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Potestas is a Latin word meaning power or faculty. It is an important concept in Roman Law.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Potestas is a Latin word meaning power or faculty. It is an important concept in Roman Law.
The idea of potestas originally referred to the power, through coercion, of a Roman magistrate to promulgate edicts, give action to litigants, etc. This power, in Roman political and legal theory, is considered analogous in kind though lesser in degree to military power. The most important magistrates (such as consuls and praetors) are said to have imperium , which is the ultimate form of potestas, and refers indeed to military power.
Potestas strongly contrasts with the power of the Senate and the prudentes, a common way to refer to Roman jurists. While the magistrates had potestas, the prudentes exercised auctoritas . It is said that auctoritas is a manifestation of socially recognized knowledge, while potestas is a manifestation of socially recognized power. In Roman political theory, both were necessary to guide the res publica and they had to inform each other.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, most institutions of Roman public law fell into disuse, but much of Roman political theory remained. In a letter, Duo Sunt , Pope Gelasius I argued that Christendom was ruled, in theory, by the priests and princes. The former had the spiritual authority, which was identified with auctoritas, while the latter had temporal power, identified with potestas. [1] At first, the Pope crowned secular rulers after Pope Stephen II crowned the Frankish king Pepin the Short in January 754, and secular rulers often appointed local bishops and abbots, but after the Investiture Controversy the Pope was instead chosen by the College of Cardinals and, at least in theory, approved episcopal nominations. [2]
As the effective power of the Holy Roman Empire declined, kingdoms asserted their own independence.[ citation needed ] One way to do this was to claim that the king had, in his kingdom, the same power as the emperor in the empire, and so the king assumed the attributes of potestas.[ citation needed ]
The concept of plena in re potesta was often used in 13th-century Europe, of ownership as being "in full power" to do what one likes with one's property. [3] The use of the dogma was also used by Edward I. Although its ultimate use is ambiguous, it was used to give to parliament representatives the authority of making choices in parliament (full powers). This, in turn, helped Edward I coerce shire representatives to grant taxes. [4]
In some of the Italian city states, the term "Potestas" describes the authority of a magistrate developed into "Podestà", which was the chief magistrate's title.
In European Christianity, the divine right of kings, divine right, or God's mandation is a political and religious doctrine of political legitimacy of a monarchy. It stems from a specific metaphysical framework in which a monarch is, before birth, pre-ordained to inherit the crown, chosen by God and in the image of God. According to this theory of political legitimacy, the subjects of the crown have actively turned over the metaphysical selection of the king's soul – which will inhabit the body and rule them – to God. In this way, the "divine right" originates as a metaphysical act of humility and/or submission towards God. Divine right has been a key element of the legitimisation of many absolute monarchies.
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period, was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. The title was held in conjunction with the title of king of Italy from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of king of Germany throughout the 12th to 18th centuries.
In ancient Rome, imperium was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from auctoritas and potestas, different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic and Empire. One's imperium could be over a specific military unit, or it could be over a province or territory. Individuals given such power were referred to as curule magistrates or promagistrates. These included the curule aedile, the praetor, the consul, the magister equitum, and the dictator. In a general sense, imperium was the scope of someone's power, and could include anything, such as public office, commerce, political influence, or wealth.
The Roman emperor was the ruler and monarchial head of state of the Roman Empire during the imperial period, starting with the granting of the title augustus to Octavian in 27 BC. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history. Often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title augustus and later basileus. Another title often used was caesar, used for heirs-apparent, and imperator, originally a military honorific. Early emperors also used the title princeps civitatis. Emperors frequently amassed Republican titles, notably princeps senatus, consul, and pontifex maximus.
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monasteries and the pope himself. A series of popes in the 11th and 12th centuries undercut the power of the Holy Roman Emperor and other European monarchies, and the controversy led to nearly 50 years of conflict.
King of the Romans was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
Various lists regarding the political institutions of ancient Rome are presented. Each entry in a list is a link to a separate article. Categories included are: constitutions (5), laws (5), and legislatures (7); state offices (28) and office holders ; political factions and social ranks (8). A political glossary (35) of similar construction follows.
The Conflictof the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebeians sought political equality with the patricians. It played a major role in the development of the Constitution of the Roman Republic. Shortly after the founding of the Republic, this conflict led to a secession from Rome by the Plebeians to the Sacred Mount at a time of war. The result of this first secession was the creation of the office of plebeian tribune, and with it the first acquisition of real power by the plebeians.
