1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910825971203321

Autore

Berkhofer Robert F. <1966->

Titolo

Day of reckoning : power and accountability in medieval France / / Robert F. Berkhofer III

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Philadelphia, Pa., : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2004

ISBN

0-8122-0126-4

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (277 pages)

Collana

The Middle Ages series

Disciplina

944/.02

Soggetti

Benedictine monasteries - France - History

France History Medieval period, 987-1515 Sources

France Church history 987-1515 Sources

France Politics and government 987-1328 Sources

France Social conditions 987-1515 Sources

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [245]-259) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Introduction -- 1. A Fragmentary Past? Monastic History, Memory, and Patrimony -- 2. Written Comprehension of Land and Signs of an Administrative Mentality -- 3. Ministering and Administering: Abbots as Catalysts of Change -- 4. Discipline and Service Inside and Outside the Cloister -- Conclusion: Accountability, Writing, and Rule by 1200 -- Appendix A: The Cartularies of Saint-Bertin -- Appendix B: The Cartulary of Three Crosses -- Appendix D: Abbatial and Monastic Acts: Saint-Vaast, Saint-Bertin, and Saint-Denis -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments

Sommario/riassunto

Day of Reckoning: Power and Accountability in Medieval France applies recent approaches to literacy, legal studies, memory, ritual, and the manorial economy to reexamine the transformation of medieval power. Highlighting the relationship of archives and power, it draws on the rich documentary sources of five of the largest Benedictine monasteries in northern France and Flanders, with comparisons to others, over a period of nearly four centuries. The book opens up new perspectives on important problems of power, in particular the idea and practice of accountability. In a violent society, medieval lords tried to delegate



power rather than share it-to get their men to prosecute justice or raise money legitimately, rather than through extortion and pillage. Robert F. Berkhofer III explains how subordinates were held accountable by abbots administering the extensive holdings of Saint-Bertin, Saint-Denis, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Père-de-Chartres, and Saint-Vaast-d'Arras. As the abbots began to discipline their agents and monitor their conduct, the "day of reckoning" took on new meaning, as customary meeting days were used to hold agents accountable. By 1200, written and unwritten techniques of rule developed in the monasteries had moved into the secular world; in these practices lay the origins of administration, bureaucratic power, and governance, all hallmarks of the modern state.