Kings or People: Power and the Mandate to Rule

KINGS OR

PEOPLE Power and the Mandate

to

Rule

REINHARD BENDIX

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley

Los Angeles

London

University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England Copyright ©

1978 by

The Regents of the University of California

1980 978-0-520-04090-8

First Paperback Prin ting ISBN

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:

72-85525

Printed in the United States of America

For life to be large and full, it must con­ tain ihe care 0/ the past and of the future in every passzng moment of the present.

Joseph Conrad, Nostromo

Contents

x

LIST OF MAPS

Xl

PREFACE

1.

3

INTRODUCTION

Part I: THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS 2.

SACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

21

Germanic t raditions and Christian consecration Nomadic tribes , religious prophecy, and the patriarchal Cal i phate in Islam Ancestors, k i n gs, and officials i n ancie n t China Conclusion

3.

JAPAN

61 Rival clans and i mperial au thority Hou sehold and military government as the bas i s of aristocracy

4.

RUSSIA

88 The rise of the Muscovite dynasty Princes, boya rs, and tsarist servi tors

5.

IMPERIAL GERMANY AND PRUSSIA Emperors, Ge rma n princes , and papal authority VII

128

VllI

CONTENTS From the B ra ndenburg electorate to the kingdom of Prus si a From independent knights to landed army o fficers

6.

ENGLAND

176 Tribes, conquests, and kings From the king's companions to pa rliament

7.

KINGSHIP AND ARISTOCRACY AS A TYPE OF RULE

218

The authority of kings

Aristocratic society Re prese ntation

Part II: TOWARD A MANDATE OF THE PEOPLE 8.

TRANSFORMATIONS OF WESTERN EUROPEAN SOCIETIES IN T HE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

247

Mobilization Preconditions Overseas e x pan sion and its domestic correlates Intellectual mobilization in England Authority reconsti tuted: A framework for study

9.

KINGS AND PEOPLE IN ENGLAND

273

The E n glish Reformation a nd the re ign of Queen Elizabeth Re ference societies : S panish dominance a nd Catholic danger Puritans, lawye rs, and "the co u ntry" Consent, equality, and law

lO. TOWARD THE NATION-STATE: FRANCE Absol utist rule and entrenched privilege Fre nch reactions to En gland and America Write rs,

parlementaires,

An equality of rights

and Freemasons

321

CONTENTS

IX

378

11. NATION-BUILDING: GERMANY T h e Holy Roman Empir e : Provincialism and intellectual mobilization

Cou rt soc iet y and the cultural id e ntity of commoners A revolution from above? Liberty at the kin g s co m mand '

12. NAT I ON BUI LD IN G : JAPAN

431

-

T he Toku ga wa s hogu n ate Reference societies and national i den ti t y

The restoration movement: The em e rgen c e of pu blic deba t e

A r evolutio n under oligarchic leadersh i p

13. NATION- B UI L DIN G : RUSSIA

491

Autocratic traditions, We st e rn models, and nalive

resp on ses The reign of Peter I and its legacies Peter III and Catherine II

Fo rei gn policy, milita r is m , and education

Autocratic reforms and civil society Intellectual opposition

as

social responsibility

Revol u t io n and the mandate to rule

14. FROM ROYAL AUTHORITY TO POPULAR MANDATE: TWENTIETH-CENTURY PERSPECTIVES

582

The Chinese revolution Arab nationalism and socialism A summary Concluding reflections

NOTES

605

GLOSSARY

669

INDEX

677

Maps 1.

Barbarian I n vasions o f the Fifth Century A.D. 2. Ex pansion o f Islam, 630-732 3. Japan in 900 A.D. 4 . Russia in the Kievan Period 5 . Russia, Lithuania, and the Mongols in t h e Fifteenth Centu ry 6 . Europe , 800-900: Political Divisions and Invasions 7. The H anseatic League and the Teutonic Knights Brandenburg-Prussia, 1440-1806 8. 9. Dominions of Henry I I , 1154-1189 France from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century 10. Tokugawa, Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa Domains II. in 1664 12. Expansion of Russia, 1462-1796

x

24 42 64 91 109

13 2 148 159 190

32 2 434 510

Preface The world in which we live has its roots far back in history, and as a world power America must come to terms with countries which were formed in their present mold long before the American. revolution . All those to whom an explo ration of this historical backgro u n d will appeal probably share with me an i mmed iate empathy with the anguish of nation -building around the world . This book is a study of what that an­ guish meant in times past when countries were first developing their political institutions and w hen they turned more recently from royal authority to a popular mandate. The problems of develo pi n g such in­ stitutions are formidable, then as well as now . A scholarly concern with these problems must touch on man y subjects in social strati fication , re­ ligion , political sociology, and the history of ideas , and the book treats these and related themes in their s pecific historical contexts. This interpretive work is addressed not only to studen ts of political development but also to the general reader who is inte re sted in a large view of history. T hat reader is provided with sufficient detail and an­ notation so that the man y diverse contexts with which this study deals can be understood. A thematic outline o f the book is presented on the first pages of the intro duction, which deals as well with t he reasons for my approach to historical sociology. I acknowledge with thanks the research assistance of Theodore Bogacz, Audrey Ichinose, a nd Neda Tomasovich . The maps were pre­ pared by my wife, Jane Bendix. The long process of revision and editing was much facilitated by my wife, my sons Joh n and Erik Bendix, and by Dr. James Hughes who hel ped pre pare the final draft. In addition, I thank several colleagues for their critique of parts of this study: Professor Robert Darnton, Princeton University; the late Professor Lloyd Fallers, University of Chicago; Professor Toru Haga, University of Tokyo; Pro­ fessors Elbaki Hermassi, David Keightley, and Martin Malia, University of California, Berkeley; Professor David Riesman , Harvard University; Professor S. Frederick Starr, Executive Director, Kennan Institute of Xl

PREFACE

Xli

Russian Studies, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washi n gton , D. C . ; and Pro­ fessor Lawrence Stone, Princeton Unive r s ity. T h e seco n d part of t h e book w a s first sketched d u ri n g a leave o f absence (1972/73) a t t h e I n stitute for Advanced Study, Princeton, under G rant GS -31370X

of t h e

N atio nal Science Fou n d atio n . The

m a n u s c r i pt

was com pleted at the Wood row Wilso n Inte rnational Ce nte r for Schol­ ars, S mith son ian I n stitutio n, Washi n gton, D.C. T h i s wor k was facilitated by

a

fellowshi p from the Center and a Gugge n h e i m fellowsh i p fOT 19751

76. The s u p port received ove r m a n y years from the Un iversity of Cal­ i fornia , Be rkeley,

and

speci fically fro m the I n stitutes of I n d ustrial Re­

been of great a ssi sta n c e A few technical details may be added. W he n k in gs or oth e r rulers are mentioned, the years stated in paren these s refer to their reigns, un­ less b (or n) a nd d( i ed) have been added . (Some re ig ns be ga n during t h e minority of the ruler.) The years added t o the names of persons other than rulers indicate their l i fe spa n . Where it seemed appropriate, I h ave repeated dates mentioned earlier in order to avoid con fusion and aid the reader's sense of chronology. A glossary of terms, maps and illus­ trations, and a detailed name- and subject-index should facilitate the use of this book . In a work of this kind, footnotes present a p roble m. My debt to the scholarly work of others has been acknowledged wher­ ever a ppropriate, but I have not footnoted general information. Some explanatory notes have been inserted in the text, but all footnotes and specialized comments ( for example, o n terminology) are placed at the end of the book. In this way, the general reader has an uncluttered page while the student can find specialized information without difficulty. Concerning the larger design of the study, my footnotes probably err on the side of parsimony, since I have learned much more from the works of Max Weber, Otto H intze , and other com parativists than my sparse re ferences indicate. Occasionally, I h ave added references to fur­ ther readin gs. The footnotes to each chapter contain full publication refe rences for every book or article cited in that chapter. Accordingly, in the in­ terest of saving space, a bibliography of all references cited has not been added to the volume. Finally, I thank my many colleagues at the University of Cali fornia, Berkeley, who have provided me with their intellectual fellowship and friendship for over a quarter of a century. lation s and o f I nte rnation al Studies at Berkeley, has .

Goldern-Hasliberg August 1976

Reinhard Bendix

KINGS or

PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION

THIS Its

first part deals

with the

BOOK is about

authority

.

for m atio n of structu res of authority i n me­

the transformation of these begi nning i n the sixteenth centu ry. A concludin g c h apter d eals more br ie fl y with the p rob le ms of state-buildin g in the twen tieth century.* This stud y of the historical foundations of authority begins in Part 1 with a discussion of the religious bases of royal authority in Western , Islamic, and Chinese civilizations. Subsequent chapters deal with king­ ship and aristocracy i n Japan, Russia, Im perial Germany and Prussia, and England, from roughly 500 A.D. to the sixteenth century. Kin gs have ruled h u man communities from the beginning of re­ corded history. Through the rule of kingship, political traditions were established which have i nfluenced mankind to the present. The English parliament, German political fragmentation , or Russian autocracy long antedate the development of modern societies. Every country develops its own culture and social structure, but once the basic pattern of insti­ tutions is formed under the circumstances of early kingship, it is difficult to change. In order to u nderstand the modern world, one must take into account the traditional practices of a nation and their unique elab­ orations. Japan, Russia, Germany, and England have always been very di fferent societies, and the formation of their political traditions helps to ex plain these differences. At the same time, tech nical innovations (such as printing or th e modern com puter) can spread to every cou ntry, just as social and eco­ nomic developments (such as European overseas ex pansion in the six­ teent h century or the i ndustrial revolutions of the eighteenth and nine­ teenth centuries) cut across national lines. However, as each country encounters swee ping developments of technology and social change, it must ada pt them to its own history and long-established practices. dieval history. Its seco n d p a rt deals with structu res

*

An early version of this chapter was first published under the tide "The Mandate

to Rule: An Introduction," Social Forces 55 (December, 1976): 242-56.

3

INTRODUCTION

4

This study combines an u n derstanding o f a country's h i storica l p a r ­ t i c ul ari ty with its partic i pation in a ge n e ral movement of h i s tory

.

T he principle of hered itary monarchy was challenged o n l y so m e two centuries ago. Since the n , gover n m ents in one country a fter another have ru led their comm u n ities i n the n a m e of the peo p l e . Part

2

o f this

study deals w i th the transformation of a u t ho rity as the rule o f ki n gs was re placed by gove rnments o f the peo ple . I n o u r time , not only democra­ cies but m i l itary regi mes, d ictatorshi ps, and e ve n co nstitu tional m o n ­ arch ies a re legi tim ized b y clai m s of po pular m andate. Indee d , othe r ways o f j us t i fy i n g a u t hority have beco me i nconceivable. T h e lead e rs a n d ideas o f t h i s great movement t o wa r d a po p u l a r mand ate as it h a s de­ velo ped fro m the E n glish and French revolutio n s of the seve n tee n t h and eighteenth centuries t o t h e prese n t a re the subject o f Pa rt 2.

En gland France, Ge rma n y , J a pan, and Russia a r e tod a y a m o n g the ,

most i nd ust r i a li z ed nation s of the wo r l d . Hi stor i c a ll y , these countries

re present successive t u rn i ng poi nt s fro m the medieval to the modern world. Each d e velopm ent -th e revolutio ns of se venteenth c ent u r y En­ gla n d , t he Fre n c h rev o l u tion the E n g li s h industria l revo lutio n , the re­ -

,

form movements in Germany and Japan during the nin e tee nt h century , a n d the Bolshevik revolutio n in the twe ntieth centu ry-had an effect on the ne xt d e ve lo p m e n t and on the r e s t of the world. To ge t he r they

pr ov i d e a scenario of the "modern revol ution."

My study advances five main themes:

1. The autho rity of kings d e pended o n re li gio u s sanction as well as on internal and extern al struggles for power. In the course of long and varied histories, royal authority was c e nt ralize d , ex p and ed and even­ tu ally d e stroye d. From ancient ti m es, k i n gs h i p was constituted in dive r­ ,

ge n t ways, and the unity or integration of traditional societies see m s la rge l y mythical. Altho u g h kingship w a s sacrosanct a n d e nd ured fo r l o n g periods, the authority of any one kin g was always in j eo p ardy and had to be manifested contin uously to remain effective . 2. Kin gs governed their realm with the aid of magnates or notables to whom they delegated auth ority Aristocratic govern ance depended .

on the terms and circumstances o f that delegation , whic h over time

helped to form the character of the aristoc racy. Though royal su prem­ acy and aristocratic dependence was the norm, the centralization and decentralization of authority varied i n practice. If it was true o f kings that th e y delegated authority but w ished to control its exercise, it was tr ue of aristocrats that they acce pted such au tho r i ty but sough t to make it autonomous. This tension between central authority and local gov­ ernment m ust

be continually managed

but is never resolved. Part I of

this book co n t ains four case studies of this "manage ment" over time.

3. A uthority in the name of the peo ple only gradually became an alternative to the authority of kin gs. Established practices of royal au-

INTROD UCTION

5

thority were u ndermined by the commercialization of land and govern­ ment offices, and by the i ncreasing role of ed ucated commoners in high places. The countries considered here already had fully formed political structures by the time they advanced to popular sovereignty Each of the countries had several educated elites which hoped to catch u p with developments abroad t h rough state action and intellectual mobilization. Under these conditions, specific ed ucated elites advanced ideas con­ cerning the reconstitution of authority in the name of the people 4. The countries examined here undertook the reconstitution of authority i n their early modern periods . Authority i n the name of the people has proven as varied in practice as the authority of kings I n each case, the institutionalization of popular sovereignty showed the effects of the way in wh ich the authority of kings was left beh ind. In tu rn, each institutionalization created a model which other countries adapted for their own ends. 5. England, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and China have par­ ticipated in a worldwide movement of nationalism and of government by popular mandate, though each country has done so in its own way . My account attempts to show that nationalis m has become a universal condition in our world because the sense of backwardness in one's own country has led to ever new encounters with the "advanced model" or development of another country. I wish to show that the problems faced by each modernizing country were largely unique. Even the countries which had been buildin g their political institutions for centu ries had to cope with unprecedented problems in the process of modernization. Today, new states looking for analogues or precedents in other coun­ tries have more models to choose from than ever before, but their his­ tories and the earlier development of other countries have hardly pre­ pared them for the tasks o f state building 1 As the concluding chapter suggests, this process of historical models and their demonstration ef­ fects continues to the present, and I cannot see an end to its further ramifications. .

.

.

-

THE

.

AUTHOR ITY OF KINGS

The major societies of the world before the era of Euro pean ex­ pansion overseas (roughly before 1500) had some features in common. More than 80 percent of the people lived on the land, close to the sub­ sistence level. Population was checked by frequent wars and e pidemics but nevertheless increased slowly. There was some development of tech­ nology, of urban centers with specialized crafts, and of a con siderable military establishment. The population generally produced at a level which allowed rulers to maintain relatively large political units by means of ex ploitation and taxation.2 These societies were marked by a concen-

Frederick I Barbarossa, Henry VI, and Frederick of Swabia in

1185

The central figu re, Freder ick I, Holy Roman Em peror o f the Ger­ man Nation from 1152 to 1190, holds the im perial staff and globe.

The globe or orb is surmounted by a cross whic h symbolizes the domination of Christianity over the world. These insignia were used by the German e m pe rors from 936 until t he dissolution of the em pire in 1806. Frederick's son Hen ry, who succeeded him in 1 190, wears an unadorned crown but is placed to the emperor's right. A second son, Frederick Duke o f Swa bia, who was not in the line of succession, wears only a n embroidered cap. (Forschungsin­

stitut

fUr Kunstgeschichte, Bildarchiv Photo Marburg)

INTRODUCTION

7

tration of wealth, status,. and authority in the hands of the governing class, which comprised between .1 or 2 percent of the population but appropriated at least o ne-half of the society's income above bare sub­ sistence . 3 To us, widesp read inequality may suggest unremitting coer­ cion and continuous, l atent rebellion. But for many centuries , the vast mass of people acquiesced in the established order out of religious awe , a desire for peace and secu rity, and the inability to unite in a com mon political action.4 In those earlier times, the rule of the privileged few appeared to the many as if it were a force of natu re; it was to be enjoyed when it was benign and endured when it was not. And where wars and feuds were common, rulers could protect and thus benefit the people over whom they ruled. For millennia, rule rs rested their claims on divine sanction; other grounds of rule such as tradition or law also required and received their warrant from the divine. A deity or spirit was believed to sanctify rule, and the rights of the ruler could not be questioned, lest sacrilege jeop­ ardize the welfare of all. B ut since the authority of kings required holy sanction, based on the prevailing religious institutions, consecration of rule entailed political liabilities in the relations between the king and the religious functionaries . The exercise of royal authority also depended on the balance of power among the membe rs and most important retainers of the royal house. In theory, the ruler owned the whole realm, but in practice the territorial possessions of the royal house were the main source of rev­ enue and of favors in peace and war. These possessions were scattered, and the realm as a whole was governed through various forms of del­ egated authority. Rulers were typically torn between the need to dele­ gate authority and the desire not to lose it. They were frequently driven to a ppeal to the personal loyalty or consecrated obligation of those to whom they had delegated authority in order to buttress their own po­ sition. The internal balance o f forces was also influenced by alliances or conflicts with outside powers, a condition greatly a ffected in early times by the absence of stable, clearly defined frontiers . All three factors-religious sanction of royal authority, internal contentions over the distribution of authority, and intrusion of outside powers-helped to shape medieval governance. Until the revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Euro pean rulers assum ed that the general population would quietly al­ low itself to be ruled. Popular u prisings were regarded as violating the divine order and were suppressed by force. Kings, aristocrats, and mag­ nates of the church made claims against one another. In these conflicts, each manipulated appeals to the transcendent powers without fear of seriously underm ining the exclusive hold on authority they all enjoyed. The general populace was excluded from the political arena. If some

INTRODUCTION

8

questioned this practice, it was without m uch e ffect. However, thi s ques­ tioning spread in the early modern pe riod, first in the religious sphere during the Re formation and subsequently in the political sphere in the seventeenth and eighteenth ce ntu ries. The good fortune of the few be­ came a matter of controversy. In The Social Contract, Rousseau wrote that "the strongest are still never sufficiently strong to ensure them continual mastership un less they find means o f transformin g force into right, and obedience into duty. 5 In France during the eighteenth century, it be­ came more and more difficult for people to distingu ish authority from oppression , or right from might. The old religious appeals lost their force; secular appeals on behal f of the status quo we re of little avail. The right to rule by and for the few had come into doubt. Thro u ghout history, the weak had appealed to the deities or other higher powers to bear witness to their suffering On occasion they had challenged the strong to l ive up to their own pronou ncements. But with the Reformation, the persuasiveness of the ruler's old appeal to divine sanction was irreparably weakened. And since the French revolution, " the right to rule has come to de pend increasingly on a mandate of the people. ,

"

.

AUTHORITY I N THE N A ME O F T HE PEOPLE The French revolution marked the end of an era in which the ruling few monopolized political life. Since 1789, political transactions have become increasingly public. In modern society, unless measures are taken to preve nt it, rulers and ruled alike must advance their claims in public and hence with an eye to the public reactions that are likely to follow. Vox populi, vox dei. The Western idea of authority in the name of the people owes something to classical Greek and Roman ideas of what it means to be a citizen in the community. At one time, the Greek city-state and the Ro­ man republic practiced a type of governance in which all male heads of households actively participated in political decision-making for the en­ tire community. This has appealed strongly to the Western imagination . Despite its known association with oligarchic rule, slavery, a n d conquest, and despite the many centuries during which it lost all political signifi­ cance, the classical idea of citizenship helped to inspire the leaders of the French revol ution. The idea of popular sovereignty also has roots in the role which consent played in Germanic tribes. This role became known to Roman observers in the first century A.D. The tribes were governed by chieftains who ruled with the aid of a council of elders. Such chieftains succeeded one another on the basis of hered itary claims, provided that their acces­ sion to the throne was confirmed through an act of acclamation by the leading warriors of the tribe . Durin g the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.,

INTRODUCTION

9

these practices affected the Roman em pire directly: Successive em perors were elevated to the im perial throne by the acclamation of frontier ar­ mies largely composed of Germanic warriors. As the settlement of Ger­ manic tribes in the Western p£l.rts of the Roman em pire became stabi­ lized, the relation between the ruler and his warriors was transformed into the contractual obligations between lord and vassal. Hence, the idea of a contract between rulers and ruled has very early antecedents . The idea of popular mandate owes something to the Christian belie f that all men are equal before God . This idea makes rulers and ruled alike part of one co m m u n ity As baptized members of the churc h , all have access to the sacraments, and all are subject to divine law . Such eq uality prevailed in the early Christian com m u n ities but declined dur­ ing the long supremacy of the Catholic church, .for the pope and through him the whole hierarchy of the priesthood stood in the direct line of a postolic successio n. The church alone was the consecrated vessel of d ivine grace. With the coming of the Reformation , the beliefs of early Christianity were revived, and emphasis shifted from the hierarchic con­ ception of the church to one centering on the B ible as the repository of the divine word . Thus, the Protestant idea emerged that every bel iever stands in direct relation to God . Some Protestant denominations came to redefine the Christian community as a "brotherhood of all believers," in which responsibility for spiritual welfare was shared alike by all bap­ tized members of the congregation . Authority in the name of the people also came t o the fore in the municipal communities of Western Europe in the twel fth and thirteenth centuries. However, the m ajor modern development of pop ular man­ date dates from the English and French revolutions i n the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The idea of popular sovereignty has had its greatest impact since that time. Participation by the public in national affairs has widened ; the earlier dichotomy between rulers and ruled has become blurred. Noble birth and inherited wealth have ceased to guar­ antee authority. At the same time, nation-states have emerged with fron­ tiers that are clearly defi ned and relatively stable. .

THE GREAT SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL TRANSFORMATION The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries witne ssed a great transfor­ mation of European societies . Preconditions of this transformation date back to the growth of towns in the tenth to twelfth centuries, when urban communities developed their economies rapidly and achieved political autonomy. But the turn from the authority of k ings to government by popular mandate had its more immediate social and intellectual ante­ cedents in the decades around 1500.

10

INTRODUCTION

The history of population provides a sim ple index. In the period between 1000 and 1340 A.D., the population of Europe more than dou­ bled, reaching at least 80 million. During the next century and a half wars, famines, and especially e pidemics struck intermittently with such severity that by 1500 the total European population was still 80 million . Thereafter, the causes of catastrophic death remained but became less virulent, with the worst type of epidemic , the plague , disappearing in the seventeenth century. By 1600 Europe probably had 105 miIIion and by 1700 about 115 miIIion people . The growth of population was a main factor in the commercialization of land, labor, and capital, the rapid develo pment of towns , and European expansion overseas . Be fore 1500, authority and inequality were lin ked . Men of wealth and noble birth exercised the functions of government. They had a monopoly over political matters which was challenged in Western Eu­ rope only by the church . The people provided services, and if they re­ belled they were put in their place. After 1500, however, this rigid bond between authority and inequality loosened. Commoners made inroads on the bastions of privilege through trade, the secularization of learning, and the rise of secular professions in government employment. It be­ came more difficult to contain these social and economic changes in the old political framework after the great reformers challenged the spiri­ tual monopoly of the Catholic church, for that challenge em phasized the spiritual worth of the individual and hence made it easier to q uestion political monopolies which denied the rights of man. The decades around 1500 witnessed not only economic growth, European expansion overseas, and the Reformation; they also witnessed the rise of Humanism, the invention of printing, and the early devel­ opment of modern science. The number of ed ucated people increased, as did the number of those whose livelihood depended on teaching, writing, or some other intellectual vocation. The stage was set for a rapid diffusion of ideas. In one country after another, intellectual elites formulated ideas in conscious response to what they learned from abroad. The belief in gov­ ernment in the name of the people spread during and after the sev­ e nteenth century. As countries achieved a breakthrough to authority by po pular mandate, they provided models which were imitated, trans­ formed, or rejected by the latecomers to the process of nation-building. WHAT IS MODERN I ZATION? It is easiest to de fine modernization as a breakdown of the ideal­ typical traditional order: Authority loses its sanctity, monarch y declines, hierarchical social order is disrupted . Secular authority, rule in the name of the people, and an equalitarian ethos are typical attributes of modern

INTRODUCTION

1 1

socie t y. The eigh teent h -c e n t u r y writers who re flected o n this transfor­ mation were among the first to a rt icu l ate the co n tra st between tradition and modern it y . 6 To the t heorists of t he day , the division of labor appe a red a s a ke y factor in this transformation. I n his Essay on the History of Civil Society (1767), Adam Fer gu son attribu ted the progress of a people to the sub­ division of tasks; his d i s cussio n form ulated a way of looking a t modern societ y which has since beco me co mmon place. The d ivision of labor in­ creases the pro d uctiv i ty o f those who speci a lize , and hence the wealth of their country. Private ends and l ack of consc io u s concern for public we l fare i ronic ally yield public benefits. Ferguson portrayed society as divided i n to a leis ured r uli n g m i nor­ ity a n d a working majo r it y . Members of the higher class are bound to no task and are free to follow their whims. At the s a me t i me , Fe rguso n s u ggeste d that t h ose w h o eke out a mere subsistence are degraded by the "obj e cts the y pursue , and by the means t h e y e m pl oy t o a ttai n " th ose o bjec ts . Production, he said, is increased as a result of such degrad a t io n . In hi s view, the economic ends of so c iet y are be s t promo ted b y m e ­ c h a n ica l a rts req ui ri n g l ittle capac i ty and t h ri v i ng best "under a total suppression of se n ti m e n t and reason . "7 Karl Marx used the in sigh ts of Ferguson's work as a gu i de for action . Marx believed he had discovered the "laws of capitalist devel­ o pment" ; k n owledge of these laws would help r eorga n ize society to bet­ ter meet human needs. He· also be l ie v ed th a t the time wa s r i pe for rad­ i cal reo r gan izat io n . C a pit alism would s prea d everywhere and c re a te the preconditions for its own o verthrow. Max Weber wanted to preserve what men valued in the Western cultural tradition. This was o ne reason w h y he looked to the re l i gio us and ethical beliefs bound up with the ca pi ta l i st mode of prod u c t io n . His discovery that purely materialistic str iv ing a l s o h ad s p ir i t u al roots made him ske ptical of i n ter pr e tatio ns of the modern transfo rmation which em phasized the division of labor alone. B ut he was also convin ced that the i mperatives of capitalist production and bu reaucratic organization would s uppress the individual and obliterate m uch cu l tu ral d ive rsi ty. Mo re rec e ntl y, theories of modernization h a ve focused on the nec­ essary and sufficient conditions for this great transformation. Once the prerequ isites of modernization are acquired , the chan ge toward a mod­ e rn society a ppears inevitable. This categorizi n g

a pproach has te n d ed

to re place both Marx's and Weber's concern with historical factors, prob­ ably in

the hope th a t

a causal analysis based on the isolation of

dent and independent variables would facilitate the

d epe n ­ management o f so­

cial change.8 In my view, Marx was right to antici pate worldwide re percussions of cap ital is m and to see a revolutionary potential in its s p read. But he

12

INTRODUCTION

was wrong in confining this potential to the economic sphere and to the increasi ng class struggle in developed ca pitalist societies. I believe that the chances of revolution increase wherever the new industrial way of life and ideas of popular sovereignty disrupt an old social orde r. Th us, society is ripe for revolution in the early phase of industrialization and democratization, however protracted that phase may be . The term mod­ ernization is applied best where nonind ustrial ways of life and hierarchic social orders are threatened by industrial ways and egalitarian social norms.9 UNEVEN DEVE LO PM E N T

The division of labor i s a cause of change especially in economically developi n g societies, but it is not the only cause in all societies. Histor­ ically, many agricultural societies have had little division of labor ye t have proved open to change, for example, through the infusion or de­ velopment of religious ideas. Naturally, observers were impressed-and rightly so-by the role the division of labor played in the economic development of all Western Euro pean societies, especially of England . Since the modern industrial revol ution had begun in England, other countries followed the English model when they began to develop their own industry. But they wanted to follow the latest English development to which they could gain access, not the English practices of the 1760s with which English industrializa­ tion began. Countries were, therefore, less and less able or willing to re peat each other's development. Nor were they likely to become the same kind of society as a result of successful industrialization. Conti n ued political and cultural differ­ entiation is the more likely outcome. The "demonstration effect" itself prevents societies from repeating one another's development, and so tends to prevent industrial societies from converging culturally and in­ stitutionally. I n Medieval Cities, Henri Pirenne showed how this dem­ onstration effect worked in the past. The merchant and craft guilds of a few cities used force (in the eleventh century) to win recognition of their inde pendent j urisdiction from feudal overlords. A good many other rulers took the hint and negotiated a settlement with their own town s before armed conflict occurred. But these events took place prior to the modern revolution in com­ munications. With the invention of printing in the fifteenth century, ideas spread more quickly. The growth of an educated public provided an audience for writers and artists. This development coincided in turn with the rise of modern science. In each country, the "great transfor­ mation " encou raged the growth o f an elite which was sensitive to the

INTRODUCTION

new ideas developed elsewhere and ready to a pply them at home. Coun­ tries became exa mples to one another. Nevertheless, what appeared highly desirable from the point of view of progress often appeared as a danger to national i nde pendence or sel f-respect. Every idea taken from elsewhe re can be both an asset to the development of a country and a reminder of its com parative backwardness-both a challenge to be emulated and, whatever its utility, a threat to national identity. The period since 1 500 has also bee n the period o f rising nationalism. The contem porary world has made us familiar with the tension be­ tween progress and national identity. Each country must cope socially and politically with the disruptive im pact of ideas and industrial prac­ tices taken from abroad . Its ability or inability to do so depends on its own history, on the cumulative peculiarities of each affected civilization. Old societies that become new states look back on centuries of historical experience involving a mixture of languages, economic patterns, and religious belie fs. This is the base from which they must master the im­ pact of the "advanced world." The advanced countries of today have had their own periods of underdevelo pment and of responding to the "advanced world" of their day, and they still struggle (as all countries m ust) with the unresolved legacies of their several histories. PRESENTATION AND TYPES OF EVIDENCE To bring the large themes set forth in this introduction together in one book , I have divided the discussion into two parts-the authority of kings and movements toward a mandate of the people . The cultural formation of political institutions dates back to an early time, since the religious consecration o f royal authority took place in the distant past. This early formation of political institutions foreshadowed the emer­ gence of government in the name of the people, and this long-run e ffect can be studied by following the development of each country's aristo­ cratic culture forward i nto the early modern period. The countries considered here are arranged in a triple sequence from West to East (in Chapter 2), from East to West (in C hapters 3 through 6), and again from West to East (in Chapters 9 through 13), though in the interest of chronology I have placed the discussion of Ja­ pan before Russia in Part 2. One reason for the arrangement is to begin with what Western readers will find relatively familiar. A second reason is that I wish to present the "modern revolution" in its chronological sequence. A concludin g chapter deals briefly with twentieth-century problems of building n ation-states. This study draws much of its evidence from social and political his­ tory. It diffe rs from inquiries in economics, sociology, and psychology,

INTRODUCTION

which frequently exa mine the record of human behavior for the hidden forces which cause that behavior. Such inqu iry i n to underlying struc­ tu res has been a dominant theme in recent intellectual history. Marxists and Freudians are at one in thei r atte m pt to disce rn the underlying cause o f manifest discontents, even if they diffe r in what they purport to find. Some anthropologists and psychologists have tu rned their at­ tention from behavioral stu dies to the analysis of myths i n searchi n g for the underlying constants of the human con dition . And some sociologists and political scientists engage in a search for un iversals when they ana­ lyze the functional prereq uisites of all social and political structu res. Such a search for structu ral forces can yield insights into motivation , ideological assum ptions, and hidden interrelations. I am indebted to this in tellectual tendency. But with so many sc hola rs engaged in searching for underlying structu res, there is space for an i nquiry which focuses attention on structu res that lie more open to view . The roots of h istor­ ically developed structures, of the cultu re and political institu tions of any present-day society, reach far i nto the past. I n studying thes� roots, I am striving to free our unde rstandi n g of the stereotyped contrast be­ tween tradition and modernity. The ideas and actions of those in positions of power or authority are the best documented part of the h uman record. By com paring so­ cieties over long spans of time , and by choosing to look at social struc­ tures from the top down, one can take advantage of this extensive ma­ terial. Major aspects of the social structure can be revealed i f those in a uthority are studied i n terms of the disunity and dilemmas they face as they advance their claims to legitimacy. LI M ITAT IONS The countries i ncluded in this book are those which 1 have studied for a number of years. They are among the most industrialized countries of the world and are also those in which the great revol utions and res­ toration movements have occurred since the seventeenth century. Inev­ itably there are omissions, and some o f these deserve comment. Small countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands have achieved stable authority structures through federation and the delegation of au­ thority rather than through royalty and conquest. They also provide im­ portant models. Modern nation-states like the Americas, Australia, or New Zealand present problem s of their own. Unlike England or Russia in their early development, the political institutions of the modern state were available at the time of European settlement; thus these institutions (or parts of them) could be adapted at will under the new conditions.10 Other states like Italy or Spain were omitted sim ply because I have not

INTRODUCTION

mastered the i r historical experience. Pe rha ps the most serious omissions are those n umero u s societies in which state- a nd nation -bu ild in g m ust occur under twe nti eth -c e n tury conditions. Some countries of Asia and A frica have had s ta te institutions in the past but today m ust rebuild them on new foundations. Other countries have emerged from cen tur ie s of c ultura l cross-cu rrents and recent colonial s ubject io n and must begin the task of b uilding an in de pe nde n t state centuries after the task has been com ple ted by all the m ajor powers o f the world. I touch o n this qu e stio n in the con c lu d i ng chapter but am more acutely aware n o w than when I beg a n that the "new states" of the twentieth century re present novel conditions of political d e v elop m ent . THE PURPOSES OF COMPARISON In any

schola rly d i sci pl i ne, the advance of knowledge de pen ds on

s pecialization. Hence, over the years there has been a drift toward con­ fining overall prese n t atio n s to introductory cou rses in the u n i ve rs ities . At the same time, mos t teaching and research has been devoted to spe­ c ialized to pi c s . The burden o f i n te g rat ing the knowled ge received in different s pe c ia l t ie s often falls on the student. Even if he is willing, he has little assistance in his efforts to enco m pass d iffe rent fields of study . The risks of

such in tegra tio n are great, but one must not expect of stu­

dents what one is unwilling to undertake oneself.

Com pa ra tiv e analysis should s h a r pe n ou r unde rst and in g of the con­ texts i n which more detailed causal infe rences can be d r aw n . Without a knowledge of contexts , causal infe rence m ay p re tend to a level of gen­ com parative studies should not attempt to replace causal analysis, because they can deal only with a few cases a n d cannot easily isolate the variables (as causal an alysis

era l ity to which it is not entitled. On the other hand,

must).

orde r to prese r ve a sense of historical particularity w hile com­ I ask the same or at least similar que s tion s of very different contexts and thus allow for diverge nt answers. Struc­ tures of aut h ority in different countries d o vary; societies have re­ sponded d i ffe ren t l y to challenges prom pted by advances from ab road . The value of this study depend s on the illumination obtained from the In

paring d i ffe rent countries ,

questions asked and from a sustained com parative pe rs pective. Chapters

2, 7, 8,

and 14 elaborate the principal questions; these chapters intro­

duce and conclude the two parts of this book.

My approach to social history di ffe rs from mere reportage as wel l as from the more theoretical approaches to co m parati ve studies. To com pare, for example, kingshi p in Western and Chinese civilization, or intellectual mobilization in si x teenth - centu ry E n gla nd and eighteenth-

16

INTRODUCTION

century Germany, one must ask questions broad enough for com parison to be possible. Such questions rest on concepts absent from mere re­ portage . But the co nce pts su itable for comparisons which preserve a sense of historical particularity are also less com prehensive than the more abstract and systematic conce pts of social theory. For purposes of the com parisons here envisaged, a solution is not found by making the conce pts either more precise or more comprehensive. On the one hand, conce pts become inapplicable to a number of diverse cases as they be­ come more strictly applicable to any one of them. On the other, concepts become inapplicable to an y specific case as they become applicable to all cases. Logically, all concepts begi n with universals . But once these a re stated, it becomes necessary to provide links between such universals and the case materials to be studied, as I try to do in Chapters 2, 7, 8 , and 1 4. Com parative studies depend on qualitative j udgments and illustra­ tive uses of the evidence. I h ave relied on the judgments of h istorians but primarily on my own sense of how much illustrative material is needed to give the reader a vivid impression of the point to be made . In practice, I h ave found it necessary to make the best j udgments I can and then warn the reader, as I do here, that these j ud gments remain tentative and may have to be modi fied by further sc holarly work or by the judgments of scholars more ex pert in a given field than I can ho pe to be . POWER A N D T H E MAN DATE T O RULE

Authority and inequality are basic dimensions of all social struc­ tures. Societies are governed by the few, because the few can reach an understanding among themselves and use that understanding to facili­ tate decision-making . This is a universal condition of all complex soci­ eties; only tribal societies are not governed in this manner. Whether a society is under the authority of a king or under a government in the name of the people , the few will be distinguished from the many. Thus, where authority is present, inequality between rulers and ruled will occur. This book deals with power and the mandate to rule, that is, the use of force as an attribute of authority and the j ustifications which at­ tempt to make the use of force legitimate. I t may be objected that con­ cern with the purposes of rule and the legitimation of power merely assuage the conscience of the powerful and that force alone really mat­ ters. I think this view is mistaken. Power needs ideas and legitimation the way a conventional bank needs investment policies and the confidence of its depositors. Rulers

INTROD UCTION

are always few in number and co uld never obtain com pliance i f each command were purely random -and had to be backed by force sufficient to com pel obedience. Likewise, banks rely on the con fidence of their depositors, which allows them to retain only a small fraction of their assets in liquid funds in order to meet the ex pected rate of withdrawal by de positors. All is well as long as depositors believe that the bank will cash their checks on demand, and part of that trust depends on a vague knowledge about the bank's adherence to certain acce pted business stan­ dards. In the nation-state, all is well as long as citize ns believe that the government knows what it is about, has the ability to deliver on some of its promises, and has sufficient force to bac k up its command s when necessary. Psychologically, ban k credit and governmental legitimacy rest on an amalgam of convenient commonplaces, inarticulate assum ptions, and a willingness to let others take the lead and to leave well enough alone. But once the trust based on such feelings is disturbed, conditions can change quickly. A run on the bank is like a m assive c hallenge to state au thority, for each may demonstrate that the bank's and the state's resources are insufficient to withstand such a loss of confidence. Legit­ imation achieves what power alone cannot, for it establishes the belief in the rightness of rule wh ich, as long as it endures, precludes massive challenges. Thus, the e mphasis of this study is on power and the man­ date to rule, not on one to the exclusion of the other. Like the polarities so frequently used in Max Weber's work, one ph rase combines the use of force with the belief in legitimacy. As Otto Hintze has stated, All human activity, poli tical and religious, stems from a n undivided root. As a rule, the first im pu l se for . . . social action comes from tangible interests, political or economic . . . . I deal interests elevate and a n i mate these tangible interests and lend them j ustification. Man does not live by bread alone ; he wants to have a good conscience when he p u rsues his vital inte rests ; and in pu rsu i ng t hem he develo p s h is powers fully o n l y i f he is conscious of s imu l ­ taneously serving purposes higher than p u rely egotistical ones . I n terests without such spi ritual e leva tion are lame; on the other hand, ideas can suc­ ceed i n history only w hen and to the exten t that they at tach themselves to tan gible interests. u

Thus, wherever power is vigorously pursued and exercised, ideas of le­ gitimacy tend to develop to give meaning, reinforcement, and j ustifi­ cation to that power. Con versely, wherever a mandate to rule is to sway the minds and hearts o f men, it requires the exercise of force or the awareness that those w ho rule are able , and will not hesitate, to use force if that is needed to assert their will. The authority of kings-their power and mandate to rule-often weaken. When that occurs ,

INTROD UCTION

18

Critic ism and pro paganda ex pose the

arcana imperii

to the light of com­

mon day. Subjects ask if they shou ld obey, and whom, and w h y . A uthority is con strained to plead its case w ith reasons or impose itself by violence. I n either instance

it

has lost its virtue : for while authority remains itself, it nei­

ther argues nor coerces, but m e rel y s peaks and is plex scene alread y charged w ith tives su perv e n e . 1 2

accepted . U pon the com­ tense uncertain ties, u nex pected fres h i n itia­

These initiatives accom pany the decline of royal authority and often anticipate its actual down fall. B u t sac red authority is more easily de­ stroyed than reconstructed, or perha ps one should say that critics of royal authority have seldom been conscious that the new authority they propose requires a sacred foundation as well. These comments antic i­ pate the prominence of inviolate symbols like "the people" or "the na­ tion" i n all efforts to reconstitute authority since the decline of kingshi p.

Part I THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

The heavens themselves, the planets, and this centre, Observe degree, priority, and place . . . . . . but when

the planets, disorder wander . What raging of the sea, shaking of earth, . . .

In evil mixture, to

.

.

Divert and crack, . . .

The unity and married calm of states Quite from th eir fixture! . How could communities, Degrees in schools, and brotherhoods in cities, . . The primogen ity and due of birth, Preroga tive of age, crowns, sceptres, laurels, But by degree, stand in authentic place ? Take but degree away, untune th at string, A nd, hark, what discord follows! .

.

.

S HAKESPEARE,

Troilus and

Cressida, I, iii

2 SAC RE D AND SE C ULAR FO UNDATIONS O F KINGS H I P

IN

T H E PAST, one ruler stood at the summit of the social hierarchy. Rulers possessed s u preme status, great wealth , and command ing authority. For the exercise of rule, they depe nded on retainers , personal confidants, and magnates of more in­ dependent position. Collectively, sovere ign rule rs and their agents con­ stituted an oligarchy or govern ment by the fe w . Such govern men t pro­ vides one of the best documented records of inequality. ! Kings do not necessarily wield effective authority. I n some Asian societies, kingship consisted of pom p and circumstance rather than gov­ ernance, while actual authority was exercised at local or regional levels. 2 Eve n when kings and oligarchs have ruled at the outset, the rise of pro­ vincial governors and military forces may erode that central authority later.3 Nevertheless, royal authority has endured for the greater part of human history. This would not have been the case if kings, officials, and the mass of the people had not to some degree believed the authority of kings to be inviolate. We do not know how the belief in kings hip originated. Weber sugge sts, K i n gs h i p is preceded by all those charismatic fo rms w h ich assure relief in the face o f extraordinary e xternal or internal distress or w h ich pro m ise success i n risk y undertaki ngs. In early h istory, the precursor o f the kin g, the ch ief­ tain, often h as a double func tion : he is the patriarch of the fa mily or sib, but also the charismatic leader in hunt and war, the magician, ra i n m aker, med­ icine m a n - hence priest and docto r-and finall y , the arbiter. Freq uentl y , each o f these kinds of charisma has a s pecial beare r.4

People have a strong desire to perpetuate a leader's s uccess in deal­ ing with extraordinary misfortunes or great risks. The leader himself feels inspired by his success. H is followers and the community at large 21

22

THE A UTHORITY OF

KINGS

naturally want to be nefit from the wonders they have attributed to his charismatic powe rs. As lon g as his undertakings are successful, his actions legitimate the social and political establis hment he heads. Con­ versely, doubts arise concern ing his legitimacy when poor harvests or defeat i n war suggest that his mis sion has failed and that he has lost his charisma. A rudime n tary or continge nt exchan ge, therefore, is built i n to the function of leadersh i p. The ruler's su preme authority and endorse men t of the hie rarchy of rank are acce pted as lon g as the people believe in the charismatic gi fts of the ki n g and in the social order as divinely established . The success of a ruler may be as u ncertain as the people' s satisfac­ tion. The leader often has little control over the vicissitudes that be fall him and his people. Since he wan ts to stay in power, his magical or di­ vinatory practice may incorporate ambiguity or uncertainty concern i n g the future, thus sa feguarding his own position while adhering t o the beliefs of those involved in state affairs. The people themselves �re per­ haps aware of contingencies and may credit their ruler for atte m pting to contact the spirits, even if these spirits prove malevolent. As lon g as the ruler and his people share the belief in the ruler' s intercession with the s pirits on behalf of the community, the exchange relation of au­ thority is sustained . Such a belief would be weak indeed were it to cru m­ ble the moment the ruler is uncertain or adversity be falls his realm. But beliefs of this kind are seldom so strong that they can not be discredited when m i s fortune becomes too massive and doubts concerning the ruler's capacity cumulate. 5 Des pite these hazards, a ruler can re present the whole society and conjoin the greatest physical and spiritual powers available to man. Since every community desires to pe rpetuate the benefits attributed to such powers, a king's claim to su preme authority will be acknowledged by the people's belief in his god-descended powers. Patterns of royal authority have varied from civilization to civilization depending on the way in which the royal person has been designated, consecrated, and acknowledged . The religious authentication of the king usually has depended on expe rts in esoteric knowledge, that is, knowledge of the mysteries and ritual which are believed ca pable of validating the act of consecration . Such experts are the guardians of a cou ntry's cultural heritage which rulers disregard at their peril. But ex perts in esote ric knowledge also have much secular influence and participate-along with the members of the governing class-in the internal contentions for power. Thus, royal authority is often constrained by its own religious and secular foundations.

