early medieval state that arose at the end of the 5th century. on part of the territory of the former Western Roman Empire during the conquest of Gaul by the Franks led by Clovis. Included as a result of the conquests of Charlemagne almost the entire Western and part Central Europe. The Frankish state was ruled by kings from the Merovingian and (from 751) Carolingian dynasties (from 800 - emperors). According to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the territory of the Frankish state was divided between the grandchildren of Charlemagne.
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FRANKIAN STATE
lat. Regnum Francorum) - political. the formation of the era of the genesis of feudalism in the West. Europe; existed in the end. 5 - ser. 9th centuries During the period of greatest expansion, it covered almost the entire West. Europe and part of Central; named after the Franks who formed its original core. In the history of F. the following is distinguished: the stage of the formation of the early feudal. relations - con. 5 - beginning 8th centuries (“Merovingian period”); stage of formation of mature feudalism - 8 - mid. 9th centuries ("Carolingian period"). F.G. arose after the fall of Western Rome. empire, as a result of the conquest in 486 by the Salic Franks in Ch. with Clovis I (481-511) from the Merovingian family of the possessions of Rome. governor of Syagrius in Gaul. Under Clovis, F. was expanded thanks to the subjugation of the Alamanni, who lived along the middle and upper Rhine (496), and the conquest of the Visigothic possessions in Aquitaine (507) and eastern. Franks in the lower Rhine. Under the sons of Clovis, the kingdom of the Burgundians (534), Provence (536), the Alpine possessions of the Alemanni, the lands of the Thuringians between the Weser and Elbe (30s of the 6th century) and the Bavarians on the Danube (50s of the 6th century) were subjugated. ; The power of the Franks was recognized to a certain extent by the Saxons. Franks, along with all the other Germans. tribes consisted of approx. estimated at no more than 10-15% of the total population of Gaul. Nevertheless, the socio-political circumstances favored the military. successes of the Salic Franks: the relatively weak (compared to the Burgundians and Visigoths) development of social contradictions allowed the Frankish kings to undertake conquests, relying not only on their warriors, but also on a wide civil uprising; Clovis's adoption of Christianity into Catholicism. form and the establishment of an alliance with the Catholic. The episcopacy ensured a favorable attitude towards the Franks. Gallo-Roman population. Political and ethnic. the disunity of the peoples conquered by the Franks also facilitated their victories. Society development of different regions F.G. went on in the 6th-7th centuries. not quite the same. In the Trans-Rhine regions, where Frankish domination was expressed only in the collection of tribute from the population and the placement of rare Frankish garrisons, in the 6th-7th centuries. Communal relations continued to prevail, their decomposition proceeded very slowly here. In extreme northern Gaul (northern Austrasia), where the Franks were most numerous, a large number of new purely Frankish settlements arose. Settling, as a rule, at a distance from the surviving Gallo-Roman estates, the Franks for a long time retained the originality of their social structure. The interaction between Frankish communal and Gallo-Roman late antique relations developed in the 6th and 7th centuries. slowly, leading to the maturation of only individual proto-feudal elements. On the contrary, in the area between the Somme and the Seine (northern Neustria), where Frankish villages were located among the numerically predominant Gallo-Romans. population, the synthesis of Frankish communal institutions with late antique ones was especially active. Already towards the end. 6th century the Franks formed a full allod here; in the 7th century a fief began to take shape. way of life, which was reflected in the beginning of the formation of large private seigneurial land ownership and feud. classes. South of the Seine and especially south of the Loire, there were only isolated Frankish settlements; in most places, late Roman settlements survived. estates where the exploitation of slaves and colones continued; To a greater extent than in northern Gaul, mountain settlements have also been preserved. type, craft and trade; German the population consisted of ch. arr. from the Burgundians and Visigoths, who quickly assimilated into the Gallo-Roman environment; predominant type social relations in the 5th-7th centuries. remained late antique. Features of socio-economic. development different parts F. g. were reflected in the originality of their political. org-tions. In the south of F. g. in the structure of the state. institutions had a particularly noticeable effect on Rome. influence. Basic adm.- territorial unit remained mountains. district (civitas); Late Roman municipal curiae survived for a long time, as well as Rome. tax, customs and monetary systems. North of the Loire, Rome. the local government system was maintained (until the 6th century) mainly in cities; in other places adm. the device developed under the noticeable influence of Frankish military institutions. democracy. Ch. terr. The unit here was a district (pagus), which included several. hundreds; in the districts and hundreds, assemblies of free people continued to operate, deciding certain courts, and sometimes even administrative ones. questions. However, already in the 6th century. and especially in the 7th century. the rights of the counts appointed by the kings began to expand (to whom legal proceedings, fiscal functions, and command of the local militia were transferred), and the prerogatives of district and centenary assemblies were reduced; political began to fade away. the role of the annual all-Frankish wars. shows (“March fields”). Higher legislative, military. and will fulfill it. power in F. was gradually concentrated in the hands of inheritances. kings who ruled with the help of queens. courtyard (palatium). After the death of Clovis, different branches of the Merovingian dynasty established themselves in Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. The king of each of these regions had his own court and squad, and the queens were periodically convened. a council that included serving nobles and bishops. Socio-economic and socio-political. The characteristics of individual parts of the F. g. left their mark on their ethnicity. and cult. development. In Aquitaine and Burgundy in the 6th-7th centuries. Latin predominated, elements of secular education were preserved. In Austrasia, as well as in the areas east of the Rhine, the Germans dominated. languages. In Neustria there was an intensive fusion of Frankish and Gallo-Roman. population; Romanesque dialects were formed here on the basis of Latin. Christianity was most widespread in the south, and in the north only in cities. Northern peasantry The regions of F. were Christianized in the 7th-8th centuries, and the eastern regions - in the 8th-9th centuries. The Frankish kings retained Catholic privileges. churches, which she used in later times. time (exemption from taxes, recognition of church jurisdiction over clergy, etc.), and provided new ones. Thanks queens. Thanks to the grants, the church grew rapidly. land tenure. In the process of the expansion of France, the Frankish nobility noticeably strengthened, and the Gallo-Romans passed into their hands. estates together with the slaves and colons who served them, as well as the judicial administrator. rights over the free population. Extensive lands possessions and socio-political. privileges were provided to the economic nobility. and political independence from queens. authorities and created the basis for civil strife. The struggle in F. became especially aggravated with the end. 6th century, when the warring factions were headed by the grandsons of Clovis, kings Sigebert and Chilperic and their wives Brunhilda and Fredegonda. Under Clovis's great-grandson Clothar II (613-629), the nobility achieved the legalization of a number of their privileges and, in particular, control over local government. After the death of Chlothar II's son Dagobert (629-639), who briefly stopped the strengthening of the nobility, she managed to bring under her control all the activities of the kings thanks to the right to influence the appointment of majordomos, in the hands of which by this time the entire state was concentrated. power. The separatism of the nobility led to the fact that Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitaine became increasingly isolated from each other. Those who ruled them in the 7th century. so-called "lazy kings" had neither authority nor material resources. In the 1st half. 8th century political F.'s power