From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Feudal fragmentation
[1] is a process whereby a
feudal state is split into smaller regional state structures, each characterized by significant autonomy, if not outright independence, and ruled by a high-ranking noble such as a prince or a duke.
[2]
[3] Feudal fragmentation is usually associated with
European history , particularly during the
Middle Ages .
[4]
[5]
Feudal fragmentation occurs after the death of the legitimate ruler leaves no clear heirs, and rulers of various subdivisions of the original state fail at electing or agreeing on a new leader for the previous, larger entity. In some cases (for example, the
Holy Roman Empire ), such a leader may be elected, yet wield much lesser powers than those of his predecessor. Feudal fragmentation is related to the concepts of
agnatic seniority and
principate .
[3]
Division of the Polish state in 1138: Seniorate Province.
Pomeranian vassals under the rule of the Seniorate Province.
Sandomierz Province of
Henry .
Examples
This phenomenon has occurred in the history of several countries and regions:
In the
history of England , the
Heptarchy
In the
history of Poland , the regionalization
[6] or
fragmentation of Poland (
Polish : rozbicie dzielnicowe ) refers to the period following the
testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth (1138) that led to the split of the
Kingdom of Poland into several mostly independent provinces, unified only by
Ladislaus the Short approximately two centuries later, in the early 14th century
[2]
[3]
[7]
In the
history of Belarus ,
Russia and
Ukraine , the period of fragmentation (
Russian : феодальная раздробленность ) that started from around the 12th century during the decline of
Kievan Rus' . In Russia, it lasted up until the reign of
Ivan IV of Russia ;
[3]
[8]
[9] the last appange Russian prince was
Vladimir of Staritsa
[10]
In the
history of Bulgaria , the late 14th century fragmentation of the
Second Bulgarian Empire
[11]
[12]
In the
history of Hungary , the
interregnum (1301–1323)
In the
history of Serbia , the
fall of the Serbian Empire (1371–95)
In the
history of Georgia , the
collapse of the Georgian realm (starting in the 13th century)
In the
history of Germany , the period described as
Kleinstaaterei lasted from the 13th century (the demise of the
Hohenstaufen dynasty and the rise of the
Holy Roman Empire ) to 1871 (the
unification of the German states into the
German Empire )
[3]
[13]
[14]
[15]
After the extinction of the
Duchy of Burgundy , some of its territory was absorbed by France's
Louis XI , while its territory in the
Low Countries (the
Burgundian Netherlands ) became the
Habsburg Netherlands (also called the
Seventeen Provinces ), which itself splintered into the
Spanish Netherlands and the
Dutch Republic
[16]
In the
history of France , the period after the fall of the
Carolingian dynasty and death of
Charlemagne to its unification by
Louis XI
[17]
[18]
[19] (see also
Crown lands of France )
In the
history of Italy , the period from the
invasion of Italy by the Lombards (which occurred shortly after Italy was united under the
Byzantine Empire as a result of the
Gothic War ) until
Italian unification
[20]
According to
Samir Amin , feudal fragmentation has been mostly a European phenomenon and did not occur in the
history of China or
Islamic
Middle Eastern states .
[4]
[21] At the same time, the term feudal fragmentation has been used in the context of history of China (the
Warring States period )
[22] and
history of Japan (the
Sengoku period ).
[23]
[24]
[25]
See also
Notes
^ Piotr Górecki (2007).
A local society in transition: the Henryków book and related documents . PIMS. p. 62.
ISBN
978-0-88844-155-3 .
^
a
b (in Polish)
Rozbicie dzielnicowe
Archived 29 September 2012 at the
Wayback Machine .
WIEM Encyklopedia .
^
a
b
c
d
e (in Polish)
rozbicie dzielnicowe .
PWN Encyklopedia .
^
a
b Samir Amin, The Ancient World-Systems Versus the Modern Capitalist World-System , in André Gunder Frank; Barry K. Gills (1996).
The world system: five hundred years or five thousand? . Psychology Press. p. 252.
ISBN
978-0-415-15089-7 .
^ Grzymala-Busse, Anna (2023).
"Tilly Goes to Church: The Religious and Medieval Roots of European State Fragmentation" .