SACRED AND SEC ULAR FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP

23

GERM A N IC TRADITIONS A N D CH RIST I A N CO NSECRATION I n t he West, kings h i p a rose in two diffe rent patterns, both under the in fluence of Chri s t i a n it y. In the eastern part of the Roman em pire, Hellenistic and Oriental influences merged, giving rise to a conce ption of the e m peror as the Expected One of Christian prophecy, represent­ ing God on earth , the symbol of the Kingdom o f Heaven. By invoking the authentic power o f C hrist's name, the king or autocrat cou l d en­ sure prospe rity and v i c to r y in war. This Byzantine conce ption of king­ ship became a dominant i n fluence in Russia and will be discussed in C h a pter 4. I n t he western part of the Ro man em pire, kin gship arose from a conjunction of Ge rmanic tribal traditions and the expanding in fluence of th e Catholic church. The Ge rma nic tribal chie fs re presented the prin­ ciple o f inherited charisma and election by acclamation . The C at h o lic church rep r es ented t h e p ri nc i ple of hi e rarc h y and law. The two pr i n ciples m erged when the Caro l in gian kin gs were consecrated by the Po pe in Rome . These pr i nc i ples will be examined in their h is to ric al con t e x t. A s poradic mig ra tion o f Germanic tribesmen into the western part of the Roman e mpi re began during the fi rst century of our era. The migration took on a massive c haracter two and a half centuries later when whole tri be s so ug ht r e fuge before the o n s laug ht of the Huns. At that time, th e Roman e m pi re s need to defend its e x te n ded fro n t i e rs grea tl y strained the available manpower. Epidem ics and war casualties red uced the ag ricult ural p o pulatio n further. The pressure on slave la­ borers to p rod uce more food increased, rural u nrest became endemic, and land wen t out of cultivation. In rural areas and in the Roman ar­ ­

'

mies the demand for manpower mounted j ust when Germanic tribes ,

arrived in search of la n d and food. These tribesmen settled on dese rted properties, filled the ranks of the Roman legions, and proceeded to elect and unseat empe rors. In the century between 1 80 and 285 A.D. , t h i r ty different em perors were put on the throne, and few of them died a natural death. By 376 A . D . these scattered movements had turned into full-scale invas ions M a n y of the remaini n g native settlers were dis­ .

placed, a nd Ge rmanic kin g doms were established in lieu of imperial Roman authority.6 All o f Europe , es pec i a l ly its western part, was affected. The Visi­ goths swept from the northern B alkan a rea into I tal y where their

M ace d o nia Greece, an d k i n g, Alaric, c onq u e red Rome in 4 1 0 A. D . From Italy, ,

the Visi go th s returned north to southern Gaul w here they established a kin gd o m

from 4 1 8 to 507 . Finally, they moved into S p ai n w h e re t hey 7 1 1 . The V an dals started fro m th e midd le o f

ruled between 507 a nd

- - - - - F r o n t i e r of t h e R o m a n E m p i re --

- - Bo u n d a ry b e t w e en Ea s t e r n a n d Western Roman Emp ire

.i� 1.

Barbarian Invasions of the Fifth Century

A.D.

SACRED AND SEC ULAR FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP

25

Ger ma n y ,

went into cen tral France, moved in to S pai n and North Africa, then to Sardinia and Rome, and .finally back to a more perm anent set­ tlement in N orth Africa-all in less than a century . By c onq ue ri n g N orth A fr ica , the Vandals occu pied the area which supplied the bulk o f food s ta p l es such a s g r ain and oil for major c it i es o f the e m pi re. They al s o o c c u pi ed some h a rbors along the Mediterranean coastline, thus bre ak in g the By zan ti n e m o n o p oly o f the s ea far i n g trade . The Vandals ruled in North A frica (429-534) and the Ostrogo th s i n I ta ly (493 -553) u n t i l both were co n qu e red and made part of the B y zanti ne e m pire u n d er J us ti n i a n (527 -565 ). Through the Germania o f T ac i t u s (98 A.D.), w e have an early re po rt on the Germanic t r i be s and their m ilita ry leaders and war bands (comi­ tatus ) . The problem fo r th e Romans was how to co nt ai n t he s e ro v i n g German bands. The Romans h o ped that the co uatryside could be s ta ­ bilized by negot ia tion The Germanic war-leaders were thou g ht to be kings with whom the Ro mans co uld negotiate , for thes e leaders ap­ peared able to speak for their fe l low tribesme n . However , the Germanic leaders were much more d i verse than the Romans assumed i n terms o f ti tle au tho ri ty , a nd the s cop e o f t he i r mi litary ac ti vi ti e s . So me w a�ba nd s were merely inten t on ven de tt as and loot. Others involved w hole t r ibe s (in clud ing women and chi ldre n , de pende n t s , and slaves) which desired to conquer new lands and settle them. In a pe r iod of migration, the ­

.

,

many leaders and heirs of a charismatic lineage gro u p were more useful than a

single king wo u l d have been , whatever might be true under m ore

settled conditions.7 The Ge rmanic wor d for king d eve lo ped from the word for kindred. Kingship emerged as the s u preme authority o f a clan

rather t ha n of an

individual ruler. Ancient pantheistic beliefs attributed supernatural powers to n a t u re and w it h i n soc iety to a kin grou p or clan (Sippe ) en­ dow e d w i th s pec ial capacities that were a ttribute d to blo o d re lation s hi ps . The whole clan was thought to possess a god-descended power or mana which ensured good crops , victory in battle, and the power to heal cer­ tain d iseases. Chie ftain s or rulers we re d istinguish e d by the singular luck associated with their clan .8 As

in the Homeric e pic , the early Germanic ho w "gods o ften walked the earth a n d mingled in th e af­ fairs of rulers."g The d ivine descent o f a clan therefore s u ggested itself readily. All descendants of that clan could be charismatic mediators with

sagas told of

the divine and thus repo sitories of the tribal "luck." This religious idea of " kin-right" or "blood- right" gave a sacral character to t he

ri ght fu l

incumbent e ven when h i s power w a s greatly reduced . 1 o A ruler's fu nction was a t once m i lita ry , political, and religious :

He

was expected to lead i n war, settle dis p u te s and make sacrifices for vic­ tory, good c rops , and peac e . The " pe o p le , but more s pecifically the ,

"

THE A UTHOR IIT OF KINGS

heads o f the clans co m po s i ng the tribe , looked to the charisma of the ruler's clan for i n tercession with the go d s . The belie fs which attri b u ted s u pe rn atu r a l gifts to an e n t i re clan presu mably depended on the hope or e x pectation o f p r es e rvin g the bene fits which these gifts bestowed o n t h e people . When u s u r pe rs came to pow e r , their rule would endure only i f b y success and a p propriate ge nealogical constructions th ey we re fou n d to b e " re lated" t o the c harismatic k i n d red . P ractices w hi c h

were

advanta geou s u n der conditions o f m ig ra t io n

mem­ bers o f a c l a n w e re bel i e ved to be endowed with c h a ri s m a , succession to the throne prese n ted s pe c ial probl e m s. Successio n was d e cid e d by in­ he ritance w h e n a n i n c u m be n t r u le r divided the rea l m among his legit­ imate heirs. The l i ne a ge was preserved, but at the p rice of dis p er s i ng the resources of the realm a n d fostering internal strife. The Fran kish rule o f the Merovingian (482-7 1 4 ) a n d Caro l i n gian (7 1 4-9 1 1 ) houses was marked by these divisive characteristics. u On the other hand, a choice could be made among the many legitimate d escen d an t_s of the charismatic clan . Such a choice was usu ally based on the recognition of su perior mi l i t ar y leadership, thus c o mb i n i ng hereditary c harisma with the p rinciple of election by acclamatio n . The incumbent ruler would p ub l icl y c hoose the most promising successor among his heirs, and the notables o f other clans would con firm the choice by acclamation . a P rob l e ms a rose w h e n legi t i m a te heirs were unsuitable, when more than one suitable heir had legitimate claims, or when the c lan a ppeared bereft of i ts c harismatic powe r , its "tribal luck ." The god-descended claims of the clan with t he i r e m p has is on the right of i nher i ta n ce would clash with the pragmatic p ol i t i cal interests of other clans and th e i r em­ phasis on the r igh t o f "e lect io n " or consent. In these uncertain situations, the Catholic church began to assert its in fl uence . For Germanic chieftains in England and on the Continent, the in­ flue nce o f the church had certain ad van tages . Their main task was t o stabilize the i r auth ori ty in recently conquered territories in w h i c h the church w as al read y established. From a pagan pe r s pec tive , conversion meant that another especia l ly powerful god was added to the native pan­ theo n . Tribal chieftains saw in this a further buttress to t h e i r au th o ri ty, es pe c i al ly if their title was insecure in the eyes of the " peo ple ." The d an ­ ger of dependence on the church did not yet loom large : power still seemed largely a matter of mi l i t a r y prowess and "luck ." Where rule was insecure, "consecration could stren gthen t he claims of here d it y , sanction a usu rp ati o n , incli ne God to make queens fruitful, and bind the cl er gy became d isad vantageo u s u n d e r mo re settled co n d i t io n s . When all

"Acclamation and election are used i nterchangeably because the act of acclamation was probably preceded by some kind of delibe ration a mon g the notables. It would be m is­ lead i n g , however, to cal l such delibe ration and acclamation an election in o u r sense.

SA CRED AND SEC ULAR FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP

27

to a king . . . . " Indeed , consecration may have seemed to "distracted and threatened churc h me n " much the same as it did to the chieftains themselves-as a way of "enhancing the power of the ki n g" and thereby stabilizing the social order . 1 2 C h ri stianity had been a religious move m e n t i n all parts o f the Ro­ man em pire long befo re the Germanic invasions. Missions had s p read to towns and settle ments but reached the vast co un tryside only after con­ siderable delay . Many Germanic tribes had been converted before thei r migrations began, but they o ften contin ued to adhere to pagan beliefs and practices. Moreo v e r , the missionaries were generally converts to the Arian doctrine, espousing the deity of the Father but not of the So n , and as a result many German tribesmen became Arians . T h e C h u rch Council of Nicaea declared the Arian doctri ne heretical i n 325 A . D . , but it was some time before the orthodox Catholic creed became do minant in the Christian West . 1 3 I n 330 A.D. , Constantinople was consecrated as the capital of the Roman e m pire , and by the end o f the fourth century Ch ristianity was declared the state religio n . However , pagan beliefs a n d practices continued in the Germanic kingdoms . Christianity grad ually became a force i n the defense of the empire , because the organiz atio n o f the ch u rc h was strengthening local govern­ ment while the institutions of Roman government were foundering. The church was organized i nto dioceses (under patriarchs ) , provinces (under metro politans), and cities (under bishops), pa r a lle li n g the adminis t rat i ve subdivisions of the em pire. Emperor Con stantine's (306-3 3 7 ) secular control of religion permitted the church a p rivile ged position in several respects. The Christian clergy was exempted from certain taxes on the basis of their charity and pro fe s sion a l contribution . The church was treated as a corporation capable of receiving donations and bequests. As early as 3 1 4 A.D. , an i m pe rial decree declared that judicial sentences of bishops were to be regarded like the judgments of Christ himself. Epis­ copal cou rts (handling cases that touched on the consecrated functions of the church) were recogn i zed as part o f the judicial system , and the civil authority en forced their decisions. The right of inte rcession on be­ half of clients passed from wealthy patrons or h i red pleaders into the hands of bishops. Closely connected with this e piscopal intercession was the church's right of asylum , which allowed fugitives to seek the pro­ tection of bishops instead of the old pagan temples of Rome. 1 4 These rights o f the church were compatible with civil government, though with rather differe n t results in the eastern and western parts o f the empire. I n the East, the imperial government was headed by an em­ peror who reigned supreme in both secular and re ligious affairs. The institutions of the church were safeguarded in the sense that the em­ peror protected the church politically, although he was not a member

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

of the hie rarc h y . As C o n st a n t i n e told the bishops at Nicaea , they were in cha rge o f " i n ternal c h u rc h m a tters" w h i le h e , the e m peror, had the legal a n d ad m i n istrative manage m e n t of C h ristianity i n his s a fekeepin g. In t hese "external m atters" there w a s no limit to the e m pe ror's a uthority over the c h u rc h . M o reover, the eastern part o f the e m p i re re m a i n ed m i l i tarily a n d pol itically i n tact. The H u n s , w h o had c a u sed the Germ a n ic m igrations toward t h e West, fai led i n t h e i r attacks on the fro n t ie rs o f the eastern e m pire (Th race , A r m e n i a , S y ria) a n d t h e Visigo t h s were d e feated by Byza n t i u m in 3 7 8 A . D . I n t h e cou rse o f the fi fth century, t h e po sition of the Byzantine e m pe ror beca m e formalize d : H e w a s c row ned by the patria rc h o f Consta n t i n o ple , a cere m o n y w h i c h i n t h e E astern c h u rc h s y m bol i zed the d i vine derivation o f the em peror's authority. 1 5 I n the West, on the other h a n d , Ro m a n pol itical authority d i s i n te-

Christ Crowning the Byzantine Emperor The concentration of both spiritual author­ ity and temporal power in the pe rson o f the East Roman e m pe ror is symbolized i n this Byzantine ivory ( from about

944)

showing

Christ crowning Em peror Constantine V I I Porphyrogenitus

(91 2-959).

The ruler is

thus the direct successor to C hrist o n earth .

( M useum of Fine

Arts. Moscow)

St. Peter Conferring Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power This restored eighth-century mosaic in the C h u rch of St. John Lateran , Rom e , shows St. Peter conferrin g spiritual au thority on Pope Leo I l l , symbol ized by the pallium o r stole, and tem poral power on Ch a rlem agne . symbolized by the i m pe rial banner. Catholicism derives its a uthority from the a postle, not from C hrist directly as in the Greek Orthodox conceptio n . According to th is belie f in the apostolic succession o f the papacy, St. Peter ele vates the spiritual pope over the tem poral king. Later representations, as in the Sach­ senspiege l o f 1 2 30. show St. Peter handing the keys o f the kingdom of heaven to the pope w h ile the k i n g with the insignia of tem poral power me rely looks on. (The Granger Collection ; Sachsenspiegel)

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS grated as I ta l y , G a u l , a n d Spain w e re con q u e red by successive w a ve s o f

Ge r m a n ic t r i be s . U nder t h e e m pire, l o c a l a d m i n istration had been en­ trusted to m agistrates a n d cou ld s u rvi ve c h a nges a t the c e n ter of pow e r . B u t d u ri n g t h e great m igratio n s , l o c a l a u t h o r i t y was not able t o co pe w i t h the con fl icts res u l t i n g from t h e Ge r m a n ic settle m e n t of la n d s be­ lon gi n g to the n a t i ve po p u lation

The a u t ho rity of the local bis h o p ,

.

th e re fo re , t e n d e d t o take the p l ace of sec u lar go ve r n m e n t , in p a r t beca use the c h u rc h a t t racted a b l e r men than the R o m a n pro v i n c i a l gov­ e rn m e n t . A s �Iom igliano has state d , � I u c h ca n b e s a i d a bo u t t h e i n t e rn a l c o n fl ic t s , t h e wo r ld l y a m b i t i o n s , t h e i n t ole r a n c e o f th e C h u rc h . Y e t t h e c o n c l u s io n re m a i n s t h a t w h i le t h e po l i ti c a l o rgan i z a t ion o f t h e e m p i r e bec a m e i n c re a s i ng l y ri g i d , u n i m a g i n a t i v e , a n d

u n s uc c e s s fu l , t h e C h u rch w a s m o b i l e a n d re s i l i e n t a n d p ro v i d ed s pace fo r t h ose w h o m t h e State was u n a ble

to

a bs o r b . T h e b i s h o p s were t h e c e n t r e s o f

l a r ge m l u n t a r y o rgan i z a t io n s . They fo u n d e d a n d co n t rol led c h a r i t a ble i n st i ­ t u t io n s . T h e y d e fe nded t h e i r fl o c k s a ga i n s t t h e s t a t e o ffi c i al s . W h e n the m i l ­ itary s i t u a t ion o f t h e e m p i re gre w w o rse , t h e y o ft e n o rga n i z e d a r m e d

re s i s

­

ta n c e aga i n s t t h e barbar i a n s . . . . Pe o pl e es c a ped fro m t h e state - i n to t h e C h u rc h a n d weakened t h e state by gi v i n g t h e i r be s t t o t h e C h u r c h . . . . T h e

best m e n were w o r k i n g for t h e C h u rc h , n o t fo r t h e state . 1 6

A t t h e local l e ve l , the c h u rc h had

a

mission a s civil o ffic ials did n o t . B u t

these local o r prov i ncial fu nctions d i d n o t h i n g to bolster t h e c e n t ral h i ­ e rarc h y o f t h e c h u rc h . How then d i d t h e papacy establis h i ts ecclesias­ tical s u p re m ac y ?

T h e bishops o f R o m e possessed co n siderable w ea l t h i n lan d . I n t h e W e s t t h e y were co n fronted w i t h pagans a n d he retics w h o h a d ove r r u n t h e e m pi re , w hile i n t h e E a s t they fac ed the r i v a l s p iritua l clai m s o f a n

emergi n g E a s t e r n C h rist i anity w h ich w as b ac ked by t h e great p o w e r o f the B yz a n tine e m pire . I n this fi fth cen t u r y se tti n g , t he Rom a n b i s h o p s -

had n o political a u t ho rity to s u p po rt t he m . Ye t , by a co mbination o f poli tical a n d doct r i n a l strategies , the bi s h o ps achieved ascendancy i n the ch urch h i e ra rc h y a n d establ i s h ed t h e medi eval papac y . Ro m e e l a bo rated i ts doct r i n a l position agai nst the Eastern ch u rc h , e ve n tho ugh i t could n o t c h a l l e n ge the sec u l a r autho rity of B yzanti u m . A nd i n western a n d no rthern E u rope , t h e Ro m a n bis hops s ponso red m issionary activi ties w h ic h s ucceeded i n part because t h e B y z a n t i n e e m p i re could not i n ter­ fere effective l y . The Rom a n papal claims res ted i n t h e fi r s t place o n t h e c u l t o f S t . Pet e r , t h e fi r s t bisho p o f Rom e , a martyr t o h is fa i t h , a n d t h e apostle to w h o m C h rist had given "the keys to the kin gdo m of heave n " ( Matthew

1 6 : 1 8 - 1 9) . T h e po pes made the most o f their p ri m ac y as the d i rect T he y cited a letter i n w h ic h Po pe Cle ment described how Peter i n the p resence of the Ro m a n co m m u n i t y had ha nded h is

s uccessors o f Pete r .

SA CRED AND SEC ULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

31

power over to the bisho p .o f Rome and his succe ss o r s. T h i s testamen tary d e posi tion became ava i l able i n a Lat i n translation a ro u nd 400 A . D . It was a fo rgery , but the Epistola Clementis was cited t h ro u g h o u t the Middle Ages because it a ppeared to a u t h entic ate t h e doctrine of pa pal mon­ arc h y . The im plication s o f t h i s doct r i n e were s pe l l ed o u t by Pope Leo I (440-46 1 ) and Pope Ge la s i us (492 -496) . Leo d i s ti n g u i s hed between the u n iq ue merit o f Pe ter , w h ich C h rist had reco g n i zed , and t h e Pe t r i n e powers w h i c h co u l d be tra n s m i tted . Go d h ad gi v e n H is g i ft o f grace to the pope as the direct s uccessor of Pete r ; therefo re , t h e po pe co u l d not be j u d ged or deposed b y a n yo n e . But the person holdi ng t h at o ffice was d i s t i n g u i shed fro m the powers o f

the office . The u n wo rt h i ness of t h e aut horit y e i t h e r o f God 's gift

i n c u m be n t co uld not i n v a l i d a te t h e b i nd i n g

o f t h e po pe's gi fts of grace to h i s flock. A l l powers me mbers of the c h u rc h ( the po pe, a rc h b i s hops , bis h o p s , mon ks, p r i e st s ) were not based o n ri ght, b u t possessed as a matter o f grace , as i n t h e Pau line doctri n e , "What I am , I am by t h e g race o f God ." Such favor o f grace co uld not be c o m pel le d ; i t c o uld o n l y be free l y given. Every o ffice o f the church was a beneficiu m i n t h i s s e n se . I t could be taken away as freely as i t h ad been given. This p apal inte r p re t ati o n cha l le n ged the c l a ims o f i m p eri al author­ ity over the church, es po us ed i n B yza n tium. Ac cordi n g to St. Ambrose (340 ? -3 9 7 ) , bishop of Milan , "the emperor is within t he c h u rc h , not above it" : he does not possess aut o n o m o u s powe r s . In t h i s ea rl y Catholic view , the king had been called by God to his h i g h office , but as a C h ris­ tian he was t h e son of the ch urch , not its master. In th e view of Pop e Gelasius I , the kin g s duty was to carry out the divi ne p lan B u t wh o was to have a u t h o ri t y to l ay down faith and doctrine and hence to give the law to the entire corporate body of C hris t ia n i t y ? Gelasius answered that of grace to the pope or

exercised by

'

.

only the pope as the successor of St. Peter possesses authority or

auc­

(moral influence) ; only he has the fac u l ty o f sha p in g thi ngs in a man ner that is binding o n all. By contras t , the e m peror possessed a regia potestas (royal executive power) the power to execute what h ad been laid down as binding authority under God . 1 7 Au thority and power had already been disting�ished in Roman law, and the pope s in the West u sed the distinction for their own purposes. I n the East, the Byz an tine emperors pre vailed over the church because they had defeated the Germanic invaders and were i n full po l it ic al con­ trol. By contrast, conditions were so unsettled in the West that secular rulers o ften welcomed the added s t re n g th derived from church su pport. The difference in the relative p o s iti on s of secular rulers and the church was re flected in the forms of address used by the pope in Rome. A cen­ tury a fter Gelasius I , Pope G re gory I (590-603 ) co n t i n ued to add ress the ruler i n Co ns t an t inople as "Lord Em p ero r, whereas he addressed toritas

-

"

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS the k i n gs of western a n d northern E u ro pe as " Dearest son s . " The papal doctrine that k i n gs were so n s of the c h u rc h became part of the C h r i stian m issio n only i n weste rn E u ro pe, e s pecially a m o n g the Fran ks . Con version o f the Fra n ks had begu n at the e n d o f the fi fth century . By the e n d o f the sixth ce n t u r y , they had beco me in t u rn C h ri stian m i s­ sionarie s , convert i n g the Germanic tribes east o f the R h i ne and south of t h e Loi re a s t h e y co n q u e red t h e m . A t the same t i m e , the Franks ad­ h e red to their t ri bal traditio n s . The ru le rs di vided territories equally among their legi tim ate heirs, t h u s i n c reasing pol i t ical instabi lity at al­ most e ve ry successio n . 1 8 M e ro vifl gian and Carol i n gian rulersh i p was p recario u s des pite m i l i tary successes , and the c h u rc h u t i l i ze d t h i s op­ po r t u n ity to play a greater role i n dete r m i n i n g the s u ccessio n . The Merovi n gian house con t i n ued to rei gn , but i n n a me o n l y . Ac­ tual power had pas sed to the c h i e f m i n isters o f the court, who were il­ legi t i m a te desce nda n ts o f earlier Merovin gian rulers. These rege n ts were th e first re p resentatives o f the Carol i ngian dynasty, but t h e y lac ked

legi timacy. In 75 1 -752, howe ve r , the C a rol i n gian rege n t P� p i n was

elected k i ng by a n asse mbly o f nobles and then anointed by Bishop Boni­ faciu s . I n this way, the Merovi ngian house was deposed w i t h the formal a p p roval of t h e c h u rc h . The ac t o f consecrating the king added a new d i me n si o n o f authority to the earlier, co n ve n tional method o f s p read i n g t h e Go spel by converti n g kings to the C h ristian faith. The Western c h u rc h h ad assumed the fu nction of consec rating, and hence of au­ then ticatin g, the royal s uccession i n con t rast to the Eastern c h u rc h which by c ro w n i n g the e m pe ror sy mbol i zed t h e d i v i n e o r i g i n o f his authority. The Western c h urch put the k i n g u nder God's law as i n t e rpre ted by the c h u rch ; the Eastern ch u rch accepted the e m peror as re p res e n t i n g C h rist on earth . 1 9 Con secration endowed k i n gs with a new sac ra l c haracter w h ic h hel ped t o weaken the o l d paga n bel i e f in c h arismatic blood -righ t . The unction t h ro ug h w h ic h the king beca m e " God's A n o i n ted" on earth was a vi sible s y m bol o f divine sanctio n w h ic h re p lac e d the earlier belief i n t h e d i v i n e o r igi n of t h e charis matic l i n eage. T o this sy mbo l , Charle­ magne ( 768-8 1 4) added the fo rm u la " b y the Grace of God" (Dei gratia ) , t h u s appearing to give the monarch a p os i t ion based o n divine i n s p i ­ ra tion. At the tim e , the c h u rc h see med to g ive u n eq ui vo ca l suppo rt to this conce ptio n of kingsh i p , w h ic h at t h e very least i m pl i e d the king's d i rect

re l at

i o n to

God . 2 0

I n p ractice , t h e ch urc h was n o t co nsiste n t . Fro m t h e Catholic stand­ poi n t , the pagan idea o f a God -desce nded , sac red l i n e a ge was a n a th e m a , y e t clai m s t o legit imacy based o n he r e d it ary success ion were general ly accepted because t h e y s u p po rted the sac red in v iola bi l i ty o f m arr i a g e . Howeve r , though minors might h a ve an h eredi tary right to the th rone ,

SACRED AND SECULA R FO UNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

33

the church combated their clai ms, presumably because of t h e danger o f dynastic instability. Even adult heirs w i t h a le gitimate claim were op­ posed i f they belonged to dynasties hostile to the ch urch . Similarly, the church opposed bastards beca use they made a mockery o f the sanctity of marriage, but it also favored them when this see med to further the interests of the churc h . I n these vario us pos itions , the main doctri nal point was that kings h i p is an office and d uty (ministeriu m ) , not a pro­ prietary righ t . Hence , the s uitability of an individual candidate was more important than the preservation o f a dynastic lineage , or a consistent policy. To the church, its act of consec ration authenticated the k ing's mandate from God. In this way, political stability was i n c reased . Rulers were independent of the " popular will" (the consent o f t he notables of the realm ) , but to a degree depende nt on the c h u rch . 2 1 B u t absolute royal control also became a hazard against which the church had to be o n guard . Once political stability was achieved , the main mission of the ch urch would come to the fore . Then ch urchmen would reemphasize what they had always sai d , namely, that the king was under God and subject to His law. As Archbishop Hincmar told his king in 860, "You have not c reated me archbishop of Rhei ms, but I, together with my colleagues, have elected you to the government of the kingdom , on condition that you observe the laws." 22 From the perspecti ve of the papacy, the consecration of kings meant that the ru ler was a member of the congregation and m ust fulfill the singular mandate he had re­ ceived as "God's Anointed . " Kings on earth reflected the H eavenly King, and secular authority was legitimate to the extent that i t im plemen ted God's purposes. Accordi ngly, a main part of the king's task was to u p-­ hold the Ch ristian religion by protecting priests and monks, encourag­ ing their work , and exhort i ng the faithful thro ugh his personal example. Moreover, kings were d uty-bound to carry the message of the Gospel to the heathens, by fire and sword if necessary. Kings and people were under God . Only if kings walked the ways of the righteous, as the church interpre ted those ways , could they obtain felicity, good harvests , and victory over their enemies .23 The monarchies o f Western E urope amalga mated divine right ac­ quired through consecra tion with hereditary right acq uired through birth. That amalgamation helped to authenticate the legiti macy of a ruler, in h is own eyes as well as in those of the people. At the same time, the church increased its sec ular role . Personal links with the clergy in­ creased as members o f royal houses and aristocratic fa mi lies took mon­ astic vows . Through pious gifts, rulers and magnates sought solace for their troubled souls even as they advanced more m undane ambition s. Such acts enlarged the land and resources under ecclesiastical jurisdic­ tion . In the great councils of the realm, church s po kes men could i n flu-

34

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

Ecclesiastical and Secular Hierarchies In the ideal conception of the medieval world the institutions of church and state should parallel each other, the church in the sphere of s piritual authority and government in the sphere of temporal power. In this fourteenth-century fresco (attributed to Andrea d i Firenze) the two hierarchies are ranged on opposite sides: pope a n d emperor, cardinal and king, archbishop and coun t , clerics and clerks. (Alina rilSca la)

ence the exercise of authority and even give weight to their choice of a royal successor by claiming inspiration from divine authority i n the name of His law , to which all mortals were subject. The church was transformed , though not in a straight forward man­ ner, from speaking only i n the name of God to championing electoral rights as well. 2 4 In its struggle against paganism, the church had sup­ ported theocracy. Eve n after the success of the C h ristian izing mission and the stabilization of secular rule , kings re mained im portant as pro­ tectors and patrons of the church . Kin gs also were potential allies in balancing the competing claims not only of feudal lords but also of church dignitaries whose local or national interests might deviate from

SACRED AND SEC ULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

35

the interests o f the Roman church. B ut at the same ti me, the church was bou nd to com pete with kings whenever the exercise of sec ular au t hority touched the realm of t he sacred , and few matters were e n tirely outside this real m . The churc h insisted on i ts exclusive cla i m to inter p ret the word of God . I t op pos e d the sac ral i zation of k i n g s h i p w h ic h was st ro n gl y susta i ned by pagan bel i e fs and popular sentimen t . 2 5 Wester n E uro p e a n k i ngsh i p t h u s owed i ts pattern to the con fluence among pagan practic e s o f a German i c origi n the legal herit a ge of Rome (as in conce pts like auctoritas and ministerium ) , and t h e in te rpre t atio n s and institutional interests of the Catholic church . ,

NOMADIC T R I B E S , RE L I G I OUS P RO P H E C Y , AND THE PATR I A RC H A L CALI PHATE I N I S LA M In the Arabic wo rld, kingship arose from a conj unction of pre­ Islamic tribal traditions , the religious message of Muhammad the Prophet (c. 5 70-632 A.D.), a nd the traditions of rule established under M u hammad and his immediate successors. The Arabian peni n sula was ro ughly divided into a sedent a ry, eco­ nomically thriving area in the south and a vast , arid or semi-arid interior to the north , con tai ni n g nomadic Bedo uins and a few settlements in oases and along caravan routes . Kingship existed only i n the south. The only recogni z ed social units among t he Bedo uins were the tribe and its clans; survival depe nded on a high degree of social solidarity The lex talionis or blood-revenge is the best known practice of this tribal culture . ­

.

[If the member of a k i n s h i p group] is killed , the others will at o n c e take steps to ave nge h i m ; i f he i s attacked, they will s pring to his s u ppo rt without asking

about the r i g h ts or w ro n gs of the m atter. I t was a sacred duty for each mem­ ber of the group to give "help" to another mem ber of the group and, i f nec­ essary , to avenge his deat h . Si nce there cou l d be no po l ic e force in the con­

d i tions of the Arabian d e s ert , public sec ur i t y req uired the h i ghest regard for the [sacred and imperative] d uty o f re venge a n d " he l p . " 2 1

Late r, it became acceptable to sett l e blood-feuds by payment of compensation (a hundred camels for an adult male was customary in Muhammad's time), though a strict interpretation of the code of honor scorned this substitution of "milk for blood." B lood-fe uds sometimes continued for generations, during which tribes would avenge w rongs committed against them , feud over access to grazing and water, raid the herds of others, and prey on cara vans One safeguard against constant depredations were the holy months and holy places which provided pro­ tection by tacit consent. When a kin-group was weak , it m ight seek hel p .

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS from a s t ro n ge r o n e ; when an i nd i v i d u a l req u i red p rotectio n , he might become the c l i e n t of a res pected elde r . Likewise, pledges o f alliance be­ tw ee n k i n -gro u p s or tribe s , based o n m ut ual obligations , might prov ide protectio n . The tribal com m u n ity (gawm or umma ) was clearly o f m ajor signi fica nce, a n d the idea o f a fed eration o f tribes has re mained a p ri n ­ c i pa l tenet o f I s la mic civi lizatio n . 2 7 I n t h e nomadic tribe s , each a d u l t m a l e w a s co ns idered a n equal ; the c h i e ftain (sayy id) , there fo re , had l i m ited powers. Leade rship in w a r , soothsayin g, and the arbitration o f d i s p u tes m i g h t b e i n the h a n d s o f others than the c h i e ftai n ; hence , t h e y co uld c u rtail h is powers . The n o ­ b l e q u a l i ties req uired fo r t hese several fu nctions o f leader s h i p were be­ l ieved to be hered i tary , so the choice of leaders was restricted to c h ar­ ismatic a l l y q u a l i fied li neages . Since lavi s h ge neros i t y was expected o f a chieftai n , only a m a n fro m a rich clan q u a l i fied . C h i e ftai n s were chosen fro m the heads of clans but depended o n the co unsel o f the tri bal elders. Even though c h i e ftai n s h i p was heredita r y , i t req uired a conti n ua l p roof o f cou rage and c u n n i n g, prude nce a n d discretion i n counci l , and a highly developed sense of honor. W h i le an i n c u mbent cou ld design ate his successor, he would do so o n l y with d ue regard to the j udgment o f the council o f elders . 2 8 The w hole Arabian pen i n s u la w as a n isol ated a n d in hospitable a rea which w as con nected with the outside world t h ro ugh trade rou tes lead­ i n g fro m the southern k i n gdoms adjoi n i n g the I nd i a n Oce a n along the western coast t h rough Mecca to Syria a n d B y zanti u m i n the north and t o the Pe rsi an e m p i re i n t h e nort heas t . Fo r

a

lo n g t i m e , i nce n s e , s p ices ,

a n d prec ious artifacts h ad bee n carried a lo n g these ro utes . The southern k i n gdoms where the ro utes originated o r where good s were trans­ s h i p ped became a n object o f contention among rival powers. Politic s , conquest, a n d religion were s o i ntertwi ned that the pen i ns ula also be­ ca me the scene o f several compe ti n g creeds , a m o n g them J u daism a n d t h e C h ristian mission . T h e situation was co mpounded further by t h e great struggles i n t h e seco nd half o f t h e s i x t h century between t h e B y ­ z a n t i n e a n d Persian e m pi res. I n this setti n g of mounti n g con fl icts , the prime i n te rest of Arab traders w as to preserve their n e u trality . N o t h i n g in the si tuation s uggested that a ge n e ration later A rab tribes would be u n i fied u nder M u h a m mad a nd i n i tiate wars o f conquest. Mecca w as the birthplace o f M u hammad . Though it lay in a n i n fertile valle y , the c i ty was located at the c rossroads o f fou r major trade route s , a n d m a n y h o l y places were within its w a l l s and i m mediate surro u n d i n gs . Mecca w a s settled by the Q u raysh, a s i ngle tribe w h ic h was relatively free of feu d s , d espite its division i n to clans. Comm u n ity affairs were regu­ lated by an assembly com posed of re presen tatives o f the rich and aris­ tocratic c l a n s . The relative peace co nt rasted with other settled a reas like

SA CRED AND SEC ULAR FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP

37

Medina, the oasis to the north where many tribes competed for domi­ nance. Trade interests, the peace ensured b y h o l y place s (the Ka'ba , a Meccan s a n c t u ar y devoted to the God H ubal, p ro t e ct e d the whole city) , and the a bs en ce of bloo d - fe u d s combined to make the city a haven o f tr a n q ui li t y in a world o f co n fli ct s. The whole life of the city re v o lv ed aro u n d i t s markets. Tow nsp eo ­ ple , p i l grims vi s i t i n g t h e holy p l ace s , and tribes m e n from the s urro u nd ­ i n g areas d epe n de d on these markets . The city's merchants i n vested i n t h e great carava n s which s u ppl i e d a l l t h e needs o f t h e i n habitan ts and tr an s po rt ed precious cargoes o f native a n d forei g n prod ucts to the em­ p ire s i n the north. The great wealth o f the city testi fied to t h e succes s with w h ic h lea d i n g Mecca merchants n eg o t iate d with B e d o u i n tribes and with fo re i g n powers fo r the sa fe cond uct o f their caravans. A commer­ cial mentality was fostered whic h gave d ue res pect to the hol y places and ancient p ractices since they were good fo r business. What Irfan Shahid said of Southern Arabi a a p plies to Mecca as well : Theirs was a busi ness c u l t u re , and their ideal was materialistic , the acq uisi tion of wealth , w hich they relentlessly pursue d , a s the Carthagi nians did, with sim ilar results. The re ma i n s of their material cultu re are u n inspiring, more interesting archeologically t han artistically , lacking that signi ficant form whic h d i fferen tiates an artefact from a work of art. . . . B ut the very same isolation which possibly o perate d to their disadvantage i n the cultu ral s phere was their salvation politically .

.

.

.

29

The peace of Mecca made it a crossroad of spiritual i n fl uences as well as of trade. To understand the character of royal a uth o r i t y i n Islamic civilization, w e m u s t understand the manner in which Mu ham­ mad's p ro ph ecy eme rged and became the u n i fy i n g force over the w h o le peninsula and be yo nd Max Weber has said that great rel i gious inno­ vations tend to occur not in "culturally satiated areas" where people are preoccupied wit h the routines o f a complex society, but in areas adjacent t o these cen ters where men still preserve "the capacity to be astonished about the course of events ."30 Something like this was probably tru e o f Mecca a n d M ed i na i n relation t o the Persian a n d B y zantin e e mp i res . Among the Qurays h within Mecca, social and cultural divisions had developed between successful merchants who had become rather indif­ ferent to the religious and moral traditions of their tribe and those who did not share in the wealth and power of the dominant groups. The Umayyad clan belonged to the merchants of the first ran k , but Muhammad's clan, the Hashim , did n ot Com pared with the stark life of Bedouin tribesmen , the m isfortunes of Mecca citizens were probably moderate . But Muham mad's clan headed a league of families opposed to the most successful merc h a nts of the ci t y . .

.

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS Abo u t 6 1 0 A.D. , M u h a m mad be ga n tell i n g o f his rel i gi o u s e x pe ri­ ences . A few fel low-citizens of Mecca were con verted by his message . M u h a m mad a n d h i s initial floc k o f believers were certainly ove rcom e by a rel igio us e x perience . B u t it is sign i fica n t nonetheless t h at the earliest pa rts o f the Qur'an warn o f a n a l l - powerful God who not only will j u d ge each m a n a n d com m u n i t y on the Last Da y , b u t who also ex pects m e n o f wealth t o hel p t h e poo r a n d t h e u n fortunate. A m o n g t h e p rophet's first fol lowers were disad va ntaged yo u n ger brothers a n d so n s , leaders o f k i n - g ro u ps that had lost out i n the com petitive struggl e , a n d fo r­ eigners who h ad fa i led to obta i n p rotection fro m the powerfu l . 3 1 M u h a m m a d 's message bega n by reca ll i n g the people to the p u r i t y o f a ncie n t trad ition s i n poi n ted c o n trast t o the goo d l i vi n g a n d conven ­ tional re ligiosity common in Mecca. B u t the p ro phet' S monotheistic creed also led to contentio n s with the polytheistic , nomadic tribes of the peni n s ula, and w i th the mo not heistic J e w i s h co m m u n ities o f Medi n a . M u h am mad h a d i n i tially fo u n d p rotection fro m h i s adversaries t h ro ugh his own clan i n Mecca, but eventually h e fled to Medina. Ther� he won new adhere n ts a n d grad ually b u i lt u p a m ilitary fo rce with which he raided the herds and caravans ven t u r i n g too close to his base o f operatio n s . M u h ammad's message w a s a n ex traordin ary blend o f charismatic p ro phecy w i t h elemen ts fro m the nomadic traditio n . H is great break with that tradition consisted i n the idea of one God , Allah, who had sent His messenger, M u h a m m ad , to warn the people o f the j udgment to com e . In addition , he enj oined o n all believers a n e w form of worship which m us t be observed with p u nctilious regularity. I n the Constitution o f Med i n a , however, M u h a m mad also d rew on tribal traditions. T h e re M u h a m mad is d e picted as the Mess e n ge r

of God , as

the chief of Meccan

emigra nts , a n d as an arbiter ( hakam) o f d i s p utes . Prophecy, chieftain ­ s h i p , a n d arbitration were a l l fa miliar as pects of t h e pre- Islamic tribes , a n d the constitutio n portrays othe r traditio n s c haracteristic of a tri bal com m u n ity. In Medina, the e m igrants fro m t h e Meccan tribe o f Qu raysh were regarded as o ne of n i ne tribes , so i n itially M uhammad did not outra n k t h e chiefs o f t h e other tribes . B u t a s t h e prophet gained ad herents to the new faith, the traditional , tribal solidarity was broade ned to all t hose "who follow them [the believers] and are attac h ed to the m and who cru­ sade alo ng with them . They are a s i n gle com m u n ity (umma) d istinct from [other] people ."32 This appeal to faith rather than k i ns h i p as the basis o f the com m u ni ty re p resents the other great break with tradition . B u t again , t h i s n e w precep t was e mbedded i n ancient p ractices. T h e believ­ ers

were

e x ho rted

to

the

same

standards

of

conduct

as

the

members o f tribes had bee n , incl u d i n g bloo d - re ve n ge , m utual ass is-

SACRED AND SEC ULA R FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP

39

tance , p rotection of the · poor, and pa t ro n cl i e n t relations. I n this way, M u ha m mad extended tr i bal beliefs and pract i ce s to the e n tire com ­ -

m u nity o f believers.

The

doctrine

of the

u m ma, the co m m u n i ty

o f M usl i m s , is

t h e basic

po l itical co nce pt of I s l a m . A l l me mbers o f that co m m u n ity a re b o u n d toge ther by ties

of rel i g i o n

r a t h e r than race o r k i ns h i p , s i n ce all p ro fess

their bel i e f in Allah and i n the miss i o n of

fu nction within

of His p rop he t

.

