Were the Early Capetian Monarchs of Medieval Frace Merely Primus Inter Pares
The suggestion that the Capetian kings of the tenth and eleventh century were weak and merely Primus inter pares, appears a valid one. There has been a trend ever since the age of Charlemagne for the position of the kings of the Frankish State to be fragile. There are some historians however; who would refute this description of the Capetian kings of this period, most notably the historian Fawtier, who suggested that the king was truly a powerful medieval leader in the mould of the modern notions of kingship. The other view is that of the historians Lemarignier and Duby, suggesting that the Capetian kings of this time only had a localised powerbase, meaning that they were indeed little more than first amongst equal - Primus inter pares. The question however should also centre upon why the Capetian kings of this period were first amongst equal, whilst the kings of Saxon-Salian Germany at this time were so powerful.Let us first then consider the argument of Fawtier that the Capetian kings of the tenth and eleventh century were not first amongst equals, but rather powerful kings similar to those of Saxon-Salian Germany. Fawtier reasoned that the king was a powerful for several reasons, all of which help to provide the king wit
One can attribute the notion of the Capetians being first amongst equals at this time primarily at the strength of the surrounding duchies. The prime example of which would be the Norman duchy. The weakness of the Capetian leaders of the Frankish State at this time is highlighted by the fact that the Normans saw themselves as an independent kingdom from the rest of Frankia. The fact that the Norman's were able to call themselves such with little or no action from the Capetian leaders, save for re-titling the Norman duke a count, emphasises the strength of Normandy in relation to the Capetian State. Indeed if we were to believe the Fawtier argument, then one would expect the state of Normandy to comply with all orders given by the Capetian leaders. This is however not the case, in fact the opposite almost appears to be the case. There is a fine example of the Capetians having to compromise for the Normans in the oath of homage to the leader of the state, as normally one goes to the leader's stronghold to give allegiance. In the case of the Normans up to the 1060's however, the oath of homage was made on the Norman-Franco border. Again this would indeed suggest that the Lemarignier thesis, supported by Longman, that all power during the tenth and eleventh century derived from the territories one controlled and could gain vassals from, was true. After all, if this were not the case, and the effects of feudalism were not at work i
Some common words found in the essay are:
Capetian Indeed, Anjou Normandy, , Flanders Normandy, Unfortunately Capetians, Bloch Ganshof, Germany Fawtier, Lemarignier Duby, Frankia Norman's, Capetian Essentially, tenth eleventh, capetian kings, eleventh century, tenth eleventh century, inter pares, capetian leaders, primus inter, primus inter pares, amongst equals, theoretical power, capetian kings period, nature power, saxon-salian germany, strength surrounding duchies, capetian kings tenth,
Approximate Word count = 973
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
