The Medieval Clergy and War: A Historiographical Introduction

Kotecki, Radosław; Maciejewski, Jacek; Ott, J. Steven

doi:10.1163/9789004353626_002

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…For example, Polish kings allied with the papacy and joined in the fight against the empire, and the papacy actively helped state builders to consolidate rule (Ertman 1997, 279–80; Wyrozumski 2004, 281). Instead of meddling, the papacy even allowed these rulers to name their bishops and exert secular control over the Church, in the name of preserving their alliances (Kotecki 2018, 308; Obertyński and Kumor 1974, 60, 360).…”

Section: Empirical Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tilly Goes to Church: The Religious and Medieval Roots of European State Fragmentation

Grzymała-Busse

2023

Am Polit Sci Rev

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The starting point for many analyses of European state development is the historical fragmentation of territorial authority. The dominant bellicist explanation for state formation argues that this fragmentation was an unintended consequence of imperial collapse, and that warfare in the early modern era overcame fragmentation by winnowing out small polities and consolidating strong states. Using new data on papal conflict and religious institutions, I show instead that political fragmentation was the outcome of deliberate choices, that it is closely associated with papal conflict, and that political fragmentation persisted for longer than the bellicist explanations would predict. The medieval Catholic Church deliberately and effectively splintered political power in Europe by forming temporal alliances, funding proxy wars, launching crusades, and advancing ideology to ensure its autonomy and power. The roots of European state formation are thus more religious, older, and intentional than often assumed.

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Section: Empirical Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%