W h i le d i fferences

the umma are recognize d , all m e m be r s are eq ual in

their relation to God . T h e y are ch a rged

with t he d ut y to be a r wi tness the tr ue faith , and to i n s tr u c t pe o ple in the ways o f God . A l l a h alone i s the head of t h e u m m a . H i s com ma n d s , a s re vealed to M u h a m mad , embo d y the Holy Law . I n t h i s conce p tio n , God H i mse l f is t h e sole legislator; t h e r e fo re , th e Shari'a exis ts be fore the state, and th e sole purpose of the state i s to maintain Go d ' s law . The Qu r'a n and the sayings o f the pro phet are the sole constitutional a uthority within the M u slim c o mm u n ity , yet t h ey co ntain n o precise i n s tructions con­ cerning the political o rg a n izatio n of the u m ma. H is tori cal p reced en ts associated with the pro phet and h is s u cces s ors provi de d what the direct expression of God's will failed to provide-guidelines for the political constitution of the M u sli m com m u n ity . It is for this reason that knowl­ edge of the ea rly h i s to ry of Islam is essential for an u n de r sta n d i n g of its concept of roy al a u tho r i ty With hindsight one can read into the Constitutio n o f Medina the basic poli t ical precepts of Islam as they we re for m u lated la te r : that the purpose o f man is the service of God, that this service re q u ire s an or­ ganized community o f true believers, and that it is im possible for a n o n ­ Muslim to be a full member o f the c o m mu n ity 33 D u r ing the last years of his life , Muhammad lau nched a success ful mili ta r y cam pai gn a gai n st Mecca, his hometown . O nce established there, he proceeded t o range across the peninsula, combin i n g religious conversion with m i l itary pres­ sure and inducin g one tribe after another to acknowledge him as the me ss e n ger of God" and sole ruler over the Arab people. The Germanic and the Arab experience may be seen in parallel and contrasting terms. The m igration and conquests o f Germanic tr i bes , comin g to a head late in the fourth centu r y A.D. , he l p e d to precipi tate the down fall o f the Roman empire in the West. The migr a tio n and con­ quests of Arab tribes, following the death of M u hammad in 632 A. D . , made great inroads on t h e By zanti n e empire a n d helped to establish a n Islamic empire reaching at its he i g ht from the I ndian subcontinent to Spain. The battle at Tou rs and Poitiers (732 A. D . ) fi n all y halted the Mus­ lim advance in France , j u st a century after the death o f the prophet. By way of contrast , the Germanic tribes were converted to Chris­ tianity before t h ey co n quered and settled agric ultural lan d , whereas the to Allah,

to u ph o l d

.

.

"

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

Arab tribes spread their faith as they conquered vast terri tories, exacted tribute from the native populations and settled in urban areas. To a degree, the Germanic tribes were unified and pacified by their com mon religious conversion; by contrast, the tribes of the A rabian peninsula were pacified and unified among themselves only by joining in a holy war (jihad) against the infidel. For the Germanic tribes, migration to­ ward the wes t was a respo nse to the in vasions of E u ro pe by the H u n s fro m t h e east; for the tribes of t h e Arabian penins ula migration and conquest toward the nort h , the east , and the west resulted from initial conquests and conversions under the leadership of Muhammad, the prophet, followed by a holy war u nder his s uccessors beyond the con­ fines of the peninsula . I n western E urope , kingship arose fr om a blendin g o f Germanic and Christian e lements. Charismatic lineage, with its belie f in blood­ right and acclamation by the com munity Rom an legal conceptions, and consecration by the churc h as the repository o f divine grace all blended into a single tradition. Of these elements, only acclamation by the com­ mu nity played a role in the emergence of Islam . I deas o f blood-right had existed also, but d id not prevail against the call to a new faith by a c harismatic pro phet. Nor was this faith compatible with the organiza­ tion of a c h u rch. C harismatic prophecy was bou nd up with one man, M u hammad , the messenge r o f God. When he died, no one else could step into his place as a p r ophet Since he left no male descendants, we do not know whether his heirs could have established a dyn a sty o f ,

,

,

.

prophets. After Muhammad's death there was a revolt of several tribes;

other prophets appeared. Abu Bakr (632-634), M uhammad's successor by acc l amatio n , had to first subdue these rebellious tribes before he or­ dered them to carry war beyond the borders o f the realm the prophet had founded. Muhammad's rule was followed by the patriarchal caliphate , con­ sisting o f Abu Bakr, Umar (634-644) , Uthman (644-656) , and Ali (656-66 1 ) ; all four were in-laws of the prophet, members of the Qur­ aysh tribe, and com panions of his rise as a religio us and political leader. Abu Bakr had been chosen because Umar paid him homage in an as­ sembly . Abu Bakr designated Umar. When Umar lay dying he ap­ pointed a committee of electors whose choice fell on Uthman (an early convert, but a me mber of the U mayyad clan) . And when Uthman was murdered, the choice fell on Ali, the prophet's cousin, the husband of Muhammad's favorite daughter Fatima, but unlike the other three also a descendant of Muham mad's own clan, the Hashim. In Islam there is no agreement on the religious significance o f this account and perhaps there can not be. For the true believer, access to the truth of God's word can be h a d only through the Qur'an and the

SACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF

KINGSHIP

41

sayings o f the prophet. Although these sou rces provide no gu idance concerning the successio n , the true faith and man's fate de pend abso­ lute ly on preserving Muhammad's prophetic c harisma by finding the one right line o f successio n . I n a strictly spirit u al se nse, M u hammad could have n o successors.34 This is the reason why an "objective" history o f the caliphate (caliph means lieutenant, com pan ion , or successor, at least originally) cannot be written . There are two main branches of the Islamic tradition which began a fter Muhammad's death and continue to the present. The ma­ jority group (Sunni), w h ic h calls itself "the people o f the tradition," gives preferen ce to Abu B akr, Umar, U thman , the fi ve electors chosen by Umar, and those who fought alongside the prophet at the battle of Badr. Emphasis is placed on the companionship with Muhammad as the crite­ rion best suited to preserve his c harisma for the benefit of the com­ munity. Hence, successors were chosen by acclamation of the compan­ ions. This principle o f acclamation was inherited from the pre-I slamic tribal traditions . But the companion s o f the prophet included U thman, who belonged to the Umayyad clan which was suspect in the eyes o f believers. For this clan h a d o p posed the prophet during his lifetime and accepted the new faith only belatedly and u nder military pressure. The minority group (Shi'ites) is the Shi'at Ali or the party of Ali. Shi'ite Muslims feel that members o f the prophet's clan , the Hashim, possess special powers which set them above other men; hence, the leader of the community should be chosen from among the descendants of that clan . Among the patriarchal caliphs, only Ali possessed this qual­ ification, and there are various versions how and why Ali was passed over when the first three caliphs were chosen. Here the emphasis is placed on the inheritance of charisma as the criterion best suited to pre­ serve its benefit for the community. This a pproach accentuates the prin­ ciple o f blood-right also derived from pre-I slamic tribal traditions. But it quietly ignores the controversial role o f Ali himself. The early history o f t he caliphate is marked by two struggles for power. I n the first, Ali associated himself with opposition to Uth man, the descendant of the merchant Umayyad clan and therefore suspect to those who upheld the tribal traditions. Uth ma n was murdered, and this murder probably reflected conflicts between merchants and nomadic tribesmen . ( Merchants were sedentary and interested primarily i n the safety of trading; By contrast, the nomadic tribes stood in the forefront of Islamic conquests, inspired by traditions of milita ncy.) There is no evidence of Ali's direct involvement in the murder of Uthman, but his enemies attributed to him guilt by association . The second struggle for power w as precipitated when Ali as the newly chosen caliph pressed his claim against MU'awiya, the Umayyad governor of Syria. M U'awiya re-

KHAZARS MAGYARS

III �

Islam under Mohammed and Abu Bakr (to 634) Islam under Umayyad Caliphate

(to 732)

Byzantine Empire

SACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

43

sisted Ali and demanded vengeance for the m u rder o f Uth man . Both parties believed the Sac re d Law to be on their side and agreed to arbi­ tration. Tradi t ional l y, s uch arbitration was considered binding, but Ali protested when the verdict went against h i m . The standoff between the two contenders e nded w h e n Ali was m urdered in 66l.b In the same year, Mu'awiya was recogn ized as cali p h , begin n ing the U mayyad dynasty (66 1 -749).

Under this dynasty, I slam ic conq uests reached from the Indus to the Pyrenees, and on the surface the Umayyad caliphs possessed an abundance o f authority . B ut problems o f government mounted with expansion , demanding new administrative measures and the application of the Sacre d Law (Shari'a) to e ver-changing circumstances. Gradually, the task o f interpreti n g the principles laid down by the Prophet passed into the hands of spec ial ists. By 700 A.D., formal teaching had emerged, and in the circles of t h e le arned (ulema, or teachers o f the Shari'a ) , the Umayyad dynasts were percei ved increasingly as autocrats. Eventually , opposition to the Umayyad dynasty mounted, and a revolution u nder Abbasid leadership occ u rred . Under the Abbasid dynasty (750-1258), the center o f power shifted from the Umayyad capital o f D am ascus to Baghdad. In the new capital , the cali phate came un d e r the in telle c tua l a nd political influence o f the Persian imperial tradition. The Abbasids h ired Persian secretaries who advocated an au tocratic exercise of power. At the same time, the "con­ stitutionalist" Islamic school u nder the leadership o f the ulema had the support of the Muslim co m m unity . The Abbasid caliphate was stabilized for a time . The caliph and his deputies exe rcised political and (to an exte n t) judicial authority , w hile all religious matters were put under the scri ptural authorit y of the ul e m a . Yet Abbasid rule remained stable only briefly. Early in the ninth cen tury, warlords appeared in various parts o f t he e m pi re w hose sub­ ordination to the calipha te became nominal. By the early tenth cen tury, the Abbasid caliphate had weakened even in Baghdad . Turkish mer­ cenaries were hired in lie u of Arab tribesmen and civilians. By 935 the caliphs were forced to accept the warlo rd d ynasty of the B uwayhids (935-1058) in Bagh dad . The Abbasid caliphate lost m uch of its tem­ poral power when these m ilitary leaders came to rule in its name or even without its sanction and when Turkish forces replaced the Arabs as the politically dominant grou p in Islam. These events had far - reachi n g im­ plications for the Islam ic interpretation of royal a uthority .35 I n practice, the caliphs bec ame increasingly preoccu pied with relihSome of Ali's supporters rejected the idea of arbitration si nce according to the Qur'an rebels must be fough� until they ret urn to obedience. The so-called Khariji tes (from the verb meanin g 10 go oul) withdrew their alle giance to Ali and when they refused to listen to his appeals, he massacred them. I n 66 1 , Ali was stabbed to d ea t h by a Kha rijite fa natic.

44

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

gious matters while real power passed into the hands o f warlords Under the rule of these warlords, Persian secretaries su ppo rted autocracy a n d attacked t h e ort hodox Islamic insistence o n th e su premacy of t h e Sacred Law . By t he tenth ce ntury, the Abbasid caliphs had to accept the e ffec­ tive ru le of successive warlords; Islamic jurists were th us con fronted in practice with a system in which m i l i ta ry rulers were acc e p ted by the ca­ liph and exercised all authority. Under these conditions, secular go v ­ ernment concerned w i t h mundane affairs was severe d from the cal i ph­ ate conce rned with upholding the religious practices o f the people. Thi s s eparation is e v iden t in a passage from Ibn Kh aldun (d. 1406). .

Natural ki ngs h ip

kingship of the warlords] forces the people to ambitions and uncontrolled desires of the ruler. Po­ litical government induces the people to conform to the dictates of rea son for the pro motion of worl d l y interests and the w ardi n g off o f evils. [By con­ trast,] the Ca lipha te lea d s the people to conform to the insigh ts of the Re­ (i.e., the

conform to the priva te

vea l ed Law in regard to their interests bot h in the world to come and those

in this world w h ich relate to it, s i nce all th e affairs of this world are a ss e sse d in the light of th eir relation to the interests of the future life.36

I n this formulation the caliphate is concerned only with those wo rldl y inte rests which relate to the futu re life . B y contrast, the military rulers were not concerned wit h the preservation of the Shari'a. Gibb documents that Islamic jurists increasin gly ten ded to interpret rule seized by force as legitimat e and that religio u s scholars so u gh t to pre­ serve intact the spir itual heritage and hence the ideal of a community ,

of believers, even if this meant a more or less com plete separation be­

tween tem poral affairs and spiritual concerns. This separation had itself a religious foundation .37 The differences between the Islamic and Ch ristian traditions should be noted . Both were characterized by factionalism in their early periods. But in Christianity, conflicts between the Western Catholic and the East­ ern Orthodox church occurred over the proper theological interpretatio n of t h e n ature of Christ a n d over t h e pro per relation between kings and the church as successors to Christ's m ission on earth. B y contrast, the conflicts within Islam referred to a legitimation of royal authority de­ rived from historical events. The caliph was an absol ute ruler whose duty it was to watch over the people and, if necessary, com pel them to obey the Law . Islamic ju­ rists enjoined on the people the duty of complete obedience to the ruler . The Prophet said, "Do not abuse those who bear rule. If t h ey act up­ rig h t l y , t h ey s h a l l h ave their re ward , and your duty is to show gra titude . If t h ey do evil, they s h a l l bear the bu rden , and your duty is to endure patiently.

SACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

45

They are a c hastiseme n t which God infl i cts upon those w ho m He will; t here­

fore accept the chastise m e n t of Go.d, not with indignation and w rath, but with hum ility and meekness."38

There was little dispute concerning the necess ity of absolute rule under God. People are weak , and Sac red Law m ust li mit their liberty o f action. A governor i s needed to restrai n the m a n d p rotect the faith I n theory, the caliph was subject to the Sac red Law a n d had to rule i n ac­ cord with it, for the Law e x isted indepe nde ntly of him . As succes so rs to the prophet, their authority was derived directly from God , "who as sole Head of the Community has alone the power to con fer autho rity of any kind; and this authori t y rests primarily on religio u s obligation . . . in accordance with the verse : 'Oh God, the possesso r of the kingly rule, Thou givest the rule to whom Thou wilt and withd rawest the rule from whom Thou wilt' (Q. I I I , 25-27)."39 Thus, o rthodox doctrine justified the caliph's actions, whatever they might be , as automatically in accord with the Law laid down in the Qur'an. As long as the caliphs u pheld the faith , their actual wrongdoing was a chastisement from God which no religious institution or human agency s hould atte m pt to control. The Umayyad dynasty followed the precedents established in Mu­ hammad's lifetime. Muhammad had acted as arbiter of disputes . The Umayyads continued this p ractice, and under their aegis the special of­ fice of j udge (qadi) developed. The caliphs controlled the public treasury and performed certain religious functions, s uch as leading public wor­ ship and delivering the Friday sermon. In these ways , the caliphs ful­ filled their sacred duty of u pholding the faith and thus legitimized their absolute rule in accord with the Shari'a. These accepted princi ples were nevertheless subject to d ivergent interpretations because contending parties cited one or a no th er histor­ ical precedent to support their cause. A legitim atio n of royal authority that depended on the actual successors to the prophet (rather than on theological argument a s in Christianity) had only precedent to rely on. For example, the Sunni doctrine o f the caliphate em phasized that ca­ liphs m u st be descended from Muhammad's tribe , the Q u ra ysh, and must be chosen by consensus, but the caliphate cannot be passed to a successor through inheritance . This was an argument directed against the Shi'ites by emphasizing the conditions under which Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (but not Ali) had s ucceeded the prophet, thus up­ holding the princi ple of com panionship at the e x pense of charismatic inheritance .4o On an imperial scale , the Islamic community of believers replaced the solidary community of the pre-Islamic tribe . In the e mpire as in the tribe, the community (umma) e mbodied the values which the individual cherished and enjoyed solely by virtue of his membership. The word o f .

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

The Revelation Brought to Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel

The depiction of the prophet and the archangel is contrary to Islamic tradition and sug­ gests the great tasks of religious conversion and cultural assimilation confronting the reli­ gious teachers, j urists, scholars, and dignitaries (ulema) of the Abbasid caliphate after the Mongol conquest. This miniature is taken Ii-om Rashid al-Din's World History. The author (c. 1247-1317) was a Persian J ew who converted to Islam and rose to great wealth and power under Mongol overlordship, fo llowi ng the Mongol capture of Baghdad in 1258. (Edinburgh University Library)

God as vo uchsafed in the Qur'an and the teachings of M uhammad pro­ vided the bond of brotherhood w hich allowed the Abbasids to destroy invidious distinctions between Arab and non-Arab M uslims, albeit at the price of loosening (if not losing) the unity between ethnic and religious identification . The preservation of the Sacred Law as the foundation of that brotherhood was the purpose o f the u le ma and the basis of their central, spiritual position in Islamic society, even though in the later Abbasid caliphate they lost what influence on temporal authority they had possessed before . In turn, the caliphs began as protectors of the Sacred Law and for a time enjoyed the spiritual support of the believers, as interpreted by the ulema. But no caliph was a prophet himself, and none was believed able to receive further revelations. The tradition es­ tablished by M uhammad was considered perfect and final. One root of the contrast between the Islamic and early C hristian

SACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

47

conceptions of kingship lies in the di fference between the charismatic prophecy of M u hammad and the c_h arisma of Christ as the Son of God. Muhammad was the inspired messenger of God , w hose utterances rep­ resented God's word and m ust be preserved in their purity. Hence , the Islamic emphasis was on the finality of this written and oral traditio n i n accord with which the com m u nity o f believers h a d to b e governed . Therefore , the task of p rotecting the Sacred Law was the supre me ob­ ligation of the ruler. I n the early Christian tradition, the sayings o f C hrist did not have a com parable significance . The suffering of Christ provided a more compelling symbol than his word s : through His death the Son of God suffered for our sins. Believers were purified by partaking of H is body through the sacrament. Thro ugh the a postolic s uccession , the chu rch was empowered to administer this sacrament and interpret the Scrip­ tures. The church fathers were, therefore, not as bound by the written word as were their Muslim counterparts .c Western European kingship and the church were greater counter­ weights to each other than was the case of the Islamic caliphate and the ulema. Western Europe a n kings were bound by a customary law whose interpretation was not in the sole keeping o f the ch urch . The sacral char­ acter of Western kingship was also ensured by the charisma o f blood­ right and hereditary succession. At the same time, the kings did not stand in a direct line of succession to Christ. Only the church made that claim and as the sole interpreter of Scriptures declared God's law to which even kings as mere mortals were subjec t. Yet this claim was also limited by the secular dependence of the church on the Western kings and especially on the success o f their military de fense against invasions from the East. By contrast, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs were un­ able to de(end their e mpire against Turkish and Mongol inv a sions Their secular power quickly declined, but they were successors of Mu­ hammad to whom God had s poken directly and were thus literally the repre sentatives of God o n earth. The caliphs had the task of defending the faith in its charismatic p urity, yet they hlJd little secular power with which to discharge that sacred trust. Under these conditions, they used what influence remaine d to them on be half of Islam and its leading .

·In the Protestant tradition of Christianity, the word of th e Bible i s clearly more im­ portant than in the Cathol ic and thus t here is a superficial similarity between Prot est antism and Islam. But for Protestantism, the word of the Bible is the rock upon which the indi­

vidual

believer bases his faith, whereas for Islam the word of the Qur'an is the utterance of God which is the Law that is binding on th e community of Muslim believers. The Prot­ estant em ph asis on the Bible al lo ws the individual to find and express his faith; the Islamic emphasi s on the Qu r' an makes God's word the lit era l obligation of all tr ue believers.

Mongol Conquest of a Town

The commander of the conquering forces carries a scepter and appears together with a warrior on a bridge crossing the river. Groups of warriors appear on the walls of the town (Baghdad?); two catapults are shown, as well as three female figures witnessing the scene

from walled enclosures. No enemy is shown and the sense of catastrophe is strangely absent. Perhaps this reflects the Mongol's own sense of divine vengeance. The historian J uvaini

tells that after the conquest of Bokhara Genghiz Khan rode his horse into the mosque and said to the people of the city, "I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great

sins, God would not have sen t a punishment like me upon you. " J uvaini mentions the figure of 1 ,300,000 dead after the capture of Merv; even allowing for much exaggeration the Mongol campaigns were of the utmost savagery, using terror and devastation to achieve their ends. (Staatsbibliothek, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin. Juvaini is qUOIed in Times LileTary Supplemenl, April 15, 1977, p. 465.)

SACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

49

teachers and functionaries. The purity of the faith was preserved , but at the p rice of abandonin g e fforts to make secular rulers abide by the Sacred Law. ANCESTORS, KINGS, AND OFFICIALS IN ANCIENT CHINA

The forma tion of Chinese kings h i p goes back to the Shang dyn asty, conventionally dated from 1766 to 1122 B.C., a period coinciding with the later Egyptian dynasties . This major B ronze Age civilization of North China was based on specialized agriculture . Nature and ancestor worship were dominant p ractices and have remained important in Chinese culture throughout his to ry They have had a bearing o n the legitimation of royal authority, because they signify an interdependence between the cosmos and the world of man . .

. . . Humanity is consta n tly under the i n flue nce

of forces e manatin g from the

directio ns of the com p ass and from stars and planets. These forces may pro­

d uce welfare and pros p erit y or work havoc, according to whether or not in­ dividuals and social groups, above all the state, succeed in bringin g their lives

and activit ies in harmony with the universe. I ndivid u als

may attain s uch har­

mony by following the indications offered by ast rolo gy, the lore of lucky and

u nluc k y and the

latter, as

days, and many ot her minor rules. Harmony between the empire

u niverse

a

is achieved by

organizing

the former as an image of the

universe on a smaller SCale.41

Cities were built in accord with the design of the unive rse . This cos­ mological parallelism was not only an inte r p re ta t io n of how things are ; it was a call to action to ensure the desired har m o n y .

The need to maintain

h armony

between the world of the gods and the

world of men req uired that man s hould

partici pa te

in cos mic eve nts by ac­

companying them with ap p ro priate rituals. Such ce r e monies, either actual or

idealized, are well d oc u m ented in China from Shang times onward, being

e pitomized in the saying of Li-Chi that "in ceremonies of the

there is the same

h i e rarchica l

grandest

form

relationship as t h a t whic h exists between

Heaven and Earth."f2

The favorable outcome of human a ffa i r s de pended on whether men pe r fo rme d the proper ceremonies and made the req uired sac ri fices to the higher spiritual forces. Warfare, alliances, tribute payments, the selection of personnel, agriculture, the weather, hu nti n g sickness, dreams, child-bearing, travel plans , and other matters were subject to divination . Much a tte n t i o n was devoted to the propitiation of the an­ cestral spirits . The dead were believed to co nti n u e their existence in the form of the soul, and all existence was marked by the m utual depen­ dence between the dead and the Iiving.43 ,

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

Since all aspects of life were believed to posses s spiritual signifi­ cance , s pecial importa nce was attributed to the religious functions of the king. In Shang China, the king's ancestors were believed able to in­ tercede with the H igh God (Ti) whose blessings co uld bring prosperity and s uccess. B y means of rituals, sacrifices , and di vination, the king was believed capable of influe ncing his ancestral s pirits . Hence, the king em­ bodied authority because he alone could "appeal fo r the ancestral bless­ ing, or dissipate the ancestral cu rses , which a ffected the commonality."44 In ancient China, a tacit exchange was believed to exist between the king and his ancestors. The king depended on his ancesto rs to legitim ize his rule; the strength of the ancestors de pended in the eyes of the people on the rituals and sacrifices which the king offered . The powers of the ancestors increased in proportion to the sacrifices o ffered them, j ust as in the secular world the power of the king increased in proportion to the tribute and taxes which his agents collected from the peo ple .45 Though this function of kingshi p tends to occur wherever the wor­ s hip o f ancestors and o f nature prevails, the practices o f Shat1g China were distinctive . A diviner addressed a prediction, wish, or intention to a turtle shell or cattle bone, in which hollows had been bored or chiseled and in which cracks appeared when heat was applied. By interpreting the ensuing cracks, the diviner j ud ged whether or not the projected event or action had the ancestral blessi ng. As d iviner, the king served as intermediary between the people and the powerfu l spirits of his a ncestors. H is divinations were bel ie ved to increase the likelihood that crops wo uld be plentifu l and military cam­ paigns victorious. His proper attention to ceremonies at least showed him to be worthy of the favorable regard o f his ancestral spirits. Good crops and victories in battle were th us s piritually significant and served to strengthen the legitimacy of the king. But the inscriptions on the s hells and bones typically a ppeared in complementary fashion, allowing for a positive as well as a negative out­ come . Positive predictions served as a ritual incan tation because em­ phasis on the d esirable course of eve nts was thought to help bring it about. But negative predictions were made in the interest of realism. As Keightley explains, Only b y facing both possibilities. b y giving each possibility, a s i t were. a fair chance. could the divination itself be fair. in accord w i th reality, and thus

valid. The inscribed divinations documented the fact that fair chance had

been given, that the divination itself had been metaphysically realistic. Divi­ nation. and hence legitimation. was effective to the degree that it accorded with the nature of reality. The divining king had to immerse himself, as it were. in the forces of the universe. before he could emerge, triumphant. as the validated king. And by "risking" the outcome in this way. the king made

SACRED AND SECULAR FO UNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

51

the eventual validation,-such as abundant harvest, or victory in battle,-all the greater, because all the more founded in reality.46

Adversity by itself p robably did not undermin e the king's authority, as long as he observed the pro per rituals . Nevertheless, times o f h uman or natural misfortune m ight eve ntually be considered evidence that the Mandate of Heaven had been withdrawn and that the king had forfeited his righ t to rule. This Mandate theory seems to have developed during the Western Chou empire (1122-771 B.C.), when the overthrow o f the ruling Shang dynasty was justified o n the ground that "heaven . . . sent down this ruin" on the last Shang king, so that the conquering "Chou merely assisted by carryin g o ut [the Heavenly] Mandate . "47 Here the sel f-contained syste m o f Shang beliefs see ms to h ave been used as the sim ple justification o f conquest. But the Mandate theo ry co uld be used in the same manner to j ustify subsequent conq uests or revolts. It could also be used to apply. a theory o f res ponsible government to the rule of Chinese emperors generally. Evidence for autocracy can be cited from all periods of Chinese history and finds ready assent among experts in the field .48 Nor is there much doubt that Chinese e mperors were as autocratic as they could manage to be in practice. But Creel has assembled evidence for the Western Chou dynasty w hich suggests that the theory of supreme im­ perial rule was at times difficult to implement. Conquering as large a territory as the Chou did was one thing, governing it another. The West­ ern Chou kings employed the w hole arsenal of political controls through imperial supremacy, the delegation of authority, and quasi-feudal re­ lations. As many as one thousand feudal "states" may have existed be­ tween 1122 and 221 B.C., a nd many of these vassal states were only nom­ inally subordinate t o the e m p eror . 49 Extremes o f autocratic centralism and near anarchy apparently existed side by side. As in other times and places, the struggles of the powerful were "sustained" by a mass o f ex ploited peasants w ho suffered the ravages o f w a r a n d gained little fro m t h e tem porary victories of their rulers.50 Amid this nearly unive rsal i nsecurity, d escendants of aristocratic fami­ lies (like younger brothers, sons of concubines , distant kin) came to form a motley , impoverished class o f mercen aries , scribes for hire , and itin­ erant teachers in search of e m ployment. Confucius (551-479 B.C.) be­ longed to this class. Du rin g his lifetime , he was a man o f prominence only among his disciples . He s pent m uch o f his life wandering from one noble household to anothe r , returning to h is native state of Lu in his later years . He was apparently red uced to the role of a freelance teacher and philosopher by his failure to secure an official position for any length of time .�l A good many scribes a n d teachers were com peting for employment .

.

.

52

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

and prod uced a welter of conflicting doctrines which a later literary con­ vention referred to as the hundred schools." The ti mes were out of joint. Then as now scholars had t hre e ty pic a l al tern atives for comin g to terms with such condition s . They co uld withdraw from all worldly af­ fairs, as did the fo under of Tao is m Lao Tzu, whose object was "the re gu lation of one's own person ... in accord with the nat u ral order o f things," ad m i tti n g n o s e l fish consideration.52 This m ys tic a l sen se o f one­ ness with nature had enormous a p peal , fo r it was in accord with the fundamental belief in a parallelism between the uni vers e and the world of man . Taoi sm influenced the adherents of many other doctrines, per­ h a p s also beca u se it glossed over the modest opport un ities of men from pro m i ne nt families who had lost out in the com pe tit i on fo r fam e and office . A second alternative was for scholars to i n g ra ti ate themselves with a local r uler, the more pow e rful the better, because power promised rich rewards and some security a gainst ill fo rtune . Scholars could offer such rulers their skills as scribes and teachers, their knowledge o f ancient texts , and their advice (although by defi nition scholars were men with­ out administrative ex perience). Rulers were beset by the insecurity of anarchic conditions, and every failure in peace or war jeopardized their title to rule . Hence , scholars had a certain utility if by appropriate cer­ emonies , by interpre tations, and by emphasis on rules and penalties they helped to legitimize a ruler. Scholars performing these functions came to be called Legalists or Realists. There was also a third alternative, albeit the most difficult o f the three. Scholars could attempt the way of reform. One can speculate that it was difficult for them to gain access to the rulers, especially those of larger states who would accept a sch olar's services only on their own terms. Access to the heads of noble households may have been more promising. Scholars themse lves were often descendants of such houses, and their services as scribes, teachers, and would-be administrators were in some demand at the level of o fficialdom . Eve n here, however , re­ forms were difficult to make, as Confucius and his followers discovered . But teaching and reform at this level appeared possible , since the more successfu l d ynastic rulers of the time needed skilled men to govern large territories. I n the long run, "Confucianism" affected Chinese rulership to the degree that the many doctrines which went under the name o f the great teacher became the ideology of C hinese dynastic bureaucracies. But in the first instance, Confucius addressed himself to o fficials and to those w ho aspired to government o ffice. H is attitude toward the religious be­ lie fs of his time had special im portance for his teaching. U nder the Western and Eastern C hou dynasty (1 122-256 B.C . ), tra"

,

S ACRED AND SECULAR FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

53

d itional religious practices-the sacrifices to Heaven and the ancestral s pirits-had done nothing to ensu re peace and prosperity. One conse­ q uence was a rise of s ke pticism among the Chinese aristocracy along with the proliferation of omens and spirits w hich people ho ped would ensure good fortune. In this setting, Con fucius aimed at a decrease in pol itical anarchy and the restoration o f social norms. H e su pported the conventional religious practices of the day; to h ave challenged them would h ave jeopardize d basic belie fs of his time and thus added to in­ stability. But Confucius refrained from raising religious issues. He would serve people and understand life rather than serve the spirits and be concerned with death . O ne sho u ld do for the ancestral spirits all that was proper, but Confucius did not recommend either sacrifices or any o ther religious practice in o rder to deal with the world's ills. Con fucius was no t a n irreligious man. I n his view, Heaven sanc­ tioned his great mission. Heaven was the source of trut h , of protection against enemies, and o f comfort in adversity. But Con fucius' own atti­ tude was detached . Making sacrifices was only pro per, but to expect Heaven's reward in ret u rn was not. The proper attitude was the practice of virtue without thought of reward. Confucius instructed by example and by appeals to the understanding, not by charismatic appeals as the messenger of God, let alone of a single God. Later generations attrib­ uted charis matic powers to him and to his teaching, but he himsel f dis­ claimed them.53 His ethical teachin g called for a fundamental reorientation. Indi­ rectly, at least, it challenged the ancient notion that religious observances would be conducive to well-being and a long life in this world. Though he permitted such beliefs among the com mon people, Confucius told the rulers of his time in effect that fitness to rule depended on. vi"rtue and ability.d This advic e was offered to warring nobles who though t the fortunes of their house depended on the military arts; it was offered to men of humble origin who conquered power and tried to rule by force alone. Such men vied with one another in a war o f all against all in which life was indeed nasty, brutish, and short. In this setting, it made sense to emphasize self-control and tell the rulers that good ministers could secure prosperity and keep the people content. dThe elitism of the doctrine was expressed by Hsiin Tzu, about the middle of the third century B.C.: "Sacrificial rites are the expression of man's affectionate longings. They represent the height of altruism, faithfulness, love, and reverence. They represent the completion of propriety and refinement. If there were no Sages, no one could understand this. The Sage plainly understands it; the scholar and superior man accordingly performs it; the official observes it; and among the people it becomes an established custom. Among Superior Men it is considered to be a human practice; among the common people it is considered to be a serving of the spirits . . . . " (Quoted in C. K. Yang, Religion in Chinese Society, p.48).

THE

54

A UTHORITY

OF KINGS

If one is able to correct himself, what difficulty will he find in carrying on government? But if a man cannot govern himself, what has he to do with governing others?

But these ad monitions to the powerful co uld be ignored . For years Con­ fucius failed to secu re an appointment. Th is experience may be re­ flected in the teaching he addressed to aspiring o fficials: Do not be concerned that you are not in office, but only about making

yourself fit for one. Do not be concerned if you win no recognition; only seek to make yourself worthy of it.

That advice was es pecially suitable for men who enjoyed a genteel way of life . H owever , it emph asized virtue rather than hereditary status o r wealth, a n d i t mini mized ritual observa nces designed to e nlist Heavenly blessings in matters that were beyond o ne's control .54 Co nfuci us attached a com prehensive mean ing to the single princi­ ple or Way (Tao) whic h should govern the cond uct of a gentle man or person o f high character: Death and life are as decreed, wealth and rank depend upon Heaven; the gentleman is serious and does not fail in his duties, he beh aves cour­ teously to others and accords with

Ii.

Originally, li referred to religious ritual. As Creel observes, the decorum observed in ritual became the ideal standard of conduct. Con fucius ex­ tended the meaning of the term by em phasizing the spirit i n which sac­ rifices were made. As he said, "I cannot bear to see the forms of Ii gone thro u gh by those who have no reverence in their hearts ." The proper forms of conduct animated by a sincere spirit were a pplied beyond ritual to other spheres o f behavior: Courtesy, if not regulated by

Ii,

becomes labored effort; caution, if not

regulated by ii, becomes mere timidity; courage, if not regulated by ii, be­

comes mere unruliness; frankness, if not regulated by

Ii,

becomes mere

effrontery.55

This principle of decorum or pro priety (Ii) was a guide to action . Con­ fucius called not only for sincerity, but for the virtues of an aristocrat w ithout the vices. Poise and flexibility were to come from self-reliance and independence. Self-cultivation was to ind uce peace of mind. These qualities allowed one to ad mit his mistakes and correct them openly ; it also allowed him to say, " I f upon looking into my heart I find that I am right , I will go forward though those that oppose me number thousands and tens of thousands ."56 Nothin g in the career of Con fucius or the circumstances of his day suggests that some three centuries after his death Con fucianism would

SACRED AND SECULAR FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP

55

begin its ascendance as a -m ajor belief-system in Chinese civili zation . We m ust not con fuse Con fucianism with the original t eachings o f the mas­ ter, nor impute to the Con fucian interpretat ion of kingshi p a consistency it did not possess . I n a n e ra of great political fragmentation and almost continuous vendettas, it was u nlike ly that itinerant teachers in search of em ploy m e n t wou ld have much influe n ce . A main condition for the rise o f Con fu­ cianism as a state doctrine was an alliance o f its disciples with the vic­ torious contenders in o ne of the many dynastic struggles of the period . For centuries after the death o f Con fucius, that prospect seemed dim . However, one should not underestimate the incons p icuous but wide­ s pread influence o f moral teaching itself, for when China was u n i fied for the first time unde r the C h 'in d ynasty (221-206 B.C.) the emperor Shih H uang-ti in part adhered to Con fucian principles . M orality was by that time conceived in Con fucian terms, and no ruler wo u ld forego ap­ peals to morality. In p ractice, Shih Huang-ti favored the teachers and scribes disposed to support his despotic rule. Pro minent among his officia ls were follow­ ers of the School of Law (Fa-chia), w h ic h dated back to the fourth cen­ tury B.C. The Legali sts identified with the ruler and h is p roblems. They taught that laws were binding not for reasons of justice , but solely because violations would d i mi n is h when they were punished q uickly and with utmost severity. The people did not understand p ublic affairs and could only be expected to fear the ruler and the state. Legalist doctrine was strictly utilitarian: many crimes and punishments were costly and could be avoided if punish ments were so severe that only a few crimes were com mi tted. Many laws and severe punishments were the main method to uni fy the country and benefit it as a w hole . These methods must have appeared useful for the consolidation of power, but it is doubtfu l w hether the first empe ror completely agreed with Legalist doctrine. Though Shih H uang-ti is notorious for orde ring the burning o f Confucian books and the execution o f scholars, he also sponsore d the collectio n o f books and their study by Confu cians and others. His despotic rule help ed to create a unified empire, and he uti­ lized all the ideas of his age to legitimize his regime. He sponsored the Legalists when they served his purposes but probably rejected their pu re ly utilitarian attitude toward governance and d id not forego the moral support of Confucian teaching.57 In practice, Shih Huang-ti's rule was e xtremely punitive and e ventually pr ovo ked widespread rebellions leading to the overthrow o f the Ch'in dynasty. Confucian scholars were associated with the rebels, the founders of the Han dynasty. The posi­ tion of Con fucianism was o fficially consolidated through sponsorship by the Han em peror, Wu Ti ( 1 40-87 B.C. ) .58

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

This ou tward ascendance of Con fucianism did not terminate the "battle o f the books" among rival schools of thought and contenders for office. By the first century B.C., " Co n fucianism" had become an amal­ gam of many elements derived from interpretations of ancient texts and the ideas of Con fucius. Modern scholars m ust try to unscramble the texts to discove r the probable date o f composition and the most likely intent behind the apparent textual manipulation .59 These manipu lations had their root not only in the ambitions of rival scholars , but in the con­ flicting im peratives of imperial rule . I n a unified China, the em peror sought to concentrate authority in his hands and enhance it by exploiting the people and resou rces o f the cou ntry. But the emperor also sought to avert rebellion and retain the throne for himself and his descendants. Thus, he m ight tem per his am­ bition and exploitation by responding to popular grievances. U nder the Han dynasty, both alternatives found their scholarly champ ions within Con fu cia nism, which by then had melded ine xt r ica bl y the va r io u s tra­ ditions of Lao Tzu , Confucius, and the Lega list sc h oo l . T he ea rly Han dyn as t y was founded i n 2 0 6 B.C. and th e first two rulers see m ed to a b i d e b y th e origin al prece pts of Confucius. Han Kao­ tzu (202-195 B.C.), w ho was the son of a farmer, so u gh t counsel from elders and officials and even yielded to their advice o n the question of succession. His eldest son, Em peror Wen, is de pic te d in the A n n al s as the ideal Confucian ruler. Whatever the facts may have been, the pur­ poses of a new d y nast y , w hich originated in rebellion, as we ll as of Con­ fucian scholars were served by praising We n's e x e m p l a ry conduct , which did not arise from laws or punishment. Confuci u s said, "Lead the people with gove rnmental meas u re s and reg­ u late them by law and punish ment, and they will avoid w rongdoing bu t will have no sense of honor and shame. Lead the m with virtue and regulate the m b y t h e rules o f propriety (li), and th ey w i ll have a sense of shame and, more­ ove r , set the mselves right"

[Analects 2:3].60

However, Confucianism in its more Le g a list modes also contained the o p po s ite precepts, formulated in the Han Fei Tzu. This collectio n of wr i t in gs shared the Master's distrust of supe r stition, but not his benign view of human nature . In the op i n i o n of those who followed the teach ­ ings of the Han Fei Tzu, behavior must be regulated by law . The ruler must have at his disposal a "succinct, easily understood, and consistent" la ng uage so that his statutes will be acce p te d by the people as right and true . Scholars are always tellin g us that punish ments sho uld be li ght. This i s

t h e way t o bring abo ut confus ion and r uin. Th e object o f re wards i s to en­

co u rage; that of punish me n t , to prevent. If re wards are h i gh . th en what t h e

SACRED AND SEC ULAR FO UNDA TIONS OF KINGSHIP rul e r w an ts w i l l be

q uickly

57

effected; i f pun is hments are h ea v y , w h a t h e does

not wa n t w i l l be swiftly pre ven ted..' 1

Governme nt by virtuous example and government by rules and punish­ ment were the two ideologies corres ponding to the con flicti ng im pera­ t ives of im perial ru l e . The government o f the Han emperor Wu Ti illus trates that in p rac ­ tice it was easy to combine what seemed logically distinct, and indeed contradictory. In view of the anti-Confucian tendencies o f the Ch'in dynasty , Wu made a great show o f sup porting Confucian precepts , but in practice he em ployed men who defe nded or assisted his autocratic rule . In t h i s way, Co n fu cianism became the state-subsidi zed doctri ne of the empire , while ambitious o fficials assisted autocratic rule . Much of the government was run on Legalist princi ples , including the exami­ nation system , but the teac h ing o f Confucianism con tinued to allow for some influence of the o riginal teachings with their eth ical and anti-statist tendencies.62 Whenever the one princi ple res ulted in cumulative diffi­ culties, the other could p rovide the needed ideological corrective . C ONC LUS ION The Western, Islamic, and C hinese tradition s have in common an appeal to a higher power to legitimize secular rulers. They differ in their conceptio n o f the believe r's o bligations, in their idea of the higher power, and in the specialists w ho interpreted the meaning of transcen­ dent forces in relation to royal authority. Earlier I noted the contrast between the C hristian belief in the Son of God as the sole redeemer of mankind and the Islamic belief in Muhamm ad the Prophet as the sole transm itter o f God's word to man­ kind. For the early C hristian believer, the most significant means of identification with God is to partake of the sac raments, the transsub­ stantiated representation o f Christ's flesh and blood. For the M uslim believe r, the most significant means o f identification with God is each individu al's strict o bservance of prescribed prayer and of adherence to the Sacred Law, as the Prophet transmitted it directly from God. For the Con fucian believer (if that is quite the word), the m ost sign i ficant means of identification with the ancestral spirits and the cosmological order they inhabit is to observe the rules of proper conduct. These rules bear on the "five relationships" o f ruler to subject, father to son, hus­ band to wife, elder to you n ger brother, and friend to friend. Religion has its own logic. Special acts o f worship or prescribed con­ duct relate the believer to a transcendent power. Knowledge of this power is sacred. It is by reference to this knowledge of the sacred that people have attempted to c urtail claims to unlimited royal authority.

