Medieval and
Renaissance Political Thinkers and their Works
John Lewis
June, 2002
Secondary Sources and
Readers:
J. H. Burns (ed.), The
Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought, (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1988, repr. 1997).
J. Coleman, A
History of Political Thought from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance (
A. P. Monahan, From
Personal Duties Towards Personal Rights: Late Medieval and early Modern
Political Thought, 1300-1600 (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens
University Press, 1994).
C. J. Nederman and K. Langdon Forhan (eds.), Medieval Political Theory—A Reader: The
Quest for the Body Politic 1100-1400 (London and New York: Routledge,
1993).
K. Pennington, The
Prince and the Law: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition (Berkeley,
LA and Oxford: University of California, 1993).
Primary Thinkers:
Gratian, 12th century; Decretum Gratiani 1140.
Gratian taught Church Law at the
Later
additions were made by St. Raymond of Pennafort and promulgated by Pope Gregory
IX in 1234 as the Liber Extravagantium (so called because it was outside
the Decretum). Other collections were issued by Boniface VIII in 1298 and John
XXII in 1317. In 1500, canonist John Chapuis edited the previous collections
and added to them subsequent papal decretals. These works together are what
came to be called the Corpus Iuris Canonici, or Body of Canon Law.
He studied at
His Summa observes that a Pope was not answerable to the Church,
“unless found to be in heresy.” This is
an early example of conciliarism, the right of a council to rein in a deviant
Pope.
Also wrote "Liber
derivationum", on etymologies.
Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153; Letter to Pope Eugenius III
Born of aristocratic family and well educated, he
entered a strict monastery at Citeaux, with noble friends. In 1114 he was sent to found new house at
Clairvaux. He wanted to extend monastic
ideal to the entire church, including Popes and Kings. Accused Abelard of Heresy; rebuked emperor
Lothair over his support of Anti-pope Antecletus, and spoke in favor of a
second Crusade.
The Letter to
Pope Eugenius III was written either 1146 to describe the Second Crusade,
or c. 1150 to urge another expedition.
Bernard advocates the “Two Swords” to justify the Pope’s temporal as
well as spiritual power. Bernard cited
Luke 22.36-8, where, after his meal, Jesus urges the apostles to buy
swords. In the Garden of
John of
Studied at
Metalogicon
is a discussion of pedagogy and the state of learning. Man can attain the product of political
association only in context with a refinement of intellectual and rational
skills. John here is consistent with
Policraticus: Of
the Frivolity of Courtiers and the Footprints of Philosophers: the first complete work of medieval political
philosophy? Stresses the need for the
king’s moral instruction and wise advisors.
Uses a metaphor of body politic to human body: soul (priests), head
(king), and body (counsels to peasants).
King can be replaced and, if necessary, killed, if he transgresses his
proper limits.
Ranulf of Glanville: c.1125-1190; A Treatise on the Laws and Customs of the
Roman law was easily adopted by the Church, given
their common historical roots, their hierarchical organizations and their
stress on an imposed power. But feudal
customs were less adaptable to Roman Law.
This treatise, written in the court of Henry II, tries to reconcile
Roman Law with feudal customs. Common law derived from customs is law,
according to this treatise, but this is maintained through legislation and
kingship that is Roman in conception.
Brunetto Latini, c. 1220-1294; The Book of Treasure
A Florentine, Latinin was exiled to
Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274; On Kingship; Summa Theologiae; Commentary on Aristotle’s Politics
Educated at the Abbey of Monte Cassino, then at the
Giles (Aegidius) of
Augustinian; studied in Paris under Aquinas, given a
chair at Paris, tutored Philip the Fair, son of Philip III of France. On
Civil Government was written at request of the King; it aims to deal with
everything a King needs to rule well: education, courtly life, political
theories. This shows a strong
Aristotelian influence, as Aristotle’s Politics
first appeared in translation in the 1260’s. For instance, the tyrant rules for his own
good, and the king for the good of the community. He reflects a generally pro-monarchy,
pro-papal stance, although he speaks of a “natural state” in which there was no
property, only claims.
Ptolemy of Lucca, ?-1327; De Regimine Principum.
This was attached to manuscripts of Thomas Aquinas, his teacher. Ptolemy was Bishop of Torcello in 1318. He writes that Republicanism is best where
the spirit of the people is strong and freedom is valued.
