Seigneurial governance and the state in late medieval Guelders (14th–16th century)

Abstract

This article charts the long-term development of seigneurial governance within the principality of Guelders in the Low Countries. Proceeding from four quantitative cross-sections (c. 1325, 1475, 1540, 1570) of seigneurial lordships, the conclusion is that seigneurial governance remained stable in late medieval Guelders. The central argument is that this persistence of seigneurial governance was an effect of active collaboration between princely administrations, lords, and local communities. Together, the princely government and seigneuries of Guelders formed an integrated, yet polycentric, state. The article thereby challenges the narrative of progressive state centralisation that predominates in the historiography of pre-modern state formation.

Review of periodical literature for 2021

“…This reveals the complexity of interactions between power‐holders and wider socio‐economic factors in processes of state formation. In a study of late medieval Guelders, van der Meulen challenges narratives of progressive state centralization, finding that seigneurial governance remained stable over this period. He shows that both the number of seignorial lordships, and the families governing these, remained remarkably stable between c .1325 and c .1570.…”