{{Short description, Noble title
Galmunwang (갈문왕, 葛文王; wang=king) was a title used in the early period of the Korean kingdom of
Silla
Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms ...
. Its precise meaning and function are not known. From Korean sources, namely the
Samguk Sagi
''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...
, it would appear that the title of Galmunwang was granted to very high-ranking personages in early Silla and was equivalent to the king but without right of succession. It seems to have been granted to the chiefs of lineages of the clans of the reigning king, queen, and royal mother. As Lee Kibaik pointed out, the granting of the title of Galmunwang reflected the close relationship between the monarch and the other high noble families in early Silla.Lee Kibaik, ''Silla jeongchi sahoesa yeonggu'' tudies in Silla Socio–Political History Seoul: Iljogak (2002),p. 311. The granting of the title Galmunwang was discontinued during the middle period of Silla following the accession of King Muyeol, reflecting the augmentation of royal authority at the expense of that of the nobility following Silla unification of the peninsula. During the late period of Silla, however, something akin to the Galmunwang was reinstituted.