The political thought of the Middle Ages is part of medieval philosophy. Without a doubt, it was the Greco-Roman and Biblical representations that provided most of the intellectual material that received reinterpretation in the context of medieval ways of thinking, radically different from those that prevailed in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome or the Hebrew world. The political thought of the Ancient World of the late antiquity period was chosen as a starting point because it marked a social recognition and then the domination of Christianity, which provided the fundamental conditions for the development of political medieval ideas.
In the early Middle Ages in the West, people lived in a world where the Christian faith was taken for granted. This was a general assumption that structured life. The politics and attitude of the Catholic Church towards political laws were no exception. The rulers considered it their duty to maintain the welfare of the Church. Popes, bishops, prelates defended the inviolability of political laws. We can say that there was a kind of “Christian civilization” in which all aspects of life (politics, culture, art, medicine and so on) were defined in the context of the Christian faith.
The political thought of the Middle Ages is based on ideas that were formed between the reign of Emperor Constantine (306-37) and the beginning of the eighth century, when the West saw the Carolingians come to power. These ideas coexisted and interacted with purely medieval ways of thinking.
And if in the early Middle Ages the significance of this heritage was very insignificant, then, from the end of the eleventh century, many sources of political ideas of the ancient world reopened, such as the code of Roman civil law “The Codification of Justinian” (Corpus iuris civilis), the works of Aristotle, available in latin translations. In the twelfth century, education was already flourishing in Paris, Bologna, Oxford and other places. Towards the beginning of the thirteenth century, corporations formed, called universities, in which philosophy was studied within the boundaries of those in the arts, as well as in the departments of theology. Law research was very important, and ideas worked out influenced political views.
The political teachings of the Middle Ages claimed that the main goal was to promote Christian doctrine and, ultimately, achieve eternal life. The Church among thinkers, philosophers, theologians assigns a crucial role to Thomas Aquinas. More than any other philosopher, even Aurelius Augustine, he laid the foundation for the indestructible teaching of the Catholic Church on politics.
Augustine's early Christian (political) philosophy was heavily influenced by the ideas of Plato. Christian thought somewhat “softened” Stoicism and the theory of justice of the ancient world. In his most famous work - “On the City of God” - the history of mankind by Augustine was presented as a conflict between two communities, the “city of the Earth” and the “city of God”, sinful and divine, which was destined to end with the victory of the latter.
The political doctrine of Thomas Aquinas deals with types of laws. According to him, there are four laws: the Cosmic law of God, the Law of God by scripture, the Natural law, or universal rules of behavior; Human law, or special rules applicable to specific circumstances. According to the ideas of Thomas Aquinas, the goal of human existence is union and eternal communion with God.
But nevertheless, the political thought of the Middle Ages was associated with a more important problem. How to clearly determine the nature of the object? A broad approach to the definition of this issue is dictated by the characteristics of medieval political thought and the sources that help historians to restore it. In the study of political ideas, of course, any mention of the state should be included, although the term "state" in the Middle Ages could have other connotations that differ significantly from modern opinions. It could not necessarily be used to describe aspects of a politically organized society, in any case, before the twelfth century, although there are some scholars who have determined the existence of the idea of the state already in the early periods, as, for example, in the Carolingian era.
The complexity of the study lies in the nature of the sources themselves. The political thought of the Middle Ages cannot be fully identified only by the work of a number of thinkers. Most medieval writers, when viewed in the context of this problem, were primarily theologians, philosophers, lawyers, and did not pay too much attention to political ideas. But in any case, the intellectual orientation of these thinkers must be taken into account when interpreting the issue - just like the work of publicists involved in disputes between the papacy and secular rulers. Particular attention should be paid to legal sources - because of the role of the church in society in the early Middle Ages, when ecclesiological issues assumed political significance.
In addition, it is necessary to consider sources of a different range, reflecting the order of coronation of monarchs, the sequence of historical events - all those materials that not only directly but also indirectly relate to political issues and help explain political relations.