LECTURE 5: KINGDOMS, REALMS AND POLITICS, 900-1300
ENGLAND AND FRANCE
Theme: failure to develop a stable map
Theme: failure to elaborate strong central government institutions
Theme: 1. expansion of governmental activity in space across Europe
(to slavic etc.)
2. expansion of government activity within particular states, more
present now
Theme: changes in who governs
ENGLAND 600s-1300s
small and homogeneous made it easier, less complex
small early anglo saxon kingdoms had self rule (heptarchy)
fighting with vikings in 793 and during 9C. sporadic and not decicive,
here and there.
865: great army under Alfred the Great comes back and Alfred becomes a
national monarch. Moved vikings (danish) up north. Alfred's successors
moved them further, all the way to York (a viking name), called the
Danelaw.
In 900s Denmark and Norway est. states, vikings were freebooting. In
10C they formalized attacks on England and it was conquered by Sven
Forkbeard whose son Canute came to rule England (1016-1035), and was a
great one. Later, son of the last anglo saxon king returned, Edward
the Confessor. But, he had no heir, and took a vow of chastity. At
different times he recognized different successors! So a bunch of guys
want to be king. One is Harold of Wessex, another is William the
Bastard (of Normandy) and the king of Denmark (another Harold- who
claims to succeed Canute!).
Harold from Denmark invades, and Harold of Wessex marches and defeats
him, then Harold marches south and meets William the Bastard
(Conquerer) and in Oct. 1066 was defeated at the Battle of Hastings.
This conquest is a culmination of 200 years of Norman (Northmen)
(Norsemen) attacks on England! Well they got it.
Problem: William doesn't forget about Normandy. He retains interest in
it, and begins a centuries long problem: Kings of England hold
territories in France, which will culminate in the 100 Years War.
Another Problem: William's son succeeded him. Henry I died without
issue (but had daughter), and then grandson came from France, and he
died without heir (Steven I). In 1154 Henry II of Anjou, son of
daughter of Henry I became king, but he also married Eleanor of
Acquitane. So, he is now the Count of Anjou, King of England, and
controls Normandy through mother, Acquitane through his wife, and some
other stuff too. Bizarre situation that now he his King of England and
60% of France.
John I succeeds him, soft-sword and lackland (lacks the land of his
father) who stupidly provokes the king of France and war occurs and
most of England's French holdings are taken. Clarifies, but produced
an aggrieved England. Basic shape of England didn't change much,
except in Wales and Scotland, but too early for that.
Little kingdom of england held its shape pretty well.
FRANCE
Last Caroligians (Capetians) were stripped of everything but Ile de
France. They then expanded again, learned how to meddle (Louis VII and
Philip II drove Henry II crazy meddling with his sons, who were
supposed to be helping him.
Philip II defeats John and secures much of France again... and in 13C
the monarch extends to southeast by campaigning against heretics. a
"French" territorial state emerges, but is complex. De Gaulle: "Its
impossible to govern a country with 325 kinds of cheese".
ENGLAND'S GOVERNMENT
a court is set up, the shireves (shire representitives, our sheriffs).
taxes collected, at first to pay off vikings when they came, and then
they kept collecting taxes after they were gone anyway!
William advanced all this, and did not upset anything. He improved on
it: Domesday survey was the best till the modern US census. He wanted
to know what he had. Pigs, mills, people, chickens...
Henry I promoted the exchequer. From checkerboard cloth they were
reckoned on. Royal finances. Also, justices were sent out to extend
the royal authority throughout the realm. Like Charlemagne did, but in
England, it would stick.
Royal courts applied what came to be known as Common Law.
Other nobles were upset by some of this, because they had less of a
part while royals had more. Well, Henry I, Henry II and John did was
bring urban men and later university men to their court. Middle
classes were more loyal to the court, cause they were "made" by the
king and could be unmade by him!
King John does one amazing thing, prodded by the nobles: he signs the
Magna Carta. The great charter. "The King is not above the law".
Answerable like everyone else. Nobles checked the kings feudalism.
FEUDALISM
Well, it wasn't so tidy like in the textbooks. Pyramid, of lord and
vassals and vassals of them and finally peasants. True, and vassals
swore homage and fealty (not harming the interests of the lord).
Vassals were given a fief. If we think of all 1000 years of medieval
history and the huge range from Ireland to Moscow, there was no
"feudalism" understood. It was an element, and thats it.