was restored. During the civil strife con. 7 - beginning 8th centuries The Austrasian nobility achieved a dominant position in F. in Ch. with Pepin of Geristal, who forced himself to be recognized as majordomo not only in Austrasia, but also in Neustria and Burgundy. The son of Pepin of Geristal, Charles Martell (715-741), retained the rights of mayor in 3 main. parts of F. and, in addition, again subjugated Thuringia, Alemannia and Bavaria (which were freed from Frankish dependence in the 40s of the 7th century), restored the power of the Franks over Aquitaine and Provence. His victory over the Arabs at the Battle of Poitiers in 732 stopped the Arabs. offensive in the West. Europe. The general recognition of the power of Charles Martel allowed him to rule in F. in 737-741, without even formally elevating him to queen. throne of the Merovingian heirs. The reasons for the rise of the majordomos of Austrasia: their support by the newly formed in Austrasia (during the social stratification of free allodists) layer of service people interested in expanding their privileges; the weakening of Austrasia's rivals - Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitaine, in which the more rapid development of social differentiation led to a particular increase in the separatism of the nobility; use of lands by Charles Martell to reward his confidants. a fund secularized from the church, and a system of conditional awards for the duration of service (see Benefice). Factors that ensured the rise in the 1st half. 8th century Austrasian majordomos, largely explain the successes of their immediate successors - the first representatives of the Carolingian (Pipinid) dynasty - Pepin the Short (king 751-768) and Charlemagne (768-814). Their strengthening was also facilitated by a close alliance with the papacy. Charles Martel's son Pepin the Short, with the support of the pope, proclaimed himself King F. (751). Having invaded Italy, he defeated the Lombards (754 and 756), after which he transferred the cities of the Ravenna Exarchate and the Roman region to the power of the popes (see Papal States). Under Pepin, uprisings in Alemannia and Bavaria were suppressed, Septimania was recaptured from the Arabs (759) and Aquitaine was again subjugated; the nobility attempted to secede (760-768). F. reached its highest power under Charlemagne, when Lombard Italy (773-774), Saxony (772-804) and the territory were conquered. to the south of the Pyrenees (late 8th - early 9th centuries). Political hegemony of F. g. in the West. Europe was reflected in the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor in 800. (which represented an attempt to revive the Western Roman Empire). During the almost continuous wars that F. led in the 8th - early. 9th centuries, there were profound changes in its societies. construction In the regions between the Rhine and the Loire, a “revolution in agrarian relations” took place (see F. Engels, in the book: K. Marx and F. Engels, Works, 2nd ed., vol. 19, p. 495): the majority of free The allodists and their lands came under the rule of the nobility, which accelerated the formation of feuds. land property; a large fiefdom with domain ownership, based primarily, became widespread. on the use of corvée labor of dependent peasant holders - colons, litas, serfs; in the environment of domination. class a system of vassalage arose; feud. the way of life became the leading one. In the regions south of the Loire feud. way of life in the 9th century. has not yet won, although it has strengthened significantly: repeated campaigns with the aim of restoring the power of the Franks largely destroyed the previous system of land ownership, which had been preserved since late Rome. times, and undermined the positions of the old South Gallic aristocracy, whose place began to be taken by the Frankish nobility; the involvement in the feud increased. dependence of the peasantry (both German and Gallo-Roman). In the trans-Rhine regions F. year in 8 - beginning. 9th centuries the genesis of feudalism also accelerated, although it did not go further than the formation of early feudalism. relations that coexisted with the communal way of life. During feudalization, the remnants of military institutions disappeared. democracy in politics the structure of the feudal city. The king was recognized as the supreme authority, turning into a spokesman for the interests of the feud. nobility All-Frankish military the training camps were finally replaced by annual reviews of the cavalry troops, which means. some were vassals of the secular and church. magnates (“May Fields”). Consulting only with their courtiers, the kings issued capitularies that determined the basis of legal relations for all segments of the population. Ch. The role in local government was played by counts and margraves, who were state officials. officials and possessed all the powers of the court, adm. and military authorities in their counties (in Gaul alone there were about 300 of them). However, (to one degree or another), territories were withdrawn from the subordination of the counts, the lords of which enjoyed immunity. General court. meetings in the districts and hundreds were replaced by the court. collegiums of juries (scabins, sheffens), appointed by decree of the queens. officials. As a result b. h. peasants were deprived of the opportunity to influence legal proceedings. At the same time, their participation in the army was limited, since from the time of Charlemagne they began to directly carry out military service. Services involved, in addition to beneficiaries, only those who had at least 3-4 lands. allotments (mansi). At the turn of the 8th-9th centuries. The economic and cultural development of F. has noticeably revived. Plowing of new lands resumed; there was a growth in crafts. production; expanded along with the reconquest of the Mediterranean coast international trade. Renewed contacts with cultural centers Mediterranean, as well as Ireland. The need for competent administrators and clergy led to the re-establishment of schools in F., both in the South and in the North. Along with the revival of literacy, interest in literature, secular sciences, and art arose again. art (see "Carolingian Renaissance"). Frankish colonization of Aquitaine and Burgundy in the 8th and 9th centuries. contributed to the formation of the future southern French (Provençal) nationality and corresponding dialects in the south. A noticeable increase in ethnic Consolidation of the population also occurred between the Rhine and the Loire, where Romanesque dialects also prevailed, differing, however, from Provençal. Germ. languages were preserved only in the lower reaches of the Rhine and on its right bank. As the feud deepens. relations and economics and political feudal strengthening nobility in the 9th century actual is established. earth's heredity awards and positions. The authority and power of queens. The authorities are weakening, and internecine struggle is intensifying again. Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious tried unsuccessfully to maintain the integrity of the empire. Already under the grandsons of Charlemagne Lothar, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, his power was divided by the Treaty of Verdun 843 into three parts, whose borders anticipated France, Germany and Italy (the latter was initially connected with the lands along the Rhone and Rhine, the northern part of which later separated as Lorraine). The history of F., which turned out to be the cradle of a number of leading states in modern times. Europe, was the basis for the development of many. fundamental issues of Western development. Europe in the early Middle Ages. Thanks to relatively numerous sources, researchers are intensively studying the patterns of the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages and the social nature of barbarian societies using the materials of F.G. basic Variants of interaction between Roman late antique and Germanic ones. communal relations, constitutive features of feud. socio-economic formations, etc. In discussions on these problems in Western Europe. medieval studies have developed historiographical directions of Germanists and novelists. as well as supporters of the patrimonial theory and community theory, scientific theories arose. schools of A. Pirenna, A. Dopsch, M. Blok, T. Mayer and others; by plural problems of the history of F. g. discussions among modern. Western-European medievalists continue (see Barg M. B., “Problems of social history in the coverage of modern Western medieval studies,” M., 1973). History of F. g. as a classic. option for the formation and initial stage of feudal development. relations attracted special the attention of the founders of Marxism (especially F. Engels), serving as a concrete historical. basis for their research on materialism. based on plural fundamental problems of social