Legacy of power-political traditions of Middle Ages in France and Germany at beginning of Early Modern times

This publication attempts to consider, in a comparative way, the medieval origins of power-political practices of the era of the High Renaissance in two continental European countries, France and Germany. The paper is based on historiography. As a result of the analysis of the material available in the research literature the outline of the political and cultural heritage, which France of the 16 th century had from the preceding period, was obtained. Among the most significant components of the political culture of this European region were marked such traits as succession rules dominion over the centuries, some independence from the Holy See and the sanctification of the royal figure, the ruling family as a whole, the expansionist aspirations of supreme power, followed by the personal courage of the French sovereigns, the trend to rationalism in the management and settings of monarchical political theory and practice. It has been shown that French King Francis I (1515-1547) who ruled at the beginning of the 16th century became the successor of these traditions of the preceding period. Under the rule of Francis there continued the emergence of autonomy of French monarchy of Rome, leading to the formation of a "royal gallicanism." Careful work was done on stressing the sacral character of the ruler's figure and the general ceremonial design of the power. In the history of the Italian wars the king took an active personal part in, the old-established trend of royal France world domination was clearly seen. Finally, in the political culture of the era a considerable importance was given to theoretical analysis of questions about the prerogatives of the monarch as an embodiment of the supreme authority. Considering power rhetoric in the medieval Empire the specificity of its expression was underlined in comparison with the French kingdom. The transformation of political practices from one emperor to another plus the total value decline of imperial power, with the classic medieval beginning, prevented the preservation of continuity of tradition in this area. Available in contemporary German studies data suggest that the issue of relations between power and church did not find here quite favourable resolution. Sacredness attributed to the figure of the supreme ruler of Germany, as practiced in the whole West, further reinforced by the imperial status, did not acquire the waste nature by the end of the Middle Ages, as in France. External ceremonial glitter around of the power of German Emperor during early medieval period forming the standard in the European region gave way to more modest forms in the late Middle Ages. Approved in the 15th century by the Board at the Imperial throne of Habsburg dynasty many medieval traditions of power, above all, the imperial ambitions and military-political activity, and the weakness of streamlined forms of governance associated with the dual level of administration and the sovereignty of the number of agents of the political field within the state preserved at the beginning of Early Modern time. This is demonstrated in the article as an example of a government of Maximilian I of Habsburg (1493-1519).

Keywords

Authors

References