which Dark Ages monarch was the craziest?
'Dark Ages' implies the time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Reneisance.
No area restrictions, anywhere, anytime between 500AD and the 1500's

Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, for the Inquisition.

Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, for the Inquisition.
They were most representative of the glory of Monarchy.

As I pray in my signature....
Catholic Monarch Queen Isabella of Spain
Glorious Promoter of the Inquisition
Ora Pro Nobis

They were most representative of the glory of Monarchy.

As I pray in my signature....
Catholic Monarch Queen Isabella of Spain
Glorious Promoter of the Inquisition
Ora Pro Nobis


You're the kind of guy who probably thinks Caligula was a nice guy.

DF would have made an insane monarch himself

Genghis Khan.

You're the kind of guy who probably thinks Caligula was a nice guy.
An anti-Christian servant of evil I would think a nice guy? :confused:

Vlad the Impaler
Caligula.

and my personal favorite;

Ludwig The Mad. Crazier than fruit loops in your socks, but excellent architect. *nod*

An anti-Christian servant of evil I would think a nice guy? :confused:


Hey, you're the Troll. I'm not questioning your ability to be insanely weird.

Vlad the Impaler


Vlad is actually viewed as a folk hero in Romania because he defended the common man's rights against the tyranny of the nobility. Depends on your point of view and how much of the press you believe, really.

Vlad is actually viewed as a folk hero in Romania because he defended the common man's rights against the tyranny of the nobility. Depends on your point of view and how much of the press you believe, really.

Nevertheless, he wasn't someone to piss off.

Nevertheless, he wasn't someone to piss off.

True enough, but it doesn't seem like he was insane.

For real insanity, you could look at George III of England or (as you mentioned) Ludwig II of Bavaria.

True enough, but it doesn't seem like he was insane.

For real insanity, you could look at George III of England or (as you mentioned) Ludwig II of Bavaria.
But he wasn't mideval - now as I said before, Ferdinand, and Isabella of Spain are

But he wasn't mideval

Fair point.

I'm not really buying Ferdinand and Isabella though - the inquisition was a fairly benign thing at first, and didn't really become oppressive for a couple hundred years.

None are really coming to mind at the moment.

Genghis Khan.

If you are going with the greatest body count, then yes, Genghis Khan wins. However, Temüjin (his real name) was not insane - just really, really good at what he did, which was conquering people and land.

If you want violently insane powerful rulers you have to go with 16th century Russia's Ivan Vasilyevich, better known as Ivan the Terrible. Ivan liked to throw live animals from towers, personally tortured his victims, and beat his own son to death. After having St. Basil's Cathedral built he blinded the architect so he could never design anything that beautiful again.

Less violent than Ivan, but perhaps truly more insane, was Charles VI of France, who ruled in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Charles, who may have contracted encephalitis, would run from room to room screaming his enemies were after him, would piss his royal clothes, and thought he was made of glass. He had iron rods inserted into his clothing to prevent himself from breaking.

Vlad the Impaler was not only not the craziest royal of the Middle Ages - he wasn't even the craziest royal from Transylvania. That honor goes to his fellow countrywoman, Elizabeth Bathory. Elizabeth, a 16th century countess, had a reputation for torturing her servants using branding irons, razors, pincers and torches. She once sewed up the mouth of a girl who chattered too much and tied another girl naked to a tree and covered her in honey, presumably for the ants.

Around the time of her 40th birthday she got it into her head that the blood of young girls helpd smooth out wrinkled skin. She would bath while a young virgin was held over her and had her throat slashed. Later she had an iron cage with spikes suspended over the bath so the impaled young girls could shower her with blood. When she opened a school to teach aristocratic girls social graces and they too began to disappear the aristocracy had enough. Elizabeth was walled up alive in a small tower room and died three years later.

Elizabeth from Transylvania gets my vote for the craziest Medieval aristocrat.

As I recall one of the kings of England (Henry 8th? Dunno) had the rack dissassembled and brought up to his private chambers so he could hear the screams with his tea.

Ferdinan and Isabella...They were 17th century, werent they? Bit late...

Caligula was a bit early the be a Medeival monarch ;)

Gengis Khan wasnt insane, at least, not as crazy as some other people.

I think Ivan the Terrible was the one who beat his own son to death with a whip with lead weights on it.

Overall, my vote goes for the Kings of England, if you want to count a 'family' as a whole. Some serious nutters.

They were most representative of the glory of Monarchy.

As I pray in my signature....
Catholic Monarch Queen Isabella of Spain
Glorious Promoter of the Inquisition
Ora Pro Nobis


Nothing better than glorifying the dirty murderers eh DF?
While you're at it you should add Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and The rabble of the early first crusade to your list of favorite people. They would have gotten along well with you.

I would say Mary Tudor personally for the craziest monarch. She was a bloody nutcase!

the state of the esatern bloc would like to say: IVAN THE TERRIBLE.

If you are going with the greatest body count, then yes, Genghis Khan wins. However, Temüjin (his real name) was not insane - just really, really good at what he did, which was conquering people and land.

If you want violently insane powerful rulers you have to go with 16th century Russia's Ivan Vasilyevich, better known as Ivan the Terrible. Ivan liked to throw live animals from towers, personally tortured his victims, and beat his own son to death. After having St. Basil's Cathedral built he blinded the architect so he could never design anything that beautiful again.