and political. development of the early Middle Ages. Socio-economic the history of F. g. is widely covered in the works of Sov. medievalists N.P. Gratsiansky, A.I. Neusykhin and their students. Kings and emperors of F. g. see art. Merovingians, Carolingians. Source: Salichskaya Pravda, trans. N. P. Gratsiansky, ed. V. F. Semenova, M., 1950; MGH, Legum sectio 5. Formulae Merovingici et Karolini aevi, Hannoverae, 1886; Diplomata Karolinorum, t. 1-8, Toulouse - P., 1936-46; MGH, Legum sectio 2. Capitularia regum francorum, t. 1-2, ed. A. Boretius et V. Krause, Hanoverae, 1881-97; MGH, Scriptores rerum merovingicarum, t. 1-7, Hanoverae, 1885-1920; Polyptyque de l'Abbaye de Saint-Germain des Pr?s, publ. par A. Longnon, t. 1-2, P., 1886-95. The most important narrative sources. - Op. Gregory of Tours, Pseudo-Fredegar and his successors (see Art. Fredegar), Einhard, Nithard, Royal Annals, Fulda Annals, Saint-Bertin Annals, etc. Lit.: Engels F., Frankish period, in the book: Marx K. and Engels F., Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 19; his, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, ibid., vol. 21 (esp., pp. 25-85, 130-78); Petrushevsky D. M., Essays on the history of medieval society and state, 5th ed., M., 1922; Neusykhin A.I., The emergence of the dependent peasantry as a class of early feudal society in the West. Europe VI - VIII centuries, M., 1956; Danilov A.I., Problems of agrarian history of the early Middle Ages in German historiography late XIX- beginning of the 20th century, M., 1958; Gratsiansky N.P., Iz socio-economic history of the Western European Middle Ages. Sat. Art., M., 1960; Korsunsky A.R., Formation of the early feudal state in the West. Europe, M., 1963; Levandovsky A.P., On the issue. about the emergence and collapse of the Middle Ages. nationalities (Frankish nationality), "VI", 1968, No. 11; History of France, vol. 1, M., 1972, p. 32-68; (For a more complete list of works by Soviet historians before 1966, see the book: O. L. Vainshtein, History of Soviet Medieval Studies, 1917-1966, M., 1968, pp. 111-13, 252-53); Salin E., La civilization m?rovingienne..., t. 1-4, P., 1950-59; Bosl K., Franken um 800. Strukturanalyse einer fr?nkischen K?nigsprovinz, M?nch., 1959; M?ller-Mertens E., Karl der Grosse, Ludwig der Fromme und die Freien, V., 1963; Tessier G., La baptéme de Clovis, P., 1964; Karl der Grosse. Lebenswerk und Nachleben, hrsg. von W. Brauntels, Bd 1-4, Dösseldorf, 1965-67; Geschichte der Franken bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhunderts. Auf der Grundlage des Werkes von L. Schmidt unter Mitwirkung von J. Werner neu bearb. von E. Z?llner, M?nch., 1970; Epperlein S., Herrschaft und Volk im karolingischen Imperium, V., 1969; Doehaerd R., Le Haut Moyen ?ge occidental..., P., 1971; Duby G., Guerriers et paysans, VII-XII-e si?cle..., P., 1973. Yu. L. Bessmertny. Moscow. -***-***-***- Frankish state
Larger territorial associations were created on the border of the country - duchies, consisting of several districts. Dukes, those who headed their administration were primarily commanders of the local militia. They were entrusted with border defense. Otherwise, they had the same powers as the counts. In the original German lands (the eastern regions of the Frankish state), ducal power was of a slightly different nature. It had its roots in the past, to the time of tribal leaders, whose descendants became dukes of the Frankish kings.
The emergence of a state among the Franks
A contemporary tells how Clovis's power increased during the conquest of Gaul. One day, after a fierce battle, the Franks, among other spoils of war, captured a precious cup. According to ancient custom, all war booty was divided by lot among the warriors. But Clovis asked to give him this cup in addition to his share. “Do whatever you want,” the warriors answered. “No one can resist your power!” But one of the warriors stepped forward and, cutting the bowl with a battle ax, declared: “You will receive nothing except what you get by lot!” Clovis remained silent, but decided to take revenge on the warrior. A year later, at a military review, he accused the rebellious warrior of keeping his weapons in disarray, and cut off his head with a battle axe. “That’s what you did with the cup!” - he exclaimed at the same time. After the review, the warriors dispersed in fear. So, relying on his loyal squad, Clovis forced the Franks to submit.
State and law of the Franks
Private ownership of land arose as a result of donations, purchases from the Romans, and seizures of unoccupied land. Later these lands were called allod. Along with them, there were lands transferred by the owners for use and possession for certain services and payment in kind, the so-called precaria. IN Time of Troubles, when the nobility waged wars for the possession of land, many owners of allods deliberately transferred it to powerful magnates under the condition of patronage, i.e. protection from attacks from other tycoons.
State and law of the Franks
Inheritance under a will was carried out by donation (affatomy), performed publicly in the people's assembly in a strictly established form: the property was transferred to a third party, who was obliged no later than a year after the death of the donor to transfer this property to the specified person.
General characteristics of the Frankish state
Even at the first demand, the creditor received from Tungin the right to protest in the presence of witnesses against any payment to anyone and against any pledge that could be made to his detriment by his debtor. Finally, the creditor went to the count, who, together with him and the seven Rahinburgs, went to the debtor’s house, seized his property and transferred to the creditor property commensurate with the amount of the debt. The third part of the fine went to the count as a fredus (fine for breaking the peace).
STATE OF THE FRANKS
The highest judicial power was in the hands of the monarch. Most cases were heard by the main courts—the “courts of the hundred.” Gradually, judicial power began to pass into the hands of feudal lords. The count, centenary or vicar convened a molberg - a meeting of hundreds of free people. They chose judges from among themselves - Rakhinburgs. The trial took place under the leadership of an elected chairman - Tungin. All free and full-fledged residents of the hundred were to be present at the meeting. Royal commissioners monitored only the correctness of legal proceedings.
Topic 4: Brief lecture notes on the topic: “State and Frankish law”
The center of government of the empire was imperial court with his officials - the palace count, who combined in his hands the leadership of the royal administration along with the administration of justice; chancellor-custodian state seal, responsible for drawing up royal acts and heading the office; Count Palatine, in charge of palace management; archchaplain - head of the Frankish clergy, confessor of the king and his adviser on church affairs, custodian of the special shrine of the Frankish monarchs - the cloak of St. Martin Tulsky. Most of the other positions that existed earlier (marshal, seneschal, etc.) were preserved under the Carolingians.
State of the Franks in brief
The main differences between them were related to the origin and legal status of the person or the social group to which he belonged. Over time, the factor influencing the legal differences of the Franks became their membership in the royal service, the royal squad, and the emerging state apparatus. Feature of the V - VI centuries. V Western Europe is the beginning of the ideological offensive of the Christian Church. Growing ideological and economic role the church began to manifest itself in its power claims. The Church at this time was not yet a political entity and did not have a unified organization, but it had already begun to become a large landowner, receiving numerous land donations from both rulers and ordinary people. Religious power is increasingly intertwined with secular power.
State of the Franks in brief
Local forms of self-government—traditional meetings of villages and their associations (hundreds)—were gradually eliminated. They were replaced by a system of officials appointed initially from the center - the king's commissioners. The entire territory of the country was divided into districts - pagi. Management of the district was entrusted to the count. He was assigned a military detachment.
STATE OF THE FRANKS
- Charles Martell “The Hammer”, who ruled the Frankish state as major-duke from 715 to 741, put an end to the donation of lands into full ownership and began distributing them in the form of benefices; carried out the confiscation of lands from rebellious (non-submissive) secular and spiritual feudal lords; carried out mainly the unification of many parts of the Frankish state into a single whole; laid the foundation for a professional knightly army.