John of
One of the most prominent scholars in
On the Regal and
Papal Power makes what may be an early statement of property rights. John argues that church officials may be
concerned with material property, thus arguing against radical ascetics; on the
other hand, the Pope is not an earthly ruler.
Ultimately John claims that use and ownership cannot be divided, and that
a peasant’s use of his land means his ownership of it. This is true even if Kingly and Papal
officials have jurisdiction over it. In
terms of Papal authority over the Church, John maintains a distinction between
the man and the office. This means that
the pope is both the highest authority and answerable to the body of the
Church.
Joannus Monarchus, ?-1313; Glossa Aurea Supra Sexto Decretium Libro
A prominent canonist; advisor to Philip the Fair, and
made a Cardinal by Celestine V. He
supported a definite position for the cardinals in relation to the Pope by
using standard corporation theory: “The
Pope relates to the college of Cardinals as any bishop in respect of his
college [of canons].” Consequently, the
Papal authority is limited in the sense that a wise Pope will consult with the
Cardinals in order to make his pronouncements legally binding.
Guilielmus Durantis (William Durant), ?-1330; Tractatus de Modo Generalis Concilis
Celebrandi
A French Bishop, he saw Papal authority as limited not
by the cardinals but rather by the local churches. The Pope was a Bishop with a relationship to
his cathedral chapter, and was constrained by Canonical legislation (unless
approved by a Church council). He
invoked as his theme the well-known quod
omnes tangit ab omnibus approbetur—“what touches all must be approved by
all.” His arguments were based solely on
texts from the Decretum.
Marsilius of
His early training was in medicine at
Structurally, there are 3 parts to the treatise. The first deals with kingly power; the second
with powers of papacy and priesthood; the third is a summary. This is a strong differentiation between
political and ecclesiastical powers.
Papal attempts to regulate temporal affairs are seen as disruptive; the
discourse is in favor of a conciliar rather than authoritarian form of church
governance.
William of Pagula, c.1290-1332; The Mirror of King Edward III
William was a parish priest who also earned a
doctorate in Canon Law (1320).
The Mirror of
King Edward III is two texts, the first of 1311 and the second probably of
1312 is a revision. William argues
against purveyance, the means by which the King taxed the peasantry outside of
normal channels, either by outright confiscation or buying at fixed
non-negotiable rates. The affects of
this on the peasants were terrible, and William defends them by claiming that
the most humble of the King’s subjects deserves his protections.
Other works include Also The Eye of the Priesthood, a canon law and theological guide for
parish priests; and The Summary of Summaries,
a more academic treatment of these issues.
William of Ockham, c. 1285-1349; Whether a Ruler can Accept the Property of the Churches for his Own
Needs, Namely in case of War, even against the Wishes of the Pope (1338)
Born in Ockhan, Surrey, early education probably
Whether a Ruler
can Accept . . . is his first political work. In 1337 Edward III and Ludwig allied, albeit
briefly. William defended Edward’s right
to tax the peasantry and denied the Pope’s right to interfere. Therefore William attacked the Pope’s claim
to a “plenitude of power,” dominion over the offices and property of the laity.
His further political works are based on Whether a Ruler can Accept . . .. these include Dialogue (1339-41); Short
treatise on Tyrannical Government (1341); the Eight Questions on the Power of the Pope (c. 1341), and On Imperial and Pontifical Power
(1346-47).
John Wyclif, 1330-1383; On Civil Lordship (1374-5); On
the Duty of the King (1378-9), treatises within his Summary of Theology
From Yorkshire,
Wyclif claims that civil lordship, over material
goods, belongs properly to those who avoid sin.
He distinguishes natural lordship, meaning factual possession of goods,
from evangelical lordship, which provides a right to those goods through grace.
He advocates minimal law, claiming that divine law in scripture is sufficient
for government, and defends monarchy. He
wants to place priests under royal direction without subordinating the Church
to secular power.
Pierre d’Ailly, 1350?-1420?; On the Sentences of Peter Lombard.
French Conciliarist who represented French interests
at the Councils of Pisa (1409) and Constance (1414-18). Developed his views at the time of the Great
Schism, while a student in Paris in 1379.
