Science
In reply to the discussion: Stonehenge was built on solstice axis, dig confirms [View all]happyslug
(14,779 posts)The idea of Class and the Divine rights of Kings is a Renaissance Concept NOT a Dark Age concept. The Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages where known to be of Peasant Stock (i.e. they ancestors of 100 years before had been peasants). You only see the concept of making the classes as you near the Renaissance, first in Italy then the rest of Europe.
The Concept is completely absent in the Dark Ages itself. You were king because you were King was accepted, but you became King under the rules of your tribe and most of those rules stated it was an elected position. Thus the Pope himself was elected by the people of Rome till the ninth century and a series of very bad Popes show the need for another way to elect the Pope and the present Collage of Cardinals were invented. The Holy Roman Emperor was always an elected position from the Ottos onward (Charlemagne and his son and his grandsons inherited the Title, but that inheritance reflected a good bit of fighting and infighting among the heirs of Charlemagne).
Now, most Holy Roman Emperors were the sons of the previous Emperor. The reason for this is most Emperors made sure they son would be elected after them. This pattern seems also to have been the pattens of most of the Kings and Nobles of the Middle Ages, elected positions by others that went from Father to son, and then everyone accepted inheritance as a "better" way to pick the new king (as oppose to election, which was viewed as old fashioned by the Renaissance).
As to the Dark Ages, most Kings were elected. The switch over from Elected kings to inheritance selection of Kings started in the late Dark Ages (With Charlemagne showing the way), accelerated during the High Middle Ages but only became the common rule in the Renaissance.