- In 800, Charlemagne took the title of emperor. The evolution of the political system during this period went in two directions: the strengthening of royal power itself and the elimination of local self-government.
Free collection of essays
Tribal relations as a structure of power did not meet the emerging requirements, and they begin to give way to a new organization in which the power of the military leader turns into royal power. This was a special “public power” that no longer coincided directly with the population. The establishment of public power was inextricably linked with the introduction of territorial division of the population. The territories inhabited by the Franks were divided into districts - paci, which consisted of smaller units - hundreds. Population management in these territorial divisions was entrusted to special officials.
State of the Franks
The decline of imperial power and the growing unpopularity of Roman rule created favorable conditions for the allied kings of Rome to expand their powers and satisfy their political claims. They often, with reference to the imperial commission, appropriated full power, levied taxes from the local population, etc.
Frankish Empire (Frankish State)
In 481, the Merovingians were led by Clovis, the son of the deceased King Childeric. Clovis was greedy for power, self-interested and sought at all costs to expand the borders of the kingdom through conquest. From 486, Clovis began to subjugate the outlying Roman cities, the population of which voluntarily came under the authority of the Frankish ruler. As a result, he was able to grant property and land to his associates. Thus began the formation of the Frankish nobility, which recognized themselves as vassals of the king.
Abstract: State of the Franks
The growing ideological and economic role of the church could not but manifest itself sooner or later in its claims to power. However, the church at that time was not yet a political entity, did not have a unified organization, representing a kind of spiritual community of people led by bishops, of whom, according to tradition, the most important was the Bishop of Rome, who later received the title of Pope.
The emergence of the Frankish kingdom
The Franks were courageous and fearless warriors. Contemporaries said about them that if the Frank could not win in battle, then he would rather die than show his back to the enemy. Leader of the Franks Clovis(486-511) managed to unite these warlike tribes and became their king. In 486 he conquered the lands of the former Roman province Gaul and founded his kingdom here.
LECTURE No. 24
At the end of the 5th century, Germanic tribes began to invade one of the provinces of Rome, Gaul, and new states began to be created on the ruins of the Roman Empire: the Visigoths, Burgundians, Franks, Alemanni, Ostrogoths and Vandals. The name "Germans" given to them by Caesar united them under a common name.
The most powerful of them were the Salic Franks (Khamavi, Bructeri, Usibiti, Telcteri, Sugambri, etc.). They were called Salic from the Celtic “sal” - sea, since they lived by the sea. In 486, Clovis I (466-511) from the Merovingian clan defeated the troops of the Roman governor Syagrius, which was the initial stage in the formation of the Frankish state. The adoption of Christianity in 496 strengthened the power of Clovis I, providing him with the support of the clergy and the Gallo-Roman population. He made Paris his residence, and his power hereditary. It was with him that the Salic Truth was written.
In the development of feudalism and the state among the Franks, two phases can be traced:
1) Merovingian monarchy (VI-VII centuries). Merovingians - first royal dynasty Franks, whose name comes from the king of the Salic Franks - Merovey (mid-5th century). The death of Clovis led to a century-long struggle for power. The Merovingians established private ownership of land (allod). Land became hereditary and freely alienable, which led to class divisions in the community. Landless peasants appeared who had lost their personal freedom. Their enslavement took place through a precaria agreement (from Latin - “request”), when the peasant receives land under the conditions of fulfilling certain duties.
Later, a system of patronage (“patronage”) arose, where peasants sought protection from influential persons. Placing oneself under “patronage” (commendation) became common, and after a few generations many peasants were already serfs (servs).
The exploitation of the peasantry intensified the class struggle. To maintain power, the Merovingians began to distribute more and more lands to the nobility. The power of noble families grew into the hands of which important government positions were transferred, including the position of mayor. Initially, the mayordomo (senior in the house) ruled the royal palace, and in the 7th-8th centuries. it became the hereditary property of a noble and wealthy family that gave rise to the Carolingian dynasty. The mayordomo became the de facto head of the Frankish state.
2) Carolingian monarchy (VIII-IX centuries). The Carolingians were a royal dynasty that succeeded the Merovingians in 751. The name Carolingian comes from Charlemagne. In 687, one of the prominent representatives of this family, the Austrian majordomo Pepin of Giristasl, became the ruler of the Frankish kingdom. The power of the Carolingians was consolidated under the rule of the son of Pepin of Giristal - the mayor of Charles Martel and the grandson of Pepin the Short.
The main feature of the development of Frankish society was the emergence and development of feudalism. The Franks entered the era of feudalism in the process of the primitive communal system, and the Gallo-Romans during the collapse of the slave society.
Reform of Charles Martell. In the first half of the 8th century, socio-political changes began to occur in the Frankish state associated with the reform of Charles Martel.
The essence of Charles Martel's reform was as follows. He abolished the previous procedure for donating land, confiscated their lands from rebellious feudal lords and monasteries along with the peasants, and transferred them to lifelong holding - benefices (from Latin - “good deed”). Master
the benefice was obliged to bear military service as a knight at his own expense until a certain age. Refusal to serve deprived the right to benefits. A contractual relationship was established between the beneficiary and the person who presented the land; they began to be called vassal and lord, respectively. The reform of Charles Martel contributed to the temporary strengthening of central power.
The Frankish state reached its peak under Charlemagne, who carried out a number of successful campaigns, as a result of which the territories that now constitute West Germany and Northern Spain. Charlemagne was proclaimed emperor, but he did not have absolute power, since he shared it with the nobility without consent, with whom he did not make a single important decision. A congress of nobility called the Great Field was convened annually.
The strengthening of central power led to the formation of government bodies. The importance of senior officials - ministerials began to increase: the mayordomo, the count palatine - who headed the palace court; thesauraria - keeper of treasures and treasurer of the state; marshal - chief of the cavalry army; archchaplain - the king's confessor.
The territory of the country was divided into districts - pagi, which were ruled by counts. The pages were divided into hundreds. Hundreds were led by elected officials, and under the Merovingians these positions were filled by persons appointed from the center - the king's representatives. In the north they were called centenarii; in the south, vicars. They obeyed the count and duplicated his power within a hundred.
On the borders of the country, duchies were created, consisting of several districts led by dukes - commanders of the local militia. The positions of Duke and Earl became hereditary titles.
The highest judicial power was in the hands of the monarch. Most cases were considered by the main courts - the “courts of the hundred.” Gradually, judicial power began to pass into the hands of feudal lords. The count, centenary or vicar convened a molberg - a meeting of hundreds of free people. They chose judges from among themselves - Rakhinburgs. The trial took place under the leadership of an elected chairman - Tungin. All free and full-fledged residents of the hundred were to be present at the meeting. Royal commissioners monitored only the correctness of legal proceedings.
Later, the people of the king of the mission began to preside over the court - they received the right to appoint members of the Skabini court, after which the obligation of free people to attend the court was abolished.
Despite its greatness, the Frankish state, which occupied almost the entire territory of modern Western Europe, fell into decline due to the weakness of economic ties between individual regions and the natural nature of the economy. In addition, the Frankish feudal lords were not interested in the unity of the state, which ultimately led to a split in the state.
In 843, this schism was legally formalized in the Treaty of Verdun by the grandchildren of Charlemagne. The successors to the empire were three kingdoms: West Frankish, East Frankish and Middle (future France, Germany and Italy).
