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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Sharon Dale <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >for what it might be worth, the exampleof judges cited included members of orders that followed two different rules (one benedictine, the other augustinian). Seems as if whoever deputized them wanted all the bases covered, so to speak. yes. my feeling (again, on no particular evidence whatever) is that a basic principle of the exercise of Power and Authority in the M.A. was to attempt consensus-generated solutions whenever possible. which is not to say that Power wasn't simply Exercised whenever possible, but that frequently it was *not* possible, esp. in the earlier periods. Popes are far away (usually) and their power almost entirely derived from Ideology (how many legions does the Pope command?); Bishops ditto, with the added complication of having to deal with family/clan-based factions --the Patrons and members of *all* their ecclesiastical institutions-- within their dioceses; Kings --esp. the early Capetians-- are constantly playing various factions off against one another (i'm thinking esp. of the inherently contradictory actions of Louis VI viz-a-viz the Victorine "reform" in the middle years of his reign). Power --whether ecclesiastical or secular-- depended, de facto, on the ability to impose it, and this was, as often as not, a very tricky business indeed. best from here, christopher ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html