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THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE SENESCHALSY OF CARCASSONNE: PERSONNEL AND STRUCTURE OF ROYAL PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE, 1226-1320

Posted on:1983-01-05Degree:Ph.DType:Thesis
University:University of California, BerkeleyCandidate:FRIEDLANDER, ALAN RALPHFull Text:PDF
GTID:2476390017464547Subject:Medieval history
Abstract/Summary:
The aim of this dissertation is to describe and to analyse the development and operation of royal administration in the South of France after the annexation of the region in 1226. It attempts to achieve this aim through a detailed examination of the structures of the administration created by the kings, and through a study of the personnel appointed to fill the posts of the administration. By means of these studies, it hopes to determine how the structures of royal administration were effected by or responded to the particular problems encountered by the government of the region, and to further and develop studies concerning the use of native southerners and other important local classes as agents of the royal administration in this period.;The dissertation is organized into two main sections, the first of which presents the examination and analysis of the development of the royal administration, from the offices of the seneschal and other major officials through the bailes, sergents, and notaries of the royal curiae. The second section, in the form of an appendix, provides a comprehensive chronology and biographies of the major royal officers of the executive and judicial administration.;The results of this research will demonstrate that the establishment of royal administration in the area was perfected during the course of several decades, which included an important period of administrative reform in the 1250's, and significant changes in the patterns of appointment of officials in the 1240's and 1260's. It will show that both the native southern populations and the transplanted northern Crusader barons were called upon to play an active role in the administration, and that this ultimately ensured a stable and successful royal government in the area by the end of the reign of Philip the Fair.;Research in this area has included the studies of the French scholars Auguste Molinier, Robert Michel, and Paul Dognon, and more recently the American historians Joseph Strayer, Thomas Bisson, and Jan Rogozinski. This thesis will attempt to pursue some of their work in greater detail within the limits of one administrative district which has previously not been treated in depth. The seneschalsy of Carcassonne was unique in several respects, most notably in the prevalence of heresy, and in the destruction of the native nobility and the implantation of a new noble class of northern origin. It therefore provides an untapped and potentially rewarding field of investigation.
Keywords/Search Tags:Administration, Royal, Government
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