From the surname Merovingian, occupied all of Gaul. Under the rule of the kings of this dynasty were, on the one hand, the Gallo-Romans, on the other, in addition to the Franks (Salic and Ripuarian), and other Germanic tribes, conquered by the Franks under Clovis and his successors (Allemans, Burgundians, Bavarians and Thuringians). After the death of Clovis (511) he had four sons, who divided their father's inheritance into four inheritances, since at this time the Franks had not yet developed a real understanding of what a state was as opposed to a private estate. Although the youngest of the sons of Clovis (Clothar I) managed to unite the entire kingdom under his rule again, after him it fell apart again. Already under the sons of Clovis, there were events between individual Merovingians. quarreling And civil strife, distinguished by extreme unbridledness and cruelty of morals. Certain parts of the kingdom also did not get along with each other. Northeastern part of the monarchy (Austrasia) inhabited by Ripuarian Franks and other Germanic tribes, who only very weakly obeyed Roman principles, while the north-west (Neustria), southwest (Aquitaine) and southeast Burgundy) were, on the contrary, heavily Romanized.
Growth of the Frankish state 481-814.
The Merovingian kings sought to subjugate the Franks to their power on a par with the Gallo-Romans, who were already accustomed to the absolute power of the emperor, but the Franks did not look particularly kindly on the strengthening of royal power. In most of the state, however, Frankish principles of life fell into decay. People's Assembly, which had major significance in the life of the Germans in their homeland, has already become impossible after the Franks settled throughout Gaul. The place of veche meetings was taken under the Merovingians by the so-called March fields, to which the kings annually summoned their army, consisting of Franks and Gallo-Romans; but it was more like military reviews, although they also witnessed the approval of new laws or various royal orders. At the head of individual regions were graphs(comites), appointed by the king and enjoying great power, but local councils continued to exist next to them for more important matters. Thus, the kings ruled the state in the Roman way - through the officials they appointed; however, this system turned out to be unfeasible due to the then state of society.
State economy of the empire under the Franks came to Gaul into frustration. Society did not want to pay taxes, the government did not know how to collect them. Without state revenues at their disposal, the Frankish kings began to reward their servants, who were entrusted with certain positions, grants from their estates. In Gaul during the imperial era there were many estates that belonged to the imperial fiscus (treasury); these estates went to the Frankish kings, who began to look at them as their private property, and began to generously distribute them for service, without making much of a distinction between purely court and government positions. While there were many such lands left, the Merovingians had something to reward their servants, but then they became impoverished and with this lost their former meaning. But in society The nobility took away great power. It was composed of large landowners dating back to the Roman era and of the king’s confidants or servants, enriched by royal grants. From this nobility especially the so-called majordomos(major domus) or chamber measures (major palatii), who stood at the head of the entire palace administration; they were in charge of the royal estates and their distribution and at the same time were the leaders of the royal squad. The weakening of state power entailed the strengthening of the nobility. The rich and powerful began oppress the common people: the strong took away the lands from the weak, and they themselves were subjugated to their power, and many poor people and they themselves became enslaved, in order to find protection and patronage from some noble and rich person.
Kingdom of the Franks. Video tutorial
33. Austrasian majordomos
In VII. V. received main importance in the Frankish kingdom Austrasia, where the old Frankish orders and customs were stronger. In this part of the Frankish state, he was elevated to mayor Pepin of Geristal, possessed many estates and distinguished himself in the fight against the Saxons. The position of majordomo became hereditary in his family name, and he himself even began to be called the Duke of the Austrasian Franks. His son Charles, nicknamed Hammer (Martell), defeated the Neustrian Franks and forced them to submit to his power; he also dealt a blow to the Allemans, Bavarians and Thuringians, who wanted to regain their independence. Thus Charles Martel brought the whole kingdom back together. The Merovingian kings under the Austrasian majordomes were kings in name only; the throne was controlled by the mayordomos. In addition to wars with Austrasia's neighbors. Karl Martel had to repel the invasion of Gaul by the Arabs, who had recently conquered Spain and invaded Aquitaine, and this victory also raised his authority. Meanwhile material resources he had too little, because the royal estates were almost all distributed. Then the decisive mayor began to use it to meet state needs those properties that belonged to the clergy and monasteries, which, of course, caused displeasure among church representatives. Son of Charles Martel Pepin the Short, no longer wanted to remain majordomo and placed the royal crown on his head (752), thereby founding a new dynasty Carolingian .
Many barbarian tribes were scattered across the vast territory of the Roman Empire: Goths, Franks, Burgundians, Alamanni, Anglo-Saxons, etc.
The Romans increasingly used the Germans as mercenary soldiers and settled them on their borders. In the 5th century The highest ranks of Roman magistrates began to be held by the leaders of barbarian tribes, who led the armies allied to Rome, who entered into an agreement to come under the rule of Rome.
The decline of imperial power and the growing unpopularity of Roman rule created favorable conditions for the kings - allies of Rome - to expand their powers and satisfy their political claims. They often, with reference to the imperial commission, appropriated full power, levied taxes from the local population, etc.
The Visigoths, for example, settled by Rome as their foederati in 412 in Aquitaine (Southern France), subsequently expanded the territory of their Toulouse kingdom through territorial conquests, recognized in 475 by the Roman emperor. In 507 this kingdom was conquered by the Franks. In 476, power in the Western Roman Empire was seized by one of the barbarian military leaders, Odoacer. He was killed in 493 by the founder of the Ostrogothic kingdom, Theodoric I, who established his sole rule over all of Italy. This kingdom fell in 555. Other “tribal states” of barbarians also emerged and were absorbed as a result of bloody wars and civil strife.
But a special role in Western Europe was destined to be played by the Salic (maritime) Franks, who were part of the alliance of Germanic tribes that formed in the 3rd century. on the northeastern border of Gaul, a province of the Roman Empire.
The Salic Franks, led by their leader Clovis (481-511), as a result of victorious wars in Gaul, sometimes in opposition, sometimes in alliance with Rome, created a vast kingdom that stretched by 510 from the middle Rhine to the Pyrenees. Clovis, having established himself as a representative of the Roman emperor, becomes the ruler of the lands, the ruler of a single, no longer tribal, but territorial kingdom. He acquires the right to dictate his own laws, levy taxes from the local population, etc.
Gaul, however, remained for a long time under the shadow of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). Only in the 8th century. The title of Roman Emperor was given to the Frankish king Charlemagne. Thanks to the influence of Rome and the Roman Christian Church, Gaul, despite geographical fragmentation, maintained a unique unity over the centuries, becoming, in the course of a long evolutionary process, Franconia, which became the ancestor of the future France and Germany, as well as the territorial fundamental basis for the development of Western Christian civilization.
Formation of feudal society and the state of the Franks. The Frankish wars of conquest accelerated the process of creating the Frankish state. The deep reasons for the formation of Frankish statehood were rooted in the disintegration of the Frankish free community, in its class stratification, which began in the first centuries of the new era.
The state of the Franks in its form was early feudal monarchy. It arose in a transitional society from communal to feudal society, which in its development passed the stage of slavery. This society is characterized by a multistructure (a combination of slaveholding, tribal, communal, feudal relations), and the incompleteness of the process of creating the main classes of feudal society. Because of this, the early feudal state bears a significant imprint of the old communal organization and the institutions of tribal democracy.
