How is History Employed in a Work of Medieval Political Thought? Harold’s 1062/63 Campaign in the Policraticus of John of Salisbury and Welsh Question Through the Eyes English the Twelfth Century.
Policraticus, which was completed by a leading English thinker and cleric John of Salisbury in 1159, is precisely one of the outstanding works of medieval political thought. This work mainly discusses how a good ruler should act to establish better and just governance by eliminating the corruption in the court through examples from history. However, the use of the examples from English history to justify the basic message of Policraticus has not been adequately analysed as compared to the studies referring to John of Salisbury’s interest in Antiquity and history of Christianity. The purpose of this article is to analyse the narrative of John of Salisbury in the Policraticus on the Welsh Expedition of Harold, the Earl of Wessex, in 1062/1063 regarding the lack of interest in the analysis of examples from English history. In this context, it will be revealed with its political and religious dimensions that negative language about the Welsh employed in John’s narrative directly stems from the rise of English expansionism in the twelfth century. Accordingly, this article will contribute to better understanding of how historical examples can have functions in the texts of political thought.
Fatih DURGUN