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

In the early Christian tradit i on , the be lie ver worships the C reator as H is works have revealed Him and as He h as shown H is special mercy to mankind through the coming, the message , and the sacrificial death of H is own Son. This conception of one omnipotent and omniscient God re presents an ultimate myste ry which the believe r a pproaches through an act of faith, subsequently mediated by the church. In the Western tradition , the church came to o p pose royal succession on the basis of blood-right because belief in the d ivine descent of kings was incom pat­ i ble with belief in the Son of God as the sole redeemer of mankind. The po pes claimed, and were believed, to be the direct successors of C hrist's m ission on earth . I n this ca pacity the y claimed ultimate jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to the salvation of souls. I n practice, these m atters im pinged on secular a ffairs at many po ints; hence, the papal claim i m­ par ted a tension between the sacred and the pro fane to all aspects o f life . N o t only the family, but state affairs and royal authority were af­ fected by this tension. The king was i ndeed the supreme ruler subject to none, but still he was a man and as such subject to God's Law as in­ terpreted by the church. That Law was itself part of the divine mystery, and royal violation o f it condemned the king to eternal damnation. This ultimate subjection of the royal will to God's Law rested on the spiritual claim of the church as the sole repository of divine grace and the only authentic interpreter of the divine word. But in a more practical sense, the royal will was limited as well by the wealth and in fluence of the church hierarchy, at least when o p portunity arose to bring that in flu­ e nce to bear. I n the I slamic tradition, the believer worships the Creator as H is words have revealed H im through M u hammad, the messenger o f God. In contrast to C atholicism, Islamic religion knows no u ltimate mystery because God has revealed himself through the Qur'an and the sayings o f the Prophet. Hence, the believe r's task is to worship as he has been taught, for God's truth is known , at least to those learned in the Sacred Law. K ings stand in the same relation to God's revealed truth as all other Muslim believers , even though their high position im poses special ob­ ligations on them. They must use their secular power to protect God's truth as embodied in Sacred Law, and they must be a model to the Mus­ lim community in e ndowing and adorning the places of worship sanc­ tified by traditio n . Ultimately, rulers are subject to God's law, but onl y in the sense that as successors to the Prophet their authority is directly derived from God. This direct authentication has failed to impart to I slamic k i ngship a tension similar to that of the Western tradition. K in gs worship like other M uslim believers. And in practice the ulema are in­ dividual interpreters o f the sacred texts, often at odds with one another, and without the hierarchic organization, secular strength, and monop­ olistic claims of the Catholic church. The caliphs have had to cope only

SACRED AND SECULA R FOUNDATIONS OF KINGSHIP

59

with the spiritual hazards common to all M uslim believers , because thei r rule was a mere instrument o f God w h o was the sole head of the I slam ic co m m u nity . I n the Con fucian traditio n , the head of the family perform s the re ligious rites on behal f of all me mbers much as the e m peror as the Son of Heaven performs the rites on behalf of the w hole society . The object of these rites at all social levels is to " ma i ntain harmony between the world of the gods and the world of men" ( Wheatley) . I n this system , there are no i nstitutional c hecks on the su preme autho rity o f the he­ redi tary monarch. Nevertheless, his actions can be circ u mscribed not only by social precede n ts , b ut by the suggestions and advice of officials whose p rimary allegian ce is to the preservation o f the Way . D u ring the early Han dynasty, the Con fucian literati ' develo ped as a status group distinguished from p r iests p r eci s ely because their expertise concerning ritual observances cast them in the role o f advisors to heads of families from the emperor on down, not in the role of religious functionaries marked off by an act of ordination. In the Con fucian i nt e rpretation of Hsiin Tzu, the em peror's authority is unquest io n ed as long as the state prospers. But loss of social harmony is prima facie e vid e nc e that the mon­ arch has not been an effective mediator between heaven and earth , and a ruler who does not fol low the Way may be replaced by one who does . In this interpretation, i n flue nce and political power m ust be wielded by those who know how to conduct themselves so as to preserve the desired harmony between the world of man and the cosmos. Wealth and birth are irrelevant considerations. All those who possess the requisite knowl ­ edge are entitled to rule.63 Thus, in Chinese civilization, the ideal of ki n gs hip is not formulated by an elite of experts in holy writ who circumscribe royal authority-at least theoretically-th ro ugh an a p p e a l to d ivine re velatio n . Theo reti­ cally again, Chi nese royal authority is circumscribed by an elite of schol­ ars and officials learned in the Way, who conduct the affairs o f govern­ ment or a spi re to do so. Skepticis m is certainly in ord er concerning the efficacy of such teaching b y , and largely for, government officials. But I doubt that complete cynicis m i s realistic . Even though scholars agree that China has been ch arac terized by two tho usand years of autocracy, they can hardly mean that all autocrats were eq ually e ffective . Nor is it wise to n e glect the opportunities of in fluence ope n to s ubordinates even under effective imperial rule. The ideal Chinese emperor was a projec­ tion of his own subordi na tes, and I believe that e ven strong rulers had moments of weakness o r indecision when the wh ispered counsel of an aide could make a difference , even aside from the more overt political functions of astronomers.64 These aides and advisors of Chinese em­ perors were influenced greatly by a hallowed cultural tradition o f ri c h texture and ancient origin. Rarely, if ever, have the rulers o f great em-

60

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

pires been confronted for two millen nia by a class of s ubordinates so stee ped in a cultural mode of expression that it could a ffect every bit o f court intrigue a n d even t h e most sel f-possessed autocrat. This comparative study o f k i ngship has bee n concerned with a uni­ versal aspect of the h uman condition . Legitimation calls for reasons. Even in ages of fai th , reasons provoke arguments , and appeals to a higher power can be used by the weak as well as the strong. There fore , authority relations are bilateral, i nvolving an "exchange" between ruler and ruled that creates dilem mas and contradictions for the rulers. This chapter has shown that the authority of kings became d i ffer­ entiated in an early age o f religious creativity, when the kinship-based sources of tribal authority were supplemented or replaced by types o f charisma tic authentication unrelated t o kinship. T h e early patterns of royal authority necessarily develo ped in the context o f i nternal political struggles and relations with foreign powers. At the same time, kings always rule with the assistance of their entourages, and their _consecra­ tion and social supre macy buttress the rank-order of society. For this reason I re fer to kingship and oligarchy as a type o f rule , and the fol­ lowing chapters (3-6) are roughly divided into a discussion o f royal au­ thority on the one hand and aristocratic (oligarchic) governance o n the other.

3 JAPAN

RIVAL

CLANS AN D

I M PE RI A L AUTHORITY

T

H E EARLI EST Japanese ch ron­ icles were com posed i n the eighth century A. D . The Record of Ancient Matters (Kojiki) and the C h ronicles o f Japan ( Nihon-shoki o r Nihongi) con­ tain legends or myths describing the genesis of the J a panese islands , the life of the gods, the foundation o f the imperial house, and the history of the Japanese empire u p to 697 A. D . The legends are mingled with historical accounts describin g contentions a mo n g rival clans. Fo rtu­ nately , Chinese chronicles concerning Japan composed before the eighth century provide additional information which allows us to examine the gradual transformation both of clan organization into an i mperial state and of nature and ancestor worship into a dynas tic cult. Early Japanese society was divided into three classes . An upper or ruling class consisted o f large clans of families (Uji) related in fact or fiction to main-descent lineages . 1 A second class of com mo n workers (be) was grouped by locale o r occu patio n . A third class o f slaves (nuhi) -approxi ma tely 5 p e rce n t of the po p u lation -was attached to the households of the upper class . Each ruling clan was u nited by a com mon ancestor cult and ances­ tral myths, and its leaders claimed descen t fro m an ancestral god . Hence , the political unification among clans depended on a mergin g of cults. Such mergers were probably pro moted by the necessity of or­ ganizing for defense against native tribes and against the possibility of a Chinese invasion . It was chiefly through t h e s pread of an exte nded k i n s h i p syste m and the tighte n i n g of marriage and fictive k i n s h i p bon d s with a n i n c reas i n gly la rge bod y of subservient fa m i l y l i n e s that the a uth ority of t h e Ya mato chie ftain was ext ended . . . . One of the strongest co n t i n u i n g methods of ce m e n t i n g close but s ubservient ties was the taking of w i ves a n d "tribu te" men and women fro m the fa m i l ies of s ub o rd i n ate chiefs. Tribute fe males freq uently fo und their way i n to the

61

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

Haniwa Warrior

People buried their eminen t dead in huge earthen mounds (tumuli) which con tained colored pottery an d clay figures o f an imals an d people known as haniwa. This fi gure o f a warrior from a late tumulus (c. sixth

century A . D . ) comes from Fuj ioka. Gumma Pre fecture. These tumuli and their con­ tents represent part of the evidence for the ex istence of rival clans during the third to sixth centuries A.D. (Asian A r t M useum o f San francisco. T h e Avery Brundage Collection) gro up of recognized w i ves of the Yamato chie ftains. Tribute males served as

guards and servan ts of the sovereign . W hile in the ser vice of the soverei gn. s uch indi vid uals must also have remai ne d as h ostage s on behal f of the i r own family.2

Familial consolidation through real or fictive kinship ties was sup­ ported at an early time by the popu lar nature worshi p (Shinto). All as­ pects of life . including inanimate objects, were seen as harboring a spir­ itual presence and were worshiped accordingly. I n Japanese, this presence was designated by the word kami . T he great ancestors a n d the great heroe s have it. So have certain objects. like rocks and t ree s, and certain places like grove s and sprin gs, an d certain im­ portant t h i n gs like tools and weapons and boun dary stones betwee n fields. The quality may be confe rred by rarity, or by beauty , or by exce ptional s hape

JAPAN or size, or by great utility worshippe r . 3

or

by past h istory, or only by the fee ling o f t h e

To ward off calamities an d ensure the good life , it was im portant to make the kami favorably inclined and thereby avoid the contam ina­ tion or pollu tion that wou ld arise from its ill will. The earliest records refe r to an "abstainer" whose d uty was to m a i n t a in ceremonial pu rity on behalf of the comm u nity. I n a world in w hich that pu rity was con­ sidered the m a in condition of h u man welfare, all ceremonies which re­ moved impu rities gave e xtraordinary importance to a ruler capable of intercedin g with the spirits on behalf o f the peo ple . 4 These Shinto be­ lie fs retained an unbroken hold on J a panese culture for centuries. They were anonymous in the sense that they were not associated with the name of an early religiou s leader. Their c ontinuity with fol k beliefs stands i n marked con trast to Christian ity, I slam and Con fucianism , since these other belief sys tems a rose through a revolution of ethical ideas w hether inspired by the Son of God, the messenger of God, or a great teacher o f m o r als. The Japanese chronicles o f the eighth century relate the rise o f kingship t o contention s among the gods. I n these con te ntions the Sun Goddess (A materasu-omikami ) was victorious. The legendary first em­ peror of Japan, Ji m m u (660 B.C.), w as said to be o f divi n e descent. This idea of divine d es ce nt contrasts with the charismatic perso na lity and mes­ sage of C hrist and Muhammad, whose claims of divine inspiration un­ dermined the old gods The continuity of the Japanese imperi a l tradi­ tion with earlier beliefs is stri king e ven when co m pared with the Chinese experience. Con fucius e m phas i zed the practice o f virtue while merely t o le rating folk-beliefs, a nd h is disc iples t a ught that such beliefs were for the m asses, while virtue was for the ru l ers Among the countries con­ sidered in this study, J apan is the only one in which politic a l u nity and royal authority were justified by ancestor-worshi p in times prior to re­ corded history. The Japanese emperor was believed to be the descen­ dant of deities and to be a deity hi m se l f The Chronicles record that the Sun Goddess sent the God-child Jimmu to rule Japan and that he descended to the island of Kyushu. It is also stated that this fi rst emperor started from Kyushu, and proceeded to conquer the east. After much fighting, he established his rule in Ya­ mato, which became the center of Japan . T hereafter , the earliest rulers o f Japan were grouped together under the Yamato dynasty, and while much remains nebulous a few details emerge which shed light on the rise of Japanese kingship. The pol itical consolidation under the Yamato consisted o f struggles with other clans, sporad ic fighting against tribes on th e expanding fron,

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JAPA N

tiers o f the realm , and expansion to the Korean peninsula.a Priestly functions were performed by the head of each cla n ; thus, eac h claimed access to the ancestral s pirits of his house. If a divinely descended, im­ perial lineage was to e merge from among many rival clans, it had to make s pecial claims based not only on its esoteric knowledge of cere­ mony , like the "abstain ers" of old, but also on its wealth and recognition by others . In the early period, the house of the Yamato was only one great clan among man y , and the other clans also possessed hereditary, priestly fu nctions . Claims to divine descent were presu mably a factor in the rise of one clan over others, but with all clans practicing ancestor­ worship the descent of any one could be rather insignificant. I n the case of t h e Yamato dynasty, the e m peror possessed the sa­ cred regalia and represented the people in Japan's relatio ns with China, where m uch importance was attached to d y nastic claims. The Yamato house also increased its wealth by sponsoring the establishment of he­ reditary occu pations. M a ny of the workers were skilled artisans, scribes, and scholars from Korea whose work was highly val ued . But neither the regalia, nor foreign rec o gnitio n , nor increasi ng wealth were sufficient. The position of the Yamato throne depended in the long run on rec­ ognition by the great territorial chieftains who were leaders of other clans, ruled their own do m ains , had their own corporations of heredi­ tary workers, and comm anded the loyalt y of all those united with them in a common worship. In the provinces, these clan-chieftains were the effective local rulers. Gradually they accepted the mythological and cer­ emonial supremacy of the Yamato house , which i ncreasi ngly had func­ tioned as an arbiter among the c lans. Real or fictive kinship ties with the d y nasty facilitated acceptance of imperial rule.5 At the court of the Yamato dynasty, formal s ubservience to the em­ peror by the heads of o t her clans did little to m itigate the murderous rivalries among them. They wanted power for themselves even though they recognized the pri macy of the Yamato house . They sought power by acting as the senior ministers or protectors of the throne. As in the early history of mon a rchies e lsewhere , earl y Japanese history is a story of rivalries, intrigues, assassinations, and military cam paigns among the aThe Japanese established an e nclave in Korea in the middle of the fourth century but were fi nally ousted from Korea by the C h in ese in 622. The sixt eenth cent u ry witn essed

another Japanese attempt to gai n a foothold in Korea w h ich a l so ended in military defeat. A third expansion on the mainland was the Japanese " co-prosperity sphere" in 1 9391 945. I n fifteen hundred years, there were only three direct threat s against Japan from abroa d : the unsu ccessfu l Mongol i nvasions of the thi rteenth century, Western tradi n g and missionary i ntrusions which en ded in th e seventeenth and onl y resume d in th e nineteenth century, and the American oc c u pati on after World War I I . Japa n probably enjoyed longer periods of i mmu n ity from ou tsi de in terference tha n any other civili zation.

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

66

great nobles , who desired access to positions close to the throne . Dis­ putes over succession were used to en hance the cause of one clan over another. I n these stru ggles s u r ro u n d i n g the t h ro ne t h e Soga family was the first to achieve asc e ndan c e ,

.

m u ltipl e h ier archy of gove r n m e n t is ch arac ter is t i c of all monar­ c h ical rule . Even a k i n g who rules as w e l l as reig ns relies o n men who are strong-willed an d powerfu l i n their o w n right. Such men usurp some function s of management and th us multiply th e h ierarchies of auth o r i t y . Traditional Japanese s o ci e t y s ho w s t h i s phenomenon i n a marked de­ gree, for where the ruler is be lieved to be a god , i t is easy to so exalt the i n c u m be n t that h e cannot concern h i m se l f w i t h the management o f af­ fa i rs in the country. The e m p e ror either retains decision-making powers and c o n t rols the c h i e f mi nisters who manage in his b e h a l f, or h e w i l l become a mere fi g ure h ead in whose name the min isters make all im­ portant decisions. I m perial rule in Japan was divided into two hierarchies. One h ier arc hy consisted of the imperial family with its largely ceremonial func­ tions, attended by a court nobility. Maintenance of these noble families and of the imperial household de pended o n extensive estates. Although government was conducted in the name of the emperor, neither he nor his court was directly involved with public a ffairs-except in two re­ spects. Since all elevations in ran k formally depended on the imperial sanction, there was much manipulation of etiquette and rank . Inevitably, the court was also involved in disputes over the succession. The second hierarchy consisted of a regent (sessho ) and various high offices of gove rnment under him. I n 830 A . D . , the position of civil d ic­ tator (kampaku) was created in place o f the office of regent and made hereditary i n the Fujiwara fam ily. The creation of this office marked the ascendance o f a governing executive over the emperor. The man appointed as dictator acted as head of his clan, as manager of govern­ mental affairs, and as chief "advisor" to the throne . In the first capacity, leaders of the Soga and then of the Fujiwara families managed the ex­ tensive lands and hereditary corporations of workers which belon ged to their respective clans. At court, they buttressed their commanding po­ sitions by marrying their daughters or other closely related women to the em peror or descendants of the imperial family. As the effective head of government and recognized "advisor" to the throne, the kampaku exercised dictatorial powers. Thus, the fusion of wealth and authority was largely located in this paragovernment, while the fusion of wealth and status remained with the imperial house . The rising prominence of the i m perial institution and the ascen­ dance of a go ve r ning clan , the Soga, at the side of the imperial family A

­

JAPAN

in the sixth and early seventh centuries seem-at least for a time-to have been two aspects of the same develo pment. Both were part of a political consolidation marked by the increase of estates (miyake) held under direct o w nership of the Yamato rulers and ma naged by the head of the Soga fam i l y . 6 B u t at the same time, disun ity among the leading clans was rife and di s lo y alt y to the rei g ning e m peror quite com mon . The struggles for hegemony within J a pan may acco unt for the early occu­ p ation of Korea, since foreign conquests co uld tip the ba lance o f fo rces at home. Ja pan 's military i nvol vement in Korea required a cen tr al or­ ganization and considerable resou rces at the dis posal of the Yamato rulers. The introduction o f B uddhism aided the consolidation o f Yamato rule . Monks traveli n g with foreign merchants from I ndia had bro ught Buddhism to China in the later Han d y n ast y (25-220 A . D . ) . Con fucian scholars and members of the Chinese gentry regarded these monks with contempt as belonging to the lower class . But B uddhism came to have a popular appeal. I ts doctrine of reincarnation s uggested that the offi­ cials opp ressing the people would receive their j ust p unishment, for they would be reborn disfigured and in a lowly position. And the deprived who suffered unjustly in this life could be reborn in a high position in the next. The temples were relatively secure from attack because of their religious mission, and this sec urity prompted poor peasants to settle nearby. However, Buddhism appealed not only to the co mmon people of China; it also appealed to merchants who used the B uddhist mon­ asteries as banks, warehouses , and places of exchange and therefore donated money and land to Buddhist temples. 7 By the sixth century A.D. Buddhism had spread to J apan , and between 6 2 4 and 692 the number of Buddhist monasterie s and shrines increased from 46 to 545 . The most p r o m i ne nt Buddhist shrine was located in Nara, where the im­ perial court established its capital in 7 1 0. b In Japan , certain prominent clans sponsored Buddhist tem ples much as they did Shinto sh rines. In these temples , various scriptures (sutras) were recited for their supposed power to bring health, good for­ tune, and long life . Buddhism acq UI r ed a universal appeal with its debJ a pane se his to r y is di v i d e d into named periods . O ur knowledge of the ea rly history

is largely based on the a r ti fac t s found in earthen mounds erected over the tombs of Uji chieftains. This pe riod is, there fore, called Shizoku, or sometimes Vji , and ex tende d from about 50 B . C . to 552 A. D. The Yamato state (ca. 300-645 ) overlaps w i t h this period. Su b­ sequent pe r iod s are named after the Tai ka re forms (552 - 7 1 0) , the c a.p ita l of Nara (7 1 0-7 84) , a n d the second ca pital of Heian ( K y ot o) , which is divided into an early ( 7 84857) and later ( 85 7- 1 1 60) H e i a n pe riod. The later Heian period is a ls o called F ujiwa ra

after the fa mi l y of regents (la t er civil dictators) who ruled t h e cou ntry in the name of the emperor.

68

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

veloped art, rituals, and vol umino us scri ptural literature . Buddhism as a co mmon faith could help overco me the political and religious divisions among the clans because it was not bound u p with ancesto r worship. Under the leadership o f Shoto ku Tais hi ( 574 -622) , B uddhism received its patronage increasingly from the i m perial co urt, and the i m portance o f clan-sponsored Buddhist tem ples decli ned .c Accordingly, the Bud­ d h ist establishment focused its attention on the performance of o fficial ce remonies in the i m perial capital, while in the provi nces the B uddhist clergy and B uddhist temples were subjected to govern mental controls .8 Whereas Sh into was related to the authority structu re o f the clans, B u ddhism helped turn the attention o f the people toward the capital and the im perial court.9 It should be added , of course , that the increase of land controlled by Buddhist monasteries and their close ties with court a ffai rs i ncreased the secular involveme nts o f B uddhis m . With­ drawal into a monastery even at an early age became a h ighly esteemed form of retireme nt for the court nobility. The initial rise o f imperial power was also aided by the adaptation of Chinese principles of ad ministration to Japanese conditions : Through the Taika reforms o f 646 and subsequent codifications, the imperial government claimed sovere ignty over all privately held land. Based on a national survey, i ncomplete population and tax registers were d rawn up and laws enacted which would d istribute rice lands and tax liabilities accordingly. Let men o f s k i l l and i n t e l l i gence w i t h a b i l i ty a t w ri t i n g an d a r i t h metic b e se­

lected as a d m i n istrative c h i e fs a n d record keepers . ' o

Here was a concerted effort t o strengthen the central government by the appointment o f government officials , the ado ption of codes of law , and the central organization of local govern ment, taxation , and military recruitment. H istorians are unanimous that these reforms failed to establish an effecti ve, nationwide administrative syste m . Such a system did not exist in China either, but the ideal imperial bureaucracy of China was used as the model for Japan. In practice, the Taika reforms fused a central administrative system with the locally dominant clans. The eThere were p robably other reasons why B uddhism was received differently in China and Japan. On the surface, the main differe nce was that the Chi nese gentry rejected Buddh ism , wh ile in Ja pan the high soc iet y at cou rt and the heads of lead ing clans accepted it. One reason may be that in China, Buddhism challenged the Con fucian monopoly of learn i ng, whereas in Japan Budd hist teach ing was added to the Shi nto cults and the elab­ orate ceremon ial life at court. Buddhist teac h i n g did not discou rage a un ion of d i fferent beliefs and practices, and Ja panese high culture favored such union. Most im portant pe r­ ha ps, there was no status gro u p in J a pan eq uivalent to the Con fucian scholars in China. Lea rn i n g and the arts were culti vated by all adult members of the a ristocratic society.

JAPAN

69

Yamato rulers had overwhelming power to e n force the new govern­ mental structure, and local leaders could not resist this power. At the same time, these local leaders did not lose m uch of their wealth o r in­ fluence . Their local preeminence was now guaranteed not so much by the trad i tional, familial a uthority, as by i mperial rule ; henceforw ard, they would ad minister i n the name of the empe ro r. l l The reforms of the seventh and eighth centuries initiated one o f j apan 's most im pressive cultu ral p eriod s . The cou rt a t N ara became a center o f fashion and e tiquette, o f re ligious and artistic c u l tivatio n . I n Nara, the po sitio n of B uddhism was especially privileged. B u t while a high aristocratic culture continued to flou rish, the military power o f the em pe ror waned . Buddhism taught that all life is in violate . There seemed no need to maintain a regular army, for frien d ly re latio n s with C hina diminished the danger of foreign in vasion . With the reclamation o f new land and increasing productio n , city life and especially imperial court society became luxurious, the Buddhist tem ples flou rished, and for a time the new administrative system under the Taiho Cod e (702 ) ap­ p eared to work. In 7 0 1 the possession of weapons by private persons had bee n for­ bidden , the u niform of o fficers of state included no deadly implements to symbolize their powers, and the profession of arms was not respected. I n the capital the only military person nel were membe rs o f the I mperial Guard, commanded by o fficers principally interested in ceremony and appointed to their posts o n the basis of family connection s , wealth, and court rank. No capital p u n ishment was meted ·o ut to courtiers or o ffi­ cials, although the codes made treason and similar crimes pun ishable by death . 12 The culture o f the im perial court under the Fuj iwara regents (858- 1 1 84) thus flourished for some three centuries. However, the imperial house found it necessary to extricate itself from the influences of B uddhism and moved the capital from Nara to Heian (Kyoto) in 794. There were sporadic disturbances i n the new cap­ ital and in the provinces, and paradoxically B uddhism contributed to these disturbances. Secu lar ties meant that the important B uddhist mon­ asteries used political devices and armed monks to defend their great wealth-despite the Buddhist belief in the inviolabili ty of l i fe . Buddhism had been important for the consolidation o f Yamato rule , but by the Heian period (794-1 I 60) some Buddhist monasteries h ad become a military threat to the imperial court itself. To cope with these religious as well as other civilian disturbances, the Fujiwara established a special metropol itan police force in 8 1 0, and eventually this force became per­ manent and acquired additional judicial and military functions.1 3 This and other expedients served to maintain the cou rt society of the Heian emperors and the Fujiwara d ictators until the m iddle of the twelfth cen-

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

tury , despite the steady decline of imperial authority. This decline and the replace ment o f the i m perial co urt by a m ilitary government (sho­ gunate) as the center of power must be described if we are to understand the ascendance of a feudal society i n the provinces . The Yamato rulers had not paci fied the whole o f Japa n , and raids by aboriginal tribes (Ain u) contin ued on the frontiers . There were s po­ radic peasa nt revolts and , perh a ps most im portant , competing clan s o f the same lineage group engaged in n u merous armed clashes over the distribution and in heritance of land- righ ts. The government proved it­ self ill-eq uipped to cope with these d isorders. The Taika reform s (646) had established a national recruitment system which i m posed a tremen­ dous burden o n the smaIl cultivators. Conscri ption d rai ned away m uch of the agricultural work force , and the addition al services and goods req uired by the military proved ruinous. While well-to-do peasants and the aristocracy evaded conscription or were given various exem ptions, ord inary peasants could best evade govern mental req uisitions by enter­ ing the service of a locally powe rful clan . The syste m of national re­ cruitment proved unworkable and was revoked in 792 . Various substi­ tutes for this system were tried but did not wo rk either. In the provinces, civilian officials were incapable o f o rganizing a police force and hence unable to curb local outbreaks of violence . The need for local military forces remained acute. In practice, the imperial government came to rel y on military forces organized by heads of locally dominant clans who had both the resources and the man power to keep the peace . Th us, armed clashes were considered a local affair, unless their escalation be­ came a threat to the established order. Then the i m perial government relied on the extralegal police force (Kebiishi) organized by the Fujiwara d ictators or on provincial leaders who were given an ex plicit mandate to organize a s pecial military campaign on behalf of the emperor. Under the Taika reforms, the i m perial authority to collect taxes had never been fully i m plemented. 1 4 A n e ffective regulation of tax assess­ ments and collection depended on period ic audits and foreclosures when taxes were unpaid. Such a system called for administrative skills and personnel which did not exist. Moreover, the imperial government allowed seve ral exem ptions from the taxes it had formally i m posed. Many religious establishments were exem pted from the grain tax. Tax exemptions were used as an incentive to o pen up new tracts of land for cultivation and to settle fron tier areas exposed to raids by aboriginal tribes. Thus, the earlier and partial appropriation of land by the im­ perial government was gradu ally replaced by private appropriations. I S The landholdings of local clans increased in size, and private authority relations re placed the imperial claim to governmental authority over the

JAPAN

l and . The atte m p t of th e Taika reforms to assert the em peror's local a uthority d e spite the wealth an d status of local clans had fai led. Japanese landed estates were governed b y t he seve ral ran ks of own­ ers, managers, cultivators, and tenants i n accord with rules based on personal agreements . The Fuj iwara regents, the cou rt aristocracy , and loc ally powerful clans used such agreements to organize their hou sehol d management. I n the provinces, the Fuj iwara, especially, administered t heir extensive holdings a u tonomously. Thus, the large landholdings of t he leading clans became exem pt from governmental regu latio n , with the result that admin istrati ve, military , and fiscal fu nctions devolved upon household management . The central direction of local affai rs by the imperial government became superfluous. E ven tually, this p rocess reached the i m perial house itself. Beh i n d the gradual a bandon m e n t of the S i n i fied bu reaucratic m ac h i n e ry and o f t he idea of the state a s a n e xte n s ion o f the i m perial perso n , we fi n d t h e im pe rial

uji

(lineage gro u p) work i n g to sec u re a pri v ate h old o ver the ele­

ments of political i n fl uence a n d wealth wh ich had once bee n i ts b y d e fi n itio n . I ncreasingl y , t h e impe rial house w a s obliged t o protect i t s position a s a fa­ milial power bloc in com petition with the Fuj i w a ra . M i n a moto , and other cou rt interests .

...

16

This is the explanation of t he "c l oiste red e m perors" o f the eleve nth and twe lfth centuries. Incumbent em perors abdicated in favor o f a chosen successor, both to esc a pe from the cauldron of ri valries s u rrounding the th rone and to e xe rci se real authority from the protected pos it i on of a monastery. By d i sca rd i n g the m ac h iner y of government and converting large pieces of public d o m ain into landholdings o f the i m perial fami l y

admin istered by its own household o ffices. the cloiste red emperors en­

tered i n to competition against the Fuj iwara. In this way, they obtained a foundation for the c ontinued preeminence of the i m peri al h o u se d e spite the emergence o f Japan's feudal order. During t he later Heian peri o d from 857 to 1 1 60, the expansion o f private rights a t the expense o f imperial rights occurred together with the p ri vate o r gani za tio n of armed forc es and hence the emergence o f a class o f pro fe s s io n al mercenaries. Confusion a n d insecurity were so extrem e that small and e ven well-to-do owners often found it ad van­ tageous to commend their land to a family of notables, wh i ch was strong enough to defend them against both the civil a u t ho r i t y and ot her pow­ erfu l clans. As a result, disputes over rights to the land and over the obligation to pay taxes i n goo d s and servic es freq u e n t l y c h a nge d from a legal c ase invol v in g the government into a private ven de tt a in volving the inte rests of rival landow ning fa m ilies. ­

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

A mong these families, the Fuj iwara dictators played the leading role , at least for a time. They "maintained the peace" in the provinces by calling on local notables to organize m ilitary forces to defend the frontiers and en force the law . Since relatives of the Fujiwara were prom­ inent local notables in many parts o f the country, the d istinction i nev­ itably blurred between the military force o f the im perial government u nder the direction o f the Fuj iwara dictators and privately organ ized bands of warriors under other Fuj iwara clans. 1 7 In addition , the wealth­ ie r provincial notable s also established private armed forces to defend the frontier, organize de fensive or o ffensive operations against rival clans , and last but not least "en force the law"-so metimes at the behest of the government and sometimes not. By the middle of the Heian

era

(say

950)

the Court could no longer keep the

peace in the capital, nor co uld the ari stoc ratic absentee lan dlords, w hether n obles or abbots, protect

their

own property wi thout the assistance of a rmed

forces m a intai ned by local magnates who did not fa il to exact a price for their

services. I S

I n 946 a go vernment constable , after su ppressing a local revolt, reported as follows: M a ny make l awless use o f power a n d auth ori ty ; form confederations ; engage daily in military exercises ; collect and maintain men and h orses under pretext of h unting game; menace district governors ; plunder the common people; violate th eir wives and daughters; a nd s teal their beasts of burden and employ

t h e m for their o w n p u r poses . T h u s i nterrupting a g ricultu ral operations .

. . . My a ppeal is that, w ith the exception of prov i ncial governors' envo y s, any

who enter the provi nce at

the

shall

commo n

be

recognized

as

head of parties ca rryi n g bows a nd arrows . . . bandits

a nd

th rown

into

p ri son

on

apprehensi on. 1 9

These deve lopments occurred quite gradually, b u t o n e c a n date t he def­ inite ascendance o f the warrior class (out o f scattered groups o f pro fes­ sional mercenaries) from the H ogen disturbance of 1 1 56. For the first time since the Taika reforms an issue of dynastic pol icy involving the im perial succession was resolved by warriors playing a leading role in the cente r o f affairs.20 To summarize, Japanese im perial authority emerged directly from a tribal society com posed of lineage-groups. The origin-myth of direct descent from the Sun-God dess signified the importance of the reigning e m peror's religious and ceremonial functions. It also established the principle that the historical continuity of the god-descended imperial house m ust be preserved, lest the well-being o f the whole community be endangered. Through the introduction of the Taika reforms (646) and the Taiho Code (702 ), the e m perors achieved considerable power

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73

a s w ell. But this imperia l r ule w a s re l atively short-lived, and t h e re i gning e mp eror was i ncreas i ngly confined to his ce remonia l a n d re lig io u s func­ tions The ascendance o f the Fuj iwara regents by the m idd le of the n inth century was direc t ly connected with the i n c apac i ty of the cou rt to func­ tion administratively so that real power was exercised throug h the household m anagemen t o f the regent. By the end o f the twel fth century , the Fujiwara regents were re­ placed in turn by the formal establis hment of the Kamak ura shogunate ( 1 1 85 - 1 3 33) . From. t hat time on , the i m perial institution and the court nobil i ty surrounding t he throne i n Kyoto were separated permanently from the e ffective militar y government (shog u nat e ) in Kamakura and, later on , in Edo ( Tok y o) S h og u nal authority was authenticated by an i m perial mandate . The sh o g u nate derived its power from its command over the warrior class or mil i tary gentry i n the prov i n ces T h i s c l ass had e m e rged from the p ri va ti z a tio n of land and of mil i tar y fo rce b y the great landowning families. From t he time of the Kamakura s h o gunate until the middle of t h e nineteenth century, the Japanese aristocracy remained divided between a nobility associated with the ceremonious life of the i m pe rial court and a military aristocracy involved in the government and warfare of the sho gunate.21 But by the beginning of the se ve n te enth century, with the fo u n da tio n of t he Tokugawa shog unate, the po l itical and social structure of Japan would be transfo rmed for the next two hundred and fi fty years . I w ill consider the Tokugawa s h ogu n ate and the M e ij i res to ration i n C h ap te r 1 2. .

.

.

HOUSEHOLD AND M I L I TARY GOVERNMENT AS THE BASIS OF ARISTOCRACY

The seventh and ei g h t h centuries may be co n side re d the for m ative p e rio d of th e Jap anese aris tocracy The a nc ie nt lineage-groups of the island constituted the ru l i n g class . The Taiho Code (702) established fo u r su perior orders reserved for pri nce s of the blood and ten court ranks with various subdivisions, resulting in some thirty grades alto­ gether. H igh cou rt nobles (kugyo) , appoi nted by the e m peror, co m prised the top three ranks u nder the members of t he imperial family. The fourth and fi ft h ranks co ns ti t uted a seco n d s ubdivision o f c o urt n ob le s al so a p poin ted by the e m peror. All re m a i n i n g ranks were considered inferior. M em be rs of these relatively inferior ran ks were a ppoi n te d by the Great Council of State rather than the e mperor, and they were de­ barred fro m m a n y im p o r tant privileges. Access to the ranks of the co u rt no b il i ty depended on fam i ly con­ nections. The highest court nobles were derived from the ju n ior branches of the im perial fam i ly and the great clans o f the Yamato reg io n . The .

,

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

74

fou rth and fifth rank s drew their me m be rs h i p from the lesser clans and from d i st i n gui shed families that had imm igrated d u ri n g the pre vi ous centuries. The remaining ranks were recruited from prominent provin­ cial clans. Family origi n , court rank, government po s i t ion , and wealth were close ly re lated. Th e pr i v ile ges ac c r u i n g t o the to p ranks were substantial. Each court noble recei ved a grant of r ic e land, and members of the first fi ve ranks rece ived especially generous grants. The n umber and size o f peas­ ant h o u se h o l d s a l lotted to the no ble , and the taxes in kind due from them, likewise varied w i t h h i s rank. Other privileges co n s i s te d of exclu­ sive access to e du ca t i on , the inheritance o f rank when children came of age , r i gidl y differentiated ceremonial dress, and perm ission to be pres­ ent a t the i m pe rial audience, as well as such humbler accoutrements as having g u ard s and messengers, burial privileges, and s p e c ia l e xe m p t ion s from p en al ti e s , taxes, forced labor, a n d co n scri pt i o n A t the top o f the ran k-hierarchy, privileges w ere sumptuous indeed ; but at the same time, patrician life was r igid l y circumscribed down to the type of fan appro­ priate for each of th e main r ank catego r i e s Natural ly pr eocc u pat ion with rank governed e ve ry move in this closed world o f a tiny segment of Japanese socie ty . Promotion de pended almost entirely on fa mil y con­ nections with the i m pe ri al house and the favors d i spe nse d by th e dom­ inant faction of the Fuj iwaras. For a short period, this rank-conscious and inbred court no b i li ty was also the administrative center o f Heian Japan .22 The Taika reforms had adopted the administrative structure of China, but not the Ch inese examination system. Critics o f the Chinese system have commented on its sel f s e r v in g inefficiencies and the cultivation of decorous le ar ni n g for its own sake. B u t in Japan, the su bstitution o f birth for learning as a condition of a ppointmen t quickly turned the central administration at the imperial court into a qu ag mire of overla pping o ffices and circuitous procedures. The political function of the i m peri al cou rt was shortlived, but its cultural preem inence proved l asti n g . In his World of the Shining Prince, Professor Ivan Morris has described this cultural achievement in detail. The refinement o f esthetic sensib ili ty in music and poetry and the discriminating appreciation o f painting, ceramics, dress, and other decorative arts by the court nobility of He ian Japan set as distinctive a pattern for the country's culture as the divine descent of its emperors did for the legitimation of authority. For it im parted to nature-worship and to the cultivation o f esthetic sensibility the very highest social pres­ tige , a fact that has le ft its mark on J a panese culture to the present day. Such cultural achievements exact their price. Esthetic sensibility and an e laborate stylization of man ne rs became attributes of aristocratic con­ duct that were i ncompat ible with the mi lit a ry skill and prowess usually .

-

-

.

,

JAPAN

75

associated with aristocracy. First in N ara and then in Kyoto m i litary du­ ties at court were turned i n to decorous ceremonies so that the capital and the court became an e asy prey to m ilitary depredations emanating from the cou ntryside (or from the Buddhist monasteries adjacent to the capital). I ndeed, the demilitarization of the court was one reason why the exe rcise o f authority slipped so quickly out o f the hands of the em­ peror and h is entourage . However, some allowance m ust be made for the fact that much i n formation about Heian Japan is de rived from the writings of court ladies who were not only remote from the countryside an d its frequent uphe a vals but even from the administrative affairs at the cou rt itself. For this reaso n , one may have a somewhat exaggerated picture of the political weakness of the im perial cou rt at the height o f its power. In any case, the emperor failed to establish a patri monial bureau-

Minamoto Yoritomo

This wood sculpture dates from the thirteenth century, shortly a fter Yoritomo's forces defeated the Fuj iwara regents and the Taira cIan o Yoritomo's victory also marked the a scendance of provincial warriors w ho came to be organized u n der the Kamakura shoo gunate. The legitimacy of this m ilitary government was secu red by its formal subordina­ tion to the emperor. (National M useum, Tokyo)

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

cracy after the Chinese model. I nstead . the Japanese aristocracy was formed by the feudal syste m established under the Fujiwara regen ts a nd the Kamakura shogunate . As the i m perial house weakene d . provincial society became increasingly warlike. At first. military bands were orga­ nized by local notables and they were nomi nally subordinate to the e m­ peror. Then they became subject to strong shogunal authority u nder the Kamakura . Later they develo ped considerable local autonomy from the shogunate as well so that these provincial forces became as nominally subordinate to the shogun as they had earlier been to the emperor. Under the Fujiwara regents. the new m ilitary leaders in the prov­ inces were often men descen ded from prominent families of the court nobility. As the unrest in the country increased, members o f the nobility had moved into the provi nces to protect their lands, and the combina­ tion of formal authority and social prestige was naturally attractive to the men who had become professional fighters (bushi) . As military forces grew in size . a new di mension was added to the traditional Japanese reliance on kinship relations: personal military service was rendered in return for a grant o f land .23 Hall adds a characteristic example of the priva tization o f governmental authority. W hen in 1 088 Minamoto Yo-

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77

The Burning of the Sanjo Palace during the Heiji Rising of 1 1 59

A celebrated episode from the power struggle between the Fujiwara. Tai ra, and Minam oto clans taken from the picture scroll called the Heiji Monogatari. painted in the mid-thirteenth century. The Fujiwara and Taira families had vied with one another for acqu i sition of high posts in the central government a nd intermarriage with the imperial family. The Taira ascendancy lasted only twenty years and came to an end in the Gempei war ( 1 180- 1 1 85) in whic h the Minamoto forces were victorious. This c h apter ofJapanese h istory also marked th e ascendance of provincial warriors (bushi) and the establishment under the Minamoto of a nation a l military hegemony ( K amakura shogunate) . (M useum of Fine Arts. Boston)

shiie found himself un rewarded by the court , he used some of his own landholdings to reward his fol lowers. This action induced other bushi to commend their land to him for protection, a development w hich prompted the court to prohibit such com mendations ( 1 09 1 ) , albeit with­ Out success. On this basis, some fa milies like the Taira and the Minamoto were able to build up both large landholdings in many provinces and a large following of fighting men bound to the m by ties of loyalty as com pensation for grants of land .24 The second half o f the twelfth century was marked by almost con­ tinuous fighting in many parts of Japan, but the eventual mil itary suc­ cess of the Minamoto clan still had to be transformed into a legitimate

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

pol itical order. Mi namoto Yorito mo's establis hment of Ka makura as his govern mental headquarters signified the clan's ascendance and inde­ pendence from Kyoto. His gestu re of asking the th rone's approval for his actions signified his formal s ubmission to the e m peror, which did not preclude the mani pulation or defiance of the throne on s ubstantive points. Submission served to secure the legiti macy of the shogunal order at Kamakura , while the emperor lac ked the military force to withhold the imperial sanctio n . In turn, the military gentry in the provinces were loyal vassals of the shogu n at Kama k u ra and had to obtai n his permis­ sion in all matters affectin g their social and economic position . I n the model of "traditional society" used here, I have assu med that wealth, status, and authority are fused in the hands of powerful heads of households. Kingship is the most conspicuous exam ple of such fusion . B u t there are societies without kingship a n d societies i n which the king's supreme privileges are made nominal by the burdens and restrictions placed on him. When kings reign but do not rule, anarchic tendencies will militate against strong govern ment, for it is difficult for I�ndowning aristocracies to create a stable political order in the absence of an e ffec­ tive and consecrated leader. Poland and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation are examples , but Japan is an exception . Here we have the case of a feudal aristocracy which developed an e ffective govern­ ment th rough prolonged military campaigns, resulting in the establ ish­ ment of the Kamakura shogunate. As the authority o f the im perial house and the power of the Fuj iwara regents declined , a warrio r class ste pped into the breach and was led to fi nal success by the Minamoto clan under the leaders hip of Minamoto Yoritomo ( 1 1 47 - 1 1 99 ) . Specific measures were taken to guard against the divisive tenden­ cies o f a feudal regi me . The c h i e ftain of the M i n a moto dan was to be t h e ruler o f the eastern prov­

inces, the leader of all warriors w h erever s i tuated , and a t the same time the

guard i a n of t he Throne a n d t he protecto r of the s tate. For these reasons Yoritomo was ca re fu l to l i m i t h is relations with the a ristocratic Co urt to for­ m al interc h a n ges. He was fi r m

in

his determi nation to make K a m a k u ra t he

pe r m a n e n t seat of feudal gove r n m e n t . His vassals were strictly forbidden to e n te r Court society or take a n y office fro m the C rown w i thout h i s a pprova l ; a n d he h i ms e l f would acce pt no a ppoint ment o r title other than t h a t o f Com­ mander-in-Chief

(Sei-i-Tai-Shogun) ,

apart from honorary military ra n ks . 1 S

Other measures were taken to provide for a strict enforcement of au­ thority. U nder the Kamakura shogunate three s pecial offices were cre­ ated : one supervised all the affairs of the military (samurai-dokoro) ; a sec­ ond handled disputes between vassals (monchujo) ; and a third was an enlarged replica of a great noble's household o ffice (mandokoro) handling

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the p rivate and public business of the Mi namoto. These o ffices were put into the hands of civilian o fficials and run in accordance with strict of­ ficial procedu res ; thus, even i n this early phase, Japanese feudalism took over a measure of the b u reaucratization which had been i ntrod uced by the Taika re forms of the seve nth centu ry. More effectively than in feu­ dal Eu rope, the Kama k u ra s hogunate exercised very close control over the personal life of the vassal , his privileges and obligations, his property a nd ran k , and h is family affairs , including marriages and friendships. This administrative consolidation shows the s uccess with which Yor­ itom o " always contended that loyalty to himself was loyalty to the Th rone , and he would not tolerate any direct relation o f service to the Th rone by his vassals."26 To a degree not fo und elsewhere, this policy reflected a social and political order in which, unde r tit u lar i mperial authority, the inequali ties among peo ple were organized and ad min istered by a governor who supposed that persons of all social ran ks were the depen­ dents o f his own s u pre me ho usehold . To be sure , personal ties to the shogun became more nominal as his authority extended over the w hole country. Nevertheless , the shogun's authority retained its patriarchal character , and the offices o f his household at Kamakura provided the administrative means to enforce the shog u nal will . At the top of the shogunal dependents, the honorific rank of house­ men (kenin) was g rant e d to leading vassals of the Minamoto . Much at­ tention was given to their property interests. Many a pplicants were re­ fused, and the rank co uld be revoked easily for behavior subversive of feudal d iscipli ne. Figh t i n g men (samurai) ra n ked below the kenin in whose service they stood . Here again rank was bestowed carefully; mere fighting ability did not s u ffice , and the right to grant this rank belon ged to the sh o gu n rather than the i mme di ate lord. Below the sam urai , the followers or attendants were ranked by various grades , and below them were several ran ks of c ultivators, s kil led and unskilled w o r kers, a r tists, and Buddhist cle rgy. Re lative ly little is known of these people except that they were distinguished as freemen (ryomin o r good people) from the "base people " (semmin) consis t i ng of servants , slaves , and workers in despised occupations.27 Thus, by the thirteenth century the Kamak u ra shogunate had es­ tablished a feudal regime noteworthy for the stren gth of its central gov­ ernment and the tight organization of fe u dal dependencies, an unusual case since feudal regim e s are generally more decentralized . ' The sho­ gunate governed under im perial sanction . Seldom were wealth , status, and effective authority fused as com pletely as they were in this period of Japanese history. Yet this concentration o f military and sy mbolic power proved frag­ ile.28 Where all legitimacy was concentrated in the e mpe r o r and all m il -

80

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

itary and a d m i nis t rative power i n the sho gun , every s ucce ss io n d isp u t e placed the whole structure in jeo pard y . d Between 1 2 72 and 1 3 1 8 , two court factions continued a disp ute over succession to t he im perial throne w h ich the shogun was unable to settle . The accession of E mp ero r Go­ Daigo ( 1 3 1 8) brought no relief, since he attem pted to res to re i m perial a uth or i t y , cul min at in g in the Kemmu restoration of 1 3 3 4 - 1 3 3 6 . In 1 3 37 a re newed succession dispute turned i n to civi l war which conti nued u ntil 1 392, whe n a settle ment was finally achieved. Meanwhile, some fi fty years of o rganizing the co untry ag a in s t the Mongol invasion th rea t had d e pl e t e d the resou rces of the Kamakura shoguns , who were replaced by the Ashi kaga in 1 338. But order was not restored . A fter ending the civil wars over the s uccession in 1 392, the Ashikaga were con fronted with insubordi nate warlords from on e end of the country to the o the r . I n a ll, J a p a n witnessed rec urrent civil war from the 1 3 3 0 s until national unification was achieved late in the sixteenth century, a period o f over two centu ries .29 Little is known of the size of Ja panese figh t in g forces before the sixteenth century. I n over fi fty years of civil war between contending clai mants to the imperial th ro n e ( 1 3 37- 1 392), large bodies o f men moved to and fro across the co untry. Circu mstantial evidence suggests that in Japan , medieval warfare, though greatly disrupting the politic a l structure , was not overly destructive . The warriors were supplied with food and arms, and there is evide nce of a relatively flo urishing economy . M a rke t p lac es developed , ma rk e t days were h eld more freq uently, peas­ ants who sold their surplus prod u ce for cash i m proved their p o s i ti on , and the diversity and q uality o f c rops increased . Towns grew and traffic along the highways became more frequent . This growth o f the economy was linked with the changi ng character o f the provincial aristoc racy . Speci fically, the inheritance of land was changed and local government was restr uctured . The strength of the Kamak ura s hogunate had been based in part on the practice of primogeniture . When the oldest son alone had title to the land, families could preserve their inheritance . As a result, rela­ tions beca me stabilized between these families and the headq uarters of the shogun (bakufti) . But from the late thirteenth and during the four­ teenth centuries, the practice of sole inheritance was abandoned grad ­ ually, and estates were divided eq ually among the sons of the family. As the size of single hol d ings declined, the number o f yeoman peasants (ji-samurai) increased as well as effo rts to increase the prod uctivity of dA s t r i k i n g exam ple is t h e pe r io d follo w i n g M i na m oto Yo ritomo's death, w he n a ti t­

u lar s hogun and regents acti ng f o r h i m a ppeared in Kama k u ra ju s t as earlier a titular

e m pero r , a regen t , and a "cloistered e m pe ro r" had appeared sim u l taneously i n Kyoto.

