Politargiese monargisme, nomokratiese monargisme en die Middeleeuse korporasieteorie: die konstitusioneel-historiese beslaggewing aan die Middeleeuse korporasieteorie in die vroeë Reformatoriese denke van die Monargomagiese politieke teoretici

Abstract

Polytarchic monarchism, nomocratic monarchism and medieval corporation theory: the constitutional-historical settlement of medieval corporation theory in the early Reformational thought of the Monarchomarch political theorists.

Anton-Hermann Chroust argues that the premise of all social political thinking of the Middle Ages, namely the idea of a single and uniform but nevertheless articulate whole, presupposed an organic interrelation between this divinely ordained universal whole and its equally divinely ordained parts, members, or individuals on the one hand; and between the various parts, members or individuals themselves on the other hand. Since every part of the whole must be connected with the whole as with every part, such a universal order of all created things presupposed, again, a divinely instituted harmony which pervades this whole as well as each and every part of it. The basic tenets of the organic conception of human society came to expression in the notion of human society functioning as a single and uniform, yet articulate social organism, and the accompanying concept of membership, assigning to each and every individual his particular place and task within the superior organism. The Canonist jurists gave expression to the social underpinnings of this medieval social spirit by rationally comprehending Church and State in their entirety in their theory of corporations. The Concilliar theologians and political authors followed suit by incorporating these ideas in their views of democratic participation in the political process, the authority of the members of universitates to appoint their rulers, and the right to apply justice to rulers failing to promote the welfare of their subjects. In this article it is pointed out that the medieval theory of corporations received its theoretical expression through the synthesis of Roman polytarchic monarchism and the Germanic conception of nomocratic monarchic rulership. The interplay between these two (in many ways opposing forms of monarchy) witnessed corporation theory as a political perspective harbouring many insoluble tensions. The Protestant political views of the monargomach authors, Francois Hotman, Theodore Beza and Junius Brutus, accepted and applied medieval corporation views evincing the same tensions in their theories. It is concluded that corporation theory in many ways inhibited the formulation of a sound normative political theory based on the premise of the State as an individualised legal entity, integrating the diverse political interests of all its subjects under the regulative guidance of the standards of public justice.