Conflict and authority in the eleventh-century Anglo-Norman Church: a case study of Lanfranc of Caterbury (c.1010-1089)
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Date
25/04/2022Author
Chang, Jae-keong
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Abstract
This thesis examines the relationship between conflict and authority in the Middle Ages by
exploring how Lanfranc of Canterbury managed conflicts during his career and how his authority was
changed by those processes. This thesis argues that during his career Lanfranc’s conflicts – theological,
ecclesiastical, monastic, and political – threatened the different forms of his authority, including his
charismatic authority, and that, by settling and managing these conflicts, in the end Lanfranc preserved
and enhanced his authority. But it was his charismatic authority that led Lanfranc to attain positions in
the Church and exercise other forms of authority, such as the institutional authority of Archbishop of
Canterbury. However, Lanfranc was able to not only resolve his conflicts but also enhance his authority
when he received recognition and support from his superiors – the kings of England and the papacy.
In particular, without support from the king of England, Lanfranc could not exert his authority and
settle conflicts. The connection between Lanfranc’s conflicts and these configurations of his authority
demonstrates that authority in the Middle Ages, such as a charismatic leader’s authority, was
established and preserved through the recognition and support from political and religious superiors,
and that these superiors derived advantages by supporting these charismatic leaders. In other words,
the settlement and management of conflicts in the Middle Ages reveal the close and mutual
cooperative connection between charismatic leaders and their superiors.