Legal philosophical ideas in the Middle Ages
Introduction
The Middle Ages arises with the fall of the Roman Empire of the West and generates a new production model, feudalism, supported by the principle of protection and service;But mainly evidence strong religious bases consolidating the Christian Church as one of the institutions with the greatest political and social incidence of the time, establishing a struggle for power that lasted several decades. This period shows a transformation in several cultural and political aspects, with events that marked world history;But that the bases on which the new concepts of Nation, Modern State and Political Autonomy were established.
Developing
The Middle Ages is the period from the fall of the Roman Empire of the West approximately in the year 476, until the fifteenth century;period characterized by the weakening of the Roman Greezes and known by the name of darkness;named, for the cultural setback that society and the religious submission of the time lived;It constitutes the transition stage between the old age and the Renaissance.
Tamayo (2012), explains that to address the study of the Middle Ages, it is classified in an early Middle Ages (years 476 – 800), High Middle Ages (IX – XI centuries) and Low Middle Ages (12th – XV centuries).
Early Middle Ages
At this time, feudalism took place as a new production model established in society. Feudalism initially developed with military bosses and other illustrious land owners called feudos and peasants called deer.
Feudalism had its origin in Roman law and consisted of a kind of exchange that peasants made in favor of the feudal lords, through which “the servants renounced their independence, provided their services and obeyed the feudal lords in exchange for protectionAnd a place to live and cultivate (…) ”(UNAM, S.F.).
At this time the Government and State established in several settlements, fragmented and a mode of government based on the power exerted by the feudal lords based on the principle of loyalty and Christianity is established;same that constitutes the official religion of the time, being its highest authority the Pope, as almost a divinity considering its apparent succession of St. Peter (Ullman, 1971).
The High Middle Ages
It is characterized by Carlos Martell’s thought that tried to give continuity to the principles of the Roman Empire Government, for which different administrative reforms were made, strengthening the form of feudal authority.
Additionally, the Carolingian dynasty was established, located in what is currently France;It was directed by Charlemagne from the Roman Greek foundations, the Christian religion and the so -called barbarians;He had a great religious content based on the principles of God and his highest authority was the emperor.
The Carolingian empire did not last much, because the heirs of the empire fractioned it into three lower kingdoms France, Germany and Lotario;However, the organizational mode of the Empire promoted the consolidation of the Church, which strengthened its political power increased its properties and monopolizing the knowledge and intellectual work of the time, including art and culture (Halpen, L. 1968).
In this period, commercial regularization begins and the first universities were created, offering careers in medicine, jurisprudence and theology, all framed within the dominant religious approach;"The 12th century, therefore, gave way to an era of great cultural, social and economic transformations" (Tamayo, D. 2012).
Additionally, Christian fanaticism gave rise to the so -called crusaders, which were organized expeditions in order to recover the holy places that were dominated by Muslims;around eight crusades were developed that were decisive for the social context of the time.
The low Middle Ages
In the low Middle Ages the religious institution was consolidated;However, certain scattered civil governments were evidenced. The Department of Legal Investigations of the UNAM states that "the political organization could be described as a kind of direct democracy expressed through the Civitatis concilia or citizen assembly (…)", being a type of "noble, military and elective monarchy,made up of a political king or leader, assisted by his regal classroom or committus ”(2016, p. 88).
The fundamental characteristic of this period was the conflict over supremacy between the Church and the State, who disputed the different spaces of political and economic power;emerging accordingly of this struggle, the first concepts of nation and autonomy.
Political thought in the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages all belief around justice was based on the principles of divinity from religion, the concept of State was totally weakened and the so -called patristic (religious) made most contributions in the administrative fields in the administrative fieldsand politicians;The main thinkers being the following:
San Pedro: is the one who writes the text of greater social influence of the time, the New Testament, treaty that marked the behavior, beliefs and obedience of populations;In this sense, people had loyalty to God and his sovereign.
Saint Augustine: he is the author of the work City of God and establishes the spiritual doctrine, covering theological and moral issues, indicating that there is a divine order that regulates the correct functioning of things;In this sense, it prevents the alteration of what he considers natural.
Saint Thomas Aquinas: His main work is theological Summa, makes important contributions to the theory of law, based on Aristotle’s theories and ratifying that man is a social being;linking the definition of authority as a divine origin.
Author Virgilio Ruiz mentions that Saint Thomas Aquinas established two dimensions of justice: "otherness and equality";He determines that "justice is a complete virtue not in itself, but by relation to another" and consequent. 4).
Padua Marsillo: established a different thought from the time by mentioning that the State must be on the Church, due to the following considerations: Christ did not come to the world to govern men, he excluded himself from any type of authorityAnd he submitted to the sovereigns of that moment, to the point of fulfilling their will, highlighting that "faith cannot be imposed by force" (Castello, 2013, p.7-8);He was one of the first thinkers who stated that the supremacy must be had before any divine or authority precept.
In general, in the Middle Ages the struggle for power between the Church and the emperors is evident;However, from different contributions and social analysis carried out, a new era begins where feudalism is extinguished and the bourgeoisie is born as a new form of social dynamics.
Conclusions
The Middle Ages was characterized by the influence of the Church and religion, which influenced populations in order to achieve their submission and obedience, while increasing their wealth and centralizing knowledge, arts and sciences and sciences.
One of the main characteristics of the Middle Ages was feudalism as a mode of production, through which protection exchanges between feudal lords and servants were established.
The thinkers of the time, strongly linked to the religious sphere, raise the concept of divine law, attributed to sovereigns, as a design of God, theory that was gradually discarded and supplanted by concepts of nation, modern state and political autonomy.
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