The Frankish state went through two main periods in its development (from the end of the 5th to the 7th century and from the 8th to the mid-9th century). The boundary separating these periods is characterized not only by a change of ruling dynasties (the Merovingians were replaced by the Carolingians). It marked the beginning of a new stage in the deep socio-economic and political restructuring of Frankish society, during which the feudal state itself gradually took shape in the form of a seigneurial monarchy.
In the second period, the creation of large feudal land ownership, two main classes of feudal society was basically completed: a closed, hierarchically subordinate class of feudal lords bound by vassal bonds, on the one hand, and the dependent peasantry exploited by it, on the other. The relative centralization of the early feudal state is replaced by feudal fragmentation.
In the V-VI centuries. The Franks still retained communal, clan ties; relations of exploitation among the Franks themselves were not developed; the Frankish service nobility, which formed into the ruling elite during Clovis’s military campaigns, was also not numerous.
The most pronounced social class differences in. The early class society of the Franks, as evidenced by the Salic truth, the legal monument of the Franks dating back to the 5th century, was manifested in the position of slaves. Slave labor, however, was not widespread. The slave, in contrast to the free community member-Frank, was considered a thing. Its theft was equivalent to the theft of an animal. The marriage of a slave with a free man entailed the loss of freedom by the latter.
Salic truth also indicates that the Franks had other social groups: serving nobility, free francs(community members) and semi-free litas. The differences between them were not so much economic as socio-legal. They were associated mainly with the origin and legal status of the person or the social group to which that person belonged. An important factor influencing the legal differences of the Franks was their membership in the royal service, the royal squad, and the emerging state apparatus. These differences were most clearly expressed in the system of monetary compensation, which served to protect the life, property and other rights of individuals.
Along with slaves, there was a special category of people - semi-free litas, whose life was valued at half a free wergeld, 100 solidi. Lit represented an incomplete resident of the Frankish community, who was in personal and material dependence on his master. Litas could enter into contractual relations, defend their interests in court, and participate in military campaigns together with their master. Lit, like a slave, could be freed by his master, who, however, retained his property. For a crime, a lithu was usually given the same punishment as a slave, for example, the death penalty for kidnapping a free person.
Frankish law also testifies to the beginning of the property stratification of Frankish society. The Salich truth speaks of the master's servants or yard servants-slaves (vinedressers, grooms, swineherds and even goldsmiths) serving the master's household.
At the same time, the Salic truth testifies to the sufficient strength of community orders, about communal ownership of fields, meadows, forests, wastelands, about the equal rights of community peasants to a communal land plot. The very concept of private ownership of land is absent in Salic truth. It only records the origin of the allod, providing for the right to transfer the allotment by inheritance through the male line. The further deepening of social-class differences among the Franks was directly related to the transformation of allod into the original form of private feudal land ownership. Allod - alienable, inheritable land ownership of free Franks - arose in the process of disintegration of communal ownership of land. It lay at the basis of the emergence, on the one hand, of patrimonial land ownership of feudal lords, and, on the other, of the land holding of peasants dependent on them.
The processes of feudalization among the Franks received a powerful impetus during the wars of conquest of the 6th-7th centuries, when a significant part of the Gallo-Roman estates in Northern Gaul passed into the hands of the Frankish kings, the serving aristocracy, and royal warriors. The serving nobility, bound to one degree or another by vassal dependence on the king, who seized the right to dispose of the conquered land, became a major owner of lands, livestock, slaves, and colonies. It is replenished by part of the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, which goes into the service of the Frankish kings.
The clash between the communal orders of the Franks and the late Roman private property orders of the Gallo-Romans, the coexistence and interaction of social structures so different in nature, accelerated the creation of new feudal relations. Already in the middle of the 7th century. In northern Gaul, a feudal estate begins to take shape with its characteristic division of land into the lord's (domain) and peasant's (holding). The stratification of the “ordinary free people” during the conquest of Gaul also occurred due to the transformation of the community elite into small patrimonial owners due to the appropriation of communal land.
Processes of feudalization in the VI-VII centuries. in the south of Gaul they developed as rapidly as in the north. At this time, the extent of Frankish colonization here was insignificant, the vast estates of the Gallo-Roman nobility were preserved, and slave labor continued to be widely used n. colons, but profound social changes took place here too, mainly due to the widespread growth of large church landownership.
V-VI centuries in Western Europe were marked by the beginning of a powerful ideological offensive of the Christian Church. Servants of dozens of newly emerging monasteries and churches gave sermons about human brotherhood, helping the poor and suffering, and other moral values.
The population of Gaul, under the spiritual influence of the clergy, led by bishops, began to perceive more and more Christian dogmas, the idea of redemption, relying on the intercession of the holy fathers for the sake of gaining forgiveness during the transition to another world. In an era of endless wars, destruction, widespread violence, disease, in conditions of the dominance of religious consciousness, people's attention naturally focused on issues such as death, posthumous judgment, retribution, hell and heaven. The church began to use the fear of purgatory and hell for its own selfish interests, collecting and amassing numerous donations, including land donations, at the expense of both rulers and ordinary people. The growth of church land ownership began with the land refusals of the church by Clovis.
The growing ideological and economic role of the church could not but manifest itself sooner or later in its claims to power. However, the church at that time was not yet a political entity, did not have a single organization, representing a kind of spiritual community of people led by bishops, of whom, according to tradition, the most important was the Bishop of Rome, who later received the title of Pope.
Kings, who, in order to strengthen their extremely unstable power, appointed bishops from among their confidants, convened church councils, presided over them, sometimes speaking on theological issues, increasingly interfered with the activities of the church as “Christ’s vicars” on earth. In 511, at the Church Council of Orleans convened by Clovis, it was decided that no layman could exist. ordained without royal permission. The subsequent decision of the Council of Orleans in 549 finally established the right of kings to control the appointment of bishops.
It was a time of increasingly intertwined secular and religious power, with bishops and other religious leaders sitting on government bodies and local civil administration carried out by diocesan departments.
Under Dagobert I at the beginning of the 7th century. the administration of church functions became an integral part of the path to honor, after which the king’s associates became local rulers - counts and bishops at the same time; There were often cases when bishops ruled cities and the rural settlements surrounding them, minted money, collected taxes from lands subject to taxation, controlled market trade, etc.
The bishops themselves, owning large church farms, began to occupy an increasingly higher place in the emerging feudal hierarchy, which was facilitated by the non-forbidden marriages of priests with laity, representatives of the feudal elite.
The 7th-9th centuries are characterized by the rapid growth of feudal relations. At this time, in Frankish society there was a agrarian revolution, which led to the widespread establishment of large feudal land ownership, to the loss of land and freedom by the community members, and to the growth of the private power of feudal magnates. This was facilitated by a number of historical factors. Began from the VI - VII centuries. the growth of large landownership, accompanied by infighting among landowners, revealed the fragility of the Merovingian kingdom, in which here and there internal borders arose as a result of disobedience of the local nobility or resistance of the population to the collection of taxes. Moreover, by the end of the 7th century. The Franks lost a number of lands and actually occupied the territory between the Loire and the Rhine.
One of the attempts to solve the problem of strengthening state unity in conditions of widespread disobedience to the central authorities was the church council of “prelates and nobles”, held in Paris in 614. The edict adopted by the council called for “the most severe suppression of riots and brazen attacks of attackers”, threatened punishment for “theft and abuse of power by officials, tax collectors on trading places,” but at the same time limited the rights of civil judges and tax collectors on church lands , thus laying the legislative basis for their immunity. Moreover, according to the decision of the council, bishops were henceforth to be elected “by the clergy and the people”, while the king retained only the right to approve the results of the elections.
