A Study On Stephen Langton's Political Thought And Career

Magna Carta or the Great Charter in 1215 is called the "mother of constitutionalism" in the history of England,while the Archbishop of Canterbury,Stephen Langton has been thought as "the father of Magna Carta".In academia,the research on this theory has formed an interesting topic,which has not attracted the attention of domestic scholars.This dissertation is the first study of Archbishop Langton's political thought and his state-religious practice in China.We must note that Langton's political thought did not go beyond the general characteristics of the political thought in medieval Western Europe.On the basis of theological thought,Langton constructed his political idea,that is "power limtation",which guide his career both in secular society and religion so that influenced the development of English politics in the 13th century.In the early 13th century,there are two important events took place in the realm of England:the establishment of the Church Law in England,the sign and reissue of Magna Carta,both of which are closely related to Stephen Langton.We must consider a comprehensive study of this issue,which will be significant for us to understand the historical process of political thought and practice in Western Europe in the early 13th century.The formation of Langton's thought constitute the first chapter.We find,the theological writing and commentary on the Bible are inseparable from his study and teaching at the University of Paris.Quaestiones Theologiae,Sermons,Exegesis and other "scattered writings" are all written and organized after Langton's teaching,through which we can know about Langton's theological and political thoughts.At the same time,the ideas of predecessors and contemporary scholars was inherited by Langton,providing direct nutrients for his political thought.The second chapter is to discuss the main contents of Langton's political thought,which is an important basis for the following discussion in this paper.The theory of 'limited rights' is the core of Langton's political thought.The Conception of "Ecclesiology","Kingship" and "Law" are the central contents of his political theory.First of all,"the head of the church is Christ",not the Pope;the church does not refer to the "prelates including the pope" but the faithful.Secondly,Langton's idea about the concept of the church influenced his idea about kingship,that is kingship is limited.In Langton's view,"the making of a king" and "the essence of the kingship" is governed by his theological thoughts:God make the king in anger so that king's rule is bound by "the contract of divine law";the king is evil in nature;among many evils,the king's greed for money especially tax collection is the worst.Under this circumstance,Langton brings about the principle of "necessity" as the principle for king's taxation.The divine law mainly refers to the Five Books of Moses has the supreme position,and both the monarchy and the Pope are under the divine law.As for the relationship between the spiritual(sacerdotium)and the temporal(regnum),Langton's theory about "the Two Swords" representing the "rule power" were taken over by the church from God and handed over to the king in the hand of prelates by the common consent of the faithful,implying the "quod omnes tangit,ab omnibus approbetur".Langton prefers that the ideal state of the church and state should be that they are independent of each other as two independent entities respectively.Chapter Three will focuses on Langton's transition from a thinker to a practitioner,namely,the election to the Archbishop of Canterbury.The conflict between King John and Pope Innocent III is a typical case of the struggle between the church and the monarchy in the middle ages,the reason for which is the investiture of Archbishop Langton.The Pope succeeded in pushing Langton to the supreme power of the Church in England.The election of the Archbishop opened the stage for Langton's influence on the political development of England in the early 13th century.After coming back to Canterbury,Langton began to lead the Church of England.The analysis of this problem constitutes the fourth chapter.It is Langton's important contribution to improve legislation in the church of England.The church law proposed by Langton not only inherited the main features of church law in early medieval England,but also had the particularity caused by the change of the political situation and the relationship between church and state.These are embodied in Statutes for the diocese of Canterbury(1213-1214)and Synod of Osney in 1222,which laid the foundation for the subsequent reform in the Church of England,which can help us understand the formation,development and independence of ecclesiastical laws in medieval Western Europe and Langton-Magna Carta Relations in 1215.The academic circle has just ignored the issue.The fifth chapter deals with the issue about Langton-Magna Carta Relations,which is both the focus and the difficulty of this paper.There are different opinions on the existing research.Based on the analysis of the relevant chapters mentioned above,with Langton's political thought and his religious practice this chapter find that his influence on the Great Charter is embodied in two sides,that is behavior and thought:Langton is not only the mediator,balancer and peacemaker between the king and the nobility,but also the facilitator for the basic spirit—the free election in the church,due process,sense of community in the realm—of the Great Charter.Even after the Magna Carta was deposed by the Pope,Langton insisted on upholding the basic spirit of the Charter,which eventually led to the reissue of the Great Charter in 1225.In Chapter six,Stephen Langton's historical rule can be summed up in three aspects:an interpreter for scholastic theology,a reformer for Church's Freedom,a pioneer of constitutionalism,which can give Stephen Langton a historical place in the political history of Western Europe.