Some scholars doubt this traditional account, arguing instead that the monarchy evolved into a government led by elected magistrates. Remnants of the monarchy, however, were reflected in republican institutions, such as the religious office of "rex sacrorum" ("king of the sacred") and the "interregnum" (a period of time presided over by an "interrex" when the offices of consul, praetor, and dictator were all vacant). There is, however, evidence that the early Republic was a time of violent change, with the word "rex" carrying the same connotations as tyrant and laws which declared forfeit the life and property of any man who plotted to install himself as a king or tyrant.