The weakening of the power of the Frankish kings was primarily due to the depletion of their land resources. Only on the basis of new grants, the granting of new rights to landowners, and the establishment of new seigneurial-vassal ties could the strengthening of royal power and the restoration of the unity of the Frankish state take place at this time. The Carolingians, who actually ruled the country even before the transfer of the royal crown to them in 751, began to pursue this policy.
Reform of Charles Martell. Majordomo Charles Martel (715-741) began his activities by pacifying internal unrest in the country, with the confiscation of the lands of his political opponents, and with the partial secularization of church lands. He took advantage of the right of kings to fill the highest church positions. Due to the created Thus, the new land fund began to be distributed to the new nobility, land grants for lifelong conditional holding - benefits deed, mercy) when performing one or another service (most often equestrian military). The land was given to those who could serve the king and bring an army with them. Refusal to serve or treason against the king entailed the loss of the award. The beneficiary received land with dependent people who performed corvée in his favor or paid rent. The use of the same form of awards by other large landowners led to the formation of suzerainty-vassalage relations between large and small feudal lords.
Expansion of feudal land ownership in the 8th century. contributed to new wars of conquest and the accompanying new wave of Frankish colonization. Moreover, if in the Frankish colonization of the VI-VII centuries. Since mainly the top of Frankish society took part, wealthy allodists were involved in the colonization of the 7th-9th centuries, which took place on a much larger scale, at the expense of whom the class of feudal lords was replenished at that time with equestrian knighthood.
From the middle of the 8th century. the period preceding the completion of the process of stratification of Frankish society into the class of feudal landowners and the class of peasants dependent on them begins; relations of patronage, domination and subordination, arising on the basis of special agreements, become widespread commendations, precaria, self-enslavement. The development of patronage relations was greatly influenced by the Roman institution - clientele, patronage. The relations of patronage and patronage among the Franks were brought to life by the collapse of old tribal ties, the impossibility of economic independence of small peasant economies, ruined by wars and the robberies of feudal lords. Patronage entailed the establishment of personal and property dependence of the peasants on the landowner-magnates, since the peasants transferred to them the ownership of their land plots, receiving them back on the terms of fulfilling certain duties, paying quitrents, etc.
In the processes of establishing the power of large landowners over peasants in Western Europe, the Christian Church played a huge role, which itself became a large land owner. The stronghold of the dominant position of the church were monasteries, and the secular nobility - fortified castles, which became patrimonial centers, a place for collecting rent from peasants, a symbol of the power of the lords.
Agreements of commendation (patronage) arose primarily in the relations of peasants with the church and monasteries. They were not always directly related to the loss of freedom and property rights to the land of the sentee, as was the case in the case of a contract of self-enslavement. But once they came under such protection, free peasants gradually lost their personal freedom and after several generations, the majority became serfs.
The precarious agreement was directly related to the transfer of land. It entailed the emergence of conditional holding of land transferred for temporary use and was accompanied by the emergence of certain duties of a precarist in favor of a large landowner (to work for the master's fields, give him part of the harvest). In the person of the precarists, a transitional layer was created from free communal allodists to dependent peasants. There were three forms of precaria: “precaria given” - a unique form of land lease, on the basis of which a landless or land-poor peasant received a plot of land for temporary use. Under the "precarity indemnified" contract, the precarist initially gave his plot of land to the landowner and received it back into possession. This type of precarity arose, as a rule, as a result of pledging land to secure a debt. Under the “precary gift” agreement, the precarist (most often under direct pressure from the landowner), who had already fallen into economic dependence, gave his plot to the master, and then received from him his own and an additional plot of land, but as a holding.
The owner of the precaria had the right of judicial protection against third parties, but not against the landowner. The precarium could be taken back by the landowner at any moment. As the number of people subject to the tycoon (precarists, commendees) grew, he acquired more and more power over them.
The state contributed in every possible way to strengthening this power. In the capitulary of 787, for example, it was forbidden for anyone to take under the protection of people who left the lord without his permission. Gradually, vassal ties, or relationships of dependence, cover all free people. In 808 they were ordered to go to war with their lord or with the count.
The later “barbarian truths” also testify to other changes in the social structure of barbarian societies occurring in connection with the development of new feudal relations. In the Alamannic and Bavarian truths (8th century), the figure of the column is increasingly mentioned. A colon or slave planted on the ground was also known to Roman law, which deprived him of economic independence, the right to conclude contracts, sign documents, etc.
Visigoths in the V-VI centuries. adopted these prohibitions from Rome. But the Ostrogoths began to move away from them. According to Art. 121 of the Ostrogothic truth, for example, “if someone lent money to a colonel or a slave, without the knowledge of the master, then he could repay the debt from the peculium,” that is, from the property that he owned.
A new feudal form of colony arose, differing from the previous one in that not only a slave or a landless tenant, but also a free peasant could become a colony. According to the Alamannic Truth (22, 3) "the colony runs his own household, but must pay taxes in kind to the church or work corvée 3 days a week.
Changes were also taking place in the legal status of slaves. For example, strict prohibitions on marriages between slaves and free people were relaxed. If, according to Roman law, a free woman was converted into slavery for having an affair with a slave, and according to Salic law, she could be killed with impunity, then the Alamannian law gave such a woman the right to object to the “slave work of a servant” (18:2).
And finally, in the 9th century. large beneficiaries are seeking the right to transfer benefits by inheritance. Benefice is being replaced by feud. Large feudal lords turn into sovereigns with political power in their domains.
Political system. In the processes of formation and development of the state apparatus of the Franks, three main directions can be identified. The first direction, especially characteristic of the initial stage (V-VII centuries), manifested itself in the degeneration of the organs of tribal democracy of the Franks into bodies of new, public power, into state bodies proper. The second was determined by the development of the bodies of patrimonial administration, the third was associated with the gradual transformation of the state power of the Frankish monarchs into the “private” power of the lord-sovereigns with the formation of the seigneurial monarchy, which was fully revealed at the final stage of the development of Frankish society (VIII-IX centuries). .
The conquest of Gaul served as a powerful impetus for the creation of a new state apparatus among the Franks, for it required the organization of administration of the conquered regions and their protection. Clovis was the first Frankish king to assert his exclusive position as sole ruler. From a simple military leader, he turns into a monarch, achieving this position by all means: treachery, cunning, destruction of relatives, other tribal leaders. One of the most important political actions of Clovis, which strengthened the position of the Frankish state through the support of the Gallo-Roman clergy, was the adoption of Christianity.
With the adoption of Christianity by Clovis, the church became a powerful factor in strengthening royal power. It was the church that gave into the hands of the Frankish kings such a justification for wars of conquest as a reference to the “true faith”, the unification in faith of many peoples under the auspices of a single king as the supreme, not only secular, but also spiritual head of their peoples.
The gradual transition of the Gallic elite to the Christian faith also becomes an important historical factor in the unification of Gaul and the development of a special regional feudal-Christian, Western European (Romano-Germanic) civilization.
