Nemesség és hatalom (A német történettudomány vitái a középkori nemesi hatalom alapjairól)
Nobility and Power: The Controversy of German Historians over the Basis for Noble Power in the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: The question, on which basis the aristocratic rule of the High Middle Ages has emerged and developed, is intensively discussed by historians all over Europe. This essay tries to present an overview about the answers, that have been proposed by German medievalists since the early 19th century. Historians of the 19th century assumed a decline of royal power since the time of the Carolingians. Nobles would have acquired and usurped royal rights. In the thirties of the 20th century this view changed fundamentally. According to Frantińek Graus a “paradicmatic turn” took place in German historiography. Nobles now appeared as owners of traditional and “autogenous” rights, which they could maintain against royal requirements. Recently, however, it has been suggested to speak of a well-planned delegation of royal power which led finally to the foundation of the rule of the aristocracy. This question is still strongly debated. It is not possible to present a final solu-tion even tody, because an answer cannot be given by looking merely at the sources. The problem rises a fundamental question: Which general theory should be regarded as ade-quate to look at medieval German history? The background of all considerations seems to be the delayed foundation of the German national state, which appeared to be a special case in European history.

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