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An interregnum is any gap in the continuity of a government, organization, or social order. Generally, an ''interregnum'' is a period between Monarch s, between Popes , Emperor s of the Holy Roman Empire , Polish kings ( Elective Monarchy ) or between Consul s of the Roman Republic . It 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 did Giorgio Agamben demonstrate in his Eponym ic book - 2005). This is not surprising, as when a Sovereign died - or when the Pope died - ''tumultus'' (upheavals) usually accompanied the news of a sovereign's death. 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. 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). Ernst Kantorowicz 's famous theory of the ''Kings's Two Bodies'' (1957) showed how ''auctoritas'' (Kantorowicz used the synonym term - here - of ''dignitas'') was transferred from the defunct sovereign to the new one. 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 Kotoku 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,
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 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 Calendar s, the Japanese National Diet Library explains that "Japan organized its first calendar in the 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 REFERENCES
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