JAPAN agriculture. These yeo men were o f war rior descent . They did not owe alle g iance to a great lord and hence were conscious of their indepen­ den ce in contrast to an earlier ti me when many peasan ts had "com­ me nded " their services to obtain protection . I tinerant military forces depended on local su pplies to keep mov­ i n g In speci fic situations , warriors might force the peasants to do their biddi ng. But the a gra ria n u prisings of the period testify to the self-con­ fidence o f the yeomen , who were determined to defend their interests by force of arms if necessary. For a time , yeomen c om b i ne d in mutual defense l e agu e s ( ikki) and attacked landlords, moneylenders, and even local governors to obtai n relief from specific debts and taxes . Neve rthe­ less , these burdens freq uen tly became too h eavy to bear, and sel f-de­ fense proved insu fficie n t . Peasants would then escape by taking up mil­ itary service. This in tu rn would add to the destructiveness of the civil wars by increasi ng the n umber of foot soldiers and red ucing the agri­ cultural labor force. In the late fi fteenth and early sixteenth centuries, neighboring territorial rulers (daimyo) agreed to surre nder fugitive peas­ ants in an effort to arrest this militarization of the peasantry. On the other hand, warriors tu rned increasingly to the conscription of peasants as the struggle for political consolidation of the country intensified . Dur­ ing the Ashikaga shogunate ( 1 338- 1 573), peasants appear to have re­ gained-at least temporarily-some of their earlier inde pendence . To understand these changing fortunes of the peas ants, we must turn to the restructuring of local government and the trans formatio n of the aristocracy. At the summit, the i mperial throne and its court nobility in Kyoto had existed side by side with the shogunal es tablis hment a nd its service­ aristocracy at Kamakura . The shogunal system was capable of assu � ing the whole bu rden of local government. Specifically, the Kamakura sho­ gunate stabilized its rule by appoi nting Minamoto h o usemen to posi­ tions as m ilitary go ve r nors (shugo) and land stewards (jito) throughout the country. For a time , this network of military de puties existed along­ side the local authority which was appointed by the im perial court. But gradually the military governors and land stewards o f the Kamakura shogun made inroads o n imperial civil authority and the proprietary rights nominally protected by t hat authority. By the beginning of the fourteenth century, this develo pment had become irreversible. An at­ tem pt to restore the old i mperial authority precipitated fifty years of civil war, in the course of whic h both the imperial civil authority and the power of the Kamakura shogunate decli ned . Eve ntually a new balance of power developed in which the weight of influence shifted once more, this time away from the center of shogunal power toward the provinces. The local deputies o f the Kamakura and, after 1 338, of the Ashi.

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

kaga shogunates usur ped the authority previousl y exercised by t he sho­ guns on behal f of the em peror, by combi ning civil with military func­ tions in the provinces. These local "de p uties" weakened the shogunate , because they retained local reven ues and obliged the Ashigaka to de­ pend entirely on the i ncome and military forces drawn from the sho­ gun's own territories . The shogunate, therefore , was con fronted with a varied assortment o f provincial military governors (shugo-daimyo ) , each with his own base of income and military fo rce and only nominally un­ der the a uthority of the shogunate . Still , the sho gun ate was the only countrywide authority remaining, though it was now often forced to establish precarious alliances with powerfu l provincial families. The move of the Ashikaga shoguns from Kamakura to Kyoto was symbol ic of the new dispensation. In Kyoto, shogunal rule was u nquestioned how­ ever weak it had become in the provinces, because the shogun had re­ ceived the emperor' s mandate . But with much of the taxing power in the hands o f the provincial governors, financial resources were now dwindling rapidly for the shogun and the imperial court. The provi ncial rulers exercised military and civil authority in their area on the basis of their own extensive la ndholdings. When the need arose, they would make military alliances with their own branch families and various military vassals. B ut their wealth , status, and authority were not consolidated . Though their territories were extensive , they were also scattered . Their rights over the land varied from one location to an­ other, often falling short o f full ownership. Natu rally, these provincial rulers (sh ugo-daimyo) sough t to enlarge their wealth and power by us­ ing military pressu re, marriage alliances, and grants of land in return for loyal service. They were often successful at the ex pense o f absentee proprietors , such as members of the cou rt nobility and even of the im­ perial family. But these efforts at ex pansion and consolidation of pro­ vincial power frequently collided with the com peting interests of other provincial rulers. Since now the shogunate and the i m perial court re­ sided in Kyoto, one after another of the provincial governors sought to strengthen his position by establishing his own residence there as wel l . Provincial vendettas and armed clashes, therefore , were supplemented by a competition for favors at the shogunal headq uarters. The imperial house, the court nobility, and the Kamakura shoguns had earlier sent their sons, deputies, or ho usemen to do minate local af­ fairs in the interest of their respective centers. Now a provincial gentry sought to strengthen i ts position at the local level by manifesting its newly won local preeminence through its presence in the capital.30 These developments took place in an era of unceasing civil stri fe in which the shugo-daimyo were a rising power, though not in secure com­ mand. Once they had acquired legitimate title from the shogun, they _

JAPAN still had to e n force that sa nc t ion e d authority locally in recu rrent strug­ gles with competing claimants. I n an era of conflicting rights and di­ vi ded loyalties , with their scattered holdi n gs in the hands of rear-vass als o r other agents and with th e scene o f the struggle o ften shifting to K yoto, the shugo-dai myo fo u n d themselves i n c reas i n gly at t h e mercy of th eir own subordinates . Schola rs o f Jap a n ese histo r y disting u ish betwee n the shugo-daimyo w ho rose to p romi n e n c e r oughly i n the c e ntury fo llo w ing the K e m m u resto r at i o n ( 1 3 3 4 - 1 3 3 6 ) and the sengoku-daimyo , their former subordi­ nates, who rose to p ro m i n e n c e du r i n g the pe r iod fro m the On i n war ( 1 467- 1 47 7 ) to Nobunaga's e ntry into Kyoto in 1 56 8 . Typically, the new claimants to power (se n goku-daimyo) a dva n c e d the ir positi o n by ruth­ less exploitation of the peasants and by treacherous interven tion in the successio n d isputes among their own maste rs . The two strategies were closely related. By exacti n g more from the peasants, these deputies and vassals i nc rease d thei r own fortunes, o ften to the point where peasants j oined military bands to e scape oppressio n . On the basis of increased wealt h , the former subord i nates could i ntervene more e ffectively in the disputes among their masters , the shugo-dai myo. "Every g reat feudal house w as plagued by s uccession quarrels, often i ns tigate d and plan ned by subordinates who sought to improve their own con d i tion . " 3 1 Medieval Japan th us witnessed periodic tu rnovers in the com p osi­ tion and administrative fu n ct io n s o f its ar is tocracy. In a crude approx­ imation one can spea k of s uccessive p h ases o f t h is go vern i n g class and stat us group: ( 1) a con glomerate of cla n s ; (2) the Yama to state with i ts first unification of Japan's central provi nces ; (3) th e early d ivision among imperial fam i ly , court nob i l i t y , the Soga o r Fuj iwara regents, and the attempted bureaucratization of im perial rule u nde r the Taika reforms ; (4) the Kamakura shogunate with its centrally controlled restoration of local clan authority; and (5) the two phases o f Ashikaga rule under the s h u go -d a i m yo and the sengoku-dai myo. Such a reg ro u pi n g is a cont i n ­ uous process which the social h is torian di vides into phases and cate­ gories for the sake of convenience and comprehension . Nonetheless , some changes of the historical context ca n be at least approximatel y dated . Refere nce has been m ade to the evidence of economic advance dur­ ing the fourteenth and. fi fteenth cent uries, a development which Sa n so m attributes to the d ecl in e o f i nheritance by the oldest son ( p r imoge ni ture ) , the rise o f yeomen peasants o f warrior descent, and the relatively low level of destruction in J apanese medieval warfare. How else, he asks, could the country ha v e sustained the incessant strife of rival claimants to the throne and the continual ve ndettas for local supremacy among families of the provincial aristocracy? Nevertheless, a time came w hen

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

the bu rdens of warfare began to exceed what the peasants were willing to acce pt as an i nevitable fate . Sansom cites a major peasant u prising of 1 42 8 i n Omi, and Hall re fe rs to another d u ring the following yea r in Harima.32 The n umber of such u prisings mounted d u ring this period , and it is certain that many local incidents were u n recorded. Thus, some time be fo re the pe riod of 1 46 7 to 1 5 6 8 , whic h Ja panese historians des­ ignate as "the cou ntry at war" ( sengoku) , th e earlier com patibility of civil strife w i th econo mic growth was dim i n ishing. I n the later fi fteenth cen­ tury, civil war i nterfered with the economy, tho ugh the incidence o f war rem ained local and sporadic so that in many places trade, the arts , and agriculture con tin ued to flo urish . B y this time , meas ures had been taken to counteract the destructi ve effects o f the fighting. The sen goku-daimyo fo und ti me to devote to the management of their estates, despite their rec u rrent preoccu pation with vendettas and wars. Consolidated la nd holdings replaced the old admin­ istrative subdi visions. The simpli fication o f land rights during the fif­ teenth century was the conscious policy of these new landlords, and while it was often accomplished by force , the policy eliminated the "long chain of privileges and claims" which had left little "for the man who tilled the soil . "33 In an effort to protect the countryside , the nu mber of forts a n d castles increased rapidl y . Where t h e s h ugo da im y o had begun with a formal title to certain lands and righ ts w h ich they then endea­ vored to free from shogunal control , the sengoku-dai myo appare ntly began with the forced occupation of the land and then endeavored to obtain an ex post facto legitimation of their holdings by shogunal edict .34 I n the late fifteenth centu ry, the sengoku-daimyo began to expand their local control from fortified headq uarters, resulting in struggles for regional hegemony in many parts of Japan . Grad ually, leagues of daimyo formed locally. New fa milies rose to power whose leaders turned their vassals into a military command system , held together by oaths of alle­ giance . The most successful sengoku-dai myo ind uced their warriors to leave the land and take up residence in o r around their own main estate and st ronghold . Here they were read y for instant service and all the more easily controlled . As this warrior aristocracy of sa murai was ur­ banized , peasant com munities became free to develo p organizations of their own and to increase their productivity. Taxes were put on a regular basis ; thus , villages had an ind ucement to develop irrigation systems and programs o f land reclamation , sometimes with and sometimes without the assistance o f the local daimyo.35 The whole develo pment may be sum marized . In their castle-towns, the sengoku-daimyo developed a superior organization based on the strategic military placement of their strongholds . Simultaneously, the samurai were transformed fro m landed and dispersed warriors i nto an -

JAPAN

85

u rbanized force of retainers, de pe nd e nt on a rentier e xistence based on rice s t ipe n ds , and thus i n st an t ly a vail a ble for milita r y action . Fi nally, the se n goku-da imyo stren gth e n e d their own direct authority over the pea s a nts by means of l and surveys which restabilized the righ ts to th e lan d . This local consolidation of power led to a prolonged pe riod of fu r­ ther fighting, but by the middl e of the sixte e nth century the methods of consolidation were a p p l i e d on a la rge r a n d e ve nt u al l y on a national scale . Und e r th e le ad er ship of Oda Nobu naga ( 1 559- 1 582) , Toyo to mi H i de yo s hi ( 1 5 82- 1 5 98), and To k u gaw a I e y as u ( 1 603- 1 6 1 6) , the coun­ try be cam e poli ti c al l y u nified .e The ch ronology of unification and of ch a nges in mi l ita ry tec h nology should be kept in mind. Firearms were introduced in Ja pa n in 1 54 3 . By 1 55 6 some 300,000 g u n s were a vai la bl e . Nob u n aga became master o f Owari p ro v in ce in 1 559. B y 1 560 eight great fam ilies controlled one-third of the co untry. By 1 5 72 thirteen war­ rior families controlled two-thi rds of the co untry. By 1 5 82 o n e -thir d of the soldiers of th e l ea d ing military contenders were gunners, and th e destructiveness of long-range weapons had led to the in assive construc­ tion of stone castles in locations that too k a dva n ta g e of the terrain . No­ bu n a ga was assassinated in 1 5 82, and H ideyoshi assumed power, begin­ ning his re ig n with land surveys (which lasted for sixteen years) and with the great castle construction in Osaka.36 For the second time since the Taika reforms a thousand years ear­ lier, all the land of Japan was pl aced under the direct a u thority of the government. O vercom in g considerable resistance and evasion, Hid e ­ yosh i increased the taxed land area (ro ug h ly from 2 . 5 to 3 . 75 million acres) , but also benefited the peasants by eliminating m u ltiple ri g hts to the s a m e land and u n p redictable exactions . Moreove r , agric ultural p ro­ ductivity w as gre atl y increased by the grad ual pacification of the coun­ try, as Hideyoshi systematically demolished the forti fications of his ene­ mies and reward e d his fol lowers. By shifting local ruling clans away from t h ei r ori gi n a l areas of dominance , he prevented the rise of new centers of op positi on to his government . f To this must be added the famous sword hunt of 1 588 which disarmed the soldier-monks and the "In Japanese, the family name c;:omes first and the given name second. Usually it is sufficient to give only the fa mily name to identify the person concerned , but in the case of large ruling houses it is often more practical to provide only the given name, or both names, for purposes o f identification . Thus, Oda Nobunaga , Toyotomi H ideyoshi, and To­ kugawa Ieyasu are customarily referred to as Nobunaga, H ideyoshi, and leyasll. ' The assignment of the Ka nto region to Tok ugawa Ieyasu, away from his home base in Mi kawa and Totomi, was one such move. I ts e ffect was contrary to H ideyoshi's inten­ tion, since it enabled leyasu to perfect the organization of his domains and the cohesion of his followe rs in an entirely new area. This was t he basis for his later ascendance to su preme power.

86

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

the latter firmly to the land, and henceforth distin­ gui s he d c l e a r l y betwee n the civilian po pu lation o f peasants, merchants, and craftsmen a n d th e military aristocrac y which alone had the p rivilege to bear arms.3 7 A l l t hese res u l ts were a chi e v e d w i t h m uch bloods h e d , t re a c h e r y a n d m u rd e r , th o u g h l i k e ma n y vic to r i o u s w a r rio rs be fo re th e m th e s e p o w e r fu l leaders were ca r e fu l to preserve th e sembla nce of legiti mate succession u nder the i m pe ri a l t h ron e Th r ough grand d i s pla ys and the patronage of the a r ts , t he y re prod uce d a s th e i r own the re fi n e m e n t o f taste a n d m a n n e r s which h a d be e n cultiva ted for so lo n g b y t he i m pe r i a l house and the court n o b ili t y N o b u n a ga and Hideyosh i w e re fol l owed by I e y a s u as the t h i rd great u n i fi e r o f J a pa n , w h o not on l y compl e t ed their work but also established a system of governance which e n d u re d u ntil the Meiji Restoration of 1 86 8 . I n Cha p te r 12, I return to this era of internal peace u nder the To k ugawa shogunate . For the moment, I shall summarize the preceding s u rvey of the J apanese aristocracy i n preparation for the disc ussion o f aristocratic culture-patter:ns i n Russia, Germany, and E n gland . Japanese history appears to have followed periodic phases o f cen­ tralization and devolution of power. The early Ya mato, Nara, and Heian periods had their phases of centralized rule under successive e m perors who were soon overshadowed by the household power of the Soga and then the Fujiwara regential fa milies . With the rise of the Kamakura sho­ gunate in the late twelfth century, an end uring division emerged be­ tween shogunal rule a n d the re l i g io us and cere monial c u l t u re of the imperial house. Effective govern ment was centralized as it had not been even under the Taika reforms , since the vassals of the Kamakura s ho­ guns were not granted seigno rial rights to the land. Nevertheless, the power o f these provincial vassals increased at the expense o f the Ka­ makura shogunate. U nder the Ashikaga, local authority was preempted first by the shugo-daimyo and s ubseq uently by their own subvassals, the sengoku-daimyo. One puzzle is that as shogunal authority and hence personal fealty weakened, the quest for shogunal s upport continued . Contests for local or regional hegemony turned ti me and again into a com petition for favors and sanctions at the Ashikaga headquarters in Kyoto-despite their red uced power. Perhaps the explanation is that throughout the history of the shogunate these military governors had been punctilious in observing the formal legitimation of their position through the emperor, and so the new provincial leaders may likewise have continued to observe the old forms of legitimation . A second puzzle is that the society did not disintegrate. The long­ standing separation between the legiti mate authority o f the emperor and the effective authority of the shogun, the proliferation o f authoripeasa n t s , bo u n d

,

.

.

JAPAN

tative figures like "cloistered emperors" and regents at the cen ter, and finally the recurring contests for military power in the provinces cer­ tai nly increased the n umber of feuds. It co uld be that the very mu lti­ plicity of such feuds at so many levels helped to blunt the i m pact of any one of them . At an y rate , tolerance for violence h ad a high threshold in a society in which not only aristocrats , but monks, peasants, and mer­ chants fought to enhance their collective interests. Many ranks of the social h ierarch y engaged in massive fencing matches and prevented any group from gaining the u pper hand for long, exce pt locall y . Above all , there was no outside press u re which migh t have forced the issue or pre­ sented opportu nities for forcing the iss ue . Japan's freedo m from foreign intervention enabled the society to endure prolo nged periods o f ci vil strife just as the Tokugawa policy of exclusion (to be discussed in Chap­ ter 12) made the political uni fication by force of arms i n to an enduring social order. The cultivation of arts and manners by the court nobility was a sym­ bol of the h ighest status from the earliest period . Recou rse to arms was confined to the aristocracy in the provinces and at shogunal headquar­ ters. H igh culture and militancy were two sides of the aristocratic way of life , much as empe ror and shogun were two aspects of authority. The link between these two sides was maintained throughout: the shugo­ daimyo established lavish residences in Kyoto, and the neglect o f their home base facilitated the rise of the sengoku-daimyo who also cultivated the arts. In addition to i mperial authority, shogunal sanction, and court rank, h igh culture legitimized aristocratic privilege thro ugh the identi­ fication of c ulture with the imperial court. Warfare repeatedly engulfed this cultural center of Japanese society, but each time rebuildin g was resumed promptly on a more lavish scale. In the provinces, the local asce ndancy of l e ading families was marked regularly by patronage o f arts, learning, and religious establishments , des pite t h e treachery and bloodshed which marked each road to power; indeed, s uch action was probably a means of atoning for these ways of the world . In Japan cul­ tural refinement clearly did nothing to limi t aggression, perhaps because the imperial center of culture was divorced from the s hogunal center of authority.

4 RUS S I A

T H E R I S E O F T H E M U SC O V I T E D Y N ASTY

T

H E F I RS T Russian histo rical source , the Primary Chronicle, was compiled in 1 1 1 0 or 1 1 1 2 . The first date mentioned in the Chronicle is 8 5 2 , and the few pages precedi ng this date refer to the Biblical division of the earth , the Tower of Babel , an d the reputed settlement o f tribes related to the early Slavs. Historical events before the ninth century must be reconstructed from scattered foreign sources and from archeological evidence. By contrast, the fi rst chronicles of Japan were compiled in 7 1 2 and 720. I n addition to a leg­ endary history going bac k to 660 B . C . , t hese J a pan ese accounts refer to historical events dating from about 600 A . D . Geographically, the area of what i s n o w modern Euro pean Russia was divided between a densely forested and rather primitive region in the north and an economically more developed region i n the south w here agriculture and various han dicrafts were practiced and remained virtually unchanged until the later medieval period . There is archeo­ logical evidence that towns of the ninth century like Tver', Novgorod, or Kiev go back to earlier and smaller settlements . The most important o f these settlements were located on the main rivers and were also m ar­ kets for overland trade. The bulk of the population was rural , divided into settled , agricultural and nomadic , pas toral peoples who lived uneas­ ily side by side. There was no discernible political structure for the whole area; rather, there were instances of tributary dependence of cer­ tain peoples on a more powerful state , s uch as the K hazar Khanate in the area northeast of the Black Sea. The Primary Chronicle refers to s uch tributary dependence in its ac­ count of the e stablishment of the Russian state. Scandinavian traders had been active along the Russian rivers, and by 862 these Varangians were well-established in the trading and military com munities which had s prung up. The Chronicle tells a half-legendary story that Slavic and other tribes aro u nd No vgorod managed to expel the Varagians to whom they h ad bee n pay ing tribute. But when internal discord ensued , the

88

R USSIA

89

tribe s invited new rulers . from Scandinavia. I n 8 62 Ruri k , the fo under o f t he new d ynasty, became prince of Novgorod . A s tate controlled by these Norsemen seems to h ave existed in no rthwestern Russia fo r some time prior to 862 . A missio n rep resenting a people who cal led the mselves Rhos appeared i n Constantinople i n 83 9 , but members of t h e mission described themselves as Swedes . The em­ issaries o ffered the Byzantine emperor a treaty of friendship but asked for protection on t heir way home, w h ic h suggests that they re presented a state to the north but had not yet subd ued the south . By 860 a Russian army under Scandinavian leadership appeared at the gates o f Constan­ tinople. In the interva l be tween t he two dates , the Norsemen see m to have overcome the resistance of Slavic tribes and other peo ples dwelling alo ng the Dnieper. The account of the Chronicle and even the existence of Rurik have been questioned. but part of the acco unt has a factual basis. In the early Russian prin c ipa l ities . commercial and mi l i t a ry cities

. .

. controlled t he adj o i n i n g territories . . . .

The Norsemen playe d a n i m portant part both i n the promotion o f trade a n d

i n the creation of the city-states . Si nce t h e slave trade a n d the collection o f

tribute were among th e fu nctions of t h e n e w ru lin g gro u p , it was o n l y n a tural that

relat

i ons with the

po p u la t i ons u n der its con trol s h o u ld lead to con flict .

The leadership of the me rch a n t soldiers in the struggle against the ne i gh ­

borin g tribes and the n o m a d s of t h e s te p pes m i g h t . . . h a ve made their harsh

rule more pal atable . Moreover, the Varangians not i n freque ntl y made their fi rst a p pearance as hi red d e fe n ders aga i n s t the outside e n e m y . N e vertheles s ,

the abuse o f powe r

. .

.

co uld not b u t res u lt in occ as ional po p u l a r u p r is i n gs

aga i n s t the oppressors . It is probable that it was one of t h ese occu rrences that led to the e x p ulsion of the Varangians fro m N ovgo rod a n d to the s ubseq uent

arrival of

a

new gro u p o f Norsemen .

. . .1

I n this interpretation , the main function of the Scandinavian overlords was the promotion of trade and the defe nse of territories from their base in the main towns . Both functions p roba b l y account for the rising importance of K iev . from w here trade to the south could be defe nded again s t v arious As iatic t ribe s . The protection of trade and the exaction of tribute from the subject po pu l at i on were probably indistinguishable from un provoked raids and the distribution of booty as a means of organizi n g ca m paigns . There is little doubt that the early Kievan prince s engage d in concerted military expeditions to extend t h eir domain, which reached for a time from the Khazars in the east to t he B ulgars in the we s t and the Patzi nacs in the south . M u rd e ro u s str u g gles over the s uccession together with almost constant cam paigning made pri ncely authority precarious. The testa­ me nt of Vladimir II ( Monomak h . 1 1 1 3- 1 1 25) re fers to a grand total of

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

go

e ighty-three m ajor ca m pa igns in wh ich he partic i pated during h i s life. And accord ing to one calculation, wars occurred during eighty o ut of one h und red and seventy years following the deat h of Yaroslav the Wise in 1 054.2 The Kievan princ i pa l i ty lasted roughly from the late ninth to the m iddle of the t h i rtee n th centu ry. It was

a

p recario us pol i t i cal st ructure

not only for the reasons cited, but also bec ause t radition called for the division of the realm a mong m e m bers of the R u rik dynasty unde r the nom inal leade rsh i p of the Grand Prince of Kiev. K i e van Russia as a who le incl uded such towns and te rritories as Polotsk , Pskov, Novgorod, Suzdal , Sm olens k, and Vladimir. The rather la rge number of to wns re­ flects the significance of long-distance trade . The route went from the north along the rivers to Kie v , and be yond to the Byzant ine e m p i re a t Constantinople and other areas o f the Midd le East. The t reaties between Kiev and B yzantium attest to the i m portance of t h i s trading relationshi p. There is also inde pendent evidence of pasturage and agriculture as we l l as o f t rade i n agric ultural prod ucts. By the eleventh century, t he pros per i ty of Kievan R u s sia began to decline, in part beca use the international trade routes from Euro pe to Byzanti u m shifted away from the Rus s i an rivers toward the Ita lian cities and t h e Mediterranean. To t h is m ust be added the wholesale dest r uction of Kievan Russia at the hands of the Mongol s d u r ing the thirteent h cen­ t u ry and the prolonged subjection of t he area to Mongo l overlo r dshi p thereafter. The Russian territories became a physical ly re mote and eco­ nomically backward area, as some of the towns lost their earlier eco­ nom ic prom inence. Only No vgorod remained an i m po rtant princ i pal ity under an u rban patriciate. These m ajor transfo rmations bear on the eventu a l emergence of the Musco v ite dynasty. But befo re exp l aining that e mergence, something m ore needs to be said concerning princely aut hority and social rank in Kievan Russia as a forerunne r of later in­ stitutional developments. One speak s of K ievan Rus s i a and Kievan society, but not of a Kievan state . The co untry consisted of some ten principalities (including the patrician city-state of Novgorod) na med after t heir m ajor towns which became princely residences . In each of the se territories of Kievan Rus sia, a prince exercised personal rule, he was t he c hief judge and mi lita ry leader, and he col lected tribute to maintain order and defend his realm . The princely domains were managed by h i s servants , while retainers of high status adm inistered the princi pal i ty. The army o rganization of K i­ evan Russia shows

a

soc ial div ision among t hese retainers . One g ro u p

consisted of ind ividual wa rriors w h o were princely ser vitors, another of landed notables of considerable influence who brought their own a rmed fol lowing with t hem w hen they joined the prince in his m il itary ca m­ paign s . Bot h g roups consisted of men enjoying h igh statu s , but there was already some difference between t he service obligations of the first

_ Boundary of Kievan Russia Towns

1237 A.D.

controlling

principol

areas

•

Novgorod

•

Tver

....v ... 0 L G A ,/'....-#--' .. BULGARS

4. Russia in the Kievan Period

and the greater inde pende nce of the second gro up, a difference which became much more marked later o n. The second ran k of Kievan societ y

(liudi) was fo r m ed by the pro minent merch ants and artis ans of the towns. These peo ple we re i m po rt an t for the t rade w i t h Byza n t i u m and the Middle East, and thei r numbe r was conside rable. The bulk of the population consisted of pe as a n ts (smerd)'). Most of the m were origina lly free men, b u t many beca me clients bec a u se the y needed prote c tion or ,

slaves due to inde btedness. Political inst itutions corres ponded to this rank-hierarchy of K ievan socie ty. The reta i ners of the prince sened h i m in a n official ca pac i t y; t h e i r functions included d i s p u te set tle m e n t, ad m inistrat ion , and m il i tary cam paign s. But prince ly go vern ment a lso had to come to terms with local poli t ical institutio n s, s uch as co unc ils of notables w h ich rese mb l ed the co unc ils of elders or he ad s of households we have enco untered in the case of Ge rmanic tribes a n d of Arab nomads. In practice, such coun­

c i ls (veche) assembled mostl y in t h e towns, their importance increasing pri m a r i l y w hen prince ly r u l e wea kened. The later counc i l s of landed notables

(boyar duma)

probably also develo ped o ut of t he tribal councils .

The p rinc e co uld cal l o n the veche o r boyar dum a for aid a n d a dvice when he considered such action ex pedient Like other autocratic r ulers , .

Russian Town Assemblies Town assemblies or veche played an im por­ tam role in Kievan R ussia and a fter 1 2 40 in the city-republic of Novgorod. This four­ teenth-century

woodcut

shows

the

sub­

stantial citizens being s u m m oned by be l l to a meeting of the veche. The im portance of these town assemblies declined with the rise

o f M uscovite

Public Library)

a u tocracy.

(New York

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93

a Kievan prince had ways o f assuring that the good will of the assembled notables was forthco mi ng, but he still de pended on them for assistance in raids, military c a m pai gns, and special contribu tions. This de pendence is reflected in the Primary Chronicle, w hich praises good and d en oun c es bad princes : The good prince reveres law and justice and establishes his administra­ tion along these lines. The bad prince ... neglects the administration and lets his agents plunder the people. To prevent misrule the prince must rely on the advice of experienced "councillors"-that is, on the council, or Duma, of the boyars .... This amounts to a m il d approval of the aristocratic element in government. 3

C usto mary pract ices rather than formal righ ts we re the basis of coop­ eration among prince, boyars , and merchants. It may be added that the town meetings (veche) o f freemen came to play an i m portant role in the later h istory of Novgorod. The conversion of Kievan society to Greek Orthodox Christianity was a gradual process that is i m poss i ble to se parate from the foreign relations and the political ideas of the period . Georgia and Armenia had been among the first Christian states, and Christian m issions were active in th e Crimea and the Khazar Khanate from an early time. We also have a record of a Greek O rthodox m ission to Kievan Russia in the ninth century. The area was subject to many religious i nfluences, and pagan­ ism was clearly on the wane. I n t h e nine - eigh ties Russia was surrounded b y nations o f Christian, J e wis h ,

865; 922. Simultaneously, Christianity made rapi d progress among Russia's wes ter n neighbors. I n the pe riod between 942 and 968 several tribes of the Baltic Slavs we re convened; i n 966 Prince: Mieszko of Poland was baptized and in 974 King Harold Blotand of Denmark. Olaf Trygvasson, ki n g of NOt'way since 955, had become a Ch ristian in 976. In 986 D u k e Geza of Hu n g ar y a c cept e d the

and Moslem faith. The K h azars h ad been conve r te d to Judaism around

the Volga Bulgars accepted Islam in

faith .4

I n the mid d le of the te nth century, the Kievan princess Olga (945-964) converted to the Greek Orthodox faith, though only after she had ceased to be regent. Be fore her con version, however, she had sen t re­ quests for missionaries not only to Constantinople but also to the Ger­ man emperor, OUo I (93 6-97 3 ) . Apparently she sought terms from Constantinople or Rome that would favor an autonomous Russian church. Later exploratory m issions examined both Islam and the Ju­ daism of the Khazars. The fi nal conversion of K i e v an Russia to the Greek Orthodox faith occurred under the rule of Vladimir (978- 1 0 1 5). At the time, the By-

zant i n e e m peror Basile ios (976-1025) appe a led for Ki e v a n aid in his sim ultaneous s tru g gle aga ins t the Bulgars in the west and the cla i m s of B o r das Phokas, a rival emperor wi th i n By z a n ti u m V lad i m ir agreed to hel p o n condit ion that Anna, the s i s te r of the By z a ntine e m pe ror, would becom e his wife This c on d it i o n was grant e d , provi ded t hat Vladi m i r would convert t o the Greek Orthodox faith. Vladim i r was ba p t i ze d in 988. Fo r K i e van Russia, the marriage a l l i a n c e w ith Byzanti u m m eant an i m portan t gain in i ts fore ign relations a n d henceforth Greek O rt hodox influence was establ ished in R ussia. The tow n s of Ki e v a n Russi a we re the firs t to conve rt to the Or­ t h odox fa i th, wh ile for some centuries the peo p l e in the countrysi de rema ine d pagan. Nevertheless, the spre ad of the faith and a certain am a l ga m a tio n o f Christian and pagan practices we re favored by t h e c i r­ c u mstances of C h r istian ization. Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (815?885), the first By z an t ine m issionar i es to the Slavs, had translated the Bible and the ch urch service into C h u rc h Slavon ic. Unlike the We stern c h u rc h with i ts insistence on Lat i n , the O rthodox church prese n ted the Slavs with a gospel and litu rgy w hich m any peo ple could understan d . More i m portantly, t he conversion o f the Slavs began at a t i m e w h e n the pe riod o f the great controvers ies had ended.a Thus, the m ain C h ristian doctrines came to Russia in their d e fi nitive for m . As a result, the Or­ thodox c h urch and its me mbers took on the obligation of preserving unchan ge d the original Doctrine o f the Lord as a spiritual treasure which must not be blem ished or d i m i n ished in any way; Ort hodoxy did not e nco urage preaching, doctrinal disputes, or theological spe c ulatio n Illiteracy as well as ignorance of doctrine were wides pread amo ng the clergy, especially in its lower ran ks; but this did not matter because the proper ritual of worsh i p by itse l f was at the heart o f Russia n religiosity. SiiICe church and people bel ieved that they possessed the only true faith, it was s u fficient to practice that fait h as the ritual of the church pre­ scribed. In this sense, the orthodox faith became identified as the culture �f the whole people. What bearing did Greek Orthodox i nfluence have on princely (and later tsarist) authority? Francis Dvornik has exam ined the documentary evidence regarding the Byzantine conce ption of kingship whic h was part of the Greek Orthodox faith and its doctrinal elaboration s . .

.

.

"The reference i s t o the great ch urch councils o f the early Middle Ages. The council (If Nkaea of 325 was mentioned in Chapter 2, and seven councils followed (Constanti­ llople. 38 1 ; Ephesus, 43 1 ; Chalcedon. 451; Co nsta ntinople, 553, 680-681; Nicaea. 787; Constantinople, 869-870). At these co uncils major doctrinal issues were resolved dealing wit h the nature o f Christ. the divi nity of the Hol y Spirit. and t he proper worship of images. Such heresies as Arianism, N estorianism, and ot hers were condemned . Though other councils fol lowed which dealt with issues of doctrine and ch urch organization , t hese eight

early cou ncils defined the basic tenets o f Christianity.

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95

The main ideas of Byzan tine poli tic al philoso p hy are clearly set out ... by the re presentatives of t he Byzantin e Church : The Em peror is a ppointed by God as m aster of the U n i vers e , he represents Christ on earth, h i s d u ty is not

only to t a k e care of eart h l y th ings, but above a l l, of heave n ly things. Like Christ, he has to go after the strayed

s h e ep - th e

heretics and sin nel·s-and

bring t he m back to t he fold of the C h u r ch .... As

a

representative of God,

he has to take care of t h e Church, convoke the cou n c i ls of bis h ops, confirm their decrees and enforce their application to t h e life of the faithful. 5

T he doc uments con tai n i n g these and rela ted ideas became availa ble in Slavon ic translations, b e g i n n ing in the n inth centu ry. They extolled the divi ne natu re, if not the d i v i n ity, of the all-powerfu l ruler, enjoined utter obed ience on all his s ubjects, and explained tyran n ic al rule as j ust p u n ­ ishment sent by the Lord God who was a n ge red by the people's sins . T h e K ie van clergy (man y of them Greek monks) espo used t h e i d e a that the Byzanti ne empe ro r (not t he pa tr ia r c h of Constantinople) was the representative of God on earth-that is, t he supreme legislator for the Christian commonwealth and the p ro tecto r of the ch urch. Members of the clergy also wrote idolizing biographies of the Kievan pri nce s . The

admonition that "the true ruler is one who governs himself and

is

not

a slave of his passio n s " even had an oddly Con fucian rin g.6

The Kievan princes accepted the ecclesiastical supremacy of the Byzantine emperor and allowed the adoption o f Orthodox canon law , actions which satisfied th e Byzantine rulers . There is also some indication of co m p ro m ise concerning church affairs betwee n Kiev and Byza n t i u m . Occasionally, a native Russian priest rather than a Gre e k prelate wo u ld be appointed to the office of metro politan , as the chief dignitary of the Kievan church was called , though all appointees re qui re d final approval from Constantinople. But this arrangement was not a token of political or even ecclesiastical submission. The Kievan princes were not the vas­ sals of the By za nt i ne e m pe ror, and even though they acknowledged his religious supremacy, Byzantium allowed for considerable ecclesiastical decentralization. The Byzantine and Orthodox outlook of the Kievan cle r gy made them partisans of ecclesiastical and poli tical unity, while the equal divi­ sion o f inheritance adhered to by the Kievan princes m ade for territorial fragmentation. From the beginning, the Russian Orthodox church lacked that institutional independence which m ade the Catholic ch urch such a formidable counterweight to secular rule rs h i p in Western Europe. I n keeping with Byzantine exam ple, though contrary t o Kievan practice, Russia's Orthodox church gave id e ologic al support to autocratic rule over a unified realm, and Orthodox doctrine demanded the subordi­ nation of all clerics to the prince as the secular ruler. B ut Kievan prac­ tices of i nheritance e nco u rage d political fragmentation. T he cl erica l

96

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

spokesmen of the Orthodox ch urch probably played no political role i n Kievan Russia.7 I n the thirteen th cen tury, s porad ic raids from the ste ppes became a concerted d rive. The Russian te rritor ies were conque red by the Mon­ gols, central Asian t ribesmen who had initiate d their transcontinental conquests in 1215 w i th the seizure of Pe k ing. A mere eight years later, the Mon gols defeated a Russian force at the Battle of Kal ka (1223), n ortheas t o f the Crimea. This battle appeared as just anothe r engage­ men t with the nomads of t he ste p pe; the re had been many s uch en­ gage ments in the past. The rise of the Mongo l e m pire was u n known in Russia. Fo u rteen years later (1237/38), however, t he Mon gols conq uered all the Russian princi palities, beginn ing in the northeast and fann ing out toward the west and south . Kiev was sacked in 1 240, and its prom­ inence declined therea fter. The westw ard march of the Mongols came to a halt in H ungary in 124 1 , not because s u perior forces o pposed the m , but because the Great Khan had died a n d the Mon gol com m a n ders broke off their cam paign . He nceforth, all Russia n princes were obliged to pay obeisance and trib u te to the Khan o f the Golden Horde, i n his ca pital of Sarai. M o ngol overlord s h i p over the Russi an princ i palities meant the col­ lectio n of tribute and the use o f these territories as a b u ffer zone against Lithuania and the Teuto n ic Orde r i n the West. This political situation is ill ustrated by refere nce to the princi pali ties of Vladim i r and N ovgo­ rod , loca ted in the center of Euro pean Russia. In 1 240, w he n Kiev fell to the Mongols, Pri nce Alexander o f Vladimir defe ated the Swedes at the Neva in the north and came to be known as A lexander Nevski . Two years later, the leadi n g fam ilies (boyars ) of No vgorod asked Alexander's aid, a n d he s uccessful ly defended the city against the Livon i a n K nights of the Sword, an affiliate o f the Teu to n ic Order. (The embattled con­ d ition of the Russian princ i palities o n the ir western frontiers i s i n d icated by a calculation of two Sov iet s pecialists: betwee n 1142 and 1466 No v­ gorod fo ught the Swedes twe n ty-six times, the Lith uanians fo urteen times, the German knights eleven times, and the Norwegians five times. 8 ) This vic tory over the Cat holic crusaders from the West was achieved at t he price o f submissio n to the Mongol i n fidels in the East. Alexander seems to have j ustified this choice as necessary for the preservation of Russian Orthodoxy, which had less to fea r from the Mon gols than from the Catholicism of the Te utonic Order. Alexa nder's defense of his in­ herited territories against attacks from the West served Mon gol interests as well, and in 1252 the Mongol overlord conferred the title o f Grand Prince of Vladi m i r on Alexander Nevsk i . (That title had bee n used for centu ries to designate s u premacy over other Russian princes) . The po-

RUSSIA

97

l i tica l p rice of th i s ascendance and o f de fendin g t he Orthodox church a ga inst Cat holicism was great. When Alexander was installed as Grand Prince, his brothers rose aga i n st him and were defeated with the hel p of M ongol tro op s Novgorod occ up ied a special positio n Th ro ugho ut t h e M o ngol pe­ riod, th e city contro l led five provinces in northwestern Russia. Its au­ tonomy as a major commercial center was pr ote cted by the Mongols, because the ci ty served them not o nly with its own tribu te but as a col­ lector of taxes from the s ubject p opulat ion Ye t in 1257, fifteen years a fter he had successfully defended the city aga i n s t incursions f rom the West, Alexander Nevski forced the boy ars, at the req uest of the khan, to acce pt the tax survey drawn u p by Mongol officials. This measure o bvio u s l y was de sig ned to curb tax evasion and red uce the po cke tin g of taxes by Nov gorod n otables. The local autonomy of Russia's mo st im­ portant city-state was c u rtailed at a time w hen Western E u rop ean towns were s ucces sfully expanding their local jurisd ictio n . A lexander Nevski's position w a s typic al o f the Russi a n princes u n­ de r Mongol rule. All their territories were caught between the contend­ ing powers of East and West. Economic decline was aggr avated by the payment of tribute to the Mongol overlords w h ic h m ade money scarce and by sporadic raids from the ste ppe which threatened the trade routes. 9 Territorial aggrandizement and struggles over in heritance ex­ isted in Russia as they did everywhere else. But in Russia such conflicts among princely fam ilies were especially hazardous, because foreign powers like the Mongols in the East and Poland and Lithuania in the West used the conquest of Russian territories to resolve their own i n ­ ternal conflicts. The resulting political situation was precarious for the Russian princes. Inte rnal peace in a territory was only as secure as a ruler could make it by utilizing his military forces a nd political opportunities. Initial success would attract people in search of security; they would add to the sparse rural labor force, increase the ruler's resources, and thus indi­ rectly help him provide more security for his people. Marriage alliances among the ru l i n g fam ilies also could exte nd peace over a large r terri­ tory. On the other hand, d isputes over inhe ritance among the heirs o f a ruling house increased the likelihood o f armed conflict. Inheritance might be governed by the rule of "lateral succession," according to which the title of grand prince (instead o f passing to the son) passed from the incumbent to his oldest brother, or if he w as deceased to the second oldest brother, and so o n . A lternatively, the in heritance might be d i­ vided amon g the sons, as in Moscow w here the title of pr ince and au­ thority over the princ i pality went to one son, while the other sons re.

