William of Ockham's Theory of Imperium

Abstract

The political thought of William of Ockham was, considering his political writings (Opera politica) concerning the first half of the 14th century, full of concrete arguments using Holy Scripture, the works of ecclesiastical fathers and decretals. He defended the imperium of Emperor Ludwig IV as both historically and constitutionally legitimate and the true successor to the Romanum imperium, and argued against the hierocratic opinions of the papalists. In his trilogy, III Dialogus, Octo quaestiones de potestate papae, and Breviloquium de principatu tyrannico, Ockham posed first that the pagan imperium before the advent of Christ suited the divine will, and secondly that Biblical texts, which recognized the legitimate dominium and iurisdictio among non-believers, said nothing about the papacy. The second assertion was based on the fact that the election of the emperor was by the Roman people, and that once elected, the emperor had no superior on earth, his power being 'a solo Deo per homines, non a papa'. His third discussion was that the conversion of the Roman emperor to Christianity brought about no judical or constitutional change, and that the Christian emperor succeeded the pagan emperor, so that 'Reddite quae sunt Caesaris, Caesari : et quae sunt Dei, Deo' became the basis of the relation between spiritual and secular powers, upon which the Christian Roman imperium was to be discussed. In conclusion, the papacy had no fullness of power (plenitudo potestatis) in secular affairs (temporalia). In spiritual affairs (spiritualia), Ockham denied papal 'ple nitudo potestatis', saying that it is but tyranny against Christian law (lex Christiana) and evangelical law (lex evangelica), which is the law of freedom (lex libertatis). He admits the papal control over believers, but only in so far as this control is not contrary to divine law, the law of nature and the law of freedom, just as in gospel times the apostles exercised ministration but not jurisdiction. Consequently, papal intervention in temporalia should be recognized only under urgent conditions involving for example questions of salvation, common utility and negligence on the part of secular rulers. Thus Ockham's theory of imperium declared the independence of two powers. While both the historical-constitutional Roman imperium founded on lex humana within the divine law and the historical-revelational apostolic church founded on the lex Christiana were based upon one common body of 'communio fidelium', they were under usual conditions different governmental systems. Particularly, since temporalia were broad enough to include ecclesiastical temporalia, the area of spiritualia was severely limited.