American Political Science Review : 1–20.
doi :
10.1017/S0003055423000278 .
^ Norman Davies (30 March 2005).
God's Playground: The origins to 1795 . Columbia University Press. p.
53 .
ISBN
978-0-231-12817-9 . Retrieved 23 May 2011 .
^ Norman Davies (20 January 1998).
Europe: a history . HarperCollins. p.
429 .
ISBN
978-0-06-097468-8 . Retrieved 23 May 2011 .
^ Maureen Perrie (2001).
The cult of Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia . Palgrave Macmillan. p. 100.
ISBN
978-0-333-65684-6 .
^ George Ginsburgs; Roger Stenson Clark; Ferdinand Joseph Maria Feldbrugge; Stanisław Pomorski (2001).
International and national law in Russia and Eastern Europe: essays in honor of George Ginsburgs . Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 163.
ISBN
978-90-411-1654-3 .
^ Auty, Robert; Obolensky, Dimitri (1976).
Companion to Russian Studies: Volume 1: An Introduction to Russian History . Cambridge University Press. p. 102.
ISBN
978-0-521-28038-9 .
^ Evgeni Tanchev; Martin Belov; Cristian Ionescu; C. A. J. M. Kortmann; J. W. A. Fleuren; Wim Voermans (2008).
Constitutional law of 2 EU member states: Bulgaria and Romania : the 2007 enlargement . Kluwer. p. 1.
ISBN
978-90-13-05635-8 . Retrieved 23 May 2011 .
^ Selçuk Akşin Somel (2003).
Historical dictionary of the Ottoman Empire . Scarecrow Press. p. 32.
ISBN
978-0-8108-4332-5 .
^ Reinhard Bendix (1980).
Kings or people: power and the mandate to rule . University of California Press. p. 141.
ISBN
978-0-520-04090-8 .
^
Mikuláš Teich ;
Roy Porter (1993).
The National question in Europe in historical context . Cambridge University Press. p. 153.
ISBN
978-0-521-36713-4 .
^ Keith Jenkins; Sue Morgan; Alun Munslow (2007).
Manifestos for history . Taylor & Francis. p. 188.
ISBN
978-0-415-37776-8 .
^
R. C. van Caenegem (1991).
Legal history: a European perspective . Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 149.
ISBN
978-1-85285-049-4 .
^ Peter J. Hugill (1995).
World trade since 1431: geography, technology, and capitalism . JHU Press. p.
48 .
ISBN
978-0-8018-5126-1 . Retrieved 23 May 2011 .
^ Stefan Rossbach (1999).
Gnostic wars: the Cold War in the context of a history of Western spirituality . Edinburgh University Press. p. 81.
ISBN
978-0-7486-1024-2 . Retrieved 23 May 2011 .
^ Nicholas Lampert; Gábor Tamás Rittersporn (1992).
Stalinism: its nature and aftermath : essays in honour of Moshe Lewin . M.E. Sharpe. p. 86.
ISBN
978-0-87332-876-0 . Retrieved 23 May 2011 .
^ Donald Kagan; Steven Ozment; Frank M. Turner; A. Daniel Frankforter (13 June 2001).
The Western Heritage: To 1715 : Brief Edition . Prentice Hall. p. 143.
ISBN
978-0-13-041576-9 . Retrieved 24 May 2011 .
^ Samir Amin (January 2011).
Global History: A View from the South . Fahamu/Pambazuka. p. 18.
ISBN
978-1-906387-96-9 .
^ Thomas M. Magstadt (2010).
Nations and Government: Comparative Politics in Regional Perspective . Cengage Learning. p. 277.
ISBN
978-0-495-91528-7 .
^ Jeffrey Kopstein (2000).
Comparative politics: interests, identities, and institutions in a changing global order . Cambridge University Press. p. 182.
ISBN
978-0-521-63356-7 .
^ Paul N. Siegel (2005).
The Meek and the Militant: Religion and Power Across the World . Haymarket Books. p. 210.
ISBN
978-1-931859-24-0 .
^ Jansen, Marius B. Jansen. (1995).
The Emergence of Meiji Japan,p. 124 , p. 124, at
Google Books ; retrieved 6 July 2011
References