La delega del potere nel Mezzogiorno normanno: feudalità, giuramento e simbologia (secc. XI-XII)

Abstract

In the second half of the 11th century, the Roman Curia understood that the symbolic ratification of Norman power necessarily had to pass through official ceremonies and ritual actions. These are anthropological and symbolic aspects inherent in the process of mutual recognition between religious and secular power. There were three main legal forms used for the political legitimation of the Normans: the feudal census, the "loyal" oath and the religious investiture. It is a conflictual relationship between "Regnum" and "Sacerdotium", based on the unstable balance between the pontifical religious power and the transfer of the papal potestas into the hands of the Altavilla family.