History Main / FindersRulers

* The Golden Helmet of Harold Hardrotta in the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse confers the rulership of the entire continent of North America to whoever has it. It crops up at the worst times and in the worst hands. (Until a later comic had even more ancient pieces show up!)

* PlayedWith: The wielder Darksaber of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' is said to have the right to rule the [[ProudWarriorRace Mandalorians]]. However, all Mandalorians see the saber as just a symbol. It's not enough to simply find or be handed the saber. It must be earned in combat. The one time they break the rule doesn't end well.

Then there are governments where it's decided by who holds the MacGuffin. In some instances, it isn't even a OnlyTheChosenMayWield item but something anyone can pick up. This may not protect them against PrestigePeril, however. An EvilChancellor or [[CorruptChurch sinister Cardinal]] may want to "[[DeadlyEuphemism permanently relieve them of their rule]]".

Then there are governments where it's decided by who holds the MacGuffin. In some instances, it isn't even a OnlyTheChosenMayWield item but something anyone can pick up. This may not protect them against PrestigePeril, however.

In some forms of government, power derives from the mandate of the people. In others, it's derived from RoyalBlood. In yet others, it's derived from [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt killing the]] [[KlingonPromotion previous guy]] or [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority being the baddest mutha around]].

* In ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}: [[Recap/TintinKingOttokarsSceptre King Ottokar's Sceptre]]'', according to tradition the rightful king of [[{{Ruritania}} Syldavia]] must not lose possession of the sceptre of King Ottokar IV, which is needed during a specific ceremony. So, of course, it's lost, and Tintin must recover the sceptre before the ceremony or the king will have to abdicate. (Note that there are no indications that having the sceptre would make you ruler, just that the king has to ''keep'' the sceptre to keep the throne.)

* ''Literature/TheOddysey'' ends on something of this note, with Queen Penelope announcing that whoever can thread her husband's legendary bow, and successfully use it to shoot an arrow through a dozen axe-heads will be named King of Ithaca ([[ImpossibleTask conveniently forgetting to tell there was a trick on how to thread that bow, and only Odysseus knew it]]). Of course, what no one knows is that Odysseus himself, who has finally managed to reach his home after a journey of ten years, is secretly one of the contestants...

* The legend of Odysseus / Ulysses ends on something of this note, with Queen Penelope announcing that whoever can thread her husband's legendary bow, and successfully use it to shoot an arrow through a dozen axe-heads will be named King of Ithaca ([[ImpossibleTask conveniently forgetting to tell there was a trick on how to thread that bow, and only Odysseus knew it]]). Of course, what no one knows is that Odysseus himself, who has finally managed to reach his home after a journey of ten years, is secretly one of the contestants...
* ''Myth/KingArthur'': The original SwordInTheStone is introduced this way, and some adaptations run with it. Note that the original legend [[UnbuiltTrope actually subverts]] this; nobody cares when Arthur loses the sword and switches to {{Excalibur}}. Although in that case, it had less to do with the sword itself, and more with the fact that Merlin said that the person who could take the sword would be the rightful king (which was just a flashy way of introducing Arthur, who was rightful king by birth).

* ''Myth/KingArthur'': The original SwordInTheStone is introduced this way, and some adaptations run with it. Note that the original legend [[UnbuiltTrope actually subverts]] this; nobody cares when Arthur loses the sword and switches to {{Excalibur}}. Although in that case, it had less to do with the sword itself, and more with the fact that Merlin said that the person who could take the sword would be the rightful king (which was just a flashy way of introducing Arthur, who was rightful king by birth). Tracing back the myth, in the days of Arthurian Britain, there were still tribes of Sarmatian horsemen living there after being relocated there by the Romans, and a sword impaled on a stone was one of their primary holy symbols. The people of Britain could very well have agreed that Arthur was king because the most powerful cavalry force in the land said he was king, and nobody cared to dispute the fact with them.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Literature/{{Discworld}}, [[TropeOverdosed unsurprisingly]].

->''"Listen: [[EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords]] is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you. I mean, if I went 'round, sayin' I was an emperor, just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!"''

