JOHN OF

SALISBURY
Syd Geemson E. Parreas
AB Political Science

Overview
Who was John of Salisbury?
How did he view the relationship
between political and religious
authorities?
The works of John of Salisbury

After 476AD
The fall of the Roman Empire left a
large power vacuum.
Two institutions eventually arose as a
legitimate alternatives to the Empire:
1. Feudalism
2. The Catholic Church

Implications
Feudal institutions and the Church helped
keep the fabric of society together.
The relationship between Church and
state would continue to be problematic
even until the Middle Ages.
Who was sovereign over whom?

The Gelasian Doctrine

Named after Pope Gelasius I (492-496AD)
Also known as the doctrine of the two
swords.
The Doctrine submits that there are two
swords of power:
1. Sacred

sovereign in spiritual matters.

2. Royal

sovereign in temporal affairs.

John of Salisbury Johannes

Parvus("John the Little")
Born about 1115 in Old Sarum near Salisbury; died 1180.
Studied philosophy, theology and arts in Paris;
Humanistic studies in Chartres.
A Bishop of Chartres.
Catholic philosopher and a historian during the Feudal
Period.
He was also an English author, educationalist, diplomat,
churchman and a papalist.
Had plenty of experience in public affairs (Kings and
Popes).
His work was considered as the most incisive
presentation of the papalist viewpoint during the times of

His view towards Political

and Religious Authority

On Royal Authority
Political Authorities are servants of
the people.
Both
political
and
religious
authority have their source in God.
As such, secular authority must be
in accordance with natural law.

Rulers and Authority

Fundamentally
rooted
in
the
principle of equity.
The basis of equity is (natural) law,
and hence should apply to all
things.
Rulers are obliged to obey the law
out of love for justice.

On Justice and Mercy

(Positive) Laws are instruments of
justice.
The object of such instruments is
to secure the welfare of our fellow
man.
Hence, harsh laws should only be
used as necessary.

Rulers and Priests

All earthly authority has its source
in God.
Rulers have authority in secular
matters, priests in religious affairs.
In
essence,
priests
bestow
authority upon rulers.

State as an Organism
Salisbury subscribes to the view of
the state as a commonwealth.
As such, the state is a body
composed of different parts with
different functions.
These functions affirm that rulers
are subordinate to priests.

Liberty and Tolerance

Liberty is not absolute;
True liberty stems from virtue;
Tolerance is a special virtue that
should be practiced;
As such, individuals have the
qualified right to depose tyrants.

Summary
Authority should be rooted in
broader principles of morals equity,
law and justice.
Laws should be reasonable.
Neither liberty nor tolerance are
absolute.
Individuals have the right to
depose oppressive rulers.

Works

1. Metalogicus
. Aphilosophicaltreatise in four books.
. It is a study of logicandphilosophy,
against a group of obscurantists whom
he nicknamed Cornificians.
. It is the firstmedievaltreatise to show
acquaintance with the whole of
Aristotle's"organon".

Works
2. Policraticus (The Statemans Book)
Earliest elaborate medieval treatise on politics.
It is the only important political treatise written before
western thought had once more become familiar with
the Politics of Aristotle.
It thus represents the purely medieval tradition
unaffected by ideas newly borrowed from classical
antiquity.
It is the culmination in their maturest form of a body of
doctrines which had evolved in unbroken sequence from
patristic literature in contact with the institutions of the
earlier middle ages.

Works
Some of his works;
The
"Entheticus"
(De
philosophorum)
The "Historia Pontificalis
"Vita Sti. Anselmi
etc.,

dogmate

Seeking
is
a
necessary
preliminary to finding, and one
who cannot endure the hardship
of inquiry cannot expect to
harvest the fruit of knowledge.
John of Salisbury,Metalogicon
Of John Salisbury