2 - Foundational Texts

Summary

Chapter 2 turns its attention to the cultural foundations on which medieval ideas of kingship built. It falls into two parts. The first summarises key episodes from the Old Testament; outlines concepts of just and legitimate power as defined by Cicero in his De Officiis and in Seneca’s De Clementia, which were among the mostly widely read classical texts in the central Middle Ages; and draws attention to important patristic and early medieval writers like Gregory the Great, St Augustine and Pseudo-Cyprianus. A recurring theme in all these is the relationship between the divine and worldly power, in each case reimagined so as to fit the specific circumstances and traditions of an author’s community. Kingship meant something different to semi-nomadic desert tribes in Syria, educated Roman elites and theologians coming to terms with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The second part highlights key themes in the medieval reception of these foundational texts, and in a range of more abstract engagements with worldly power. Especially important prove to be questions of justice, humility, the role of virtue, the subservience of the ruler to the divine and the need for oversight and admonition. These themes were pervasive across Latin Europe.