Less violent than Ivan, but perhaps truly more insane, was Charles VI of France, who ruled in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Charles, who may have contracted encephalitis, would run from room to room screaming his enemies were after him, would piss his royal clothes, and thought he was made of glass. He had iron rods inserted into his clothing to prevent himself from breaking.

Vlad the Impaler was not only not the craziest royal of the Middle Ages - he wasn't even the craziest royal from Transylvania. That honor goes to his fellow countrywoman, Elizabeth Bathory. Elizabeth, a 16th century countess, had a reputation for torturing her servants using branding irons, razors, pincers and torches. She once sewed up the mouth of a girl who chattered too much and tied another girl naked to a tree and covered her in honey, presumably for the ants.

Around the time of her 40th birthday she got it into her head that the blood of young girls helpd smooth out wrinkled skin. She would bath while a young virgin was held over her and had her throat slashed. Later she had an iron cage with spikes suspended over the bath so the impaled young girls could shower her with blood. When she opened a school to teach aristocratic girls social graces and they too began to disappear the aristocracy had enough. Elizabeth was walled up alive in a small tower room and died three years later.

Elizabeth from Transylvania gets my vote for the craziest Medieval aristocrat.


So Bathory must've been eating rats and things....*shudder*

Didn't Catherine the great do it with a horse? She gets my vote if she did.

It's all a question of degree and application. I'll go with Ivan and Bathory, but they were, and often still are, all fuckin' nuts! Power has that effect on people. In breeding only makes it worse.

Add to this list, though not considered a monarch or an aristocrat, but many of the popes and church high-ups during the mentioned time period. Wasn't it Gregory or Innocent who was pretty crazed about stuff? Popes! Funny hats!

If you are going with the greatest body count, then yes, Genghis Khan wins. However, Temüjin (his real name) was not insane - just really, really good at what he did, which was conquering people and land.

If you want violently insane powerful rulers you have to go with 16th century Russia's Ivan Vasilyevich, better known as Ivan the Terrible. Ivan liked to throw live animals from towers, personally tortured his victims, and beat his own son to death. After having St. Basil's Cathedral built he blinded the architect so he could never design anything that beautiful again.

Less violent than Ivan, but perhaps truly more insane, was Charles VI of France, who ruled in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Charles, who may have contracted encephalitis, would run from room to room screaming his enemies were after him, would piss his royal clothes, and thought he was made of glass. He had iron rods inserted into his clothing to prevent himself from breaking.

Vlad the Impaler was not only not the craziest royal of the Middle Ages - he wasn't even the craziest royal from Transylvania. That honor goes to his fellow countrywoman, Elizabeth Bathory. Elizabeth, a 16th century countess, had a reputation for torturing her servants using branding irons, razors, pincers and torches. She once sewed up the mouth of a girl who chattered too much and tied another girl naked to a tree and covered her in honey, presumably for the ants.

Around the time of her 40th birthday she got it into her head that the blood of young girls helpd smooth out wrinkled skin. She would bath while a young virgin was held over her and had her throat slashed. Later she had an iron cage with spikes suspended over the bath so the impaled young girls could shower her with blood. When she opened a school to teach aristocratic girls social graces and they too began to disappear the aristocracy had enough. Elizabeth was walled up alive in a small tower room and died three years later.

Elizabeth from Transylvania gets my vote for the craziest Medieval aristocrat.

So Bathory must've been eating rats and things....*shudder*

Actually, they left a slit in the wall to pass water and food through. I don't know what became of her waste.

It's all a question of degree and application. I'll go with Ivan and Bathory, but they were, and often still are, all fuckin' nuts! Power has that effect on people. In breeding only makes it worse.

Add to this list, though not considered a monarch or an aristocrat, but many of the popes and church high-ups during the mentioned time period. Wasn't it Gregory or Innocent who was pretty crazed about stuff? Popes! Funny hats!

Pope Urban VI was known as the "Mad Pope." His insanity helped bring about the Great Schism in the 14th century, in which the Catholic Church had a leader in Rome and a rival in Avignon, France.

Urban would scream and yell at diplomats, kings, and cardinals; when beieged by King Charles' army he would go to the window several times a day, yelling at the army below, excommunicating them while they shot arrows at him. He declared a crusade against his home city of Naples and eventually hallucinated that the apostle Peter was appearing before him. He even murdered six of his Cardinals, burying them alive or stuffing them into sacks and tossing them into the sea.

Didn't Catherine the great do it with a horse? She gets my vote if she did.

Although Catherine the Great was known for her many amours, the story about her having a sling rigged for a horse above her bed (supposedly only a horse was large enough to satisfy her) was purely anti-Russian propaganda started by the British.

There was Joanna "the Mad" of Castile (1479–1555), although I cannot remember why she was so called

There was Joanna "the Mad" of Castile (1479–1555), although I cannot remember why she was so called

I'm not familiar with her (I'm weak on Spanish history). Is she related to Ferdinand and Isabella?

I'm not familiar with her (I'm weak on Spanish history). Is she related to Ferdinand and Isabella?
Yes. Daughter IIRC and mother to Charles V (of the Holy Roman Empire, I forget his number in Spain)

It is outside the time period but Prince Sado of Korea was a bit off his rocker. He beat and killed eunuchs and maids and often would rape court ladies who angered him. He said, "It relieves my pent-up anger to kill people or animals when I am feeling depressed or on edge."

Eventually he was locked into a rice chest and left to starve to death.