A Token Of The Duality Of German Feudalism

Amongst Chinese and Western scholars' discussions on "German feudalism", one theme, "the characteristics of German feudalism", is of major importance. In general, the characteristics, or uniqueness, of German feudalism are embodied in its "duality", which is distinguished from that in the context of Chinese scholars like Hou Shudong, and has a new meaning, as the author believes, that it is the result of the feudalization process of a special type in Germany. The birth of such a "special type" was inextricably linked with the unique historical and social setting of Germany at the beginning of that process, during which it was not the kings but the nobles that had had a mastery over the establishment of German feudal relations together with the real practice of German feudal law; during which the feudal relations really but only existed between the higher-ranking nobles and the lower-ranking ones and the "feudal relationship" between the kings and the higher-ranking nobles was of little effectiveness; and during which the feudal relations between the kings and the lower-ranking nobles had never been really established. The course of the struggles for a higher political power between German kings (or emperors) who embraced the "Idea of Empire" and German nobles (or princes) who firmly rooted in their feudal real estates was, in some sense, a process of the German feudalization as well as the practice of German feudal law. As the most important law in the history of "the Holy Roman Empire", the Golden Bull of Charles IV of 1356 was a most significant embodiment of the outputs of the practice of German feudal law and German political developments. At this point, we can proclaim the Golden Bull of Charles IV was really a token of the "duality" of German feudalism as the result of German feudalization. Taking into consideration the real application of German feudal law, a law which was noticeably different from French or Italian feudal law, and the special road to German society, and in the context of the very "duality", the author makes attempts to read the Golden Bull of Charles IV. Out of the need for a clear understanding of the content of this paper, the author prepares its framework as follows:The first part mainly aims at making a probe into the characteristics of German feudalization in the beginning—its falling behind those in other areas, its lack of thoroughness, and its emphasis upon the factors like land rather than person—and the situation of the feudal law's preliminary application in Germany.The second part tries to analyze the birth and the development of the "duality" of German feudalism under the further application of German feudal law, concerning which two typical case studies, the "reforms" of Frederick II and the policies of Rudolf I, have been provided.The third part makes a portrayal of an important phase when the developmental peak of that "duality" came into being parallel to the advantage of German nobles (or princes) over German kings (or emperors) in political power, and when the Golden Bull of Charles IV had been promulgated.Last but not least, the paper falls upon the deeper meaning of the Golden Bull of Charles IV, in particular that of the provisions about the "election" of a German king and emperor and the legal rights of the seven German prince electors, and upon the historical significance of such a bull.