Chancellor of University of Paris 1389-95; Bishop, and then Cardinal in
1411 (under John XXII). Urged a via cessionis position to end the Schism
(both Popes would resign, and the Cardinals would choose again. This contrasted with via concilis, in which a Council would select a Pope from the two
existing Popes). He maintained that the
authority of Bishops and Priests came from Christ, not the Pope, and that the
Pope’s authority was thereby limited and subject to Council review. He used corporation theory to argue from
administration over relations between Pope and Council. Although there is a notion of “consent” in
his thought, this must not be taken too far; consent meant passive acceptance
not active approval. The people had no
more right to withhold their consent than the ruler could default on his
autority.
His Sentences served
to advance Nominalism at the
Jean Gerson, 1363-1429.
Student of d’Ailly at Paris. A dominant conciliarist at Council of
Constance (1414-18). He expressed his
view in theological rather than legal / political terms. He rejected Ockham’s view that the Church
could exist in a single person; Gerson saw its priests and its hierarchy as
essential to it (only the Holy Spirit could change that hierarchy). He wrote numerous tracts on the role of the
Councils.
Franciscus Zabarella,
1360-1429; Tractatus de Schismate
(1403-08).
He made the most scholarly and sustained efforts to
solve the Schism as a conciliarist. He
studied jurisprudence at
“The statement that a Pope has a plenitude of power
should not be understood to mean that he alone possesses it, but that he has it
in virtue of being head of a corporation (universitas)
such that this powewr resides fundamentally in the corporation, and in the pope
as its first minister through whom the power is expressed” (Commentaria 109va).
Christine de Pizan, c. 1365-1430; The Book of the Body Politic
Born in
The Book of the
Body Politic uses a metaphor from John of Salisbury’s Policraticus. This is an
organizing principle, but possibly also a warning to the prince that the people
will revolt if he does not rule well.
The organization follows the three estates in
Bartolus of Sassoferrato, 1314-1357; Treatise on City Government
Bartolus
is a legal realist of the Italian Renaissance; he argues that the original
government of
Baldus de Ubaldus, 1326?-1400
Baldus
taught and practiced law in
The
real independence of the Italian city-states is not over-ridden by the
theoretical claims of law. The de iure jurisdictions of Pope and
Emperor must be distinguished from de
facto conditions in various states.
To resolve this, Baldus (like many legal scholars) distinguished
absolute powers from ordinary powers (potestas
absoluta et potestas ordinaria); the Emperor allows local conditions to
continue by using only his ordinary powers.
If the Emperor were here his approval would be needed; but, he is not
here.
The
Emperor holds power from via selection by the people. (1) the people are sovereign under God; (2)
the people transfer power to the emperor; (3) Christ confirms this through
“render unto Caesar; (4) the Pope crowns the Emperor to complete the
process. (This sophisticated idea of a
corporate juristic populus could be expanded into a theory of popular
sovereignty.)
Coluccio Salutati, 1331-1406
Elder Statesman of the 15th century
Florentine Humanists. Trained in Rhetoric at
Bologna, under Pietro de Muglio. Praised Petrarch’s rediscovery of classical thinkers,
and praised republican government. He
equated liberty and independence with participatory self-government without
foreign intervention. Citizens needed to
participate in government and in military defense. He saw
His later A
Treatise on Tyrants (c. 1400) supported a single ruler, and praised Caesar.
Leonardo Bruni (Aretino), 1369-1444; History of
Follower
of Salutati. Trained in rhetoric in
Florence in the 1390’s. Secretary to the
Papal Curia in 1406; returned to
He made the treasures of the Hellenic world
accessible by translating into Latin Greek authors such as Aristotle, Plato,
Plutarch, Demosthenes, and Aeschines.
Pier Paulo Vergerio
Follower of Salutati.
Wrote a letter to the Chancellor of Venice in 1394 praising the city’s
mixed constitution.
Poggio Braccidini, 1380-1459
Follower of Salutati.
Nicholas of Cusa (Cusanus), 1401-; de Concordatia Catholica (On the Harmony
of the Church) (1433).
Prominent at the Council of Basle, 1432. Trained in Canon law at Padua. Argued philosophically from Neoplatonic
premises in favor of a hierarchy in reality (of which the Church was a major
part) and in rationality in natural law.
