A comprehensive 75-page summary of the RUG LLB Comparative Constitutional Law Course. Summary includes notes from lectures, working groups, and the relevant readings.
- National State as export product of Europe. How? Why?
1200-1300 AD Europe
- Combination of polities - framework of europe today somewhat visible
- Had Spain, Portugal, Russia, France, no Italy,
“Holy” Roman Empire (Germany)
- HRE of Germany: Perhaps most successful empire world has ever seen, only real Europe empire
- 476 AD: disappearance of former West of Roman Empire
- Remained in East (Constantinople), still considered themselves “Roman empire”
- But it was Greek, really - official language
- Dwindled until it contained Turkey and Balkans
- 15th century disappeared with Turks
- 2.5 centuries of no Western Empire, but idea wasn’t forgotten…..:
Charles the Great
- King of Franks, conquered city of Rome which had Pope
- Pope decided he would be best candidate to create new Western Roman Empire
- 800 AD Charlemagne crowned Emperor of HRE by Pope despite the existing Eastern empire
- Recognized Eastern Roman Emperor was sovereign until Pope created this new emperor
- East not considered “Holy” because Christianity had split into 2 different branches
- East and West churches saw each other as not-so-christian,
- Wanted to demonstrate empire in West was true empire, hence “Holy”
1054
- Orthodox and catholic churches are separate
- West: holy spirit originates from father and son; East: only originates from father
- HRE wanted to reunite Empire under one - never worked.
- West assumed we were all part of this christian commonwealth
- “Heretics” - practising religious heresy; challenges doctrines of an established church
15th Century - technological development
- People felt an era had ended, there were new geographic and scientific discoveries
- Realized way we learned about the world was completely wrong. i.e. world not flat
- When people started to think world was a globe, started exploring Africa, searched for India Astronomers
started to realize sun doesn’t revolve around earth, we revolve around sun.
- Jerusalem not centre of universe
Printing press
- Invented printer in c. 15 and now writing wasn’t privilege of monks (only readers/writers).
- So spread of info no longer privilege of Church. Peasants could print a book in days.
- After this, it was inevitable that there was a breach in Western christianity
- Certain Roman Catholic theologians wanted reform: Martin Luther, Calvinists
- Because of printing press, their ideas spread quickly
16th Century Europe
- Could quickly spread information because of printing - as quickly as a horse could travel
- Control of information disappeared
- Developments in church under heavy criticism. Many people took to the new ideas.
- I.e. Scandinavia almost everyone became Lutheran, including kings
- Lutheran, Calvin: “Protestant” didn’t intend to disunite true church, wanted to reform it
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