It is generally held that the feudalism in Europe found its "l'apo-gée" in the 12th century in France and Italy, in Germany a century later (R. Boutriche, daps Rapports : [IX
e Congrès international des sciences historiques. 1950. p. 445) According to this view, the period of completion of feudal monarchy which occured in the 13th century is bound to be excluded from that-of feudalism. But isn't it allowed to take these two periods coinciode with each. other ?
In the above mentioned thesis relating to the growth of feudalism, the completion means the widest spread of this institution. If then, feudalism will mean, sometimes, nothing but ananarchy. Medieval history shows us that the feudalism was generated from the political situation of that time as a means supplanting the paralysed organisation. of government; if so, feudalism, in spite of its anarchical tendency, . must have played a rôle for the maintenance of political order. Then, feudalism is not necessarily an antinomy to the state ; rather, we may say, they find their synthesis in the feudal monarchy. In other words, the feudalism found, in a well-organized feudal monarchy, its most developed case. So we are to conclude the period of maturity of feudalism covers that of feudal monarchy.
Now, on the other hand, we must be entirely free from all the prevailing opinions which are liable to take the political achievement of feudal monarchy of the 13th century only for a premise to the absolute monarchy. Of course we should not say that this point of view is thoroughly wrong. But in the first place it must be kept in mind that the feudal monarchy none the less has its " feudal " character. And we should not easily be deceived ourselves by the rapid progress of money economy in the 13th century and its effects upon the state-life, in other words, upon the growth of the system of direct government of king.
This phenomenon was not suddenly appeared in the course of the 13 th century, but in a less conspicuous degree it existed through all the feudal ages and was so to speak "sine-qua-non" of the feudal state, so long as this remained a state. The historical meaning of the rapid growth of the system of direct government in the 13th century will be found in the fact that the king then found the first chance to utilize wholly the feudalism as a most efficient means of his administration. So we may conclude that feudalism was brought to completion when feudel monarchy had completed its political organisation.
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