So what did John do? He outrageously abused his feudal
responsibilities. One was that if a son was underage, he was supposed
to take care of it till he came of age, then invest him. Well John
just kept lands. When a vassal died with only a daughter, she had to
be arranged marriage so a vassal would be there. John kept the land.
So he had to sign the Magna Carta, to show he would "play by the
rules." Think of a sports game without a handbook.
13C ENGLAND: THE PARLIAMENT
John signs Magna Carta, and the nobles get some ability to marshall
the right positions to rule, while kings want to stack the council so
they can control it with 'their men.' Always this flux. Always
enemies, always friends.
In 1295 some powerful nobles + high clergy and maybe some burghers
came to "talk" in London... (talk= parliamont in French) a place to
talk they needed... and so they formed a "parliament." A group of
people who imagined themselves to represent the country to the king.
No idea when it would meet or what it would do, but it was there. Not
democratic of course, but a notion of something there to advise the
king on behalf of the country.
MINISTERS
Also, king's "ministers" find their start: used to be that a
'treasurer' takes care of the kings personal finances. Now they are
more public and take care of the kingdom's finances. Clerics prepare
formal correspondence of the king, and the kingdom, and are called the
chancellory. Public officers. Transport officer (Constable, stable,
horses, horses that take you to different parts of the realm)... helps
the king go around the country to visit, and others to check on local
conditions. Eventually he becomes the chief military and police
officer (cause he knows best what's goin on 'out there.' Eventually,
branch offices emerged for all this in other cities.
FRANCE: A STABLE MONARCHY
One family, the Capets, the Capetain Dynasty starts in 987 with Hugh
Capet, ends in 1328, and produced a saint, St. Louis IX. Great
prestige for the monarchy.
No Magna Carta here, they used non-feudal policies. Their gov't was
stronger than in England. No local elite in France. Less cohecive in
France. Each had found the territorial limits of their states, and
they had two models of gov't: 1 in england where the king was checked.
and 2) france where monarchy did not share power. Which was normative
for Europe? neither one! We'll have more complexity and richness than
this!
IBERIA
Germany and others were not a centralizing trend but this was not seen
as retrograde, only by us. border changes were always happening. In
90s yugoslavia exploded and germany united. changes still happen all
the time.
In Iberia, an Islamic state was built when Abbasids came to the
caliphate in Baghdad, since spain fell away. The cordoba regime failed
and by 1000, small autonomous regions were loosely connected to the
emir who ruled from cordoba. Late in 700s a movement in the north was
launched, the reconquista. It begins in ernest in the 1000s, when
Sancho I of Navarre started fighting, to no avail, but centruy after
century after century, this was the chief issue.
But also culture: muslim christian jew all lived in one country.
Sancho died in 1035 and his sons got castille and aragon, which would
lead the reconquista. Castillian forces in 1085 took Toledo. Great
moral victory. Winning man was Rodrigo Diaz of Navarre, El Cid. The
Master. Took money from everyone and fought on all sides, but when it
counted he was with the Christians. In 12C Muslims called in forces
from North Africa... reqonquest halted.
Interestingly some Crusaders in 1139 landed in Lisbon and opened a new
front in reconquest. By 13C pope Innocent III called for a renewal and
in 1212 the turning point came. No doubt. In 1492 it finished.
Iberia was an east and central dominated place, Aragon became a major
power, Barcelona was its main city. Castille had a territorial
monarchy like England. Portugal was a little behind.
IRELAND
Vikings disrupted in early medieval times, Dublin founded by Northmen
to set out from against the dozens of tiny kingdoms.
Slowly, Irish decided to unite vs. Vikings, and Brian Boruoo rallied
the Irish. Church develops in Ireland. In 1100s king rory o connor
turned to england for mercinaries, asked henry II to help him exert
wider control. backfired: henry II invaded in 1171 and the english
have never really left! North Ireland - they are still there!
So, started with viking disruption and ended with english intrusion,
and politically fragmented.
POLAND
Promising beginnings: Polish kingdom in 900s, well governed and
anchored in western orbit, not byzantine. Poland went for Rome, opened
possibilities with cooperation with Germanys and Otto. But then in
1138 Boleslaw III divided the kingdom and weakened the country,
opening it to the outside meddling.
RUSSIA
In Rus, remote ancestor of Russia, Viking Varangians from Sweden came
in 862 and expanded, and met Byzantium, and accepted orthodox
christianity. It had alternating weak and strong rulers, aristocratic
factionalism, and was gradually incurred by steppe attacks, finally
the Mongols in 13C.
