The Interdict in the Thirteenth Century: A Question of Collective GuiltOUP Oxford, 2007 M09 6 - 300 pages The interdict was an important and frequent event in medieval society. It was an ecclesiastical sanction which had the effect of closing churches and suspending religious services. Often imposed on an entire community because its leaders had violated the rights and laws of the Church, popes exploited it as a political weapon in their conflicts with secular rulers during the thirteenth century. In this book, Peter Clarke examines this significant but neglected subject, presenting a wealth of new evidence drawn from manuscripts and archival sources. He begins by exploring the basic legal and moral problem raised by the interdict: how could a sanction that punished many for the sins of the few be justified? From the twelfth-century, jurists and theologians argued that those who consented to the crimes of others shared in the responsibility and punishment for them. Hence important questions are raised about medieval ideas of community, especially about the relationship between its head and members. The book goes on to explore how the interdict was meant to work according to the medieval canonists, and how it actually worked in practice. In particular it examines princely and popular reactions to interdicts and how these encouraged the papacy to reform the sanction in order to make it more effective. Evidence including detailed case-studies of the interdict in action, is drawn from across thirteenth-century Europe - a time when the papacy's legislative activity and interference in the affairs of secular rulers were at their height. |
Other editions - View all
The Interdict in the Thirteenth Century: A Question of Collective Guilt Peter D. Clarke Limited preview - 2007 |
The Interdict in the Thirteenth Century:A Question of Collective Guilt: A ... Peter D. Clarke No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
Alanus Alexander Alexander IV appeal Archbishop Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek Clm Béziers bishop Boniface VIII Borgh burial canon law canonists cathedral celebrate cessatio chapter church clergy clerical Clericis laicos clerks collective commune commune’s Comp Compilatio Conc consent curia decretal Decretum diocese dispute ecclesie episcopal excommunication excommunication and interdict gloss grants Gregory Gregory IX guilty hence Honorius Honorius III Hostiensis Huguccio ibid III’s decretal immunity imposed infra Innocent III Innocent III’s Innocent IV Innocent’s interdicted places interdicts laid Johannes Andreae Johannes Calderinus Johannes Teutonicus judges jurisdiction king laity Langton late twelfth century Lectura legate Liber extra Liber sextus mandate Nicholas Nicholas IV notably observed offices papacy papal interdict penalty Peter the Chanter pope potest prelates priests punishment quia quod royal rulers ruling sacraments San Gimignano sanctions secular sentences Staatsbibliothek Clm 3879 Summa supra tamen Tancred temporal thirteenth century Vincentius Hispanus violated