Caesaropapism is the idea of combining the social and political power of secular government with religious power, or of making secular authority superior to the spiritual authority of the Church; especially concerning the connection of the Church with government. Although Justus Henning Böhmer (1674–1749) may have originally coined the term caesaropapism (Cäseropapismus), it was Max Weber (1864–1920) who wrote that "a secular, caesaropapist ruler... exercises supreme authority in ecclesiastic matters by virtue of his autonomous legitimacy." According to Weber, caesaropapism entails "the complete subordination of priests to secular power."
Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and also by bishops of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The title was used by sovereigns and other persons of authority in ancient Greece, the Byzantine emperors, and the kings of modern Greece.
Church and state in medieval Europe was the relationship between the Catholic Church and the various monarchies and other states in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Auctoritas is a Latin word that is the origin of the English word "authority". While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of phenomenological philosophy in the 20th century expanded the use of the word.
Dictatus papae is a compilation of 27 statements of authority claimed by the pope that was included in Pope Gregory VII's register under the year 1075.
The Roman magistrates were elected officials in Ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate. His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgiver, judge, and the sole commander of the army. When the king died, his power reverted to the Roman Senate, which then chose an Interrex to facilitate the election of a new king.
The executive magistrates of the Roman Republic were officials of the ancient Roman Republic, elected by the People of Rome. Ordinary magistrates (magistratus) were divided into several ranks according to their role and the power they wielded: censors, consuls, praetors, curule aediles, and finally quaestor. Any magistrate could obstruct (veto) an action that was being taken by a magistrate with an equal or lower degree of magisterial powers. By definition, plebeian tribunes and plebeian aediles were technically not magistrates as they were elected only by the plebeians, but no ordinary magistrate could veto any of their actions. Dictator was an extraordinary magistrate normally elected in times of emergency for a short period. During this period, the dictator's power over the Roman government was absolute, as they were not checked by any institution or magistrate.
The executive magistrates of the Roman Empire were elected individuals of the ancient Roman Empire. During the transition from monarchy to republic, the constitutional balance of power shifted from the executive to the Roman Senate. During the transition from republic to empire, the constitutional balance of power shifted back to the executive. Theoretically, the senate elected each new emperor, although in practice, it was the army which made the choice. The powers of an emperor, existed, in theory at least, by virtue of his legal standing. The two most significant components to an emperor's imperium were the "tribunician powers" and the "proconsular powers". In theory at least, the tribunician powers gave the emperor authority over Rome's civil government, while the proconsular powers gave him authority over the Roman army. While these distinctions were clearly defined during the early empire, eventually they were lost, and the emperor's powers became less constitutional and more monarchical.
The history of the Constitution of the Roman Republic is a study of the ancient Roman Republic that traces the progression of Roman political development from the founding of the Roman Republic in 509 BC until the founding of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. The constitutional history of the Roman Republic can be divided into five phases. The first phase began with the revolution which overthrew the Roman Kingdom in 509 BC, and the final phase ended with the revolution which overthrew the Roman Republic, and thus created the Roman Empire, in 27 BC. Throughout the history of the Republic, the constitutional evolution was driven by the struggle between the aristocracy and the ordinary citizens.
Famuli vestrae pietatis, also known by the Latin mnemonic duo sunt, is a letter written in 494 by Pope Gelasius I to Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus on the relationship between religious and secular officials.
The history of the papacy from 1046 to 1216 was marked by conflict between popes and the Holy Roman Emperor, most prominently the Investiture Controversy, a dispute over who— pope or emperor— could appoint bishops within the Empire. Henry IV's Walk to Canossa in 1077 to meet Pope Gregory VII (1073–85), although not dispositive within the context of the larger dispute, has become legendary. Although the emperor renounced any right to lay investiture in the Concordat of Worms (1122), the issue would flare up again.
From the time of Constantine I's conversion to Christianity in the 4th century, the question of the relationship between temporal and spiritual power was constant, causing a clash between the Church and the Empire. The disappearance of imperial power initially enabled the pope to assert his independence. However, from 962 onwards, the Holy Roman Emperor took control of the papal election and appointed the bishops of the Empire himself, affirming the pre-eminence of his power over that of the Church. However, such was the stranglehold of the laity on the clergy that the Church eventually reacted. The Gregorian reform began in the mid-11th century. In 1059, Pope Nicholas II assigned the election of the pope to the college of cardinals. Then, in 1075, Gregory VII affirmed in the dictatus papae, stating that he alone possessed universal power, superior to that of the rulers, and withdrew the appointment of bishops from them. This marked the start of a conflict between the Papacy and the Emperor, which historians have dubbed the "Investiture Dispute". The most famous episode was Henry IV's excommunication and his penance at Canossa to obtain papal pardon. At the end of this conflict, the Pope succeeded in freeing himself from imperial guardianship. In 1122, under the Concordat of Worms, the Emperor agreed to the free election of bishops, reserving the right to give prelates temporal investiture. This compromise marked the defeat of the Empire.