HIST 111 Lecture Notes - Middle Ages, Western Europe, Catharism
17 Mar 2014
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13th century- rise of towns and economic/ political developments. Iberia- towns became powerful very early (11th c) Iberian christian kings learned could use towns against nobles, inc politic/econ leverage (involved in royal counsels, and included w/ nobles +bishops in the cortes) Iberian cortes- earliest phenomenon of parliamentary institutions (congress- product of middle ages) Estates- represented groups in a cortes/ parliament (nobles, clergy, town representatives: different levels of powers in different iberian kingdoms. King had to contend to cortes but some estates hardly worked against the king. Towns more powerful in east than west (b/c of greater importance of trade power in east) but power mostly in king in the west (didn"t have to call cortes regularly) Magna carta- great charter, regarded as beginning of english parliament. Idea that king can"t govern arbitrarily and should have input/ consensus from subjects (not peasants, just nobles, bishops and burghers- townspeople) Doesn"t set up institutionalized parliament, but sets stage for beginning of it.
