Feudal system revisited: The Danish example as a regional specific feature or a European standard case in the Middle Ages?

1994年，苏珊·雷诺兹发表了震惊国际和德国中世纪研究的专著《封地和附庸》，对19世纪和20世纪的封建制度理想典型模式提出了主要质疑。到目前为止，地域性的分析已经在某种程度上证明了雷诺兹的论点是正确的，它们表明，谈论中世纪封建制度的存在是相当合理的--具有地区性的多样性，而不仅仅是以僵化和合法的形式存在。具有地域性视角并争取重新定义封建制度的示范性研究是一种可取的做法。基于丹麦以前没有在这方面加以考虑的例子，拟议的为期三年的“博士生及同等学历”科学助理项目(065电视--L 13)想对此作出反应。丹麦在许多方面为欧洲有效性的地方性研究提供了良好的基础：过去，丹麦封建制度的存在被否定，但这一观点最近得到了修正。上一次的评估可能是因为对封建制度的旧定义不允许任何偏差。丹麦国王和神圣罗马帝国之间的密切联系，埃里希七世和荷尔斯泰因伯爵之间关于石勒苏益格公爵是否为封地的问题的争论，由于丹麦和德国的封地术语而命名的一致，最后但同样重要的是，在丹麦中世纪的资料中出现了几个表明封建制度的术语，这表明关于丹麦的封建制度是完全允许的。该项目希望通过一个三位一体的方法来解决这个问题：首先，应该建立一个尽可能重要的收藏，其中包括与相关封建术语和上下文有关的丹麦资料--以继续为本申请准备的资料语料库。其次，这份详细的清单必须成为分析的工作基础，以确定中世纪丹麦是否也存在封臣和封地之间的因果关系。第三，关于封建制度普遍存在的问题以及也适合泛欧洲变化的重新定义的问题将得到回答--从丹麦的案例开始。总之，本文的目的是对前人关于丹麦封建制度(不存在)的研究立场进行深入的重新评价，并扩展对神圣罗马帝国和欧洲其他地区当前历史话语的认识，最后将其结果用于中世纪对封建制度的一般研究，给出定义的尝试。

In 1994, Susan Reynolds principally queried the ideal-typical model of the feudal system as it was created in the 19th and 20th century by publishing her monograph “Fiefs and Vassals” which shook the international as well as the German medieval studies. Regional analyses have qualified Reynolds’ theses to some extent by now and they have demonstrated that it is quite justified to speak of the existence of a medieval feudal system – with regional varieties and not just in a rigid and lawful form. Exemplary studies which have a regional perspective and strive for a redefinition of the feudal system are a desideratum. Based on the example of Denmark which has not been considered in this context before, the proposed three-year project foreseen for a scientific assistant from the category of “doctoral student and equivalent” (0,65 TV-L 13) wants to react to this. Denmark provides a good basis for a regional study with European validi-ty in many respects: In the past, the existence of a Danish feudal system was negated, but this point of view has recently been revised. It may be that the previous assessment resulted from the old definition of a feudal system which did not tolerate any deviations. The close connection between the Danish kings and the Holy Roman Empire, the dispute between Erich VII and the counts of Holstein over the question whether the duchy of Schleswig was a fief, the accordance by name due to the Danish and German term of fief and, last but not least, the appearance of several terms in Danish medieval sources which indicate a feudal system suggest that it is quite allowed to talk of a feudal system with regard to Denmark. The project wants to approach the question by a triad: First, there should be created a collection as significant as possible which includes Danish sources relating to the relevant feudal terms and contexts – in continuation of a corpus of sources prepared for this application. Second, this detailed list has to be the working basis for the analysis to figure out whether there was a causal relation of vassalage and fief in medieval Denmark, too. Third, the question concerning the general existence of the feudal sys-tem and a redefinition which also may fit pan-European varieties will be answered – starting with the Danish case. In conclusion, the aim is to make an in-depth reassessment of the previous research positions on the (non-)existence of the feudal system in Denmark, to extend the knowledge with regard to the current historical discourse on the Holy Roman Empire and other parts of Europe and, finally, to use the results for the general medieval research on the feudal system by giving an attempt of definition.