Ebook: The crisis of the twelfth century: power, lordship, and the origins of European government

This text traces the origins of European government to a crisis of lordship and its resolution. King John of England was only the latest and most conspicuous in a gallery of bad lords who dominated the populace instead of ruling it. Yet it was not so much the oppressed people as their tormentors who were in crisis. Rethinking a familiar history, Thomas Bisson explores what these violent people - and the outcries they provoked - contributed to the making of governments in kingdoms, principalities and towns.;The age of lordship (875-1150) -- Lord-rulership (1050-1150): the experience of power -- Crises of power (1060-1150) -- Resolution: intrusions of government (1150-1215) -- Celebration and persuasion (1160-1225).