Given at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Annual Student Honors Conference, held between August 4-10, 2024
Abstract: Andrew Willard Jones explores the medieval roots of limited government, delving into how freedom and power were balanced in the feudal world. Drawing on his deep expertise in medieval history, Dr. Jones challenges modern assumptions about the Middle Ages, revealing how the concepts of personal liberty and localized authority laid the groundwork for Western political traditions.
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Dr. Jones argues that the medieval system, often misunderstood as oppressive, actually fostered a dynamic interplay between lords, vassals, and the Church, creating a society where authority was distributed, and freedom was negotiated within a framework of mutual obligations. He traces how these medieval ideas of governance, rooted in Christian thought and feudal practice, contributed to the development of limited government and the protection of individual rights.
Andrew Willard Jones is an assistant professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Medieval Foundations of Limited Government
Paper by Andrew Willard Jones
Given at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s Annual Student Honors Conference, held between August 4-10, 2024
Abstract: Andrew Willard Jones explores the medieval roots of limited government, delving into how freedom and power were balanced in the feudal world. Drawing on his deep expertise in medieval history, Dr. Jones challenges modern assumptions about the Middle Ages, revealing how the concepts of personal liberty and localized authority laid the groundwork for Western political traditions.
Dr. Jones argues that the medieval system, often misunderstood as oppressive, actually fostered a dynamic interplay between lords, vassals, and the Church, creating a society where authority was distributed, and freedom was negotiated within a framework of mutual obligations. He traces how these medieval ideas of governance, rooted in Christian thought and feudal practice, contributed to the development of limited government and the protection of individual rights.
Andrew Willard Jones is an assistant professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.
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