Medieval People

Posted by dianekiton on November 27th, 2020

Leadership marks a critical aspect of the society across different periods and ages that associate with history. The span or the period from the typically considered ancient era to the modern era is referred to as the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages cover a period of about a thousand years from 500 AD to nearly 1500 AD. The changes experienced from the ancient ways of the medieval customs occurred gradually, and the leadership encountered over the same period showed peculiar characteristics since transition was the order of the day with the shift in power in different aspects. The Kings and the prominence of the Western Roman Empire marked significant events in the European leadership spectrum according to the sources preserved in historians account. Leaders in the early Middle Ages received authority from different sources that the society acknowledged during the same period. In this respect, the conformance to the law in the preservation of legitimacy will be the primary discussion in this essay as in many reviews https://exclusivethesis.com/reviews/.

The Middle Ages received leadership description from kingdoms in their early stages. The initial powerful kingdom that emerged from the decentralization in the early Middle Ages was the one of the Germanic tribe of the popularly known as the Franks. The leadership of Northern Europe is shaped by the Carolingian House of the Franks in the Middle Ages that made Northern Europe achieve stability and progress. A greater portion of the Western Europe enjoyed immense military and political security in addition to the religious unity brought about by the power of kingdom. The Franks established themselves in two particular sects, the Salian group and the Ripuarian. The leadership of the Salian Franks received influence along the territory that stretched from the lower parts of the Rhine while the Ripuarian occupied the area along the middle course of the River. The authority of the leadership in the early Middle Ages received power and authority from the dynasty as exhibited by King Clovis I of the Salian sect who founded the Merovingian dynasty. The nature of leadership defined by the regime led to the considerable growth of the Frankish kingdom regarding power extent. The leadership and power of the Franks kingdom was measured by the extent of coverage as a result of the conquering efforts to overthrow other authorities.

Similarly, religion played a critical role in the definition of power in the middle ages. The conversion of Clovis to Christianity in the 496 led to the close connection with the Frankish monarchy and the papacy that greatly defined Middle Age leadership. Kingship at this time received high regard as a symbol of authority towards the people of the land. The division of the kingdom occurred following Clovis' death, and power got distributed to his four sons and successive divisions further occurred before reunification.

After the death of Clovis, the kings ceased exercising their power, influence, and authority and descended to the highly esteemed officers of the state notably the mayors of the palace. All the Frankish kingdoms recognized the existence and power of the major domus. There arose a mighty family, the Carolingian, in the Eastern part known as the Austrasia that retained exclusive possession of the mayoralty of the palace for almost a century. During the early Middle Ages, the Carolingian family ruled as monarchs, and this led to the subsequent overthrow of other forces in the western part to set the family up for as the major domus of the then united Frankish kingdom. The son of the monarch was extended the frontiers through the powerful influence of the monarchy that had conquered many battles fought between the Tours and the Poitiers.

The sources of authority for the Middle Ages occurred across major social influence issues in the society. The centralization of the Carolingian state acted as a source of political stability in the Western Europe in the early period of Middle Ages. The primary concerns of the people like personal safety and security were guaranteed by the Carolingian rulers hence a source of authority. The medieval political institutions exercised their power through three key elements namely: the personal element, the property element, and the regulatory element. The roots of authority derivation for the three components mentioned above received foundation from the late Roman and the early Germanic times. Feudalism vast hierarchy defined a critical, authoritative power source. The king stood at the top of the hierarchy, and all the land in the kingdom belonged to him hence submission of the subjects. Large tracts of land were kept aside for the king as royal and crown lands for the personal use and the military service of chosen knights and dukes divided to the rest for power consolidation. The maintenance of the king at the top of the feudal hierarchy was kept intact since the custom maintained the legitimacy of the monarchy.

Power, influence, and the exercise of power can gain effectiveness only when legitimacy got guaranteed. Power and leadership in the early Middle Ages got legitimated through the accustomed traditional procedures, the constitutional principles, and the adoption of other traditions in Europe. The legitimacy of the kingship and the monarchs received obedience from the people since they acknowledged the power of the king as the overall ruler of the land and consented to traditional practices and customs. The people and rulers in the Middle Ages submitted to the conquerors demand after the overthrowing got accomplished.