| Abstract |
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. |
