The german kingship in the 12th century

The question of the basic nature of the power structure in kingship of the high middle ages has been back in the limelight for sometime now. The main focus is on analyzing the personal surroundings of the king. Research on the court has become a hotly debated international research topic. By studying the members of the monarch`s entourage, it is possible to draw conclusions about the key regions of the monarchical rule. Such persons may be classified by individual political regions in order to study how the royal court was derived from such regions. Since personal attendance at court made it possible to participate in the business of the empire, which was also a duty in the case of fief-holders, the sphere of influence of royal power can be defined in this manner. It is also possible to identify the king`s advisers, since disproportionate presence at court suggests a relationship of confidence with the ruler. At the same time, court was constantly held at different places, so that a study of the king`s itinerary takes on great significance: the frequency and duration of his stays at individual places and regions helps us to understand which political regions were in or out of the king`s favour. The same applies to analyses of the practice of the issue of documents by the king: observing the regional distribution of recipients of royal documents can serve as supplementary evidence to identify the key regions. The objective of the project is to analyze the power structure of the Germano-Roman kingship in the 12th Century. While the French court of the Capetians has already been studied for the period from 987 to 1180, only studies on individual rulers have been performed to date for the Regnum Theutonicum. A comparative analysis is lacking. Now the three research approaches of court structure, the royal itinerary and issue of documents should be combined in order to analyze the period from Lothar III to Otto IV (1125 to 1215) from this perspective. This should make it possible to identify the personal and regional foundations of royal power in order to study and represent the regional and social components of the groups at the king`s side on the basis of comparable data in a longitudinal section of more than 90 years of history. The expected results will be relevant to regional studies, constitutional history, and social history. Among other things, criteria will be found to identify members of the king`s inner circle. Any continuities and discontinuities in that group will be described. In particular, the question of social mobility will be investigated. In addition, the question of geographical origin will be of importance. In this respect, the analysis will overlap with other research areas: issue of documents and the royal itinerary. This is expected to produce information about the genesis of the imperial and national structure.

The question of the basic nature of the power structure in kingship of the high middle ages has been back in the limelight for sometime now. The main focus is on analyzing the personal surroundings of the king. Research on the court has become a hotly debated international research topic. By studying the members of the monarch`s entourage, it is possible to draw conclusions about the key regions of the monarchical rule. Such persons may be classified by individual political regions in order to study how the royal court was derived from such regions. Since personal attendance at court made it possible to participate in the business of the empire, which was also a duty in the case of fief-holders, the sphere of influence of royal power can be defined in this manner. It is also possible to identify the king`s advisers, since disproportionate presence at court suggests a relationship of confidence with the ruler. At the same time, court was constantly held at different places, so that a study of the king`s itinerary takes on great significance: the frequency and duration of his stays at individual places and regions helps us to understand which political regions were in or out of the king`s favour. The same applies to analyses of the practice of the issue of documents by the king: observing the regional distribution of recipients of royal documents can serve as supplementary evidence to identify the key regions. The objective of the project is to analyze the power structure of the Germano-Roman kingship in the 12th Century. While the French court of the Capetians has already been studied for the period from 987 to 1180, only studies on individual rulers have been performed to date for the Regnum Theutonicum. A comparative analysis is lacking. Now the three research approaches of court structure, the royal itinerary and issue of documents should be combined in order to analyze the period from Lothar III to Otto IV (1125 to 1215) from this perspective. This should make it possible to identify the personal and regional foundations of royal power in order to study and represent the regional and social components of the groups at the king`s side on the basis of comparable data in a longitudinal section of more than 90 years of history. The expected results will be relevant to regional studies, constitutional history, and social history. Among other things, criteria will be found to identify members of the king`s inner circle. Any continuities and discontinuities in that group will be described. In particular, the question of social mobility will be investigated. In addition, the question of geographical origin will be of importance. In this respect, the analysis will overlap with other research areas: issue of documents and the royal itinerary. This is expected to produce information about the genesis of the imperial and national structure.