Consent is therefore a sign and expression of reason in human
affairs. He layed out legal guidelines
for convening a Council and for the authority of the Pope. He saw the Church as a hierarchy with the General
Council at its head and the Pope as an administrator.
Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, 1405-68; De Ortu et Authoritate Imperii Romani (1446), (Pope Pius II in
1458)
Spoke of humans coming together out of a pre-political
stage; from rational decision after living like beasts (De Orto 1.391).
Francisco Patrizi, 1413-1492; De Institutione Reipublicae (On the Institutions of the Republic)
1460’s.
Part of the republican revival in
Alamanno Rinucci
Dialogus de Libertate (Dialogue on Liberty) 1470’s.
Part of the republican revival in
Donato Acciavoli Wrote Commentaries to Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Politics
Part of the republican revival in
Girolamo Savonarola, 1452-1498; Treatise on the Regime and Government of the City of
Savonarola was a Dominican preacher who reformed the
Dominican order and proposed turning
Savonarola
followed the ideas of Ptolemy, Bartolus and Baldus. After the 1494 French Invasion, coup and
flight of the Medicis from
Tomasso de Vio (Cardinal Cajetan), 1468-1534; Commentary on the Summa Theologia of Thomas
Aquinas and On the Authority of Pope and Council.
An Italian Dominican, educated at taught at
Alonzo de Castrillo, Treatise on the Republic (1521).
A Spanish political writer, his Treatise examined how modern political societies come into being. He is Augustinian in that he sees society as
arising from man’s originally sinful condition, but is Aristotelian in that he
sees a reference to natural law as necessary for society. “Society” is natural, but “political society”
was a reasonable rather than a natural condition for mankind. Man must obey the monarch in order to avoid
greater evils.
Juan Luis Vives, 1492-1540; De Concordia et Discordia in Humano Genre (On Harmony and Disharmony in Human Generation) (1529).
Great Spanish Humanist, following Erasmus. Agrees with Castrillo in that political
societies were responses to sin.
Original societies were natural, but not polities.
Francisco de Vitoria, 1483-1546;
From
Lorenzo Valla, 1405-1507; Elegantia litinae linguae libri sex (The Elegance of the Latin Language in Six Books).
He
stressed active reinterpretations of Classical texts and Christian scriptures
using methods that rejected the scholastic “commentary” approach. He taught at
His Treatise of Lorenzo Valla on the Donation of
Constantine showed the donation to be a forgery. (This was claimed to be a Donation, by the
Emperor Constantine, of the
Ulrich von Hutten, 1488-1523
Printed
Valla’s Donation in an edition that
influenced Luther.
Andrea Alciato, 1492-1550; De verborum
significatione (On the Signification of Words) united
philology with ancient law.
A practicing jurists who followed Valla. He was
Professor at
Guillaume Bude/, 1467-1540;
Annotationes in Pandecta 1508
A polemic on scholastic interpretations, used Valla’s
and Alciato’s textual methods in the north.
Mario Salamonio, 1450?-1532; Patrii Romani de Principatu Libri Septem
1544
After the 1512-1514 crisis and the first return of the
Medici, Salamonio considered that the wealth of the Florentines and their
military weakness invited attack, a position repeated by Machiavelli and
Guicciardini. Effective political
institutions should be based on the whole body of citizens: “The imperium of
the Roman people with no princeps or true overlord in
Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527; The
Prince; Discourses on Livy; The Art of War; Florentine History
A seminal figure who cannot be summarized here. A major innovation is his explicit contrast
between Christian virtues (e.g., humility, Agnegation, contempt for the
mundane) versus Roman virtues (magnanimity, strength, boldness). The Prince needs the latter.
The Prince completed 1513; dedicated
in 1515 to Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Offers the ruler advice and non-Christian virtues.
Discourses on Livy: 1519. Concerned with regaining republican ideals
Francesco Guicciardini, 1483-1540; History of
Loyal to the Medici, to whom he was cemented by
marriage. Lawyer, diplomat,
general. His Storia
d'Italia
covers the period from the death of Lorenzo de'Medici in 1492 to that of Pope
Clement VII in 1534, including the sack of
Donato Giannotti Libro
della republica de Viniziani (Book on the
Republic of Venice) 1540.