.

.

THE A UTHOR ITY OF KINGS

98

ceived only land to maintain t hem and no authority (appanage). Rival claimants proli ferated under both systems and aggravated divisive ten­ denc ies unchecked by fa m ily so lida rity lo Geo gra phically, the ope n-steppe fro n tie r in the east and so uth also made strong princely rule d i ffi c u l t. Where settlement was s parse, trans­ porta tio n d i fficult, and the border areas subject to ma rauding nomads, the he reditary owners of land had to be sel f-su fficient to s urvive, and o n ly emergencie s ind uced them to band togethe r. Early doc ume ntation is fr agm e nt a ry but by the e leventh century the ruling p rinces and lead­ ing no tables of Kievan Russia posse ssed large lan d hold i n gs. Their rights of h u nting, grazin g, and fi s hin g as well as their rights to the land were h e re d i tary (votchina). (The R u s si an term for pa trimon y, votchina, means the same as allodial holdin gs in Western Europe. M arc B loch defines the latter term as "a holding abso l u tely free, ove r w h ic h no s u pe rior had rights, w h ich owed d ues or se rvices to no o ne, the possession of whic h i n volved no loyalty or obedience to any individ ual.")!1 There were also estates granted on condition o f service (later called pomestie). The d i s t i nction between the two ty pes of holdin gs was to play a large role i n t he develop ment of the Russian aristocracy, but neither o f these titles to land was tied to t he exe rcise o f a ut hori ty on behal f of the ruler. T he hered­ i tar y landowners under a ruling prince co u ld terminate their service without loss of property, in part because their local power was entire ly pe rsonal rather than political. As the n um ber o f appanage princes in­ creased , so d id the num ber o f hereditary notables (boyars) who left the service of one p r ince fOl' t h at of another. In t h e period of a p panage princ ipalities a fter 1240, the d ivision of pro perty among the legitimate heirs of ruling princes prevailed over e fforts at territorial and political .

,

­

consolidation. b The ease with which boyar s could change their a llegiance was re­ flected lower down in the social h i e ra rc h y by the relative freedom of the peasantry. Large n umbers of freeholders lived i n village commun ities of their own , beholden only to the princely ruler. Aristocratic landown -

"The division of propertr by prim;eiy fa m i l i e s and the freedom of hereditary land­

owners went hand-in-hand, j ust as later on political consolidation de pended in good part on increasing the number of pomestie estates. BlIt the heirs of \'otchina estates, original ly

belonging to princes, appanage pdn ces . and boyars, continued their claims to superior status compared with the hei rs of servitors who at one time had held pomestie estates, long after the fo rm e r had losl theil' earliel' i nd ependenc e and freedom of movement by having come under the protection of the rising M usco vite dynasty, The prestige d istinction between the owners of v()\china and pomestie estates con tin u ed to divide the R us s i an ar­ istocracy u ntil the late seventeenth celllul'y. although by then that distinction had often become a genea logical fiction,

RUSSIA

99

e r s relied on a work force of slaves or of persons who h ad become d e­ pen de n t due to debts or t he ne.e d for protection . Peasants could bette r th eir condition by s eeki n g their fortunes elsewhe re, althou gh usually the y could do so only with the aid of a nother land lord, who would offer easier term s and/or pay o ff the pe asa n t s obl igations .12 This relative free­ dom of m o ve m e nt by m a n y pea sa n ts was facilitated by the scarcity of ag ricu lt u ra l labor in the remoter areas and he n ce by the chance to es­ cape there, or by the inte rest of landowners in a tt r act i n g peasants to their estates.C While th e details of this pi ctu re are unclear, there is some evidence that during the Kievan period and for some time a fter the thir­ teenth centu ry, both landlords and peasants e njoyed a degree of inde­ pendence which was t he counterpart of weak prince l y rule. I n later ye ars , that freedom acq u ired a powerful symbolic appeal. The o r gani za tio n , but not the ideology, of the Orthodox church also increased the d i fficulties of political consolidation. I n all clerical affairs, the church de pe n ded on decisions by t he he ad of the c h urch, the pa t riarch of Constanti n o ple He alone could con firm the metropol­ itan, t he highest single dig n itary of the Russian c hurch. But in a co untry fr agmented by rival pr i ncely families, the appointment of the metro­ poli tan became an issue of political im portance. E very Russ i a n ruler was interested in having a pries t from his realm a p pointed head of t he Rus­ sian church so that the religious authority of the metropolitan would be physically and sy mbo lica l ly present in his domain. For exam ple , Lithu­ anian and other west Russian ru lers sou ght to promote their political aims by urging the a p po int men t of a metropolitan from their areas, sometimes under the threat of converting to Catholicism if their de­ mands were rejected . Under these conditions, almost every new a p­ pointment o f a metropolitan accentuated the political divisions o f the country.13 At the sam e t im e, the Russian church was ideological ly the foremost advocate of political unity under one dynasty. The c h urch was the repository of Russia's religious culture . It w as also a promoter of trade: a statute of Grand Pri nce Vladi mir (9 80- 1 0 1 5) regula rized the tithes to be paid to the church and made the bishops res ponsible for the superv ision of wei ghts and measu res. 14 How , then, did the Muscovite rulers grad ually achieve a po litical and mi li t ary ascendance over rival principal ities and e vent u ally succeed in esta b lish ing a u n ifie d state? Under Mongol leadershi p, s u pe riority of rank among the Russian p rinces depended on the title of gra n d prince, '

.

" Book o/ Iite Ell'cliOI/

of Mikhail

FedlJf!roicli shows

a

large circular enclos u re where a priest a n n o u nces the unanimous e lection of the new tsar by the zem sky sobor to the large crowd gat hered o u tside the walls of the K remlin . Coming at the end of the Time o f Troubles, the "election" was an act o f acclamation by a body of representatives w hose main concern was the stability o f a u tocratic rule. Participation by dign itaries of the c h u rch consec rated the new d y nasty in the eyes of the people.

R USSIA

1 23

th e p re p a ra tion of new reco rds based o n th e u n i versal obligation of all aris toc rats to serve the tsar. 4 3 A ma i n task o f the Code o f 1 649 w a s to create order wh e re fo re i g n occ u pa tio n a n d pe as a n t re volts d u r i n g t h e Time of Tro u b l e s had cre­ a ted c haos . G ra n ts of l a n d made d u ri n g t h i s pe r io d of u pheaval we re co n fi r me d w h e n e ve r t h e be ne fi c i a ries had s u p po r te d the new R o m a n o \' d yn a s t y which be ga n w i t h the re i g n o f M ic h a e l ( 1 6 1 3 - 1 64 5 ) . The Ulozh e n i e fac i l i t a ted the i n he r i ta nce o f l a nd w h e re the ti tleholders had be e n co n fi r me d a nd i t p ro v i d e d the pomestie holder's fa m i l y with con­ si d e ra ble se c ur i t y a fter h i s de a t h The res ult was that the rem a i n i n g d i s­ ti n c t ion s between boya rs and ser vito rs were obliterate d , w h i l e co n t r o l o ve r al l l a n d s re mained i n the hand s o f the go ve rn m e n t and t h e obli ­ ga tion of mil itar y service conti n ued . No priva t e o w n e r s h i p of l a nd e x ­ is te d in Siberi a , w he re t he whole t e r r i to r y belon ged to t h e go v e rn m en t . From th e s ta n d po i n t o f u pholdi n g a u t hor i t y a n d t h e ran k -order o f soc iety t h e stabiliza tio n of t h e labor supply o n the land wa s t h e m os t i m por t a n t part of t he code. G u a rantee s o f land r ig h ts to the a ris toc ra c y a l read y dated bac k to the re ign of I van I V, b u t they mean t little without control over the mobility of the rural labor force. Earlier, the movements of peas a n t s had been c u rbed o n l y i n certain years, whereas the U lozhe­ nie met the d e s i res o f the a r i s tocr a cy b y a total abolition of pe a sa n t movements. H e nce fort h , the pea s a n t w a s pe rma n e n tl y bound to the es­ tate, and while he retained som e resid u a l r ights d istinguish ing him fr� m a slave, t h e m a i n p o i n t is that perm anent serfdom was in st i tu te d j ust at the time when the old fa m ili e s o f pr ince s and boyars l o s t the last v e s t i ges of their he r edita r y pri v i leges ,

,

.

,

.

and c ont r as t the Russian and t h e J a pane se hi story o f Russia s h ows a d e fi n ite break between the late twe l fth ce n t u ry when foreign trade shifted away fro m the Russian river towns a n d the m i d fi fteenth century when Russ i a n tribute pay­ ments to the Mongols became i r reg u l a r and the ascend a ncy of th e M us­ cov ite state was wel l on its way. The his to ry of Japa n shows no com pa­ rable discon tinuity, for even the establishment of the Tokug-clw a shogunate in t he e a rl y 1 600s has only supe rfi c i al similarities with the Muscovite rise to s u pre m acy a ce n t u ry earlie r . The different fates of the two aristocracies appear to be dire ct l y associated with this m aj o r contrast. The re was some con ti n u ity between the K ievan aristocracy a n d its tribal past. The early boyar d uma, the freedom of bo ya rs to c ha n ge their allegiance with i m pu n ity, and the town assem blies ( veche) se e m like echoes of an earlier condition in w h ich t ribal chieftains were assisted by the heads of households. I n theory, the se freedoms were a l ready incom patible with the pr i ncely a u t ho r ity How can one com pare

aristocracies ? The

,

1 24

THE A UTHORITY O F KINGS

established by the Varangian ru lers and with the theocratic doctrines of Byzantiu m . I n practice, freedom was crushed by economic decline, Mongol conquest, and Muscovite asce nda ncy. In Japan, the central a u t ho ri t y of em pe ror and regential fam ily e merged out of the warl ike contentions among armed lineage grou ps. These gro u ps may have bee n sim ilar to the Slavic and Ge rmanic tribes of Easte rn Europe. In any case, Ja pan's cel1 l ral authority res ulted from wars among tribes or extended ki nshi p gro u ps and not from foreign conq uest, as in nint h-centu ry Russia. Once this central im perial and re­ gential authority was established, its continuity was preserved in fact and in myth thro u gh all the vicissitudes that fol lowed. Such a major change as t he destruction of the Fuji wara regency and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate ( 1 1 85) was accom plished with the i m perial su­ premacy in religio us and ceremonial matters formally intact. Under the cultu ral shelter of that su premacy, a highly centralized political order li ke the Kamakura or a greatly decentralized one like the Ashikaga sho­ gunates could be established, appa rently with equal facility. One may call the two kinds of regimes centralized and decentralize d feudalism , respectively. Both depended on the reci procal obligations between the shogunal ruler and his landed and armed vassals in the provinces, tho ugh under the Kamak u ra, the shoguns and under the Ash ikaga, the \'assals dominated this relationship. Thro ughout the centu ries of inter­ nal conflict in Japan, the armed might of local rulers remained un im­ paired, even though their identity and social com position changed from time to time. I n Russia, by con trast, it was above all this armed m ight at the local level w hich was crushed first by t he Mongol conquest and subseq uently by the systematic de portation and resettlement policies of the M uscovite rulers from I van Kalita to Ivan the Terrible. This preservation or destruction of armed might at the local level is the clue to the difference between the Tokugawa shogunate, on the one hand, and the rise of M u scovy , on the other. In seventeenth-century Japa n , t he Tokugawa established a type o f centralized rule which di­ vided the coun try into some two h undred and fi fty domains ( han ) . Each of these domains was under a vassal (daimyo) who de pended on the shogun for the wel fare of his fam ily and himsel f, but who at the same time exe rcised absolute authority over h is domain . (The details of this sociopolitical structure are disc ussed in Cha pter 1 2 . ) Centralized as To­ kugawa rule was , it preserved to a remarkable degree the autonomy of local rule which had been characteristic o f the Japanese social structure for centuries past. To be sure , the Tok ugawa shoguns enlarged or de­ creased the size of a dai m yo's hold ings de pending on his family'S initia l relation to the founder of the To kugawa shogunate. They also reas­ signed domains at will when they saw signs of disloyalty to their house.

R USSIA

B ut none of these methods of ensuri n g Tokugawa supremacy can be like ne d to the Russian case, because such redistribu tion or reassign ment of l an d holdings never challenged the underlyi n g princi ple that loyalty to th e shogu n would be rewarded by nearly com plete autonomy within each daimyo domain. This d iffers striki ngly from Russia, w here a com­ pa rab le centralization of a u thority under I va n IV de pe nded o n de por­ t ation and resettle ment policies which were designed to destroy the re­ main in g vestiges of local independence . The difference in m ilitary and political organization shows one im­ tan por t conseq uence of this contrast in structures of authority . In Japan , the Tokugawa military forces were organized on a regional basis. To­ kugawa supremacy de pended on political organ ization as m uch as o n armed might, for the s u periority of Tokugawa forces was based on the imperial mandate and the relatively greater wealth of the Tokugawa do m ains. The Tokugawa shogunate could have been destro yed easily if the major daimyo domains had banded together in opposing the sho­ gunate. The shogun saw to it that they did not, and this policy of "divide and rule" was effective for over two h undred years . The same policy showed its great weakness in the 1 850s when the Tokugawa were unable to deal m ilitarily with the threat of Western i ntrusion. Now they needed but could not command the political and military su p port of t he major daimyo domains. This changed balance of power led to the fall of the Tokugawa ho use and the emergence of a political arena in the Meiji Restoration. By contrast, tsarist military forces were organized o n a centralized basis. Tsarist supremacy depended on armed might in the sense that all provincial government was under centrally a p pointed officials whose tax collection and m ilitary recruitment were backed u p by military force. The superiority of this force was based on the prior destructio n of local independence and, con ve rsely, on the centralization of social and polit­ ical opportunities and o f economic favors (land grants) in the hands of the autocrat. The tsarist regime did not de pend on a d ivide-and -rule policy. After Moscow's su premacy had been established, the highest cir­ cles of the Russian aristocracy came to com pete for place and favors at court. In a good many cases, Russian aristocrats competed for handouts instead of paying attention to the management of their estates. We shall see (in Chapter 1 3) tha t the great crisis of tsarist rule came when the military forces based o n this structure of authority met de feat in the Crimean War ( 1 856), only a few years a fter the arrival of an American flotilla in Japan ( 1 85 3 ) had underm ined the poli tical structu re of the Tokugawa shogunate. In both countries , defeat or the threat of invasion occasioned major political reassessments. Since in Russia all authority was concentrated in

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS the pe rson o f t h e autoc rat, h e alone could se t re fo r m s in m o t i o n , an d a ft e r 1 8 5 6 he a d d ressed the c ru c i a l iss ue o f se r fdo m . I n J a pa n , the To­

k u gawa regime h a d e nc o u ra ge d c o n s i d e rable i n i tiative at the local level si nce t he e i g h te e n t h c e n t u r y . When the r e g i me p rov e d u n a ble to co pe w i t h the threat of i n t r u s ion , t h e b u rea ucratic po l i t ics of t he To ku g a w a we re re placed by an e m e r gi n g p o l i t ic a l pa rt ic i pa t i o n fro m the pro v ince s . I n t h e e n d , ts a r i s t au toc rac y

was

o ve r t h ro w n beca use n e i ther t h e t s a r

nor h i s o ffic ials knew w he t h e r or not to re press i n d e pe n de n t i n i t i a t i \'e e n t i re l y o r , i f t h e y pe r m i t ted i t , how to co m b i n e the c e n t r a l exerc ise o f

author i t y with t h e de \'e l o p m e n t o f such i n i t iative . Nor d id they a p p re ­

c i ate t h e urge nc y o f t h i s tas k fo r t he i r o w n s u rv i val.

O n e ca n con s i de r other d i m e n s ions o f t h is com par i so n . The bu lk o f t h e ar i s toc r a cy re sided i n t he pro v i nc es i n b o t h countries. In J a pa n , the sa m u rai were r e m o v ed fro m t h e land and became urban rent i e r s

and ad m i n i strators i n t h e c astle tow ns of t h e han. I n Russia, most landed

gentry remained o n the i r estates , w h ile the l e a d i n g m i n ority flocked to Moscow an d , late r , to Petersbu rg. S i nce in bo t h coun tries _the whole ar­ i s to c r ac y consisted of servito rs , the two aristoc rac ies have i m port a n t sim­ i larities in contrast to the greater i n de pe n dence o f the English or Fre nch aristocracies considere d in the fo llo win g cha pters. B ut the J apanese and Russian servitor a ristoc rats were not alike. In J a pa n , the Tok u gawa re­ g i m e d i stingu ished the landed notables in terms of the ir relative a ffi n i t y and re liability in relation to the ruling ho use. I n Russia, the tsarist re­ g i m e ev e ntu al l y s u pp r e sse d the old d i ffe r e n c es in ran k be tween votchina and po mestie holde rs so t h a t all aristoc rats were obliged to serve . W hen

that u n iversal se rvice-obligation was re moved, all Russian aristocrats we re give n their freedo m , but it was a freedom from service rather than a right. We shall see in C h a pter 1 3 that freedom wi thout rights is not a pro­ pitio us basis for the d e v e lop m e n t o f se l f go ve rnm e n t and i n d ivid ual ini­ tiative . I n the course of i ts r ise to su premacy, M uscovite autocracy proved i n i m ical to local autonomy and to the public institution ( boyar d u ma) in which such initiative co uld ex press itse lf polit ically. The oprichnina of I van I V (in t he 1 560s), t he abolition of mestnichestvo in 1 682, an d Pe ter the Great's i m po sition o f service as the sole criterion of rank show that m uch resistance had to be overcome. The great severity of Peter's r ule was relaxed u nder his s uccessors, but individual in itiative on a broader scale developed only after Alexander I I's proposal of serf­ emancipation i n 1 856. I t is sym ptomatic of a re gime whic h concentrated all authority in one ruler and h is ad m i nistrative and military staff that the de feats i n the Crimean War ( 1 856) , the Russo-J a panese War ( 1 905 ), and World War I ( 1 9 1 7 ) e nded in inadeq uate re forms and partial or total revolution . -

R USSIA

1 27

I n the preceding sum mation I have run far ahead of my "story" in ord er to outline the social and political differences between Russia and J a pa n over the m aj or part of the i r history.44 I n t u rn ing now to Ge rmany a n d Prussia, I begin once again in the med ieval period when i n t h e se territories o f Central E u ro pe the authority of ki ngs was establ i s hed on an end uring t h o ugh i n sec u re basis.

5 I MPE RI AL GE RMANY AND PRUSS I A

Il':

J A PA N , i m perial autho rity e m e rged from a past dom i n ated by rival l i n eage gro u ps . H isto rically. , authority under t he e m pe ro r fl uctu ated fro m the strong Kama k u ra to t h e weak A s h i kaga and then bac k to the st rong Tokugawa s hogunates. S t r u ggles over the i m pe rial and shogunal succession as well as lon g in­ ternal wars gave Ja panese history a sangu inary aspect. bu t the endless vendettas also le ft room fo r the i n d e pendence of local rulers and even o f peasants. One reaso n w h y a m id civil strife local rulers could re main i n d e pe n d e n t was the absence of fo re ign i n vasions for fo u rtee n h u nd red years . In Russia. prince l y authority e me rged w h e n armed trade rs fro m the nort h . intent on defendi n g thei r areas of settlement. had to come to terms with inde pende n t local notables and town asse mblies. Their i n d e pe ndence was grad ually los t as a ce n t ra l i zed au to c r ac y was estab­ lished at Moscow. The rulers of bot h J a pa n and Russia faced the delicate proble m o f assert ing ce ntral authority w h ile allo wing lead ing aristoc rats to inc rease their status and power. As see n fro m a very lon g time per­ spective. central authority prevailed in bot h Ja pan and Russia. but only in J a pa n did it remain com pa tible with a high degree o f local inde pen­ dence. The relation be tween central and local authority was the issue on w hich the internal pol i t ics of the two co un tries tu rned for m uch of their h isto ries. I n the case of the Cent ral E u ro pean co un tries. w hich subseq uently beca me Germa n y . t he record of rulers h i p is considerably more com plex . For that reason I will fi rst re fe r to I m perial Germ any and then deal with the eme rge nce o f rulers h i p in B rande n b u rg and Prussia and with the develo pmen t o f the Prussian aristocrac y . a I c hoose this format because in Central E u rope. royal aut hority did not prevail over the centrifugal "/mprria/ Genna l/)' i s an u n a \"oidable t e,"m i nologka l shurt c l I ! ' The Rom a n E m pire of t h e Ge r m a n !\; a r ion ( I,tter r he H u l ) Ro m a n E m p i re) i s t h e design a t ion co m mon l y given [ ( J it t: h a n g i n g co m p l e x uf l a n d s , r u led me'" b y Fra n k i s h and late r by Ge rman k i n gs from

IMPERIAL GER MANY AND PR USSIA

129

authorities o f princes, d u.kes, margraves, and others at the regional 0 1provincial level. Some o f the provinces ( Lander) o f the present Federal Re public of Germ any have a ve ry long prehistory. In order to examine k i ngs h i p and a ristocrac y at this regional level it seems useful to focus attention on rulership i n Prussia, the most im portant constituent state of earl y modern Ge r m a n y (seventeenth centu ry) , rather than discuss the i ncre asi n gly shado wy presence of the Roman E m p i r e o f the Ge rman Nation, or the H ol y Ro man E m pire as it was called b y the Hohensta u fen e m pe ror, Frede ri c k I ( Barba ro s s a ) in 1 I 57. E M PERORS, G E R M A N

PRI NCES,

A N D PA PA L A U T H O R I TY

I m pe rial Ge r m a ny had its be ginning in the Frankish e m pire . I n 75 1 or 7 5 2 , the pope, or bishop of Ro me, gave his consent to the discontin­ uation of the Merovingi an house and authorized Bishop Bon i facius to an oint the Carolingian ruler, Pe pin, king of the Franks. At that time, the pope was a subject of the Byzantine em pire, confirmed in his j u ris­ dictio n , like other bishops, by the B yzantine em peror. This control of Rome and of Italy weakened when the Byzantine emperor turned to the East to combat the ris i ng power of Islam. The Lom bards, one of the Germanic tribes that had earlier settled in Italy, used this opportunity to invade the lands belonging to Byzantium, and Pope Stephen I I ap­ pealed to Pe pin I I I to h e l p sto p their encroachment. The Fran kish king defeated the Lombards i n 754 and bestowed the I talian possessions of Byzantiu m on the papac y, thus establishing the tem poral powe r of the papacy and its close alliance with the Frankish kingdo m. This first ex­ tension of Frankish ruIt; into Italy proved to be an antecedent of later con flicts between the Roman E m pire of the German N ation and the pa pacy. But these consequences could not be foreseen in the eighth century. the coronation o f Charlemagne i n 800 until i ts fo rmal d i sso l ution by N a poleon i n 1 806. The extem as we l l as the desi gnation of t h i s e m pire cha n ged from t i m e to time. I shall refer

to

I m pe rial Germany w h en t he d i sc ussion deals w i t h the Ge rman em pire ."a t h c r than

its constituent un its, and to t he e m pe ro r as t he ru ler of t h a t em pire rega rd less of whet her or not he was formally designated "em pe ror" at t h e given ti me. Some e m pe ro rs o f Ger­ many were not consecrated by the po pe and hence not e m pe ro rs in t he strict se nse, but it became the Ge rman custom to refer to the ki n g of Germa n y as e m pe ro r (Kaiser) . The absence of pa pa l consecration did not change the e m pe ror's ow n claim to e xercise a u ­ thority u n d e r God . Al l " the Fra n kish and Ge rman e m pe ro rs were chosen from a m o n g the ru lers of thc constituent part s o f I m pe rial Ge r m a n y and also ."c m a i ned .-u le rs o f t hcir in herited lands, like the duke o f Saxony or the co u n t of Habsb u rg . The title o f Ma rgrave referred to the military ruler of a Ge rman border province, appo i n ted to that position by the e m pe ro r . The rulers of B randenburg and later o f Prussia were ma rg."aves and electors ( Ku rfii rsten) of the emperor be fo re t h e y became k i n gs of Prussia i n 1 7 0 1 . T he election of the e m pe ror and the cha n g i n g mean i n g o f "Prussia" a re d i sc ussed furthe r o n .

THE A UTHOR ITY OF KINGS The Fr a nkish defe n d e r of t h e pa pacy could become as dan gero us to the po pe as t h e Lom bards had bee n . B y 7 7 4 Pe pin ' s s uccessor, Char­ lemagne ( 7 6 8- 8 1 4) , h a d d e feated the l a s t i n de pe ndent k i n g of the Lom ­ bard s . This cam pa ign in I t a l y w a s part o f Fra n kish e x p ans i o n on many fronts. A fter h i s accession to the t h ro n e , t he c o n q u e s t o f the S ax o n s oc c u p ie d C h a rl e m a gne , o n a n d o ff, fo r t h irt y ye ars. I n 7 7 8 and again i n 7 9 5 he cam pa i gned i n S pa i n . I n 7 9 1 a n d a gai n i n 7 96 he c a m pa i g n e d a gai n s t the Ava rs on the Da n u be , a n d in 8 0 0 a g a inst t he B y z a n t i n e fo rces so u t h o f Ro me. B y the e n d o f h i s re ign i n 8 1 4 m o s t o f E u ro pe west o f the E lbe had be e n u n ited u nder Fra n k i s h rule . T h i s record o f ex pa nsi o n is the context o f C h a rlemagne ' s coro n a t ion as e m pe ror. ­

W h e n Po pe Leo I I I ( 7 95 - 8 1 6) c a m e in co nfli c t with t he Rom an n o bili t y i n 800, he cal led o n C ha rl e m a g ne to i nt e r v ene . C harle mag ne t raveled to Rom e to j u d ge the d is p u te and also witness the consecration of his son . At the ce remon y , Po pe Leo s uddenl y placed a crown o n Char­ l e magne ' s head and abased himse l f be fo re the king, w h ile the assembl y o f Roman notables acclaimed h i m e m pero r . S ince the pope had no legal right to con fe r the title, the action was a ppare ntly d e s i g ned to sec u re t h e po pe ' s positi o n aga in s t his adversaries. The new title o f e m pe ror added te nsions to the rela tions be tween the Ca ro l i n gi a n dynasty and the B yz a n t i n e e m pe rors. Fra n k i s h ru le over Lombardy and acce ptance of the t itle o f e m pe ro r th u s i m·ol v ed Charlemagne a n d his s uccessors ir­ r e v oc ably in the tem por a l and eccles iastical interests of the papacy. These interests w e re d i re c t ly l i n ke d to t h e le g i t i m a t i o n o f rule. The co n secrat i on of the Caro l i n g i a n d y n a s t y may h a v e originated in political e xi ge nc i es w h ic h i n d uced t he popes to seek Frankish assistanc e a gainst the Lombards and other I t a l i a n a d v e rsaries; but according to pa pa l the­ ory , the em pire was t he sec u lar arm of the ch u rch , c har ged with the task of p rotecti n g and e n h anci n g its m ission, and hence ultimately acco unt ­ a ble for i ts actions to the pope . N at u ra l l y , the Fra nkish or i m pe r i a l the­ ory of k i ngs h i p placed greater e m p h a s i s o n the e m pe ror' s direct man­ date fro m God as the u l t i m a te j usti fication of his au th o rity and of his ri g ht to desig n a te his successor. The two positio n s were destined to come into open con flict in the in vesti t u re controversy of the ele v e n t h century. Charlemagne ruled a d i v i d e d e m p ire . l In the West, t he Franks had inherited t he pro vi nc i al orga n i za t ion of Rome. Authority was con c en ­ trated above and devolved downward t h rou g h re gional or p ro v i n ci al co u n ts to the individual localities. No such provincia l o r gan i zation ex­ isted in the East, w h ich we now call Ce n tral E u ro pe , but which was then fro n tier terr i tor y barely reached by religious m issions and po l i tical au­ thority. For a time, the Fra n k i s h e m p ire was stro n g e no ugh to i m pose its rule on h un d reds o f l o c al rulers, but s uch im po si tio n was ach ieved only a fter p rot r ac t ed stru g gle. Eve n then most local co m m u n it i es and estates retained m uch of the ir indepe n d e n c e .

IMPER IAL GERMA N Y AND PR USSIA

Charl e mag n e d ied in 8 1 4 , and under the T r ea t y of Verd u n (84 3) , th e e m pi re w a s pea ce fu l l y div ided i n to a we st e r n , m iddle, and eastern part, eac h ru l ed by a son o f t h e d ece a se d ruler. T h i s co m p ro mise was of s h o rt d u ra t io n . The ro y a l doma i n s , w h ic h we re the p r i n c i pa l ma t e r ia l basis of gov e rn me n t h ad been red uced ; he nce , t he a u t hority o f the three k i n gs was we a ke n e d . B y 887 o ne of C h a r l e m a g n e 's s u ccessors w a s a l r ead y payi n g tribute to t he V i k i n g s who were be s i eg i n g Pa ris. I n 9 1 1 the C a ro li n gi a n l i ne d i e d o u t , and d u ri n g t he n i n t h a n d t e n t h centu ries V i k i n g , M a gya r a n d S a rac e n i nv a s io n s devastated m u c h of E u ro p e Lan d u n de r c u ltivation d ecre a s e d as po p u l a t io n dec l i n e d , and fa m i n e and disease s p re a d . E ve ry w h e re pe o p l e loo ked fo r local r u l ers w h o w e re stron g e n o ug h to pro tec t t h e m In w h a t had been t he East Fr a n ki s h e m ­ pi re fi v e g rea t d uc h ie s ( S axo n y Franco n i a , Lo rra ine, Swabia, and B a ­ varia) e merged. They w e re or ga n ize d o n a m i l i t a r y b a s i s i n a n e ffort to halt in v asio n s fro m the n o rth and east. The m e n w h o rose to powe r i n these d u c h ies we re desc e n da n ts o f Caroli n gian ad m i n i strators, co u n ts, and margraves ( Markgrafen) , w h o had n o tribal or other m andate to ru l e but became pow e rful as m il i ta r y leade r s . I n pa r t because of their lack of legitimatio n , these leaders chose Du ke Co n rad of F ran co n ia in 9 1 1 to i n he r i t the crown from t h e e x t i n c t Caro l i n g i a n l i n e . Conrad I w a s the fi rst r u l e r o f this eastern fron tier a rea t o be anointed, a tok e n of his alliance wi t h the ch urc h . He sou g h t to strengthen his i n te r n a l pos itio n a ga i n s t t he ari s toc racy by his cam pai gn s against Lorraine in the west and the M a gya rs in the east. H is main s u p port came from great m agnates o f the c h u rch who w e re a lso wealt h y landed pro­ p rietors. However, Con r ad failed in his c a m paign s against the Magyars and d ied in 9 1 8. Du ri n g h i s reign, the leaders in the several d uch ies consolida ted their own a u t hority b y assuring themselves o f s u pport from the local aristocracy and asse rting the i r co ntrol o ver the local ch urches. As yet, k ings h i p was b a sed o n l ittle more than the agreement by the rulers of the d uchies to have one of t h e i r n um ber lead them in war. The crown passed to the du k es of Saxo n y w ho we r e m o re s uccessful militarily than Co nrad had b een M i l i ta r y success was i m portant for conso li dat i n g the ru le o f a d ynasty. B y a combination of meet i n g this test and receiving the acclamation o f other ducal leaders , the S axon d y n asty became here d ita r y The Saxon ki n gs (9 1 9 - 1 024) a ttem pt ed to reassert the au t hority of the cro w n At critical junctures they appoin ted members o f t he royal fam i ly to leading positions in t he duchie s ; they i n sisted o n no m i n a ting successors to the ducal title w here the y co u ld ; a n d they u n dermined con­ trol of the church by t h e secu lar rulers i n the duch ies . B u t in ach i e v ing greater po li t ical authority, the S axon kings h ad to rely on allies that were relatively indepe ndent of the part i cu l ar interests in eac h d uc hy. The church, w i t h its extensive o r gani zation i n many lands, was the most s uit,

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K i n g d o m of t h e F r a n k s s h ow i n g d i v i s i o n b y T r e a t y of V e r d u n 8 4 3 B y z a n t i ne

E mpire

K H A Z ARS

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M O S LE M S

6.

Europe.

800-.909 : .PQliJical Divisions and In vasions

IMPERIAL GERMAN Y AND PR USSIA

1 33

able ally in t h i s und e rt a k i n g a nd be ca me t he m ai n s ta y of i m pe r i a l gov­ e rnment. A s uc ce ss i on of S a x on rulers exem pted t he c h u rches from t h e o rd i n a r y a u t h o r i t y of local r u le rs and place d th e m d i re c t ly u nder the crown. At t h e same time, t he c h u rches we re made into an i n stru ment of government by i n ves t i n g thei r b i sho p s and abbots with secular au­ t h o r i t y over the areas under t he i r j u risd ictio n . On the eastern frontiers th e ch u rches acted as agents of government and centers o f m issi o n a r y work among the S lavs, tho ugh not without p ro v o k i n g occasional rebel­ lions a ga i n s t themselve s . In 937 the S ax o n k i n g Otto I (936-97 3 ) en­ l a rge d his d o m ai n by e s ta b l i s h i n g his overlord s h i p in B urgu ndy a n d provence. I n h is I ta li a n c a m pa i g n of 95 1 -952, he then sec ured the Mar ks o f Verona, Friu l i , a n d Istria (roughly t h e areas of northeastern I ta l y and Trieste) for h i s s o n H e nr y , Duke o f B avaria. I n 955 Ott o de­ feated the Magyars at Lec h feld, and i n 960 he defended the pa pacy against an atte m pt to seize its lands. Pope John XI I bestowed on Otto t he title lmperator et Augustus i n 962, co n fi r m i n g the reestablishment of the em p i re which had been i n a b e y anc e for more than a century. The successors of Otto I contin ued his work of e x p a n s i o n and consolidation i n alliance with the churc h . For exam ple, i n Ot to I I's (973-983) I t a li a n campaign of 98 1 , t h ree quarters of his fo rc es w e re p ro v id e d by German abbe y s and bi s h oprics, only o n e quarter by l a y magnates. But this alli­ ance did not last. When Otto I died in 973, all the Germa n monaste ries (over 1 00) we re attached to the c rown . But by the be gi n n i n g of the e lev­ enth cen tur y , eccle s i as t ica l j uri sdi c t io n s h ad p ro l i fe ra te d (there were over 700 monasteries) u n d e r the s po n so rs h i p o f t he aristocracy, and from that time on the c h urch tended to acce ntuate the political fra g­ mentation of the empire . Neve rtheless, b y t h e eleventh century, the principle o f an hereditary monarchy was accepted for the whole Roman E m pire of the German Nation -that is, the ri g h t of the re ig n i n g e m peror to nominate �is son for the succession was considered a x io matic , alt h o ugh his choice had to be co n firmed th ro u gh an e l ec tio n by the p r i nces . The whole Roman em pire i n 1 000 e x te nd ed from the North Sea coast to the Mediterra­ nean , i nc l u d i n g present-day Germany, Holland , Czechoslovakia, S wit­ zerland, Austria, eastern France, and most of Italy. For a time, eve n the consec rat i o n by t he po pe became a formality ; thus, the ruling dynasty's supremacy counte red most tendencies toward decentralized rule . How­ ever, the e mpero r's supremacy d e pe n d e d on his personal presence, and t h i s lim ited the d u ra bili ty of his rule . In h i s absence, the admin istration either o f I t al y or of the Ge rma n territories would weake n , re s u lt i n g in the reassertio n of the authority of the princes or of the ch urc h . E mpero rs from the Sal i a n Franks ( hence the Salian dy nasty , 1 0241 1 2 5) fo l low e d the Saxo n k i n gs and attem pted to cope with the u n re­ sol ve d p ro b lem of the mandate to rule. T he new dynasty turned to t he

Otto III (983-1 002) Receiving the Homage of the Nations This painting from the Reiche nau gospels of the tenth centu.-y shows (on the left) the Slavs , Germans, Franks, and Roman s b.-inging prese nts to em pero.- Otto I I I , who is seated o n th e right. Wea ring a Roman i m perial costu m e , t h e e m pe ror is represen ted a s h e i .- of t h e Caesars, s urrounded b y a.-chbishops and no bles carryi n g the stole a n d swo.-d sign i fying spiritual and tem poral autho .-ity. The e m peror h i m self holds the im pe.-ial staff and globe. The scene emphasizes the s y m bolic contin u ity between the Rom a n e m p i re and the Holy Roman E m pire o f the Ge r m a n N ation . (elm 445 3 , fol . 23v and fol . 24r. Bayerische Staatsbi­ blio thek . M u nich )

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

u pper ran ks of de pe n d e n t rctainers and k n i gh ts for the support whic h the princes a n d t h e ma g n a tes of the church wi t h held. In this frontier area of East Cen L ral E u rope, t i es of v a s s a l a ge we re as weak as they were in K ievan R u s s i a a n d fo r m a n y of t he same re a so n s A dm i n istrative of­ ficers a n d armed k n i gh ts were drawn fro m s oc i a l ra n ks below the a ris­ toc racy , because s l lch m e l l d e pen de d d i rec t l y on the ruler fo r a d va n c e men t . W i t h t he a i d o f t h i s class o f m ill isleria les, t h e S a l i a n e m pe ro rs e m ba r k e d on t he i r c a m pa i g n of recove r i n g c ro w n lan d s which had be e n u s u r p e d by l o c a l rulers. The re i g n o f H e n r y I V ( 1 0 56- 1 106) i s most nOLa ble i n t h i s res pect . He b u i l t ro yal fo rt resse s in Saxon y and T h ur i n gia and w a n ted Lo establish a pe rmanclll c a pit a l i n Goslar. By res t o ri n g the eco n o m y of t h e ro yal doma i n s w i t h the a id o f the minisleriales, he hoped to C 1"ea te a m ate r i a l base t h a t wo u l d be s u ff i c i e nt to make royal a u t h ori ty i n d e pendent of the Gel"man p r i nce s " Yet the s t r en gt h o f t h e S a l i a n d y n a s t) proved brittle. The m inority of Henr y I V lasted fo r fo u rtee n years (l 056- 1 070) , and d u ring th is i n ­ tenal the pa pacy so u g h t to emanci pate itself from its de pendence on i m pe rial authority ." Many monasteries were re formed in order to assert .

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pa pal a u t h o r i ty : si nce 9 1 0, the Clun iac re form movement had prepared gro und for a re,·ival o f the c h u rch by freei ng all monastic ho u se s of feu d a l control and pl ac in g them d i rect ly under the pa pacy. In additio n , C l u n iac re f o rm s strengthe ned the c h u rch by insisting on the celibacy of the c l e r gy and by condemning la y investitu re of ch urch o ffices and the sale o f s uch offices and of ecclesiastical pa r do n s (simony). The La teran Cou ncil of 1 059 then abolished bot h lay i nvesti ture and s i m o n y The counc i l partic ularly condem ned the i m pe rial practice of appointing se­ lected bishops to local j u risdictions i n o r d e r to obtain their aid in com­ bat i n g t he autonomy of local rulers. Th us , the reform movements en­ cO U l"aged re presentatives of the c h u rch to make common cause with ant iroyalist aristocrats in lieu o f the earlier alliance between the e m peror and the church against princes and o t h e r local secular rulers . Although the Saxon and Salian emperors had strengthened royal authority, they t he

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hT h e t e r m /J /·illre i s used t h roughout in ils ge n e r k se nse as t he sovereign ru le r o f a t e r ri tor y not as a j ullior m e m he r of a roy.1 I h o u se . Cha pler 2 referred to pa pa l s u p port of t he e lectoral p ri n c i p le for po l i t i c a l and t heolo gica l re a so ns and to the Germ a n ic ITa ­ ,

d i t io n oj "eleCl i n g" an h e i r to t he chie ftai n s h i p by a cc l a m a t i o n . The i m po rta nce of t h i s p.-i n c i ple i n t he h i story o f I m perial Ge rm a n y was d l le i n pan t o t he freq uency wit h which G e r m a n k i ngs d i ed w i t h o ut he i r o r le l i .. m i n o r 1 0 su c �

D.

ID 0 (Xl c 0 ';;; en :> �

11.

