Papal overlordship and protection of the King, c.1000-1300
This thesis focuses on papal overlordship of monarchs in the Middle Ages. It examines the nature of alliances between popes and kings which have traditionally been called âfeudalâ or â more recently â âprotectiveâ. Previous scholarship has assumed that there was a distinction between kingdoms under papal protection and kingdoms under papal overlordship. I argue that protection and feudal overlordship were distinct categories only from the later twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Before then, papal-royal alliances tended to be ad hoc and did not take on more general forms. At the beginning of the thirteenth century kingdoms started to be called âfiefsâ of the papacy. This new type of relationship came from England, when King John surrendered his kingdoms to the papacy in 1213. From then on this âfeudalâ relationship was applied to the popeâs relationship with the king of Sicily. This new â more codified â feudal relationship seems to have been introduced to the papacy by the English royal court rather than by another source such as learned Italian jurists, as might have been expected. A common assumption about how papal overlordship worked is that it came about because of the
Wiedemann, Benedict
Papal overlordship and protection of the King, c.1000-1300. This thesis focuses on papal overlordship of monarchs in the Middle Ages. It examines the nature of alliances between popes and kings which have traditionally been called âfeudalâ or â more recently â âprotectiveâ. Previous scholarship has assumed that there was a distinction between kingdoms under papal protection and kingdoms under papal overlordship. I argue that protection and feudal overlordship were distinct categories only from the later twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. Before then, papal-royal alliances tended to be ad hoc and did not take on more general forms. At the beginning of the thirteenth century kingdoms started to be called âfiefsâ of the papacy. This new type of relationship came from England, when King John surrendered his kingdoms to the papacy in 1213. From then on this âfeudalâ relationship was applied to the popeâs relationship with the king of Sicily. This new â more codified â feudal relationship seems to have been introduced to the papacy by the English royal court rather than by another source such as learned Italian jurists, as might have been expected. A common assumption about how papal overlordship worked is that it came about because of the
papal protection king focus papal monarch middle_ages examine nature alliance king traditionally call feudal recently protective previous_scholarship assume distinction kingdom papal protection kingdom papal argue protection feudal distinct_category papal royal alliance tend hoc take general form begin kingdom start call papacy new_type relationship come england king_john surrender kingdom papacy feudal relationship apply pope relationship_king sicily new codify feudal relationship seem introduce papacy english royal_court rather another source learn italian jurist might_expect common_assumption papal work come