There were States in Medieval Europe: A Response to Rees Davies

Reynolds, Susan

doi:10.1046/j.0952-1909.2003.00220.x

Cited by 26 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…Other scholars have sought to adapt definitions of the state as an Idealtypus to medieval societies. Reynolds built upon Weber to define the medieval state as ‘an organization of human society within a more or less fixed area in which the ruler or governing body more or less successfully control[led] the legitimate use of physical force’ (Reynolds, 2003, p. 551) 20. This definition is rather a question about the extent to which medieval polities were similar to their modern counterparts, and thus runs into the trap of teleology and contradistinction that we have previously noted.…”

Section: Early Medieval Polities and The State: A Historiographical R...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Early Medieval State: A Strategic‐Relational Approach

Castro

García

2022

J Historical Sociology

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The state is a contested concept in the historiography on early medieval societies. Debates have frequently revolved around its heuristic validity, but few scholars have addressed its broader theoretical implications. Those who have tend to reduce the state to its institutional features and privilege the role of the dominant groups in the analysis of state-building processes and the workings of the state. This paper contends that a richer conceptualisation of the state can overcome the limits of the debate as it has been framed so far and provide a deeper insight into how social relations shaped and were shaped by the development of early medieval polities. After reviewing the most significant historiographical contributions to the debate, the paper introduces the Strategic-Relational Approach to the state, as formulated by B. Jessop, as one that can provide a more nuanced understanding of early medieval polities. Particular emphasis is made on the analysis of class relationships and the articulation of hegemonic projects as two particularly fruitful lines of inquiry. Finally, the paper focuses on one particular instance of early medieval political practice, the politics of the land, as a means to illustrate the potential of the approach.

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Section: Early Medieval Polities and The State: A Historiographical R...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of the concept of the state for the study of medieval societies is highly disputed 1 . Twenty years ago, the Journal of Historical Sociology hosted an exchange between S. Reynolds (2003) and R.R. Davies (2003) that captured the essence of the debate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Early Medieval State: A Strategic‐Relational Approach

Castro

García

2022

J Historical Sociology

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“…Nevertheless, the discussions of state formation inevitably draw on the history of political assembly‐making. Adopting Max Weber's definition of the modern state as a ‘community that successfully claims the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory’, historians and political scientists have assessed the applicability of the ‘state’ label to various types of political configuration going as far back as the Neolithic Revolution (Davies, 2003; versus Reynolds, 2003; Scott, 2018). As is apparent from major titles such as Joseph Strayer's On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State (1970) or Perry Anderson's Lineages of the Absolutist State (1974), the goal is to explain the long‐term trajectory that led to the emergence of what has become the dominant form of political organization since around 1800.…”

Section: History Of State Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early modern parliamentary studies: Overview and new perspectives

et al. 2022

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In this essay, we call for a new approach to representative assemblies of early modern Europe and beyond. While there are vast national historiographies on their legal constitutional structure, little effort has been made to reconstruct the cultural and transnational dimension of such bodies, a phenomenon we describe as 'parliamentary culture'. We argue that there is much to be gained from an investigation of the culture surrounding these bodies-how they influenced and shaped political behaviour and were shaped by it, and how they were embedded into the thought of their time and period-and from seeing them as part of a set of common European traditions of political negotiation and consent. We suggest an interdisciplinary and collaborative agenda for that investigation that might lead beyond Europe too, into some of its colonies, where Europeans also encountered other traditions of negotiated discussion and agreement.

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Ernest Gellner and Debates About World History Periodization

Kradin

2022

Ernest Gellner’s Legacy and Social Theory Today

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There were States in Medieval Europe: A Response to Rees Davies

Cited by 26 publications

References 2 publications

The Early Medieval State: A Strategic‐Relational Approach

The Early Medieval State: A Strategic‐Relational Approach

Early modern parliamentary studies: Overview and new perspectives

Ernest Gellner and Debates About World History Periodization

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