Constitutions and their application in the Netherlands during the middle ages (original) (raw)
1969, Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire
In a recent article Professor B. Lyon has written a masterly comparative study of medieval constitutions in Europe with a view to determining the circumstances and Optimum conditions which led to their origin (1). He infers that only in England and in the duchy of Brabant did they exist-although in the Netherlands the Prinsbishopric of Liege should be added, which Lyon spoke of in a former contribution (2) and also Poland, Bavaria, Switzerland, and eventually Aragon, Brandenburg and Wurtemberg might have been considered (3)-and he then proceeds to analyze the essential differences between these and other countries. In England and Brabant a powerful monarch reigned in a centralized and homogeneous state where the economic and political evolution developed gradually and without violence. However, the weight of the strong central power was kept in equilibrium by the coalition of an active nobility and a young municipal "bourgeoisie" so that a balance of power was obtained. These conditions did not exist in Germany nor in Italy where the powerful cities were confronted by a feeble authority, nor in France, (*) R. VAN UYTVEN is the author of the part concerning Brabant, W. BLOCKMANS of that concerning Flanders. The latter part has been revised by Prof. A. Verhulst and Prof. W. Prevenier. We thank them sincerely for their important remarks.
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