法蘭西宣誓禮儀與王權意象

The Oath Ceremony and the Image of Kingship in Medieval France

從法蘭克臣民的忠誠宣誓，到限制君主權的國王宣誓的研究傳統，西方學界在此議題已廣及人類學、倫理學和社會文化等層面的探討，學者們皆認為宣誓與權力具有緊密關係。如果統治者的宣誓儀式，可視為政治權力的一種「聖禮」，本文想進一步探問，為何行使權力的政治行為必須結合宣誓的宗教禮儀，它反映哪種政治心態與價值，以及國王宣誓在中古晚期到近代初期法蘭西王權發展中具有何種意義？在學界既有的研究基礎上，本文旨在檢視國王宣誓的出現，反映時代何種政治心態與價值。本文擬從政治文化的視角，主要以中世紀法蘭西王家典禮的國王宣誓作為討論的主體，研究側重在政治心態、文化價值和國王宣誓關係的探討，以下將從「國王與人民的中介──宣誓的新政治文化」、「宣誓禮儀的微觀背景」，以及「國王宣誓的政治文化意象」等三方面來分析。

The oath ceremony is a topic that has been of great interest to historians and scholars, who have examined the phenomenon extensively using a variety of approaches. A strong link between the taking of an oath and the assumption of power has been observed; indeed, some have argued that the oath ceremony is akin to a religious sacrament. This paper is also concerned with the oath ceremony--in particular, with the oath ceremony as it appears in medieval France. By analyzing the ceremony of the king’s oath as it was practiced during the Middle Ages, the paper seeks to find connections between the king’s oath and the development of kingship in France. It looks at the king’s oath from the perspective of political culture, and examines it at three levels: the oath as a medium between the king and the people; the background of the oath ceremony as a microcosm of the political culture of the time; and the political and cultural imagery associated with the oath.