After the turn to princely rule in
He returned to
Gasparo Contarini, 1483-1542; The Commonwealth and Government of
Praised the republican government of Venice after the
final fall of the republic in Florence.
Desiderius Erasmus,
1466-1536; The Complaint of Peace
Dutch humanist.
His position in relation to the Church is beyond description here. His Complaint
rejected coercion to defend political society, including “Just War”
theories going back to Augustine. This
rejection of military power is an important difference between Italian and
Northern Renaissance thinkers.
Thomas More,
1478-1535; Utopia
Belongs to the “Northern Renaissance,” if this is
defined as being north of the Alps including the Iberian Peninsula. Life-long friend of Erasmus. 1503 Member of Parliament; 1529 Lord
Chancellor. Beheaded for his opposition
to Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn, and for refusal to recognize Henry as
head of the Anglican Church.
John Major, 1467-1500.
A Scot, educated at
Jacques Almain, c.1480-1515; Tractatus de Auctoritate Ecclesiae et
Conciliorum Generalium (1512).
Student and colleague of Major at Paris, and at
Navarre. A conciliarist, his Treatise was a response to the Dominican
Cajetan’s support of Julius II’s repudiation of the Council of Pisa in
1511. (The French Louis XII and the
Emperor Maxmilian has called the Council to bring pressure against Julius due to
the Pope’s claims on northern
Martin Luther, 1483-1546.
Cannot be summarized here; one political point to be
made. Luther is Pauline in that he
maintained that the people have a duty to obey the prince. The people, he maintained early, have no right
to revolt; his Secular Authority: to What
Extent it Should be Obeyed(1523) sets out his basic doctrine of two
parallel (not hierarchical) spheres of authority, each of which must be obeyed
as that sphere demands. Disobedience is
sinful. If a tyrant demands that
subjects act in non-Christian ways, they must disobey, and then humbly accept
the consequences. Active revolt is
always wrong, since tyranny is always a providential response to sin. Against
the Robbing and Murdering Horde of Peasants (1524) was a response to such
the Peasant’s Revolt in
His answer of 1530 to his princely protector, who
feared an anti-Lutheran attack by the Emperor, was not a serious reversal of
his position. He rejected any opposition
to the Emperor if based on his Imperial oath of office, or natural law, or
pending appeal to a church council. But,
7 months later, the Augsburg Diet rejected the Augsburg Confession of
Melanchthon and demanded that Lutherans return to unity with
Philip Melanchthon, 1497-1560. The
Collaborator with Luther. Taught in Wittenberg for 42 years. The Confession
(Confessio Augustana) tried to show that
Protestants had the right to remain in the Catholic Church.
John Calvin, 1509-1564. Institution
of the Christian religion.
Cannot be summarized here. His theocracy in
His doctrine of conscience is how a person grasps the
general tenets of natural law.
George Buchanan, 1506-82; De Iuri Regni apud Scotos (On the Powers of the Crown of Scotland)
(1579).
A Scottish student of Major in Paris. Adopted Scottish Reformed religion in
1560. Returned to Scotland in 1560. De Iuri
is reasonably systematic, and justified the deposition of Mary Queen of
Scots. Also wrote a History of
He stated that the Pauline injunction to obey the ruler did not apply to tyrants; this may have
disagreed with early Lutheran teachings (but agreed with Luther
post-1530). Rulers are chosen by popular
election, and rule for the common good.
John Ponet, 1514-1556; Short Treatise of Politic Power (1556).
His Treatise may
be the first complete doctrine of resistance by a Protestant on other than
purely religious grounds.
Juan de Marina, 1534-; De Rege et Regis Institutione (1599).
Spanish neo-Scholastic; Jesuit; taught in
He also distinguished between contracts by which
people bring a government into being, and those by which people agree to follow
a particular leader.
Francesco Suarez, 1548-1617; On Laws (1612); Defense of
the Catholic Faith (1612).
Spanish neo-Scholastic; Jesuit; Counter-reformation
figure. Generally Thomistic in approach
to law. Placed important emphasis on
custom as unwritten law. Also, by basing
property on the original reasoned contract to form a political society and the
consent of the people he stressed the role of free will. The people’s obligation to obey followed the
legitimacy of the office, and tyranny absolved the people of that
responsibility.
John Lewis
classicalideals@yahoo.com