Medieval Diplomatic Practice: England and Avignon Papacy

Abstract

The review is devoted to consideration of Barbara Bombi's research on the peculiarities and ways of development of medieval diplomatic discourse. It was established that the study of diplomatic exchange between England and the papacy in the first half of the fourteenth century allowed the author to investigate the stages, features and direction of changes and transformations in medieval administrative and diplomatic practices of conducting international affairs and to defend the thesis about the emergence of a "common language of diplomacy". The review analyzes B. Bombi's attempt to connect the development of medieval diplomacy with the growing bureaucratization of state entities throughout Europe (especially offices and financial institutions) at the stage of "patrimonial-bureaucratic statehood", as defined by M. Weber.

The importance of the author's approach to medieval diplomacy not only as political negotiations, but also considering "routine practices" – documentation and rhetoric used in diplomatic discourse – is emphasized. It is noted that during the first half of the 14th century, both in England and in the papal curia, issues of diplomatic correspondence and management of documentary archives on international affairs increasingly passed from the control of the chancellery to the competence of the secretariat of the king and the pope. One can agree with the author's conclusion that this indicates a "fundamental need for rulers to directly supervise and control international affairs"; while the general tendency of administrative departments (such as chancellery in England) is to separate from the royal court and become a public institution.

The authors consider the conclusion of B. Bombi to be sufficiently justified that in the first half of the fourteenth century, similar or even parallel processes in the development of institutions that took care of international affairs and diplomatic practices in the English kingdom and the papal curia did not arise due to mutual influences, but primarily due to internal dynamics of institutional development and due to the need to respond to the same challenges – first of all, under the influence of the Anglo-French conflict on Anglo-papal relations.

It was concluded that the work of B. Bombi is quite logical, reasoned and conceptual; the author showed the ability to present the analyzed events and phenomena in a historical context, to support general statements and conclusions with specific facts from various sources. The review expresses some critical remarks, which in no way affect the overall positive impression of the work.