Ссылка: Дюмезиль Б. Письма об общей пользе: Определение и восхваление общественного блага в письмах эпохи Меровингов [Электронный ресурс] // Vox medii aevi. 2017. Vol. 1(1). С. 71–89. URL: https://voxmediiaevi.com/vol-1-dumezil ‎

>Download the article

__________________________________________________

Bruno Dumézil

Associate Professor (maître de conférences) in medieval history, University Paris X (Paris, France)

Letters for the Good of All. Definition and Eulogy of the «Common Good» in the Merovingian Correspondence

Although the Merovingians have no political literature that can be compared to that of later centuries, they know the notion of «common good». Indeed, letters addressed to the king, to flatter or to advise him, all insist on the idea that monarchy should act for the happiness of all men. But, following the tradition of late Antiquity, this rhetoric turns out to be very flexible: depending on the epoch, «common good» can underwrite military imperialism, conversion of the royal function to Christianity, or the growing power of aristocracy. The article translated from French

Key words: Common good; political theory; Merovingian Gaul; monarchy.

__________________________________________________