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Europe in 1500 - Rulers and subjects

8 important questions on Europe in 1500 - Rulers and subjects

What major implications did the revival of a money economy have for government and power relations?

If rewards took the form of wages or pensions, and not of lands, they could be cut off at source if the recipient proved disloyal, whereas lands might have to be physically repossessed.

What did the agreement for taxation involve during the thirteenth century?

From the thirteenth century onwards the process of winning agreement to taxation often involved consulting a representative assembly such as the Aragonese corts, the English Parliament, the Polish sejm or the Estates General in France.

What distinguishes English assemblies from French ones?

Representative assemblies often did more than consent to taxation, and the English Parliament's right to legislate served to distinguish it from the Estates General in France, whose lack of law-making powers provided ammunition for those contemporaries who found the French monarchy worryingly unlimited.

What improved administration? What was Roman law about?

Administration became increasingly professional from the twelfth century onwards, thanks largely to the growth of the universities, which produced a continuous supply of law graduates destined for a career in the government of Church or state.
Their training in Roman law, which in many countries was the basis of civil law and powerfully shaped canon law, provided them with words, concepts and arguments that enabled them to discuss and advocate conceptions of the state, sovereignty and corporate representation, even though the word 'state' did not acquire something close to its modern meaning until the sixteenth century.

How was the sacral nature of kingship stressed?

The kings of France and England claimed special healing powers and were anointed at their coronations, as bishops were at their consecrations.

What played a crucial role in government?

Rulers were well aware that they had to use the resources of patronage at their disposal - lands, offices, pensions or judicial pardons.
This is one reason why the courts of rulers played such a crucial role in government, for it was there above all that their subjects, in person or through kinsmen, friends or patrons, could present them or members of their immediate entourage with requests for favour.

What was the reason behind civil wars and rebellions (in general)?

The civil wars and rebellions that occurred, for example, in England, France, some of the Italian states, Aragon and Castile in the fifteenth century might be taken to indicate that the resources of governments were not invariably enough to secure obedience; but these upheavals were protests against the misuse of those resources, not against their inadequacy.

Did literary culture around 1500 inspire social change?

Nor did the literary culture of the age inspire their social betters to dream dreams of profound social change or thoughts of progress.
The courtly love tradition and the Renaissance movement were hardly seen as politically or socially dangerous; and the influence of both can be seen in Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, perhaps the most influential treatment of its subject ever written.

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Early Modern History

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Europe in 1500 - Rulers and subjects

8 important questions on Europe in 1500 - Rulers and subjects

What major implications did the revival of a money economy have for government and power relations?

What did the agreement for taxation involve during the thirteenth century?

What distinguishes English assemblies from French ones?

What improved administration? What was Roman law about?

How was the sacral nature of kingship stressed?

What played a crucial role in government?

What was the reason behind civil wars and rebellions (in general)?

Did literary culture around 1500 inspire social change?

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