I�� « a: Ien :::> «

to 0 00 -

I 0 " . Begi n ni n g in the late eig h t h century , Scan­

d i na \' i a n raids i n i ti ated a third period o f i n vasions. The N o r man con­ q uest of 1 066 co m p l eted the se t t lement of the En gl i s h Isles and estab­ l ished u n i fied rule where n o ne had existed s i nce the Roman oc c u p atio n . T h e Ro mans called the co u n try B ritan nia, the Anglo-Saxon settlers called th e ir s e vera l kin gdo m s by names re fle cti n g t h e i r c o n t inental o r igin s , a n d the Danes and No r ma n s le ft t hei r OW11 l i n g u is ti c i m p r i n t . The pro l i fe r at ion of terms fo r t he country and its several regions as well as the m a n y place names ori g i n a t i n g i n di fferent l a n gu a ge s attest to a thou s an d - yea r h is tor y of co nqu est and a correspondin g d i ve r s i ty of cul­ tural i n fl uenc e s . ! T R I BES, CONQU ESTS, A N D K I N GS T he Roman oc cu pa tio n of E n gland d ates from 43 A. D . , tho u gh Ro­ man raids of t he islands be g an a ce n t u ry earlier. The conquest occurred in res pon se to an a p peal by a na tive c h ie ftain , and the Roman army lan ded in Kent with forty thousand men . The m i l i t a r y a dvance of the Ro m a n legi o ns enco u n tered fierce res istance from the native po pu la-

ENGLAND

t io n, an d sporadic revolts d isrupted the Roman occupation for another tW O ce ntu ries . Nevertheless, the . Romans succeeded in s tabilizing their aut ho rity through an e laborate system of fortifications extending in the n o rth to Hadrian's wall (ca. 1 2 2 A . D.) , which stretched fro m modern N e wc astle on the North Sea to the I rish Sea near Carlisle. Outside the areas o f Roman m i l itary occupatio n u n rest fl a red u p pe riodically, but south of Hadrian's wall the country became Roman­ ized. To wns were founded and settled by d ischarged Ro m a n legio n aries ; these towns were endowed with franc hises a n d constitutions similar to th e m u n ic i palities in I taly . U nder their own tribal l e ad e rs the native Celtic popula t io n came to acce pt Roman ci v ili z ation a process which can be partially traced through the remains of tow n settlements li k e Col­ chester, Lincoln, and others. I n a m ajor, though unsuccessful, Celtic revolt against foreign rule ( 6 1 A . D. ) , many Ro manized natives were mas­ sacred along with the Romans themselves. Roman civilization was widely, though unevenly, spread over England, and by the fourth century there was evidence of conside rable prosperity as exe m plified in the remains of country houses and the work of s killed artisans. The ad m inistration of the occu pied part of the island was subject to a Roman gove rnor, but in practice entrusted to local authorities. Each mun icipality ruled itself as well as its surrounding territory. Some dis­ tricts were set aside as part o f the imperial domains, but the larger por­ tion of the country was d ivided among ten or twelve tribes, each grouped around a town where t he tribal council met to conduct the business of the district. This type o f decentralized rule was known from Ro man Gaul, and it was compatible with tribal practice which em phasized joint government by a chieftain and a council of elders . Many additional forti fications built in the fourth century testify to increased barbarian assaults from the north and west, and early in the fifth century the Germanic conquests of Gau l cut the island off from Rome. Roman troops were withdrawn , and the Romanized Celtic pop­ ulation found itsel f under increasing attack not only from the north and west where Roman fortifications were located, but also from A nglo­ Saxon invaders in the un forti fied east and south. These Anglo-Saxon invaders eventually succeeded in occupying England, in re pelling the attacks of Scots and Picts in the north, and in pacifying the rest of the country by establishing a n um ber of kingdoms. One of these kingdoms, Kent, was unified under one ruler; another, Northumbria, was ruled by four leaders ; still others, like Wessex and Mercia, consisted of an over­ lord and lesser kings who were local rulers with their own de pendents. These lesser kings were frequently only nominally subordinate to the overlord. The difference between u n i fied and decentralized ki ngdoms prob,

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THE A L'THORITY OF KINGS ably a ro se from t h e m a n ne r of se t t le m e n t . E n g l a nd was som etimes i n ­ vaded b y a t r i b e u n d e r o n e k i n g, b u t m o re o ft e n by gro u ps o f c o n ­ q u e ro r s w h o b ro u gh t w i t h t h e m t h e idea o f c h i e ft a i n s h i p based o n c h a ris m a t i c l i n e a ge a n d " e l e c t i o n " by the tribal notables. A l e a d e r c l a i m ­ i n g s uc h desce n t co u l d establ i s h h i m se l f a s t he k i n g o f a n a r e a i f he wa s s uccessfu l i n h is u nd e r t a k i n gs a n d provi d ed se c u ri t y to t hose w h o fo l­ lowed h i m . T h e re w a s n o t ra d i t i o n t h a t a lesser king h a d to give a l le ­ gi a nc e to t h e d e ad o ve rl o r d ' s s o n , or a d h e re to a r u le r w h ose l uc k h ad d ese rted h i m . 2 A "co n federacy" o f l es se r k i n gs u n d e r a n ove rlord was o fte n for m e d , w h ic h was s i m i l a r to t r i b a l p ra c t i c e s on the co n t i n e n t as well as to those fo u n d a m o n g t h e n a ti v e peo p l e s of the B r i t i s h I s les. The c i rcu m stances o f A n g l o - S a x o n occ u pa t i on ( be gi n n i n g i n t he fi ft h c e n t u r y ) re i n force d t h e e a rl ier Ro m a n te ndenc y to establish l o os e a u t h o ri t y w hich a l l o w ed f()r c o n s id e rab le re gi o n al a n d local a u to n o m y . C n d e r t he Ro m a n oc c u p a t ion , t h i s had bee n the i m perial p rac t i c e i n t he fi rs t a n d secon d centu ries . I n t h e case of the A n glo-Saxo n k i n gd o m s of the seve n t h cen t u ry, dece n t ralized rule was most l i kely � t ri ba l legacy. The M e rcian k i n g Pend a ( 6 3 3 - 654?) . . . co u l d c l a i m a nces tral right , b u t . to be wOI-ked o u t .

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t h e m ec h a n i c s o f govern m e n t h a d ye t

Li ke an hish k i n g . he exacted h os t a ges a n d e n force d

t r i b u t e ; he i m pressed B ri t i s h [ me a n i n g nat i ,-c Celtic] t r a d i t i o n by

a

d istri­

bution of g i ft s to h i s s u bo rd i n a t e r u l e rs . . . . H e d i d not d e t h ro n e co nq uered

k i n gs a n d a n ne x t h e i r k i n gd o m s . . . . He ex pe l led Ce n w a l h from Wesse x , b u t h e l e ft the regi onal k i n gs alo n e ; .

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a n d t hou g h he twice k i l led rebellious

k i n gs o f the East A n g les, h e perm i t ted t h e i r h e i rs to s u cceed t h e m as h i s

s u bo r d i n a t e a l l ies .

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T h e M e rc i a n m o n a rc h s reta i ned t he i r s u bj ec t s' l oy a l t y a n d i n c reased

t h e i r m ajes t y because they con t i n ued the fo r m s o f go ve rn m e n t th e y i n he r i ted fro m the pas t , to lera t i n g a nd e n c o u ragi n g t h e a u t o n o m y of d e pen d e n t rulers, a n d l e a v i n g large areas o f a d m i n ist rat ive a n d j ud icial and pol i t ical dec i s ion

in the hands of pe r i o d i ca l l oca l re p re s e n tat i ve asse m bl i es . 3

T h e Ro mans and seve ral A n glo-Saxon k i n g s established p recedents w h ic h eventually hardened into the E n gl ish tradition of balancing mo­ narc h ical w i th local authority. That trad ition was to be rein forced b y the Norman conquest. But the d o m i n a n t fac t of An glo-Saxon rule was po­ litical fragm e n t at i o n a nd freq ue nt fight.ing among Northumbrians, Mer­ dans, East Angles , the se veral Saxon k i n gdoms, a n d Kent. A n glo-Saxon ki ngshi p re p l icated the Ge rmanic c ustoms o f the con­ t i n e nt . The k i n g was at te nded by a bod yguard o f well-born com pan ions, w h o h ad the d u ty to d e fe n d a n d a ve n ge their lord, and were d i s g ra ced if t he y s u rvived him in ba ttle. (These c o m pan i o ns o ften i nc l u ded men o f ro yal desce nt . ) The most ad m i red virtue of a k i n g was h i s ge n e r os i t y ,

ENGLAND

1 79

a vi ew n o do u bt diligen tly cultivated by h i s fol lowers . At an early ti me, a fol lower was endowed with ·l a nd in newly co nq uered territorie s ; he an d h is house hold were maintained b y the food rents and services o f th e nati ve po p u l at i o n Later, the k i n g's gi ft o ft e n took the form of e n ­ ti tli ng th e rec i p ie n t not t o the l a n d i tse l f, but t o t h e good s and se rvic es d u e fro m the c u l tivators . In t h i s w a y , t he k i n g re tained t i t le to the l a n d , wh ile h i s com pa n ions r e c e i v e d pan or all o f t h e tribu te t ha t was a ss e s s e d These were matters o f politic al o p po r t u n i ty a n d c a l c u l a t i o n Th e An glo Sa xo n ki n gs could e nlarge their dom ains and a u t hor i ty o n l y w i t h the hel p of followers a n d hence at the price of reward i n g t h e m . La nd and th e trib u te de rived from the land we re the m a i n sou rces of wealt h and po wer. K i n gs t ried to m a ke s u re that the ga ins t h e y m ade thro u gh the se rvices of their fol lowers we re worth t h e loss of weal t h a n d powe r w h ich gra nts to them re presen te d . T h e power of t h e An glo-Saxon kings often fal tered, altho u gh t h e princi ple of royal authority w a s generally u p he ld 4 The lesse r kings a n d earls ( o r ealdormen) w e re t h e e ffective rulers o v e r t h e constituent un its (the shires) of England, governing in the n ame of the king. The y and the diocesan bis hops (who were installed t h ro u gho ut the co untry in the late seventh century) would si t as joint presidents o f the shire court, and in times of war the earls would c ommand the s h ire m i l it i a The primary function of the earls was poli t ical , and since this was a period of m uc h internal strife, these great provinc ial rulers wo uld often b e away on cam­ paigns However, the i r presence was req u i red in all co n t rovers ial cases before the shire co urt, fo r o n l y the ful l authority of t he state co uld deal with recalcitrant local magnates. Much ro utine business was nevertheless transacted i n their absence, an d as affairs became more com plex , the king (with t he consent o f the earls) created the new office of she riff to take cha rge of local government, local finance, and the e xecution o fj us tice. The earl was a great lord with whom the ordinary man had few contacts , but the sheriff was t he man known to be in touch with local affairs as the re presentative of the king. For the king's rule to be e ffective, he also had to h a ve t he coo per­ ation of local leaders of o p i n io n who held no o ffic ial posi t io n These were the freemen, the k i ng's thegns , on whose services and taxes i n kind the wealth and power o f t he A nglo-Saxon kingdoms d e pe n ded. Their obligatio n included military service, the food rent (feorm) levied for the maintenance of the king's household, cartage services and p ro v ision of labor for the king' s works, a n d c harges for the entertainment o f strangers coming to court. In t h e e a rly Anglo-Saxon period, the freemen owed th ese se rvices di rectly to the king, tho ugh by the seve n t h cen t u ry they were rendering t heir d ues to a lord who was the k i n g's vassa l . Some of th ese freemen were substantial landholders w ho might obtain positions .

.

.

­

.

.

.

.

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

180

at court or be \ a i s ed to a n earldom by s pe c ial favor, but who woul d ord i narily come in contact with public affairs only through the ir duty of attending the great co u nc i l o f the rea l m (witena gemot) . The ea r l y co u nc ils a ppea r to have bee n com po se d o f t h e k i n g s i m mediate follow­ e rs and o ffic ials , bo th l a y and ecclesiastic a l ; by t h e tenth c e n t u r y , t h i s co u n c i l was com posed o f earl s , c h u rc h m e n , a n d i m p o r ta nt t h e g n s , a l l o w i n g d i rect allegi a nce to t he k i n g . O u r k no wle d ge o f these co u n c il s co m e s l a rge l y from t h e ro ya l c h a r ­ t e r s i n w h ic h t h e k i n g' s gra nts we re w i tn esse d by m e m be r s o f the co u n ci l '

'

.

T h e re we re \'e r y fe w m at t e rs of i m po r t a n c e

to

the s t ate on w h ich a n An glo­

Saxon k i n g c a n n o t be s h o w n to h a \'e co n s u l t ed h i s co u nc i l . D u rin g t h e cen ­ t u ry b e fore t h e Co n q uest i t s asse n t is re cor d ed to t h e issue of laws a n d the

i m po s i ti o n of taxes, t o n e g otiat ions w i t h fo re i g n powe r s , a n d t o m e as u re s u n de r t aken fo r t h e d e fe n se of the l a nd . I t was in h i s council t h at a k i n g would

prosec u te suspected traitors a ga i n st w h o m h e fe l t s t ro n gl y e no u gh to tak e

l e gal action . T h a t he was e x pected

[0

sec u re its a s sen t be fore cre a t i n g priv­

i l e ge d e sta te s in l a n d is made c l e a r by t h e i n n u merable charters w h i c h assert

t h a t a royal g i ft of such an estate has been a p p rove d by the magnates of the

k i n gd o m s .

T h e i n s t a bil ity

of royal succession also strengthened the ki n g s co uncil, its elective function. Of the e i g h t ki ngs who reigned between 8 99 and 1 0 1 6 , only three were i m med i a te heirs to an uncontested king­ do m ; in the o t he r cases, the d e c ease d ki n g's c o unc i l took the initiative in th e choice of a su cce sso r. One m ust guard against the modern notion '

s ti m u l a t i ng

that the attestation o f royal writs or even del iberations concern i n g the

succession represented acts of voting. Bishops, abbots, and earls at­ te nded the council because o f the offices they held by a royal g ran t w h i le t h e gn s attended i n obedience to a royal summons. Few individuals w o u l d d i rec t l y oppose the king's declared w ill, but at the same time many earls and thegns were men who possessed m uch local influence and were not easily coerced. 6 The authority of An glo-Saxon kin gs h i p depended in practice on at least inte r m it te n t n e go tiat i on with the great m a gn ates of the realm whose power had increased thro u gh ad mi n istr at i v e con­ solidation in the shires. Am id the p reva i l i ng political fra g me n tat io n one can see the process by which ro y a l au t hor i t y w as per iod ic all y co nsolid ated . Such consoli­ dation de pended on b r i n g i ng lesser ki n gs into allegiance with their ,

overlord . The neation of t he gre a t M e rc i a n k i n gdom of the e i g h t h ce n t u ry meant that t h e h e i rs o f many lesse r d y n ast i es were bro u gh t to seek t h e co u n o f the Mer­

c ian k i n g. to take gi fts li'o m h i m . and to prom ise h i m fid el ity . I t is sometimes po ss ible to t r a c e t h e ac t u a l co u rse of t h e i r dec l i n e i n to s u bord i natio n . Sigered .

ENGLAND

181

t he last king of Essex, attests m a n y c h a r t e rs o f Ce n w u l f, king o f the Mercian s : at fi rs t as 1'ex, then a s .mbregulus , a n d fi n a l l y as d ux o r ealdorman . a M e n o f t h i s

ty pe m a y o ften h a ve b e e n al lowed to rule t h e i r own peo ple u n d e r the i r lo rd ' s u l ti m ate a u t h o r i t y . B u t a ki n g who was stro n g e n o u gh could always i g n o re

the c l a i m s o f a loc al d y n a s t y , and in the co u rse o ft i me m e n w i t h no here d i tary title to rule a p pe a r as ealdormen o f pro v i n ce s w h i c h had o nce bee n k i n gd o m s . 7

Overlord s would assert t he i r au t ho r i t y w he n e v e r d i s loya l t y or local re­ vo l t p ut t he he re d i ta r y s uccession of an earldom in q u e s t i on Moreover, an a p pe a l to se nti ment a n d faith was invoked by the claims of d i v ine descent wh i ch s ugges te d the sacred fo u n d ation an d po t e n t ia l e x p a ns i o n of Anglo-Saxon k i ngshi p . (The early reference to Rretwalda or ruler over B rita in probably e x p re sse d t h e pol i t i ca l a s p i ra t i o n s of Ce ltic and I rish kings, since otherwise such a n i m pe r ial title was only u s ed w i t h re ference .

to the Roman em pire. ) 8 The C h ris t i a n iza t io n o f

England co n tr i bute d t o the sta bi l i z a t i o n of ro yal authority, though not at first and not always d i rec t ly. K i ng Aethelberht of Kent (560-6 1 6) married the daugh ter o f the king of Paris, presumably in order t o strengt hen the Kentis h posi tio n in relation to the other An glo S axon k i n gd o ms In 596 Aethelberht gave a fr i e n d ly rece ption to a Christian m ission, which Po pe Gre go r y I sent to E n gl a n d Neither the king's marr i a ge nor his pro tect io n of the m ission ac t u ally stre n gthene d Aethelberht's rule. Kentish su premacy did not even last d u r i ng the king's lifetime ; i ndeed, Stenton states that "no con fe der ac y of this period survived the king who had brou gh t it into bei ng."9 E n gland was still a pagan country, and C hristian m issions req u ire d ro ya l support. In this context, grants to the church had s pecial significance for the consolidation of royal authority. The church bene fited from the protection of the k i ng and tended to support his authority. The king could also benefit from the co untrywide o rgan ization of dioceses which the church introd uced under Archbishop Theodore (668-690). This stabilizing influence of the c h urch coincided with the regularization of land ten ures on the basis o f c harters writte n by derics . Since clerical appointments remained i n the j urisdiction of An g l o S a xon k i n gs, t he -

.

.

­

-

"The Mercian kingdom rose to preeminence in t he early eighth century and decli ned a centu ry later. Its two outsta n d i n g rule rs we re Aethelbald (7 1 6 - 7 5 7 ) and O ffa ( 7 5 7 - 796), who influenced the cont�mporary Carolingian rulers on the continent. Rex and .Iubregu lu.l are the Latin eq u ivalen ts of overlord and lesser (or under-) king. Dux o r ealdorman a re the Latin and Old English eq u iv a len t s of earl. The term gesith a n d its later eq u ivalent thegn originally meant "one who se rves another"; t he s tan d ing of these men was largely deter­ mi ned by the rank of the man they served , t ho u gh such service i t s el f was a m a rk o f aris­ tocratic status. Titles and terms like these ch a n ged their meaning i n the cou rse of time, an indication that the delegation o f a u t h or i t y was a co nt i n u o u s process.

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS c h u rc h was n ot o n l y a n a l l y , b u t at t i m e s a w i l l i n g s ubord i na te of ro ya l a u thority. T h i s po s i tion o f t h e c h u rch was re flected i n the cle rical i n te r p re­

t a t i o n of sec u l a r r u l e Fo r so m e fo u r ce n t u ri e s t he cle rics w h o w rote t h e .

,

l a n d c h a rters re i t e r a t e d t h e i d ea t h a t t h e k i n g rei g n s by t h e grace of God . A n gl o S a x o n ch urch m en insisted t h a t t h e C h r ist i a n king i s t h e re p­ -

rese n ta t i ve of C h r i s t

a

mo n g a C h r i s t i a n peo ple , a v i e w m o re in accord

w i t h t he B yza n t i n e t h a n t he l a te r p a pa l co nce pt io n o f k i n gs h i p In t he i r .

l aw s t he k i n gs t h e m selves o f t e n add ressed t h e i r peo pl e n ot o n l y a s t h e ,

sec u l a r r u l e r , b u t as t h e s p i r i t ual lead e r . E n g l i sh ch u rc h m e n d id n ot

c h a l l e n ge t h e k i n g s eccles i a s t i c a l patro n age : if t he k i n g p rotected t he '

c h u rch

,

h e had t h e rig h t to a p po i n t i t s c h ie f m i n i sters . B o t h l a y a nd

ecclesias tical powe rs

we re

s u bo rd i n a t e d to th e a u t hority o f t he A n glo ­

Saxon k i n gs o n l y decad e s be fo re t he N o r m a n co nq uest of

1 066 .

Th is

was o n l y a short t i m e be fore t h e i n ve s t i tu re co n t roversy between t he H o l y Ro m a n e m pero r and t h e pope . B u t E n gland was very d i sta n t fro m con t i n e n ta l a ffa i rs , and u n d e r fro n ti e r co n d i tio n s t h e c h u rch n a t u rally favored stro n g k i ngs w h o would s u p port its m issio n . The a u t hority o f En glish k i n gs h i p w a s a lso stre n gt he n ed i n t he co u rse o f protracted fi g h t i n g w i t h t he Da nes a n d e ve ntually t h ro u gh the u n i t y i m posed by t he N o r m a n conq uest. I t is s u fficient here to gi ve a

bare o ut l i n e of t h e Da n is h i n vasio n s w h ic h began i n earnest i n 835 and res u l ted i n Da n is h overlord s h i p o f m uch

of e as te r n

E n gland . A l t h o u gh

t h e A n glo-S a xo n k i n gs w e re nearl y d e feated a n u m b e r of times, they

Th ree An g lo-Saxon Kin gs Fo l l o wi n g five h u n d red yea rs of Ro man occ u p a t ion , Anglo-Saxon E n gla n d ach ieved a h ig h level o f c i v i lization d e sp i t e its po l i t ic a l fragm e n t a t i o n . These t h ree coins show stages of A nglo-Saxon polit ic al development. Offa (757-796), king of Mercia, at least claimed dominion over the whole of England. Alfred (87 1 -899) wo n back territories w h ich had

bee n conquered by the Vikings. Edgar (959-975) achieved considerable stability and was a patron of the arts and learning. ( B ritish Museum)

ENGLA ND gai n e d t he u ppe r ha n d w hen A l fre d , K i n g of Wessex (87 1 -899), a n d h is son , Edwa rd the E l d e r (899-924) , effe c ted a v i rtual u n io n between Wessex and Me rcia . Ae t h e lsta n (924 -939) fu rth e r u n i fied t he E n gli s h

real m an d was s ucce s s fu l i n h i s c a m pa i gn s a g a i n s t t h e Da n e s a nd N o r­ we gi an s north of the H u mbe r estu a r y . U n d e r A e t h e l s ta n ' s successor, t he Dan is h s e tt l e rs acce pted the k in g of Wesse x as t h e i r sovere i gn . By t he m id d le of t h e tent h ce n t u ry, the We s t Saxo n royal ho use ruled En gla n d . The en t i re settled po p u l a ti o n , i nc l u d i n g the d e sce n d a n ts o f Dan i s h co n ­ q u e r o rs , h a d been c o n ve rted t o Ch ristia n i ty , a n d fu rther N o r se i n va­ si on s fro m I reland had fa iled. En gland was a u n i fied k i n gd o m , b u t i n ­ t ern al rule rema i n ed wea k a n d the t h reat o f i n v a s i o ns d i d not abate. K i n g Athel red (978- 1 0 1 6) took i n to h i s serv ice a l a r ge fo rce o f V i ­ kin g m e rce na r ie s who re m a i ned l o y a l t o the Da n i s h k i n g. Tha t l o ya l t y fac i l itated the Da nish i n vasion o f E n g land i n 1 0 1 3 . A s t h e Dan ish k i n g con s ol i d ate d his E n gl i s h c o nq u e st , At helred went i n t o exil e at the co u rt of his brother-in-law , Richard , d uke of N o r m a n d y . The Danish ki n g died in 1 0 1 4 , a n d a ltho u gh Athelred w a s recal led t o E n gland, h e i n t u r n d ied in 1 0 1 6. Th e rea ft er, E n gland was r u l e d b y Cn u t ( 1 0 1 6- 1 035), who was si m ulta ne o u sl y k i n g of E n gland and Den mark. A few years after the death of Cn ut, the E n gl i s h a ristocrac y rec a l led the West Saxon d y n a s ty in the person o f Edward t h e Confessor ( 1 0421 066). E d wa r d had gro w n up at the Norma n co u rt d u ri n g h is father's (King Athel red's) exile. A fte r s ucceed i n g to the En g lish thron e , E d ward s po n sored t h e s p re ad o f N or m an i n fl uences in England by gran ti n g es­ tates to Nor m a n kn i ght s and p a t ron i z i ng Norman c h u rch m e n . H is r ei g n also saw the ascendance to grea t powe r o f a n u m be r of we al th y a r is to­ cratic fa milies who had bee n i n fl uen tial in rec a l li n g t he West S ax o n d y­ nasty and w h o now ch allenged the wil l , an d sometimes the au thority, of t h e king. T h e th reat of n e w Scand inavian in v a s ions m a d e these chal­ le n ge s seem treasono u s and Edward res po nded b y d e s i gnating as his succ e ssor h is cousin , Willia m o f Normand y. B ut the great i n fl uence of the E n gl i sh a ri s toc ra c y did not d i m i n i s h , and when E d w a rd d ied some yea rs later the s u cce s s i o n to the t h rone was i n m uch d i s p u te . The kings of D en m a r k and of Norway, two m e m be rs of the English roya l fa mily (one a minor, the other an e x ile d is t a n t l y related to Edward ) , as well as two or t h ree po w erfu l E n gl ish earls co u ld m a ke so m e claim to t h e En­ glish su ccessio n . The Norman conquest o f 1 066 s e tt le d t h e question by force of a r m s, and Wil l iam the C o nq ue ror ( 1 066- 1 087) became k i n g of E n gl and . The conq u est res u l ted i n t he s ubord i n ation o f the Engli s h aristoc­ racy . By 1 086 only abo u t 8 p e rce n t of the land re m a i ned in E n gl i sh ha n d s, al t ho u gh ma n y nat i ve aristoc ratic fam ilies s u rvi ved as s u bt e n a nts on their former property. H o w e ve r , t he h ig h e st ran k s o f the En glish

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

Dan ish Rule in Eng land

king Sweyn I raided En gland Subsequendy he was de­ clared king o f England and forced Ethel­ red (978- 1 0 1 6) to flee the country . This eleventh-century man u script ill u s t ration shows the crowning of Sweyn 's son Kin g Can ute (Cn ut) and his queen Aelgifu , as the king grasps the cross and his sword while one angel bestows the crown of tem­ poral rule and another tile palli u m of spir­ itual au thority. Above, the scene is sancti fied by Ch rist's image in the com pany of Mary and St. Peter with the key to the kingdom of heaven. Below, monks are witnesses in an attitude of adoration . Dan ish rule lasted from Canute's reign ( 1 0 1 6- 1 035) to 1 042, when the Saxon ruler Edward the Con fessor was restored to t he throne . (British Museum) The

Dan ish

in 982 and 994.

aristocracy, t he men who had held positio n s of great res ponsibility u n­ d e r Edward , were pu rged and re placed by Norman notables . 1 0 About o n e-fi ft h of the land was held by the king, about one-q uarter by the ch u rc h , and nearly one-hal f by the Norman fol lowers of the king. (Two o f these fol lowers we re the k i n g's half-brothers, I f we add these last possessio n s to those of the k i n g, then the roya l fam ily owned abo ut half the land of E n gla n d , although any disputes within the royal fam ily di­ m i n is hed t h is royal conce n t ration o f power. ) l l In a native population well i n e xcess of one m i l l io n , total i m m igration as a res u l t of t he conq uest probably did not exceed ten t h o usa n d , w h ic h may be com pared with the fo rty thousand men the Roma n s had used a thousand yea rs earlier to conq uer and occ u py E n gla n d . The n um ber of Norman k n i gh ts who were gran ted land d u ri n g W i l l i a m ' s re ign was probably less than two t h o usand . l 2 These figures s u ggest that E n glis h institu tio ns could pre­ sene t h e i r con t i n u ity despi te the replacem e n t of a native by a foreign ruling class.

ENGLAND

A main res ult o f the conquest was t h e d ivision of E n glish landed

pro pe rty among a No r m a n aris toc rac y orga n i zed fo r war. In the fi rs t ye ars a ft er t h e co nq uest, W i l l i a m req u i red m il i tary service from h is Nor­ man ba ron s and ten a n t s - i n - c h i e f, and a m aj o r tas k o f govern m e n t con ­ s isted i n assessi n g t h e se r v ice o bl i gat i o n s o f e a c h fie f. T h e Do mesd a y Book of 1 086 assessed eac h la nded es tate u p t o t h e l i m it o f, a n d fre­

quentl y wel l beyo n d , its eco n o m ic ca pac i ty . Fo r the t i m e , t hese assess­ me n ts were an e x traord i n a ry pol i t ical ach ieve m e n t , i ndicati ng t h e sub­ ord i n atio n e ven o f the grea t lords to Will iam t h e Conq ueror i n co n t rast to the re lative a u to n o m y o f local rulers and l a n ded notables not o n ly i n An glo -Saxon Engl a n d but a l s o in N o rmandy, Fra nce, a n d o t h e r co n ti ­ nen tal co u n tries . 1 3 T h e e ffectiveness o f t h e N o rman r u l e was d ue less to the Domesda y reco rd o f lan d h o l d i n g te n u res ( re m a r ka ble as a c e n s u s , e v e n i f not too e ffecti ve as a bas i s of ad m i n i stration) t h a n t o t h e so lidarity of a conqueri n g gro u p of foreign warriors wh o co u l d ta ke over an ex­ isting govern me n t a n d leave its s u bord i n a te positi on s i n n a tive hands. However, this i n i tial conce n t ration of power soon gave way to fu rt her stru ggl e s between the E n gl i s h k i n gs and the ma gn ates o f t heir rea l m . The Norm a n occ u pation contributed t o t h e E n glish trad i t ion o f bal anc i n g monarchical w i t h local a ut hority. Con d i t io n s o f organ ization and transport did not favor cen tralized govern me n t even by an occu ­ pying force a s ruthless as t h a t o f Wil l i a m the Conq ueror. Roma n i m ­ perial p ractice , t h e A n glo-Sax o n tribal trad itio n s , and the practicalities of gove rning a conq u e red co untry with only two tho usand Norman knigh ts obliged the s uccessive r u lers of E n gl a nd to rely o n the authority and u ncerta i n collaboratio n o f local n otables. Norman rule req u i red that the· ba ro n s and ten a n ts-in-c h ie f s u p ply the king with armed k n i gh ts o n horsebac k . This mil ita ry se rvice obl i ­ gation provided t h e magna tes of t he rea l m w i t h several options. The y could serve their king loya l l y as he req u i red , the y co uld use t h e i r m il itary might to oppose him a t their own ris k , or they could pass the b u rden of m i li tary service o n to others . This last alternati ve meant that either they could maintain ho use hold kn igh ts from their ow n re ven ue , or the y could give these knights fiefs in return for the req u i red m i l itary service to the king. From the stand poi n t o f the English king, th e m i l i ta ry service obligation o f his magn ates had certa i n d isad vanta ges . These a u tono­ mous rural lords were a potential threat to the king, and in cam pa igns on the Continent man y soldiering tasks co uld be beller performed by mercenaries than by armed k n ights. The great wealth of the ro yal fam i l y made it poss ible t o hire these mercenaries. H e nce, the ki n g wo uld often acce pt payment (scutage) i n lieu of se rvice, a s ubstitu tion which was at

h is d iscretion and not a baro n ia l privi lege. The k i n g co uld use such fees

to pay for mercenaries . and he co uld fu rther add to his trea s u ry by i m -

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

1 86

pos i n g a fi n e fo r pe r m i s s i o n to s u bst i t u te pa y m e n t fo r service . He co u l d also fa vor his s u p porters by lo w e r i n g t h e m il i t a r y s e r v i c e or scutage re­

q u i re d o f t h e i r estates w h i le i n c re a s i n g s u ch asse s s m e n t s w h e re he s us­ pected oppos i t io n .

O b l i ga t i o n s o th e r t h a n m i l i ta r y se rv ice were s i g n i fi c a n t be c a u se t h e y a l lowed t h e k i n g to i n c rease h is reve n ue a n d e x e rc ise pe rs on a l con t rol

O\'e r h i s lea d i n g subj ects . Fa m i l y fort u n es were a ffected w h e ne ve r a fie f w as le ft t o

a m i n o r , fo r t h e c r o w n e nj oy ed t h e reve n ues u n t i l t h e h e i r came o f a ge , a n d it co u ld se l l t h e custod y of t h e he i r o r t h e use o f h i s l a n d s i n o rder t o reward loya l fo l l o we rs . T h e va l ue o f t he k i n g' s ri g h t of w a rd s h i p was grea t , s i nce reve n ue s d u ri n g t he m i no r i t y o f an h e i r de ri\-ed d i re c t l y fro m the l a n d . Wa rd s h i p re m a i n e d a n i m p o rt a n t part of roya l re ve n u e u n t i l t he se v e n t e e n t h ce n t u r y . T he k i n g a l so rese rved t h e righ t o f c o n sen t when t he d a u g h t e rs o f his te n a n ts - i n -c h i e f m a rr i e d ,

or w h e n t h e widow o f

a

t en a n t - i n -c h i e f w i s hed to re m a rry or re m a i n

s i n gle : The po l i t ical a s pects o r t h e right o r m a rriage were e x t re me l y s i g n i fica n t . I t

e n a b led t h e c ro w n t o co n t ro l t h e fa m i l y a l l ia nces for m ed a mo n g t h e b a ro n s .

T h e n e\'ery m a rr iage i n voh'ed t h e tran s fe r o r

go \'e r ned t he fu t u re possession o f co u l d m a ke the fo rt u ne o f

a

a

a

marriage port io n , a n d m a n y

ba ro n y or pa rt o f one . . . . T h e c rowlI

fe u da l h o u se b y pe r m i tt i n g i t to make good

m a r r i ages . . . . On the o t h e r h a n d , great baro n ies co u l d be broken i n to i n s i g­

n i fi ca n t fra g m e n t s by ma rr y i n g hei resses t o m e n of l i l lie pos ition . I n short, t h ro u gh i ts right o f m a rr i age t h e c ro w n co u ld

to a

acc u m u la t i o n a nd d i s persion o f greal fe udal e states.

great extent co m m l the I.

Fi n a l l y , w he n a ki n g's ten a n t d ied , his heir would pay " relie f " to the

c row n so that he w as " relieved" from the obligation ( incident to most

royal grants o f land) to return the fie f to the k i ng. Such pay m e n ts o ften i m'olved as m uc h as a n e n tire year's i ncome from an estate . Since these pay m e n ts were at the c row n's discretio n , the king could " reward the loyal w ith low relie f and punish the disaffected with h i gh o n e s ." 1 5 N at­ u rally, the grea t barons o f Norman En gla n d e n deavored to c i rc u m scribe the king's d iscretion a n d thus stabilize their own position in the social h ie rarchy. In theory, the relation sh i p between William the Conqueror and his vassals was based on m utual agreement and trust; in practice , it was characterized by considerable tension . The

Norman aristocrats ex­

ploited their new opportunities and prepared to defend themselves against renewed opposition from the native population and the com­ peting claims of rival m agnates. Over five thousand castle s h ad been built in E ngland a gene ration a fte r the conquest. Though the king had

e ncou raged the build i n g o f private stron ghol d s as a defense against the

ENGLAND n at i ve pop ul ation he w a n te d h is vassals to h e l p h i m r u le the land with­ o u t enc ro achin g u po n h i s own r i g h ts T hat dan ger a r ose part l y fr o m t he prac tic e o f subin fe ud a t io n . The magnates wou ld meet the ir o b l i­ ,

.

ga tion s to the king th rou gh gra n ti n g fie fs to rear-vassals w ho wo u ld th e n s u bs ti t u te for the m a gn a tes a n d ren d e r t h e service req u ired by the ki n g.

I n t h i s a r rangemen t , it w as n o t clear whether the rea r-vassals w o u l d be

loyal to the lord from w h o m t hey h e l d t h e i r fi e f or to t he k i n g for w h o m

they ren d e red serv ice o n be h a l f o f t h e i r l o r d . I n h i s co u n c i l o f 1 0 86, a t Salisbury, t h e k i n g m ad e the rear-vassals d o hom age t o himself i n order

to fores tal l the grow t h of p ower ce n ters i n d e pe n d e n t of h i s wil l . 1 6 The oa th a t Sa lisbury d e m o n strated W il l i a m ' s am ple a u t ho ri ty in E n gla n d , bu t h i s con t rol o f N o rm a n d y wa s m o re prec a rious

.

He cou ld demand

a far grea ter n u m be r of k n igh ts from his vassals i n E ngland than he cou ld i n N o r ma n dy Fo r a time, the E n glish m agnates cou ld bare l y meet .

their o bligations to the ki n g while William's Norman vassals were easi ly ,

able to maintain private m i l ita ry forces i n addition to the n u m ber o f k nigh ts they owed to t h e i r rulerP T he reign of W illiam the Conque ror exem pli fied the stre n gth of

E nglish kingsh i p. W illia m died in 1 08 7 , and the succession crisis w h ich followed led to a re assessm en t of the relations betwee n k ing and vassal s . The crisis a lso re vealed s ome o f the u n de r lying issues o f med ieval ki n g ship i n E nglan d Inherita nce conce rned every landowne r a n d especia lly ­

.

the notables of th e realm w ho wanted to p reserve the wealth and status

o f their houses T h e re h ad been o pen o p position between W illiam and .

his oldest son , Robert, fo r more than two decades, but o n his dea t h bed

William gave him the d u c h y of Normandy, rea l i zing that he cou ld not

dep r i ve Robert of his heredita r y r i ght without jeopardizing the pol itical

s u pport of h is vassals a n d hence the continued rule of his house. At the same time, William considered the E n glish crown at his disposal because

he had conquered it. He bequeathed England to his second son , Wil­

liam Ru fus, who was c rowned as W i lli am

I I ( 1 087- 1 1 00) and given an oath of allegiance . Nevertheless, m a n y E ngli s h barons sympat hized w i t h Robert for being de prived o f t h e English c row n . Baro n s with h o ldings

in both E ngland and Normandy were placed s i m ultaneo u sly under the

harsh rule of W illiam a n d the m ild rule o f R obert. On his deathbed William had also ordered t hat roya l fu nds be distributed to the English

chu rches and tha t poli t ical prisoners be freed. When William II fo llowed

these i nstructions , he probably sought to strengthen his pol itical su pport

in England, but he a lso i m poverished the royal treasu ry and facili tated a rebel l i on a gainst

his own rule William I I was able to put down the rebellion w h ich his u ncle Odo organ i zed against him , and he established a regi me noted for its rig­ orous control of the vassals. .

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

1 88 Pri vate war

v a s sa l

of a

an d

a l lo

disturbance were not

wed .

. . . The fi nancial obligations

we re rigorously e n forced . R u fu s e m ph a s i ze d the original precar ­

iousness a n d re voc ability o f t h e fie f.

.

.

.

On t h e death o f a baro n h e se lecte d

the s uccesso r - n o t a l w a y s t h e e l d e s t son - and made h i m buy back the land . H e i n s i s t ed on h i s rig h t t o t h e fi e f a n d the

w a rd s h i p

o f t h e c hildren w h e n a

" assa l d i e d w i t h o u t le a v i n g a m a t u re he i r , a n d he d isposed of the m a rriag e s o f t he widow a n d of t h e c h i l d re n to h i s p r o fi t . H e restricted the r i g h t o f the la i t y

to

le a v e money by w ill , a n d con fi sc a t e d the cha tt e l s o f dead pre late s . ' 8

I n t h i s w ay , the new k i n g l i m ited the tran s form ation o f fiefs a n d o ffices i n to he re d i t ar y ho l d i n gs t ho u gh the seve rity of his rule a lso pre pared ,

the gro u n d for later o p p os it i o n

.

N o r m a n r u le sta bi lized c o n d i t i o n s in England at a time w h e n

an­

a rc h ic te n d e n c ies prev ai led i n I m pe ri a l G e r m a n y a n d e lsewhere on the

Contine n t . But in addition to the m a n y stre ngths of E n glish k i n gsh i p, t h e re w e re a lso condition s w h ic h weakened it. The domains of the En­ g l i s h kin gs were very large , b u t still n o t large e n o u gh to s i m ultaneou sly mee t the d e m a n d s o f household e x pe n ses, the financing o f government, and the costs o f m i l itar y c a m p aign s The i nce ssant com petit io n fo r royal .

fa vor s was a fu rther d rain o n the king's resou rces. Nor d i d the k i n g h ave

t he org a n i zation or resou rce s needed for the work o f local gove rnment; h e h ad to leave h i s te n a n ts- i n -chief free to make their own arrange­ m e n ts I n additio n , the pa pacy e xerted continu i n g pressure for the rec­ .

o g n itio n a n d exte n sion o f eccle siastical r i ght s . Finally , the English royal h o u se and many E n gl i s h m ag n a te s held fiefs i n N o r m a n d y and e lse­

w h e re as va s sa l s of the king of France . I ndeed, the kings of E n gland were Fre nc h men in lan guage, c u l t u r e , a n d pol i t i c a l i n terests, and a n um­

ber of them spent the greater part of their reign o f the Continent. The res u lt was t hat E n g l is h d o m es t ic d is p u te s w i t h i n the royal fa m il y and betwee n t he English ki n g s and their ba ro n s were freq uently aggravated by d i s p u t e s i n vo l vi n g E n glish i n te rests in " Fre nch" te rritories .

l: n d e r these con dition s , t he c h ie f ba ro n s of E n gland atte m pted

to

c i rc u m s c r ibe ro y a l prero ga tives even as they acce pted the king's legiti­ m ate authority . I n par t , thi s o p p o s it i o n i n vo lved the

executive power of

the king. The great magnates of the re a l m acte d a s o fficial agents of the

crown in the king's name. The k i n g pl-e ferred to c hoose his o ffic ials o u ts ide the ran ks of these great lo rds, but o fte n found h i m se l f obliged to as k their assistance . I n t he l o n g r u n , the king's executive power de

­

c l i ned in ad m i n istrative and j u d i cial m atters whe never h i s personally d e pe n d e n t o fficials were re placed by these more independent notables­

Opposition to ro yal prerogat ives also i n vo lved the

issue of representation

in t he k i n g ' s co uncil a n d even t u a l l y i n other deliberative bodies of gov­

e r n m e n t . Did t he barons have the d uty of atte n d i n g the council at the k i n g ' s pleas ure, or did t he y have the rig h t to attend by v irtue of their

ENGLAND

1 89

pos i t io n ? Was the crow n obliged to call a mee tin g of the council, and if so at what i n tervals? When the co u nc i l met, could the k i n g simply de­ m an d the assent of those asse mbled to t h e meas ures put be fo re them ? W as he o b l i ge d to liste n to the co u n sel o f those assemble d , a n d only with re fer ence to i ss u e s he had raised, o r also to t hose raised by some of the

asse mbled notables? The answe rs to t hese and related q ue stio n s i n e ffect constitute the history of royal a u thority in relation to t h e En glis h par­ liament. Pro blems like these can be for m u lated o'n ly i n retrospect; t here­ fore , to s peak o f o pposition to royal p rerogatives is o n l y a conve n ient shorthand for the p i ece mea l p rocess of d e l i m it i n g the a u thority o f the Eng li s h king. In p r acti c e, the re l a t i o n sh i p be twee n k i n gs and baro ns altern ated between pe r i o ds of cen t ral control and pe r io d s of tacit res istance o r out­ right o ppo s i t io n These were di ffere nt pha se s not of right a ga ins t wrong, but of t he king' s r i ghts again st the ri ghts of his vassals, and i t is i m por tant to realize that e ac h side u pheld the rights o f the other-in pr i nc i pl e . Vassals often began as personal retainers of h igh status who had become independent notables as their services led to a cumulation of ro yal fa­ vors. They were obl iged to use t heir resources at the behe st of the k i n g in return for grants o f l a n d and of ri gh t s , an d they derived pa rt of their own upkeep from the performance o f administrative and j u d ic ial func­ .