->''"Listen: Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you. I mean, if I went 'round, sayin' I was an emperor, just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!"''

* In Creator/LSpragueDeCamp's ''The Reluctant King'' series, the kingdom of Xylar chooses its next king by throwing the head of the previous king into a crowd--the catcher gets the throne. The catch is that in five years, the process is repeated... which is why Jorian, who had no idea about all this, is very much the titular Reluctant King, and spends the trilogy running away from Xylarians who want to drag him back so they can perform the ceremony.

* ''[[Series/BabylonFive In The Beginning]]'' - Londo tells a little boy that the person possessing the Imperial seal is the emperor. Of course, Londo is quite drunk at the time.

* In Creator/LSpragueDeCamp's Reluctant King series, the kingdom of Xylar chooses its next king by throwing the head of the previous king into a crowd--the catcher gets the throne. The catch is that in five years, the process is repeated... which is why Jorian, who had no idea about all this, is very much the titular Reluctant King, and spends the trilogy running away from Xylarians who want to drag him back so they can perform the ceremony.

** The Drazi have an unusual method of determining their government leaders by splitting into two separate factions--Green and Purple--and having the two sides fight, with the winning faction becoming the leaders of the Drazi until the next time of the fight. The factions themselves are led by individuals with the leader sashes, whose only qualification is that they '''have''' the leader sash: When Ivanova grabs the leader sash from one Drazi, the others immediately begin to follow ''her''.
--->'''Ivanova:''' You're saying just because I'm holding this ''right now'', I'm Green leader? But I'm human!
--->'''Sheepish green Drazi:''' Rules of combat older than contact with other races. Did not mention aliens. Rules change... Caught up in committee. Not come through yet.[[labelnote:note]]The Drazi have been spacefaring for about eight hundred years at this point[[/labelnote]]

* ''Myth/KingArthur'' - The original SwordInTheStone is introduced this way, and some adaptations run with it. Note that the original legend [[UnbuiltTrope actually subverts]] this; nobody cares when Arthur loses the sword and switches to {{Excalibur}}. Although in that case, it had less to do with the sword itself, and more with the fact that Merlin said that the person who could take the sword would be the rightful king (which was just a flashy way of introducing Arthur, who was rightful king by birth).
** Tracing back the myth, in the days of Arthurian Britain, there were still tribes of Sarmatian horsemen living there after being relocated there by the Romans, and a sword impaled on a stone was one of their primary holy symbols. The people of Britain could very well have agreed that Arthur was king because the most powerful cavalry force in the land said he was king, and nobody cared to dispute the fact with them.

Then there are governments where it's decided by who holds the MacGuffin. In some instances, it isn't even a OnlyTheChosenMayWield item but something anyone can pick up.

->''"Listen: Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you. I mean, if I went 'round, saying I was an emperor, just because some moistened bint had lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!"''

** In the episode "Coming Of The Shadows", Centauri noble Lord Kiro plans to use the Eye, a lost piece of crown jewelry, to unite the Centauri populace in his efforts to lay claim to the throne. [[DefiedTrope Londo refuses any part in it]], explaining why the idea won't work: while the Eye was linked to the throne via the first emperor, who came from House Kiro, the Eye was linked more to his own House than the throne ''and'' the current emperor was well-liked by the people (even the Narn, who hate all the Centauri, grudgingly respected him). When Lord Kiro goes for it anyway, [[WrongGenreSavvy the raiders that are supposed to help him heavily mock him before announcing they'll sell him]] ''[[WrongGenreSavvy and]]'' [[WrongGenreSavvy the Eye to the Centauri government.]]

--->'''Sheepish green Drazi:''' Rules of combat older than contact with other races. Did not mention aliens. Rules change... Caught up in committee. Not come through yet.[[labelnote:The Drazi have been spacefaring for about eight hundred years at this point]]

--->'''Sheepish green Drazi:''' Rules of combat older than contact with other races. Did not mention aliens. Rules change... Caught up in committee. Not come through yet.[[note:The Drazi have been spacefaring for about eight hundred years at this point]]