A study on the development of the nobility and foundation of territorial principalities in medieval Germany

本研究试图从相互关系的角度来揭示中世纪盛期德国地区公国的形成与贵族的发展。到了12<th>世纪，以血缘关系大、财产分布地域广而著称的古老贵族家族，逐渐形成了父系谱系，财产集中在相对狭窄的地域。贵族的这种地方化趋势必然加强了他们对地区“和平与秩序”的兴趣。领地公国可以被描述为一个君主领导下的贵族政治共同体，因此贵族性质的这种变化是领地公国形成的历史前提之一，特别是在它的第一阶段（11世纪末<th>和12世纪<th>）。在12世纪末和13世纪的领地公国形成的第二阶段<th><th>，其特征是大臣制的发展，这是君主统治的个人基础。这些大臣在13^世纪被授予骑士的称号<th>，其社会地位接近贵族。但是，在中世纪的鼎盛时期，内阁成员还没有完全从奴性的束缚中解放出来。德国诸侯领地发展的重要历史因素之一是大臣制。贵族、大臣和骑士的现实和关系在每个地区都有很大的不同，它们与王子统治的力量有关。因此，研究中世纪贵族的发展和未来诸侯国的形成，必须从比较的角度出发，在各个地区进行。

This research attempts to show the making of the territorial principalities and the development of the nobility in Germany in high middle ages in their mutual relation. In the 12^<th> century, the old noble families, which had been distinguished by their large cognatic relationship and interlocal distribution of the properties, gradually made agnatic lineage and concentrated their properties in relatively narrow regions. This trend of the localization of the nobility strengthened necessarily their interest in "peace and order" of the regions. Territorial principality could be characterized as a political community of the nobles under the leadership of a prince, and so such a change of the character of the nobility was one of the historical premises of the formation of territorial principalities, especially on its first stage (in the late 11^<th> and th 12^<th> century).The second stage of the making of territorial principalities in the late 12^<th> and the 13^<th> century is characterized by the development of ministerialage as the personal basis of the rulership of princes. These ministerials were entitled to knights in the 13^<th> century and their social status approached to the nobility. But the ministerials were not yet perfectly emancipated from the servile bondage in high middle ages. One of the important historical factors of the development of the territories of the princes in Germany was the institution of ministerialage. The realities and relations of nobility, ministerialage and knighthood show a great variety in each territory, and they were related with the strength of the rulership of the prince. Therefore the research of the development of the medieval nobility and the making of the territorial principalities in future must be made in each of the territories from comparative viewpoint.