Non-Secular Underpinnings of Government

[jester]

I'm reading Las Siete Partidas, the legal code compiled by Alfonso X, and I'm rapidly becoming fascinated with aspects other than the ones I ILLed the books for. The document (which fills 7 fairly large volumes) essentially lays out the legal code and includes explanations for terms and the legal theory behind the codes. The rule of the Emperor and the King is both explained and justified. What was truly fascinating to me was that neither the rule of the Emperor or the King was justified by divine will. Both of them exist in order to regulate society for the betterment of every citizen. Protecting the faith (Catholic Christianity) is one of the duties of the monarchs, but it is the last duty enumerated.

I'll be honest in saying that I am stunned to see this occurring in the thirteenth Century. This is a philosophy that I would have attributed to the Renaissance at the earliest and, more likely, the Age of Enlightenment. Sure, the Greeks had all of this, but the Middle Ages?

The more I learn, the less I find I know.

[Andrew Young]

To venture a thought .... remember the Magna Carta was authored in the 1215 and was a fairly revolutionary statement.

The first thing we always need to do when studying history is try to leave our preconceptions behind. Im doing a lot of studying of early navigators and explorers/colonists from the 15th to early 17th centuries and I am continuously amazed at how forward thinking and innovative so many of these people were.

Edit....while bearing in mind how utterly backward thinking and absurd others were also.

[Robert of Canterbury]

Jester,

I'm a bit at sea as to what the thread title means. Non-Secular = Sacred...?

but anyway, there is a great deal of interesting material on the workings of English government, including all manner of legal spats between church and state, in Adams & Stephens,
http://home.freeuk.net/don-aitken/ast/w1h2.html#5

The balance of power between church & State seems to dictate the tone of the relationship. The Crown makes concessions to Church Authority when it must, but it is an uneasy relationship most of the time.

[Russ Mitchell]

Two Swords.