Helen Castor: evaluation

Transcript context

…Why do those landed nobles obey the king? They’re afraid of the future raising of an army? Or they’re handed out some other benefit? What keeps the incentives all working together to the extent they stay working together? They have a very important pragmatic interest in obeying the king because the king is the keystone of the hierarchy within which they are powerful and wealthy. Of course, they want more power and more wealth for themselves and for their dynasty, but importantly, they don’t want to risk everything to acquire more if it means serious danger that they might lose what they already have. They have every interest in maintaining the hierarchy as it already is, within which they can then . . . It’s like having a referee. You can compete safely within the rules of the game if you know the referee is there to step in if it gets really dangerous. On top of that, we have to imagine that the referee is appointed and anointed by God. We must take that seriously if we’re looking at the Middle Ages. This is a worldview in which God has set up the order of creation. If you were to resist the king, you are not only risking your place in the mortal world, but you are risking your immortal soul. What’s the incentive for parliaments to vote a king more funds at the margin? Say the funds will be spent fighting with France. Why doesn’t Parliament just say, “Get the money from someone else, there’s no benefit to us in doing this”?…

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