ABSTRACT
OUR DISCUSSION OF medieval kingship has so far concentrated exclusively on its theocratic element. It is however only in conjunction with the feudal element in kingship that the full medieval kingship emerges. Just as it is true to say that the medieval king was theocratic, in the same way it is true to say that this same king was also a feudal overlord. For the feudal function in the king as feudal overlord must be separated conceptually from his theocratic function. The clear separation of the two functions is not only a demand of neat and tidy thinking, but also one imposed by the history of what is, perhaps a little too loosely, called constitutional development. We have had an opportunity of stating that on the level of theocratic kingship a constitutional development-by which I mean the establishment of controls, measures and checks on the exercise of theocratic monarchic functions-lay notionally beyond what was humanly possible. The development of a constitution in this sense could proceed only on the level of the other function in the king, on that of his feudal overlordship.