ITALY
No Italy, it didn't exist except as a geographic definition. 3 zones:
South + Sicily was subject to outside influence. Byzantines were
powerful in 7C, in 9C the Muslims attacked and took it, in 11C the
same restless Normans who came to England and brought a Crusade to
Iberia, came to Muslim dominated southern Italy and attacked as well,
carving out a Norman kingdom! It was supplanted by a German kingdom
and finally by Aragon. It was a rich region, mini-Iberia culturally:
Christian, Muslim and Jewish worlds were together.
Central Italy: Rome and Papal States, emerged in 8C with Carolingian
assistance. Always expanding and contracting. Always changing.
North Italy: Towns. A creative different way. Carolingians put and end
to Lombard control in 8C, but Carolingian authority lasted into 10C,
when the Holy Roman Germans came. Attempts by this or that town or
league to throw out the Germans made a divided and urbanized region,
where the towns were independent minded. No german counts! No... pope?
Yes, and our town = a commune- the common thing... a mechanism for the
leading town elements to exercise their will, not democratic. Players:
elites from the countryside came into the town, and had to share power
with butcher, baker and candlestick maker. Popolo (the people) were
artisans and merchants in town. So, from Germanic control to shared
local power.
Well, by 1300 the cycle comes back from ancient times: Italian
communes are ruled by oligarchy --> increasing mob rule --> despotic
ruler, to bring them back to order. So despotic situation.
GERMAN TERRITORIES
German lands were outside Roman empire: no heritage of towns and
roads, no organized government. Carolingians extended authority into
German lands, but power was short in time span, and so German lands
were still very rural until late. 5% of german land was being
cultivated! No deep permenant sense of authority and institutions.
After Carolingians, the 5 german dukes elected the duke of Saxony to
be the king. The "Ottos" of Saxony build the strongest state of 10C
Europe. In 955 they defeated the powerful Magyars, and built prestige
by being crowned emperors in carolingian tradition... they had
something that no other ruler in Europe had! Promising... from 10C
vantage point, it looked like Germany was on its way... but it fell
apart. Used diplomacy and outright intimidation on other dukes and on
neighbors.
But it failed because military expansion ended... dyanasties ended
rapidly, 1002, 1024, 1125, 1250. No continuity of rule, but that isn't
devestating always... in england they got by it. But rulers did not
rule all the duchies, because the king is not totally sovereign in all
5 duchies. 1 certainly (saxony), 1 or 2 others yes, but usually 1 or 2
no. foreign entanglements in italy bogged down german affairs, and
finally, the struggle with the popes.
INVESTITURE PROBLEM: KINGS VS POPES
Who gives (invests) ecclesiastical offices? King or Pope? Big problem.
In 11C, A reformed papacy believed that lay investiture in church
affairs was the chief blockade to moral development in Europe. German
emperors felt themselves divinely appointed, however, and saw heaven
as a monarchy, and the best reflection of the heavenly kingdom on
Earth was they as divinely inspired monarchs should decide and run
ecclesiastical affairs. Well, eventually the popes won out over the
ottonians in 11th. each key prop of Ottonian rule was kicked out from
under it, and Germany split up into Holy Roman territories.
THE ROMAN CHURCH'S HIGH MEDIEVAL DEVELOPMENT
Sophisticated legal system, curia was the central court of the church,
the council senate was the college of cardinals. The lateran council
(st. john lateran is Rome's cathedral church) became europe-wide
parliaments! 4th Lateran Council met in 1215 and exterted more
influence on people than any other unit in Europe! And would be the
most significant thing for people until Council of Trent in 16C. More
people were broguht into conact with church officials. Punishments
elaborated: excommunication became a kind of social death: exclusion
of an individual from social and sacaremntal life. no eating with, no
sex with, no tallking to someone excommunicated person. Interdict
denied sacaramental services in a region. People were left bereft of
their sacraments and they then convinced their ruler to bend to the
church's will. Inquisition. A formal judicial prodedure which operated
according to Roman law to seek and destroy heresy.
So, by High Medieval Times, a group of actors in Europe drawing on
Roman, Christian and Feudal Germanic or local traditions emerged, with
immense creativity that leaves us standing gape jawed. some lands had
strong central gov't, some weak. no single ordering principle!
European diversity was very strong. Forms of gov't even differed! Yet,
this was the Age of the Expansion of Europe.
READING FOR THE NEXT LECTURE
