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Originally Posted by TimMason
Well, I don't know what you'll accept as serious proof. What about ' The Peace of God'? |
OK, you convinced me that there was a movement where the Church tried to defend itself and its belongings from the abuses of warring minor nobility in a troubled era.
I skimmed the French version of this article, which seems much more documented than the English one, and is at least longer (does that prove anything? Mm, probably not. But I like the French version better
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This is not a story of the progress of civilization against barbarism. It's the story of a political crisis where the failure of central government encourages minor nobles to take what they can, creating bloody local conflicts that were destructive, among other things, to the Church. Who reacts by using its moral influence to dissuade nobles to bring the pillage and destruction to its lands, by threatening them with anathema.
Here is a small excerpt from the French article (badly translated with Google's help):
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This is therefore not a universal peace, an anachronistic notion, but a movement to protect church property. There is no intention to regulate the rules of war, to impose a general ban on plunder in private wars, nor to protect peasants from harm by hordes of uncontrolled militia.
For example, at the council of Limoges in 1031, the decisions only concern the rights of the Church and there is no mention of public order. In Vienne, there is no attempt to prohibit private wars, but only to limit its effects to those only who are involved (ie the "gens de guerre", or warriors). In particular, the Ppeace of God does not limit the war between princes, and the oath of Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (circa 1020) discusses the need to besiege illegal castles with the king, the count or Bishop, authorizing the drafting of villains for this type of action. This strengthens the authority of the lieges on their vassals.
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I doubt very much that the Church's action in this episode had any long-term effect on feudalism, except maybe that it helped restore some level of control of higher echelons on the lower nobility.
Sorry for this historical interlude, folks