­

tions. Such notables could become a threat to the king' s powe r even if they did not challenge his authority. B ut then t he king could favor a new echelon of vassals who d e pe nded more on him than his e rstwh ile followers -at least until t he re placement of vassals was re peated. For twenty years a fter the death of William the Conqueror, the duchy of Normandy under Robert and the En glish k i n gd om under William II fol lowed their independent ways, but in 1 1 06 the Con­ queror's third son , Henry I ( 1 1 00- 1 1 35 ) , w as involved in a war against his brother Robert. Henry conquered Normandy and reestablished the Anglo-Norman state which endured for a centu ry thereafter. In 1 1 2 8 Matilda, the only s urviving c hild o f the last Norman king, married Geof­ frey Plantagenet, son o f the Count of Anjou. After years of civil war and disputes over the s uccession to the Norman dynasty , stability was achieved in 1 1 3 5 under the e arly Plantagenets . Matilda's son , Henry I I ( 1 1 54- 1 1 89), achieved t he greatest extension o f English rule , co m b ini n g the kingdom of En gland with sovereignty over Scotland and I reland and with control of the fiefs w h ich he held as vassal to the king of France. These fiefs com prised not only Normandy and B rittany, bu t the king­ dom of Aquitaine. Thus , En glish continental possessions extended from the channel coast to the Pyrenees . This great realm disintegrated under Henry's s uccessors, lead i n g to the loss not only of the Angevin fiefs but also of Normandy. However, claims to this in heritance, espec i al l y tho se

alai

f

--

HOLY

'------.,\ , ,

\

KING DOM of FRANCE

------ --------�

Lands under direct rule

of

Henry

II

Lands held as fiefs by

inheritance

Angevin

fiefs

through

cl aim ed

marriage to

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Lands claimed by Henry lias fiefs held of him

9. Dominions o f Henry II, 1 1 54- 1 1 89

ROMAN EMPI R E

southern part o f Aq ui ta i ne , remained a maj or the s i xteen t h ce n tu ry . The rule of Henry II was a high point o f royal authorit y , simi lar in thi s respect to the earlie r reig n of Wil l ia m the Co n quero r and to the lalter part of the reign of He n r y I I I (1216-1272). All three reigns were marked by le ga l reco gn i t io n of t he royal c lai m tha t each man owed his main l oya lt y to the king rather tha n to h i s i mmediate lord.19 It was a re l a t. i n g issue o f

to

G asco n y, the

A n glo - Fre n c h

relations u n til

clear sign of s tre ngth that during t heir frequent absence s from En gla nd , th e Norman and Pl a n t age ne t kings delegated their authority to high

offi c ia l s (justiciars) a s their perso n a l ap po i ntee s who were able to con­ s oli d ate the financial and judicia l business of t he crow n. The delimitation of

r o ya l

aut hority mar be set aga ins t these cases

o f pow er ful monarchical rule. T he coro nation c harte rs issued by t he successors o f Wil liam the C o n que ro r provide us with examples. When the re ig n of William I I was followed by that o f hi s youngest b ro t her Hen ry I, t he new king w as c h a l l e n ge d by his oldest brot her Robert , duke

Norm an d y . To str e n gth en hi s po si t io n in the war against Norm andy, Henry I ga ve solemn p ro m ises o f pro tec t i n g t he r igh t s of his barons, which were laid down in a charter authenticated by the ki ng' s gre a t seal . S teph e n ' s ( 1 135-1154) succession was ch a l l enged by Henr y I's d au g h ­ ter, Matilda, and a new charter (1136) con ta i ni n g pro m i ses o f goo d gov­ ernment was issued . In 1 1 54 Matilda's so n , H e n ry I I, also began his reign w i t h a charter pro m i s i n g to re s t o re and con firm the liberties which his grandfather, Hen ry I, had g ra n t ed to the c h u rch and the baro nage . These coronation oaths became a tradition d u ri n g the twelfth ce n t u ry : e ve r y re i gn had to be gi n with the n e w ki n g ' s sol e m n affirmation of es­ tablished righ ts . In the reign of John I ( 1 1 99- 1 2 1 6), the kin g's p osit io n was further weakened, partly through rival claims to the throne, partl y thro ugh conflicts with Pope I n n oce n t II I, a nd partly t h rough t he de­ ter m ina t i o n of the French ki n g , P h il i p II ( 1 1 80-1223) , to end English possession of N or m a ndy . As earl y as 1 201 , English earls re fused to cross the sea in the king's service unless he promised them "the i r righ ts ." After the loss of Normandy i n 1 204, the king had to rely on E ngl is h reso urces alone in d e fe nding h is rea l m against a t hreatened French in vasion. The text of Magna Carla ( 1 215) , which eventuated from this con flict, enu­ merates the righ ts the king promi ses to u phold and sets up p roce d u re s by whic h the ba rons could force th e k i n g to co m p ly . The spe cific t hrea t to take the king's "castles , lands, and possessions" i f he violated th e te r m s o f t h e c h arte r may have been the wo r k o f e x tre m ists , but the assertion of ba ro n i al and ecclesiastical rights was well wit hin the established fra m e w o r k . K i ng Jo h n died in 1 2 1 6. H is son H e n r y , the heir apparent, w as a boy of ni n e , and a group o f rebel lious baro n s allied itself with Lou is of of

The Nonnan Kings

Willia m the Conqueror, William Rufu s, He nry I, and Stephen are s hown as benefactors

of We st m i n ster Abbey in this thirteenth-century illu stration from the Historia of Matthew .

(British Museum)

ENGLAND

Fra nce who was preparing to in vade England . Effective au tho r ity over Eng la nd passed to the Regent William the Marshall and his cou ncil, w ho rea ffi rmed Magna Carta bu t were a lso determ ined to maintain the po­ sition of the king and the realm. Baronial opposition to King John in de fen se of their own established rights was th us combined with the pro­ tec tio n of the k ing' s estate by leading magnates in the in terest of repel­ lin g e nemies of the co untry and maintaining good order.20 By the ti me of M agna Carta, the rights of the king were matched by the rights of th e baron s under the king, and the two were linked by mutual recognition. Convincing evidence o f such reciprocity comes from the reign of Edward I (1272-1307), in the course o f which over £40 0,000 were raised from subsidies which the barons provided in su pport o f Edward's wars against Wales and Scotland and in de fense of his interests as duke of Aquitaine. There was strikingly little local opposition to these subsi­ dies, since Edward was an exce ptionally strong and adroit ruler who pursued a policy of taxation by consent. Without surrendering his r i g ht to i m pose a tal lage b on his boroughs and de­ mesne, he merged it in a request for general subsidies wh ich required con­ sent. He made the subsidy on movables a normal source of revenue, and so prepared the way for pa rliam ent ary taxation gran ted by lords and commons.

This is . . .

no t to say that he and his competent advisers created parl iament .

[Rather] in a tim e of need t hey adjus ted circumstances to existi n g meth­

ods by

a

series of expedients. They exploited, on t h e one hand, the negotiab le

element in t he compulsory tallage and on the other hand invested the ancient right of the magnates to consent to or refuse taxation with the dignity of an obl i gation , common to all, to serve the common good by prov iding the means for the defense of the realm.21

To be s ure, this policy of enlisting consent thro u gh proto parliamentary assemblies existed elsewhere in Europe. But by the beginning of the fourteenth century, the English polity had become singular in the de­ gree to which even strong kings shared the tasks of national and local administration with the estates. On the Continent, strong royal authority or political fragmentation seemed the only available alternatives. B ut in England, traveling judges o f the king's council came into close touch with the knights of the county courts, while local churches and the shires and boroughs of the land sent their elected representatives to parlia­ ment. Grad ually; the E n glish kings had come to accept "the necessity of taking the nation into partnership in [the] administration" of the country .22 Moreover, a coun trywide jurisdiction had developed (in addition to local adj udication) as the king's judges hand led an increasing n umber b"falJage is a charge levied by a lord on his tenams.

Parliament of Edward I, probably 1279 Edward I in parliament with Alexa nder, k i ng of Scots, and Llewellyn, prince of Wales. The bishops are seated on benches at the left and in the foregrou nd, the barons o n the right. I n the center, the judiciary sits on woolsacks, w hile at the bottom, behind two clerk s holdi ng scrol ls, are roya l officials and representatives of boroughs. (British Museum)

ENGLAND

195

o f cases brought before them. Such an ex tended j u risdi c tion o f the k i ng' s co urts depersonali zed the relation s between lord and vassal. Also, as wars came to be fo u g h t by arm ies paid from the r oya l t rea sur y , the Englis h kings stressed the d u ty of all to defend the rea l m ; th us , the ob­ ligation of military service transcended its earlier basis in a pe rso n a l re­ l a t ion s h i p. At the highe st level of soc i e t y , the tran sacti o n s be twee n the ki ng and the ba ro n s came to de pend on politi cal and e conom ic condi­ t i ons affecting th e whole coun t r y rather than on a feudal ba rgain or con tract in the narrow sen se. Ma n y sc holars h a ve beco me skeptic al a b o u t the u tility of t he term feudalism because the connection between grants of rig h ts and the obli ga ti on to serve became a legal fiction at an ea rl y time; howeve r, the idea o f a "national contract" between rulers an d r uled retained its psychological importance for a long pe riod . A com pa ri son with japan under the Ashikaga s hog u nate sugges t s t he impo rta nce o f the na t io nal comm unity in medieval E n g la nd . Be­ tween the early fourteenth and the late si x teen t h cent u ry, civil s trife became so endemic in japa n that the power of t he shogunate was at a low ebb. At the same ti m e , j a pan ' s landed gentry had enormous v itality which expressed itself in the rise of new clans as old ones declined. That v itality was evident in the marked i nde pendence of many daimyo fa m ­ ilies even under the police contro l s of the late Tokugaw a shogunate . In this case , a national pol ity was created onl y by the enforced coordination of the great daimyo dom ains and the e x p ul sio n of the Christian mis­ sions . The case of E ngland is d i fferent. The per io d from Magna Carta ( 1 2 1 5) to the end of the fifteenth century may be described as an uneven seesaw between baronial intere s ts as represented in parliament a n d the au­ thority and power of the E n glish kings. This " balanced " develop m en t in England contrasts wi t h the re peated ri se o f local a u thority in japan and its lasting su pp res sio n in Russia.23 The v ita lity of the English barons certainly com pares with that of the japa ne se gentry, but there are two ma rked contrast s betwee n Englan d and japan. First, in E n g land there was an early e mergence of a quasi-parliamentary i nstitution, a collective forum in which the notables of t he realm assembled to co unsel the king and event u al ly to oppose h im. Th is pro v ided the E ngl is h a r is tocracy with a national forum w h ich wa s l acking in japan. Second, E nglish kin gs intermarried with the French royal fa m i l y and thro ugh inheritance of territorial possessions also became vassals of the king of France. These political ties with the Continent involved the whole country in the natienal d e fense, es pec iall y since Fr a n c e made periodic attempts to gain a foot­ hold in Scotland. By cont rast , japan retaine d its isolation from the Asia n mainland so t h a t neither a common representa t ive bod y nor a common poli tical i n volve m e n t ove rsea s rest r ained inte rn al st r i fe. To sum up, English possess i ons and claims on the continent had a

THE A UTHORITY OF KINGS

1 96

marked e ffect on the developing relatio n ship be tween En glish kings and the E ngl ish aris tocracy. That e ffect was d ue , among other things, to the freq uent absence of the kings from E n gla n d , their i ntermarriages with the French royal house, he nce the divisio n of their interests between E n g la n d and France, an d t h e o p po r t u ni tie s of barga inin g or o utright oppo s i t io n which these contine n tal ties o f the ki n g s (and some magnates) provided t o the great baro n s of E n g l a n d By utilizin g the se oppo rtu n i ­ ties, the En glish ba ronage ma naged to inuease i ts powe r positio n vis-a­ \'is the En glish monarchy, though for a lo n g time this was hardly a de­ libe rate process. Events du ring the fo u rteenth and fiftee nth ce nturies illustrate how the re latio nship betwee n the E n glish kings and the bar­ o n a ge developed. I n t he medieval wor ld, public order was maintained by the e n force­ m e n t of the ki n g s rights. The E n glish king's rights i ncluded his claims as d uke o f Aquitaine and vassal to the king o f France as well as his claims to a u t hority ove r Wales, Scotlan d, and I reland. A fter 1 290, all partner­ s h i p i n the ad min istration of the country and all bal ance between the ki ng's rights and the rights of the barons became instead a struggle of contend i n g forces over rights acknowled ged in principle but con tested i n practice. The barons had supported King Edward I's conquest of Wales and the assertion of his rights in Gascony. But Edward's attem pt to extend his authority over Scotla nd involved him in a war with France when the Scottish barons allied themselves with t he Fre nc h king. Edward thus had to co n te nd with the king of France in Scotland a n d in Gascon y , and the economic burdens res u lt i n g from t hese u ndertakings provoked a re­ bellion of the English baronage. When Edward II (1 307- 1 3 27) i nherited the throne, he also i n herited the large debt left by h is fat her as well as t h e baro n ial opposition which the son now managed to exacerbate fur­ ther by the favors he bestowed on Piers Gavesto n , a courtier from Gas­ co n y . The barons opposing the king we re magnates w ho were suspicious of one a nother but able to unite a gai n s t a fore ign interloper like Gav­ esto n . The Ordinances o f 1311 sought to placate baronial opposition , which was especially directed a g a i n st the king's advisors. Nevertheless, civil war followed, and when the barons were d e feated , the Statute of York (13 2 2) codi fied the king's rights, tho ugh it also promulgated the principle that royal gove rnme n t req uired the conse n t of the "prelates, earls , barons, and of the com mun ity of the realm." But the Statute of 1322 did not settle the matter, fo r the Sco ttish war was resumed , as was the dispute with France. Edward 11 sent his wife , Queen Isabella, to in­ tercede on his behal f with her brother, the French king. S he did so suc­ cessfully, but in the end the queen cons pired with her h u sband's ene­ mies , returned to England with an army commanded by her lover .

'

ENGLAND

197

( Roger Mortimer of W igm o re ) , and with baro n ial help de posed Edward I I in favor of the he ir a p parent , Edward I II (1327-1377). The new king's r eign witnessed t h e i n c e p tio n (1337) of the " H u n d red Years' War" with France (originat ing i n d is p u te s over Gasc o n y and Scotland) , the B l ack De a t h , a n d a lo n g - ru n eco n o mic decli ne wi t h ef fects t hat lasted un til the l a t e fifteen t h ce n t ury. E n glis h k i n gs h i p dec l i ned wit h t h e m o u nt i n g stru ggl es among the b a r o n a ge , whi c h ce n tered o n the rival houses of York and La ncaster and cul min ated in the War of the Roses (1455-1485).

d yna st i c str u g gles, le a d i n g a r i st oc r at i c fam il i es asser te d agai n s t one a n o t her. Ti me and a ga i n , one o f t hese families wo uld u se the weakened pos itio n of a king to e nlarge its own claims, onl y to go down to de feat with the revival of t he king's fo r t u ne s and the mounti n g e n vy of other baron ial fam ilies. However, two i m portant di­ mensions of domestic stability pe rsiste d t hroug h out these cent uries of foreign enta n gleme nts and internal s t ri fe : local gove r n ment was one; the steady develop me n t o f royal adj ud ication and ad ministration was the other. At bot h levels, legal and ad m in i s trati ve affairs were indistin­ guishable because the s a feguard i n g of rights was tantamount to the col­ lection o f payments ( fees, fines, d ues) as the material equ ivalents of those r igh ts . Royal a s well a s a r is toc r ati c governance de pended essen­ tially on these rights a n d t hat col le ctio n . The formative condit ions of royal authority are of enduri n g im­ portance. For exa m ple , I m pe r i al Ge r man kings hi p began with the le­ gitimation o f the Caro l i n g i a n dy n a s ty by an act of consecration and t he subsequent i n v olve m e n t o f the Frankish k i n gs wi t h pa pa l political in­ terests in Italy. Prussian kingship e me r ged m uch later, a n outgrowth o f efforts t o ove rcome pol i tical fragmentation in a frontier province and a by - produc t of dynastic pol icies w hic h utilized the devastations of the Th i r ty Years' War . Russia n ki n g s hi p began in two disconnected phases . Princely authority in Kieva n Russia was established by armed merchants from Scandinavia, who chose certain tow ns as t rading posts and at­ tracted followers seeking p rotection and m aterial advantage by organ ­ izing the defense again st ste ppe nomads. I n a second phase, the Mus­ covite tsars rose to preeminence under Mongol ove rlordship as co ll ecto rs of tribute from other princ i pal i ties and as a de fe nse force against Lith­ uania; eve ntu all y t hey con solidated powe r by means of a systematic re­ settling of landed aristocrats from conquered territories l i ke Novgorod . What then of Englan d ? E n glish kingship began with Anglo-Saxon war bands (comilales) in­ v ad i ng and settling the British Isles . This i nit ial condition was un usually favorable to an eventual balance between ce ntral and local powe r. The conditio n s of conquest a n d oc cu pation by bands of armed tribesmen In t hese

t he i r ri gh t s

THE

AUTHORITY OF I\INGS

made for a solid arity of ne a r eq uals. The Germanic tradition of eq ual inheritance a mong royal descendants q u ickly circ u m scribed whatever concentration of power ha d resulted fro m the conquest itse l f. By the time of the No r m an conquest, more than a th ou s a n d years of Ro man rule and A nglo - Sa xon kingdoms had given great impetus to a s t ru c t u re of local rule which p rovided co n ti nuity despite much internal p o li ti c a l strife and centuries of struggle a g a i n st f() r e i g n i n vasio n s . Of the cases examined here, the foundations of En gl ish kingship probably have their closest analogue in the Varangian oc c up a t i on of early K i eva n Russia. But V a r a n gi a n forces were used in the interest of merchants and trade , not i n the interest of warriors and the se ttlement of land. This mercantile or ien t a t i on facilitated the accepta nce by Kievan princes o f native customs s uch as the town asse mbly (veche) an d boyar freedom. The V a rangi an rulers probably acce pted the notables o f the Slavic tribes in habiting the conquered areas because they wanted the collaboration of the native po pulation in th e promotio n of trade and the organ ization of defense. By c o n t r ast, the An glo-Saxon settlers com peted for land with the native Celtic population a n d hence imposed their own institutions. Fro m the NOt-man conquest u n til the seve nteenth century, English history moved back and forth between strong assertions of royal au­ thori ty and strong countervailing tendencies of local autonom y and po­ litical re presentatio n . From the perspective of kin gship, E n glish medi­ eval history since the Roman occu pation is a record of discontinuity due to centu ries of i n v asion s and later to volatile political alliances with Eu­ ropean powers. En glish political involvement with France was particu­ larly im portant, beginning with the special link between E n gland and l'\ormandy, fostered for cen turies by intermarriage between the two royal houses , and continuing with d isputes over Gascony until well into " th e fi fteenth centu ry. From the pe rs pective o f local institutions, how­ e\"er, the sa me history shows m uch contin uity. Here the com parison with Japan is most instructive. Whe reas En­ gland was u n i fied by fm·eign conquest, first by the Romans and then by the Normans, Japan was uni fied by indigenous forces, first by t he Yamato dynasty. later under the Taika reforms (at least formally) , and then by the Kamakura shogunate. Chronologically, the Roman pol itical unifi­ cation o f England coincided with the Uji period of ancient clan conflicts in Japa n , whereas the decentralized Anglo-Saxon kingdoms coincided with Japanese e fforts at centralizing government institutions un der the Taika re forms. Five centuries of Roman rule over England as well as the regional and local govern ment of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman in­ \'aders h ad established a balance be tween local and cen tral rule that was absent from the Japanese experience. This may be t he reason why En-

199

ENGLAND

gl i s h local institutions cou l d deve lo p gra dua l l y whereas in Ja pa n local insti tu tions w e re altered a n u m ber of times by i n ternal co n fli c ts by the Ta ik a re forms and later by the re pea t ed turnover of local eli te s w h i c h fo l lo w ed the dis m a n t l i n g o f i m pe r ia l control over the co untryside. The sta bili ty and g radua l d e ve lo pme nt of English local government were due to the long-e s tabl i s hed i n dependence of l o cal autho rities , go in g back to Roman t i mes . O lig arc hi c rule came to p r e v ail i n the coun­ ties , in parl iament, an d at court; t hus, l o c a l i n flu e nc e a nd pa r t i c ipa t i o n in national a ffai rs w e re c l o sely related . In addi tion , many so n s o f aris­ t oc r a ti c fam ilies were appoi n ted to administrative offices t h ro u g h pa­ tro n c l i e n t relations wit h i n this oligarch y . One ca n spe ak , the n, of a "nationalization" of lo ca l po l i t i c s . Political fa ctio ns within the oligarchy were form ed w hi l e t h e c row n m atc h e d o l igarch ic i n fl ue nce by us i n g its prerogatives in making local a ppoi n t m e n t s an d develo p i ng the j u ris d ic­ tion of the royal courts. One can com pa re this deve l o p me n t with the Prussia n , which witnessed the con solidation of princely rule over the provincial estates during the seven tee nth centu ry. In this period , the Hohenzollern rulers built a civi l and military es tablishment which en­ ,

-

-

sured their own dom inance over the squirearchy. In the co untryside, aristocratic landowners in troduced t h e m il i tary and autho ritarian man­ ner which characterized their own careers i n the army. This domination of the countryside had complete royal s uppor t An ideology of honor and service enhanced this l oc al dom inance as well as the priv ileged po­ sition of the . aristocracy in the army and the civil service . At the same time, "national" affairs were the prerogative o f the cro w n ; regular par­ ticipation by the aristocracy was excl uded . Prussia knew little of that combination of local dominance and preponderance in n ational a ffairs which characterized E n gl i s h oligarchic rule. The contrast is reflected in the practice of local government. Both the Prussian rural councillor (Landral) and t he English j u sti ce of the peace represented the local a ristocratic oligarchies. In Prussia, the Land­ rat was nominated by the local estates and then appo in ted b y the king, although as a disciplin ary measure Frederick W il l i am I occasionally ap­ pointed Land rate by himself. The La nd ra t was paid, partly by the Trea­ sury and partly by the local estate , but he had no judicial authority. Many duties of the Landrat reflected the militarization of Prussian societ y He was charged with the s u pervision of recruitment, the capture of desert­ ers, the provision- and p roper care of the req uired n u mber of horses, the reimbursement of peasan ts for services rendered, and the ha ndli ng of military administration a n d supplies while an army unit was in transit through his district. These duties and the pre vale nce o f former officers among the Landrate reveal the intrusion of d y na s tic and m ilitary inter­ ests i n the cond uct of local a ffairs . I n England ,justices of the peace were .

.

200

THE AUTHORITY OF KINGS

a l so a p po i n ted by t h e crown from a m o n g the local n o t ables, bu t t h e y s e r ve d w i t h o u t s al a r y These loca l j u s t i ce s were co ncerned with work­ ho uses, p r iso n s, roads, b ri dge s vagra nts, a n d other com m u nal d ut ies alo n g w i t h their se veralju d ic i a l fu n ct i o n s . Active le ad e rs h ip was a m a tter o f pe rso na l i nclination on the part o f ge n tle men-a mateurs who t rea t ed .

,

these m atte rs i n m uch t h e same way as they did the m an agement of

the i r own

c i als

,

estates. The justices of

the peace we re a bove all c i vi.J i a n offi­

a n d alt h o u gh t h e ir con d uct of office was fo rm a l l y coordina ted by

t h e govern m e n t , their admin i strative a n d j u d i ci al activi ties ex p re ss ed the

rul e o f the local 0Ii garc h y.2� T h e i m pli c a t i o n s of this contrast for t he

ch a r ac t e r of the E n gl i s h a ri s to c rac y are d iscussed i n t h e next section.

F ROM THE KING'S C O M PANIONS TO PA RLIA M ENT A n glo-Saxon law recorded the soc ial disti nctio n s of t he time by as­ s ign in g

different amounts of co m pe n satio n (wergild) owed to the rela­ of a slai n man: 30,000 shil l i n g s fo r a k i n g s li fe, 1,200 s h i l l i n gs for the l i fe of an e arl or a ki n g s c o m pa n io n (gesilh), 200 s h i l l i n gs for the l i fe o f a freem a n . T he k i n g wi t h h i s c o m pa n i o ns t he earls in t h e sh ires, the more s ubstan tial t h e gn s and t h e magnates of the c h u rch co nstituted the An glo-Saxon a r is toc ra c y . A n d since t here we re several A n g l o -Saxo n kin gdo m s, each overlord and lesser k i n g had his own aris toc ratic

tions

'

'

,

,

ento u rage.25

A fte r 1 066, the authority o f one k i n g was the realm. W illiam the Co nq ueror

s u cce s s io n to

recogn ized

t h r o ug h o ut

emphasized the l e gi timacy of his

the English throne, and within a decade a fter the con quest most l a n d ho ldi n g s had bee n ex p ro p riated and redistributed . William d i vided England into great fiefs or "honours." The laymen to w hom

he granted them were his va ss al s,

OJ'

as they came to be called in England.

h i s barons. Th ese men, w h en they rewarded th ei r o w n vassals. likewise g r a nt e d them fie fs. In pract ice within a rel at i v e ly short t i m e c ert ain ly by the ,

time of Domesday B o o k

(1086],

,

there had arisen every tenu rial com plexity

which can be imagined: barons holding fiefs of each other, and of the ir own or of anot h er's vassal; tenants holdi n g fiefs of se v e r al lords and of each other.

Each o f these rel atio nships was establi shed by homage and fealty . There was a bel ief that all links would u l t im a t e l y reach the king. but i n p rac tice a t an g l e o f rights and o b l iga t i o n s ga ve r i se to d i s putes which ha d to be set tled . The law had t o be declared; and through judgments made by the suitors in the ho no r ial couns the law of the ho n o ur

was

f o r m ed . There were innu­

me r a ble matters which had to be decided: the exact services d ue from a vassal

to his lord, on what terms could a fief or part of it be alienated, who had the

ENGLAND

201

wardship of a vassal's children under age, when could a lord claim an aid o r relief, and s o on. The influence o f the king's court and the interlocking of

the honours hindered extreme individuality of custom in the several baro­ One of the great effects of the Conquest, nies; but diversity there was .

therefore,

was

the creation of

.

.

a

.

new body of law in the kingdom.26

Ne w social bonds emerged out o f this process of litigation by wh ich the pa rt ies to a d ispute we re i nvolved in a developi n g network of com mon rule s . Marc B loch has distinguished betwee n two phases o f fe udalism i n Wes tern Europe. I n the first, po pulation is sparse, com m u n ication dif­ ficult, and aristocratic society i n tensely local; the status of a fam ily is directly proportional to its local wealth and authority . This formulation ro ug hly describes the conditions of An glo-Saxon E ngland. I n the sec­ ond , po pulation increases, and there is a growth of towns and com­ merce; the fragmentation of political authority gives way to stronger mon archical rule. This process is well exe m plified by the Norman and Plantage net dynasties in E n gla n d . B loch describes a society based on the reciprocal bond s betwe e n a lord who grants a fief and a vassal who owes loyalty and service in retu rn. This seemingly simple pri nciple was un­ dermined as soon as a fief granted fo r service became hereditary , for then the grant would no lo n ge r be conditional; in fact, in heritance be­ came a fertile source of disp u tes. The king claimed a right to all the land and hence would demand payment for per m it t ing the heirs to assume leg al title to an in herited fief, even when they were quite wil li ng to as­ sume the service obligations incumbent upon it. The king's insistence on his rights was periodically limited by his financial needs; thus, he might consent to sell some part of h is rights i n partic ular cases. In turn, the heirs would typically seek out ways of legally construing their pay­ ments as entitling them to a n in heritance free o f additional obligations. Such conflicting constructions we re a pplied not only by the kin g and his tenants-in -chie f, but by other lords and vassals . As the complex ities of inheritance increased, the connection became atten uated be tween grants and the services or payments re ndered in return .27 After 1 066, there was only one ki ng's cou rt at which t he king's ten­ ants-in-chief mingled with magnates o f the c h urch and earls from the shires. Royal supremacy was unchallenged . U nder the protection of the king. however, an aristocracy was formed for whic h the quasi-parlia­ mentary councils of the medieval period provided a meeting place and eventually a forum for asserting baron ial rights. The Norman aristoc­ racy remained organized for war, but the Norman kings we re rich and relaxed their in herited claim to the military serv ice of their vassals by acce pting a fine (scutage) in lieu of se rvice. By the end o f the twelfth century, feudal levies based on q uotas o f armed knights were becoming

202

THE

AUTHORITY OF J\./XGS

obsolete.c The i nadeq u a cy of t he old system of armed knights and t he

n e ed for paid professional soldie rs became

a p p a re nt when countrywide royal aut ho ri ty brou gh t wi t h it m i l it a ry engagem ents i n vo l v in g lar ge and

coordinated forces. F�r wars o n the C ontine nt it

was

uneconomical to

use knights recruited in England, and when the danger from invasions

subsided, a stand i ng force of armed knights was dispensable. Fro m the of a rm ed knights which the king's vassals owed to the crown was re d uc e d from about 6,500 to 375.2H As a mo un ted warrior, the armed knight was be s t adapted to local engagements and i ndivid ua l combat. but il l suited as an officer coordi­ nating the m ot l ey units recruited from the shir e s a n d tow n s From a military standpoint, discipline was n e e d e d in place o f the heterogeneolts feudal warriors from man y di ffe re n t areas. From an adm inistrative st and po i nt, it was more effi c ie n t for the crown to a ppo int commissioners w h o s u r\'eyed t h e able-bodied men of e a c h s hire and selected t h e best of the m to serve at the king's wages, w i t h t he cost of t he i n i t i a l equ i p m e nt borne hy the l o c a lit ies From a pol i t ical standpoint, this so�cal led Com­ m is s i o n of AlTay m e a n t t h at a mi lit a ry se rvice part l y fi n a nc ed by the elc\enth to the t hirteenth centuries, the total number

-

.

.

royal t reasury made even the greatest m ag n ates mo r e d e p e nden t o n the king, although t he y

army.

remained im portant military leaders of the king's

The d a i l y stipends paid to t he knights recruited in this way reflected t h e statu s distinctions made in the fou n e ent h century. Edward Ballinl, titular k i n g of the Scots, drew 30 shillings sh i l l i ng s in wartime. A d u ke

pa id 13s.

was

a

day in peacetime and 50

4d. per day, while an

carl

d re w 8s . B a n n e re ts, who were general staff officers re s p onsible for com­ m and i n g units in the fie ld an d ga rr iso nin g castles, ranked below this

a r a te of 4 sh i ll i n g s a d a y The lowest rank of t he s e warriors­ all t hose e n t i tled and we al t h y e n o ugh to se r ve as he a vil y a r med k n i gh ts on h orseback-were the knights bachelor pa id at a ra te of 2s. a d ay All these m e n from diff e ren t r a n k s o f the aristocracy had to p o sse s s suffi­ cient l a nd so t ha t t hey could af ford the expenses fo r armor and horses, w hich often exceeded t h e pay t he y recei\'ed. But t hese expe n ses m i g h t be worthw h i le, b e c au se the rewards from foreign w a rs could be sub­ st a n t i a l due to requisi tion s, looting, and the ad d i tio n al grants of land and r ig h ts wh ich the ki n g would have at his disposal in ca se of sllccess. 29

leyel at

.

.

No medieval ki n g was ri ch e n ough to fi na n c e an a rm y of mercenaries by himsel f; the refo re m u ch de pen d ed on t h e consent of t he magn ates to gr a n t t he k i n g t he special levies he reque s te d for h is m i l i tary cam,

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R.!e mea reli'luM i llu ro T)pograpbus artts. Impr'mo �um 'Var;os IIrre mi,an �e librol. $Jpl prius This syste m of e d u cat i on received a se t b a ck d u r i n g the Reformation of t he sixtee n t h ce n tury. The c rown's co ntinuous demand for funds probably m i li ta ted a gainst the private financ i a l e n dowments nee d ed for gr amm ar schools and universities. Spec ifically, m a n y gra m m a r sc hools had bee n assoc iated with chantrie s based on private endowments, and the disso lution of the chantries damaged t he ed ucation available in Tu­ d o r En gland . At the accession of Quee n E lizabeth in 1 5 58, com plaints were voiced in the Ho use of Co m m o n s concerning the lac k of sc hools, the decay of t he u n i versities, a n d the m a n y tow n s without sc hools or preachers.26

B u t these tre n d s were reversed d u r in g the last decades of the cen­ tu ry. Su p po rt fo r ed ucat io n became the fashion as wealthy fa m i l ies and the great town gu ilds e n dowed grammar schools as well as loan funds at the u n i \'e rs ities. Law yers a n d the Inns of Co u rt in Lo n don also ac­ qui red a new pro m i nence as aristoc r ats increasingly t urned from combat to li tigat i o n . Pr i va te l y en d owed l i braries were establis hed, a n d education in t he vernacular came to t h e fore . E n glish translations of the B ible and o f law books were made available. The fact that private in itiative was large l y r es po n si ble for these ed ucational deve lo p ments s u ggests that it is prope r to s peak of a w id es pread co n cern with lear n i n gP I n Cha pte r 6 ( pp. 204-206) t he increased aristoc ratic i n terest i n educa tio n was e xamined. Here i t w i l l be use ful t o conside r the effects

TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

261

an d general causes of English educatio n . Oddly enough, the sen te nces i m pos ed on criminals give o ne indication of the im pact of learning. Due to the changed outlook of the Re formation, benefit of clergy was ex­ te n ded to lay men who could read. If a man was a ble to read a se n te nce from the Bible, he could plead benefit of clergy and have a death sen­ tenc e red uced to brandin g. I n this roundabout way we get at least a clue to the lite r ac y of the male po pulation of London: betw een 1612 and 1614, in a group of 204 men sentenced to death, 47 pe r c e nt successfully plea ded benefit of cle rgy. Other i ncentives to literacy a rose from the po pular prea c hi n g of the period w hich stressed the im portance of read­ ing the Bi ble. Between one-third and two-thirds of the male population could sign their names (accordi ng to two studies of the seve nteenth cen­ tury), if this can be used as an indication of li teracy. B u t the most per­ suasive evidence for the spread of learning cpmes from a tabulation of entrants to h igher education. I f attendance a t universities, Inns of Court, and private tutorials are added together, the a n nual tot al of stu­ dents increased from about 780 in the 1560s to a peak of 1,240 i n the 1 6 30s, the last figure representing about 2.5 percent of the annual male cohort reaching the age of seventeen.28 This educational revolution occurred when the demand for lay ad­ ministrators and professionals was increasing. Stone has suggested a model for analyzing social mobility and the role of learning between 1560 an d 1640. Over 90 percent of the population consisted of people whom contem poraries considered outside the rank of ge ntlemen, s uch as peasants, laborers, artisans, small traders, and de pendents . Surpris­ ingly, opportunities for acquiring an education existed even for sons of the more substantial yeomen , artisans, and shopkeepers at the top of this submerged majority; a n um ber of these became prom inent divines. Nevertheless, the major changes i n mobility occurred among gentlemen -that is, among the remaining 10 percent. Landed proprietors had always ranked first, although t he division between the peerage at the top, the county squirearchy. and the parish gen try was clearly i mportant. But in the course of the sixtee n th century, four other groups emerged which constituted 'social hierarchies of their own-namely, merchants, lawyers, clergy , and government officials (including military officers). As Stone comments, there was a status hie rarchy based on land, and there were additional occu patio n al hierarchies w hose relation to that standard system of refe re nce was uncertain.29 Learning was also stimulated by its manifest utility for merchants and cra ftsmen and early advances in science responded to these practical interests. Still, royal and aristoc ratic sponsorship of science was im por­ tant as well. When the u n i versities resisted the teachi n g of science, in­ stitutions of scienti fic learning like Gresham College were founded out­ side the universities. When during the agitation of the 1640s and 1650s

Emblem of the Royal Society, 1661

The foundation of the Royal Society was sponsored by king Charles II. whose bust is dis­ played on the pedestal. The figure to the left is the first president of the society. who is pointing to t he kin g's sponsorship. The fig u re to the right is Francis Bacon. the in itiator of the new science. who is poi nting to some of the scientific instruments (and to a gun) dis­ played on a wall behind h i m . Even this early allegory shows that science depends on politi­ cal sponso r s h i p but also claims independence from it. (Thomas Sprat, Hi./ory of the Royal

Sori,/y,

1734)

TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

26 3

Ac:ademie des scienc:es, 1700

This picture of the French Academy shows the early proliferation of scientific instru­

ments. On the far left are musical instruments for harmonic studies; on the lower shelf in the rear are cannon models for experiments in ballistics. Pulleys, catapults, globes, and geometric instruments are among the articles on display. (British Museum)

science was assailed as dange rous to established beliefs, the king's s pon­ sorship of the Royal Society (1661) helped to dispel popular and eccle­ siastical suspicion . Nevertheless, many early scientists and clergymen found it necessary to defend the com patibility among science, religion , and c ommerce.30 During the seventeenth century, religion was probably more im­ portant than science for arousing the intellectual interest of the popu­ lation. Lawrence Stone's estimate that rou ghly one-half of the total male population of London was literate by the early seventeenth century is best explained by the religio us agitatio n in which laymen supported their arguments by scriptural q uotations. In many Puritan congrega­ tions, lay men had become active in both the administrative and religious functions of their churc h . Church livings frequently depended on the financial sponsorship of aristocratic landowners and could be main­ tained only with their consent. In this way, popular religio us interest and aristocratic sponsorship fo und a basis of common concern despite the social divisions of English society. The promotion of literacy went beyond the confines o f the church,

TO WARD A MANDA TE OF THE PEOPLE

though there was considerable o ppositio n to literacy. An act o f 1543 "for the advanceme nt of true religion" expressly prohibited the readin g o f the E n glish B ible by artificers and jou rneymen u nder the rank of yeoman , and by all women o f less than noble ra nk. This concern with the dange r of excessive social aspi rations among the lower classes existed until well into the eighteenth century, whe n c h u rchmen still in veighed ag ain st the subversive a ct ivity of teaching reading in charity schools .31 Neve rtheless, the sixtee nth and seventeenth centuries witnessed a ra pid growth o f a reading public, if one may judge from the seve n fold i ncrease in the number of printers in London d uri ng the reign of Quee n E liz­ abeth (1558-1603) and the tri pling of pri nting houses betwee n 1688 and 1757.32 Though the number of new books published a n n u ally re­ mained relatively small u ntil the end of the eighteenth centu ry, the size of editions increased and circulating libraries aided the di ffus ion of reading matter, o ffsetting the high price of each volume. For successful authors this growth of a reading public made free­ lance writing lucrative enough to pro vide an independen _ t livelihood . Writers had previously been t.roubled by the need to defer to their aris­ tocratic patrons. Now, dependence on an anonymous reading public meant freedom from personal s ubservience and a new social indepen­ dence from the aristoc racy. It meant, however, a new dependence on the t aste of the people. Ever since writin g developed into a profession, writers have grappled with the distinction between the few a nd the many. Soc ial distinctions based on titles and in heritance have bee n sup­ ple me nted (or eve n s uperseded) by the d istinction betwee n the few

marked o ff by their ed ucation and c reativity and "the people" whose n umbers give the m purchasin g power un related to taste. Populists see the mass of the people in terms o f t he virtues of the sim ple life; elitists see them in terms of vulgar tastes to which a crass com mercialism can readily appe a l 33 Similar cultu ral changes occurred elsewhere in Western civilization, although the details di ffer from country to country . Facilitated by the invention of printing in the fi fteenth ce ntury, old learned occupations turned secular, new professions based on learning developed, govern­ ments became bureaucratic, and secular education rose to social esteem and functional im portance. Furthermore, the Re formation gave i mpe­ tus to literacy among the middle and lower strata of the population, and later writing became an indepe ndent, secular profession. In the course o f these transformations, ma ny people became consumers of secular c u lture, whereas formerly they had been con fi ned to religious obser­ vances and po pular amusements. This emerge nce of a culture-consum­ ing public is the background for the intellectual leadership of an active minority , com posed o f lawyers, teachers, ministers, writers, and many others. .

TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

265

Beginning in the e ra of the Reformation and o f overseas exp l o ra ­ tio n , each major c han ge of the modern world has had demonstration effe cts a b road. Once the c h u rch was challenged, a king be he a d ed , or a parliament su preme, o nce ind ustrialization was i n i t i a te d a n d the i d ea l of eq uali ty p roclaimed, no country co uld rem ai n u naffected. E very­ wh e re people were made aware of eve nts and "ad v a n c e s " wh ich served as r e fer ence poi nts for t h e assessme nt of de v e lo p ments at home . In six­ tee nth-ce ntury England, " i nt e l le c tua l mobilization" was motivated from ac ross fron t ie rs by na t i o n a l rival ries an d religious fears . In the eigh ­ tee nth and nineteenth centuries, "int ellectual mobilization" was a by­ prod uct of economic d evelo pment and of the s t ri v i n g for political and social eq uali ty. B ut these d istinctions are crude. " Intellectual mobiliza­ tion" crea te d cond i t io n s fav ori ng t he c ul tu ral l eadersh i p of educated m inorities, which played a majo r role in the state- and nation-building efforts of fol lower societies. An elaboration of this point will outline the framework that has guided the fol lowing studies . AUTHORITY RECON STITUTED: A FRAMEWORK FOR STUDY

Eu ropean explorations and conquests, trade and C hristian missions, the di ffusion of ideas through printing, the demonstration e ffects of modern science and of industrial economies, the ideas of the Re for­ mation and of the French revolution-all these had re perc ussions in most parts of the world. Soc ieties with ancient traditions have been d is­ rupted by this multiple outward thrust of Europe, often through coer­ cion or conquest but frequently also through the demon stration e ffect itself. This revolutionary process began wit h the first em pires built by Portugal and S pai n in the late fi fteenth cen t ur y , a process which Marx aptly described as "primitive accumulation." That process has entered its concluding phase o n ly now with the decolonization of most African and Asian societies, though the effects of overseas expansion were cen­ turies in the making and will not quickly disa ppear. We are dealing w i th a protracted revolution which has occurred wherever conquest, com­ merce, industry, technical innovations, and the s pread of ideas have overturned established social relations and polit i ca l structures. Commerce and industry were an important part of this overall rev­ olutionary process, but it does not make good sense to attribute all chan ges of the last four or five h undred years to "capitalism." In recent years we have come to recognize that sc ientific advance and technolog­ ica l innovation have ofte n developed a momentum of their own. Such advance m ust have some economic basis, but it often depends as well on the developmen t of a scientific or technical comm un ity (that is, a net­ work of communication among qualified people with related intellectual

266

TO WARD A MANDATE OF THE PEOPLE

interests). Such com m u n ities have a social and p s yc hologi c a l c apaci ty fo r p romo t in g scie n ce and technology and are the re fore a force o f p rodu c­ tio n . Moreover, the era o f the "second i nd us trial revol u t ion" (w ith it s vast elaboration of electro n i cs , ato m ic power, che m i cal engineeri ng, and so forth ) has made us awa re that s cie n ce and technology have u nan ti c­ i pated e conomic re pe rcussions and that the re perc u ssio n s of ideas are fully as i m portan t as the material interests which play a role in sti m u­ latin g ideas. These i n sigh ts s hould not be con fined to the prese nt . For exam ple , the i n ve ntion of printing a n d t he scie n t i fi c revolution o f the seve ntee nth centu ry were part o f an i ntelle ctual mobilizatio n that was fa cilitated by commercialization in the earl y modern pe riod, but that also occurred well i n advance o f com mercialization a n d provided a mea n s to pro mote commerce and i n d u stry. I p ro pose to treat i ntellectual mobilization-the growth o f a readin g pu b lic and of an ed u cated se cular elite d e pe ndent on learned occu pa­ tions -as an independent cause of social c han ge. Recognition of this cause need not detract from the fam iliar processes associated with eco­ nomic development, such as urba n i zation and the comme rcialization of land, labor, and capital. But t h e re a re some mass movements since 1500, such as the Refo rm at ion , nationalism , agitation for ethnic and religio us autonomy an d fo r freedom and equality , which do not ha ve a simple basis

in the division of labor or class interest. N ationalism is noteworthy for its protean reaction to the international position of one's country , w hether it is a s u pe rpowe r among n at ion s or a cou ntry se archi n g for a new iden­ tity. Also, ethnic and religious agitation is rooted in a sense of com­

m unity, o ften at t he p rice of e cono m ic well-being. Marx saw the h uman condition as defined by a pe rs on 's relation to the work process and by the use of his faculties in that process. B u t in his interactions with others, man's o ccu pat ional role is o n l y one sou rce o f id e n tit y among many. In the seventeenth and eig hteen t h centuries, England a nd France underwent major constitutional changes, and new modes of organizing social groups came into being. In Engla nd , Tudor and Stuart "absolut­ ism" was superseded by a new, contractual rel ation between king and p arl ia m ent in the revolution o f 1688. In France, a nation of citizens emerged in place of the division between notables active in and subje cts excluded from public affairs. These two reconstituted societies had been affected by the process of intellectual mobilization in an international setting. England felt the challenge of Spanish i mperial power and Cath­ olic subversion , while France res ponded to the challenge of English po­ litical institutions and the American war of independence. But once their own reconstitution was effe cte d the se t wo societies became the reference-point to wh ich follower societies res po n d e d by taking them either as models or as an indication of what to avoid in charting their own development. The purpose o f the following chapters on England, ,

TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY

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