Socio-economic, religious-ideological, ethnographic and other changes in Gallic society had a direct impact on the processes of formation and development of specific features of the state apparatus of the Frankish empire, which absorbed in the 8th-9th centuries. most of the barbarian states of Western Europe. Already in the 5th century. Among the Franks, the place of the old clan community is finally replaced by a territorial community (mark), and with it a territorial division into districts (pagi), hundreds. Salic truth already speaks of the existence of officials of the kingdom: counts, satsebarons, etc. At the same time, it testifies to the significant role of communal government bodies. At this time the Franks no longer had a general tribal people's assembly. It was replaced by a review of the troops - first in March (“March ^ ^“Fields”), then (under the Carolingians) in May (“May Fields”). But local assemblies of hundreds (“malus”) continued to exist, performing judicial functions under chairmanship Tunginov, which together with Rahinburgs, legal experts (“judgers”) were representatives of the community.
The role of the community in court cases was exceptionally great. The community was responsible for a murder committed on its territory, nominated co-jurors who testified to the good name of its member; the relatives themselves brought their relative to court, together with him they paid
wergeld.
The king acted primarily as a “guardian of peace”, as an executor of the community’s judicial decisions. His counts and social lords performed mainly police and fiscal functions. Salic truth provided for punishment for royal officials who refused to satisfy the demand of a free person and apply power to offenders. At the same time, protecting to a certain extent the independence of the community from royal officials, the Salic truth prohibited, for example, more than three social barons from appearing at one community meeting.
Royal instructions, according to Salic truth, concern a small range of state affairs - conscription into the army, summons to court. But Salic truth also testifies to the strengthening of the power of kings. Thus, for example, the performance of royal service justifies the failure of the accused to appear in the community court. Moreover, the king directly interferes with the internal affairs of the community, with its land relations, and allows a stranger to settle on communal land.
The power of the Frankish kings began to be inherited. In the VI-VII centuries. under the direct influence of the late Roman order, the legislative powers of kings are strengthened, and the capitularies, not without the influence of the church, already speak of the sacred nature of royal power and the unlimited nature of its legislative powers. It is significant that the concept of treason against the king, classified as a serious crime, also appears there.
However, the king at this time is primarily a military leader, a military commander, whose main concern is “order” in the kingdom, pacifying the local nobility that goes out of obedience. The limited royal functions were also associated with the absence of effectively functioning central administration bodies, the treasury, and independent royal courts with appellate functions. .
The emerging state apparatus is also characterized by extreme amorphousness, the absence of clearly demarcated official powers, subordination, and organization of office work. The threads of government are concentrated in the hands of royal servants and associates. Among them, the palace count referendarium and chamberlain stand out. Palace Count Performs mainly judicial functions, directs judicial duels, and oversees the execution of sentences. Referendar(speaker), keeper of the royal seal, is in charge of royal documents, draws up acts, instructions of the king, etc. Camerari monitors revenues to the royal treasury and the safety of palace property.
In the VI-VII centuries. the chief manager of the royal palace, and then the head of the royal administration, was the chamber mayor, or mayor, whose power was strengthened in every possible way in the context of the incessant campaigns of the king, who ruled his territories “from the saddle.” |^Н
The formation of local authorities occurs at this time under the significant influence of late Roman orders. The Merovingian counts begin to rule the districts as Roman governors. They have police, military and judicial functions. In the capitularies, Tungin is almost never mentioned as a judge. The concepts of “count” and “judge” become unambiguous; their appointment falls within the exclusive competence of royal power.
At the same time, the newly emerging organs of the state apparatus of the Franks, copying some of the late Roman state orders, had a different character and social purpose. These were authorities that expressed the interests primarily of the German service nobility and large Gallo-Roman landowners. They were built on different organizational foundations. For example, they were widely used in public service the king's warriors. Initially consisting of a royal military detachment of free Franks, the squad, and consequently the state apparatus, was subsequently replenished not only by Romanized Gauls, who were distinguished by their education and knowledge of local law, but also by slaves and freedmen who made up the royal court staff. All of them were interested in strengthening royal power, in destroying the old tribal separatism, in strengthening new orders that promised them enrichment and social prestige.
In the second half of the 7th century. folds up new system political domination and control, a kind of “democracy of the nobility,” which involves the direct participation of the top of the emerging class of feudal lords in governing the state.
The expansion of the participation of the feudalizing nobility in government, the “seignorization” of government positions led to the loss royalty the relative independence that she previously enjoyed. This did not happen immediately, but precisely during the period when large landholdings had already acquired significant dimensions. At this time, greater power is assumed by the previously created Royal Council, consisting of representatives of the serving nobility and higher clergy. Without the consent of the Council, the king actually could not make a single serious decision. The nobility are gradually being given key positions in management not only in the center, but also locally. Along with the weakening of the power of kings, counts, dukes, bishops, and abbots, who became large landowners, acquired more and more independence, administrative and judicial functions. They begin to appropriate taxes, duties, and court fines.
As early as 614, the above-mentioned edict (Article 12) prohibited the appointment of an official - probably a duke or count, as well as a person subordinate to him, unless they were local landowners. In 673, the secular nobility achieved confirmation by Chilperic II of this article of the edict. Functions management was thus assigned to large local feudal lords.
In later truths, local rulers - dukes and counts - are given no less attention than the king. A fine according to the Alamanian Truth threatens anyone for failure to comply with the demands of a duke or count, for “disregarding their sealed summons.” A special title of the 2nd Bavarian Truth is dedicated to the dukes “whom the people appointed or elected”; it testifies to the breadth of those matters “that concern them.” It provides for punishment in the form of a significant fine not only for non-compliance, but also for “negligence” in carrying out their orders (2, 13), in particular, it speaks of impunity in the case of carrying out the Duke’s order to kill a person (2, 6), probably “acted against the law” (2, 2).
Moreover, according to the Alamannic truth, the position of duke is inherited by his son, who, however, faces “expulsion and disinheritance” for attempting to “take possession of it extortionately” (25, 1-2), however, the king could “forgive his son... and transfer his inheritance" (34:4). Over time, all the most important positions in the state apparatus became hereditary.
The obedience of the local nobility to the king, which remained to one degree or another, began to be increasingly determined by its personal relations with the royal court, vassal dependence on the king as a lord.
From the middle of the 7th century, during the era of the so-called lazy kings, the nobility directly took the reins of power into their own hands, removing the king. This is done first by increasingly strengthening the role and importance of the position of majordomo, and then by directly removing the king. A striking example of this is the very change of the royal dynasty among the Franks. Back in the 7th century. The Pipinid family of mayors began to stand out for its power and land wealth. One of them, Charles Martel, actually already ruled the country. Thanks to the reforms carried out, he managed to strengthen for a certain time the unity of the Frankish state, which was experiencing a long period of political destabilization and dismemberment. The son and successor of Charles Martell, not wanting to even formally recognize the king, carried out a coup d'état, imprisoned the last reigning Merovingian in a monastery and took his throne.
Agrarian revolution of the 8th century. contributed to the further development of the feudal state, that administrative system in which patrimonial authorities began to play the main role. The new restructuring of the administrative apparatus was facilitated by the widespread use of immunity certificates, by virtue of which the territory belonging to the holder of immunity was withdrawn (partially or completely) from the jurisdiction of state authorities in judicial, tax, and administrative matters. The votchinnik thus gained political power over his peasants. Charters of immunity, as a rule, sanctioned the already established relations of political dependence of peasants on their patrimonial lords.
