2024/12/01 by Jillian M. Bjerke · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Medieval and Early Modern Justice #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis #Medieval Literature and History
paper · doi:10.1093/fh/crae045
openalex publication_date 2024/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract During the period 1234–74, when the counts of Champagne also ruled the Iberian kingdom of Navarre, dozens of monasteries, nobles, hospitals and city councils in both regions put themselves, their property and their belongings into the count–kings’ care. That they did so demonstrates the rulers’ perceived and actual power, for the count–kings could never be in both their principalities simultaneously. The people of Champagne and Navarre did not require the physical presence of their lord to benefit from his protection, which they sought primarily in times of precarity and in response to comital–royal movements. Likewise, through granting protection the count–kings established and reinforced bonds between themselves and their subjects that would endure even in their absence. For the count–kings of Champagne–Navarre, protecting their subjects was not just about securing their territory but also about engendering the loyalty of their subjects and maintaining (and sometimes extending) their sovereignty.