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A very interesting article, especially in that historians still aren't sure why war-based slavery died out completely in Britain in only 60 years -- between 106
by randcraw 2y ago
A very interesting article, especially in that historians still aren't sure why war-based slavery died out completely in Britain in only 60 years -- between 1066 and 1120. You have to wonder if there was mostly an economic reason for it, like making more money from renting to serfs than owning them and having to house and upkeep them (as the article suggests). I can't believe the angels of lords' better natures was the catalyst. The uptake of Christianity thereabouts begat 800 years earlier with Charlemagne; that's a heck of a long gestation to develop a moral conscience.
- ninalanyon 2y agoUm, Charlemagne was emperor from 800 to 828, only a bit more than 200 years earlier, not 800. Still plenty long enough though.
- card_zero 2y agoWell, they hadn't invented progress yet, there was no hurry.
- AnimalMuppet 2y agoAround 800 AD with Charlemagne. He was not 800 years before 1066, or even 1120.
- randcraw 2y agoSorry. Meant Constantine (350 AD) -- far more significant to the rise of Christian morals than Charlemagne.
- traject_ 2y agoThe timeline overlaps with the Peace of God movement and the Gregorian reforms which legal historian Harold Berman calls the Papal Revolution in his book Law and Revolution: The Formation of the Western Legal Tradition. Also coincides with the beginnings of renavatio that Charles Taylor mentions in A Secular Age. You could argue though that perhaps it took some time until the population fully Christianized; it is precisely in this time period we start seeing the use of familiar Biblical along with a set of standardized Germanic first names all across Europe while old Germanic naming conventions start to disappear.
- asangha 2y agoThanks for this Berman reference.
- rawgabbit 2y agoThe article stated that Williams tutor urged him to end the sale of slaves. William complied and also made him archbishop. I understand analysis of structural forces is a thing. But the great persons of history had a fair impact too.
- ywvcbk 2y ago> You have to wonder if there was mostly an economic reason for it, like making more money from renting to serfs than owning them and having to house and upkeep You wouldn’t be enslaving your own peasant but rather buying foreigners or capturing people outside of your territory in raids etc. If the slave populations were self-sustaining I’d assume just banning the slave trade would had a significant effect > that's a heck of a long gestation to develop a moral conscience. True, but there were many reformist movements around ~1000 AD and the church was finally able to assert its independence from secular authorities around that time. Before that it had somewhat limited power to force anyone to do anything so they just usually went along with stuff like slavery, polygamy etc. while occasionally criticizing it.