The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought c.350–c.1450 (The Cambridge History of Political Thought)

This Volume Offers A Comprehensive And Authoritative Account Of The History Of A Complex And Varied Body Of Ideas Over A Period Of More Than One Thousand Years. A Work Of Both Synthesis And Assessment, The Cambridge History Of Medieval Political Thought Presents The Results Of Several Decades Of Critical Scholarship In The Field, And Reflects In Its Breadth Of Enquiry Precisely That Diversity Of Focus That Characterized The Medieval Sense Of The Political, Preoccupied With Universality At Some Levels, And With Almost Minute Particularity At Others. Among The Vital Questions Explored By The Distinguished Team Of Contributors Are The Nature Of Authority, Of Justice, Of Property; The Problem Of Legitimacy, Of Allegiance, Of Resistance To The Powers That Be; The Character And Functions Of Law, And The Role Of Custom In Maintaining A Social Structure. Christian Doctrine / Henry Chadwick -- Greek And Roman Political Theory / John Procopé -- Roman Law / P.g. Stein -- Byzantine Political Thought / D.m. Nicol -- The West / R.a. Markus -- The Latin Fathers / R.a. Markus -- The Barbarian Kingdoms / P.d. King -- The Formation Of Political Thought In The West / D.e. Luscombe -- Government, Law And Society / R. Van Caenegem -- Kingship And Empire / Janet Nelson -- Church And Papacy / I.s. Robinson -- The Twelfth-century Renaissance / D.e. Luscombe, G.r. Evans -- Politics, Institutions, And Ideas / J.p. Canning -- Spiritual And Temporal Powers / J.a. Watt -- Law, Legislative Authority And Theories Of Government, 1150-1300 / K. Pennington -- Law, Sovereignty And Corporation Theory, 1300-1450 / J.p. Canning -- Government / Jean Dunbabin -- Community, Counsel And Representation / Jeannine Quillet -- The Conciliar Movement / Antony Black -- The Individual And Society / Antony Black -- Property And Poverty / Janet Coleman. Edited By J.h. Burns. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. [691]-777. This volume, first published in 1988, offers a comprehensive and authoritative account of the history of a complex and varied body of ideas over a period of more than a thousand years. A work of both synthesis and assessment, The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought presents the results of several decades of critical scholarship in the field, and reflects in its breadth of enquiry precisely that diversity of focus which characterised the medieval sense of the 'political', preoccupied with universality at some levels, and with almost minute particularity at others. Thus among the vital questions explored by the distinguished team of contributors are the nature of authority, of justice, of property; the problem of legitimacy, of allegiance, of resistance to the powers that be; the character and function of law, and the role of custom in sustaining a social structure. While the predominant emphasis of the volume is necessarily upon those ideas that developed within Latin Christendom, full weight is also given to the impact of Byzantine, Jewish, and Islamic thought, and the whole comprises a unique distillation of knowledge upon a multi-faceted screen This volume offers a comprehensive and authoritative account of the history of a complex and varied body of ideas over a period of more than 1000 years. A work of both synthesis and assessment, it presents the results of several decades of critical scholarship in the field. It looks at questions such as the nature of authority, of justice, of property; the problem of legitimacy, of allegiance, of resistance to the powers that be; the character and function of law, and the role of custom in sustaining a social structure. While the predominant emphasis of the volume is necessarily upon those ideas that developed within Latin Christendom, full weight is also given to the impact of Byzantine, Jewish, and Islamic thought The early Christians understood the Church to which they adhered to consist of a community called out to serve God as his people and focused on Jesus of Nazareth as model for the disciples' filial relation to God.