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They didn’t get to chose the king did they, otherwise it would have been a democracy.

• simonh 7y ago
  Well, wars of succession were a thing.
• coldtea 7y ago
  There were lots of ways to chose a king. Heredity was just one of them -- which is why not all kings (or roman emperors etc) are from the same family. In lots of cases, popular support (or lack thereof) played a big role (in some cases, even more directly than in current democracies).
  • NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    Often popular support of the elements of the landed gentry with largest armed hirds or retinues to call upon. Not quite the modern sense of popular support.
    • coldtea 7y ago
      Replace landed gentry with corporatist class, and "largest armed hireds" with mass media, and you're not very far off.