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Dynamics of political control in 13 th century Europe

Dynamics of political control in 13 th century Europe. Don’t miss next lecture!. On Tuesday (a week from today), we have our midterm. Next lecture, on Thursday, I will give you a little pre-midterm review. From last time. The victory of Pope Gregory VII

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Dynamics of political control in 13 th century Europe

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  1. Dynamics of political control in 13th century Europe

  2. Don’t miss next lecture! • On Tuesday (a week from today), we have our midterm. Next lecture, on Thursday, I will give you a little pre-midterm review

  3. From last time.. • The victory of Pope Gregory VII • The crusades and the persecution of the Jewish communities -complexity of enemy/friends distinction: during the fourth crusade in 1204 the crusaders loot Constantinople; many ‘positive interactions’ between Christians and Muslims • The new developments in the culture and intellectual life of medieval Europe, such as courtly love, life, and culture (very DIFFERENT from the earlier knight-culture you saw) • Another new development is…

  4. New institutions of learning • Remember the Carolingian schools? • Now University become more ‘coherent’ • Scholars are like a guild • Bologna: the oldest university in Europe (founded in 1088) • Town vs.gown: a complex relationship…

  5. From a privilege granted by the King Philip II (ca 1180-1223) to 1200 students in Paris • ‘…Concerning the safety of the students at Paris..we have ordained as follows:..if it shall happen that any one strikes a student, except in self-defense, especially if he strikes the student with a weapon, a club or a stone, all laymen who see [the act] shall in good faith seize the malefactor or malefactors…’

  6. 11th-12th centuries: many novelties… • Big victory of the Pope • Wealth and prosperity in Europe • Attack against the perceived ‘enemies’ • New forms of cultural expressions: courtly love, universities, etc. • As the thirteenth century begins, prosperity and commerce increases, and with this the strengthening of the governments…

  7. Territorial politics: a crucial shift towards a strong, centralized and legalized ‘proto-state’

  8. France and the consolidation of the monarchy after the feudal period • Ingredients: • a strong King, Philip II Augustus (king from 1180), who does not want to relinquish his authority to his vassals • territorial integrity • a unified language • a WRITTEN rule of law • a centralized system to collect taxes (bailli)

  9. Territorial integrity Red: Territories under the King of England Blue: Royal Domain Green: French fief

  10. A Unified Language • ‘Onques mes ne fu soupris
De nule amour, ne destroiz,
Mais or m'ont dou tot conquis
Ses sens et sa bone foi..’
(Gontier de Soignies, d. ca 1220) • ‘Never was I so overcome
By any love, nor in distress,
But now I'm conquered totally
By her good sense and honesty…’

  11. A strong royal control: look at your handout! • What is the ‘Commune’? Does that ring a bell? • What does the king do? How does he do that? • In conclusion, who had the authority in France? • Let’s see what happens in England…

  12. England: a different story • The story starts with a tradition of strong kings, as Richard I ‘Lion-hearted’ (1189-1199), but... • He dies young, and his brother and heir, John (1199-1216) was the one to lose all those territories to Philip Augustus • After the battle of Bouvines (1214) the barons rebel • 1215: Magna Carta, a victory of the barons and of custom

  13. Magna Carta: a sample • ‘In the first place…we have also granted to all free men of our kingdom, for ourselves and our heirs for ever, all the liberties written below, to be had and held by them and their heirs of us and our heirs…No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom unless by common counsel of our kingdom, except for ransoming our person…’ • What are the differences with the other source you had in your handout?

  14. Other forms of political organization • Remember Italy and the comuni: independent city-states organized around the guild maintain their tradition • Castile-Leon in Spain: the cortes and the beginning of representative assemblies that included also caballeros, not only noblemen, much less powerful than today’s representative institutions (of course such institutions present in England, that is the Parliament) • LOOK IN YOUR TEXTBOOK FOR MORE EXAMPLES!

  15. Another, short-lived and very personal form of medieval government: Frederick II (1212-1250)

  16. His territory: Holy Roman Empire and Sicily

  17. Sicily and the Mediterranean

  18. Frederick II in Sicily: experiments for a multi-cultural society • Jews, Muslims and Christians worked side by side in Sicily • Great poets and intellectuals and natural philosophers merged ideas and created a vivacious courtly life • Frederick excommunicated by the Pope in 1245: cultural, religious and political issues at stake

  19. In conclusion • France: the strengthening of the territorial monarchy • England: the barons win against the King -legal, political and intellectual consequences • Other forms of political organizations in Europe: Italy’s comuni, Castile’s cortes, Frederick II’s ‘experiment’ in proto-multiculturalism, etc.

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